Tesla Promises ‘More Affordable Models’ and a ‘Cybercab’

Elon Musk’s automaker told investors Tuesday that sales and revenue are down but that new “more affordable models” will launch before mid-2025, sooner than originally planned.

Posted in Business | Tagged | Comments Off on Tesla Promises ‘More Affordable Models’ and a ‘Cybercab’

Oracle is moving its world headquarters to Nashville to be closer to health-care industry

Oracle is moving its world headquarters to Nashville, according to Larry Ellison.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Oracle is moving its world headquarters to Nashville to be closer to health-care industry

Jack Dorsey’s payments company, Block, is building its own bitcoin mining system

The company, formerly known as Square, now building a full bitcoin mining system.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Jack Dorsey’s payments company, Block, is building its own bitcoin mining system

Tesla profits drop 55%, company says EV sales ‘under pressure’ from hybrids

Tesla profits fell 55% to $1.13 billion in the first quarter from the same year-ago period as a protracted EV price-cutting strategy and “numerous challenges” cut into the automaker’s bottom line. Tesla reported revenue of $21.3 billion in the first quarter, a 9% drop from the first quarter of 2023. Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Tesla profits drop 55%, company says EV sales ‘under pressure’ from hybrids

Atari relaunches Infogrames with fresh Totally Reliable Delivery Service acquisition

Atari is reviving the Infogrames brand and retooling it into a publishing label with a brand new acquisition.
The relaunched Infogrames, formerly a French video game holding company under the Atari banner, will now focus on publishing and acquiring intellectual properties (IP), starting with We’re Five Games’ Totally Reliable Delivery Service. This comes just a few months after a massive $2 million acquisition from Atari at the end of last year.
The ragdoll physics simulation focuses on terrible package delivery couriers, challenging players to use machinery, unusual gadgets, and baffling physics to delivery parcels. The specific terms of the purchase of Totally Reliable Delivery Service were not made public, other than that Atari said it includes the 2019 game, its trademarks, and “underlying property,” as reported by Gaming Industry on April 22.
“For decades, Infogrames built a reputation as a publisher and developer of amazing and eclectic games, and we are excited to bring it back,” said Wade Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Atari, in a statement shared on X.
Previously, Infogrames had worked on original titles, such as Alpha Waves and Lee Enfield, released in 1990 and 1988 respectively. The former, a platform-level game, saw the developer try out full-screen, six-axis, flat-shaded 3D with 3D object interaction for the first time.
The future of Infogrames
Moving forward and beyond Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Infogrames will reportedly focus on IP that comes outside of Atari’s core portfolio so far. Game preservation is also a core value of the fledgling label, aiming to give life back to games that might otherwise die out.
Atari COO Geoffroy Châteauvieux will take the lead at Infogrames. In a public statement, he said: “With Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Infogrames is starting off with a strong IP that has a loyal and enthusiastic player base. The Infogrames team will be able to expand upon the strong work of tinyBuild, and re-energise this high-potential franchise.”
Featured image: We’re Five Games via IGDB
The post Atari relaunches Infogrames with fresh Totally Reliable Delivery Service acquisition appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Atari relaunches Infogrames with fresh Totally Reliable Delivery Service acquisition

Xbox and X-Men team up for a custom Xbox Series X — whose case is a comic book

Xbox, riding the hype for Disney Plus’ X-Men ’97 following its premiere a month ago, is giving away a custom X-Men themed Xbox Series X whose case is literally a comic book.
Announced Tuesday, the collaboration with Marvel Animation puts an original two-page story and cover on the console, by Marvel artist Paco Diaz and writer Rich Douek.
In the comic-book casemod, Cyclops leads the X-Men into battle against the Sentinel robots and their leader, Master Mold. An announcement from Xbox Wire says that a Series X makes a cameo in the Danger Room, too.

Only one is available, and it will be given away in a sweepstakes drawing hosted through Xbox’s official X (formerly Twitter) account. The sweepstakes is underway and will run through May 19 at 8 p.m. PDT.
For those itching to get their hands on more X-Men ’97’s Xbox goodness, a set of 11 Xbox Design Lab Controllers, with colors and packaging themed to the show’s major characters, will go on sale soon. They come in a “‘90s inspired blister pack that makes for the ultimate collector item.”

X-Men ’97 is a revival of the X-Men: the Animated Series show that ran on Fox Kids in the 1990s. It premiered on Disney Plus on March 20 and is scheduled to air 10 episodes in its first season, concluding May 15. New episodes air on Wednesdays.
All images via Xbox Wire
The post Xbox and X-Men team up for a custom Xbox Series X — whose case is a comic book appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Xbox and X-Men team up for a custom Xbox Series X — whose case is a comic book

This hit Star Wars game is coming to Xbox Game Pass via EA Play

EA Play brings free access and play of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to Xbox Game Pass on both PC and console.
EA Play members, PC Game Pass, and Ultimate Game Pass members will be able to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for free, continuing the next chapter in Jedi Cal Kestis’ story, as announced by Xbox.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor follows Cal as he explores the galaxy far, far away still further, taking him to new planets and familiar locales. As well as meet new species and characters, there are new game mechanics and fighting techniques to learn for players.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has won various gaming accolades and awards since its release in April 2023, such as IGN’s Best Action Game of 2023, PC Gamer’s Best Adventure Game of 2023, and a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media. It was also one of the best-selling games of last year.
What else is available on EA Play?
On top of free access to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, EA Play members can also benefit from regular in-game rewards. Here’s a summary of the current range of items, coins, and boosts:

Apex Legends Apex Logo (Precious Peaks) Weapon Charm, until April 30
Battlefield 2042 Brigade Buster, until April 30
EA Sports FC 24 Clubs FC Pro Black Glasses, until April 25
EA Sports FC 24 VOLTA FC Pro Neck Tattoo and COINS, until April 25
EA Sports FC 24 Ultimate Team Draft Token, until May 14
Madden NFL 24 MUT April Pack, until April 30
WRC Season 4 Rewards, until June 3
NHL 24 Super Hero Se, until May 22
NHL 24 WOC Coins, until May 22
NHL 24 WOC Battle Pass XP Modifier, until May 22

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass PC members can access EA Play via their Game Pass subscription. On top of that, you’ll be able to find in-game challenges and rewards, special member-only content, trials of select new games such as EA Sports FC 24, 10% off certain titles, and access to a backlog of titles, such as EA Sports PGA Tour and EA Sports NHL 24.
Featured image: Respawn Entertainment via IGDB
The post This hit Star Wars game is coming to Xbox Game Pass via EA Play appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on This hit Star Wars game is coming to Xbox Game Pass via EA Play

EVE Online Equinox – Colonize the dangerous corners of space in new expansion

EVE Online has long since transcended being called merely a game. Books are written about it’s politics. Great battles are recorded for posterity in the same way as we know all about the great battles of history – 1066, The Somme, Stalingrad, and so many more and yet, for a first-timer loading up the game it is difficult to see how to get involved in the bigger picture. To get into Eve is to start a second life, in computer-generated space.
June 11th will see EVE’s latest expansion, Equinox, arrive and this is not something beginners will be lured into easily. If you don’t know the game then this is not for you, it is an expansion after all.
What it is, is also hugely impressive. I watched the trailer and wanted to be in the future, check it out, it’s awesome.

EVE Online’s creators CCP continue to push their space epic in new directions as the technology we have to actually play it continues to push forward.
“EVE has always been defined by its players’ ability to forge their own destiny through economic dominance, political machinations and military conquest,” said Bergur Finnbogason, EVE Online’s Creative Director. “With Equinox, we’re taking that open-ended freedom to new heights by giving pilots greater agency over nullsec’s valuable resources – while challenging them with the moral implications about the cost of such ambition. We’re also extremely excited to see what amazing designs players will make with EVE’s new SKINR tool: the sky truly is the limit for personalizing your favorite ships.”
For those of you that may not know what Bergur is talking about, EVE Online’s nullsec is its low to no security space. It’s a wild west frontier out there, and not somewhere you will be venturing when you first start out alone.
“This expansion marks the continuation of EVE Vanguard as the ultimate evolving sci-fi sandbox FPS. Our process of collaboration with the community is a unique opportunity for players to become closely involved with the game’s future direction, and we thank our founders for contributing towards our shared vision of a compelling shooter in the EVE Universe,” said Snorri Arnason, EVE Online’s Game Director. “With a dangerously beautiful new map, adaptive weaponry, and new ways to play we can’t wait to see the chaos that the Vanguard will inflict on its shores as their impact grows across the ongoing conflicts of New Eden.”
For details on EVE Online: Equinox and EVE Vanguard, visit its website.
If you missed our other big space game news of the day, check out Homeworld’s new VR game for the Meta Quest 3
The post EVE Online Equinox – Colonize the dangerous corners of space in new expansion appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on EVE Online Equinox – Colonize the dangerous corners of space in new expansion

Games industry lobby still says no way to preservation efforts, copyright exceptions

The Electronic Software Association, the main lobby for the video games in the United States, remains flatly uninterested in helping any video game preservation efforts. On Thursday, an ESA lawyer told a rulemaking hearing of the U.S. Copyright Office his group’s membership doesn’t support any exceptions to U.S. copyright law that would aid preservation efforts.
ESA lawyer Steve Englund told the panel that the ESA is still firmly opposed to allowing libraries to preserve older video games. Video game preservationists have lobbied for exceptions to copyright law that would allow for scholarly or educational access to video games. The ESA’s ongoing concern is that civilians would access these games, whether for their own private collections, or to share them with others in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Englund said there exists no “combination of limitations [the ESA] would support to provide remote access.” (via GameDeveloper.com.) His remarks came at a hearing on Thursday. Video game preservation advocate Phil Salvador posted a Twitch stream of the hearing to Bluesky the same day.
Salvador is the librarian for the Video Game History Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2017 to document the medium’s history and preserve its works, particularly older or rarer titles. The VGHF library, based in California, maintains a digital library, which includes printed matter that documents the history of video gaming and its culture.

At the hearing, Salvador said that public libraries either lack the interest or the resources in maintaining and hosting these kinds of digital collections. He estimated that fewer than 10 are doing so now.
That came in response to a suggestion from Englund that university libraries would be an appropriate repository for games preservation and access, with an application process for researchers to come study them. But Englund said that even holding these materials in a physical location, with access managed on-site, still presents concerns for ESA members.
Kendra Albert, of Harvard University’s Cyberlaw Clinic, criticized the ESA’s stance and said the organization makes no good faith effort to meet preservationists halfway toward a worthy research goal.
In a statement the clinic published on Friday, it argued that “opposition comments provided no significant rebuttals.
“The clinic argued that the restrictions it proposed were sufficient to ensure that uses of preserved video games are non-infringing and, based upon statements from two major re-release companies, that the market for retro games would not be harmed by the kinds of access that preservation institutions are likely to provide,” the statement said.
Games preservation is vastly unsupported, study says
In July 2023, Salvador and the VGHF published a study that said 87 percent of video games released in the United States before 2010 haven’t been preserved in any meaningful way.
“Since 2015, libraries, museums, and archives in the United States have been petitioning the Copyright Office for new exemptions that would make it easier for them to preserve games and make those games available to researchers,” the study said. “Each time, game industry lobbyists have opposed these new exemptions.”
The U.S. Copyright Office considers new rules and exemptions to existing laws about every three years, with public comment and hearings guiding that discussion. Changes, if any are forthcoming, would probably be announced in the fall.
The post Games industry lobby still says no way to preservation efforts, copyright exceptions appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Games industry lobby still says no way to preservation efforts, copyright exceptions

8 AI Business Trends in 2024, According to Stanford Researchers

TechRepublic digs into the business implications of artificial intelligence trends highlighted in Stanford’s AI Index Report, with help from co-authors Robi Rahman and Anka Reuel.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on 8 AI Business Trends in 2024, According to Stanford Researchers