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Game studio Enhance is celebrating its tenth anniversary and marking the occasion with two limited run box sets that showcase the art and audio of its creative titles. Founded by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Enhance has released some stellar video games over the past decade, including Tetris Effect: Connected, Rez Infinite, Lumines Remastered and Humanity.

One collection — The Enhance Soundworks Collection Boxed Set — centers on the music and soundtracks from the studio’s history. It includes nine LPs with the soundtracks to each of the four games above, all on custom-printed vinyl. The box set also includes a liner booklet with insights on the music from game composers and creators, a turntable slipmat, a poster and a set of pin badges. Only 505 collections will be sold and are scheduled to ship in spring 2025.

The other collection is called The Sounds & Visions: Enhance at 10 Boxed Set. This contains a 300-page oral history of the studio’s founding and its game projects, a laser-etched glass sculpture inspired by Rez Infinite, prints of concept art for Tetris Effect: Connected and Rez Infinite, and a CD of audio tracks by Hydelic from the same pair of games. This set will begin shipments in summer 2025 and is limited to 1,010 copies.

Each of these box sets is available to pre-order now and will retail for $259. Even the packaging on these collectors’ items align with the blend of art, audio and design that has become a hallmark of Enhance’s creations. Both Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect: Connect impressed Engadget’s team for their mindful, meditative approach to immersive, flow-state gaming.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/enhance-unveils-two-collectors-box-sets-in-honor-of-its-tenth-anniversary-194435400.html?src=rss

Now isn’t a bad time to try our pick for the best VPN service for 2024. ProtonVPN is on sale for 70 percent off 24-month subscriptions ($71.76 upfront) and 50 percent off 12-month plans ($59.88). That averages out to $3 monthly if you go with two years and $5 monthly for the single-year option.

ProtonVPN is Engadget’s favorite VPN service of 2024. Although most services passed our tests with high marks, Proton’s service stood out for its independently audited no-logs policy, a proven record of refusing law enforcement requests, open-source code and a peer-review program that discloses potential vulnerabilities. We also liked its user-friendly interface.

The company offers a limited free plan, but ProtonVPN Plus gives you access to 6,500 servers in more than 110 countries. It also includes the company’s high-speed (10Gbps) servers, BitTorrent support, a built-in ad blocker and the option to route your connection through multiple servers.

Other Proton services are also on sale. That includes Proton Mail, the company’s fully encrypted email service that put it on the map. You can get 12 months for 60 percent off ($23.88) or 24 months for 30 percent off ($83.76). ProtonMail recently added an AI-powered writing feature to its mail service. Even if you aren’t a fan of robots putting words into your mouth, the service still gives you up to 10 email addresses (including custom domain support), smart filters and labels, one-click unsubscribe and dedicated mobile and desktop apps.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/proton-vpn-black-friday-deals-include-70-percent-off-a-two-year-plan-192530586.html?src=rss

Sony has officially killed off Concord and is shuttering the studio behind the game. Concord‘s servers were taken down just two weeks after the launch of the competitive team shooter from Firewalk Studios after poor sales. Firewalk’s game director Ryan Ellis chose to move himself into a more supportive role following Concord‘s struggles, and Sony had said it would consider its options for the project. The decision is in.

“After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio,” Hermen Hulst of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group said in a statement today. ”I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.” A representative told Bloomberg News that Firewalk Studios had 172 employees who will lose their jobs.

The online game business is brutal, and Concord may have suffered for its long development time, which meant other team shooters had already risen to prominence and defined players’ expectations. Many similar games are free to play and support themselves financially with a battle pass or seasonal model. Gamers may have balked at the $40 price tag for a new property, or maybe the genre was simply too crowded for Concord to muscle in.

Whatever the reasons, today’s news marks another difficult chapter for the game development world. Firewalk Studios is an outlier for having this level of commercial failure, but it’s still yet another closure in the industry that has seen a lot of turbulence in recent years. Layoffs and shutdowns have been a top story in gaming, but several of the recent cases have been like Firewalk, which was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment just last spring. Netflix abruptly shut down its AAA studio last week before the team had even announced a project. Microsoft closed three studios from the Zenimax family earlier this year. As fewer parties control a growing share of the games industry, the tolerance for experimentation and slim profit margins will likely shrink too. And this type of sudden upheaval could become all the more common.

Update, October 29, 2024, 2:52PM ET: Story updated with additional context about Concord, Firewalk Studios’ staff numbers and broader studio closure trends.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-pulls-the-plug-on-concord-and-shuts-down-firewalk-studios-180321212.html?src=rss

Amazon’s shopping-focused chatbot Rufus is launching throughout Europe, after coming to the US back in February. It starts rolling out today as a beta in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, after coming to the UK in September. This is a gradual rollout and the company says it could be a few weeks before every single user in the aforementioned countries receives a software update.

To get started with Rufus, look for the icon on the bottom right-hand corner of the mobile app. This will open up the chat box. Customers can tap on this chat box to ask follow up questions or receive more information on a pre-existing query. This is a beta release, so Amazon encourages customers to leave feedback by “rating their answers with a thumbs up or thumbs down.” There’s also an option for more directed freeform feedback.

For the uninitiated, Rufus is a generative AI shopping assistant that was trained on Amazon’s entire product catalog, along with customer reviews, community Q&As and “information from across the web.” It’s a chatbot, so customers can ask Rufus questions about products and the like.

For instance, users can ask Rufus if a particular pair of running shoes are durable or if a jacket is machine-washable. This is AI, though, so even Amazon admits that the information may not always be correct. “It’s still early days for generative AI, and the technology won’t always get it exactly right,” the company writes.

If you live in the US, you already have access to the chatbot. Just look for the tell-tale icon that looks like two chat bubbles, along with the name Rufus.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazons-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-rufus-launches-in-europe-today-184255137.html?src=rss

After introducing many Americans to Formula One racing with the docuseries Drive to Survive, Netflix is spotlighting one of the motorsport’s greats. Senna will show the roots, drive and tragic passing of Ayrton Senna (Gabriel Leone) as he goes from racing go-karts in São Paulo, Brazil, to international superstardom and 41-time Grands Prix winner. You can watch the trailer below a month before the limited series’ debut.

“Fascinated by cars since childhood, Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna became a sports legend — until tragedy struck, changing Formula 1 forever,” Netflix’s description reads. Showrunner Vicente Amorim (Yakuza Princess) helms the six-part series. In addition to Leone (Ferrari) in the starring role, its cast includes Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner) and Matt Mella (The Bureau).

Netflix

The trailer below showcases Senna’s determination in the face of adversity, his uncanny ability to drive in the rain and his love of his home country. The LA Times reports that the series was produced in Brazil, filmed mainly in Portuguese and is supported by F1’s governing body.

You can stream Senna exclusively on Netflix after you wrap up your Black Friday shopping on November 29.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflixs-senna-showcases-the-rise-and-untimely-death-of-the-brazilian-f1-legend-175721183.html?src=rss