Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

In the week where a favoured few posted their Steam Deck hardware reviews, and where Nintendo posted a new Direct, it's down to John, Rich and Alex to sift through the revelations and present their views and opinions... of which there are many.00:00:00 Introductions 00:00:41 Steam Deck review reaction 00:01:09 DF Bonus Q1: Did you receive a Steam Deck and what are your initial anecdotal impressions? 00:11:09 DF Bonus Q2: Do you think display cost is the (only) reason for the Steam Deck not having VRR and do you believe there's a chance we will get a revision with VRR anytime soon? 00:15:02 DF Bonus Q3: What do you think about Steam Deck having a system level FSR, so that the games don't actually have to support it? 00:23:04 DF Bonus Q4: Do you think the Steam deck as a platform would benefit more from frequent (yearly) iterations? 00:25:44 Nintendo Direct 2.9.2022 00:36:46 Call of Duty will stay on PS "beyond the existing agreement" 00:39:51 Google Stadia shifts focus to Google Stream 00:46:18 Crysis Remastered gets last patch 00:53:53 DF Supporter Q1: Alex, are you excited for Total War Warhammer 3? 00:55:46 DF Supporter Q2: Will a fast quad core like an Alder Lake i3 last for the rest of the generation since it out performs a similar 8 core to what is in the new consoles? 01:00:58 DF Supporter Q3: Are there any types of GPU cards that made a particularly strong impression on you? 01:09:23 DF Supporter Q4: Why don't the new consoles use 16x anisotropic filtering? 01:11:02 DF Supporter Q5: Do you think next-gen came too soon? 01:18:03 DF Supporter Q6: Do you think we will see Pro consoles again this generation? 01:23:25 DF Supporter Q7: Do any of you typically go in for collectors editions of games? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Digital Foundry team amass to discuss Sony's acquisition of Bungie, Destiny remaining multi-platform, DLSS arriving for Flight Simulator along with the phenomenal success of the Nintendo Switch. And what's the score with Dying Light 2's resolution reaction? 00:00:00 Introductions 00:00:33 Sony buys Bungie 00:15:22 DLSS coming to Flight Simulator 00:19:56 Switch is the fastest selling console of all-time 00:27:25 Bloodborne "PSX Demake" releases 00:31:50 Team17 pledges support for NFT, cancels support for NFT 1 hour later 00:40:51 DF Content Discussion: Dying Light 2 00:50:26 DF Supporter Q1: Do you believe that games on the next generations of consoles from Sony and Microsoft will rely mostly on ray tracing for rendering graphics? 00:52:56 DF Supporter Q2: Do you think the Steam Deck would be capable of becoming a portable 60fps PS3 thanks to the emulator RCPS3? 00:55:55 DF Supporter Q3: How does id Tech 7 avoid the shader compilation stutter issues we see in Unreal Engine games? 00:58:36 DF Supporter Q4: Does DLSS work with Dynamic Resolution? 01:02:05 DF Supporter Q5: When developers get a idea of what hardware will be in next-gen consoles? 01:07:58 DF Supporter Q6: Local hardware combined with cloud based hardware = Super hardware? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's going on with Call of Duty on PS5 following the Microsoft acquisition of Activision? What actually happened when Alex Battaglia discovered that Crysis 4 is in development? Just how good does the Resident Evil 4 HD mod look? The answers to these questions and many more are to be found in DF Direct Weekly #46 with Rich Leadbetter, Alex Battaglia and John Linneman on mic duties.00:00:00 Introductions 00:00:31 Activision/Microsoft continued 00:08:12 Crysis 4 announcement 00:12:57 DF Bonus Supporter Q: Crysis 4 get its own "parallax sand" moment? If so, what are your predictions on what Crytek will bring to the table? 00:16:13 New Black Myth Wukong dev diary 00:20:27 Resident Evil 4 HD Project will see release Feb 2 00:24:18 Epic Games Incubates New Studio in Poland 00:28:00 DF Content Discussion: Uncharted PS5 00:39:41 DF Supporter Q1: Would Sony be able to shrink the PlayStation 4 into a handheld form and have it play the entire PS4 library? 00:43:23 DF Supporter Q2: If Nvidia released an RTX 40xx series graphics card tomorrow, which games or tech demos in your current library would you want to test first? 00:52:54 DF Supporter Q3: Rich, when can we expect more 4K on a budget? 01:02:23 DF Supporter Q4: I've seen rumors that Sony is looking to add backwards compatibility of some sort for PS1, PS2, and PS3 to the PS5. How would you like to see Sony handle this? 01:09:28 DF Supporter Q5: With our move to a post-resolution future, what are some games that you think *do* benefit from a native resolution? 01:12:06 DF Supporter Q6: Do you think another player could (or even should) enter the console market as it is today? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audi, Alex and John take on this dramatic week of news as we further reflect on the ongoing Microsoft/Activision rumblings, the dreadful AMD RX6500 XT launch, Cloud only gaming on the switch, Diablo II DRM and even a bit of Netflix and chill. All this and more in DF Direct Weekly!00:00:00 Introductions 00:00:56 Microsoft/Activision 00:16:11 Horizon Forbidden West Story trailer (no spoilers) 00:20:27 Diablo II Remastered DRM troubles 00:26:22 AMD RX6500 XT 00:35:30 Kingdom Hearts on Switch, could only, $90 00:43:16 Cuphead coming to Netflix, Shenmue The Animation debuts Feb 00:48:13 Final Fantasy 7 classic version gets native 60fps support 00:54:30 DF Content Discussion: John's Big Rig 01:08:37 DF Content Discussion: Patreon content plans 01:11:27 DF Content Discussion: PC Time Capsules 01:14:53 DF Supporter Q1: With the upcoming Steam Deck I fear that it will flop because of availability issues. What are your thoughts on this? 01:17:23 DF Supporter Q2: Is there any hope for Xbox in the Japanese territory? 01:22:59 DF Supporter Q3: What are the chances that old Activision titles like Deadpool, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™: Out of the Shadows and the Transformers games by High Moon Studios will be relisted for PC again? 01:26:19 DF Supporter Q4: Take a favorite game of any genre, now have it remade in a completely different one. 01:29:50 DF Supporter Q5: Anything you guys looking forward to with HDMI 2.1a? 01:31:10 DF Supporter Q6: Do you think that Microsoft's acquisitions will eventually include major tv and film content? 01:33:28 DF Supporter Q7: Alex, what is the game box to the left of the white Quake box behind you? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Huge news shaking the core of the games industry today as Microsoft seemingly out of nowhere announced their acquisition of Activision/Blizzard/King, hot on the heels of them already adding Bethesda to their Xbox family. Audi Sorlie, Alex Battaglia and John Linneman enter the war room to discuss what this could potentially mean for Microsoft and the video game industry itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rich, Alex and Will take to the mics for DF Direct Weekly #44, talking about extended lifespans for last-gen consoles, a lacklustre patch for Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC, more woes from the PC hardware market and an interesting solution for getting Fortnite back on iOS devices...00:00:00 Introductions00:00:38 Is Sony Dealing With PlayStation 5 Shortages by Making More PS4s?00:04:59 Square Patches Final Fantasy 7 Remake PC00:13:21 GeForce 3080 12GB is causing problems00:21:16 Fortnite back on iOS via GeForce Now00:26:42 DF Content Discussion: Will's Weird Tech00:34:18 DF Content Discussion: Quake Remastered00:37:17 DF Content Discussion: God of War PC discussion00:45:30 DF Supporter Q1: Recent reports suggests Series S sales may be outpacing Series X. What does this mean for the future development environment of the Series X?00:52:06 DF Supporter Q2: Hypothetically, if VRR was to become the norm and every modern display had support for it, what sort of frame rates do you think developers should target?00:58:13 DF Supporter Q3: Hi DF, do you expect the continuing chip shortages to result in cross gen releases persisting for the majority of major releases through to the end of 2022?01:02:43 DF Supporter Q4: Have you ever had discussions about colour grading in games with devs?01:06:10 DF Supporter Q5: How plausible is Half Life Alyx on PSVR2 according to your crystal balls (of steel)? Any inside knowledge, rumor confirmation?01:07:04 DF Supporter Q6: Why do more PC games not just do the shader compilation in advance?01:12:00 DF Supporter Q7: Would the DF team consider exploring the topic of integrated graphics for gaming in a future episode?01:15:04 DF Supporter Q8: What title coming out in 2022 are you looking forward to the most from a tech perspective? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DF Direct Weekly is back for 2022, with John Linneman, Alex Battaglia and Rich Leadbetter emerging from the holiday break to regale you with almost eighty-seven minutes of the latest tech and gaming news.00:00:00 Introductions00:00:34 CES 2022: OLED & QDLED News00:11:25 CES 2022: AMD & Nvidia Conferences00:23:48 CES 2022: BMW iX colour changing car & Sony Vision00:28:08 CES 2022: Intel Conference00:32:11 Square Enix announces intent to go into NFT and blockchain00:40:59 Xbox Dev Mode gets "shut down", though not really.00:45:25 Alan Wake Remastered Adds Auto HDR Support on Xbox Series S|X00:49:31 DF Content Discussion: 2022 plans and resolutions01:00:27 DF Content Discussion: GOTYS01:02:56 DF Supporter Q1: Why do you feel gaming has never taken off on Mac?01:08:47 DF Supporter Q2: I'm curious if we'll ever see a DF Retro H20 part 3?01:16:18 DF Supporter Q3: What are your thoughts on the current state of AAA gaming, and what are your thoughts on the future of AAA gaming?01:19:57 DF Supporter Q4: Is it possible that PSVR2 could be the leading platform for the most cutting edge VR experiences for the next few years?01:22:26 DF Supporter Q5: From listening to the DF crew talk about ray tracing I gather that it is somewhat of an endgame in terms of real time lighting techniques. I wonder, is there anything that raytracing fundamentally can't do? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rich Leadbetter, John Linneman and Alex Battaglia sit down at the end of 2021 to discuss the first full year of the new console generation. Have PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S lived up to expectations? What to make of the platform comparisons one year in? Does Series S deliver? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Alex Battaglia and John Linneman for an extended discussion on the best game graphics of 2021. There've been some amazing visuals this year - remarkable achievements from the first year of the 'next-gen' consoles, and all delivered in the Covid era, no less. Please note: Flight Simulator would definitely have made the list, but remember that it was first released in 2020 - and we talked about it in depth in the Best Game Graphics of 2020! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Alex Battaglia, John Linneman and Tom Morgan for Digital Foundry's last DF Direct of the year! The team share their views on first media assets of Horizon Zero Dawn on the base PS4, there's reaction to the brilliant new Xbox documentary, Nightdive Studios shows off their System Shock remake, plus of course, there's more DF content discussion and Supporter questions!00:00:00 Introductions00:01:14 Horizon Forbidden West PS4 version revealed00:06:24 Colour plates for PS500:09:44 Xbox Documentary impressions00:24:43 Nightdive shows off System Shock00:28:50 Psygnosis co-founder Ian Hetherington passes away00:34:33 PC Gamer lists 18 games not available digitally00:48:16 Splinter Cell is back, BABY00:52:32 DF Content Discussion: Game of the Year videos00:54:02 DF Content Discussion: 12 Days of Phoenix Games00:57:22 DF Supporter Q1: How much better do you think DLSS can get over time?01:00:25 DF Supporter Q2: Any backlog games that you guys are planning to play/finish during the holidays?01:04:33 DF Supporter Q3: John, you've been preaching about using the BFI-mode on the LG CX and setting it up properly using ColorControl PC software. Do you have some sort of walkthrough at hand on how to set this up?01:08:20 DF Supporter Q4: Do you think the emergence of more super detailed and realistic game worlds we'll see the emergence of titles that centre around virtual tourism and simple exploration?01:12:44 DF Supporter Q5: When will we get the next big leap for rendering foliage?01:19:12 DF Supporter Q6: I’d like to ask if you thought of adding a film grain filter percentage as a new way to measure clarity?01:23:40 DF Supporter Q7: Why is Genesis/Mega Drive audio so hard for emulators to get right?01:29:31 DF Supporter Q8: Is Parasite Eve a Christmas game or is it a game that's set during the Christmas season? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices