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In the last five days, Helldivers 2 was removed from the PC market in 177 countries and the games Steam reviews collapsed under the weight of more than 200,000 negative ratings, dropping from Positive to Mixed. Its now Tuesday and the Helldivers 2 Steam page is overrun with people ranting against Sony and celebrating democracy, and for anyone taking their first glance at the game, its all a bit confusing. Heres whats going on. Helldivers 2 is a third-person co-op shooter developed by independent team Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It went live on PlayStation 5 and Steam on February 8, marking a rare instance of cross-platform parity from Sony. Immediately, Helldivers 2 was a hit on PC it clocked more concurrent players on Steam than any other PlayStation game, beating God of War, Spider-Man Remastered, Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last of Us Part I. Helldivers 2 was so popular in its first few weeks that Arrowheads servers had trouble meeting demand and had to be capped at 450,000 players. I am completely exhausted by the success, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt tweeted one week post-launch. So is the team, many, many late nights, on-calls, emergency meetings, discussions around server capacity, shards, capacity units, CPU utilization, login rates and CCU. Tired, but very, very pleased. Sony Interactive Entertainment Helldivers 2 is one of the first tests of Sonys long-term multiplatform goals. While Pilestedt was taking stock of Helldivers 2s launch week, Sony executives were telling investors about their fresh plans to aggressively chase revenue streams on PC. Sony president Hiroki Totoki said the objective was to proactively work on releasing first-party games on PC alongside PlayStation, a shift from the companys longstanding console-first approach. Helldivers 2 isnt a first-party Sony game, but its console-exclusive to PlayStation 5 and Sony has been supporting its development as its publisher. As long as Helldivers 2 has had a Steam page, its also had a dijon-yellow notification box alerting players that theyll need to link up a PlayStation Network account in order to play. According to Sony, account linking is all in the name of security and cross-platform play, but of course it also helps boost the studios PSN monthly active user numbers. Due to the games early network issues, Sony decided to postpone the account-linking requirement when Helldivers 2 went live on Steam on February 8. It hit the digital PC storefront for $40 with no notable region or account-linkage restrictions. For nearly three months, Helldivers 2 had its moment in the sun. And then it started to burn. On Thursday, May 2, Sony announced that all Helldivers 2 Steam players would be required to log into their PSN accounts in order to continue accessing the game on PC. The requirement would go live for new players on May 6, and existing players would start seeing a mandatory login prompt at the end of the month. Due to technical issues at the launch of Helldivers 2, we allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional, Sonys announcement said. That grace period will now expire. Usually this wouldnt be a massive issue, since PSN accounts are free and its relatively painless to link one to Steam. However, Helldivers 2 had been sold around the world, and PSN is only available in 73 countries. That would leave well over 100 countries and territories in the lurch, with those players unable to play a game they'd already paid for. Refunds were also out of the question for most players especially the most dedicated ones since Steam generally limits those to games thatve been played for less than two hours. The bad reviews started pouring in. Sony Interactive Entertainment Neither Arrowhead nor Sony seemed to know what to do next. Sony published an FAQ in the Helldivers 2 Discord that didnt offer solutions, and instead seemed to advise affected players to create PSN accounts in different countries, a violation of the platforms terms. It became readily apparent through tweets and Discord updates that while Sony was the driving force behind the PSN requirement, Arrowhead developers kind of hated it. They even encouraged the review riot. I want people to make their displeasure known in a place where it might actually make a difference, Steam reviews and refund requests will do that, angry posting in the Discord wont, Arrowhead associate community manager Spitz posted in the games Discord server on Friday. Im not happy about this decision either. Over the weekend, more than 200,000 people posted negative reviews of Helldivers 2 on Steam, tanking its overall rating. On Sunday, May 5, Sony silently removed Helldivers 2 from Steam in 177 countries and territories that dont have access to PSN. That same day, Arrowhead CEO Pilestedt tweeted, We are talking solutions with PlayStation, especially for non-PSN countries. Your voice has been heard, and I am doing everything I can to speak for the community but I don't have the final say. Sony Interactive Entertainment On May 6, the day the PSN requirement was set to go live for new players, Sony backtracked. The company tweeted that its account-linking plans would not be moving forward. The message continued, Were still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and well keep you updated on future plans. Helldivers 2 is now available in every region that has Steam, with the option to link a PSN account. Its PC review score is slowly recovering as the rioters return to adjust their rankings, now alongside cheeky messages about the power of democracy. On Monday, Pilestedt quoted Sonys reversal tweet and added, Firstly, I am impressed by the willpower of the @helldivers2 community and your ability to collaborate. Secondly I want to thank our partners and friends at @PlayStation for quickly and effectively making the decision to leave PSN linking optional. We together want to set a new standard for what a live game is, and how developers and community can support each other to create the best game experiences. With Helldivers 2, the account-linking issue was easily avoidable. Sony was knowingly selling a game to people who wouldnt be able to play it but first, it gave them a paid trial and three months of false hope. At best, it looks like Sony was completely unaware of the logistics that would support its bold new PC strategy. At worst, it all feels mildly diabolical. Sony Interactive Entertainment Its unclear what the 2024 Helldivers 2 Steam riots will mean for future Sony games on PC, but theres another test coming up soon with the release of Ghost of Tsushima Directors Cut on May 16. Just like Helldivers 2, the games Steam page contains a little yellow rectangle warning players that it requires a PSN account for online multiplayer and the PlayStation overlay. According to SteamDB, Ghost of Tsushima is currently on sale in a handful of countries that dont have PSN. As the Helldivers 2 drama began to kick off on May 3, Ghost of Tsushima developer Sucker Punch Productions responded to a concerned fan on X with the following account-linking clarification: "Just so you are aware, A PSN account is required for Legends online multiplayer mode and to use PlayStation overlay. It is not required to play the singleplayer game." As long as the terms of engagement are clear and Sony doesn't attempt to pull the rug out from under players three months after the game comes out, that all sounds just fine. Account linking isn't a new or even rare scenario in gaming Microsoft (including Activision Blizzard), Ubisoft, Riot, EA and most other major video game studios require a proprietary sign-in to access their games on Steam and other third-party storefronts. The issue with Helldivers 2 wasn't account linking. The issue was Sony's short-sighted execution of a high-profile PC rollout and its poor communication with upset players after the fact. Most gaming fans want to see PlayStation titles on PC, and Sony wants to wring as much money out of its core franchises as possible by putting them on additional platforms this plan should be win-win. With Helldivers 2, it's been more like win-lose-win, but at least we got there in the end.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-helldivers-2-163829512.html?src=rss
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TikTok is officially challenging the law that could lead to a ban of the app in the United States. The company, which has long claimed that efforts to force a sale or ban of its app are unconstitutional, announced a lawsuit against the federal government. In the lawsuit, TikTok claims that a divestiture of its business from ByteDance is simply not possible, and that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act violates the First Amendment. They claim that the Act is not a ban because it offers ByteDance a choice: divest TikToks U.S. business or be shut down, the suit states. But in reality, there is no choice. The qualified divestiture demanded by the Act to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. The filing of the lawsuit is the first beat in whats expected to be a lengthy legal battle over the law, which was passed last month. Under the law, TikTok has up to a year to separate itself from Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban in US app stores. However, legal challenges from TikTok could significantly delay that process. DevelopingThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-is-suing-the-us-government-to-stop-its-app-being-banned-163132752.html?src=rss
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Apple is all over the place today on the hardware side of things, having just announced a slew of new iPads. However, some of Apples most beloved software is also getting some love. Theres a new version of the video editing suite Final Cut Pro for tablets that brings plenty of long-requested features. The big news for video editors? Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 (actual name) now supports external drives. Video editing projects are typically gigantic when you consider all of that raw footage. Its easy to fill up all of the available space of an iPad with footage from one or two scenes, let alone an entire project. This fixes a major barrier of entry for those curious about editing on a tablet. It also makes it easier to hand off footage to another editor or import footage to Final Cut Pro for Mac. The software is even bringing live multicam recording to iPads. This lets creators capture up to four different angles of a single scene spread across multiple devices. Everything connects wirelessly via a new app called Final Cut Camera, which gives a real-time directors view on four iPhones or iPads. Each feed has its own settings that can be adjusted, like focus, zoom and more. Editable preview clips immediately get passed on to Final Cut Pro for editing. As for customization options, Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 brings 12 new color-grading presets, eight basic text tiles, 20 new soundtracks and more dynamic backgrounds. These will be especially useful when creating title sequences and the like. Apple The Mac version of Final Cut Pro is also getting a fairly substantial update, with a focus on AI. The software leverages Apple silicons Neural Engine to bring a bit of AI flourish to basic editing tasks. The update allows users to change up colors, color balance, contrast and brightness all at the same time. Theres also something called Smooth Slo-Mo that pairs with AI, in which frames of video are intelligently generated and blended together, providing the highest-quality movement. The timeline has also been refreshed and looks a bit more intuitive. Finally, theres an update to Logic Pro for iPad, with a new session player feature and a stem splitter tool. The updates for Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad are available for free to current users and cost $5 per month for new users, which is the same pricing model as last year when both software packages were first released. Final Cut Pro for Mac costs $300 for new users, but the update is free for pre-existing users. All of these updates drop later this spring.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/final-cut-pro-for-ipad-gets-support-for-external-drives-and-live-multicam-recording-161244729.html?src=rss
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Compared to the iPad Pro, the changes Apple made to the iPad Air are more modest. Rather than a total redesign, the iPad Air is getting some expected and slightly overdue changes: a new screen size, a new processor and a front-facing camera that is placed on the landscape side of the tablet. Yes, that's some faint praise, but there's a lot to like about the new iPad Air. It's long been the best overall iPad, straddling the line between the budget entry model and the wildly powerful and expensive Pro lineup. That's the case here, again. But now that the 13-inch iPad Pro is even more pricey than before, it's good to see a large-screen iPad that doesn't cost well over $1,000. The 11-inch iPad Air is identical in size and weight to the old one, though the screen is .1 inches bigger this time. So there's not a whole lot to say about that one. The 13-inch Air, however, feels quite a bit like the old 12.9-inch iPad Pro that was just replaced today. Indeed, it's identical in all dimensions, but a little bit lighter (1.36 pounds instead of 1.5). Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget That makes it a little more approachable as a hand-held tablet, though I still feel like an iPad this large is best suited to either be used in a keyboard dock or flat on a table with an Apple Pencil. That said, Apple says that about half of iPad Pro sales were for the larger model, so there's clearly an appetite for this bigger screen. There's definitely something luxurious about using such a large screen tablet, provided it's easy to handle, and that's the case with the iPad Air (at least in the limited time I've had so far to handle the device). I also got to try the new Apple Pencil Pro, which is compatible with the new Air. As I said here, the new tricks like barrel roll for changing the shape of your brush and a squeeze feature to bring up tools like a brush picker are solid additions, and I'm glad that Apple didn't increase the Pencil's price given these new features. Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget These tablets might not have the wow factor that I experienced when checking out the iPad Pro, but that's OK. From my first look, it feels like the iPad Air lineup offers most of the same experience that you'll get with an iPad Pro at least in ways that normal buyers will recognize. And I think Apple did well on pricing this time out. The 11-inch iPad Air costs $599, same as before, but it now has a more reasonable 128GB of storage. The 13-inch model is priced at $799, an expected price bump for the larger screen. It's the first time you can get a large-screen iPad for less than a grand, and I'm definitely curious to see if that helps to improve iPad sales. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hands-on-with-the-ipad-air-m2-a-big-screen-ipad-that-doesnt-break-the-bank-160655629.html?src=rss
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The new iPads are finally here. Apple has announced four new entries in its tablet lineup, including two revamped iPad Pros with OLED screens and an all-new M4 chip, a refreshed iPad Air with an M2 chip and a new larger Air model with a 13-inch display. Along with the new slates, the company also unveiled a new Apple Pencil Pro stylus with haptic feedback support and an updated Magic Keyboard with a more MacBook-like design. The updates come more than a year and a half after the company last unveiled new iPads in October 2022.All of the new gear is available for pre-order today at Apple's online store and will be fully available on May 15. We plan to put everything through its paces in the coming days, but if you're already 100 percent sure that you want to upgrade, we'll quickly break down what's new and lay out your current purchasing options below. Here's what to know about pre-ordering the new iPad Air, iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-pre-order-apples-new-ipad-air-ipad-pro-pencil-pro-and-magic-keyboard-160521255.html?src=rss
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