At the end of June, Apple's App Store rejected the Windows/retro PC emulator "UTM SE". But in a reversal Apple approved the app Saturday, reports the Verge.

"We are happy to announce that UTM SE is available (for free) on iOS and visionOS App Store," the developer posted on X, "and coming soon to AltStore PAL."

From the Verge: After Apple rejected the app in June, the developer said it wasn't going to keep trying because the app was "a subpar experience." Today, UTM thanked the AltStore team for helping it and credited another developer "whose QEMU TCTI implementation was pivotal for this JIT-less build."

As with other emulators on the App Store, you can't do much with UTM SE out of the box. It doesn't come with any operating systems, though the app does link to UTM's site, which has guides for Windows XP through Windows 11 emulation, as well as downloads of pre-built virtual Linux machines. Mac OS 9.2.1 and DOS are listed in one screenshot from the UTM SE App Store page. Mac OS 9.2.1 and DOS are listed in one screenshot from the UTM SE App Store page.

Speaking of Xbox, the Xbox 360 Store and Marketplace are coming to a close later this month. From a report: Microsoft announced this last year and put an official end date of July 29, according to its official FAQ page. In case you didn't notice, the end of July is fast approaching. All of the games, DLC and any gaming tidbits for Microsoft's second generation console won't be available to purchase or download on the Xbox 360 console. Your games and movie purchases are still safe, however, if you've got any throwback titles on your Xbox One or Series X/S console. You can also still watch your purchased movies and shows on Windows 10 and 11 devices.

The video game industry is grappling with a severe financial downturn that's hitting independent developers particularly hard, as exemplified by Necrosoft Games' recent brush with bankruptcy while developing their upcoming title "Demonschool." Brandon Sheffield, the studio's director, managed to secure a temporary contract to keep the company afloat, but he acknowledges the precarious nature of their situation, telling Reuters, "It was the only way to survive, because nobody was funding anything. It's also better than what's happening to a lot of people, where they just have to fold," he told Wired.

This struggle is emblematic of a broader trend in the industry, with experts cited by Wired in a story warning that 2024 could see numerous small studio closures as traditional funding avenues dry up and larger companies tighten their belts. The ripple effects of this contraction extend beyond immediate job losses, with industry veterans like Victoria Tran from Innersloth expressing concern that the challenging climate could deter new talent and stifle the creativity that often emerges from smaller, more experimental game projects.

An anonymous reader shares a report: For years now, Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass has set itself apart by offering subscribers launch-day access to new first-party titles in addition to a large legacy library of older games. That important "day one" perk is now set to go away for all but the highest tier of Game Pass' console subscribers, even as Microsoft asks for more money for Game Pass across the board. Let's start with the price increases for existing Game Pass tiers, which are relatively straightforward:

"Game Pass Ultimate" is going from $16.99 to $19.99 per month.
"Game Pass for PC" is going from $9.99 to $11.99 per month.
"Game Pass Core" (previously known as Xbox Live Gold) is going from $59.99 to $74.99 for annual subscriptions (and remains at $9.99 for monthly subscriptions).
Things get a bit more complicated for the $10.99/month "Xbox Game Pass for Console" tier.

Microsoft announced that it will no longer accept new subscriptions for that tier after today, though current subscribers will be able to keep it (for now) if they auto-renew their subscriptions.

After two rejections, Apple has approved the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. "This paves the way for Epic CEO Tim Sweeney to realize his long-stated goal of launching an alternative game store on Apple's closed platform -- at least in Europe," reports Ars Technica. From the report: Apple announced plans to allow third-party app stores on iOS in the region earlier this year, complying with the letter of the law (though some say not the spirit) as required by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which was enacted in hopes of making platforms more open and competitive. Apple's new policies allow for alternative app marketplaces but with some big caveats regarding the deal that app developers agree to.

The change followed years of contentious PR campaigns and court battles around the world between Epic and Apple, with Sweeney proclaiming that Apple's app approval processes are anti-competitive and that its 30 percent cut of app revenues is unfair. Even after the shift, Apple is said to have rejected the Epic Games Store app twice. The rejections were over specific rules about the copy and shape of buttons within the app, though not about its primary function. [...] Apple went ahead and approved the app despite the disagreement over the copy and button designs. However, AppleInsider reported that Apple will still require Epic to change the copy and buttons later.

Mojang Studios, the creator of the globally popular video game Minecraft, is diversifying its revenue streams amid slowing growth in the gaming industry. Chief Executive Asa Bredin revealed in an interview that the company is exploring new partnerships in merchandising, education, and content streaming. The company is also venturing into film and television, with a Warner Bros. movie adaptation set to premiere in April and a Netflix series in development. From a report: Mojang's push follows repeated forays by Nintendo and Sony Group to broaden the appeal of their gaming properties at a time that spending in the industry has hit a lull. Nintendo is developing a live-action film based on the Legend of Zelda franchise, following the blockbuster success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, while Sony has turned The Last of Us into an HBO series and created games based on the Spider-Man movies.

Nintendo has announced the end of repair services for its Wii U console, following the earlier decision to shut down all Wii U servers. Nintendo cited the expiration of the parts retention period as the reason for discontinuing repairs. The move marks the final chapter for the Wii U, which launched in 2012 but struggled to gain traction, selling only 13.56 million units compared to its successor, the Switch, which has sold over 140 million units.

An Italian video game, 22 years in the making, has finally hit the market, setting a record for the longest development time in gaming history. "Kien," an action platformer for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, began development in 2002 by a group of five inexperienced enthusiasts, The Guardian reports. Only one, Fabio Belsanti, saw the project through to completion. The game, inspired by 15th-century Tuscan manuscripts and early Japanese graphics, offers a challenging, nonlinear fantasy experience. It's now available on a translucent gray cartridge, complete with a printed manual -- a rarity in modern gaming. Belsanti's company, AgeOfGames, survived the delay by creating educational games. The recent boom in retro gaming finally made Kien's release feasible, he said.

Epilogue, the company behind the GB Operator emulator, which lets users play Game Boy cartridges on a PC, announced that it's working on an update to turn the Game Boy Camera into a lo-fi webcam. Time Extension reports: The Playback app currently allows you to download photos from the Game Boy Camera accessory, but Epilogue has just demonstrated the ability to use the peripheral as a webcam.

"We now have a live feed from the Game Boy Camera, but still need to fine-tune some things and allow for configuration options," says the company. "We wanted to share this update because it was exciting to see it finally work, and [we] can't wait to see everyone having fun with it. It's the worst and the best webcam you'll ever have."

Mario and Luigi aren't jumping on the AI train. From a report: In a recent Q&A with investors, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa addressed the issue. Though he said generative AI can be creative, Furukawa told his audience that the company isn't planning to use the technology in its games. "In the game industry, AI-like technology has long been used to control enemy character movements, so game development and AI technology have always been closely related," Furukawa said, according to TweakTown. "Generative AI, which has been a hot topic in recent years, can be more creative, but we also recognize that it has issues with intellectual property rights. "We have decades of know-how in creating optimal gaming experiences for our customers, and while we remain flexible in responding to technological developments, we hope to continue to deliver value that is unique to us and cannot be achieved through technology alone."

Tennis is betting on video games to lure young fans. Two titles are set to compete: TopSpin 2K25, out now, and Tiebreak, coming in August. TopSpin lets players match legends like Federer against newcomers like Alcaraz. Tiebreak, backed by pro tours, features Djokovic on its cover.

The push comes as TV viewership among youth plummets. Only a third of 18-24 year-olds watch live matches, versus 75% of over-55s. Game makers claim playing increases the odds of buying tickets and hitting real courts. Football's EA Sports FC, with 150 million users, has shown gaming's pull. Tennis officials hope pixelated rallies will spark real-world passion.

Microsoft's canceled Xbox cloud console, codenamed Keystone, has been detailed in a new patent spotted by Windows Central's Zac Bowden. From the report: Back in 2021, Microsoft announced that it was working on a dedicated streaming device for Xbox Game Pass. That device was later revealed to be codenamed Keystone, which took the form of a streaming box that would sit under your TV, cost a fraction of the price of a normal Xbox, and enable the ability to play Xbox games via the cloud. Unfortunately, it appears Microsoft has since scrapped plans to ship Xbox Keystone due to an inability to bring the price down to a level where it made sense for customers. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer is on record saying the device should have costed around $99 or $129, but the company was unable to achieve this.

Thanks to a patent discovered by Windows Central, we can finally take a closer look at the box Microsoft had conjured up internally. First up, the patent reveals that the console took the form of an even square with a circle shape on top, similar to the black circular vent on an Xbox Series S. The front of the box had the Xbox power button, and a USB-A port. Around the back, there were three additional ports; HDMI, ethernet, and power. On the right side of the console there was appears to be an Xbox controller pairing button, and the underside featured a circular "Hello from Seattle" plate that the console sat on, similar to the Xbox Series X. This patent was filed in June 2022, which was around the time when the first details of Xbox Keystone were being revealed.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: An online gaming dispute made its way to the real world when a New Jersey man flew to Florida to attack another player with a hammer, authorities said. Edward Kang, 20, is charged with attempted second-degree murder and armed burglary with a mask, according to Nassau County court records. He was arrested early Sunday morning. Kang and the victim, another young man around the same age as Kang, had never met in real life, but they both played ArcheAge, a medieval fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The game's publisher announced in April that it would be shutting down servers in Europe and North America on June 27, citing a declining number of active players.

Kang flew from Newark, New Jersey, to Jacksonville, Florida, last Thursday after telling his mother that he was going to visit a friend that he had met while playing a video game, officials said. Officials didn't say how Kang learned where the victim lives. Upon arrival, Kang took an Uber to a hotel in Fernandina Beach, about 35 miles north of Jacksonville, and then bought a hammer at a local hardware store, deputies said. Kang went to the victim's Fernandina Beach home, which was unlocked, around 2 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. The victim was walking out of his bedroom when he was confronted by Kang, who hit him on the head with the hammer, officials said. The two struggled as the victim called for help. His stepfather responded and helped to restrain Kang until police arrived. The victim suffered several head wounds that were not considered life-threatening, officials said. Online court records didn't list an attorney for Kang. He was being held without bond.

UPDATE (7/14/2024): Apple has now reversed their decision for UTM SE, and allowed it into their App Store. Slashdot's original story appears below...


An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Apple might finally allow retro video game emulators on the App Store, but this month, the company rejected submissions of iDOS 3, a new version of the popular DOS emulator, and UTM SE, an app that lets you emulate operating systems like Windows on iOS. In both instances, Apple said the new releases violate guideline 4.7 of the App Review Guidelines, which is the one that allows for retro game emulators. Chaoji Li, the developer of iDOS 3, shared some of Apple's reasoning for the rejection with The Verge. "The app provides emulator functionality but is not emulating a retro game console specifically," according to Apple's notice. "Only emulators of retro game consoles are appropriate per guideline 4.7." "When I asked what changes I should make to be compliant, they had no idea, nor when I asked what a retro game console is," Li said in a blog post. "It's still the same old unreasonable answer along the line of 'we know it when we see it.'"

UTM posted about its rejection on X. "The App Store Review Board determined that 'PC is not a console' regardless of the fact that there are retro Windows / DOS games for the PC that UTM SE can be useful in running," according to the post. UTM also noted that Apple is barring UTM SE from being notarized for third-party app stores because the app apparently violated guideline 2.5.2. That rule states that apps have to be self-contained and can't execute code "which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app, including other apps." Apple typically hasn't allowed just-in-time (JIT) compilation. However, and somewhat confusingly, UTM said that UTM SE doesn't include just-in-time compilation. Additionally, Apple clarified that guideline 4.7, which allows apps to offer "certain software that is not embedded in the binary," is "an exception that only applies to App Store apps" but isn't one that UTM SE qualifies for, UTM said in a follow-up post.

After years of playing second fiddle to Link in her own franchise, Princess Zelda is finally getting a video game of her own this fall. From a report: During today's Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the franchise's first game to follow as Princess Zelda herself embarks on an adventure to save the world from destruction. After Ganon bests Link in battle, Zelda is left to her own devices to battle hordes of monsters that descend upon the game's take on Hyrule (which seems heavily inspired by 2019's Link's Awakening remake).

According to series producer Eiji Aonuma, Zelda will navigate and fight through the world somewhat differently in Echoes of Wisdom as she wields a magical staff known as the Tri Rod with the assistance of a fairy named Tri. The trailer details how Zelda will be able to use the Tri Rod to create "echoes" of objects and monsters she's previously encountered and use them to overcome obstacles.

ASUS has suddenly agreed "to overhaul its customer support and warranty systems," writes the hardware review site Gamers Nexus — after a three-video series on its YouTube channel documented bad and "potentially illegal" handling of customer warranties for the channel's 2.2 million viewers.

The Verge highlights ASUS's biggest change: If you've ever been denied a warranty repair or charged for a service that was unnecessary or should've been free, Asus wants to hear from you at a new email address. It claims those disputes will be processed by Asus' own staff rather than outsourced customer support agents.... The company is also apologizing today for previous experiences you might have had with repairs. "We're very sorry to anyone who has had a negative experience with our service team. We appreciate your feedback and giving us a chance to make amends."
It started five weeks ago when Gamers Nexus requested service for a joystick problem, according to a May 10 video. First they'd received a response wrongly telling them their damage was out of warranty — which also meant Asus could add a $20 shipping charge for the requested repair. "Somehow that turned into ASUS saying the LCD needs to be replaced, even though the joystick is covered under their repair policies," the investigators say in the video. [They also note this response didn't even address their original joystick problem — "only that thing that they had decided to find" — and that ASUS later made an out-of-the-blue reference to "liquid damage."] The repair would ultimately cost $191.47, with ASUS mentioning that otherwise "the unit will be sent back un-repaired and may be disassembled." ASUS gave them four days to respond, with some legalese adding that an out-of-warranty repair fee is non-refundable, yet still "does not guarantee that repairs can be made."

Even when ASUS later agreed to do a free "partial" repair (providing the requested in-warranty service), the video's investigators still received another email warning of "pending service cancellation" and return of the unit unless they spoke to "Invoice Quotation Support" immediately. The video-makers stood firm, and the in-warranty repair was later performed free — but they still concluded that "It felt like ASUS tried to scam us." ASUS's response was documented in a second video, with ASUS claiming it had merely been sending a list of "available" repairs (and promising that in the future ASUS would stop automatically including costs for the unrequested repair of "cosmetic imperfections" — and that they'd also change their automatic emails.)

Gamers Nexus eventually created a fourth, hour-long video confronting various company officials at Computex — which finally led to them publishing a list of ASUS's promised improvements on Friday. Some highlights:

• ASUS promises it's "created a Task Force team to retroactively go back through a long history of customer surveys that were negative to try and fix the issues." (The third video from Gamers Nexus warned ASUS was already on the government's radar over its handling of warranty issues.)

• ASUS also announced their repairs centers were no longer allowed to claim "customer-induced damage" (which Gamers Nexus believes "will remove some of the financial incentive to fail devices" to speed up workloads).

• ASUS is creating a new U.S. support center allowing customers to choose either a refurbished board or a longer repair.

Gamers Nexus says they already have devices at ASUS repair centers — under pseudonyms — and that they "plan to continue sampling them over the next 6-12 months so we can ensure these are permanent improvements." And there's one final improvement, according to Gamers Nexus. "After over a year of refusing to acknowledge the microSD card reader failures on the ROG Ally [handheld gaming console], ASUS will be posting a formal statement next week about the defect."

An anonymous reader shares a report: City building simulations are not real life. They can be helpful teaching tools, but they abstract away many of the real issues in changing communities. And yet, sometimes a game like Cities: Skylines 2 (C:S2) will present an issue that's just too timely and relevant to ignore. Such is the case with "Economy 2.0," a big update to the beleaguered yet continually in-development game, due to arrive within the next week or so. The first and most important thing it tackles is the persistent issue of "High Rent," something that's bothering the in-game citizens ("cims" among fans), C:S2 players, and nearly every human living in the United States and many other places.

C:S2 has solutions to high rent, at least for their virtual citizens. They removed the "virtual landlord" that takes in rent, so now a building's upkeep is evenly split among renters. There's a new formula for calculating rent, one that evokes a kind of elegant mathematical certainty none of us will ever see: "Rent = (LandValue + (ZoneType * Building Level)) * LotSize * SpaceMultiplier"

Activision has clarified Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 isn't 309GB after all -- or at least, you can download the core of it for less. From a report: This is despite Xbox's store page for the game stating that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's install size is a rather chunky 309.85 GB. This made many heads turn, because that seemed excessive. The Call of Duty team has now issued a correction with more detail. Writing on social media platform X, Activision stated the file size currently listed for Black Ops 6 "does not represent the download size or disk footprint" for its upcoming Call of Duty game.

"The sizes as shown include the full installations of Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Warzone and all relevant content packs, including all localised languages combined which is not representative of a typical player install experience," it explained, before adding: "Players will be able to download Black Ops 6 at launch without downloading any other Call of Duty titles or all of the language packs."

An anonymous reader shares a report An unofficial site tracking titles in the Epic Games library may have just leaked a ton of upcoming games, as reported earlier by Wccftech. The site, called EpicDB, was taken offline shortly after it posted information scraped from the Epic Games Store catalog on Monday, but that didn't stop people from scanning the list and posting their findings. You can see the list of games from publishers like Bethesda, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, and others in a series of screenshots posted by a user on a ResetEra forum. While some, like Turok, are easy to spot, others are listed under previously rumored codenames, such as "Parkside" or BioShock 4. There are still other titles under codenames we haven't heard about. Some users speculate that "Momo" could point to a Final Fantasy 9 remake, while "Selma" may be the PC port of Red Dead Redemption 1. The codename "Utah" could also hint at the PC version of The Last of Us Part 2, which is rumored to be almost ready to launch.

Microsoft has announced a new lineup of Xbox consoles, including an all-digital white Xbox Series X with a 1TB SSD, priced at $450. The company is also retiring the Carbon Black Series S, replacing it with a white version featuring a 1TB SSD and a $350 price point. Additionally, a new Xbox Series X with a disc drive and 2TB of storage will launch for $600.

The move comes as Microsoft continues to focus on digital gaming and subscription services like Game Pass, with reports suggesting that the PS5 is outselling Xbox Series consoles 2:1. The shift has led to minimal physical Xbox game sections in stores and some first-party titles, like Hellblade 2, not receiving physical releases. Despite rumors of a multiplatform approach, Microsoft maintains its commitment to its own gaming machines, promising a new "next-gen" console in the future, potentially utilizing generative-AI technology.

Further reading: Upcoming Games Include More Xbox Sequels - and a Medieval 'Doom'.