Digital Foundry Direct Weekly DF Direct Weekly #212: Big Xbox Price Hikes, Doom The Dark Ages Path Tracing, Far Cry 4 60FPS!
May 5, 2025
Microsoft's drastic price hikes for Xbox consoles steal the spotlight this week. Exciting details emerge about the path tracing capabilities in Doom: The Dark Ages. Meanwhile, the 60FPS update for Far Cry 4 is making waves on the PS5. Alex tests various mods for Oblivion to combat stutter issues, with mixed results. Plus, Nintendo faces backlash over stripped game sharing features. Speculation swirls around upcoming RTX 5070 and 5080 Super graphics cards as well, raising questions about VRAM enhancements and their impact on gaming.
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Xbox Console Price Hikes Risk Sales
- Xbox Series X and S prices have increased significantly years after launch, with the Series X now $599 and Series S $379 in the US.
- This unprecedented late price increase risks reducing sales, especially as Xbox subsidized models seem to be ending.
Console Prices Rise Amid Cost Pressure
- Component and manufacturing costs are rising industry-wide, preventing console price drops and causing some increases.
- Xbox appears to be moving away from subsidizing consoles, focusing on multi-platform strategies and Game Pass revenue instead.
Avoid Ineffective Oblivion INI Mods
- Testing mods for Oblivion Remastered shows some popular anti-stutter engine tweaks don't noticeably improve performance or reduce stutter.
- Avoid relying on INI config tweaks alone; stutter fixes require developer-side optimizations, not community INI mods.