AMD Unveils New Radeon RX 6700 XT Midrange GPU To Take On GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

MojoKid writes: AMD announced a new member of its Radeon RX 6000 series graphics card line-up today, dubbed Radeon RX 6700 XT. Based on AMD’s RDNA 2 GPU architecture, the Radeon RX 6700 XT targets high frame rate 1440p gaming at max image quality with an MSRP of $479. The new GPU has 40 Compute Units (CUs) with 40 Ray Tracing…

Google’s Stadia Problem? A Video Game Unit That’s Not Googley Enough

The tech giant likes to test and tweak. Stadia promised to change the industry and failed to deliver. From a report: Google’s streaming video game service Stadia had ambitious plans to disrupt the gaming industry, which is dominated by consoles. The tech giant had planned to pack Stadia with original content, announcing two years ago that it was hiring hundreds of…

Why Does the Apple TV Still Exist?

Apple commentator Jason Snell writes: Why does this product still exist, and is there anywhere for it to go next? Gruber and Thompson [two other columnists] suggest that perhaps the way forward is to lean into an identity as a low-end gaming console. Maybe amp up the processor power, bundle a controller, and try to use Apple Arcade to emphasize that…

Amazon’s Next CEO Says He’s Committed To Making Video Games

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: One day before he was named the next chief executive officer ofAmazon.com Inc., Andy Jassy reaffirmed his commitment to making video games while acknowledging the stark challenges the team has faced, according to an email to staff reviewed by Bloomberg. Jassy expressed support for Mike Frazzini, the head of Amazon Game Studios and…

Ex-Googler Turns Virtual Gifts Into a $61 Billion Business

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: In China’s popular online-streaming industry, virtual gift-giving is big. You can send your favorite live performer anything from a rose for 5 yuan (80 cents) to a space rocket for 500 yuan. The present is just a symbol, but the money is real — and that’s what’s made Kuaishou Technology so successful. […]…

Amazon Can Make Just About Anything — Except a Good Video Game

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg, which is “based on interviews with more than 30 current and former Amazon employees, most of whom spoke under the condition of anonymity citing fears of litigation or career repercussions.” From the report: Mike Frazzini had never made a video game when he helped start Amazon Game Studios. Eight years later, he has…

Tesla’s New Cars Can Run The Witcher 3 on Their 10-Teraflop Gaming Rigs

Tesla has unveiled refreshed versions of its Model X and Model S cars, revealing that both are equipped with gaming hardware supporting “up to 10 teraflops of processing power.” This theoretically puts a car within the ballpark of a new generation console. From a report: The Tesla models, priced in excess of $80,000 and shipping in March, are fitted with hardware…

Facebook Looks To Take its Fight With Apple To Court

A long-simmering public dispute between Facebook and Apple has neared a boiling point. The Information: With the aid of outside legal counsel, Facebook for months has been preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple that would allege the iPhone-maker abused its power in the smartphone market by forcing app developers to abide by App Store rules that Apple’s own apps don’t have…

Discord Bans the r/WallStreetBets Server As Subreddit Goes Private

According to The Verge, Discord has banned the r/WallStreetBets server for allowing “hateful and discriminatory content after repeated warnings.” It did not ban the server for financial fraud. We have also learned that Reddit’s WallStreetBets subreddit has been set to private. Here is Discord’s full statement: The server has been on our Trust & Safety team’s radar for some time due…

Tesla Model S Gets a Radically Redesigned Interior and 520-Mile Range

During its fourth-quarter earnings announcement, Tesla unveiled the long-rumored refresh for its Model S sedan. CNET reports: On the outside, the Model S has a new front bumper with slightly different intakes, a tweaked rear diffuser and new 19- and 21-inch wheel designs. All of the exterior trim is now finished in black to match the Model Y, but the paint…