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Ecuador Robot Climbs Chimborazo as Science Gets Altitude and Attitude
A humanoid robot named Pemba Jose has climbed above 6,000 meters on Ecuador’s Chimborazo, turning a surreal mountain test into a serious question about conservation, climate science, national pride, and how Latin America monitors its hardest-to-reach frontiers today under pressure.
Max Holloway predicts 'fireworks' against Conor McGregor
Thirteen years ago, at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston, future legends Conor McGregor and Max Holloway fought in a featherweight bout on the preliminary card. McGregor defeated "Blessed" via unanimous decision. It was the Irishman's second octagon appearance. The two will rematch in the UFC 329 main ...
Trump hails America as 'most exceptional nation ever to exist' in Mount Rushmore speech
President Trump declared communism the greatest threat facing the USA and vowed the country would never become a communist nation in his Mount Rushmore speech.
Piknik Theatre ushers in new era as health issues keep founder away
Celina Taylor will be trying to ensure that everything is in its proper place when performers take the stage at Branham Amphitheater in Strawberry Park on Sunday for Piknik Theatre‘s first performance of the 2026...
Pickleball tournament raises over $40,000 for community health center
Through three days of pickleball, Elevated Community Health’s 2nd annual Elevated Paddle Battle tournament raised over $40,000. The tournament, which ran from June 26-28 in Breckenridge’s Carter Park, featured 100 players from 12 states, all...
Long Reads for the Long Weekend
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July weekend! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the last year, like I did in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025. Let’s dive right in! Subscribe “Different Prices for the Same Ride: How Uber and Lyft Use AI to Get More Money Out of You“ by Derek Kravitz in Consumer Reports I don’t think surveillance pricing, like the kind described in this brilliant Consumer Reports article, is long for the world—it’s toxically unpopular—but we’ll see if either party takes on this issue. If I ran a political party focused on affordability, I would focus on a few pro-consumer and pro-market policies: Banning non-compete agreements. Ending surveillance pricing Eliminating junk fees (read more here...) Ensuring “right to repair” for consumer (and military!) products Capping excessive app store fees Stopping digital/algorithmic price-fixing tools. Preventing automatic subscription price increases. And more. If you want to fight inflation, there are a lot of great ways to do it quickly. Speaking of higher prices... “Secret Documents Show Pepsi and Walmart Colluded to Raise Food Prices Across the Economy“ by Matt Stoller in BIG Again, I think a political party should focus on lowering prices for consumers. And deals like this—Walmart making a deal/forcing Pepsi to offer the lowest prices at its stores and nowhere else—hypothetically lower prices at Walmart...but raise them everywhere else. “15 DUIs, still driving: California’s failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road“ by Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler in CalMatters CalMatters does terrific reporting in California, something the Golden State desperately needs more of, and this article is a great example of that. “PugLips: The next insanely popular thing you’ve never heard of…” by Simon Carless in Game Discover Co I thought that this parody article (and yes, it’s a parody, but I was definitely unsure at first) was hilarious and totally nailed how much tech/business journalism feels these days. Actually, three of my favorite articles this year were on hype in the video game industry, including Georg Zoller’s “The Video Game Industries Very Dark Night”—which I linked to recently and wrote a follow-up here—and Owen Mahoney’s “Derek Zoolander, Videogame Exec”. In particular, I like Mahoney’s focus on user experience as a guide to what trends will actually grab hold of customers. “The Matrix Lies“ by Evan Shapiro in Media War & Peace Evan Shapiro’s first person account of his experience with AI was hilarious. I think LLMs capabilities have significantly grown from last summer, and yet...my editor/researcher just had an abysmal experience using an LLM to do a quite basic task (which our LLM normally does each week) and the LLM made a mistake on every single data entry...along with seven different mistakes affecting twelve of the twenty or so entries, including mistakes that are explicitly spelled out in the prompt. That’s a brutal failure rate. Again, if you use AI/LLM for data collection, you need to take a lot of extra steps to verify and check the data. “Ghosts in the Balcony: A Cross-Country Trip to 58 Theaters Fighting to Survive“ by Matthew Frank in The Ankler I thought Matthew Frank’s pitch to head across America to visit theaters sounded insane aggressive at the time—at least it felt that way to someone a decade older than him; man, to be in your twenties again, am I right?—but I knew the result would be great. And it was, a terrific feature by a great young writer. Also, I loved Matthew’s recent article on who’s getting the precious few entry level jobs in Hollywood. (Hint: nepotism.) “Disney erased FiveThirtyEight“ and “Did Las Vegas get too greedy?” by Nate Silver in Silver Bulletin I love media history and analysis, and there’s no one better to get the history of FiveThirtyEight than from Nate Silver, who wrote about his personal experience in one of my favorite pieces from this year. I also loved Nate’s breakdown of what’s causing Vegas’ woes, but I’ll offer one criticism, summarized as “Might I suggest antitrust?” Many centrists/center-right/libertarian thinkers (Nate is self-described as the latter) often don’t consider consolidation or antitrust as factors in policy issues like housing, America’s military readiness, or, in this case, Las Vegas. Even if libertarians want to debunk antitrust/consolidation concerns, I’d love to read that debunking. In this case, Vegas is incredibly consolidated (though it also has been for a long time) and I’d have loved to read Nate at least contending with this factor, since he addresses almost every other potential factor for Vegas’ decline. “Why Microsoft’s Carbon Removal Pullback Is Such a Big Deal“ by Robinson Meyer in Heatmap News I’m a big supporter of carbon removal efforts, but this nascent industry faces a lot of headwinds, including this big move most recently. I think it’s clear that solar panels and batteries should be able to get the world to its carbon footprint goals, but effective carbon renewal remains necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. “AI is killing the cheap smartphone“ by David Oks LLMs and AI will impact the world in ways we’re not ready for, and already, third world countries are seeing the prices of cheap cellphones skyrocket due to the cost of chips skyrocketing. This article by David Oks is a terrific breakdown. “100 Days of Madness: Netflix, Paramount, Warner and the Future of Hollywood“ by Wade Major at Hollywood Heretic Wade Major dove deep into Hollywood/streaming’s financials in this must read piece. Not that I agree with everything in this article (read my take on Warner Bros./Paramount here) but the analysis is top notch. I think many people discount how quality thinking, regardless of the argument/conclusion, will make you a better thinker. “Erased by the UFC: Frank Shamrock, The MMA GOAT of the 20th Century“ by Nate Wilcox in The MMA Draw Newsletter Growing up playing the UFC fighting game on the Dreamcast, Frank Shamrock was my favorite MMA fighter, and this history/tribute to him was great. Other Fun Reads “The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt“ by Craig Fehrman at Defector “Unmasking the Sea Star Killer“ by Craig Welch at bioGraphic “What Could Save the Industry? Fin-Syn“ by Richard Rushfield in The Ankler Alex Rollins Berg in Underexposed on movie bumpers, pillow shots, Disney trash cinema, cult films, and Casablanca. David H. Montgomery in YouGov’s The Surveyor on punctuation marks, condiments, dinosaurs, and comic strips and kids media. “How Medium finally pivoted its way to profitability“ and “Why the best journalists on YouTube are all former Vox employees“ by Simon Owens in Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter “It’s Not Just You, Netflix Shows Have Gotten Slightly Shorter: Here’s What the Data Says“ by Kasey Moore at What’s on Netflix “Numlock Awards: How Diane Warren became the biggest loser in Oscar history“ by Nathaniel Rakich and “Numlock Awards: The Oscar Bait era is over. The Oscar Chum era is here.” by Walt Hickey & Michael Domanico at Numlock Awards
2027 Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale Brings the Stick-Shift Back to Maranello—Kind Of
Ferrari's listened to the market and created a completely new shift- and clutch-by-wire system that promises to be just like the real deal, if not better. Genius or blasphemous?
July 5 Sunday Science talk to discuss communication
“Exploring Social Sciences with a Mass Communication Major” is the title of the Central Colorado Humanists Sunday Science program for 10 a.m. July 5 at A Church, 419 D St.
As World Cup fever grips Brazil, scrutiny mounts over its sports betting industry
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When World Cup season descends upon soccer-mad Brazil, green and yellow banners decorate restaurants, bars and apartment buildings, streets are painted with flags and soccer balls, and discussions of the beloved national team's games are ubiquitous.
As World Cup fever grips Brazil, scrutiny mounts over its sports betting industry
When World Cup season descends upon soccer-mad Brazil, green and yellow banners decorate restaurants, bars and apartment buildings, streets are painted with flags and soccer balls, and discussions of the beloved Seleção’s games are ubiquitous
Trump returns to Mount Rushmore after years of hinting he belongs there
The White House says there would be “no better addition” to Mount Rushmore than Trump, who last month posted an image of his face on the monument.
15 Famous Celebrities Born Under Aquarius
Some of the biggest names in entertainment, sports, and pop culture were born under the Aquarius sign. Aquarians born between January 20 and February 18 are often known for their originality, creativi...
Scientists discover giant fan-shaped structure beneath Antarctica's ice sheet: The hidden structure rewriting Earth's ancient history
For decades, Antarctica has been treated as a kind of frozen time capsule, a place where evidence of Earth's deep past sits preserved, undisturbed, beneath layers of ice that have built up over millions of years. As per the study published in Nature Geoscience, scientists have now uncovered something remarkable within that buried record: an enormous, fan-shaped geological structure stretching across a huge swath of East Antarctica, hidden entirely from view beneath the ice.
Extreme heat bears down as America 250 celebrations ramp up
President Donald Trump is heading to South Dakota for a speech and fireworks at Mount Rushmore on Friday night
Extreme heat bears down as America 250 celebrations ramp up
President Donald Trump is heading to South Dakota for a speech and fireworks at Mount Rushmore on Friday night
China’s Momenta IPO oversubscribed 414 times as Hong Kong listings pack calendar
Autonomous-driving firm draws nearly 210,000 orders for a US$751 million offering, making it year’s second ‘red-chip’ firm to get Beijing’s permission to list via offshore structure.
Trump heads to Mount Rushmore, where efforts to impose his likeness have stalled
President Donald Trump returns to Mount Rushmore on Friday, and though the president has openly mused about adding his likeness to the storied national monument, it’s unclear if he can move the mountains necessary to make it happen.
Early Steam Machine user mourns "red line of death" following GPU failure
"Pretty cool for the 20 minutes that it worked".
UH to cease science operations at Maunakea’s UKIRT telescope this fall
The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope is one of thirteen working telescopes on the mountain’s summit and the third to be decommissioned.
Surprise rival knocks Costco's famous rotisserie chicken off its perch as best bird
Consumer Reports named Sam's Club's rotisserie chicken the best warehouse club bird, edging out Costco's iconic $4.99 Kirkland Signature option.
Which schools will play which sports in the new-look Mountain West
The Mountain West used to have a clean-cut approach to its membership with 11 full members plus two affiliates (Hawaii in football and Colorado College in women
James Carville breaks with famous ‘It’s the economy, stupid’ slogan because of Trump
James Carville says his famous 1992 catchphrase "It's the economy, stupid" now haunts him because of what he calls Trump's corruption today.
UH to cease science operations at Maunakea’s UKIRT telescope this fall
The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope is one of thirteen working telescopes on the mountain’s summit and the third to be decommissioned.
SBA, USDA Sign MOU to Combat Lawfare Against Farmers, Ranchers, and Small Businesses
New Partnership Gives Producers a Direct Line to Report Costly Regulations and Advance Lasting ReformWASHINGTON, July 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to combat lawfare targeting farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and small businesses. The agreement gives America’s producers a direct line to report the regulations and rules driving up costs and impacting pro
Who Are the Best Draft Picks in Denver Nuggets’ History?
The NBA Draft is where franchises, like the Denver Nuggets, are built. Few organizations have found greater value in the later stages of the draft than Denver. The team famously selected three-time MVP Nikola Jokić with the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Now, the choice is regarded as the greatest second-round pick in […] The post Who Are the Best Draft Picks in Denver Nuggets’ History? appeared first on The Lead.
A new attack uses a BioShock-style puzzle to convince AI browsers they're not in the real world
Researchers from LayerX recently unveiled BioShocking, a new type of vulnerability designed to target AI-powered browsers capable of executing autonomous tasks on the open web. The security...
We’re in the game: Bear Bryant Award returns to EA SPORTS College Football 27
HOUSTON, July 2, 2026 – The name of the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant is synonymous with excellence in the game of college football, and once again, fans playing EA SPORTS College Football 27’s Dynasty Mode will have the chance to win the American Heart...
What are the 'top workplaces' in the New Orleans area? Check out this year's awards.
The annual competition identifies exemplary companies via independent, anonymous surveys of their employees. This year, more than 41,000 workers were surveyed.
Arts and Entertainment Agenda, July 3-9
‘Knox Kronenberg: An Exhibition Honoring 250 Years of America,’ July 2-4 Through the stark beauty of the American West, a special exhibition entitled ‘Knox Kronenberg: An Exhibition” will honor 250 years of America from 11:30...
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes expected to join Simon Francis at Al Hilal
Francis, who replaced Hughes as Bournemouth’s technical director in 2024, is leading the Saudi Pro League club's transfer activity.
Paramount ad tech org chart: Who has power after leadership shuffle
David Ellison's Paramount Skydance is reshaping its ad product and tech teams. Here's what changes were made, and who's rising within the company.
Elevance pays CMS $342M to assuage concerns of noncompliance and overbilling
The Medicare Advantage insurer said the payout is equal to what a CMS audit stated was the total amount the company was overpaid for patient care services. Despite receiving the cash, the agency has yet to officially withdraw its enforcement action, as the two parties are still negotiating.
The Iran MOU is a mess. It still might work
The 14-point “Memorandum of Understanding” is among the oddest international agreements in recent memory. Short on detail, its two pages purport to grant significant up-front American concessions to Iran in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was already open before the war President Donald Trump started in February and now hopes to end.
Liverpool feeling full weight of massive Mo Salah regret
Liverpool have an enormous Mohamed Salah regret. They're now feeling the full weight of it.Mohamed Salah left Liverpool this summer. The Egyptian is no longer a Red and will find a new club, something...
Valley Regional Transit expands Rides2Wellness program to Mountain Home for health rides
Elmore County residents who need a ride to medical care in Ada County can now book free transportation through a six-month expansion of Valley Regional Transit’
Bluebird Social draws World Cup crowds, boosts food truck business in downtown Boise
KBOI-TV CBS 2 covers news, sports, traffic, and weather in the Treasure Valley and Boise, Idaho and nearby communities, including Meridian, Nampa, Garden City, Caldwell, Kuna, Middleton, Eagle, Mountain Home, Star, Melba, Payette, Weiser, Horseshoe Bend, Idaho City, Marsing, Homedale, Parma, New Plymouth, Murphy, Fruitland, Emmett, Wilder, Notus, McCall, Cascade, Donnelly, Council, and Vale, Oregon, and Nyssa, Oregon, Ontario, Oregon.
'Dutton Ranch' is ending. Here's when the season finale comes out
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Episodes 1-8 of "Dutton Ranch," now streaming on Paramount+.
Godot bans "autonomous AI agent use or vibe coded" contributions
Godot has updated its contribution policy and "take[n] steps" to reduce "demoralizing" AI contributions.
Ex-CIA Director John Brennan sues the Trump administration, demanding it preserve records of investigations into him
Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration Wednesday, demanding a court order that would require officials to preserve records from investigations that he says are targeting him for “what amounts to phantom criminal conduct.”
Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future
Behind every self-driving laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a team people most never see. Facilities and Operations workers are building and maintaining the infrastructure that makes autonomous science possible. More than a dozen self-driving labs operate at ORNL, placing the Tennessee national lab among the first research institutions in the world to create this autonomous laboratory model at scale.
NEW Best In Games Warren: Metro Detroit’s Ultimate Indoor Family Entertainment Center
Located at 28300 Dequindre Road, this massive entertainment destination features everything from an enormous indoor playground and laser tag to go-karts, bowling, arcade games, and even axe throwing…
Maryland-Bred Big Cuddle Joins Haskell Lineup
Pocket 3's Racing’s Big Cuddle will face his stiffest test yet in the $1 million, Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 18, the Daily Racing Form reports. The Haskell field is expected to draw Preakness winner Napoleon Solo and runner-up Iron Honor, as well as G3 Tampa Bay Derby ...
Zohran Mamdani to deliver a speech marking America’s 250th birthday
The New York City mayor will speak from George Washington’s desk hours before President Trump delivers a speech from Mount Rushmore.
The most iconic sandwich shop in every state
From roadside stands to famous delis, these are the most famous and beloved sandwich shops in America.
The Supreme Court just made money matter even more
The Supreme Court ruled in NRSC v. FEC that political parties can spend unlimited amounts of money in direct coordination with their own candidates, further increasing the influence of money in pol…
Mountaineer sports returning to several WVRC Media radio stations
Agreement includes return of WAJR and WVAQ to Mountaineer Sports Network.
Canadian boy, 11, dies from rabies after waking up with bat on his mouth
An 11-year-old Canadian boy has died from rabies after waking up with a bat on his nose and mouth.
Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future
Behind every self-driving laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a team most people never see. Facilities and Operations (F&O) workers are building and maintaining the infrastructure that makes autonomous science possible.
Entertainment Listing: July 1
Wednesday July 1 Lost Forest Coffehouse & Pub • Carbondale Bingo night, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. Carbondale Public Library • Carbondale Family concert with Babaloo, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. Advertisement Thursday July 2 Booby’s • Carbondale Open mic karaoke, 8:30 p.m. Little Nashville • Marion Lucas Wayne & The Cottonmouths, 6 p.m....
Question of the Day: Who will win Chicago’s next championship?
Every sports franchise in Chicago has an arrow pointing up - but who will be the next to climb the mountain?
Content Independence Day, one year on: building the business model for the agentic Internet
One year after declaring Content Independence Day, a dynamic market for monetized content has officially emerged. In this report, we examine how the rise of autonomous AI agents is upending traditional search referrals and detail the new infrastructure required to support a sustainable web economy.
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
Yankees still falling way behind, still searching after latest loss
This time, Cam Schlittler was roughed up, and the Yankees' lineup once again couldn't mount anything in a 9-3 loss to Detroit, their sixth straight.
Confirmed: Real Madrid’s fixture list for 2026/27 season announced
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A New Mountain West Era Begins
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An enormous explosion has occurred in deep space – and scientists caught it within minutes of the detonation | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
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Not a rerun: This big name in American news is returning to television
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Benches clear in Red Sox vs. Nationals game as Willson Contreras charges mound, throws helmet at Cade Cavalli
Contreras was heated after Cavalli yelled toward him after a fourth-inning strikeout
Anthropic's New AI Workbench Mapped My Field For $26. Now Imagine It Aimed At The Rest Of Science
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US Flag & Signal a true ‘red, white and blue’ business
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Scientists teach human cells to compute like tiny computers
Researchers have developed a way to program human cells to perform calculations and make autonomous decisions, similar to how computer chips work.
Political parties can now spend unlimited money supporting candidates, after Supreme Court overturns decades of precedent
A huge amount of money flows into campaigns in the United States. For 20 years, the Supreme Court has been loosening rules for who can contribute and how much. It just loosened the rules again.
Dartmouth Health hires new COO
Dr. Jonathan Welch, experienced in academic and rural health, joins Dartmouth Health as COO, replacing Patrick F. Jordan III.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered details frame rate and resolution for Nintendo Switch 2, DLSS support, mouse controls, more
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered gets frame rate, resolution, DLSS, mouse controls, and more details for Nintendo Switch 2.
How 'Bad Santa' brought naughty Billy Bob Thornton onto 'Landman'
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PAHO expands health response as Venezuela faces mounting health risks after devastating earthquakes
Caracas, Venezuela/Washington, D.C., 30 June 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is expanding its support to Venezuela's Ministry of Health following the two powerful earthquakes that struck the country on 24 June, deploying technical experts, coordinating international Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs), assessing damaged health facilities, and mobilizing emergency medical supplies to support lifesaving care and reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.
Concern Mounts About Rumored ‘State Of Decay 3’ Cancellation At Xbox
Xbox fans are now worried about reports that State of Decay 3 may be cancelled, despite recent previews, ahead of big layoffs.
Supreme Court Strikes Down Limits on Political Party Spending
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Band Together to Take Down Criminals and Earn Bounty Hunter Bonuses
Bring dangerous criminals across the frontier to heel and earn 3X RDO$, XP, and Role XP dragging in Regular Bounties, and 3X RDO$, XP, and Gold hauling in Legendary and Infamous Bounties.
LincolnFest was staged for the first time 45 years ago. A look back in photos
Featuring national music acts, unique contests and copious amounts of beer, LincolnFest packed a punch during its run from 1981 to 1993.
The 'Love Island' drama, allegations and when a friend group implodes
After JaNa Craig dumped fellow islander Kenny Rodriguez, the famous friend group of "Love Island USA" Season 6 took sides.
BlueCross BlueShield of VT pulls its proposed lower-cost, higher-deductible health plans
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Netflix and Superheroes Are Having a Rough Stretch on Streaming....
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) I have a quick prediction before we start today’s article: You might see this data in future news articles. Not my specific charts or analysis, but the core trend I’ve been monitoring—Netflix is having a lackluster Q2—will become inescapable. Often, folks want to know “What does the data say?” Well, that’s what it says. I haven’t seen this analysis hit the trades really yet, but I have a feeling some other outlets are going to start making this case soon. Remember, you read it here first. You probably have read about the problems facing superhero films at the box office this weekend. Well, this week, I explore whether superheroes are dying on TV as well! And the data says: definitely maybe! We have a lot to cover in today’s Streaming Ratings Report, which covers the two weeks of 18-May and 25-May. Today, I’m just looking at TV, like Netflix’s disappointing Q2, superhero shows underwhelming, a few TV shows dropping off the charts, The Pitt finally ending its epic run on the viewership charts (and whether “view counts” change its status as one of the biggest shows of all time), all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Tomorrow, I’ve got a great rundown of the film side of things. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, Showlabs, TV Time trend data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of May 18th to May 31st, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Netflix’s Q2 Slump Continues Having analyzed streaming ratings for going on half a decade, I have learned to trust my gut, but I’m always relieved when I can find actual data to back it up. For example, after a string of very popular shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent came out, week after week, in January and February, my gut wondered if Netflix had enough new and returning TV shows to sustain them throughout the year. Since then, Netflix’s post-March slate of shows has not impressed me. This week seemed to feature a potential new hit, but then, like a classic Duffer Bros. TV show, there was a twist. I speak of The Boroughs, Netflix’s latest (and last) Duffer Bros. produced show. The pitch is “Stranger Things with older actors”. And it topped the Nielsen charts: With just two weeks of viewership, The Boroughs would have been a top 25 debut show last year: But here’s the twist: Netflix has already cancelled The Boroughs! What happened? Likely a few things. First, the show didn’t do as well globally as it did in the US. As What’s on Netflix showed, it lagged behind several other shows that got cancelled. Second, its completion rate was likely low; after an initial burst of interest, it quickly dropped off on the Samba TV and Luminate charts. Third, the Duffer Bros. left Netflix for Paramount, and that may have factored into Netflix’s decision here. (Though I tend to believe that if a show is doing well, Netflix would have kept greenlighting seasons.) Still, just because I can explain why Netflix may have cancelled this show doesn’t mean I’m justifying it. In particular, as I’ve noted before, Netflix is losing a lot of their bigger shows as they reach their natural ends, and they need to replace those shows. This show had the hallmarks of a big new genre show, and it’s their biggest hit of the last few months (in the US at least), but now it’s done. Netflix’s other show this week—The Four Seasons, the second season of the “hit” show from last year—definitely disappointed. Its sophomore season had about half the viewership of the first, only 12.7 million hours. It also only had a two week run on Samba TV, and its numbers were all down on Luminate too. In other words, even with two successes, the Q2 slump for Netflix looks real: I could add to the list of disappointments: Both Lord of the Files and Man on Fire had short runs on the Nielsen charts. Running Point’s sophomore season also opened to about half its viewership, similar to The Four Seasons. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’s second season—see below—didn’t even make any of the three viewership charts I track, unlike the first season. Netflix is absolutely having a dismal second three months of 2026. If this Nielsen data is any indication, and I think it is, I think this will show up in Netflix’s engagement report, and maybe even their financial outcomes. And the rest of June doesn’t look much better. We have two hit shows coming back—Sweet Magnolias, one of their quietest big shows, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, a big hit for them in 2024—but the other big swings are limited series crime thrillers i.e. no future season potential. Like I said above, sometimes when I uncover a juicy nugget like this, other outlets end up writing very similar articles mimicking the data without credit. We’ll see if that happens this time! Share Television - The State of Superhero Shows on Streaming When I first heard the pitch for Spider-Noir—a Sony TV show on Prime Video that binge-released eight episodes first on MGM+ then on Prime Video two days later—I had my doubts. It’s a live-action Spider-Man show set in the 1930s, starring Nicholas Cage, based on a cameo of a character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. No, seriously, that’s the pitch. That could either go terrifically well or horribly wrong. Great because, Spider-Man. He’s the biggest superhero we have. I’ve seen tracking numbers that put the new _Spider-Man: Brand New Da_y as the blockbuster of the year and initial pre-sales back that up. And yet this Spider-Noir pitch feels very esoteric. (Also, the eight-episode binge release feels very “Amazon copying Netflix” again.) So what’s the data say? And what does this say about the future of superhero shows?
Rumour: State of Decay 3 Dev Also Facing Xbox Axe, Just Weeks After Game Was Revealed for PS5
Looking for a buyer
Man uses a Game Boy Camera to photograph Jupiter
With a big boost from Mount Wilson Observatory’s powerful Hooker Telescope.
Mountain West Football 2026 All-Conference Team
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Singham funding one of 'most subversive political networks' in America: former senior Treasury advisor
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A business built on faith: Immeasurably More Event Catering plants roots in Madison Township
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As business concerns mount, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson taps Amazon, Microsoft and others to shape economic strategy
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Rumour: Naughty Dog Chose to Remake The Last of Us 1 for PS5 Instead of Uncharted 1
Lost treasure
WhatsApp is launching usernames: here’s how to reserve yours
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Princess Kate completes remarkable Three Peaks Challenge mountain climb
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Nhouyvanisvong, Green Among Attendees at NCAA Career in Sports Forum
Macalester College rising senior Adi Nhouyvanisvong (Wayata, Minn./Minnetonka) of the women's soccer team and rising junior Jay Green (Roseville, Minn./Mounds Park Academy) attended the NCAA's Career in Sports Forum, held May 27-30 at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind.
How six venture capital giants are reshaping startup financing
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Star-maker Clive Davis honored at funeral that draws Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick and others
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The World's Southernmost Active Volcano Is Spewing Out Gold Every Day
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The Busy Bar Is a Gadget to Get People to Leave You Alone
Flipper Devices, a company that built a banned hacking device, now wants to hack your attention span.
Flipper Device's new Busy Bar is a customizable display for productivity
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Kakao Entertainment Announces Genre-Spanning Lineup
Kakao Entertainment enjoyed a highly successful first half of the year, with its Netflix series “The WONDERfools” and “Boyfriend on Demand” hitting global home runs with their distinctive narratives. Also building on the recently released suspense drama “Notes from the Last Row,” Kakao Entertainment’s genre-spanning 2026 slate features the upcoming action-comedy “A Bona Fide Killer” and the thriller “Mousetrap,” cementing - Read our full Pop Culture on The Outerhaven .
Add Lynn Bartels to Colorado’s roll call of legends
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Never forget how Giannis made our city, Milwaukee, come alive
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Comcast to split cable business from media through NBCUniversal, Sky spinoff
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Learn Science with Dr. V: Is air weightless?
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Jose Mourinho eyes Chelsea mainstay as his ‘priority’ signing
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Russian 6th to 11th graders get 17 hours of basic military training
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Outfitting for Adventure
Flagstaff Business News Outfitting for Adventure
PS6 Hardware Cost Estimated at $900+
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Conservative presidential power expert set to assist investigation into Trump foes
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El Niño Is Back—and It Could Cost Businesses Trillions. What Smart Leaders Are to Prepare
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AI coding agents gain trust as developers skip reviews
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