Yahoo Finance The Morning After: Xbox Series X games showcase
And Intel's 7nm problem.
The Xbox game showcase yesterday delivered on its promise of nothing but game announcements. Finally, less teraflop chat.
It was Microsoft’s chance to sell console shoppers on the incoming Series X — price still TBC — and the reception was… mixed. We got a true glimpse of Halo Infinite gameplay and a barrage of announcements from nine of Microsoft’s game studios, including five new games.
A lot of them, however, were either expansions or sequels of existing game franchises. Off the top of my head, State of Decay 3, Phantasy Star 2, Hellblade 2, Psychonauts 2 and Tetris Effect Connected — oh, and Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite was meant to be the... Halo title for Series X, but it left many (I mean me) cold. It looked like a Halo game; it seems to play like one. The scale of everything has been ramped up, and it appears to run incredibly smoothly, but I wasn’t left impressed or excited.
Xbox Game Pass is still an incredibly big deal. It’s a shame these games aren’t.
— Mat
'Tenet' won't skip theaters for a VOD or streaming premiere
AT&T CEO John Stankey said the movie won't debut on HBO Max.
Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi/spy movie Tenet has been delayed several times due to the impact of COVID-19 on movie theaters. A new release date has yet to be confirmed, but don’t expect Warner Bros. to simply throw up its hands and send the blockbuster straight to HBO Max or video on demand. AT&T CEO John Stankey confirmed yesterday that wouldn’t be happening.
Several other big movies have skipped theaters for a streaming release in recent months, including Disney’s Artemis Fowl and Hamilton. Some other studios have adopted the approach of releasing films in cinemas and on home rental on the same day. It just emerged, for instance, that Bill & Ted Face the Music will have a simultaneous digital and theatrical release on September 1st.
Continue reading.
Cinema in 2021 and beyond
‘Avatar 2’ was originally scheduled to come out in 2014.
When it comes to movies scheduled for a theatrical release, they have the same question — when? Disney revealed new dates for a series of upcoming Star Wars flicks that pushes each one back a full year from its previously scheduled premiere. That means the first one, which will apparently be directed by Taika Waititi, has gone from a 2022 release to December 2023.
That also goes for Avatar, as Avatar 2 has suddenly jumped from December 2021 into 2022. Finally, there’s one flick that isn’t delayed but is new on the schedule. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will follow up this year’s surprise blockbuster when it comes to theaters in April 2022 — assuming they’re open by then.
Continue reading.
Sponsored by StackCommerce
Enhance your content with these stock images
Intel's 7nm processors are delayed until at least 2022
But NVIDIA and AMD already have ‘em.
Intel’s processor plans have slipped again, delaying its scheduled 7nm chips by a further six months, according to its investor call. In its stead, it’s ramping up production of its 10nm wares.
It’s not great for Intel. Competitors like AMD and NVIDIA already take advantage of 7nm tech to build more efficient processors — and Apple very publicly ditched Intel for its future PC processors.
Continue reading.
Fox Sports will pack MLB broadcasts with virtual crowds
An animation studio created the “fans” who can perform up to 500 actions.
Sports in the age of coronavirus has come with some harsh limitations on fan attendance. We’ve seen some leagues fill the stands with cardboard cutouts while others use video boards to bring home fans into the arena, but Fox is going a step beyond that. When it kicks off MLB broadcasts this weekend, you’ll see a virtual crowd with the ability to do a wave or thin out later in the game as digital fans try to beat the traffic home.
Continue reading.
A closer look at 'Forza Motorsport' for Xbox Series X
Turn 10’s Chris Tector and Xbox’s Jason Ronald spill a few details
The next Forza game is still in early stages of development with no release date in sight, but Turn 10 studio software architect Chris Tector and Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald spoke to Engadget about what to expect in this edition.
“With the wheels, we no longer have to compromise with those approximations, because they would always end up with this really flat lighting, or there wouldn't be enough light interaction between the wheel and the brake discs and the fender,” Tector said. The game will also use convolution reverb — think ray-tracing but for acoustics — as Tector explains “...now that we have dedicated hardware for it, we can really deliver that immersive, physically based audio like we never have before.”
Continue reading.
But wait, there’s more...
Twitter is considering subscriptions amid an advertising slump
Plex adds more than 80 free live TV channels
Quibi will let you screenshot its shows
The Surface Pro X will soon help you pretend to pay attention to calls
Epic Games Store summer sale discounts 'Disco Elysium,' 'Control' and more
A security breach opened up access to GEDMatch’s DNA profiles
