Latest News - Page 348

As part of its big GeForce RTX 50 Series reveal earlier this year at CES 2025, NVIDIA showcased the impressive 'Zorah' tech demo that featured the latest Neural Rendering technologies. As expected, the demo focused on path or full ray tracing to present realistic and cinematic lighting and effects in real time. However, with AI-powered Neural Shaders and rendering techniques, new tech exponentially increases the detail in objects and environments.

In fact, in the video of the Zorah tech demo you see above, everything is ray-traced. And on top of this, new tech like RTX Neural Texture Compression compresses thousands of textures to save on VRAM requirements dramatically. RTX Neural Materials paves the way for realising materials like porcelain and silk. RTX Neural Radiance Cache uses AI to infer infinite bonuses when path tracing, dramatically improving performance.

Some of the new technology, like RTX Mega Geometry, can already be found in Alan Wake 2. It boosts performance by around 15% on GeForce RTX GPUs without sacrificing image quality. And now, if you've got a GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU, you can see all of this tech in action as NVIDIA has made the Zorah tech demo available.

Nintendo is an important partner for Xbox, and the Switch 2 represents yet another place for Microsoft to sell its once-exclusive games.

Releasing more Xbox games onto Nintendo's platforms is the plan for Microsoft. In fact, thanks to the Switch 2's new upgrades, that's the plan for almost everyone in the industry. The Switch 2's boosted horsepower means it can now run modern games, and it also means that the games that missed the Switch 1 due to its lower-end power can now release on the Switch 2. The platform is expected to help revivify the industry in this way.

It's no real surprise then when Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer talks up Nintendo as a partner, the Switch ecosystem, and how important the Switch is for the future of Xbox. While Minecraft is currently the most successful Xbox game on Switch, Microsoft certainly wants to bring more of its IPs, games and franchises to the platform, including the $31 billion Call of Duty series, which Microsoft is contractually obligated to bring to the Switch at some point.

Researchers have discovered new evidence for signs of life existing beyond our solar system thanks to the intense power of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the world's most powerful space telescope.

The discovery was detailed in a new paper published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters and penned by an international team of researchers led by University of Cambridge astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan. According to the paper, Webb scanned the atmosphere of the exoplanet known as K2-18b with its infrared instruments, and the data it gathered indicate the presence of the molecule dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which, as far as its existence on Earth, is only produced by living organisms.

Apple has been hit hard by President Trump's tariffs on China, as that is where the company manufactures most of its products. Now, reports indicate the iPhone 18, scheduled to launch next year, won't be the same price as the upcoming iPhone 17 - it will be more.

Apple is rumored to be adopting TSMC's 2nm manufacturing process for the A20 chip, according to Digital Chat Station, which is a claim that has been previously backed up by analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu. With the adoption of this new bleeding-edge chip will come a price hike at least on the production side, as the chip is much more expensive to manufacture than the current generation. The question is whether Apple is willing to eat into its profits or make consumers pick up the bill for the performance increase.

Moreover, there is President Trump's looming tariffs, which Apple could use as the "perfect" excuse to increase the price of its iPhone from the long-time-standing $999 price point. As for the tariffs, President Trump recently added Apple's iPhone to the list of products exempt from the tariffs, which includes phones, computers, and chips. However, these exemptions are temporary and could change over the coming weeks depending on how negotiations between the US and China go.

Nintendo has just wrapped up its Mario Kart World-focused Direct, and while the showcase did reveal some previously unseen features of the game, it still failed to answer one of the biggest questions about the upcoming title - what are players meant to do in the world?

Mario Kart World was first showcased during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, where we got a brief overview of the upcoming title and a showcase of how it was going to differentiate itself from previous games in the series. The big factor in World, besides the new maps and driving mechanics, is the ability to drive between races and explore the world in a free roam mode. That immediately begged the question: What are players actually doing when driving around the world, and why would they want to select this feature over just doing a normal race?

Well, Nintendo touched on the feature during the recent Mario Kart World Direct, where it unveiled that players exploring in free roam will come across what are called "P" switches, and when triggered, they will begin a brief mission that's intended to "hone" a player's driving ability outside of races. There are "hundreds" of these switches located across the map. In addition to the switches, there are also larger coins and "?" panels. Unfortunately, Nintendo didn't explain more than that, leaving some quite disappointed.

If you're excited about the Oblivion remake, well, that's so yesterday now - it's time to get excited about the Fallout 3 remaster instead.

Cast your mind back a long way, to two years ago, in fact, when there was that major leak during Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, from which the existence of the Oblivion and Fallout 3 remasters was revealed.

Well, the chatter around the Oblivion remake recently grew to deafening levels - it now seems all but officially confirmed, with leaked screenshots spilled from the developer - and following that, some fresh curiosity has been stoked around the Fallout 3 revamp.

Apple is said to be working on a couple of different AR headsets: a higher-end enterprise-focused headset in a successor to Vision Pro, and a cheaper and lighter version that is reportedly called Vision Air.

The new Apple Vision Air -- which is a name I totally dig, in line with the iPad AIr, MacBook Air, etc -- is a cheaper and lighter version of the Vision Pro, with an inferior chassis, A-series SoC instead of a higher-end M-series SoC, and other downsides. But, it'll play to an audience that is far wider than the $3500+ price of the Vision Pro.

In a new post on X by tiper @Kosutami_Ito, we're hearing that the new Vision lineup is "so thin" and that it features titanium to reduce weight, including the connectors and the battery. The leaker notes that this thinner and cheaper AR headset might not be called the Vision Pro, but rather the VIsion Air.

The United States and China are engaging in a tit-for-tat trade war, and currently, Chinese goods are facing a 145% additional fee when they enter the US, but the White House just confirmed that's not the total, as the tariff can reach up to 245%.

On Tuesday this week, the White House shared a fact sheet about the newly announced trade tariffs with the goal of clarifying some of the confusion around what goods are subject to tariffs and what aren't, especially after Trump announced an exemption on select Chinese goods. Officials who have spoken to The Register informed the publication that the stated 245% fee isn't an error, and was intentional. So, how did we get the 245%? It's a combination of already established tariffs and President Trump's reciprocal tariffs.

According to the White House fact sheet, fentanyl-justified tariffs and prior tariffs implemented under Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act, China faces a levy of 245%, which is essentially at an embargo level as it wouldn't be beneificial for a company to send its products to US due to it either having to raise prices of its goods to levels beyond what consumers are willing to pay, or eat into its own profit margins beyond what is financially sustainable.

Once again, the more hidden costs of the AI revolution are under the spotlight, and in this case, specifically it's the topic of how much simply being polite to ChatGPT might run to.

What's being talked about here is, for example, saying thank you to the chatbot, an extra 'query' that ChatGPT processes and responds to, and how much that actually costs in terms of the electricity used therein.

That question was posed by a denizen of X, Tomie, and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, actually responded to it directly as you can see above (hat tip to TechRadar for picking up on this).

Oblivion Remastered has captured the attention of many gamers around the world when screenshots of the title leaked online, revealing a stunning upgrade compared to the original title released in 2006.

However, some of those leaked screenshots were blackened, or darker than initially intended, as they were used for backdrops on a store page or a banner on the website. But thanks to Reddit user James IV4, they have been restored, showcasing a new level of beauty. The above and below screenshots have had their brightness levels increased, displaying details that were once hidden, and in some cases, it shows quite a severe difference. Probably the biggest difference in detail is the Dock at Night image, which reveals a previously unseen body of water.

As for when Oblivion Remastered will be available to play, neither Microsoft nor Bethesda has commented on the rumored project, but gaming industry insiders and even the official Xbox Support account on X have pointed to a release sometime during the week of April 21. Rumors have also stated the title will be shadow dropped, meaning it won't receive any marketing before it becomes available on various platforms such as Xbox and PC via Game Pass, and the PS5, given Xbox's long-held stance of bringing its titles to as many platforms as possible.

Acer has just expanded its Nitro gaming line with the new Nitro AI gaming laptops, featuring new slim models, and a new Nitro 20 desktop PC.

The new Acer Nitro A Igaming laptops are Copilot+ PCs featuring an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APU and NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 series Laptop GPUs, while the new Nitro 20 desktop uses AI processors alongside the GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card. Acer says it is "focusing on better energy efficiency with a smaller footprint" for its new Nitro 20 desktop PC.

Acer is introducing a new 18-inch Nitro AI gaming laptop as well as 3 new 16-inch models, with new slim models introduced for gaming and productivity on the go. All of the new Nitro AI gaming laptops feature up to an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 "Strix Point" APU, and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU.

Sony's upcoming PlayStation 6 portable is expected to be more powerful than an Xbox Series S, but less powerful than a standard PlayStation 5 console, and that's because of lower memory bandwidth in the PS6 portable according to new rumors.

In some new comments regarding the portable PlayStation 6, known leaker "Kepler_L2" posted on the NeoGAF forums saying that PS6 portable won't be as powerful as the current base-level PS5 system, and that it will run regular PS5 games but not at the same resolution and frame rate as the PS5 due to lower memory bandwidth (which is understandable, given it's a portable handheld).

The leaker said that the portable PlayStation 6 SoC will be a different chip than the one inside of the regular PS6 console, but it has been designed to run at really low voltages. We are looking at a lot less than 40 Compute Units, and with performance coming in slower than the standard PS5 -- which has 36 CUs -- we should expect 28-32 CUs inside of the PS6 portable.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can now stream games that they have purchased directly to their Xbox consoles.

Cloud gaming isn't here just yet, but Microsoft is trying to help it along with Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly Project xCloud). Microsoft continues its cloud investment with a major new feature that's very cross-ecosystem friendly.

The selection of games that you can stream on Xbox Cloud Gaming has been limited--Microsoft does have to pay for those game licenses. But now Microsoft is expanding this selection of games to include (some) titles that you have purchased, which adds value to the entitlements that Xbox users are able to buy (when you buy a game, you don't own the game data itself, but an "entitlement" or "license" to access and play that game data).

FromSoftware releases another trailer for Elden Ring: Nightreign's list of classes, and this time the Raider is spotlighted.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is a 3-player, online co-op standalone spin-off that emphasizes teamwork and ingenuity. We've already seen the other five Nightreign classes--Wylder, Guardian, Duchess, Iron Eye, and Recluse--and now there's a sixth class, the fearsome raider.

The Raider class doesn't have any info on Bandai Namco's official Nightreign class sheet, but we were able to glean some details from the footage. The Raider's special attack looks incredibly useful because it combines a form of crowd control and evasion in one.

Ubisoft is developing a new battle royale game that takes direct inspiration from Respawn's Apex Legends, sources have told Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson.

Ubisoft could be making another battle royale game--codenamed Scout, this new shooter is the latest in a long series of experimental projects. The new battle royale is reportedly based on Respawn's billion-dollar battle royale game Apex Legends, complete with Ubisoft's own takes on distinct Apex characters like Pathfinder, Wraith and Lifeline.

Scout is believed to have been in development for multiple years, but Ubisoft's current finance situation could see the game cancelled and written down.

Sony continues raising the prices of its products and services in response to a uncertain global economic landscape.

The games industry continues to respond to worldwide market volatility in the most direct way possible: Increasing prices.

Just days ago, Sony recently increased the MSRP of its PlayStation 5 consoles in major regions including Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Now Sony is doing the same for the PlayStation Plus subscription service across various regions.

Microsoft just revealed a trio of new spins on Xbox accessories, including a pair of Xbox controllers with a Doom: The Dark Ages theme.

Neowin noticed Microsoft showing off these new goodies on YouTube, and you can check out the controllers in all their gory glory in the above clip.

There's an Xbox Wireless Controller splattered appropriately with blood and decked out with Doom runes, as well as an Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 model. The former is a nifty mix of marine green and silver, and the latter goes darker, with a black and red color scheme, and a prominent 'Mark of the Slayer' right in the middle.

Zotac has revealed an RTX 5060 graphics card that'll be perfect for small PCs, and as you might imagine it's a very compact effort.

So much so that it features just a single fan, hence the name which is the Zotac Gaming RTX 5060 Solo - the 'Solo' referring to the presence of just one fan.

The board is very short as a result, but not short on performance, Zotac promises in a press release (via VideoCardz), and it should fit nicely in a small-form factor PC case (with an ITX motherboard).

Gamers are patiently awaiting official confirmation from Xbox or Bethesda about the recently leaked Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered after screenshots of the title leaked online, and now we have the closest thing to an official word on the title.

An X user has asked the official Xbox Support account if the Oblivion Remastered will be launching on cloud gaming, which prompted a response that states, "Yes, the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered will be available for cloud gaming." The official Xbox Support account didn't stop there as it went on to say the title is set to be released on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and will have access through Xbox Game Pass.

While those last points aren't particularly surprising considering Microsoft owns Bethesda, what was surprising is when the account was asked when the game will be "available to play". The account responded, "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is set to release on April 21, 2025." In a follow-up message, it wrote, "It is confirmed to be a day-one launch title on Xbox Game Pass, which strongly suggests that it will be available for cloud gaming through Xbox Cloud Gaming."

Following President Trump's tariffs that were introduced a day after Nintendo's Switch 2-dedicated Direct, Nintendo paused preorders on its new console over the tariffs potentially having an impact on Switch 2 pricing.

With preorders now paused, Nintendo fans are eagerly awaiting a new date for when preorders for the upcoming console, and according to a new leak from Dealabs Magazine reporter Billbil-kun, Nintendo is eyeing April 23 as the new preorder date in Canada for both the Switch 2 standard and bundle. Notably, the reporter warns the date is subject to change, meaning it isn't set in stone.

The illustrate how that date isn't set in stone more dates have been sourced from US retailers, which have pointed to both April 21 and April 30, with preorders for Nintendo Switch 2 accessories opening up on April 30. However, Billbil-kun has had a substantially healthy track record for video game leaks, making his claim hold much more weight than the latter two dates.