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Looking to start a music vlog? Sony has unveiled the “ultimate vlog camera” for content creators in need of a gear upgrade.
Touted as the “world’s smallest” and “lightest” full-frame lens camera, Sony’s ZV-E1 Mirrorless Camera is equipped with a whopping 12 megapixels and serves up cinema-grade video content in up to 4K UHD.
The ZV-E1 Mirrorless Camera, which became available for pre-order on Thursday (March 30), retails for nearly $2,200 by itself and $2,499.99 for the camera and 28-60mm zoom lenses. The camera will hit shelves in May.
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Smaller than Sony’s a7S III Mirrorless Camera and EV-10 Mirrorless Vlog Camera, the ZV-E1 features a full-frame Exmor R CMOS image sensor along with the latest Sony BIONZ XR high-speed processor with up to eight times more processing power to support 4K 60p, 120p upgradable recording.
Additional features include an intuitive AI processing unit to stabilize frames and auto framing, 5-axis image stabilization for stable recording, up to 10x slow motion with full HD resolution, an Intelligent 3 Capsule Microphone that captures clear audio and LED touch screen operation to adjust shooting mode, Cinematic Vlog Setting and other capabilities.
According to Sony, the camera has improved gradation rendering to better capture skin tones, Soft Skin Effects to smooth out wrinkles and blemishes and enhance clarity around the eyes and mouth, and a Bokeh Switch to emphasize the main shooting subject and create “impressive full-frame bokeh in the background.”
The ZV-E1 camera is available in black and white colorways and can record 10-bit 4:2:2 video with direct pixel readout. The dust and moisture-resistant camera is compatible with all Sony E-mount lenses and has a high-capacity Z battery. The camera connects to your computer through USB and offers seamless image transfer to your phone via the Creators’ App.
Pre-order the Sony ZV-E1 Mirrorless Camera below.
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Sony SV-E1 Mirrorless Camera
$2,198
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Source: HBO / The Last of Us
HBO’s The Last of Us exceptional first season is in the books but, as expected, left many with questions and wondering if we are getting a season two and if one of the first season’s stars is returning.
Right off the bat, we are happy to report that, yes, there is a second season coming. In a no-brainer decision, HBO renewed its new hit series based on the PlayStation video game franchise in January.
The one question lingering was if Bella Ramsey would return as Ellie. Speaking with Deadline, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman (who wrote the video game) talked about Ramsey’s return and her backstory, plus the infected or lack thereof in the show.
One burning question many had about the show was why didn’t Joel and Ellie encounter waves of infected or clickers as the season went along. For those who played the game, there are numerous encounters with raiders, cannibals, and the infected.
In the show, we saw people infected by the cordyceps in the first episode when things first popped off, and sparingly in episodes. We saw a new idea that everyone infected is connected, and if you step on a live vine, you can trigger a swarm. We also saw how real sh*t gets when waves of hordes arrive and how bad that can be.
So it’s not like we didn’t see any infected in the show, but according to Mazin, it’s much more complicated than that.
Mazin Explains The Process of Turning A Game Into A TV Show
“Part of the adaptation process is trying to figure out how to take source material that was built around gameplay and port it over to a medium that is passive,” Mazin said. “And a lot of the gameplay centered on non-playable characters that you have to get around by either avoiding them or stealth killing them or just confronting them head-on. That’s sort of your choices when you’re playing. And the NPCs were either raiders or cannibals, or they were the infected.”
“So there’s a lot of fighting. I don’t know what your ultimate kill count is on a typical run of The Last of Us, but it’s in the triple digits for sure. So we did at times have choices to make about how we wanted to present the infected. I will say that even though we were green-lit for a season of television, Neil and I felt like we couldn’t just make a season of television without considering what would come after. ”
Mazin Says More Infected Is Coming In Season 2
He continues, “There is more The Last of Us to come. I think the balance is not always just about within an episode or even episode to episode, but season to season. It’s quite possible that there will be a lot more infected later. And perhaps different kinds. But within the episodes that we were concentrating on, I think ultimately, we generally stressed the power of relationships and trying to find significance within moments of action. So there may be less action than some people wanted because we couldn’t necessarily find significance for quite a bit of it, or [they had a] concern that it would be repetitive. After all, you’re not playing it, you’re watching it. And although a lot of people do like to watch gameplay, it needs to be a little bit more focused and purposeful when we’re putting it on TV.”
The Last of Us HBO also gave us a lot more information than the game did. In the season finale, we finally saw Ellie’s backstory and met her mother, played by Ashley Johnson (the voice actor of Ellie in the video game).
Neil Druckman Explains The Last of Us HBO Resurrected A Storyline Originally Set To Be Its Own Game
“So trying to come up with a story, I wrote this short script about Ellie’s mom and how she gave birth to Ellie, how she was bitten at the same time, and wasn’t sure if she was infected during that birth,” Neil Druckman said. “And it just became this little character drama that spoke to the same themes of parental love and how much you’re willing to do even at when you’re on death’s door. That deal fell apart. Then we were talking to another game company to potentially do it as a whole other game. That deal fell apart. Then I became interested in live-action, and I was talking to Ashley Johnson about her starring in it, and then we both got busy, so that fell apart.”
The Ellie’s Backstory Helped Build An Important Storyline In The Show
Druckman continues, “I just kind of forgot about it until Mr. Mazin and I started meeting to talk about the show. Craig was like, ‘What do you have that we haven’t seen? What is Ellie’s backstory?’ And I was just telling him all this stuff. I’m like, oh, right, there’s this other story about Ellie’s mom and blah, blah, blah. I just kind of told him about it. He’s like, ‘Oh my God, we, that has to go in the show.’ And then we talked about how would it fit.”
“Does it make sense to put it in now? It does gives some theories about why Ellie’s immune, even though we don’t answer that conclusively. But I think, more importantly, it builds the relationship between Marlene and [Ellie’s mom] Anna, so that when you get to the ending, and we pit Marlene against Joel, they have their own opposite philosophical terms over how to approach of the end justify the means. Anna’s dying wish was, take care of my kid. I think it gives it more weight and maybe shows more of the tragedy behind Marlene’s sacrifice, that she was trying to make for the betterment of mankind, “Druckman continued.
Bella Ramsey Will Be Back As Ellie
Speaking of Ellie, there was also a question if Bella Ramsey would return for season two. Mazin put all of that to rest, confirming the young actress will be picking up things right where season one left off.
“When she joined us, she was 17. She’s only, she’s 19 now. Which by the way is the age of Ellie in The Last of Us, part 2. People were like, ‘She doesn’t look like [Ellie]. I’m like, it doesn’t matter. Just watch what happens,” says Mazin.
He continues, “It will be the show that Neil and I wanna make. But we are making it with Bella.”
Well, there you have it.
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Photo: HBO / The Last of Us
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Source: Joe Buglewicz / Getty / Sony
The ongoing battle between Sony and Microsoft over this Activision Blizzard acquisition continues to get weird.
Sony has numerous concerns about Microsoft’s still stalled acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and now thanks to a PDF, we know every one of them.
In the documents sent to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Sony says it fears that Microsoft could raise the price of Call of Duty, make it exclusive to its Xbox Game Pass service, and sabotage the game so that it runs poorly on PlayStation consoles.
To be more specific, Sony hints at Microsoft releasing a Call of Duty game on PlayStation full of bugs and errors.
Sony’s claims in its documents:
Microsoft might release a PlayStation version of Call of Duty where bugs and errors emerge only on the game’s final level or after later updates. Even if such degradations could be swiftly detected, any remedy would likely come too late, by which time the gaming community would have lost confidence in PlayStation as a go-to venue to play Call of Duty. Indeed, as Modern Warfare II attests, Call of Duty is most often purchased in just the first few weeks of release. If it became known that the game’s performance on PlayStation was worse than on Xbox, Call of Duty gamers could decide to switch to Xbox, for fear of playing their favourite game at a second-class or less competitive venue.
It remains unclear if Sony means that Microsoft would intentionally wreck the game or do the whole “plays best on Xbox” thing because it will own the franchise if the acquisition goes through.
Still, Sony has fears Microsoft could sabotage COD on PlayStation in multiple ways by “degrading the quality and performance of Call of Duty on PlayStation compared to Xbox”; “degrading Call of Duty to ignore PlayStation-specific features (eg. better controller haptics)”; or “restricting, degrading, or not investing in the multiplayer experience on PlayStation.”
None of This Makes Any Sense For Microsoft Financially
While these are legit concerns, financially and optically, it makes no sense for Microsoft to do such a thing even if they wanted to.
Sony is also very concerned about the Xbox Game Pass exclusivity for Call of Duty, fearing Microsoft would prevent the company from putting the game on its subscription service.
Ironically in documents submitted by Microsoft, they claim the exact opposite, with Microsoft claiming “any CoD Game in a Microsoft multi-game subscription is eligible for inclusion in Sony’s multi-game subscription service, at the same time and for the same duration.”
Sony is scoffing at that deal because it does not care about the licensing terms or pricing, adding the terms “would commercially destroy Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) multigame subscription business model.”
MS Has Made Two Big Offers To Ease Regulator’s Concerns
Microsoft did extend a 10-year offer to Sony to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, but the Japanese company has yet to sign the deal. Microsoft secured a 10-year agreement with Nintendo hours before meeting with the EU regulators and reached a similar deal with Nvidia in what many saw as a way to put more pressure on Sony.
Sony remains firm in its stance, writing in its documents, “Microsoft has not shown any real commitment to reaching a negotiated outcome. they had dragged their feet, engaged only when they sensed the regulatory outlook was darkening and favored negotiating in the media over engaging with SIE.”
Still, Microsoft’s decision to strike deals with Nintendo and Nvidia seems to have worked, as the EU will reportedly approve the $68.7 billion acquisition deal.
That leaves the United States as the last remaining hurdle.
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Photo: Joe Buglewicz / Getty
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty / PS5
It’s a new year, and Sony is declaring if you want a PS5, you should now be able to get one.
Sunday clips of a new PlayStation television ad shown on Australian television hit folk’s Twitter timelines showing Spider-Man giving gamers hope some information about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was coming.
It turns out that clip is a part of Sony’s new “Live From PS5” ad campaign celebrating community and welcoming more players to get in on the PlayStation 5 action.
Monday, PlayStation dropped the ad in North America while also sharing the news it would be increasing its PS5 supply.
Per The PlayStation Blog:
To all our fans: thank you for your patience as we navigated unprecedented demand for the PS5 console amid global challenges. If you’re looking to purchase a PS5 console, you should now have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally.
For players in the U.S., U.K, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, be sure to check direct.playstation.com to purchase a PS5 console, games, and accessories directly from PlayStation. PS5 products are also available at participating retailers globally.
This news comes after Sony boss Jim Ryan happily announced the PS5 jig is up during the company’s CES presentation.
“Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward,” Ryan told CES attendees.
2023 Looks Like It Will Be Another Good Year For The PS5
As for the ad, it’s an excellent one-minute spot showcasing upcoming PS5 titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy XVI, plus already released exclusive hits Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Gran Turismo 7, God of War Ragnarok, Destiny 2, Horizon Forbidden West, Returnal, Ghosts of Tsushima, possibly Uncharted and more.
It sounds like PlayStation is gearing up for another stellar year. Xbox already gave its gaming base a taste of what’s to come with its recent Developer Direct presentation, where we got a shock drop with Hi-Fi Rush, which is already getting game of the year nods from players.
In a recent interview, Xbox boss Phil Spencer did not acknowledge the company did not do right by gamers and was “too light on games,” but it looks like Xbox could also have a stellar 2023 to make up for its shortcomings in 2022.
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Photo: SOPA Images / Getty
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Source: Drake / Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin
Drake borrows some of Pharrell’s old bling to stunt on all of us in his new visual for Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin. One item, in particular, is catching fans’ eyes.
While his boy 21 Savage is beefing on Clubhouse, the Six God is hard at work in 2023, delivering his second visual of the year with “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” off collaborative album Her Loss.
The Tristan C-M-directed 2:22 visual features Drake in the Caribbean on his braggadocious vibes driving a red Ferrari Enzo while stunting in his absurd jewelry collection, now comprised of Pharrell’s $2.2 million chain and gold PSP he seemingly acquired.
The classic gold PSP (PlayStation Portable) console Drake can be seen holding in his hand while letting off bars stand out more than the chain in the video.
Per The Verge, the PSP-1000 was sold on Pharrell’s auction site Joopiter in November for a modest $20,000. The listing for the iconic device says its case is made of 14-karat solid gold that weighs 659.7 grams, and Pharrell tasked Jacob The Jeweler to bling out the device to compliment his gold Blackberry.
Last year, Pharrell tweeted that he was parting with the jewelry and other items to free himself and “for the beginning of a new era.”
Does The PSP Still Work?
What’s old to Skateboard P is new to Drizzy, who couldn’t help but stunt on everyone with Pharrell’s massive multicolor chain featuring a medallion with the Star-Trak team on it.
As for the PSP also features a custom Goyard carry case, no word if it’s still functioning. Drake did not power on the portable console in the video, but who would spend $20,000 on a broken device?
You can watch Drake call us broke in his new “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” video below.
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Photo: Drake / Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin
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Source: Future Publishing / Getty / PlayStation 5
The days of selling your kidneys and doing strange things for a PlayStation 5 are finally over. Allegedly.
Wednesday, Jan.4, during the company’s CES presentation, Sony boss Jim Ryan declared the PlayStation 5 jig is finally over.
“Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward,” Ryan told CES attendees.
Ryan also said that Sony sold over 30 million PlayStation 5 consoles. That’s 5 million more than what was initially reported in November.
Are those consoles sitting in gamers’ entertainment systems is another question entirely.
Acquiring a PlayStation 5 deserves a platinum trophy, as many gamers found out when the next-gen console launched in November 2020. Not until August 2022 was it a tad bit easier to find a PS5, reportedly.
Still, finding a PS5 at retail price requires patience and a bit of luck, of course. The best way to get a PS5 console without dealing with scalpers is to buy the $550 disc drive edition that either comes with Horizon Forbidden West or God of War: Ragnarok.
That’s a steep asking price if you’re budget is set on copping the $399 digital edition of the PS5 console.
Ryan thanked PlayStation fans for their “managed unprecedented demand amid global challenges over the past two years.”
What’s PS5 Stock Looking Like?
We decided to do some investigating, and we checked Best Buy. It seems bundles are in high demand and requires a Best Buy account to purchase one.
Checking Gamestop says there are limited quantities of the Horizon Forbidden West digital, physical bundle, and digital edition console.
If you want to purchase a God of War: Ragnarok bundle, you have to be a pro-member, but it does seem that it is becoming “easier” to find one.
The real test will be if you can actually walk into a Best Buy or Gamestop location and walk out with a PS5 console.
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Photo: Future Publishing / Getty