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This Is How Chivas Femenil Will Prepare to Face Rayadas
Working with 3 points in the bag is the best way to do it. After the convincing win they secured last Friday in the Clásico Tapatío, Chivas Femenil is already focused on its next match, when they wi...
How Chivas Femenil will prepare to face Rayadas
Working with 3 points in hand is the best way to do it. After the emphatic win they earned last Friday in the Clásico Tapatío, Chivas Femenil is now focused on its next match, when it will host Raya...
I Went Eyes-On With the Aurzen Zip Pro Foldable, Portable Projector. It's Ready to Shine Your Entertainment Anywhere
It has the same fun, foldable design as Aurzen's other Zip, but now it's larger and far more capable.
Ready for winter? TGR kicks off ski season in Park City
Actually, It Is Rocket Science brings big lines, deep snow and Teton Gravity Research’s 31st annual ski film to the Jim Santy Auditorium on Sept. 23.
WHO Health Emergencies EPI-WIN webinar: Strengthening pandemic preparedness: from investment to implementation and impact
Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) requires sustained investment to build and maintain the capacities needed to detect, prevent and respond to health emergencies. This webinar will explore practical experiences from country and regional initiatives, highlighting lessons learned on translating investments into stronger preparedness systems and more resilient health security capacities.
Celtic Already Planning Move for 'Japanese Genius'
Celtic appear to be getting ready to make a move for a 'Japanese genius' having said goodbye to Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda this summer.
Free mad science event in September in Apache Junction
Grab your lab coat because it’s going to get messy. There will be more than 30 different fun science experiments to watch, touch and experience at a free mad science event in Apache Junction in …
“The ‘Crisis’ Is Made Up” — Sen. Chris Murphy Tears Apart Sen. Ted Cruz and Nick Saban’s Case for Divisive Protect College Sports Act
The Protect College Sports Act, written after months of negotiations between Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen.
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey reacts as he visits the UK Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey reacts as he visits the UK Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey and Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, laugh as they visit the UK Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey and Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, left, speak to employees at the UK Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Do black holes have hidden hair? Scientists find a new way to check
A team led by researchers from Nagoya University in Japan has found a way to check for black hole hair using changes in ringdown waves. They found that hidden matter does not affect these waves uniformly; the frequency and fade-out speed of the waves respond differently. This difference may show us if hidden matter is present, and how its pressure is arranged around a black hole. For spinning black holes, hidden matter affects ringdown differently, depending on whether the waves move with or against the black hole’s spin. Published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, the study tells us what pattern in the gravitational wave signal would be a clue that hidden hair is present and may help future observations tell a hairy black hole apart from an ordinary one.
The Optimist: Taxing depth early as a sign of progress
It won't be a smooth road, but the Panthers might actually have a car capable of driving on dirt for the first time in years
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey and Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, left, speak to employees at the UK Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey listens to employees at the UK Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Farm, restaurant, social organization: See 23 latest business, apartment, land sales ($976 to $3.5M)
See a list of property sales in Onondaga County other than residential homes.
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey delivers a speech at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey delivers a speech at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey delivers a speech at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey delivers a speech at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
Britain Politics
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey delivers a speech at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Betty Laura Zapata, Pool)
20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026: Top stars in action, schedule, sports with LA28 qualifying at play
The landmark 20th Asian Games take place this month in Japan, with LA28 Olympic quota spots at play in a number of sports. Find out some of the star names competing at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and how to watch the action.
Former Hartford HealthCare manager builds 300-plus unit CT real estate portfolio
Alex Ilchenko left Hartford HealthCare to build Blue Key Property Group, which now owns or has stakes in more than 300 Connecticut apartments.
CT beer maker pours $650K into new brewhouse, eyes further expansion amid wholesale growth
Nod Hill Brewery invested $650,000 in its Ridgefield operation as wholesale sales rise, with plans to boost production capacity by 2028.
Venice 2026 Film 'Ground Floor' Is a Political Parable on Apathy: Clip
Hungary's Gábor Reisz, winner of the 2023 best film award in Venice's Horizons section for 'Explanation for Everything,' returns to the Lido in the Venice Spotlight program with a quixotic tale and dark humor.
CJ CheilJedang sets Singapore hub for APAC seasoning business
CJ CheilJedang has opened a Global Technical Center in Singapore to expand its food seasoning ingredients business in the Asia-Pacific region. The company held
What's NEXT: adjoe’s Eileen Keng on why entertainment apps are turning to gaming for retention and revenue
Behind this model sits a straightforward funding mechanism, according to Eileen: premium mobile game advertisers cover the cost of both user rewards and publisher revenue through performance-based campaigns.
Scientists say love follows hidden mathematical rules
Could math help explain why some relationships survive life’s inevitable stresses while others slowly fall apart? Researchers have spent decades developing mathematical models that treat romantic feelings as changing systems, revealing patterns in attraction, emotional reactions, conflict, and recovery.
A fluorinated imine additive helps graphite anodes endure 1,000 cycles
A newly developed electrolyte additive could help lithium-ion batteries keep graphite anodes stable over prolonged cycling. Researchers synthesized pentafluorophenyl thiophene imine (FPTI), which forms a protective, LiF-rich solid electrolyte interphase on graphite. At 4 mg/mL, FPTI enabled 95.6% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles in graphite/Li half-cells and improved lithium-ion transport. NMC811/graphite full cells using FPTI-conditioned anodes reached an energy density of approximately 233 Wh/kg, highlighting its potential for longer-lasting battery systems.
Michael Rapaport slams 'clown' Macklemore for anti-Israel performance
Michael Rapaport called Macklemore a "clown" after the rapper chanted "Free Palestine" and performed "Hind's Hall" at Ed Sheeran's MetLife shows.
WCU-Mission Health partnership boosts nursing enrollment, aims to ease western NC shortage
Western Carolina University is expanding its nursing education capacity through an academic partnership with Mission Health.
Players Ratings As Bournemouth Let Another Lead Slip Late On
Brilliant in spells but another ultimately frustrating finish for the Cherries. Bournemouth looked capable of running riot at St James’ Park but couldn’t find the killer third goal before Newcastle struck late again, but there was a lot to like about Marco Rose's side in this thriller up north.
What to stream: 'The Paper,' Bloc Party, 'Call My Agent!' and a 'Halloween' game
The second season of “The Paper” and a new album from Bloc Party are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: a new “Call…
Louisiana Tech joins rare 80-point club in 2026 opener
Many teams are capable of scoring 80 points in their season openers. However, very few do. Teams will pull starters, pull second-stringers, throw in the scout team, and drain clock in effort to prevent the scoreboard from looking too ugly. Oftentimes, the scoring threshold teams to shoot for lies within the 70s. The 80s are […]
A huge real estate sale, a new step in cancer detection, and more Milwaukee business news
Milwaukee Business Journal Editor-in-Chief Tim Gibbons joined Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News to discuss the Mandel Group's $600M apartment portfolio
👀 Boos at the Volkspark: Mainz are tearing Hamburg apart
What is going on in Hamburg right now? Mainz 05 are playing like a team unleashed and are giving the Rothosen absolutely no chance.After the 05ers were already leading 2-0 at half-time, FSV struck aga...
Exclusive: Fetterman blasts ‘disgruntled staffers’ and ‘smears’ after report details apathy toward his work
Sen. John Fetterman is lashing out at former aides who accused him of showing indifference toward his work and of routinely skipping constituent meetings, dismissing them as “disgruntled staffers” pushing “smears” to tarnish his reputation.
49ers’ Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw Get Key Rams Game Message
The San Francisco 49ers have a major question mark on defense regarding their pass rush. Nick Bosa is expected to play in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 10 in Australia. Nonetheless, apart from the pass rush that’s leaning heavily on Bosa, a Niners reporter sees two other players who need to […] The post 49ers’ Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw Get Key Rams Game Message appeared first on HEAVY.
In 2017, scientists poured Rhodamine WT pink dye into Porter Hole Sink under Florida’s Lake Jackson; 35 days later instruments picked it up at Wakulla Spring through limestone caves
On the morning of September 19, 2017, at about 11:20, a diver in Lake Jackson, Florida, fed a hose roughly 6.7 meters down to the throat of a lake-bottom
An Alien Mind
Jakub Pachocki reflects on increasingly capable AI and the challenge of keeping it aligned. He calls for stronger safeguards and international coordination.
What Makes an Iron Lady Iron?
‘Thatcher…accepted political damage as the cost of policies she believed necessary for Britain’s recovery. It was these sorts of pressures that refined Thatcher and forged her into the Iron Lady we know today...The question for Japan today is whether Sanae Takaichi demonstrates similar political characteristics within the context of modern Japanese politics.’
Pato O’Ward Makes History at Milwaukee
The Snap-On Makers and Finders 250 came to an end, the checkered flag waved. The orange and black No. 5 of Pato O’Ward drove across the finish line in first place. Fans in papaya orange jumped with joy as their favorite driver won the race. However, this wasn’t the first win from O’Ward that day. …
Prince Hisahito turns 20 as Japan’s government reinforces male-only succession rules
Japan’s Prince Hisahito has turned 20 while facing growing attention as a future monarch.
Prince Hisahito turns 20 as Japan's government reinforces male-only succession rules
Japan’s Prince Hisahito has turned 20 while facing growing attention as a future monarch. The prince's birthday Sunday came as Japan's government implements an unpopular revision to the Imperial...
White Sox Have Munetaka Murakami Problem
Munetaka Murakami had a lot of doubters.Coming over from Japan as a free agent in the offseason, many were concerned about his ability to make contact. The Chicago White Sox got him for a relative discount because of that.Murakami’s raw power was never in question. The question was whether he’d put together good enough at […] The post White Sox Have Munetaka Murakami Problem appeared first on HEAVY.
San Francisco 49ers: Place Rotational Piece on Injured Reserve
The San Francisco 49ers’ EDGE rusher room is very thin heading into Week 1. Nick Bosa recently returned to practice at full capacity after recovering from an ACL tear and knee tendinitis, which later followed. Mykel Williams is on the PUP list while recovering from an ACL tear and meniscus damage and will miss at […] The post San Francisco 49ers: Place Rotational Piece on Injured Reserve appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
I'm a nutritionist from Japan: 7 'essential' anti-inflammatory foods that I swear by
Japanese nutritionist and longevity expert Michiko Tomioka shares the inflammation-fighting foods that are always in her kitchen.
Lenovo goes MacBook Neo: Hands-on review with Lenovo's best-looking $699 laptop
Consumer laptops do not have to look boring - with the Lenovo IdeaPad vibe, Lenovo goes for a design with a few colorful twists, at an attractive price-point with many useful features. We had a chance to check it out at IFA 2026.
We bought an abandoned home in Japan for $22,000
Lloyd Enbom and his wife bought a home in a ski town in Japan for $22,000. They plan to live a nomadic lifestyle, but Japan will be their home base.
Chimpanzees once used for vaccine research get health checks as part of long-term care
Chimpanzees once used in hepatitis B vaccine experiments are getting health checks at their new home in Liberia.
Metaplanet’s Business Head Phil Geiger Departs to Pursue New Bitcoin Ventures
A major leadership departure has happened in Metaplanet. Phil Geiger, who served as Head of Business Development at the leading Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet, has announced his departure from the company as he takes on new roles across the Bitcoin ecosystem. Geiger shared the update on LinkedIn, saying he had “wrapped up” his time
Blanca Félix reaches 100 clean sheets with Chivas Femenil!
One of the players who has taken Mexican women’s soccer to the highest level is Blanca María Félix Castro. Tonight, at Estadio Jalisco, as part of the Clásico Tapatío, the Chivas Femenil captain...
Will AMC’s New Leawood Films Distribution Arm and Tokenized Share Dispute Change AMC Entertainment’s (AMC) Narrative?
In August 2026, AMC Entertainment Holdings launched Leawood Films, a low-risk film distribution arm based in Los Angeles and Leawood, Kansas, designed to fill excess theatre capacity by focusing on fully financed small and mid-sized titles while respecting traditional PVOD and SVOD windows. Around the same time, CEO Adam Aron’s public clash with Robinhood over tokenized AMC shares highlighted rising tensions between traditional equity markets and emerging digital trading products, raising...
For feminists, the deaths of Parton and Steinem days apart deliver a double dose of grief
The deaths of Gloria Steinem and Dolly Parton just days apart have delivered a double dose of grief for feminists.
For feminists, the deaths of Parton and Steinem days apart deliver a double dose of grief
The deaths of Gloria Steinem and Dolly Parton just days apart have delivered a double dose of grief for feminists.
For feminists, the deaths of Parton and Steinem days apart deliver a double dose of grief
The deaths of Gloria Steinem and Dolly Parton just days apart have delivered a double dose of grief for feminists.
Three businesses near Bishop Arts were burglarized on the same morning
Mentiiras, Wayward Coffee and Outpost Fine Goods in Dallas' Bishop Arts neighborhood reported break-ins about 15 minutes apart.
Three businesses near Bishop Arts were burglarized on the same morning
Mentiiras, Wayward Coffee and Outpost Fine Goods in Dallas' Bishop Arts neighborhood reported break-ins about 15 minutes apart.
Scientists watch as two satellites burn
ESA's Samba and Tango closed out the 26-year Cluster mission with two targeted reentries a day apart, giving airborne researchers a rare, up-close look at how satellites really come apart.
15 discouraging hours with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and 10 brilliant ones with He Who Watches
In the last few weeks, while playing some video games that I might review, I emailed two cries for help. I sent the first to a rep for Capcom, confessing that the company’s samurai game Onimusha Way of the Sword (out today for PC and console) was crushing me. “Feels like I’m playing ‘hard’ mode, not ‘normal,’” I wrote. “And I don’t want to have to knock it down to “story”. I’m exploring, trying to level my gear, but these two-phase boss fights with no mid-fight checkpoints are brutal.” I wagered I was only about halfway through the game, if that. I wasn’t sure I could keep up with the steepening difficulty curve. Was I missing something? Then, on Monday, I took some photos of some puzzles that were baffling me in the mind-bending He Who Watches (out now on PC), wrote out lengthy descriptions of how I’d been trying to solve them and asked Bobby Vanden, the game’s solo developer, for a nudge in the right direction. I told Vanden I’d spent hours on these puzzles. “I’m stuck in triplicate,” I told him. Could he tell me if the solutions I was attempting were even on the right track? I didn’t mention that the puzzles—coupled with major time pressures from other work—were stressing me out so much that playing the game was giving me headaches. This double dose of panic was unusual. I’m used to managing a workload full of reporting and reviewing, used to a crowded schedule and the need to stay calm amid the bustle. But I was stressed about these games. No one was forcing me to review them, nor even play them. I’d simply found them interesting enough to start, hoped they’d be interesting enough to write about and I’d sunk hours into them assuming I’d made the right call. Suddenly, however, I felt trapped. I was emailing for a way out. Above: This guy took me about an hour to beat. The feedback I got from Capcom confirmed my fears. They didn’t say it, but I will: Onimusha Way of the Sword is not for me. It’s a brutally hard game in need of a normal difficulty level. It’s a game that spikes so severely during its abundant boss fights—yet offers such flawed ways to improve when outside of them—that it feels like a bait-and-switch. In the new Onimusha, you play as famed samurai Musashi Miyamoto, aided by a magical soul-absorbing gauntlet that is possessed by a lady who offers advice. (Way of the Sword is a continuation of Capcom’s long-dormant Onimusha series, but that set-up had me wondering if the company was cribbing from their ill-fated Bionic Commando reboot; read about “wife-arm” when you get a chance). Way of the Sword is partially set in 17th century Kyoto, an explorable city where Miyamoto can fight demons, help civilians and eventually rescue ghostly dogs. The city evolves over time, with new mini adventures and obtainable loot on offer, all feeding into systems that promise to upgrade your gear and sword-fighting skills. Upgrades, however, are so incremental as to be imperceptible, causing the exploration of Kyoto to feel like inconsequential busywork. From that hub, players can go on linear missions into forests and old temples, where they will encounter many of the game’s tough bosses. Combat in Way of the Sword is akin to many modern melee games. Players are asked to mix attacks with dodges and parries. They’re encouraged to deplete an enemy’s stamina bar in order to do greater damage to its health bar. The old Onimusha games’ signature move was the issen, a counter-attack so sudden it’s all but pre-emptive. You strike just as they begin to strike toward you, beating them to the cut. By definition, the issen is a high risk move, leaving you wide open to pain. It feels risky in the game, especially against bosses, who can maul you in just a few blows. A game might train you to perform an issen well by offering a variety of lesser enemies who are not as tough as the boss but get close. Or it might offer a toehold against bosses by saving or checkpointing the player’s progress when a boss’ first health bar has been destroyed and before the second health bar appears. It might offer the less skilled player a chance to over-level their character, should the player simply commit to playing through its optional sidequests. Way of the Sword does none of this. Fighting its trivially easy grunt enemies and then its ferociously adept bosses is like playing a game of chess where I’ve got a rook, while the opposing side is all pawns and five queens. Bosses simply don’t checkpoint. You may be able to clear a boss’ first phase without taking much damage. Good for you. Do it again, every time you fail the second phase. As for the the central Kyoto hub, I kept pace with all of its added side activities and never felt like I was overpowered. Bosses could still easily buckle me. The new Onimusha, I concluded, is just too discouraging to keep playing. The advice I got from Capcom had been well-intentioned. They reminded me of the game’s various systems. They alerted me to an optional assist that flashes recommended button inputs (basically: counter this move; dodge that move). It was a little helpful. So was dropping down to “story mode,” which I tried last night. Story mode turns on those button prompts by default. It makes countering and dodging way too easy, nearly automatic. I don’t consider myself a master of action games like these, but I’ve cleared the likes of God of War, Stellar Blade, Star Wars Jedi and others of sub-Sekiro difficulty and had a fun time doing so. Not here. Not yet. Unless they patch Onimusha: Way of the Sword and add a middle difficulty or just checkpoint the damn bosses when they’re between health bars, my streak of loving Capcom games released in 2026 will likely end at two. It’s a shame, because I was having a good time finding those ghostly dogs. And then there’s He Who Watches, a phenomenal first person puzzle game with Portal vibes, except instead of a portal gun you’ve got a magical bow that shoots one arrow that can activate switches or be used to drag blocks. The twist is an actual twist: you can also walk on walls and the ceiling, reorienting gravity as you do, thereby placing blocks onto those other surfaces. Walking on walls and ceilings to solve problems is really the best thing. Would that I could in reality. He Who Watches consists of locked-room challenges, each brief enough to only require about a minute to actually solving, though it will take five, 10, eventually 30 minutes to figure out said solutions. They are not obvious! It’s a game of layered mechanics and shocking solutions. For example, see if you can follow this: You can drag a block to a wall. Then you can walk on the wall, which now feels like the floor, and drag that block across the wall. Later, back on the floor, you might realize you can look up. The block is still on the wall, stuck to it. You can shoot your magic arrow to its underside. Doing so creates a tether, so that you can yank the block off the wall and carry it, as if it were a balloon, into the spot where you need it to be to solve the puzzle. Here, watch Vanden explain some of the game’s basics in this launch trailer: As with any great puzzle game, the solutions to He Who Watches’ puzzles elicit relief and amazement. Oh my god, that worked! I didn’t even think that could be possible! Learning to solve the game’s puzzles feels like learning magic. But, oh, does the game get hard. Its Steam reviews, mostly glowing, are full of players remarking how quickly He Who Watches made them sweat. Wrote one: “loving this one already although my brain is hurting!” Wrote another: “As you get further in the game it feels like you need an IQ level of at least 120+.” Vanden has shown some mercy. Each locked room puzzle includes an optional junior version of the puzzle, meant to teach you. Difficulty nevertheless ramps severely. By the time I was emailing Vanden for help, I was struggling to even clear one of the hint puzzles. When I messaged him, my stress was exacerbated by strange things I’d found in the game’s various hubs: suspicious passageways, odd blocks and some intriguing locked doors. These were hints of secrets, I realized, yet I sensed I needed to play further into the game to understand them. I was stuck, but I wanted to see the rest. Vanden offered to give me the exact solutions, to solve those three puzzles for me, but first he gave four nudges. Three were for the specific puzzles, but his best hint was for all and ultimately proved to be a terrific life lesson: go back a bit, he suggested. Do the puzzles right before those. They were teaching you something. Focus on what their lesson was. Don’t rush, in other words. Recognize what you’ve accomplished. Build off of that. I did so. I absorbed the lessons. I saw those three tough puzzles in a new light. I solved one the night after he wrote back, another the morning after. I left a third for another time. I didn’t need it and I wanted to plunge deeper into the game, closer to the moment when I was sure I could start unlocking those secret doors. My head stopped hurting, too. He Who Watches feels special. It’s got more challenges, and I’m undeterred. It’s also nice that its puzzles don’t have a surprise second health bar. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: In brief… 🎮 Ilari Kuittinen, co-founder of Helsinki-based Housemarque (Super Stardust HD, Resogun, Returnal) has stepped down from his studio, after a 31-year run, saying he’s “ taking a rare and well-deserved breather.” Sony purchased Housemarque in 2021, and the studio released its newest game, Saros, earlier this year. Trend-watch: Sony-owned Insomniac saw its founder Ted Price retire in early 2025, after a 30-year run. Sony-owned Sucker Punch saw its co-founder Brian Fleming step down in late 2025, after a 28-year run. 👀 Savvy Games Group chief Brian Ward is stepping down from the Saudi-government-backed games conglomerate, Bloomberg reports. No word on a long-term successor yet, nor if this augurs any closer integration between Savvy and Electronic Arts. EA was purchased by a consortium led by Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, in early August. 💿 Square Enix has denied a Japanese media report that the company was planning to go private. In very different Square Enix news, the company revealed that the physical version of Final Fantasy VII: Revelation, the April 2027 finale of its radical remakes of FFVII, will include just one disc in its case, requiring a download for the rest. The first two FFVII remakes in the trilogy shipped on two discs apiece. While Square hasn’t commented on the reason why, a feature here in Game File last month broke down the processes and costs for physical games. The expense of a second disc comes out of the game publisher’s cut of each copy. Square could be saving in excess of a dollar a copy with this move. 🟥 Grand Theft Auto IV’s 26-minute ’‘extended look” gameplay showcase that premiered on Netflix last week—and was exclusive to the platform for six hours—drew 31.1 million views in its first four days, the streamer announced. (Netflix calculates views as total viewed hours divided by runtime; excludes replays). Compared to YouTube: The version that later premiered on Rockstar Games’ YouTube channel is sitting at 22.6 million views after seven days (YouTube’s more liberal counting system tallies anyone who viewed even just the first few second.) Compared to other Netflix mega-events: Last year, Stranger Things season 5’s first four episodes, which debuted together, drew a record 59.6 million views in their first few days on Netflix. For more of a live event type of comparison, in 2024, the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match drew 65 million concurrent streams as it happened; Netflix didn’t release live numbers for the GTA premiere. ☁️ Microsoft is changing the way it charges for cloud gaming, from an all-you-can-play offer for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, to caps for the subscription’s tiers (15 hours per month at the Ultimate tier), with the option to buy more hours in bulk beyond that. The company also said it will sell batches of cloud gaming time to non-Game Pass subscribers, details TBA. Microsoft does not release figures for cloud game usage, but said its changes would impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers. That implies a small portion of its subscribers exceed the 15-hour monthly mark. Cloud gaming offers the promise of playing games without the need for console or PC hardware, as the graphics, sound and controls are all transmitted via a streaming connection. Microsoft notes that its cloud gaming service can be used for a range of things, including Xbox One players using it to play newer-gen Xbox Series games via streaming; and people playing games via streaming, sans any console, “in markets where consoles are less available or affordable.” (That latter use case could even be relevant in Xbox’s home market soon, as console prices keep rising.) Take Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick recently told investors he expects game-streaming tech, which has been only lightly adopted by gamers for over a decade, to be widely used within three years. 🇺🇸 The Trump administration has published multiple agenda-driven web video games to the White House’s website. One called Build The Wall partially clones Tetris as it asks players to build a wall to stop a “zombie border siege.” While actual Tetris involves clearing lines and basically not building a wall, the Trump-backed game omits the line-clearing aspect (and omits the fun as well). On Instagram, Tetris’ official license holders reacted by stating: “At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them. To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community. P.S. The Tetris Company was not involved in the creation of ‘Build the Wall.’ P.P.S.: We take copyright infringement very seriously.” Item 3: The week ahead: Tuesday, September 8 Game releases: Mewgenics (consoles; already out on PC) is an engrossing tactical combat game (with cats). It is getting its console port right after the release of a Star Wars tactics game and ahead of the late September launch of a Fire Emblem–a bumper crop for the genre. Wanderburg (PC) is an auto-shooting game like Vampire Survivors, but you’re a castle on wheels Event: Nintendo airs a 30-minute Nintendo Direct (10am ET) focused on The Legend of Zelda’s 40th Anniversary. A full unveiling of the upcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is expected. Will they also show footage from next year’s live action movie? Tease the next big 3D Zelda? Add Link to Mario Kart World? Shadow-drop a new Tingle game? Wednesday, September 9 Event: Nintendo again! On this day, they’re planning to air a 45-minute Nintendo Direct (10am ET) focused on games heading to Switch 2 this winter. Followed by about an hour of gameplay demoed by the company’s Treehouse team. The September Nintendo Directs are always some of the year’s biggest. The 2025 edition included announcements of several major 2026 Switch/Switch 2 games: Pokémon Pokopia, Mario Tennis Fever, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave. Plus the return of the Virtual Boy. Friday, September 11 Game release: EA Sports NHL 27 (PlayStation, Xbox) is a hockey game. There are so few that an indie studio that had been making wacky sci-fi first-person shooters just announced that, hey, we’re going to fill a void and make a hockey game for PC.
UVM Health opens new outpatient clinic with leader in suicide care at the helm
The 100-patient clinic seeks to expand Vermont’s capacity to treat suicidal thinking while also broadening research into the condition.
The Fierce Battle For Kids’ Eyeballs...Plus Two “Devils” Face Off
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) During the week of this report, Spider-Man: Brand New Day hit theaters and went on to become one of the biggest films of all time. So, you know what that means! It’s time for a poll! Recently, Project Hail Mary came to Prime Video and became a top five film for them, but didn’t smash streaming records, a feat I cautiously thought it could accomplish. Can Spider-Man 4 do better? To set the stakes, some of the biggest films of all time do just okay on streaming. Wicked, Top Gun: Maverick, and Barbie come to mind... But unlike those films, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a Sony film which means it’s headed to Netflix, the world’s largest streamer. Now, per friend of the newsletter and my go-to Netflix expert, Kasey Moore of What’s on Netflix, Sony films usually appear on Netflix 120 days after they premiere, which means Spidey 4 would land on Netflix on, checks notes, 28-November, one of the two biggest streaming weekends of the year! But Sony occasionally delays its biggest hits for a bit longer, to give them more time to make money on PVOD, so Spider-Man: Brand New Day might not swing onto Netflix until late December or even February 2027. Loading... Okay, on to this week’s issue. Since The Super Mario Galaxy Movie made its way to Peacock, I’m looking at the true workhorse of streaming viewership: kids films. And the surprising film that bested most Netflix animated movies. All that, plus Hulu has a new show that might be a hit (for them…?), two “Devils” square off on streaming, Zendaya tries to find some streaming magic, Netflix’s I Will Find You continues to do well, House of the Dragon tries to break into the season three top ten, some big NBC sports and summer programs, what friendly neighborhood Spider-Man character actually generates the most viewership on streaming, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of July 27th to August 2nd, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Film - As The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Hits Peacock, How Have Kids Films Fared in 2026? Like Mario hopping on a Koopa, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie landed on Peacock on 30-July. (Yeah, I kinda forced that Mario reference.) How did it do? Great, just like the first film. It got 13.0 million hours on its opening, and that’s good enough to take second place among Peacock films on the Nielsen charts all time: As I mention all the time, Peacock just isn’t the world’s biggest streamer—in fact, nowhere close—so its films struggle to put up numbers like Netflix (or even Prime Video and Disney+). So this is a solid debut for that streamer. And as we saw last time, The Super Mario Bros. Movie had a HUGE second life on Netflix when it moved streamers. This chart doesn’t even show how long the first Mario lasted on Netflix: a whopping, KPop-esque 31 weeks. For NBCUniversal, though, the big win was the second Mario movie grossing $429 million in America and over $1 billion globally. But yeah, to add a very strong streaming performance only makes its success even greater. Illumination pretty clearly has another hit franchise on their hands. This is a good time, though, to check in on kids films so far in 2026. We’ve had a few big, big titles, a rare Netflix success, and some disappointments. Let’s start with the top animated films since November of 2025, over their first four weeks on the charts, along with a few of the “best all time” animated films: (As a reminder, if a film doesn’t make the Nielsen top ten lists, I don’t have data for it, so it gets a “zero” in terms of viewership. Now, it had some viewership, but I don’t know what it is, so it gets a zero.) I added a few titles to get an idea of what the best of the best looks like in terms of animation. And you can see, through four weeks, Zootopia 2 can now claim “one of the biggest streaming films of all time” titles. GOAT too did surprisingly well, besting Netflix’s biggest films (Swapped and In Your Dreams) through four weeks. When I’ve talked about how films can have varying performances on streaming compared to their box office, this is what I mean. Goat just managed to gross even $103 million at the box office—so it’s popular, but just barely—but did very well on streaming. Of course, what set Encanto and KPop Demon Hunters apart from the rest was their absolutely insane longevity. Here are the kids film charts through eight weeks to show that: And really KPop Demon Hunters just kept going, and no 2025 or 2026 kids films have had that sort of longevity. I can’t wait to see the sequel in theaters. Film - Two Devils and a Drama As I wrote last week, in the past, theatrical-first film flops weren’t eligible for “Miss of the Week” or “Miss of the Year” honors/dishonors, but since so many more films go to theaters first these days, I’ve made them eligible now! But it’s complicated. You see, this is a Streaming Ratings Report, emphasis on streaming, which makes analyzing this week’s two biggest streaming misses—The Drama on HBO Max (A24’s dramedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson) and Prime Video’s The Devil Mouth (a killer shark movie starring young attractive people)—somewhat tricky. The Drama isn’t eligible for Luminate, but The Devil’s Mouth only had 1.5 million hours in its first week: The Devil’s Mouth notched 5.2 million hours according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, The Drama missed the charts entirely. Not great! But Prime Video is a much bigger streamer than HBO Max. That said, HBO Max titles are on Prime Video, but I think Prime Video prioritizes their original/exclusive titles, which helps boost their viewership. Complicating this further, The Drama made $48 million in the US—while A24 sells foreign distribution; the $57 million of overseas grosses helps A24 sell overseas rights for money in the future—off of a $28 million budget (which seems low for Zendaya and Pattinson, so they might have backend). The Devil’s Mouth, though, had zero dollars at the box office. The other stats for The Devil’s Mouth are bleak, and by “bleak”, I mean horrendous: a 4.7 on 15K reviews on IMDb (yikes) and a 46 on Metacritic (double yikes). The Drama, though buzzy online, only has a solid (but far from elite) 7.1 IMDb score on 121K reviews and a 59 on Metacritic (which is far, far lower than I’d have guessed). So which film is the “Miss of the Week”? I’m giving it to The Devil’s Mouth for one simple reason: it’s a horror film. And almost all horror films, even poorly reviewed horror films, should get a shot in theaters to at least try to recoup some of their budgets. The Drama made money at the box office and The Devil’s Mouth didn’t. It’s just like the situation last issue with Obsession and Masters of the Universe. Sure, Obsession didn’t pop on the streaming charts, but at least it already made it money at the box office. And as we’ve been seeing for years now and we’ll see all fall, theatrical films just do better on streaming. After all, the big “devil” winner this week was actually The Devil Wears Prada 2 with 14.8 million hours according to Nielsen. That’s right, The Devil Wears Prada 2—one of the box office success stories of May—came to streaming and parlayed its $220 million box office into 14.8 million Nielsen hours. Disney also put out a datecdote that it had 15.2 million “views” globally in five days, but again we don’t have a lot of great context for what that means. Here’s how it stacks up to other Hulu films, since I’m categorizing this mainly as a Hulu title (though it was also on Disney+): Share Quick Notes on Film We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… Whether Hulu has a new hit show on its hands... The top first and third seasons of all time and which shows are climbing those charts… What version of Spidey is the most popular... What sport and TV show are performing better on NBC than the NBA... All the flops, bombs and misses... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. Coming Soon! Next week, wow, things stay so busy. One of streaming’s biggest shows of all time, Ted Lasso, returns along with new YA-ish shows from Hulu (The Shards, from Ryan Murphy) and Prime Video (Sterling Point). The Challenge moves to Paramount+, plus My Life with the Walter Boys returns to Netflix and Futurama returns to Hulu. And Netflix has a new horror film, The Last House. Lots to talk about! All month, things stay busy. We’re talking Reacher on Prime Video! Outer Banks and Tires on Netflix! Lanterns on HBO Max! UFC 330 on Paramount+ and the MLB Field of Dreams game on Netflix. And a ton of smaller films come to streaming. Long term, the VMAs are back on 27-Sep! I feel like I haven’t heard much about this show in past years, but I’m seeing more news coverage and buzz for this show than in past years. I’m curious to see how it does.
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Sony and Microsoft say they’re not obligated to pass U.S. tariff refunds to consumers, echoing Nintendo
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Microsoft made a similar argument two weeks ahead of Sony’s lawyers, in a similar lawsuit brought by a gamer in federal court in Washington State. As Microsoft’s legal team put it on August 21, in their request for a dismissal of that lawsuit: “There is nothing unjust about Plaintiff purchasing an Xbox at an advertised price and getting exactly what he paid for—regardless of whatever theory he devised months later about Microsoft’s cost structure.” Both legal fights are set to go on for some time. How things got to this point U.S. tariffs impacting a wide range of imported goods, including game consoles, had kicked off in early 2025. In May 2025, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox consoles, citing “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” They raised them again that September. In August of that year, Sony raised the price of PlayStation 5 consoles, citing “a challenging economic environment.” Sony later told investors that its tariff fees for the fall quarter were nearly $200 million. in February of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 2025 tariffs illegal, prompting impacted companies to begin to request refunds. In turn, consumers began suing the likes of Sony and Microsoft to get what they said was their share. The gamers in the Microsoft and Sony lawsuits argue that the 2025 price hikes of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, which added $50 or more to their sticker price, were due to illegal tariffs and should now be returned to consumers. The Sony suit started in May, when a group of gamers sued in federal court in California, saying Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) would be unjustly enriching itself if it did not pass tariff refunds to its PS5 buyers. “Sony is poised to be paid twice for the same unlawful tariff burden: once by its customers (through elevated prices) and once by the U.S. government (through tariff refunds),” the gamers’ lawyers wrote at the time. They called for Sony to partially reimburse anyone who bought a PlayStation in the U.S. since August 1, 2025. The Microsoft suit, filed by gamer Trevor Hastings against the Xbox giant in July, made similar claims. The console makers push back In late July, Nintendo’s lawyers, facing a similar suit accusing them of double-dipping on tariffs and refunds, replied with arguments that previewed Microsoft’s and Sony’s: “Nintendo or one of its retailers set a price for each product, and consumers decided whether that price was worth paying,” they wrote. Sony has buttressed that Nintendo-style argument this week by saying that the gamers have failed to prove that tariffs were the reason for its August 2025 PS5 price hike. They call thatclaim “speculative and illogical.” Other factors, including “inflation, currency fluctuations, component costs, logistics, competitive dynamics, or demand,” could have played a role. (No, the Sony lawyers do not break down the costs and factors that officially triggered the price increases). Microsoft has also argued that there’s no proof in these lawsuits that tariffs drove all or some of the price increase, as it seeks to dismiss the tariff refund suit it’s facing: “Plaintiff provides no specific allegations that would establish any pricing differential attributable to tariffs or suggest any possibility that Microsoft applied then or could recreate now any dollar-for-dollar calculation of tariff-related pricing—any more than it could any other market factor that affects pricing.” To further skewer the gamer side’s argument in its case, Sony’s lawyers have pointed to what might be a surprising defense: yet another PlayStation 5 price hike from this past spring, after the tariffs were ruled illegal. “If the original price increase were attributable to tariffs, SIE [Sony Interactive Entertainment, aka PlayStation] would have had no reason to raise prices again after the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs.” … “If tariffs were the cause of the price increases, one would expect SIE to lower prices once the tariffs were eliminated—not raise them again. Instead, the timeline confirms that the pricing of PlayStation consoles includes a diverse and dynamic set of input costs.” Judges have not yet ruled on the arguments made by Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. Last week, Panic, the company behind the small, yellow Playdate handheld said it would be passing its tariff refunds on to consumers. It is the only gaming hardware maker to have made such a pledge. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my reporting, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: A reporter’s second Second Life Wagner James Au, who from 2003-2006 was paid by San Francisco-based tech company Linden Lab to be a full-time journalist embedded in their virtual world Second Life, is returning to the company. This time, he’ll be an editorial advisor and business development specialist, he tells Game File. The new role will involve trying to share the stories of people inhabiting Second Life’s ongoing online world with reporters and by extension the public. Au plans to continue to also chronicle some of that through his long-running blog New World Notes. I’ve known Au since the mid-2000s and featured him in a 2007 article for the Columbia Journalism Review about reporters like him opening up virtual news outlets within Second Life. As I wrote at the time: On April 22, 2003, writing as Hamlet Linden for the New World Notes blog on Second Life’s Web site, Au introduced himself. “For the next few months, Linden Lab has invited me to set aside my journalist cap, and instead, don the digital beanie of their in-house virtual correspondent.” He wasn’t paid to keep it positive. He wrote about builders and eccentrics, but then in August of that year, he reported on a tax revolt against Linden Lab (a complaint about the fees it charges users who build stuff) led by a resident whose avatar was a big cat. Second Life has always been less of a video game and more of a virtual world where people can live, hang out, make art, sell virtual items and flirt. Back in 2007, Au described touring it as “sort of like underwater lucid dreaming.” For the past two decades, Au has maintained New World Notes as an independent publication. But he said he’s been drawn back to Second Life and Linden Lab as a place to directly work. The virtual world has around 650,000 monthly active users, he said, “which is actually about what it was during the hype wave.” Au says he’s still finding rich stories in Second Life, the kind that keep him interested 20 years into the beat: “Over the last few months for instance, I wrote about an SL creator in Venezuela whose apartment was destroyed by the earthquakes, so the global SL community rallied to get him back on his feet,” he told me. “Then there’s the woman from a Middle Eastern country who explored her lesbian sexuality in SL, then earned enough from her virtual jewelry to escape her abusive family situation and country.” Au wants to beckon more reporters to give Second Life another look. He argues that it is often ahead of internet trends, noting, for example, an early backlash in the community against AI-made art. Now the platform is drawing curiosity from more of the user-generated content community who’ve grown up with the likes of Roblox, according to Au. “Second Life was too early during its hype wave in 2005-2010, but it now feels right for a new wave of interest,” he told me.
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