Connect with us

Technology

In the FTC’s antitrust complaint against Meta, Mark Zuckerberg will give testimony.

blank

Published

on

blank

In order to stop its deal to acquire “Supernatural” developer Within, the agency sued Meta in July.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, will be called to testify by the Federal Trade Commission in its planned action against the business. In an effort to prevent Facebook from acquiring Within Unlimited, the company behind the well-known VR workout program Supernatural, the FTC sued the social media giant in July.

According to Reuters, the agency cited 18 witnesses in a court filing submitted on Friday to California’s Northern District Court, including Zuckerberg and Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth. According to court filings viewed by Reuters, the FTC expects to interview Zuckerberg about Meta’s VR strategy and how the business aims to support third-party developers in addition to concerns regarding the potential acquisition.

The FTC charged the business and Zuckerberg with trying to “illegally acquire” Within in July. John Newman, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, remarked at the time, “Instead of competing on the merits, Meta is trying to buy its way to the top.”

The FTC’s complaint has been rejected by Meta, who says it is based on “idealogy and guesswork, not fact.” The case might be another expensive setback for a business that is having trouble persuading the public and Wall Street of its future plans. This week, Meta revealed that its Reality Labs VR and AR branch is losing more money than ever in its most recent quarterly report. The company lost $3.7 billion in Q3 2022. David Wehner, the organization’s departing chief financial officer, predicted the trend would last through 2023.

As Editor here at GeekReply, I'm a big fan of all things Geeky. Most of my contributions to the site are technology related, but I'm also a big fan of video games. My genres of choice include RPGs, MMOs, Grand Strategy, and Simulation. If I'm not chasing after the latest gear on my MMO of choice, I'm here at GeekReply reporting on the latest in Geek culture.

Gaming

Players of The Condition of the Outer Worlds on PS5 are requesting refunds

blank

Published

on

blank

The RPG The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition was recently published on the PS5, but even in its specialized performance mode, it performs poorly. As a result, several players have already requested refunds in threads on the game’s subreddit.

Even though problems probably aren’t to blame for the game’s performance issues, customer service has told affected players (who appear to all be PS5 users) to report bugs to the publisher, Private Division, which is having trouble.

The parent company of Private Division, Take-Two Interactive, announced layoffs on Monday, citing the need for “another long period of success” as the reason. The Twitter account for The Outer Worlds sent players looking for information to the troubled publisher, Obsidian Entertainment, which is now owned by Microsoft.

It is unknown if Sony or Private Division will offer refunds. It’s true that it’s not the complete disaster that Cyberpunk 2077 was at first, but we’ll monitor the situation as it changes. The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition on the PS5 bothered you?

Continue Reading

Gaming

Sony was worried Call of Duty on PlayStation could be ruined by Microsoft, whether they know it or not

blank

Published

on

blank

It’s time to talk about everyone’s favorite ongoing story in games: the war of words between Microsoft and Sony over Microsoft’s plan to buy publisher Activision Blizzard. In the latest turn of events, Sony has said that it is worried that, if the acquisition goes through, Microsoft could break future Call of Duty games for PlayStation, either on purpose or by accident. This could make players lose faith in the PlayStation as a place to play Call of Duty.

Eurogamer said that in a new document, Sony listed several ways it thinks Microsoft could hurt Call of Duty or “harm PlayStation’s competitiveness.” These ideas came from the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK.

Sony says that Microsoft’s options include raising the price of Call of Duty on PlayStation, lowering its quality and performance (including by ignoring DualSense-specific features), limiting or not prioritizing investment in multiplayer on PS5 or PS4, or just making the game a Game Pass exclusive.

But Sony’s accusations about technical performance parity are the worst. They say that, “For example, Microsoft could make a PlayStation version of Call of Duty where bugs and errors only show up on the last level or after later updates. Even if these problems could be found quickly, it’s likely that any fix would come too late. By then, gamers would have lost faith in the PlayStation as a place to play Call of Duty.”

Sony goes on to say that any kind of “behavioral commitment” from Microsoft “would be hard,” and it also says that Microsoft “has moved slowly, only gotten involved when they thought the regulatory outlook was getting worse, and preferred to negotiate in the media over working with SIE.”

In a statement given to Eurogamer, Microsoft answered Sony’s claims: “Since the CMA released its provisional findings, we have offered solutions that address its concerns and make the deal better for UK players and game developers. These include a promise that access to Call of Duty will be the same on both Xbox and PlayStation and a promise that Call of Duty will be available to at least 150 million more players on other consoles and cloud streaming platforms once the deal is done. Now it’s up to the CMA to decide if it will block this deal to protect Sony, which is the market leader, or if it will look for ways to get more games to more players.”

How do you feel about Sony’s fears? Would you believe that the PlayStation version of Call of Duty would be just as good as the Xbox version if Microsoft paid for it?

Continue Reading

Consoles

Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe, Collector’s Editions Play PlayStation 5 72 Hours Early

blank

Published

on

blank

In what is becoming an industry standard, gamers who buy the Deluxe or Collector’s Editions of just-announced-for-PS5 CRPG Baldur’s Gate 3 will get access to the game three days early, on August 28th instead of the 31st worldwide release.

Tempting. But what are a few more days for veterans of the ‘Gate, who have been waiting almost two decades for a sequel to Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, one of the finest RPGs ever?

So, it’s fortunate that the physical Collector’s Edition’s extras are so enticing. Those who pay £224.77, or $269.99 USD, will get early access and the following:

  • A digital copy of Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition
  • Custom sticker sheet
  • 25cm Mind Flayer vs. Drow battle diorama
  • 160-page hardcover art book
  • Cloth map of Faerûn
  • Set of D&D-inspired origin character sheets
  • Metal tadpole keyring
  • Magic: The Gathering booster pack
  • Custom-engraved metal d20, plus a
  • Certificate of authenticity

The Deluxe Edition includes 72 hours early access, a playable Bard Song Pack, In-game Dice Skins, an Adventurer’s Puch with consumables, and downloads for the soundtrack, artbook, and character sheets.

Lastly, the Collector’s and Deluxe Editions will include a Divinity: Original Sin 2 content pack.

  • Mask of the Shapeshifter: Allows you to change race and appearance on the fly, inspired by Fane
  • Cape of the Red Prince: Cloak inspired by the Red Prince
  • Lute of the Merryweather Bard: Playable instrument inspired by Lohse
  • Needle of the Outlaw Rogue: Dagger inspired by Sebille
  • Bicorne of the Sea Beast: Headgear inspired by Beast
  • Paintings from Rivellon: Discover a new collection of paintings across the Forgotten Realms

blank

We’re psyched to play Baldur’s Gate 3. Are you?

 

Continue Reading

Trending