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Jim Ryan: Game Pass day one model disrupts Sony's 'virtuous cycle'

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 30, 2022 12:48 PM CDT

PlayStation boss Jim Ryan explains why the day one Game Pass business model is not a good fit for Sony.

Jim Ryan: Game Pass day one model disrupts Sony's 'virtuous cycle'

In a recent PlayStation investor briefing, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan outlined the next few years of PlayStation's new business models. Soon PlayStation will follow Xbox and branch far outside of traditional consoles by expanding onto mobile and PC. It's also revolutionizing its PlayStation Plus subscription service by adding two new value-oriented tiers--PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium--with access to 740 games across six console gens. Despite all these changes, one thing will remain the same: Premium game releases won't come to PS Plus day one.

In a recent Q&A session during the briefing, Jim Ryan game some reasoning why PlayStation won't embrace the day-and-date release model used by Xbox Game Pass. In short: It all comes down to how Sony makes it money. Day one releases would eat into game sales that Sony depends on to re-invest into its business.

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Continue reading: Jim Ryan: Game Pass day one model disrupts Sony's 'virtuous cycle' (full post)

DeLorean shows off the first photos of its electric vehicle: Alpha5

Anthony Garreffa | Electric Vehicles & Cars | May 30, 2022 9:17 AM CDT

DeLorean Motor Company has officially teased the first images of its upcoming electric vehicle (EV), the new Alpha5. Check it out:

DeLorean shows off the first photos of its electric vehicle: Alpha5

The new DeLorean Alpha5 will have 0-60MPH in 2.99 seconds, feature a 100kWh battery pack, and a huge price of $175,000. The full reveal will take place on August 18, with the Alpha5 being designed by the same studio that designed the original DeLorean: Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign studio.

However, it the new Alpha5 won't be built by the original DeLorean team but by a Texas-based company that purchased the rights to the DeLorean name and spare parts. DeLorean's upcoming Alpha5 is based on the "Medusa" concept that the original DeLorean company was working on... before it went bankrupt in 1982. Medusa was meant to have four independent gullwing doors, but the Alpha5 drops it down to just two.

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Continue reading: DeLorean shows off the first photos of its electric vehicle: Alpha5 (full post)

The first PS5 emulator for the PC is here, kinda

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 30, 2022 7:00 AM CDT

In a surprise release, we have the very first PS5 emulator released with the announcement of Kyty from developer InoriRus.

The first PS5 emulator for the PC is here, kinda

But in disappointment, you're not going to be rocking 4K 60FPS with ray tracing on your PC running PlayStation 5 games, at least not yet. Kyty doesn't have any support for... well... graphics in any PS5 games. Oh, and there's no audio input or output, MP4 video support, network of any kind, or multi-user support.

Kyto 0.1.0 is described as the "PS4/PS5 emulator" for Windows x64 and is in "early stages of development", with the team telling us to "consider this a PS4 emulator more than anything else". But this is "officially" the "first" release of a PS5 emulator, that can "run some simple games" for the PS4.

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Continue reading: The first PS5 emulator for the PC is here, kinda (full post)

Apple search engine rumored, Siri could finally get 'smart'

Anthony Garreffa | Internet & Websites | May 30, 2022 6:41 AM CDT

Apple takes in a considerable amount of money per year for Google to be the default search engine on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac... but that could soon change, with Apple reportedly gearing up to unveil a new search engine competitor.

Apple search engine rumored, Siri could finally get 'smart'

In a fresh series of tweets, industry veteran (amongst a laundry list of achievements, companies and websites founded, and connections in the tech industry) Robert Scoble teased "oh, and a new search engine is coming too. Will Siri finally get "smart?" Hmmm". The series of tweets were all about Apple's new AR headset tease at its WWDC 2022 event.

Scoble was asked if the "New search engine is your guess or you've actually heard through the grapevine from sources" to which he replied: "Heard it from many places. Had dinner six years ago with head of Siri at Apple and he laid out why Siri would need to be rebuilt. We haven't seen that rebuild yet. It will come with the headset".

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Continue reading: Apple search engine rumored, Siri could finally get 'smart' (full post)

NVIDIA launch rumor: GeForce RTX 4090 first, RTX 4080 + RTX 4070 after

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 30, 2022 4:53 AM CDT

We might be consumed with CPU news with AMD's upcoming Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 series CPUs, teasing a 16-core engineering sample at 5.5GHz+ but now we're back to GPU rumors again with NVIDIA reportedly launching the higher-end GeForce RTX 4090 first.

NVIDIA launch rumor: GeForce RTX 4090 first, RTX 4080 + RTX 4070 after

According to the latest from leaker "kopite7kimi", NVIDIA will reportedly launch the GeForce RTX 4090 first, then the GeForce RTX 4080 and GeForce RTX 4070 after. This would break tradition, as NVIDIA normally launches the x080 and x070 series GPUs first, followed by the x090 series GPU... but the RTX 4090 launching first makes sense.

AMD is gearing up its new RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs wiht the Navi 31-based purported Radeon RX 7970 XT graphics card set to go toe-to-toe and evne possibly beat NVIDIA's new flagship GPU. This makes sense for NVIDIA to launch this new GeForce RTX 4090 first if the purported Radeon RX 7970 XT is going to dominate. NVIDIA will want to strike first with the best, while the Ada Lovelace GPU iron (well, silicon) is hot.

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Continue reading: NVIDIA launch rumor: GeForce RTX 4090 first, RTX 4080 + RTX 4070 after (full post)

AYANEO AIR Plus handheld: AMD Mendocino APU with Zen 2 + RDNA 2

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 30, 2022 1:34 AM CDT

AYANEO has announced its new AIR, AIR PRO, and AIR Plus gaming handhelds today... versus the single new handheld, most were expecting. All of them have AMD's new Mendocino APU, and more. Let's do it:

AYANEO AIR Plus handheld: AMD Mendocino APU with Zen 2 + RDNA 2

The new AYANEO AIR Plus handheld starts at just $289, making it cheaper than Valve's own Steam Deck, making good use of the new AMD Mendocino APU. The new AYANEO AIR Plus is a new handheld gaming PC that rocks the new AMD Mendocino APU made on the 6nm process node by TSMC, with a 6-inch 1080p display with support for both Windows or the Linux-based AYANEO OS -- or SteamOS.

AYANEO is pricing its new AYANEO AIR Plus at just $289, which will get it a lot of attention... better yet, there's a launch promotion that drops that price down to $199 which is damn incredible. We don't know what you have to do to get that $199 price, but you do need to be a member of the AYA Community.

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Continue reading: AYANEO AIR Plus handheld: AMD Mendocino APU with Zen 2 + RDNA 2 (full post)

AMD leaker: Zen 4 IPC 40% higher 'just f***ing NOT gonna be that high'

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | May 30, 2022 12:57 AM CDT

AMD has been out in a not-so-panicked damage control post-Computex 2022, where expectations of Zen 4 processors are kind of all over the place... until now. AMD is clearing things up, and now one of the biggest leakers of Zen 4 content is out with a monster new 40-minute video.

AMD leaker: Zen 4 IPC 40% higher 'just f***ing NOT gonna be that high'

We've been hearing all sorts of crazy rumors about IPC performance on Zen 4, where all the way back in February 2021 we were fielding "around 40% faster" IPC performance over Zen 3 for the new Zen 4 architecture. AMD has said it'll be over 15%, but we know it'll be higher than that.

In his latest video, Tom @ Moore's Law is Dead says (beautifully): "other leakers have apparently been saying that it's (IPC) gonna be above 25%, 30%, 40% IPC and it's just fucking NOT gonna be that high, and so if AMD looks around and sees some of these fake leakers still get a lot of time on websites. They do not want people to be disappointed by say a 20-30% higher single-threading increase on high-end SKUs, a 15% or higher or higher single-threading increase on lower-end SKUs... they want you to be excited by that because that is a big gen-over-gen increase".

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Continue reading: AMD leaker: Zen 4 IPC 40% higher 'just f***ing NOT gonna be that high' (full post)

AMD controls Zen 4 CPU expectations: and this is a very good thing

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | May 30, 2022 12:21 AM CDT

AMD had a mixed showing at Computex 2022 last week, but quickly -- and very efficiently -- controlled the situation with Director of Technical Marketing, Robert Hallock, putting out fires all over the internet with his Zen 4-powered fire extinguisher.

AMD controls Zen 4 CPU expectations: and this is a very good thing

AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su stood in front of a marketing slide that said Zen 4 would have ">15%" higher IPC (instructions per clock) while seeing max boost CPU clocks of "5GHz+". But then, proceeded to show a 16-core engineering sample of Zen 4 cranking at over 5.5GHz (5520MHz to be exact) in Ghostwire: Tokyo.

But now we have Tom @ Moore's Law is Dead chiming in with an awesome new, very lengthy (40 minutes) video that covers it all. At around the 11-minute mark, he talks about AMD and the job they've been doing to get ahead of the crazy leaks and expectations, he says: "other leakers have apparently been saying that it's (IPC) gonna be above 25%, 30%, 40% IPC and it's just fucking NOT gonna be that high".

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Continue reading: AMD controls Zen 4 CPU expectations: and this is a very good thing (full post)

ASUS offering major discounts on PC hardware: GPUs, mobos, and more

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | May 29, 2022 10:57 PM CDT

ASUS has just announced its new ASUS Infinity campaign, slashing prices in a big way on PC components including graphics cards, motherboards, monitors, and more. You can get your PC discount on right here.

ASUS offering major discounts on PC hardware: GPUs, mobos, and more

The new ASUS Infinity campaign runs from now, through to the end of June and will cover special promoits through Memorial Day and Father's Day. We're looking at ASUS ROG Strix and TUF Gaming GPUs, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, and PRIME motherboards, as well as a slew of "Infinity" monitor deals.

ASUS is working with a bunch of partners, including Amazon, Newegg, Walmart, Best Buy, GameStop and more... so don't worry, you won't miss out on these deals. There are some rather good deals here, with the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3080 Ti OC down $300 from $1550 down to $1250... while there's the ROG Strix RTX 3080 Ti with $250 off from $1650 to $1400.

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Continue reading: ASUS offering major discounts on PC hardware: GPUs, mobos, and more (full post)

AYN Loki handheld: Intel CPU for $299, AMD Zen3+ / RDNA 2 GPU for $499

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 29, 2022 8:54 PM CDT

AYN's new Loki handheld console is in the making right now, as a successor to the Odin handheld console which was based on an ARM processor supporting Android and Windows for ARM.

AYN Loki handheld: Intel CPU for $299, AMD Zen3+ / RDNA 2 GPU for $499

The new AYN Loki handheld reportedly has the option of either an Intel or AMD processor, with an Intel Alder Lake-U CPU or AMD Ryzen 6600U. AYN announced "The Most Affordable Windows Handhelds Ever Created" as we have more than one console: five in fact.

It all starts with the Loki Mini at $299, packing the Intel Alder Lake-U + 64GB while the AMD-powered Ryzen 6600U processor + 64GB starts at $499. From there, you've got the same CPU, but 256GB storage for $599, 512GB for $699, while there's the Loki Max packing an upgraded 6800U + 512GB offered for $799.

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Continue reading: AYN Loki handheld: Intel CPU for $299, AMD Zen3+ / RDNA 2 GPU for $499 (full post)

AMD RDNA2 GPU 'is standard' on ALL next-gen Ryzen 7000 series CPUs

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | May 29, 2022 8:33 PM CDT

AMD's next-gen Ryzen 7000 series CPUs will debut later this year, with the star of the show being the new Zen 4 architecture... but all of the new CPUs will have integrated RDNA2 GPUs by default.

AMD RDNA2 GPU 'is standard' on ALL next-gen Ryzen 7000 series CPUs

The news was confirmed by AMD's Director of Technical Marketing Robert Hallock, who confirmed the news in some posts on Reddit. Hallock said: "IGP is standard. It's included on all 6 nanometer IO dies, which has a small number of compute units built in, specifically to enable video encode & decode and multiple display outputs".

"For enthusiasts, it will help diagnose a bad graphics card to get the system up and running when you're still waiting on the GPU to show up. The iGPU configuration [specifications] are consistent, and all of the CPUs will have it".

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Continue reading: AMD RDNA2 GPU 'is standard' on ALL next-gen Ryzen 7000 series CPUs (full post)

MSI unveils GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X Assassin's Creed Valhalla GPU

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 29, 2022 8:03 PM CDT

MSI must have a big stock of GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards as it is getting rid of a bunch of them with a new branded version, for a game that I'm sure barely anyone plays anymore.

MSI unveils GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X Assassin's Creed Valhalla GPU

The "new" MSI GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X Assassin's Creed Valhalla Special Edition is nothing really special at all, just a re-painted version of the GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X. Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the star here: with some new colors on the shroud and backplate and some logos on the side.

I mean it doesn't look totally bad, but there's just nothing new here apart from a re-painting of MSI's GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X -- down to the identical clock speeds and power settings -- with 1920MHz GPU boost, and up to 370W of power with 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors.

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Continue reading: MSI unveils GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X Assassin's Creed Valhalla GPU (full post)

Phison teases Gen5 SSD controller on AMD X670 chipset at 12.5GB/sec

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | May 29, 2022 7:25 PM CDT

Phison unveiled its next-gen PS2026-E26 platform earlier this week, which will be the basis of PCIe 5.0 x4 storage solution for both consumers, and enterprise solutions.

Phison teases Gen5 SSD controller on AMD X670 chipset at 12.5GB/sec

But in a recent test, Phison tested out its new E26 SSD controller on AMD's next-gen X670 chipset with the use of the ASUS X670 Crosshair Hero motherboard. In this new test, we get to see that Phison's next-gen E26 PCIe 5.0 SSD controller is capable of a huge 12.5GB/sec reads, and 10GB/sec writes.

If you've got a new Intel Z690-based motherboard or one of AMD's upcoming next-gen X670 or X670E-based motherboards, then you'll be all good for the world of PCIe 5.0 SSDs. That is, if you have the need... the need for speed... and lust after more and more storage performance.

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Continue reading: Phison teases Gen5 SSD controller on AMD X670 chipset at 12.5GB/sec (full post)

Sony's Jim Ryan has conservative vision of the PlayStation metaverse

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 29, 2022 1:27 PM CDT

PlayStation boss Jim Ryan admits that neither Sony or any major competitor has a complete vision of the metaverse, says the new fledgling market will not directly replace traditional gaming.

Sony's Jim Ryan has conservative vision of the PlayStation metaverse

Following AR/VR, cloud, live games, and the controversial blockchain/NFT market, the metaverse is gaming's latest craze. Sony wants to help further the new nascent market by incorporating its IPs, platforms, and content into a more centralized framework, but these plans are decidedly foggy. In a recent business presentation, SIE CEO Jim Ryan says that a sizable portion of gamers will simply avoid the metaverse and enjoy games as they always have.

"Nobody knows exactly what the metaverse will look like at some point in the future. I do not believe that whatever form that it will take will be directly substitutional for existing ways in which people play games," Ryan said during a Q&A session.

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Continue reading: Sony's Jim Ryan has conservative vision of the PlayStation metaverse (full post)

Sony made $2 billion from these five free-to-play PS4 games

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 29, 2022 12:22 PM CDT

Sony made over $2 billion in PlayStation Store revenues from five of gaming's most popular free-to-play games.

Sony made $2 billion from these five free-to-play PS4 games

Sony's latest business presentation shows significant growth in live service earnings. As gaming's largest platform holder, Sony generates billions every year from add-on content/microtransactions (over $7 billion in FY21, to be more exact). Third-party companies like Epic, Activision, and EA are making billions of dollars every year from F2P live games--now Sony wants in on the action, and is developing a fleet of live games to hit the market.

The presentation also shows how much some of these F2P games make on PS4. According to the slides, five major free-to-play games made up 25% of total PS Store spending on the PS4: Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Warzone, Apex Legends, and Rocket League. We know that the PS4 made up 65% of total PS Store revenues, and that add-on + digital software earnings for FY21 total about $8 billion. So a quick bit of match shows that these five live games made $2.058 billion in PS Store spending.

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Continue reading: Sony made $2 billion from these five free-to-play PS4 games (full post)

KOTOR II coming to Switch for cheap with unreleased content

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 28, 2022 10:07 AM CDT

Star Wars remaster gurus Aspyr have announced KOTOR II is coming to Nintendo Switch, complete with cut content.

KOTOR II coming to Switch for cheap with unreleased content

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords will soon get its first feature-complete version. The game is re-releasing on Nintendo Switch for a very affordable $15, Lucasfilm and Aspyr have announced. Apart from the beloved RPG mechanics and fantastic story arc, the biggest selling point of this particular KOTOR II re-release is that the missing cut content will be restored and added into the game as a post-release update.

KOTOR II was a well-liked, but very controversial game because it largely felt unfinished, and for good reason: A portion of the game was actually missing and left on the cutting room floor. Reports indicate LucasArts pressured Obsidian to release KOTOR II before it was completed, which let to a sizable portion of content being cut from the final release. The content is still included in the game's source files.

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Continue reading: KOTOR II coming to Switch for cheap with unreleased content (full post)

Jedi: Survivor supports raytracing on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 28, 2022 8:33 AM CDT

Respawn confirms that its new Star Wars action-adventure game will support real-time raytracing and other high-end optimizations on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Jedi: Survivor supports raytracing on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S

Yesterday Respawn and EA announced Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to 2019's Jedi: Fallen Order. Set 5 years after the original game, Jedi Cal Kestis is on a desperate mission for hope while being hunted by the ruthless Empire. Apart from a gripping, "complex and mature" story, Respawn is building the game from the ground up for PS5 and Xbox Series systems.

The devs are thrilled about the new power limits and features offered by the consoles. In a recent interview with StarWars.com, Jedi: Survivor game director Stig Asmussen confirms the project will harness each system's power boost in various ways including real-time raytracing.

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Continue reading: Jedi: Survivor supports raytracing on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (full post)

You can now bid on this Apollo 11 moon dust eaten by cockroaches

Adam Hunt | Science, Space, & Robotics | May 28, 2022 2:24 AM CDT

The moon dust was collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin from the moon in 1969.

You can now bid on this Apollo 11 moon dust eaten by cockroaches

Scientists at the time didn't know as much about the moon as we do now and were therefore concerned about the possibility of the astronauts bringing home some form of life that could threaten life on Earth. Thus, the crew, their spacecraft, and everything else that returned from the moon to Earth were quarantined for 21 days.

The Apollo 11 mission brought back 47.5 pounds (21.5 kilograms) of lunar rocks and dust to Earth. About ten percent of the matter was allocated for tests involving exposing animals to it to test how life on Earth might react to lunar material, including fish, mice, cockroaches, and more.

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Continue reading: You can now bid on this Apollo 11 moon dust eaten by cockroaches (full post)

'Super-Earth' exoplanet found in a nearby star's habitable zone

Adam Hunt | Science, Space, & Robotics | May 28, 2022 1:34 AM CDT

A study on the Super-Earth titled "A Super-Earth Orbiting Near the Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone around the M4.5-dwarf Ross 508" has been accepted for publication in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan.

'Super-Earth' exoplanet found in a nearby star's habitable zone

Ross 508 is a faint red dwarf star located only 36.5 light-years from Earth. Astronomers have now found an exoplanet, named Ross 508 b, orbiting the star with a mass four times that of Earth's. The planet exists in the 'habitable zone' of its host star, where the temperature allows for the formation of liquid water on a planet's surface.

However, the habitable zone is not the only factor determining a planet's ability to support life as we know it. For instance, Mars falls within our Sun's habitable zone but cannot readily sustain life. Ross 508 b is likely to be terrestrial instead of a gas giant, given astronomer's understanding of planetary masses.

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Continue reading: 'Super-Earth' exoplanet found in a nearby star's habitable zone (full post)

Asteroid-mining startup books its first mission, launching with SpaceX

Adam Hunt | Science, Space, & Robotics | May 28, 2022 1:03 AM CDT

Astroforge has received $13 million in funding after a new seed funding round led by Initialized Capital.

Asteroid-mining startup books its first mission, launching with SpaceX

The Y Combinator asteroid-mining startup is based out of California, and was only founded in January 2022 with the only goal of taking "asteroid mining out of the realm of sci-fi into the realm of reality," according to AstroForge cofounder and CEO Matt Gialich.

The $13 million in funding secured will finance Astroforge's first two missions, the first of which will be a demonstration flight currently booked for a rideshare mission about a SpaceX Falcon 9 next year. Astroforge has also partnered with OrbAstro to create the first satellite for its initial demonstration flight and already has its eye on a collection of candidate asteroids to visit.

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Continue reading: Asteroid-mining startup books its first mission, launching with SpaceX (full post)

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