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Early Prime Day Deals: $100 Off 2 Best-Selling Espresso Makers

by admin October 1, 2025

Hi. it turns out Prime Day is only really a suggestion on the calendar. A lot of brands like to kick out early Prime Day deals before getting lost in the big din of Prime Big Deal Days on October 7-8. (See here for early Prime Day deals on laptops, earbuds, and more.)

The two most popular espresso machines on Earth—as judged by Amazon sales, anyway–are both on sale for $100 off this week, ahead of Amazon Prime Day’s October reprise. These are a couple of the best early Prime Day Deals.

$100 off Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier Before Prime Day

Photograph: Tyler Shane
Photograph: Tyler Shane
Photograph: Tyler Shane

Ninja

Luxe Cafe Premier Series Espresso Machine

The most exciting deal of the pair is probably the Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier ($500), on sale for the lowest price we’ve ever seen it.

When Ninja announced it was jumping into the semiautomatic espresso market, I didn’t know quite what to make of it. But Ninja seems to have applied its general flair for multipurpose machines to this beautifully beginner-friendly espresso machine with a 25-setting conical burr grinder, a built-in scale (thank you), and options for cold brew and drip coffee.

WIRED contributing reviewer Tyler Shane was likewise skeptical of Ninja’s first espresso device when it arrived but ended up loving the excellent milk steaming and the fact that this Ninja grinds espresso shots by weight. (Why doesn’t everybody?) She also appreciated the reasonable price—a price that’s even more reasonable ahead of Prime Day.

$100 off Breville Barista Express

Courtesy of Breville

Breville’s Barista Express ($600) semiautomatic espresso machine has been Amazon’s best-selling espresso machine for years—so long it’s hard to remember a time when it wasn’t the top-selling pick.

Why’s it so popular? It’s a Goldilocks thing—a mix of accessible price, Breville’s excellent reputation for customer service on high-ticket items, and beautiful ease of use on a semiautomatic machine with a built-in grinder that makes full-flavored, well-extracted espresso. This $100 discount isn’t quite the lowest price we’ve seen on it—it’s been down to $550 before—but it’s a very good price.

And besides, this Breville has the merit of being a tried-and-true machine. WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu has been pulling shots from his Barista Express for six years now, and it’s still going strong. No wonder the Express has been among WIRED’s top espresso machine picks for ages.

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October 1, 2025 0 comments

Esports

51% of Japanese game makers use generative AI

by admin September 29, 2025

51% of Japanese developers use generative AI in game development.

In new research from Tokyo Game Show organizer Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA), as reported by The Nikkei, of the 54 Japanese companies polled between June and July 2025, over half used genAI. Primarily, it’s used to assist with generating visual assets, images, and character art, as well as story generation, in-game text, and support with programming.

The 2025 CESA Video Game Industry Report also revealed that 32% of respondents were also using AI to develop in-house development engines.

Although the survey size was relatively small at 54 companies, it reportedly included major developers such as Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, FromSoftware, and Sega, as well as indie teams.

Not all Japanese developers are fully engaged with AI, of course; Nintendo recently announced that while it recognizes generative AI is a “hot topic” and may lead to technological developments, it currently plans to “deliver value that is unique to [Nintendo] and cannot be created through technology alone.”

CESA’s full report into the use of AI across Japanese developers is expected to be released by the end of the calendar year.

Embracer CEO Phil Rogers recently called for a “smart implementation of generative AI in ethical and sustainable ways. Sharing her vision for the game services firm with GamesIndustry.biz, Testronic chief Sharon Baylay-Bell similarly cautioned that “AI is an accelerant; it’s not the answer.”

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September 29, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Possessor(s), The Next Action Game By The Makers Of Hyper Light Drifter And Solar Ash, Arrives In November

by admin September 26, 2025

Possessor(s) is the next action game by Heart Machine, a studio best known for the well-received Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, as well as the currently early access Hyper Light Breaker. The Metroid-style 2D search action game is coming this November, and a new trailer breaks down its story premise and combat mechanics.

Coming to PlayStation 5 and PC on November 11, the game takes place in a quarantined city overrun by demons following an interdimensional catastrophe. Players control Luca, a high school student who becomes mortally wounded during the calamity, losing both of her legs. To survive, she makes a desperate deal with a demon named Rhem to restore her body. Though Luca and Rhem don’t always get along, the two must cooperate to escape the city and bring down a corrupt corporation that has been siphoning demonic energy for its own gains.

Luca uses ordinary makeshift weapons, ranging from a guitar to a computer mouse, to execute stylish directional combos and air juggles to conquer her demonic adversaries. As the journey progresses, she gains new powers to access new areas, such as a wall-running ability and a whip for swinging across gaps.

We played a slice of Possessor(s) during Summer Game Fest in June and were largely impressed with its well-tuned, if familiar, action. You can read our full impressions here.

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September 26, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The new game from the makers of Delta Force looks like Hunt: Showdown moved to Silent Hill

by admin August 19, 2025

Project Spectrum | Official Announcement Trailer – YouTube

Watch On

Project Spectrum is an upcoming “tactical thriller shooter” revealed tonight at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live that sets players off into Ember Zones, where “unspeakable horrors await.”

I’ll cut right to the chase: There’s not a whole lot to go on here. Project Spectrum is a “physiological horror PvEvP game, where you battle against monsters, other players, and your own sanity, as widespread anomalies twist around the world,” ONL host Geoff Keighley said, and you can see that in the trailer: A special ops team descends into a haunted house of some sort, and after things go rather badly a lone survivor is asked, “What if you are the beast?”

An interesting proposition indeed, which takes us back to the house and a spooky transformation into some kind of interdimensional spider, which then seemingly gives the business to another spec ops guy. Why? It’s hard to tell.

In a subsequent press release, developer Team Jade—the studio behind the Delta Force reboot—revealed a little bit more about the game, which takes place in a world devastated by a “radiant, reality-warping force” called the Ember.

“Everything it touches—cities, landscapes, even life itself—is transformed in unknowable ways, leaving behind dangerous regions called Ember Zones,” the studio said. “Players take the role of an Operator, leading high-risk missions into Ember Zones—recruiting and managing a customizable squad of elite Agents, who they ultimately play as to obtain intelligence, neutralize threats, and uncover the secrets of the Ember.

“Every moment in the game is highly dynamic as players face monstrosities created by the Ember, other hostile Agents, and the psychological tolls imposed by the twisted environment. Players must fight back through building and customizing their Agents, utilizing coordinated team synergy, environmental awareness, and creative, improvised item crafting — all while remaining mindful of their Sanity, a crucial resource that depletes easily, and of Executioners roaming the world: powerful beings with unmatched agility and strength controlled by other players.”

Project Spectrum isn’t currently on Steam but there is a website up at spectrum-project, which unfortunately doesn’t have much to see either. But I think Team Jade’s participation makes it worth paying attention to. Delta Force has a “mixed” user rating on Steam, but it’s also routinely pulling in well over 100,000 concurrent players every day, so it sure seems like the developers are doing something right. If they can bring that same magic to Project Spectrum, who knows? It could prove to be a surprise banger.

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August 19, 2025 0 comments