Applications
Halo 4 most eagerly awaited game in the US: Nielsen
MUMBAI: With the holiday season in the US right around the corner, consumers are eagerly awaiting the latest video-game releases—a list that varies considerably by console, according to the Nielsen Game Rank for Q4 2012.
Halo 4 continues to rank highest for Xbox 360 gamers, while Call of Duty: Black Ops II is an extremely close second for Xbox 360 (0.25 per cent behind), and also tops the PS3 list.
Just Dance 4 still provides the greatest degree of allure for Wii gamers.
NBA 2K13 and WWE ’13 rank in the top six and top eight respectively, for all three current-generation consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii). And while not releasing on Wii, Assassin’s Creed III and Resident Evil 6 rank between 96 to 98 per cent for both Xbox 360 and PS3. The new reboot of Need For Speed: Most Wanted also lands in the top six titles for both of those consoles as well.
Apart from Halo 4, the other first-party exclusive title from Microsoft cracking the top ten for Xbox 360 is Fable: The Journey, while Sony’s exclusive LittleBigPlanet Karting rounds out the top ten for PS3. Transformers Prime: The Game hits the top ten for Wii, and though it is not exclusive to Wii, it is offered only on Nintendo platforms.
Narrowly missing a top ten ranking was the recently released and industry-acclaimed Dishonored. A new property in a sea of sequels and powerhouse franchises, it stands to reason that apart from the avid gamers the general gaming public may not have been as acutely aware of this title when the data was collected over the past month.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
