Latest news with #Japan
Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Hoffenheim signs Japan defender Koki Machida from Belgium's Union Saint-Gilloise
SINSHEIM, Germany (AP) — German team Hoffenheim has signed Japan defender Koki Machida from Belgian champion Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. The 27-year-old Machida, who has played 17 games for Japan, signed a 'long-term contract' at Hoffenheim, the Bundesliga club said on Friday without elaborating. Kicker magazine reported Hoffenheim agreed to pay around 4.5 million euros ($5.3 million) for the player, possibly rising to over 5 million ($5.9 million) with bonuses. 'In Koki Machida we've found a central defender who brings exactly the qualities we were looking for in this position,' Hoffenheim sporting director Andreas Schicker said. 'He has international experience as a Japanese national team player and was an absolute key part of Royale Union Saint-Gilloise's championship-winning last season. Koki is an uncompromising defender who never shies away from a challenge.' Machida initially joined the Belgian team on loan from Kashima Antlers in 2022, earning a permanent switch the following year. Altogether he played 114 games for Union. 'For me the step to Hoffenheim and in the Bundesliga is the next in my career,' Machida said in a Hoffenheim statement. Hoffenheim finished just above the Bundesliga relegation zone last season. ___ AP soccer:
The Verge
37 minutes ago
- The Verge
Logitech says all its webcams work with Nintendo Switch 2 — save one
If you're looking for a webcam that works with the Nintendo Switch 2's new GameChat mode that lets you video chat with friends and see their faces within games, it looks like the biggest brand in PC accessories is still your best bet. Logitech is the first webcam maker to confirm to The Verge that the vast majority of its cameras work — all of them, in fact, save for the high-end Logitech Brio 4K. 'All of our webcams except Brio 4K work out of the box with Switch 2,' Logitech spokesperson Leila Lewis definitively tells The Verge. When the Nintendo Switch 2 launched three weeks ago, webcam manufacturers had no idea which cameras would be compatible with the new Switch, and some of the best-reviewed cameras simply didn't work. It was a weird mystery, a wild west, and webcam makers had to figure it out on their own. Many didn't even have a Switch 2 to test with, my sources tell me, and had to compete with consumers to buy the fastest-selling game console of all time. Nor did Nintendo provide compatibility guidelines, it seems, as manufacturers like Elgato and Ugreen had to reverse-engineer why their seemingly compatible cameras weren't showing up when they plugged them in. But that mystery now seems to be solved — the answers are not what we expected! — and manufacturers are now seemingly free to update any of their firmware-updatable webcams and make them compatible with the new Switch. Logitech doesn't seem to be promising an update for the Brio 4K. 'Brio 4K is built with the security features of Windows Hello that are not supported on the Switch 2 anyway,' Lewis tells The Verge. But again, all its other webcams reportedly work — which won't be all that surprising to anyone who's been following the webcam saga. When Nintendo and webcam makers weren't originally able to provide lists of working webcams, Redditors crowdsourced their own list, which includes far more working webcams from Logitech than any other manufacturer. A few Redditors say you can even get the Brio 4K working if you want, with a firmware downgrade. Do that at your own risk, though. So far, Elgato and Ugreen have committed to upgrading specific cameras to work with the Nintendo Switch 2. Obsbot has generically confirmed it will do some sort of firmware updates, and Insta360 is still looking into it. Anker is non-committal.
The Review Geek
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Lazarus Episode 13 Preview: Release Date, Time & Where To Watch
Lazarus Lazarus takes place in the utopian year of 2052. A genius neuroscientist by the name of Dr. Skinner has discovered a miracle analgesic drug known as Hapna, completely relieving the user of any pain. After inexplicably disappearing, we cut forward three years later, where Dr Skinner resurfaces to the public in an online video. He announce that the drug has a three-year half-life and soon everyone who has taken it will die. As a result of this, a task force of five agents is assembled to locate Skinner and create a vaccine. Its name? Lazarus. If you've been following this anime, you may be curious to find out when the next episode will be released. Well, wonder no more! Here is everything you need to know about episode 13 of Lazarus, including the release date, time, and where you can watch this. Where Can I Watch Lazarus? Lazarus is airing in Japan on TXN (TV Tokyo) and Animax. It is also available to stream on Adultswim and HBO Max for those in the US and other territories, along with airing for free on Channel 4 for those in the UK! Lazarus Episode 13 Release Date Lazarus Episode 13 will debut on Sunday 28th June at approximately 9pm (ET)/ 12am (ET) and 5am (GMT). Episodes will then drop every week at the same time each week. Of course, it's really dependent on how quickly the platform uploads new episodes. Expect this to be pretty close to the release time though. Lazarus is airing in the West with a pretty strange licencing agreement here. Warner Bros. Discovery have decided that the series will first premiere in English on Adult Swim, with a next-day upload on Max. Then, the Japanese with English subtitle version of the anime will debut in the United States on Adult Swim and Max 30 days after the English-language premiere. It's likely the same thing will occur in the UK too. How Many Episodes Will Lazarus Have? It has been announced that Lazarus will have 13 episodes in total, with one episode releasing a week. With all of that in mind, we're now onto the finale for this one! Is There A Trailer For Lazarus? Yes! You can find a trailer for Lazarus below. What do you hope to see as the series progresses? What's been your favorite moment of Lazarus so far? Let us know in the comments below!
WIRED
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- WIRED
'Persona 5: The Phantom X' Brings The Series To Your Phone—and It's Shockingly Good
Jun 27, 2025 3:11 PM The free-to-play game is the first time the JRPG is available on mobile, offering fans a quick fix with a few hidden costs. Still from Persona 5: The Phantom X. Courtesy of fortyseven communications Persona games are herculean efforts to finish. A single playthrough of any game in the main series, which includes everything from saving the world to studying for finals, frequently clocks in at around 100 hours. Much of that time is spent building relationships with the game's characters and world by hanging out with friends, doing mundane tasks like laundry, or finding new parts of the city to explore. It creates a dedication that leaves many players so attached to each game's cast that they'll eagerly jump into new experiences just to get more time with them. Persona 5 was no exception. Since its launch in 2016, the JRPG has inspired spinoffs across a variety of genres, from rhythm game Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight to the strategy-based Persona 5 Tactica . On June 26, co-developers Atlus, Sega, and Perfect World released Persona 5: The Phantom X —a spinoff for PC and mobile that mirrors the original game so closely, it works as both an easy introduction to the series, and an enjoyable re-entry into Persona 5 's world. Much like with Persona 5 , Phantom X s follows a group of teenage vigilantes known as Phantom Thieves who gain the power to summon powerful entities, Personas, to fight evil forces. More directly, the game feels like Persona 5 , adopting its turn-based battle system, music, visual style, social links, and more to deliver an experience on PC and mobile devices that works surprisingly well for a series with so much to do. While The Phantom X opens almost identically to the original game, it quickly veers away from Persona 5 's cast to establish its own. Something is off in the world of high school student Nagisa Kamishiro, where people are losing the desires that guide their free will and dreams. In order to help people reclaim their lives, Nagisa and his friends will need to crawl through the Metaverse, a foe-filled alternate reality only they can enter, and fight back. The Phantom X is free-to-play, but is a gacha game, meaning it has in-game purchases and relies on randomized pulls for things like characters from other games in the series and items. It's a controversial style that can prompt players to fork over cash endlessly to get the experience they want. Because of that system, The Phantom X is best played at a daily pace, rather than long stretches. The game has daily activities and awards to earn, and developers plan to continue releasing content for it over the coming months. Right now, the game only features Japanese voice acting and English subtitles, which may be a deterrent for some fans. Although the Persona series is available on handheld consoles, like the PS Vita or Nintendo Switch, The Phantom X is the first time the more traditional JRPG version is available on mobile. The game uses touch controls to move through its world and select commands. Its cutscenes work well even on a small screen, and though its menu can feel at times cramped (depending on your screen size) it's an experience that flows seamlessly. Mobile platforms are well-suited to the dungeon crawling aspects of the game especially, allowing for much needed breaks and the ability to quickly jump back in at any time. For players who want to relive the highlights of the Persona 5 universe, The Phantom X is an easy recommendation. Its faithful recreation of the original game's best elements, mixed with a new story, makes the experience feel like a premium one—and a promising look at what a Persona game could look like on your phone.
CNET
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Someone Help Me, I Also Need These Sonic the Hedgehog Magic: The Gathering Cards
Magic: The Gathering hit a goldmine earlier this month when it released its Final Fantasy set based on one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. Final Fantasy was reportedly the best-selling Magic set before it even released, thanks to extensive preorders. Now Wizards of the Coast is hoping to repeat that success with Secret Lair drops themed around video game icon Sonic the Hedgehog, launching Monday, July 14. Wizards of the Coast/Sega Depending on which century you were born in, you'll either recognize Sonic as the star of 1991's Sega Genesis video game Sonic the Hedgehog, or as the star of Paramount Pictures' Sonic the Hedgehog movies. (Or maybe you know him from Smash Bros. or Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games or any of the countless other places he shows up in.) Now he's joining the storied Magic: The Gathering card game in a year where Magic is aggressively investing in crossovers with other properties. Those crossovers started years ago with The Walking Dead, became an official Magic series called Universes Beyond when it released a Secret Lair drop for Stranger Things, and we've gotten Magic cards for everything from Street Fighter to Lord of the Rings, The Evil Dead, Jurassic Park and even SpongeBob. Lord of the Rings was the first full Universes Beyond set, but it set the table for Final Fantasy last month, and we're getting full sets for both Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender later this year. The new Sonic Magic: The Gathering cards are different from the game's Final Fantasy set because these are Secret Lair products -- limited-run drops of a handful of cards, rather than a full set of hundreds of Standard-legal cards. Like many Secret Lair crossover products, they seem aimed at the casual multiplayer Commander format that lets you build decks around your favorite characters and play with a group of friends. Sonic being a legendary creature with white mana, blue mana and red mana in his color identity means that a Sonic Commander deck allows you to include his allies Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose in the deck. Shadow costs red and black mana, which means he doesn't fit in a Sonic Commander deck, but he would fit in a Dr. Eggman deck. Wizards of the Coast/Sega Wizards of the Coast/Sega And, gang, these cards are kinda wild. Whenever Sonic attacks, he puts power-increasing counters on other creatures with flash or haste, which not-so-coincidentally includes all of the aforementioned allies that fit in his deck. And Sonic having the haste ability himself means he can attack the same turn you cast him, virtually guaranteeing one activation. Tails can draw cards when flying vehicles enter -- a nice nod to his plane that first showed up in the late stages of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Knuckles has a lot going on, including the ability to create treasure tokens that can help you cast spells -- or just outright win the game if you have enough while he's on the battlefield. There's also some mechanical synergy between these cards and the new Final Fantasy cards. Amy Rose automatically attaches equipment when she attacks and then can buff the power of other creatures, making her a great fit for the Limit Break Commander deck led by Cloud (or Tifa), which cares about equipment and power stats! Wizards of the Coast/Sega Similarly, Dr. Eggman gets to draw cards at the beginning of your end step -- if you also control Y'Shtola Rhul, you get an extra end step, allowing you to draw two cards instead of one for the low, low cost of ending your turn. Wizards of the Coast/Sega All of that adds up to mechanically fun Magic cards that feature a lifelong favorite character for me. And it'll add up financially if I can get my hands on either the foil Sonic: Friends & Foes collection ($40) or the non-foil collection ($30), whose cards are less likely to warp from the foil treatment. There are two other Sonic Secret Lair drops announced, including one that focuses on reprinted artifacts like vehicles and equipment and another that rounds up existing cards that synergize with the new cards. Both will be available in $40 foil version or $30 non-foil versions. All three Secret Lair sets go on sale Monday, July 14 at noon ET/9 a.m. ET. When they do, and I cannot stress this enough, you gotta go fast to get 'em.
