Gaming

CES 2020 marked the arrival of the PlayStation 5, in logo form at least. Unsurprisingly, it looks like the one that the company used for the PS4, and the internet has reacted in particularly humourus fashion.

Excited by the prospect of a high-end Navi GPU or two? Well, AMD's partners are seemingly prepping themselves for some new product releases too, with one filing trademarks for four unreleased Navi SKUs at the EEC. We discuss whether this new finding means anything or not, as the case may be.

Asus goes over core details on the upcoming VivoBook S series, Chromebook Flip C436, TUF Gaming A15/A17, G-Sync-enabled TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A monitor, ROG Strix GA35 gaming desktop, and the Zephyrus G14 laptop equipped with 4th gen AMD Ryzen H series CPUs.

According to developer statements, both Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Marvel's Avengers will be delayed. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is now slated to arrive on 10th April, while Marvel's Avengers will only launch on 4th December.

Industry sources claim that Microsoft has chosen Phison as the SSD controller supplier for the upcoming Xbox Series X, so there is a fair chance we could see PCIe 4.0 read speeds of up to 7,000 MB/s and 1 million IOPS, essentially allowing for more detailed textures, smoother gameplay and lightning fast load times.

MediaTek has announced the Helio G70 and G70T, a pair of processors that, like the G90s before them, are aimed at gaming-phone OEMs. However, the new chipsets are also intended for a lower tier of that market compared to their predecessors. They have 8 cores made of ARM Cortex-A75 and A55 cores, 4G connectivity and "HyperEngine game" technology.

Asus has launched its first custom GPU for Intel’s forthcoming ‘Ghost Canyon’ modular gaming NUCs. The new card is a compact version of Nvidia’s RTX 2070 features two Axial-tech fans two help maximize frame rates during play.

The popular Indie platformer VVVVVV is now open source and available on GitHub. Terry Cavanagh, the creator of the game, detailed the process of porting the original Adobe Flash release to C++ for release on PC on his blog. It's an entertaining read, especially for fans of the game.

A Sony spokesperson just confirmed that the company won't be attending E3 2020, because it thinks that the event is not an ideal platform to unveil the PlayStation 5. This makes it two years in a row, as Sony was absent from E3 2019 as well. The company is likely to reveal the PlayStation 5 at one of its in-house events.

Might & Magic: Chess Royale is Ubisoft's upcoming mobile game. It is an Auto Chess game based in the Might and Magic universe. The game will release on January 30th on Android and iOS, and is available for pre-registration now.

The Red Magic 3 was one of the most interesting gaming phones of 2019. Now, its OEM's president Ni Fei has posted an image on Weibo suggesting that this device's successor's refresh rate could be cranked up to 144 hertz (Hz). However, the spec apparently needs to complete testing before it finds its way to a Nubia display.

With the incredibly wide range of refresh rate displays available, 60Hz is starting to look like a thing of the past. While high refresh rate displays have numerous benefits, is it really worth it in the long run?

No, you don't need a stable 144 FPS to take advantage of a 144 Hz display. For gaming laptops in particular where CPU and GPU power are limited, these 240 Hz and 300 Hz high refresh rate panels are more useful for their wide range of divisors than their native refresh rate.

Ampere GPUs may be back on track for a Q1 2020 release, according to current rumours. Previously slated to arrive in 2H 2020, the likes of the RTX 3070, RTX 3080 and RTX 3080 Ti could arrive as soon as March.

Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok, which is apparently codenamed Kingdom, appears to have been leaking all over the place lately. The numerous leaks have included details about the gameplay and story, and there is even a supposed first look at the game’s lead character, Jora. The next episode in the famed series is expected to be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

The MSI GS series is home to some of the thinnest and lightest gaming laptops in the market and yet the latest model will be 10 percent heavier and 13 percent thicker than its predecessor. MSI wants to prove that it isn't just blindly chasing towards thinness and weight with the GS66 in an attempt to offer a better balance between rigidity, performance, and size.

A new rumor has suggested that Xiaomi is planning on fitting its upcoming Black Shark 3 smartphone with a whopping 16 GB of RAM. Along with that huge amount of memory, the gaming-focused device would also be 5G capable, making it a sure-fire futureproofed handset for those who seek the most mobile form of high-end gaming enjoyment.

A rumor is circling that the Xbox Series X may feature a "Windows mode" startup option, effectively giving gamers access to a full-fat version of Windows on Microsoft's new gaming console. Will Windows mode really happen? Will you be able to run Steam on your Xbox Series X?

Even though the high-end Navi GPU is supposed to launch this summer, engineering samples appear to already be tested in the wild. The alleged high-end Navi model that popped in cyubeVR OpenVR benchmark, for example, is 17% faster than Nvidia's RTX 2080 Ti, and performance could slightly improve for the commercial version.

The Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass will comprise of The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, which will bring over 200 Pokémon to the games. The catch? It will set you back US$29.99.

Success is mandatory. Failure is treason. Happiness is also mandatory. The dystopian universe has tones of Big Brother and mixes in the overly-optimistic billboard material seen in the Fallout franchise. Paranoia seeks to create a virtual representation of the cult classic tabletop game, but can it transfer the tension of playing against friends into playing against the AI?

Showcased today at Pokémon Direct, Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a remake of the Game Boy Advance and DS Mystery Dungeon games released between 2005 and 2008. Rescue Team DX will arrive on March 6, while a free demo is available to play now.

The PlayStation 5 is already slated to be more powerful and have considerably faster loading times than its predecessor, but a new leak points towards the console featuring other hardware that will distinguish it from its rivals. A November 20 release and US$399 price tag have been bandied around too.

Intel shied away from revealing too much about the Xe DG1 earlier this week, but a leaked set of renders and pictures have lifted the lid on the company's upcoming GPU. Sporting a smart metal design, the DG1 will likely turn heads.

While AMD's renders of the Xbox Series X were unofficial designs sourced from a third party, new renders of the next-gen console have popped up, courtesy of Brad Sams of Thurrott. Citing inside sources, the renders claim to show a more accurate port selection than AMD's.

Seemingly in response to AMD's RX 5600 XT announcement, Nvidia's slashed prices on the RTX 2060. The new EVGA RTX 2060 KO is set to arrive on January 13th, priced at just $299. What will this do to the RX 5600 XT and GTX 1660 Ti?

Israeli startup Adshir claims that its "algorithmic" LocalRay ray-tracing solution can be scaled to run on 2W smartphones. At CES 2020, the company showcased a non-RTX graphics card running LocalRay demos at 60 FPS. Is LocalRay set to transform ray-tracing in gaming?

The CES keynote did not touch on important aspects, but press representatives were able to obtain new info immediately after, when AMD CEO Lisa Su was kind enough to answer a torrent of questions at a separate Q&A session. Among the new details, Su confirmed the launch of high-end Navi-based GPUs with hardware-level ray tracing this year and the Navi APUs scheduled for 2021.

Rumors out of Taipei suggest Nintendo may being mass production of a new model of the Switch in Q1 2020 with a release halfway through the year. This could be the long-rumored Switch Pro, though details are still sparse.

Eluktronics has two new gaming laptops out. The MAX-15 and MAX-17 are claimed to be the lightest 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch gaming laptops, respectively, currently on the market. Despite their light weights and compact cases, both laptops pack some power thanks to a Core i7-9750H and up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-P.

Based on the APU images unveiled by the Xbox directors, the new chip is estimated to have a die 11% larger than the current one featured on the Xbox One X console. This should allow for more Zen 2 cores, hardware-based ray tracing and 8K video decoding. In other news, AMD goofs around by showing unofficial footage of the Xbox Series X rear connectors.

Dell has introduced the G5 15 Special Edition gaming laptop that is powered by the latest AMD mobile offerings including the 7nm Ryzen 7 4800H and the Radeon RX 5600M. The Dell G5 15 Special Edition comes with an optional 144 Hz FreeSync FHD display and includes the Alienware Command Center for system tuning and personalization.

More images of the PlayStation 5 devkit and a possible DualShock 5 controller have been leaked. This time, a cleaner working for a developer involved with Sony’s next-generation console decided to upload the pictures while giving the office a thorough dusting. These latest images give a closer look at the hefty controller that could be the DualShock 5.

A lot is riding on the latest AMD-only gaming laptops to do well in the market. If models like the MSI Alpha 15, Dell G5 15 SE, or Asus TUF FX505DY/FX705DY aren't selling, then AMD-powered gaming laptops will likely be on yet another hiatus. AMD has been having a tough time cracking into the gaming laptop space in contrast to its brisk desktop PC sales.

The 14-inch Zephyrus G14 will be the smallest gaming laptop in its family and it'll be the first to offer AMD Ryzen 4000 HS-series options. Optional 1 mm-thick outer lid LED covers add a unique level of customization not seen on other laptops.

Asus' budget to mid-range TUF laptops are getting new 3rd gen AMD H-series processors and a new naming convention that will make it easier for consumers to follow.

AMD has introduced the Radeon RX 5600 XT at CES 2020 to take on NVIDIA's GTX 1660 series for 1080p Ultra gaming. Using the RDNA architecture with 36 CUs and 6 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, the RX 5600 XT seems to show considerable gains over the GTX 1660 Ti and is all set to retail on January 21 from US$279.

The Panasonic SC-HTB01 is a soundbar developed in partnership with Square Enix to suit gaming-related audio content. It has 3 appropriately-themed audio presets: RPG, FPS and Voice. They can inform the device's dual frontal speakers and sub-woofers, which are rated for a total 80 watts (W) of power.

The GF65 Thin is an MSI laptop that usually ships with a standard-issue dark-metal tones and logo. However, the OEM has developed new SKUs of this PC with an "on-trend" camouflage design. It is found on the notebook's lid, which may also come with updated specs.

Who says thin gaming laptops have to sacrifice battery life? MSI has expanded the internal battery capacity for its thinnest gaming laptop to the legal limit. Nonetheless, we'll have to test the battery life ourselves to see how much of a difference the larger battery will actually make.

The GE65 will get a successor later this year with the GE66. MSI is doubling down on aesthetics and thinness especially since Intel and Nvidia have no major processor announcements this year at CES.

NVIDIA has announced the release of a new Game Ready driver at CES 2020. The new driver brings support for variable rate supersampling (VRSS), Freestyle splitscreen, updates to image sharpening, and frame rate limiting among others. Also being announced today is support for RTX in more games with Wolfenstein: Youngblood set to deliver an RTX patch this week.

The company claims AI integration can "deliver better performance in almost all network environments" by scanning the area for access points and optimizing user settings automatically in the background. The technology will target gamers before inevitable making its way down to more mainstream laptops.

Intel teased about the upcoming 10th gen Comet Lake-H CPUs at CES 2020 but did not divulge many details. Intel also showed off the Ghost Canyon NUC that will bring support for Core i9 H-series and discrete GPUs. Intel's early sneak peek points to the company being wary of AMD's announcements tomorrow.

NVIDIA is demoing the world's first 360 Hz G-Sync display at CES 2020. Built in collaboration with Asus, the ROG Swift 360 is a 24.5-inch FHD display that supports G-Sync VRR and offers a 360 Hz refresh rate with extremely low latency. Given the ever-expanding eSports market, NVIDIA feels that competitive gamers will find this refresh rate advantageous for faster reaction times and crystal clear visuals.

At CES 2020, Acer introduced three new monitors to its Predator lineup. These include the 55-inch Predator CG552K 4K OLED display, the Predator X32 that is DisplayHDR 1400-certified, and the Predator X38 UWQHD+ panel with a 175 Hz overclocked refresh rate. All monitors feature a wide color gamut coverage and a deltaE<1 color accuracy, which should make them appealing to both gamers and creative pros.

Lenovo has new gaming peripherals to debut at CES 2020. The Legion K300 is an entry-level RGB keyboard, while the Legion M300 is an equally budget-friendly mouse. The M600, on the other hand, is a USB type C wireless mouse touted as having the same 1000 hertz (Hz) polling rate as its wired counterparts.

Lenovo has brought its first-gen eGPU to CES 2020. The BoostStation is part of the Legion line-up, and accomodates cards such as those of the NVIDIA GeForce 20-series and Radeon RXs. It also supports Thunderbolt 3 and 100-watt (W) power delivery for a connected PC.

At just 0.58 inches (14.9mm) in depth, the Lenovo Legion Y740S is a strikingly skinny 15.6-inch laptop. However, the OEM asserts it is rated for up to 8 hours of battery life. It can be configured with up to 10th-gen core i9 processors, supports eGPUs and has 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports.