Sony AI and Polyphony Digital debut Sophy in Gran Turismo 7, a new neural network-trained artificial intelligence.
Gran Turismo 7 developer Polyphony Digital, in partnership with Sony AI, has unleashed a new artificial intelligence named Sophy upon the game.
Gran Turismo 7’s Sophy AI is designed to give even the most prolific racers a run for their money. Sophy has been trained to learn from the PS5 racing sim’s playerbase in order to create an AI agent that feels like you’re racing against real players (thanks, Venture Beat (opens in new tab)).
Sophy is available to race against in Gran Turismo 7 right now, albeit in a limited capacity. Players must access the new ‘Race Together’ mode from the main menu, and you’re currently limited to just a handful of tracks at varying difficulty levels.
The mode is only available for a limited time, too, from now until the end of March. However, Polyphony has confirmed it’ll take on feedback from this session to improve Sophy and will hold multiple trials in the game throughout the year.
« Prior AI, which has been mostly the same for the last 20 years, tries to follow a line and a particular trajectory. So it’s trying to hit certain speeds at certain points, » says Sophy project lead Peter Wurman. « And it’s very predictable. And it’s not nearly fast enough for really good (human) drivers. »
There’s much truth to Wurman’s words here. The best racing games typically scale AI based on difficulty level. But eventually, the best players of any given racing game will know the AI from inside out. That makes them fairly manageable even at the hardest level, and knowing various quirks to exploit can make racing against more standard AI even easier.
Sophy is clearly a very ambitious project, and making use of a neural network-trained AI is certainly something new in the realm of racing games. The closest thing I can think of is Forza Motorsport’s Drivatar system, which does its best to adapt to the racing behaviors of the players they’re based on.
If Sophy does work as intended, it could be quite revolutionary to how future racing games design their computer-controlled drivers. As Wurman hints, there’s only so much an AI can do with pre-defined behaviors and limits.
With Sophy, there’s potential for the AI to adapt human-like behavior. That could be taking risks like braking for a corner later than usual, or figuring out the optimal time to hit the pit lane for a change of tires.
Though I worry that some bad habits could seep into Sophy’s AI, too. GT7’s online Sport mode, despite the game’s pleas to sportsmanship, is rife with hyper-aggressive players who aim to disadvantage other players while skirting penalties. Often, this works in the aggressor’s favor.
Time will tell if Sophy develops into Gran Turismo 7’s model pro driver, or a Wacky Races-esque disaster on wheels. But either way, I think it’s an interesting and productive use of AI technology that could lend a much-needed degree of unpredictability to GT7’s single player modes.

In this XGIMI MoGo Pro+ Review, GameRevolution takes a look at the new portable projector from XGIMI. Is it worth buying for 2023?
The XGIMI MoGo Pro+ is being not-so-subtly marketed as a competitor to the newly-launched Anker Nebula Capsule 3. Both projectors boast similar specs that aim to satisfy in the portables market, but vary drastically in price with XGIMI’s unit coming in at $569 and Anker’s product launching at $799. XGIMI seems very confident that its cheaper contender can win in a head-to-head battle. After using both projectors for over a month now, I’m happy to crown a winner.
Both the XGIMI MoGo Pro+ and Anker Nebula Capsule 3 come dressed to impress with packaging that protects the premium product tucked away inside. Power cables are included along with a power adapter, remotes come with batteries, and manuals are ready and waiting to help users get started. It’s an identical experience that extends to the setup process.
Both projectors are powered by Android TV, so users can log in with their Google Accounts and make use of Play Store apps. TV and movie apps are the go-to downloads, of course.
I was initially surprised and impressed to spot Netflix listed on the XGIMI, as it’s outright missing on Anker’s product. However, when booting up Netflix, I got the usual error that said it isn’t compatible with this device. It’s a shame that these issues still exist, but streaming from a phone or using a Fire TV stick remains a solid workaround.
For other apps like Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV (in the UK), and Crunchyroll, both projectors downloaded and installed the apps without any issues. My PS5 and Nintendo Switch also worked flawlessly, connected via the HDMI inputs on each projector.
After ensuring that both projectors were at their maximum brightness settings, it was time for a head-to-head visual test. I booted up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with its challengingly dark and vibrant scenes to see how each projector held up.
In my dimly lit lounge, both projectors outputted perfectly usable images, but, when played side-by-side, the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 did look slightly brighter and more vibrant, while the XGIMI MoGo Pro+ was overall slightly sharper. I really had to “pixel peep” to see these differences, however, and users who don’t have the two projectors side-by-side won’t notice a difference.
The brightness of both projectors is best put to the test outdoors. As they are both portable with built-in batteries that last just over two hours, it’s reasonable to think that users might want to enjoy an outdoor movie night. That’s exactly what I did and I’m happy to report that, while the images become more washed out, they can still be easily viewed outside when the sun has set.
Being so small makes both projectors very easy to pack into a backpack, meaning I was happy to take them on weekends away. My favorite experience was seeing the 19″ TV supplied in a hotel room and whipping out the XGIMI MoGo Pro+. I aimed the projector across the room at a blank white wall and enjoyed a 100″+ image. Portable projectors are truly a game-changer for those who travel often.
Sound-wise, the projectors are again similar. Though the XGIMI opts for two 3W speakers and Anker has a single 8W speaker, the volume and quality are similarly fine. I’d personally pair the projectors with a more powerful dedicated Bluetooth speaker but, in a pinch, both projectors can output decent sound that will get the job done.
The projectors’ speakers certainly manage to drown out any fan noise. Though the Anker Nebula Capsula 3’s fan is a tad louder than the XGIMI MoGo Pro+’s, neither is offensive.
There are some other minor differences between the two projectors. The Anker unit has a very short USB-C cable that can be quite limiting, but it also boasts wider customization of colors and performance. On the other hand, the XGIMI projector is 3D capable and boasts Dolby Digital Plus support.
XGIMI has been smart to recognize the similarities between its own product and the new projector launched by Anker. Both projectors are very similar indeed and it’s a smart move for XGIMI to highlight that fact.
Mogo Pro+ and Anker Nebula Capsule 3 review samples provided by XGIMI.

With good Apple discounts being so few and far between, take advantage of the Apple President’s Day sale to grab the tech you’ve been eyeing!
With President’s Day sales upon us, now is the perfect time to grab some Apple gear if you’ve been waiting for some great deals. While it’s true that we don’t often see big discounts with Apple, all of them are appreciated, and luckily there are a couple of nice deals out there that are surprising.
If you want to experience the high fidelity of the AirPods Pro without paying for an arm and a leg, the Apple AirPods Pro 2 is a great option. The Airpods Pro 2 are a vast improvement across the board on the Gen 1s, such as the new drivers that provide a more consistent sound across frequencies and more clarity overall. Noise Cancelling was also improved and is comparable to the Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds II, which is saying something considering Bose has excellent noise-canceling tech. Ironically, the charging case remains exactly the same, with about 24 hours of charging time, which is roughly four full charges. Combine that with the six-hour charge in the buds, and you have a total of 30 hours, much more than many other comparable headphones. Of course, if these specs and the discounted price don’t do it for you, there are a few other great AirPods deals you can check out.
Apple Watches have come a long way since the first Watch that came out a few years ago, and the Apple Watch Series 8 perfects that iterative design. For starters, the display is not only slightly bigger, but it also looks much better, with a new screen and a better interface, but it’s also much easier to use, even for those with big fingers. Of course, the improved interface is thanks to the new WatchOS 9, which brings a bevy of new improvements, such as a better UI and health and fitness tracking improvements. It has a huge variety of activities it can track, plus a whole suite of sensors from ECG readings to the SpO2 sensor, more detailed reporting of heart rate zones, and the ability to customize a workout. Finally, you get about a day, potentially two, of battery out of the Watch Series 8, but it does have fast charging that can take up to 80% in 45 minutes, so you won’t have to take it off your wrist for long. Overall, the Watch Series 8 is the pinnacle Apple watch for the user who wants the best but doesn’t necessarily need to go all out with the Apple Watch Ultra, making it one of the best Apple Watch deals to take advantage of.
If you’re looking to get into the Apple ecosystem, the Apple 2021 iPad Mini is a great option, with it being a somewhat ‘Pro’ version of the previous iPad Mini. For starters, the 8.3-inch display is beautiful, with a 2266 x 1488 resolution and Apple’s patented Liquid Retina Display, so anything you watch on it will look great. While it doesn’t run the M1 chip, it does have the Bionic A15, which is still powerful for a $400 iPad mini and should handle most tasks you throw at it easily. Of course, the question you might be asking yourself is if it’s worth going for the iPad Air instead, given it’s just $100 or so more and has better specs, so we’ve done a thorough breakdown of the iPad Air (2022) vs. iPad Mini (2021). Either way, even if you end up going with the iPad Mini, it’s still one of the best iPad deals and well worth the asking price.
As we mentioned earlier, the most extreme Apple Watch you can go for is the Apple Watch Ultra, and it comes with an ultra price tag to match. However, Apple does make it worth the cost; with a large screen and a rugged design that includes titatanium, this is a fitness and action-adventure junkie’s dream. What makes it stand out is the new compass and the Wayfinder app face, which is a watch face dedicated to navigational instruments, with everything from longitude to compass direction. It comes with a similar WatchOS 9, so you have a nicer interface to work with, and, ultimately, more features than the Series 8. Of course, the most impressive thing is the massive 36-hour battery charge, without cellular, which easily beats much of the comparable competition. If you’re on the fence about whether you want to go with the Series 8 or the Ultra, we’ve looked at the Apple Watch Series 8 vs. Apple Watch Ultra to help, at least a little, with your decision-making.
With so much recent focus on Apple laptops like the MacBook Pro, many folks might forget that Apple makes all-in-one PCs, such as this Apple 2021 iMac that comes in a variety of pretty colors. What sets it apart from previous iMacs is the M1 chip, which still provides excellent performance for a desktop PC. Even better, the 23.5-inch screen with a 4480 x 2520 resolution is gorgeous and larger than you’ll find on the biggest Apple laptops, which is great for those who sometimes struggle with smaller display sizes. It also comes with 8GB of RAM, the minimum we’d expect, and 256GB of storage, which you’ll likely want to supplement with one of these external hard drive deals. Of course, the best part of working with an iMac is that it integrates well with an iPad or iPhone, with the ability to transfer screens, files, or even work across devices relatively seamlessly, so if you want to have the freedom to move around, while still having the option of a desktop experience, this iMac is an excellent option.
If you’re planning to go into video or graphical editing, then the Apple Studio Display is a professional tool you can’t go without. This 27-inch Retina display has a whopping 5k resolution, which is gorgeous and allows you to edit videos and pictures with better fidelity than the display it will be shown on. It has 14.7 pixels for a density of 218 pixels per inch and can hit a whopping 1 billion colors, P3 color, and 600 nits of peak brightness. Of course, it’s not an all-in-one like the iMac, so it can’t be used standalone, but it does come with its own speakers, which is somewhat unexpected, and a 12 MP ultra-wide camera, which makes sense. It also has three USB ports and one thunderbolt port to connect to your primary device, such as a MacBook Pro. Overall, it’s a powerful display and is comparable to, if not better than, the XDR, as we saw in our Apple Studio Display vs. Pro Display XDR comparison.