Latest News - Page 306

Switch 2's Game-key Cards will not be account bound upon use, Nintendo confirms.

Nintendo Switch 2 will have a more formalized version of its predecessor's code-in-a-box format called Game-key Cards. These are cartridges that don't have the game on them but instead have a key to unlock a digital download of the game. Now Nintendo has clarified that these Game-key Cards work like any other cartridge, meaning they can be shared with friends and presumably sold second-hand.

"So key cards will start up on the console or system that it is slotted into, so it's not tied to an account or anything," Nintendo's Tetsuya Sasaki told GameSpot. Sasaki worked primarily on the Switch 2's system software environment.

A new report at PC Games Hardware has shown that you can flash the BIOS on a Radeon RX 9070 non-XT GPU with the BIOS for the Radeon RX 9070 XT to achieve higher boost clock speeds, raise the power limit, and boost performance. Of course, there are still some key hardware differences between the two cards - the Radeon RX 9070's GPU features 56 Compute Units compared to 64 in the Radeon RX 9070 XT.

By flashing the ASUS PRIME Radeon RX 9070 with the BIOS from the ASUS PRIME Radeon RX 9070 XT, the lower-tier RDNA 4 offers saw its boost clock speed increase from around 2.5 GHz to 3.1 GHz, with the power limit (TGP) increased to 317W from 220W. With that, the Radeon RX 9070 "XT" can outperform a Radeon RX 9070 XT with stock settings in various 3DMark benchmarks.

This is a pretty impressive bit of modding, as it boosts the performance of the non-XT RDNA 4 variant by around 15%. However, modding or changing the vBIOS will always be risky, and no official tool automates the process.

Chinese AI companies have reportedly placed orders for a hefty $16 billion worth of NVIDIA's new H20 AI GPUs, according to a new report from The Information.

In a world where US sanctions are meant to be stopping China from getting their hands on some of the most advanced AI chips made, Chinese tech companies like Baidu and TikTok parent company ByteDance, are speeding up their data center building and model training to keep up with the West.

This shouldn't come as a surprise at all, with recent stories -- in the links below -- had us reporting that NVIDIA could experience more Chinese GPU export restrictions from the Trump administration, as well as Chinese AI firm DeepSeek using 50,000 NVIDIA H100 AI GPUs, even with US restrictions in place. In 2024, we reported that the US government was asking NVIDIA how its advanced AI chips were getting into the hands of Chinese companies, which skirted US sanctions.

SK hynix is the leader in AI memory with its next-gen HBM4 and even next-gen-er HBM4E memory is being promised for later this year, with mass production of its new 12-layer HBM4 promised at the same time.

Choi Jun-yong, Vice President of the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) Business Planning at SK hynix, recently said: "We will further solidify our HBM leadership by not only mass producing (6th generation HBM) HBM4 12-layer this year, but also timely supplying (7th generation) HBM4E".

In an interview with VP Choi that day in the SK hynix newsroom, the executive said: "In parallel with the development of new HBM, we will provide optimal solutions to various customer needs through custom HBM that meets the specialized needs of customers".

Apple will launch the iPhone 17 later this year without many changes to the design, and while the new iPhone 17 Air will be an ultra-thin experience, from the front it shouldn't look any different... but the company has a major design overhaul teased for the iPhone 18.

In a new post by Bloomberg insider Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, we're learning that Apple is reportedly preparing a "major shake-up" for the iPhone and its huge 20-year anniversary in 2026. Gurman says that we can expect a foldable iPhone -- something that has been rumored as the iPhone Ultra recently, with more on that here -- but a "bold new Pro model" that makes more "extensive use of glass".

Apple's next-gen iPhone 18 Pro could be a single piece of glass, with its compute stick at the bottom, and cameras on the rear... something that has been rumored since the iPhone 8 in 2016.

WarnerBros. has mined gold with its adaptation of Mojang's voxel indie hit with over $300 million in opening box office sales.

It's official: The Minecraft movie is a mega hit. The film has had the best opening in the history of video game movie adaptations, beating out Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned a thunderous $204 million.

According to figures from The Hollywood Reporter, the Minecraft picture raked in $163 million in domestic sales, and $150 million globally, closing the weekend with $313 million earned total.

Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer once again mentions his excitement for handhelds, and drops a surprising factoid on Xbox's ever-growing cloud gaming business.

In a recent interview with iJustine, Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer briefly reiterated Microsoft's core game plan for interactive entertainment: Games everywhere, for everyone, at any time.

In the interview, Spencer said that it was the consumer that was at the center of the products and services, not the other way around. This means delivering content and services on devices that people already own--or maybe newer ones introduced in a nascent hardware market. ASUS and Microsoft have teamed up to make what's believed to be an Xbox-themed PC handheld, but the device hasn't been revealed yet. It will be a Windows 11 device and not an "Xbox handheld" that runs native Xbox console versions of games.

Microsoft has released a playable version of Quake II that was created entirely by its generative AI technology.

A bit ago, Microsoft announced Muse generative AI, technology that could create gameplay on-the-fly. Now the tech has been updated and is able to push 10 FPS thanks to training data from an old-school PC classic: Quake II.

Anyone can play an AI-generated, very janky and fever dream-like version of Quake II via Copilot Labs right in their browser. Be forewarned: There's a time limit, and there's not a lot of consistency. Don't expect this to be like an emulator.

The president of Nintendo of America has spoken to Wired about the recent sweeping trade tariffs implemented by President Trump and how they may affect the price of the newly announced Nintendo Switch 2.

Nintendo only recently wrapped up its close-up look at the Nintendo Switch 2, where it gave buyers many reasons to purchase the notable upgrade over the original Switch for a price of $449. However, only days after Nintendo set the price, Trump unveiled tariffs aimed at many countries that Nintendo sources its manufacturing/components for the Switch 2, causing Nintendo to postpone pre-orders for the new console as the company deliberates on how it wants to address the new situation.

Now, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has spoken to Wired admitting the tariffs "weren't factored into the pricing" of the Nintendo Switch 2, and that Nintendo is "actively assessing" the situation and how it will impact the market. Bowser added, "It creates a challenge. It's something we're going to have to address."

In an unconventional deployment of AI tools, a defendant in the New York Courts has attempted to use an artificial intelligence avatar to represent himself in a legal dispute.

The defendant in question, 74-year-old Jerome Dewald, appeared in the New York Supreme Court on March 26 regarding an employment matter. During the hearing, Dewald attempted to submit footage of an AI-generated avatar, which appeared in front of the judges and uttered a few words before being quickly shut down by the judge.

It's been a month since Battlefield Labs kicked off, implementing player-driven playtesting for every game aspect, including movement, combat systems, and new maps. The game has been no stranger to leaks, and most recently, data miners have uncovered traces of a free-to-play Battle Royale game mode that's expected to launch with Battlefield 6.

The first traces of a Battle Royale for Battlefield 6 were reported in February 2024, and it has since been confirmed that related files were identified in the a build of Battlefield Labs.

Per Insider Gaming, the new mode reportedly features solo, duo, trio, and squad matches. Along with conventional Battle Royale features such as armor systems, loot rarity, call-ins, and a shrinking zone. It's highlighted that the core experience will be made free-to-play, with an additional mode entitled Gauntlet referenced in the game files.

The success of the original Nintendo Switch wasn't just profitable for Nintendo, but created a whole new genre of gaming handhelds, with the original console moving as many as 150 million units throughout its 9-year life cycle. That success was undoubtedly closely watched by the company's direct competitors, Sony and Microsoft.

Rumors have been circulating for quite some time about a Microsoft handheld being in the works, but what about Sony? The PlayStation owner had the PlayStation Portable (PSP) series and the Vita, with the last time Sony released a handheld device in North America being 2014. Since then, Sony has been awfully quiet on any new handheld releases, with only rumors based on patents becoming public causing rumblings about a portable device being in the works.

However, it appears Sony is really looking into the handheld market once again, following the success of the original Switch, and the slew of other devices in its form factor that came after it (Steam Deck, ROG Ally, etc). Leaker eXtas1s has shared an image of Sony asking select PlayStation gamers their thoughts on the Nintendo Switch 2 with a new survey.

It's quite well known that one of the biggest problems Nintendo Switch users faced throughout the lengthy life of the console is the chance of Joy-Con controllers suffering from stick drift. Unfortunately, Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con's may suffer the same fate.

For those who don't know, stick drift causes the system to register movement when no user is touching the stick. This hardware problem can occur in any analog stick and can be caused by multiple things: wear and tear on the contact pads, dust or debris within the stick housing influencing the internal sensors, or a simple design flaw. As for Joy-Con stick drift, the problem became so prominent among users it resulted in Nintendo facing lawsuits and issuing an announcement for free worldwide repairs to those affected users.

Hall Effect sticks are far less prone to stick drift, and now a new report by Nintendo Life can confirm the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con's won't be using Hall Effect sticks, which may come as a big disappointment to some, especially those that have been affected by stick drift issues with the original Nintendo Switch. The confirmation comes from an interview with Nintendo of America's Nate Bihldorff, who outright said the Joy-Con 2's controllers aren't using Hall Effect sticks, but have been designed from the ground up.

NVIDIA is continuing to face a whole lot of flak over the problems its more recent graphics drivers have been causing.

Gamers Nexus is the latest to highlight driver instability issues with NVIDIA GPUs (VideoCardz brought word of the latest YouTube video from the channel, which you can see above).

To summarize, Gamers Nexus highlights a whole bunch of crashes, such as Marvel Rivals which saw the PC lock up (with a familiar black screen) after turning on frame generation. Other titles exhibited this behavior, too, when using what many PC gamers are now referring to as 'fake frames' of course.

Marvel Rivals' Season 2 update is on the way, and with it comes the Hellfire Gala featuring Emma Frost and the villainous Ultron. However, NetEase Games has bigger plans for the game's future rollout, planning to release a hero per month, and shaving the game's season length by a third.

Since its launch, Marvel Rivals has seen four 'Fantastic' additions to the roster, with Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing, and Johnny Storm joining the cast in February. The game currently has 37 playable heroes, and starting with Season 2 on April 11, that number will continue to grow with the addition of the X-Men Comics' Emma Frost and Avengers supervillain Ultron.

While the game's first and second seasons follow a three-month schedule, game director Guangyun Chen has highlighted NetEase's plans to speed up the content rollout, promising a new hero per month, and a two-month season rotation moving forward.

Schedule I, the drug dealing simulator released by TVGS (Tyler's Video Game Studio), has continued its explosion in popularity since its March 24 launch. Recently, it reached 459,075 active players on Steam, enough to make it one of the most successful solo developer projects of all time.

The game, developed by sole developer Tyler, quickly surpassed heavyweights like GTA V, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Marvel Rivals to become the #4 most played game on Steam - surpassed only by Counter Strike 2, Dota 2 and PUBG: Battlegrounds. The game spent over a week holding the #1 spot on "Trending Games," "Hot Releases," and "Popular Releases," and has gradually climbed in player counts until reaching its peak of 459,075 as of yesterday.

Aside from passing industry heavyweights, Schedule I has also cemented itself as one of the largest solo-developed projects of all time, nearly doubling Stardew Valley's peak player count of 236,000, and quickly surpassing famous solo projects like Lethal Company (241,000), Unturned (113,000), Balatro (44,000), and Undertale (11,000).

Apple has long maintained its prices for its various products, particularly its iPhones, but due to President Trump's recent tariffs on foreign countries, Apple could be forced to increase iPhone prices.

The fear of Apple having to increase its prices for its iPhone models has spread to consumers who have reportedly been flooding Apple stores in a flurry of "panic buying," according to Bloomberg reporter and Apple insider Mark Gurman.

Notably, Apple has been hanging onto the $999 price tag of its flagship iPhone model for quite some time, and with tariffs now threatening Apple's sources of production, the company may finally have to increase prices above that $999 mark, which could significantly impact sales of that model due to it breaking the longstanding psychological threshold that many consumers may not want to pass -- even if they are on payment plans for the device.

Kawasaki has unveiled a new futuristic robot called the CORLEO at the Osaka-Kansai Expo in Japan, with the new robot being designed to respond to the movements of its rider. Yes, a ridable robot.

The CORLEO should be thought of as similar to a robotic horse combined with a panther, as the company behind it explains its four legs are designed to navigate various terrains, similar to how a panther or wolf would agilely move across them. However, riders mount it like a horse. The idea behind the concept is to provide an alternative to all-terrain motorcycles, offering increased maneuverability and stability, particularly enabling access to difficult mountainous areas/regions.

The CORLEO is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and contains a 150cc engine. Its four legs operate autonomously, and the system is integrated with AI software designed to improve stability, balance, and navigation. CORLEO is designed to respond to the body movements of the rider, with the rider shifting their center of gravity to steer the robot in a direction. Moreover, CORLEO comes equipped with a heads-up display that provides the rider with data such as hydrogen levels, navigation details, weight distribution, etc.

Nintendo developers have confirmed an emulator was designed to run original Switch games on the newly announced Nintendo Switch 2.

Nintendo has finally unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 with a close-up look at the upcoming console during a recent Direct dedicated to the successor of the original Switch, and during the Direct, the Mario-makers revealed the upcoming console will be able to play original Switch games. But there's a catch. It won't play these games natively, as Nintendo developers have recently confirmed an emulator has been created to run these older titles on the Switch 2.

Nintendo developers explained that past consoles such as the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS, along with the Wii and Wii U, had similar enough hardware that backwards compatibility was easy enough strictly through hardware. However, the Switch 2 hardware isn't anything like the original Switch, meaning a workaround needed to be conceived.

NVIDIA's PhysX and Flow technologies are fully open-source. The source code for PhysX V5.6.0 and Flow V2.2.0 is now available via GitHub under the BSD-3 license. This is good news because the last time PhysX made headlines was back in February when it was reported that NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 Series no longer supports 32-bit CUDA applications.

This means 32-bit PhysX games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City (seen above), and Borderlands 2 run extremely poorly on GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs with PhysX enabled. As the name suggests, PhysX is all about simulating real-world physics using your GeForce GPU - with everything from body dynamics to deformable objects to fluid simulation and more. NVIDIA Flow is all about large-scale fluid simulation.

With the complete source code, developers and modders will not only be able to leverage GPUs and CUDA to implement, tinker, and experiment with real-time physics, but they could also use the code to mod or update older 32-bit PhysX games so that they can run on modern GeForce RTX 50 Series hardware via a 32-bit ti 64-bit compatibility layer.