Milano-based Voiseed demonstrated its web-based Revoiceit platform at CES, pitched as the best way to manage synthetic voice actors, particularly ensuring that synthetic voices present realistic emotions. The company describes it as a cloud-based solution that uses “generative AI to infuse virtual voices with human emotions and prosody, creating highly expressive, lifelike audio experiences.” While Revoiceit’s most obvious feature is its Studio (imagine Adobe Audition devoted to second-by-second management of voices), it may well be the product’s forthcoming API that provides real value to developers of entertaining technology products. Continue reading CES: Voiseed Upgrades Its Platform for Expressive AI Voices

Display manufacturers are giving gamers a big OLED push this year. That means faster refresh rates, a big plus when it comes to action titles, including sports. Samsung has a 32-inch OLED monitor that delivers 4K at 240Hz and 27-inch QHD OLED monitors and panels that clock at 360Hz. LG Display, providing tech to third parties — has debuted a 1440p panel said to be the fastest OLED yet. LG Elecronics’ own UltraGear 32 OLED is the company’s first to use dual refresh technology and has a .03ms response time, processing 4K at 240Hz and 480Hz for 1080p. Continue reading CES: LG Introduces OLED Display Tech Designed for Gaming

Samsung Electronics has unveiled three new matte-finish, anti-glare Odyssey OLED gaming monitors in the lead-up to this week’s CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The new tech is part of a trend toward bigger, faster QD-OLED gaming monitors that will pave the way for greater nuance and realism for game content creators in addition to heightening the experiential factor for players. The new Samsung displays include an updated Odyssey OLED G9 — a 49-inch curved ultra-wide gaming monitor with DQHD (5,120 x 1,440) resolution, a 32:9 aspect ratio and other upgraded features. Continue reading CES: Samsung Demos Odyssey QD-OLED Gaming Monitors

Japanese triple-A game publisher Square Enix rang in the New Year with an open letter from President Takashi Kiryu emphasizing that the 20-year-old firm intends to reinforce its core business of content development and game publishing while aggressively exploring new areas like artificial intelligence and extended reality. In the short term, AI will be used “to enhance our development productivity and achieve greater sophistication in our marketing efforts,” Kiryu wrote in his letter, explaining that “in the longer term, we hope to leverage those technologies to create new forms of content.” Continue reading Square Enix to Explore New Content Possibilities with AI, XR

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed new rules to strengthen the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), further limiting the collection of children’s data, particularly those who seek to monetize the information through targeted advertising. FTC Chair Lina Khan says the proposed changes aim to prevent tech firms “from outsourcing their responsibilities to parents” when it comes to ensuring privacy for children’s data. The FTC says it has issued fines totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to Google’s YouTube, and to a lesser extent, ByteDance’s TikTok, for mishandling the data of children 13-years-old and younger. Continue reading FTC Seeks to Bolster COPPA So Firms Can’t Surveil Children

Samsung Display has revealed plans to begin mass production on a new type of monitor with ultra-high-definition resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. Samsung says this is the highest pixel density and UHD resolution among available OLED monitors, and that the display also offers super-fast response speed to thrill gamers. The new QD-OLED monitors will initially be offered in two sizes: 32 inches and 27 inches. Typically, 30-inch QHD monitors offer 2560×1440 pixels, which Samsung says is fine for “general-purpose” use, adding that “consumers who enjoy gaming and high-definition video content will have a strong preference for UHD products.” Continue reading Samsung’s New QD-OLED Monitor Called a ‘Game Changer’

Epic Games has prevailed against Google in U.S. District Court, scoring a victory in the 2020 lawsuit filed against the search giant over antitrust behavior related to its Google Play store. Epic claims that Google leverages control over the Android mobile operating system to require content creators who want a presence on an estimated 71 percent of the world’s smartphones to sell through the Play Store. The verdict “proves Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation,” Epic wrote of the win. Google disagrees with the ruling and says it plans to appeal. Continue reading Court Rules in Favor of Epic Games in Google Antitrust Case

YouTube is following in Netflix’s footsteps as the latest streamer to expand into games. YouTube Premium subscribers on mobile and desktops will be able to access a suite of games it has branded “Playables.” A total of 37 mini-games can be found using the Explore tab for those who opt-in. Titles include “Angry Birds Showdown,” “Daily Solitaire,” “Brain Out,” and “Daily Crossword.” The streaming games don’t need to be downloaded or installed, but can be played directly from YouTube’s servers. YouTube says the games will initially be available through March 28, making the effort seem somewhat experimental. Continue reading YouTube Experiments with Streaming Video Game Playables

Unity has officially released its Muse AI platform for general use in early access. Muse is a suite of AI-powered tools that streamline game development. The Muse package includes Muse Chat to source answers and generate code, Muse Sprite for 2D sprites generation, and Muse Texture, providing 2D and 3D ready textures. Originally announced in July, Muse is now offered at a $30 per month subscription. Also announced at the firm’s annual Unite conference was the next major software update, Unity 6, for 2024, and the deployment of Unity Cloud to connect development tools across projects and pipelines. Continue reading Unity Opens Beta for Muse AI, Sets General Release for 2024

Valve’s Steam Deck OLED comes to market Thursday with an HDR OLED display that sprawls 7.4 inches, better audio, and a huge boost in battery life. Lighter, cooler, and promising faster downloads, the Steam Deck OLED comes in two storage configurations: 512GB and 1TB, priced at $549 and $649, respectively. As with its predecessor, Steam Deck OLED features a microSD card slot. A $79.95 Steam Deck Docking Station is also available to connect to external displays, wired networking, USB peripherals, and power. The release date is set for November 16. Continue reading Valve to Launch Its Overhauled Steam Deck OLED This Week

Right on schedule and after a rocky start, Microsoft has closed the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard that regulators in the U.S. and UK had challenged. Big Tech is celebrating the move as a signal that their cash reserves can still be used to target expansion. The deal is consumer tech’s largest since AOL purchased Time Warner in a 2000 deal valued at more than twice that. Until now, Microsoft’s games unit, built around Xbox, has been a modest part of the company’s immense portfolio — representing just over 7 percent of total sales, or revenue of about $15 billion. Continue reading Microsoft Closes $69 Billion Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Sony announced it is introducing a new PS5 shipping in November, timed for the holiday shopping season. The slimmer form factor, which features a detachable Blu-ray Disc drive and 1TB SSD for internal storage, has been reduced in volume by more than 30 percent and is 18- 24 percent lighter, depending on the choice of two models. The PS5 Digital Edition will run $449.99, while the PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive will cost an additional $50. For those who purchase the base PS5 Digital Edition, a $79.99 Blu-ray disc drive can be added later. The new PS5 includes a horizontal stand; a new $29.99 vertical stand is compatible with all PS5 models. Continue reading New PS5 Model Adds Option for Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive

Meta Platforms will offer its “Horizon Worlds” virtual reality experience to the world at large, making it available in 2D via mobile and browsers on the Web, starting with early access. Initially, a “small number of people” will be able to  tap into the FPS game “Super Rumble” via the Meta Quest app on Android, with iOS availability over the next few weeks and “more experiences to come.” Early access can also be requested by those who prefer to use computer browsers at horizon.meta.com. “The metaverse should be available to everyone — no matter what device they’re on,” Meta suggests. Continue reading Meta’s ‘Horizon Worlds’ Offers Metaverse on Mobile, the Web

Lenovo marks its entry in the Windows handheld gaming space with the Legion Go. Combining mobility with high performance, the Legion Go joins an expanding Lenovo Legion ecosystem for immersive gaming that includes new micro OLED-equipped Lenovo Legion Glasses for a big-screen experience anywhere, the Legion 9i gaming laptop, and Legion E510 7.1 RGB Gaming In-Ear Headphones for high-quality audio. With Nintendo Switch-like detachable controllers, the Legion Go is a handheld device that accommodates multiplayer gaming. The Legion Space game hub allows users to access cloud platforms as well as locally stored games in a central location. Continue reading Lenovo’s Premium Mobile Gamer Has Detachable Controllers

Seattle-area startup Irreverent Labs has shifted its focus from blockchain-based video games and NFTs to artificial intelligence. Specifically, it wants to build foundation models for text-to-video generation and related content creation tools. Text-to-video is being explored by several companies but is still in development. Samsung Next was intrigued enough with the proposition to invest an undisclosed sum in Irreverent. While there are several apps that output cartoonish results, ambitious efforts are limited. Animations that aim for photorealism, such as Meta’s Make-a-Video and Runway’s Gen-2, can output only four or five seconds of video at a time. Continue reading Samsung Next Invests in Irreverent Labs’ Text-to-Video Tech