The Pokémon Company Japanese police arrested a man after finding evidence that he illegally tampered with save data for the Nintendo Switch games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which he used to create custom characters that he sold on an online gaming marketplace. According to machine translations of stories at NHK and the Asahi Shimbun, the Kochi Prefectural police arrested 36-year-old Yoshihiro Yamakawa on April 9th after cyber patrol officers caught him selling the characters online. Yamakawa, who used an online tool to modify the game’s save data, was arrested under suspicion of violating a Japanese law known as the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.The police report, according to both outlets, states that the Japanese police cyber patrol caught Yamakawa... Continue reading…

If you're an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, you've probably heard of Foundry Virtual Tabletop. It's a great piece of software that makes managing your campaign a dream, particularly for those who may run online campaigns rather than in person. Even in-person campaigns can benefit though, thanks to how easy it makes visualizing character movements. The only downside is that Foundry VTT will set you back $50 as a one-time payment, though DMs will all tell you that it's well worth it.

Android smartphones and tablets have hundreds of settings that let you change everything from wallpapers and notifications to sound, system colors, and more. But if you think you've seen and tweaked all the settings, then think again because we're about to look at some more options that are tucked inside the Developer options menu. These hidden Developer options are mostly intended to help with creating Android applications, but some of them can come in handy for other situations too.

AMD's new Ryzen 5 8500G is one of the most power-efficient parts out there on the market. It belongs to the same family as the Ryzen 5 8600G and the Ryzen 7 8700G that we recently reviewed. With a default TDP of just 65W, this Ryzen APU sips very less power, meaning you don't have to worry about power consumption. That, however, doesn't mean you should skimp on the PSU when picking parts for your PC. A good power supply unit (PSU) should be on top of your list of components while building a new PC, as it's among the most crucial components of your system.

The service will be shut down on an unspecified date later this year. | Image: Google Google is shutting down its VPN by Google One service, according to a vague customer email seen by Android Authority, less than four years after it was rolled out in October 2020. The email doesn’t specify when this will happen, only that the VPN service will be discontinued “later this year.” Subscription prices for Google One’s VPN start at $1.99, with availability on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows. The company told 9to5Google that it is killing the service because “people simply weren’t using it.” Perhaps its customers were simply spoilt for choice, given this is actually one of three VPN services provided by Google alongside the VPN offerings still available via Google Fi, and Pixel devices from the Pixel 7 on up.VPN by Google One... Continue reading…

If you want to play games on the go, you have a few options. Of course, there are the mainstream choices, like the Nintendo Switch or smartphone gaming with a mobile controller. Then you have PC gaming handhelds, like the Steam Deck or Asus ROG Ally, which offer unmatched performance and flexibility in the handheld form factor. However, most people have forgotten about Android gaming handhelds. They won't impress you on the spec sheet, and some might think they are obsolete in an era where smartphones are more powerful than ever and PC gaming handhelds are flourishing. When comparing the actual gaming experience, though, PC and Android gaming handhelds are more similar than you might think.

The PC case has held systems together for decades and has only improved since they first came to market. To get to today, PC case manufacturers have had to innovate. What started as a purely functional means to protect sensitive components, the PC case has transformed into a fashion statement and piece of furniture. We'll look at some ways the popular brands have pushed the PC case forward (and not always for the best). Whether it's improved cable management, a case form factor that has been copied beyond belief, or natural materials, we'll cover it.

The tools could open new revenue streams for artists who otherwise wouldn’t see money from unauthorized remixes. | Cath Virginia / The Verge Spotify is working on some seemingly TikTok-inspired remixing features in its latest attempt to capitalize on the social media platform’s explosive popularity. According to the Wall Street Journal, Spotify is developing tools that would allow paid subscribers to “speed up, mash-up, and otherwise edit” tracks from their favorite artists, which could then be saved for repeat listening.One use case for the tools is to allow Spotify users to adjust the speed of the songs they listen to. These music modifications are already popular with teens and young adults on TikTok, with content analysis firm Pex finding that 38 percent of songs on the platform had their speeds or pitches modified in 2023, compared to 25 percent the year prior.A... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge X giveth, and now X taketh away. The platform is eliminating the ability for Premium users to hide their blue checkmarks, according to a notification received by multiple users on Thursday. X made displaying the blue check optional last summer, and it’s unclear exactly why the platform plans to remove the feature — or when. Twitter says it is removing the "hide your checkmark" feature lolololol pic.twitter.com/PQFPbAGhef— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) April 11, 2024Once a status symbol, the blue check lost some of its luster after X shifted to a paid verification system under Elon Musk’s ownership. A blue check then just became an indicator that the account holder paid for a Premium subscription. The feature was also abused by s... Continue reading…

Whether you're cleaning, upgrading, or replacing, there will come a time when you need to remove your GPU from your PC. It may seem daunting if you've never tinkered with PC components before, but it's not that difficult, and as long as you're careful, the chances of breaking anything are slim. In this guide, we'll show you how to safely remove your GPU from your PC while keeping everything intact.

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images, The Verge Discord has shut down the Discord servers for the Nintendo Switch emulators Suyu and Sudachi and has completely disabled their lead developers’ accounts — and the company isn’t answering our questions about why it went that far. Both Suyu and Sudachi began as forks of Yuzu, the emulator that Nintendo sued out of existence on March 4th.“Discord responds to and complies with all legal and valid Digital Millennium Copyright Act requests. In this instance, there was also a court ordered injunction for the takedown of these materials, and we took action in a manner consistent with the court order,” reads part of a statement from Discord director of product communications Kellyn Slone to The Verge. The developers of Suyu and Sudachi only... Continue reading…

Ever since Windows 11's release, people have not been happy with its Start menu. People have used apps like StartAllBack and Start11 to enhance the Windows 11 Start menu to re-add some of its missing features, but Microsoft itself hasn't really taken note. However, all of that might change, and all because an ex-Microsoft employee mocked the Start menu on X.