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GameStop to close over 200 stores

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The company’s balance sheet has not looked healthy in recent times — its second quarter global sales decreased 14.3 percent, marking an adjusted net loss of $32 million. As such, GameStop CFO James Bell announced that up to 200 “underperforming” stores will be closed between now and the end of the year. In the company’s recent earnings call, Bell added that, “While these closures were more opportunistic, we are applying a more definitive, analytic approach, including profit levels and sales transferability, that we expect will yield a much larger tranche of closures over the coming 12 to 24 months.”

Despite these closures — and efforts to revamp the better-performing stores — it’s unlikely that GameStop’s fortunes will change any time soon, thanks largely to the end of the current console generation and subsequent weaker title launches. As a result, Bell said, the company expects its year-over-year sales to be down for the next three to four quarters.

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‘Fortnite’ is letting players vote on rotating store skins

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As part of the multi-platform update, Epic has introduced a new feature called Community Choice. It gives players the “power to vote for what comes back to a new Item Shop slot.” The company says it’ll provide a choice of content — namely skins — that players can vote once a day for to return.

Because Epic offers Fortnite’s battle royale mode as a free download, the company recoups its production costs via virtual items in its in-game store. Skins, emotes and weapon wraps form the bulk of the game’s revenue, but some items only appear in the store for 24 hours before disappearing for an unknown amount of time. The idea seems to be that if you offer players a choice over what comes back to the game, they’ll be more likely to buy it.

That isn’t the only big change in today’s update, though. In keeping with Season X’s Rift Zone theme, Epic has brought back two of Fortnite’s most beloved locations (at least in part): Moisty Mire and Greasy Grove. In Greasy Grove, gone is Durrr Burger, replaced with a Tacos store that somehow facilitates the dropping of spicy tacos from the sky.

They offer 10 health points when eaten and a 40 percent increase in speed, granting players rotational movement heavily lacking in Season X. While in the Greasy zone, gamers are also encouraged to dance, making them invulnerable to damage while they regenerate health at 20 points per second.

Moisty Mire isn’t back completely, though. It’s been merged with Paradise Palms to create Moisty Palms. Most of the desert town remains, but beloved POIs like the swamp and the prison have returned. Because things just can’t be simple, the Moisty Rift Zone will also “disguise players as a random prop” when they crouch — think lamps, plants or toilets. Players to encouraged to hide and ambush unsuspecting opponents.

Remember, when players had the opportunity to choose which guns came back to Fortnite, they chose the Drum Gun. So, putting power in the hands of the community isn’t always beneficial. That said, if today’s update covers mainly cosmetics, there’ll be less for players to complain about.

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Volkswagen teases the ID.3’s larger EV sibling

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In a corner of the Volkswagen booth, a frosted-glass booth begins flashing and lo and behold, there’s the next EV from the German automaker. The license plate signifies it’s the “next ID” which of course means, they’re showing off the ID.4 SUV AKA the ID Crozz that the company has been showing off.

Unfortunately, taking photos of the sort-of-unveiled vehicle is difficult. There are two layers of reflective glass. The outer layer frosts itself up at regular intervals. The inner layer of glass has translucent blue camouflage elements while the car itself is covered in the same camouflage and is subject to a disco light-show of strobe effects. It all adds up to a bad photo experience.

It’s not the first not-officially-unveiled vehicle from the VW group to make an appearance at the Frankfurt show. Audi showed off the E-Tron Sportback under a barrage of red and white lights and a fog-machine haze. that also was a tough vehicle to photograph.

The ID.4 will be the first MEB platform EV to make its way to the United States. It’ll land state-side probably in late 2020. VW says it’ll have a range of about 300 miles and will be “affordable.” It’ll compete directly with the Hyundai Kona EV and Kia Niro EV.

Chances are we won’t see it at the LA Auto Show. But then again, Volkswagen has been full of surprises lately, so maybe the ID.4 will make its US debut under the warm California sun where we can properly photograph it.

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Roland’s app can sync four iPhones to shoot multi-camera videos

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“As the newest addition to Roland’s collection of professional video products, the 4XCamera Maker provides creators with an all-in-one video production platform to take creators from the early stages of video capture to sharing the final product,” wrote the company in a statement. The app allows users to perform multiple other functions on either an iPhone or iPad, like utilizing split-screen layouts, transitions, fading in and out and trimming raw footage. The app includes some simple editing tools, as well.

Roland

Users can upload their footage to master devices with a tap. Currently, the iOS app is available free of charge to users of Roland Go: Mixer and Go Mixer Pro, an audio mixing tool for smartphones.

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New $29 AppleCare+ option covers AirPods and Beats

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While the service doesn’t seem to cover charging cases, its coverage includes wireless buds’ batteries and the charging cables they shipped with. Plus, it buys subscribers priority access to Apple’s customer service. Those interested can simply add AppleCare+ to their cart when they buy new headphones from Apple’s online store. They also purchase it from a brick-and-mortar Apple Store or by calling (800) 275-2273 within 60 days upon getting a new pair — it can’t be purchased online by itself.

According to 9to5Mac, though, the service doesn’t cover theft or loss coverage. That means those who’ve lost an earbud in the subway, which seems to be a growing issue for the New York Metropolitan Transport Authority, would still have to buy a replacement.

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The Silent Arrow is a massive glider delivery drone

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Yates Electrospace Corporation (YEC), the company behind the Silent Arrow, envisions the drone as a potential replacement for the Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) delivery method several armed forces, including the US military, use to deliver battlefield supplies. Even if you’re not familiar with the acronym, you’ve probably see JPADS in action in movies and newsreels. The system uses a combination of GPS and steerable parachutes to guide supplies that are dropped from an airplane to their intended destination. Compared to JPADS, YEC claims the main advantage of the Silent Arrow is that it can deliver up 1,631 pounds of supplies, the drone’s maximum load, at less than half the cost. Since it’s a glider, it’s also easier to steer to its target destination. When the situation calls for it, it can also be stealthy in a way that parachutes can’t.

While far removed from the consumer-facing delivery drones Amazon has been testing as a part of its Prime Air project, the Silent Arrow is a step forward for the field. With production slated to start this October, it’ll be among the first delivery drones to take to the skies.

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EA meets with gamers to help curb toxic behavior online

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The suggestions included two-factor authentication for EA accounts, which could both improve overall security and discourage banned players from quickly creating new accounts. Players also told the company it could alert players if a report leads to action, use AI to moderate chats and find ways to improve cultural representation in game characters.

The Player Council could be busy. EA expects there to be “several opportunities and events” involving the council throughout a given year. This also isn’t the only way the company is teaming with the community. We wouldn’t expect rapid progress at this stage — it’s one thing to talk about ideas, it’s another to implement them. This is a start, though, and it could reduce the amount of grief players get when they’re simply trying to have a good time.

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iOS 13 file confirms Apple is testing an augmented reality headset

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Hints pulled from iOS 13 code have already shown signs of the rumored AR headset that Apple is supposedly working on, but now there’s clearer proof than ever. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith points out a readme in a new release that explains to employees how they can run the augmented reality apps on an iPhone without using the actual headset.

9to5Mac’s Guilherme Rambo showed how the iOS 13.0 gold master and iOS 13.1 beta releases contain Apple’s “StarBoard” system shell to run AR apps as well. According to Smith, the code suggests that rendering could be handled on the iPhone itself, and the use of an additional gamepad/motion control device.

Apple’s plans for augmented or virtual reality went unmentioned during today’s iPhone event, along with other rumored announcements like a new Apple TV or ultra-wideband location Tags. Still, the leftover notes suggest that it could’ve been a late scratch, or perhaps that something new is, as rumored, around the corner for next year.



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51 companies tell Congress it’s time to tackle data privacy

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Accordingly, the companies have published a framework for what they’d like to see. They want “robust” protections for data that foster accountability, a “technology neutral” approach that spurs innovation, worldwide interoperability and, of course, a harmonized rule set.

The company list includes some notable omissions, although that doesn’t necessarily reflect a lack of interest. Apple chief Tim Cook has separately called for GDPR-style laws, for instance.

Whether or not the focus is really on everyday users is another matter. As ZDNet pointed out, this could be more about protecting the companies’ own hides than anything else. Companies continue to run into privacy blunders even after years of data breaches and the resulting penalties. Clear federal laws could help them avoid costly fines and regulatory changes.

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