Month: August 2020

Enlarge / What exactly can we expect from a "4K"-grade Nintendo Switch? We doubt its built-in display will reach 3840x2160 resolution, but will it still maintain the system's popular "hybrid" nature of portability and TV compatibility? And will it get exclusive games? We're still left with questions after today's reports. (credit: Nintendo / Sam Machkovech)

An upgraded version of the Nintendo Switch console appears to finally be on the horizon. Multiple outlets have claimed that Nintendo's long-rumored plans for a higher-powered Switch are finally moving forward with an expected launch of sometime in 2021.

Reports from both Bloomberg and the Taipei outlet United Daily News allege that this system's specifications are currently in flux, according to sources familiar with Nintendo's plans. Bloomberg's late Monday report claims that Nintendo is considering upgrades like "more computing power and 4K high-definition graphics," and those details line up with a machine-translated version of UDN's report from earlier in the day.

Games? Portability?

Intriguingly, the UDN report points to an aggressive release schedule as early as "Q1 2021," with hardware production beginning by the end of 2020, but Bloomberg's report does not mention such a timeframe. Both reports mention a dearth of announced software for Nintendo Switch this holiday season, and Bloomberg reporter Takashi Mochizuki claims this is intentional on Nintendo's part, in order to bolster "launch" software for the upgraded Switch next year.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

In 2018, researchers from security firm Kaspersky Lab began tracking “DeathStalker,” their name for a hacker-for-hire group that was employing simple but effective malware to do espionage on law firms and companies in the financial industry. Now, the researchers have linked the group to two other pieces of malware including one that dates back to at least 2012.

DeathStalker came to Kaspersky’s attention for its use of malware that a fellow researcher dubbed “Powersing”. The malware got its name for a 900-line PowerShell script that attackers went to great lengths to obfuscate from antivirus software.

Attacks started with spear-phishing emails with attachments that appeared to be documents but—through a sleight of hand involving LNK files—were actually malicious scripts. To keep targets from getting suspicious, Powersing displayed a decoy document as soon as targets clicked on the attachment.

Capping off a long day of sneak peeks, panels, and teaser trailers at DC FanDome this past weekend, Warner Bros. dropped the first teaser for The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson (of High Life and the Twilight franchise) in the title role. It's directed by Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes), and—surprise, surprise—it's another dark, gritty take on the classic superhero—this time with more of a film noir/detective story vibe.

There is a long and tangled backstory to this latest incarnation of the classic comic book superhero. We all know that Ben Affleck was cast as Batman for a three-film trilogy in the DCEU: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), and Justice League (2017), which had its own well-publicized production woes. Warner Bros. announced plans for a standalone Batman film in the fall of 2014, with Affleck set to reprise the role, as well as directing and co-writing the screenplay.

The original plan was to set the film within the DCEU, after the events of Justice League. But as Warner Bros. was rethinking the shared-universe model for its superhero films in favor of standalone films and franchises, Affleck announced he was stepping down as director, and the studio replaced him with Reeves. Affleck would eventually withdraw from the project altogether, following his divorce from Jennifer Garner and a stint in rehab for alcohol abuse.