Month: August 2021

An unannounced PlayStation 5 hardware revision, first noticed in Australia by Press Start, brings two changes to Sony’s console. First, the new model, CFI-1102A, runs 0.6 pounds lighter compared to the original console, although Sony has given no indication about what has changed. Back in May, reports emerged that a new wireless module was planned, and that’s likely what is inside these tweaked consoles. The update applies to both the digital and disc versions.

Secondly, and most importantly, there’s a new screw for the console’s annoying and required base/stand. While the screw isn’t necessary when the system is placed in a horizontal position (there’s a small compartment to store the screw), anyone setting up a PS5 vertically needs the screw to keep the stand stable. The revised screw can be tightened by hand thanks to a new grip around the head. While that doesn’t make aligning the base/stand any easier, you no longer need a screwdriver to do the operation.

The console, which has been plagued by a scalper market since launch, remains in short supply. A quick glance at eBay auctions shows new PS5s still consistently running near $700–$900, well over the $400–$500 MSRP, depending on edition. Apps like StockInformer can alert those who are still trying to track one down—minus the reseller premium.

Before Nintendo released the Game Boy, the company sold simplistic, LCD-based Game & Watch units—and lots of them. When sales broke 20 million units, creator Gunpei Yokoi commissioned special edition Donkey Kong Game & Watch pieces to commemorate the achievement. One of those units, which came on the market for the first time, recently sold in an online auction for $9,000—the most paid for a single Game & Watch to date.

The device features work by artist Makoto Kano, programmer Hiroshi Momose, and sound engineer Naoto Ishida. It’s unknown how many Yokoi produced. John Hardie, director at the National Video Game Museum in Frisco, Texas, speculated with Ars, saying, “Were there just three made (one for each of them) or [was] it a limited thing Nintendo made and sold/gave away? Maybe there's 50 of them? Maybe Nintendo has a pallet in their warehouse. It's just hard to know since there's very little information. If I had to guess, I would say there were more than three made, but again, just a guess.”

Even if 50 were made, $9,000 for such a rare piece of Nintendo memorabilia, especially given the recent million-dollar Zelda and Super Mario 64 video game auctions, remains cheap. Hardie wasn’t surprised by the price given the current state of the collector’s market, but he did note, “We at the museum would have paid that,” and sadly, the NVM does not have one in their otherwise sizable collection.

Enlarge / Empty Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine vials (credit: AHMAD GHARABLI)

The Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), the agency announced Monday.

The vaccine's full approval—or Biologics License Application (BLA)—applies for use of a two-dose regimen, given three weeks apart, in people ages 16 years and older. It is the first BLA to be issued for a vaccine against COVID-19. The vaccine will still be available under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for adolescents ages 12 to 15 and for use as a third booster dose in certain people with compromised immune systems.

The name Comirnaty—already in use elsewhere, including Europe—is a mash-up of "COVID-19 immunity" and "mRNA" that is meant to evoke the word "community."

Enlarge / Anti-Satellite Weapons from Mission Shakti are displayed during Republic Day Parade on January 26, 2020 in New Delhi, India. (credit: Ramesh Pathania/Mint via Getty Images)

US military officials are debating whether to publicly demonstrate a new space weapon capability, according to the online publication Breaking Defense.

Senior military leaders, including Gen. John Hyten, the vice-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, have been discussing for more than a year whether to reveal a secret space weapon by providing a demonstration of its capabilities, the report says. The weapon system, the details of which remain obscure, was developed as a "Special Access Program," which is reserved for highly classified information.

The Trump administration considered revealing the space weapon as early as the annual Space Symposium conference in 2020, a prestigious event for the national defense community. The idea was to showcase the technology as a validation of the Space Force and Space Command, which is responsible for military operations in outer space. However, the conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  It's hard to get a good look at the titular monsters in Aliens: Fireteam Elite, mostly because they're otherwise flanking your squad and raising interstellar hell. The results are a surprising blast.

2013's Aliens: Colonial Marines was arguably the last huge video game to focus on the "Aliens with an S" side of all things xenomorphic. Between flashy trailers and Gearbox's reputation at the time, series fans got their hopes up that the 1986 James Cameron film would finally inspire a modern shooter worth a loud oorah. Not so much.

This week, the letter S returns to PCs and game consoles with far lower expectations in the form of Aliens: Fireteam Elite. And I gotta say, this three-player co-op romp's success makes me angry about Colonial Marines all over again.While losing hours to this new game's faithful, no-frills fun, I imagined Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford sitting next to me. Between missions, I would ask him why his development teams couldn't surpass a little-known indie studio's slimmed-down excuse to rev up machine guns and flamethrowers with friends.

Still, a genuinely fun Aliens game is better late than never. And this is much better.