State Champ Radio tech
Page: 17
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Kojima Productions / Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima has been teasing us that he was in the lab working on something, we had no idea it was an epic trailer for his next magnum opus, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach.
Kojima dropped the trailer for DS2 during a panel at SXSW 2025 in Austin, TX while also giving us the one bit of information we have been waiting to hear for a long time, the game’s release date.
Mark your calendars, PlayStation 5 owners. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach will be released exclusively on the console on June 26, 2025. Those who get their hands on the Digital Deluxe Edition or the Collector’s Edition get early access to the game beginning June 24.
The 10-minute trailer gives fans a D E E P look at the upcoming game thanks to the numerous cinematics and gameplay clips, including a character and some other elements that give off Metal Gear Solid vibes.
Solid Snake’s Influence Appears In Death Stranding 2
The character in question, pictured above, is Neil, played by Italian actor Luca Marinelli. In one scene featured in what can be considered one of the greatest video game trailers ever, Neil can be seen putting on a bandana like Solid Snake does in the Metal Gear franchise before leading a group of interesting and creepy-looking soldiers.
Marienelli’s resemblance to the goat Snake and his appearance in DS2 shouldn’t shock anyone who follows Kojima. The video game designer and cinephile praised the actor in a 2020 Instagram post noting that if the actor wore a bandana he would be the “spitting image” of Solid Snake.
Eagle-eyed gamers also noticed another possible call back to MGS with the introduction of Magellan Man. This giant tar-like creature fuses with the DHV Magellan and resembles the bi-pedal tank from Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Rex.
In the trailer Magellan Man is piloted like the mechs in the Pacific Rim films and is used to take on other creepy giant tar-like creatures.
The game’s plot continues from 2019’s Death Stranding, in which 19 million players took on the mission to connect the United States following the cataclysmic event that rocked the country.
The synopsis for the game reads:
Embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA. Sam — with companions by his side — sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles and a haunting question: should we have connected? Step by step, legendary game creator Hideo Kojima changes the world once again.
The standard edition of Death Stranding 2 will cost $69.99. The Collector’s Edition is a hefty $229.99, and the Digital Deluxe Edition is $79.99. Pre-orders begin on March 17.
We can’t wait to pick up the sticks for this one. Until then, you can see more reactions to Death Stranding 2: On The Beach’s new trailer below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Sony / PlayStation 5
If you’re still looking to join the PlayStation 5 hype train but are on a budget, don’t worry—Sony has you covered.
For gamers across the pond, PlayStation Direct is now allowing you to lease a PlayStation 5 console and other accessories for a monthly fee.
You can now lease a PS5 Pro for £26.99 a month if you select a 12-month term. Other leasing options for the relatively recently released upgraded PS5 console are a 24-month lease at £20.99 a month or a 36-month lease at £18.95 a month.
The contracts are fixed-term, but you can take advantage of a monthly rolling option, which costs £35.59 and can be cancelled anytime.
If you want a PS5 Slim, you must pay £11.99 monthly for a 36-month lease. The total cost is £431.64, slightly below the asking price of £479.99 for the console.
Keep in mind that you will not be able to keep the console at the end of your contract’s term and will have to return the unit, continue paying the rental fee, or, if you really want the console, speak with them directly about purchasing it.
You Can Also Rent These PlayStation Accessories
Consoles are not the only things you can lease. You can also rent a PS Portal for just £6.49, allowing you to test the device before you pay for it. Did you want to try the expensive DualSense Edge controller? You can lease one of those too for. £7.49 a month.
Of course there are some stipulations. All rentals will be made through a third-party tech rental service, Raylo, and will require a soft credit check, so your credit must be up to par to take advantage of the leasing deals.
No word if this program will ever reach the United States, but for those in the UK, this sounds like a sweet deal.
This latest news comes on the heels of Sony dropping the price of the PSVR 2.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Gustavo Caballero / Getty
Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he was no longer putting fences around Xbox first-party games, and that continues to be the case if, in fact, this latest news is true.
According to insider eXtas1s (via Reddit), a Gears of War Collection announcement is imminent and when it does, we will learn it is coming to the PS5 console.
PlayStation Lifestyle reports that the PS5 port is all but confirmed. Numerous insiders say they heard the game is in development for the PS5 console, which will feature remastered versions of the first three Gears of War games.
eXtas1s claims the remastered trilogy is set for a 2025 release. It will launch on day one alongside Xbox and PC releases and will be formally announced during an upcoming Xbox Showcase.
Other reports suggest that the Gears of War Collection will be PS5 Pro enhanced but will not have multiplayer.
The website notes that the eXtas1s’ claims should be taken with a “grain of salt” due to their “mixed reputation” but also says that they have been right more times than wrong.
Gamers Are Excited To Play Gears of War Again
Reactions to the news of Gears of War coming to PS5 are positive.
“I played the entire campaign 1-4 as Dom… Mostly as Dom, so getting to play this again will be very satisfying. I miss them,” one gamer on X, formerly Twitter wrote.
Another user on X wrote, “Gears of war on PS5 ??? What a time to be alive.”
If Gears of War is finally announced for PS5, it will join other former Xbox exclusives, Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, which have already jumped to the PS5.
The only title left is Halo.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Activision / Call of Duty / Black Ops 6
You’ll have to wait a bit longer for season 3 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone.
Activision announced via the official Call of Duty account on X, formerly Twitter, that season 3 will be delayed in Black Ops 6 and Warzone. This delay also means the return of the Call of Duty map Verdansk is on hold.
Season 3 was supposed to launch on March 20, but its wig has been pushed back two weeks and will arrive on April 3.
“Season 3 is a big moment for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6, and we’re taking the time to deliver a great experience starting on April 3,” Activision wrote on X.
“More to come following Call of Duty: Warzone’s fifth anniversary next week…”
Verdansk, the original map featured in Warzone when the COD’s Battle Royale mode first launched in 2020, was expected to come back to help celebrate Warzone’s fifth anniversary.
With the rumored return to Verdansk, Call of Duty would follow in the footsteps of other popular battle royale video games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, which have decided to take gamers back to where it all began with “OG Seasons ” and bring classic maps back to boost playing numbers.
Social Media Has Thoughts About The Season 3 Delay
As you can imagine, the news of the delay is generating responses from COD players. It comes after Activision addressed claims of rampant cheating in the game, the use of AI imagery in loading screens, and the price for the Squid Games and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles event passes.
“Either Activision is ensuring everything is perfect for Season 3 or there are plenty of bugs that need to be addressed,” one user on X, formerly Twitter wrote.
Another person on X wrote, “one step forward two steps back ass game.”
We just hope Activision can drop season 3 without any issues. Until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Acclaim / Acclaim
Remember Acclaim Entertainment? We are sure many of you don’t, but for those who do, we are happy to report that the iconic video game publisher is back.
Founded in 1987, the publisher best known for bringing iconic titles like NBA Jam and some 16-bit WWF titles like WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game, Mortal Kombat II, Turok: The Dinosaur Hunter, and much more to home consoles is back “with a bold vision aimed at revitalizing the gaming landscape.”
Legendary Pro Wrestler Jeff Jarrett & Alex Josef Team Up To Bring Acclaim Back
Video game industry vets, including former WWE superstar Jeff Jarrett, have decided to revive Acclaim Entertainment for the new generation of home console owners.
“For more than three decades, I’ve had the privilege to have been a part of both the wrestling and gaming universes, and I’m thrilled to now be a partner in the revival of Acclaim, an iconic publisher known for releasing some of the most legendary games of the ’80s and ’90s,” said Jarrett. “From my early involvement with the publisher’s hit 16-bit WWF titles to my experience helping shape the TNA Wrestling series, which spawned the first video game wrestler to become a full-time roster member in the Squared Circle, I’ve seen firsthand the type of impact great games can have on players and fans. Resurrecting Acclaim is an opportunity to impart the same degree of passion and love to a new generation, and I’m excited to be involved.”
Alex Josef will use his over two decades of experience marketing and publishing PC, console and mobile games to help Acclaim usher in a new era of greatness as its CEO.
“It’s an absolute honor and pleasure to be leading the charge in bringing Acclaim back to the forefront of the games industry,” said Alex Josef, CEO, “We’re fortunate that we have an extremely talented team and that we’ve already signed some incredible indie titles, which we’ll be revealing soon.”
According to a press release, the company will also revitalize its portfolio of classic game titles.
Per Acclaim:
One of the key goals for the relaunched Acclaim is to resurrect and revitalize its beloved portfolio of classic IP enjoyed for years by millions of players. To ensure this vision comes to life, Acclaim has assembled an advisory board comprised of esteemed industry leaders, including Russell Binder at Striker Entertainment, Mark Caplan at Ridge Partners and Jeff Jarrett at Global Force Entertainment. Their vast experience and invaluable guidance will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Acclaim’s classic franchises and innovative ventures.
Acclaim’s growth strategy is further supported by key partners Phil Toronto, Partner at VaynerFund, and Eric Vogel, Partner at JET Management. Their expertise in investment and management will help foster an environment ripe for nurturing independent developers and driving long-term success alongside the advisory board’s leadership.
We are intrigued to see what Acclaim cooks up in its return.
Vermillio, an AI licensing and protection platform, raised $16 million in Series A funding led by Sony Music and DNS Capital, the company announced on Monday (March 3). This marks the first time Sony Music has invested in an AI music company.
Sony Music’s relationship with Vermillio dates back to 2023, when the two companies collaborated on a project for The Orb and David Gilmour. Through the partnership, fans could use Vermillio’s proprietary AI tech to create personalized remixes of the acts’ 2010 ambient album Metallic Spheres.
According to a press release, Vermillio plans to use the funds to scale operations and “continue building out solutions for a generative AI internet that enables talent, studios, record labels, and more to protect and monetize their content.”
Trending on Billboard
Vermillio’s goal is to create an AI platform that securely licenses intellectual property (IP). One of its core products is TraceID, which provides protection and third-party attribution for artists. Through it, the company claims artists and rights holders can control their data and AI rights.
Apart from its collaboration with Sony Music for the AI remix project, Vermillio has also worked with top talent agency WME to shield its clients from IP theft and find opportunities to monetize their name, image and likeness rights by licensing their data. Sony Pictures also worked with Vermillio to create an AI engine that allowed fans to make their own unique digital avatars in the style of Spider-Verse animation. Each of the fan generations were then tracked using TraceID so that all works could be tied back to the filmmakers’ original IP.
“We are setting a new standard for AI licensing — one that proactively enables consent, credit, and compensation for innovative opportunities,” said Dan Neely, co-founder/CEO of Vermillio, in a statement. “With the support of an innovation leader like Sony Music, Vermillio will continue building our products that ensure generative AI is utilized ethically and securely. At this critical moment in determining the future of AI and how to hold platforms accountable, we are proud to protect the world’s most beloved content and talent.”
“Sony Music is focused on developing responsible generative AI use cases that enhance the creativity and goals of our talent, protect their work, excite fans, and create new commercial possibilities,” added Dennis Kooker, president of global digital business at Sony Music Entertainment. “Dan Neely and the team at Vermillio share our vision that prioritizing proper consent, clear attribution and appropriate compensation for professional creators is foundational to unlocking monetization opportunities in this space. We look forward to expanding our successful collaboration with them as we work to support the growth of trusted platforms by enabling secure AI solutions that are mutually beneficial for technology innovators, artists and rightsholders.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Elon MuskWell this doesn’t sound efficient at all. The New York Times reports Elon Musk is definitely getting in gaming time while at his DOGE office.
DOGE is laying off federal workers nationwide to “cut costs” and “shrink government.” While this is happening, Elon Musk, who is in charge or isn’t, depending on who you ask, of the temporary department Trump made a reality via an executive order, is still making sure he is playing Diablo IV, Path of Exile 2, or whatever other game he is cheating at.
According to the New York Times, Musk originally planned to work out of the West Wing in the White House, but found the accommodations unfitting for a rich bozo such as himself referring to it as a “hovel,” decided to set up his gaming rig in the Secretary of War Suite in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the street.
“He installed a gaming computer with a giant, curved screen and blinking LED lights, and decorated his desk with a DOGE sign and a MAGA hat,” The New York Times reports. “He also had a DOGE T-shirt emblazoned with a quote from one of his favorite movies, Office Space: ‘What would you say you do here?”
Elon Musk’s Gaming Rig Looks Cheap
Musk’s gaming setup is getting clowned on BlueSky with one person calling out his “appalling cable management,” his curved monitor and the missing period at the end of his “D.O.G.E” sign.
Like his behavior and style, his gaming setup screams tacky, and he seems to be playing it very cheap with his rig. We guess that’s him being efficient with his money because this whole operation he has going on is anything but that.
We wonder how those federal workers who lost their jobs over the last two months feel about two billionaires firing them. One pretending to be president chills at his lame golf club and golfs after throwing a temper tantrum in the Oval Office, while the proxy president, Elon Musk, plays video games on company time and ruins people’s lives.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Google / Pixel Watch 3
We truly appreciate it when a wearable has a function that could improve or save our lives. Case in point, Google’s Pixel Watch 3 has finally gotten FDA clearance for a first-of-its-kind loss-of-pulse feature.
Earlier this week, the FDA gave Google the green light to roll out the new loss-of-pulse feature on the Pixel Watch 3. As of Fall 2024, the feature is already available in the EU.
According to Google, the opt-in feature can “detect loss of pulse and prompt a call to emergency services to provide care if you are unresponsive,” turning your or your loved one’s Pixel Watch 3 into a potential lifesaving device.
Google says the feature will begin rolling out in the coming weeks.
Per the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation website, out-of-hospital-cardiac arrests account for nearly 356,000 deaths each year in the U.S., the rollout of the loss-of-pulse feature onto wearables could significantly reduce that number.
Loss of Pulse Detection is the latest addition to potentially lifesaving tools from Google. Here is how it all came together:
Powered by a multi-check, AI-based algorithm and the multipath heart rate sensor in Pixel Watch 3, the feature can identify a potential loss of pulse and prompt a call to emergency services if the user is unresponsive.
Google rigorously tested the algorithm over hundreds of thousands of hours of data to strike the right balance between sensitivity to an event and reducing the number of potential false notifications to emergency services.
They also collaborated with a diverse range of experts, from cardiologists and global resuscitation authorities to frontline EMS professionals, including dispatchers and paramedics, to ensure effectiveness and real-world applicability.
The Pixel Watch 3 is now available for $349.99 and comes in four color options. You can purchase one here.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Skype
Do you remember Skype? We are sure not many of you do, but it was once the most popular way people conducted free video chats with each other before Zoom and other apps came along. For those who do, we are sad to announce that Microsoft has decided to retire it.
Microsoft, which acquired the free video calling service for an eye-watering $8.5 billion in 2011, announced via a post on X, formerly Twitter, that it is sunsetting Skype and telling users to migrate to a free version of Microsoft Teams.
Since its inception, Skype has gone from being a platform for video calling that was so popular that it became a verb to now being a relic of the tech past thanks to the arrival of FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom, and Slack.
In a blog post, Microsoft said the decision to kill Skype was “to streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs.”
Speaking to CNBC about Skype, Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 360 apps and platforms said that the company “learned a lot from Skype over the years. … But we felt like now is the time because we can be simpler for the market, for our customer base, and we can deliver more innovation faster just by being focused on Teams.”
Social Media Thinks Skype Fumbled The Bag Epically
The reactions to the news aren’t surprising. Many believe that Microsoft let Zoom and other clients steal its thunder, especially during the pandemic when video chatting was a necessity for social distancing.
“Skype had a 17 year headstart and cracked under pressure in 2020,” one user on X, formerly Twitter wrote.
Another user noted Skype’s importance to older people because it’s all they know and migrating to a new service could be a headache for them.
“This is shocking,” another user named Maphry wrote in a post on X. “There are so many elderly who are not happy to change technologies anymore, but are used to this one over decades to keep in touch with their loved ones. It will require a lot of effort (usually by their families) to bring them over to alternatives.”
No lies detected.
Welp, Skype had a good run, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
Amazon has partnered with AI music company Suno for a new integration with its voice assistant Alexa, allowing users to generate AI songs on command using voice prompts. This is part of a much larger rollout of new features for a “next generation” Alexa, dubbed Alexa+, powered by AI technology.
“Using Alexa’s integration with Suno, you can turn simple, creative requests into complete songs, including vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation. Looking to delight your partner with a personalized song for their birthday based on their love of cats, or surprise your kid by creating a rap using their favorite cartoon characters? Alexa+ has you covered,” says an Amazon blog post, posted Wednesday (Feb. 26).
Other new Alexa+ features include new voice filters, image generation, smart home operation, Uber booking and more. It also includes an integration with Ticketmaster to “find you the best tickets to an upcoming basketball game or to the concert you’ve been dying to go to,” according to the blog post.
Trending on Billboard
Suno is known to be one of the most powerful AI music models on the market, able to generate realistic lyrics, vocals and instrumentals at the click of a button. However, the company has come under scrutiny by the music business establishment for its training practices. Spearheaded by the RIAA, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group came together last summer to sue Suno and its rival Udio, accusing the AI music company of copyright infringement “on an almost unimaginable scale.” At the time, neither AI company had admitted to training on copyrighted material.
In a later filing, Suno admitted that “it is no secret that the tens of millions of recordings that Suno’s model was trained on presumably included recordings whose rights are owned by the Plaintiffs in this case.” Its CEO, Mikey Shulman, added in a blog post that same day, “We see this as early but promising progress. Major record labels see this vision as a threat to their business. Each and every time there’s been innovation in music… the record labels have attempted to limit progress,” adding that Suno felt the lawsuit was “fundamentally flawed” and that “learning is not infringing.”
More recently, German collection society GEMA also took legal action against Suno in a case filed Jan. 21 in Munich Regional Court.
Still, a couple of music makers have sided with Suno. In October, Timbaland was announced as a strategic advisor for the AI music company, assisting in “creative direction” and “day-to-day product development.” Electronic artist and entrepreneur 3LAU has also been named as an advisor to the company.
News of Amazon’s deal with Suno comes just months after its streaming service, Amazon Music, was commended by the National Music Publishers’ Association for finding a way to add audiobooks to its “Unlimited” subscription tier in the U.S. without “decreas[ing] revenue for songwriters” — a contrast to Spotify, which decreased payments to U.S. publishers by about 40% when it added audiobooks to its premium tier.
