Kyle Orland /

Recent stories by Kyle Orland

1. FTC attacks Microsoft’s post-merger Game Pass price increases

   Regulator says move is "exactly the sort of consumer harm" it warned about.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 19, 2024 2:14 pm UTC

2. Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition gave me new respect for gaming speedrunners

   Bite-size speed challenges refresh the classics, but require a healthy dose of patience.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 17, 2024 8:29 pm UTC

3. Valve runs its massive PC gaming ecosystem with only about 350 employees

   Ars' leak analysis shows a large "Games" department and a very well-paid "Admin" team.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 17, 2024 11:14 am UTC

4. PC emulator comes to iOS, but Apple’s restrictions hamper performance

   UTM SE's lack of JIT compilation means "SE stands for Slow Edition."

   Kyle Orland – Jul 15, 2024 3:54 pm UTC

5. “Superhuman” Go AIs still have trouble defending against these simple exploits

   Plugging up "worst-case" algorithmic holes is proving more difficult than expected.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 12, 2024 8:20 pm UTC

6. Can you do better than top-level AI models on these basic vision tests?

   Abstract analysis that is trivial for humans often stymies GPT-4o, Gemini, and Sonnet.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 11, 2024 4:35 pm UTC

7. Microsoft asks many Game Pass subscribers to pay more for less

   Launch day access to first-party titles now restricted to $19.99/month "Ultimate" tier.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 10, 2024 4:04 pm UTC

8. Fallout: London devs will “downgrade” Fallout 4 to save their massive mod

   The game's "next-gen update" threatened to upend years of work on the "DLC-sized" mod.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 9, 2024 2:23 pm UTC

9. The telltale words that could identify generative AI text

   New paper counts "excess words" that started appearing more often in the post-LLM era.

   Kyle Orland – Jul 1, 2024 11:30 am UTC

10. Apple rejects PC emulators on the iOS App Store

    New iOS emulation rules only apply to "retro game consoles," not retro computers.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 26, 2024 4:43 pm UTC

11. Taking a closer look at AI’s supposed energy apocalypse

    AI is just one small part of data centers’ soaring energy use.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 25, 2024 6:01 pm UTC

12. Decades later, John Romero looks back at the birth of the first-person shooter

    Id Software co-founder talks to Ars about everything from Catacomb 3-D to "boomer shooters."

    Kyle Orland – Jun 24, 2024 11:00 am UTC

13. Why Interplay’s original Fallout 3 was canceled 20+ years ago

    OG Fallout producer says "Project Van Buren" ran out of time and money.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 20, 2024 4:31 pm UTC

14. Seven years later, Nintendo proves Metroid Prime 4 still exists

    2025 release could launch on the still-mysterious "Switch 2."

    Kyle Orland – Jun 18, 2024 4:00 pm UTC

15. Star Citizen still hasn’t launched, but it’s already banning cheaters

    Developer bans "over 600" players for exploiting an item duplication glitch.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 17, 2024 4:51 pm UTC

16. Are Diablo fans getting too old for the old-school item grind?

    Devs say players no longer want the "very long chase" for rare drops.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 14, 2024 3:54 pm UTC

17. This photo got 3rd in an AI art contest—then its human photographer came forward

    Humans pretending to be machines isn't exactly a victory for the creative spirit.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 13, 2024 10:34 pm UTC

18. Gaming historians preserve what’s likely Nintendo’s first US commercial

    Mego's "Time Out" spot pitched Nintendo's Game & Watch handhelds under a different name.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 13, 2024 4:51 pm UTC

19. Apple’s AI promise: “Your data is never stored or made accessible to Apple”

    And publicly reviewable server code means experts can "verify this privacy promise."

    Kyle Orland – Jun 10, 2024 7:05 pm UTC

20. Microsoft Gaming CEO: “I think we should have a handheld, too”

    More than just streaming, playing games locally "is really important" to Spencer.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 10, 2024 4:13 pm UTC

21. Microsoft reveals first disc-less Xbox Series X

    But don't worry, Microsoft isn't abandoning the console disc drive entirely.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 10, 2024 2:06 pm UTC

22. New Steam Deck competitor lets you easily swap in more RAM, storage

    Adata embraces the CAMM2 memory standard for its intriguing handheld prototype.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 7, 2024 8:17 pm UTC

23. Civilization VII looks like 2K’s next big game announcement

    Logo drop comes amid publisher's "beloved franchise" tease for Summer Games Fest.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 7, 2024 3:52 pm UTC

24. You can inherit a dead relative’s GOG account—if you have a court order

    "We'd do our best to make it happen... with the help of the justice system."

    Kyle Orland – Jun 6, 2024 8:19 pm UTC

25. Sony removes still-unmet “8K” promise from PS5 packaging

    Move could presage an expected resolution bump in the rumored PS5 Pro.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 6, 2024 5:00 pm UTC

26. Google’s AI Overviews misunderstand why people use Google

    Answers that are factually "wrong" are only part of the problem.

    Kyle Orland – Jun 4, 2024 5:31 pm UTC

27. 11 years after launch, 49M people still use their PS4s, matching the PS5

    But PS5 users spend more money and gameplay time on their consoles.

    Kyle Orland – May 30, 2024 2:39 pm UTC

28. Sony apologizes for interview it says “misrepresented” a Last of Us creator

    Move comes after Druckmann publicly disavowed some quotes: "This is not quite what I said."

    Kyle Orland – May 29, 2024 4:51 pm UTC

29. Families of Uvalde shooting victims sue Activision over Call of Duty’s role

    Suit: Activision is "manipulating players' brain chemistry," ignoring "use by minors."

    Kyle Orland – May 29, 2024 2:55 pm UTC

30. After you die, your Steam games will be stuck in legal limbo

    So much for your descendants posthumously clearing out that massive backlog...

    Kyle Orland – May 24, 2024 4:15 pm UTC

31. Google’s “AI Overview” can give false, misleading, and dangerous answers

    From glue-on-pizza recipes to recommending "blinker fluid," Google's AI sourcing needs work.

    Kyle Orland – May 24, 2024 11:00 am UTC

32. Here’s what’s really going on inside an LLM’s neural network

    Anthropic's conceptual mapping helps explain why LLMs behave the way they do.

    Kyle Orland – May 22, 2024 6:31 pm UTC

33. Microsoft Copilot will watch you play Minecraft, tell you what you’re doing wrong

    Microsoft demo is like chatting with GameFAQs when you don't have a friend to hang with.

    Kyle Orland – May 21, 2024 4:37 pm UTC

34. Does anyone really need a 1,000 Hz gaming display?

    TCL's ultra-fast 4K LCD prototype has us musing about diminishing smoothness returns.

    Kyle Orland – May 20, 2024 10:13 pm UTC

35. How to port any N64 game to the PC in record time

    "Static recompilation" is "the difference between weeks of work and years of work."

    Kyle Orland – May 17, 2024 3:40 pm UTC

36. Sony listing hints at native, upscaled PS2 emulation on the PS5

    Download promo promises "up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters."

    Kyle Orland – May 16, 2024 3:45 pm UTC