U.S. consumers spent more money on video game purchases, subscriptions, and microtransactions than Chinese consumers throughout 2022, market research data from Newzoo indicates.

According to a new report from Newzoo, the United States was the leading region for worldwide game spending in 2022. Newzoo estimates that the total global video games market generated $182.9 billion throughout 2022, which is slightly below the firm's previous $184 billion estimate.

The United States actually led regional spending in 2022, beating China by some $2.4 billion. Consumers in the U.S. spent $46.4 billion on games throughout the year, whereas Chinese gamers spent $44 billion. The firm notes that 49% of total global spending came from these two countries. Europe was the second-highest region with $33.3 billion, which further illuminates the European Union's weight as it pertains to its Microsoft-Activision merger decision.

Microsoft President Brad Smith reiterates that the company is focused and committed on finding key solutions that address regulatory concerns in a bid to get the $68.7 billion Activision merger passed by the FTC and CMA.

The Microsoft-Activision merger has been cleared in 10 jurisdictions so far. Out of the handful of worldwide regions, the European Union's approval carries the most weight. EU regulators had identified two key areas of potential anti-competitive effects from the merger, but those worries were satisfied when Microsoft agreed to make certain adjustments in its post-merger business plan.

This shows that Microsoft is willing to work with regulators to find a solution to get the deal passed. Microsoft clearly wants Activision Blizzard King's mighty billion-dollar empire to supplement the Xbox brand and its grand, but unclear, plans at creating a universal video game platform that connects and sells games on mobile, PC, and console.

Activision-Blizzard was ready to buy Time Warner and adapt its wealth of intellectual properties in a grand transmedia strategy, company CEO tells Variety.

At one time, Activision-Blizzard CEO and board of directors had a monumental vision that would have utterly transformed its business into an entertainment empire. That's not to say Activision isn't already an empire--eight separate billion-dollar franchises, including the $31 billion Call of Duty series, beg to differ.

The plans went beyond games, though. Activision wanted to do something more along the lines of the cross-adaptation strategies that Sony is employing between its PlayStation Studios and PlayStation Pictures units, complete with Marvel's Spider-Man licensing thrown in. Activision-Blizzard was ready to buy Time Warner if the $85 billion AT&T deal offer fell through, with the main goal of massive IP expansion.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick discusses controversy at the company and comments on harassment allegations and his stance of labor unions.

In 2021, the California Civil Rights Department (formerly DFEH) sued Activision-Blizzard on the grounds of female employees facing "constant sexual harassment," which kicked off a wave of controversy that ultimately tanked Activision stock.

As per a press release from the CRD's announcement that it will not dismiss its case against Activision-Blizzard:

ASRock has announced a selection of new gaming monitors at Computex 2023, introducing a few conventional-sized displays aimed at mid-level gamers.

ASRock was kind enough to invite me to their press conference to debrief me on the selection of gaming monitors, and in this article, we are going to take a look at the company's 1440p and 1080p variants. Starting off, we have the PG27FF1A, which is a flat 1920 x 1080p 27-inch FHD IPS display equipped with a 165Hz refresh rate. Additionally, ASRock explained that the PG27FF1A has a 1ms response time, a color space of 94% DCI-P3 / sRGB 123%, a maximum brightness of 250 nits, a contrast ratio of 1100:1, and HDR10.

Furthermore, the PG27FF1A is outfitted with speakers, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 port, 2 x HDMI 2.0 ports, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack, AMD FreeSync certification, and VESA mounting support. Moving on to the 1440p variant, ASRock explained to me the PG27QF2A is a 27-inch QHD flat IPS display that is also 165 Hz, has NTSC 90% color space, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 port, 2 x HDMI 2.0 ports, and an integrated 7dBi Wi-Fi antenna. Currently, there is no word on the price for either of these displays.

The threat of the extinction of humanity posed by AI is on a level with that of a pandemic or a nuclear war.

This warning comes from a bunch of experts, including AI scientists, professors, and tech luminaries, including high-up members of Google/Alphabet (and DeepMind), OpenAI (the maker of ChatGPT), and the CTO and Chief Science Officer at Microsoft (one of the biggest proponents of AI currently, with Bing, and now Copilot).

It also includes a bunch of authors who have written go-to textbooks on AI and deep learning, and a trio of Turing Award winners, plus many, many others. It's quite the heavyweight backing here.

A gaming PC built with good cable management is the direct result of skill, experience, and art because you're looking at a system where components, fans, RGB headers, and anything in-between has some sort of cable that requires being connected to either the motherboard or power supply. And wrangling all of those cables is no easy feat.

Corsair's new iCUE LINK Smart Component Ecosystem.

This is where Corsair's new iCUE LINK Smart Component Ecosystem fits in, which is all about simplifying the DIY PC building process through a reversible single-cable with a built-in micro-controller that can link, chain, and connect to a System Hub. According to Corsair, it will help to eliminate "nests of wires, connection hubs, PWM and RGB splitters cluttering up your case."

At Computex 2023, we checked out a few different Corsair builds using the new iCUE Link system, and the results were as impressive as you'd expect. Even in the tidiest builds, there's usually a hidden nest of cables all grouped together at the back of the case like a mini server rack.

An RTX 4060 graphics card has been spotted at Computex, with this model coming from MSI.

It's the first sighting of an RTX 4060 that we've been treated to - the vanilla version due to debut in July, as opposed to the RTX 4060 Ti, which is already out - although it doesn't bring any surprises.

By which we mean that the MSI Ventus 2X Black OC looks pretty much like the same take on that model with the RTX 4060 Ti (it's a compact board with dual fans, designed to fit well in a smaller PC case).

Computex 2023 is well underway, and today ASRock announced a slew of new gaming monitors. One of those monitors is the PG32UMF, and it's worth highlighting.

ASRock has a range of new monitors that were on display at the company's booth at Computex 2023. I was lucky enough to get a tour of ASRock's booth at the convention and learned a bunch about what these new monitors will offer gamers. Of ASRock's new range of monitors, the PG32UMF stood out among the rest as it sports a glorious 3840 x 2160 (4K) resolution with a flat IPS display at my favorite size, 31.5 inches.

Additionally, ASRock has slapped a 144Hz refresh rate on the PG32UMF, with a 97% DCI-P3 Color Space, at a maximum brightness of 600 Nits and HDR 1400. The specs don't stop there, as the PG32UMF Mini LED comes with AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync support, with HDMI2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 interfaces, as well as a USB Type-C PD3.0 90W fast charging (upstream) port and four USB Type-A (downstream) ports, providing gamers with the connectivity that become abundantly necessary in today's day and age.

We got a closer look at Corsair's new range of Dominator Titanium DDR5 memory kits at Computex 2023, and they're all about performance and style. Built using premium components and some of the fastest DDR5 ICs, with Corsair's patented DHX cooling technology, they are also made for overclocking with support for Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO.

Corsair's new range of Dominator Titanium DDR5 memory kits.

What makes them truly impressive is that the stylish look and feel of the range features fully replaceable top bars, allowing those that pick up one of these kits to add style to the look. Inside the top bar is an RGB strip with 11 individually addressable LEDs that can sync with Corsair's iCUE Murals software.

Capacity-wise, Corsair offers up to 192GB, four 48GB modules, and speeds of up to 8,000MT/s (they'll start at 6,000MT/s). Dominator Titanium DDR5 memory will also come in 16Gb, 24GB, and 32GB sizes. Available in multiple colors, the white and black modules are designed for Intel XMP 3.0, with the grey being designed for AMD EXPO.