DF Direct Weekly #214: No Switch 2 Launch Reviews? Next-Gen Xbox Using ARM + The "Forced RT" Debate!

Geoff Keighley rolls into town, meaning only one thing - Summer Game Fest, aka Geoffcon aka Keigh3 is finally upon us. The Last of Us Part 1, Modern Warfare 2 and The Callisto Protocol headline the proceedings alongside a whole host of other great-looking games. Meanwhile, 343 Studios announces Halo co-op preview flighting in July and Apple reveals the M2 chip, smart upscaling and a new focus on gaming. Finally, what is T-LOO and will it forever dominate our destinies?   00:00:00 Introductions 00:01:04 News 01: Summer Game Fest 00:42:33 News 02: Plucky Squire looks fabulous 00:47:08 News 03: Halo Infinite Co-Op in public beta 00:50:05 DF Supporter Q1: What are your thoughts on Apple's MetalFX Upscaling? 00:50:25 DF Supporter Q2: What are your thoughts on Apple's MetalFX and the new M2 SoC? 00:54:31 DF Supporter Q3: Can you see Sony making their own PC client for Playstation games? 00:56:04 DF Supporter Q4: How much in contact are the MS and Sony console divisions? 00:57:33 DF Supporter Q5: How do you maintain your launch day PS3? 01:00:36 DF Supporter Q6: Is there any chance we can get more DF Retro E3 presentation watch-alongs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Juni 20221h 4min

DF Direct Weekly reaches its 'landmark' 64th episode, automatically making it as good as the Nintendo 64, Commodore 64 and Mega 64 (?). John, Rich and Alex team up to discuss the Sony PS5 State of Play, including Resident Evil 4 Remake, Spider-Man's PC port and PlayStation VR2. Meanwhile, there's confusion and disappointment surrounding Sonic Frontiers' gameplay reveal, and anticipation for God of War PC's FSR 2.0 update and Horizon Forbidden West's new patch.   00:00:00 Introductions 00:59:00 News 01: State of Play June 2022 00:41:38 News 02: Sonic Frontiers gameplay underwhelms 00:48:25 News 03: PS+ Japan gets NTSC classics 00:52:08 News 04: God of War and Horizon PC gets updates 00:55:31 DF Content Discussion: DF Retro PS3 1080p video update 01:01:53 DF Supporter Q01: Any thoughts on breathless tech site stories saying RTX cards are "back to MSRP"? 01:07:41 DF Supporter Q02: What do you guys think AMD needs to pull out of the hat to surpass or at least be on the same level playing field as Nvidia on the PC market? 01:20:31 DF Supporter Q03: How about a comprehensive tech terms and techniques explanation video? 01:22:46 DF Supporter Q04: Why do most US, Canadian and Euro Genesis / Mega Drive games just sound so much worse musically than their Japanese counterparts? 01:26:32 DF Supporter Q05: With all the games that you guys have reviewed all these years, which post-processing effect is the one that makes a great impact in a game, or which is your favorite? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Juni 20221h 31min

Much to discuss this week as the silly season brings us unconfirmed rumours of new consoles, plus a wealth of new information from Sony on its PC strategy and its future plans for PS4. Meanwhile, Windows Central reveals news on Microsoft's xCloud streaming stick, but can the technology actually become viable for all? Also - the PlayStation Plus classics emulators. They're not great and John's not happy about it. Finally, Alex has been spending 'quality time' with Steam Deck but what does that actually mean?   00:00:00 Introductions 00:00:46 News 01: TCL anticipates new consoles by 2024 00:13:07 News 02: Sony doubling down on PC 00:21:55 News 03: PS4 Cross-Gen here to stay for a while. 00:25:42 News 04: Next Xbox is a cloud streaming stick? 00:29:34 Supporter Q: What's your take on whether the big obstacle for making game streaming more attractive being the problem with Internet infrastructures, or something the streaming software can solve by itself? 00:35:42 News 05: PS Classics on PS+ isn't great 00:36:39 Supporter Q: PS Classics questions 00:50:42 Supporter Q01: If FSR 2.0 is providing comparable quality to DLSS, don't you think Nvidia is wasting precious silicon area that could be used on more shaders on tensor cores? 00:53:16 Supporter Q02: Any thoughts on DLSS, FSR, or XeSS being used to upscale streaming services like Netflix? 00:59:52 Supporter Q03: Do publishers update the versions of their games on physical discs for later print runs? 01:02:48 Supporter Q04: Can you see yourselves potentially using Steam OS on your non-work PCs once it's seen a proper release of version 3? 01:07:34 Supporter Q05: Do you think we could see cross-gen games that ditch the base last-gen consoles but work on the enhanced consoles? 01:09:11 Supporter Q06: Will Knack 3’s inevitable announcement (or release) coincide with a PS5 firmware update to enable its promised 8K output? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Maj 20221h 12min

Is The Last of Us really being remade for PlayStation 5 and if it is, is it really coming out in 2022? Or has the news void drove journos to desperation? Rich, John and Alex discuss this, the controversial PlayStation Plus games line-up - and of course, the big Starfield/Redfall delay. Also: Hitman 3's ray tracing seems to require an RTX 3070 and DLSS for 1440p - just how heavy is this game? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Maj 20221h 29min

Nintendo's worried about the next-gen transition, Xbox Online DRM causes a major outage, Gotham Knights gets an unconvincing gameplay reveal and the legendary Duke Nukem Forever build from 2001 has leaked! Let's just say that there's plenty to discuss for John, Rich and Tom! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Maj 20221h 21min

This week, Oliver makes his DF Direct debut alongside familiar faces John and Alex. They discuss the news that Square Enix has sold its Western IPs and studios, including Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, Halo Infinite's Season 2 fixes and the early development of the TINK4K. Plus: does the Steam Deck suffer from high input lag? And most importantly, what's Oliver's superhero-style origin story? 00:00:00 Introductions 00:01:20 News 01: Square Enix sells off Western studios + IPs 00:10:10 News 02: Halo Infinite Season 2 launched 00:18:53 News 03: Is Forza Motorsport 8 cross-gen? 00:24:08 News 04: Prince of Persia Remake woes 00:29:17 News 05: Xbox VRR HDMI woes on AV receivers 00:36:23 News 06: 100TF Nvidia Lovelace GPUs? 00:45:35 DF Supporter Q1: Does the frame limiter in Steam Deck increase input lag? 00:55:27 DF Supporter Q2: My friends say Elden Ring "runs great" - does this vindicate From's decision to not focus on technical performance when only the enthusiast crowd notices? 01:00:20 DF Supporter Q3: Do you think we'll see GameCube emulation on Switch? 01:04:05 DF Supporter Q4: Mike Chi teased a TINK4K on Twitter - what do you think? 01:10:20 DF Supporter Q5: The games that best use Switch hardware tend to be from Nintendo or developers that work (almost) exclusively for Nintendo platforms. Will the Series S get into a similar situation where Microsoft / Bethesda make the best Series S titles? 01:15:35 DF Supporter Q6: Is HDR more trouble than it's worth? 01:24:12 DF Supporter Q7: What kinds of games are best suited for Black Frame Insertion (BFI)? 01:28:05 DF Supporter Q8: Oliver, what's your professional background? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Maj 20221h 31min

It's been a barren few weeks for gaming and technology news, but it looks like things are finally picking up! John, Rich and Alex share initial findings on PlayStation 5 VRR, discuss Valve's new 40-60Hz display support for Steam Deck... and what to make of the PlayStation "Preservation Group"? 00:00:00 Introductions 00:01:02 News 01: PlayStation 5 VRR support released 00:23:03 News 02: Steam Deck VRS, 40-60Hz updates 00:32:26 News 03: PlayStation "preservation group" revealed 00:35:33 News 04: Time-limited game trials on PS5 00:38:46 News 05: Shader compilation stutters resurface in Chernobylite 00:52:58 DF Supporter Q1: 900W Nvidia Lovelace GPU rumours 00:58:12 DF Supporter Q2: Forcing V-Sync on consoles? 01:01:08 DF Supporter Q3: Plans to cover Switch emulation? 01:04:43 DF Supporter Q4: Is digital the best way to preserve games? 01:08:56 DF Supporter Q5: Would a streaming service for emulated games be a good idea? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Maj 20221h 17min

As the dearth of news continues, the silly season breaks out with DF caught in a 'too big for Switch' crossfire. Even so, there's still some cool stuff to discuss - Playdate is in our hands, Steam Deck's getting 40Hz display support and Sonic Origins looks cool. But we've got bigger fish to fry: fundamentally, has next-gen actually happened yet - or are we still mired in a seemingly never-ending cross-gen transition period? 00:00:00 Introductions 00:01:04 News 01: Has "Next-Gen" happened yet? 00:27:52 News 02: DF says BOTW 2 is too big for Switch 00:32:54 News 03: Playdate has arrived 00:40:52 News 04: Steam Deck at 40hz 00:49:31 News 05: Sonic Origins details emerge 00:56:16 News 06: Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi to return in big budget form? 01:01:24 DF Supporter Q1: What are your thoughts on Sonic Jam on Saturn? 01:03:07 DF Supporter Q2: What are your favorite RTS? 01:08:16 DF Supporter Q3: What's John take on CRT shaders such as CRT-Royale 01:10:22 DF Supporter Q4: Any chance we can get a video on Cyberpunk's next gen comparisons to PC? 01:12:41 DF Supporter Q5: Am I the only one who looks at Ghostwire and thinks LICHDOM BATTLEMAGE? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Apr 20221h 14min