Final Fantasy 9 Steam Update Seemingly Removes the Entire Game

The latest update for Final Fantasy 9 on Steam has seemingly removed the entire game, making it unplayable.

A handful of threads have been made on the Final Fantasy 9 General Discussion board on Steam, with all of them discussing the sudden disappearance of the game. The update, which went live at some point in the past 24 hours, has reduced the game’s file size to zero megabytes, effectively rendering it gone entirely.

Square Enix has not issued official patch notes, but the SteamDB update tracker notes that on April 2 an update removed a long list of files. That long list appears to be every file in the game.

FF9 installInvestigating myself, I’ve found that if you download Final Fantasy 9 from your Steam library, it requests 0 MB of disk space, and downloads instantly (because it pulls down next to nothing). With it installed, you’re able to load the launcher from which you choose screen resolution, but clicking ‘play’ simply shuts the launcher down and nothing happens. Steam itself recognises that the game has closed, and resets its big UI button from ‘Stop’ to ‘Play’.

The PC Final Fantasy 9 community is relatively active, largely due to the fantastic Moguiri mod that makes the game look significantly more impressive than the PC port usually does. But without the actual game files, the mod is – as you’d expect – useless.

Without official patch notes this seems a mistake on Square Enix’s end rather than an actual update. Or it’s a dreadful April Fool’s that deployed a day too late.

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For a PC Final Fantasy you can play right now, check out our review of the latest Final Fantasy 14 expansion, Shadowbringers, which cements the MMO as one of the very best in the genre’s long history. It also recently picked up a new raid based on Nier: Automata.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.

Sony Creates $100 Million Fund To Support COVID-19 Relief

Sony has announced that it will be committing $100 million in support of COVID-19 relief around the world. The fund is called the “Sony Global Relief Fund for COVID-19,” with the intention of providing much-needed relief to those in need during this crisis.

Support will be divided into three main areas:

  1. Assistance to individuals engaged in the medical field like doctors, nurses, and first responders efforts fighting the virus on the front-lines.

  2. Implementing new forms of education for children and educators who can no longer attend school and must work from home.

  3. Support for members of the creative community within the entertainment and gaming industries impacted.

Sony has pledged that $10 million of the fund will be sent to medical support, in conjunction with the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO powered by the UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These foundations are devoted to assisting medical professions and workers currently assisting in the effort to prevent the further spread of the virus and contribute to the treatment of the public.

In terms of assisting teachers and children, Sony is looking to explore ways in which the company can leverage the technologies at its disposal in support of educational activities, and to help coordinate with educators to implement these changes in a seamless way.

“Sony extends its condolences to the families of those who have passed away as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and extends its sympathies to all those who have been impacted. In order to overcome the unprecedented challenges that as a society we now face around the world, we will do all we can as a global company to support the individuals on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, the children who are our future, and those who have been impacted in the creative community” said Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO of Sony Corporation, in a statement.

Sony also plans to assist those working in the creative communities that have been affected by the pandemic. The company is looking into ways to support creators and artists in these professions, including those who have been impacted by the cancellation of events and work. That includes those who work or participate in music, pictures, games, and animation, along with group companies working in the entertainment industry.

Employees will be able to provide their support, with a matching gift program available to the 110,000 Sony employees around the world.

Sony says it will continue to work with its partners and stakeholders to find more ways to help those in need and further extend these initiatives.

Now Playing: E3 2020 Canceled – How Sony, Microsoft, & Nintendo Have Responded

Phil Spencer Talks Xbox Series X Launch Lineup

In a lengthy interview with IGN, Phil Spencer, the executive vice president of Gaming at Microsoft, discussed the release and lineup for the launch of the upcoming Xbox Series X. Set to release later this year, Spencer is confident in the next generation of the Xbox making it out on time, despite the setbacks caused by the ongoing pandemic around the world.

At this point we know that the day one launch lineup consists solely of Halo Infinite, Xbox’s flagship franchise. When asked about the launch lineup, Spencer skated around the topic, not really confirming anything new, but instead outlining his own beliefs on how Microsoft will be handling the launch. “For the momentum of the platform, it’s not about any one day, it’s about a sustained stream of great games coming from our first party and our third party partners,” he said.

Spencer went on to comment on how he thought the Xbox One had too many games released on the launch day. “It doesn’t really help somebody to have eight games launched on one day, and I think you can pace those out,” he said.

Here are the games we know so far that will be coming to or releasing on the Series X:

Halo Infinite will be released on both the Xbox One consoles and the Xbox Series X. Cyberpunk 2077 will have a free upgrade for the Xbox Series X for those who purchase the game on Xbox One.

As the interview went on, Spencer touched on Microsoft’s various studios working on multiple projects and how they will be planning on announcing titles much earlier in development.

“With more internal teams, we’ll be able to show things that are further out because it is just regretfully it’s a little different internal team and external teams. …Aaron Greenberg (Xbox Marketing manager) and I were just doing the math with Matt [Booty] (Head of Xbox Game Studios) and trying to figure out what is the next show that we would have that we would not be announcing a new game. It’s kind of hard for us to predict, because we just have that many studios.”

“Our first party organization that works with independent studios to ship games under our first-party brand and we unannounced signed things there that we are really, really excited about and that teams really found the rhythm in terms of how they’re working on these games and getting the quality and the shipping. So, I’ll just say that [you] are going to hear a lot more from us in the game space. I know I’ve been saying that for a while, but it’s just the math now says that we have to announce things almost every time we’re on stage, new things, otherwise were gonna be shipping games without ever announcing them.”

The Xbox Series X has no price as of yet, with Spencer saying he is “eyes wide open” in regards to the final retail price of the console. Microsoft will be looking at how Sony prices the PlayStation 5 for release come holiday season 2020.

Now Playing: Xbox Series X – Quick Resume Tech Demo

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As Call Of Duty Mobile Reaches New Milestone, VP Discusses Removing Zombies, Microtransactions, And Lots More

Activision’s Call of Duty Mobile is a juggernaut. With more than 150 million installs worldwide, the game’s big success has helped mobile become Activision’s biggest platform by revenue.

The game, which is developed by Tencent’s TiMi Studios in China, recently hit a milestone in Australia: 1 million installs. Chris Plummer, Activision’s vice president of mobile, spoke to GameSpot about this achievement and a lot more about the mobile game in a new interview.

Plummer tells GameSpot that Call of Duty Mobile is resonating globally, but for the Australia audience specifically, he had a message to share: “Personally, I want to thank the Australian fans. You were part of our beta program and really helped us in the lead up to launch.”

Australia and New Zealand are often used as testing grounds for big mobile releases, with publishers testing the game in those relatively smaller countries before expanding worldwide.

Plummer spoke to GameSpot as Call of Duty Mobile welcomes its latest big update, Steel Legion. This new season of content introduces new game modes, a new map, and more rewards to players to earn. There is also a new Steel Legion Battle Pass that adds two very iconic Call of Duty characters: Black Ops 2 protagonist David Mason and Reaper, a highly sophisticated war robot.

The launch of Steel Legion also represents a change for Call of Duty: Mobile in that the game has now shifted to a monthly season model. “We wanted it to be easy for our players to know when a season would begin and end. And then add to that, we wanted to add a light narrative to each season, which you’ll see starting in April with Steel Legion,” Plummer said.

Check out the Steel Legion trailer below, and read on for our full interview with Plummer. He also speaks about the controversial decision to remove Zombies from Call of Duty Mobile, how the game goes about offering fair microtransactions, and a lot more. You can also check out Activision’s blog post here to find out everything that’s included with the Steel Legion update.

GameSpot: 1 million installs in Australia alone is a big number. What do you think it is about CoD Mobile that’s resonating so much with the Australian audience?

Plummer: We’re really excited to see that 1 million milestone and proud that Australian gamers are enjoying Call of Duty: Mobile. I think the game is just resonating with a global audience in general, but we’ve always known that Australians were Call of Duty fans. Personally, I want to thank the Australian fans. You were part of our beta program and really helped us in the lead up to launch.

CoD Mobile is obviously a global juggernaut as well. Are there any other new metrics you can share regarding how successful the game has been on a worldwide scale?

It’s been truly remarkable to see Call of Duty’s rocketing performance, from daily stats to accolades and most importantly to attracting so many dedicated players day in and day out. We are deeply appreciative of the response and are working tirelessly to continue delivering a great experience for everyone playing around the globe.

“Fan feedback has been incredibly positive and humbling. We have been working with our community to deliver the types of items and gameplay experiences they want.” — Chris Plummer

Now that it’s been a few months since release, what are you hearing from fans in terms of feedback, and what are you planning to change, update, or improve on as a result?

Fan feedback has been incredibly positive and humbling. We have been working with our community to deliver the types of items and gameplay experiences they want. Based on their feedback, we are changing the way we are handling our Battle Pass system and making it more thematic and less of a time grind.

The other piece of news you’re announcing is around simplifying the seasonal update cadence. Can you explain your thinking there and what you’re trying to achieve and build upon?

The first thing you’ll notice is that we’ve gone to a monthly season model. We wanted it to be easy for our players to know when a season would begin and end. And then add to that, we wanted to add a light narrative to each season, which you’ll see starting in April with Steel Legion.

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One big change for CoD Mobile that was announced recently was that Zombies is being removed. This surprised a lot of people. Can you explain the reasoning behind that decision?

Zombies was a time-limited mode that ran for a few months. We’re discussing the player feedback from that first event and it is our intention to make further improvements to Zombies before reintroducing it. We have other time-limited modes that we want players to experience too. We know that our players really enjoy new ways to play!

Battle royale just came to Modern Warfare in a big way with Warzone. Are you looking to update and expand CoD: Mobile’s battle royale mode as well with new content or features in the future?

We’re always iterating on our Battle Royale game mode. We’ve added new items and new ways to play (i.e. 20 vs 20) and we’ll definitely be keeping BR interesting for our players over the coming months.

For CoD: Mobile, you’ve partnered with Tencent and TiMi Studios. Can you speak more about your relationship with them and how your partnership is going considering they are a team based halfway around the world from you?

Tencent and TiMi Studios have been fantastic partners through the entire development, publishing and live operation phases. Since Call of Duty: Mobile is such a global game, it’s been great having a global perspective from multiple partners. We’re living in the age of connectivity, so geography hasn’t really been a problem for us working with the full team.

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Microtransactions generate a lot of debate and controversy, but CoD: Mobile seems to have struck a balance that gamers generally accept and enjoy. Can you talk more about creating the economy and making it feel fair and never pay-to-win?

Ensuring that players have a fair and even playing field was of utmost importance during development and continues to this day. We wanted to be sure that all players will have the same opportunities to win.

Do you plan to make CoD Mobile an annualized series like the mainline console/PC franchise? Or will CoD Mobile live on its own over the years with new updates and seasonal content?

Currently we are focused on continuously keeping Call of Duty: Mobile fresh and interesting so our players will always have something fun to do in-game. As we mentioned early, the new monthly seasonal content should provide many reasons to keep coming back to the game.

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You have been in the gaming industry since the ’90s and you have experience across a number of major franchises from a range of big companies. What is it about what Activision is doing in the mobile space with CoD: Mobile and others that makes you excited to be part of the team?

I’ve been a big fan of Call of Duty since the very first version on PC so many years ago. As a game-maker in the same genre space, I always had a tonne of admiration for Call of Duty and how the franchise evolved over time; always delivering that incredibly fun, tight, visceral combat experience. When Activision approached me with the possibility to work on Call of Duty and the mobile business, I was struck by how committed and passionate the leaders were about bringing Call of Duty to mobile in the right way.

The game had to be great and the way we deliver it to players each day needed to meet the high standards of a true Call of Duty experience. Knowing the company and its leaders were as passionate about this and I am, it was hard to contain my excitement. Frankly, it’s just as exciting today, because we have so many cool things in the works and we’re all really energised to be working on such a great game.

DuckTales: Quackshot Is An April Fool’s Day Prank, But It Started As A Real Pitch

April Fool’s Day 2020 has been and gone, and as usual many studios have gotten in on it with fake announcements. But one prank in particular seemed very cruel, because the game announced looked both very good and extremely plausible–Ducktales: Quackshot, from Monster Boy developer FDG Entertainment. But there’s a reason why it looked so professional–it was the result of a real pitch made to Disney.

In a follow-up tweet, in which the studio announced that the game was just a prank, FDG Entertainment clarified that while the game was not happening, it was not for lack of trying. “We worked hard on a legit pitch to Disney but unfortunately never got the license,” the tweet reads. “It would’ve been a shame to bury the material so it became this years #AprilFools. Maybe someday Disney will reconsider?”

The concept art captures the style of the Ducktales reboot cartoon, starring David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck. Season 3 of the show begins on April 4.

It’s possible that FDG Entertainment posted this as an April Fool’s Day prank so that Disney could see how sincere the enthusiasm for the game was–the announcement tweet received over 7600 likes.

If you’re after a DuckTales game, DuckTales: Remastered recently returned to digital stores after being removed last year.

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Mount & Blade 2 Developers On The Launch, Bugs, And Breaking Saves In Bannerlord

After the huge release of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord early access recently, the developers have been working hard to fix some of the issues that have arisen post launch. Since the early access launch, the developers have released three patches, with bug fixes as the main focus of each one.

Players have been reporting losing their save files and encountering various bugs in the game since launch, but the developers are confident that they will be able to work their way through each thread and find a solution for these problems.

Mount & Blade II is a realistic medieval RPG, where players lead a small army of soldiers to complete quests and fight against other small armies, growing renown with each fight until they eventually become a lord or even king. Bannerlord takes place 210 years after the events of Warband, the DLC pack from 2008, with the focus shifting to the historical Migration Period, a period of time that place not long after the fall of the Roman Empire.

While it is only an early access release, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords has plenty to offer. With Custom Battles and Campaign modes available in single player, there are countless hours of battles for players to experience. The campaign mode is a new addition to the series, with a storyline and key events being woven into the sandbox gameplay, giving players clear goals and objectives to complete while forging their way across the enormous game map.

The multiplayer mode has even more options, with four different game modes to play: Skirmish, Captain, Team Deathmatch, and Seige. According to TeamWorlds, the developers and publishers of the Mount & Blade series, have stated that they will continue to introduce more features, game modes, and additional content to the multiplayer as the early access goes on.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is available for 10% in the first two weeks of release, with players who own a previous title in the series getting an extra 10% off on Steam. Once these initial bugs have been fixed, Bannerlord is sure to live up to the Mount & Blade quality of games we all know.

Now Playing: Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Campaign Teaser | Gamescom 2018

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New Asus ROG Gaming Laptop Is a Dual Screen Monster

Asus has revealed its latest ultra-powerful gaming laptop, but this one is a little more interesting than just a folding PC with a beefy graphics card in it. The ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is a dual-screen laptop, designed to give both gamers and creators more screen real estate in a portable package.

The Zephyrus Duo 15’s approach to dual screen is a neat party trick; as you lift the laptop’s lid, a slim second screen rises up above the keyboard, with its final resting spot sitting at a shallow angle above the top row of keys and below the ‘chin’ of the main display.

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This non-glare 14.09” screen – dubbed the ROG ScreenPad+ – is UHD resolution (3840×1100) at 60hz, with touch and stylus support. It’s not as tall as the main monitor panel, and so sort of works as a miniature ultrawide. The narrowness of the screen means this second panel is best suited to tools such as the Photoshop colour wheel or OBS, rather than playing games on.

While Windows recognises the ScreenPad+ as a second monitor and you can drag items to it as you’d expect, the touch panel also has its own software. This allows you to assign various apps or windows to it and create presets, with up to three windows open across the width of it. During a hands-on session I played the Quake RTX demo while also having Steam and a browser displaying IGN open on the second screen. This is a simple way of showing its base capabilities, but it’s easy to imagine playing Escape from Tarkov and having an all-important map open in one panel of the second screen, and Discord in another.

Aside from its obvious uses for creatives reliant on Adobe software – Asus is partnering with Adobe and other companies to create specific content for the ScreenPad – the laptop could be useful for streamers on the go. Being able to broadcast from a laptop that offers a dedicated screen to monitor chat and provide touch-pad streaming tools seems quite useful.

The main display is a 15.6” panel available in two variants; a UHD 60Hz Adobe, Pantone Color Calibrated option, or a 1080p version that runs at 300Hz with 3ms response time. The former is suited to creative work, while the speed of the latter is designed for game performance.

Talking of performance, the Zephyrus Duo 15 is powered by an Intel 10th generation CPU – either an i7 or an i9 – and Nvidia’s RTX series of graphics cards, with a choice of the 2070 Super or the 2080 Super. As for memory and storage, you can opt for up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of NVMe SSD storage in RAID 0.

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Additionally, the laptop comes with a 90Wh battery that can be powered through the Thunderbolt port, and a liquid metal thermal compound on the CPU allows for an apparently 10% performance increase. The lifting action of the second screen also opens up an additional air intake to aid in further cooling of the components.

All of this does, naturally, come at a hefty price tag. Asus is pricing the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 from $2,999/£2,999 for the entry model, with the beefier version sporting the 2080 Super coming in at $3,999/£3,999. It goes on sale in July this year.

If this isn’t the desktop replacement for you, check our our suggestions of the best gaming laptops.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter

Gaming Laptops Finally Get 8-Core CPUs and Nvidia RTX Super Graphics

In a rare double header, both Intel and Nvidia today introduced new components for gaming laptops. For Intel, that’s 10th Generation H-Series processors, while Nvidia announced Max-Q versions of its RTX Super line.

We’ll start with the latter announcement of the brand new Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q and 2070 Super Max-Q for gaming laptops. Going from the RTX 2080 Max-Q to its new Super variant, Nvidia has bumped up the CUDA core count from 2,944 to 3,072 while also increasing the boost clock speed from 1,230MHz to 1,560MHz.

Nvidia RTX Super

It’s almost the same story for the RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, which has seen the addition of 220 more CUDA cores, but interestingly a reduction in maximum frequency by 75MHz.

Aside differences in CUDA core counts and boost clock speeds, there’s not much different on the surface specs of these two new laptop GPUs. However, there have been plenty of under the hood improvements including low-voltage DDR6 memory and a next-generation regulator to reduce power usage.

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo
Yes, this is a dual-screen gaming laptop

To the Max

These two new parts also bring a boat load of new Max-Q features. Most importantly these second generation mobile Max-Q graphics chips have been granted Advanced Optimus Technology, which finally allows gaming laptops to switch between integrated and discrete graphics while also supporting G-Sync at the same time. Previously, any gaming laptop outfitted with G-Sync support could not switch back to integrated graphics in order to improve battery life, as its display was essentially hard wired to Nvida’s GPU.

Aside from being able to save on battery life thanks to the graphics switching software, G-Sync itself has also seen an upgrade to support 4K 120Hz displays—though there has yet to be a single gaming laptop that features both of these screen specs.

Nvidia Dynamic Boost

The other important Max-Q technology here is Dynamic Boost, which basically shifts power between the CPU and GPU. This isn’t a simple boost to both processing power and graphical horsepower, rather the software will reduce power going to the CPU to GPU to squeeze a little more FPS while playing graphically demanding games like Doom Eternal.

Nvidia says that all these new features, including the low-voltage DDR6 memory and next-generation regulator, will come to all new Max-Q GPUs across the company’s entire range of RTX and GTX chips. However, the company doesn’t have any plans to clearly mark which laptops will feature all these new Max-Q chips, so we’re hoping the individual manufacturers will place a box sticker or other clear indication on its products.

At the very least we can expect the price of Nvidia-powered gaming laptops to decrease soon. The company confirmed that this April we’ll start seeing GTX 1650-equipped machines starting at $699 while gaming laptops with an RTX 2060 will start at $999.

Intel 10th Generation H-Series

Octa-core power

On the Intel side of things, the Santa Clara-based company has introduced 10th Generation H-series processors. Before you get too excited about the notion of gaming-grade Ice Lake processors, we’re sad to inform you that this is yet another lineup of 14nm chips.

The good news is this new line of CPUs finally brings eight-core, 16-thread processors to gaming laptops at long last. What’s more, all of these new Intel Core i7 and i9 processors are able to hit a maximum (single-core) clock speed of 5.0GHz or higher. Core i5 processors aren’t far behind either with the lowest Turbo frequency sitting around 4.5GHz.

Intel has also added the Intel Speed Optimizer as a feature inside the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for simple one-click overclocking. This new automated feature will scan your system for its available power and thermal overhead and set an appropriate multi-core overclock on your gaming laptop.

Otherwise, these new processors bring integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) and boost DDR4 memory speeds up to 2,933MHz—though we’ve seen a few Asus machines up the ante to 3,200MHz.

This is one of the biggest component refreshes we’ve seen in gaming laptops for some time and as such manufacturers are already pulling all the stops with new models. Below in  our slideshow  we’ve featured just a few of the latest models including the insane dual-screen laptop we teased earlier so click on.

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Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

New High-End Gaming Laptops Revealed By MSI

MSI has revealed its upcoming slate of gaming laptops, which all come equipped with 10th-gen Intel Core processors and Nvidia RTX Super graphics cards. The new laptops include the GS66 Stealth, GE66 Raider, and Creator 17. The company states that these laptops were made with gamers and content creators in mind, with specs that can easily handle tasks like gaming and rendering high-quality video.

The GS66 Stealth is available now for pre-order, while the GE66 Raider and Creator 17 laptops will launch online on April 15. Each laptop comes with a TN display with the option to switch out for an IPS-level panel, which provides brighter and better colours.

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GS66 Stealth gaming laptop

Starting at $1,599; Available for pre-order now

The GS66 Stealth has a discrete look with an all-black chassis, making it more low-key than most gaming laptops. It can boast up to an i9-10980HK processor with an RTX Super graphics card. Whichever specs you choose, you’ll get a 15.6-inch, 1080p display with a 300Hz refresh rate. Pairing an i9-10980HK with an RTX 2080 Super should produce some impressive results on that 300Hz display. It also comes with two NVMe SSD slots and a per-key RGB-lit gaming keyboard by SteelSeries as well as a Cooler Boost Trinity+ cooling system and a 99.9Whr battery.


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GE66 Raider gaming laptop

Starting at $1,799 on April 15

The GE66 Raider looks more like a gaming laptop than the GS66 Stealth, though it doesn’t stand out as particularly garish. It features the same range of specs as the GS66 Stealth as well, including up to an i9-10980HK processor and RTX 2080 Super as well as the 15.6-inch, 1080p display with the 300Hz refresh rate. It’s all supported by the same 99.9Whr battery and same RGB-lit keyboard. It also boasts an RGB light display on the front of the laptop’s base.


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Creator 17 gaming laptop

Starts at $1,799 on April 15

MSI’s Creator 17 laptop is more focused on being a great workstation machine for video editors and producers–though it’s also capable of gaming. You can pair it with up to an i7-10875H processor and an RTX Super series graphics card. It features a 17.3-inch, 4K display that’s MiniLED-lit and HDR 1000-capable. It also comes with a white backlit keyboard.

Former Xbox Director Weighs In On AA Batteries Debate

Former Xbox console marketing director Albert Penello has shared his thoughts on the hot topic of AA batteries versus internal recharegable cells for controllers. His comments came in the wake of the news that the Xbox Series X will continue to use AA batteries.

Writing on Twitter, Penello–who now works at Amazon–said the tradeoff between AA batteries and internal cells is “more complex than people think.”

“It’s a debate that’s raged for years, and there are good points on both sides. The toughest part is that it’s a binary decision–choosing one alienates the other,” he said.

Penello said he found in his customer research that AA batteries were the favored choice. Core gamers and technology enthusiasts generally wanted internal cells, but AA batteries won out in terms of public opinion overall, Penello said.

He went on to speak about some of the benefits of AA batteries specifically. “AA have very little draw when not in use, so a controller with AA can sit for longer periods of time. AA can be replaced easily mid-game when batteries die. AA can use disposable OR rechargeable cells,” Penello said. “There is no battery maintenance required with AA and batteries don’t degrade.”

Internal cells have their own benefits, too, Penello said, including convenience and cost (as you don’t need to keep buying AA batteries again and again even if the cells themselves are more expensive for manufacturers to produce). People who stay on top of keeping their controllers charged or don’t play for extended periods of time are rarely inconvenienced, he said.

In terms of the environmental impact of AA batteries versus internal cells for controllers, Penello said it’s a wash. He said he personally prefers AA batteries because it gives him the most options, but Penello said he understands the situation is “complex and there isn’t a simple way to satisfy both sides.”

For its part, Microsoft’s Jason Ronald says the Xbox Series X is sticking with AA batteries because it gives players a choice because they can use AA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack. “What it comes down to is when actually talking to gamers, it’s kind of polarizing and there is a strong camp that really want AAs,” Ronald said. “So just giving flexibility is the way to please both [sets of] people… You can use a rechargeable battery pack and it works just like it does on the Elite, [but] it is a separate thing.”

The Xbox Series X is scheduled to release this holiday, and that’s still the plan even amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Albert Penello’s Comments On AA Versus Internal Batteries:

Now Playing: Xbox Series X – Loading Times Tech Demo