Items tagged with xbox series x
There's no love lost between Sony and Microsoft on the console front. The companies are fierce competitors, and things are heating up now that the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 have been battling it out on the market for the past six months. One point of friction between the two comes concerning games and how they're delivered to consumers. Given that Microsoft has its Windows PC and Xbox platforms to distribute games, it has the ability -- so far, with great success -- to release first-party games simultaneously only on both platforms. In addition, through Xbox Game Pass, gamers can play new releases on day one with their subscription -- not just old games from its existing PlayStation-exclusive...
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In just a few weeks, AMD will flip the switch on its highly anticipated FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling technology, and we will find out if the real-world results match the company's claims and what it showed off during Computex 2021. It's not just headed to PC, either. At some point, Microsoft will enable FSR on its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S game consoles, the company confirmed. What's at play here is a "spatial upscaling technique" that is used to create a "super resolution" image from game engine input frames. Similar to NVIDIA's proprietary Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, the idea is to render images at a lower resolution and then upscale them, to improve...
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For both gamers and developers, the Unreal Engine team's work, such as the MetaHuman creator, is simply amazing. Now, Unreal Engine 5 is just over the horizon, and it appears to mark a massive milestone in game fidelity and performance. There is a new demo out today, with some new features, such as something awesome called "Temporal Super Resolution." Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) is quite a mouthful of a name, but it quite impressive, according to the latest Unreal Engine docs. The team at Epic Games claims that with TSR enabled, you can get 4K quality with the framerates one would typically see at 1080p. In the example shown, the team rendered 4K frames at native 4K, which netted 18.6FPS,...
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We now have an official launch date for the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 remasters of Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5). Rockstar announced this morning in a blog that the remaster will arrive on November 11th, which is nearly six months away. While GTA 5 runs and still looks good on the newest consoles (if you can get one), there’s still plenty of room for improvement to take advantage of the hardware capabilities of these Ryzen 3000/RDNA 2-fueled gaming beasts. To that end, Take-Two boss Stauss Zelnick explained in early March that making a simple port just isn’t in Rockstar’s DNA when it comes to games. “We’ve done [remastering] differently than the competition...
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Heads up console gamers, if you own an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, are part of the Xbox Insider program, and are subscribed to the alpha ring, there is a new update available that enables playing games in the Dolby Vision HDR format. Microsoft is hoping to solicit feedback and stomp out any bugs before rolling out support broadly later this year. This is something that was announced last year, before the consoles came out. The plan was always to bring Dolby Vision support to both of Microsoft's newest generation Xbox consoles by the end of this year, though precisely when is still not known. However, the fact that it is actively being tested in the Xbox Insider program suggests it is close....
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Remember AMD's mysterious 4700S Desktop Kit we wrote about a few weeks back? Speculation is that it is essentially a repurposed APU that was originally intended for Microsoft's Xbox Series X, perhaps because the silicon did not pass muster. Well, the partially disabled part has resurfaced, this time in a series of high resolution photos. The first appearance came in a Geekbench listing, which identified the part as having 8 cores and 16 threads, 12MB of L3 cache, and a 4GHz boost clock, which is 200MHz higher than the Xbox Series X and 400MHz higher than the Xbox Series S. It also showed up on a driver support page on AMD's website, which has since been removed. AMD can scrub its site of any...
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AMD processors that were originally intended for Microsoft's Xbox Series X consoles may have found their way to resellers in China. Or perhaps AMD is building a new CPU for select markets. Either way, a mysterious AMD 4700S part has found its way to the wild, as part of a custom mini-ITX form factor gaming build. What exactly is this previously unknown part? it first showed up around a month ago, in a Geekbench 5 listing, which pegged it as being an 8-core/16-thread processor with a 3.6GHz base clock and 4GHz boost clock. The benchmark listing also pointed to 8MB of L3 cache. Have a look... Click to Enlarge (Source: Geekbench) Notice that the full name is "AMD 4700S Desktop Kit" in the benchmark...
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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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High Dynamic Range (HDR) can make any video or game look infinitely better than it did before, as long as the display and content support it. To help with one half of the equation, Microsoft shipped an AutoHDR feature with the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, which automatically upgraded backward compatible games from SDR to HDR. Now, a preview of the feature is coming to PC, which will allow for automatic “awesome HDR visuals on an additional 1,000+ DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games.” As Microsoft explains, HDR is a technique whereby light and dark spots in a “digitally reproduced scene can be shown with more detail than before.” When it comes to video games, gamers...
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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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It's a rough time to be a gaming or PC enthusiast these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a crushing demand not only for new gaming consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but also for PC hardware like AMD Ryzen 5000 processors and GeForce RTX/Radeon RX graphics cards. It's bad enough that enthusiasts are having to fight each other (and bots) in queues to purchase newly-launched hardware, but now some shipping couriers are adding another wrinkle to this already stressful situation. There are ever-increasing reports of gamers having their successfully-purchased hardware snatched away from them before it even gets to their doorstep. A recent reddit...
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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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Count yourself lucky if you managed to snag an Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or either of the PlayStation 5 consoles at regular price, because they have all been extremely hard to come by. Supply is just not able to keep up with demand, and scalpers only exacerbate the issue. That's the bad news. The even worse news? Console shortages will likely persist for the next several months, and potentially into the second half of the year. What's the problem? It really just boils down to not making enough CPU and GPU silicon to power these latest generation game systems. The guts are similar—both the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 are built around custom AMD hardware based on the company's Zen 2 CPU and...
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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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Count yourself lucky if you managed to snag an Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or PlayStation 5 console over the recent holiday stretch. Technically, both Microsoft and Sony released their newest generation systems to retail in November, but actually buying one was often an exercise in futility. There just was not enough supply to meet demand. Seems like an easy problem to fix, right? In theory, sure—just make more consoles. But the reality is a bit more complicated. At one point, Microsoft even approached AMD for help with the situation. The Xbox Series X/S and PS5 both run on custom AMD hardware. At the heart of each system is a system-on-chip (SoC) that combines eight Zen 2 CPU cores with...
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