Gaming in Hong Kong. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Developer Zen Studios has announced that a new table is on its way to the long-running digital arcade. The new table launches as DLC on March 16.

As the only British baseball fan on Planet Earth, I had one simple mission when I first arrived in Taipei: to choose a local team to support. Taiwan is infatuated with America’s former favourite pastime, and it’s even dedicated a spot on its $1,000 note to a celebrating squad. After much deliberation, I settled on the Rakuten Monkeys for one rather simple, primitive reason: they’d just signed Korean cheerleader Lee Dahye.

The gaming tech universe is incredibly competitive these days, but there’s always room for new and innovative entries from creators around the world. Hong Kong-based PB Tails are entering the controller arena with the Crush, a Bluetooth 5.0 enabled pad compatible with PC, Switch, iOS and Android. Fully customisable, it boasts Hall Effect sticks and triggers which will last you well into the next generation.

Possible specifications of Intel's next-gen Granite Rapids-AP "Xeon 6" CPUs with up to 128 P-Cores have been leaked.

Metaphor ReFantazio is getting a big livestream event next week.

According to a well-known Sega leaker, Atlus' upcoming Metaphor: ReFantazio is on track for release later this Fall with no delays. Metaphor: ReFantazio is a brand-new IP from Atlus, having a lot of the same staff who previously worked on the developer's Persona series in charge of the game. Unlike the Persona series, which is an urban fantasy RPG series, Metaphor: ReFantazio has a more traditional high-fantasy setting. While Metaphor: ReFantazio's gameplay loop is different than Persona's, they both share the same DNA by retaining a lot of social simulation and dungeon-crawling elements.

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4090 witnessed a sales ban in China, but who will be responsible for the RMA requests of existing units? Well, we do have an answer now.

Hong Kong actor and stuntman Jackie Chan has revolutionized the action film genre by utilizing his acrobatic slapstick fighting techniques. On April 7, he just turned 70. After a photo showed the Rush Hour actor gray-haired, Chan assures his fans, “Don’t worry!” about any health concerns.

Persona 5: The Phantom X is about to steal your heart – and your free time – with its release on April 18th. Persona 5: The Phantom X, developed by Black Wing Game Studio and distributed by Perfect World Games under ATLUS, is based around the Persona 5 universe, but goes its own way. Both veterans and beginners can explore a distinct Persona 5 chronology and perspective with new characters and a new storyline.

Blockbuster action comedies are in a bit of a rough spot in modern Hollywood. (Fingers crossed that The Fall Guyrights the ship!) It can seem like the only options these days are quip-filled MCU movies, where the comedy potential is limited by some inevitable impending apocalypse; quip-filled MCU derivatives; or bleak action comedies where the humor is mostly dark and cruel. But there is another way: the way of the Baby Assassins.

The latest update to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service has added the classic Game Boy Advance game F-Zero: Maximum Velocity to the list of playable titles. The Nintendo Switch Online subscription service gives subscribers access to a wide range of classic Nintendo games from a variety of console generations. Some of these games are available to all Nintendo Switch Online subscribers regardless of tier, while some require the Expansion Pack.

The involvement of Oscar-winning actor Will Smith could not save Undawn from a disastrous first year. Following its release in 2023, the game has seen some mainstream popularity among casual and competitive players, but isn't making the profits that it needs.

Hero Quest: Idle RPG War Games is a new title that has been launched on Android. Published by Fansipan Limited, it’s free to play. Fansipan is a Hong Kong-based game developing company known for other popular titles like Monster Slayer: Idle RPG War, Stickman Survival: War Games and Family Farming: My Island Life.

In an interesting turn of events, Apple is reportedly in talks with Google over the use of its Large Language Model (LLM) Gemini for powering artificial intelligence (AI) features on the iPhone. This development comes just days after the iPhone maker allegedly bought Canadian AI startup DarwinAI ahead of the reveal of iOS 18 in the summer which is reported to bring big AI features to the iPhone.

Office ergonomics became a really important factor when everyone started work from home during the pandemic. Even the most careless people I knew invested in laptop risers or stands and wireless mice (along with basic keyboards) to reduce neck strain. And since many of us are still working remotely or from home, we often seek the best possible hardware to make our work lives a lot easier. And this is not just limited to your desk and chair, but extends to what's on your desk as well. There are several types of ergonomic mice available, and even several regular ergonomic keyboards. Most of these go with a bulge or a wave in the centre with the typical scissor switches and the usual key layout, which does not require one to relearn finger positioning making them quite easy to use and adapt.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown publisher Nacon and developer KT Racing have been releasing a number of videos over the past couple of months highlighting the various playstyles in the game, such as The Cruiser and The Racer, and now we’ve got a look another playstyle in The Explorer.

You’ll need to be connected to the Internet to enjoy Nacon’s upcoming social racer Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown. This brand-new trailer, which shows the off-road areas of Hong Kong Island, demonstrates the breadth of experiences available in the upcoming game – and it also showcases its MMO aspects, which have been a big part of the property in the past.

Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown looks promising, but it comes with a downside that may turn away interested players, and that's an always-online requirement. Solar Crown is anupcoming racing game with a focus on its multiplayer sandbox. Slated for a 2024 release, the game leans into its branding not only as a racer but as a lifestyle experience, allowing players to explore the lush nature of Hong Kong Island, complete with offroad driving, at 1:1 scale to the real-world location.

A potential Metaphor: ReFantazio release date has leaked online, with a recently surfaced retailer listing suggesting the game could hit the market on October 12. However, some circumstantial evidence raises the possibility of the upcoming fantasy RPG from Persona developer Atlus releasing a day earlier.

Midori has shared a new rumor, and reinforced an older one, for Metaphor ReFantazio.

Numerous delays over the last couple of years have made the long wait for the next Test Drive Unlimited game seem even longer, but at the very least, publisher Nacon has been showing off gameplay footage with some regularity.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is all about decadence and riding slick cars around its urban Hong Kong environment, or, at least, that’s what it’s mostly about. There actually is a more wild side to Hong Kong and during today’s Nacon Connect showcase we got a new trailer for Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown which shows off the game’s grittier offroad side and some of its heavier vehicles, including trucks, SUVs, and more. Check out the trailer for yourself, below.

KT Racing has released a new trailer for Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, diving into the off-road racing and driving that will be possible when players explore the game’s recreation of Hong Kong Island. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2024.

Nacon has seemingly delayed Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown again.

While Atlus has seen its fastest-selling game ever in Persona 3 Reload, it has another heavy-hitter this year with Studio Zero’s Metaphor: ReFantazio. It’s available to wishlist in certain regions on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store (as noted by Gematsu on Twitter), and there are new details on what players can expect.

February is coming to a close, and while the leap year makes it a slightly longer one, there’s still just barely enough time to watch all the great movies leaving streaming services at the end of the month.

A Chinese tech security firm was able to breach foreign governments, infiltrate social media accounts and hack personal computers, a massive data leak analysed by experts this week revealed.

Netflix sounds warning on generative AI's threat to operations and competition; Microsoft's AI for Good initiative targets India's linguistic diversity; Opera unveils AI-powered 'Opera One' browser for iOS following Apple's DMA update in Europe; Amitabh Bachchan cautions against AI face mapping threat in film industry- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

This weekend sees another bumper crop of new movies and shows arriving on streaming, so there's never been a better time to hunker down in front of the TV. First up, Second World War drama Masters of the Air kicks off on Apple TV Plus, featuring Austin Butler swapping Graceland for the cockpit, while new crime series Griselda hits Netflix. Elsewhere, The Farewell director Lulu Wang's new series Expats, starring Nicole Kidman, arrives on Prime Video, a prequel to Jonathan Glazer's Sexy Beast is now streaming on Paramount Plus, and the Queer Eye gang is back for an eighth season on Netflix. 

Could a ChatGPT-style artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot be on the cards for Apple? A new report suggests so! The Cupertino-based tech giant has long been reported to be working on AI tech that it could incorporate into its suite of products such as the iPhone. A report last year even stated that Apple was developing its Large Language Model (LLM), dubbed as AppleGPT. Now, it is being suggested the tech giant will likely make an AI push this year with iOS 18 featuring the next-generation Siri and it will be powered by an AI chatbot. Know what's coming.

We’ve almost done it, everyone. January — the hardest month — is almost done. But before it is, we’ve got a lot of TV to watch.

2023 wasn’t a banner year for sports or racing games, although it did serve up some solid efforts in the form of the new Forza Motorsport, MLB The Show 23, and more. Will 2024 be a better year? That remains to be seen. It’s always hard to predict what the annualized sports titles will deliver, but we do know the TopSpin franchise is returning, and I’d like to see what MLB The Show 24 pitches us after last year’s addition of the exciting new historical Storylines mode. Lace ‘em and/or gas ‘em up, it’s time for Wccftech’s Most Anticipated Sports and Racing Games of 2024…

The Chinese Communist Party—who had taken aim at free-to-play monetisation schemes just before the holidays—softened its stance. This was after "nearly $80 billion in market value" bled from Tencent (League of Legends) and NetEase (Diablo: Immortal). 

 Ant Group Co. finished a procedure to remove controlling stakeholders almost a year after billionaire Jack Ma promised to cede his dominance of the Chinese finance giant. As part of the process, the People's Bank of China granted an application to remove any controlling shareholders at Ant's Chinese payment platform Alipay, according to a statement from the central bank. The bank now lists Ant's Alipay as a firm without an actual controller. 

Today, December 26, is the day after Christmas, also known as Boxing Day. As Businesses open again and people return to work, we have new artificial intelligence developments to report on. At first, a Nasscom survey found that the majority of Indian businesses have reported having either matured Responsible AI (RAI) practices and policies or having initiated formal steps towards the adoption of such responsible practices. In other news, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have run tests and found that doctors can more efficiently catch cancer-causing tumors during colonoscopy with the help of AI. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

 China approved 105 domestic games on Monday, the latest indication that Beijing is softening its stance after its move to tighten industry restrictions led to a $80 billion rout last week. The titles included those operated by Tencent Holdings Ltd. and NetEase Inc., China's two leading game publishers that have been pummeled by Beijing's new rules. Monday's approvals show the Chinese authorities support the development of online gaming, an industry association said in a post on WeChat republished by the official Xinhua news agency. 

It’s Christmas Eve, and that means that children and gamers alike will be spending a lot of the day dreaming of what games will appear under a tree tomorrow morning, but Most Wanted looks a bit further afield than the next 24 hours. We’re dreaming of 2024 and all the gaming delight that await when we don’t have twinkly trees in the living room.

Regulators in China announced on Friday a wide range of rules aimed at curbing spending and rewards that encourage video games, dealing a blow to the world's biggest games market, which returned to growth this year.

There may not be a single movie more influential than Seven Samurai, and for good reason. Akira Kurosawa’s epic tale of a group of warriors hired by a village to protect them from bandits is so consequential in the history of global cinema that it’s impossible to fully track all the movies and shows that stem from it.

China today announced a series of planned restrictions on video game monetization and engagement tactics, according to Reuters.

Regulators of the Chinese Communist Party have come down hard on several key pieces in the live service model, leading to spiralling shares for major players in the market as investors scramble to assess the damage.

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Arkane Lyon looks to be building Marvel’s Blade on the same game engine as Deathloop’s.

The founder of leading Chinese AI firm SenseTime and an influential computer scientist has suddenly passed away, the company said in a statement Saturday. "It is with an extremely heavy heart that we announce to everyone the sorrowful news: Our beloved founder... Tang Xiao'ou, due to illness that could not be treated, left us forever at 23:45 on December 15, 2023," SenseTime said in an online post.

A new trailer has just emerged for Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown, and it's probably the game's best showing so far. The Hong Kong-set open world racer has been a long time coming, and it finally looks like it's ready for the road.

Various Chinese smartphone makers will eventually move out of the local market and turn their attention overseas, starting with Europe, and many of these flagships feature MediaTek’s latest and greatest Dimensity 9300. With these launches, we can expect some heated competition for Apple and Qualcomm, as these handsets are not only attempting to take away the brand’s market share but also MediaTek’s aim to take away the chip dominance of its competitors.

After its debut in Vivo's home market, the company's camera-centric flagships have now been announced for the global market. This would mainly include Europe and Southeast Asian markets, where the company has a noticeable presence. Vivo has announced both its X100 Pro and the X100 for global markets, and they both pack in some interesting specifications. Both smartphones will compete with the likes of Samsung's Galaxy S23 series and the upcoming Galaxy S24 series, which is set to debut in January 2024.

Grand Theft Auto V leads the pack of new titles coming to the PlayStation Plus Extra and Deluxe/ Premium game catalog, this month. Starting December 19, all higher-tier PS Plus members can hop back into the lively city of Los Santos and experience a tale of perilous heists and betrayal as a street hustler, a retired bank robber, and an impulsive criminal's lives become intertwined in a twisted odyssey. While the game has been out for quite some time now, this addition perfectly lines up with the new GTA Online update ‘The Chop Shop,' which brings a salvage yard and drift racing into the mix. GTA V will be available to play on both PS4 and PS5.

Sony's final PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium catalogue additions for 2023 have now been revealed, with next Tuesday, 19th December introducing the likes of Grand Theft Auto 5, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and MotoGP 23.

Sony has announced the next wave of titles coming to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers starting December 19th. PS4 and PS5 players can play Grand Theft Auto 5, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, Moto GP23, Metal: Hellsinger (with PS4 owners able to download the PS5 version), Salt and Sacrifice and Moonscars.

KT Racing’s Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is out in 2024 and takes the series to Hong Kong Island. A new trailer showcases the racing experience as players barrel through the streets in supercars and even challenge others to races on the fly. Though it’s in-engine, the visuals look stunning. Check it out below.

Gigabyte has finally launched a PCIe network expansion card, featuring support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 standards.

Today, December 6, was a very important day for the artificial intelligence space. Google has introduced its most advanced artificial intelligence model, a technology capable of crunching different forms of information such as video, audio, and text, called Gemini AI. The company claims that the multimodal AI model is its largest one yet. In other news, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview that he feels achieving AI safety is a reachable goal. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

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It's the first day of the last month of 2023, and we might be in for an exciting period in artificial intelligence space as companies continue developing this technology while protest groups keep highlighting its dangers. In the first news, Meta executives said that they found no downside to openly sharing its AI technology. This comes as the tech company keeps releasing open-source versions of its large language models. In other news, a group of visual artists has filed an amended lawsuit against text-to-image generating AI models after a US district judge dismissed parts of the lawsuit last month. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

Premium Hong Kong watchmaker Anicorn is selling a set of Sega Mega Drive and Genesis watches for $800 each.

At this year's New York Times Dealbook Summit, essentially a series of interviews with mega-wealthy CEOs, Jen-Hsun Huang of Nvidia was asked about why he constantly feels that his company may one day bite the dust. «I don't think people are trying to put me out of business—I probably know they're trying to,» he said. «I live in this condition where we're partly desperate, partly aspirational.»

In 2002, Infernal Affairs paired Hong Kong stars Tony Leung and Andy Lau for a critically acclaimed seedy cop thriller about two moles trying to find each other out. In 2006, Martin Scorsese remade the film as The Departed, winning the director his first (and thus far, only) Academy Award, and beginning a never-ending debate over which movie was better. (Both rule.)

The 2023 MAMA Awards, or Mnet Asian Music Awards, will take place this month at Japan’s Tokyo Dome. It will be a two-day event, where K-pop artists like ENHYPEN, Street Woman Fighter 2, TVXQ, ATEEZ, SEVENTEEN, ZEROBASEONE, and (G)I-DLE will perform.

In a surprising move, China has delayed the launch of its highly anticipated Xuntian Space Telescope, reshaping the international competition to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. Originally scheduled for liftoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China by the end of this year, Xuntian is now set for a mid-2025 launch. The postponement puts it in direct competition with the European Space Agency's Euclid and NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Samsung Foundry has seemingly secured orders from major companies including AMD & Tesla, as per a report from Korean outlet, Fnnews.

Thanks to an ongoing promotion with Monster Energy, players can receive exclusive in-game rewards by buying energy drink cans. During the promotional period, some Monster Energy drinks will have codes on their tabs. Players can head online to redeem these codes to receive exclusive themed Operator skins and valuable double XP boosters.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the buzzword of 2023, and generative AI seems to be at the forefront of this technology. Big tech companies have been making efforts to integrate this technology into their suite of products, with Google's Pixel 8 series already featuring multiple AI features. On the other hand, Samsung's next smartphone, the Galaxy S24, could also get an AI boost. Amidst such reports, Apple is also reportedly planning to bring AI to its devices, namely the iPhone, with iOS 18. Check out all the AI features coming to iOS 18.

Steam Deck OLED, Valve's updated handheld gaming device, is launching later this week. Ahead of the Steam-powered console's release, Valve has unveiled release timings. The handheld gaming device will be available to purchase November 16 at 10am PST in the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe via the Steam store. To combat scalpers who purchase newly launched devices in bulk to resell them at a markup, the company has limited purchases so each customer can only buy one model per week. Additionally, the company has announced a limited-edition version, featuring a smoky translucent case, available for $679 (about Rs. 56,500). This is available only in the US and Canada.

Valve has revealed the time when fans can expect to purchase the Steam Deck OLED, which was recently announced for a November 16 release. The announcement came with a renewed promise to combat bots and resellers, which have been an ongoing concern amid major releases like this one.

Apple Inc.'s sales dip in China is providing an opportunity for yet another local Android smartphone maker to win favor with customers and investors. Xiaomi Corp. has gained about $20 billion in market value since a June low on excitement over its latest handset as well as as forays into electric vehicles and other businesses. The Hong Kong-listed stock rose more than 60% in that span, making it the best performer on the Hang Seng Tech Index.

Netflix has announced the release date for upcoming sci-fi thriller series 3 Body Problem alongside a brand new clip.

Yesterday, Valve revealed an OLED iteration of its Steam Deck handheld. More Steam Deck 1.5 than Steam Deck 2, the new Deck intends to further increase the momentum of the 2022 system, which has been a very strong seller for the Half-Life creator. 

Valve has introduced the Steam Deck OLED, which offers more than just a better screen. It has many other improvements over the original model, ranging from faster Wi-Fi to a bigger battery. All of that being said, it isn’t advertised as a successor, and it’s no more powerful at running games than any other Steam Deck. It’s simply a premium alternative, like the Nintendo Switch OLED is to the regular Switch. You can check out our full review on the Steam Deck OLED.

A Taoist priest grapples with a demon, using a lightning-emitting dagger to slice the chain wrapped around his neck. The succubus — who has taken the form of a beautiful human woman with a popped-out eyeball bulging out of a mass of loose brain — recoils in pain and bends down out of frame. When she snaps back up, her static-shocked hair stands on end like the quills of a porcupine. Her head then detaches itself from her neck, flies across the room, and gives a theatrical snarl.

Bored Ape Yacht Club company Yuga Labs says it is «aware of the eye-related issues» suffered by attendees of the ApeFest Hong Event that took place over the weekend, and is encouraging people experiencing symptoms «to seek medical attention just in case.»

Some visitors to a celebration in Hong Kong of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of nonfungible-tokens complained about eye problems and blamed the lighting used at the event.

Jane Wu understood the journey of a young warrior slashing her way through a male-dominated hierarchy of power. Though Amber Noizumi and Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049) co-created the new Netflix series Blue Eye Samurai, they found the hard-R animated epic’s soul in Wu, a storyboard artist, director, and martial artist whose unsung role in blockbuster action over the last 20 years made her an obvious choice to oversee the series’ direction. Blue Eye Samurai follows Mizu, a young woman of mixed race in 17th-century Japan, who masquerades as a male samurai to find four white men hiding out in the country — and the one who’s likely her father. Wu’s ascent in the action and animation industries wasn’t as bloody as Blue Eye Samurai, but it was as rigorous.

Taiko no Tatsujin RHYTHM CONNECT is now available for iOS via App Store and Android via Google Play in Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau as a free-to-play title with in-app purchases.

Even as the supercharged rally in Tesla Inc. cools on weaker sales growth, expectations are ramping up for China's top electric-vehicle maker BYD Co. thanks to record-high profits.

In a quest to expand metaverse gaming, Animoca Brands has announced the acquisition of Web3 streaming platform Azarus.

A tax that pulverized digital-asset trading in India has proved counterproductive and ought to be lowered, according to CoinDCX, a domestic exchange that was valued at over $2 billion before the levy was imposed.

We’ve played more games set in the Wild West than we can count, but we’ve never played one quite like King of the West. 

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A new class of competition is disrupting legacy media in the world's most-populous nation, leading to a second change in the ownership of a popular franchise in four years. Rupert Murdoch was the first to see the threat. Now it's Bob Iger's turn.