Gaming - Page 332

If you want to run Diablo IV at 4K resolution on the highest settings, you'll need quite the gaming PC - but the good news is that the system requirements are far more forgiving lower down the resolution food chain.

The headline spec for 4K at Ultra graphics details running at a fluid 60 frames per second (fps) demands 32GB of system RAM and an NVIDIA RTX 3080 on the graphics card front, or an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. (Of course, if you want DLSS 3 to speed up those frame rates, you'll need an RTX 4000 GPU).

That's a pretty steep hill to climb, particularly as not all that many folks have pushed out the boat to 32GB of RAM just yet. (Granted, the percentage is climbing going by the latest Steam hardware survey, but still, only 23.5% of gamers have 32GB of system memory or more, with most still on 16GB).

NVIDIA's DLSS 3 and Frame Generation technology has been one of the most talked about features of the new GeForce RTX 40 Series line-up. The technology uses AI hardware to generate new frames to boost the performance of visually intensive games.

And it looks like two of the most visually intensive DLSS 3-enabled PC games feature stuttering issues on systems with AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. Stuttering when playing PC games is never ideal and can ruin the experience due to inconsistent performance.

The stuttering looks limited to DLSS 3 in CD Projekt RED's The Witcher 3 remaster and Cyberpunk 2077, titles that feature real-time ray-tracing and run on the studio's internal RED Engine.

Anime Tokyo is a new art project by Yan Ru created in Unreal Engine 5 that lets you explore and wander around in a 3D Tokyo. With several city blocks of the iconic Shibuya district recreated using an anime style, it's a visually impressive tech demo with an avatar that offers different visual filters ranging from cherry-blossom pink to sunny and overcast.

The city itself isn't exactly bustling with people or vehicles though it is realistic because it features several known brands and storefronts like Starbucks Coffee.

It's an impressive slice of virtual tourism and captures Tokyo in a way reminiscent of games like the Yakuza series from SEGA and Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo.

Nintendo is unlikely to receive even a portion of the court-ordered $10 million restitution award that it received in a recent piracy lawsuit.

Back in 2021, Nintendo sued key members of Team Xecuter, a collective that sold "circumvention" hardware that allowed consumers to jailbreak Nintendo hardware and load pirated games onto the devices for free. Part of Team Xecuter included 53-year-old Gary Bowser, a Canadian citizen who was extradited to the United States to face the charges. Courts found Bowser guilty and ordered that Bowser pay Nintendo damages in the tune of $10 million.

Two years later, Bowser has spoken on the matter with YouTuber NickMoses05, who called the incarcerated Bowser for a video talk. In the interview, Bowser reveals that he signed an agreement with Nintendo that would allow the company to garnish his monthly wages by 25-30%.

The Federal Trade Commission has taken interest in the 10-year licensing deals that Microsoft signed with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to the Switch, but Nintendo may not have to provide specific details.

Nintendo is fast becoming more involved with the FTC's antitrust lawsuit against the Microsoft-Activision merger. A bit ago we reported that Nintendo has asked an FTC law judge to toss out a subpoena summoning a very particular Nintendo of America executive to deliver sworn testimony before the FTC's team of lawyers.

Now we have a better idea on the FTC's overall aim with this subpoena. Closer investigation of the motion to quash the subpoena indicates that the Federal Trade Commission wants more information on the 10-year Call of Duty licensing deal that Microsoft and Nintendo have signed, however there isn't much detail on the scope of these interests.

South Africa may soon become the sixth worldwide regulator to approve the Microsoft-Activision merger, but the country apparently has yet to do so.

Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion merger with Activision Blizzard King has been cleared in five countries, and South Africa may soon be the sixth. On April 17, the South Africa Competition Commission (SACC) published a list of mergers that it recommends for approval, and the Microsoft-Activision was one of these recommended mergers.

In the announcement, the SACC recommends approval of the merger without conditions and notes that the combination of Microsoft and Activision "is unlikely to result in a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in any relevant market." You'll recognize this vernacular if you've been paying close attention to merger talks; it's the kind of terminology that's used by other worldwide regulators like the European Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK. The FTC has also defined its own relevant market with the controversial "High-Performance Console" market, a designation that has confused key members of Congress.

Nintendo wants to avoid testifying in the Microsoft-Activision merger case, and has asked FTC law judge to dismiss a subpoena that would require a Nintendo executive to testify before the FTC.

While the CMA prepares its final decision on the Microsoft-Activision merger, FTC regulators in the United States are still collecting information in an attempt to sue to block the $68.7 billion merger. The FTC's antitrust lawsuit is currently still in discovery phases and regulators are looking to major players in the video games industry to provide documents, data, and testimony in regards to pertinent areas of interest, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Take-Two Interactive, Valve, and Nintendo of America.

However, the FTC may not get its way in regards to Nintendo. Legal counsel for Nintendo of America has submitted a motion to quash--or cancel--the FTC's "untimely" subpoena that would have required Nintendo of America's Steve Singer, who serves as senior vice president for publisher and developer relations, to deliver sworn testimony before the FTC's Complaint Counsel (a group of lawyers representing the FTC that bring forth the anti-competition charges against the merger).

Would-be nephalem have a chance to enter Sanctuary once more in the second and final Diablo IV test build.

Can't wait to slay more demons and snap up awesome loot? Or maybe just blast enemies with the Necro's OP skills? We're right there with you. Luckily Blizzard has announced the Diablo IV server slam event from May 12-14, which will offer access to both console and PC players over the 3-day period. The event is free, and does not require players to have pre-ordered Diablo IV.

All progress from the previous closed and open beta tests will not carry over. The server slam wipes the slate clean and you start from scratch, but you can access all five classes. There's an added bonus that neither Xbox LIVE nor PlayStation Plus is required to play the server slam on consoles.

Statements made by Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb embroiled Xbox in another controversy...but this time the info appears to be wrong.

Gamers are pretty frustrated with the Xbox brand right now. There's just not enough new games to keep fans happy, despite the release of Hi-Fi Rush and Goldeneye in the same month, followed up by Minecraft Legends' launch just days ago. Xbox fans want more.

With this existing ire in check, gamers are typically more quick to latch on to certain reports in an effort to force change at Microsoft, including specific games meeting expectations. That was the case with Hi-Fi Rush, Tango Gameworks' stylish new rhythm game. Hi-Fi rush actually drew tons of acclaim and managed to amass 2 million players, but reports surfaced that the game simply didn't make much money. After all, how much could a direct-to-Game Pass title make in terms of sales?

Meta has laid off multiple game developers at Ready at Dawn as part of a significant multi-thousand layoff spree.

As Meta's Reality Labs division is hemmorhaging money to the tune of $26 billion in losses, the company has enacted two massive layoff rounds that will see 21,000 people without jobs. All of Meta's divisions are to be affected by the layoffs, including its Reality Labs VR gaming division that is home to multiple game developers including Ready At Dawn.

Meta originally acquired Ready At Dawn in 2020 to help bolster the Oculus VR games lineup. At that time, Ready At Dawn had released multiple VR games set in its Lone Echo series. Now fast-forwarding to three years later, the studio has been hit with multiple layoffs. According to recent reports, Meta has let go of nearly 1/3rd of Ready At Dawn's staff, including the studio head.

Xbox users have lost a key social feature that helped spread gaming clips and screenshots.

Microsoft has announced that Xbox gamers can no longer share game captures on Twitter, likely due to a new fee structure imposed by Elon Musk's controversial Twitter regime. Under the new rules, companies have to pay at least $42,000 a month (and at most $210,000 a month) to access Twitter's API, which is required to enable features like Xbox's direct-to-feed Game DVR capture sharing.

"We have had to disable the ability to share game uploads to Twitter directly from the console and Game Bar on Windows. You can still share your favorite moments to Twitter via the Xbox app for Android and iOS," the official Xbox Twitter account said yesterday.

Unreal and Gears of War developer Cliff Bleszinski is hopeful for a Lawbreakers revival, but he'll have to get approval of the rights holder before anything happens.

Remember Lawbreakers? The 5v5 hero shooter released back in 2017, but ultimately failed to gain traction in the market due to steep competition from games like Overwatch. Lawbreakers was pulled offline in 2018 and eventually faded away to the live service graveyard, but its ghost is apparently still alive.

Now it looks like fans are clamoring for a Lawbreakers revival. There's just one potential issue: Cliff Bleszinski doesn't own rights to Lawbreakers. Nexon, who published the game at launch, actually owns the rights to the franchise. Cliffy B recently shared this tidbit on Twitter: "Well, turns out Nexon does own the rights to LawBreakers. Owen Mahoney, how about sliding into my DMs so we can talk about a resurrection?"

Atari has purchased the rights to more classic video game franchises as it gears up for expansion.

As most video game publishers and developers experiment with new big-budget IPs, Atari has taken a different approach. Atari is looking to use the past to help build its future. Having once dominated the games market in the 1970s, Atari is just a fraction of what it once was, but that hasn't stopped the company from carving out a niche business model that celebrates nostalgia instead of chasing the latest trends.

Atari wants to accelerate this model and release more remakes and re-releases of classic franchises. Like the Embracer Group, who owns the rights to over 700 IPs, Atari is likewise purchasing the rights to a ton of classic games while also setting up studios to help capitalize on the rights and turn them into launchable products.

Sony's PlayStation 5 console firmly secures the lead in one of gaming's most important geographies.

The PlayStation 5 is on a roll and shows no signs of slowing down. According to data provided by Circana (formerly NPD Group) video games analyst Mat Piscatella, the PS5 is in the top spot in the United States, which remains one of Sony's biggest markets.

Sony's PlayStation 5 led March 2023's hardware sales and helped push overall monthly hardware spending to $566 million, Piscatella reports. The PS5 did so well in March that it set a new PlayStation platform unit sales record for the month of March. "Yes, PS5 did set a new March individual PlayStation platform unit record," Piscatella said on Twitter. The previous record-holder was the PSP, which managed to sell 620,000 units in just eight days after launch (March 24 - March 31, 2005).

Netflix is pushing into AAA gaming, and has conscripted a longtime veteran to help lead the charge.

Netflix is no longer just a streaming giant. Having pioneered and subsequently conquered the streaming market, the company has ambitious plans to expand and transform itself into a multimedia titan. Following its billion-dollar entertainment push, Netflix has more recently entered the world's most lucrative medium: Video games.

Up until now, Netflix's gaming push has delivered access to mobile games, not blockbuster titles. The new business model gives Netflix subscribers access to a pool of selected mobile titles, however the company has said from the get-go that it would eventually expand to other game types, platforms, and genres.

Time is running out for regulators to make a decision on the Microsoft-Activision merger.

UK regulators at the Competition and Markets Authority will publish their final decision on the $68.7 billion Microsoft-Activision merger next week on Wednesday, April 26. The final deadline for submissions has already passed and antitrust regulators are currently building an expansive document to explain their final decision on whether or not to block or approve the merger.

Experts and pundits largely expect the deal will be approved by the most impactful worldwide regulatory bodies (CMA, EC, and the FTC), and this is reinforced by the CMA's recent decision to remove one of its key theories of harm regarding the Microsoft-Activision merger.

Capcom's shares have skyrocketed to record highs following the announcement of a major new mobile game.

Capcom recently announced that it would team up with Pokemon Go's Niantic to develop a brand new Monster Hunter game. The project is called Monster Hunter Now, and is a mobile game for iOS and Android that promises an "approachable hunting experience that can be enjoyed as part of everyday life."

As Monster Hunter is Capcom's cash crop, the news has resonated strongly with investors. Capcom's shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange reached a new all-time high of 5,140 yen on the day the game was announced. Details on the game are slim, but Capcom plans to hold a limited beta test soon with a global rollout for Monster Hunter Now in September 2023.

What's that - your gaming PC doesn't have 32GB of RAM? In that case, you don't qualify for the recommended spec for Firmament, an adventure game from Cyan, the folks who brought us Myst (way back in the, er, Mysts of time).

The adventure game puzzler (yes, it looks very Myst-like) has just had its PC hardware requirements aired, with that eye-catching demand for 32GB of system memory, at least in the recommended spec - albeit with a caveat.

Firmament's recommended spec calls for an AMD Ryzen 7 3800X (or better), 32GB of RAM, and either an AMD Radeon RX 6800XT or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card.

NVIDIA has released a new graphics driver that brings in support for a couple of games, and fixes a few bugs, including one that could drop performance levels in Counter-Strike 2 (which is currently in its 'limited test' phase before release this summer).

The freshly unleashed version 531.68 of NVIDIA's Game Ready driver is now available to download and is a recommended installation for those planning to play two big-name games due out later this month.

That would be Dead Island 2, which debuts on April 21, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which arrives a week later on April 28.

It's official: SEGA today announced that it plans to acquire Angry Birds game developer Rovio for roughly $771 million. Here are a few reasons why SEGA is making this big buyout.

On a surface level, it's pretty obvious why anyone would buy Rovio. The Finnish devs created one of the most popular mobile games of all time and still generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue every year. Logic dictates that Rovio would help supercharge any company's mobile gaming presence.

We have to look a bit deeper to really understand why SEGA is making this purchase. The company's official press release reveals the thought process behind the acquisition, but we still need more information to get a full picture. The reality is that SEGA doesn't just want to make more mobile games--it wants to create more games for all markets.