Microsoft confirmed today that Xbox is not dead. In fact, the company announced Xbox consoles, a partnership with AMD, and what sounded like support for PC gaming stores and games on the next Xbox devices.
Xbox-chief Sarah Bond made the announcement in a video on YouTube. It is just a minute in total playtime and while short, includes some major announcements.
But first, here is the video.
The big announcements are the following ones.
About the partnership with AMD, multiple Xbox consoles, and a potential Xbox handheld:
I’m thrilled to share we’ve established a strategic multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices including our next-generation Xbox consoles, in your living room, and in your hands.
Xbox will support multiple stores. The mention of Windows is a strong hint at support for Windows gaming stores such as Steam.
[..] delivering you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device. hat’s why we’re working closely with the Windows team, to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming.
Xbox will include AI features and will be backwards compatible.
Together with AMD we’re advancing the state of art in gaming silicon to deliver the next generation of graphics innovation to unlock a deeper level of visual quality and immersive gameplay and player experiences enhanced with the power of AI, all while maintaining compatibility with your existing library of Xbox games.
Closing Words
Microsoft will release new Xbox consoles in the near future, likely around the same time that Sony will release its PS6 (console and handheld) to the public. It is too early to tell if the next Xbox will indeed support PC games.
Now You: do you play games at all on consoles or the PC? Would you buy an Xbox console or handheld that can play PC games?
Gog is an excellent resource for classic computer games. The platform runs a sale currently that offers discounts on more than 1,000 – mostly – old computer games. While that may deter gamers that want high-end graphics, it is a treasure trove for gamers who want to replay or play some of the greatest classics in computer gaming.
As an added advantage, games on Gog are not as expensive as modern titles. Even without discounts, you barely pay more than $10 for a game. During sales, prices drop to a few Dollar for many of the games.
Want some examples?
Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition, arguably the best title of the Dragon Age series, is available for less than $6 for the next eleven days.
Ultimate VII The Complete Edition is available for $1.37. The other Ultimate games, are available in two packs (Ultimate I, II, and II, and Ultimate IV, V, and V) for $1.37 each as well. There are also discounts for Ultimate Underworld, and Ultimate IX.
Thief II The Metal Age, one of the greatest stealth games of all time, costs $1.07.
X-Com 2, one of the best turn-based strategies, is available for $2.74
Jagged Alliance 2, another classic turn-based game, costs $2.18
Just browse the list and you will find huge discounts for games of all genres. The games are compatible with modern Windows PCs. While controls or visuals may not be on par with modern games, you can still have days of fun with some of the games easily.
These games should also work well on older PCs, as they are not that demanding than modern games.
While this reads like an advertisement, it is not. I like Gog a lot and buy games there regularly to replay old classics or play classics that I missed out on when they were released initially.
Now You: do you play computer games at all? If so, which games to you like and do you prefer modern or classic games?
If you do play games on your computer, you may have tabbed out of the game before to launch a web browser and run a search for clues or information. Steam users can use the integrated browser for that, which has been around for a long time.
Game Assist is Microsoft’s universal answer to the Steam browser, at least on Windows. It is an in-game browser that is available as a preview currently. It uses Microsoft Edge to render webpages and browse the Internet without leaving the game.
While that is theoretically also possible without the browser, as you can tab-out of most games to use other programs, some gamers may find the integration useful.
One of the most interesting features up to this point is the ability to display Game Assist information while you are playing. You can watch a video or display guides while playing the game.
One major downside up until now was that Game Assist did not support extensions. This meant that you had to endure ads and other unwanted elements while using it.
This changed with this week’s Game Assist update. The major addition is support for extensions. Install extensions in Edge and you can use them on Game Assist as well. Most extensions should work according to Microsoft.
Microsoft writes:
We heard your feedback that ad blockers are crucial, so we’re thrilled to bring initial support for extensions to Game Assist! Game Assist currently supports many extensions that automatically run on the webpage, like ad blockers. Extensions can be installed and managed using the desktop version of Microsoft Edge.
It is a good addition to Game Assist. The release notes highlight several other features of interest. More games are supported, there is a new menu that offers common browser controls such as opening a new tab, right-click support for certain page elements, an option to pin the current tab, and more.
The list of supported games is still relatively short. To become a truly universal option, Microsoft needs to improve game support significantly.
The first PlayStation launched on December 3, 1994. To celebrate that launch, Sony announced the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection today. It features two limited consoles and three peripherals, including a limited PlayStation 5 Pro console (without disc drive).
It will be “highly limited” according to Sony, more about that further down below.
Here is what Sony plans to release:
PlayStation 5 Pro Console – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition BundIe
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle
Both consoles feature the classic gray color scheme of the original PlayStation. They come with a vertical stand, which is sold separately, if you buy regular versions of the PlayStation.
Both versions have no disc drive, but include a matching cover for a disc drive. Both consoles come with a limited PlayStation 5 controller, four PlayStation Shapes cable ties, a PlayStation sticker, one of 30 limited edition PlayStation posters, and a PlayStation paperclip.
So, no PS5 Pro or PS5 with disc drive. Sony says that there will be 12,300 PlayStation 5 Pro console units in the limited design. Each console has its limited number etched onto the unit. The number represents December 3, the day and month of the launch of the first PS console.
Preorders begin on September 26 in regions where PlayStation Direct is available. In regions where Playstation Direct is not available, preorders may also begin on September 26, but only for some items.
Sony plans to release the anniversary collection on November 21, 2024. It has not revealed the price for any of the listed items.
It seems likely that the limited edition will sell out quickly. 12,300 units across all regions means that there is a tiny number that is sold in each region. While some users may be interested in the non-Pro 30th anniversary edition as well, it is probably a good idea to try your luck directly on September 26th, if you want to grab one of the consoles.
Scrapers are probably licking their fingers already to resell the limited editions on sites like eBay for a small fortune.
Sony announced the PlayStation 5 Pro officially today on YouTube during a tech reveal. It pretty much offers what leakers revealed weeks and months ago already. It is a system that is more powerful than the regular PlayStation 5 and supports AI upscaling.
I have to admit that I had plans to buy it. I’m not a huge gamer anymore, but I like to play from time to time. I did own a PS5 in the past, but sold it as I ran out of games to play.
The PS5 Pro would have been a good replacement, but the price is so far off that I won’t buy it. Here are the details:
Base PlayStation 5 Pro costs $699, £699 or €799. No disc drive, no vertical stand, but 2TB of storage, fully compatible with hardware, games and accessories.
Disc drive costs extra $79 in the US. In the EU, it costs €119.99.
Vertical stand is an extra $29 in the US. In the EU, it costs €29.99.
If you want a full PS5 with disc drive and stand, you end up with $800 in the US and almost €950 in the EU. That is without any games.
You can buy a good gaming PC for that money that plays more games and does a lot of other things that the PS5 Pro does not support.
Here is the presentation video, in case you are interested.
Maybe the price will come down eventually, but for now, it is one hell of an expensive console to buy.
Are you a gamer? What is your take on the price of the PS5 Pro? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
If you are a Steam user, you may know that Steam has an ever-growing assortment of games that are free to play. Valve does include demoes, free to play, and free games in the category, which makes it a bit difficult to find the interesting ones.
Generally speaking, free means that the game is free to download and play. These games usually do not include payable content.
Free to play games, on the other hand, usually come with content that you need to pay for. Some limit this to cosmetic items, others limit progression or entire parts of the game, if you do not pay.
Here is the overview:
Free — No in-game purchases. May offer DLC though.
Free to Play — May include in-game purchases, often to unlock content.
Free demos — Test versions of games that offer limited access to content.
Up until now, there was not really an option to check out trending free games on Steam. While you could browse the free to play listing of games, you’d only find “new & trending” and “trending upcoming” games there.
If you wanted to get a list of the hottest free games on Steam at the time of writing, you’d be out of luck.
Valve added a new trending free listing to Steam, but it is not where you’d expect it to be. You do not find it on the free to play page on Steam. Instead, it is found on the startpage.
Here is how you get there:
Open the Steam Store, either in the browser or in the Steam client.
Scroll down until you come to the New & trending listing.
Activate Trending Free there to display the free games that are trending on Steam right now.
Steam displays the top 10 free games that are trending on Steam right now. Note that you may get a mix of everything the free category has to offer. This means, that you may see free demos next to free to play and free games on Steam.
Is it a groundbreaking feature? Not really. Still, if you like to browse what is trending on Steam, you may find this new trending free filter useful as well.
Do you use Steam or another digital gaming platform? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
AMD has released the first version of Frame Latency Meter, an open source tool for Microsoft Windows devices that is measuring the latency of the mouse.
Technically, Frame Latency Meter helps getting insights into a system’s performance by measuring the mouse’s response time from the moment it is moved to the moment the frame is displayed on the screen.
Who is the target for the tool? This is an advanced tool that aims at game developers, but also power gamers who like to squeeze as many FPS as possible out of their rigs.
Here are the details:
Frame Latency Meter is compatible with devices running Windows 10 or 11.
It works on AMD, Intel, or Nvidia devices.
Data can be exported to CSV files.
Hotkeys are available and configurable.
Screen capture region can be customized.
The main advantage of AMD’s tool is that it does not require any special equipment.
AMD has a quick start guide on the project’s GitHub repository. While you can simply run the program after download, it does not need to be installed, you end up with the default configuration.
AMD suggests the following steps:
Configure the primary monitor to run the game on — Set to free sync or a manual refresh rate. AMD suggests to start with 60Hz first.
Run the application.
Press the right Alt-key to set the capture region bounding box. (only shows if the game is running in windowed mode).
Run the game.
Use the shortcut Alt-T to enable and disable the capturing.
In theory, you could use the tool to optimize gaming performance on any Windows system that meets the requirements.
Most gamers won’t, but it is nevertheless an interesting tool, especially for game developers who want to make sure their games run fine. Game developers who used high speed camera setups in the past may want to give this a go to see how it stacks up. It is a much cheaper option, after all.
Gamers who want to optimize their systems may run game-specific benchmarks to do so. This is a good way of adjusting game settings to improve performance.
What about you? Do you play computer games on your Windows systems? Feel free to leave a comment down below to let us know.
The next feature update for Windows 11 will likely introduce support for a new technology that Microsoft calls DirectSR. This technology promises to make the life of game developers easier. While gamers do not benefit directly from it, they will benefit indirectly, as games will make use of the technology.
DirectSR, the SR stands for Super Resolution, is a new DirectX API designed to improve the implementation of upscaling in games. Microsoft collaborated with NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel to develop DirectSR.
Developers have to implement specific upscaling technologies currently to support them. If they want to support these for AMD and NVIDIA cards, they need to implement NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and AMD FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution). These implementations take time to develop as the systems require different implementations.
This led to issues in the past, when games supported only one of the available upscaling technologies.
DirectSR promises to improve how upscaling is implemented. It offers a standardized interface for multiple upscaling technologies. Developers may use this option to implement upscaling technologies in their games across Windows and Xbox systems.
How DirectSR works
The core idea is simple: developers feed data that the API then routes to the upscalers. This works because upscalers tend to require the same set of data.
In other words: the API takes care of the processing of the data that the upscalers need to improve game performance and visuals. This means that developers need to provide the data just once to support all upscalers.
Microsoft promises that its new API covers upscaler updates as well. Company engineers update the API whenever necessary to support new features and changes.
Closing Words
Microsoft has not announced a release data for the new API yet. A likely target for inclusion on Windows is the release of the 2024 feature update for Windows 11. This will be released in the second half off 2024, like at the end of September or beginning of October 2024.
As is the case with new gaming technologies, it will take some time before games will make use of them. While some games may support the feature early, it may take years before a good number of games support it.
Much depends on Microsoft’s promise that the technology will make things easier for game developers.
Netflix is known for its streaming content, but it also offers a growing library of games to subscribers. These games are available free of charge currently.
On its games website, Netflix highlights the current advantages of games. These includes “no ads”, “no extra fees”, “no in-app purchases” and “unlimited access”.
As far as games are concerned, you find the usual assortment of casual games for the most part. What may be surprising to some is that you get some high quality games as well. This includes the “definitive editions” of Grand Theft Auto Vice City and San Andreas, and the blockbuster Into The Breach.
The free ride may be over soon
A Wall Street Journal report suggests (paywalled) that Netflix is evaluating a number of ways to monetize its games offering. Next to charging extra for premium titles, Netflix may also introduce in-app purchases or advertisement.
The change torpedoes all main features of Netflix Games, which most subscribers may not like on bit.
Besides this, Netflix also considers giving Standard with Ads subscribers access to the games section. Games are limited to Standard and Premium plans currently at Netflix.
Soon, and this seems a likely option, Standard with Ads subscribers may get their hands on at least some of the available games. These would, you guessed it already, come with advertisement.
Netflix has high hopes for its ad-powered plan. It continues to grow and the inclusion of games would make it more attractive to part of the target demographic.
Netflix Games: the future
Netflix tripled its games download rate in 2023. Count rose to more than 81 million downloads in 2023. For Netflix, it is important that downloads and use rise year on year.
Monetization is the next logical step for the company, even though it stated earlier that it did not want to go down that route. It is possible that Standard with Ads is getting access to ad-powered games only, and that the offer for ad-free subscribers remains as is.
Netflix could run some tests to see how premium game offers fare on the network.
If you are a Netflix subscriber and a gamer, you may want to give some of the games a go before things may change.
Streaming is evolving from its initial goal of providing a simpler ad-free experience. Numerous streaming services compete against each other now in a market that is pivoting towards ads. It is reducing the attractiveness of these services and pushes P2P again.
Boardgames are best played locally with a group of fellow players. Sometimes however, it may not be possible to assemble a group to play locally. Maybe members of the group are ill, on vacation or have other things to do. Another reason may be that you like games that other members of the group don’t want to play.
That’s were online boardgame services come in. BoardGameArena is one of those. It is one of the largest services of its kind. You may play hundreds of popular and lesser known boardgames there.
To name just a few major ones: Catan, Wingspan, Azul, Ark Nova, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne or 7 Wonders.
You do need an account to get started, but creating an account is free. Free users are limited in some regards. One of the main restrictions is that free players can’t create new tables for certain games. You may still join tables to play these games, but a premium member has to create the table in the first place. Premium is available for $3 per month if billed yearly.
Premium members have other benefits, including that multiple players can join from the same network or access to video and voice chat.
Getting started at BoardGameArena
Creating the account is the first step. Once done, you may want to start browsing the list of available games. The list is divided into sections, e.g. popular, casual games, family games or core gamer games.
Each game includes information on how to play it. Many include tutorials that teach you the game while you play it. Rules are always linked and you find video tutorials for many of the games as well.
You may want to add games to your list of favorites. These become available on the main page then when you select “play now”.
All open tables of your favorite games are listed and you may join any of those. You may also display all open tables or search for open tables for specific games.
There is also an option to watch a game without participating in it. This is an excellent option to learn the game.
Here is a quick list of what you may want to do after signing up:
Browse the list of supported games or use the search to find games of interest.
Read the rules, watch rule explanation videos or use virtual tutorials to learn the game.
Add games to your favorites to get open tables highlighted when you select the play now option on the site.
Playing boardgames
You play all boardgames in the browser. All modern browsers are supported and most games instruct you what you need to do in each turn.
First-time players get their time doubled. There is a time limit in all games. If you don’t play within the time limit you may be kicked out from the game by a vote. This affects your reputation on the site.
When creating games, premium players may block others from joining based on their reputation or skill in the game.
Most games require that you click on elements on the screen when it is your turn. You may be asked to play a card, put a meeple on the board or perform other actions that are common in boardgames.
BoardGameArena supports other game modes. The most common mode is “simple game” and “real-time”. You may switch simple game to arena or tournaments instead. Real-time can be switched to turn-based, which gives players more time and does not require them to be at the table at the same time.
Closing Words
BoardGameArena is a well maintained boardgaming website. New games are added regularly and players on the site are, for the most part, very friendly and helpful.
You may join the site to play exclusively with your friends, provided that at least one of the group subscribes to premium, or play games with people from all over the world.
While it does not beat playing games locally, it is an excellent option if time, location, availability or other factors prevent local sessions.
