Monthly Archives: May 2020

Epics Fortnite has more than 350 million registered players, the game developer announced on Wednesday. That makes the free-to-play battle royale game one of the most popular titles ever made, ranking up there with the ubiquity of Minecraft and some of the most downloaded mobile and free-to-play PC games of the last 15 years. While we have no indication as to how many players log in every day or month, as Epic doesnt release those stats, the studio did say that in April alone, players logged 3.2 billion hours of Fortnite.

The last player count stat we heard from Epic was about 250 million in March 2019, indicating that the game is still growing a year later and more than two and a half years after its initial release. Thats partly due to the game being so readily available on all platforms PC, console, and mobile and because Epic continues to update it constantly.

Most recently, the developer added party royale, a gun-free social space within the game that allows players to log in and hang out with friends, watch concerts from big-name music acts, and engage in a variety of theme park-style activities. Its all part of Epics quest to build a metaverse-style social network that lives entirely within its 3D world. After a massive and surreal Travis Scott concert last month and last Fridays Diplo show, Epic says its going to host a mini music festival featuring DJs Dillon Francis, Steve Aoki, and deadmau5 starting at 9PM ET this Friday, May 8th.

See the rest here:

Fortnite is now one of the biggest games ever with 350 million players - The Verge

Ekkaphan Chimpalee/Shutterstock

Brands often slap a gaming label on products to charge extra for their supposed performance benefits. Skepticism aside, some gamer-focused products can deliver a genuinely superior experience thats worth paying for. Gamers arent the only people who can benefit, either.

A monitors refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), is the number of times the display is updated every second. A 60 Hz monitor refreshes 60 times per second, outputting 60 frames per second (fps). If the computer renders at higher than 60 fps, you wont get any benefit from this because the monitor cant keep up.

This isnt to say there arent any benefits to playing with higher refresh rates than those supported by your monitor (reduced input lag is a big one). However, thats one of the main reasons many gamers turn to high-refresh-rate monitors. Generally, high-refresh-rate monitors start at 144 Hz and go all the way up to 240 Hz.

With the right hardware driving the monitor, playing games at 144 Hz or better is noticeably smoother than a basic 60 Hz experience. Many professional eSports players use high-refresh-rate monitors to reduce input lag and improve response times.

A higher refresh rate improves games, but it also improves the entire computing experience. It makes your computer do everything buttery smooth. From dragging your cursor across a window to scrolling a website, who wouldnt prefer a hardware setup that just feelsbetter?

If youre looking to add some sparkle to your desktop, high-refresh-rate monitors are no longer prohibitively expensive or restricted to disappointing twisted nematic (TN) panels. You can now buy in-plane switching (IPS) panels with an excellent contrast ratio that hit response times of one millisecond at 144 Hz.

Its not just computer monitors that are embracing high refresh rates, either. Many Android phones now offer increased refresh rates of 90 Hz or better, for that responsive edge consumers love. Apple had the same thought in 2017, when it introduced 120 Hz displays in the 10.5- and 12.9-inchiPad Pros.

RELATED: Why You Should Upgrade Your Old Computer Monitor

Whether youre a receptionist, coder, or just spend way too much time on Slack,your keyboard can make your job significantly more pleasant. You dont have to buy an exorbitantly priced, ergonomic keyboard, but a mechanical onemight be worth the investment.

While cheap keyboards usually have a rubber membrane with a simple key mechanism above it, the mechanical kind have individual switches for every key. The benefits of this are huge. Mechanical keyboards deliver a more consistent typing experience thats deeply tied to the type of switches used for the keys.

These switches are produced at a higher standard thannonmechanical varieties, which means theyll last longer. Since each key has its own switch, you can replace the switches when they break relatively inexpensivelyand that goes for the keycaps, too. Theyre also really easy to clean, as they come apart easily with a keycap remover.

So, what about the typing experience? Well, that depends on what you expect from your keyboard. The switches you choose determine the characteristics of the keyboard. Some are loud and clicky, while others are quiet and dampened for coding or typing at speed.

Different switches have different intended uses. Cherry MX is the worlds best-known manufacturer of mechanical keyboard switches. The companys Red switches offer linear switching mechanics, with no audible click. The Blue switches have an audible click and tactile switching characteristics.

Different manufacturers (like Razer) categorize their switches differently, though, so you cant choose based on color alone. The best way to determine which isthe right mechanical keyboard for you is to spend some time using one. Head to a store or take advantage of a free trial offer from an online retailer.

You dont have to spend hundreds of dollars on a mechanical keyboard. Even one that costs under$40will still provide a better typing experience than a comparably priced membrane keyboard. It will likely last a lot longer, too.

RELATED: If You Haven't Tried a Mechanical Keyboard Yet, You're Missing Out

Poor posture can impact your life over both the short- and long-term. While standing desks were supposed to save us all from the perils of a sedentary lifestyle, most people still prefer to sit while working. If youre one of them, do yourself a favor and get a good desk chair.

If money were no object, wed all be lounging around in aHerman Miller Aeron. But most of us cant justify dropping a grand on a chair, even if its tax-deductible for the self-employed. The next best thing might be a gaming chair. These are designed tolooklike they cost $1,000, but, often, they only cost a few hundred.

DXRacer isone of the most recognizable brands of gamer-focused chairs, thanks to endless YouTube sponsorships and eSports tie-ins. These chairs all cost less than $400. Theyre also finished in PU (vegan) leather and include a lifetime warranty on the frame.

Unfortunately, the gamer chair aesthetic isnt for everyone. Finding one that suits a grown-up office environment might be a challenge. Many gamers lament the obnoxious detailing and loud branding, but swear by the comfort these chairs provide.

Maybe you can convince your boss on health grounds? If you work from home, the comfort might be worth the gaudy design.

RELATED: Those Ugly Racing-Style Gaming Chairs Are So Dang Comfortable

Gaming mice have more precise sensors than their mainstream counterparts to give competitive gamers an edge in online shooters. They offerhigher polling rates for smoother precision movements.

This offers some clear benefits, regardless of what you use a mouse for. Even if youre just browsing the web, a more precise mouse is more pleasant to use. For tasks like photo editing, a more precise mouse could make life significantly easier.

Gaming mice are often covered in additional wheels and buttons. While these might be a bit dizzying at first, theyre productivity hacks that can help you get more done in less time. These mice are frequently accompanied with custom software that allows you to customize each button.

This means you can set up dedicated shortcuts on your mouse, like cut, copy, and paste. You could use one button to launch your email client, and another to lock your computer. The buttons on the side of the mouse could go back- or forward in the web browser. The less often you need to move your hands from one peripheral to another, the less time you waste.

The caveat with gaming mice is the same as the chairs and keyboards: they often have an over-the-top gamer designed. Expect to find programmable RGB lighting and obnoxious branding that wont fit in at more professional offices.

Solid-state drives (SSDs) arent just marketed to gamers, but you wont see many from most hardware manufacturers that produce workstations for home and office use. For example, Apple was one of the first companies to go all-in on SSDs in MacBooks, yet, it doesnt include one in the base iMac model.

Traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) store data on metal platters. A mechanical arm moves across the platter to read various parts of the disk, which can be a time-consuming process. Thanks to a reliance on moving parts, HDDs are also prone to spontaneous (and not-so-spontaneous) failure. Theyre notoriously slow and susceptible to physical damage.

SSDs do away with moving parts entirely, which results in much faster read and write speeds. Drives are less prone to fail because there are no moving parts. Any process that relies on data retrieval (like launching an application) or creating new data (like copying files) gets a significant speed boost.

This has led to SSDs becoming one of the best upgrades you can make to any computer. Almost every aspect of general use will be improved by switching to an SSD. Its also quite easy to doyoure just switching one storage device for another.

You dont even have to store everything on an SSD. By installing your operating system and most-used applications on an SSD, youll see a leap in performance, even if you continue to store personal files and other data on a traditional hard drive.

The most important part of a gaming setup is the computer. Chairs, keyboards, and high-end monitors are worthless if the machine that powers it all isnt up to scratch. While you dont need the latest, greatest hardware, it pays to know where to spend your money to get the most performance bang for your buck.

For a gaming PC, you want a powerful CPU and a GPU (graphics card) that can handle your desired level of visual fidelity and resolution. If you want to run the latest games on ultra settings in 4K, youll be spending over $1,000 on a GPU.

But acceptable results are very achievable on a much more modest budget. AMDs Ryzen family of CPUs offer excellent performance at a price that gives Intel a run for its money. Similarly, youll be able to play most modern games in full HD at respectable quality settings if you spend around $400 on a graphics card (even a used one thats a year or two old). Throw in a decent amount of RAM and an SSD, and youre flying!

All that power wont go to waste when youre not playing games, either. With a decent CPU and enough RAM, you can flick through 100 open tabs with ease. Resource-intensive web pages and spreadsheets with thousands of cells wont grind your machine to a halt

Editing native 4K video is possible with a powerful enough GPU. Tasks like RAW image editing can cause Photoshop to chokeif you dont have a dedicated GPU. Other processes, like running virtual machines, data analysis, compiling from source code, video transcoding, or even using your machine as a makeshift server, would all benefit from better-than-average hardware.

If theres one thing manufacturers have realized, its that virtually anything can be turned into a gaming product with the right branding. Often, this is just a ploy to get more money.

However, high-end products that focus on power and precision offer a superior computer experience. So, give those gamer products a look, even if you dont game or like the aesthetics.

Read this article:

These Gamer PC Products Are Great for Office Work - How-To Geek

Major League Baseball, like many sports leagues, is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. Spring training was halted in March and 2020 Opening Day has been pushed back indefinitely. The good news is MLB and the MLBPA will soon begin the process of planning the 2020 season.

It'll take some time -- there will be proposals and counter-proposals and counter-counter-proposals, and maybe some animosity as well -- but the process will begin soon. CBS Sports HQ's Jim Bowden confirmed that the league will meet Monday to discuss a proposal, with MLB expected to submit a plan to the union on Tuesday. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that representatives from each team will also conduct a Monday conference call with commissioner Rob Manfred.

Details of MLB's restart plan proposal are beginning to emerge. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported several general parameters on Saturday. Here are the nuts and bolts:

MLB is expected to propose a further pay reduction for players to account for the revenue lost by playing without fans in attendance. Some specifics from MLB Network's Jon Heyman:

That, and the health concerns, figure to be the main point of contention between MLB and the MLBPA. The players already agreed to prorated salaries back in March and do not want to take further pay cuts. "That negotiation is over," MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said recently.

"The way our sport works is we are not tied to revenue in any way," Cardinals reliever and MLBPA executive board member Andrew Miller told ESPN. "If the owners hit a home run and make more money, we don't go back and ask for more on our end. Ultimately this isn't about money. We need to find a way to safely get our players on the field in a safe manner and control that. I would hope this [finances] doesn't turn into anything regarding that stuff."

Obviously, any plans would have to be subject to change, even once the season begins. Teams could begin at home, but if there is a COVID-19 outbreak somewhere, the local club may have to play elsewhere. Also, all travelers to Canada are subject to a 14-day quarantine, which could create headaches for the Blue Jays and their opponents. Testing would have to easily accessible as well.

Various neutral-site plans,including one that would drop teams into one of three hubs (Arizona, Florida, Texas), are no longer seen as viable candidates for the season. Those plans are logistical nightmares, plus players do not want to be away from their families for long stretches of time. The same is true of the coaches, umpires, and everyone else in the baseball bubble.

Starting the season in early July would require an abbreviated spring training to begin no later than mid-June. It is expected teams will have expanded rosters this season primarily to protect pitchers, who have to ramp up their throwing after slowing down during the pandemic. Once MLB submits its proposal, the MLBPA will counter, and there figure to be several rounds of negotiating after that.

Read this article:

MLB plan for 2020 season to include approximately 80 games and expanded playoffs, report says - CBS Sports

There are plenty of games on the horizon as we near the halfway mark of May. This episode of New Releases is great for Nintendo Switch owners, with the sharp turns of Star Wars Episode I: Racer and the smooth sounds of Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix. Meanwhile, Deep Rock Galactic leaves early access, and Ion Fury gets its console release. Finally, sports fans can take a swing with Super Mega Baseball 3.

Available on: Switch

The racing game you might have played a long, long time ago is back. It's got modern controls, but you'll still be racing across the same tracks as Anakin Skywalker, Sebulba, and more. There's no online multiplayer, unfortunately, but you can race others via splitscreen or the Switch's LAN connection. PS4 players will sadly have to wait a bit longer, as that version of the game has been delayed.

More Coverage:

Available on: Xbox One, PC

Space dwarves with guns--that's the pitch for Deep Rock Galactic. Choose from an engineer, gunner, driller, and scout as you explore randomly generated mines full of alien bugs. You can explore with friends in four-player co-op to make your spelunking a little smoother as you fight off all sorts of alien bugs.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch

It might look cartoony, but Super Mega Baseball 3 is all about realistic simulation. The latest in the series has improved mechanics for picking off, stealing, pitching, and hitting. You can also import your custom teams from Super Mega Baseball 2 if you'd rather not make them from scratch this time around.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Switch

Ion Fury puts you in the shoes of a bomb disposal worker nicknamed Bombshell, and if that sounds familiar, it's because this shooter is a prequel to 2016's Bombshell--same name, same protagonist. And if it looks familiar, that's because it's from 3D Realms, the makers of Duke Nukem 3D. That should give you a good idea of how it'll feel to battle cyber-soldiers in Neo DC.

Available on: Switch

The latest in Miku's rhythm game series is (mega) mixing things up. You can play through her songs with standard button presses in Arcade Mode or use the Switch's Joy-Con motion controls in Mix Mode. There's also a fun T-shirt maker for dressing up Miku with your personal designs. The Eshop demo is available now if you want a little appetizer.

May still has more video games on the horizon. Next week, New Releases will dive into the remasters of The Wonderful 101 and Saints Row: The Third, plus the shark-infested Maneater.

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Now Playing: Top New Game Releases On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week - May 10-16, 2020

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Top New Games Out On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week - May 10-16, 2020 - GameSpot

Back when StarCraft: Remastered was announced, Blizzard fans began asking for a remastered version of Diablo 2. At the time, the original game's project and design lead David Brevik suggested it might be difficult for Blizzard to do. "They have their work cut out for them," he said. "I dont believe a lot of the assets survived."

However, according to sources cited by French site Actugaming, a subsidiary of Activision called Vicarious Visions is working on a remaster scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year called Diablo 2 Resurrected. Actugaming's editor previously called the Diablo 4, Shadowlands, and Overwatch 2 announcements shortly before they were made public at Blizzcon last year, so they're slightly more reliable than the average leaker. And Vicarious Visions worked on the PC port of Destiny 2 as well as the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy remasters, which makes that a believable detail. Still, nothing official has come from Blizzard yet.

Given how poorly Warcraft 3 Reforged was receivedit had the lowest videogame userscore on Metacritic at launch, though now it's only second-lowest, with The Division 2 expansion Warlords of New York taking its placeyou have to wonder whether players will be eager for another remastered Blizzard classic.

Link:

Rumor: Diablo 2 remaster coming this year - PC Gamer

Saar Gur is adept at identifying the next big consumer trends earlier than most: The San Francisco-based general partner at CRV has led investments into leading consumer internet companies like Niantic, DoorDash, Bird, Dropbox, Patreon, Kapwing and ClassPass.

His own experience stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic spurred his interest in three new investment themes focused on the next generation of games: those built for VR, those built on top of Twitch and those built for video chat environments as a socializing tool.

TechCrunch: Weve been in a VR winter, as its been called in the industry, following the 2014-2017 wave of VC funding into VR drying up as the market failed to gain massive consumer adoption. You think VR could soon be hot again. Why?

Saar Gur: If you track revenues of third-party games on Oculus, the numbers are getting interesting. And we think the Quest is not quite the Xbox moment for Facebook, but the device and market response to the Quest have been great. So we are more engaged in looking at VR gaming startups than ever before.

What do you mean by the Xbox moment, and what will that look like for VR? Facebook hasnt been able to keep up with demand for Oculus Quest headsets, and most VR headsets seem to have sold out during this pandemic as people seek entertainment at home. This seems like progress. When will we cross the threshold?

View original post here:

CRVs Saar Gur wants to invest in a new wave of games built for VR, Twitch and Zoom - TechCrunch

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The only certainty about the NHL's return remains is uncertainty.

The league appears to be making progress in its plan to restart the 2019-20 season, which was halted on March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but nothing is finalized.

Ideas are being kicked around, hypotheticals have leaked for public consumption and there is even an official "Return to Play" committee that includes the league's brass and representatives of the player's association.

There are a lot of things to be worked out before Jonathan Bernier (45) and Robby Fabbri (14), as well as the rest of the Red Wings, can return to the business of playing.(Photo: Duane Burleson, AP)

Definitive solutions, however, are absent.

"We're just gathering information just like everybody right now," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said on April 20."The safety of the people comes first, and once it's safe and there's a protocol in place and we can come back safely, we're going to do that."

Not much has changed in the 20 days since Kekalainen said those words, but information has come out in drips and drabs. It's clear the NHL wants to finish the season without canceling it, but there are no certainties about how to clear the obvious hurdles ahead.

Among the first mentions of a return included an idea to use a top-notch collegiate facility in a remote locale, perhaps North Dakota, to stage a short training camp and play multiple games per day, televised, without fans in attendance.

That idea, however, was squashed by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in an interview with Sportsnet in late April, citing concerns about a collegiate arena not offering NHL-caliber "back of the house" amenities.

More:Griffins goalie Pat Nagle comes 'full circle' with GM Steve Yzerman

What has since emerged is a plan to use four NHL cities as "hubs" for a return that would include training sessions, exhibition games and enough nearby hotels to isolate players, coaches and others essential to operations.

This seems like the most likely scenario the league chooses, and Kekalainen is pitching for Columbus to be one of the hubs.

Regardless of which plan, if any, the NHL settles on, it's not likely fans will be allowed to attend games, which probably would be televised.

Once the NHL gets location hammered out, the next item is figuring out the best way to resume. When the season paused, teams had played unequal numbers of games and both conferences had tight playoff races.

The Blue Jackets, for example, have 81 points in 70 games and were in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The New York Islanders were one point back but had played two fewer games, and thus have a better points percentage.

So which team makes the playoffs if there is no completion of the regular season?

This is one of the best-kept secrets about the NHL's return plans. If the league knows, it hasn't shared the answer publicly and it hasn't leaked.

There are, however, plenty of questions: Will the NHL go straight to the usual 16-team playoff format using the standings as they were on March 12? Will points percentage be used to cut down to 16 teams? Will there be an expanded playoff field? Will they somehow finish the regular season?

These questions have no answers, but they have generated plenty of opinions.

"I'm not so sure that there's a fair way to cut to 16 teams right away," Kekalainen said in April. "That's why I'm saying that if the play continues right from the playoffs, I think it should be expanded."

It behooves both sides, financially, to finish the season, but at what cost to players and their families?

Those whose teams play for the Stanley Cup would likely live in isolation, away from their families, for up to four months. A number of players already have said that's not feasible, but they might have a different opinion when shown the effects of the league losing an estimated $1 billion in revenue by canceling the season.

The league's $81.5 million salary cap might not grow a cent if that happens and might not anyway and their take-home salaries could take a major hit via escrow, the league's method of ensuring a 50/50 split of hockey-related revenue.

There also are a number of players waiting out the pandemic overseas. Getting them back to their NHL cities without international travel issues could be a stumbling block.

A virtual draft will preclude the traditional donning-the-jersey ceremony, which Red Wings' 2019 first-round pick Moritz Seider took part in last year.(Photo: Jonathan Hayward, Associated Press)

The NHL draft was supposed to be held in Montreal on June 26-27. It was postponed not long after the league's shutdown and a new date hasn't been set.

The league, however, is gauging the response from teams about a possible June 5 start date for a remote draft conducted online, a possibility that has been met with skepticism and anger by some league executives.

The NFL held its draft remotely in April and drew high TV ratings with a captive audience starved for live sports of any kind, so it's not surprising to see the NHL looking to follow suit. If it happens, the lottery would likely be conducted using point percentage and no team would be allowed to move up more than four spots.

But there are many unanswered questions with this scenario, as well.

How can a draft order be determined when all games weren't played? And what of conditional draft picks from previous trades? How would those be hashed out if they're contingent upon the results of a season that wouldn't be completed until months after the draft?

"I have not talked to one GM who likes it, and I talk to almost all of them," veteran agent Allan Walsh told the Associated Press.

General managers reportedly have asked for a one-month notice before holding a draft.

Likewise, the first day of free agency is still set for July 1, which is difficult to see happening under a restart plan that would, theoretically, include playoff games played later the same month. It's likely the start of free agency will be pushed back, perhaps to the fall, after the Stanley Cup is awarded.

That, however, is like everything else related to the NHL right now: Nothing is certain.

See the article here:

NHL faces plenty of issues in planning return to games - The Detroit News

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the NFL's hot ticket in 2020, tying for a league-high five primetime contests and nine nationally televised games -- all coming in the first 12 weeks. It helps that the Buccaneers are in the loaded NFC South and play the AFC North this year, but let's cut to the chase -- the Tom Brady effect is real.

Tampa Bay was able to land Brady this offseason, as the future Hall of Fame quarterback was arguably the league's most sought-after free agent since Reggie White. Once Brady signed, Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement to join the party and added even more star power to a talented Tampa roster.

The Buccaneers already had one of the league's best pass-catching units in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate before Gronkowski arrived. Tampa was able to retain Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, and Andrew Adams on a defense that finished fifth in the NFL with 28 takeaways and ended up with the No. 1 run defense in the league (73.8 yards per game), allowing 3.3 yards per carry.

There's plenty of hype surrounding the Buccaneers in 2020 with a talented roster led by arguably the greatest quarterback of all time and a head coach in Bruce Arians who can get the most out of his 42-year-old signal caller. Tampa is an intriguing watch, as fans will tune in to see how this team fares in a loaded NFC South, with four games against the AFC North.

Brady has many intriguing matchups on the schedule in his first season with the Buccaneers. Here are the five you do not want to miss:

Week 1: at New Orleans (Sunday, Sept. 13, 4:25 p.m. ET)Week 9: at Tampa Bay (Sunday, Nov. 8, 8:20 p.m. ET)

Brady vs. Drew Brees may be the most anticipated quarterback matchup ever, (it's already the No. 1 quarterback duel to watch this season). Brees ranks No. 1 in NFL history in passing yards (77,416) and touchdowns (547) while Brady is second in those categories (74,571 and 541). Brady ranks first in wins by a quarterback (249) while Brees is fourth (171).

These two are going to face off twice in the first nine weeks, as the frontrunners in the loaded NFC South. You're not going to want to miss Brady and Brees duel for just the sixth and seventh times in their career (and only the fourth and fifth times since 2007).

Week 12: at Tampa Bay (Sunday, Nov. 29, 4:25 p.m. ET)

Brady and Patrick Mahomes have already engaged in epic duels in their brief history against each other, and 2020 could be the final time unless the Buccaneers face the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. We'll know if the Buccaneers are a contender in the NFC (or on the verge of competing for their first playoff berth since 2007) by Week 12, while the Chiefs are expected to be atop of the AFC -- so this will be a good litmus test for Tampa.

A subplot in this game will be Tampa's excellent run defense against Kansas City's rushing attack, which could make it even more likely that this is a shootout between Brady and Mahomes.

Week 6: at Tampa Bay (Sunday, Oct. 18, 4:25 p.m. ET)

We don't get to see Tom Brady square off against Aaron Rodgers often, but the NFL is in for a rare treat this year. Brady and Rodgers have met only three times in their careers, with Brady holding the 2-1 edge. Unless the Packers and Buccaneers square off in the playoffs or finish in the same place in their respective divisions over the next two years, this may be the last time we'll see a Brady-Rodgers showdown.

The two QB greats have never played in a matchup against each other where their teams combined for more than 60 points. Perhaps the fourth time will be the charm.

Week 11: at Tampa Bay (Monday, Nov. 23, 8:15 p.m. ET)

A Super Bowl LIII rematch between Brady and Jared Goff in primetime is a great way to close out the Week 11 slate of games. This is only the third matchup between Brady and Goff, but the first since the defensive slugfest in Super Bowl LIII.

Certainly both Brady and Goff will play better in this one, especially since the Buccaneers' offense should be much better than the Patriots unit that took the field in that Super Bowl. Goff can't play any worse than he did in that game, as well.

Expect a much better matchup this time around.

Week 15: at Atlanta (Sunday, Dec. 20, 1 p.m. ET)Week 17: at Tampa Bay (Sunday, Jan. 3, 1 p.m. ET)

Another Super Bowl rematch here -- this time it's Brady vs. Matt Ryan from Super Bowl LI. Even better, the two Pro Bowl quarterbacks will square off twice in three weeks with a potential playoff berth on the line, with the Falcons another talented team in the loaded NFC South.

In four head-to-head meetings, Ryan has never beaten Brady (the 28-3 collapse in the Super Bowl has to be brought up here) and the quarterbacks have never faced each other past Week 7 of the regular season. They'll face off in Week 15 and 17 in 2020.

Perhaps this is the year Ryan finally gets the best of Brady. If he does, the Falcons may steal a playoff spot away from the Bucs.

Week 5: at Chicago (Thursday, Oct. 8, 8:20 p.m. ET)

If Nick Foles is the starting quarterback for the Bears, this easily makes the list. Who wouldn't want a Brady-Foles rematch from Super Bowl LII, when Foles out-dueled Brady in a game that featured the most combined yards in any NFL game (1,151) and a combined 874 passing yards (the most in any postseason game).

As you may recall, Brady threw for 505 yards -- and lost to the Eagles. Certainly he would like revenge for having arguably his best playoff performance ever and still taking the loss.

Read the original here:

NFL 2020 schedule: Five Tom Brady, Buccaneers games that you don't want to miss - CBS Sports

Nearly 21 years after release, Age of Empires 2 could well be having its best year ever. Since its HD re-release in 2013 the game has had a steady growth in average player count, but with the release of Age of Empires 2: Definitive edition last year and COVID-19 lockdowns inflating player counts across the industry, Age of Empires 2 is boasting totals that beat some very big-name games. Its now by far Steams most popular RTS, with both the Definitive Edition and the 2013 HD Edition having higher player counts than closest competitor Company of Heroes 2. This year's big tournament boasted the largest Age of Empires 1v1 prize pool since 2002.

Last month, in April, the games combined average player count was over 50,000 players. April 12 was the definitive editions all-time player peak, and the combined total of the games was 59,995 players. Thats well into the top 150 all-time peak player counts on Steam for a 21-year-old game.

The two games generally average higher player counts than popular free-to-play game War Thunder or industry darling Stardew Valley. Theyre on-par with the popular action RPG Path of Exile. Their average is nearly as many as perennially popular premium games like Civilization VI or Terraria. Both versions of Age of Empires 2 sit in the top 100 games on Steam, with the Definitive Edition sitting at #25. Combined, however, the Age of Empires community on average pushes up to the #15 spotor higher, on peak player count days.

To give you an idea of the scale at work here, Age of Empires 2 sold some 1.5 million copies in the three years surrounding its North American release. Last year, the studio behind the game said that a million people per month were still playing Age of Empires games and thats before the huge spike in players this year has seen.

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition launched last year, and our Fraser Brown quite liked it. Age of Empires 4 is in development and scheduled to release in 2020 or later.

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Age of Empires 2 is quietly having an incredible year - PC Gamer

The CrossFit Games team dropped a huge announcementSaturday that the individual invites to the Games in 2020 will reset, and a new protocol will be followed to invite 30 men and 30 women to the finals in Aromas. The top 20 men and women worldwide in the 2020 CrossFit Games Open will receive invitations along with the ten sanctional champions from the events that have concluded so far.

Invites will backfill if an athlete declines, or if one of the Sanctional champions has already qualified through the Open or received an invite through another Sanctional. Travel restrictions for athletes currently outside the United States could also drastically alter who shows up to the Games (presuming they actually happen). This process means that the athletes who will receive the first round of invitations to Aromas have changed. Below we have compiled the full list of men and women who get first crack to head to the birthplace of the CrossFit Games this summer.

Women The Open

Things to note: Nisler and Haas both had an invitation on qualifying teams, and pending a potential team competition currently in development to be hosted by CrossFit Mayhem, both could potentially decline their individual invitations, leaving Katrin Davidsdottir and Amanda Barnhart next in line.

Women Sanctionals (Original Invitees In Parenthesis)

Things to note: As expected some invitations changed hands, but its entirely possible that Emily Rolfe ends up with the Wodapalooza invite once again. If Amanda Barnhart gets a backfill Open spot, then the Wodapalooza invite would drop five spots back into Rolfes hands.

Men The Open

Things to note: Luckett and Gamboa have team invites as well, and could also decline depending on when the Mayhem team event happens. Roman Khrennikovs visa issues could also open up another spot. Alexandre Caron, Elliot Simmonds, and Cedric Lapointe will be next up if that happens. Games veterans Ben Smith, Logan Collins, Sean Sweeney, and Willy George all miss out on spots due to the new process.

Men Sanctionals

Things to note: The mens Sanctional invites remained largely unaffected outside of Morakinyos Dubai invite, which denies Aromas the chance to host arguably the strongest athlete in the field. Travel restrictions could be particularly brutal for Australia, where only two athletes in the field were from the United States, with Chad Kackert the highest finishing American in 9th place.

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These Individuals Will Receive Invitations To The 2020 CrossFit Games - Morning Chalk Up