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Well, at least for Ubisoft, it appears that the next-gen is beating current-gen, even with games that will be available at least a month before the PS4 and Xbox One will be on store shelves. Apparently, the promise of next-gen technology trumps playing a game early. According to Ubisoft, pre-order numbers for next-gen versions Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Watch_Dogs, two highly anticipated fall releases, are much higher than those for current-gen versions....

Considering the success of Far Cry 3, which has so far sold over 6 million units, plus over 500k units of retro 80s-themed DLC Blood Dragon, it might be expected that Plourde would immediately move on to another AAA title, but the developer says that his new game will be the antithesis of AAA. Plourde outlined his new game, Child of Light, to Polygon, and described it as being softer, smaller and more feminine than most games tend to be....

It should be noted that the aforementioned PS Plus Extra rumor is said to only include some games coming this month, yet Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is not listed on there. This may be because fans know Assassin’s Creed Syndicate doesn’t play well on PS5. Neither Ubisoft nor Sony would want to release a game with performance issues on the service, but it could happen down the line if Ubisoft fixes it....

The e-mail in question was in regards to the upcoming private beta for the third-person shooter, and contained a headline that said, “Come see what a real government shutdown looks like.” Naturally, this didn’t sit well with some fans, and Ubisoft issued an apology shortly after the e-mail went out, claiming that it was sent in error and that the publisher recognized the impact that a shutdown can have on federal workers....

The result: the game was a commercial misfire for Ubisoft - according to VGChartz, combined Xbox 360/Wii sales for the The Black Eyed Peas Experience are at a paltry .67 million units. As we’re finding out, however, its troubles haven’t ended; Ubisoft now claims that The Peas agreed to have multiple titles license their music and likeness, and a missing iOS game has the developer going to court. As discovered by Player Attack, an announcement from Courthouse News Service today revealed that Ubisoft has filed a $1 million lawsuit against BEP Music - the group’s trademark management firm, which operates in will....

While the death rates in Italy and Spain have shown signs of declining, the daily death toll in the U.S. has been on a sharp rising trend, having increased exponentially over the course of the past few weeks. By around the 31st day since 10 deaths were first reported, the death toll is projected to reach around 10,000 in the U.S., according to data from the Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday....

In its monthly summary, the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI)—a Peking University think tank tracking military activity around China—said at least 65 U.S. military aircraft operated in the contested waters, where the U.S. Navy carried out 83 percent of those missions. The April total was consistent with the overall uptick in U.S. military operations in the region, the Chinese think tank said. Having compiled its numbers using available public flight data, SCSPI previously reported record U....

President Joe Biden’s administration announced the new multi-million dollar assistance package, which brings the U.S. total to $780 million in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan since the U.S. pulled out of the country resulting in the Taliban takeover in August. The government said the $308 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development will be given to independent humanitarian groups. The organizations plan to use the donations for emergency food aid, water, hygiene services, sanitation, healthcare, shelter, and winter necessities including clothes and shoes, said Emily Horne, the White House national security council spokesperson....

The driving force behind his decision is his admission of an affair that he was accused of having and subsequent payment to the woman to stay silent, which was reported by right-wing outlets prior to Tuesday’s primary election, according to The Texas Tribune. “About a year ago, I made a horrible mistake that has caused deep hurt and pain among those I love most in this world,” Taylor reportedly wrote in an email to supporters....

Stars and Stripes reported on Thursday that supply chain issues caused by the COVID pandemic were impacting Defense Department commissaries worldwide, including in Europe and Asia. At the start of the year, there were food shortages in Japan and South Korea, the outlet reported, citing Facebook posts by military officials. Chilled items, including dairy products, have been hit hardest by the supply chain shortages so far. Butter, cheese, coffee creamer, cream, milk and yogurt, as well as eggs and chilled juices, are missing from the shelves at most U....

And that’s a problem. The policy signals that any U.S. president has the authority, without consulting anyone, to order a pre-emptive nuclear strike—not merely in retaliation if and when missiles start flying in our direction. Our warheads could be launched in defense of allies, after the onset of a conventional war involving our troops (think: Iraq, 2003) or in response to a bellicose threat posed by a nuclear (e.g., North Korea) or not-yet-nuclear state (e....

Clint Dempsey, Forward, Seattle Sounders – Dempsey came close to making it three goals in three games, but overall struggled to make an impact when with the U.S. having little possession. While Dempsey did good work against Portugal, it’s a reminder the U.S. is a better team with Jozy Altidore working as a hold-up player. (Last week: 1) Michael Bradley, Midfielder, Toronto FC – Bradley’s performance in a game where the U....

Serena will play a second-round match Thursday vs. unseeded Vania King, a 25-year-old Californian whose main claims to fame are her women’s doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2010. King has never gotten past the third round in singles at the U.S. Open. MORE: Amazing photos | Day 3 results None of that matters to Williams, who has done little at the Grand Slam events this year....

Very few Open championship venues have ever received as much scrutiny at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., near Tacoma. Built in 2007, it is a links-style municipal course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. It is the youngest course to host a U.S. Open and just the third municipal course in the tournament’s history. MORE: U.S. Open champions | Tee times, pairings | Phil’s history of finishing second at Open | Five things to know about the Open...

Tiger Woods shot a 10-over 80 on Thursday and played better Friday — by his current standards, anyway. He finished 6 over on the day and 16 over for the tournament, the worst in his professional career. MORE: Friday U.S. Open schedule, scores, tee times | U.S. Open round 2 preview | Must-see photos Woods also turned in this effort on his first hole of the day. U.S. Open Friday scores, leaderboard Check out the USGA’s live leaderboard here....

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said that U.S. officials “respect” and “understand” that the African countries with which Washington is engaging in the ongoing summit are “sovereign nations, and they get to choose for themselves what their bilateral or multilateral associations are going to be.” But he asserted that “there’s nothing inconsistent” about this position, and “shedding light on what is increasingly obvious to our African partners about China’s malign influence on the continent....

The new sanctions, announced on International Human Rights Day by the Treasury Department, are meant to place barriers in the global financial system for the people and bodies targeted in the measures. “On International Human Rights Day, Treasury is using its tools to expose and hold accountable perpetrators of serious human rights abuse,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said while making the announcement. Shohrat Zakir and Erken Tuniyaz, two Chinese government officials connected to the repression and forced assimilation of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in the Xinjiang region, were prohibited by the sanctions from traveling to the U....

Schweinsteiger meets with Fire boss “Perceptions matter, for sure, but I think those will be developed in the months to come, and not only on campaigns,” Gulati told a roundtable of reporters ahead of Friday’s World Cup qualifier between the U.S. and Mexico. “Lots of things get said in campaigns. The meeting that happened yesterday at the White House would not have happened three days earlier, but you have a President and President-elect — they’ve said some interesting things about each other — those are different things than they said yesterday, too, and about each other, and I think the same will be true around the world....

As of Tuesday, Mississippi, Missouri, Alaska, Oklahoma and Tennessee are the top five states that have seen the largest upward trend of new cases over the past two weeks, based on the three-day rolling average of daily new cases per 100,000 people, according to the latest report Tuesday by the university. Here we take a closer look at these states and their worst-hit local areas. Case data below is from Johns Hopkins University, unless otherwise stated....

At their send-off matches ahead of the Olympics beginning Saturday in Chicago against South Africa, U.S. women’s players will wear T-shirts with the hashtag “Equal Play Equal Pay” at media availabilities, as well as temporary tattoos with the same message. The players will have a hard time campaigning for their cause in Rio because the International Olympic Committee discourages athletes from taking public stances on social or political issues during the Games....