Sean is a senior editor at The Verge, a very good website he helped found in 2011. He thrives at the intersection of gaming, technology, and toys, with a side of consumer advocacy because companies just can’t help themselves, can they? Sean previously led breaking news teams at The Verge and CNET and the reviews program at Gizmodo. He also has that voice. (Contact me securely at Signal by tapping here.) Ethics statement, June 2023: Sean’s wife is employed by Apple as a video producer. He therefore does not currently report or edit stories about Apple products or Apple as a company.
Late yesterday, I laid out five ways Microsoft can try to make lemonade out of RAMageddon, but one feels likelier to me now readers have weighed in: the cell phone subsidy model. In the K-shaped economy, wealthier buyers could buy an “unlocked” Xbox, but most could get it “free” with 36-month (or longer!) subscription.
But I also think many will reject that and stick with what they already have.
If you’ve got one of the Microsoft/Asus collab handhelds, let me know if this is game-changing? You can find the update in Command Center > Armory Crate SE > Update Center > Preview Updates. Asus does warn “it may still contain bugs or instability, designed for those who can’t live without the latest and greatest.”
As PCMag notes, Taiwan’s MSI has gotten conditional approval to bring two specific routers into the United States, pending certification: the Radix GRBE94 and GRBE34, which’ll likely have friendlier names when they go on sale. Netgear and Asus inexplicably got blanket approvals for all new routers earlier this year, while TP-Link is fighting for its Wi-Fi 8 ones.
I feel like this is not how we would learn about such a thing — maybe he meant to say “Half-Life Alyx” — but you never know. Last year, Tyler McVicker (below) suggested the entire game was already playable end-to-end. Sounds like he’ll have extra scuttlebutt to share soon!
I just left two prize packages with FedEx today, and yet I’ve still got plenty more in the Today I’m Toying With giveaway! I start a new giveaway each Wednesday, each runs for one week, and you can enter every week — as long as you do before each deadline of 9AM ET Wednesday. We’re now on Giveaway #17. Tell a friend!
This is so rad — and if you have a Quest 3 or 3S and a copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee (1.02), you can try it too. It’s called Xelee, and yes, the mixed reality part is AI-coded: “Claude wrote every line of code.” The game part is from the Melee decompilation, though. I hope game companies are paying attention to the possibilities in this brave new world!
