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Source: Alex Wong / Getty / Donald Trump
Donald Trump is on a quest to make America broke again, oops we mean “wealthy again” through tariffs, but he keeps ignoring what economists are trying to get through his thick orange head, regular Americans will feel the pain through their wallets.
Felon 47, for whatever reason, is obsessed with tariffs and believes they are a great tool against our three main trade partners, Canada, China, and Mexico because he feels we are being “ripped off,” in the trade deal he negotiated during his first term.
Trump didn’t waste any time imposing a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, but he pulled some back after the stock market reacted negatively. As of this writing, the markets continue to tank due to his bonehead decision.
The Orange Menace imposed an additional 10% tariff on goods from China on top of the 10% tariff he imposed on the country in February. Analysts believe that Trump’s new round of tariffs will make video games and other electronics more expensive and push publishers to abandon physical releases.
https://x.com/ZhugeEX/status/1896897066888278262
GameRant reports that Trump’s tariffs on Mexico could make consoles like the Nintendo Switch 2 more expensive and have other negative implications.
Per GameRant:
Industry experts are particularly concerned about the ripple effects on the video games market. Mat Piscatella, Circana Executive Director and Video Game Industry Analyst, predicts a “sharp downtick” in the number of physical game releases in the United States. Much of the production infrastructure for these games is based in Mexico, and a 25% tariff would disrupt supply chains, increasing manufacturing costs. As a result, retailers may raise prices on both physical and digital games to maintain price parity. “If physical game prices go up, digital games’ MSRPs will likely follow,” Piscatella noted in a recent discussion on Bluesky. He expressed doubts about any positive outcomes for the physical game market in the near future.
Bruh.
During Trump’s first disastrous presidency, the video game industry convinced him to chill and exclude them in the tariffs he placed on Chinese goods, but he has not extended the same grace.
The ESA warned that Trump’s tariffs could significantly harm the video game industry. There are fears that Project 2025, the extreme right-wing playbook that Trump claims he knows nothing about, could somehow interfere with the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 because the language in it suggests possible censorship of games like GTA 6 due to their graphic and violent nature.
This nightmare is just beginning. Brace yourselves, it’s going to be a long four years. You can see reactions in the gallery below.
OpenPlay, the back-office technology company that Universal Music, BMG and others use to manage their catalogs, said on Tuesday it hired former Dubset Media executive Bob Barbiere to lead a new service offering.
Called OpenPlay Reach, the new offering will launch in the second quarter this year and it aims to give its thousands of label and publisher clients more control over the distribution and monetization of their catalogs, and delivery of tracks to the streaming platforms, the company says.
With more than 100,000 new tracks uploaded to music platforms every day, and video assets with music components becoming more powerful generators of streaming revenue than in recent years, managing the thousands and millions of songs major music companies and publishers have in their catalogs has never been more complicated.
Trending on Billboard
At the same time, record labels and publishers are looking to automate back-office functions to save money and focus staff resources on finding new artists and talent.
“[OpenPlay] Reach is both well-conceived and uniquely timed,” Barbiere said in a statement. “Labels and publishers are not only trying to keep up with the growing use of their catalog and rapidly expanding number of consumer touch points, they are being fiscally challenged to get more accomplished with less. While OpenPlay now powers the back office of thousands of labels and publishers, it’s been one of music’s best kept secrets. With the introduction of Reach, it will not be a secret much longer.”
OpenPlay says it not only helps clients house their catalogs, but also distribute their songs. The OpenPlay dashboard shows effectively everything Spotify, Apple Music and other digital service providers require: rights, audio information, secondary contributors, everything associated with an individual ISRC or composition, basic publishing information, lyrics, expanded metadata and more. OpenPlay’s tools also provide distribution services like creating secure, trackable playlists to send promoters, a tool that automatically creates electronic press kits, and a dashboard for label groups to approve or reject releases from across label groups.
Its clients include all the majors — Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group — as well as BMG, Concord, HYBE, Netflix, Disney Music, Big Machine, MNRK and others, according to the company.
A veteran of music technology and digital rights clearances, Barbiere previously co-founded ClearBeats, a startup aimed at solving hassles in licensing derivative works, and was an executive at Pex, which tracks music usage and modified audio. He joins OpenPlay as executive vice president and general manager of OpenPlay Reach.
OpenPlay co-founder and chief client officer Edward Ginis says the expanded new tools further “our vision to give rights owners the independence to take asset management decisions with complete control. Bob Barbiere’s leadership will be key in driving this expansion forward and ensuring that content can be managed, delivered and monetized at scale.”
New York University (NYU) and Sony Corporation have announced the launch of a new institute at the school through which students will have access to Sony audio technology, be given real-world opportunities and more.
Formally dubbed the Sony Audio Institute for Music Business and Technology, the institute will be based within NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, whose leadership and faculty co-created it alongside Sony’s personal entertainment business. Through the partnership, students enrolled in Steinhardt’s music business and music technology degree programs will have access to Sony audio technology, including 360 Reality Audio and the 360 Virtual Mixing Environment — both of which will be outfitted in the newly-named Sony Audio Institute Studio at NYU’s Brooklyn campus.
NYU’s Music and Audio Research Lab (MARL) will also receive input from Sony researchers and engineers in conducting its research on music and audio technologies. Current areas of focus at MARL include music and auditory perception and cognition; machine listening and music information retrieval; spatial and immersive audio; and music in the health and rehabilitation sciences.
Trending on Billboard
The institute will additionally offer workshops, internships and special events to students, while NYU venues “will present student-driven programming that bridges the gap between academic learning and real-world industry experiences,” offering students “a platform for hands-on innovation and collaboration,” according to a press release.
Through the institute, NYU will also establish a scholarship program to assist undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students at NYU Steinhardt “who demonstrate financial need and academic merit with a preference for students who have an interest in pursuing research or careers in the audio industry,” the release adds.
The institute, which has been established for an initial 10-year term, is set to open this spring, with NYU Steinhardt clinical professor and music industry veteran Larry S. Miller serving as inaugural director. Miller will also continue serving as the director of the music business program at NYU Steinhardt until fall 2025.
“It is an honor to establish this collaboration with New York University, one of the world’s premier music schools, renowned for its long-standing legacy of producing some of the audio industry’s top talent,” said Kimio Maki, president/CEO at Sony Corporation, in a statement. “Through this collaboration, we look forward to inspiring creativity for the next generation of music creators and witness how their artistry will influence the music industry for years to come.”
NYU president Linda G. Mills added, “We are excited and grateful that Sony has chosen NYU Steinhardt to collaborate on this important initiative, which will create new opportunities for our amazingly talented students through scholarships, internships, research fellowships, and other unrivaled experiences. This forward-looking initiative will not only create new opportunities for creative expression, it will give our students a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing industry. I’d like to thank the team at Sony and everyone at NYU who worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality.”
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Source: Nathan Stirk / Getty / X
Elon Musk is too busy firing and laying off government workers to pay attention to his crappy platform X because it was running like absolute crap on Monday.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has been down for thousands of UK and US users for a good portion of the day. Outage tracking website Downdetector.com reported more than 21,000 incidents of people in the US reporting issues with the platform during the first incident and 10,800 in the UK.
The platform reportedly returned to normal around 2:30 a.m. PT, so the outage lasted about 45 minutes in total.
X wasn’t out of the woods yet. Later in the day, around 6:45 a.m. PT, Downdetector.com reported 8,000 incidents, and the platform eventually went down again minutes later.
The last time X suffered a significant outage like this was in August 2024, with 66% of users reporting issues with the app, website, and server connections.
Since Musk reluctantly acquired the platform for $44 billion and laid off about 80% of its employees, X has been running terribly.
According to the Tesla chief, his company suffered a massive cyberattack.
“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against 𝕏. We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved,” Musk wrote on his personal X account.
Right now, Musk’s time and attention have been on his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), which has been under fire for firing thousands of government employees and shutting down government agencies like USAID as part of the Trunp administration’s efforts to cut government spending and waste. This has been nothing short of the purest of jigs.
X Users Always Deliver The Jokes When The Platform Suffers An Outage
As with every time X goes down, the reactions from users are always hilarious.
“When you think Twitter is down but you can’t go on Twitter to see if #TwitterDown is trending because Twitter is down,” one user on X wrote alongside a GIF of Chandler from the show Friends looking sad while looking out of a window.
https://x.com/jjeonghyeons/status/1899148534735147184
Currently, the platform is up and running again, but we won’t be shocked if it goes down again. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”