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Last year, Honda teased its first two homegrown EVs with the Series 0 Saloon and Space-Hub. But now at CES 2025, those vehicles are getting one step closer to production by graduating from concepts to prototypes while getting updated names along the way: the Honda 0 Saloon and 0 SUV. But while we wait for them to officially hit the road sometime in 2026, I wanted to take a closer look at the evolved styling of Hondas upcoming electric cars. Particularly the 0 SUV, not only because its gotten a much larger facelift, but lets admit it, its what we in the crossover-hungry US really want. Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget On the outside, the Hondas 0 SUV looks like a mix between the Polestar 3 and the Hyundai Ioniq 9. Its got a really minimalist, almost spaceship-like design that eschews that teardrop shape you see in a lot of other EV SUVs for something slightly boxier. This gives you more headroom for rear seat passengers and tons of extra vertical cargo space in back. The SUVs pixelated headlights help reinforce its digital pedigree while I think Honda did a much better job in back of trying to make a clean and simple rear end without ending up a huge blank slate like on the Ioniq 9. The 0 SUVs overall proportions almost make it look like a tall, lifted wagon, especially when sat next to the 0 saloon. But thats not necessarily a bad thing. Inside, Honda continues with the clean lines, though I wouldnt necessarily read much into the general placement and look of its screens and dash. Like a lot of pre-production cars, those details are very much subject to change before its design is properly finalized. Same goes for those side-view cameras, which due to US laws, still dont comply with regulations. However, Hondas streamlined cabin does line up with the companys Thin, Light and Wise design philosophy, which includes the move to a steer-by-wire driving system instead of relying on more traditional physical linkages. But enough talking, lets check out the cars. The Honda 0 SUV prototype Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford The Honda 0 Saloon prototype Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford Photo by Sam Rutherford This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/a-closer-look-at-the-slick-honda-0-suv-and-saloon-prototypes-at-ces-2025-134550129.html?src=rss
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A spinning VR gaming chair sounds like it would be an at-home vomitron. The virtual reality environment tends to make some people (like me) queasy as it is, so adding synchronized full-body rotation seems like a recipe for disaster. I was kind of prepared for the worst when I decided to try out the $800 Roto VR Explorer at CES 2025, which uses a head-tracker that attaches to the top of Meta Quest devices and other headsets to make a swivel chair turn in whatever direction youre looking. But against all odds, I ended up having a pretty good time. In addition to enhancing the experience of seated VR gaming, the chair is actually supposed to help with issues like motion sickness, because, according to the press materials, the signals from your inner ear will match what your brain is expecting from the visual cues. Still, I was a little nervous, and it didnt help that as we approached the booth, the first thing we saw was an empty chair spinning on its own in the corner like an omen. The Roto VR Explorer is a Made for Meta product, meaning its optimized for Quest, but itll work with standalone headsets like those in the HTC Vive family and soon the Apple Vision Pro. The chair itself weighs 66 pounds, so it felt really sturdy to sit in, and it has a rumble pack under the seat to bring haptic feedback to the rest of your body instead of just in your hands from the controllers. The head tracker, which looks like a flattened Poké Ball, clips onto the top strap of the headset. After the Roto team gave me the rundown and got me set up in the chair with a Quest 3, I selected my VR experience the 2018 interactive documentary about the universe, Spheres and got going. It was, without a doubt, a little weird at first when I turned my head to follow the path of rippling auroras and felt my body rotate as if I were a spice jar on a lazy Susan. But for the most part, it didnt have that disorienting feeling of the ground shifting underneath you. (It was definitely lagging a bit on the congested show floor, which did lead to some out-of-sync, jerky movements). It only took a minute or so for me to stop focusing on the fact that I was in motion and just go with it. Jessica Conditt for Engadget For something like Spheres, where youre just sort of moseying through beautiful visuals and curiously interacting with the virtual environment, the Roto VR Explorer is actually really nice. If youre in a faster-paced setting, like a first-person shooter, its only going to ramp up the tension. I tried turning my head quickly to the side back and forth a few times to see how it would work with that sort of movement, and it really goes when its running smoothly. The chair moves at max speed of 21 revolutions per minute, but you can reduce this with the controllers if that gets to be too much. I fully expected to be doing a lot of deep breathing to get through the demo, but there actually never was a point that I felt nauseated. And when I got up out of it and reentered real life, I didnt feel any more wobbly-legged and confused than I usually do after spending time behind a headset (though Im sure using it for a few hours straight would change that). I'm mostly just relieved I didn't throw up in front of a bunch of strangers. There are plenty of situations in which a person might want or need to do their VR gaming sitting down, and the Roto VR Explorer chair offers a pretty fun way to bring the immersion to another level. Its available for purchase now, with upgrade packages including Pro Flying and Pro Racing expected to follow in August 2025. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/this-spinning-vr-chair-at-ces-2025-somehow-didnt-make-me-feel-like-throwing-up-133040191.html?src=rss
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Ex-employees of Annapurna Interactive who quit en masse last year have reportedly found their next project. According to Bloomberg, the team is taking over the games and franchises of Private Division, a former Take-Two label that published indie games. A new enterprise that doesn't have a name as yet is said to have been formed and it appears that some of the remaining 20 or so employees of Private Division will be laid off as part of the transition. Take-Two said in November that it had sold Private Division (which published The Outer Worlds and physical copies of Hades) to an unnamed buyer, reportedly a private equity firm called Haveli Investments. Haveli is said to have brought in the former Annapurna employees in recent weeks and handed them the keys to Private Division's portfolio. That includes an upcoming cozy life sim based on The Lord of the Rings called Tales of the Shire, the Kerbal Space Program series and a new project from Game Freak, which is best known for making Pokémon games. The entire Annapurna Interactive staff quit last summer after discussions to spin out the publisher from parent company Annapurna Pictures fell apart. The company then set out to replace the team. Annapurna has a stellar track record in the indie realm, having published a string of highly regarded games such as Stray, Sayonara Wild Hearts, What Remains of Edith Finch, Cocoon and (slightly confusingly) Outer Wilds. So theres reason for optimism that its former staffers can do great things with the Private Division portfolio. Fingers crossed that this also somehow portends a future for OlliOlli and the brilliant Rollerdrome. Both were developed by Roll7, a now-shuttered studio that was under Private Divisions umbrella.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/former-annapurna-interactive-staff-are-reportedly-taking-over-publisher-private-divisions-game-portfolio-133033714.html?src=rss
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