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Latest Tech News

Mortal Kombat 1's stress test is currently underway, and players unable to secure a code are trying to get one via other means, with some paying hundreds of dollars to buy a code on eBay.

Earlier today, Mortal Kombat 1 stress test codes started popping up on online auction sites, and whilst it seems some players were simply trying their luck to make a little cash, codes are now up for sale for hundreds and hundreds of dollars… even though the codes are only good for the current stress test that kicked off yesterday.

Take this one, for example. Earlier today, it had clocked up an impressive $230 from 19 different bidders, but it eventually secured a winning bid of a truly eye-watering $810. And then there's the since-deleted auction below, although it's unclear if the code was sold or the auction was removed by eBay itself.

This is hilarious 😂 from r/MortalKombat

Perhaps unsurprisingly, other code owners are also trying to sell their codes, too, even though the test ends on Monday morning (thanks, TheGamer). 

Mortal Kombat 1's servers are being stress-tested as we speak (well, write/read) on Xbox Series X and PS5, with the test ending at 8am PT / 11am ET (or 4pm BST) on June 26. That means no, it's not available for those hoping to play on PC or Nintendo Switch, but the good news is that for those lucky enough to receive an invite, you don't need to have an online subscription to either service to be able to play the title online. 

Don't worry if you don't make the test pool this time, though – the upcoming game will also get a playable beta for those who have pre-ordered the fighting game, starting in August. 

"The Kameo system is phenomenal, but it’s an extra level of strategy on top of an already complicated game that has made me absolutely sure that I’m going to be terrible at it," we said in our Mortal Kombat 1 preview. 

"Often, whenever I tried to get Sonya in to assist me in a ground-based scrap, I’d instead merely make her fly overhead like a Red Arrow, giving us a cheery wave as she flew past us whilst we traded blows on the ground."

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Latest Tech News

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the reason Minecraft has yet to release a native PS5 edition is because Sony was "reluctant" to send the team a PS5 dev kit.

Without a dev kit – that is, the specialist equipment given to developers to test their pre-release builds before they're released and sold to the public – Minecraft developer Mojang could not get a head start on the PS5 version, putting them "at a disadvantage".

As Mojang is one of Xbox's first-party family of developers under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella, it's possible Sony was wary of sharing early editions of its hardware with its competitor.

"Sony was reluctant to send us development kits for the PlayStation 5 at the same time they were sending them to other developers, which put us at a disadvantage relative to other developers," Spencer said (thanks, IGN) as part of his testimony to the Federal Trade Commission this week.

"I think Sony could have sent the development kits to Microsoft just as easy as they sent them to any other publisher."

Phil Spencer also recently commented on the status of an Xbox Series X successor in a recent high-profile media interview.

The current CEO of Xbox Game Studios – who oversees the development of new titles for the Xbox Series X, among other duties – explained that he doesn't "feel an imperative" for the company to release an Xbox successor, saying: "That's not the feedback we're getting right now. Right now, we're pretty set on the hardware we have".

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are now nearing three years of market availability as both systems originally launched in late 2020. The prior console generation saw a system revision in the form of the Xbox One X (in 2017) which debuted three and a half years after the Xbox One did. The decision behind the upgrade was to deliver 4K resolution to consumers, a feat that the current flagship Xbox console can do straight out of the box.

ICYMI, Sony recently confirmed that it was "happy" with its decision not to release its first-party games on PS Plus.

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Latest Tech News

YouTube is going to help its creators reach an international audience as the platform plans on introducing a new AI-powered dubbing tool for translating videos into other languages.

Announced at VidCon 2023, the goal of this latest endeavor is to provide a quick and easy way for creators to translate “at no cost” their content into languages they don’t speak. This can help out smaller channels as they may not have the resources to hire a human translator. To make this all possible, Amjad Hanif, vice president of Creator Products at YouTube, revealed the tool will utilize the Google-created Aloud plus the platform will be bringing over the team behind the AI from Area 120, a division of the parent company that frequently works on experimental tech.

Easy translation

The way the translation system works, according to the official Aloud website, is the AI will first transcribe a video into a script. You then edit the transcription to get rid of any errors, make clarifications, or highlight text “where timing is critical.” From there, you give the edited script back to Aloud where it will automatically translate your video into the language of your choice. Once done, you can publish the newly dubbed content by uploading any new audio tracks onto their original video.

A Google representative told us “creators do not have to [actually] understand any of the languages that they are dubbing into.” Aloud will handle all of the heavy lifting surrounding complex tasks like “translation, timing, and speech synthesis.” Again, all you have to do is double-check the transcription. 

Future changes

It’s unknown when the Aloud update will launch. However, YouTube is already working on expanding the AI beyond what it’s currently possible. Right now, Aloud can only translate English content to either Spanish or Portuguese. But there are plans to expand into other languages from Hindi to Indonesian plus support for different dialects.

Later down the line, the platform will introduce a variety of features such as “voice preservation, better emotion transfer, and even lip reanimation” to improve enunciation. Additionally, YouTube is going to build in some safeguards ensuring only the creators can “dub their own content”.

The same Google representative from earlier also told us the platform is testing the Aloud AI with “hundreds of [YouTube] creators” with plans to add more over time. As of June 2023, over 10,000 videos have been dubbed in over 70 languages. 

You can join the early access program by filling out the official Google Docs form. If you want to know what an Aloud dub sounds like, go watch the channel trailer for the Amoeba Sisters channel on YouTube. Click the gear icon, go to Audio Track, then select Spanish. The robotic voice you’ll hear is what the AI will create. 

• TechRadar's list of the best text-to-speech software of 2023

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