The reason Alan Wake 2 is digital-only might surprise you (or indeed annoy you)
Alan Wake 2 is due out on October 17, and we already know it's a digital-only game - there won't be a release on a physical disc, and the reason for that is Remedy wants to ensure the game is as good as it can be.
Alan Wake 2 is again set in Bright Falls (Image Credit: Remedy Entertainment)
In other words, a disc release would have to be finalized (go gold) in time for manufacturing and packaging, and that'd be problematic in terms of the quality of the finished product.
Eurogamer spoke to Alan Wake 2's creative director, Sam Lake, and game director, Kyle Rowley, at the Summer Games Fest, getting their thoughts on the reasoning behind the digital-only decision.
Xbox missed annual revenue forecasts by $780 million
New internal documents from Microsoft's business leadership shows that Xbox has missed revenue forecasts by over $700 million.
The Microsoft-Activision merger is being challenged in federal courts, (FTC v Microsoft, 3:23-cv-02880-JSC) and a lot of interesting information is being released to the public as a result. Court exhibits have uncovered the dynamics of the Xbox gaming business and the performance expectations from Microsoft's SLT, or Senior Leadership Team. One such metric is Xbox revenues.
The case file exhibit list includes one very illuminating 80-page internal Microsoft document that outlined where Xbox currently is and where it can grow. The slide deck, which was issued during Microsoft's Q3 FY22 (January - March 2023), has assigned an estimated revenue target of $17 billion for the Xbox games division. Actual results were quite different--Xbox made $16.22 billion in FY22, missing the internal target by some $780 million.
Continue reading: Xbox missed annual revenue forecasts by $780 million (full post)
Diablo IV confirmed for DirectStorage support - so the question now is 'when', not 'if'
Diablo IV will eventually get DirectStorage support, according to a report that cites a developer from the team.
Diablo IV could be the second game on PC to get the benefit of DirectStorage (Image Credit: Blizzard)
PC Gamer delved into the issue - we already know that DirectStorage files are in the code for the action RPG, thanks to keen-eyed data miners - and came up trumps with a confirmation direct from the horse's mouth.
A member of the Diablo IV team told the gaming website: "MS DirectStorage is currently not enabled, but we are planning on enabling it in the future."
This Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 cover display concept is gorgeous
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is expected to be announced alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 next month and now both phones continue to leak. Now, a concept based on those leaks imagines just what the Galaxy Z Flip 5's rumored cover display upgrade could mean in use.
Reports have already pointed to the Galaxy Z Flip 5 getting a new 3.4-inch cover display which will make a big difference for those who want to be able to use their phone without opening it up. And a concept shared by Twitter user @Vetrox360 shows what that new display could mean for on-screen navigation, the clock app, and animations.
The concept is based on previous leaks and shows how the clock could be opened on-screen but also minimized into the app's icon when not required.
Continue reading: This Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 cover display concept is gorgeous (full post)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 specs leak as launch draws near
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 is already one of the best foldable phones around and right now we're getting ready for what comes next. That will be the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, assuming the rumors are correct, and now we've been treated to a new leak that appears to have confirmed what we can look forward to in terms of specifications.
That's because Twitter leaker SnoopyTech has shared details of what is coming up for Samsung's biggest foldable device, and there's plenty to get the teeth into.
The information required jumping through a few hoops but once we decoded the binary the details were revealed.
Continue reading: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 specs leak as launch draws near (full post)
Someone has made ChatGPT for Windows 3.1 and it's hilarious
In a development you can file under 'pointless but hilarious,' a software developer has made their own version of ChatGPT for an extremely old version of Windows.
In fact, as The Register spotted, DialupDotNet made a ChatGPT client for Windows 3.1 - called WinGPT, and written in C - which is very much in keeping with that period in computing history (the early nineties).
Ask WinGPT what's the easiest way to share photos with friends, for example, and the 'chatbot' will happily inform you that the best course of action is to give them the (physical) photos, or post them (on a floppy disk), or put the pics in a scrapbook.
Continue reading: Someone has made ChatGPT for Windows 3.1 and it's hilarious (full post)
New Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 leak bomb bares all
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is expected to be announced within the next few weeks and now we've been treated to a first proper look at the specifications that we can expect it to come with once it finally does debut.
The new leak comes via Twitter leaker SnoopyTech and was a somewhat cryptic one - the tweet required decoding, which is a new one on us. Still, the end result was a list of specifications and they make for some interesting reading.
According to the leak, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will come with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate that can vary between 1Hz and 120Hz with a resolution of 2640 x 1080. That display will obviously be on the inside. On the outside, you'll find a 3.4-inch display that should make for some big improvements in terms of usability. The leak suggests that users will be able to check notifications, control music playback, and more.
Continue reading: New Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 leak bomb bares all (full post)
This much-used Apple photo service is now dead and buried
Long before Apple launched iCloud Photo Library and later iCloud Photos, there was something called 'My Photo Stream.' It was a simple syncing service that uploaded the last 30 days of photos and videos to iCloud over a maximum of 30 days, and it was great. It meant that your photos and videos were backed up to some degree and that they would become available on multiple devices instantly. But now it's going away.
iPhones running iOS 16 - image: apple.com
The iCloud Photos service is lightyears ahead of My Photo Stream and Apple knows it. The iCloud option automatically syncs all of your photos and videos no matter how old they are, so you're always sure that your media is with you no matter when it was created or which device you're using. Because of that, Apple's turning off My Photo Stream on July 26 but to get ready it's stopped uploading new content as of June 26. Or yesterday, if you prefer.
That of course means that My Photo Stream users are now no longer sending their photos and videos to the cloud and that means that a solution is required. We'd absolutely suggest that iCloud Photos is the way to go, but you'll only get 5GB of free data storage. From there it's a case of paying for more storage, unfortunately.
Continue reading: This much-used Apple photo service is now dead and buried (full post)
3 new iMacs are coming and one is going to be the biggest yet
Fans of all-in-one computers are set to get three new Apple options according to a new report, and one of them will include a model that's larger than any that came before it.
Apple iMac - image: apple.com
Writing for his weekly Power On newsletter Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that Apple is working to release two new iMacs with the same 24-inch display as the one that's currently available, but that isn't even the interesting part. Gurman says that Apple is already in the early stages of working on an iMac with a display that is over 30 inches in size.
If the report is accurate, it will mean that Apple is working on its biggest iMac to date, although it isn't clear whether it will carry the iMac Pro branding or just mean that two iMac display sizes will be offered. As for the 24-inch models, the fact that there are two codenames in use inside Apple - J433 and J434 - might suggest that there are M3 and M3 Pro variants in the works.
Continue reading: 3 new iMacs are coming and one is going to be the biggest yet (full post)
Multiple new Vision Pro headsets are already being developed at Apple
Apple finally announced the new Vision Pro AR/VR headset at its WWDC 2023 event on June 5, but it isn't going to put it on sale until the first half of 2024. That hasn't stopped the company from starting to plan for what comes next though, with as many as two new models thought to be in the works.
Apple Vision Pro - image: apple.com
Apple's Vision Pro broke the internet when it was unveiled and not just because it will cost a staggering $3,499 when it does finally go on sale. But it seems that Apple is well aware that the price is a little steep and is already keen to find a way to make it cheaper with a budget version on the horizon. The company is also thought to be working on another version of its high-end model as well, suggesting two products will eventually replace the one that still isn't available to buy.
This is all according to a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman which claims that new budget and high-end AR/VR headsets are already on the way. In fact, Apple is so keen to get development underway that it's apparently already started to move engineers away from Vision Pro development and onto the two new unannounced projects. Gurman was writing in his weekly Power On newsletter.
Continue reading: Multiple new Vision Pro headsets are already being developed at Apple (full post)










