Latest News - Page 307

With the Nintendo Switch 2 launching with 256GB of internal storage, which will also be notably faster than the 32GB found in the original non-OLED edition, many have been wondering if it will be enough to store a bunch of games on day one, delaying the need to rush out and buy a pricey microSD Express card with 512GB or 1TB of expanded storage.

With the Japanese My Nintendo Store now listing Switch 2 games, it's also listing each game's installation size. The good news is that first-party Nintendo games look pretty conservative in their storage requirements, with Mario Kart World being the biggest launch-window game from Nintendo. Its 23.4GB size would only take up roughly 10% of the 256GB available - not counting system files.

Donkey Kong Bananza, the latest game from the talented Super Mario Odyssey team, weighs in at only 10GG - half the size of the flagship Mario Kart World. Nintendo's My Nintendo Store lists the storage requirements for a couple of enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles and the classic GameCube games pack for Nintendo Switch Online.

According to a new post at Board Channels (via Videocardz), the upcoming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti will follow 'the same pricing strategy' as the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti launch. A card that debuted with a $399 MSRP for the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB model and then $499 for the 16GB version that dropped weeks later. Several leaks point to the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti launching with both models on day one - which means 'the same pricing strategy' would make the 16GB version more expensive. $100 more.

Many assumptions and several grains of salt need to be considered regarding these pricing rumors for the upcoming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, a card reportedly launching on April 15. In addition to shortages and demand pushing new and older GPU prices up to the point where MSRP can feel meaningless, there's also the looming chaos on the way with new tariffs being imposed on imports by the Trump administration.

Companies like NVIDIA and AMD also disclose pricing at the last minute to avoid leaks, and based on the current climate, we expect pricing to come at the very last minute for the GeForce RTX 5060 and Radeon RX 9060 Series.

Bungie, the developers of Halo and the Destiny franchise, have confirmed that it will be unveiling its next big game this week. It's a team-based extraction shooter called Marathon.

The developer and publisher of the esteemed Halo and Destiny franchises released a Save the Date trailer for Marathon, which showcases a vibrant artistic visual design through a remote alien planet. According to the game's Steam listing, players will become a Runner in this upcoming sci-fi PvP extraction shooter that also has a mix of PvE.

Keeping to the Steam listing, the description for the title states a massive ghost ship is hovering in low orbit over a lost colony on the planet Tau Ceti IV, where 30,000 souls have mysteriously gone missing without a trace.

The new GAMEMAX Leader 2 mid-tower PC chassis is designed for gamers. It supports up to 425mm-long GPUs and the latest back-connector motherboards, and it's built for PC gaming in 2025. During the company's recent 'Roar to the Future' event, we saw its new lion-themed logo and a breakdown of its focus on creating sleek and advanced PC gear.

Aesthetically, the GAMEMAX Leader 2 mid-tower PC chassis, available in black or white, adopts the company's new lion-them by turning the mesh on the front panel into a subtle claw mark. Affordably priced at $99.99 for the black version and $104.99 for the white, the GAMEMAX Leader 2 features ample room and versatility to showcase or house a wide range of builds.

Plus, it's stacked with features. It ships with four pre-installed 140mm ARGB/PWM fans, and an ARGB/PWM controller (three on the front, one on the rear), and the case can support up to 9 x 120mm or 8 x 140mm fans for exceptional airflow. In addition to being able to house an overclocked GeForce RTX 5080 or Radeon RX 9070 XT, there's also support for up to a 420mm radiator for extreme CPU cooling potential.

When choosing memory for a new build, especially for content creation or gaming, you'll probably need to sacrifice some capacity if you're after pure speed. Unless you pick up G.SKILL's 128 GB high-capacity OC memory kits (2 x 64GB) that offer DDR5-8000 speeds with CL44-58-58 timing. G.SKILL is calling it the world's first large-capacity overclocked memory kit that can hit this level of performance.

"This is the world's first DDR5 memory kit with 64GB high-capacity modules to reach the extreme overclock level of DDR5-8000, setting a new milestone for high-performance computing, content creation, AI applications, and advanced workstation workloads," G.SKILL writes in the press release.

Previously, this speed and OC potential level were only available in 96GB memory kits with two 48GB modules. To showcase the milestone, G.SKILL has presented the validation you see above, with the DDR5-8000 CL44-58-58 128GB (64GBx2) memory kit paired with an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X processor and ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X870E APEX motherboard.

The Switch 2 could have cost as low as $350 if it weren't for U.S. tariffs, two analysts have said.

Nintendo recently made an unprecedented decision to delay the pre-orders of its new video games machine in the United States. Nintendo says that Switch 2 pre-orders were pushed back because of tariff concerns. It's assumed that Nintendo will raise the price of the Switch 2 commensurate with the potential impact of tariffs on hardware profit margins, meaning the Switch 2 could end up costing more than its $450 launch price.

Analysts have said the Switch 2's high $450 price tag was influenced by uncertain economic risk and disruption that the Trump Administration's tariffs could inflict on Nintendo's business, which relies on a carefully-controlled global trade network. If it weren't for tariffs, the Switch 2 could have been $100 cheaper than its announced price.

Although FromSoftware's next two games emphasize multiplayer, Hidetaka Miyazaki wants you to know that the team hasn't given up on singleplayer games.

Elden Ring: Nightreign and the newly announced Switch 2 exclusive Duskbloods might be different in scope--Nightreign is a 3-player PVE-only game and Duskbloods is PvPvE for maximum chaos--but they share something big in common: Multiplayer. Online modes give devs opportunities to sell content, microtransactions, and even platform-level subscriptions like Switch Online and PlayStation Plus/Xbox Game Pass, all of which are needed to play these games.

FromSoftware isn't about to go all-in on live service games, though. In a recent Nintendo Creator's Voice article, director Hidetaka Miyazaki confirms that more singleplayer-focused games are on the way.

You may have had your hopes raised by the recent rumor that the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remake might just land this week - well, yesterday, and clearly it didn't - but don't give up on the game's supposedly imminent arrival just yet.

Another leaker on X, Nate the Hate, was questioned about the non-release of the Oblivion remake and clarified that they "never claimed it would release this week," to which a follow-up question was asked about whether they still believed it would be out in April.

As you can see in the above post (which Wccftech highlighted), the reply to that was yes, it will be, at least as things stand (which does still leave a little room for doubt, admittedly).

ASUS has increased the headroom available for juicing up its top-end RTX 5080 graphics card, and by a large amount of wattage, although there are very much diminishing returns in terms of overclocking potential when it comes to flooding the GPU with power like this.

The board in question is the ROG Astral RTX 5080, and a new BIOS from ASUS has upped the ceiling for the TGP to 450W. Previously, it was 400W, so this is a jump of 12.5%, as highlighted by Tech Powerup (via VideoCardz).

However, if you're expecting to get 10% faster frame rates by pushing the power limit of the ROG Astral to 450W, then don't be under any illusions - that's not going to happen.

Nintendo has clarified that Switch 2 pre-orders will not begin on April 9 as planned.

Switch 2 pre-orders have been delayed as Nintendo weighs the impact of international trade tariffs.

"Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged," Nintendo said in a new statement to Gamespot.

The new GeForce RTX 50 Series and Radeon RX 9070 Series graphics cards are hard to find, and when they are available, they sell out at inflated prices; the current GPU market for PC gaming is pretty dire in the U.S. With limited availability of brand-new models, increased pricing, and the whole tariff fiasco, the chaos extends to older GPUs too.

We could detail issues and delays surrounding the GeForce RTX 50 Series launch and discuss reports indicating that NVIDIA chose to halt the GeForce RTX 40 Series last year as the entire RTX Blackwell line-up was on track for a Q1 2025 launch. However, all you need to know about the current state of PC gaming GPUs can be found in Newegg's best-selling GPU list.

The MSI Ventus GeForce RTX 4060 2X is in the top spot with a price point of $459.98, a 53% increase over the MSRP. To make matters worse, the $460 price is presented as a discount, 9% off the $507 price. A GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 EAGLE model is also available for $454.98.

Ahead of the big Nintendo Switch 2 reveal, many hoped the company would equip it with an OLED display or at least offer a premium version with OLED technology. For those who have experienced gaming on an original Switch, Steam Deck, or PC with an OLED display, you'll understand why there's hype for a Switch 2 OLED; it's one of those "one you try it" pieces of technology that's hard to come back from.

That said, there is good news - the Nintendo Switch's 7.9-inch 1080p LCD is an impressive display. With an IPS panel that will deliver excellent color and clarity, HDR10 support for a wide color gamut, and VRR up to 120 Hz, it's a massive leap forward for Nintendo. Even better, the HDR and VRR are handled by NVIDIA G-SYNC, which is widely considered the gold standard for variable refresh-rate technology.

As part of NVIDIA's post about the NVIDIA GPU and technologies inside the Switch 2, it makes special mention of NVIDIA G-SYNC and HDR, which leads us to believe that the Switch 2's display will include a dedicated G-SYNC chip.

Kingston will soon be joining the Gen5 SSD market with the introduction of its new Fury Renegade G5 SSD that will feature up to 14.8GB/sec reads and up to 4TB capacity.

In a new post from VideoCardz, we're learning that the new Kingston Fury Renegade G5 Gen5 SSDs will feature up to 14.8GB/sec (14,800MB/sec) reads and up to 14GB/sec (14,000MB/sec) writes, with up to 2,200,000 IOPS performance. There will be no 512GB variant, with Kingston only releasing a 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB G5 SSD... no 8TB option in sight unfortunately.

Inside, Kingston's new Fury Renegade G5 SSDs are using the Silicon Motion SM2508 controller, which is based on a 6nm chip and uses 3D TLC NAND technology.

Why is the Nintendo Switch $450? In short: Nintendo is charging you extra because of risks, principally from tariffs.

The Switch 2 will release on June 5 for $450, complete with the first-ever $80 Switch game. Fans are still dealing with sticker shock and are demanding Nintendo lower the price, but that's not likely to happen. The Switch 2's high MSRP is Nintendo's way of trying to navigate an unprecedented global market while protecting its hardware profit margins in the process.

IGN spoke to a group of industry specialists and analysts, asking why the Switch 2 costs so much. The consensus is Nintendo is responding to the uncertain effect of tariffs with the only thing it can really control: Price.

SK hynix has started its HBM expansion project, with its "M10F" semiconductor fab re-purposing now in operation, meaning it can make more HBM memory chips for the AI industry later this year.

In a new report from ETnews, we're learning that SK hynix has completed the re-purposing of its semiconductor fab known as "M10F" located in Icheon, South Korea. This semiconductor fab has had its existing DRAM packaging lines converted to an HBM packaging line.

An industry insider said: "They introduced and replaced some packaging equipment and modified the required materials to suit the new packing specifications. They obtained the necessary permits from the local fire department at the end of last month and have commenced mass production".

We all thought it would be the release of Rockstar's beyond-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 that would see game prices upwards of $100, but it is Nintendo with the price of its just-announced Mario Kart World for its next-gen Switch 2 that could do it.

Nintendo provided some more details for Mario Kart World, exclusive to its new Switch 2 gaming handheld and priced at $80 for the digital version, and a huge $90 for the physical version of the game. Now that the world has swallowed that $90 tiny little physical copy of the game, the world of not just $100 but even more, has opened up for Rockstar and GTA 6.

It was only a month ago that Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter discussed GTA 6 and its rumored $100 pricing, where he said: "We think the company has plans to sell the game at a previously unheard of price point, and suspect that management can offer consumers an incentive to pay $100 or more per unit by rewarding them with a large amount of in-game currency to be spent in GTA Online".

"With 1,000 engineer-years of effort across every element - from system and chip design to a custom GPU, application programming interfaces (APIs), and world-class development tools - the Nintendo Switch 2 brings major upgrades," NVIDIA's Muni Anda writes in a new blog post about the new console.

The Nintendo Switch 2 features a custom NVIDIA GPU that includes RT Cores and Tensor Cores, as seen in its GeForce RTX range. The original Nintendo Switch hardware was based on older NVIDIA architecture from before the RT and AI era of gaming, so the Switch 2 will benefit significantly from DLSS AI upscaling - and it is probably the main reason a game like Metroid Prime 4 can run at a smooth 4K 60 FPS when docked.

When comparing the CPU and GPU inside the Switch 2 to the original, NVIDIA says it offers "10X the graphics performance," extending to the development side with "better physics and optimized APIs for faster, more efficient game creation."

Although full specs on the chip and its capabilities have yet to be confirmed, NVIDIA has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch 2 includes an NVIDIA GPU with "RT Cores and Tensor Cores" to support AI enhancements like DLSS and real-time ray-tracing. Nintendo's official technical specs for the new console simply list a "Custom processor made by NVIDIA" for the CPU and GPU.

Either way, it's a massive improvement over the original switch, which included a custom NVIDIA Tegra X1 chip based on the pre-GeForce RTX 'Maxwell' architecture - a chip also used in NVIDIA's Shield devices. With RT Cores and Tensor Cores (the exact CUDA Core counts and clock speeds are still TBC), the Switch 2's GPU architecture, according to leaks, is based on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture from the GeForce RTX 30 Series.

"The new RT Cores bring real-time ray tracing, delivering lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows for more immersive worlds," Muni Anda, Vice President of Software Engineering at NVIDIA, writes. "Tensor Cores power AI-driven features like Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), boosting resolution for sharper details without sacrificing image quality."

Vietnamese shop Nguyencongpc have been building custom AI servers based on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards, with 7 x RTX 5090 cards used with 28 power cables in total, and 4000W of power consumption for the custom AI servers.

If you thought cryptocurrency mining back a few years ago caused issues with GPU shortages, it seems we have to fear custom AI servers using consumer-focused GeForce RTX 50 series gaming GPUs creating shortages for PC gamers. At the time, NVIDIA gimped crypto mining performance, but crypto miners continued to find ways around that.

However, NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card ships with a huge 32GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory, with large pools of memory favored by AI workloads, so a Vietnamese shop has used 7 of them in a custom AI server for various AI workloads, and 7 x 32GB of RAM is a big deal for AI users.

Intel and TSMC have reportedly reached a preliminary agreement for a chipmaking joint venture, where TSMC will run Intel's expanding US-based semiconductor fabs.

In a new report from The Information, we're learning that executives from Intel and TSMC reached a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture that would see TSMC running Intel's manufacturing plants. Intel and other US chipmakers will hold the majority of stock in the joint venture, which includes at least some of Intel's factories. TSMC will reportedly take a 20% stake in the new company, with both Intel and TSMC declining to comment.

It was only last month in March 2025 that we were hearing reports that TSMC had reached a joint venture foundry idea with US chip designers including NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, and Qualcomm.