PHOTO OPS Archives

Megan Thee Stallion Kicks Off #MeganMondays With ‘I Think I Love Her’ Freestyle, The Hotties Love The Bars

May 7, 2024

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Source: KENA BETANCUR / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion
The girls are rapping, specifically Megan Thee Stallion. While the Hip-Hop community is still in an uproar because of Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s back and forth, the Houston rapper is getting us ready for the real HOT GIRL SUMMER.
Megan Thee Stallion is in her bag and shows no signs of letting up. On Monday, she started her #MeganMondays freestyle series by dropping a new freestyle to remind us what the Hotties always know: She’s got bars.
Thee Stallion flexed her lyrical muscle, flipping Gucci Mane’s “I Think I Love Her Freestyle” and incorporating her unique rapping flavor throughout the beat.
On the track, Thee Stallion touches on the thirsties living in her DMs, the men acting really feminine at the moment, and the rap girlies using her blueprint to get on.
“Show a new bitch that ain’t Megan coded/ Show a beat I was on and ain’t rode it/ If she think she the shit, I’m the colon/ My pen gets gutter, I’m bowling,” she rapped.

It’s Megan May
Megan Thee Stallion is not just taking over Mondays; she is gunning for the entire month, labeling it Megan May.
On Tuesday, she announced her next single, “Boa,” continuing the snake narrative from her previous singles, “Hiss” and “Cobra.”

Later this month, Megan Thee Stallion will kick off her nationwide Hot Girl Summer tour featuring GloRilla in Minneapolis on May 14 and eventually head overseas in July.
It’s Thee Stallion’s world, and we are just living in it. She has gained her freedom from 1501 Certified Entertainment, dropped collaborations with Nike and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, as well as other philanthropic endeavors like “Hotties Helping” and a mental health website Bad Bitches Have Bad Days Too.
You can see reactions to the “I Think I Love Her Freestyle” in the gallery below.

4. This actually slaps

Xbox Shutters Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks & Other Bethesda Studios In Stunning Move, Gamers React

djfrosty

May 7, 2024

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Source: Christian Petersen / Getty / Xbox
The video game industry is in turmoil, and you wouldn’t think that’s the case because of the quality of games we have been getting. While we, as gamers, are enjoying a spoil of riches, developers continue to lose their jobs at a ridiculous clip.
Xbox is navigating choppy waters as it shifts its business model, putting some of its biggest exclusive titles on competitive consoles.
One of those titles was the beloved Hi-Fi Rush from Tango Gameworks, one of the many studios Xbox acquired when it acquired Bethesda Game Studios.
In a stunning turn of events, Tango Gameworks is one of four studios, including Arkane Austin, the developer of the massive flop Redfall, Alpha Dog Studios, and Roundhouse Games, which have been closed by Xbox, IGN reports.
Xbox is one of the many video game companies that have been unable to avoid the massive layoffs in the industry. The Microsoft company started the year by laying off almost 2,000 employees, which led to then-Blizzard president Mike Ybarra leaving.
Now comes the news of a new round of layoffs due to significant studio closures under the Bethesda umbrella.
Per GameRant:
Xbox has decided to shut down Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Studios, and Tango Gameworks, with Roundhouse Games also effectively shutting down by being “absorbed” by ZeniMax Online Studios. In an email from Matt Booty obtained by IGN, it was explained that these shutdowns are about “prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games.” Arkane Austin worked on the 2017 Prey game and Redfall, Tango Gameworks was known for The Evil Within and the critically-acclaimed Hi-Fi Rush, Alpha Dog Studios was working on the Mighty Doom mobile game, and Roundhouse Games was primarily serving a support role at the time of its closure.
Arkane Austin’s demise could directly result from the disastrous launch of Redfall. Reviewers immediately deemed it a critical flop due to its broken state and abandoned it despite some quality-of-life improvements.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Arkane Studios confirmed the Austin studio’s closure, telling gamers who bought the Hero Pass of the premium Bite Back edition or Bite Back upgrade will be eligible to receive the value of the upgrade.
Arkane says Redfall serves will remain online, but there will be no further updates.

Tango Gamework’s closure is the biggest surprise due to Hi-Fi Rush’s success following its surprise drop on the Xbox Game Pass and, most recently, its newfound popularity on the PlayStation 5 console.
What a spooky time to be a developer in the video game industry.
You can see reactions to the sad news in the gallery below.

1. No lies detected

2. This is also true

3. We’re old enough to remember the push for Xbox to gobble up more studios.

8. Cold world

Well Done HellDivers: PlayStation Reverses Course On PSN Linking Requirement

djfrosty

May 6, 2024

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Source: Arrowhead Game Studios/ Sony Interactive Entertainment / Helldivers 2
Well done Helldivers. PlayStation is now saying whoops, after gamers made it loud and very clear that they did not rock with the PSN linking requirement to continue playing Helldivers 2 on Windows PC via Steam.
After destroying all the goodwill Arrowhead Game Studios built with Helldivers 2 and its fantastic spin on a live service genre, PlayStation finally admitted they f*cked up by requiring PC players to get a free PSN account.
The decision came after two days of Helldivers 2 players expressing their anger on social media and flooding the game’s Steam page with negative reviews that also hit other PlayStation titles after Steam delisted the popular shooter in 177 countries.
Via PlayStation’s official account on X, formerly Twitter, the company wrote:
Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.
We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we’ll keep you updated on future plans.

What Possibly Led To PlayStation’s Reversal
The fallout from the dumb policy led to Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt expressing his frustration on X. “Waking up to the sunshine of yesterday replaced with a dreary drizzle and shivering winds makes me reflect on how I spent my time those rare few moments when all was perfect,” Pilestedt said.
On Sunday, before PlayStation decided not to proceed with mandatory PSN linking, he noted his company was “talking solutions” with the company, which ultimately led to PlayStation’s change of heart.
He also took some blame on the matter as well, saying he was not completely “blameless,” adding they “didn’t talk about it enough” regarding account linking.

The review bombing and harassment of Arrowhead’s community managers and developers likely aided in PlayStation’s policy reversal.
We’re happy people can spread democracy again and continue the fight to liberate Super Earth.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

1. For real, they were innocent in the matter.

2. Exactly

3. PlayStation pay attention

8. Only losers do things like this.

9. Lol, chill

10. We do too.

This Is Not How You Spread Democracy: ‘Helldivers 2’ Pulled From 177 Countries On Steam Due To PSN Linking Requirement

djfrosty

May 5, 2024

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Source: Arrowhead Game Studios/ Sony Interactive Entertainment / Helldivers 2
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s decision to require PSN linking has destroyed any goodwill that Arrowhead Game Studios built with its fantastic game Helldivers 2.
Friday, gamers, specifically Helldivers 2 fans, did not have any kind words for Sony Interactive Entertainment, the publisher of Arrowhead’s game, after it announced, “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. That grace period will now expire.”
According to Sony, the bonehead decision was “critical” to the “safety and security” of Helldivers 2.
Following the announcement, gamers immediately pointed out that the PSN account linking would lead to many players no longer having access to the game via Steam because certain countries do not have PSN support.
Welp, those worries are bearing fruit.
Helldivers 2 Is No Longer Listed In 170 Territories Because of PSN Linking Requirement
Despite Helldivers 2’s community manager assuring players in countries without PSN support can continue playing the game and not worry about being denied access on Saturday, the game has been pulled from 170 territories lacking PSN support, according to listings from the Steam Database.
The fallout has been instantaneous.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Culture Crave notes that Helldivers 2’s Steam page has “over 100k negative reviews since [the] change was announced” and that “Steam is approving refund requests for players even if they’ve played over 2 hours.”

Like Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt, community managers are telling fans to direct their anger toward Sony Interactive Entertainment in hopes that bullying will make the company reverse its crappy decision.

As for the refunds, Valve is ignoring its policy by giving players who logged more than 100 hours spreading democracy and liberating Super Earth.
Steam usually only refunds players who have not exceeded 2 hours of playtime. Honestly, this is an intelligent decision on Valve’s part and an indication of how wrong Sony Interactive Entertainment’s decision was.
Gamers are still sounding off on Xitter about SIE’s ridiculous decision.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.

1. G R E E D

2. Yup, to put it simply.

4. Exactly

8. We don’t want the game to be buried, let’s just hope Sony just changes it’s mind

‘Helldivers 2’ Players on Windows PC Are BIG MAD About Having To Need A PlayStation Network Account To Play

djfrosty

May 3, 2024

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Source: Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment / Helldivers 2
Sony might have put on a masterclass regarding self-sabotage with its latest decision, which has Helldivers 2 players on PC BIG MAD.
Arrowhead Game Studios’ Helldivers 2 quickly became one of the biggest releases of the year, but now, thanks to a move by Sony, it quickly hit a sour patch with its loyal players.
Players who spread democracy by playing Helldivers 2 via Windows PC via Steam learned today that they will now need a PlayStation Network account to maintain access to the game.
Sony Interactive Entertainment, the game’s publisher, relayed the head-scratching news to players on the game’s Steam page.
“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,” Sony wrote. “That grace period will now expire. See details below in this post.”
Sony claims account-linking with the PlayStation Network is “critical” to the “safety and security” of Helldivers 2.
“This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behaviour,” Sony said. “It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal.”
New players will be required to connect their Steam and PlayStation Network accounts beginning May 6 before they can begin playing the game.
Current players will see a mandatory log-in beginning May 30. They will have until June 4 to link their accounts, allowing them to sign up for a free PlayStation Network account if they don’t already have one.
Gamers Are BIG MAD
The reactions to Sony’s move with Helldivers 2 were instant, with the game’s rating on Steam taking a hit.
One user on X, formerly Twitter pointed out why the decision could be potentially bad saying in a post, “To folks wondering why mandating linking your Sony account to Helldivers 2 on PC is such a big deal, players in many countries, such as Belarus, Phillipines and nearly the entirety of Africa don’t have PSN support, so those Helldivers will be defacto banned in a few weeks.”
Another user pointed to the former Xbox exclusive Sea of Thieves requiring the something similar, and players not overeacting.
“Helldivers 2 backlash seems fake. Steam players need a Microsoft account to play Sea Of Thieves and no one bat an eye,” another X user wrote.
In response to the outrage, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt told gamers to direct their anger at Sony and directed them to PlayStation Support.
Lol, bruh.

There is a good chance that Windows PC players will bully Sony into changing their minds. Until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.

2. Damn shame

3. Tsk Tsk Tsk

5. The accuracy

Angel Reese, Naomi Osaka, & Sha’Carri Richardson Help Introduce Beats New Solo 4 Headphones & Solo Buds

djfrosty

May 1, 2024

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Source: Apple / Beats / Beats Solo 4 & Solo Buds
It’s a new year, meaning new Apple/Beats products. To help roll them out, the company enlisted the help of top female athletes Angel Reese, Naomi Osaka, and Sha’Carri Richardson.
The Apple-owned company unveiled the latest model in its long line of over-ear wireless headphones, the Solo 4. At launch, the Solo 4 headphones will cost $199 and promise up to 50 hours of battery life.
The Solo 4’s exceptional battery life can be attributed to the lack of active noise cancellation, a must-have feature now more than ever. It’s a bummer the Solo 4 headphones do have it, but Beats promises the other features make up for the lack of noise cancellation.
Those features include wired audio and passive tuning, allowing the Solo 4s to continue to work when the battery is dead and plugged in without sacrificing sound quality.
The Solo 4 also features custom acoustic architecture and supports native software on both Android and iOS devices.
Beats Also Announces The New Solo Buds
Source: Apple / Beats / Beats Solo 4 & Solo Buds
Beats also announced a new entry-level wireless earbuds model, the Solo Buds, which cost $79.99. While they might not be a premium offering, Beats still promises the Solo Buds will offer users “big Beats sound in the smallest case we’ve ever made.”
Also, for a $79.99 price point, you’re not getting ANC (active noise cancellation) or a charging case, but Beats boasts the Solo Buds will offer 18 hours of use on a single charge; after that, you have to plug up via USB-C.
The Solo 4 headphones are now available for pre-order and launch on May 2 in Matte Black, Slate Blue, and Cloud Pink.
The Solo Buds will arrive sometime in June, along with Matte Black, Storm Gray, Arctic Purple, and Transparent Red color options.
You can see more photos of both accessories in the gallery below.

1. Beats Solo 4 & Solo Buds