248 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Sean Hollister

Sean Hollister

Senior Editor

Senior Editor

    More From Sean Hollister

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    I’m slightly pissed at NACS.

    My heart was set on a Hyundai Ioniq 5 this year. But it looks like the industry may turn against its industry-standard CCS charging plug — in favor of Tesla’s fake-it-till-you-make-it “North American Charging Standard,” aka NACS. Ford is switching, Hyundai is considering it, and just today Polestar and Electrify America joined the Tesla bandwagon.

    The Ioniq would be a $50K investment — I didn’t have range anxiety about that before, but I do now! Yes, CCS will be around for a while yet, but I’m still annoyed that today’s non-Tesla EVs no longer look futureproof.

    All the news about EV charging in the US

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Just updated my ROG Ally performance story because I’m still seeing the gap.

    If you’re relying on the original May reviews of the ROG Ally for your purchasing decision, you should know that those reviewers didn’t get final hardware and software. I’m still seeing lower performance today with my retail unit than I did with my original review unit, despite Asus’ new statement and AMD’s graphic driver hotfix.

    Could be a bad unit. But I’m not the only one who saw the dip.

    Asus says ROG Ally performance gap shouldn’t exist — but I’m still seeing it

    Sean Hollister
    Asus says ROG Ally performance gap shouldn’t exist — but I’m still seeing itAsus says ROG Ally performance gap shouldn’t exist — but I’m still seeing it
    Nvidia RTX 4060 review roundup: you deserve betterNvidia RTX 4060 review roundup: you deserve better
    Sony’s confidential PlayStation secrets just spilled because of a SharpieSony’s confidential PlayStation secrets just spilled because of a Sharpie
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Sony believes nearly half of PS5 owners also have a Nintendo Switch.

    Sony doesn’t see the Nintendo Switch as a competitor, and PlayStation boss Jim Ryan’s poorly redacted letter shows us another reason why:

    According to SIE internal surveys, almost half of PlayStation 5 owners in the United States also own a Nintendo Switch, while less than 20% of PlayStation 5 owners in the United States also own an Xbox Series X or S.

    The FTC and Microsoft have continually been arguing over whether the Switch is a competitor during the courtroom battle.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Sony accidentally revealed how much money Call of Duty is worth to PlayStation.

    We knew it was over a billion dollars, but PlayStation boss Jim Ryan’s unredacted letter suggests CoD represented $800 million in PlayStation revenue in the United States alone, and — I think that says $1.5 billion, right? — worldwide. (That’s in 2021 specifically.)

    Those players represent way more money to Sony than that, though: Ryan says CoD players spend (what looks to me like) $15.9 billion per year, on average, on everything else they buy.

    Then again, some PlayStation gamers play nothing but CoD, we just learned.

    Image: Sony
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    1 million PlayStation gamers play nothing but Call of Duty.

    That’s according to Sony gaming boss Jim Ryan, whose redacted letter to the FTC wasn’t redacted all that well...

    Here’s what my elf eyes see in the text:

    In 2021, over [14?] million users (by device) spent 30 percent or more of their time playing Call of Duty, over 6 million users spent more than 70% of their time on Call of Duty, and about 1 million users spent 100% of their gaming time on Call of Duty. In 2021, Call of Duty players spent an average of [116?] hours per year playing Call of Duty. Call of Duty players spending more than 70 percent of their time on Call of Duty spent an average of 296 hours on the franchise.

    So yeah, Sony certainly would miss out on some some console/subscription sales if CoD someday becomes Xbox exclusive.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Sony says only one more Call of Duty game was guaranteed to come to PlayStation.

    We knew that Sony’s marketing deal with Activision expired in 2024, but that apparently doesn’t include a 2024 installment of CoD.

    “[T]he last game covered by the contract is a Call of Duty title to be released in late 2023,” reads part of a letter from PlayStation boss Jim Ryan that someone didn’t properly redact.

    Still, Activision reportedly planned to bring CoD games to PlayStation with or without the contract, and Microsoft has repeatedly promised the same.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Guess how much Sony paid to make Horizon Forbidden West and The Last of Us Part II?

    A big letter from Sony president Jim Ryan to the FTC wasn’t redacted properly, and we’ve been furiously hunting for secrets! First up: Horizon Forbidden West apparently cost $212 million over five years with 300 employees.

    The Last of Us Part II: $220 million for some 200 employees, if we’re reading right. Development started in 2014 right after the original game was released, though that was already public info.

    Image: Sony

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