The absence of Mario and Sonic at the Olympics and EB Games enters the era of flops

Hello gamers, it’s been a strange week for tech and gaming, but also a familiar one. Massive layoffs continue to affect some of the industry’s biggest titans, retailers and hardware manufacturers announce controversial new subscription models for their products, and the specter of NFTs reared its ugly pixelated head at the Olympics.

Here are six pieces of news from the world of tech and gaming you might have missed this week.

6. More layoffs are hitting the tech and gaming industries

The tech and gaming industries continued to grapple with mass layoffs this week, with some of the industry’s largest companies announcing major restructurings.

Destiny 2 Bungie announced it would lay off 220 employees, representing 17% of the company. Additionally, another 155 employees will be transferred to PlayStation, and Forbes predicts that around 40 employees will be transferred to create a new sub-studio under Sony for the new game.

Despite the success Destiny 2The latest expansion Final shapeand previous layoffs at the studio last October, the studio continues to struggle with “persistent economic conditions.” The remaining employees will focus solely on Destiny 2 AND Marathon in the near future.

Intel also announced plans to lay off 15,000 workers as part of a $10 billion cost-cutting plan by 2025. In a blog post by the CEO Pat Gelsingerquotes that “Our revenues haven’t grown as expected — and we haven’t yet fully benefited from powerful trends like AI. Our costs are too high, our margins are too low.”

A Reuters report earlier this year revealed that Intel had disclosed a loss of $7 billion, making it the largest operating loss in the company’s history.

5. EB Games introduces controversial subscription to its store

Gaming retailer EB Games this week launched a new paid loyalty program called EB World-Plus, prompting widespread scrutiny.

The EB World Plus loyalty program is a paid monthly subscription that offers “Buy X, Get 1 Free” deals, free gifts, digital currency discounts and more. Those who join the service for 12 months (for “lucrative”$49) you’ll receive a themed bowl of ramen and a set of chopsticks.

The announcement was met with mostly criticism online, with many quickly speculating whether it was a desperate cash grab to slow the decline of brick-and-mortar gaming stores.

Either way, our thoughts are with all the EB Games employees who will have to sell this game.

4. Logitech wants you to pay a subscription fee to use its mouse

In more ‘useless subscription’ news, Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber announced potential plans for a mouse you can use forever in an interview with The Verge. The downside? You’ll have to pay a monthly subscription fee for it.

The company wants to improve the durability of its products and significantly reduce its carbon footprint. One way it plans to fix this is by providing software updates to hardware that is meant to last a long time.

Logitech is one of the biggest (and probably best) manufacturers of hardware in this field. I have owned a Logitech G502 Hero gaming mouse for over 5 years and it is the best mouse I have ever used.

But let’s be honest, there’s no way anyone would want to pay a subscription fee just to use a mouse. It really does seem like we’ve reached the late stages of the enchitization of this business model. I want to own the thing I buy, especially if it’s hardware.

Spotify showed us the flaws of this earlier this year with the Car Thing, a piece of hardware that runs only one piece of software. When the company decides it’s better to cut its losses, it simply turns off the software, leaving the hardware as a useless piece of junk. If Logitech follows suit, it could be counterintuitive for a company looking to reduce its carbon footprint.

Fortunately, this idea is just a proof of concept for now, and hopefully the negative reactions it generates will deter Logitech from developing it any further.

3. Borderlands movie premieres next week

Everyone’s favorite action shooter finally hits the big screen this week, marking another major entry in the video game adaptation industry.

The new sci-fi comedy film stars such stars as Jack black, Kevin Hart, Cate Blanchett AND Jamie Lee Curtis and will hit theaters on August 8.

Borderlands follows a group of eccentric Vault Hunters tracking down a vast fortune on an alien planet. Along the way, they are stopped by gangs of robbers, alien monsters, and other strange characters on the planet.

If you are looking for a new movie with lots of action scenes and unique visual effects, be sure to go to the cinema next week.

This week, a strange viral video of an artificial intelligence necklace has taken the internet by storm because it’s simply… very strange.

Friend is a wearable AI buddy that lives in a necklace that you can talk to. It communicates with you via text messages and push notifications on the phone it’s paired with. If that sounds like a weak prototype to Samantha from Heryou wouldn’t be far from the truth.

But the product itself is the least interesting thing about Friend. The company and its Gen Z owner are mired in a mess of drama with a rival startup.

Founder Avi Schiffmann was first ridiculed for acquiring the domain name Friend.com for nearly $2 million. The controversy intensified when the owner of a competing startup, posing as a former friend of Avi’s, claimed their idea had been stolen, making the claim via a video in which he raps on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Needless to say, the AI ​​tech industry remains an unappealing enclave of weirdo nerds who spend too much money on power struggles.

1. Mario and Sonic will no longer be at the Olympics due to NFTs

Everyone loves the Olympics right now, and there have been so many great, touching stories and historic moments this year. From Simone Biles revolutionizing gymnastics, Kim Yeji inventing pussies in sniper shooting or the performance of heavy metal band Gojira at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

You know who doesn’t have fun at the Olympics? Yeah, Mario and Sonic.

According to a report by Eurogamer, the IOC did not renew the license, opting instead to focus on esports and NFTs.

The latest Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games came out in 2020, based on the Tokyo event. The series started out as an all-time classic on the Nintendo Wii and did a great job of showcasing lesser-known sports at the Olympics.

There’s a new game out there, though. It’s called Olympics Go! Paris 2024, and it’s free to play on mobile and desktop. It features 12 Olympic sports and includes NFTs. Needless to say, this game failed more than that one diver currently trending on Twitter.

Photo credit: Mario & Sonic At The Olympics / Nintendo & Bloomberg / Getty Images