Technology - Kalakshar US

Silent Hill f is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on September 25

It had only been a few months since our last look at Silent Hill f, so it was perhaps a little surprising to see the first Japan-set game in the series pop up during Sony’s latest State of Play stream on Wednesday. The trailer provided another chance to see some gameplay and those gorgeously grotesque visuals, but the key information was saved for the end: a release date. You’ll be able to experience the terrors of Silent Hill f yourself on September 25 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

In this ’60s-set installment, you’ll take on the guise of high schooler Shimizu Hinako, who has to survive the horrors that plague her fog-ridden hometown of Ebisugaoka. You will have to solve puzzles (some of which involve scarecrows) and fend off enemies, including some creepy mannequin-like monsters. Producer Motoi Okamoto wrote on the PlayStation Blog that “the combat will have a heavier focus on melee and be more action-oriented compared to last year’s Silent Hill 2.“

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/silent-hill-f-is-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series-xs-and-pc-on-september-25-213338755.html?src=rss

Pragmata, Capcom’s long-delayed PS5 game, is (probably) coming in 2026

Pragmata, a new sci-fi, third-person action game from Capcom, finally has a new release date. As part of Sony’s summer State of Play on June 4, Capacom shared a new trailer showing off gameplay from Pragmata and revealing that the game is now targeting a 2026 release.

Based on the trailer and a blog post on the Playstation Blog, you’ll play as two characters in Pragmata: Hugh, a spacesuit-wearing lunk, and Diana, a young robot who appears to be able to hack into the lunar station you’ll spend the game navigating. You apparently have to use both characters’ abilities at the same time to get through rogue robots and other obstacles. In the trailer it look like a lot of hacking and smashing, but it’ll presumably have more variety in its final release.

Pragmata was announced all the way back in 2020, before the release of the PlayStation 5, targeting a 2022 release. The game has been delayed multiple different times since then, most recently in 2023 when Capcom delayed the game indefinitely. It’s not clear how much of Pragmata has been reworked since then.

Pragmata will be available in 2026 on PS5, presumably alongside releases on Xbox Series X / S and PC, as previously announced.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/pragmata-capcoms-long-delayed-ps5-game-is-probably-coming-in-2026-214011185.html?src=rss

Baby Steps finally has a release date, two years after it was originally slated to arrive

Baby Steps, a absurdist walking simulator, has been under construction for a long while now. But at today’s PlayStation State of Play event, the game finally got a release date: September 8, 2025. The game stars the hapless, chubby, bodysuit-wearing Nate (sigh), who, judging from the release date trailer, appears to be perpetually in search of a toilet? At one point, he knocks a porta-potty off the edge of a cliff. Tragedy abounds.

We checked out Baby Steps a few years ago, and a big part of the fun is in figuring out how to control Nate — each controller trigger moves one of his limbs, and keeping him upright is apparently quite the challenge. That’s part of the fun, I presume; watching your baby-man flop around the screen and fall over while doing the seemingly simple task of walking sounds a lot more amusing than I think.

The game was originally supposed to come out for PS5 and PC in 2023, followed by a delay to 2024 that the team obviously didn’t hit. But now, we’ve got a real release date for this exceedingly goofy-looking game.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/baby-steps-finally-has-a-release-date-two-years-after-it-was-originally-slated-to-arrive-214025574.html?src=rss

Nintendo Miis are post-gender on Switch 2

We are on the eve of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, and a few last-minute details are still trickling in. Like many other Nintendo consoles, you’ll create a Mii to represent you during setup. With the Switch 2, the Mii isn’t given a gender. My Nintendo News first noticed this detail, and we were able to confirm it independently.

When you’re creating a new avatar, the console simply asks you to “Select a style for your Mii.” The styles look like the same stock models that several previous hardware generations used as their male and female models, but the Switch 2 has no pronouns or other gender signifiers attached to either one. Although Nintendo isn’t making any assumptions about Mii gender, it does acknowledge that some games might do so. The second line of the creator screen says, “Some games may use style as a gender indicator.”

Nintendo has previously used genderless language within individual games. That was the case for character creation in recent titles Splatoon 3 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so it seems in line with the company’s current approach to put that neutral attitude at the hardware level.

If you haven’t ordered your Switch 2 yet, here’s all the details you need to know about how to buy a console of your own. And be sure to read our hands-on preview so you can make an informed decision about whether or not you need to upgrade right away.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-miis-are-post-gender-on-switch-2-200426912.html?src=rss

Indie hit ‘The Gardens Between’ has been reworked for virtual reality

The Voxel Agents has significantly expanded its indie hit game, The Gardens Between, and has remade it for virtual reality. It has debuted the new version of the time-bending puzzler at the Shacknews E4 Indie Showcase, which featured 15 game developers showing off content for their upcoming titles. The new game, now called Hidden Memories of the Gardens Between, still revolves around childhood best friends Arina and Frendt. But now the story begins two decades after the original one when Frendt finds Arina’s old diary in the midst of moving.

Frendt is transported back into the events in the original The Gardens Between, but he’s now guided by Arina’s diary, which will show her perspective as they traverse the dreamlike landscapes of the game. The new version comes with 40 new puzzles across levels with immersive interactions made specifically for virtual reality. Players will be able to reach out to assemble toy parts, for instance, lift a brush to paint and even craft a friendship bracelet with their hands.

“We wanted to tap into something relatable, familiar, and nostalgic through the lens of VR. The magic of being a kid is fleeting, but the story of Arina and Frendt captures that enchantment in a beautiful package,” said Simon Joslin, co-founder of The Voxel Agents.

The developer will be releasing a demo of the game at Steam Next Fest, which will take place from June 9 to June 16, 2025. Hidden Memories of the Gardens Between has no release date yet, but it will be available sometime this year for the Meta Quest and SteamVR.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/indie-hit-the-gardens-between-has-been-reworked-for-virtual-reality-193050098.html?src=rss

Reddit is suing Anthropic for allegedly scraping its data without permission

Reddit had filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, alleging that the AI company behind the Claude chatbot has been using its data for years without permission. The lawsuit comes after Reedit has increasingly taken a hardline stance against scrapers and companies that use its data to train AI models.

In their filing, Reddit alleges that Anthropic was training its Claude chatbot on Reddit data as early as December 2021. The lawsuit also includes a screenshot in which Claude seems to acknowledge it was trained on Reddit data. In a statement to Engadget, a Reddit spokesperson said the lawsuit was the company’s “final option to force Anthropic to stop its unlawful practices” after repeated warnings.

“We believe in the Open Internet—that does not give Anthropic the right to scrape Reddit content unlawfully, exploit it for billions of dollars in profit, and disregard the rights and privacy of our users,” the spokesperson said. “In clear violation of Reddit’s terms and despite repeated requests to stop, Anthropic has been caught accessing or attempting to access Reddit content via automated bots at least 100,000 times. This isn’t a misunderstanding, it’s a sustained effort to extract value from Reddit while ignoring legal and ethical boundaries.”

Reddit’s vast archive of online discussions has become a particularly valuable commodity for the company as generative AI companies race to train new models. The company has struck lucrative licensing deals with companies like Google and OpenAI for access to its data. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has previously called out Anthropic (along with other AI firms) for scraping Reddit. Last year, the company took steps to limit automated scraping and warned AI companies that they would need to pay up.

In their lawsuit, Reddit says that “Anthropic refused to engage” in discussions about licensing. “Unlike its competitors, Anthropic has refused to agree to respect Reddit users’ basic privacy rights, including removing deleted posts from its systems,” it says. “This case is about the two faces of Anthropic: the public face that attempts to ingratiate itself into the consumer’s consciousness with claims of righteousness and respect for boundaries and the law, and the private face that ignores any rules that interfere with its attempts to further line its pockets.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Anthropic said, “we disagree with Reddit’s claims and will defend ourselves vigorously.”

Update, June 4, 2025 12:03 PM ET: This post was updated to include a statement from Anthropic.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/reddit-is-suing-anthropic-for-allegedly-scraping-its-data-without-permission-185833267.html?src=rss

Fortnite will support mouse controls on Switch 2

Epic has yet to find a platform it hasn’t wanted to put Fortnite on — only ones it wasn’t allowed to put the game on — so its not surprising the developer is going all out with the Nintendo Switch 2. Not only will the Switch 2 version of Fortnite support both graphical and performance improvements that bring it in line with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S, it’ll also offer mouse controls if you’re playing with the Joy-Con 2.

Mouse control will let you aim with one or both Joy-Con 2 and navigate the UI with a cursor, bringing the console experience closer to how the game works on PC. “With mouse controls, the right analog stick will be disabled, and you’ll rotate your character by using the selected Joy-Con 2 controller(s) as a mouse,” Epic says. The primary click will be assigned to the ZR button unless you’re using the left Joy-Con 2, and you can swap which analog stick controls movements to accommodate whichever controller you want to use.

Epic

Without an extended period of time to try mouse control out, its hard to say whether it’ll make Switch 2 Fortnite players more accurate, but there’s other benefits to running the game on Nintendo’s new console. For example, Fortnite on Switch 2 will run at 60 fps, at a 2,176 x 1,224 resolution while docked and a 1,600 x 900 resolution while undocked. The game will also support things like greater view distances, clothing physics and Nintendo’s new GameChat social feature for streaming what you’re playing to friends.

The game, as ever, remains completely free. If you managed to secure a Switch 2, though, you’ll want to delete your old copy of Fortnite for Nintendo Switch after transferring your data from your old console to your new one. Graphical improvements and mouse control are only available from the Switch 2 version of the game, which you can download directly from the Nintendo eShop on June 5.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/fortnite-will-support-mouse-controls-on-switch-2-190623477.html?src=rss

Nintendo rolls out Switch 2 updates for Super Mario Odyssey and other Switch games

As promised, Nintendo has updated a bunch of Switch games to support the Switch 2. Unlike Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, these don’t cost a dime. Just install them on your new console when it arrives, and enjoy next-gen enhancements.

The list includes Mario’s greatest hits from the Switch era. Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe are all there. Ditto for the top-down Zelda titles: Echoes of Wisdom and Link’s Awakening.

The Switch 2 versions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom may require a purchase. They’ll set you back $70 or $80 new, but if you already own the games, it’s only $10 each. (And Switch Online Expansion Pack members get the enhanced updates for free.) Regardless, at least you have a sharper-looking open world to explore for paying a second time.

Here’s the complete list of (free) updated games, which also includes Pokémon and Captain Toad.

ARMS – visual upgrades (resolution, frame rates and HDR)

Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain – GameShare (up to four players, local / online GameChat sharing)

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – visual upgrades (resolution and HDR) and GameShare (two players in all courses, local / online GameChat sharing)

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics – GameShare (up to four players can play 34 games, local / online GameChat sharing)

Game Builder Garage – visual upgrades (resolution), Joy-Con 2 mouse control

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – visual upgrades (resolution)

Pokémon Scarlet – visual upgrades (resolution, frame rates)

Pokémon Violet – visual upgrades (resolution, frame rates)

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury – visual upgrades (resolution, frame rates and HDR), GameShare (up to four players in Super Mario 3D World, two players in Bowser’s Fury and local / online GameChat sharing)

Super Mario Odyssey – visual upgrades (resolution, frame rates), GameShare (two players, local / online GameChat sharing)

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – visual upgrades (resolution, HDR)

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – visual upgrades (resolution, HDR)

The Switch 2 launches on Thursday. Here’s how to (maybe) still get one in time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-rolls-out-switch-2-updates-for-super-mario-odyssey-and-other-switch-games-174202849.html?src=rss

Nintendo’s day-one update for the Switch 2 is just a big ‘ON’ switch

Maybe you’ve camped out all night, or you’ve refreshed furiously at the risk of breaking your F5 key, but tomorrow you are finally getting your hands on the Nintendo Switch 2. After tearing it open and booting it up, you might quickly realize that the console’s functionality out of the box is basically non-existent. You have just purchased a very expensive paperweight.

This is all by design, as Nintendo wanted the console as locked down as possible in order to prevent leaks ahead of time. They didn’t even send review units to press ahead of launch this time around (it’s fine, I’m not bitter). Now that the Switch 2 is out in parts of the world where it’s already June 5, we’re getting our first look at the patch notes for the console’s day one update.

The Version 20.1.1 update for the Switch 2 basically turns the console on. The day one update enables support for Switch 1 games, virtual game cards, the Nintendo eShop and those Game-Key cards where the physical card you bought doesn’t actually contain the game, but allows you to download it. The patch notes themselves include some fairly important features like “use of Nintendo Switch Software” and “Nintendo Switch Online.” You can read the full patch notes at nintendolife.

Users will be prompted to update their consoles during initial setup, so it should be a seamless experience. I won’t give them the clicks by linking here, but suffice to say seeing leakers and hackers get their hands on the console early only to realize they can’t do much of anything was strangely satisfying.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendos-day-one-update-for-the-switch-2-is-just-a-big-on-switch-175136898.html?src=rss

Snapchat now has a standalone app for making gen AI augmented reality effects

Snapchat has been experimenting with generative AI-powered augmented reality lenses in its app for the last couple years. Now, the company is allowing users to make their own with a new standalone app for making AR effects.

Snap is introducing a new version of its Lens Studio software that allows anyone to create AR lenses through text prompts and other simple editing tools, and publish them directly to Snapchat. Up to now, Lens Studio has only been available as a desktop app meant for developers and AR professionals. And while the new iOS app and web version aren’t nearly as powerful, it offers a wide range of face-altering and body-morphing effects thanks to generative AI.

“These are experimental new tools that make it easier than ever to create, publish, and play with Snapchat Lenses made by you,” the company explains in a blog post. “Now, you can generate your own AI effects, add your dancing Bitmoji to the fun, and express yourself with Lenses that reflect your mood or an inside joke–whether you’re on the go or near your computer. “

Snap gave me an early look at the Lens Studio iOS app, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much flexibility it offered. There are AI-powered tools for transforming your face, body and background via detailed text prompts (the app also offers suggestions of the kinds of prompts that work well, like “detailed zombie head with big eyes and nose, lots of details.”)

There’s a bit of a learning curve to figuring out what works well for each type of effect, and some of the generative AI prompts can take up to 20 minutes to render. But the app also offers dozens of templates that you can use as a starting point and remix with your own ideas. You can also make simpler face-altering filters that don’t rely as heavily AI but take advantage of popular Snapchat effects like face cutouts or Bitmoji animations. (A few examples of my creations are below, both used AI to create a background I overlaid other effects onto.)

Screenshots via Snap

Snap already has hundreds of thousands of lens creators, some of whom have been making effects for the app for years. But I can easily see this new, simpler version of Lens Studio opening the door for many more. There could also be some upside for creators hoping to take advantage of Snapchat’s monetization programs: the company confirmed that users who publish lenses from the new app will be eligible to participate in its Lens Creator Rewards program, which pays creators who make popular AR effects.

A more accessible version of Lens Studio could also help Snap compete with Meta for AR talent. (Meta shut down Spark AR, its platform that allowed creators to make AR for Instagram last year.) In addition to Snapchat’s in-app effects, the company is now on its second generation of standalone AR glasses. More recently, Snap has focused on big-name developers to make glasses-ready effects, but the company has previously leaned on Lens Creators to come up with interesting use cases for AR glasses. Those types of integrations will likely require much more than what’s currently available in the new pared-down version of Lens Studio, but making AR creation more accessible (with the help of AI) raises some interesting possibilities for what might one day be possible for the company.

Jim Lanzone, the CEO of Engadget’s parent company Yahoo, joined the board of directors at Snap on September 12, 2024. No one outside of Engadget’s editorial team has any say in our coverage of the company.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/snapchat-now-has-a-standalone-app-for-making-gen-ai-augmented-reality-effects-170036214.html?src=rss