Gaming - Page 197

OneXPlayer has just unveiled its new G1 compact gaming laptop, powered by AMD's new "Strix Point" APU, and featuring a detachable keyboard... check it out:

The new OneXPlayer G1 gaming laptop features the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" APU with 12 cores and 24 threads of Zen 5 processing power at the ready, backed up by 16 Compute Units of RDNA 3.5-based GPU. The G1 features an 8.8-inch display at a 2.5K resolution with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz.

There are USB4 and OCulink ports that allow OneXPlayer G1 gaming laptop owners to use an external graphics card, with the laptop weighing in at 900g. There's a detachable keyboard and two methods of controlling the G1 laptop: the physical keyboard itself, or the game controllers that are hidden underneath.

An on-court PS5 giveaway has gone wrong for a young fan at an NBA basketball game on Monday.

During the December 15 clash between the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers, a child and his uncle were called onto the court and presented with a 'PS5, and VIP experience for a future game'. The segment centralized around a Christmas theme, aimed to promote the holiday spirit. A presenter from the Hornets reads out the boy's holiday wish - a request for a PS5 to play the NBA 2k series.

The boy is ecstatic upon receiving the gift - the team's presenter, and a santa-dressed mascot wishing him a happy holidays. But when the cameras turned off things began to started taking a turn.

The Nintendo Switch 2 leaks continue to emerge, as a YouTuber posted a video with a dummy Nintendo Switch 2 unit, which is now the best look we have gotten at the design of the upcoming handheld.

It was only yesterday that multiple Nintendo insiders pointed to the same month for the Nintendo Switch 2 unveiling, which was preceded by a known Nintendo leaker teasing a new Mario Kart game as a launch title for the unreleased console. Additionally, the Nintendo Switch 2 was revealed in leaked images traced back to Chinese accessory manufacturers or brands, which posted renderings of the new console within product listings for accessories designed for the "Switch 2".

We can now add one more "leak" or rumor to the overwhelming mountain of rumored evidence of the Nintendo Switch 2, and it's possibly the most valuable one yet. YouTuber NerdNest published a 20-minute hands-on video with a Nintendo Switch 2 dummy sourced from accessory maker iVolver. The YouTuber explained that while he had a dummy unit for the Switch 2 in his possession, he chose not to publish a video about it until the dbrand leak happened, which, for those who don't know, was also a dummy Nintendo Switch 2 unit. In fact, it was the same unit NerdNest had in his possession.

Grand Theft Auto fans are patiently waiting for the sixth game, which is currently scheduled to be released sometime in 2025 but is rumored to be pushed back to 2026. Now, an actor who worked on Grand Theft Auto 5 has teased a possible release window.

Fans of Grand Theft Auto have been searching online for any piece of information about the upcoming title and have previously even gone to the extent of aggregating all known leaks, rumors, and rumblings into one single document. Another piece of information can now be added to the document, as an actor who previously worked on Grand Theft Auto V has subtly teased his involvement in Rockstar's upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI.

The actor Johnny Ray Gill, who appeared in the TV series Cross, recently sat down for an interview on the YouTube channel Check It TV, where he hinted at possible involvement in Grand Theft Auto VI. Gill, while not being able to directly confirm his involvement in the project, did allude to it quite heavily, and given Gill's history with working on Rockstar games, such as GTA 5 and also Red Dead Redemption 2, his comments were seen through quite easily.

The first crossover collaboration for Helldivers 2 has been unveiled, and the collaborative DLC is Killzone-themed but has sparked anger from fans of the title due to its price.

Before Sony and Helldivers 2 developers Arrowhead Studios announced the collaboration on social media, images for the cosmetic DLC were leaked online. These images were promptly pulled down by the copyright holder, which in this case would be Sony. Shortly after the leaks were plugged the official announcement was posted to the Helldivers 2 X account, and then began the backlash from fans. Purchasing everything within the cosmetic DLC will cost a player 1,975 Super Credits, the Helldivers 2 in-game currency. Notably, players can pay $20 for 2,100 Super Credits.

The new cosmetic DLC is the most expensive set currently available to purchase in Helldivers 2, and it being the equivalent of approximately $20 to buy, it means the new DLC pack is half the price of another copy of Helldivers 2. Furthermore, while games such as Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, Fortnite, and others survive through cosmetic DLC releases such as this one, each of those aforementioned titles is free to play, while Helldivers 2 costs $40.

After The Game Awards gave out its Game of the Year award to the PS5-exclusive Astro Bot, it is time for PC gamers to get their votes as the nominees for the annual 2024 Steam Awards. Voting opens this weekend alongside the big Seam Winter Sale 2024 kicking off, and the nominees for Game of the Year include a couple of titles that many believed were overlooked at the TGA's.

The five nominees for Game of the Year are Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, Black Myth: Wukong, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Balatro, and Helldivers II. All excellent games have been played by millions of PC gamers in 2024, so it will be interesting to see which game takes the top honors. As a community-voted event, we assume it'll be between Black Myth: Wukong and Helldivers II.

This year, many categories return, including the Better With Friends Award for multiplayer gaming, the Outstanding Visual Style Award for visuals and art direction, the Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award, and the Best Game on Steam Deck Award. Voting opens on December 19 and concludes on December 31. Here's a look at all the nominees.

Sony is all-in on machine learning technology, and wants to use AI and ML to help transform its lucrative PlayStation platform.

Although it has a variety of top-tier studios that have sold tens of millions of games, Sony is a platform-holder first and a game-maker second. This means Sony must always innovate and provide new tools to help make developers' jobs easier. It behooves Sony to optimize the game development process, and it does so through a mixture of organic means via its first-party studios who rigorously test new hardware and technologies like PlayStation Spectral Resolution (PSSR) upscaling, and inorganic means through feedback from external third-party publishers, developers, and partners.

That's the main impetus for the PlayStation 5 Pro. The mid-gen console is meant to help ease the burden that developers face when making games, namely in the constraints of the age-old struggle of resolution vs performance. Sony did this by adding in a variety of new tools and technologies that devs can use, including PSSR, which allows for unique enhancement opportunities that devs can scale for their specific games/in-game sequences. Then there's the hardware-based modifications like the +67% beefier GPU, new shader core modifications with ML instruction sets, and an extra 1GB of GDDR5 RAM specifically meant to house the PS5 Pro's OS.

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will don his iconic leather jacket and head to Las Vegas in January for his annual CES 2025 keynote, where we'll be introduced to the next-gen GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs, and oh-so-much more.

We can expect a bunch of next-gen GeForce RTX 50 series "Blackwell" gaming GPUs to be unveiled, with the new ultra-enthusiast flagship GeForce RTX 5090 and its huge 32GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory, the RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070 graphics card being unveiled at CES 2025.

But, the company will surely have a bunch of new things to talk about when it comes to ray tracing, DLSS (hopefully DLSS 4 with the new RTX 50 series GPUs), self-driving cars and EV technology, AI, AI, AI, and so much more.We should also see NVIDIA and MediaTek show off their new Arm-based AI PC processor, which will launch in 2H 2025.

Ever wonder how the PlayStation 5 Pro works? Sony gives us a hefty 37-minute technical breakdown on everything you'd want to know about the new mid-gen upgrade.

Sony just released a new PS5 Pro video specifically for enthusiasts. The 37-minute "technical seminar" is hosted by console architect Mark Cerny, who dispels the magic of Sony's new $700 console.

One of the more fascinating developments was the lengths in which Sony went to enable its proprietary PlayStation Spectral Resolution (PSSR) neural network. PSSR is Sony's own first-party, console-ready analog of DLSS, FSR, or XeSS. It's an AI-based upscaling solution that utilizes Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), but to enable PSSR, Sony first had to create what it calls a "fully fused network."

If Sony sticks to its established cadence, the next-gen PlayStation 6 could release in holiday 2028.

Console generations define the video games market. New hardware gives developers a chance to sell new games, or re-sell old ones, and content can be elongated for maximum sales. Think of each new console launch as the opening of a vast digital bazaar, while behind the scenes Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo make power plays to optimize their platforms for developers.

Some companies like Sony have become quite regular in their generational timelines. PlayStation consoles typically last 6-7 years, and Sony likes to release a new mid-cycle refresh every four years or so. That means the PS6 might be due out in 2028, which isn't exactly a surprise given existing market trends, but it's still something to be aware of.

PlayStation console architect Mark Cerny breaks down the granular details of the PS5 Pro's GPU in a new in-depth video.

Today Sony surprise dropped a 37-minute technical seminar with Mark Cerny aimed at clarifying some the PS5 Pro's new magical upscaling sorcery. In the video, Cerny discussed the PS5 Pro's GPU in length, confirming the processor is built on multi-generational RDNA tech from AMD--alongside a custom ML solution.

Sony splashed parts of AMD's RDNA 2 and 3 architectures into the Pro's GPU, a combination referred to as RDNA 2.x, but had to be selective to ensure Pro games were still compatible with the base PS5 (which runs on RDNA 2.0). Cerny gives examples of RDNA 3 usage with the Pro's boosted primitive processing capabilities.

Sony and AMD announce project Amethyst, a new collaboration focused on forging next-gen AI and ML solutions for new console hardware like the PS6, as well as other platforms, potentially even PC and rival platforms.

Today Sony Interactive Entertainment dropped a surprise video of PlayStation console architect Mark Cerny discussing the PS5 Pro in a deep dive seminar. Cerny goes through everything, including how exactly the PS5 Pro's GPU works, why it was chosen, as well as PSSR details. But towards the end of the video, Cerny teased what's next for PlayStation.

Sony and AMD are working closely together to develop new hardware and architecture solutions optimized specifically for ML and AI. Here's what Cerny said during the presentation about Amethyst:

A new report from Insider Gaming, which has previously correctly predicted industry moves by Ubisoft, has stated the AAA developer plans on changing up the Far Cry formula with its two new titles.

The report states that Ubisoft currently has two new Far Cry games in development, Far Cry 7 and Maverick. Insider Gaming states both titles were originally under the codename Talisker, but then they were split, with its next mainline title, Far Cry 7, initially being under the codename Blackbird and the other title, which is an extraction-based shooter, being separated by the moniker Maverick. More specifically, Insider Gaming reports that both of these upcoming Far Cry games are set to move away from the traditional Far Cry formula.

Firstly, Maverick is rumored to introduce players to the Alaskan wilderness and pit them against each other, along with the native animals and harsh climate. As for Blackbird, or the next mainline Far Cry game, Ubisoft will let players assume the role of an individual who has to save his family from being kidnapped by a conspiracy cult that is performing hallucinogenic experiments on animals and children.

ASUS is expected to launch its new ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet at CES 2025, with new teases of the 16-core and 12-core AMD "Strix Halo" APUs inside. Check it out:

In the last 24 hours, people have started noticing the product code "GZ302EA" that shows search results on Google, with the ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet listed by multiple retailers with some early specifications to drool over. AMD's new Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip is the 16-core, 32-thread flagship "Strix Halo" APU which will power the flagship ASUS ROG Flow 13 gaming tablet, but there's also a 12-core Strix Halo variant (the Ryzen AI Max 390) that's been spotted.

The new ASUS ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet will feature AMD's new Strix Halo APU, with a 13.4-inch panel and a super-smooth 180Hz refresh rate (over the 165Hz on the current ROG Flow). There's also LPDDR5X memory support, with the Strix Halo APU supporting 8000 MT/s speeds by default, over the LPDDR5 (non-X) memory in the current ROG Flow.

Sony has confirmed its intent to buy manga and anime multimedia giant Kadokawa Corp., but one Japanese analyst warns against the effects of this multimedia consolidation.

Sony could purchase Kadokawa in a sweeping merger that would combine Sony's existing movies, games, TV, film and music businesses with Kadokawa's billion-dollar manga and anime empire. PwC analyst Suzuki Takahiro believes Sony's motivations are centered around acquiring Kadokawa's formidable trove of IPs.

"Sony is no longer the consumer electronics manufacturer it was in the past, and entertainment is becoming its core business. However, creating IP (intellectual property) is not its forte. I think they are aiming to incorporate Kadokawa's content and strengthen it," Takahiro told Yahoo News Japan.

Over the past few days, several GeForce RTX gamers have taken to social media to report a significant dip in PC gaming performance across various titles, the culprit being the new NVIDIA App. Recently launched in Version 1.0 form, the NVIDIA App replaces the GeForce Experience app for all customization, driver updates, performance monitoring, game optimization, and more.

With reports of up to a 15% loss in performance when playing specific titles, according to a Tom's Hardware investigation, it's a serious issue that has seen NVIDIA respond with a forum post acknowledging that it's aware of "reported performance issue[s]" related to the NVIDIA App. The good news is that an easy fix will restore those missing frames ahead of Team Green releasing an official update to the app.

As seen in an additional investigation by Hardware Unboxed, which found a more modest 3% performance loss in the games it tested with the NVIDIA App installed, the issue is related to the app's overlay and 'Game Filters and Photo Mode' settings.

Analyst firm DFC Intelligence predicts that Switch 2 sales will be in line with the sales trends from the original Switch handheld-console hybrid.

Nintendo is poised to reveal its new Switch 2 console sometime soon. Reports say it'll happen in January, and others indicate that the Switch 2 could launch in March 2025 (the original released in March 2017). If the current Switch family is any indicator, the Switch 2 will sell like gangbusters, potentially even following the strong initial sales of its predecessor.

One analyst firm has laid out their expectations for the Nintendo Switch 2. In a new update post, DFC Intelligence expects the Switch 2 to sell anywhere from 15 to 17 million units in its first year of availability. By 2028, the group believes the Switch 2 will command an installed base of some 80 million users.

It sounds like Xbox consoles are safe, at least for another hardware generation.

Hardware has always been a sore spot for Microsoft. Although the original Xbox launched to surprising numbers, and the Xbox 360 went neck and neck against the PS3, Microsoft has always missed one very important part of consumer electronics sales: Profit.

Typically, companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft will launch their consoles at a loss and make up for it via games, subscriptions, services, etc. Over time, Sony and Nintendo will sell their systems at a profit. But Microsoft never makes its money back from Xbox hardware, and every generation of Xbox console has been unprofitable and sold at a loss (clarification that Xbox as a games division is still profitable).

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reiterates Xbox's cross-platform strategy with investors and shareholders.

In a recent annual shareholders meeting, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella shared his thoughts on the current state of Xbox, and how the definition of the brand has changed so broadly that it's sparked a memorable marketing campaign.

"I'm feeling very, very good about where we are in gaming," Nadella told Microsoft stakeholders.

Rumors circulating about Nintendo's upcoming console, the successor to the immensely popular Nintendo Switch, have seemingly reached fever pitch, with multiple Nintendo insiders, and a leaker that has recently gained a lot of attention, are all pointing to a specific month next year for Nintendo's official unveiling.

The latest has come from Nintentalk and Nintendo Prime, who both took to X, formerly Twitter, to say they have heard from insiders at major 3rd parties associated with the upcoming console that Nintendo plans to unveil the Switch 2 in early January. Additionally, the source that spoke to Nintentalk said, "Get ready to play modern AAA offerings on your Nintendo system in 2025".

Furthermore, Chris Dring, a 17-year video game journalist, said during the GamesIndustry.biz podcast that he has heard "chatter" that Nintendo could reveal the Switch 2 at the beginning of the new year. The corroboration of the purported early January release window doesn't stop there, as it was only a few days ago a Reddit user with the handle "NextHandheld" showed evidence to Reddit moderators to back up their claims they have access to a final release model of the Nintendo Switch 2. Among a slew of other things, the leaker went on to claim that they had heard Nintendo was planning an unveiling for January.