Developer Konami has confirmed that a second Metal Gear Solid Master Collection is in the works, though it seems like it might take some additional time to arrive.
Speaking in the latest Metal Gear Production Hotline episode posted to YouTube, producer Noriaki Okamura responded to a fan question regarding a potential follow-up to the existing Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1.
"We should've picked easier questions," he joked. He explained that the question is a difficult one to answer as while they already had HD ports of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, there are no pre-existing ports "of the titles released after those".
"Some are in HD, but those would all be really big titles, and that comes with its own set of issues," Okamura continued, presumably referring to the potential difficulty of creating a port of the PlayStation 3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
Regarding a potential release date, he said that "it's going to be a little while until we can get a clear picture, but when we do, we'll let you know." Even so, he was careful to clarify that "of course, we called the first one Vol. 1, so we are making a Vol. 2, that much is for sure."
He also said that the team wanted to take a little more time to avoid some of the issues that faced Vol.1 at launch. You can watch the full Metal Gear Production Hotline below.
As for what exactly could be included with a potential Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, there are some obvious choices. Although it would undoubtedly be a huge amount of development work, making Metal Gear Solid 4 officially playable outside of the PS3 for the first time could be a huge benefit for newer series fans without access to older hardware.
Some of the smaller releases in the franchise could then make up the other titles included in the collection, such as Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2, in addition to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
If you want to catch up on the the bulk of the Metal Gear Solid series so far before Vol. 2 arrives, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is available now for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
You might also like...AI integration in software development has already become widespread, with testing, quality assurance and security vulnerability detection, and promises major productivity boosts, new research has declared.
A new OutSystems survey of more than 550 software executives across various sectors has found three-quarters of software executives noted a 50% reduction in development time thanks to AI tools and automation.
“With AI, historically impossible transformation projects are not only possible but easier, cheaper, and faster to accomplish," OutSystems CEO Paulo Rosado commented.
There’s no escaping AI in software developmentThe research highlights AI is still somewhat of an emerging technology, with the majority (84%) of respondents stating their organizations first started to incorporate it into their software development lifecycles (SDLCs) between six months and five years ago.
Looking ahead, 71% say they’re planning to incorporate AI into application development and SDLC management workflows, highlighting a shift in the typical role and responsibilities of a developer.
“The developer’s role is shifting from code writer to code reviewer… as [LLMs] evolve, and trust in the resulting code improves, the developer’s role will be more akin to that of an orchestrator and acceptance tester of AI-generated outputs," noted Rodrigo Coutinho, OutSystems AI Project Manager.
However, companies continue to battle with regulatory and compliance challenges, leaving various areas currently untouched by AI. One in three respondents reported having a backlog of between 150 and 800 use cases for generative AI.
Other concerns, like the limited availability of skilled workers, difficulties integrating generative AI into existing tech stacks and workflows, and the fear that AI could replace human workers, are all present.
Michael Harper, MD at KPMG US, OutSystem’s research’s collaboratory partner for the research, summarized: “While there will be challenges, those with effective change management initiatives will reskill and upskill their workforces, leading to AI and jobs evolving in tandem.”
More from TechRadar ProDespite the high price of the PS5 Pro, Sony's new mid-generation console could sell just as well as the PS4 Pro.
That's according to research firm Ampere Analysis (via VGC) that determined that the PS5 Pro sales will reach a similar level to the enhanced version of the PS4, and expects the console to sell up to 1.3 million units during its November 2024 launch window, compared to the PS4 Pro's 1.7 million in 2016.
"The price point of the PS5 Pro will inevitably cause a lot of commentary," said Piers Harding-Rolls, research director for games at Ampere Analysis. "The price point differential between the PS5 and PS5 Pro is between 40-50%, which is significantly more than the differential between the PS4 and PS4 Pro at launch.
"In the US, the PS4 Pro launched at $399 and the slim PS4 was $299 at the time, a 33% differential. Additionally, the slim PS4 had a retail price of $299 having dropped from the original PS4 launch price of $399."
(Image credit: Ampere Analysis)Sony has confirmed that the PS5 Pro will cost $699.99 / £699.99 and around AU$1052.99, which represents a price gap of $200 / £200 / AU$253.99 between the Pro and the now-base version of the PS5. This will make it Sony's most expensive piece of gaming console hardware to date.
Harding-Rolls added that even though the PS5 Pro is costly, this won't stop PlayStation fans from buying the console, saying, "we expect the price point to soften demand with some consumers, but for PlayStation enthusiasts the pricing is less of a consideration."
The PS4 Pro's lifetime sales reached 14.5m units, around 12% of total PS4 sales and Harding-Rolls estimates a "similar dynamic for the PS5 Pro, with the expectation that it will sell-through around 13m units by 2029."
The PS5 Pro launches globally on November 7, 2024, with pre-orders set to begin on September 26.
You might also like...Businesses are struggling with unpredictable cloud bills. Managing cloud computing expenses is a growing concern, especially with an increasing reliance on digital infrastructure.
According to Gartner, spending on public cloud services is expected to increase by 20% in 2024, and with most organizations spending more on cloud storage than they budget for, cloud costs could rapidly become an unmanageable expenditure for many.
So, how can organizations navigate these rising costs without compromising on the cloud services they need?
The hidden costs of the cloud are catching companies by surpriseThe first step is identifying the hidden costs of the cloud and areas where overspending is occurring. Businesses have been ambushed by unexpected cloud costs with subscription models. This leads to inconsistent monthly costs. The advantages of the cloud, like scalable IT infrastructure, can be a double-edged sword when considering costs and waste. At the same time, many of the largest providers of cloud infrastructure applications and services are increasing storage and cloud hosting fees as inflation takes hold.
Also, with many businesses operating in a multi-cloud environment without a comprehensive tool to show costs from across the entire cloud platform, they can’t track resources such as a usage-level breakdown. It’s easy to over-provision resources in the cloud, leading to wasted spend. Costs often overrun, and without full visibility, companies fail to pinpoint the exact cause.
If businesses don’t have full visibility of their cloud usage, they’ll never know exactly where they are overspending or if they are paying for services they didn't know existed. It’s also much harder for organizations to experiment and innovate with the latest cloud technology if they don’t fully know what they are using in the first place.
Cloud cost management and cloud optimization can help to minimize expenses and maximize the value derived from cloud investments. It's crucial to identify a predictable cloud vendor who can help with optimizing workloads. Greater transparency across the cloud infrastructure is essential, as is investment into tools that can help provide much-needed visibility when monitoring costs and protecting the cloud.
Adopting a holistic approach to cloud managementIn complex, hybrid cloud environments, businesses are often unsure where outsized cloud costs are coming from. They often find that they’re paying for outdated resources or unnecessary storage.
With a more holistic approach, businesses gain a greater understanding of their requirements and the associated costs. Not only does this eliminate waste, but it also helps organizations be more strategic about their requirements. But this approach is not solely concerned with cutting costs – it’s about aligning cloud expenses with an organization’s business objectives. The goal is to strike a balance between cost efficiency and maximizing the benefits of cloud technology for the overall business.
Tools of the tradeThe need for scalable and budget-friendly cloud resources is unprecedented. However, businesses also need to invest in tools that help manage these resources and ensure the cloud is cost-efficient.
Understand your workloads, implement load balancing, and continuously review and adjust to reduce the cloud costs. Cloud spend tools that support cloud cost management across various cloud platforms give businesses a unified view of their spending and are the most beneficial to businesses.
Businesses should also look for tools that offer in-depth cost analysis and customizable reports to identify cost drivers, detect anomalies, and track spending trends over time. Reports in native tools, for instance, sometimes don’t track the resources level usage or user-level breakdown to identify who or what resource attributed to the cost overrun. Most public cloud platforms offer discounts if you pay in advance, but the cost overruns and limitations often neutralize the discounts you receive. Instead, to leverage cost saving opportunities, businesses should identify and invest in tools that can set budgets and cost forecasting capabilities, help anticipate future expenses and proactively plan.
How AI can helpA Wasabi report shows that 49% of CIOs expect AI and ML adoption to create challenges for the cloud due to AI and ML’s substantial use of data.
However, AI could also be a significant asset when considering cloud costs. There’s potential for the technology to bring greater financial governance to the cloud, namely through its ability to detect unexpected spikes or irregularities in cloud expenses by analyzing large amounts of data. AI could also play a crucial role in identifying cybersecurity threats and helping businesses keep up with the technology landscape.
Staying ahead of cloud costsAccess to scalable, budget friendly cloud resources is more important to businesses than ever before.
The rise of AI and ML has driven a new demand for cloud space, and research shows that IT leaders anticipate cloud costs will surpass budget allocations.
In this environment, adopting a holistic approach can help businesses keep an eye across the whole cloud landscape to quickly identify rising–and unnecessary–costs. Cloud spend tools, along with leveraging tech such as GenAI, will also play a significant role. Businesses can also foster a culture of cost awareness, which helps keep costs under control and ensures cloud investments deliver maximum value. Ultimately, cost management for cloud resources is an ongoing journey.
We list the best cloud storage management service.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
In today’s hyper-competitive B2B landscape, the ability to identify and engage with the right prospects can be the determining factor in a sales team’s success. Traditional methods of prospecting—relying on outdated databases, navigating complex filters, and manually cross-referencing data—are not only time-consuming but also limited in scope and efficiency.
The advent of AI-powered B2B prospecting tools is transforming the way sales teams approach lead generation and pipeline building, offering a new paradigm in precision, speed, and scale.
An Information Gap That Hinders GrowthHistorically, sales professionals have depended on legacy databases that cover only a fraction of the market, often providing access to just 20-30% of potential leads within any given sector. This limitation leaves a vast number of untapped opportunities, as sales teams frequently target the same prospects as their competitors, missing out on fresh leads that could drive significant growth.
This information gap is a critical challenge that many sales teams may not even realize exists. By continually fishing in the same small pond, businesses risk stagnation and missed opportunities for expansion and revenue generation.
AI-Powered Precision and SpeedAI-tools are addressing these challenges by leveraging advanced algorithms to parse vast amounts of data in mere milliseconds. These platforms are designed to identify key decision-makers across millions of companies and hundreds of millions of employee profiles globally, offering a level of specificity and speed previously unattainable in the sales industry.
Unlike traditional databases that require extensive manual searches and broad filter manipulation, AI-enabled systems allow users to pinpoint the exact companies and contacts they need, whether it’s niche specialists within a specific industry or leaders in emerging markets. This precision ensures that sales teams are reaching out to the right people, at the right time, with the right message, thus maximizing their chances of success.
Accelerating Sales PipelinesOne of the most significant advantages of AI-powered prospecting is its ability to deliver actionable data in seconds—a process that would typically take salespeople or sales enablement teams weeks or even months to complete manually. This efficiency accelerates the entire sales cycle, enabling teams to engage with prospects faster and more effectively, thereby shortening the time to value.
The impact of this speed and precision is already being felt by companies across various industries. Organizations that have embraced AI-driven prospecting tools are reporting significant increases in their pipeline generation and revenue growth, as they can now identify and engage with new leads that were previously overlooked.
Key Features That Drive SuccessBeyond speed and precision, AI-powered prospecting platforms offer a range of advanced features that enhance the sales process. These tools seamlessly integrate with existing CRM systems, ensuring that sales teams can expand their reach without disrupting their established workflows. Additionally, machine learning algorithms continuously refine and improve the quality of data, ensuring that users have access to the most accurate and up-to-date information available.
A particularly valuable feature is the ability to filter out contacts that are already in a sales team’s database. This functionality prevents wasted effort on duplicate outreach and allows teams to focus exclusively on new opportunities, thereby optimizing their resources and increasing their chances of closing deals.
Staying Competitive in a Crowded MarketIn an increasingly crowded B2B market, having a competitive edge is essential. AI-powered tools provide that edge by equipping sales teams with the means to uncover opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed, all while simplifying the prospecting process. This technological advantage enables sales teams to pursue leads with confidence, spending less time on data gathering and more time on meaningful engagement with prospects.
The difference between success and failure in today’s market can be measured in minutes. By leveraging AI, sales teams are not just participating in the race but leading it. With unparalleled access to high-quality leads, businesses can close deals faster and more efficiently than ever before.
The Future of B2B ProspectingAs the B2B landscape continues to evolve, the importance of innovative AI tools in closing the information gap, improving lead quality, and accelerating the time-to-value will only grow. For sales teams looking to stay ahead of the competition, these AI-driven platforms offer a glimpse into the future—a world where precision, speed, and intelligence redefine how we think about prospecting.
In this new era, sales teams that embrace AI will find themselves at the forefront of industry innovation, equipped to navigate the challenges of the modern marketplace with unprecedented efficiency and success.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
Canon has announced a new multi-purpose standard zoom lens for its full-frame mirrorless cameras, the RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM.
At just 17.3oz / 490g, the 28-70mm F2.8 looks like a perfect fit with Canon's enthusiast-level cameras like the EOS R8 and EOS R6 Mark II. And with its constant f/2.8 aperture across the entire zoom range it's a compelling upgrade from Canon's kit lens for such cameras, the RF 24-50mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, with the added benefit of a slightly longer reach.
The new standard zoom costs £1,249.99 (bear with us while we source US and Australia pricing), which is most of the way to the on-sale price of an EOS R8. Not cheap, but also not the priciest lens on offer from Canon for its mirrorless cameras.
(Image credit: Canon) Is this Canon's most compelling standard zoom lens yet?Canon has other standard zoom lenses in its RF range already, but the RF 28-70mm F2.8 appears to strike a lovely balance between portability, a constant wide aperture and decent value.
The significantly cheaper 24-105mm F4-7.1 is another one of Canon's kit lenses. It's even lighter and has a longer reach, but doesn't offer the constant f/2.8 aperture of this new lens and is a step-down optically.
Then there's Canon's professional L-series lenses that are an altogether different proposition, all of which are considerably larger, heavier and most of which are much pricier.
Other L-series options, recognized by a signature red ring that Canon's other standard lenses lack, include the RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM – arguably the closest alternative to the RF 28-70mm F2.8, with more reach but a smaller f/4 constant aperture, and it's 50% heavier.
Canon's RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM and the gargantuan Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM are in another league price and features-wise to the RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS SM, being designed for professionals who want the best performance and are willing to pay for it (and lug it around).
Still, the RF 28-70mm F2.8 boasts 5.5 stops of optical image stabilization, plus it's weather resistant, so it's hardly inferior. There's also a neat customizable focus/control ring, which changes its function depending on which focusing mode you have selected.
This new lens is clearly positioned as a step-up for enthusiasts who want an all-purpose zoom without being lugged down, and is a worthy addition to Canon's range of full-frame lenses. It could be the only upgrade lens you ever need.
You might also likeMeta has admitted it used Facebook and Instagram publicposts for Australian users to train its Artificial Intelligence models, and has scraped information from as far back as 2007.
An Australian Parliamentary committee has heard that whilst European users can opt out thanks to GDPR laws, Australian customers are not given that choice.
Meta has denied using the information of anyone under 18, but did confirm it had used over a decade’s worth of data. The firm could not answer whether it has scraped the photos of children who are now adults (i.e. those who created their accounts as a child, but have since turned 18).
A turning tideThe process of ‘scraping’ is essential for the development of AI and is basically data harvesting from websites, extracting the information and feeding it back to a Large Language Models (LLMs) which learns from the data. This means that GDPR regulations are becoming troublesome for more and more LLMs such as ChatGPT, which collects data from all over the internet without consent from the original source.
Meta’s global privacy director Melinda Claybaugh sat before the inquiry and admitted that the company was forced to pause the launch of AI products in Europe due to a lack of certainty, and it has had to give European users an opt-out due to more robust privacy laws. Senator Shoebridge grilled the Meta representative,
“The truth of the matter is that, unless you consciously had set those posts to private, since 2007, Meta has just decided you will scrape all of the photos and all of the text from every public post on Instagram or Facebook that Australians have shared since 2007, unless there was a conscious decision to set them on private. But that’s actually the reality, isn’t it?”
Claybaugh replied, “Correct”. She added that users can set their posts to private now to prevent future scraping, but this would have no effect on the data already taken.
The realization seems to be creeping in for the public and for tech companies that training AI models requires such vast amounts of data that it is ‘impossible’ to do so without using copyrighted materials. Considering millions of user's posts have been used without their consent, it looks like tech giants might face much stricter regulations in future.
Via The Guardian
More from TechRadar ProAfter a beta period earlier this year, Steam's new family sharing system and parental controls hub is now available for everyone. Steam Families is replacing both Family Sharing and Family View, creating a nucleus for all your game-sharing needs.
A Steam Family can comprise up to six members (including yourself), and the full libraries of all the users will be available to the 'family' unit, except for games where developers have opted out of sharing for whatever reason. No longer will you need to feel bad if you're watching your big brother play a game that you want – you can share the title across devices, just not at the same time.
The most important upgrade to Steam's game-sharing update is the ability for you and your family to play games from your library at the same time. For example, your wife can play your copy of Cyberpunk 2077 while you play Warzone concurrently with no issues. And while playing one copy at the same time is still a no-go, if there are two copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 within your family's shared library, you and your brother can play together.
With Steam Families, each user will have their own save files, earn Steam achievements, access workshop files and more. That's a lot of freedom for a child to have on Steam – which is why parental control are also key additions.
Improved Parental Controls, but it's not all bad, kidsThere are two member (or 'role') options within Steam Families – adult and child. Adults can manage member invites and apply account restrictions, while children are subject to controls put in place by the adults, and have no managerial power.
As an adult, you control what games children have access to, can restrict their access to the Steam Store, Friends Chat and Community, set playtime limits and recover your child's account if they lose their password.
Purchasing games for kids is also easier thanks to Steam Families. Usually buying a game for a child requires an adult to complete a gift purchase or let them borrow your card. Now, children have the ability to add games to their cart, and then request an adult to pay for it. Through their email or mobile device, the adult can then approve or deny the request.
Out with the old, in with the newSteam Families is an exciting improvement to Steam's family-sharing. For too long little brothers and sisters have had to watch along while their older sibling hogs the PC to themselves. Too often dad's have been booted from their account in the middle of a run because their child opened up Terraria, but that will no longer be the case.
Steam clarifies that the old Family Sharing feature "will eventually be retired". While this won't be an issue for most users, but it might affect some others. For example, the older game-sharing feature allowed two (or more) people in different locations to share libraries, but that might no longer be possible.
Steam doesn't directly say that Steam Families will be limited to one ISP, though terminology like "This information is available from wherever you access Steam, including your mobile device when you are away from home" lends us to believe, like Netflix, that it will be limited to one household.
Nevertheless, this is a massive Steam update that will make many people happy, although we suspect there will be others who will want a better game-sharing setup from Valve.
You might also like...Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #962) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #962) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 3.
Quordle today (game #962) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
Quordle today (game #962) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:
Quordle today (game #962) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?• A
• S
• L
• G
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #962) - the answers (Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle, game #962, are…
I needed all nine guesses to solve today's Quordle, with both LEAVE and GOOFY causing me some problems. Both contain repeated letters, and both relatively uncommon letters – not really uncommon, as with X, Z, Q and J – but the next tier above that. In fact, GOOFY has two; F and G both appear fairly often in specific places within words, but they aren't common overall. V, meanwhile, is the fifth least common letter of all. With ARBOR being a relatively uncommon word too (and containing its own repeated letter), there were simply a lot of complications to work around today.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Daily Sequence today (game #962) - the answers (Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #962, are…