Australia

After months of speculation around memory shortages and other global pricing impacts, Valve announced the release date and price of Steam Machine

And a weird detail about its reservation system is that if you reserve today, you won't be at the bottom of the waitlist - at least until June 26 (Friday) at 3AM Sydney time/AEST to be precise. Units then ship June 30 (AEST).

Valve is going with a new system where it will close initial reservations at that time, randomise it, and then email people who managed to grab one.

For me? I'm definitely on the list, but it's still a bit of a toss-up whether the FOMO will get to me. I love the concept of the device - being able to play games like Spyro: Reignited Trilogy or Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60fps on my couch. And as a Steam Deck convert, I'm slowly growing a Steam library and would love to play a lot of my games at a higher resolution. But it remains to be seen whether I can stomach the slightly AI-inflated prices. Here's how much it'll cost in Australia:

Steam Machine 512GB: 1,609 AUD

Bundle: Steam Machine 512GB + Steam Controller: 1,728 AUD

Steam Machine 2TB: 2,109 AUD

Bundle: Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller: 2,228 AUD

Both the Steam Machine 2TB and 2TB bundle options come with two additional faceplates: red fabric, and solid walnut.

Here's how Valve describes the Steam Machine in a press-release:

• Small and compact (a roughly 6-inch cube!)
• Over 6 times the horsepower of Steam Deck: Play your favorite games on Steam, including AAA titles.
• Powered by SteamOS, an OS optimized for gaming
• Runs cool and whisper-quiet
• 4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR (thanks to semi-custom AMD desktop class CPU/GPU)
• Built-in power supply
• 2x2 Wi-Fi 6E plus Bluetooth 5.3 with dedicated antenna
• Ready for all kinds of peripherals and monitors
• And there's a cool LED strip!

Following approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Apple has enabled sleep apnea detection notifications for some devices. The feature is supported by the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2.

From Apple's support document:

If over a 30-day period you receive more frequent elevated breathing disturbances, you receive a notification of possible sleep apnea.

This blog is a "side gig" of sorts for me, so sometimes it's hard to balance finding time to play the latest games before they come out with my real life.

When a review code for Blue Prince arrived around a week ago I assumed I'd get sidetracked and let it slide by. Instead I played 10+ hours of the surprise gem over one weekend. Just one more run, I'd say, before genuinely looking outside and seeing that several hours had passed by and it was suddenly pitch black. I normally hate run-based games where progression can feel just out of reach and luck-based, but Blue Prince almost had a Tetris-effect on me. I'd stop playing and still have the twists and turns of this house running through my brain. At one point I had the room-selection UI pop into my head as I left my real house.

I haven't uncovered every secret the game has to offer, or even rolled credits. I think I'm very close, but also from the sound of things I'm far from done.

But 16+ hours in I'm obsessed and can't stop wondering what's next in this deceptively simple-seeming puzzle game, one that's built around perfect bite-sized runs and strategic play.

Blue Prince has a bit of a board game vibe to it. As the player you explore an inherited house. At the start of each day the house isn't sketched out at all. Every room could be the key to victory, if you can manage to find a path through the house.

Like a board game, each room of the house is generated from a selection of 3 rooms, kinda like picking up 3 cards from a deck at the start of a turn. You're trying to get to a certain room on the board, but this can be limited by your inventory and which randomly selected rooms are offered to you. You might hit a road-block and have to end the day.

Different rooms contain different tools, perks and paths. The currency of the game includes steps, which count down with each room you enter and exit, as well as gems, coins and keys. They're all essential to progression and incredibly difficult to balance. Sometimes finding just one bit of food will save an entire run. Sometimes a key is the difference between today and tomorrow.

Some rooms will punish you, by taking away steps, while others will give you more time to explore the house. You'll find yourself locked out of progressing, or lacking the gems required to open a new type of room that you haven't seen before.

I've felt so many types of emotions playing this game. It has environmental storytelling that just trails along in the background, and everything may or may not be a clue to progression. Simple things that you might walk past a hundred times can eventually become a puzzle to solve. It's best to have a physical notebook by your side as you play, and my own is filled with the scribbles of a mad-man. Everything is a clue, every note, every item.

But runs can also end very quickly. Sometimes you'll get blocked off by a bad set of 3 rooms that equate to a dead end. Sometimes you'll need to collect a key or gem to unlock a door. Some doors are hidden behind specific items. Some specific items uncover powerful specific rooms. Or sometimes you'll have a great run where you're wealthy and able to get extremely far into the house.

When I'd get a great run going, it almost felt like I was winning a lottery. But there's also a need for tactics too, it isn't just luck-based. There are even permanent perks that you'll need to work hard to uncover.

Overall it's best to go in blind though. The best part of this whole review period was simply the fact that barely any discussion around this game existed online, apart from some discussions around a demo released last year.

I think the key tip from me is to explore. Don't worry about how many days have passed, but instead look around. Always pick new rooms if you're offered them, even if it leads to a dead end.

And avoid spoilers at all costs. I've already told you too much (but not really).

(Also yes, the name is kinda a pun for Blueprints, don't let that scare you off)

Nintendo put the highly anticipated follow up to Hollow Knight in a sizzle reel during its Nintendo Switch 2 Direct.

The Australian game from Team Cherry was expected to come out in 2022/2023. A the time, as a title launching on Xbox Game Pass, the game was shown at an Xbox Showcase in June 2022. Since then it's been almost radio silence from Team Cherry, apart from a few hints here and there.

So it was funny to see a new 2025 release window hidden in a sizzle reel for the Switch 2 announcement livestream. The game was always expected to come to Nintendo platforms, but it's been a very long time since we've seen the game.

Fingers crossed it doesn't slip into 2026...

Sure, we didn't get a 3D Mario just yet for Nintendo Switch 2, but I'd argue this is even better.

A Donkey Kong 3D platformer game that looks like it could rival Mario Odyssey. The game steps away from the 2.5D world of Donkey Kong Country and instead opts for large worlds and destructible environments.

Coming July 17 2025, exclusively to Nintendo Switch 2.

There's a a big shake up coming for Foxtel, specifically Foxtel's Binge. Another streaming platform is launching in Australia, with Warner Bros. Discovery today announcing the local launch date for Max. The service will start March 31, but other details are still a little unclear. Previously known as HBO Max, but also confusingly hosting both HBO Originals and Max Originals, the service has been available in the US since 2020.

It looks like the service will launch with exclusive access to HBO programming, as well as other Warner Bros. Discovery properties. Which does might put Binge in a bit of limbo, if we're reading this literally.

Via Whistleout:

A spokesperson for WBD confirmed to WhistleOut that new Warner Bros. and HBO content won't premiere on Binge. Hubbl has started bringing some live and on-demand Kayo Sports over to Binge to add value to the service. 

WhistleOut has reached out to Foxtel for comment on what will happen to the existing catalogue of HBO content on Binge. 

And from the press release:

As the home of HBO Originals and Max Originals, Max will offer fans culture-defining series including returning seasons of The Last of Us, And Just Like That..., House of the Dragon, Euphoria and Peacemaker as well as highly anticipated new shows such as It: Welcome to Derry and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, from the world of Game of Thrones.  
 
Subscribers will also be able to enjoy recently released theatrical hits from Warner Bros. Pictures, including blockbusters from the last few years such as Barbie, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice and Twisters, alongside treasured franchises including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and the DC Universe. Coupled with all-time fan-favourites including Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Rick and Morty, best-in-class real-life stories across food, home, lifestyle and factual like 90 Day Fiancé and Outback Opal Hunters, as well as family viewing such as Ben 10 and We Bare Bears, Max promises to set the bar for consistently captivating, craveable entertainment.

In addition, WBD also announced a launch partnership with Foxtel, providing Foxtel subscribers with access to the Max app at no additional cost.*

*Requires a compatible Foxtel IQ box. Some customers will need to upgrade their box. Included Max plan is Basic with Ads.

Developing...

A gorgeous story from Marcin Wichary about the 150-year-old font that can still be seen everywhere. Even Australia, as the author notes.

But there was one font I didn’t even notice, even though it was everywhere around me. Last year in New York, I walked over 100 miles and took thousands of photos of one and one font only. The font’s name is Gorton.

[...]

Gorton made its way to peace- and wartime nuclear facilities, it was there on the elevator at the Kennedy Space Center with labels marked EARTH and SPACE… and it went to actual space, and then the Moon, as key legends on Apollo’s onboard computer.

The hardest working font in Manhattan

A story of a 150-year-old font you have never heard of – and one you probably saw earlier today.

Marcin Wichary

The only way I can make this post relevant is to mention that ESPN is coming to Disney+. Not sure yet if that will include All Elite Wrestling content.