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PC is Activision's most profitable gaming platform
Activision-Blizzard released its Q1 2017 financial results, revealing that the company has turned Overwatch into yet another billion-dollar franchise.
But it was the PC that surprised me, with $566 million revenue generated in Q1 2017 alone, and while it doesn't match all of the consoles combined - it is the most profitable platform by far. If we consider the entire console market made Activision just $615 million while PC made $566 million, and the fact that 'console' represents all Xbox and PlayStation consoles, Activision-Blizzard is making quite a lot of bank from the PC.
Activision-Blizzard made a decent $475 million from mobile gaming platforms as well, while $70 million came from 'other' platforms. Compared to Q4 2016, where PC made $400 million - the $566 million haul for Q1 2017 is a huge haul indeed.
Continue reading: PC is Activision's most profitable gaming platform (full post)
Unleash Kevin in our 'Split' Blu-ray giveaway
To celebrate this week's release of the smash hit thriller 'Split' on Blu-ray, DVD and digital, we have 15 Blu-rays to give away thanks to our friends at Universal Sony Home Entertainment.
Kevin has 23 distinct personalities. The 24th is about to be unleashed. While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being. Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), ), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him-as well as everyone around him-as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
To go into the running to win a prize, simply correctly answer the following question:
Continue reading: Unleash Kevin in our 'Split' Blu-ray giveaway (full post)
AMD Ryzen microcode update: improved DDR4 support
AMD will be pushing out a new microcode update for its Ryzen CPU architecture, something that will provide support for 20+ new RAM kits in the wild.
The new AGESA 1006 microcode update is something that was announced by a GIGABYTE spokesperson through a forum post, an update that will add over 20 new memory registers that will allow compatibility with existing Intel friendly DDR4 RAM.
Until now, the recommendation for DDR4 RAM with Ryzen processors were on Samsung's 'B die' memory chips, something that G.Skill and GeIL make. AMD's Technical Marketing Lead, Robert Hallock, confirmed that B die chips from Samsung were the best for out-of-the-box compatibility with Ryzen processors, and allowed for the highest overclocking results as well.
Continue reading: AMD Ryzen microcode update: improved DDR4 support (full post)
AMD Radeon RX Vega: 8GB HBM2 @ 700MHz, 1200MHz GPU clock
There have been a few leaks on AMD's upcoming Radeon RX Vega graphics card, and now we're seeing the 687F:C1 device ID once again, with some details on its HBM2 speeds and GPU clocks.
First off, I've been reporting for a while now that there will be a family of Radeon RX Vega graphics cards, with a new Vega 10 prototype being used and spotted on 3DMark's Fire Strike database. The card in question had its Vega 10 GPU clocked at 1200MHz, while its 8GB of HBM2 was clocked at 700MHz.
The Radeon RX Vega prototype was benchmarked with AMD's Ryzen 7 1800X processor, but how was the result of its run in Fire Strike?
Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX Vega: 8GB HBM2 @ 700MHz, 1200MHz GPU clock (full post)
AMD to detail Vega, next-gen Navi GPU tech on May 16
AMD has said previously that it will be launching its next-gen Radeon RX Vega graphics cards in Q2 2017, with just over 6 weeks to go - we're cutting it close. AMD has said that it will be unveiling new information on its next-gen GPU architecture, and not just Vega - but Navi, which is destined for 2018/2019.
RTG boss Raja Koduri and Computing & Graphics boss Jim Anderson will join AMD CEO Lisa Su on stage at AMD's HQ in Sunnyvale to talk about the company's long-term vision, including Vega, Navi, and even Zen+.
As for what to expect on May 16, we should receive a few more details on Vega - but this isn't a launch, so we might just receive another few drips of info. We might see a revised GPU roadmap for Navi, with a tease of the 'next-gen' memory that AMD will be using on it, while Zen+ could be better detailed now that Ryzen is finally here.
Continue reading: AMD to detail Vega, next-gen Navi GPU tech on May 16 (full post)
Mend some 'Fences' in our Blu-ray giveaway
To celebrate this week's release of the multiple Oscar nominated drama 'Fences' on Blu-ray, DVD and digital, we have ten Blu-rays to give away thanks to our friends at Universal Sony Home Entertainment.
Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son's chance to meet a college football recruiter.
To go into the running to win a prize, simply correctly answer the following question:
Continue reading: Mend some 'Fences' in our Blu-ray giveaway (full post)
Help Musk name The Boring Company's tunneling machine
Musk recently started a new project named The Boring Company, which will hopefully, help solve the problem of traffic in LA, and possibly later in other cities. Elon's idea is to build tunnels underneath the city which would allow you to skip the traffic and get from point A to point B much faster.
At a recent TED conference in Vancouver, Musk showed a video of his futuristic underground transportation tunnels. He also expressed his desire to develop a new machine which would allow the company to dig tunnels and reinforce them at the same time so that they don't have to spend their time (and money) split between the two tasks.
Read also: First look at how Musk's underground tunnels might work
Continue reading: Help Musk name The Boring Company's tunneling machine (full post)
OnePlus 5 confirmed, arrives this summer
As we earlier reported, it seems that OnePlus intends to skip the OnePlus 4, since the number 4 is considered unlucky in China, and name their new flagship OnePlus 5.
Now, the company has confirmed that we are indeed looking at the OnePlus 5 name for the successor to the OnePlus 3/3T.
OnePlus also confirmed to The Verge that its next flagship will arrive this summer.
Continue reading: OnePlus 5 confirmed, arrives this summer (full post)
New Assassin's Creed: Origins to have staggering freedom
Rumors indicate Ubisoft's new Assassin's Creed game won't be called "Empire," but will instead be called "Origins." The game is predicted to still be based in ancient Egypt, and is said to have staggering freedom that eclipses the previous games--and it's supposed to have extensive boat mechanics.
Sources have told game site WWG that Assassin's Creed: Origins will be quite extensive, suggesting this will be Ubisoft's greatest endeavor to date. Origins takes place in ancient Egypt, but the exact time period is still unknown; while the sources mention boat travel across the Nile river and the Mediterranean Sea, ancient Egypt's naval presence is almost as old as the civilization itself, ditto for its boats, which go all the way back to 3500 BC.
I personally guess that Assassin's Creed: Origins will take place during the Hellenistic Period within the ancient city of Alexandria, and allow gamers to witness the great inter-mingling of the Greeks and Egyptians under the reign of Ptolemy Soter I of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
Continue reading: New Assassin's Creed: Origins to have staggering freedom (full post)
Qualcomm's own site accidentally confirms Snapdragon 845
The Snapdragon 845 is the next rumored SoC from Qualcomm that is expected to be announced this year and ship in devices next year.
Although the current Snapdragon 835 was announced just a couple of months ago, we have already heard some rumors that Samsung and Qualcomm are negotiating over Snapdragon 845.
Up until now, it wasn't even certain that the next flagship platform will carry that name, but Qualcomm has accidentally revealed the name of the upcoming SoC, and it will, in fact, be named Snapdragon 845.
Continue reading: Qualcomm's own site accidentally confirms Snapdragon 845 (full post)
Overkill's Walking Dead shooter delayed to 2H 2018
Overkill's new anticipated The Walking Dead co-op game has been significantly delayed so it can "reach its full potential" and achieve the studio's original vision.
Overkill Software, who's most known for Payday 2, is currently developing a shooter based in The Walking Dead franchise but not much is actually known about the project. Now publishing arm Starbreeze Studios announced the project has been delayed by a year from its original 2H 2017 launch to 2H 2018--which could be anywhere from July to December 2018.
"We, together with the development team of OVERKILL's The Walking Dead, decided to extend the production schedule so that the title will reach its full potential and pursue our original vision a step further," said Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint.
Continue reading: Overkill's Walking Dead shooter delayed to 2H 2018 (full post)
Tekken 7's PSVR mode is a glorified practice mode
Tekken 7 will be playable on Sony's PS4-powered PlayStation VR headset, but only in a limited capacity with a small token mode.
Rather than push the bill with a new kind of Tekken VR experience, Bandai Namco has played it safe with Tekken 7's virtual reality mode. While Tekken 7 is coming to all platforms (Xbox One, PS4 and PC), Sony snagged the exclusive VR rights for its PSVR headset. We reported on it back in October 2015 to much excitement...but Tekken 7's VR mode is just a glorified practice mode where players spectate in third-person and battle AI to learn combos and moves.
Essentially the publisher is toe-dipping into the VR pool and doesn't want to spend too many resources making something unique--especially since the PSVR attach rate isn't nearly as big as the PS4 console's.
Continue reading: Tekken 7's PSVR mode is a glorified practice mode (full post)
Tekken 7 runs at 900p on PS4 with rock-solid 60FPS
Tekken 7 will indeed hit a consistent and solid 60FPS on PS4, but the game apparently runs closer to 900p instead of 1080p.
Last year we reported Tekken 7 will run at 1080p 60FPS on PS4, however it appears that Bandai Namco's new fighter will hit a resolution that's closer to 900p than native 1080p. Eurogamer's Digital Foundry reports that the developer's choice of Unreal Engine 4 for Tekken 7 provides a bevy of visual upgrades at the expense of resolution.
"UE4 typically employs a form of temporal anti-aliasing that can make pixel-counting difficult, but the soft nature of the presentation doesn't seem to derive just from the extensive post-processing effects, but also from a native resolution that seems to resolve closer to 900p than the standard 1080p we tend to see on PlayStation 4 titles. Anti-aliasing coverage is also spotty at points, leading to visible jaggies across clean edges on some of the more industrial stages, which occasionally takes away some of the refinement from the presentation," Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter said after seeing Tekken 7 in action at a recent press event.
Continue reading: Tekken 7 runs at 900p on PS4 with rock-solid 60FPS (full post)
Huawei Honor 9 is ditching the headphone jack?
Huawei Honor 8 received a lot of positive feedback, and it seems that the company could soon unveil its successor - the Honor 9.
A recent photo leak reveals that the company decided to ditch the headphone jack, if the photos are credible, of course. According to the leak, the Honor 9 will come with a dual rear camera setup, the same as the Honor 8.
Another change should be the position of the fingerprint sensor. Leaked images reveal that the fingerprint sensor should now be embedded in the home button, which is the same move that the company did with the Huawei P10.
Continue reading: Huawei Honor 9 is ditching the headphone jack? (full post)
Oculus closes its VR studio, just a year after opening
Just over a year after opening, Oculus is closing down its Oculus Story Studio - the film division of the VR company. Jason Rubin, Facebook's VP of Content, announced the news in a blog post.
Rubin said that Oculus has "decided to shift [its] focus away from internal content creation to support more external production", adding that the company will continue funding third-party filmmakers' VR projects instead. The company promised $250 million to developers, and will now dosh out $50 million for non-gaming VR experiences.
Oculus Story Studio made some great VR content in its short life, with Henry winning an Emmy for outstanding Original Interactive Program - something both my young daughters positively loved. Oculus will continue to pump out "video tutorials, production and distribution tips, as well as best practices for VR development. It will also provide developers chances to connect with other creators and bigwigs in the industry", reports Engadget.
Continue reading: Oculus closes its VR studio, just a year after opening (full post)
MSI unveils its new GTX 1080 Ti Sea Hawk EK X
MSI is continuing to add to its roster of custom GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards with the announcement of the GTX 1080 Ti Sea Hawk EK X, the first custom GTX 1080 Ti with a full-cover water block.
MSI's upcoming GTX 1080 Ti Sea Hawk EK X features a custom PCB, 8+2-phase power design, and 8+8-pin PCIe power connectors.
EK Water Blocks designed the water block, which features a gorgeous MSI dragon and logo, as well as NVIDIA's now-required GeForce GTX logo on the front. There's also a nickel-plated base cover on the GPU, memory, and VRMs.
Continue reading: MSI unveils its new GTX 1080 Ti Sea Hawk EK X (full post)
AMD Crimson ReLive Edition 17.5.1 beta drivers released
AMD is preparing Radeon gamers for Prey with the release of the new Radeon Software Crimson ReLive 17.5.1 beta drivers, which even include some performance optimizations for the just-released Radeon RX 580 graphics card.
The new drivers feature a decent 4.7% performance boost for the RX 580 in Prey, but they also provide multi-GPU support for CrossFire owners who want to see additional performance from their RX 580 CF rig. There are the usual bug fixes and improvements in these new drivers as well, and AMD has also patched their auto updater so it no longer fails.
You can grab the new 17.5.1 drivers right here.
Continue reading: AMD Crimson ReLive Edition 17.5.1 beta drivers released (full post)
Destiny 2 post-release content made by Vicarious Visions
Vicarious Visions, the team behind Activision's myriad Skylanders games, will help ensure Destiny 2 has a steady stream of post-release content, expansions, and updates.
We've known for a while now that has Bungie enlisted the help of Vicarious Visions and other devs to work on the new Destiny sequel--after all, Destiny 2 is releasing on PC and will include a slew of new features and a dynamic storyline.
But up until now we weren't exactly sure what role these devs would have in the juggernaut shared-world FPS. As it turns out, the Skylanders devs will work alongside Bungie on Destiny 2's expansions and post-release content to facilitate maximum engagement--which drives active users and subsequent microtransaction earnings.
Continue reading: Destiny 2 post-release content made by Vicarious Visions (full post)
Destiny 2 will have proper PC port, Activision says
Activision affirms that Destiny 2 will come with many of the features PC gamers expect...but leaves out specifics for the upcoming stream showcase.
It's been a long time since Bungie has made a PC game, but with Destiny 2 coming to PC this September, it's critical the devs are able to harness the wide spectrum of graphics cards and PC hardware while maintaining proper features befit a triple-A shooter. In fact, Bungie is pressured on two different fronts: console gamers expect a fully-fledged campaign with better expansions, and PC gamers expect a proper port that's optimized for higher- and lower-end rigs.
According to Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg, Destiny 2 will impress PC gamers.
Continue reading: Destiny 2 will have proper PC port, Activision says (full post)
Overwatch is now a billion dollar franchise
Overwatch is a smashing success for Blizzard, and the company has big plans for its global FPS sensation.
Blizzard has yet another billion-dollar franchise under its belt: Activision-Blizzard's latest Q1 2017 earnings confirms that Overwatch is now officially the company's 8th billion-dollar franchise, joining the ranks of Diablo, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, StarCraft, and World of Warcraft. Overwatch achieving stellar net sales, earnings, and record engagement levels--all in less than a year's time. In fact, Blizzard says Overwatch accrued 30 million registered users faster than any other franchise in the company's history.
Activision's Q1 2017 earnings were led by Blizzard games, which pulled in a strong $441 net revenues (almost half of the company's $1.7 billion total). Microtransactions are up 25% with Overwatch's skins and loot boxes and World of Warcraft's tokens and pets pulling the lion's share of in-game revenues.
Continue reading: Overwatch is now a billion dollar franchise (full post)






















