Stay ConnectedWhen it comes to video games and the hardware and tech we play them on, the team at Digital Foundry are unparalleled experts. Each week, DF Direct breaks down the latest breakthroughs in video game visuals, sound, and performance happening on PlayStation, Xbox, the most powerful PC setups, and more. If you’re a geek for graphics, GPUs, or just video games in general, DF Direct will help you get the most out of your gaming setup.
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Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is slated for release in 'Fall' 2023, Kojima's helping to make a movie, Steam Deck is set to get a successor - and Returnal's recommendations include a mammoth 32GB of memory. All this, plus discussion of the RDNA 3 review aftermath in this week's show.
00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:00 News 01: Spider-Man 2 to launch in fall 2023 00:08:51 News 02: Death Stranding film in the works 00:14:45 News 03: Valve discusses Steam Deck successor 00:26:45 News 04: RX 7900 XT/XTX review follow-up! 00:51:34 News 05: Returnal PC requirements announced 00:57:39 News 06: High on Life launches with major issues, quickly patched 01:06:54 DF Supporter Q1: Which games would you like to get RTX Remix enhancements? 01:10:51 DF Supporter Q2: Why doesn’t DLSS significantly lower VRAM use? 01:12:22 DF Supporter Q3: Would you ever release the DF performance analysis tools to the public? 01:17:05 DF Supporter Q4: Alex, would you prefer to play a game with great ray tracing with PSO stutters, or a game without ray tracing with no stutters?
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The Game Awards - aka 'The Geoffs' - are back once again, bringing a deluge of new trailers and announcements for Rich, John and Alex to pore over in the latest DF Direct Weekly. Meanwhile, Stadia devkits are starting to emerge and Microsoft is raising game prices - but before all of that, the team takes a look at a dramatically improved build of The Callisto Protocol on PC.
The Game Awards - aka 'The Geoffs' - are back once again, bringing a deluge of new trailers and announcements for Rich, John and Alex to pore over in the latest DF Direct Weekly. Meanwhile, Stadia devkits are starting to emerge and Microsoft is raising game prices - but before all of that, the team takes a look at a dramatically improved build of The Callisto Protocol on PC. Join the DF Patreon for EARLY ACCESS to every DF Direct Weekly, pristine video downloads, behind the scenes content and much, much more: https://bit.ly/3jEGjvx Podcast RSS Feed: https://digitalfoundry.podbean.com/ Subscribe for more Digital Foundry: http://bit.ly/DFSubscribe 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:59 News 01: Callisto Protocol PC updates 00:09:12 News 02: The Game Awards game reveal rundown! 00:50:33 News 03: Stadia devkits dissected, analyzed 00:54:03 News 04: Microsoft increases game prices to $70 01:01:21 DF Supporter Q1: Is Alex doing better this week? Has DF considered doing numbered ratings to send a message about certain issues? 01:04:37 DF Supporter Q2: Would you consider giving a “seal of quality” to games that meet technical standards? 01:05:44 DF Supporter Q3: Would you prefer to play on a huge projector screen, or a top-of-the-line OLED TV? 01:08:46 DF Supporter Q4: Portal RTX demands DLSS, so is Quality, Balanced, or Performance the best DLSS preset? 01:13:04 DF Supporter Q5: Rich, do you still think that Xbox OS and PlayStation OS will become interchangeable on consoles?
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After a challenging week reviewing The Callisto Protocol and awaiting various performance patches, Alex, John and Rich unload about the triumphs and tragedies of the launch period, while reflecting on how good the game actually is. Meanwhile, Nintendo's promising improvements to Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, modders tackle Sonic Frontier's shortcomings - and Jesus Christ himself appears, rendered at 4K60 on RTX 4090.
00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:37 News 01: Callisto Protocol review aftermath 00:33:04 News 02: Poké-patch arrives for Scarlet/Violet, Nintendo apologizes 00:36:06 News 03: Fixes arrive for Sonic Frontiers 00:41:23 News 04: I am Jesus Christ Prologue: biblically-accurate graphics! 00:46:53 DF Supporter Q1: Which Switch games look better than you would expect? 00:50:54 DF Supporter Q2: Given the success of the Steam Deck, should Valve do Steam Machines again? 00:54:03 DF Supporter Q3: Who will implement a Nanite-style virtualized geometry system next? 00:58:28 DF Supporter Q4: Why do some games have broken physics when you increase the frame-rate? 01:03:14 DF Supporter Q5: Could Nvidia offer new tech as a paid subscription in the future? 01:06:54 DF Supporter Q6: If you could bring back a dormant Activision/Blizzard IP, which would it be?
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Will we have to wait until 2028 for new consoles from Microsoft and Sony? And how are the two companies at war over Call of Duty? Audi, John and Rich discuss, also covering news on The Witcher 3's upgrade plus the latest news about The Callisto Protocol. Meawhile, what on Earth is the Boner in Berlin?
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:31 News 01: Next-gen consoles to launch in 2027/2028?
00:13:41 News 02: Microsoft and Sony engaged in Call of Duty value dispute
00:27:01 News 03: Witcher 3 current-gen + PC upgrades revealed!
00:37:34 News 04: Callisto Protocol leaks and reveals
00:46:45 News 05: The Game Awards nominees announced
00:55:39 News 06: Warzone 2.0 tested!
01:07:17 DF Content Discussion: What has Audi been up to?
01:10:43 DF Supporter Q1: Given the performance woes of the new Pokémon games, does the industry need to re-evaluate yearly franchises?
01:18:10 DF Supporter Q2: How does being multilingual help the DF team?
01:24:05 DF Supporter Q3: With GPU/CPU stock still on store shelves, have AMD and Nvidia misjudged the market?
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In the latest episode, John, Rich and Alex share observations, thoughts and hopes for The Witcher 3's forthcoming re-release and there's discussion on Epic's improvements to Unreal Engine 5, plus thoughts on RTX 4080/4070 Ti pricing. Meanwhile, what on earth is happening with Pokémon Violet and Scarlet polish and performance?
00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:48 News 01: Witcher 3 next-gen patch incoming 00:12:48 News 02: Unreal Engine 5.1 delivers big improvements 00:27:29 News 03: RTX 4080 released! 00:44:35 News 04: Gamers Nexus solves 4090 power connector mystery 00:50:35 News 05: DLSS 3 gets frame-limiter to overcome vsync issue 01:00:42 News 06: Pokémon Violet and Scarlet suffer serious tech issues 01:07:33 DF Supporter Q1: Why don’t we ever get anisotropic filtering above 16x? 01:10:03 DF Supporter Q2: Why does the PS5 reserve 1.5 cores for the OS, leaving only 6.5 for games? 01:16:51 DF Supporter Q3: Is Elden Ring a good candidate for game of the year, given its performance problems? 01:18:34 DF Supporter Q4: Are game developers relying too much on DLSS? 01:24:21 DF Supporter Q5: When will Audi be released from Rich’s basement and appear in videos again?
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There's been a lot of debate recently about whether Xbox Series S's limited performance is 'holding back' the other consoles from being everything that they can be - so Rich, John and Alex weigh in with their opinions based on developer discussions and two years' worth of gaming data accrued by the channel. Meanwhile, it's all about the patches as Forza Horizon, Sackboy PC and Halo Infinite receive important updates.
00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:18 News 01: Is Series S limiting next-gen gaming? 00:23:32 News 02: Forza Horizon 5 patch brings DLSS, FSR 2, improved RT 00:34:13 News 03: Sackboy PC updated to eliminate #StutterStruggle! 00:43:26 News 04: Halo Infinite gets animation fix… but many issues remain 00:52:44 News 05: “Unlaunched” 4080 12GB to become 4070 Ti? 01:01:40 News 06: Mega Drive Mini 2 released! 01:08:42 DF Supporter Q1: With AMD focused on raster performance, is this an indication most gamers don’t care about ray tracing? 01:17:08 DF Supporter Q2: What’s the most impressive game to play on a new high-end PC system? 01:22:09 DF Supporter Q3: Should developers include advanced modes in console games to enhance future backwards compatibility? 01:25:07 DF Supporter Q4: How do you think the current economic environment will impact next-gen consoles?
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A big, big week for PC and console gamers as AMD emerges to showcase its new RDNA 3-powered RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT graphics cards with Rich, Will and Alex delivering their verdict on the reveal. Also, what to make of the PSVR2 launch line-up and pricing? Meanwhile, the realisation that new gaming tech is going up in price hits home as it's discovered that Microsoft is losing $100-$200 per console sold.
00:00:35 News 01: RDNA 3 unveiled! 00:24:15 News 02: FSR 3 frame-rate boost tech teased 00:31:26 News 03: How does RDNA 3 measure up against RTX 4000? 00:45:18 News 04: RT upgrades in Halo Infinite, Forspoken, and Snowdrop 00:51:31 News 05: PS VR2 release details announced 00:59:33 News 06: Microsoft takes $100-200 loss on Xbox Series consoles 01:03:51 News 07: Sackboy PC Stutter Struggles + shader compilation questions 01:11:47 DF Supporter Q1: What’s the best value CPU + motherboard + RAM combination for a PC? 01:15:41 DF Supporter Q2: Was FSR 2 really worth it for the Series X version of Scorn? 01:18:09 DF Supporter Q3: IS ALEX GERMAN OR AMERICAN? I MUST KNOW.
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John, Rich and Alex re-convene to share first impressions on the new God of War and the extent to which it leverages PlayStation 5. Meanwhile, rumours start to gather pace on AMD's RDNA 3 offerings, Microsoft hints at price increases - and what should we make of the Modern Warfare 2 PS4 Blu-ray with just 70MB of actual data on it?
00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:37 News 01: God of War Ragnarök impressions! 00:16:54 News 02: AMD RDNA 3 GPU reveal incoming 00:26:05 News 03: Xbox price increases hinted by Phil Spencer 00:35:33 News 04: Original The Witcher game gets UE5 remake 00:40:18 News 05: Age of Empires makes console return on Xbox 00:44:23 News 06: MW2 uses just 70MB of data on PS5 disc 00:49:33 DF Supporter Q1: Is it feasible to launch a current-gen game at 30fps and later patch in 60fps support? 00:52:42 DF Supporter Q2: With most games supporting high frame-rate options, was cross-gen a good thing? 00:58:16 DF Supporter Q3: Why do 30fps games look so much better now than they used to? 01:02:37 DF Supporter Q4: What retro genres should be brought back? 01:06:10 DF Supporter Q5: Will DLSS 3 be on the next Switch? Could it be enough for 4K60? 01:10:35 DF Supporter Q6: I loved Rich’s shirt last week - any other shirt ideas?
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Will the end of the cross-gen console era also see the end of 60fps as the standard for gaming on Xbox Series and PlayStation 5? It's the big topic for this week in the wake of the arrival of Gotham Knights and A Plague Tale: Requiem. Also, the team shares its enthusiasm for the return of Silent Hill, Resident Evil 4 and the latest Final Fantasy 16 trailer.
00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:05 News 01: Gotham Knights and Plague Tale run at just 30fps on consoles 00:26:39 News 02: Silent Hill returns! 00:40:33 News 03: Resident Evil 4 remake gameplay trailer released 00:48:16 News 04: Final Fantasy 16 gets impressive new story trailer 00:55:33 DF Content Discussion: Uncharted PC: Review Code vs Day One Patch 01:05:39 DF Supporter Q1: What performance should we expect from consoles once FSR and SSDs are maximized? 01:10:00 DF Supporter Q2: How much performance loss will I see by using a 4090 in an older system? 01:12:47 DF Supporter Q3: If an emulated game has an improved frame-rate, should gameplay be adjusted to compensate? 01:14:04 DF Supporter Q4: Why don’t developers offer higher bitrate versions of game video files as an optional download? 01:18:53 DF Supporter Q5: With many PC gamers on 144Hz displays, why not do benchmarking at 72Hz instead of 60Hz? 01:20:58 DF Supporter Q6: Was Gotham Knights sabotaged just to spite Rich?
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Nvidia delivers a massive u-turn, 'unlauching' the RTX 4080 12GB. Rich, John and Alex discuss the reasons why and mull over the bizarre benchmarks revealed by the firm last week. In the meantime, with the RTX 4090 launched with coverage aplenty out there, the team discuss the reaction to the new GPU flagship and answer a bunch of supporter questions. Meanwhile, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is set to receive even more RT upgrades over the PS5 version - just how far could it be pushed?
00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:24 News 01: Nvidia “unlaunches” RTX 4080 12GB 00:21:21 News 02: RTX 4090 launched: our coverage + supporter questions 01:10:30 News 03: Spider-Man: Miles Morales gets big PC boosts 01:06:58 News 04: Two unique unreleased NES games listed for sale 01:10:32 DF Supporter Q1: Was it a good idea for CD Projekt Red to announce so many new games at once? 01:13:59 DF Supporter Q2: Why can’t I disable TAA and upscaling on console games? 01:17:16 DF Supporter Q3: Is an Nvidia/AMD/Intel GPU market sustainable? 01:23:57 DF Supporter Q4: Modern GPUs are 200x as powerful as the best GPU in 2007, so do modern games look 200x better than Crysis? 01:26:04 DF Supporter Q5: Could future LG OLED TVs offer 4K/240Hz to suit high-end GPUs? 01:29:05 DF Supporter Q6: John: give us a eulogy for Google Stadia!
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