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PS4 Pro game upgrades take 0.2% of overall effort
How much work is required for developers to upgrade their PS4 games to support 4K on the new PS4 Pro? A tiny, minuscule fraction of the work it takes to design the game itself.
Developers are spending hardly any time upgrading their PS4 games to support enhanced graphical and performance settings like 1080p 60FPS, 4K HDR at 30FPS, and native 4K on Sony's new $399 PlayStation 4 Pro console.
"I'd say that the minimum effort is probably even less [than 0.2-0.3% of the overall effort], counting the work hours involved compared to the work hours put into making the game," Patrik Lasota, Arrowheads dev (Helldivers) said in a recent interview with Gamingbolt. "We did a bit more than that and yet it took us very little time to get the game running on PS4 Pro in 4K."
Continue reading: PS4 Pro game upgrades take 0.2% of overall effort (full post)
Crytek announces Robinson: The Journey for Oculus Rift
Crytek has announced that Robinson: The Journey, their sci-fi VR adventure title, will be coming to the Oculus Rift next month.
Robinson: The Journey has you playing as Robin, a boy that gets stranded on a strange alien planet, where you need to survive the various dangers on the planet, with HIGS - your AI unit and a baby T-Rex that will help you. You'll need to look for survivors and unlock the mysteries of the extrasolar planet.
Lead 3D Artist on Robinson: The Journey, Tom Deerberg, explained why VR works in the game so well: "Today, VR represents the next logical step in the evolution of immersive game worlds. Just as the jump from 2D to 3D once gave players a more authentic impression of being "in the game," VR turns what we're used to experiencing on a flat screen into something much more enveloping. Now, the sense of scale is inherent. You feel physically present in the game space, and those planets hanging on the horizon serve to underscore the vastness of your surroundings like never before. You'll tilt your head to take in the full grandeur of a dinosaur or pull back as you assess the danger of a chasm below - and it all feels boundless in an entirely new way".
Continue reading: Crytek announces Robinson: The Journey for Oculus Rift (full post)
SK Hynix prepares 8GB RAM for next-gen smartphones
I still remember one of my first PCs being a 486 DX2-66, and it rocking 2MB of RAM (yes, megabytes with a 'M') and upgrading it to 4MB of RAM for a game most of you won't remember - Under a Killing Moon. Now, smartphones have 4GB of RAM, some with 6GB of RAM - and now SK Hynix is breaking into the world of 8GB of RAM for smartphones.
SK Hynix will be tapping the older 21nm manufacturing process for the 8GB chips, which will be aiming towards price/performance smartphones compared to the more efficient 10nm process Samsung is using for its 8GB module.
The 8GB module from SK Hynix will be running at 3.73GHz, with each chip rocking 4 x 2GB modules, offering bandwidth of up to 29.8Gbps. The 21nm process itself might be older and less efficient, but it will provide lower/mid-range smartphone makers to bake in 8GB of RAM into their lower/mid-range priced handsets, in bigger numbers than Samsung's higher-end 10nm-based 8GB chips.
Continue reading: SK Hynix prepares 8GB RAM for next-gen smartphones (full post)
PS4 Pro leads Google searches ahead of Switch, Scorpio
I'll be looking at Google Trends data more closely going into 2017, as I started looking at Google search data not too long ago between AMD Vega and NVIDIA Volta - and thought I'd do the same with the next-gen consoles.
Looking at the Google Trends data for 'Nintendo Switch', 'PS4 Pro', and 'Xbox Scorpio' - which do you think comes out on top? Well, you can see the massive spike in Google searches on October 20 when Nintendo unveiled its next-gen Switch console officially... but Sony continued its path to victory with the PS4 Pro, where Google searches spiked on November 10, the day the PS4 Pro launched.
I thought Xbox Scorpio would follow in the #2 spot behind Nintendo Switch, but I was flat out wrong - speaking of flat, that yellow line at the bottom that is nearly invisible, represents Xbox Scorpio. Microsoft will need to ramp its hype and marketing machines for Xbox Scorpio if it wants to dominate in 2017 - with the latest rumor that it will be priced at $399 (which myself and Derek here at TT do not think will happen) - but the rumors of a delay in 2018... well, that could very well happen if Microsoft can't tweak Scorpio before Q4 2017.
Continue reading: PS4 Pro leads Google searches ahead of Switch, Scorpio (full post)
AI will replace managers of world's largest hedge fund
I'd like to say that I didn't see this coming, but I can't lie to you guys - AI is taking over the world, for better or worse. Now we have the world's largest hedge fund building software that will automate their day-to-day management of the firm, with the artificial intelligence in charge of "hiring, firing and other strategic decision-making", reports The Guardian.
Bridgewater Associates has assembled a team of software engineers after a request from billionaire founder Ray Dalio, who wants to see the company running towards the vision he created, even when he's not there. The Wall Street Journal reports: "The role of many remaining humans at the firm wouldn't be to make individual choices but to design the criteria by which the system makes decisions, intervening when something isn't working".
The company manages a mind boggling $160 billion worth of funds, with Bridgewater Associates forming a team of programmers that specialize in analytics and AI, something they have called the Systematized Intelligence Lab. This unit is led by the ex-boss of IBM's development of Watson - the supercomputer that beat humans at Jeopardy! in 2011, David Ferrucci.
Continue reading: AI will replace managers of world's largest hedge fund (full post)
ZOTAC's GeForce GTX 1070 Mini is perfect for SFF gaming
ZOTAC has had a strong GeForce GTX 10 series line up in 2016, but they're about to release something SFF gaming PC lovers have wanted for a while: their new GeForce GTX 1070 Mini graphics card.
ZOTAC's upcoming GTX 1070 Mini sports a shorter PCB, and a dual-fan cooler - with ZOTAC's new GTX 1070 Mini featuring a small 17cm custom PCB and their new Ice Storm cooler and Freeze Tech that features 2 x 8mm copper heat pipes that are connected directly to the GPU, with a heat sink that is cooled down by dual 80mm fans.
NVIDIA's reference clocks of 1518/1708MHz for base/boost, respectively are applied - all through a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. There's 8GB of GDDR5 RAM on-board, clocked at 8GHz, while display connectivity is served through 3 x DP, 1 x HDMI 2.0 and 1 x DVI.
Continue reading: ZOTAC's GeForce GTX 1070 Mini is perfect for SFF gaming (full post)
Corsair teases RGB flavored Vengeance DDR4 RAM
Like most other hardware-makers in this industry, Corsair will be next in line to add stylish chromatic RGB flair to its RAM kits.
Corsair has added RGB LEDs to almost every peripheral in its product lineup except for its RAM offering, and we expect that to change at CES 2017. Corsair just teased its new colorful RGB RAM kits in a Twitter post, and as Fudzilla notes, these modules look similar to the company's high-performance Vengeance DDR4 RAM kits. The Vengeance DDR4 modules currently only have single-color LED flavors in red, while and blue.
Right now Corsair's RGB offerings include its SP120 and HD120 fans, its K70 LUX RGB mechanical keyboard and K55 mecha keyboard, the MM880 RGB mouse pad, and even its Void Surround headsets rock RGB LEDs.
Continue reading: Corsair teases RGB flavored Vengeance DDR4 RAM (full post)
Troll names Wi-Fi hotspot Note7 and causes flight delay
As everyone is probably aware by now - the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is banned from all flights, and there are multiple warnings at airports that remind the few users that might still have this device not to bring it on the plane.
That being said, a Virgin America flight from San Francisco to Boston was delayed and almost diverted because a passenger changed the name of his Wi-Fi hotspot to 'Samsung Galaxy Note7_1097'. This made other passengers and the crew think that there is a Samsung Galaxy Note7 onboard and is being used.
According to a passenger Lucas Wojciechowski, who took a screenshot of the hotspot named Galaxy Note7, the crew made urgent announcements demanding that the owner of the Note7 comes forward otherwise the flight will be diverted and land in Wyoming where the plane will be thoroughly searched.
Continue reading: Troll names Wi-Fi hotspot Note7 and causes flight delay (full post)
AMD Vega GPUs to come in both HBM2 and GDDR5/X versions
AMD is preparing for a massive GPU push in 2017 with their Vega GPU architecture, with our good friends at Fudzilla reporting that there will be "top to bottom designs based on Vega architecture arriving soon".
AMD will utilize HBM2 technology to power its high-end cards that will compete against the likes of NVIDIA's current flagship GeForce GTX 1080 (and possibly even Titan X), as well as the waiting-in-the-wings GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. But the news that AMD will use GDDR5X and GDDR5 on its Vega graphics cards is interesting, something I've been saying for a while now. We've already seen Vega 10 with 8GB of HBM2 running DOOM at 4K 60FPS+ on Ultra/Nightmare settings, which is awesome.
HBM2 is too expensive to use on all Vega graphics cards, and the yields aren't perfect yet - so the use of GDDR5X with its 10Gbps bandwidth makes sense, while GDDR5 is an obvious choice for the lower- and mid-range cards based on the Vega architecture.
Continue reading: AMD Vega GPUs to come in both HBM2 and GDDR5/X versions (full post)
Final Fantasy 15 in-game food was cooked by devs
Final Fantasy 15 is notorious for it's delicious photo-realistic grub--it looks so good that you'll often find yourself with a grumbling tummy after Iggy cooks up something for the boys. As it turns out, the devs made most of those dishes themselves to ensure the food was represented as authentically as possible.
It's funny to be so impressed by something small like in-game food, but Square Enix shows that even the smallest things deserve the most attention. To be fair, though, food is an integral part of the game: it brings Noctis, Gladio, Ignis and Prompto together as friends, nourishes their vitality, and gives healthy status bonuses to boot. But it's more than that--the food in FF15 has a homely quality to it, and has actually inspired many to create their own recipes.
As a homage to these delicious dishes, I've included some in-game snapshots of some of the most lip-smacking recipes the game has to offer. But there's one that's not so delicious--in fact, it's utterly awf...I mean offal.
Continue reading: Final Fantasy 15 in-game food was cooked by devs (full post)
Steam winter sale is live...prepare your wallets!
Steam spreads holiday cheer with deep discounts on some of 2016's best games, so prepare your backlogs!
Steam's Winter Sale is here, and it has some pretty nice discounts on some pretty amazing titles. The selection is impressive and there's something here for everyone, even if you've waited until now to pick up some of this year's best games like Watch Dogs 2, Skyrim: Special Edition, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided--and almost all of Steam's Top Sellers have been discounted.
Notable sales include (but absolutely aren't limited to): DOOM at $20, the excellent Diablo-style ARPG Grim Dawn is just $14, the must-have amazingly-fun-with-mods Fallout 4 is $20, the impressive caveman FPS Far Cry: Primal is just $24.99, the janky-on-PC Dishonored 2 is $40, Adam Jensen's excellent Deus Ex: Mankind Divided sequel is just $20, Ubisoft's incredible open-world Watch Dogs 2 is a steal at $40, the remastered Skyrim: Special Edition gets slashed by $10 to just $30 (a must-have for any new PC gamers, and don't forget the mods!), and a whole smattering of indie games are just $2.99.
Continue reading: Steam winter sale is live...prepare your wallets! (full post)
'Rogue One' director talks 'Star Wars' 4K restoration
As the first 'Star Wars spin-off 'Rogue One' smashes the box office with a $400 million dollar haul in a week, its director has revealed the film that started at all has just been minted with a brand new 4K restoration.
The current Blu-ray, Digital Cinema and HDTV masters for the original 'Star Wars' trilogy, including 'A New Hope' have all been mastered from the same 1080p version of the films which were restored by Lowry Digital for the first DVD release back in 2004. By today's standards, they're poor and hardly befitting the status of the films. But speaking to Little White Lies on the publicity rounds for 'Rogue One', director Gareth Edwards has revealed that Disney has restored at least the very first film in 4K.
The existence of a new 4K master augers well for a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray next year - the 40th anniversary of the franchise. Still, if that doesn't eventuate at least we have the 4K fan restoration to look forward to.
Continue reading: 'Rogue One' director talks 'Star Wars' 4K restoration (full post)
Nintendo Switch may use Display Port over USB Type-C
We've long known that Nintendo's new Switch transforming handheld hybrid would have a USB Type-C port in its dock, and now it looks like the system may leverage Display Port over USB 3.1 for all sorts of benefits including the ability to transmit data, video and power in the same port.
According to The Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki, who cites reports from Ace Research Institute analyst Hideki Yasuda, the Nintendo Switch will leverage Display Port Alternate Mode over USB Type-C for a host of additional functionality.
Display Port Alternate Mode over USB Type-C can enable 4K 60Hz with 24-bit color, 5K (5120 x 2880) display support without compression, HDR, HDCP 2.2, high-end multi-channel audio--but we're not saying that the Switch will do 4K 60FPS or even 5K for that matter, just the general benefits that this particular mode can offer, depending on the bandwidth and graphics horsepower.
Continue reading: Nintendo Switch may use Display Port over USB Type-C (full post)
Project Scorpio won't be $399, and here's why
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter recently predicted that Microsoft's new "monster" Project Scorpio 4K console would cost $399, and ship in 2018 instead of Holiday 2017. But don't expect to pay only $400 for the hardware; Pachter's wrong, and here's all the reasons why.
"The Xbox Scorpio is priced at $399. This might not be low enough, particularly if PS4 Pro drops before holiday 2017, but Microsoft has to price competitively or fall farther behind," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter predicted in a recent article on Games Industry Biz.
We think Pachter is quite wrong about that price, and here's why.
Continue reading: Project Scorpio won't be $399, and here's why (full post)
Minecraft Xmas mash-up DLC out now for various editions
Gaming company Mojang are once again making headlines with their popular sandbox game Minecraft. Minecraft: Console Edition, Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition have been given a mash-up exclusive in celebration of the holiday season.
The festive Christmas mash-up will include:
Only bad news is that the Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition will not be a free download for users.
Continue reading: Minecraft Xmas mash-up DLC out now for various editions (full post)
LG announces 5 new phones - K(2017) series and Stylus 3
LG has announced a range of new smartphones just before CES. The company unveiled their 2017 K series - the K3, K4, K8, and K10, as well as the Stylus 3.
The K10 (2017) comes with a 5.3-inch HD display, 13MP camera, and 5MP selfie cam. It is powered by MediaTek's MT6750 processor and it had 2GB of RAM and 32GB internal memory. The K10 has a fingerprint sensor and comes with 2,800 mAh battery.
The K8 (2017) has a smaller 5-inch HD display, but the same camera as K10. It runs on a Snapdragon 425 processor and comes with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. The device doesn't have a fingerprint sensor and comes with a 2,500 mAh battery.
Continue reading: LG announces 5 new phones - K(2017) series and Stylus 3 (full post)
Nintendo Switch hits High 1080p Unreal Engine 4 preset
Yesterday we reported on the Nintendo Switch's uncovered Unreal Engine 4 display profiles, asserting that the console-and-handheld hybrid would use medium 1080p settings. But it appears we might've been wrong: the Switch could use high 1080p settings within Unreal Engine 4, effectively going toe-to-toe with the PS4 and Xbox One's base in-engine GFX settings.
Based on the Unreal Engine 4 Scalability Reference Guide given to us by one of our readers, we can see that our original scale that assumed 1=low, 2=medium and 3=high settings was off the mark. Instead, Unreal Engine's scale goes like this: 0=low, 1=medium, 2=high and 3=Epic (ultra).
This effectively means that the Nintendo Switch's UE4 display profiles score in the high and medium settings category, respective to the docked console and handheld form factors.
Continue reading: Nintendo Switch hits High 1080p Unreal Engine 4 preset (full post)
Pokémon Sun and Moon TCG expansion will land early 2017
Hit-game Pokémon Sun and Moon has been scheduled for an expansion to release early next year. The trading card game will be acquiring loads of new features.
The new Sun and Moon update will introduce over 40 new Pokémon into the game, whilst Legendary Pokémon will have the ability to launch super attacks. Though these will only be a once per game offer. The expansion will also include three new 60 card theme decks, with instructions as how to play the game correctly.
The Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon expansion will launch in Europe and North America, February 3, 2017. Available for Nintendo 3DS from online stores.
Continue reading: Pokémon Sun and Moon TCG expansion will land early 2017 (full post)
Analyst: Twitter is 'toast', stock isn't even worth $10
Twitter is circling the drain right now, with Global Equities Research's Managing Director Trip Chowdhry saying that Twitter is "toast" and "not even a $10 stock". Harsh words, but with the departure of another top level executive this week, he could be right.
Josh McFarland, VP of Product at Twitter said he was leaving the company on the same day that Twitter's Chief Technology Officer Adam Messinger tweeting that he is leaving the social networking company to "take some time off". They added onto the pile with Adam Bain, Chief Operating Officer of Twitter, who was replaced by Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto, for now.
Chowdhry continued: "Many investors were foolishly building (an) investment thesis based on complete stupidity". Twitter shares closed at $17.92 on Tuesday, so if Chowdhry is right and Twitter stock drops to $10, it would be a 44% drop from where it sits today. Chowdhry added that Twitter data quality is "horrible", and that many pollsters used Twitter data to predict Hillary Clinton's win - but with Donald Trump winning, it shows that Twitter's data isn't very valuable at all.
Continue reading: Analyst: Twitter is 'toast', stock isn't even worth $10 (full post)
Apple rumored to buy a Hollywood studio in 2017
Apple is making strategic movies to get into the TV and movie industries, with Mega founder Kim Dotcom - yeah, Kim Dotcom, predicting that Apple will purchase a massive Hollywood studio in 2017.
Dotcom tweeted: "Watch Apple buy a Hollywood Studio in 2017. #InsiderIntel". It would make sense, considering how massive some of these TV shows are getting these days on Netflix, HBO, etc. Apple has had interest in the film industry for a while, with the company having a "strong but secretive" presence at the Sundance Film Festival.
Apple reportedly met with "triple A-list" talent to talk about making a lineup of original TV shows, and even more of a tease - Apple is working with Hollywood studios to bring movies to iTunes, "even while they're still in theaters" reports 9to5Mac.
Continue reading: Apple rumored to buy a Hollywood studio in 2017 (full post)









