This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about the streaming industry, follow Emma Roth. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Streaming was once a reprieve from cable. Not only could […]
Category: Gaming
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Nest’s quest to fix your thermostat
The founding story of Nest is pretty much a perfect tech myth. A legendary product maker (in this case, Tony Fadell) helps create one of the most successful products ever (the iPhone) and then rides off into the sunset to enjoy the rest of his life, only to have an experience that drags him back […]
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Visual novel Coffee Talk Tokyo serves up an image of 'Cool Japan,' but not much more
Coffee Talk started out as a slice-of-life visual novel casting you as a night-shift barista serving Seattle’s uniquely magical residents, from elves to vampires to succubi, hearing out and advising their whims and woes over steaming cups. Its strength was not just in the individual lines of dialogue spouting from these monsters (affectionate), but also in how those were placed within the context of Magical Seattle: a thread of societal distaste towards interspecies relationships, for example, is held taut through several characters’ arcs, not just in the two characters whose parents explicitly disapprove of them for it. Opinions and arguments towards the ills facing this world are treated with the weight they deserve, acknowledging the fluidity of both public opinion and the problems themselves.
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Phasmophobia delays highly-anticipated 1.0 launch to 2027 as it "prioritises quality over speed"
Phasmophobia maker Kinetic Games has revealed its new roadmap, confirming ghostbusters can expect the reworked Willow Street map by the end of July, "two major quality-of-life updates", and confirmation that the hugely anticipated 1.0 release has now slipped to 2027. Read more
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Prosecutors used ChatGPT logs as evidence in the Palisades fire trial
Jonathan Rinderknecht was facing arson charges for setting a fire on New Year's Day in 2025, which became one of the deadliest wildfires in LA history. To make their case, prosecutors turned to location data from his iPhone, security camera footage, and witness testimony. But they also turned to his ChatGPT logs. Prosecutors said that […]
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PlayStation is pulling "previously purchased" digital movies from users' libraries
Sony has written to PlayStation customers to advise that hundreds of "previously purchased" digital movies previously available via its online store will "be removed" from video libraries later this year. Read more