Tech
Poll: Box Art Brawl #37 – Resident Evil 3: Nemesis – Nintendo Life
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Welcome once again to Box Art Brawl, the weekly poll which places three regional box art variants before the eyes of you lovely people and awaits your “yay”s and “nay”s.
Last week we took to the streets with Axel, Blaze, Zan and Sammy (and Roo) in Streets of Rage 3. We looked at three very different covers, but Japan emerged from the street brawl largely unscathed with a whopping 78% of the vote. North America limped home with 16% while Europe would have done better not to show up at all. That’s what you get when you don’t include Axel on the front cover of your Streets of Rage game!
For round #37 we’re heading back to a franchise we’ve seen brawling twice before. Box Art Brawl #3 was the series’ debut bout with Resident Evil 4 and it returned for Brawl #25 when Resident Evil 2 did battle against itself. This week we’re looking at the game (Jill) sandwiched numerically between the two: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. A remake (or ‘REmak3’, if you will) has just released on other platforms, so rather than getting too jealous we thought we’d look back to the GameCube port of the original PlayStation game.
Got your sandwiches packed? Raccoon City’s awaiting…
North America
![NA](http://static.nintendolife.com/blank.gif)
The North American version puts the titular lovable rogue John T. Nemesis front-and-centre, with his towering figure occupying most of the box against the background of Raccoon City. The ‘Resident Evil’ part of the logo is shattered and translucent, as is the swoop-y 3. The ‘Nemesis’ subtitle is scrawled in embossed blood red and set apart from the dark background with a drop highlight.
No part of the logo is necessarily bad, but the three different types look like they’ve been hashed together without much thought. It’s big, it’s bold, but it lacks coherence. Not much else to say really. The Capcom logo’s dope, no?
Europe
![EU](http://static.nintendolife.com/blank.gif)
Using what appears to be the same key art of Nemmy (as we like to call him), the tone is a lot warmer here which causes the big bad to look a little less ghostly and a little more gruesome. That’s not to say he was looking dapper on the North American cover, but the colder blue tones were more forgiving on his complexion.
We see slightly more of his body and the logo here feels a little more coherent, although no less generic. We do prefer the classic RE font treatment, though – a shame it has been reduced in size. A bit more of the background is visible, although there’s less detail. Pluses and minuses, then, but it all feels a bit dull.
Little-known RE lore factoid: the toothy villain of this game began life as a happy-go-lucky Umbrella scientist by the name of Reginald Sisemen before an inevitable mishap led to a nasty case of the J-Virus. Probably.
Japan
![JP](http://static.nintendolife.com/blank.gif)
As you already know if you can read, the game was known as Biohazard 3: Last Escape in Japan. Once again we get a shot of Nemesis, although this time some poor S.T.A.R.S. team member has the misfortune of having his head in ol’ Nemmy’s clammy palm ready to be crushed. Nemesis takes up approximately half of the image with the rest being occupied by a bleached-out Raccoon City street showing a low-poly cop car at the bottom and a billboard above.
It’s an odd one. You’d think that having a villain so imposing, so ghastly, would make coming up with a cool cover relatively easy, but none of these are as inspiring as they could be. We’d have probably focused on his teeth. He’s grinning for the camera so obligingly, it’d be rude not to.
Three options, one pick. Click your favourite below and hit the ‘Vote’ button to let us know which one you find the most attractive. Or perhaps that should be the ugliest this time? The one you like the best…
We hope you’re all keeping safe and sound wherever you are and enjoying a few of them vidya games. Check out our ranked list of all the Resident Evil games on Nintendo platforms according to Nintendo Life readers if you fancy another RE fix. Otherwise, take it easy and we’ll see you next week. Stay lovely!
Tech
Google Unveils AI-Powered Pixel 9 Lineup Ahead of Apple’s iPhone 16 Release
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Google has launched its next generation of Pixel phones, setting the stage for a head-to-head competition with Apple as both tech giants aim to integrate more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) features into their flagship devices. The unveiling took place near Google’s Mountain View headquarters, marking an early debut for the Pixel 9 lineup, which is designed to showcase the latest advancements in AI technology.
The Pixel 9 series, although a minor player in global smartphone sales, is a crucial platform for Google to demonstrate the cutting-edge capabilities of its Android operating system. With AI at the core of its strategy, Google is positioning the Pixel 9 phones as vessels for the transformative potential of AI, a trend that is expected to revolutionize the way people interact with technology.
Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president overseeing the Pixel phones, emphasized the company’s commitment to AI, stating, “We are obsessed with the idea that AI can make life easier and more productive for people.” This echoes the narrative Apple is likely to push when it unveils its iPhone 16, which is also expected to feature advanced AI capabilities.
The Pixel 9 lineup will be the first to fully integrate Google’s Gemini AI technology, designed to enhance user experience through more natural, conversational interactions. The Gemini assistant, which features 10 different human-like voices, can perform a wide array of tasks, particularly if users allow access to their emails and documents.
In an on-stage demonstration, the Gemini assistant showcased its ability to generate creative ideas and even analyze images, although it did experience some hiccups when asked to identify a concert poster for singer Sabrina Carpenter.
To support these AI-driven features, Google has equipped the Pixel 9 with a special chip that enables many AI processes to be handled directly on the device. This not only improves performance but also enhances user privacy and security by reducing the need to send data to remote servers.
Google’s aggressive push into AI with the Pixel 9 comes as Apple prepares to unveil its iPhone 16, which is expected to feature its own AI advancements. However, Google’s decision to offer a one-year free subscription to its advanced Gemini Assistant, valued at $240, may pressure Apple to reconsider any plans to charge for its AI services.
The standard Pixel 9 will be priced at $800, a $100 increase from last year, while the Pixel 9 Pro will range between $1,000 and $1,100, depending on the model. Google also announced the next iteration of its foldable Pixel phone, priced at $1,800.
In addition to the new Pixel phones, Google also revealed updates to its Pixel Watch and wireless earbuds, directly challenging Apple’s dominance in the wearable tech market. These products, like the Pixel 9, are designed to integrate seamlessly with Google’s AI-driven ecosystem.
Google’s event took place against the backdrop of a significant legal challenge, with a judge recently ruling that its search engine constitutes an illegal monopoly. This ruling could lead to further court proceedings that may force Google to make significant changes to its business practices, potentially impacting its Android software or other key components of its $2 trillion empire.
Despite these legal hurdles, Google is pressing forward with its vision of an AI-powered future, using its latest devices to showcase what it believes will be the next big leap in technology. As the battle for AI supremacy heats up, consumers can expect both Google and Apple to push the boundaries of what their devices can do, making the choice between them more compelling than ever.
News
Microsoft Outage Hits Payment Processors
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When major payment processing systems have problems, the issues impact many critical systems that society depends on. In this article, we’ll explain the cause of the Microsoft outage and discuss the impact computer networking issues had on Canada. We’ll also examine whether or not Microsoft was at fault and what businesses can do to prevent further outages.
What Happened With the Microsoft Outage?
The outage with Microsoft’s Azure payment processor resulted from a buggy security update from an outside company, CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike offers information technology security services for many Microsoft Windows computers. The company’s software developers sent a new update out, but instead of patching up minor issues with the existing software, the code within conflicted with Windows and prevented computers from booting up. Users expecting to start their computers for a typical day were instead faced with the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death” error message.
So, how does this produce a problem and a payment processor issue? Many computers running payment processing, among many other kinds of software used for airlines, banks, retail, and other essential services, couldn’t start and were unable to let payments through. This is a catastrophic issue for companies that are heavily reliant upon the speed and ease of an electronic transaction.
In Canada, the outage impacted critical computer systems for air travel. Flights couldn’t be paid for and booked, which caused major problems for customers unable to make transactions while flights remained grounded. Travellers stuck waiting for flights to take off made their way over to the airports’ Starbucks and other vendors, only to discover unusually long lines due to payment issues. Even online gamblers looking to take their minds off the situation couldn’t take full advantage of one of the fastest payment options out there because of the outage.
Aside from payments, hospitals for major health systems had to use paper to complete important tasks like ordering lab work and getting meals to patients. Emergency dispatch lines were temporarily unable to function correctly while their computer systems were down.
How Was the Outage Fixed?
Thankfully, CrowdStrike fixed the problem on their end quickly, mostly via an additional reboot that allowed CrowdStrike to send over unflawed code. Unfortunately, for some business and private customers, rebooting wouldn’t be enough with command-line level adjustments needed for the operating system to run correctly.
The Good and Bad of Outages
First, we’re thankful that the outage was not caused by hackers accessing and stealing a mountain of personal data. A recent outage with an automotive software provider went on for much longer and ended much worse for software provider CDK, which likely paid an undisclosed sum north of $20 million to get data back and systems restored.
By some chance, Microsoft is reported to have experienced its own outage, and many information technology professionals blame Microsoft in part for their issues because of how their systems attempted to fix the problem by rebooting over and over again, though some of Microsoft’s PCs needed to warn users to make a change manually. Unfortunately, any computer that required manual intervention took longer to recover, as a knowledgeable person had to access each computer affected by the issue. In some cases, between dealing with several hours of backlogged tasks and slow recovery processes, some businesses took days, not hours, to get back online.
The outage brings up another major point in the cybersecurity and computer industry. CrowdStrike and Microsoft are both big companies in their respective fields. As a result, the effects of bad code spread much further than they could have if there were more competitors making security products or if there were more software companies making operating systems like Windows. While only 8 million computers were believed to be affected out of a much larger global network, those are essential computers for worldwide communication and payment processing. Perhaps companies should be putting their eggs in more than one basket?
The testing methods for the outage are unclear—did CrowdStrike test the routine software update enough to detect the potential for a major outage? Apparently not.
What Should Businesses Do Next?
Software like Microsoft Azure’s payment systems come from what information technology professionals call ‘the cloud.’ The software is remotely managed over the internet, meaning that the computer that runs the system is not physically present at the location. Unfortunately, this also means that an issue with the internet can take critical systems out of service.
Businesses ranging from major airlines and banks to mom-and-pop stores would be well served by backup systems at their locations. These don’t have to be as primitive as the old-fashioned credit-card carbon-copy slide, but there are options available with consistent service that don’t repeatedly rely on the same networks.
Conclusion
There were certainly challenging moments for Canadian businesses and emergency services during the CrowdStrike and Microsoft outage. As they scrambled to understand the problem and waited, albeit briefly, for issues to resolve, many companies learned the importance of having local and reliable backup for their computer systems.
Tech
New photos reveal more details about Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold
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Google’s secret new line of Pixel 9 phones isn’t that big of a secret anymore. Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) released new photos of the phones including the Pixel 9 Pro Fold from almost every conceivable angle.
Android Authority found the photos in the NCC archives and uploaded galleries of each of the four phones including the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold. They reveal some interesting details about the new Pixel phones.
The charging rates will be a little faster than the last generation of Pixel phones: Taiwanese authorities measured 24.12W for the base model, 25.20W for the Pro and 32.67W for the 9 Pro XL. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, however, was the slowest of all of them at 20.25W. These numbers don’t often match up perfectly with the advertised ratings, so expect Google to be promoting higher numbers at its event.
Speaking of chargers, it looks like Google needed a bigger charger to power its new phones. Photos included in the NCC leak show each phone will come with a wall charger that’s around 45W depending on which model you purchase. The charger’s plug moved from the middle to the top of the brick.
The latest photo dump also shows the 9 Pro Fold unfolded for the first time. Google has moved the selfie camera to the inside screen for a wider field of view. The 9 Pro Fold also has a slimmer top and bottom, a reduced fold crease on the display and a full 180 degree unfolding angle to make a screen that’s just over 250mm or just under 10 inches.
These photos are the latest in a very long list of leaks of Google Pixel 9 photos. The last Pixel 9 leak came down yesterday showing two prototype models of the base and XL models. Google might look into buying a new combination lock for the high school locker where they apparently keep all their unreleased gear.
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