ASUS teases ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, stuns in its all-gold aesthetic
ASUS already has the most expensive custom GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card on the market, but has just one-upped it with the introduction of the new ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, exclusive to the Middle East, with an absolutely gorgeous gold-themed design, check it out:
The new ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition is a super-luxurious collector's item with its all-gold finish, with the word Dhahab being Arabic for gold. ASUS has used the gold theme throughout the card, including the cooling shroud, backplate, and the GPU retention bracket. It looks stunning.
ASUS is also using a turquoise-like embellishment that refracts light into a beautiful blue-green tone, just like the real stone. The company also uses multiple cultural elements into the design of the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, which includes Arabic calligraphy, with motifs teasing "strength, courage, and unity". There's also a gold backplate that features machined regional motifs that represent the desert and skyscrapers.
GTA 6 is a 'console release' says Rockstar publisher, no PC version coming any time soon
Grand Theft Auto 6 is indeed a console release with Rockstar publisher Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick making a statement during its earnings call today, where he said: "GTA 6 is a console release".
Zelnick was asked during the call about different generations of gamers wanting to play GTA 6, as dads would now be playing it with their kids who are old enough to play it. He said: "Rockstar Games seeks perfection in everything they do. If we do that right and focus on delivering for our consumers, that's our best opportunity to succeed".
He added: "GTA 6 is a console release and we know what the current console base looks like", meaning that there is no PC version that will see the light of day this year, but we could see a PC release of GTA 6 in 2026... if not, I bet we'll see it alongside NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce RTX 60 series that should drop in 2027.
GTA V sales reach 210 million as total Grand Theft Auto franchise breaks 440 million sales
Rockstar's sales spree continues as Grand Theft Auto V breaks 210 million units shipped worldwide.
GTA V might be 12 years old but the game shows no signs of slowing down. Released across 3 console generations, GTA V has accumulated some of the best-selling figures in the entire industry. Take-Two Interactive today confirmed that GTA V has reached 210 million unit sales, up 5m units from last quarter. This continues the game's streak of selling 5 million copies per quarter that had been going for many periods in a row.
The game is now so big that GTA V is close to capturing half of all Grand Theft Auto franchise sales by volume (it has already far outstripped any previous Grand Theft Auto title in total earnings). Take-Two says that GTA is now at 440 million, meaning GTA V comprises over 47% of the series' total combined worldwide sales.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II runs at insane 16K resolution at 38FPS on RTX 5090 with DLSS
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is out in the wild, and seems to be one of the most optimized games on the market... capable of running at the insane 16K resolution on NVIDIA's new flagship ultra-enthusiast GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card.
In a new video shared by YouTuber 'zWORMz Gaming' we're seeing Warhorse Studios' new game running at 16K -- which is 15360 x 8640 -- on low settings, with NVIDIA DLSS set to Performance mode on the new GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card. The game doesn't run like a slideshow at 16K surprisingly, with performance hitting around 38FPS average which is more than playable.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance at 16K was allocated 24GB of VRAM while using 22GB of VRAM on the RTX 5090, but when DLSS upscaling was disabled, performance dropped to just 3FPS when running at native 16K resolution. 32GB of VRAM is simply not enough for 16K gaming... pushing right up to the limits of the framebuffer. 16K gaming will be for future-gen GPUs with 48GB or even 64GB of VRAM (without DLSS enabled).
GTA 6 delay? Grand Theft Auto VI still set for Fall 2025 release date, Take-Two reiterates
Grand Theft Auto 6's release timing has been reiterated by Take-Two Interactive management.
Will GTA 6 be delayed? No one knows for sure, but Take-Two isn't make the announcement today. The publisher just posted up its Q3'FY25 earnings results and highlighted the upcoming slate of games set to launch this calendar year. The lineup includes the megaton GTA 6, which is still due out sometime in Fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
"Looking ahead, this calendar year is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever for Take-Two, as we plan to launch Sid Meier's Civilization VII on February 11th, Mafia: The Old Country in the Summer, Grand Theft Auto VI in the Fall, and Borderlands 4. We continue to invest prudently in our development pipeline and remain confident in Zynga's potential to create new mobile forever franchises as demonstrated by their ongoing success with Match Factory. As we continue to deliver hits, we remain highly confident that we will achieve sequential increases in, and record levels of, Net Bookings in Fiscal 2026 and 2027," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said.
New Switch 2 JoyCon patent shows mouse functionality
A newly-published patent shows that the Switch 2 controllers will indeed have optical sensors that allow the JoyCons to be used as mice.
The Switch 2's new and improved JoyCons will have some interesting surprises this time. Gamers will be able to use the devices as makeshift mice, presumably a unique new form of gimmicky interaction for games like Mario Party and perhaps even a new generation Mario Paint.
The functionality was first outed in the highly accurate Switch 2 leaks, and then hinted at by Nintendo in the Switch 2's original reveal video. Now we have even more proof that the JoyCons can be used as mice--this time lifted directly from a patent for the actual accessory hardware.
Continue reading: New Switch 2 JoyCon patent shows mouse functionality (full post)
Grand Theft Auto 6 confirmed for fall 2025 release during Take-Two earnings call
Take-Two has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 is confirmed for a Fall 2025 release, with the company confirming the news during its earnings call just minutes ago.
During its Q3 2024 earnings call, Take-Two confirmed GTA 6 is still coming for its previously announced release window of Fall 2025, and that the game hasn't been delayed. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke with IGN ahead of the release of its financial report, saying that while "there's always a risk of slippage" the company feels "really good about it (fall 2025)".
IGN asked Zelnick how confident he felt in Rockstar being able to release GTA 6 by fall 2025, to which he said: "Look, there's always a risk of slippage and I think as soon as you say words like absolutely, you jink things. So we feel really good about it".
E3 goes private again with new invite-only trade show
E3 might be gone, but its trade show roots are returning.
E3 originally kicked off as a private trade show where tech and game-makers would gather to show off their products. The goal was to attract investors, make deals with cohorts, and network with others. Now the ESA has announced a new show that is once again exclusive to industry employees--namely big-time executives and "thought leaders."
The ESA's new professional event is called the Interactive Innovation Conference (or iicon for short). E3 is firmly shut down, though, and iicon won't take place at the LA Convention Center. It's taking place on April 27 - 30 at the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas, and the ESA says iicon will deliver "visionary keynotes, engaging discussions and workshops, and elite networking opportunities."
Continue reading: E3 goes private again with new invite-only trade show (full post)
Nintendo Switch platform hits $85 billion in lifetime sales revenue, 1.3 billion games sold
The Nintendo Switch platform has generated more than $85 billion in cumulative revenues, our data analysis has revealed.
Nintendo's latest Q3FY25 financials gave us more numbers to add to the Switch's cumulative performance. According to the data provided by Nintendo and cataloged by us, the Switch handheld-and-console family has made $85.431 billion in total lifetime revenues from launch to Holiday 2024. This value includes total game sales, hardware, and all earnings from the Switch platform both digitally and physically.
The Switch's megaton success has been profitable for Nintendo every step of the way. The 3-console family has now sold-in more than 150 million units worldwide, making it the third best-selling video games hardware of all time.
Switch 2 will be priced with profitability and foreign exchange rates in mind
Nintendo's president tells investors that the Switch 2 console will be priced with consumer affordability and company profitability in mind.
The original Switch was sold at a profit on day one and has maintained some level of per-unit sales profits since. Nintendo wants to replicate that success with the Switch 2. Analysts are predicting that Nintendo could produce up to 20 million consoles in year 1, but will anyone be able to afford the system?
Our data analysis shows that consumers are willing to pay more for premium hardware--in just 40 months, Nintendo shipped nearly 30 million Switch OLEDs, boosting the OLED's total hardware share to 19%. Comparatively, it took the base Switch over 90 months to achieve 92 million sales. This led us to believe the Switch 2 will release in 2025 for at least $399.