Gaming
Marvel’s Wolverine, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter land in Japan
A slate of major titles launches in Japan this week, including the PlayStation 5 exclusive Wolverine and the classic RPG Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter.
YESTERDAY, STILL WORTH KNOWING
Still
Crunchy.
A day of contrasts sees Apple launch new phones while AI leaders clash over regulation, and game studios experiment with both new genres and artificial intelligence.
AI Regulation and Oversight
The debate over artificial intelligence regulation took a sharp turn with Senator Bernie Sanders proposing the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act. This legislation would impose a 20-year prison sentence on developers who pursue Artificial Superintelligence, a penalty comparable to creating a rogue nuclear weapon. The bill seeks to pause advanced AI development and introduces severe legal consequences for violations. This proposal represents one of the most aggressive regulatory approaches to AI safety, potentially reshaping the global landscape for advanced AI development. The legislation was introduced alongside Senator Greg Cezar.
In a notable shift, high-profile AI leaders have publicly endorsed independent oversight. OpenAI's Sam Altman, Elon Musk and DeepMind's Demis Hassabis have backed Anthropic's Dario Amodei's proposal for independent bodies to evaluate AI safety claims. This unusual alignment suggests a growing consensus that self-regulation is insufficient. The endorsement comes as industry figures like Altman have also decided not to pursue an initial public offering this year. This divergence highlights a split between political caution and industry ambition, with US leaders arguing that slowing AI development risks losing the race to China.
Hardware and Platform Updates
Apple has launched its latest iPhone 18 and 18 Pro models alongside new AirPods and Sony headphones. The refresh positions Apple's hardware lineup against competitors in a crowded market, with a focus on AI integration to drive future growth. The company is also teasing a forthcoming AI feature called Muse, which is expected to be integrated into future devices. The new iPhones feature a refreshed design and improved camera systems. This hardware refresh comes as Apple reportedly develops two Beats-branded iPhone game controllers, signalling a push into the mobile gaming accessories market.
The hardware landscape also saw d-Matrix join NVIDIA's NVLink Fusion platform. The company will bring its next-generation XPUs to the platform, using NVIDIA CPUs, networking gear and switch trays to scale AI inference clusters. This move gives d-Matrix a standardised path to rack-scale AI inference infrastructure. Separately, a PS5 emulator called KyTyPS5 achieved a significant performance milestone for the Demon's Souls remake, jumping from 1 FPS to 30 FPS in days. This rapid progress suggests that PS5 emulation could mature much faster than initially predicted.
Gaming Developments
The gaming world saw a mix of major releases and creative reinventions. In Japan, Marvel's Wolverine for PlayStation 5 and Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter for PlayStation 5, Switch 2, Switch, and PC were released. Also launching were Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave for Switch 2 and PATLABOR the Case Files for PlayStation 5 and PC. Blizzard reinvented the classic StarCraft series as a story-driven shooter set decades after Legacy of the Void, dropping the real-time strategy roots entirely. The new StarCraft is scheduled for a spring 2030 release.
Studios also grappled with the use of artificial intelligence in game production. Level 5's CEO apologised after admitting that generative AI was used to make footage for new Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch titles look more spectacular. The studio faced criticism for inconsistencies in the game reveals. Meanwhile, a retro gaming enthusiast demonstrated Lara Croft adventuring on a humble ESP32-P4 microcontroller. This affordable device, typically costing under $25, packs a pair of 32-bit 400 MHz RISC cores and delivers a slick, playable 1,024 x 600 pixel experience.