Best MicroSD Express Cards for Nintendo Switch 2 You Can Buy Right Now

Amazon Prime Video Now Showing Nearly 6 Minutes of Ads Per Hour, Double What It Was

Streaming service quietly has upped the hourly ad amount since the initial launch of Prime Video ads.

Amazon is now showing four to six minutes of advertisements per hour on its Prime Video streaming service. That’s about double the ad load from when the company introduced ads in January 2024, according to a report from ADWEEK.

According to the report, which is based on information from six ad buyers and documents, Amazon notified investors of the increase in ads but has not made a public announcement of the change.

Despite initial grumbling from consumers, Amazon introduced ads to Prime Video in January 2024, with ad loads of two to three and a half minutes per hour.

«We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume,» an Amazon Ads spokesperson said. «While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. Since the beginning of this year alone, we’ve announced multiple capabilities, including Brand+, Complete TV and new ad formats — all designed to deliver industry-leading relevancy and enhanced customer experiences. We will continue to invest in this important work, creating meaningful innovations that benefit both customers and advertisers alike.»

The higher volume of ads serves at least a couple of purposes. It brings Prime Video more closely in alignment with the larger amount of ads shown on other streamers such as Hulu, Tubi and Paramount Plus, and it also allows Amazon to sell many more ads in relation to its inventory.

It’s unknown whether Prime Video will further increase its ad load, but nonetheless ads on streaming channels will be more and more a major space for revenue growth for streaming services. A recent report from subscription analyst firm Antenna noted that «3 in 4 individuals who face an Ad Choice choose ads» and that nearly half of subscription video on demand customers are what Antenna calls «Ad Managers» — users who select both ad-free and ad-supported tiers.

Technologies

Konami’s Original Silent Hill Getting Official Remake Treatment by Blooper Team

The beloved original to the horror franchise is being remade by the team also responsible for 2024’s successful Silent Hill 2 remake.

An official remake of the original 1999 Silent Hill video game is currently being developed by the same team behind the successful Silent Hill 2 remake last year. The title was announced as being in development at the very end of Thursday’s Press Start game showcase, which showed off several upcoming games from Konami, including Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and more.

Though the original Silent Hill has seen adaptations in the form of 2009’s Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and the 2006 film adaptation, both were quick to take their liberties with the source material. This time, we’d expect that Blooper Team is working closely with Konami to deliver a faithful remake, just as was done with 2024’s Silent Hill 2 remake. There’s currently no time frame or release date available for the upcoming release.

The original Silent Hill follows Harry Mason in search of his missing 7-year-old daughter in the mysterious New England town of Silent Hill. Using only a town map and a half-broken handheld radio, Harry searches through the snowy, fog-leaden streets to find his daughter and soon discovers her true connection to the sleepy, sinister town.

Launched as a direct competitor to Resident Evil, Silent Hill focuses on psychological horror and monsters manifested from the darkest corners of the mind by characters in the game. Unlike Resident Evil, protagonists in Silent Hill aren’t typically trained in combat, but rather your everyday person who feels helpless, often using found objects as weapons throughout the game.

Prior to the announcement during the Press Start showcase, Konami dedicated nearly the last 10 minutes to the upcoming standalone title Silent Hill: f, which will be set in 1960s Japan. The title will be released on Sept. 25 and can be pre-purchased on PSN or Steam now.

Also headed our way from Blooper Team is Cronos: The New Dawn, which saw its release window and new gameplay footage during the Summer Game Fest earlier this month.

For more, don’t miss our Switch 2 stock tracker if you haven’t nabbed one for yourself yet.

You can check out Konami’s Press Start stream below.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 13, #263

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 263, for June 13.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a tough purple category, but what else is new? If you’re not familiar with a certain basketball player’s life story, the blue group could also be tricky. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Golden Gate.

Green group hint: Score!

Blue group hint: Sir Charles.

Purple group hint: Match-ups.