Category: Business

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Don’t Pass on GamePass

Over the span of 7 years, the Xbox brand has been transformed into an entity almost unrecognizable from its 2013 self. The massive undertaking of accruing lost MindShare and rejuvenating the gaming division was not a simple task, but was one that Phil Spencer and the wholly dedicated team at Microsoft’s Xbox division were more than up to. 

The official GamePass account on Twitter announced today that the titular Baseball franchise, MLB: The Show would be launching Day and Date on GamePass for the Xbox. This includes both the Xbox One and Series X version of the game. Coming off the excitement of recently launched Outriders being in GamePass as well, we have a very important precedent that is being set not only for the service, but the Xbox Ecosystem as a whole. 

Outriders

Xbox has been cementing itself as ‘the’ place to play for console play-no-for gamers in general, at an incredibly staggering rate. Cross-platform saves for games available on PC and console, heavy support for Cross-play, an impressive Backwards Compatible structure that sees 4 generations of games given new life, legacy support for existing accessories, and a very solid mobile gaming solution are just some of the highlights one will experience being in the Xbox ecosystem. However, there is one very important piece that completes the puzzle. That piece is GamePass.

Being available on PC, Console, and Mobile means that you are able to access a huge library of games, old and new, virtually anywhere and in anyway that is most preferable to you. For less than the cost of a Premium Netflix subscription (Currently $17.99, whereas GP Ultimate is $14.99.) you have unlimited access to every game available in the service, can collect Perks and Rewards for other services and games, and will receive discounts on games and add-ons among other things. 

This isn’t even mentioning the acquisition of Bethesda and Zenimax that has now put hit titles like Doom: Eternal, the Wolfenstein series, and even underappreciated gems like Prey back into the service with the benefit of the Series X|S’s FPS boost and performance enhancements. I know this all reads like some kind of ad for GamePass, and maybe it ultimately is, but that’s because the service and what Microsoft is doing with it is just that good.

https://youtu.be/oWLQUse0oYg

Seeing what GP has become from its ‘very’ humble beginnings of only a handful of games and a mission is remarkable. What’s more is that there’s no reason to be concerned with whether the platform is sustainable and beneficial for developers since time and time again, studios have come forth and praised the service. Case in point: If video games are the entertainment equivalent of your favorite foods, then GamePass is the buffet made up of all your favorite dishes plus a bevvy of treats that may have never thought to try before. Don’t just take my word for it. Try it out for a month. Go in with no expectations, start playing games, and see what happens.   

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Fight On. Killer Instinct Lives.

Last night was a treat for fighting game enthusiasts. Particularly those of us fond of a little old game called Killer Instinct. Fans were treated to one of the most exciting fighting game tournaments thanks to a collaboration between streaming platform Twitch’s Twitch Rivals division, super popular content creator, streamer, and longtime advocate of the FGC (Fighting Game Community), Maximillian Dood, and numerous other supporters. 

The premise was simple: Get 32 of some of the best Killer Instinct players and host an online tournament to not only generate some excitement, but also remind people of how good of a game the 2013 Killer Instinct is (and also give the Winners and Top Placers a nice little cash prize.). What we got was a rather professional tourney complete with energetic commentary, documentary snippets, and interviews that highlighted the production process and what actually went on behind the scenes of the game’s development process. This was the icing on the cake as we were treated to some of the highest level of play you’ve ever witnessed in a fighting game. 

Buy Killer Instinct: Combo Breaker Add-On - Microsoft Store
Killer Instinct’s reboot debuted in 2013 with a humble 6 man roster, but quickly began evolving into something far more.

 

Longtime players like @WheelsFGC, @NickyFGC, @CharbokFGC, @XiBassiX, @Hologrammmxx1, and so many others brought nothing less than their best to put on a show like no other. It’s always a personal treat for me to see and interact with longtime players and community members during these events. When it comes to Killer Instinct, participating in a tournament feels more like gathering friends and family together for a Super Bowl party than watching your typical online event. 

Ever since the reboot debuted all the way back in 2013 (Has it really been 8 years already?!) a very passionate and dedicated community was formed around KI. From its humble beginnings with a 6 man roster in Season 1 which eventually evolved into its insanely diverse and eccentric cast of 29, Killer Instinct was always supported by a seemingly ravenous community that remained hungry for more content.  Of the 29 available fighters, we saw 18  of them on display last night; more than half of the roster. This speaks to how well designed the entire cast is, as there is quite literally someone for every type of player here.

See the source image
The Wolf and the Spider.

 

The most important takeaways from last night’s festivities is that Killer Instinct is very much alive and still has a lot to offer newcomers and veterans alike. Not only this, but as over 43K viewers tuned in on an unassumingly ordinary Monday evening, it shows Microsoft that the IP still has a magnetic draw. 

 

With the exception of the recent update that improved the game’s performance for the Series X/S consoles in Oct. 2020, Killer Instinct had largely remained untouched since 2018. KI is easily one of the most content complete fighting games on the market with its huge roster, single player offerings, bevy of multiplayer modes, and some of the best Tutorials and on boarding you’ll ever come across. Not only this, but there is a smorgasbord of community created content to help new and longtime players learn and improve. Of particular note is @Infilament’s insanely detailed guide that breaks down nearly every single nuanced element of the game.  You can view that right HERE.

Kan-Ra Revealed as Next Killer Instinct Season 2 Character
Maya was treated to a fantastic redesign for her debut as one of Season 2’s new characters.

 

Ever since I walked into my local PowerZone arcade and heard Chris Sutherland (original announcer) screaming at the top of his lungs and being entranced by the crazy 1994 cabinet design all those years ago, I’ve held Killer Instinct close to my heart. This IP is special, and absolutely deserves to be nurtured further. The Xbox brand is in the perfect position to really elevate the franchise and bring it to as many people as possible. It would be absolutely criminal to let it languish as long as it did before its 2013 reboot all over again.

Buy Killer Instinct Classic - Microsoft Store
Where it all started.

 

In the meantime, we can still enjoy this absurdly entertaining gem via Crossplay on Xbox consoles, Windows 10 (also available on GamePass!), or on Steam (Note that progress from other platforms does not transfer over to the Steam version).

Fight on, friends. Fight on. 

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Sony Adds some Crunch to its Dish

It has been reported that Sony is entering final negotiations to purchase the CrunchyRoll Anime streaming service. The buyout could potentially run them over 100 Billion Yen (That’s around $957 Million after conversions). With over 70 million Free Members and 3 million Subscribers, there is certainly growth and profit to be made in the long run. This is especially true when Anime continues to grow in popularity in the West year over year. 

It’s worth noting that Sony also has a 95% stake in Funimation, giving them quite the foothold in the anime department. The acquisition comes at an interesting time when shareholders and consumers alike are monitoring Sony’s moves to see whether they try to take hold of any Studios in light of Microsoft’s ongoing acquisitions. This is a good reminder that Sony has always been more than a Playstation centric business. Technology and Media is still at the forefront of their ventures. 

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Microsoft Confirms the Xbox Series X & S are “The ONLY Next-Gen Consoles” with FULL RDNA 2 Hardware Support

AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 Series of RDNA 2 GPUs have been revealed today, and following the presentation, Microsoft released an statement of their own. Simply put, the Xbox Series X/S will be the only next-generation consoles “with full hardware support for all the RDNA 2 capabilities AMD showcased today.” This flies directly into the face of those that have been disputing the implementation for months now, and puts the narrative to bed.

The following are some excerpts from the announcement that go into further detail regarding the technology:

“AMD’s latest RDNA 2 architecture delivers a significant increase in performance and efficiency over previous architectures, as well as adding new hardware acceleration capabilities including hardware accelerated DirectX Raytracing, Mesh Shaders, Sampler Feedback and Variable Rate Shading. Hardware accelerated DirectX Raytracing, showcased at launch by titles such as Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs: Legion, enables developers to deliver a new level of visual fidelity and immersion through techniques such as realistic lighting, shadows, reflections and acoustics. 

Mesh Shaders can manipulate geometry in real time to provide a high level of fidelity and flexibility that developers have never had before. Sampler Feedback greatly improves memory efficiency by allowing games to load into memory, with fine granularity, only the portions of textures that the GPU needs for a scene, as it needs it, providing an effective 2.5x memory and bandwidth multiplier beyond the raw hardware capabilities. Sampler Feedback also enables efficient creation and shading of textures on-demand. 

Finally, Variable Rate Shading (VRS) delivers much finer grain control on how developers can leverage the full power of the Xbox Series X|S by enabling developers to focus their GPU resources on the areas of a frame that most benefit without reducing the overall image quality. 

By leveraging techniques like VRS, games such as Gears 5 can see performance increases up to 15% and beyond resulting in higher, more consistent frame rates and resolution at the exact same image quality. All of these next-generation capabilities are available via hardware in both the Xbox Series X and Series S and we are excited for them to also come to PC, providing a common set of features that developers can rely on when developing their games across console and PC.” 

Check the full article Here

On the flip side of things, Sony’s PS5 will feature some Custom RDNA 2 features, but will not be utilized at the Hardware level. 

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So Fresh and So Clean

With the official launch of the Xbox Series X|S looming in the distance, Microsoft has officially opened Pre-Orders for their new line of controllers. The new accessories are coming in three distinct flavors: Robot White (Comes with Series S), Carbon Black (Tried & True Classic that comes with the Series X), and the infamous Shock Blue which looks very nice and will probably end up in a lot of owner’s homes before the year’s end.

Aside from numerous performance tweaks, both Hardware & Software based, and the new Share Button, anyone familiar with current Xbox Controllers will feel right at home with the new designs. Better yet, each controller will retail for $59.99-MSRP. That’s right; No arbitrary price hike. You get premium, improved products for the same price you’d pay right now. Win-Win. What’s more, if you don’t want/need an extra controller right away, you can still use ALL of your existing accessories with your shiny new Series X|S.

Check the image below for the official landing page!

Official Microsoft Image

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Coffee

I’ll tell you right now; I love coffee. No, not that sugar infused, drowned in milk, and topped with whip cream mess most people associate it with. There are few things more pleasing in the morning or during an afternoon siesta than a freshly brewed cup of roasted beans. Sure, I like a bit of creamer here and there, but never enough to drown out the actual flavor of the coffee; more so to compliment it. Now, if you like your sugary drink piled high that’s perfectly fine, it’s your taster’s choice (Har-har), but why do people like to demonize coffee as some ritualistic, addictive concoction that becomes some glorified obstacle to overcome? Continue reading “Coffee”

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The iPhone 12 is on its way

In just two short days, consumers will be able to ravenously duel one another to the death for a chance to pre-order Apple’s shiny new product: The iPhone 12.

So what does the 12 offer over the 11 anyway? For starters, it’s packing a new OLED display with the company’s True Tone tech and a sharper 2,532 by 1,170 resolution. It’s also sporting the same flat-edged design as Apple’s recently announced iPad Air. What’s more, is that it’s thinner and smaller than its predecessor, and if the claims hold true, more durable as well. This newfound durability is attributed to the new Ceramic Shield glass layer over the display that the company says is four times more drop-resistant than the glass on the iPhone 11.

-Apple

The 12 is sporting the latest A14 Bionic chip for its processing power, a unit which Apple claims is 15 percent faster and 30 percent more power-efficient than its A13 silicon. The 12 also comes with 5G network support. For the photographers among us, there’s a new 12-megapixel camera with a fast f/1.6 aperture lens alongside the same ultra-wide camera that was on the iPhone 11. According to Apple, the primary camera improves on low-light performance by 27 percent. You can check out Apple’s official page for a full, detailed breakdown of the phone’s specs.

-Apple

MagSafe is also making a comeback in the form of new magnetic sensors that allow for some interesting repurposing. The tech will allow you to snap a wireless charger directly to the back of the phone. Apple plans to release accessories like credit cardholders that take advantage of this technology in the future. A bit of a facepalm moment was the confirmation that you’ll have to use existing power adapters to charge the phone or buy a new one (Neither of the models announced during Apple’s presentation come with one.) At the very least they’re being nice enough to include a USB-C to Lightning cable for fast charging. So, yay? The iPhone 12 will cost $829 ($30 more if you’re not purchasing it through AT&T or Verizon.). Pre-orders open this Friday, October 16th, with general availability starting on October 23rd.

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Should You Pick the Pixel 5?

It’s that time of year again. The time where are current phones start to look less appealing and archaic as brand-spanking new models start trickling in and teasing with more power, better speeds, and even more megapixels for our cameras. Leading the charge is Google’s new Pixel 5. Coming in at $699 it already has the jump on the competition in regards to affordability. That’s 30% cheaper on average than the other leading brand, the Galaxy S20 and the iPhone 11 Pro. 

So, the price is pretty good, but does it offer the performance and features to contend with the big boys? Yes and no. In fact, the Pixel 5 is what I would call a very solid middle ground for someone looking to upgrade to high end device without obliterating their bank account. Sporting 2.4 GHz octa-core processor with 8 GBs of RAM and the Adreno 620 GPU, the Pixel 5 falls just a little behind the other two in raw speed, but offers power and efficiency in a familiar package. 

DESIGN

In terms of form factor and overall aesthetic, the Pixel 5 is very similar to its Google branded brothers and sisters of the past few years. So, don’t expect any crazy or bold revision to the outer hardware. Of note is the rear-mounted Pixel Imprint fingerprint sensor and the square camera module sporting dual optics.

DISPLAY

The 90Hz refresh rate has made a return which may or may not be to some people’s chagrin. However, it does mean that you get the smoothness and clarity full HD-OLED display without the taxing drain on battery life. 

CAMERA

The primary 12.2-megapixel lens is a mainstay in the Pixel brand; it’s been around since the Pixel 2 days, and Google mostly relies on software enhancements to continually improve its output.

The secondary lens is a new 16-MP ultrawide camera this time around; replacing the telephoto lens employed in last year’s version. Google was criticized by some for offering a telephoto lens with a very slight optical zoom advantage in the Pixel 4, rather than an ultrawide lens that might’ve been more useful to owners.

The Pixel 5 still benefits from Google’s Super Res Zoom tech, which employs artificial intelligence to digitally zoom without losing detail. Super Res Zoom is capable of producing some impressive results, often times indistinguishable from what you’d get using optical zoom, so the lack of dedicated optics isn’t much of a bother.

 

Night Sight  is new to Portrait Mode as well as the Portrait Light feature that lets you adjust the light striking your face, even post capture. From within Google Photos app, you’ll be able to add Portrait Light effects to photos that have been collecting dust in your folders for ages. Rounding out the package are three new video stabilization modes that should help those that often find their footage ruined by shaky hands.

pixel 5 leak

PERFORMANCE

Sporting a Snapdragon 765G chipset, the Pixel 5 is coming with a fairly powerful CPU. It’s not as quick as the Snapdragon 865 inside modern Androids however. In fact, it’s not even as powerful as the Snapdragon 855 inside the now-defunct Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. Nevertheless, the Snapdragon 765G will be enough to support Google’s A.I. based features, like Call Screen, as well as the new Hold For Me function. With this feature, the Pixel 5 will be able to wait on the line for you when you’re on hold, and notify you when someone becomes available on the other end.

Below is a chart with a stat breakdown of the Pixel 5 versus its direct competition. What do you think? Interested? Already Pre-Ordered? Is the Pixel 5 even much of an upgrade at this point? Who knows. I suppose that’s entirely up to the consumer.

 

Pixel 5

Galaxy S20

iPhone 11 Pro

Pricing

$699

Starts at $999

$999 / $1149 / $1349

Dimensions

144.7 x 70.4 x 8 mm (5.7 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches)

151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm (5.97 x 2.72 x 0.31 inches)

144 x 71.4 x 8.1 mm (5.67 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches)

Weight

151g (5.33 ounces)

163g (5.75 ounces)

188g (6.63 ounces)

Screen size

6 inches (152.4 mm)

6.2 inches (157.58 mm)

5.8 inches (147.32 mm)

Screen resolution

2,340 x 1,080 (432 ppi)

3,040 x 1,440 (563 ppi)

2,436 x 1,125 (458 ppi)

Screen type

FHD+ Flexible OLED

Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X

Super Retina XDR OLED

Battery

4,080 mAh

4,000 mAh

Up to 18 hours of video playback

Internal storage

128 GB

128 GB

64 / 256 / 512 GB

External storage

None

micro SD

None

Rear camera(s)

Two cameras:
Ultrawide, 16MP, f/2.2
Dual-pixel, 12.2MP, f/1.7

Three cameras:
Ultrawide, 12MP, f/2.2
Wide, 12MP, f/1.8
Telephoto, 64MP, f/2.0

Three cameras:
Ultrawide, 12MP, f/2.4
Wide, 12MP, f/1.8
Telephoto, 12MP, f/2.0

Front camera(s)

8MP, f/2.0

10MP, f/2.2

12MP, f/2.2

Video capture

4K at 60 fps

8K

4K at 60 fps

SoC

Qualcomm 765G

Samsung Exynos 9825

Apple A13 Bionic

CPU

2.4 GHz octa-core

2.7 GHz octa-core

2.65 GHz hexa-core

GPU

Adreno 620

ARM Mali-G76 MP12

unnamed quad-core

RAM

8 GB

12 GB

4 GB

WiFi

Dual band, 802.11ac

Dual band, 802.11ac/ax

Dual band, 802.11ac/ax

Bluetooth

v5.0

v5.0

v5.0

NFC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Operating system

Android 11

Android 10

iOS 13

Other features

IP68 certified, USB-C, Qi wireless charging

IP68 certified, USB-C, WPC/PMA wireless charging

IP68 certified, Lightning connector, Qi wireless charging
 

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Speed. Power. Efficiency.

The embargo on the preview builds of the Xbox Series X and Series S has been lifted; well, for most of its functionality and Backwards Compatible features (We have to wait a bit more for Next-Gen only games running natively.), but already the impressions have been nothing short of invigorating. 

Media outlets and figure heads such as Digital Foundry, Engagdet, The Verge, Geoff Keighley, Jeff Grubb, and IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey have been chiming in with the time they’ve spent putting the Series X through its paces thus far. Since they were all restricted to certain features such as Quick Resume, specific UI functionality and only able to play Backwards Compatible games they are limited to exactly what they can report, but what they have is overwhelmingly positive. The overall consensus is that the Series X is not only super fast, but it’s also whisper quiet and wholly efficient.

Xbox Series X

Jesica Conditt from Engadget stated after trying out  Remedy’s Control “-booting up a scene on Xbox One takes 30 to 38 seconds, while the same scene on Series X consistently takes just 9 seconds, 10 at the most. This ratio rings true for most games I’ve tested, and it’s significantly changed the way I interact with the new console overall.“. These are just raw improvements thanks to the SSD and I/O solutions as well. Any devs that decide to add a little extra TLC to their existing titles can do so  and really crank up the performance and visual fidelity. 

Tom Warren from The Verge provided a nice breakdown (posted below) of load time comparisons for the games he tested out. Across the board you can see a nearly 50% decrease in load times, with big games like Red Dead Redemption 2 having almost a full minute shaved off. Again, this is all just raw performance boosts from running on the Series X. 

XBOX SERIES X LOAD TIMES

Game Xbox Series X Xbox One X
CoD: Warzone 16 seconds 21 seconds
Red Dead Redemption 2 52 seconds 1 min, 35 seconds
The Outer Worlds 6 seconds 27 seconds
Evil Within 2 33 seconds 43 seconds
Sea of Thieves 20 seconds 1 min, 21 seconds
Warframe 25 seconds 1 min, 31 seconds
AC: Odyssey 30 seconds 1 min, 7 seconds
No Man’s Sky 1 min, 27 seconds 2 mins, 13 seconds
Destiny 2 43 seconds 1 min, 52 seconds

Why is this dedication to a quality Backwards Compatible solution so important though? Don’t we buy new consoles to play new games? Yes, we do. However, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that games consistently whom does not have an extensive backlog. There will be millions of Xbox owners that have a metric ton of physical and digital games sitting in their backlog. The Series X and S are offering them improved versions of those games at no additional cost beyond buying the console. This increases the value of current and older gen games by virtue of making them even more appealing to the consumer.

I can go on record and say that I have dozens fully sealed and unfinished games I’m holding off on to boot up on my Series X, simply because I know they will play and perform better there. My digital library is another beast entirely that may never be fully conquered. 

On the subject of Quick Resume, IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey had this to say: “I tried out Quick Resume, and Microsoft wasn’t kidding around. It works! I like that they even put a little “Quick Resume” icon in the upper right corner of the screen to let you know that you won’t have to wait for the entire game to load from scratch.” Renowned content creator, Jeff Grubb also confirmed that he was “-able to jump into 4 different games in under 90 seconds. Totally. It was kind of incredible.“

Now, for some real meat and potatoes comparisons I wholly suggest watching Digital Foundry’s extensive testing of these features. Games like Dead or Alive 6 saw a jump from variable 30+ fps to a rock solid and consistent 60fps with cleaner visuals. One more time; These are just raw improvements. None of the tested games have been enhanced by the developers. Where Final Fantasy XV’s Lite Mode saw dips within the 40-30fps range, on the Series X it maintained a buttery smooth 60fps throughout.  

Image

I, for one, am very excited for the performance benchmarks we are about to see for Next-Gen only titles on the Series X. If you want to take a look at the previews, I’ve included the links below!

Digital Foundry

The Verge, Tom Warren  

Engadget, Jesica Conditt 

Jeff Grub 

IGN, Ryan McCaffrey  

Geoff Keighley 

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The Next-Gen Storage Solution

Director of Program Management, Jason Ronald has spoken with Xbox Wire  regarding the portable NVME Storage Expansion Cards that will be usable with both the Series X and Series S. Aside from confirming how easy the cards will be to use (simply plug it into the expansion slot on the back of the console.), he goes into great detail about why and how the SSDs were necessary to deliver the smoothest and fastest data transfer solutions possible.

Of very important note is the reaffirmation that you can still use your existing USB HDDs, up to 3.1, to play your existing library of games as well as to swap Series X/S specific games to and from internal or expanded memory. It’s just another quality of life that continues to drive home Xbox’s Generational focus, something that long time fans will greatly appreciate.

It was also discovered that the Expanded 1TB drives will run a pretty $219.99 USD. Pretty hefty, but to no one’s surprise. NVME drives are still fairly expensive, but will slowly drop in the future. Check the attached Twitter post for more details!