17年の歴史を背負い、ヒリヒリしたエッジを歩く（小寺信良） | TechnoEdge

18年間テレビ番組制作者を務めたのち、文筆家として独立。家電から放送機器まで執筆・評論活動を行なう傍ら、子供の教育と保護者活動の合理化・IT化に取り組む。一般社団法人「インターネットユーザー協会」代表理事。 （筆者がフィルムカメラで撮影した2005年のサンフランシスコ） TechnoEdge創刊へ寄せてガジェット系…

17年の歴史を背負い、ヒリヒリしたエッジを歩く（小寺信良） | TechnoEdge テクノエッジ

18年間テレビ番組制作者を務めたのち、文筆家として独立。家電から放送機器まで執筆・評論活動を行なう傍ら、子供の教育と保護者活動の合理化・IT化に取り組む。一般社団法人「インターネットユーザー協会」代表理事。 （筆者がフィルムカメラで撮影した2005年のサンフランシスコ） TechnoEdge創刊へ寄せてガジェット系…

テクノエッジ創刊のご挨拶 | TechnoEdge

初めましての方は初めまして。そうでないかたは大変お待たせしました。テクノロジーメディア TechnoEdge テクノエッジ、本日より始動します。 テクノロジーのカッティングエッジ / 最先端からの興奮と驚きを、未来が現実になってゆく感動を共有する媒体を目指して、編集部一同、やりたい放題に粉骨砕身してゆく所存です…

テクノエッジ創刊のご挨拶 | TechnoEdge テクノエッジ

初めましての方は初めまして。そうでないかたは大変お待たせしました。テクノロジーメディア TechnoEdge テクノエッジ、本日より始動します。 テクノロジーのカッティングエッジ / 最先端からの興奮と驚きを、未来が現実になってゆく感動を共有する媒体を目指して、編集部一同、やりたい放題に粉骨砕身してゆく所存です…

‘Diablo Immortal’ delayed indefinitely in China just before its planned release date

Diablo Immortal was supposed to debut in China on June 23rd, but those who have been waiting for the game in the country will need to wait longer. NetEase, which co-developed the game with Blizzard, has pushed back the release date indefinitely. It wrote in a blog post that “the development team is making a number of optimization adjustments.”

However, there are other factors at play. NetEase found itself in the bad graces of China’s censors over a post on its Weibo social media service that seemingly referenced Winnie the Pooh, according to the Financial Times. The cartoon character is used to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the wake of a screenshot of the post (which read “why hasn’t the bear stepped down?”) gaining traction, the official Diablo Immortal Weibo account was banned from posting anything. Discussions related to the post were also wiped from the service.

Currently, Diablo Immortal does not have a release date in China, though NetEase still expects to ship the game in the country. It promised players an “exclusive thank-you package containing legendary equipment” as a makegood for the delay.

The PC and mobile title debuted in other territories this month. According to reports, it raked in $24 million in two weeks as a result of its aggressive approach to monetization. China is the biggest gaming market on the planet and not being able to release Diablo Immortal there would likely have a severe impact on the game’s expected revenues. NetEase declined to comment to the Financial Times. Engadget has contacted Blizzard for comment.

It’s not the first time a game developer has run into issues with Chinese regulators over a Winnie the Pooh reference. Publisher Indievent lost its license to sell Devotion in China, leading it to cut ties with developer Red Candle Games, which included a blatant dig at Xi in the game itself. The studio, which is based in Taiwan, later started selling a DRM-free version of Devotion on its own storefront.

Nintendo will host a ‘Xenoblade Chronicles 3’ Direct on June 22nd

It might not be the full-on Direct fans have been hoping for and expecting, but Nintendo will host its next showcase on June 22nd at 10AM ET. The stream will focus on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and will feature around 20 minutes of details on the long-awaited sequel.

Nintendo previously planned to release Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in September, but it brought the action RPG forward to July 29th. Splatoon 3 now has that September slot. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 takes place after the events of the previous two mainline games, though it has a new cast of characters. This time around, developer Monolith Soft is bumping up the number of party members from three to seven.

As Sony occasionally does with its State of Play series, Nintendo sometimes holds a Direct that’s dedicated to one game or franchise, such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Pokémon. Nintendo opted not to run a full Direct — which typically includes looks at a variety of first- and third-party games — around the time E3 would have taken place. However, reports suggest a full-fledged Direct is coming next week.

Summer Game Fest: Where did all the AAA games go?

It’s a weird year for video games. We’re 19 months into a fresh console cycle and support for the PS4 and Xbox One is finally tapering off as developers shift focus to the PS5, Xbox Series X and PC cloud gaming platforms. The pandemic slowed or paused …

‘Diablo Immortal’ has reportedly earned $24 million since release

Two weeks after release, Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal has earned approximately $24 million for the troubled studio, according to Appmagic. In an estimate it shared with GameDev Reports, the analytics firm said the free-to-play game was downloaded almost …

Google tries to send Apple an RCS message with Drake’s ‘Texts Go Green’

Since the start of the year, Google has tried to publicly pressure Apple into adopting the GSMA’s RCS messaging protocol. The search giant’s campaign has involved everything from not-so-subtle jabs at I/O 2022 to long Twitter threads from the head of Android. Now the feud has expanded to include Drake.

In a tweet spotted by 9to5Google, the Android Twitter account shared an “unofficial lyric explainer video” for “Texts Go Green,” the third song from the rapper’s latest album. The song features Drake singing about a toxic relationship. Both the title and chorus of “Texts Go Green” refer to what happens when an iPhone user blocks someone from contacting them through iMessage. The service defaults to SMS and the blacklisted individual will lose all the benefits of iMessage, including read receipts if the other person had them enabled previously.

Calling the song “a real banger,” Google says the “phenomenon” of green text bubbles is “pretty rough” for both non-iPhone users and anyone who gets blocked. “If only some super talented engineering team at Apple would fix this,” the company says in the video. “Because this is a problem only Apple can fix. They just have to adopt RCS, actually.”

The irony of Google’s video is that doesn’t accurately explain the meaning of “Texts Go Green.” In the context of the song, iMessage’s incompatibility with RCS is a comfort for Drake. “Texts go green, it hits a little different, don’t it?” he sings. “Know you miss the days when I was grippin’ on it / Know you’re in a house tonight just thinkin’ on it / I moved on so long ago.”

But, hey, whatever it takes for Apple to adopt RCS, right?