AMD teases next-gen EPYC: Zen 3 and Zen 4 with Milan and Genoa

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Oct 6, 2019 10:25 PM CDT

AMD has teased the world with some more news on its next-gen EPYC processors, with the new chips to be based on its next-gen Zen 3 and Zen 4 cores. The news was unleashed at the HPC-AI Advisory Council UK conference.

AMD teases next-gen EPYC: Zen 3 and Zen 4 with Milan and Genoa

The new road map shows the current EPYC Rome CPUs going into production in the middle of 2019, which they have -- and are now being installed into datacenters and servers worldwide. The next-gen EPYC 'Milan' CPUs taped out in Q2 2019, and will go into production this time next year (Q3 2020).

EPYC Milan will use Zen 3 cores and be on the 7nm+ node with up to 64 cores, and TDPs of between 120-225W depending on the processor. But it's the next-gen Genoa that has us excited, with the new EPYC 'Genoa' chips arriving sometime in 2021 and are in the "definition phase".

Continue reading: AMD teases next-gen EPYC: Zen 3 and Zen 4 with Milan and Genoa (full post)

Streaming wars: Disney to ban Netflix ads on all properties it owns

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Oct 6, 2019 9:54 PM CDT

The fight between Disney and Netflix is really starting to fire up, with reports surfacing from CNBC that Disney will be stopping ALL ads for any Netflix-related content on all of the properties it owns... except for ESPN.

Streaming wars: Disney to ban Netflix ads on all properties it owns

CNBC reports that a Disney spokesperson said: "The direct-to-consumer business has evolved, with many more entrants looking to advertise in traditional television, and across our portfolio of networks".

Netflix will be enemy #1 for Disney, at least for now -- but eventually, Disney will ban ads from all competitors big and small as it leads into the launch of its own streaming service in Disney+.

Continue reading: Streaming wars: Disney to ban Netflix ads on all properties it owns (full post)

Joker is no joke at the box office, kills with $93.5 million opening

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Oct 6, 2019 9:30 PM CDT

Joker released a few days ago and enjoyed a huge opening weekend, so much so that the Joaquin Phoenix vehicle is now the record holder for the largest box office opening in October.

Joker is no joke at the box office, kills with $93.5 million opening

The new Joker movie dethroned Venom from 2018, which opened in October with $80.3 million -- and now Joker is the fourth-largest opening of an R-rated movie, ever. The three other movies ahead of it are Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and It -- which all opened with over $100 million.

In overseas markets Joker was also very successful, with the movie opening to $140.5 million across 73 markets outside of the US. The movie has been met with rave reviews with critics and moviegoers alike, but I have been on holiday (until now) and haven't seen it (but can't wait to).

Continue reading: Joker is no joke at the box office, kills with $93.5 million opening (full post)

Yep, NVIDIA's next-gen Ampere GPU will launch in 1H 2020

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Oct 6, 2019 9:11 PM CDT

All the way back in April 2018, I reported that NVIDIA would launch its next-gen Turing GPU architecture (which it then did months later) and that the GPU architecture to succeed Turing would be Ampere.

Yep, NVIDIA's next-gen Ampere GPU will launch in 1H 2020

Then in January 2019, I wrote that NVIDIA would be using Samsung's new 7nm process for its next-gen Ampere GPU that would arrive in 2020. New reports are surfacing that corroborate my articles, with Igor from Igor's Lab (picked up by Wccftech) that a new EEC certification was spotted by DigiTimes and teases Ampere-powered GeForce graphics cards.

There's nothing new here about its release, but we should expect a big upgrade in performance with Ampere on the 7nm node (over the 14nm node used on Turing). NVIDIA will be fighting AMD's second-gen Navi GPU architecture in the second half of 2020, something that will enable proper 4K 60FPS gaming -- and I'm sure, feature ray tracing of some kind.

Continue reading: Yep, NVIDIA's next-gen Ampere GPU will launch in 1H 2020 (full post)

Bungie's next game will be a live service AAA title

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Oct 6, 2019 8:28 PM CDT

Bungie is already hiring for its next game, and they're laying out some lofty ambitions for the project.

Bungie's next game will be a live service AAA title

We've known for a while now that Bungie is making a new game, possibly set in a separate IP from Destiny. Bungie's Mark Noseworthy teased the new game at E3 2019, saying team members were "planting seeds" that could grow into something big. Bungie also trademarked something called Matter in 2018, which might be the name of the new IP, and also got a big $100 million investment from NetEase.

Although the non-Destiny game isn't set to release until 2025, Bungie is currently hiring for its unannounced project. The listings give an idea of Bungie's future path. Unsurprisingly, the new game will be a live service game like Destiny set in a brand new universe (likely a new IP).

Continue reading: Bungie's next game will be a live service AAA title (full post)

Rockstar spent almost two years on Bully 2 before giving up

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Oct 6, 2019 6:02 PM CDT

Bully 2 was in early phases of development for almost two years before it floundered, sources close to the matter tell VG Chronicle.

Rockstar spent almost two years on Bully 2 before giving up

Rumor has it Rockstar Games plans to release Bully 2 on PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett. Multiple outlets have reported on the sequel, citing inside sources possibly within Rockstar itself. Now VG Chronicle sheds some new light on Bully 2, and it doesn't look too good for fans of the Rockstar underdog.

Sources say after Red Dead Redemption and the Bully: Scholarship Edition shipped, Rockstar's New England branch spend almost two years laying out early frameworks for Bully 2 (Rockstar has nine different teams stretching across the globe from India to California). This work included a write-up of the same story outlined in SWEGTA's Bully 2 video as well as a small slice of gameplay with rudimentary open-world mechanics. The project was ultimately put on the back burner as GTA V's development ramped up, followed by Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018.

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Fallout PC mega-pack collection exclusive to UK and Germany

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Oct 6, 2019 4:00 PM CDT

Every singleplayer Fallout game is getting packed into a collection on PC and sold in stores. But it won't be available in North America and other regions.

Fallout PC mega-pack collection exclusive to UK and Germany

The leaked Fallout Legacy Collection Amazon listing is real. Bethesda confirmed the bundle is coming, but it's exclusive to the United Kingdom and Germany. Not only does the legacy collection include Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, New Vegas, and Fallout 4 in the same set, but DLC from every game too.

This is absolutely bizarre as Bethesda would make a killing by bringing this to North America, but it's possible the pack will be sold digitally on Bethesda.net at some point for these regions. It's a strange tactical move from a publisher that's been making odd business decisions as of late, like infusing all its games with unnecessary live services and over-monetizing Fallout 76.

Continue reading: Fallout PC mega-pack collection exclusive to UK and Germany (full post)

Agony brings hellish pain to Nintendo Switch

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Oct 6, 2019 3:00 PM CDT

Agony, one of the most visually bizarre and frustratingly bad games on the market, is coming to Nintendo Switch.

Agony brings hellish pain to Nintendo Switch

Madmind Studios' hotly contested hellish horror game Agony is getting a Switch port, but we don't know when it'll happen. The devs at Madmind won't handle the Switch version, instead passing it off to Forever Entertainment (the same team making the new House of the Dead remakes). Madmind is currently developing an Agony spin-off called Succubus.

That this game is coming to the Switch shows just how much Nintendo has grown up. We've seen lots of brutal and graphic games roll out on the Switch, including Doom 2016, Friday the 13th, and even Mortal Kombat 11 to name a few. Agony might be terribly designed, but it's environments are supremely disturbing and bizarre. It's not something I'd ever expect to see on a Nintendo platform.

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Next-gen Xbox may get room-scale VR gaming

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Oct 6, 2019 9:24 AM CDT

A recent Microsoft patent could have far-reaching implications on its next-gen VR plans.

Next-gen Xbox may get room-scale VR gaming

A recently published patent for what's described as a "virtual reality floor mat" just popped up, and it could outline Microsoft's VR ambitions. The mat itself is electronic and works in tandem with cameras outfitted on a VR HMD or tracking beacons to enable more fluid room-scale VR. It's a kind of interactive boundary that aims to more seamlessly blend the real and virtual worlds for more immersion in room-scale virtual reality experiences.

The patent describes the device as "a virtual reality experience is provided to one or more users by a computing system through the use of a special-purpose virtual reality mat." As with any patent, there's lots of permutations and possibilities outlined for the device, but the general gist is having an actual defined space that reacts to digital actions, shows key information to users while wearing VR headsets, and directly synergizes with HMDs, peripherals, and controllers.

Continue reading: Next-gen Xbox may get room-scale VR gaming (full post)

Instagram source code points towards new 'Group Stories' feature

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Oct 6, 2019 1:30 AM CDT

Remember when Facebook attempted at adding a 'Group Stories' feature before they removed it? Well, it seems that Instagram might be a better place for it as the source code indicates as such.

Instagram source code points towards new 'Group Stories' feature

According to app detective, Jane Manchun Wong, Instagram are currently testing out 'Group Story'. How did Wong come across this new feature? She was digging around in the source code for the app and ran into the 'Group Story' test code.

Originally Facebook had this feature but they later decided to remove it, perhaps they decided to remove it to bring it over to Instagram where 'stories' are much more used. Since this feature is still in testing, Instagram could easily not release it to the public, but if they did I believe that it would a massive hit. I believe this because groups would be able to publicly represent themselves via an individual story.

Continue reading: Instagram source code points towards new 'Group Stories' feature (full post)