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ASUS reveal its amazing 49-inch 144Hz super-ultrawide PG49WCD gaming monitor
If you thought ultra-wides were big, your socks will be blown off by ASUS's brand new ROG Swift PG49WCD OLED gaming monitor.
ASUS is gearing up to announce a bunch of new products at Computex 2023, and we were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the company's upcoming PG49WCD: an OLED super-ultrawide display that measures an eye-watering 49 inches of high-definition doom.
ASUS has packed an impressive set of specs inside the PG49WCD, featuring a resolution of 5120x1440, an 1800R curve for intense immersive gaming, and a custom heatsink with a graphene rear panel that assists in lowering the operating temperatures, reducing the risk of burn-in.
ASUS's world's first 38-inch 4K 144Hz gaming monitor spotted at Computex 2023
World Exclusive - ASUS is a day away from unveiling the first of its kind 38-inch 4K gaming display, with the company expected to unveil the product fully at Computex 2023 tomorrow.
Introducing the ROG Swift PG38UQ, the world's first 38-inch 4K gaming monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate, Adaptive-Sync technology, ASUS's IPS technology that enables a 1ms response time, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, NVIDIA G-Sync to reduce screen tearing, and Display HDR 600. Notably, the coming monitor features improved connectivity with DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, USB Hub and a tripod socket located on the top of the monitor.
ASUS is no stranger to the gaming monitor market, as the company is renowned for producing some of the highest end displays that gamers can get their hands-on. As Computex 2023 continues, we expect to learn more about what ASUS has to offer gamers in terms of slick monitors. As for the PG38UQ, currently there is no word on a release date or price, but we can assume that it will be sometime within the next year.
Sony's Jim Ryan is confident the PS5 can sell at least 108 million units
Sony executive management is confident the PlayStation 5 will exceed at least 108 million units in its lifetime.
In a recent games business briefing, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said that he strongly believes that the PS5 family of hardware will break 108 million sales worldwide across its life cycle. This would put the PS5 just below the PS4's 117.2 million shipments, but above the PS1's 102.4 million lifetime shipments.
"Yes, I would anticipate that over the life of the PlayStation 5, that we should be able to exceed a figure of 70 million on top of the 38 million [we have achieved]," Ryan said in the Q&A section of the meeting's webcast.
PC gaming is not yet substantial for PlayStation, but it's growing fast
Sony's PC gaming initiative is growing exponentially, but also missed internal targets by $50 million and has yet to become a significant contributor to overall revenues.
A new business briefing from Sony Interactive Entertainment gives a better perspective of its PC gaming presence. The company has released new figures of its PC games business that illustrates growth in the sector, but also shows just how relatively small PC gaming currently is for Sony.
According to the data, Sony made $250 million from PC gaming in FY22, which is $50 million below expectations. This figure allows us to weigh PC gaming revenues against Other segment earnings to see a proportional share of this new platform.
Bungie acquisition helped Sony become one of the top 20 publishers on PC
Sony's acquisition of Bungie seems to be paying off big time, and has dramatically increased PlayStation's presence in PC gaming.
Sony's strategic $3.7 billion buyout of Bungie looks to be one of the company's most beneficial games acquisitions since the purchase of Insomniac Games in 2019. Not only has Sony conscribed Bungie to help vet its first-party live service titles with a "rigorous review process," which has unfortunately led to the delay and possible cancellation of some titles, but the Bungie buyout allows Sony to instantly recognize Destiny 2's hefty revenues on PC.
As a result, Sony Interactive Entertainment is now recognized as one of the top video games publishers "on a popular PC game store." In a recent business briefing, PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst had some interesting things to say about the company's new PC expansion.
Spider-Man 2 hype is explosive, gameplay trailer has more views than PS showcase
Hype for Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 is off the charts and could end up being Sony's best-selling first-party game of 2023.
Sony's latest PlayStation Showcase event had mixed reception, with a portion of gamers being confused by the new first-party PlayStation live service games and others having a muted response to the overall tone of the show itself. But there's one thing that everyone seems to agree on: The new Spider-Man 2 game is an instant fan-favorite.
Sony saved the official gameplay reveal of Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 for the end of the show for good reason, and it really felt like the ace up their sleeve. Gamers had high and lofty expectations for the PlayStation showcase that were mostly too good to be true, as is usually the case for these summer-timed events, but the new Spider-Man 2 footage was met with near-unanimous praise.
Assassin's Creed Mirage is $50 and includes a free PS5 upgrade
Ubisoft has lowered the price of its next Assassin's Creed game below the current $70 MSRP for new titles.
Assassin's Creed Mirage will cost $50 on all platforms, well below the current $70 price tag for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S games. Ubisoft is also continuing its cross-gen free upgrades with Mirage, and the $50 version is cross-gen. That means it will include both a last-gen copy of the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One alongside entitlements to download a current-gen upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
This is welcome news for consumers who feel pressure from the new $70 baseline price for new games. Based on our findings, a portion of gamers feel that $70 too much money for AAA titles, and Sony sales data suggests that consumers are indeed buying less games, possibly due to higher costs.
Continue reading: Assassin's Creed Mirage is $50 and includes a free PS5 upgrade (full post)
Konami's redemption arc continues with a one-two Metal Gear Solid punch combo
Following years of controversy, Konami is back in the public eye for all the right reasons. The publisher has made a big comeback with revivals of its classic franchises, and now Metal Gear Solid is making a triumphant return.
The rumors were right: Konami is officially remaking Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The new game is actually called Metal Gear Solid Delta, and here's how Konami explains the name change: "The Delta symbol (Δ) was chosen because its meaning fits the concept of the remake project. Delta means "change" or "difference" without changing structure."
The remake is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam, and promises to revivify the 2004 classic with immensely upgraded visuals and features while preserving the key story beats, mechanics, and voice talent. That means David Hayter should be coming back to reprise Snake.
Opinion: Some of Microsoft's merger appeal arguments aren't very strong
Microsoft has filed an appeal with the Competition Appeals Tribunal that argues why the CMA's merger block decision should be overturned, but some of these points aren't very strong or compelling.
Note: This is an opinion piece that builds an argument based on market trends and video games industry data.
In a new appeal filing, Microsoft legal counsel has listed five key reasons why the CMA was wrong to prohibit its $68.7 billion merger with Activision Blizzard King. The UK's Competition Appeals Tribunal, who oversees appeals in competition cases, has published an application summary that outlines Microsoft's appeals arguments. While a portion of these could be sound, including assertions that the CMA made "fundamental errors" in determining Microsoft's cloud gaming market share, some of the arguments just don't have much weight behind them.
Microsoft says the CMA was wrong to block the merger for these five reasons
Microsoft has filed an appeal asking UK appeal courts to overturn the Competition and Markets Authority's decision to block the Microsoft-Activision merger.
As promised, Microsoft has recently filed an appeal with the Competition Appeals Tribunal in an attempt to thwart the CMA's merger block. Microsoft's legal counsel has listed five reasons why the block was unjustified, but one that may carry the most weight is that the CMA "made fundamental errors in its assessment" of Xbox's current place in the cloud gaming segment. The CMA had found that Xbox's xCloud game streaming had 60% of cloud gaming MAUs in 2022, a number that has been contested.
Microsoft lists other grounds to challenge the decision, including the fact that the CMA "failed to take proper account" of its 10-year licensing deals with cloud game service competitors like NVIDIA's GeForce Now and Boosteroid, both of which will receive free access to Activision-Blizzard games if the merger goes through. It's also worth mentioning that these deals pose no real threat to Microsoft due to the business models associated with GeForce Now and Boosteroid, and the deals are probably something that the company had always planned to do.
Pokemon franchise has sold over 480 million games to date
The Pokemon Company has updated sales figures for the famous Pocket Monsters franchise, and the numbers are eye-opening to say the least.
Newly updated figures show the Pokemon series is fast approaching 500 million shipments and sales. From the first game in 1996 to the present day, Pokemon has now shipped over 480 million games worldwide across all platforms in the last 27 years. The update shows that the Pokemon series is up 40 million copies over last year, with March 2022's cumulative total at 440 million franchise shipments.
Data indicates that Pokemon is the third best-selling video game series of all time behind Tetris (495 million) and Mario (over 776 million). The rise in sales was driven by the incredible over-performance of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on Nintendo Switch, which has sold 22.1 million copies from November 2022 - March 2023, alongside catalog sales of previous games.
Continue reading: Pokemon franchise has sold over 480 million games to date (full post)
PlayStation Project Q handheld reportedly has 3-4 hour battery life
Sony's new PlayStation handheld will reportedly have about 3-4 hours of battery life on a full charge.
PlayStation is getting a new handheld, but it won't be a Vita successor or a Switch competitor. It doesn't even stream games via the cloud similar to the Logitech G Cloud. The new PlayStation device, codenamed Project Q, exclusively supports Remote Play functionality over Wi-Fi and is basically two halves of a DualSense controller split between an 8-inch HD screen.
Sony Interactive Entertainment's Jim Ryan confirmed Project Q would play games in HD quality and it appears the device is capable of playing PlayStation 5 games at 1080p 60FPS handheld gaming via Remote Play over Wi-Fi. There's just two things we don't know for sure: Battery life and price. Sources have told Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson that Project Q's battery life is around 3-4 hours, which is in line with the Nintendo Switch.
Continue reading: PlayStation Project Q handheld reportedly has 3-4 hour battery life (full post)
Last of Us multiplayer live game officially delayed, project team reduced
Naughty Dog has officially delayed its Last of Us live service multiplayer game following reports of downsizing at the project's development team.
Sony revealed three first-party live service games at its recent PlayStation showcase, but Naughty Dog's anticipated Last of Us multiplayer game was noticeably missing. Now we know why: The game simply isn't ready. Today Naughty Dog has announced that the TLOU live service title has been delayed, and also re-confirmed that a new singleplayer game is in development in parallel with the multiplayer project.
The delay comes after downsizing occurred at the team handling the Last of Us live game. Sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier that the live team has been scaled back following an evaluation of the game. Schreier notes that the project has currently been in development for at least four years now.
Grand Theft Auto franchise revenues break $8.33 billion since GTA V's release
Rockstar Games' mega-hit Grand Theft Auto franchise has now generated over $8.33 billion since GTA V's launch in 2013, new figures from Take-Two Interactive indicate.
Take-Two just published its 10-K SEC filing that gives a complete picture of its Fiscal Year 2023 results, and in those reports we have updated metrics for Grand Theft Auto franchise revenues. According to the data, GTA products made up 14.6% of the company's total net revenues of $5.349 billion during FY23, which amounts to about $781 million.
The results push total Grand Theft Auto franchise earnings in excess of $8.33 billion from GTA V's launch in Q3 FY14 (September 2013), and includes earnings from multiple console and PC iterations of GTA V, sales of the newer Grand Theft Auto trilogy remaster collection, and revenues made from Grand Theft Auto Online's in-game purchases.
PSA: Zelda TotK's dupe glitch fixed by new v1.1.2 update
Nintendo has released a new software update for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that fixes one of the most widely-abused glitches in the game.
If you're currently playing Tears of the Kingdom and very much enjoy your treasure trove of ill-gotten diamonds, zonaite charges, and anything else you decided to exploit, then you may want to avoid updating your game.
The latest TotK software update version 1.1.2 is said to fix the popular duplication glitch. Yes, the very glitch that has been used to accrue thousands of rupees and scarce resources appears to have been cut and patched out. TotK is notorious for its myriad of collectibles that have infinitesimal creative uses, and the glitch was pretty much the equivalent of GTA 3 cheat codes from back in the day.
Continue reading: PSA: Zelda TotK's dupe glitch fixed by new v1.1.2 update (full post)
iOS 16.5 has iPhone owners up in arms, but post-update battery blues are normal
Apple iPhone owners who have just updated to iOS 16.5 are in some instances finding their battery life has been severely hampered, and charging times are reportedly affected too.
Macworld was quick to spot the complaints, of which there are quite a few, hitting various online forums and social media platforms.
The tech site also flagged up the Apple Support account responding on Twitter, as you can see in the above tweet, noting that it's 'normal' for an update to cause your apps and phone to go through a period of adjustment - and it might take 48 hours to return to normality.
ASRock's new BIOS for RX 7900 XTX AQUA makes this graphics card much faster
ASRock has unleashed a new BIOS for its liquid-cooled RX 7900 XTX that seriously ups the boost clock - with caveats.
The new 'OC Extreme' BIOS release for the RX 7900 XTX AQUA juices up the boost clock from the previous 2680MHz to a whopping 2935MHz. That represents a 255MHz increase, no less, as VideoCardz reports.
ASRock notes that it has applied 'better settings' with the BIOS, presumably a whole bunch of fine-tuning, in order to come close to that 3GHz boost speed with this 7900 XTX GPU.
Windows 11's next big update - Moment 3 - is now out, but don't get too excited
Windows 11's next feature update - Moment 3 - has arrived as an optional upgrade.
In other words, the cumulative update KB5026446 (which is build 22621.1778 for Windows 11 22H2) is still in testing, but you can install the preview if you want to get all those goodies in terms of fresh features.
The more cautious will likely want to wait, though, until next month, when the full release version of Moment 3 will be deployed (on June 13).
GIVEAWAY: Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5, Viper Venom DDR5, and VP4300 2TB SSD
Global entry! We have teamed up with Patriot to give away some of its awesome new products this week. In total, there will be three winners who each have the opportunity of taking home one of the below three products.
"The Viper Xtreme 5 is designed to operate at higher speeds with lower voltages without generating as much heat. This lower power consumption is possible due to the integrated high-quality PMIC which creates more room for overclocking without exceeding safe voltages and temperature limits. (Overclocking requires more power, so a high-quality power supply with adequate wattage and stability can help ensure stable and reliable overclocking.)"
"The Viper Venom DDR5 was created with the desire to deliver premier speeds to blow the competition away. Built with Viper's groundbreaking technology, the Viper Venom DDR5 can far surpass the limits of DDR4 modules to deliver twice the speed and bandwidth. With Viper's innovative onboard power and thermal management technology, this module features efficient operation and lower power consumption for longer module lifespans.
TEAMGROUP is bringing memory, cooling, and high-speed Gen5 SSDs to Computex 2023
TEAMGROUP is headed to Computex 2023, and under its "Dazzle, Chill, Integrate" banner, the company is set to showcase several new products ranging from new high-speed memory kits, a funky new RGB-lit AIO cooler, and even PCIe Gen5 M.2 SSD storage with active cooling that can hit sequential read and write speeds of over 12,000MB/s and 11,000MB/s.
The T-FORCE DARK AirFlow Cooler Series, Gen5 M.2 PCIe SSD in particular, looks impressive and is the flagship Gen5 SSD from TEAMGROUP. The company notes that it has designed the heatsink specifically for the drive, which includes aluminum fins, heat pipes, and an active fan.
TEAMGROUP is best known for its memory solutions. At Computex, we'll see several new T-FORCE products, including T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR5 Gaming Overclocking Memory and T-FORCE XTREEM DDR5 Overclocking Memory. Both feature frequencies starting from 7,000MHz to 8,266MHz, so you're looking at some pretty incredible speeds backed up by excellent cooling and stylish designs.






















