Tag Archives: next generation

Gaming, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Nintendo Switch Users Can Switch to Next-Gen Console They Say, It Will Be Easy They Say

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The Nintendo Switch was launched in 2017. The global release of the world’s most revolutionary handheld gaming console was on the 3rd of March in 2017 specifically. Counting today, the Nintendo Switch, considering its v1 iteration, is now six years, three months, and 25 days old. To put that into context, the PlayStation 4 Pro, with significantly more powerful hardware than the handheld, was launched on the 10th of November 2016, just about four months prior to the Nintendo Switch. The PlayStation 5 was announced on the 4th of April 2019, about three years after the upgraded PlayStation 4 was released, and officially launched on the 12th of November of 2020, about a year later and four years after PlayStation 4 Pro. While it is fair to say that the gap between the original PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 is about seven years, you must consider that the PlayStation 4 Pro came with a significant update enough that it looked more like the next-gen console over the original hardware. So yes, the Nintendo Switch is old even with the consideration of the OLED variant they announced just a few years ago, with no realistic announcement or indication of a replacement coming anytime soon.

While it is not Nintendo’s most successful hardware, it is one that really put Nintendo on the main map of mainstream gaming consoles while also pushing their own exclusive titles and existing assets to the next level. In that case, despite Nintendo’s poor history in product continuity, it only makes sense for Nintendo to prolong and expand the Nintendo Switch line-up especially with updated hardware. Their shareholders meeting notes from last week seems to confirm that, which is a relief to those of you that have been patiently waiting for Nintendo to update the Switch.

In the meeting notes, the President and CEO of Nintendo, Shuntaro Furukawa mentions that the next-generation console, whatever it will be called, will support games from the aging Nintendo Switch. That also means that if you have a Nintendo account with the switch, you should be able to transition to the new hardware system as smoothly as just signing in, pretty much like PlaySation and Xbox. Whatever you have bought from the Nintendo eStore will be carried over to the new system.

The same cannot be said with the cartridges you have bought previously though. They also did not reveal any specifics on the hardware of the next-generation console. There are also no real dates that have been mentioned for the next-generation console. Nintendo just had their Nintendo Direct announcement as well that showcased plenty of new games and DLCs for older games, which is further indication that the next-generation console will not make it to the shelves anytime soon. The meeting notes are confirmation though that they are working on a next-generation console, a consolation at least.

Computers, Gaming, News

Microsoft Announces that DirectStorage is now Available – No More Load Screens for Windows Gaming! There is a Catch.

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Next generation gaming on both the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation are technically the best and most advanced gaming devices ever to hit the market. The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 offered a gaming experience like no other when they made the announcement of a certain storage technology that changed the gaming industry. It allowed the hardware to fully access all the speed offered by a 4th generation SSD storage.

In theory, the new technology allowed full access to the 5GB/s read speeds that the new SSDs are capable of. That much read speeds also means that loading times in games are cut short to nearly an instant. For games that was introduced on PS5 like “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart”, it means no loading screens from one map to another. In that sense, developers are given more freedom to design games that has nearly no loading screens. That technology alone put the next-generation consoles ahead of even the most powerful gaming PCs you can find today.

Microsoft did make an announcement 18 months ago that that same DirectStorage technology on the Xbox Series X will make it to Windows games. That 18-month waiting time has laboured its final fruits. Microsoft has just announced that the DirectStorage API is here for Windows games.

direct storage normal asset flow 1
Source: Make Use Of

This announcement also means that games for Windows 10 and Windows 11 now get full access to the full 5GB/s the 4th Generation PCIe NVMe Solid State Drives. Technically, if SSDs gets faster in these few years, DirectStorage technology should also mean that whatever speeds SSDs can go to, games have access to as well. In that sense, it means loading times in PC games are not just greatly reduced, it could be eliminated.

There is a problem here. While Microsoft says that Windows 10 and 11 are ready for games with no loading screens, we will not be getting any games without loading times though. The reality is this, the marker is still full of games that are optimised for HDD speeds. That also means that even if your SSD can be read at 5GB/s, games today are not made to take advantage of those speeds yet.

The way things look, it looks like we also will not be getting any games that would be made to take advantage of those speeds anytime too soon too. HDDs are still a thing in the PC market. It is the cheapest way to set up a gaming PC today still, at the same time too, PCIe NVMe 4.0 SSDs are not the cheapest storage options available at this time. Still, if game developers are paying attention, they will make more games like the upcoming “Forspoken”. For now, while this announcement may not be much too significant currently, it could mean a future where games can feel seamless all the time.

Gaming, News

Sony PlayStation 5 Available in November in Most Markets for Less Than US$500!

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It seems just like yesterday that we saw the full spec sheet of the highly anticipated Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) and the console’s new controller, the Sony DualSense. In that demo, we saw plenty of PlayStation 5 exclusive that promises no load times and even more impressive graphics that can be projected to a 4K display at 120Hz. Only the most powerful of PCs can have that kind of power these days. Of course, with newer CPUs and a powerhouse in the latest generation GPUs, 4K resolution at 120Hz might be a cake walk for next generation gaming PCs.

Source: Sony

Still, the PS5 is an impressive avenue to next generation gaming alongside the Microsoft Xbox Series X and Series S. For Malaysia at least, we will not be getting the Microsoft gaming consoles. That is as far as we know anyway. That does not mean you cannot get your hands on one though, just not officially supported in the country at the moment.

The PS5 though, that is going to make it into Malaysia. The older generation console, the Sony PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro was made available almost immediately when they made the launch announcement. With the new PS5, we can expect the same thing as well.

According to Sony, the PS5 will be available in most markets from 19th November 2020 onward. That would most likely include Malaysia too, except if there are issues with the custom clearance and shipping. Still, pre-orders are supposedly open already for most regions. There are certain regions that gets the PS5 earlier though – United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. But it is just a week earlier on the 12th of November 2020. That also means that finding going to another region to source for your PS5 may not be worth it.

Source: Sony

Still, the thing that even we want to know is how much money do we have to fork out to own a piece of kit like the PS5. As pointed out before too, there are two types of PS5 that will be available later in the year. One is a Digital Edition that has no Blu-Ray tray. The other is a traditional PS5 with a disc tray. The Digital Edition is the cheaper option at US$ 399.99 (MYR 1,657.91*) and the regular PS5 will set you back US$ 499.99 (MYR 2,072.40*). Yes, I know I said that it is less than US$ 500 (MYR 2,072.54*). Technically I am not wrong though, it is US$ 0.01 less than US$ 500. If you go for the Digital Edition, it is way less than US$ 500.

*Approximately based on conversion rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.15 as of 17/09/2020