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Reuters reports that Spain is making history by welcoming its first all-transgender men's soccer team, Fenix FC, to a regional league in Catalonia. Named after the mythical phoenix, symbolizing rebirth, the team has overcome administrative hurdles and prejudice to achieve federated status in Europe. Fenix FC, now competing in the fifth tier of Catalan soccer, emerged from the vision of Hugo Martinez, a player who faced discrimination during his own transition. The team provides a safe and supportive environment for trans men to play soccer.The participation of trans athletes continues to be a hot-button issue and fodder for culture wars but the Catalan Football Association's inclusive policy indicates an evolving understanding of gender in sports. As Fenix FC gains visibility on soccer fields around Barcelona, their introduction could provide valuable insights for other sports organizations grappling with questions of transgender inclusion. At the very least, it'll kick off further dialogue.
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Sandfall Games just announced the voice cast for its forthcoming turn-based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and its absolutely stacked. The actors include Andy Serkis and Charlie Cox, as a start. For the uninitiated, Serkis played a weird little guy named Gollum in some unknown movies about a magical ring. He also gave the iconic one way out monologue in Andor. Cox is best known for playing a masked vigilante called Daredevil. The rest of the cast includes seasoned voice actors. Theres Ben Starr, who played a doctor in the TV show Jamestown but is perhaps best known for playing Clive in Final Fantasy XVI. Shala Nyx has plied her trade in plenty of recent games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Diabolo IV. Other cast members include Jennifer English, who played Shadowheart in Baldurs Gate 3, and Kirsty Rider. For the uninitiated, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a JRPG-inspired fantasy epic with turn-based battles and a unique take on Belle Époque-era France. We got to see it in action earlier this year and came away (mostly) impressed. We called the graphics and environments gorgeous but the story clear as mud. However, its tough to nail down the narrative of a fantasy RPG just by watching a demo for a few hours. In any event, we dont have that long to wait before the game launches. The developers say itll come out in Spring 2025. Itll be available for PC via Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Its also a day one Game Pass title. If you simply cant wait until then for a new game in the genre, we heartily recommend checking out Metaphor: ReFantazio.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-jrpg-inspired-clair-obscur-expedition-33-has-a-stacked-voice-cast-165228134.html?src=rss
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Panos Panay has a Diet Coke problem. Its a topic that quickly came up when I walked into the small interview room, after he offered me a choice of beverages and I said my partner has a similar addiction. After a quick conversation on the advantages of drinking plain water over diet colas, I knew his wife, like me, advocates for less soda, but I still knew nothing of how much the man actually consumed a day. It was Panays first launch event with members of the media since he left Microsoft last year to lead Amazons devices and services team. And the instant I walked into the event space at The Shed in New York, I thought this feels like a Panos event. The room was drenched in sunlight, with various neutral and pastel pink couches and armchairs laid out in a vague semicircle facing an unassuming elevated platform. Around the stage were neatly planted assorted greenery with lavender and what looked like babys breath lending a general softness to the scene. There was a leather stool on the stage that looked just big enough to perch on but not comfortable enough to actually rest, and next to it was a smaller wooden end table where a solo water bottle sat. Panay did not once sit during his 38-minute presentation. Clad in a black collared shirt, black jacket, black jeans and black shoes with a brown trim, Panay brought his typical sentimental delivery to the Kindle launch event. As usual, he didnt shy away from mentioning his family, showing a carefully taken picture of his daughter Bella reading a Kindle on a couch. He called out members of the media by name, saying hello to Lance Ulanoff in the front row and asking David Pierce if he could hear. At one point, he walked over to the middle row to hand a new Kindle off to tech Youtuber Jacklyn Dallas, asking her to tap repeatedly on the screen to scroll through pages and see for herself how much faster he believed it was. Amazon I say all this to impress on you that the Panos experience is one thats inviting, engaging and can even lull you into feeling so charmed that you might overlook the fact that he repeatedly calls the Kindle Scribe a 2-in-1. It was certainly enough to give me more patience than I normally would have for a tech leader that had spent almost a third of his presentation talking about the Kindles history and where it fits into peoples lives. Instead of thinking get on with it, I want to hear about the new devices without all this preamble, I simply laughed at the jokes, made eye contact and related to the personal anecdotes. And though I knew we were past the 38 minutes he had promised the speech would last, I didnt mind that he was still talking. I was able to question him about 2-in-1s when we sat down to talk, though. The term brings to my mind the image of Surface tablets and iPads, not to mention the Surface Duo and Surface Neo that Panay launched at a remarkably similar Microsoft event years ago. Kindles? Not so much. But according to Panay, the Kindle Scribe does two things, and it does it remarkably well. Turns out, it only does two things. People want to read on their Kindles, but they also want to write in books. Both experiences have to stand on their own in a great way, he added. You can buy this device for writing, or you can buy this device for reading and then you can bridge it. But if a device tries to be too much, it might get too complicated. When I asked what was next for the Kindle Scribe and what challenges it faces, Panay said Youve got to be careful not to make it a Swiss army knife. Thats probably the biggest challenge what its not gonna be. Panay explained that at Amazon, the focus on the customers is off the charts, saying the team talks to users, reads reviews and studies how people use their products to better understand needs. Fundamentally, for this team, [its to] know what the customer needs, be passionate, make sure you deliver it. Lets not try and reinvent things that people dont need reinvented. The approach Panay has brought over to Amazon is one that considers his history at Microsoft (and his entire life). He never explicitly mentions this, but I cannot help wondering if hes learned anything from that company announcing the Surface Neo dual-screen laptop and not actually releasing it. Panay also said that in getting to understand customers needs, Amazon also has to try to predict what they might want. You also have to understand where the technology is headed and you have to have roadmaps, he said. You have to have invention and creation that sets you up for where its headed, so when people land, they have the next thing they need and hopefully it was your product that got them there. Lets not try and reinvent things that people dont need reinvented.Panos Panay That desire to predict trends makes me nervous, especially at a time when every major company is rushing to stuff generative AI features into their products. How should companies like Amazon resist the urge to jump on bandwagons and avoid making products that ultimately are the result of useless hype? To Panay, the answer is patience. Patience is everything, he said. What is the right thing for the product at the right time? How is it useful? How is it elegant? He acknowledged that were at a time where AI for sure is transformational. This is not a fad. There are things AI can bring to the Kindle Scribe and other products that could elevate them. But making it useful for everyone is important to me, and making it simple. There are just two AI-based notebook features for the Kindle Scribe, and they basically read your scribbles and convert them to something more legible and digestible. Theyre not groundbreaking concepts Ive seen at least 5 different companies launch summarization tools in the last year. But Panay made it clear through personal anecdotes on stage that these are important to him and his staff. He doesnt want to let people see his handwritten notes, but he will let them see the version tidied up by AI. Whether the rest of the worlds Kindle users will find these helpful, Im less certain. For now, Panay wants to perfect the Kindle Scribe experience. You can never make anything perfect, Im never satisfied. But its so close right now to feeling like paper, to feeling like an eraser, to feeling like youre writing, to no distractions in your way. He called it his favorite child during the presentation (but later saying that he felt guilty doing that). There are plenty of other children in the Amazon hardware family that Panay oversees. Hes not only in charge of the four Kindles launched today, including the new color ereader called the Colorsoft, but the companys smart home, robotaxi, satellite, consumer robots and Alexa producs, as well as Fire TVs and tablets, too. It's an eclectic group of products at some level, but it's actually quite a connected one at the same time. Theres also stuff that Panay couldnt yet talk about on the record, but he said theres so much magic yet to be shared with the world. In a more realistic manner of speaking, its about seeing these things connected in a way that can make a difference for peoples lives every day in their homes and outside of the home. Cherlynn Low for Engadget There are other ways the Kindle Scribe could evolve that wouldnt be a stretch of the imagination, either. The most obvious is getting a color display, and Panay agreed its not a stretch at all, probably before going on to say he cant discuss future roadmaps. But I can certainly speculate. While its interesting to see Amazon come up with a whole new name for the Colorsoft, indicating that itll perhaps be a separate product line, it would make sense for the Colorsoft to be a one-off and for the color panels to get integrated into other existing Kindles in future. Another potential technological change to Kindles is making them foldable. To that end, Panay simply said Its an interesting concept. When I pointed out that hes no stranger to folding devices, he acknowledged Im definitely not, before adding that we have a ton of concepts in the lab. Crucially, though, he reiterates he doesn't want to create tech for the sake of creating tech. If the idea is right, Panay is open to considering it. But right now, keeping it simple is where were at.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/panos-panay-on-launching-his-first-products-since-moving-to-amazon-163024504.html?src=rss
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