The Verge - Entertainments |
- This 13-year-old voice recorder captured my entire professional career
- Spotify secretly launched a show with this controversial duo — it’s already a hit
- Apple Music’s student plan is getting more expensive in the US, UK, and Canada
- Snoop Dogg and Eminem’s Bored Ape music video is here to try and sell us on tokens
- Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a board game
- RIP Chris Evans’ iPhone 6S
- Games Done Quick’s summer marathon kicks off today, and there’s a lot to look forward to
- Money Heist: Korea serves up a promising, lively crossover
- Legendary designer Yu Suzuki returns with a wild arcade shooter
- Netflix confirms an ad-supported tier is really, actually happening
| This 13-year-old voice recorder captured my entire professional career Posted: 26 Jun 2022 07:30 AM PDT  Back in November 2009, I was getting ready to attend the Montreal International Games Summit, and I panicked — it was my first major event as a member of the press, and I had no way to record an interview. This was a problem because I was scheduled to talk with Yoichi Wada, then president of Square Enix, along with several other notable industry people. So I rushed to Radio Shack and picked the cheapest voice recorder I could find, a little grey rectangle made by RCA that was locked up in a glass display case. I have no idea what model it is, but it went on to follow me through my entire professional career to date — now, nearly 13 years later, it's finally being retired. I hung on to that gadget for one main reason: I trusted it. The RCA recorder didn't have any especially notable features; the sound quality was just OK, and it was actually pretty annoying having to keep a bunch of AAA batteries on deck. But I've always been paranoid about losing an interview and wasting both my time and — even worse — that of someone who agreed to talk to me for a story. So, as long as the recorder worked, I had no real reason to replace it. And it always worked. Even when the "erase" button fell off, I stuck by it. But earlier this month, while attending Summer Game Fest, I came to a sad conclusion: the rewind button didn't function, which pushed the recorder past the point of usefulness. But it lived a good life. In fact, it's been with me for the entirety of my career at The Verge thus far, which dates back to 2012. Every in-person interview I've done in that span was recorded on that machine. I took it with me when I flew to New York to hear Shigeru Miyamoto's grand plan for bringing Super Mario to the iPhone and when I was in Montreal to learn how the team at Ubisoft recreates an entire city like Paris. I had it with me when, just a day after filing my review, I sat down for a nice, long chat with the directors of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in San Francisco. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7606123/akrales_161207_1310_A_0133.0.jpeg) Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge I took it with me to many iterations of E3 in Los Angeles in order to report on the state of the Japanese game industry, explore Nintendo's plans for the future, and try to understand Phil Spencer's philosophy for the Xbox. It was in my hands in 2019 as I tried to keep a straight face while asking Nintendo veterans what a gooey version of Luigi would taste like. It recorded Yoko Taro speaking without his iconic mask on. I was lucky enough to talk to the key minds behind almost all of my favorite games as a child, whether it was Super Mario, Metroid, God of War, Devil May Cry, Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest, or Final Fantasy. Any time I traveled to an event or studio or even just went for coffee with someone from the entertainment industry, I felt safe knowing I had that RCA recorder in my pocket, ready to go. And in the time before Zoom dominated most of my professional communication, I even used it to record plenty of phone calls. It was awkward — I would turn the phone's speaker on and place the recorder right beside it — but, again, it always worked. That's how I managed to track down the artists behind classic Atari box art and hear Sean Bean tell me what it's like being killed in a video game. In 2013, I locked myself in a bathroom to talk with David X. Cohen about the end of Futurama so that I wouldn't wake up my first kid from a nap. With the proliferation of video calls and the lack of in-person events over the last few years, the recorder hasn't gotten much work. It's spent around 36 months tucked into a desk drawer. But earlier this month, I had a chance to use it again when Summer Game Fest put on its first-ever in-person event in Los Angeles. And it was as reliable as always; I used it to record interviews with the directors of The Callisto Protocol and Street Fighter 6 and to capture my first hands-on experience with Peridot. But, without a rewind button, actually transcribing those conversations was far too time-consuming. It's not clear when I'll be going back to another in-person event, so I have time to decide what's next. It's not easy replacing a steady companion of more than a decade. I know I won't be using my phone to record interviews; again, I'm paranoid, and I'd much prefer something simple and straightforward so that a dead battery or software update doesn't mess up an interview. But I also love the idea of a single-purpose device. The RCA recorder is something I associate completely with the act of conducting an interview, a key part of my job, and as it turns out, that means that it's become an object imbued with memories. If I'm lucky, I'll find something that'll help me capture even more. |
| Spotify secretly launched a show with this controversial duo — it’s already a hit Posted: 26 Jun 2022 07:00 AM PDT  Spotify has a brand new original topping its podcast chart, but it would probably prefer if you didn't know about it. Last week, Spotify launched a new pop culture show, Breaking Bread, on Spotify Live. Breaking Bread's recordings now rank at number 11 on Spotify's top podcast chart after holding the number two spot for most of the week, putting it just behind Joe Rogan. The show's popularity — and the reason the company might be staying quiet about its new hit — is due to its two hosts: Jackie Oshry Weinreb and Claudia Oshry (aka Instagram's girlwithnojob), who come with a huge built-in audience. While the sisters have delivered their massive fanbase to the app, they have a controversial history that could be problematic for Spotify at a time when the company is being extra cautious. The sisters had a short-lived show in 2018 on Oath, Verizon's now-defunct media brand, that was canceled after The Daily Beast reported that their mom is notorious conspiracy theorist and anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller and that the sisters had both previously posted racist and anti-Muslim statements on social media. The sisters apologized, deleted their Twitter accounts, and relaunched with The Morning Toast as an independent podcast. Some fans have been uncomfortable with their unwillingness to disavow their mother's activities, but their audience is undeniable. The Oshry sisters have more than 3.5 million Instagram followers between them, their flagship podcast currently ranks in the top 100 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and they maintain what appears to be a robust Patreon base (the stats are now private, but as of 2019, they had more than 9,000 subscribers). The Oshry sisters did not respond to a request for comment. But if the Oshry sisters are controversial, you wouldn't know it from their show. The Morning Toast is mostly run-of-the-mill pop culture fare, and Breaking Bread is much of the same: Kim Kardashian's Marilyn Monroe dress, Hailey Bieber's skincare line, Britney Spears' wedding. The Spotify Live platform also allows fans to participate in the show, asking for advice on light topics like puppy training and bachelorette woes. Following the model of other Spotify Live shows like After Hours with Alex Cooper and Dating Harry Jowsey, the original show takes place on the Live app and is posted as a podcast on Spotify later. Unlike those shows, Breaking Bread received no promotion from Spotify. The company did not issue a press release about the show and did not push it on any of its social channels. The only promotion seems to have come from the Oshrys themselves on their social accounts and podcast. That may have something to do with the backlash Spotify has received for its nine-figure deal with controversy machine Joe Rogan. Rogan has the undisputed biggest podcast in the world, and as Spotify grows its podcasting might, the company needs him. But Spotify's unfailing support for Rogan has caused some reputational, if not monetary, damage. Spotify declined to comment on why they chose to partner with the Oshry sisters or whether their past has anything to do with the lack of promotion for the show, but with the way the company has approached Breaking Bread, it seems to be going for the Oshrys' substantial fanbase without the baggage. Even if Breaking Bread itself is inoffensive, it is debuting at a time when Spotify is being particularly careful. Last week, the company announced a Safety Advisory Council to assist in its content moderation policies (a move Geller called "a government sponsored internal coup") and cut a new deal with Integral Ad Science to firm up its brand safety analytics for advertisers. But the company also is trying to boost its social audio app Spotify Live (previously branded Spotify Greenroom) at a time when social audio is flailing, and Breaking Bread may be its biggest hit yet. If the Oshrys continue to deliver numbers, the show will be hard for the company to ignore. |
| Apple Music’s student plan is getting more expensive in the US, UK, and Canada Posted: 25 Jun 2022 11:18 AM PDT  Apple Music has raised the subscription price of its student plan in the US, UK, and Canada, as first reported by 9to5Mac (via TechCrunch). While it's increasing the price from $4.99 to $5.99 / month in the US and Canada, student users in the UK can expect a similar jump from £4.99 to £5.99 / month. Apple hasn't acknowledged the changes yet, but the new pricing information is currently available on Apple Music's webpage. Students subscribed to Apple Music have also started seeing the price increase on their iPhones and iPads' subscription pages. It's unclear when exactly Apple implemented these changes, but, as 9to5Mac points out, it was likely rolled out sometime between June 21st and the 23rd — an archived Apple Music webpage shows the old £4.99 student price on the 21st. Apple Music's student plan, which is reserved for those enrolled in a college or university, was previously the most affordable full-featured plan on offer. Pricing for the $9.99 / month individual and $14.99 / month family plans remain unchanged, and the same goes for the $4.99 / month voice plan. While students might look to the voice plan as a way to save an extra buck, it offers more limited access to Apple Music, as you can only control it through Siri. Apple Music's price increase isn't limited to just the US, UK, and Canada. Last month, Apple quietly upped the subscription price for students across several countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Israel, and Kenya. It's unclear whether Apple has plans to raise costs for students in additional countries, and Apple didn't immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment. |
| Snoop Dogg and Eminem’s Bored Ape music video is here to try and sell us on tokens Posted: 24 Jun 2022 04:35 PM PDT  The last couple of weeks have had a lot of bad news for some in the "web3" space, but you wouldn't know it by looking at announcements in and around the recently-ended NFT.NYC and ApeFest 2022 events. The Bored Ape Yacht Club's (BAYC) annual event in particular brought in musicians like The Roots, LCD Soundsystem, Haim, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, and others to perform for its members. On the final day of the event, guests saw the premiere of this video from two of the celebrities who've purchased tokens, Eminem and Snoop Dogg. The video is for a new song, From The D 2 The LBC, that isn't the most memorable of collaborations and is mostly about smoking weed, but it constantly splices in images of the cartoon apes. Many BAYC members were disappointed in February when both men performed in the Super Bowl halftime show, and despite appearing during an event that featured crypto ads seemingly every few minutes, failed to highlight their web3 endeavors.
The price of ApeCoin has dropped 39 percent in the last month to $4.51 after peaking in late April at more than $23, while Bitcoin and Ethereum's values are also about 38 percent lower than they were 12 months ago. The Wall Street Journal wrote on May 3rd that "NFT Sales Are Flatlining," and the numbers haven't improved overall since then. That report cited an NFT from Snoop's own collection, Doggy #4292, that sold for more than $33k several months ago. Its owner currently lists the item for sale at a price of nearly $11 million, and while the highest bid at the time of the article was $210, right now someone is offering $1,218. You can see the animation or download high-res still of it from its source website right here, for free. Despite that, now BAYC owners can point to music that uses characters from the club they spent so much money to join. Plus, they did get to see the real Snoop Dogg perform, not the fake one that some web3 company fooled people with this week during NFT.NYC.
The rappers' NFTs were both acquired via third parties in December, near the time prices for Bitcoin and Ethereum's most recent peaks. In a deal executed by the digital agency Six, it cost 123.45 ETH to obtain Eminem's Bored Ape #9055. At the time, that was worth about $460,000 but it's now equivalent to around $150,000. The ape icon associated with Snoop Dogg, #6723, was moved in a transfer from the previous owner's wallet, not a sale with a price recorded on the blockchain, which was enabled by MoonPay. The company has focused on making it easy for celebrities to buy high-priced NFTs, although it also makes it difficult to track exactly how these celebrity-affiliated tokens were obtained, and who actually paid the much-publicized prices. Opening up the ability for token owners to use the images of the apes for their creative or business endeavors is a part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club's strategy, even if it's unclear why or how that will increase the appeal to people who haven't spent six figures on an NFT. The way they see it, this is the beginning of a new media industry, with intellectual property rights linked to digital tokens with monetization that trickles down to everyone associated. The truth about NFTs and copyright is a lot more complicated than that — you can follow our explanation of the state of things right here. But for now, the parties go on, with plenty of things for BAYC owners Yuga Labs to sell to members who are sticking around, like merchandise and promises of land in a metaverse that hasn't launched yet. |
| Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a board game Posted: 24 Jun 2022 11:41 AM PDT  Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a board game courtesy of a Kickstarter campaign. Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City is a strange twist on the high-tech, low-life underbelly of the world brought to life by CD Projekt Red and Mike Pondsmith. The game is being published by CMON Games, which have put together board game adaptations of God of War and Bloodborne in addition to other existing IPs. If the slang-ridden synopsis of the game provided on its Kickstarter page is any indicator, it's clear that its creators have some serious reverence for the source material: "Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City is a competitive game in which 1 to 4 players take on the role of ruthless gangs vying for control of the underground in the glittering hellhole that is Night City. Clash with other gangs in the meat or on the Net as your enterprising band of toughs seeks to gain dominance over the criminal underworld that rules the streets. Only the boldest will be remembered, and your Street Cred will pave your way to the top." The aesthetics and fiction of this game appear to be more closely based on the Cyberpunk 2077 video game published by CD Projekt Red, as opposed to a riff on the source material penned by Mike Pondsmith in the pen-and-paper Cyberpunk RPG. In addition to its trademark crimson and neon-yellow aesthetic, this board game comes packaged with a pile of unpainted plastic miniatures that bear the likeness of notable characters from the video game. Players can expect to see Jackie Welles, Johnny Silverhand, and Judy Alvarez among the two dozen or so plastic minis that are planned to ship with the game. At the time of publishing, the project has more than tripled its funding goal of $100,000 and is just shy of its final stretch goal with about 10 days remaining in its campaign. Currently, the only funding level available is set at $110 but nets you access to the core box and all the miniatures. We understand that a hot pile of unpainted plastic is tough to resist, but it's worth mentioning that the current timeline for shipping doesn't start until at least eight months after the end of the Kickstarter. And just like Cyberpunk's digital version, there's no guarantee that it won't be delayed. |
| Posted: 24 Jun 2022 10:37 AM PDT  I think most of us here at The Verge can agree that if we were famous celebrities who acted in some of the highest-grossing films of all time, we would always be rocking the latest and greatest tech. That's apparently not how Chris Evans, star of Lightyear and The Avengers, rolls — on June 23rd, 2022, he posted a message on Twitter and Instagram that he's finally upgrading his phone: "RIP iPhone 6S," he said. "We had a good run." In his posts, Evan says that he'll miss the 2015 device's home button — a photo he posted shows that he's upgrading what appears to be an iPhone 13 Pro — but not the fact that it was a "nightly battle" trying to get the 6S to charge. (In the comments of Evan's Instagram post, Hidden Figures and Onward actress Octavia Spencer says that she too just switched to a phone without a home button.) He also mentions that he won't miss the grainy pictures from the 6S's 12-megapixel camera — you can see examples of those all over his Instagram page. To be clear, this post is absolutely not shaming Evans for having an old phone — in fact, I'd argue that the 6S is the best phone that Apple ever made, with its perfect hold-ability, headphone jack, and second-gen Touch ID. I've got nothing but respect for Evans for continuing to use it. It was, however, probably time to upgrade; Apple recently announced that the next version of iOS won't support the 6S, which has kept getting software updates for seven years. Plus, the 6S didn't have wireless charging, which means that when the Lightning port starts to wear out, you're straight out of luck. Thankfully, Evans' new phone almost certainly does support wireless charging. Maybe he can make this one last even longer. PS: I find it very funny Evans starred in an Apple TV show in 2020 yet still continued to use the 6S afterward. Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis has said that Apple gave him a pair of AirPods Max for free; I'm almost certain Evans could've finessed an iPhone XR or SE if he had really wanted to. Talk about loyalty. PPS: Spoiler alert, but remember that time Chris Evans had to use an Android phone in Knives Out because Apple allegedly wouldn't let the film's villain use an iPhone? Hilarious. Correction June 24th, 1:47PM ET: The original version of this article said that Evans' post was from June 25th. It was actually from the 23rd. We regret the error. |
| Games Done Quick’s summer marathon kicks off today, and there’s a lot to look forward to Posted: 24 Jun 2022 09:52 AM PDT  Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ), the annual weeklong summer speedrunning marathon for charity, kicks off on Sunday, and the schedule is chock full of potentially jaw-dropping runs. The very first event? A Shadow of the Colossus randomized boss rush that will somehow be completed in 47 minutes. On Monday, there's a The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch version) race that's estimated to take just under two hours. If you've been meaning to check out the indie hit Tunic, one runner plans to blast through the game in 40 minutes. The final day of the marathon, July 2nd, is packed with hit after hit, with an Elden Ring run set to conclude the show. You can peruse the full SGDQ 2022 schedule right here. The first run starts on Sunday, June 26th, at 1PM ET, and the event will be live from then on until everything is wrapped up early in the morning on Sunday, July 3rd. You can watch the whole thing on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel. This year's event is the first in-person SGDQ since 2019. Donations will support Doctors Without Borders. This year's winter Games Done Quick event, Awesome Games Done Quick, raised $3.4 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a new record for money raised at a single GDQ. |
| Money Heist: Korea serves up a promising, lively crossover Posted: 24 Jun 2022 06:45 AM PDT  Part 1 offers more questions than answers Expectations were sky-high for Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, even before its launch. The original Money Heist from Spain (La Casa de Papel) was one of Netflix's most-watched series and later went on to win the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2018. This crossover with the seismic force of Korean content — in the golden age that it is in right now — surely throws open the sheer scope of what Netflix can achieve with its ever-growing library of popular franchises. For the most part, part 1 is a lively adventure, helmed by a highly capable cast. The set design of the labyrinthian Unified Korea Mint deserves special recognition for its versatility — full of opportunities to reveal the restless mechanisms of money-making or to conceal the machinations of those who desire its riches. Viewers of the original Money Heist will also recognize familiar narrative structures bolstering the Korean remake: the achronological narrative, which both drives tension and withholds information, and the unreliable narrator, Tokyo, continuously shifting the sands of the story's reality. Gaining the blessing of Money Heist creator Álex Pina for a Korean remake, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area launched its first six episodes (part 1) on June 24th. It is set in the near future, where the current Joint Security Area between North and South Korea has been turned into a Joint Economic Area. An area of bitter division quickly becomes the shining symbol of unification, with the exciting promise of new business opportunities and a shared currency — printed at the Unified Korea Mint. However, a professor specializing in research on the economic impact of unification becomes increasingly disillusioned by the exploitation of low-wage migrant workers and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots after unification. He then assembles a ragtag crew of eight thieves to conduct a heist of 4 trillion won at the Unified Korea Mint. Each character from the main ensemble feels equally capable of innocence or evil, mercy or violence. Veteran actor Yoo Ji-tae, as the professor, dances between a righteous, Robinhood-like charm and a penchant for cold manipulation. Lost's Kim Yunjin delicately balances the immense personal strife that her character, senior inspector Seon Woo-jin, is facing and a high-stakes crisis negotiation amid the heist. Park Hae-soo (most recently of Squid Game fame) plays the formidable Berlin, who believes in wielding power through fear. Yet, privately, his unresolved trauma from surviving in North Korea's infamous Gaecheon concentration camp can quickly turn him into an anxious figure, breaking out in a cold sweat. Jeon Jong-seo (Burning) plays a North Korean woman, Tokyo, who is quietly trying to piece back together her dreams after suffering from fraud and abuse as a migrant worker. Relying on the strength of its cast and sleek action sequences, Money Heist: Korea seems more certain about its means — get into the Mint, hold people hostage (but don't kill anyone!), print the money, get out — than its ends. After setting up such a promising context and convincing universe, Money Heist: Korea sometimes feels like it is imprisoned by its own ambition and unsure of how to get out. Arguably the most important thing for any story to achieve is to convince the viewer to root for its protagonist(s) — however flawed they might be. We must grow to see the world from their perspective, feel with them in their triumphs and defeats, and champion for their victory. However, once we look past the charm of its main ensemble, one might question: why should I root for this group of thieves who are essentially seeking personal riches at the expense of hard-won reunification of the peninsula? (And not root for, perhaps, the hungry, overworked hostages, who really have nothing to do with all of this?) If we go by the endings of previous seasons of the original Money Heist, perhaps this is a question that will be answered when part 2 comes out (date still unannounced). Some of the most lauded Korean Netflix original series in recent years — like Kingdom, D.P., or Squid Game — have demonstrated that its action-packed shows are immensely capable of sharp, incisive social commentary. However, the commentary in Money Heist: Korea feels a bit more blunted. It is certainly there, but it gets lost amid the bang and buzz of the hostage crisis in the Mint. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23649154/LCDP_unit_101_JJG01109_0618_25.jpg) Image: Jung Jaegu / Netflix The strongest and most reasonable motivation comes through Tokyo. Seeing her own "Korean dream" shatter after leaving the North Korean army and migrating to the South, Tokyo drives home a point about the widening economic disparities brought about by reunification and the plight of migrant workers. In the first episode, she curses under her breath, "Welcome to capitalism." The heist is her opportunity for a breakthrough — and to reclaim many times over what she feels she has lost through the cruelties of such an economic system. Some of the series' best sequences actually come in the first few minutes of each episode, where the show opens with a glimpse of each character's backstory. It helps to sketch each character's journey in a more nuanced manner, gives gravity to their cause, and allows us to understand why they might have joined the professor's heist in the first place. Another critical commentary is made through the masks that the heist crew wears, which are modeled after the Korean hahoe masks. The hahoe masks, in their varying shapes, forms and expressions, traditionally represent the social status of its characters. In the original Money Heist, the Salvador Dali mask was used to express resistance in the face of injustice, and the heist was a way of bringing financial restoration to people who have been hit hardest by the cruel edges of capitalism. With the heist crew's adamant sense that what they are doing is honorable and good, the six unreleased episodes that make up part 2 are left to answer: will the ends really justify the means? Part one of Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area is streaming now on Netflix. |
| Legendary designer Yu Suzuki returns with a wild arcade shooter Posted: 24 Jun 2022 05:30 AM PDT  There's a lot going on in Air Twister. The arcade-style shooter from legendary designer Yu Suzuki is out today on Apple Arcade, and it pushes players through a strange fantasy world full of armored birds, flying squids, skeletal dragons, floating cities, and evil clocks. For Suzuki, who is best known for his work at Sega on games like Space Harrier, Shenmue, and Virtua Fighter, it was a chance to build a fantasy universe full of things he loved. "It's an amalgamation of all of the different things that I would like to see in a fantasy world," he tells The Verge. Air Twister is a classic rail shooter — think Space Harrier or Panzer Dragoon — where players take on the role of a sci-fi princess fighting to save her home world. It has 12 stages, which are relatively short but packed with enemies and punctuated by gigantic boss battles. It feels like a long-lost Dreamcast game but with the modern addition of touch controls; you can highlight swarms of enemies with your fingertips to fire off a volley of attacks. It's very satisfying. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23646938/477289352.jpg) Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images The gameplay is solid, but the most striking thing about Air Twister is its downright bizarre world. You start out soaring across a vast ocean with massive mushrooms growing out of it before moving on to stages that include a barren moon, a stark mechanical lair, a giant garden full of impossibly huge roses and topiary animals, and a desert full of deadly flying manta rays. Suzuki describes the worldbuilding as a "collage" of ideas, citing influences like the artist Michael Parkes and the film The NeverEnding Story. "At first, it seems like they may not fit together, and as I was putting these parts together, I wasn't really consciously thinking about how they would actually fit together in this world," he explains. "For me, they just naturally fit." Part of making this work, he says, was focusing on "the texture and the density and the color" of the landscapes and enemies when rendering the visuals. "I wanted everything to feel as if it was aged 100 years," he explains. The music was approached in a similar way. Air Twister features a prog rock soundtrack from Dutch composer Valensia; Suzuki says that he's been a long-time fan of the musician and even "wanted to have the world fit his music." But Suzuki had no connections to help him get in contact. So he resorted to a random Facebook message — and it worked. "Once he got a feel for the world we were trying to create, he was totally on board," Suzuki says of Valensia. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23647026/Air_Twister_Gameplay_08.png) Aside from the touch controls, Air Twister does make a few concessions for modern players. In its main mode, you can collect stars, which can then be used to unlock new items, ranging from cosmetic upgrades like new hairstyles or outfits to genuinely useful gear like a protective shield that kicks in when your health gets low. Given that Air Twister can get pretty challenging, this structure is designed to help less-skilled players make it to the end. That said, the game still has a more traditional arcade mode with varying degrees of difficulty. Just like if you were shoving quarters into an arcade cabinet in the '80s, here you only have your own skill to rely on — which is how Suzuki initially envisioned the experience. "I wanted to make this like an old-school arcade game," he says. |
| Netflix confirms an ad-supported tier is really, actually happening Posted: 24 Jun 2022 03:27 AM PDT  Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos has confirmed that the company plans to introduce an ad-supported tier to its streaming service in an interview at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The New York Times reported last month that the company is aiming to roll out the new tier by the end of 2022. "We've left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: 'Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don't mind advertising,'" Sarandos said. "We [are] adding an ad tier; we're not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We're adding an ad tier for folks who say, 'Hey, I want a lower price and I'll watch ads.'" The streaming service has been widely expected to launch an ad-supported subscription tier for its service ever since its other co-CEO Reed Hastings said he'd be open to the idea in April. Netflix's plans to launch the new, cheaper tier follows news that it lost subscribers for the first time in over a decade last quarter. The company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers in Q1 2022, compared to the fourth quarter in the previous year. It remains the largest streaming service with roughly 222 million subscribers, but the loss has forced Netflix to rethink its historically hardline stance against ads. Now, the question is which ad-sales company Netflix will partner with to help it enter the advertising business. Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal reported that NBCUniversal and Google were two top contenders. When asked during the Cannes interview, Sarandos wouldn't be drawn on who Netflix might partner with ("We're talking to all of them right now," he said), but suggested the company could use a partnership as an interim measure while it builds out its own ad business, according to the WSJ. Sarandos was also asked if Netflix's tanking share price could make the company the target of a takeover. In response, the executive said that it is "always a reality," but claimed the company has everything it needs to return to growth under its own steam. He also dismissed recent rumors that Netflix could be looking to buy a streaming hardware company like Roku. "We don't need it," Sarandos said, according to the WSJ. Netflix's plans for a cheaper, ad-supported tier, mirror those of rival Disney Plus, which also hopes to launch a similar offering by the end of the year. Disney's ad-supported tier will come to the US first, before expanding internationally in 2023, and the company plans to limit ads to four minutes per hour. Pricing for both Netflix and Disney's new tiers is yet to be announced. Disclosure: The Verge is currently producing a series with Netflix. |
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