On the TV show The Boys, Chace Crawford plays a superhero named The Deep who is basically Aquaman, and as such, he can speak and connect with all manner of underwater creatures. The Deep gets especially close with one particular sea creature, an octopus named Ambrosius who is voiced by Tilda Swinton. The Deep and Ambrosius are in love, and they have sex on the show. Crawford has now discussed how he "almost had a panic attack" the day before the sex scene in an episode from Season 3.

"It's so funny and brilliant now, but when that came up, I was like, 'Oh god, how's this going to work?'" Crawford told Rolling Stone (via AOL). "And then it got 24 hours out from the first day I had to shoot it and I almost had a panic attack."

Crawford said he spoke with The Boys creator and showrunner Eric Kripke to tell him that he was "worried about the scene." He chatted with Kripke about the mechanics of the shoot and how naked he would have to be during filming. In the end, Kripke changed one shot in response to Crawford's concerns, and the actor said "it was great." He did not elaborate, however, on the changes.

One Twitch streamer has put their best foot forward and finished Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree with a dance mat. And you thought beating the expansion with a controller was hard.

Spotted by Eurogamer, streamer MissMikka posted their impressive triumph over the expansion's final boss, Radahn, on X (formerly known as Twitter). MissMikka added that the encounter took seven hours of dancing–"my feet hurt"--and 52 tries. For all of Shadow of the Erdtree, MissMikka stated they spent seven days playing through the DLC with 325 deaths. "I hope [From Software president Hidetaka] Miyazaki is proud of me," MissMikka wrote.

I DID IT! ALL bosses of my dance pad Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree run have been deFEETed!
The last boss fell after 52 tries and 7 hours of dance-padding (my feet hurt). DLC took me 7 days in total with 325 deaths; 69 of them to gravity, nice.
I hope Miyazaki is proud of me. pic.twitter.com/DqbgLxTCXz

Last month, Miyazaki said, "I absolutely suck at video games," so one could argue he'd be impressed by a player beating Shadow of the Erdtree with their feet. Meanwhile, another Twitch streamer is defeating Elden Ring's DLC bosses without lifting a finger by utilizing different head- and eye-tracking devices.

With PS5 and Xbox Series X|S entering the middle age of their hardware lifecycle, Circana (formerly known as NPD) has provided comparison numbers for how they're doing against their predecessors. Long story short: PS5 is outperforming the PS4, while Xbox Series X|S is falling behind the Xbox One in the US.

Circana revealed that PS5 hardware sales are 8% ahead of PS4 after 43 months of availability. Meanwhile, Xbox Series X|S "trails Xbox One by 13% and remain[s] slightly behind Xbox 360."

This probably doesn't come as a big surprise, since previous reports pointed to PS5 outselling Xbox Series X|S handily. In addition, Xbox hardware had its worst sales dropoff in years according to a recent earnings report.

At long last, the first trailer for Gladiator II has arrived--and it's stunning. The trailer for the Ridley Scott-directed film gives fans a first look at Paul Mescal playing a grown-up Lucius and some of the trials and tribulations he will face as he suits up for battle in the arena.

Gladiator II arrives in theaters on November 22, which is just ahead of the Thanksgiving long weekend in the US. Expectations are high, as the 2000 film won Best Picture and was a box office smash. You can check out the new trailer below, along with a series of character posters here.

In addition to Mescal as Lucius, Gladiator II features Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius, a Roman general leading the efforts to expand Rome's empire. He captures Lucius and brings him back to Rome. Fred Hechinger plays Emperor Caracalla, while Joseph Quinn portrays Emperor Geta. Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, while Connie Nielsen returns to play Lucilla once again.

On the big screen, Nicolas Cage has taken on just about everything from deadly criminals to killer animatronics. But the one thing that scares the actor more than any made-up threat is AI. Cage recently explained some of his AI fears despite the fact that he allowed his entire body to be scanned for his upcoming Spider-Man Noir series on Prime Video and MGM+.

"They have to put me in a computer and match my eye color and change--I don't know," Cage told The New Yorker. "They're just going to steal my body and do whatever they want with it via digital AI. … God, I hope not AI. I'm terrified of that. I've been very vocal about it. … And it makes me wonder, you know, where will the truth of the artists end up? Is it going to be replaced? Is it going to be transmogrified? Where's the heartbeat going to be? I mean, what are you going to do with my body and my face when I'm dead? I don't want you to do anything with it!"

Cage previously spoke about his AI fears when he was asked about his cameo as Superman in The Flash. For the Spider-Man Noir series, Cage is reprising his role from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as an alternate version of Spidey from a world set in the Great Depression of the 1920s. Cage told The New Yorker that the series will run for eight episodes, and he described it as "a pop-art mash-up, like a Lichtenstein painting... [with] some sparkle to it."

Lego just started releasing Animal Crossing sets in March, and since they're so new, there haven't been many opportunities to snag them for anything less than full price. That changes today, thanks to the big sale Walmart is currently running (and Amazon is matching), which sees 20% knocked off the price for the Nook's Cranny and Rosie's House set.

The set is the biggest of Lego's Animal Crossing offerings, and as such, it's also the most expensive. It usually retails for $75, but the 20%-off discount running right now brings the price down to $60. The Nook's Cranny and Rosie's House set contains 535 pieces to construct both buildings, and includes Lego versions of both Animal Crossing characters, Tom Nook and Rosie, to go in them.

The Fast & Furious franchise is all about people using awesome cars to defy laws--whether they're United States federal laws, international laws, or the laws of physics. Most of the things Dom Toretto and his family do in the movies might be technically impossible, but you can at least build and admire a replica of his 1970 Dodge Charger R/T with the Lego Technic Dom's Charger, which is on sale for Walmart+ subscribers.

The online-only deal knocks $40 off the usual price of $120, bringing the price of Dom's Charger down to a cool $80. The completed car measures 15 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 4 inches tall, and contains some 1,077 pieces. It also includes a bunch of movie-accurate details, including the nitrous oxide bottles Dom uses to fuel the car's nitro boosts, and working pistons.

This deal is part of Walmart's big sale that runs through July 11 and serves as an answer to Amazon Prime Day, which runs July 16-17. Walmart's deals were locked behind its Walmart+ subscription program earlier today, but now all customers can take advantage of the discounts while supplies last. But even though early access is over, it's worth considering a Walmart+ subscription at its current discounted price of $49 (50% off). Walmart+ comes with a lot of perks beyond exclusive discounts, including free same-day delivery from your local store, access to Paramount+, and more.

Home arcade cabinets are more affordable than ever, but thanks Walmart's current sale, you can pick up Arcade1Up's Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting legacy cabinet, which is currently $50, bringing the price down to a reasonable $250.

The "Yoga Flame" cabinet is modeled after Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, but it actually sports an additional 13 other classic Capcom games, including Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, King of Dragons, Strider, and Armored Warriors. It also features Wifi support for online play, so you'll never be without an opponent.

The cabinet itself is 73 pounds when assembled and stands 58 inches high. If there's a drawback to this cabinet, it's the height--this one doesn't include a riser, and might be a little short for most adult users. Walmart also offers the Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting cabinet with a riser, but even at $100 off, it'll still run you significantly more at $400.

Apple AirPods are available for only $69 at Amazon ahead of Prime Day. Amazon is matching Walmart's deal, which is part of Walmart's big sales event that just kicked off on July 8. The deal applies to the second generation AirPods with a Lightning charging port. The $69 price matches the best we've ever seen for the Bluetooth earbuds (list is price is $129), which is very nice indeed.

These are the go-to headphones to use if you're not a fan of in-ear devices, as these rest comfortably next to your ear canal. You'll get very high-quality sound from the AirPods as they're powered by Apple's H1 chip and the battery life is around 24 hours total listening time with the included charging case.

You'll also get a simple one-tap setup with the AirPods, and once you've done that, they'll automatically detect when they're in your ears as they self-activate. This means that you can pair them effortlessly with an iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, iPad, and Apple TV, as well as use Siri for assistance without needing to grab your phone. Another neat feature is that you can share audio between two sets of AirPods on a single Apple device, in case you want to have a little audio-visual party.

As a long-time fan of linear, turn-based RPGs, I've spent my fair share of time lamenting the fact that the Golden Age of this genre--which I'd define as the '90s through early 2000s--is well behind us. However, after years of both the genre and the gaming industry as a whole evolving and expanding, time has finally come to admit it: There's never been a better time to be a fan of JRPGs. Between the influx of remakes, remasters, and spiritual successors, and the plethora of new titles from both indie and larger-scale studios, the hardest part of being a fan nowadays is simply finding the time to play them all.

Toshihiro Kondo, the president of Nihon Falcom and one of the key developers behind the Ys and Trails series, feels similarly. The term JRPGs was previously used somewhat degradingly in Western countries, and those who played them were smaller in number and a bit more isolated from the rest of the gaming community at large. Kondo is one of the developers who is proud of what the genre has come to stand for and now embraces the term--as well as his various peers who he sees as allies in the quest to keep the genre that's come to define his career alive and thriving.

As Falcom fans are surely well aware, Kondo and his team have been more than doing their part to ensure this is the case. Just this past week, Falcom released The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak in Europe and North America to critical acclaim. The studio also announced its sequel--Trails Through Daybreak 2--is already in the process of being translated into English and is headed our way early next year. Additionally, the tenth entry in the Ys series, Ys X: Nordics, is slated for release this October. And yet, this is just a small look at what Falcom is up to.

The DualSense Edge is on sale for $175 at Walmart as part of the retailer's massive deals event that's running through July 11. The premium PS5 controller released earlier this year with a retail price of $200. Unsurprisingly, we hadn't seen any notable discounts at major retailers until now. We wouldn't be surprised if this deal sells out before the end of the day, especially since Walmart+ subscribers were able to purchase it during the early access portion of the sales event earlier today. The DualSense Edge deal is just one of many awesome gaming and tech deals Walmart has ahead of Amazon Prime Day.

While you can get a regular DualSense for $68 (was $75)--and in a lovely range of colors to boot--during Walmart's sale, the DualSense Edge is what you'd call a more serious piece of kit. It's designed to be customized to help give you that metaphorical edge in games, and overall, it's a high-tech option that feels really nice to handle.

It comes with two pairs of remappable triggers, three different sets of swappable thumbstick caps, a USB-C charging cable, and a lovely carrying case to keep the pricey controller as pristine as possible when not using it. You can set up custom profiles, adjust trigger sensitivity, and program dead zones for the analog sticks. You also get all of the neat features found in the regular DualSense controller, such as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.

Since its release last fall, the Meta Quest 3 has largely held its $500 price point, but you can finally get a substantial discount on the impressive wireless headset. As part of Walmart's big sales event running this week ahead of Amazon Prime Day, the 128GB Meta Quest 3 is discounted from $500 to $429.

Arguably the best VR headset on the market, the Meta Quest 3 combines powerful hardware with an easy-to-use interface and a terrific library of content. Games like Tetris Effect: Connected and Pistol Whip run very well on the headset, and if you're looking to get a good sweat in, you can't go wrong with a few rounds of Les Mills Body Combat. The other nice thing about the Quest 3 is that the controllers don't have tracking rings around them, making them easier to grip and use for play sessions.

You might want to consider picking up a Meta Quest 3 Elite Strap as well, just for extra comfort, or if you feel like upgrading the headset, the Elite Strap with battery add-on is a very good investment for long VR sessions.

The asymmetrical horror genre has exploded in recent years. Formerly a space inhabited by Dead By Daylight (DBD) almost exclusively, it now includes several major counterparts, such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, and Hunt: Showdown. Go a level deeper, and many horror-adjacent games, like Predator: Hunting Grounds and Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, capture similar gameplay mechanics in less spooky settings. The genre is old enough now that a number of competitors have come and gone already, such as Friday The 13th and Evil Dead.

One name dedicated players may recall is Last Year: The Nightmare. Originally, the 5v1 horror game was developed around the same time as Dead By Daylight, with crowdfunding kicking off way back in 2014. In some alternate universe, it might today be DBD's biggest competitor. But a slew of unfortunate circumstances led to the game never quite establishing a solid foundation.

Launching in 2018 exclusively on Discord during the brief period in which the messaging app tried (and failed) to take on Steam as a PC gaming marketplace made community-building highly improbable. Players rejected the Steam alternative, as they tend to with seemingly all others, which, for a multiplayer game like Last Year: The Nightmare, was a death knell. In 2019, a move to reinvent the game for Steam with a new name, Last Year: Afterdark, also wasn't able to capture the attention of more than a small, albeit passionate, group of players. In 2020, the pandemic led to a prospective publishing deal collapsing at the eleventh hour, which tore up the game's content roadmap. Combined, these unfortunate missteps ultimately killed the studio, Elastic Games.

Back in June, Microsoft announced a deal with Amazon to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Fire TV devices, and today, July 8, that functionality has gone live. What this means is the Xbox experience is now available in yet another place, and people do not need to buy an Xbox console to play.

As a takeover ad on the Xbox website reminds us, anyone with an Amazon Fire TV stick can now play games from within the Game Pass catalog. Beyond a Fire TV stick, you'll need some kind of controller. Xbox controllers are supported, of course, but a PlayStation controller works as well (here is the full list of supported controllers).

You'll need to be a subscriber to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to get access to cloud gaming as well, and of course, you'll want to have a fast and consistent internet connection. Microsoft recommends a wired connection for the best experience, or a 5Ghz wifi connection with 20 Mbps down.

Sure, you could add some culture to your home with a replica print of one of the most iconic works of art, or you can do that and have fun with a Lego version of a couple of famous paintings. Lego Ideas Starry Night, which is based on Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting, is on sale for $136 (was $170) at Amazon and Walmart ahead of Prime Day. This is one of the best prices we've seen for the stunning Lego set. You could hang it on your wall alongside Lego version of The Great Wave off Kanagawa, an 1831 painting by Japanese artist Hokusai, which is on sale for $84 at Amazon.

Paper is one of the most useful materials you can acquire in Minecraft, as it's a key resource in several high-profile recipes. If you want to enchant a weapon or item, create a map, or use a firework, you need plenty of paper. However, acquiring paper can be a confusing process, so check out the guide below to see how it's made in Minecraft.

Fortunately, the process of getting paper is extremely simple once you know what materials you need and where they are located. Paper is made from Sugar Cane, a naturally occurring resource in Minecraft that's only found by water. More specifically, Sugar Cane can only grow on a block that's touching a water source directly. It's a bright-green, stalky plant that's difficult to miss once you know what it looks like (as seen below).

As you can see in the screenshot above, I was able to find a solid crop of Sugar Cane directly by a river. However, even a small pond can house some Sugar Cane if you look diligently enough. Whenever you manage to find a Sugar Cane crop, my recommendation is to take it all back with you to your base. Then, you want to get buckets of water and make a small pool with it, using blocks of sand or dirt to surround the pool. From there, place the Sugar Cane on the blocks, allowing it to grow and giving yourself an infinite source of it.

Nintendo has revealed that Nintendo Switch Sports is getting a basketball update on Tuesday, June 9. While the free update was announced last month, a release date wasn't mentioned until now.

The basketball minigame is straightforward, where players can use motion controls to score as many baskets as they can in the three-point challenge. Four players can also compete against each other in a five-streak battle or three-point-contest, as well as play two-on-two matches.

Nintendo Switch Sports included six sports at launch, which were volleyball, badminton, bowling, soccer, chambara, and tennis. After launch, Nintendo added full soccer motion controls as well as golf. Now, more than two years since its release, it's finally getting basketball.

This week, the worlds of the Transformers and Overwatch 2 will collide in a new crossover collaboration. Overwatch 2 X Transformers will introduce skins based on three Autobot heroes: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Arcee. While we haven't seen the new skins in action yet, the new Overwatch 2 x Transformers trailer reveals which Overwatch heroes are getting a Cybertronian upgrade.

Blizzard's official site features an Overwatch 2 X Transformers comic that explains how these new alliances were formed. Megatron discovered the alternate world where Overwatch 2 takes place and reached out to Rammatra with an offer to provide him with Cybertronian technology far beyond his own. Essentially, Rammatra is now Megatron's avatar in this world. And once Optimus Prime, Arcee, and Bumblebee discover what Megatron has done, they searched for avatars of their own.

The Overwatch 2 X Transformers event will begin on July 9.

Ahead of Amazon Prime Day, you can save big right now on a selection of excellent PS5 and Xbox games in a Buy Two, Get One free promotion that runs until July 13. Many of last year's best games have received a substantial discount, and there are quite a few hidden gems here to check out as well. You don't just have to buy games either, as you can choose from other eligible items from Amazon as well.

This sale comes hot on the heels of Target Circle Week and its B2G1 sale, and admittedly, there are some better PS5 deals at Target currently (Xbox games are way better in Amazon's deal by comparison). The PS5 games on sale over at that site are worth looking at to save more, and thanks to the nature of that event, you can mix and match items like board games, books, and more.

World of Warcraft is getting remade in Unreal Engine 5, not by Blizzard, but by a group of creators who operate the fan-run server known as Turtle WoW.

Turtle WoW has existed since 2018, and is a free, unofficial private server that looks to continue the original "Vanilla" version of WoW with an entirely fan-made expansion called Mysteries of Azeroth. The expansion, which takes a different route from Blizzard's first official WoW expansion, The Burning Crusade, adds different playable races to the Horde and Alliance and additionally introduces features from later WoW expansions, like Transmogrification and Guild Vaults. It also adds new content (including new dungeons and raids) that aim to keep Azeroth relevant, rather than whisking players away to an entirely new planet or continent like in Blizzard's official WoW expansions.

Now, the creators of Turtle WoW have announced the next step for the fan-run version of Blizzard's enduring MMORPG: Turtle WoW 2.0. The project is slated to arrive in 2025, and looks to revitalize the old-school MMO by reimagining it in Unreal Engine 5, with enhanced HD visuals and improved lighting and shadows. Turtle WoW 2.0 will include support for existing WoW Classic mods, as well as provide new modding tools that will allow the team to "expand the world like never before," according to the project's announcement trailer. At launch, Turtle WoW 2.0 will feature the vanilla version of WoW as well as Turtle WoW's Mysteries of Azeroth expansion.