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The 2024 Game Awards nominees have just been announced and a broad mix of 96 different games, teams and individuals picked up nods across a range of categories. As ever, though, many folks are sure to be riled up about what did and did not make the cut. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth the second installment of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy and the utterly wonderful Astro Bot lead the way with seven nominations each. Metaphor: ReFantazio, a fantasy JRPG from the Persona 5 team, is right behind with six nods, while the excellent poker-esque roguelike Balatro and the Silent Hill 2 remake have five each. Save for Silent Hill 2, all of those are shortlisted for the Game of the Year prize. The other two contenders are Black Myth: Wukong and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. The latter is an (admittedly huge) expansion for the event's 2022 GOTY winner, though the DLC's inclusion in the top category this year may be controversial to some. According to the ceremony's FAQ, "Expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes and remasters are eligible in all categories, if the jury deems the new creative and technical work to be worthy of a nomination. Factors such as the newness of the content and its price/value should be taken into consideration." A jury of more than 100 media and influencer outlets from across the globe determines the nominees. PlayStation received more nominations than any other publisher this year with 16. Square Enix and Xbox landed 12 each, while Sega snagged 11. Bandai Namco received seven and Nintendo has six. It's always great that a bunch of great, deserving indie games are recognized. It's perhaps not too surprising that Balatro picked up so many nominations (many of the Engadget crew still can't put that game down), but it's lovely to see Neva, Indika, Animal Well, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, UFO 50 and The Plucky Squire landing some as well. Meanwhile, the Best Adaptation nominees are Arcane, Fallout, Knuckles, Like a Dragon: Yakuza and Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. A public vote is now open for all categories at The Game Awards website. The nominees for the entirely fan-voted Players Voice award will be revealed on December 2. The Game Awards 2024 ceremony takes place on December 12, though many people will be watching for big trailers and game announcements rather than to find out the award winners.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/astro-bot-and-final-fantasy-7-rebirth-lead-the-2024-game-awards-nominees-175942582.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Portuguese grocery retailer Pingo Doce is demonstrating how hyperlocal community engagement can be deployed at scale through its Bairro Feliz (Happy Neighborhood) initiative. Now in its fifth year, the program enables each of the chains 450+ stores to support local causes with microgrants of up to EUR 1,000. The initiative takes an entirely participatory approach: community members submit project proposals, and shoppers vote for their preferred causes using plastic tokens they receive with purchases: one token for every EUR 10 spent. The campaign showcases how national retailers can maintain authentic connections with local communities no matter how many locations they operate. Since launching in 2019, Bairro Feliz has funded nearly 1,500 community projects, with causes varying by neighborhood based on local needs and priorities. Requests that have been fulfilled include musical instruments for a community centers programs for kids, a vital signs monitor for volunteer firefighters and a campaign to neuter and spay stray dogs and cats.Effectively turning routine grocery shopping into an act of community building, Bairro Feliz and similar programs elsewhere offer valuable lessons for companies looking to move beyond traditional corporate giving: by fragmenting their social impact budget into hyperlocal microgrants and empowering customers to direct those funds, brands can foster deeper community ties and ensure their social initiatives remain relevant to each location they serve.
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Marketing and Advertising
While the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale events are arguably the best times of the year to pick up most gadgets, theyre also a great time to save on subscriptions and services you may already have or that youve been wanting to try. Whether its an audiobook service like Audible, a VPN service like ExpressVPN or an online learning subscription like MasterClass, you can typically find good subscription deals during this time of the year. Many of them also make it pretty easy to give a subscription, too, if youre considering it as a gift for a loved one this year. To make it easier to find the services you want and need, Engadget has curated the best Black Friday subscription deals you can get this year. Best Black Friday subscription deals Audible Premium Plus for $0.99 for three months ($44 off): This deal gives you one title for each of the three months you're subscribed, plus unlimited access to the Premium Plus library of books, podcasts and other. Anyone who's not already subscribed to Audible can get this deal. Amazon Kindle Unlimited for $0 for one month ($12 off): Amazon's ebook subscription service gives you access to a catalog of thousands titles for unlimited reading, select Audible audiobooks to listen to and included magazines to read. Prime members can get a different deal: two months for only $5. Headspace annual plan for $35 ($35 off): Our top pick for the best meditation app has tons of courses that address specific anxieties and worries, a good in-app search engine that makes it easy to find the right meditation you need and additional yoga routines, podcasts and music sessions to try out. Calm annual plan for $35 ($35 off): Another one of our top pocks for the best meditation apps is a great option for anyone new to meditation thanks in part to the many short and focused sessions it includes. There's also a dedicated kids section and subscribers get access to a soothing music library. MasterClass Premium for $10/month ($10 off): Premium subscriptions, which include access for up to six devices and offline mode, are half off for the holidays. MasterClass' other subscription tiers are also discounted. Those who love learning and want to pick up a new hobby (or refine an existing one) can take courses with some of the best in their respective fields. Rosetta Stone lifetime access for $149 ($250 off): Those eager to learn a new language (or two) can get full lifetime access to Rosetta Stone for less for Black Friday. The one-time payment gives you access to the company's Dynamic Immersion courses, TruAccent speech recognition technology to help improve your pronunciation and the ability to learn on mobile and desktop. ProtonVPN Plus two-year plan for $72 ($168 off): Our top pick for the best VPN is based on open-source framework and has a no-logs policy. Its easy-to-use apps are available on most platforms including iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and more, and some of them even include a kill-switch feature. ExpressVPN two-year plan plus six extra months for $150 (82 percent off): Our top pick for best VPN for travelers provides access to tons of servers and had some of the fastest connections of any VPN service we tested. In addition to a VPN, this subscription tier gives you access to an ad blocker and password manager. NordVPN Plus two-year plan plus three extra months for $121 (70 percent off): In addition to VPN access, NordVPN's Plus plan gives you a password manager, ad blocker, anti-malware protection and more. Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-black-friday-subscription-deals-for-2024-audible-kindle-unlimited-masterclass-and-more-173037752.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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