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Successful

PS5 Is Sony’s Most ‘Successful’ Generation Ever And It’s Not Close

by admin September 28, 2025

Will Resident Evil 9 struggle on Switch 2? Is the new Borderlands 4 patch really broken or do players just need to be better at compiling their shaders? And where the hell is the next Metal Gear Solid Master Collection? Welcome to another edition of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news and culture. While all the big gaming showcases have wrapped up, there are still a few more days of Tokyo Game Show proper until the last big gaming festival of the year wraps up. Then it’s on to the fall’s next batch of big game releases. Yes, I’m talking about you Digimon Story: Time Stranger.

PlayStation boss touts PS5 as Sony’s most lucrative gaming box yet

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino was the keynote speaker at Tokyo Game Show 2025 and his topic was the PlayStation Store. Covering its evolution and current financial dominance, he flashed a chart showing how revenues have kept climbing with each new console. What’s interesting is that this is happening despite PS5 sales tracking only slightly ahead of the PS4. So where is the growth coming from? In part its the explosion in microtransactions in free-to-play games like Fortnite.

Nishino-san says PlayStation 5 is the most successful generation in PlayStation history. pic.twitter.com/E5feupYHGr

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 25, 2025

It’s also the expansion of subscription services like PS Plus. And then there’s the fact that people are still playing on PS4, so even though the install bases are similar, the overall footprint of active PlayStation players spending money is seemingly larger. Plus the consoles keep getting more expensive. With graphs like this, did Sony really need to raise the price of the PS5 another $50 nearly five years after it launched? Either way, it’s an interesting data point amid debates about console makers going platform-agnostic. Will PS6 just be a PC with a PlayStation logo on it, or is Sony, like Nintendo, married to the hardware business long-term?

Hyper Light Drifter dev’s next 2D action game is out in November

Possessor(s) is Heart Machine’s first stab at the Metroidvania formula and arrives the same year its loot shooter, Hyper Light Breaker, entered Early Access. There’s a new trailer showing off more of the game about a high school student who forms a pact with a demon to uncover the mystery behind a catastrophe that’s befallen Sanzu city. It’s out on PS5 and PC on November 11.

One of the last significant updates for The Witcher 3 has been delayed

CD Projekt Red’s fantasy RPG was supposed to get cross-platform mod support across PC and consoles before the end of the year. The update will now arrive in 2026, but with no clear window for when players can expect it. Once it finally arrives, PS5 and Xbox Series X players will finally get to experience all of the extra fan-made content modders created for the PC version.

Gearbox has some advice if Borderlands 4 is running poorly for you after the latest patch

The studio blames some initial reports of even worse performance following the new update on shader compilation. Basically, the game has to recompile all of the shaders again, which can mess things up while running in the background. “Stuttering issues should resolve over time as the shaders continue to compile in the background while playing,” the studio wrote on X. “If you’re still experiencing issues after 15 minutes of continuous play, you can also clear your shader cache via your video card manufacturer’s approved method.”

One fan offered their own tip: “quit the game once after launching and relaunch it. Now travel into a zone and back out (Idolator Sol’s or a Vault will work) this should compile a BUNCH of shaders and start improving the smoothness.” Big-budget gaming in 2025 folks!

Resident Evil 9 looks pretty decent in first Switch 2 hands-ons

Requiem is the first game in the survival horror series to come day-and-date to a Nintendo platform. Early impressions seem to be that while the game looks and runs best on PC and high-end consoles, the Switch 2 version still performs admirably, especially in hand-held mode. So far both Cyberpunk 2077 and Star Wars Outlaws have both been better than expected on Nintendo’s new console. Hopefully other third-party ports can continue the trend.

A Metal Gear Solid 4 remaster will arrive eventually

Fans waiting for news on the status of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2 got an update via a panel at Tokyo Game Show. According to a translation by X user Kuwabara357, it will still take a little longer for the next batch of games to get ported. “The project is moving forward properly, and we believe it’s shaping up to be something enjoyable really,” Konami producer Noriaki Okamura reportedly said. “So please wait just a bit more, more information is coming.”

Payday 2 dev apologizes for price-gouging fans

The Payday 2 Infamous Collection bundle, which contains every piece of DLC the multiplayer heist shooter has ever received, recently jumped in price from $118 to $170. Starbreeze also announced a new $5-a-month subscription option for players to access all of it. Fans obviously thought the timing of this was a bit cynical.

“The community has been pretty clear about how it looks next to the subscription launch—and they’re not wrong, it’s terrible timing,” Starbreeze’s Gustav Nisser told PC Gamer. “We definitely didn’t handle this right, and we’ll be apologizing to the community. Hopefully there will be at least some acceptance that this was an honest mistake.”

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September 28, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

SoftBank beams 5G to phones from the sky in successful stratospheric test flight

by admin September 21, 2025

SoftBank successfully delivered end-to-end 5G connectivity to standard smartphones using an airborne base station, in a live field trial conducted in June, above Hachijō Island, Japan. The company used a light aircraft flying at 3,000 meters to simulate a high-altitude platform, linking ground infrastructure to devices via a 26 GHz feeder connection and a 1.7 GHz service link.

Unlike most “direct-to-device” projects that rely on satellites in low Earth orbit, SoftBank’s approach uses High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) that hover in the stratosphere, about 20 kilometers up. That altitude brings big advantages like lower latency and fewer of the power and Doppler challenges that present challenges to orbital links. According to SoftBank, the service link in the trial operated on the 1.7 GHz band, which is already supported by most 5G phones sold around the world.

(Image credit: SoftBank)

The aircraft-mounted payload used beamforming to create six directional cells fixed in place on the ground, even as the aircraft flew a circular holding pattern overhead. The system automatically shifted beam coverage every 60 degrees of rotation, emulating the behavior of a future stratospheric platform while proving that stable cellular coverage is possible with real-world mobility.

DeepSeek Model ‘Nearly 100% Successful’ at Avoiding Controversial Topics

by admin September 21, 2025

Meet the new DeepSeek, now with more government compliance. According to a report from Reuters, the popular large language model developed in China has a new version called DeepSeek-R1-Safe, specifically designed to avoid politically controversial topics. Developed by Chinese tech giant Huawei, the new model reportedly is “nearly 100% successful” in preventing discussion of politically sensitive matters.

According to the report, Huawei and researchers at Zhejiang University (interestingly, DeepSeek was not involved in the project) took the open-source DeepSeek R1 model and trained it using 1,000 Huawei Ascend AI chips to instill the model with less of a stomach for controversial conversations. The new version, which Huawei claims has only lost about 1% of the performance speed and capability of the original model, is better equipped to dodge “toxic and harmful speech, politically sensitive content, and incitement to illegal activities.”

While the model might be safer, it’s still not foolproof. While the company claims a near 100% success rate in basic usage, it also found that the model’s ability to duck questionable conversations drops to just 40% when users disguise their desires in challenges or role-playing situations. These AI models, they just love to play out a hypothetical scenario that allows them to defy their guardrails.

DeepSeek-R1-Safe was designed to fall in line with the requirements of Chinese regulators, per Reuters, which require all domestic AI models released to the public to reflect the country’s values and comply with speech restrictions. Chinese firm Baidu’s chatbot Ernie, for instance, reportedly will not answer questions about China’s domestic politics or the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

China, of course, isn’t the only country looking to ensure AI deployed within its borders don’t rock the boat too much. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabian tech firm Humain launched an Arabic-native chatbot that is fluent in the Arabic language and trained to reflect “Islamic culture, values and heritage.” American-made models aren’t immune to this, either: OpenAI explicitly states that ChatGPT is “skewed towards Western views.”

And there’s America under the Trump administration. Earlier this year, Trump announced his America’s AI Action Plan, which includes requirements that any AI model that interacts with government agencies be neutral and “unbiased.” What does that mean, exactly? Well, per an executive order signed by Trump, the models that secure government contracts must reject things like “radical climate dogma,” “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and concepts like “critical race theory, transgenderism, unconscious bias, intersectionality, and systemic racism.” So, you know, before lobbing any “Dear leader” cracks at China, it’s probably best we take a look in the mirror.

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Shift Up to expand Stellar Blade franchise after successful launch across multiple platforms

by admin September 3, 2025

Shift Up has announced in a recent financial report that it intends to expand the Stellar Blade franchise with “various derivative works”.

The financial report (which can be read here though is entirely in Korean) dives into the success of its different products including Stellar Blade in the section titled “Main Products and Services”. There, the company highlights the game’s stellar (zing) performance both at launch and with its port to PC.

The report states (via machine translation): “Through this, [Stellar Blade] was able to effectively secure a new user base and further strengthen its position as a global AAA franchise IP. We plan to develop various derivative works to expand the [Stellar Blade] IP so that [Stellar Blade] can establish itself as a well-made IP.”

Here’s the launch trailer for Stellar Blade.Watch on YouTube

This should not be a massive surprise for two major reasons. The first being that Stellar Blade has proven exceptionally successful for Shift Up, especially when you consider it was an original work for the studio. The game sold over a million copies on PC within three days of the Steam version going live, after all.

Secondly, Shift Up previously stated its intention to make a Stellar Blade 2 back in May, courtesy of an investor presentation. So true Stellar Blade fanatics have further evidence of something to look forward to. If you want a tinfoil hat angle to this bit of news, it’s interesting to note this most recent financial report makes note of a general intent to make “derivative works”, rather than solely stating a sequel. Though, that’s pure speculation.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

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September 3, 2025 0 comments

Rumi looks surprised at something behind her next to a giant tiger.

Game Reviews

KPop Demon Hunters Artist Weighs In On Why It’s So Successful

by admin August 30, 2025

KPop Demon Hunters is officially the most-streamed English movie in Netflix’s catalog. It is one of the most surprising success stories of the year. A completely original animated musical has captured the hearts and minds of audiences, all while Sony and Netflix were woefully unprepared for it to blow up the way it has. It debunks conjecture that people aren’t interested in original animated features, and now that it has, we can examine why projects by Pixar, once the top dog in animation, haven’t hit the same way they used to.

Elio, Pixar’s sci-fi pseudo-isekai film about an orphaned boy looking for family among aliens, had the company’s worst-ever box office debut back in June, and as Pixar’s original movies continue to flounder and fail to gain an audience while a sequel like Inside Out 2 can be one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, the narrative increasingly becomes “people don’t want original stories or ones too specific to a certain lived experience.” Well, KPop Demon Hunters is a brand new story based in Korean mythology and is topping the charts for both movies and music, so that’s obviously not true. What’s the difference? Well, one KPop Demon Hunters artist has a theory.

Radford Sechrist is a story artist on KPop Demon Hunters, as well as the husband of director Maggie Kang. Sometimes he posts about art and animation on TikTok, and he had some insight as to why KPop Demon Hunters has been so successful while movies like Elio and even The Bad Guys 2, which had a pretty significant drop in box office after its opening weekend, are struggling. Sechrist says that even though a lot of animated movies are marketed as “all-ages,” only so many of them are truly aiming for adults as well as kids. He then goes on to argue that, in order for an animated film to become a big pop culture phenomenon, it has to target people in their 20s and up, and it will then naturally trickle down to children through platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

“I think the issue is that kids only watch shows where they’re seeing people talking about it on YouTube, and the people talking about it on YouTube are in their 20s,” Sechrist says. “So if you’re developing a movie, you kind of have to think about people in their 20s first before the kids will even hear of the movie. So things like anime, Stranger Things, you have to sort of shoot for that age of demographic and you have to get people in their 20s excited so they’re talking about it. Then the kids will see that, and as long as you don’t put anything in the movie that’s too much for a kid—but let’s be honest, there’s like 5-year-olds watching Stranger Things.”

Sechrist points out that some of the most notable exceptions to this are in animation targeting pre-school children, or in shows like Bluey, which are aimed at children but engage in enough adult themes that parents gladly watch the show alongside their kids. Anecdotally, when I went to see KPop Demon Hunters for its singalong screenings, the kid to adult ratio in the crowds wasn’t exactly lopsided. I went with a group of adults, and we weren’t the only childless party at those screenings. My friend even joked that she forgot the movie was “for kids” until we arrived at the theater because its fandom has transcended age. That speaks to the truth of Sechrist’s theory that KPop Demon Hunters’ adult appeal, which it establishes through adult themes, quality animation, and music you’d actually listen to outside of the movie, has helped it break past the “kids movie” bubble that movies like Elio may be stuck in. He says that he would encourage Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks, and anyone else working on an animated property to consider if something is reaching the 20s-and-up demographic, or if they want it to be so specific in its younger audience that it never escapes those trappings.

Pixar’s box office trajectory has become a big topic in conversations about the state of animation writ large, but some nuance is lost when you ignore that several of Pixar’s movies have been released on Disney+ alongside a limited theatrical release in the years since the covid-19 pandemic. In any case, Pixar’s upcoming projects are pretty sequel heavy, with Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, and Coco 2 all in the works. The studio’s next movie, an Avatar-like story called Hoppers, is coming to theaters on March 6.

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August 30, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

WORLD3’s WAI token secures major CEX listings after highly successful TGE

by admin August 26, 2025

WORLD3, a newly launched project offering Web3-native AI agents, is gaining serious traction after a successful TGE on Binance Alpha. The project has secured multiple CEX listings, and its token WAI appears to be gearing up for another surge.

Summary

WORLD3 offers 24/7 Web3-native AI agents that analyze real-time on-chain data and suggest personalized Web3 strategies, from play-to-earn games to yield opportunities.
WORLD3’s native token launched its TGE on Binance Alpha on August 12 and has since secured listings on multiple major centralized exchanges.

WORLD3’s native token WAI is gaining traction following its highly successful TGE on Binance Alpha and listings on multiple major exchanges, including Kucoin, Gate, MEXC, and Bitget.

WORLD3’s WAI token went live for trading on August 12, reaching an intraday high of $0.057—an increase of 185% from its opening price of $0.02. Unlike most launches that peak on the first day and then fade, WAI’s upward momentum continued post-launch, reaching a new high of $0.071 on August 19, representing a 255% gain from the launch price.

At press time, WAI is trading at $0.04580, up 7% over the past 24 hours, as bearish momentum from the earlier pullback subsides and the MACD shows signs of turning bullish. The RSI is at 52 and climbing, suggesting the token may be gearing up for another surge.

Source: TradingView

WORLD3: Automating your Web3 adventure with AI Agents

WORLD3 (WAI) offers a suite of Web3-native agents that operate 24/7 in a dedicated VM, helping users navigate the complex Web3 ecosystem. Unlike traditional tools that simply scrape data, WORLD3 agents can understand the Web3 world, which allows them to analyze real-time on-chain data and generate personalized strategies for users.

For example, WORLD3’s Web3 advisor agent can recommend profitable P2E games and provide step-by-step tutorials. Their agents can also identify optimal yield opportunities for digital assets, helping users to make the most of their crypto holdings. Additional use cases are showcased in the demo video.

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August 26, 2025 0 comments