DF Direct Weekly #15: E3 2021 Preview, Nintendo/MS Predictions, Battlefield Reveal, Riiiidge Racer!

This week's show is dominated by Xbox news in the wake of a new interview with Phil Spencer strongly indicating a big change in direction for the Xbox platform and by extension, its hardware. There's also talk of what form an Xbox handheld may take, while leaked photography of a white Xbox Series X 'All Digital' console brings about bafflement from the team. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:50 News 01: Phil Spencer wants other game stores on Xbox 0:30:36 News 02: Phil Spencer’s gaming handheld wishlist 0:44:21 News 03: White digital-only Series X leaks 0:55:32 News 04: Testing Outcast performance 1:13:31 News 05: Sunsoft’s Uforia: The Saga 2 released! 1:20:26 Supporter Q1: Are Switch cartridges or Blu-ray discs better for long term preservation? 1:27:25 Supporter Q2: What do you make of claims that developers are considering dropping Xbox support? 1:33:33 Supporter Q3: Why didn’t Sony upgrade the CPU further on PS5 Pro? 1:40:43 Supporter Q4: How would Microsoft’s cloud technology be leveraged in a next-gen console? 1:47:59 Supporter Q5: Could Switch 2 receive games at a slower pace than the original Switch? 1:54:39 Supporter Q6: Is Nvidia’s market dominance a bad thing for competition? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Apr 20242h 3min

Rich, John and Alex discuss the stunning Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra debut trailer, potentially big upgrades to FSR via its upcoming 3.1 upgrade, while Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's tweaked performance mode (via a new patch) is analysed. Have image quality concerns finally been addressed? Meanwhile, we attempt to draw a line under the whole PS5 Pro/GTA6 60fps situation, while John shares his experiences with Nvidia's AI-powered Covert Protocol demo. Can AI move beyond upscaling to provide new gameplay experiences? 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:44 News 01: Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra stuns in debut trailer 0:18:56 News 02: AMD announces FSR 3.1 0:30:52 News 03: Latest PS VR2 update enables PC access 0:40:37 News 04: Could GTA 6 hit 60 FPS on PS5 Pro? 0:57:46 News 05: Covert Protocol demo shows off AI characters 1:10:17 News 06: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth gets new graphics options 1:16:05 Supporter Q1: What should Microsoft and Sony do to differentiate their next-gen hardware? 1:36:44 Supporter Q2: Why isn’t Microsoft making more out of their consoles’ machine learning capabilities? 1:43:09 Supporter Q3: Should Sony invest in frame generation? Does PSSR suggest a lack of faith in AMD’s upscaling tech? 1:49:24 Supporter Q4: Could backwards compatibility actually hold back Switch 2? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Mars 20241h 55min

In a brand new, DF Direct Special we find Alex, Rich and Oliver confirming the leaked technical specifications for Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro console, we talk you through what the various spec points mean in terms of the gameplay experience, we go deep on ray tracing and machine learning-based upscaling and we reveal some new information about the new console based on recent developer disclosures. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:43 The CPU: What's Changed? 0:16:01 GPU Performance Boosts and Architecture 0:27:45 Ray Tracing: Really 2x to 4x Faster? 0:36:38 PSSR Upscaling and Machine Learning Performance 0:46:53 Additional Memory for Games 0:50:16 Closing Thoughts: What Do We Make of PS5 Pro So Far? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Mars 20241h 9min

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 merchandise 0:02:26 News 01: Rise of the Ronin preview 0:11:40 News 02: Nvidia announces upcoming game enhancements 0:35:55 News 03: Intel unveils PresentMon 2.0 0:51:08 News 04: Stellar Blade demo released, quickly pulled 0:56:48 News 05: Peter Moore questions the future of consoles 1:12:11 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

18 Mars 20241h 51min

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 Introduction 0:01:30 News 01: Nintendo forces Yuzu, Citra shutdown 0:28:16 News 02: Horizon PC specs released, Ghost of Tsushima PC announced 0:39:29 News 03: Xbox partner showcase drops! 0:58:53 News 04: Dragon’s Dogma 2 has unlocked frame-rate on consoles 1:09:03 News 05: Footage emerges from cancelled TimeSplitters game 1:15:30 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

11 Mars 20241h 55min

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 Introduction 0:01:42 News 01: Massive gaming layoffs at Sony and EA 0:28:39 News 02: Studios take back control 0:39:37 John’s game buying interlude 0:41:59 News 03: Kingmakers trailer impresses 0:49:03 News 04: Nintendo seeking Yuzu emulator shutdown 0:57:12 News 05: Pentiment PS5 doubles Xbox version FPS target 1:07:38 News 06: DirectSR streamlines PC upsampling 1:16:08 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

4 Mars 20241h 56min

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 Introduction 0:01:28 News 01: Switch 2 reportedly delayed until 2025 0:13:08 News 02: Microsoft multi-plat games revealed 0:29:55 News 03: Nvidia debuts new all-in-one PC gaming app 0:47:43 News 04: PlayStation Portal hacked 0:54:31 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

26 Feb 20242h 1min

This week, Xbox finally responded to the rumours and speculations surrounding its multi-platform plans, while Sony boldly announced that we are entering the latter stages of the PlayStation 5's lifecycle - and that new initiatives are required to increase profit margins. John, Rich and Alex share their thoughts on the announcements and strategies before moving on to other topics. John's been working on a new modern retro game - Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore - while a defective LCD screen sees Rich 'downgrading' from 8K to 4K and embarking on a one-man marketing campaign for Facebook Marketplace in the process. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:14 News 01: Microsoft explains multiplatform strategy 0:45:50 News 02: Sony: PS5 sales have peaked 1:05:22 News 03: Rich ‘downgrades’ from 8K to 4K 1:17:15 News 04: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore released 1:23:01 Supporter Q1: Why don’t more games support Dolby Vision and HDR 10+? 1:32:41 Supporter Q2: Given the limited power of the consoles, should developers reconsider including performance modes? 1:41:16 Supporter Q3: Given Nvidia’s tech lead in GPUs, aren’t they an attractive choice for a next-gen console? 1:47:00 Supporter Q4: Can Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s image quality issues be fixed with a quick patch, or is there a more fundamental limit? 1:53:09 Supporter Q5: Whatever happened to the Vulkan graphics API? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Feb 20241h 58min