Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

Rich is still trapped in a white room with two plants, but the Direct discussions continue regardless. Oliver's been checking out Rise of the Ronin on PlayStation 5, Alex has much to say about Nvidia's DLSS-based GDC reveals, while Rich is intrigued by Intel's latest PresentMon 2.0 features. Meanwhile, the surprise release - and withdrawal - of the PS5 Stellar Blade demo raises more questions about our digital library future.0:00:00 Introduction and DF merchandise0:02:26 News 01: Rise of the Ronin preview0:11:40 News 02: Nvidia announces upcoming game enhancements0:35:55 News 03: Intel unveils PresentMon 2.00:51:08 News 04: Stellar Blade demo released, quickly pulled0:56:48 News 05: Peter Moore questions the future of consoles1:12:11 Supporter Q1: Should console platforms let you impose frame-rate caps yourself?1:19:39 Supporter Q2: What rendering tech will we see pushed after path tracing?1:27:22 Supporter Q3: Should more developers expose debug menus in their games?1:31:43 Supporter Q4: What storage tech do you work off of?1:39:38 Supporter Q5: What would Digital Foundry have looked like in the 1990s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trapped in a plain white room with only two plants for company, an on-location Rich dials into the next DF Direct Weekly for salvation. Joining him this week as John and Alex, discussing the shutdown of the Yuzu and Citra emulators, the latest Sony PC ports from Nixxes, the Xbox partner showcase and hints of machine learning-based upscaling from AMD. Meanwhile, John's beard attracts an extraordinary level of attention.0:00:00 Introduction0:01:30 News 01: Nintendo forces Yuzu, Citra shutdown0:28:16 News 02: Horizon PC specs released, Ghost of Tsushima PC announced0:39:29 News 03: Xbox partner showcase drops!0:58:53 News 04: Dragon’s Dogma 2 has unlocked frame-rate on consoles1:09:03 News 05: Footage emerges from cancelled TimeSplitters game1:15:30 News 06: AMD teases AI upscaling… but what is it?1:26:42 Should I buy an OLED Steam Deck now, or wait for new portable Windows handhelds?1:33:56 If cost were no issue, what VR headset would be best for PC gaming?1:37:23 How does DLSS quality at 1440p compare to DLSS performance at 4K?1:42:28 Do you think Sony will release their own dedicated gaming handheld?1:48:20 How does John feel about being labeled as a television producer?1:49:00 Did John and Marc get up to any shenanigans in Germany?1:52:16 What’s the longest John has gone without shaving his beard? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another big DF Direct Weekly sees John, Rich and Alex tackle the massive issue of lay-offs in the industry along with the welcome response from some developers in taking back control of their own destinies. Meanwhile, the team reacts to THAT Kingmakers trailer, while assessing Nintendo's legal action against the Yuzu Switch emulator. Finally, what is DirectSR?0:00:00 Introduction0:01:42 News 01: Massive gaming layoffs at Sony and EA0:28:39 News 02: Studios take back control0:39:37 John’s game buying interlude0:41:59 News 03: Kingmakers trailer impresses0:49:03 News 04: Nintendo seeking Yuzu emulator shutdown0:57:12 News 05: Pentiment PS5 doubles Xbox version FPS target1:07:38 News 06: DirectSR streamlines PC upsampling1:16:08 Supporter Q1: Is the 5700X3D a good upgrade over a 2700X on an older system?1:21:04 Supporter Q2: What kind of performance do you expect from a PS5 Pro?1:26:35 Supporter Q3: When games are fully path traced, what options do you expect to see in their graphics menus?1:30:27 Supporter Q4: How do you think the recent rounds of layoffs will impact QA?1:33:45 Supporter Q5: Could a next-gen Xbox be much more powerful than its PlayStation counterpart?1:41:03 Supporter Q6: Why don’t we see more physics-oriented features like PhysX today?1:50:48 John’s next DF Retro! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The news comes thick and fast this week as John, Alex and Rich discuss topics as diverse as the Switch 2's mooted 'delay' until Q1 2025, the fall-out of Microsoft's multi-platform strategy in the wake of the first releases, and Nvidia finally doing something about its ancient control panel with its new app. The implications of the PlayStation Portal hack are dissected and the logistics of PSVR2 support for PC are discussed in depth. Then finally, Rich reveals the results of BRAND NEW testing of the Radeon 7. PS5 vs R7... which is best? Many thanks to DF Supporter Chriz86 for helping us out on that one!0:00:00 Introduction0:01:28 News 01: Switch 2 reportedly delayed until 20250:13:08 News 02: Microsoft multi-plat games revealed0:29:55 News 03: Nvidia debuts new all-in-one PC gaming app0:47:43 News 04: PlayStation Portal hacked0:54:31 News 05: PSVR2 support coming to PC?1:05:57 News 06: Radeon 7 re-tested in 2024!1:20:19 Supporter Q1: In the age of ray tracing, why do so many games forego shiny mirrors?1:25:44 Supporter Q2: Is cross-gen game scalability really that transformative?1:32:50 Supporter Q3: Could Game Pass become a reality on PlayStation and Switch?1:38:55 Supporter Q4: Could a future Xbox lower-spec console be a handheld?1:50:25 Supporter Q5: Is the traditional console generation model breaking down? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Xbox and Sony's gaming strategies revealed, multi-platform approach discussed. Rich downgrades from 8K to 4K TV, new retro game development. Topics include Dolby Vision support, Nvidia GPUs, Final Fantasy 7 image quality, and Vulkan API status.

The week in gaming news was dominated by Xbox Multi-Platform Game debate, outrage and meltdowns - and we can't quite believe what we were seeing. John, Rich and Alex share their views before moving to other topics: we go hands-on with Helldivers 2, check out the FF7 Rebirth demo and John shares his excitement over Penny's Big Breakaway. Meanwhile, DF Supporters strike gold once again with a range of questions and discussion points.0:00:00 Introduction0:00:52 News 01: Is Microsoft embracing multiplatform gaming?0:43:52 News 02: Hands-on with Helldivers 20:54:41 News 03: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth impressions!1:05:03 News 04: Penny’s Big Breakaway preview1:11:42 Supporter Q1: What’s the minimum advisable frame-rate when using frame gen with a controller?1:17:50 Supporter Q2: Is Nvidia purposefully limiting frame gen to the RTX 4000 series to increase sales?1:27:18 Supporter Q3: Given that the Series S is the best-selling current-gen Xbox, should we consider it the baseline experience this gen?1:34:14 Supporter Q4: Has the use of FSR been good or bad for console gaming?1:43:14 Supporter Q5: Why doesn’t AMD often pioneer new graphics techniques like Nvidia?1:51:44 Supporter Q6: Can John recommend any 3D Sonic titles? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another big, big episode of DF Direct Weekly as the team share their positive views on Sony's State of Play January 2024 presentation. Meanwhile, John and Rich have been playing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and have much to say about it. The team also tackle the mounting evidence that Switch 2 will ship with an eight-inch LCD. The lack of OLED is a bit disappointing, but more to the point, the sheer size of the screen may have significant ramifications for the design of the overall product. And finally, a happy outcome is revealed for one of John's game preservation worries.0:00:00 Introduction0:01:00 News 01: State of Play reaction: Death Stranding 20:17:45 News 01: Stellar Blade, Dragon’s Dogma 20:28:50 News 01: Sonic X Shadow Generations, Judas0:38:21 News 01: Metro Awakening, Until Dawn0:50:23 News 01: Silent Hill: The Short Message, Silent Hill 21:01:48 News 02: Suicide Squad impressions!1:19:14 News 03: New Switch rumoured to have 8 inch LCD1:31:02 News 04: GT Sport patched with offline save support1:37:49 Supporter Q1: How can Epic’s TSR beat DLSS 2?1:42:00 Supporter Q2: Why does per-pixel motion blur look good, while display sample-and-hold blur looks bad?1:45:50 Supporter Q3: Will frame generation make VRR obsolete?1:49:07 Supporter Q4: What speed of hardware adoption should we expect from gamers?1:54:27 Supporter Q5: Rich, when did you become interested in PC hardware and technology? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hitting its 'maximum break' 147th edition, the DF team reconvene to discuss the charms and the jank of Palworld, Capcom's puzzling DRM strategy and the wonders of Tekken 8. Meanwhile, Alex has been testing AMD's AFMF frame generation technology, John's dug deep into input lag analysis - and Rich is distressed to discover that his Radeon 7 graphics card doesn't work any more.0:00:00 Introduction0:00:54 News 01: What’s up with Palworld?0:25:45 News 02: Capcom adds Enigma DRM to older games0:35:31 News 03: AMD releases Fluid Motion Frames tech0:52:30 News 04: Horizon Forbidden West PC features detailed1:05:22 News 05: Tekken 8: a superb fighter1:15:53 News 06: Input lag deep dive1:32:52 Supporter Q1: What would you recommend spec wise for an upper-midrange PC?1:37:08 Supporter Q2: Should id Software commercialize their id Tech engine?1:40:12 Supporter Q3: Is the time of 1080p monitors over?1:43:55 Supporter Q14 Could Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony develop their own Proton-like translation layers to run games from other platforms?1:46:55 Supporter Q5: With John’s new Direct background, isn’t he worried about burn-in? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this podcast, the hosts discuss the impressive Indiana Jones game revealed in Xbox's Developer_Direct. They also explore Xbox's strategy of moving away from physical media and the challenges of game preservation. Furthermore, they share their thoughts on the Last of Us Part Two game and the potential future of Naughty Dog games. Additionally, they analyze the performance of the Ryzen 5 and Radeon 7 graphics cards and delve into the challenges of implementing 60 FPS patches for consoles. Lastly, they discuss the trend towards Unreal Engine and the impact of the Steam Deck on Linux.

John, Rich and Alex return for another Weekly, discussing the potential implications of Xbox going multi-platform on selected titles, what we should - and shouldn't - expect from Horizon Forbidden West on PC and John's surprise gaming purchase. Meanwhile, the team explains why Nvidia's G-Sync Pulsar technology is such a big deal - and the announcement of VRR support for GeForce Now seems set to make the best cloud streaming solution even better still.0:00:58 News 01: Microsoft to go multiplatform on selected games?0:22:41 News 02: Horizon Forbidden West gets PC trailer0:40:38 News 03: Nvidia CES announcements0:55:34 News 04: John’s surprise1:10:35 Supporter Q1: Why is double-buffer vsync good in some circumstances and bad in others?1:17:39 Supporter Q2: What are the specs of your editing rigs?1:24:45 Supporter Q3: Do you think any TV manufacturers will start integrating nearest neighbour scaling?1:32:47 Supporter Q4: Why is dynamic resolution not often used in PC games?1:37:35 Supporter Q5: Are GPU makers’ resolution recommendations too conservative?1:43:13 Supporter Q6: What videos are you excited to make this year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices