Microsoft has announced the Xbox Wireless Headset, a new headset for Xbox consoles including the new Series X and S.
The black-and-green over-ear headset has a retractable microphone, PU leather earcups, and a metal inner headband. The edges of the earcups are rubberised rotary dials, used to adjust the volume and game/chat audio balance. The overall aesthetic has been designed to be “intentionally understated” to allow it to blend into its surroundings alongside the Xbox Series X/S console.
At $99.99, it will retail at a similar price point to many gaming-focused headsets, and is the same price as Sony’s equivalent Pulse 3D headset for PlayStation 5. Similar to the PS5, the Xbox Series X/S has dedicated custom audio hardware to allow for spatial audio over headphones. The new Xbox Wireless Headset supports Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone: X, the trio of 3D audio systems available on Xbox.
While the headset comes in the wake of the Xbox Series X/S, it is compatible across all of Microsoft’s supported devices, and so will work with Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, too. The headset uses the Xbox Wireless technology system to connect to Xbox consoles without needing a dongle, and can pair with a phone or PC over Bluetooth.
The headset can also simultaneously pair with a phone and a console. This, for example, will allow you to play games on your Xbox while chatting to friends on Discord using the same headset, which is perfect for cross-platform play.
On the microphone side, the headset uses dual beamforming microphone elements to pick up your voice rather than surrounding and background noise. Voice isolation tuning also helps you fine tune how much ambient noise the microphone picks up. There’s also an optional auto-mute function that turns your microphone off when you are not speaking. Active and mute states are indicated with an LED light.
Despite its limited availability, the RTX 30-Series has been with us for some time and has proven itself to be an excellent choice for gamers. Today, I’m looking at the Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti OC. Featuring a fast factory overclock, a large and quiet cooler, dual BIOS, and striking RGB, it’s an impressive graphics card. But is it worth the $599 premium?
Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti OC – Design and Features
The ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti is a beast of a card. It features a striking, and great looking, triple-fan cooler that absolutely dwarfs the Founders Edition version of the card. In fact, it’s tenths of an inch bigger than the BFGPU itself, the RTX 3090, though Asus classified this card as 2.9-slot width instead of the 3090’s 3-slot. It’s an inconsequential difference. The card is built sturdily; that metal trim isn’t just for show. It uses a metal frame to prevent sag and even more on the backplate to shed heat. It’s a heavy, industrial looking card that doesn’t need RGB to look cool (though it has that too).
That large cooler is put to good use. I was happy to see that the Strix follows Nvidia’s lead and uses a shortened PCB. The last fan blows directly through the heatsink and exhausts through a vent in the backplate of the card. This design, combined with Asus’s Axial-tech fan design, allows the card to stay nice and cool while also keeping temperatures down.
In my testing, it peaked at 59 degrees celsius in my Lian Li LanCool II chassis. That’s remarkably cool. A similarly specced MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio, reached 68C under the same conditions. The Founders Edition reached 75C. The card features a zero RPM mode, which stops the fans when the card isn’t being pressed, but even under full load I was hard pressed to hear any difference in noise with my naked ear. Using a decibel meter, it came in at 35dB, which was only 2dB louder than the FE. Both cards were easily drowned out by my case fans. The card features a dual BIOS switch to choose between Performance and Quiet modes. Toggling it to Quiet allowed the card to rise to 63C under load but dropped to 31dB, beating the Founders Edition.
Running so cool also means thermal throttling is never an issue. The card comes with a high factory overclock of 1890 MHz in OC Mode, which is a solid +220MHz boost over the reference model. Thanks to those low temps, the card was easily able to surpass this and instead hovered around 2GHz. As a result, it was able to eek out slightly higher FPS in many scenarios than other RTX 3060 Tis I tested.
Under the hood, the Strix is packing all of the same specs as every other RTX 3060 Ti: 4864 CUDA Cores, 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, as well as the latest generation of Nvidia’s Ampere architecture. No matter which card you buy, you’ll have access to core features of this generation like DLSS, which intelligently upscales content to play games at higher resolutions with lower performance cost. Likewise, you’ll also be able to enjoy ray tracing and AI enhanced features like Nvidia Broadcast. Be sure to read about the other benefits of the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition.
Finally, when it comes to IO, the card features three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, dual HDMI 2.1 outputs, and includes HDCP support. The maximum resolution is 7680 x 4320 broken across a maximum of four displays.
Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti OC – Performance
With hardware out of the way, it’s time to look at performance. I test graphics cards using a set procedure, first running each new GPU through a series of synthetic benchmarks for rasterization and ray tracing performance. Then, I dive into real-world performance using an array of a dozen popular games both with and without ray tracing and DLSS support. All games are tested at Ultra settings unless otherwise noted.
Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti OC – Synthetic Benchmarks
Card
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
Uniengine Heaven 4.0
Nvidia RTX 3090 Founders Edition
12,055
4,106
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
12,105
3,671
Nvidia RTX 3080 Founders Edition
10,744
3,385
AMD Radeon RX 6800
10,265
3,041
Nvidia RTX 3070 Founders Edition
8,547
2,785
Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition
7.306
2,258
Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti OC
7,538
2,392
MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio
7,449
2,284
Aorus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Extreme
8,426
2,882
Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition
6,902
2,301
In 3DMark’s Fire Strike and Unigine’s Heaven benchmark, the Asus leads the Founders Edition and MSI Gaming X Trio. Expectedly, it fell short of the RTX 2080 Ti but did surpass the RTX 2080 Super in Heaven.
Turning to ray tracing performance, the story is much the same. The results are very close, but what I would expect from a card with a higher factory overclock and plentiful thermal headroom. Still, the results are close between each RTX 3060 Ti variant, which is a trend as you’ll see in the gaming benchmarks.
Looking at our core five games for GPU reviews, we can see that the Asus ROG Strix performs well, generally leading the the Founders Edition and MSI Gaming X Trio. There is some back and forth, however, indicating that the variance between the cards is slight.
To get a better eye on overall performance, I put the card through my expanded suite of testing. The trend remained true throughout. Compared against the RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition, the Asus averaged 3% faster frame rates at both 1440p and 1080. Against the MSI, it was 4% and 1% faster. Though that might seem slightly odd given that the MSI is also a factory overclocked card, remember that we’re talking differences of 2-3 FPS in some cases. The real world performance difference usually isn’t noticeable at all.
Looking at these results, it’s clear that the Asus ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti is the best RTX 3060 Ti of the three I’ve been able to test so far. Thanks to thermals not generally being a problem for any of these cards, and GPU Boost reliably overclocking each, the real world difference is extremely small. Due to this, the real benefit to this card is in its temperature and acoustic performance more than its sheer FPS.
Xbox Game Pass is getting a whole new line up of titles in the second half of February 2021. This includes Dirt 5, the new racing title already enhanced for Xbox Series X|S, that released not that long ago in November 2020.
Microsoft revealed the rest of the brand new Xbox Game Pass games in a blog post on Xbox Wire with other notable games hitting the service including Elite Dangerous, Superhot: Mind Control Delete, and Code Vein. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition, Wreckfest, and Killer Queen Black are among the other titles hitting the service very soon.
Dirt 5 might be the most notable of the new entries into Xbox Game Pass, simply because it launched on November 6, 2020, barely a few months ago. Dirt 5 will be available on February 25 for consoles, PC, and cloud streaming, alongside Elite Dangerous on consoles, and Superhot on PC.
New Xbox Game Pass Games in February
Code Vein (PC) – February 18
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition (Cloud and Console) – February 18
Wreckfest (Cloud, Console and PC) – February 18
Killer Queen Black (Cloud and Console) – February 23
Dirt 5 (Cloud, Console and PC) – February 25
Elite Dangerous (Console) – February 25
Superhot: Mind Control Delete (PC) – February 25
Best Xbox Game Pass Deal in 2021
Current Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can get 4-months of Ultimate for just $29.99. All you need to do is follow the steps below.
Marvel Studios has announced Assembled, a new documentary series of specials that will start streaming exclusively on Disney+ from March.
The studio revealed that Assembled will take viewers “behind-the-scenes of the shows and movies of the MCU, following the filmmakers, cast and crew, and Marvel heroes every step of the way,” with the first episode in the series, “The Making of WandaVision,” set to premiere on the platform on March 12, 2021 — one week after the final episode of WandaVision on March 5.
Marvel Studios’ ASSEMBLED, a new documentary series of specials, goes behind the scenes of the shows and movies of the MCU. The first special, ASSEMBLED: The Making of @WandaVision, is streaming March 12 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/fM6TxF0VuW
Each episode will drop on the streamer shortly after the related theatrical releases and series completions have arrived on the big screen or small screen. Viewers will glimpse exclusive on-set footage of the likes of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, while Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner will appear on the series to detail the genesis of the Black Widow movie, and upcoming Hawkeye series.
The first episode of the series, Assembled: The Making of WandaVision, will pull back the curtain on the groundbreaking MCU sitcom, offering fans fresh insight into the production’s concept and sitcom influences, filmmaking methods, and the “challenges and ultimate rewards” of performing an entire episode in front of a live studio audience.
Series stars Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff) and Paul Bettany (Vision) will be joined by newcomers to the MCU, such as Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau) and Kathryn Hahn (Agnes), along with returning favorites like Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis) and Randall Park (Jimmy Woo) to provide an immersive and in-depth examination of the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There should be plenty to unpack in the first Assembled special as WandaVision has a habit of leaving viewers with more questions than answers, paving the way for numerous theories and discussions. With that being the case, IGN’s staff recently gathered around the digital campfire to thrash out the major theories, questions, and speculation surrounding the show after Episode 6 left us with a lot to dissect.
Nintendo has announced that a 50 minute Nintendo Direct will take place on Wednesday, February 17 at 2pm PT/5pm ET/10pm GMT and will feature “roughly 50 minutes of information focused on available games like Super #SmashBrosUltimate and games coming to #NintendoSwitch in the first half of 2021.”
The timing of this Nintendo Direct is also important to note as it arrives a few days before The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary on Sunday, February 21.
Nintendo did specifically mention that we’d be getting news about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which will have many assuming it will be about the next fighter arriving in the game following Final Fantasy 7’s Sephiroth.
What are you hoping to see in this Nintendo Direct? Let us know below!
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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
IGN is pleased to announce that it has been nominated for four awards at the L.A. Press Club’s 13th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
IGN as a whole, represented by Editor-in-Chief Tina Amini and Director of Content Strategy and Partnerships Terri Schwartz, has been nominated in the Entertainment Website category.
Senior Editor & Features Producer Joshua Yehl has been nominated in the Diversity in the Entertainment Industry, Print/Online category for his essay, ‘How I Learned to Grieve and Heal Through Star Wars‘. The piece connects Star Wars’ first onscreen, same-sex kiss to Yehl’s grieving process around the death of his friend Drew Leinonen, who was among those killed at the 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Yehl’s piece previously won a SoCal Journalism Award.
Executive Editor of News Joe Skrebels and Senior Video Producer Dale Driver were nominated in the Documentary or Special Program, Short category for ‘The Lie That Helped Build Nintendo‘, a documentary feature about Swedish businessman Owe Bergsten, who became entwined with the rise of Nintendo and helped further the company’s success in the west.
After news spread last night, Ubisoft has confirmed that Rainbow Six Quarantine is being renamed, but the title ‘Rainbow Six Parasite’ is an internal placeholder title. The game’s final name, and new details, will be shared “soon”.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently said that the previously announced Rainbow Six Quarantine could be renamed, and a patch uploaded to the PlayStation Network seemed to contain an image that showed the game its new name was Rainbow Six Parasite.
As reported by MP1ST, this update, which is said to be an “initial launch patch,” includes “an image from the file belonging to the PS4 of the dash, boot, and save data icon, and the mention of Rainbow Six Parasite…”
Image Credit: MP1ST.com
In a statement to IGN, Ubisoft explained that the game’s name would be changed, and that the patch did refer to internal testing for Quarantine – but that Parasite is a placeholder title, with an official title to be announced soon:
“While we recently shared that we will be changing the name of Rainbow Six Quarantine, ‘Parasite’ is only a placeholder that our internal teams use. We are very happy with the interest generated by this game’s development and will share more details, including the official name, soon.”
The changed title, on-network testing, and recent affirmation that the game would arrive by the end of September, may point to an announcement coming sooner rather than later. It’s also possible that this update could be paving the way for a possible beta test.
Per MP1ST’s digging, PlayStation Vita owners will also be happy to know that there was an image included that shows a seeming work-in-progress look at the guide for Remote Play in the game.
Image Credit: MP1ST.com
Rainbow Six Quarantine (or Parasite!) is a “three-player, tactical co-op shooter” that is set in the future. It has players entering a quarantine zone to fight a mutated alien parasite that has been infecting human hosts and causing a ton of chaos.
Photos have emerged of wrestler and actor Sasha Banks, also known by her real name Mercedes Varnado, waving the green flag as the honorary starter at Sunday’s Daytona 500 race. Varnado shared a series of photos on social media showing her trackside at the race, as well as a snapshot of her waving the green starter flag.
Fans also shared clips of her in action, setting off a dramatic race that saw a fiery collision and a 16-car pileup, as reported in Popculture.
Anything you touch, it’s always epic. You were the highlight. Your presence was felt. This is why you are the grand BO$$💙💙✨✨💜💜✨✨💙💙 pic.twitter.com/WtetT39jBB
The WWE pro wrestler and six-time world champion has branched out in the last year, making her acting debut as a new Mandalorian character named Koska Reeves in season 2 of The Mandalorian. After the debut role, she changed her social media names to Mercedes Varnado, branching out from her WWE ring name.
After her appearance in two episodes of The Mandalorian, some have pegged Varnado as having the potential to be the next breakout WWE star, following in the footsteps of Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista.
Avengers: Endgame had a lot going on. This isn’t news to anyone–the MCU Phase 3 finale was responsible for wrapping up a whole slew of character threads and plotlines as many of Marvel Studios’ A-list stars finished their contracts and stepped aside from their decade-long commitments as major characters in the franchise. For some, like Tony Stark, this meant dying in an extremely straightforward way. For others, like Steve Rogers, things were significantly more convoluted.
In case you need a refresher, the ending of Steve Rogers’ journey in the MCU involved time traveling back to the 1940s to finally get that dance he was promised with Peggy Carter way back in Captain America: The First Avenger. Then, after apparently having led a full life entirely off screen, he comes back to the present to hand off the shield to Sam Wilson and, presumably, either go back to his life in the past or, you know, die or something. We can’t really say. Written out in so few words, it might actually sound kind of straightforward–the whole “go back in time to reconnect with a lost love” trope happens on the semi-regular, after all–but Endgame’s own internal time travel logic (and Steve Rogers’ story through the other six MCU movies he was in before Endgame) provoked some big questions about timeline paradoxes and basic character development.
Things got infinitely worse in the weeks after Endgame’s release when, for some reason, the Russos took to the media and tried to offer their own explanations for what happened, contradicting the film’s writers and citing internal logic that was never presented in the movies. The whole situation became a months-long debacle where the filmmakers desperately tried to assure fans that, no, really, their confusion wasn’t justified because it actually made sense, all they needed to do was stop thinking about what was actually in the movie and instead listen to what the directors were saying.
Now, two years after the fact, it would seem the Russos are not done trying to clarify their own creative decisions. In an interview with the Lights, Camera, Barstool podcast, reported by CinemaBlend, Joe Russo offered this missing context: “One thing that’s clear that Anthony and I have discussed, I don’t know that we’ve discussed this publicly at all, Cap would have had to have traveled back to the main timeline. That’s something that, yes, he would have been in a branch reality, but he would have to travel back to the main timeline to give that shield to Sam Wilson.”
How, exactly, this would have happened is a mystery–Steve’s venturing back in time to replace the Infinity Stones was, in theory, meant to prevent the creation of branched realities, and the technology he took with him, again in theory, ought to have prevented him from somehow hopscotching around different realities–but that, apparently doesn’t matter.
Joe continues, explaining that in their “internal logic” (read: logic not visible to viewers of the film), this was what happened, and it was decided on “in the room” as the movie was made. This is a bit funny considering the writers who were presumably also “in the room” didn’t get this memo based on their own post-release interviews. In these interviews, they explained that rather than creating an alternate reality, there would have simply been two different Steve Rogers existing simultaneously for a while in a new version of the timeline we’d already experienced in other MCU movies.
At the end of the day, none of this actually matters because the reality we’re all in, alternate or otherwise, likely will not see Chris Evans return to the MCU, no matter what rumors are out there–and there’s been confirmation straight from the man himself. The Russos’ insistence on trying to clarify their own creative decisions two years after the fact won’t change the fact that every fan who felt invested in Captain America’s MCU journey will have a completely different read on what actually happened. And upcoming shows like The Falcon & The Winter Soldier will most likely not address it at all. Steve’s story has amounted to an exit, a symbolic gesture, and a mantle being passed. The details can be whatever you want them to be, regardless of what the directors say.
Literally or figuratively, the Captain America we knew is dead. Long live Captain America.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been updated with yet another holiday: Festivale. Hosted by a peacock named Pave, Festivale is a one-day event that occurs in February or March depending on the year. In 2021, Festivale takes place on February 15. Like with other holidays in New Horizons, there are items you can only get on Festivale by participating in the Festivale event.
In this guide, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about Festivale. This includes how to get each new Festivale furniture item, including the super-rare Festivale float; how feathers work and how to get rainbow feathers; and tips for how to make the most of the feathers and items you get so you don’t miss out.
What Is Festivale?
Festivale is Animal Crossing’s take on Carnival. In 2021, Festivale falls on February 15. You can “time travel” by adjusting your Nintendo Switch clock to February 15, 2021 to participate in Festivale if you missed the event. On this day, the dancing peacock Pave will be in the plaza, and your villagers will be out and about participating in the holiday too.
On the day of Festivale, there will be feathers floating around your island, similar to cherry blossoms, maple leaves, and snowflakes. You need to catch feathers with a net to collect them. The feathers come in five colors: green, red, blue, purple, and rainbow. While you might find some colors more frequently than others, you’ll be able to catch all of them. Rainbow feathers are rare, but you will occasionally find them floating around.
The main point of Festivale is to exchange feathers for rare furniture items. You’ll be able to collect these feathers only on the day of the event, and while the furniture items are on sale at Nook’s Cranny for two weeks leading up to the event, they cannot be crafted, so the only way to get more is by giving feathers to Pave.
Every Festivale Item (All Pave Rewards)
There are nine regular Festivale items, and they can be customized to one of five color variants: green, red, blue, purple, and rainbow. Regardless of the color you want, you need rainbow feathers to customize the Festivale items. These items are:
Festivale balloon lamp
Festivale confetti machine
Festivale drum
Festivale flag
Festivale garland
Festivale lamp
Festivale parasol
Festivale stage
Festivale stall
These items are available for sale in Nook’s Cranny for around two weeks leading up to Festivale. You can buy one each day, and your Nook’s Cranny will stock only one of the five color options for purchase. These items cannot be ordered from Nook Shopping and are not craftable. The only way to get more of these items without trading with other players is by participating in Festivale.
The Festivale set in the rainbow color variant. From left to right, back to front: parasol, lamp, flag, balloon lamp, stall, stage, garland, drum, and confetti machine. You can see the other color variants in the gallery below.
Gallery
There’s also a special item called the Festivale float, which cannot be customized, purchased, or crafted. The only way to get the Festivale float is by trading with Pave.
How To Get All The Festivale Items
On the day of Festivale, speak to Pave in the plaza, who will request that you change into a Festivale outfit. (You can buy the Festivale costume, Festivale tank dress, and Festivale accessory at Able Sisters on Festivale.) Pave will then give you a rainbow feather DIY recipe. To craft a rainbow feather, you need one red feather, one blue feather, one green feather, and one purple feather.
Pave will ask you to bring him feathers in exchange for rewards. You can either:
bring him three of one color feather in exchange for a Festivale furniture item of that color variant, or
bring him one rainbow feather in exchange for a Festivale furniture item of the rainbow variant.
You can choose either of these options or mix and match depending on what color variants you want. He’ll give you a different item each time you trade with him until he’s given you the full set, but even after you’ve received the full set, you can continue to trade feathers with Pave for more of the same items until the event ends.
How To Get The Festivale Float
Once you’ve traded with Pave nine times–once for each regular Festivale item–he’ll ask you to bring him three rainbow feathers in exchange for a special reward: the Festivale float. This is the only way to get the Festivale float without trading with other players.
The Festivale float in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
You can get as many Festivale floats as you’d like on the day of Festivale. You just need to complete a cycle of nine trades, and then Pave will offer you the trade for the Festivale float. You can continue to do this until the event ends.
How To Get Feathers
Requires: net
Feathers are only available on the day of the event, so it’s important to get as many as you need while you can. You’ll be able to catch feathers with a net throughout the day; simply run around your island with your net out and press A to catch feathers the same way you would catch bugs.
Like the Festivale items, feathers come in green, red, blue, purple, and rainbow. You’ll find every color floating around your island, but because it’s random, you might find one or two colors more frequently than others just by chance. Rainbow feathers, while very rare, will appear occasionally.
Catching a rainbow feather in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
How To Get Rainbow Feathers
In addition to finding rainbow feathers floating around your island, you’ll also be able to craft them using the DIY recipe given to you by Pave. It’s easier to craft rainbow feathers than it is to find them, so make sure you catch plenty of feathers so you can craft rainbow ones. Keep in mind that you need rainbow feathers to customize Festivale items–customization kits don’t work, and neither do red, blue, green, or purple feathers–so make sure you get as many as you’ll need on the day of the event.
Trading Feathers With Villagers
If you’re not getting the colors you need or want, you can also trade feathers with villagers. When you talk to your villagers around town, they will offer to trade you feathers of one color for those of another color (excluding rainbow). What they choose is random, so if they don’t offer the trade you’re looking for, decline their offer and try a different villager. You can keep doing this until they offer the exchange you’re looking for.
You can trade one, two, or three feathers depending on how many you have in a stack in your inventory (three is the maximum). If you want to trade only one feather at a time, make sure you have one feather by itself in your pockets (not in a stack of two or three feathers) so you trade only as many as you want to.
Trading feathers is useful if you’re trying to get a certain color to exchange with Pave or if you want to craft rainbow feathers and find you have too many of a certain color and not enough of another.
At $99.99, it will retail at a similar price point to many gaming-focused headsets, and is the same price as Sony’s equivalent Pulse 3D headset for PlayStation 5. Similar to the PS5, the Xbox Series X/S has dedicated custom audio hardware to allow for spatial audio over headphones. The new Xbox Wireless Headset supports Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone: X, the trio of 3D audio systems available on Xbox.
