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      With new Game Controller app, Netflix games move from mobile to the TV

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 8 August, 2023 - 20:56

    • This is the virtual gamepad as seen in the photos included in the app's App Store listing. [credit: Samuel Axon ]

    In the surest sign yet that Netflix plans to expand its gaming offerings, the company quietly released an iOS app called "Game Controller" that it says will allow subscribers to play games on their TVs.

    Until now, Netflix has offered a curated selection of mobile games—mostly from established developers of premium mobile games who have found prior success on Apple's App Store. It has not, however, released any games that are playable on a living room TV.

    That's technically still the case. When you open up the iPhone app, you're told to "choose a game on your TV and follow the directions to connect," but that process does not appear to be supported by any of Netflix's smart TV, game console, or streaming box apps yet. In fact, there's absolutely nothing you can do with the Game Controller app right now. "Netflix Games on TV are in beta. Some devices may not be supported at this time," a note at the bottom of the app says.

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      Valve starts selling refurbished Steam Decks for up to $130 less than new models

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 8 August, 2023 - 20:45 · 1 minute

    Certified refurbished Steam Decks can save you a little money without sacrificing performance or warranty.

    Enlarge / Certified refurbished Steam Decks can save you a little money without sacrificing performance or warranty. (credit: Valve)

    Valve's Steam Deck hardware has been consistently available to buy for over a year now, but if the price has put you off, Valve has a new option for you. The company is now selling official, certified-refurbished Steam Decks with the same one-year warranty as new models at prices that are between $80 and $130 lower, depending on the configuration you want.

    A basic Steam Deck with 64GB of eMMC storage costs $319 refurbished, compared to $399 new. The 256GB model runs $419 refurbished, compared to $529 new. And the 512GB model costs $519, compared to $649 new. All have the same Zen 2-based AMD CPU and integrated Radeon GPU, the same 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a charger, and a carrying case. Buying refurbished hardware directly from the manufacturer—from Apple's refurbished site , the Dell Outlet , and other places—is usually a great way to get like-new hardware for less money without sacrificing software and warranty support as you might if you bought from a third party.

    If you want to save even more money on a Steam Deck, consider that iFixit , Framework , and a growing number of SSD makers are also releasing (physically) smaller SSD models that users can buy to save some money on storage or upgrade beyond that 512GB maximum.

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      Getting TIE Fighter: Total Conversion working is worth the hassle and the $10

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 28 July, 2023 - 11:15

    Chasing an X-Wing fighter from inside a TIE

    Enlarge / When I originally played TIE Fighter , I could not have imagined such a thing as lens flare. (credit: LucasArts/TFTC)

    It had been a long, long while since I last suited up for the Empire and shot up some X-wings. At least 25 years, really, and probably a few more. Star Wars: TIE Fighter was a high point for LucasArts, but also for the amount of time and energy a certain teenage Ars Technica writer could devote to learning the attack patterns of Rebel squadrons.

    When I saw recently that a rather massively scaled "Total Conversion" of TIE Fighter had released a new update, it felt like as good a time as any to jump back in the cockpit. TIE Fighter: Total Conversion (TFTC) is a nearly total remake of TIE Fighter , inside the more-advanced engine of its sequel, X-Wing Alliance , piggybacking off that game's own big fan-made modernization .

    TIE Fighter: Total Conversion 1.3.3 update trailer. I love living in an age where a 1.3.3 mod update gets a trailer. I really do.

    What Total Conversion promises is still TIE Fighter , but with:

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      AMD Ryzen 7945X3D could be a fast, super-efficient choice for your new gaming laptop

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 28 July, 2023 - 01:00

    • The Ryzen 9 7945X3D is essentially a desktop Ryzen 9 7950X3D repackaged for laptops. [credit: AMD ]

    For a couple of years now, AMD has offered special versions of its desktop processors with an extra 64MB chunk of L3 cache included. This cache is layered over top of the existing CPU silicon, earning it the name "3D V-Cache," and it has proven especially successful for accelerating cache-sensitive software like games.

    Today, AMD is announcing the first 3D V-Cache processor for laptops, the Ryzen 9 7945X3D. It's a version of the regular 16-core Ryzen 9 7945HX with that same 64MB chunk of cache added in, giving it a total of 144MB of L3 cache.

    The 7945HX is essentially a version of the desktop Ryzen 9 7950X repackaged for use in laptops instead of high-end desktops; while chips like the similarly named 7940HS use one monolithic silicon die for everything from the CPU cores to the chipset to the integrated GPU, the 7950HX uses a pair of 8-core CPU chiplets and a separate I/O die.

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      FTC appeal in Microsoft/Activision case shows US regulator isn’t giving up yet

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 13 July, 2023 - 12:26

    Artist's conception of the FTC and Microsoft fighting over this deal in the courts.

    Artist's conception of the FTC and Microsoft fighting over this deal in the courts.

    The FTC has given legal notice that it intends to appeal a recent district court decision that denied a temporary injunction in Microsoft's proposed merger with Activision.

    The appeal notice, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals late Wednesday, is a rare move for the FTC in cases like this. The FTC is facing down District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley's finding that the regulator "has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition."

    An appeal would have to convince a circuit court judge of some key unconsidered area of fact or law to overturn that decision, which could be a high bar in this case. Still, the appeal filing itself shows that the FTC is not willing to give up easily in this high-profile case.

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      These are the last Prime Day deals on Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation games

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 12 July, 2023 - 20:40 · 3 minutes

    GettyImages-1079392540-640x427.jpg

    (credit: Guillaume Payen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images )

    We're in the final stretch for Prime Day , and a lot of the early sales have either been sold out or discontinued. If you're a console gamer, now is the perfect time to snag a terrific deal on some popular titles, and these are available on multiple platforms, ranging from Nintendo's Switch to Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S. Here are some of our favorite video game deals from Prime Day 2023.

    Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs .

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      How AI can make gaming better for all players

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 11 July, 2023 - 16:48

    Close up shot of young girls hands playing game on digital tablet while sitting in parents lap

    Enlarge (credit: Thomas Barwick/Getty )

    When Google revealed Project Gameface, the company was proud to show off a hands-free, AI-powered gaming mouse that, according to its announcement , “enables people to control a computer’s cursor using their head movement and facial gestures.” While this may not be the first AI-based gaming tool, it was certainly one of the first to put AI in the hands of players, rather than developers.

    The project was inspired by Lancy Carr , a quadriplegic video game streamer who utilizes a head-tracking mouse as part of his gaming setup. After his existing hardware was lost in a fire, Google stepped in to create an open source, highly configurable, low-cost alternative to expensive replacement hardware, powered by machine learning. While AI’s broader existence is proving divisive, we set out to discover whether AI, when used for good, could be the future of gaming accessibility.

    It’s important to define AI, and machine learning , to understand clearly how they work in Gameface. When we use the terms “AI” and “machine learning,” we’re referring to both the same and different things.

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      Judge sides with Microsoft in FTC injunction, unlocking final Activision battles

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 11 July, 2023 - 16:29

    Attorneys carrying boxes arrive to court in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. A judge has ruled that the FTC's reliance on the PlayStation chief's testimony was unpersuasive, while Microsoft and Activision's efforts will help avoid market concentration.

    Enlarge / Attorneys carrying boxes arrive to court in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. A judge has ruled that the FTC's reliance on the PlayStation chief's testimony was unpersuasive, while Microsoft and Activision's efforts will help avoid market concentration. (credit: Getty Images)

    A federal judge in San Francisco today denied the Federal Trade Commission's motion to halt Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, ruling that the FTC was unlikely to prove that the merger would "substantially lessen competition."

    Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley's decision (PDF) is heavily redacted in sections covering the company's assets and performance in "AAA Content," "Exclusive Content," and "Cloud Gaming Subscription Services," among others. Segments of those redactions were likely seen in earlier filings, which were poorly redacted with a marker and revealed key financial figures.

    The FTC's motion for a temporary restraining order and injunction was filed in an attempt to disrupt the deal before its purported July 18 deadline . The FTC had already initiated an administrative action to investigate the deal's effect on gaming markets, but it petitioned the US District Court for Northern California that Microsoft and Activision "may consummate the Proposed Acquisition at any time."

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      87% of classic games are out of print. That’s a problem for gaming history.

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 11 July, 2023 - 16:13

    87% of classic games are out of print. That’s a problem for gaming history.

    Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

    Anyone with a passing interest in retro games knows the bulk of classic video game history is effectively "out of print," with legitimate copies limited to defunct hardware platforms and secondhand physical copies (if you're lucky). Now, in a first-of-its-kind study , the Video Game History Foundation has determined the full extent of this issue, finding that a full 87 percent of games released in the US before 2010 are no longer commercially available.

    This vast expanse of out-of-print games isn't exactly "lost," of course; libraries, archives, and even software pirates have helped ensure the games will continue to be accessible in some form. But the VGHF argues persuasively that the poor market availability of reissued games highlights how the game industry is not doing a sufficient job of preserving access to its own history.

    "The industry has done a great job re-commercializing a wide catalog of [popular] titles, but for the vast majority of games, we can't rely on the commercial market to solve this," VGHF Library Director and study author Phil Salvador told Ars in a recent interview. "We need to give libraries and archives more tools to get the job done."

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