Despite well-publicized launch issues, a tweet from analyst Alejandro LL. highlights the successful aspects of the PC edition of STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor. It has already surpassed the online presence of the original STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order by a wide margin. The post shows the SteamDB data revealing the new game has already had a peak concurrent player count of 63,597 players. In contrast, SteamDB shows its predecessor peaked four years ago with 46,550 playing online at once. This makes Survivor the second most successful Star Wars game by this metric, following only LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which peaked at 82,517 concurrent players a little over a year ago.

• Save 35% on Lost Judgment on Steam.
• Save 90% on Don't Starve Together on Steam.
• Save 50% on Tales of the Neon Sea on Steam.

• Microsoft Activision-Blizzard Deal Will Pass Provided More Concessions Are Being Offered, DFC Believes.

• Producer Talks "God of War," "Horizon" TV Series. Thanks Ant.

Content creator videos. Thanks Ant.

• Lightsaber Fights According to Jedi Survivor.
• WarDead Catacombs - Elden Ring #49 - Carbot.
• What first person view looks like to NPCs #shorts #gaming - Viva La Dirt League.
• This is what it's like to play Armored Core VI. Thanks rist3903.

• The Division 2 Interview - Ubisoft Massive Talks About Year 5 Support - MP1ST.

• Star Wars Jedi Survivor Easter Egg Has You Squeezing Through a Crack for 2 Minutes Straight to See Something Bizarre.

• How Dead Island 2 Was Brought Back From the Dead - IGN Inside Stories.
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker - How It Evolved From Game Jam Experiment, to Game Pass Gem, to New Game Series.

• Atmospheric Strayed Lights is Available Now on Xbox.

• Old smartphones should be usable as single-board computers, just as this one is. Thanks Ant.

• How Mark Zuckerberg broke Meta.
• Can Bluesky Be Twitter Without Twitter (may require registration or subscription)? Thanks Matthew.

• Move Over Raspberry Pi (video). Thanks RedEye9.
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti expected to launch by the 'end of May.'
• World's First Wood Transistor Chops Out at 1 Hz. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• We Exploded the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D & Melted the Motherboard - Gamers Nexus (video). Thanks RedEye9.

Thanks DSLReports and Ant.

• Hackers target vulnerable Veeam backup servers exposed online.
• Cold storage giant Americold outage caused by network breach.
• Scam alert- Hackers now targeting you through your smart TV, BBB warns.
• 400,000 Users Hit by Data Breach at Media Player Maker Kodi.

• Minecraft Legends Review – Not Quite a Legendary Hybrid - MP1ST.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Laptop: Dell XPS 15 (2023) review- The best 15-inch laptop in a shrinking market - XDA.
• Laptop: Dell XPS 15 (9530) Review- A Familiar Face With a Raptor Lake Infusion - Tom's Hardware.
• SSD: Inland TD510 SSD Review- The First Widely Available PCIe 5.0 SSD - Tom's Hardware.

Someone recently commented I was on a bad restaurant streak. I think that's pretty accurate, though thankfully my latest mishap did not involve getting sick. We went out to a new place last night, and everything was really good except the service and, unfortunately, my steak. The service problems were forgivable. Our waiter just seemed a bit overwhelmed. But the steak was inedible. This was just a miscalculation on my part, as the menu suggested this was one of their specialties, but it was not. We later realized this inn had a wedding going on elsewhere, and I'd basically ordered a steak from a catering hall. So that's on me. Our server tried very hard to make it right, offering to fire me another, but I was over it, so he just took it off the bill. But all in all the evening was still a pleasant celebration of our anniversary, and as planned, it was also a chance to toast to lost friends. In the end it was fine, but I do think I should take an extended break from eating out to reset my tough luck.

Unlucky Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Brunch Link

• Cleveland is giving away a free trip to witness the 2024 solar eclipse. Second prize? Two trips to Cleveland.

Stories

• This $11.8M Scottish Estate Will Turn You Into a Baron or Baroness.
• California landslide halts rail service, homes evacuated.
• Willie Nelson 90th birthday concert stars Snoop Dogg, Chris Stapleton.

Science
Thanks Max.

• NASA Hacks Voyager 2 to Keep The 45-Year-Old Probe Studying Interstellar Space.
• Psychological Body Armor.
• Cats Get the Point of Pointing.

Image

• Statue with missing head looks like a penis.

Media

• Michael J. Fox on Parkinson's, and maintaining optimism. Thanks RedEye9.
• Harlan Ellison - Pay the Writer. Thanks The Flying Penguin.
• That Was Extremely Dodgy!- - Lucky People #6 (NSFW). Thanks VideoSift.

Creature Features

• Lonely pet parrots find friendship through video chats, a new study finds. Thanks RedEye9.

Follow-up

• Maya Calendar Mystery Solved? Scientists Say They've Cracked Its Ancient Code. Thanks A.C.M.

A Golden Week Japanese Game Fest on Steam is underway. Hosted by Komodo, this nine-day week will run until May 8th. This does not appear to involve the flood of livestreams and demos seen in some Steam Fests, but it does include a sale offering bargains up to 90% off. Here's word:

KOMODO, international games publisher and distributor of the Steam Deck in Asia, is proud to announce bringing back the Golden Week Sale on Steam on April 29 with the help of partners across the gaming industry.

Working with many of the biggest names in Japanese video games, KOMODO has organized a massive sale to celebrate the series of four Japanese holidays that are known as Golden Week with the Golden Week Japanese Game Fest!

Hey Vern! Chorus Worldwide announces the release of Varney Lake, a visual novel that melds a pulp fiction vampire story with throwback computer graphics. This sequel to Mothmen 1966 is available on Steam with support for Windows and macOS. The Game Launch Trailer shares a look, and there's a playable demo to sample. Here's more:

This second entry in the Pixel Pulps Anthology following paranormal investigator Lou Hill, Varney Lake finds him investigating the story of a supposed vampire encounter in 1954. Jimmy and Christine have murky memories of their childhood vacation where they claim to have met a vampire. Their friend Doug, who was with them, has long since gone missing. Lou Hill must follow the tracks of aged recollections to deduce macabre truths and discover Doug’s fate.

Get to the bottom of these mysteries by setting up camp and navigating the surrounding wilderness via choice-based gameplay seamlessly affecting a branching interactive fiction. Meet a neighboring vampire with a mysterious wound and carefully handle tense scenarios by solving accessible puzzles. Uncover the paranormal investigator’s veiled past in a dual-timeline story inspired by books with choices and branching narratives. Sink into a gripping tale of time and terror as the reality behind Doug’s disappearance comes to light.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Striking Soulslikes (pay what you want and help charity).*

*Blue's News may receive a commission on sales of this item.

• Major Publishers Report AAA Games Can Cost Over a Billion to Make.
• Sony confirms more PC ports are coming, because it's making a ton of money.

• Box Office: ‘Super Mario Bros’ To Beat ‘Are You There God-’ Debut.

Official patch.

• The Last of Us Part I 1.0.4.1 Patch Notes.

• Minecraft Legends is bigger than you think, thanks to PC Game Pass.

• Midseason, Bots & Champs - Dev Update - League of Legends.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• 10 EXACT Moments Video Games Self-Destructed - WhatCulture.

• Destiny 2 Players Can Get a Rare, Vaulted Armor Set From Xur.

• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Beta (2305.230426-2200). Thanks Console General.

• Smartphone Sales Take a Tumble (may require registration or subscription).
• The Google Pixel Fold looks nearly gapless in first leaked marketing images.
• Pings signal closure of NHS Covid-19 app.

• "Severance" S2 Delayed Due To Issues? Work/live balance problems?
• The best movies leaving Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and HBO Max in April 2023.

Thanks Ant.

• Matrox Launches Single-Slot Intel Arc GPUs.
• Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25352. Thanks Console General.
• Debian -bookworm- release on June 10.
• Release Audacity 3.3.1.
• These Expensive Headphones Come With Controversial Waifus.

Thanks Ant.

• IKEA chair responsible for computer screen malfunction.
• Chinese hackers outnumber FBI cyber staff 50 to 1, director Wray says. Thanks Slashdot.

• Big Tech hates the right to repair. But Microsoft is changing its tune. Thanks Acleacius.

• Trophy is a NEW NES game inspired by MEGA MAN, on modern systems! - Retro Ramble (video).
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Benchmark Test & Performance Analysis Review.
• Stray Blade Review - IGN.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Headset/Earbuds: HIFIMAN Svanar Flagship In-Ear Monitors Review - TechPowerUp.
• Headset/Earbuds: Master and Dynamic MH40 Review- Beautiful Austerity - WIRED.
• Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro review - PCGamesN.
• Laptop: Razer Blade 16 review- A miraculous display in a laptop you can probably skip.
• Laptop: Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra 16 review- Enduring 16-inch ultrabook with RTX 4050 - NotebookCheck.net Reviews.
• Monitor: Lenovo Legion Y32p-30 gaming monitor review - PC Gamer.
• RAM: Netac Z RGB DDR5-6200 CL32 2x 16 GB Review - TechPowerUp.

• Why There's No Room for Suburbs in Open-World Games. Thanks Slashdot via Ant…

Many of you shared kind words and condolences about Jedi the Jindo, and I appreciate it. Thank you very much. MrsBlue and I plan to go to dinner tonight to celebrate our recent anniversary, and we will celebrate Jedi as well and raise a glass to our dear departed friend.

Celebratory Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Brunch Links

• On the Road to Failure. "Presentations and pitch decks by the largest business failures and corporate frauds." Thanks Boing Boing.
• Diagnosing deception: How doctors solved a woman’s dramatically faked condition.
• 2023 hurricane season predictions released.

Story

• This NYC vegan dinner party requires you to have dinner naked. I don't want your meat anywhere near my veggies. Thanks Boing Boing.

Science
Thanks Acleacius.

• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in clouds- study. Abe Simpson was right!
• Cognitive flexibility is essential to navigating a changing world – new research in mice shows how your brain learns new rules.
• New nanoparticle source generates high-frequency light.
• Neuroeconomic framework provides insight into success and failure in smoking cessation.

Media

• How these impossibly thin cuts are made. Thanks RedEye9.
• Schoolboy steers school bus to safety after driver passes out. That's the kid you want next to you in the foxhole. Thanks Acleacius.

Follow-ups

• Report: FAA overruled engineers, let Boeing Max keep flying.
• Bizarre 'Wood Milk' ad with Aubrey Plaza backfires.