• Apple's stock has fallen sharply since the beginning of the month due to concerns over weak iPhone sales.
• The company and its fans insist the "services" will provide the next leg of growth.
• But Jeffrey Kvaal, an analyst at Nomura, cast doubt on that argument in a new research note.
• Apple's services business faces multiple challenges and could be hurt by declining iPhone sales, he said.

Apple's services business may not rescue it or its stock from declining iPhone sales. 

In fact, a drop in phone sales could hinder the company's services effort, said Jeffrey Kvaal, a financial analyst who covers Apple for Nomura Instinet. What's more, parts of Apple's services business already seem to be slowing, and others promise only slim profits at best, he said. 

"Services [are] not a panacea," Kvaal said in a research note published Friday.

Apple's shares have plunged over the last month over concerns that its iPhone sales are slowing. When it reported its earnings at the beginning of this month, the company offered lower-than-expected guidance for the holiday quarter. It also alerted investors that it would no longer be reporting unit sales of its phones and other devices, which many saw as a red flag that the company expected its iPhone sales to drop. Those fears have been compounded by subsequent reports that it has cut orders from its phone manufacturers and that Foxconn, its primary phone maker, expects a tough year ahead.

Apple and its backers have been touting its services business

In explaining why Apple would no longer disclose unit sales of its devices, company officials argued that they are no longer closely linked to its financial health. Thanks in part to all the services Apple now offers, it often sees much more revenue from its customers than just what they spend on its phones and other gadgets. Indeed, its services business, which includes revenue from Apple Music, its AppleCare warranty program, and its iCloud storage offering, is now its second largest after the iPhone and has been among its fastest growing.

By 2020, Apple expects its services revenue to double from the $24 billion the segment posted in the company's 2016 fiscal year. Some analysts who are bullish on the company's shares point to that growth as reason for their optimism.

Read this: Investors focused on Apple's disappointing iPhone sales are missing the company's hidden goldmine

But color Kvaal unconvinced. Apple's services revenue is linked to its device sales and particularly to the kinds of devices it's selling, he said. The company pushed up the prices on its phones over the last two years with its X models, and it seems to be having increasing trouble convincing customers to pay its premiums. Many consumers are either putting off purchases or buying refurbished phones instead, Kvaal said.

The services business faces numerous challenges

That's a problem for Apple's services business, in part because consumers are less likely to buy warranties on less expensive phones, he said. Such price-sensitive customers are also less likely to spend up for Apple's other services offerings, he said.

"We continue to believe services is tied to the quality of the installed base growth and not independent of units," Kvaal said. He continued: "We believe services growth is unlikely to be durable should units continue to decline and new iPhone user growth slows."

But there are other reasons to be skeptical of Apple's services story, Kvaal said. 

Much of the company's services revenue — some 36% by Kvaal's estimate — comes from its cut of sales through its app store. That business is slowing, he said. Sales grew by 18% in October, compared to 23% in Apple's last quarter, he said.

Much of that slowdown is due to China, Kvaal said. The bulk of App Store revenue comes from the sale of games. Unfortunately for Apple, the Chinese government has halted the approval of new games for sale while it sorts through a regulatory shakeup. That's put the brakes on game sales in China through Apple's App Store. Overall sales through the store grew just 8% on an annual basis in October, down from 17% growth in the prior quarter, Kvaal said.

Even if that regulatory mess gets sorted out, Apple faces other troubles with its App Store business. Companies that offer subscriptions, including Spotify and Netflix, are finding ways to convince their customers to sign up for them through their own websites rather than through Apple's App Store, Kvaal said. When customers sign up for a subscription inside an app, Apple charges the app maker a commission; it doesn't get that commission when they do so through the app maker's website.

What's more, Apple is facing a legal dispute that just reached the US Supreme Court that could potentially overturn its whole App Store business. 

Apple is confronting a "slowing App Store from multiple fronts," Kvaal said.

Don't expect Google to bail out Apple

In addition to the App Store, a sizeable portion of Apple's services revenue — 13%, according to Kvaal — comes from the money Google pays the company for the search traffic Apple sends its way by making Google the default search engine on the iPhone. Google has indicated to investors that such payments to Apple and other companies that send search traffic its way will grow more slowly in the future, and Wall Street analysts have been reducing their forecasts for how much Google will spend on such traffic acquisition, Kvaal said. That's a strong sign that Apple's revenue growth from Google likewise will slowdown, he said.

Part of the optimism about Apple's services business has come from the growth of Apple Music and the expectation that it will next year launch a streaming video service that it will offer on some kind of subscription basis. But Apple may not see a huge windfall from such a service, Kvaal warned.

The streaming video market is already crowded and getting more so. In addition to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and HBO, Warner Brothers and CBS both offer streaming services. And Disney is getting ready to launch one of its own. Thanks to such competition and the major investment needed to produce original videos for the service, Apple's profits on its streaming video offering could be relatively slim, Kvaal said. 

All told Kvaal's not buying the bull case for Apple. Instead, he said, investors ought to sit on the sidelines; he maintained his "neutral" rating and $185 price target on the company's shares. Apple's stock closed regular trading Friday down 97 cents, or less than 1%, to $178.58.

"Apple is in too much flux to recommend for now," he said. 

• Read more:
• Apple told investors not to worry about iPhone sales — but now it seems worried about them
• Microsoft's surprising comeback over Apple is the outcome of two new CEOs with radically different game plans
• New AirPods didn't make the cut at Apple's big event — here's what else Apple left out
• Here are the 3 missing features that keep Apple's new iPad Pro from really replacing a laptop

SEE ALSO: Apple's $1,000 iPhones are turning it into a luxury brand — and it could lose a whole generation of customers

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• Ariana Grande's "thank u, next" music video was released on Friday. 
• The video received 1 million views in its first 35 minutes of being released, which caused issues on YouTube, the company said.
• The company tweeted that Grande "broke the internet" and that comments on her video were showing up on a delay. 
• The delayed comments don't seem to be slowing anyone down from actually watching the video, as it has already received over 6 million views. 

Ariana Grande's "thank u, next" music video has broken the internet, slightly. 

Released on Friday, the music video — which features scenes reenacted from the films "Mean Girls," "Legally Blonde," "13 Going on 30," and "Bring It On" — received 1 million views on YouTube in its first 35 minutes of being released. According to Pop Crave, that makes "thank u, next" the fastest video to reach that mark, ever. 

The surge caused some issues for YouTube, which tweeted that comments on Grande's video would be delayed amid the crushing onslaught of fans. 

The delayed comments don't seem to be slowing down anyone from actually watching the video. As of 3:45 PM PST, Grande's "thank u, next" had over 6 million views. 

A spokesperson for YouTube said the company is looking into the issue but did not provide a timeline as to when it will be fixed. 

Watch the full "thank u, next" music video here:

Join the conversation about this story »

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Former President George H.W. Bush died Friday, November 30 at age 94. His wife, the former First Lady Barbara Bush, died in April at age 92.

They are survived by their five children, 17 grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, and two siblings.

Bush was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital in April after "contracting an infection that spread to his blood," according to a statement from Bush family spokesman Jim McGrath. His health had been declining in recent years.

Barbara Bush had been battling Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and congestive heart failure, and was hospitalized several times over the last year.

Bush, who resided in the White House for four years while her husband, served as Commander in Chief, had been married to the 41st president of the United States for 73 years.

Described as a true love story, here is an inside look at the longest marriage in US presidential history:

SEE ALSO: Inside the marriage of Donald and Melania Trump, who broke up once before, reportedly sleep in different bedrooms, and are weathering rumors of his affairs

DON'T MISS: Inside the marriage of Barack and Michelle Obama, who met at work and kissed outside an ice cream store on their first date

Barbara Pierce and George Bush met at a dance over Christmas vacation in 1942. She was 16 and he was 17, and Barbara claimed that George was the first boy she ever kissed.

Source: Associated Press

After dating for a year and a half, the two became engaged and planned to get married before George went off to serve in World War II as a Navy pilot. He famously named three of his Navy planes after her, and the two shared love letters while he was away.

On January 6, 1945, the couple married at the First Presbyterian Church in Rye, New York while George was on leave from war. He was 20 and she was 19.

• The Honduras government is fighting to save land threatened by illegal cattle ranching, which contributes to deforestation.
• The land is home to the treasured Moskitia rainforest, the second-largest rainforest in Central America and a key player in the fight against climate change. 
• It's also home to the vaunted "White City," a lost village that remained untouched for half a millennium.

It's been six years since archaeologists stumbled upon an abandoned village in the Honduran jungle — what many believe to be an ancient "White City," whose residents vanished hundreds of years prior.

Now, that very city — and the rainforest that surrounds it — is under siege by deforestation, wildlife trafficking, illegal land-grabbing, and the looting of treasured artifacts.

Many of these crimes are tied up with the process of illegal cattle ranching, which involves cutting back trees to make room for cattle to graze. Around 90% of deforestation in the Moskitia rainforest is attributable to illegal livestock.

That's a problem not only for the vaunted White City, but for the safety of the entire planet. As the second-largest rainforest in Central America, the Moskitia is a critical tool for absorbing greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. It's also a refuge for endangered or threatened wildlife species like the spider monkey and jaguar. 

In November, the Honduran government launched an initiative to end local deforestation by removing all livestock and evicting cattle ranchers from the rainforest. The government will also endeavor to reclaim the land, which is in danger of being cut in half in less than five years. 

The mission represents a critical effort to preserve a once-forgotten territory, allowing researchers to dig deeper into its storied past. 

'What we know about this culture is ... nothing'

More than half a millennium after the collapse of the Mayan civilization, the members of a neighboring Central American society suddenly gathered their most sacred belongings, buried them in the center of town, and vanished.

"There's a big question about who these people were," the best-selling author Douglas Preston, who visited the remnants of the city, told Business Insider. "What happened to this civilization? Why did they abandon this city so suddenly?"

Preston was part of a research mission launched three years ago to explore the ruins of this lost civilization. He wrote about his trip through the Honduran jungle in the book, "The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story."

Some have said that the buried remnants correspond with an ancient, legendary "White City" — a town of extreme wealth that disappeared some 600 years ago. Since the 1900s, rumors of this forgotten city had danced on the lips of explorers, aviators, and tourists excited by the prospect of uncovering hidden treasure. But no one knew much about the people who once lived there.

Even after some parts of an abandoned village, including remnants of plazas and pyramids, were uncovered in 2012, during the first expedition to the area, anthropologists and archaeologists remained stumped.

"In the words of the leading Honduran archaeologist on our expedition, 'What we know about this culture is ... nothing,'" said Preston.

Nevertheless, some intriguing theories have emerged. Researchers on the most recent trip found a cache of nearly 500 intricately carved stone objects inside something Preston described as "a grave not for a person, but for a civilization."

The legend of the 'lost city' and the discovery that made archaeologists fume

The 1,000-year-old ruins — whose timeline coincides with the "White City" — were buried in the rainforest, in a round valley ringed by steep cliffs. Since a team of researchers uncovered them in 2012, they've been revisited by more research teams, including Preston's.

When news outlets picked up the story, most portrayed it as an ancient mystery that had finally been solved. National Geographic ran with the headline "Exclusive: Lost City Discovered in the Honduran Rain Forest." NPR announced "Explorers Discover Ancient Lost City in Honduran Jungle."

There was one problem, though, according to researchers who signed a public letter condemning the claims in the news: The ruins were not the "lost city" of lore — and worse, they may not have been lost to begin with.

The dissenting researchers — including Chris Begley, an archaeologist at Transylvania University who has 20 years of experience in the region — said the National Geographic story exaggerated the findings and ignored the region's indigenous people. National Geographic responded to the letter by linking to a statement from the research team that says its story never claimed to have discovered the "lost city," but merely a lost city in the region.

The people who disappeared

Controversy notwithstanding, the teams of researchers and documentarians who visited the site in 2012 and 2015 came away riveted by what they'd seen. Preston and several other archaeologists maintain that they set foot on terrain that had been untouched for half a millennium. And they say the clues these people left behind point to a tragic end.

"It's hard to believe that in the 21st century a lost city could still be discovered, but that's exactly what happened," he said. "People hadn't touched foot there in 500 years. It's absolutely true."

Whoever populated the area deep in Honduras' Moskitia Jungle did not leave many clues. The team that visited in 2012 was able to date the remains it uncovered to somewhere between 1000 AD and 1400 AD. That places people in the region after the era of the Mayans, whose civilization stretched from southeastern Mexico across Guatemala and Belize and into the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador.

"They grew up near the Mayans. They took on the pyramids. They laid out their cities in a somewhat Mayan fashion, but not quite," Preston said. "But it's very mysterious. There's so much we don't know."

What researchers do know is that whoever lived there disappeared suddenly. In addition to rough remnants of their pyramids and plazas, they left behind a series of intricate stone pieces, including what is thought to be part of a ceremonial seat featuring an effigy of a "were-jaguar." So far, researchers have identified nearly 500 of the stone pieces.

"At the base of a pyramid we discovered an enormous cache of beautiful stone sculptures," Preston said. "It appears the people brought their objects, carefully laid them to rest, and then walked out of the city."

Several archaeologists and anthropologists who were on Preston's research team believe the people were felled by disease.

"The evidence is very strong that that's what happened," Preston said. "These were diseases brought by Europeans, specifically smallpox and measles."

But it's unlikely that Europeans ever reached this civilization — at least not in person. Instead, the diseases probably found the indigenous populations by way of trade. As goods exchanged hands, so did viruses. And some of these invaders were foreign illnesses against which the indigenous people had no defense.

"This is a fascinating example of how disease can run way ahead of physical contact," Preston said. "Even though this valley was never physically threatened by the Spanish, it may have been laid low and completely wiped out by their disease."

SEE ALSO: A best-selling author reveals what it was like to get a flesh-eating disease while exploring the Honduran jungle

DON'T MISS: Archaeologists are fuming over the alleged discovery of a 'lost city' in the middle of the Honduran rain forest

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Google has removed several games from its Play Store for containing malware. 
• The games, which were all driving simulators, required users to download an extra app that could then gain full network access to a user's device. 
• If you've downloaded one of the apps, your best bet is to factory reset your device after backing up your photos, text messages, and anything else you want to keep.

Several games in the Google Play Store have been removed by Google for containing malware — software that can potentially harm your device, access sensitive information, or show ads continuously while you're using a device. 

Security researcher Lukas Stefanko from digital security company ESET discovered that the games contained malware and posted their titles on Twitter. A total of 13 games were removed, all from the same developer — Luiz O Pinto.

All the games are driving simulators with different themes, like luxury car racing or firefighter truck driving. But none of the games would work, according to Stefanko. After installing, the game supposedly asked the user to download an extra item called "Game Center." When a user would try opening the game, it would close itself almost immediately, and the game's icon would become hidden. 

This extra item — Game Center — would then gain full network access to a user's device and display ads when the device was unlocked, according to Stefankos. It could also potentially record network traffic going in and out of devices.

Two of the apps were trending on Google's Play Store, which makes them easier to find than non-trending apps, and therefore more likely to be installed. Stefanko estimates that the games were installed over 560,000 times from Google's Play Store.

It's a mystery as to how two of the games were trending in the Google Play Store when they didn't work. But it's not the first time that apps have been removed from Google's Play Store for containing malware, and it could erode the trust Android users have in the Play Store, especially for smaller app developers who are relatively unknown. 

Here's Google's comment on the latest malware-infected apps it recommended on its own app store: “Providing a safe and secure experience for our users is our top priority. We appreciate the researcher’s report and their efforts to help make Google Play more secure. The apps violated our policies and have been removed from the Play Store.”

It's not a satisfactory response, in my opinion. If a safe and secure experience is a top priority, surely a malware-infected app wouldn't be trending on the Google Play Store.

If you've downloaded one of the apps below, your best bet is to factory reset your device after backing up your photos, text messages, and anything else you want to keep. If that's too drastic, you could try uninstalling the offending app and downloading an anti-malware app, like Malwarebytes, to get rid of the malware. 

Some legitimate games — or at least we think they're legitimate — have similar titles and images. You should look out for any app published by "Luiz O Pinto." 

Check out the 13 games that were removed from the Google Play Store for containing malware:

SEE ALSO: The best smartphone camera in the world has a crippling bug, Pixel 3 users are reporting

Truck Cargo Simulator

Extreme Car Driving Racing

City Traffic Moto Racing

It's been a great year for video games.

With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One approaching the end of their life cycles, developers have delivered some of the best games of the console generation during 2018. The Nintendo Switch has also continued to expand its library of games in its second year, with some unique titles making ideal use of the portable console's strengths.

Open-world adventure games continue to dominate the mainstream market, but an increasingly diverse audience has brought fresh demand for games with engaging narratives and innovation for classic genres. Coupled with ever-improving technology and developing platforms like virtual reality, 2018 had no shortage of memorable releases.

Without further ado, here are the 18 can't-miss games released during 2018:

SEE ALSO: The 3 biggest games on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch this holiday season

SEE ALSO: 3 video games that deserve a second chance

"Monster Hunter World" (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)

"Monster Hunter" may not be a household name like "Super Mario" or "Tomb Raider," but the action role-playing series is one of the most popular video game franchises in Japan and has garnered a healthy fanbase around the world.

Though the series has typically been developed for handheld gaming systems, "Monster Hunter World" is the first "Monster Hunter" game in nearly 10 years made for home consoles. The result is a remarkably beautiful adventure that asks players to stand in awe of nature, even as they attempt to tame massive dragons and wild creatures.

"Marvel's Spider-Man" (PlayStation 4)

"Marvel's Spider-Man" is one the year's most popular games, and rightfully so. The PlayStation 4 exclusive takes cues from open-world action games like "Batman Arkham Knight" and "Shadow of Mordor" but introduces a new version of Spider-Man alongside a nearly picture-perfect rendering of Manhattan.

With a compelling original story that blends action and humor, "Marvel's Spider-Man" is a love letter to the character's legions of fans worldwide.

"Dragon Ball FighterZ" (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC)

There have been plenty of Dragon Ball Z fighting games over the years, but the series has never looked better than it does with Arc System Works' custom cell-shaded graphics. Underneath the anime aesthetics, the game is still a masterfully crafted fighter, featuring team-based gameplay inspired by "Marvel vs Capcom" and implementing mechanics from other Arc Sys games like "Guilty Gear" and "BlazBlue."

Forget about "Fortnite"— a massive new Nintendo game with dozens of Nintendo's most iconic characters beating each other senseless is just over the horizon. And it's only available on Nintendo's Switch.

Though there are plenty of games on all three major game consoles this holiday, a few blockbusters are exclusive to each. Starting with "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," we've put together the three heavy-hitter exclusive games for Sony's PlayStation 4, Microsoft's Xbox One, and Nintendo's Switch console this holiday season.

SEE ALSO: This is the perfect year to buy a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One — they're both dropping to their lowest prices ever

1. "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" on the Nintendo Switch

The biggest Nintendo game of the year still hasn't arrived yet. "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is expected to launch on December 7 for the Nintendo Switch — the biggest entry yet in the decades-old "Super Smash Bros." fighting game franchise.

For those unfamiliar, "Smash Bros." is all about beating up some of video game history's most iconic characters. Want Mario to duke it out with Sonic the Hedgehog? Or Solid Snake to take on Mega Man? "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is the game you've been waiting for.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Nintendo game without a twist: In the case of "Smash Bros.," that twist comes in the form of simultaneous multiplayer brawling. Fights aren't head-to-head unless you specifically choose them to be — up to eight players can battle for supremacy in a single round of the latest "Smash Bros."

Better still: The latest entry in the series is promising the largest roster of playable characters ever. In reality, that means over 70 playable characters. 

Check out "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" in action right here:

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2. "Forza Horizon 4" on the Xbox One/Xbox One X

Somewhere between racing giant trucks through a snowstorm and completing the "Forza Horizon 4" version of the end of the first "Halo" game, I realized how ridiculously versatile the series has become.

If you're interested in drag racing, "Horizon" has that. If you're interested in rally, or drifting, or street, "Horizon" also has all that. If you just want to smash the gas and the brakes in very pretty cars, "Horizon" is here for you.

"Forza Horizon 4" is the only racing game I've ever played that so brilliantly straddles the line between accessibility and depth. Whether you've never played a game or you've got a racing wheel setup, "Horizon" has you covered.

Check out our review of the game right here.

• "Fortnite" is stronger than ever, with more than 200 million registered players.
• That's a huge increase from June, when just 125 million players were registered.
• Additionally, "Fortnite" has more than 80 million monthly players.

The biggest game in the world — "Fortnite" — is showing no signs of slowing down. 

That's clear from the latest statistic to come out of "Fortnite" creator Epic Games: More than 200 million players have registered accounts, Epic Games confirmed on Tuesday.

Between June 2018 and November 2018, 75 million new players registered, putting the total at more than 200 million.

That's a pretty remarkable number. It puts "Fortnite" registered player numbers in the same realm as the most popular games of all time — games like "Tetris" and "Minecraft" and "Grand Theft Auto 5." 

That said, there's a big difference between "Fortnite" and those games: "Fortnite" is free, and available on pretty much anything that will play video games. It also doesn't hurt that the focus of "Fortnite" is an online-only multiplayer mode named "Battle Royale" that's endlessly re-playable.

It's that mix of attributes that's helped "Fortnite" become the most popular game in the world since the Battle Royale mode launched in September 2017.

Read more: Forget about 'Fortnite' — the new 'Call of Duty' makes 6 brilliant changes to the Battle Royale formula

It's been barely a year since "Fortnite" began its climb to the top, and already its victory dances have bled into professional sports.

It feels like months since Drake joined up with Tyler "Ninja" Blevins to stream the game on Twitch, thus boosting its visibility even more — but that's because it was months ago, way back in March. March!

And now, just one year after Battle Royale hit "Fortnite," more people are playing it monthly than there are people living in Drake's home country — by a factor of two! Way to make Canada look underpopulated, "Fortnite."

And if we're talking about registered players? At over 200 million, "Fortnite" has a player base that's nearly two-thirds of the entire US population. 

SEE ALSO: 'Fortnite' just had its biggest month ever, with nearly 80 million people playing in August

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why autocorrect makes so many mistakes, according to the former Apple engineer who helped create it

• Don't be fooled by anybody indicating otherwise: The world's most popular game, "Fortnite: Battle Royale," is free to download for everybody, on every platform. 
• Major retailers offer a number of different "Fortnite" bundles, but they mostly add additional bonuses to the free game, like costumes and in-game currency — the game itself is, again, free. 
• Like the most popular smartphone games, "Fortnite" makes its money by offering optional perks for real-world currency. 
• People who are new to "Fortnite" should also beware of scams offering free V-Bucks, the game's currency.

It's the holiday gift-giving season, and that means that parents are out to find the hottest toys and video games for their kids. Unfortunately, that also means that some sellers will have an opportunity to prey on uninformed shoppers who may be stepping foot in a video game store for the first time ever to buy gifts for their loved ones.

The most popular game of the year, "Fortnite: Battle Royale," is a free-to-play download, but that hasn't stopped retailers from getting in on the rush. Every major video game seller, from GameStop to Walmart, has a variety of "Fortnite" bundles for parents to buy, at a variety of price points. 

But don't be fooled: "Fortnite" itself is a free download, and probably always will be. The sale of V-Bucks, an in-game currency, are how "Fortnite" makes its money, not charging for the game itself.

The bundles just add additional perks to the free game, including V-Bucks — the premium in-game currency — and special cosmetic items for players. In other words, when you buy a "Fortnite" bundle, you're not paying for the game, you're paying for these bonuses. 

These bundles should be clearly labeled for what they are, though at least one Australian on Reddit noticed that his local games store had placed a sticker on the case that could confuse the matter by covering over the fact that it's merely a code for some "Fortnite" extras. So, be careful out there.

That's not to say that "Fortnite" bundles don't have value. The included V-Bucks can help unlock paid content in the game, but buyers should be aware that the game is free to own and play without any monetary investment whatsoever. Though it can take a while, players can earn V-Bucks by playing the game over time, and unlock the items they like without paying. 

Being free-to-play has helped "Fortnite" amass over 200 million players since it launched in July 2017, and creator Epic Games said that 80 million players are playing on a monthly basis. The game reportedly earned more than $300 million in revenue during May 2018, primarily through V-Bucks microtransactions.

The demand for the Fortnite currency has risen as more players get interested in the game, leading scammers to target young "Fortnite" players with ads for free V-Bucks. Epic Games forbids the sale of V-Bucks from unverified shops, and also bars players from selling their accounts to other players. A feature for trading premium items with friends is currently undergoing testing with select players, but has not yet been formally rolled out to the game at large. Ultimately, this means that you shouldn't trust anyone trying to sell V-Bucks or in-game items.

At the risk of confusing the matter further, it's worth noting that there is a separate, paid game mode for "Fortnite," called "Save the World," that actually predates the ubiquitous "Battle Royale" mode. If you want to play "Save the World," it costs $30, and doesn't come in any of the existing "Fortnite" bundles you find in stores. It's also worth noting that "Save the World" is far less popular than "Battle Royale."

SEE ALSO: Online scammers are bombarding young 'Fortnite' players with fake offers for free v-bucks

SEE ALSO: The creators of 'Fortnite' just landed $1.25 billion in new investments, the largest ever financing round for a video game company

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why autocorrect makes so many mistakes, according to the former Apple engineer who helped create it

Many of the biggest upcoming games are missing this holiday season, intentionally making way for an 800-pound gorilla: "Red Dead Redemption 2," the new opus for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One from the folks behind "Grand Theft Auto."

With "RDR2," tearing up the charts, major upcoming games like EA's "Anthem" and Sony's "Days Gone" are getting out of the way, and they're not the only two.

Here are all the big games bolstering the first months of 2019:

SEE ALSO: The first major game of 2019 will soon be available to play free. Here's how to get your hands on it

1. "Resident Evil 2" (Remake)

The long-awaited remake of fan-favorite horror classic "Resident Evil 2" is nearly ready — it's set to arrive early in 2019, just like so many other great games currently in development.

"Resident Evil 2" introduced the world to Leon S. Kennedy (seen above) — the main character in "Resident Evil 4." Kennedy and Claire Redfield find themselves in the middle of a surprise zombie outbreak in the fictional town of Raccoon City. It's an action-packed introduction to many of the major themes of the "Resident Evil" franchise, and it's getting gorgeously remade for modern consoles.

Release date: January 25, 2019

Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Check it out in action right here:

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2. "Kingdom Hearts 3"

Woody, Buzz, Rex and the rest of the "Toy Story" gang are moving from film to video games with "Kingdom Hearts 3," an upcoming Xbox One and PlayStation 4 action-adventure game.

The game is the long-anticipated third entry in the "Kingdom Hearts" series — the last major entry, "Kingdom Hearts 2," launched all the way back in 2005 on the PlayStation 2. In "Kingdom Hearts," various Disney characters and their worlds are mashed up with characters that would be right at home in a "Final Fantasy" game.

Alongside the cast of "Toy Story" (and their Earth-like setting), "Kingdom Hearts 3" also stars Goofy and Donald Duck. You may've noticed a third character here — that's "Sora," the main character of "Kingdom Hearts 3" and who you'll play as when the game launches in early 2019 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Release date: January 29, 2019

Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One

• "Ralph Breaks the Internet" wins the weekend box office for a second-straight weekend with a $25.7 million take.
• This marks the third consecutive year that a Disney movie has won the box office the weekend following Thanksgiving weekend.
• And in a surprise second place, "The Grinch" beat out "Creed II."

For the third year in a row, a Disney movie has won the box office the weekend following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

"Ralph Breaks the Internet" took in an estimated $25.7 million over the weekend, upping its North American total to $119 million.

Last year it was "Coco" that dominated the box office this time of year, bringing in $27.5 million. The year before that, it was "Moana" with a $28.2 million take its second weekend.

Read more: John Krasinski explains how he's approaching the sequel to "A Quiet Place" and why he's against the idea of a "popular film" Oscar

In the past few years, Disney would follow up its Thanksgiving release with a "Star Wars" movie that would then dominate the box office until the new year. Though Disney doesn't have a "Star Wars" title out this December, the studio hopes that it can get some good coin from "Mary Poppins Returns," when it opens Dec. 19.

In a surprise for second place this weekend, Universal/Illumination's "The Grinch" snuck past MGM's "Creed II" to get the silver taking in $17.7 million versus $16.8 million for the "Creed" sequel.

SEE ALSO: The 5 most anticipated new TV shows in December

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NOW WATCH: The inside story behind the Marvel movie you were never supposed to see

• Bill Gates has a message for those in the tech industry who think that HBO's "Silicon Valley" is too critical: lighten up.
• "I always tell them: 'You really should watch it, because they don’t make any more fun of us than we deserve,'" writes Gates, who has consulted on the show.
• Gates says he identifies most with Richard Hendricks, the CEO of fictional startup Pied Piper, "who is a great programmer but has to learn some hard lessons about managing people." 
• His one gripe with the show is that it makes the mega-corp Hooli look inept compared to its upstart rival  — but he admits that he may be biased in favor of large corporations.

There are those in the real-world Silicon Valley who think that HBO's "Silicon Valley," the network's long-running satire, is too critical of the tech industry. 

But in a new blog entry, no less than Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has a message for those people: lighten up. 

"I have friends in Silicon Valley who refuse to watch the show because they think it’s just making fun of them," writes Gates. "I always tell them: 'You really should watch it, because they don’t make any more fun of us than we deserve.'"

"Silicon Valley," which is going into its sixth season, details the adventures of Pied Piper, a data compression startup that can't quite seem to catch a break. It also follows Gavin Belson, the CEO of Google-esque mega-corp Hooli, who borrows attributes from real-life execs including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Oracle founder Larry Ellison. 

In his blog entry, Gates says that he's one of the many tech execs who were consulted by the show's creators to ensure authenticity — creator Mike Judge and his production team have interviewed the likes of former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and investor Marc Andreessen, even embedding at a hardware startup to ensure that a running gag rang true. 

Gates writes that all of that effort paid off, as the show is an accurate lampooning of the types of people and companies that he knows so well. He says that he identifies the most with Richard Hendricks, the founder of Pied Piper, "who is a great programmer but has to learn some hard lessons about managing people."

"The show is a parody, so it exaggerates things, but like all great parodies it captures a lot of truths," writes Gates.

Read more:The characters of HBO's 'Silicon Valley' are inspired by real people in the tech world — here they are 

Similarly, Gates likes the way that the show depicts entrepreneurs and startups.

"Even a huge believer in technology like me has to laugh when some character talks about how they’re going to change the world with an app that tells you whether what you’re eating is a hot dog or not," he writes. That's a reference to an infamous "Silicon Valley" gag where a character makes a cutting-edge AI-powered app that can tell you, indeed, if something is a hot dog or not. The show's creators even released it as a real iPhone app. 

He does have one bone to pick, though, with how the show depicts Hooli, the Goliath to Pied Piper's David, as bloated and inept.

"Although I’m obviously biased, my experience is that small companies can be just as inept, and the big ones have the resources to invest in deep research and take a long-term point of view that smaller ones can’t afford," writes Gates. 

Of note is that while Gates may relate to the journey of Pied Piper, their stories are very different.

The fictional Pied Piper got off the ground after Hendricks and his friends quit Hooli to chase a novel new piece of technology; Gates and his late cofounder Paul Allen started Microsoft after moving to New Mexico to chase an opportunity with a then-revolutionary microcomputer. Gates and Allen definitely had their own problems, but they never had to fend off an angry ex-employer with an axe to grind. 

Also of note is that not everybody in Silicon Valley seems to love the show as much as Gates. Astro Teller, best known as Google's moonshot boss, is said to have once huffed out of a meeting with the show's producers and tried to make a dramatic exit — on Rollerblades. 

You can read Gates' full thoughts on HBO's "Silicon Valley" here.

SEE ALSO: Check out Bill Gates' first business card at Microsoft, from after he dropped out of Harvard

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NOW WATCH: A running coach explains how to get through the NYC marathon this weekend

• Facebook has inked a deal with 20th Century Fox to distribute all seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," and "Firefly" on Facebook Watch.
• It's one of the platform's bigger licensing deals and is a departure from Watch's goal of commissioning platform-exclusive programs.
• Facebook's strategy with Watch continues to change and is looking more like YouTube's model than other streaming services.

Facebook is hoping that a crop of popular '90s shows can beef up Facebook Watch and the company's big bet on TV-like video programming.

On Friday, Facebook dropped all 268 episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," and "Firefly" on Watch as part of a licensing deal with 20th Century Fox.

Each show has its own Page, and the programming is not exclusive to Watch. The three shows aired on TV between 1996 and 2004, and are also available on Hulu. The drop of the shows comes at the same time that Facebook is widely rolling out its Watch Party feature, which allows people to watch videos together and comment on them in real time.

Read more: 'It is critically important for Facebook to get this right': Publishers say Facebook's rollout of Watch ads is methodical but picking up speed

The three shows, created by Joss Whedon, "have incredibly dedicated fanbases that have persisted and even grown online," Matthew Henick, Facebook's head of content planning and strategy for media partnerships,told Variety. "What we've been focused on Watch [Sic] is building a people-centric video platform, creating a social viewing experience where you can connect with other people who love the shows, and even the creatives who worked on them."

Facebook's strategy continues to morph with Watch

Watch is a little over a year old but execs continue to switch gears with its big ambitions for video.

Distributing the old 20th Century Fox shows on Watch is another example of how Watch is looking like YouTube and taking pages out of the Google-owned platform's playbook.

After initially pitching Watch as a platform for exclusive shows, Facebook has opened up Watch to include both shows and regular video clips and has also rolled out a self-serve tool that lets creators set up their own Watch shows and get money from ad breaks that run during their clips.

The 20th Century Fox deal also seems to support a recent report from CNBC that Facebook is increasingly focusing on programs geared for older audiences as opposed to the lucrative market of teens and millennials.

This isn't the first time that Facebook has experimented with nostalgia programming. Viacom's MTV Studios and Bunim/Murray Productions are working with Watch to co-produce three seasons of The Real World, another franchise that millennials grew up with. Unlike Facebook's deal with 20th Century Fox, though, Viacom is creating new episodes of The Real World with voting features designed specifically for Watch that will allow users to choose who appears on the show before it airs. 

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NOW WATCH: There's so much CO2 in the atmosphere that planting trees can no longer save us

• Lots of people buy video games, try them briefly, and forget about them for one reason or another.
• There are plenty of games that deserve a second chance, or a revisit if you gave up on them the first time.

Not every video game makes an excellent impression the first time around. But many games, especially in recent years, tend to improve greatly after their initial public launch. Updates, expansions, and even remasters can give an old video game new life.

While there are dozens of video games worth revisiting, we highlighted the three that we think should be at the top of your "second chance" list. 

SEE ALSO: 'Red Dead Online,' the online multiplayer mode for 'Red Dead Redemption 2' will launch tomorrow as a beta test

"Destiny 2" — Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

"Destiny 2" was rough at launch, to say the least. I was a big "Destiny" player even before the sequel came out, but was extremely disappointed in all of the ways "Destiny 2" had regressed: Fun systems were made less fun, the all-too-rare "exotic" items were suddenly way too easy to obtain, and the game was generally more boring than the first outing.

Like the first "Destiny" game, though, "Destiny 2" experienced a massive overhaul in the form of an expansion, which arrived in September, exactly one year after the launch of the base game. The new expansion, "Forsaken," drastically changes the way players experience "Destiny" for the better. I would even call it the best "Destiny" expansion to date.

Unfortunately, many people are missing out on all of the new goodies in "Destiny 2 Forsaken" because the 2017 launch of "Destiny 2" was so bad. But if you give "Destiny 2" a chance, you'll enjoy a really fun and addicting sci-fi shooter that feels way more rewarding than it was a year ago. If you've ever wanted to know what it would feel like to be a superhero in space, "Destiny 2" is your opportunity — but you need to get it with the "Forsaken" expansion to really enjoy everything the game has to offer.

Price: "Forsaken Legendary Collection," which includes the base game and all three expansions, costs $35 on Amazon

"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" — Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

I'll admit it: The first time I tried playing "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," I found it overwhelming. There were too many quests to do, and too many large areas to explore. I had other games I wanted to play at the time, so I put it down and moved on.

This summer, though, I found myself looking for a new game to play, so I decided to give "The Witcher 3" another chance. I started a new game, and I was immediately enthralled. 

By the time I played "The Witcher 3," the game's developers CD Projekt Red had vastly improved the game's stability, fixing numerous bugs and issues that hampered the game's performance. And the game also had two massive new expansions available for me to play, including the gorgeous "Blood and Wine" expansion, which features my favorite locale and storyline in the entire game.

"The Witcher 3" can be a magical experience. It presents you a massive, immersive fantasy world filled with monsters, magic, and memorable quests and characters. The game's looks and performance have significantly improved since launch, and if you pick it up now, you can enjoy all of the excellent expansions as soon as you're ready for them. With so much to do, "The Witcher 3" is one of the best values you can get right now in a video game.

Price: Game of the Year Edition, which includes base game and all expansions, costs $36 on Amazon

"Dark Souls Remastered" — Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

This year, fans were treated to a remastered version of the original "Dark Souls" game, which first came out in 2011 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. "Dark Souls" was notorious for being an extremely difficult game, but it also featured incredible design elements like interconnected environments and a surprisingly deep combat system. 

"Dark Souls Remastered" features the original base game and all of its expansions, fully remastered for current-generation game consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game also launched for the Nintendo Switch in October, so you can play "Dark Souls" on the go.

Many people may have missed "Dark Souls Remastered" because it came out around the same time as other popular games like "God of War," which was one of the most talked-about games of 2018, but with the holiday season approaching, now is the best time to revisit this challenging game.

Price:$27 to $32 (depending on platform) on Amazon

The details are still being decided, but President Donald Trump ordered the federal government to close on December 5 "as a mark of respect" for former President George H.W. Bush.

Read more on our coverage:

• Bush died Friday after suffering from Parkinson's and experiencing multiple hospitalizations. 
• World leaders gave touching reactions and shared their memories of the former president throughout the weekend.
• President Trump announced that the federal government would close its offices Wednesday to honor Bush's funeral. Nasdaq and the NYSE will also close. Starting Monday, Bush will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda for three days.
• The federal budget is also expected to be extended for two weeks with a stop-gap measure, setting up a deadline for a new budget to be negotiated by the Friday before Christmas to avoid a shutdown.

Trump attended the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, not without controversy.

Here are the highlights:

• Trump had a meeting and a formal dinner to hold high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping concerning the burgeoning US-China trade war. 
• Trump took a break from his preferred diet of meatloaf, Oreos, and Diet Coke while in Argentina. 
• Trump stood alone on the issue of climate change. Still, G20 leaders found common ground on trade and migration after heated negotiation.
• At the end of the two-day summit, Trump appeared more than ready to leave for Washington, nearly missing a photo-op and telling an aide: "get me out of here."

Neil deGrasse Tyson responded to sexual misconduct allegations: "I cannot continue to stay silent".

Here's what happened: 

• Astrophysicist and media personality Neil deGrasse Tyson posted a statement Saturday addressing sexual misconduct allegations and describing his memories of the incidents.
• On Friday, Fox announced that it was placing Tyson under investigation after reports accused documented multiple accusations against him.

Forget "Sex & the City" — HBO's version of Manhattan never let Carrie swing majestically from the skyscraper rooftops, like some sort of magical bird.

In the recent "Spider-Man" game for the PlayStation 4, you've got free rein to fly across vast swaths of Manhattan's iconic skyline. From Battery Park to North Harlem, the West Side Highway to the FDR Drive, Spidey's able to soar through the air and take in the sights.

What's most impressive isn't just the scale, but how closely that virtual version of Manhattan matches up with the real thing.

See for yourself:

SEE ALSO: These are my favorite photos I've taken while swinging around New York City as Spider-Man

One World Trade Center in "Spider-Man":

It's the tallest building in Spider-Man's Manhattan, just like in real life:

And here is One World Trade in real life. A slightly different design, but not too different.

There are a lot of movies to choose from on Netflix these days — but honestly, they aren't all great. So we have highlighted the ones worth your time.

December is a big month for the steaming giant as it has two high-profile original movies for you to check out: the thriller “Bird Box” and its Oscar frontrunner, “Roma.”

But there are also some impressive older titles available like “The Big Lebowski,” “The Lobster,” and (get ready to cry all over again) “Avengers: Infinity War.”

• “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (Available December 1). The debut feature film from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("The Lego Movie") is this hilarious animated movie based on the popular book.
• “Friday” (December 1). This classic comedy that made Chris Tucker an overnight hit and the line "Bye Felicia" into one of the most unlikely popular sayings ever to come out of a movie never gets old.
• “The Big Lebowski” (December 1). And then there's this Coen brothers classic that still holds up as one of the funniest movies ever made.
• “The Lobster” (December 2). If you've seen Yorgos Lanthimos' latest movie, "The Favourite," get ready for an even more bizarre movie about single people who must find a partner in 45 days, or they are changed into an animal.

Read more: Movie theater insiders explain why Netflix's strategy for Oscar frontrunner "Roma" proves it still has a lot to learn about the industry

• “District 9” (December 4). A commentary on immigration and the abuse of government power, Neill Blomkamp's debut feature is still one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.
• “Roma” (December 14). Alfonso Cuarón's latest movie is a work that will be talked about for some time. A moving portrait of family, loss, and the strength to move forward after hard times, it's time to see why many in Hollywood think Netflix has a chance at an Oscar win for best picture with this movie.
• “Bird Box” (December 21). Director Susanne Bier enlists the talents of Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich for this thriller about a group of people whose only way of survival is to be blindfolded to avoid a creature that kills on sight.
• “Avengers: Infinity War” (December 25). Ring in the new year by obsessively analyzing every frame of this Marvel movie from the comfort of your own home.

SEE ALSO: John Krasinski explains how he's approaching the sequel to "A Quiet Place" and why he's against the idea of a "popular film" Oscar

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The inside story behind the Marvel movie you were never supposed to see

• The 7-year-old Ryan of YouTube's Ryan ToysReview generated $22 million in revenue last year from his YouTube account, according to Forbes.
• Surely the envy of elementary-school kids worldwide, the young YouTube star reviews new toys in videos that his family produces.
• Ryan's ToysReview took the No. 1 spot this year on Forbes' annual list of the highest-earning YouTube accounts, up from No. 8 last year.

The highest-earning YouTube star in the world is an elementary-school kid who makes millions reviewing toys.

Ryan, the 7-year-old "host" of Ryan ToysReview, a popular toy-review channel on YouTube, jumped from No. 8 to No. 1 on Forbes' annual list of YouTube stars who are making the most money.

A family-run YouTube channel, Ryan ToysReview generated about $22 million in pretax income from June 1, 2017, through June 1, 2018, according to Forbes, up from $11 million the year prior. The raw estimate of $22 million put Ryan ToysReview just ahead of controversial star Jake Paul (who banked $21.5 million).

In 2016, The Verge profiled the channel and Ryan's parents, who have shot and produced the account's frequently (nearly daily) released videos since Ryan ToysReview started in March 2015.

The account began when Ryan, then a 4-year-old fan of toy-review videos, asked his parents why he couldn't also review toys on YouTube.

Ryan ToysReview started out slowly until a July 2015 video went viral. The video featured Ryan opening and reviewing a box containing more than 100 toys from Pixar's "Cars" series. It has close to 935 million views.

The channel now tends to review new toys or kids' food products, and the videos usually feature earnest and enthusiastic commentary from Ryan with off-camera guidance from his parents.

Earlier this year, Ryan struck a deal with Walmart to sell a toy line called "Ryan's World" exclusively in over 2,500 US stores and Walmart's website, according to Reuters. Ryan's World was the first merchandise to be sold after Pocket.Watch, a children's media brand, negotiated licensing deals for several online video stars.

Ryan ToysReview has 17 million followers and has gotten a combined 26 billion views, according to Forbes.

Watch this astronomically lucky child review a DIY candy dispenser below:

SEE ALSO: MEET THE YOUTUBE MILLIONAIRES: These are the 10 highest-paid YouTube stars of 2017

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NOW WATCH: Here’s what it takes to be a YouTube star — according to someone who’s been doing it for over a decade

• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the most anticipated Nintendo Switch game of the year, and comes with a bunch of online multiplayer features.
• Earlier this year, Nintendo started charging players to play online with the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.
• While past Smash games have struggled with making online play consistent, the improvements to Nintendo's online service and the wide variety of online game modes should be worth the price of admission.

"Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is the biggest Nintendo Switch game of 2018, bringing some impressive upgrades and thelargest roster the series has seen so far.

Online play has been a part of the franchise since "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" arrived on the Nintendo Wii in 2006. However, Nintendo's handling of online play has historically lagged behind other game developers, earning the company a reputation for subpar matchmaking, unstable connections, and limited rewards for dedicated players.

The Switch is the first Nintendo console to require a subscription for online play ($20 per year), and there is hope that the added investment will translate to a better online experiences overall. Nintendo has overhauled the online modes in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" to tackle some of its past issues head-on. A recent Nintendo Direct livestream fully detailed how online play will function in the new game with the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Your smash tag is essential for online play

The first step to playing online will be creating a smash tag. Your tag will identify you to other players, and as you beat other people, their tags will be added to your own list. Records and statistics from online matches will be recorded based on the Smash tag, making it easy to track results over time.

Players will be matched online based on their preferred rules.

The last "Smash" game, "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS" divided online matches between two modes with two different sets of rules; For Fun, which included normal stages and items, and For Glory, which only featured flat stages and no items.

Rather than divide the player base into two camps, online quick play in "Ultimate" will let players set their own rules and match them with others who have similar preferences. Once the match is set, the game will randomly choose one player's rules to use during battle.

However, the matchmaking prioritizes connection strength over rules, so there may be some occassions where players are stuck playing with rules they don't prefer, in favor of a more stable match.

Your location is the most important factor in matchmaking.

Matching players who live in similar regions makes it easier to maintain a stable connection and ultimately cuts down on lag when playing online. In past Smash games and other Nintendo titles, players often report being matched up against players in other countries, leading to significant delay during the match.

By prioritizing proximity, the matchmaking system will deliver more consistent matches, even if the ruleset isn't always ideal.