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Ben Egliston

PhD candidate in Media and Communications, University of Sydney
I am a PhD candidate and sessional lecturer at the University of Sydney in the Department of Media and Communications. I research and teach about games and new media. My current research is focused on user experience in games.

Sorry gamers, Nintendo’s hefty Switch 2 price tag signals the new normal – and it might still go up

Apr 12, 2025 09:56 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

Last week, Nintendo announced the June 5 release of its long anticipated Switch 2. But the biggest talking point wasnt the consoles launch titles or features. At US$449 in the United States, and A$699 in Australia, many...

Is the metaverse really the future of work?

Oct 24, 2022 17:22 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology

According to Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse which the Meta founder describes as an embodied internet, where instead of just viewing content you are in it will radically change our lives. So far, Metas main metaverse...

Facebook relaunches itself as 'Meta' in a clear bid to dominate the metaverse

Oct 31, 2021 23:36 pm UTC| Technology

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has announced the company will change its name to Meta, saying the move reflects the fact the company is now much broader than just the social media platform (which will still be...

Sure, video games want to get you hooked on spending. But there's no evidence they can manipulate you

May 09, 2021 09:10 am UTC| Health

The ABCs latest Four Corners report is an investigation into how videogames are deliberately designed to get people hooked. It describes the use of gambling-like loot boxes in games, the hotly debated notion of...

Gamers use machine learning to navigate complex video games – but it's not free

May 25, 2019 06:46 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Some of the worlds most popular video games track your activity as you play but theyre not just gathering data for business or marketing purposes. Theyre accumulating information about the way you and others play the...

Economy

JPMorgan Sees ECB Raising Rates to 2.75% in December

JPMorgan now expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise interest rates for a third time in December, lifting its policy rate to 2.75% as persistent inflation, higher energy costs and resilient eurozone growth...

Asian Currencies Rise as Yen Surges on Fed Rate Outlook

Asian currencies strengthened on Friday, led by a sharp rally in the Japanese yen as the U.S. dollar weakened following dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. The yen was heading for a weekly...

US Oil Blockade Deepens Iran’s Economic Crisis

Iran is facing mounting economic strain as a U.S. campaign targeting its oil exports, financial networks and sanctions-evasion channels increasingly restricts Tehrans access to foreign currency and essential imports,...

U.S. Payrolls Seen Rebounding in August as Labor Market Stays Soft

U.S. payroll growth is expected to have recovered in August as local government education employment rebounded, although job losses linked to changes in immigration protections could limit overall gains. Economists...

Gold Prices Hold Near $4,500 as Fed Rate Hike Bets Ease

Gold prices hovered near $4,500 an ounce on Thursday, extending a strong rebound as Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Wallers comments reduced expectations for a September interest rate hike. A softer U.S. dollar and...

Politics

Milei Threatens Falkland Oil Firms With Sanctions

Argentine President Javier Milei has threatened sanctions against oil companies operating around the Falkland Islands, escalating Argentinas long-running sovereignty dispute with Britain over the South Atlantic territory....

South Korea, US Discuss Chip Investments Amid Tariff Plans

South Korea and the United States are holding discussions over semiconductor investments in U.S. manufacturing as the two countries navigate broader economic and trade negotiations, a senior Seoul official said Friday. The...

Trump Seeks Europe Repayment for U.S. Ukraine Military Aid

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to ask European nations to reimburse the United States for military aid and munitions previously supplied to Ukraine, while signaling that U.S. weapons sales to allies...

Brazil Warns EU of Retaliation Over Animal Products Ban

Brazil has warned that it could impose reciprocal measures against the European Union if negotiations fail to resolve a new EU ban on Brazilian animal products, raising the prospect of fresh trade tensions between the two...

Pacific Leaders Raise Alarm Over China Missile Test as Nauru Dissents

Pacific Island leaders have raised concerns over Chinas latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test in the Pacific, although Nauru formally rejected the regional blocs position during an annual summit in Palau....

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic Nears $15 Billion Credit Deal Ahead of IPO

Anthropic is reportedly close to finalizing an expansion of its revolving credit facility to $15 billion, strengthening the artificial intelligence companys financial position ahead of its widely anticipated initial public...

Xiaomi Shares Jump on Europe EV Expansion Plan

Xiaomi shares climbed sharply on Friday after the Chinese technology giant confirmed plans to begin selling its electric vehicles in Europe in 2027, marking a major step in its international EV expansion. Xiaomi Corp...

Nvidia Eyes $2.5 Billion Investment in Thinking Machines Lab

Nvidia is reportedly in discussions to invest about $2.5 billion in Thinking Machines Lab, the artificial intelligence startup founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati, as the chip giant continues to expand its...

Chinese AI Stocks Rally After OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra

Chinese AI stocks rallied on Friday after OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra, its latest artificial intelligence model, fueling investor optimism over accelerating AI development and the commercial potential of advanced AI...

OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra With Advanced AI Agent Capabilities

OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra on Thursday, describing it as its most capable artificial intelligence model yet as the company confronts growing concerns over the safety and control of increasingly autonomous AI systems. The...