US companies are discussing cost cuts and AI like never before

Pokemon fans are speculating which time period Pokemon Legends Z-A will be based on, and there are some pretty compelling theories out there.

Nintendo is said to have delayed the launch of its next-generation console, the successor to the Nintendo Switch. Reports last week claimed that the company was advising game publishers that the Nintendo Switch 2 would be delayed until the early months of 2025. A new report now claims that the Switch successor will be released in March 2025. The Nintendo Switch is now almost seven years old, and a follow-up console was initially expected to launch later this year in the holiday season.

Kevin Costner could have phoned it in. Yellowstone, TV maven Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western melodrama Paramount Network, was riding high in the ratings going into 2023, and Costner had a strong platform in the leading role. But during negotiations for season 6, the 69-year-old actor walked away. He had other dreams: specifically, directing a four-part Western epic titled Horizon. Costner has blamed creative differences with Paramount and Sheridan over reported flaring tensions on the Yellowstone set, but ultimately, as he said in a recent divorce proceeding, he left over scheduling conflicts — with his own movie. (Next time you don’t want to follow through on previously made plans, feel free to use this same excuse.)

Elden Ring director and FromSoftware studio head Hidetaka Miyazaki has commented on the "Souls series" and "SoulsBorne" monikers for the developer's games.

Artificial intelligence experts and industry executives, including one of the technology's trailblazers Yoshua Bengio, have signed an open letter calling for more regulation around the creation of deepfakes, citing potential risks to society. 

Pentiment and Grounded have both been confirmed for a Nintendo Switch launch.

 Tinder is expanding its identity verification program at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) can make it hard to tell who's real and crime is rising on dating apps. Tinder, the world's most popular dating platform, is rolling out the system in the US, the UK, Brazil and Mexico over the coming weeks and months. It's already been testing the feature in Australia and New Zealand, where people who had been verified saw a 67% increase in matches compared to those who didn't, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. 

I was already on board with Sand Land's beautiful open world, based on the relatively obscure manga from Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. Cynics might point to Bandai Namco precedent and say Sand Land is on track to be yet another middling adaptation appealing only to hardcore fans, ala Dragon Ball Kakarot, but I personally gravitate to the almost comfortable consistency in the publisher's vibrant worlds and simple but satisfying gameplay.

If you are battling a video game goblin who speaks with a Cockney accent, or asking a gruff Scottish blacksmith to forge a virtual sword, you might be hearing the voice of actor Andy Magee.

If you can believe it, Skull and Bones is actually here. The Ubisoft live service project, which had been hit with so many delays over the years, is playable right now on PS5. The question, then, is whether you're eyeing the open waters yourself.

Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, is reportedly trying to find up to US$7 trillion of investment to manufacture the enormous volumes of computer chips he believes the world needs to run artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Google India head Sanjay Gupta sees AI as India's economic 'FASTag' for growth and accessibility; India a key player in responsible AI revolution, emphasises need for swift advancement, says IBM's Sandip Patel; AI avatars could replace employees in meetings, says Otter CEO; Rise of deepfake advertising raises concerns over celebrity endorsement scams- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.