Google’s Open-Source AI Data Center Cooling Design Raises Commoditization Concerns 
Alphabet Replaces Verizon in Dow Jones Industrial Average 
Trump’s Quantum Push Lifts IBM Stock as CEO Arvind Krishna Receives White House Praise 
Qualcomm Nears $4 Billion Acquisition of AI Chip Startup Modular 
US Raises Concerns Over Possible ASML EUV Machine Transfer to China 
Oracle Cuts 21,000 Jobs as AI Reshapes Workforce and Cloud Expansion Accelerates 
World Cup technology: from ref cams to AI analysts, cutting-edge research is changing the game 
Cerebras Revenue Forecast Tops Expectations, but Margin Concerns Weigh on Stock 
Chinese Social Media Giant Xiaohongshu Eyes Hong Kong IPO at Over $70 Billion Valuation 
SK Hynix Shares Hit Record High After Shipping Next-Generation HBM4E AI Memory Samples 
Tencent Reviews Marvelous Stake as Gaming Giant Reassesses Global Investment Strategy 
SpaceX Stock Slides After IPO Rally as Valuation Concerns Grow 
How AI prompting turned writerly description into an everyday skill 
SoftBank Shares Drop as OpenAI Losses and Rising Costs Spark Investor Concerns 
Fandoms can be wonderful. They can often be a roiling maelstrom of passion and love of movies, games, or events that could lead to amazing things. However, they can also be toxic and a haven of intolerance, as some hardcore fans of the God of War franchise have shown. The upcoming reboot for the PlayStation 4 isn’t even out yet and criticism is already pouring in from so-called dedicated followers of the property. God of War director Cory Barlog has therefore decided to respond.
Speaking to Kotaku recently, Barlog addressed the concerns that these fans with the upcoming game. He specifically talked about the criticisms that hardcore players have been throwing at him and his team for the changes that they made with God of War in making it over-the-shoulder third-person view, revamping the combat, and making the main character Kratos less of the rage machine that he was in the original games.
“I know there are a lot of people who are out there saying, 'It's totally different. They're changing a lot of things. Hashtag Not My God Of War. Hashtag Cancel My Pre-Order. But I think a lot of people have to play it,” Barlog told the publication.
“We've been very restrictive of the information and what we're showing visually, and part of that is my paranoia. I want people to experience this game as a whole. Everybody who made this game - or a good portion of this team - has been a part of God of War from the very beginning. Nothing has changed cynically or under pressure or just willy-nilly. All of us put a lot of heart and soul into this game, and the DNA of what this franchise is still pumps through the blood of this game.”
As Screen Rant notes, it’s encouraging that the core of the game is still God of War through and through. Although most who have already seen what the title is about in person came away impressed – unlike those who complain even though they have only seen the footage and such – it’s still sad when a game strays so far from its roots that it becomes unrecognizable.
