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Business Insider
23 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Mythical Games' FIFA Rivals Hits 1 Million Downloads Within 6 Weeks of Launch
Next generation gaming studio, Mythical Games has announced that the newly launched FIFA Rivals game has already reached one million downloads. The milestone was achieved within just 6 weeks of the game's launch and sets a new record as the fastest Mythical Games release to hit the one million mark. Developed in collaboration with football's official governing body, FIFA Rivals' accessibility and dynamic gameplay, coupled with its gentle learning curve, has resonated with the sport's global fan base, making it a hit with both beginners and experienced player. The one million players who have downloaded FIFA Rivals to date have made it a cornerstone of their gaming experience, notching 16M goals, 14M interceptions, 7M Supers, and 4M saves over the course of more than 5M matches. Interest in the game has been heightened by a licensing deal with sportswear giant adidas, which has developed a range of exclusive digital wearables, including football boots that can be acquired and traded within FIFA Rivals. Other exclusive items include an adidas match ball and unique jerseys developed especially for the iOS and Android game. Mythical Games CEO John Linden said: 'We're delighted to have hit the one million mark so quickly, and for the energy of the community that's coalesced around FIFA Rivals. We knew, even before launching, that the game was going to break all records, but to have gotten here so quickly is a testament to the Mythical Games team and to the partners who have joined us on this journey.' FIFA Rivals is available now on the App Store and Google Play Store. Interested players can follow on X @FifaRivals to join the community. About Mythical Games Acknowledged by Fast Company's World Changing Ideas 2021 and recently Forbes' Best Startup Employers (2024), Mythical Games is a next-generation game company creating world-class games and empowering players to take ownership of their in-game assets through the use of blockchain technology. The team has helped develop major franchises, including Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Magic: The Gathering, EA Madden, Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery, Marvel Strike Force, Modern Warfare 3, and Skylanders. Mythical's current games, Blankos Block Party and NFL Rivals, are already played by millions of consumers worldwide and create a new economy for players, allowing them to engage in a new way with games, but also directly trade and transact safely with other players worldwide. The Mythical Marketplace, the first in-game blockchain Marketplace on iOS and Android, provides gamers with ownership and control over the purchase and sale of digital assets, while the Mythical Platform protects gamers that may be new to blockchain through a custodial wallet for their digital items. Contact Nate Nesbitt
Borneo Post
26-06-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Heavier role shouldered by journalists in AI-era, says expert
Roslan delivers his remarks prior to presenting the certificates to the participants. KUCHING (June 26): Journalists in this era of artificial intelligence (AI) shoulder a heavier responsibility than those before them. This was highlighted during a course conducted by Tun Abdul Razak Broadcast and Information Institute (IPPTAR) at Harbour View Hotel here yesterday. Organised by the institute's Creative Industry Cluster under the Communications Ministry, the session on 'AI-Driven Journalism on Social Media: A New Era of Storytelling' was conducted by Irin Putri Azmi, a media and communications professional with over 20 years' experience covering journalism, scriptwriting, directing, hosting, and content-creation. 'When it comes to AI, we adapt, and we embrace. 'It is inevitable, not only in journalism, but in most areas as well,' she said in her presentation for the participants, who represented major multi-platform media and communications organisations in the state. Adding on, Irin Putri said AI should be imagined as 'a very smart intern, but one that must be given specific instructions'. 'With the AI being a very smart intern, the onus on us to give the right instruction to generate the desired outcome,' she said. Coordinated by Kalaivani Krisnan from the IPPTAR, the one-day session was segmented into six modules: 'The Changing Face of Journalism', 'AI Tools in Journalists', 'Storytelling With AI', 'Social Media Platforms and Algorithms', 'Ethics, Bias and Responsibility', and 'The Future of Journalism'. On the course's subject, Irin Azmi said social media journalism had its beginning in 2004 wih the advent of platforms like Facebook and YouTube, and later, Instagram and TikTok. AI began to go mainstream in 2016, she added. Citing data from Thomson Reuters Foundation Insights Report 2025, she said 81 per cent of journalists were already using AI. 'ChatGPT is the most widely used tool. 'In terms of (media) employees' attitudes to AI integration, however, 22.6 per cent are actively encouraging towards it, and 24.4 per cent are cautiously supportive; 47.6 per cent are neutral; 4.8 per cent oppose it; and 0.5 per cent, ban it. 'In addition, only 13 per cent have official AI policy in the workplace,' she pointed out. In this matter, Irin Putri acknowledged the concerns regarding AI such as misinformation, ethical issues, erosion of trust, the speed-versus-accuracy dilemma, and also the fear of AI taking over human jobs. Nevertheless, she said it was undeniable that a good social media content strategy could significantly enhance a news' reach on social media. 'The usage of AI tools can really help boost content's coverage, optimising the presentation of texts, images, audio and video so as to catch viewers' attention. 'Super, super important is the 'hook' to catch viewership in the first three seconds, leading to the viewers to go to the site to know more,' she said. Meanwhile, in his speech later, IPPTAR director Roslan Ariffin said the course was a realisation of the proposal by Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil to instill better usage of and respect for utilisation of AI in media. 'We hope that with the sharing-session by the expert, it would help the participants in facilitating the transition of AI into their assignments. 'But more importantly, it is important to base the usage of AI on the highest level of ethics and awareness, especially in view of so many unfortunate incidents involving AI in journalism. 'In this regard, the IPPTAR has just conducted a special forum involving the local media practitioners, with the objective of addressing issues of ethics in AI. 'The surest thing is that we cannot run away from AI; we have to embrace it,' he pointed out. Apart from the presentation by Irin Putri, the course also included hands-on sessions where the participants made text and audio-visual news prompts for publication on social media using various AI tools. Also present yesterday was Zulazhar Sheblee, the deputy president of Kuching Division Journalists Association (KDJA), the strategic partner of this programme. AI IPPTAR journalism lead
Scoop
24-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
How Academics Are Pushing Back On The For-Profit Academic Publishing Industry
According to the independent news organization the Conversation, five publishing houses control about half the global academic publishing industry's market share. Relx, the parent company of the 'biggest player in this business,' Elsevier, reaped a profit margin of almost 40 percent in 2023, 'rivalling tech giants such as Microsoft and Google,' pointed out the March 2025 article. 'Many of the most trusted and prestigious research journals are owned by commercial publishers,' the Conversation noted. 'For example, the Lancet is owned by Elsevier.' In 2024, the editorial board for the paleoanthropology bulletin Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) collectively resigned. Besides deficient copyediting and unethical use of AI, which resulted in what the journal Science calls 'scientifically significant errors,' the board accused its publisher, Elsevier, of overcharging. High article processing charges (APCs) are common in the for-profit academic publishing industry. The 2021 paper 'Equitable Open Access Publishing: Changing the Financial Power Dynamics in Academia' notes that high APCs 'exacerbate disparities between funded and unfunded researchers.' 'Traditional academic publishers exploit scholars in several ways,' says Denis Bourguet, co-founder of Peer Community In (PCI), a nonprofit platform that offers 'peer review, recommendation, and publication of scientific articles in open access (OA) for free,' according to its website. Bourguet says common practices within the traditional academic publishing model commodify scholarly knowledge, treating it not as a public good but as a resource to extract profit. 'Researchers produce articles, conduct peer reviews, and often serve as editors, typically without pay, while publishers profit by charging high fees to both authors and readers. With this model, authors must pay substantial article processing charges to publish in open access. Yet, in some journals, since some articles remain behind paywalls, universities and libraries must pay subscriptions to give their members free access to the full content of these journals,' adds Bourguet. PCI co-founder Thomas Guillemaud notes that costly paywalls make 'access difficult for researchers without institutional support, especially in low-income regions.' He adds that the 'pay-to-read or pay-to-publish model encourages researchers to focus on publishing in prestigious journals for career advancement, sometimes at the expense of research quality. This 'prestige economy' can distort scientific priorities and integrity. Pressures to publish in prestigious journals contribute to issues like irreproducible results, publication bias, and even scientific misconduct.' According to a 2025 report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, despite major advances such as the antiretroviral therapy and vaccines during the pandemic, science 'faces challenges due to the incentive systems,' with for-profit publishers trying to 'capitalize on unpaid reviewers and [charging] high fees for sharing and accessing knowledge.' PCI is one of many academic-led initiatives challenging the dominance of for-profit publishers and, as Guillemaud puts it, 'reshaping scholarly communication.' Lifecycle Journal, for instance, does not charge its authors or readers. It 'is a new transparent model of scholarly communication that aims to put publishing and evaluation in the control of the scholarly community itself,' its website states. Similarly, SciPost, 'the home of genuine open publishing,' claims, 'We don't charge authors, we don't charge readers, we don't send bills to anybody for our services, and we certainly don't make any profit; we are an academic community service surviving on support from organizations that benefit from our activities. Said otherwise, our system is academia's antidote to APCs.' The Free Journal Network curates and promotes Diamond OA journals that charge neither authors nor readers, ensuring adherence to fair open access principles and supporting a growing ecosystem of scholar-led publications. The French nonprofit publishing platform Centre Mersenne 'endeavors to fight research output's privatization and outrageous profit-making out of the scientific commons,' according to its site. Its 'agenda is to support Diamond Open Access or Gold OA without APC (no fees required to read nor to publish).' Diamond and Gold are two of many OA publishing models. Journals that use the Diamond Open Access model do not charge fees for readers or authors. Funding comes from academic institutions, research funders, philanthropists, governments, advertisers, and nonprofit organizations. Meanwhile, the Medical College of Wisconsin describes the Green OA model as 'the practice of placing a version of an author's manuscript into a repository, making it freely accessible for everyone… No article processing charges are paid.' The Georgia State University Library also outlines various types of OA models. Besides adopting the OA model, academics are countering for-profit academic journals by publishing academic-led journals, putting pressure on publishers to lower their fees, renegotiating contracts, and forming consortia. PCI embraces the Diamond OA model. Its support officer, Barbara Class, explains that its Peer Community Journal is free for authors and readers. This 'removes financial barriers imposed by article processing charges or subscription fees common in for-profit publishing. In addition, PCI publishes peer reviews and editorial decisions openly, promoting transparency and accountability in contrast to the often-opaque evaluation processes performed by for-profit journals.' Class adds, 'PCI focuses on the intrinsic value and quality of research rather than journal-based metrics.' Guillemaud says PCI is sustained through a 'community-driven funding model based primarily on small, recurring public subsidies from universities, libraries, and research institutions. These institutions contribute annually on a pay-what-you-can basis… allowing broad participation regardless of size or budget. This stable and diversified funding base enables PCI to cover its operational costs without large private donors or charging fees to authors or readers.' Author Bio: Damon Orion is a writer, journalist, musician, artist, and teacher in Santa Cruz, California. His work has appeared in Revolver, Guitar World, Spirituality + Health, Classic Rock, and other publications. Read more of his work at
IOL News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
KwaZulu-Natal Youth Parliament calls for curriculum reform to meet global job demands
Deputy Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Mmabatho Tembe, has called on the youth of the province to rise to the challenges of the present by equipping themselves with skills, strategy, and innovation when she officially opened the 2025 Youth Parliament. Image: KZN Legislature Speakers at the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Parliament (YP), held on Friday, called for the education curriculum to be revised to meet the current global employment demands, such as digital technology. The theme for the Youth Parliament 2025 was: Skills for the Changing World: Bridging the Gap through Education, Skills Development, and Entrepreneurship. Mmabatho Tembe, the Deputy Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, called on the youth of the province to rise to the challenges of the present by equipping themselves with skills, strategy, and innovation. Tembe said: 'This Parliament is not just a date on the calendar; it is a platform for voices that are often sidelined. It is a space for the youth to express, engage, and demand accountability from those entrusted with power. 'Our generation must now rise not with stones, but with skills. Not with slogans alone, but with strategy. And that begins with transforming how we educate and empower our youth.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Youth leagues representing several political parties expressed their views. Lethani Ndumo, of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), said that equipping people with the relevant skills will contribute to the economy of the country. He said there was limited access to quality education, limited job opportunities, and skills were not matching employment demand. According to Ndumo, the lack of jobs led to frustration and high levels of crime. He stated that for 30 years, the government has consistently mentioned inadequate budgets to address challenges facing the youth, yet has spent millions of rand on renting buildings instead of investing in its infrastructure. Ndumo said there were challenges facing students in higher education systems, including not being accepted into universities or being allowed to receive in-service training. Zandile Ndlovu, of the IFP, called for a curriculum review that is substantial and in touch with the needs of the social and economic demands. 'It should be transformative and progressive, equipping young people with skills that are of national importance and meet global demand. We see the need for innovative learning and entrepreneurship as a valuable career path. Incorporating entrepreneurship into the curriculum can foster creativity and innovation,' Ndlovu said. Representing the Democratic Alliance, Daniel Mea said the YP is meant to be a platform of serious engagement, and young people were not a tick box exercise to be acknowledged once a year. 'Graduates stay home while their qualifications gather dust. Enough of the ceremonial forums and youth formations being silenced after a photo is taken. If this Parliament can meet weekly, why does the Youth Parliament meet once a year?' he asked. Nkokhelo Msomi, a National Freedom Party (NFP) member, said the world is changing at a fast rate with technology, climate change, and a global shift in economies, and yet South African education and training institutes remain stuck in the past. He stated that the bridge to the future must be built on three strong pillars: education, skills development, and entrepreneurship. 'This has left many of us, especially in rural areas, unemployed, underqualified, and overlooked. Education must evolve, and we need to learn what is relevant. Rural youth are leaving school with certificates that cannot connect them to the economy. We need clear guidance and digital literacy introduced from Grade 8 and more colleges in rural towns like Nongoma,' he said.
eNCA
16-06-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Mashatile leads main Youth Day commemoration in Potchefstroom
JOHANNESBURG - Deputy President Paul Mashatile is leading the main Youth Day commemoration. He will deliver the keynote address at North West University's Rag Farm Stadium in Potchefstroom. The theme is 'Skills for the Changing World: Empowering Youth for Meaningful Economic Participation'. Commemorative events are being held nationwide. EFF leader Julius Malema is set to address the party's June 16 rally at King Zwelithini Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal.
