Items tagged with xbox series s
Today's dedicated game consoles share a whole bunch of DNA with their PC brethren, such as Zen 2 CPU cores and RDNA 2 graphics hardware, with support for real-time ray tracing. In addition to sharing hardware characteristics, AMD today announced it is making available its FidelityFX family of effects to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. AMD's announcement is great for a couple of reasons. One of them is easier cross-platform coding, with FidelityFX now being injected into AMD's Game Developer Kit (GDK) for the Xbox Series X/S. It should also be noted that these are highly optimized, open source tools that developers are free to modify, and now available across PC and console. "This news makes...
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It seems there are simulator games for just about anything you can think of, such as Granny Simulator, Thief Simulator, and even a PC building simulator. Now, teams from Dovetail Games, Curve Digital, and Skyhook Games are bringing what could be the hottest simulator game this summer: Lawn Mowing Simulator. Later this year, players will be able to “enjoy the challenge and serenity of mowing the Great British countryside in a variety of modes, while ensuring cash flow of your empire remains as green as the blades you’re cutting,” according to developer Skyhook Games. New lawn care professionals will be able to visit the British countryside, large equestrian fields, castle grounds...
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Microsoft is currently testing a way to increase download speeds on its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S game consoles, and if all goes to plan, the feature will roll out to the public in the not-too-distant future (fingers crossed, anyway). For now, however, it is only available to members of Microsoft's Xbox Insider program. Here's the deal—when you are playing a game, any downloads you might have queued up in the background are potentially slowed down. As such, the latest test build in the Xbox Insider Program includes a new "Suspend my game" toggle. According to Microsoft, enabling it can "help improve download speeds," albeit at the expense of playing whatever title you had loaded up....
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Microsoft recently implemented FPS Boost for its Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X game consoles. FPS Boost allows games initially designed for previous-generation Xbox hardware to leverage the superior hardware of the Xbox Series S/X for improved performance. In many cases, FPS Boost can double the frame rate of supported games. Last week, Microsoft announced that it completed its acquisition of Bethesda Game Studios' parent company ZeniMax. And one of the latest benefits of that new relationship is FPS Boost support for five legacy games: Dishonored: Definitive Edition, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Prey. Microsoft says that this FPS Boost support...
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We have a few great gaming deals for all of you gamers out there today to enjoy. We aren't limiting these deals to a single console, as you'll find discounts across Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms. Kicking things off is Nintendo Switch Online, which is getting a discount of sorts at Best Buy. A 12-month Nintendo Switch Online membership typically costs $19.99, and that price is no different today at Best Buy. However, the retailer is throwing in a free $5 gift card, which effectively brings the price down to $14.99. This gift card offer also extends to the Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership, which covers up to 8 users. Not only does Nintendo Switch online give you access...
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In the near future, your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S will likely be able to play Google Stadia games, simply because of its built-in web browser. Specifically, it is being infused with the latest version of Edge, built on Chromium, the same engine that powers Google's own Chrome browser. That brings with it unofficial support for Stadia. As things officially stand, Chrome is the only browser that officially supports Stadia, Google's cloud game streaming service. However, it does actually work on some other browsers, with Google noting in a support page that it "may" play nice with Chromium-based browsers like Edge (version 79 or higher), Brave, or Vivaldi. And therein lies the reason why Stadia...
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Does anyone remember the Xbox 360? That second-generation Xbox gaming console first launched way back in November 2005, and that was the last time that Microsoft released a first-party wireless headset for its gaming console. However, that changes today with the announcement of the Xbox Wireless Headset. Given Microsoft's efforts to bridge the gap between differing gaming experiences, the Xbox Wireless Headset is supported among Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X consoles, Windows 10 PCs, and mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. So, you can be sure that Microsoft will be pushing this is a great accessory to have alongside an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. In the time since...
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If you are currently in possession of an Xbox Series S/X or PlayStation 5, consider yourself lucky. All the consoles have been in high demand since they launched in mid-November and are quickly snapped up when retailers managed to restock their shelves. Earlier this month, Sony confirmed that it has sold 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles since launch, which is roughly the same as the number of PlayStation 4 consoles sold after its launch in Q4 2013. So far, Microsoft hasn't given us any concrete numbers on how many Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X consoles that it has sold, but data from Ampere Analysis (via GamesIndustry) suggests that the figure is a combined 2.9 million...
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In a rather extensive blog posted this week by 343 Industries, the developers confirmed that all the launch content for Halo Infinite is now complete and in the game. That is a huge step for the dev team, which has been working tirelessly to get the highly anticipated game finished up for release later this year. Even though the content within the game sandbox is finished, that doesn't mean that there isn't room for tweaking things between now and launch. "We have everyone fixing bugs on our launch content and some exciting efforts kicking off for future updates--like new vehicles, equipment, etc.," said Quinn DeHoyo, who serves as Lead Sandbox Designer for 343 Industries in the blog....
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In one of the quickest reversals we've seen in the tech industry in recent years, Microsoft has already backtracked from its ill-advised and ill-timed decision to raise prices on its Xbox Live Gold subscription service. As we reported yesterday, the 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month subscriptions all received price hikes, with the latter being pushed to $59.99 (effectively making a year of Xbox Live Gold cost $120). Now, Microsoft is apologizing for its blunder, after realizing that raising prices during the middle of a pandemic (even though people are flocking increasingly to games) is not exactly a great PR move. "We messed up today and you were right to let us know. Connecting and...
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November 2020 saw the introduction of four next-generation game consoles: the PlayStation 5/PlayStation 5 Digital Edition and the Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S. While the Xbox Series X is technically the most powerful of the bunch with respect to its CPU and GPU specs, it's the PlayStation 5 that has garnered the most attention due to exclusives like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and its new DualSense wireless controller. The DualSense controller has drawn particular attention for its adaptive triggers, which can vary their resistance if game developers decide to take advantage of the feature. For example, in basketball games, the triggers might be harder to press to fire off the perfect...
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The latest generation game consoles are some of the hottest selling items this year. Whether you are looking for a PlayStation 5 (with our without a baked-in optical drive), Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S, your chances of waltzing into your local Walmart or Best Buy and walking out with one on a random basis are slim. What can you do? Well, with Christmas now just a few days away, the odds of getting a next-gen console for the big day decrease with each passing moment. However, not all is lost, potentially. There are some things you can do to tip the odds ever-so-slightly, and perhaps snag one before a scalper can get their grubby hands on one, only to flip it for an inflated price on eBay or...
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It goes without saying that finding a next generation consoles have been incredibly hard to come by for the past month. For those that couldn’t snag an early preorder spot, it has been an exhausting affair trying to find retailer that had the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X in stock for more than a few seconds at a time. Luckily, Walmart currently has sufficient stock of the Xbox Series S this morning. We say "sufficient" because the console has been available to purchase online for at least the past two hours and has shown no signs of going out of stock. The console is of course priced at $299 with free shipping to your home. Unfortunately, the console will arrive after Christmas...
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OK folks, it's that most wonderful time of year again. No, we're not talking about drinking eggnog and watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation for the 100th time; we're talking about the next scheduled "console drop" from a major U.S. retailer. In this case, Best Buy has announced its intent to restock its shelves with Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition consoles. The company says that the big day comes tomorrow, December 15th, as part of a larger 3-day sales bonanza. However, let's get one thing out of the way first: this won't be an in-store sales event. So, don't count on camping out in front of the store in the hopes of laying your...
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If you've been able to get your hands on an Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X console during the past month, consider yourself lucky. Just like every other major hardware launch during the back half of 2020 (including the PlayStation 5 and GeForce RTX 30 Series), Xbox Series S/X consoles sellout almost immediately after new stock is made available. For the few that have an Xbox Series X sitting in their entertainment center, you may have noticed some rather annoying glitches that are affecting gameplay. While Microsoft has already pushed out a couple of system updates to address bugs that have cropped up after launch, at least two are still outstanding. During Larry Hyrb's (aka Major Nelson) official...
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PlayStation enthusiasts were likely disappointed to learn that some PlayStation 4 games may not get updated to run on the PlayStation 5 hardware for better performance. If you want a blast from the past, though, you can now play some classic PlayStation 2 games on the new Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, thanks to some crafty gamers and handy Xbox features. Yesterday, a YouTuber by the name of Modern Vintage Gamer posted a video in which he played some PlayStation 2 games on his Xbox Series S. While the video is worth watching overall, we got to see Metal Gear Solid 2, Ace Combat 4, God of War, and several other games from the PS2. According to Modern Vintage Gamer, this trickery works mainly...
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The holidays are coming, and you need a gift for the console gamer in your life. However, finding a new generation PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X or S seems near impossible. Near impossible without some handy tricks up your sleeve, that is. Today we have some helpful shopping tips, so hopefully, you can get your hands on a console to make that gamer's (or your own personal) wish come true. Finding An Xbox Series X Or PS5 Via Online Stock Trackers The easiest and probably most hands-off way to find one of the latest consoles is using an online inventory tracker. Inventory or stock tracking websites pull data from store webpages every couple of seconds and automatically update their pages to show...
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Have you tried buying a next-generation game console? If so, you might have a hole in your wall, from where you punched it out of frustration. The Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and both PlayStation 5 consoles have been almost impossible to buy, thanks to a combination of factors—high demand, not enough supply, bots, etc. If it comes as any consolation, Xbox boss Phil Spencer feels your frustration and wants to change the pre-order process for the better. The question is, how can Microsoft (and Sony) go about doing that? Let me share my own experience, before diving in to that. Having missed out on the initial pre-order run, I've tried a few times to order one of the next-gen consoles. But...
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Sony has made some decisions that have put off developers and gamers alike, such as the 1440p debacle earlier this month. Now, it has been found that while games are being updated to run at 120FPS on the Xbox Series X and S, the PlayStation 5 is not getting the same treatment though it is completely capable. It appears that this is due to how backwards compatible games are handled on the PlayStation, so "Play Has No Limits," unless you are a PS4 app and do not get a 120FPS update. Last week, Eurogamer’s Wesley Yin-Poole reported that Infinity Ward “quietly updated Call of Duty: Warzone to run at 120fps on Xbox Series X, but not on PS5.” Call of Duty: Warzone appears as a PS4...
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If you think that you have had trouble finding a new console as we enter the holiday season, you are not alone. PlayStation 5 consoles are out of stock, and Xbox Series X/Series S console shortages are expected to last into 2021. These shortages and stock issues could stem from the pandemic we are facing or highly increased demand, but some analysts think these shortages are entirely artificial. International Data Corporation (IDC) analyzed the goings-on in hardware markets, such as with Xbox vs. PlayStation sales this quarter. IDC’s gaming research director Lewis Ward has claimed to CNN that profit margins may be “thin or even outright in the red” as this generation of consoles...
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Finding an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 in stock these days is seemingly a fruitless endeavor. Even HotHardware staffers around here have struck out over and over again attempting to score just one of the consoles for ourselves, yet we keep persisting despite the unfavorable odds. With that being said, Walmart is offering up a chance today for you to not only grab an Xbox Series X, but also the PlayStation 5. The retail giant will have both consoles on sale stating at 3pm ET. And for those that don't want to fork over $499, you'll be happy to know that the cheaper Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will also be available to purchase starting at 3pm. Sony PlayStation 5...
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We've got some bad news if you think that the start of 2021 will magically mean that Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles will come back in stock. Back in late October, Xbox Chief Phil Spencer said that there will be "more demand than supply" and that "we're going to live in that world for a few months". "So, on the supply chain side, it's like, what can we do to get more inventory, but most of my energy is focused on the next couple of years," Spencer added. Well, that long-time commitment is playing out in real-time as Microsoft confirmed last week that we'll be waiting even longer to see Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X supply stabilize. Tim Scott, who serves as the chief financial...
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