Latest News - Page 2131

The highly anticipated update for Dota 2 is here. Dueling Fates patch 7.07 update was first announced at The International 7 and is live! This update is HUGE- two new heroes, numerous gameplay,hero and item reworks, removal and addition of new items, Ancient Apparition remodel and much more.

Dueling Fates update introduces Pangolier and Dark Willow heroes to the Dota 2 universe. Panagolier is a melee-carry that boasts many evasive abilities that are sure to cause havoc, while Dark Willow is a ranged-support that features root and stun abilities to priorities crowd control.

Also included in patch 7.07 is ranked seasons that allows re-calibration of MMR, turbo mode that is aimed at casual players, changes to ability draft, Ancient Apparition remodel, improvements to ping wheel, a massive amount of changes to gameplay and items that includes my personal favorite "Flying Courier upgrade can no longer be purchased. Courier now upgrades automatically at 3 minutes", rework of heroes (Beastmaster, Broodmother, Morphling, Tiny, Viper and Wraith King), removed items (PMS and Iron Talon) and the introduction of 5 new items.

MSI is expanding their Infinite Gaming Desktop series to include Intel's 8th generation Core Processors with the MSI Infinite X. The MSI Infinite X takes MSI's desktop gaming series to the next level, with i7-8700K processor, up to 64GB DDR-2400Mhz memory and MSI's own graphic cards- no boring, sub-par performing reference cards.

The Infinite X is targeting high-end gaming performance with the added potential of overclocking. MSI have included their exclusive Silent Storm Cooling 3 thermal design, this multiple-chamber design allows for efficient cooling when overclocking using MSI software. Regarding storage, the Infinite X can house 2x 3.5" HDD, 1x 2.5" SSD and 2x M.2 SSD, the perfect all-round solution.

MSI have allowed for customization as well, providing either a classic black side-panel that creates a strong, bold appearance, or an elegant 4mm thick tempered glass side-panel. The tempered glass side-panel allows for users to showcase their MSI hardware, and with the support of RGB Mystic Light that can enhance your desktops appearance to your liking. Future proofing your Infinite X is easy, MSI have also allowed for easy access to all hardware which allows for any hardware component to be easily upgraded in the future.

NVIDIA is in the process of launching their new GeForce GTX 1070 Ti graphics card, something that is a direct response to AMD's new Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics card, and now ASUS has unveiled their fleet of custom GTX 1070 Ti graphics cards.

ASUS will have three different GeForce GTX 1070 Ti graphics cards on offer, with the custom ROG Strix GTX 1070 Ti 8G GAMING graphics card and its triple-fan cooler and Aura Sync RGB for personalization. ASUS uses its advanced cooling tech and the best overclocks for the ROG Strix variant, but there's also the Cerberus and Turbo variants, both with their own unique takes on the GTX 1070 Ti.

All of the graphics cards that ASUS make go through their Auto-Extreme technology, with is an industry-first 100% automated production process. ASUS uses Super Alloy Power II components for "enhance efficiency, reduce power loss, decrease component buzzing under load, and lower thermal temperatures for unsurpassed quality and reliability".

Micron has just announced a slew of new microSD cards that have been designed for the video surveillance, with the new industrial microSD cards coming in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities.

The new industrial microSD cards are designed for both commercial and enterprise surveillance, with Micron working with Shenzhen Security and Protection Industry Association (SSPIA) and China channel partner, Jinyu Global. Most of the microSD cards on the market aren't built to be used 24/7, but Micron's new industrial microSD cards have been designed for higher endurance and reliability with claims of mean time between failure of 3 million hours.

Micron has tapped their impressive 64-tier 3D-NAND technology, with storage densities of 32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB, with the 32GB and 64GB models available now, and the 128GB and 256GB models to begin being shipped in volume amounts in Q2 2018.

AMD has had a huge year with Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper CPU launches, but the release of Vega was lukewarm, and the main driver behind GPU sales for AMD has been the huge cryptocurrency mining phenomenon.

AMD share prices were trading at just over $6 late last year, readhing heights of around $14-$15 this year, and now they've sliding back down to $11. Morgan Stanley downgraded AMD to "underweight" status, with expectations that the console busines will decline, and graphics card sales due to cryptocurrency mining will "fade from here".

Joseph Moore, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, writes: "We believe that AMD's graphics surge has been caused by a sharp increase in sales of graphics chips to cryptocurrency miners. We expect this to meaningfully decelerate next year". Morgan Stanley downgraded their price target for AMD from $11, down to $8 per share.

NVIDIA is always my first CES booking, with the company announcing their CES 2018 press conference date in a new "Save the Date" email that will see the company hosting their presser at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, with the reception starting at 7PM and the press conference kicking off between 8PM and 9:30PM.

NVIDIA says "We hope you can attend NVIDIA's 2018 CES press conference, where we'll showcase amazing new technology innovations on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, at 8-9:30 pm (PT). A reception with food and drinks will start at 7 pm, at the MGM Grand Conference Center located in the back of the MGM Hotel".

We should expect some new announcements in the world of self-driving car technologies, where NVIDIA has used previous CES press conferences to announce DrivePX, Tegra, and other car-related technologies. NVIDIA won't announce a new graphics card during CES as it has its GPU Technology Conference (GTC) where it will most likely unveil its new Volta-based GeForce cards. We could see some surprises in the Shield department of course, where I'm still expecting NVIDIA to unveil their own VR or AR headset in the Shield family, eventually.

Anyone who plays Battlegrounds knows its not perfect yet, but the developer has been pushing out a constant stream of updates on their path towards reaching the land of v1.0.

Microsoft re vealed the release date of PUBG on Xbox One during Paris Games Week, but the PC version reaching 1.0 will take place in "late December". Microsoft said: "In addition to announcing Xbox Game Preview launch date on December 12, we also shared the exciting news that we're on track to launch 1.0 for the PC version in late December. This has been an amazing year for us and launching and this is a huge milestone for the team. We're incredibly proud of how far we've come in such a short time, but I'm even more excited to say that we're just getting started".

I'm hoping for some much needed optimization for PUBG's v1.0 update, but we'll have to wait and see. It's not too far away now, with the game having quite the journey across 2017 with a huge 15 million+ copies sold, constant dominance on the Steam concurrent gamer list, and an upcoming Xbox One release.

Razer is expected to unveil its first smartphone any minute now, with the Razer Phone said to feature an enthusiast gaming worthy 120Hz display.

Razer is said to use a 5.7-inch IGZO display with 120Hz, Dolby ATMOS sound with dual front-facing speakers and amplifiers that were certified by THX. Inside, we have 8GB of RAM and a 4000mAh battery, with a dual 12-megapixel camera setup on the back and support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0.

If these rumors are true, Razer could not just surprise with their first smartphone, but they could be pushing for a world's first with 120Hz/Dolby ATMOS in a smartphone. My hype meter just went from 7/10 to 10/10 on the 120Hz display rumor alone. Bring it on, Razer... my wallet is ready.

In a bid to iterate with player feedback and ensure the game isn't widely panned, EA has tweaked Battlefront II's hotly contested lootboxes into a more palpa(tine)able form.

Months before EA actually confirmed the news, I predicted Battlefront II would be monetized with lootbox microtransactions and ask users to pay money for upgrades and the like. That prediction turned out true, and gamers were exposed to a hugely debated "pay to win" lootbox scheme in the addicting beta test that caused lots of furor. Having spent years making Battlefront II, EA and DICE have heard our cries and have used feedback from the beta to make some big changes by layering the monetization strategies in such a way that there's balance.

First up, epic Star Cards--the most powerful cards that can seriously sway the outcome of battles--aren't in lootboxes any more. That means you can't just spend a bunch of money to get the best upgrades any more. You have to work for them by crafting. But the trick is that crafting these cards is gated behind a ranking system. So now you'll not only need to play the game, but amass a bunch of credits and resources to spend on crafting cards (of course you can still get resources in lootboxes).

343 Industries caught a lot of flak for the Master Chief Collection's bungled launch. But what exactly went wrong? The studio gives a rare glimpse at the inner workings of game development by peeling back the curtain and detailing how The Master Chief Collection fell apart.

Now that 343i plans to fix the Master Chief Collection with solid repairs rather than duct tape, Halo alum Frank O'Connor explains the messy and complicated series of events that triggered the game's fall to infamy. O'Connor first warns gamers that there's no guarantees that MCC can be souped up to what the community expects--but 343i really cares about the project and is very passionate about Halo.

"From a personal perspective, the MCC launch was one of my lowest ebbs, professionally. Every angry mail I received, I took to heart. I felt like I had personally let our fans down. I have not spent a single day since the night the game fell down in matchmaking where I didn't think about it. The hardest messages to deal with were the ones driven by disbelief. "

Now that Sony has hiked the annual membership of its PlayStation Plus subscription service by $10 to $59.99, gamers typically lapse on their payments and drop out of the company's critical online ecosystem. Sony admits that retaining players isn't easy, but promises to make PS Plus more attractive to ensure players stick around.

Sony Corp. just released its latest fiscal Q2'17 financials, revealing key growth among gaming and other major sectors. During the earnings call Sony execs answered a few questions about the operating segments, including PlayStation Plus and what the company is doing to keep gamers subscribed and paying for the service.

"At the end of Fiscal 2016, 26.4 million users subscribed to PS Plus. The participation rate from the worldwide PS4 users is 40% for PlayStation Plus. As the inclusiveness of the PS4 spreads more widely into the base, then the participation rate is going to slow down a bit," said Atsuko Murakami, Senior General Manager of Finance Department at Sony Corp, in the call.

Sony just reported its second quarter earnings for its Fiscal Year 2017 timeframe, showing some interesting growth trends.

Note: The following yen to USD conversions are in accordance to Sony's earnings filing that sees 113 yen = $1 USD.

Sony's PlayStation brand is a titan of the industry: at over 60 million consoles sold and a staggering 67.5 million units shipped worldwide, the PS4 is the king of the console space. What's more is Sony's approach to monetizing the PlayStation brand with key services such as music and video streaming, live TV, and a massively lucrative games-selling platform have all been boons for revenue growth. We've already talked about how the Games and Network Services segment was Sony's most lucrative branch in Q2'17, but now we're shedding the light on specific metrics.

Sony Corp just announced its earnings for the three-month period from July to September, and the results show strong growth in key segments.

Note: The following yen to USD conversions are in accordance to Sony's earnings filing that sees 113 yen = $1 USD.

Sony's latest financial report fro fiscal Q2'17 see the Japanese company enjoying a staggering 739% spike in YoY net income, or bottom-line income after taxes and expenditures, to $1.263 billion (142.8 billion yen). The company managed to deliver a meteoric 2600% jump in net income attributable to stockholders in the period to $1.158 billion (130.9 billion yen), which ensures holders of Sony stock look favorably on the company.

As per the company's latest second quarter earnings, PlayStation gaming continues driving significant growth for Sony.

In recent decades, gaming has been an asset for Sony's multi-segment corporation, especially now. Sony's PlayStation 4 sits at the core of its layered subscription and digital gaming and network services strategy, and as a result of the titanic sales growth across the globe, the company has pulled in big revenues quarter after quarter. The Japanese conglomerate just released its fiscal Q2'17 earnings and the results are quite good--especially for the Games and Network Services segment.

Sony's lucrative Games and Network Services segment, which includes PS4 hardware, software, subscriptions and digital PSN sales, made the most out of any other segment in fiscal Q2'17 revenues and operating income. This performance is due to strong hardware and software sales and currency fluctuations.

SteelSeries have announced a ten-keyless version of their exceptional APEX M750 mechanical gaming keyboard, the APEX M750 TKL. The Apex M750 is the definition of a SteelSeries product, high-build quality and esport performance, the Apex M750 TKL builds on these foundations with its compact and transportable TKL design.

The M750 TKL utilizes SteelSeries' QX2 mechanical switches, aluminium metal-alloy frame with a black matte finish, RGB LEDs and is SteelSeries Engine supported apps such as Discord Chat Integration, ImageSync, Audio Visualizer, PrismSync and GameSense. These apps can provide in-game notification that adds to the gamers experience to combine performance, customization and immersion.

A TKL design allows for increased flexibility for transportation and minimal desk-space required for set-up, SteelSeries recently announced sponsorship for renowned esports player, Sander "VoO" Kaasjager who shared his thoughts about the APEX M750 TKL.

GIGABYTE have announced their latest Z370 chipset based motherboard, the compact GIGABYTE Z370N WIFI motherboard. Designed for a mini-ITX form factor, the GIGABYTE Z370N WIFI motherboard is a versatile, yet powerful motherboard that is optimized to support Intel's 8th Generation Core Processors.

GIGABYTE have ensured that performance isn't compromised thanks to support for dual-channel DDR4-4600MHz (OC), dual M.2 PCIe slots, dual Intel GbE LAN, dual band 802.11AC wireless and seven USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports. This motherboard also boasts onboard DisplayPort and HDMI 2.0a outputs, both are capable of HDR video with HDMI 2.0a able to provide cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio to provide the ultimate viewing experience.

What motherboard isn't complete without RGB lighting? GIGABYTE aren't novices in this department and have included RGB Fusion technology, this allows for customization of up to 300 individual LED's. This software allows you to connect 5V or 12V LED strips and customize each individual LED to suit your preference, this means you can alter the color and brightness of each of the 300 LED's. For overclocking, GIGABYTE have included an Intersil Hybrid Digital VRM design, this design ensures power is distributed effectively to create stable overclocks, XMP profiles is also provided for memory overclocking.

It seems the world of VR is deflating, with CCP Games announcing it is closing two of its studios down and shifting away from virtual reality, one of its major focuses for the last few years.

CCP Games is reportedly closing down its Atlanta branch, while it will sell the Newcastle-based studio, which is part of a round of layoffs. There will still be the London, Reykjavik, and Shanghai offices, but there will be 100 jobs lost, while CCP Games is providing relocation opportunities or severance packages to those affected.

CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said that the changes are "tough, but important", and while the developer will continue working on its flagship EVE Online without changes, it is making major changes to two announced projects: their multiplayer PC shooter 'Project Nova', and the free-to-play mobile game 'Project Aurora'. The developer will continue supporting existing VR games.

Sony has debuted a new trailer for Far Cry 5, with a new gameplay video that highlights that Ubisoft is making the game with co-op in mind, with the full Far Cry 5 single-player campaign playable in co-op mode.

This means that you and a friend can get into a plane in Far Cry 5 and have a gunner shooting around you, or have tractor races, or shoot from the same car and defend your friend. The entire game will be available in co-op once the first mission is finished, which both players will need to do before teaming up.

You can give each other ammo and health packs, with both players getting to keep the XP, loot, and player progression during the season. The host will have individual world progression, something that will include quests, outposts liberated, and other open-world activities.

One of the hottest games right now is Bethesda's latest Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, which I want to add is incredibly polished, looks awesome, and runs beautifully even on a Core i3 machine with a GTX 1080 Ti.

Finnish speedrunner DraQu has completed the first world record on speedrunning through Wolfenstein II, something he did in a super-fast 80 minutes. There's not much killing in the speedrun, as he's had to run so quickly through the game so most of the gore is missing. Still, the speedrun itself was great to watch.

This also isn't DraQu's first speedrun in a Wolfenstein game, with his 1:31:16 run of The New Order still being the first-place record. DraQu adds that one of the key parts of his speedruns is using the armored stilts, so that you can get the insane navigation required to skip the gunfights and other obstacles. But the big question is, will we see less than 60 minute speedruns in Wolfenstein II? I think so.

Intel might have launched its new Core i7-8700K and Core i9-7980XE flagship processors for the Z370 and X299 platforms, but the company will be releasing some form of 10nm CPU this year with volume production and new SKUs in the second half of 2018.

Intel boss Brian Krzanic said that the company is "on track to ship our first low-volume 10-nanometer part by the end of the year". During Intel's recent earnings call, he said that the company will be increasing 10nm production in the first half of 2018, with "high volume and system availability in the second half of 2018".

This means we can expect a 10nm CPU released this year, with the new Cannon Lake CPU family to make an appearance in a lower-end SKU at first. We should see super limited supplies of this new 10nm processor, which could be a reaction to Qualcomm's impending release on the 10nm node, sending Intel scurrying to get 10nm off the ground and into consumers' hands.