Latest News - Page 1197

Nintendo Switch is currently sold at a profit, but that margin is being lowered by the worldwide chip shortage.

Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa tells investors that ongoing semiconductor supply issues are slowly eating into Switch hardware profits. Supply and demand economics have raised prices of critical components, and the Switch in particular is becoming more expensive to manufacture, produce, and distribute.

In a recent Q3'22 Q&A session, Furukawa says profits made from Switch console unit production have been dipping gradually throughout the chip shortage. The CEO confirms Nintendo is prepared for the profit hit and will maintain its 23 million unit production forecast through FY22, but he also notes that next year's FY23 period could be impacted to an even greater degree.

Nintendo has no plans to support the metaverse, gaming's nascent and often-confusing new trend.

Despite properly being able to explain it, Ubisoft, EA, Bandai Namco and even Square Enix are gung-ho for the metaverse. Nintendo, who is typically shrewd, conservative, and studiously careful in its adoption of video game trends, isn't ready to help trailblaze the new NFT-laden digital frontier. Instead, Nintendo will bide its time as it has done so often in the past.

In a recent Q3'22 earnings call, Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa was asked outright by an investor if Nintendo will support NFTs and the metaverse. There was no comment about NFTs (Nintendo stands to make a killing from its treasure trove of instantly-recognizable IPs at the cost of its wholesome brand image) but Furukawa did discuss the metaverse.

NVIDIA has launched its new entry-level Ampere GPU with two variants, with the GeForce RTX 3050 8GB graphics card arriving soon with a more efficient GPU.

The current GeForce RTX 3050 8GB graphics cards on the market, including the two I've reviewed here on TweakTown with the EVGA and MSI RTX 3050 8GB cards, is the GA106-150 GPU. This is a cut-down version of the full GA106 GPU, with 2560 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit memory bus.

But the new GeForce RTX 3050 8GB graphics card will feature the GA107 GPU, something that was rumored a few months ago now. But why is NVIDIA pushing out the new GA107-based RTX 3050 8GB? Well, the new GA107 is more energy-efficient with a 115W TBP compared to the 130W TBP on the GA106-based RTX 3050 8GB.

AMD has been ripping up the HEDT processor market with its Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper CPUs, refreshed with the newer Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors... but where is Intel? Well, they're about to burst back onto the HEDT processor scene in a big way.

Intel's next-gen Sapphire Rapids-AP Xeon CPUs will rock the company's new Golden Cove CPU cores, and could deploy as an MCM-based design. The current-gen Sapphire Rapids-SP processors use an MCM-based design, with 4 tiles and up to 15 cores (14 cores enabled) each.

The new Intel Sapphire Rapids-AP chips will offer up to 56 Golden Cove CPU cores, with as low as 12 of those CPU cores able to pump above 4GHz. There will be on-chip accelerators that are already on Sapphire Rapids HEDT processors, but we don't know if they will be working or not when the chips are deployed.

Intel is preparing for a new mobile GPU with development kicking off in the UK, and Team Blue posting a new job listing looking for hardware design engineers for its new energy-efficient GPUs for mobile devices of the future.

The company has posted a new job listing on their career section, seeking out a new Senior Hardware Design Engineer.

In an excerpt from the Sr. HW Design Engineer job description in the Intel Xe Architecture and IP Engineering (XAE) Low Power Group, it explains: "We are building a brand-new team in the UK to focus solely on class-leading low power GPU architectures and designs to enable the next generation of portable computing. This requires proven skills in a range of engineering disciplines from architecture, hardware design, software driver design all with low power as the key focus".

Samsung is dominating the foldable smartphone market, but that doesn't mean Apple is sitting on its hands -- it may be busy building its game-changing AR headset -- but foldable iPhone, yeah... it's coming.

In a new concept by designer Antonia DeRosa, we get a glimpse of what Apple could surprise us with when the company reveals its foldable smartphone -- which DeRosa calls the iPhone Air -- sometime in 2023 and beyond.

Inside of the new concept iPhone Air, we'd find Apple's latest M1 processor and a design that mimics Samsung's current Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable smartphone. The concept iPhone Air has a clamshell-style design, with chrome hinges and that typical Apple iFlair. There's a secondary display, just like Samsung's two current foldable phones, which would have notifications and other apps when the iPhone Air is unfolded.

Intel's next-gen flagship 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPU has been benchmarked in Ashes of the Singularity.

The upcoming Intel Core i9-13900K will succeed the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" flagship Core i9-12900K, with the Raptor Lake-powered CPU now in testing and is as fast as the 12900K during its ES (engineering sample) phase.

We're looking at a larger 24 cores and 32 threads for the Core i9-13900K, up from the 16 cores and 24 threads on the Core i9-12900K. Ashes of the Singularity isn't up for the task of differentiating between the physical and logical cores (thanks to Alder Lake, and Raptor Lake having a hybrid architecture with P-cores and E-cores).

Alienware's new AW3423DW gaming monitor is right around the corner, offering a 34-inch QR-OLED (Quantum Dot OLED) panel and native 3440 x 1440 resolution with a huge 175Hz refresh rate.

While it's not a true OLED gaming monitor, the QR-OLED panel will offer a filtering layer that converts blue light emitted by the OLED panel underneath into red, green, or blue subpixels required for an image. This means that the quantum dots let more light pass through than traditional filters, releasing light omnidirectionally... increasing viewing angles.

You will get all of the technological and image quality benefits of an OLED panel, with Alienware's new AW3423DW gaming monitor packing 0.1ms response time and pure blacks -- so we have 3440 x 1440 native res + 175Hz refresh rate + QR-OLED panel + 0.1 response time -- alrighty then.

Nintendo is embracing more value-oriented subscription models in an effort to sell recurring services and cement players in digital ecosystems.

With its selection of retro classics and online play for $19.99/year, the base Nintendo Switch Online is already one of the most valuable subscriptions on the market. It's a cost-effective sub that allows Nintendo to lease its valuable legacy library to gamers who must perpetually buy-to-play over time. Now the games-maker is adding more value to its more expensive Switch Online expansion pass tier.

The $49.99 a year Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier was somewhat of a tough sell at launch. For a 150% price increase, the subscription included N64 games, Genesis games (yes, really), and the base Switch Online games and content. Nintendo is now adding value to the more expensive tier by leasing in-game content, too.

Take-Two expects this year to deliver its third consecutive year of earnings in excess of $3 billion.

FY23 will be another year of impressive for Take-Two Interactive. While exact forecasts haven't been outlined yet, the publisher is confident it will make $3 billion+ in net bookings driven by a number of new games including Grand Theft Auto V Expanded & Enhanced, NBA 2K23, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and Midnight Suns (although these games won't release in the FY23 timeline, which is from April 2022 - March 2023, a portion of these games' revenues will be deferred and carried over to the next fiscal year).

Thanks to these games and the ongoing earnings from services like GTA Online and Red Dead Online, Fiscal Year 2023 would mark Take-Two's third consecutive year of earning over $3 billion in net bookings, an operating metric that includes microtransactions, full game sales (digital and physical), and earnings from live service games sold during a specific period.

Take-Two Interactive made record earnings from microtransactions and DLC during Holiday 2021.

GTA parent company Take-Two Interactive recently reported a new five-year Q3 high for in-game spending. According to data provided by the publisher, Take-Two generated roughly $551 million in recurrent consumer spending, a metric that includes microtransactions as well as DLC and expansions.

These earnings represent a new five-year high for recurrent consumer spending in both net revenues ($551 million) and net bookings ($494 million). The numbers punctuate previous holiday records set in 2021 and show the long-lasting growth value in Take-Two's live service offerings.

Take-Two Interactive plans to release up to 62 games by March 2024, but some of these games could be delayed or even cancelled.

GTA publisher Take-Two has an absolutely massive release slate on the horizon. The company wants to release 62 games from now until FY2024, which ends on March 31, 2022. The slate, alongside the accretive Zynga purchase, is expected to supercharge annual earnings to the effect of $9 billion in combined revenues (14% CAGR). This fueled our prediction that GTA 6 could release by March 2024, and analysts seem to agree with our assessment.

Even still, Take-Two's slate isn't set in stone. In fact one of the games included in the release has already been cancelled--Volt, a game from Mafia dev Hangar 13, was cancelled with a $53 million write-off.

Horizon Forbidden West is now pre-loading PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4 right now, and now we know how much SSD storage space you'll need on the PS5 to install it.

According to PlayStation Game Size, the PS5 version of Horizon Forbidden West weighs in at close to 100GB for gamers in Europe, coming in at 97GB. US gamers will have a download size of 86.5GB, while gamers in Japan will be enjoying the smallest download for Horizon Forbidden West clocking in at 82.7GB.

Why is the EU version of Horizon Forbidden West so big? Language packs. There are many languages throughout the EU, hence the download size is between 15GB bigger (from the JP version) or 10.5GB bigger (than the US version) of the game.

Imagine a future where you've purchased a brand new Intel Core i9 processor, let's say the Intel Core i9-14900K in a couple of years' time... and then you go to play a new movie in 8K 60FPS (we're in the future, guys).

Blurt. System error. New feature required. Please pay Intel $149.99 to unlock the video codec required to playback your content. This is the future Intel is headed towards, Intel (payable, probably with some shitty Intel NFT or something) Inside.

Well, the future is now old man -- and with Linux 5.18 dropping in Spring 2022 we're seeing Intel rolling out its new Software Defined Silicon (SDSi) in the open-source Linux OS. This allows Intel Xeon CPUs to receive features and updates installed directly to the CPU, after you've purchased it. Intel's upcoming Xeon "Sapphire Rapids" CPUs will be the first processors with this new ability from the company. But man, people aren't happy... and for good reason.

Neither Take-Two Interactive nor Rockstar Games has announced how much the next-gen GTA V version will cost.

A while back we predicted GTA V would cost $69.99 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The guess was based on statements made by Take-Two Interactive's Strauss Zelnick on the new frontline pricing model, which sees publishers justifying the cost hike by delivering "extraordinary value" and experiences. GTA V E&E has new optimizations including a 4K mode, up to 60FPS, and raytracing--do those make a compelling value proposition?

In a recent Q3 earnings call, Take-Two Interactive had this to say about GTA V's pricing on Gen 9 systems: "So the next-gen version of GTA V are not, in fact, available for purchase yet, but they will be. And in terms of pricing, we haven't discussed any pricing models around those new releases," Take-Two president Karl Slatoff said.

Elon Musk gave an update on SpaceX's Starship on February 10th at SpaceX's Starbase.

Musk's presentation took place in front of a 390-foot-tall (119 meters) assembly of the Starship Ship 20 stacked atop the Super Heavy Booster 4. The update included the announcement that the future designs for the Super Heavy booster will have 33 Raptor 2 engines, up from the 29 engines currently on Booster 4.

The new engine designs will produce up to 230 tons of thrust at sea level while being made from fewer parts than Raptor 1, which can only generate up to 185 tons of thrust. Starship will be able to output up to a total of 7,600 tons of thrust at liftoff, more than double the power of a Saturn V rocket, and breaks the record for the tallest rocket built, previously held by the Saturn V, which stood 363 feet (111 meters) tall.

The robot explored the ruins of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was destroyed in 2011.

In 2011, damage to the power plant by a massive earthquake and tsunami caused the meltdown of three of its reactor cores. The radioactive fuel within fell to the bottom of their containment vessels, complicating removal efforts. Now, an ROV-A robot operated by TEPCO has made its way into the Unit One reactor, capturing images of broken structures and mounds of what appears to be melted fuel, all submerged under highly radioactive water approximately two meters (6.5 feet) deep.

Between all three reactors are approximately 900 tonnes of melted nuclear fuel, with about 280 tonnes found in Unit One. Officials estimate the removal of nuclear fuel will take between 30 and 40 years; however, critics say that is "overly optimistic."

The National Security Agency's (NSA) declassified document is entitled "Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence."

The document begins by citing that even the National Academy of Sciences believes that extraterrestrial communication "is no longer something beyond our dreams but a natural event in the history of mankind that will perhaps occur in the lifetime of many of us." Sir Bernard Lovell, a renowned astronomer, has calculated that at least 100 million stars in our galaxy can support organic evolution.

According to Dr. Su-Shu Huang of NASA, our solar system's nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri, houses planets too young for life to have emerged. Potential candidates would likely be Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti, about 11 light-years away from us, compared to Alpha Centauri's 4.3 light-years.

A study published in the new non-alcoholic alternative has been published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

A common complaint about non-alcoholic beer that prevents people from changing to the healthier alternative is that the taste isn't the same. According to Sotirios Kampranis, a Professor at the University of Copenhagen, the complaint that they taste flat and watery is due to the lack of hops.

The nonprofit organization Space for Humanity might be able to help you out.

Space for Humanity is accepting applications for its Citizen Astronaut Program, but the deadline to be accepted is only a few days away, on Tuesday, February 15th. The program will cover the expense of training and flying you on a suborbital spaceflight. The program hopes to spread the "overview effect," a phenomenon experienced by astronauts shifting their perspective about life and our planet when viewing Earth from space.

Space for Humanity seeks individuals with a strong passion, but not necessarily one that has to be directly related to space. The organization hopes that the overview effect will spur action on those passions, as it has done for others in the past. Leadership qualities and a level of influence also contribute to the selection criteria.