Without a doubt, Keanu Reeves appearing during the CD Projekt Red’s conference was the most “breathtaking” moment of this year’s E3. However, let’s not forget all the game-defining technology that were announced throughout the E3; which might have gotten overshadowed under similar breathtaking moments. So, here are all those announcements rounded up, for your convenience.
E3 Expo, the biggest gaming convention of the year, just ended its run on 13th June 2019. The Expo offers the gaming industry to showcase their latest and greatest offerings to the gaming community. As both the games and the community has gotten more complex since its initial days. More and more gaming related technology are getting released each year; to make the gaming experience even better. Alongside the usual lot, this year, Google decided take a dip in the gaming industry; by join the parade with its very own Stadia. Other than that, Microsoft’s Project Scarlett, AMD’s new Ryzen processors and a bunch of cloud game streaming services were the main attraction of the tech-side of the 3-day convention.
Is Google Stadia the Future of Gaming?
Google caught everyone’s attention by announcing its one of a kind game streaming service, Stadia, nearly 2 days before the E3 pre-event conference. Stadia allows users to run selected AAA games on Google’s powerful supercomputers and then stream and play it on any device, which Stadia supports. Although currently, only the Stadia console is able to do so; however, according to multiple images shown by Google, Android devices and normal PC might join the list in the near future.
Google Stadia might be what the future of gaming looks like. No need to change your computer’s hardware every-year to play the latest games at their fullest settings; just let the supercomputers do the work and all you have to worry about it is, what to play. Sounds too good to be true, right? But, we might not be too far from that future.
Google Stadia is reported to be out sometime around November this year. At launch, it is going to be available in only 14 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, and selected European countries. The foundation kit, which is basically the console for Stadia, will be sold for 129 USD and a monthly subscription free of 10 USD needs to be paid for enjoying the service.
The Fight For the Cloud Game Streaming Space Has Just Began
Google wasn’t the first to think about the cloud game streaming service, and apparently it seems, it wasn’t the last either. Right after Google announced Stadia; Bethesda and Microsoft both announced their own version of the service.
However, neither Bathesda’s Orion nor Microsoft’s xCloud were consumer ready as their counterpart Google Stadia was. Other than showing some basic ability to run some games on the cloud; both services have not given much details.
Microsoft Gives XBox Yet Another Hardware Boost
With Sony being a no-show for this year’s E3; Microsoft took the stage to brag about their latest installment to the XBox console dubbed “Project Scarlett”. Micrsoft is expected to fill the stores in 2020 with two versions of the XBox. One of the versions is supposed to be equivalent to the current XBox One X and the other one being the high-end “Project Scarlett”.
The high-end version of the XBox is said to be using the latest AMD Ryzen Processors, Radeon RDNA architecture-based graphics with GDDR6 RAM and Ray Tracing technology; which will enable it to deliver 8k resolution at 120fps. Even the storage is switched with SSD for better performance. According to Microsoft, the new specifications should provide nearly 40x better performances when compared with the current generation Xbox. During the conference, Microsoft claimed that new Xbox will “usher in resolution and frame rates we’ve never seen before.”
Pricing and other details still remain unknown. But, after so many hardware improvements to the XBox One series, it makes one wonder, will hardware alone help Microsoft win the console war against Sony?
AMD Kills It with Cheap and Powerful Processors and Graphics Cards
After all those years on the verge of bankruptcy, AMD’s gamble with the Ryzen processors finally paid off. Since then, its market share has seen a dynamic increase, leaving Intel clueless about how to fend off this ever-increasing threat.
The new Ryzen 3000 series got announce during the 2nd day of the convention. It is based on the latest 7nm technology and offers nearly 15% better performance than the previous generation of Ryzen processors clock per clock.
Surprisingly enough, AMD is keeping the price tag of the latest processors as same as the previous generation; while at the same time, discounting the previous generation processors. Making it very tempting to ditch Intel for the Red Team.
Other than the Ryzen 3000 series, AMD also announced their latest RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT series graphics card, which are supposed to compete against nVidia’s RTX 2060 and RTX 270 respectively. Radeon RX 5700 XT will cost you 449 USD, while the the Radeon RX 5700 will be retailed for 379 USD.
Last, But Not The Least
If you ever though being a thin guy and going to GYM on the first day seemed awkward. Imagine being Razer, when they announced their first ever “GAMING ENERGY DRINK” called RESPWAN; in a room filled with games and gaming hardware. Created “for the gamers, by the gamers”, as Razer likes to say it.
Available in Pomegranate Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, Tropical Pineapple and Green Apple favour. Each costing around 25 USD, while the shaker will have a price tag of 30 USD.