Well, guess I'm not buying Metro Exodus at all from this point on. I'm not pre-ordering the game just to obtain it on Steam. That reeks of desperation and rewarding them for pulling this stunt in the first place, nor will I purchase it a year later at the same price either.

Devs seemingly want to actively kill their sales on PC, and this is looking like a surefire way to bow out of that side of the industry. I hope it backfires for them severely.

Yeah, fuck that.

I also disagree with Perm's statement that the RTX 2060 is a mid range card. It's over 400 mm2 and retails for $350 or more. GPUs with similar features have always been like 10% of Steam Survey's userbase for instance. If your "mid" is 90% of the way through, then... that doesn't seem right, does it?

It's definitely mid-range.

There was a Geforce GTX 960 built for the OEM markets that was 400mm2.
The Geforce GTX 560Ti was a whopping 520mm2.
The Geforce GTX 260 was 576mm2.

Mid Range cards that are 400mm2 or larger is an occurrence that has happened a fair few times. - As a process matures, then the larger you can make your chips... Which is why at the end of 28nm/16nm/14nm die sizes can be larger than the first generation of chips.

And on the odd occasion a mid-range part is a die-harvested higher end part, the chip doesn't shrink, just parts of the chip are deactivated... (And sometimes can be re-activated like the Radeon 6950 into the 6970.)

As for the pricing argument, nVidia has higher prices, it's just that simple... Because AMD cannot compete with them in the high-end... And nVidia is able to push exclusive features like Ray Tracing... They can push a higher price, it's capitalism/competition at work... Intel did the *exact* same thing before Ryzen burst onto the scene.

And of course... Above the Geforce RTX 2060 you have the Geforce RTX 2070 as the mid-high end part, Geforce RTX 2080 as the high-end part, Geforce RTX 2080 Ti as the ultra high-end part and the Geforce RTX Titan as the Enthusiast/Pro-sumer/Professional part... So it even sits in the middle of nVidia's product stack once lower end parts roll out.

It's a pricing problem IMO - mid range cards were in $150-$200 bracket (that's were 1060 is now, but launched at $299), 2060 goes for at least $350...that's what lack of proper competition does to market I guess.

Between Nvidia's dominance of the market and what happened during the mining craze, when cards were still sold to consumers even if they had ridiculous prices, Nvidia has become even more greedy than they were, and cards like the 2060 prove that.

At least the market seems to react in the positive direction: https://wccftech.com/nvidia-stock-plummets-14-after-warning-of-500-million-revenue-shortfall/ (Gaming and Datacenter revenue below the company’s expectations)

We'll have to see how that affect their pricing scheme and how the 1660Ti and 1660 perform and at what price points (rumored $280)

It is, indeed, a bad situation. At least this kind of movements tell us a lot about how those publishers are (since most of them will always talk about hjow they care about their consumers), something to keep in mind for their future games.

By the way, given the specs on your sig, you'll have to play the game on min settings. You know that, right?

This game is also made for consoles, it means it will run fine even on midrange pcs of 2013

Good. I just wanted to be sure.

Tuesday news:

SALES & DEALS

Resident Evil 2 Remake has shipped 3 million units, 1-Shot Demo boosts 4.7 million downloads
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/resident-evil-2-remake-has-shipped-3-million-units-1-shot-demo-boosts-4-7-million-downloads/
Capcom today announced that Resident Evil 2 has shipped 3 million units globally. Unfortunately, though, the team did not reveal any specific numbers regarding its individual platform. Still, we do know that Resident Evil 2 Remake was the second most successful launch for Capcom on Steam.
>> KazumaKiryu has made a thread about this.

At Steam, let's check the new daily deal and some of the weeklong deals:

• The daily deal is Runner 3, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/516130/Runner3/
• Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/753220/Mhakna_Gramura_and_Fairy_Bell/
• Lords of Xulima has a 50% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/296570/Lords_of_Xulima/
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - Collector's Edition is 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sub/259129/
• Anno 1404 GOLD (and the rest of the Anno franchise) is 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sub/6849/
• And the MAFIA franchise is on sale, 33% off the first one and 75% the other two games: https://store.steampowered.com/franchise/mafia

On the Humble Store, now that the Winter Sale is over, there's a Devolver Digital sale, that will run for another 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/devolver-publisher-sale/

And at Fanatical, there are 3 new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 60% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3
• Konami is doing a sale, with up to 81% discounts for the next 3 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/konami-digital-entertainment
• And the Deluxe Mystery Game is back. During the next 13 days, you'll be able to get an unknown game for 4.25 €. Which one will it be? https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/deluxe-mystery-game

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

-empty-

MODS/EMULATORS

Final Fantasy 7 HD remaster beta mod available for download, featuring AI-enhanced textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/final-fantasy-7-hd-remaster-beta-mod-available-for-download-featuring-ai-enhanced-textures/
And the time has finally come Final Fantasy fans. Modder ‘CaptRobau’ has released the first beta version of his HD Texture Pack that aims to provide a HD remastered version of Final Fantasy 7. As you may have guessed, this mod uses AI neural networks in order to improve the game’s blurry backgrounds and the results are great.
According to the modder, these AI enhancements make the backgrounds look much higher resolution than before (400% larger than before), helping the game look good even in 2019. In other words, this is the remaster that most of you have been looking forward to as it retains the atmosphere and gameplay mechanics of the original game.
>> Get this mod from its official website.

GAMING NEWS

Overkill’s The Walking Dead was mostly developed with Unreal Engine 4 tutorials
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/overkills-the-walking-dead-was-mostly-developed-with-unreal-engine-4-tutorials/
There is no doubt that Overkill’s The Walkind Dead flopped last year. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, this team-based multiplayer game aimed to blend together Left 4 Dead and The Walking Dead. As we wrote in our PC Performance Analysis article, the game performed similarly to all current Unreal Engine 4 games and as it was revealed, the game was mostly developed with the Unreal Engine 4 tutorials that are available online.
>> It's worth linking the Eurogamer article from which all these news come from.

Battlefield 5 – Second January 2019 update releases tomorrow, full patch release notes unveiled
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/battlefield-5-second-january-2019-update-releases-tomorrow-full-patch-release-notes-unveiled/
Electronic Arts and DICE have announced that the second major January 2019 update for Battlefield 5 will be released tomorrow, and they revealed its full release notes. According to the release notes, this patch introduces the Sturmgeschutz IV vehicle.

Official PC system requirements revealed for DiRT Rally 2.0
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/official-pc-system-requirements-revealed-for-dirt-rally-2-0/
Codemasters has revealed the official PC system requirements for DiRT Rally 2.0 (via the game’s Steam store page). According to the team, PC gamers will at least need an AMD FX4300 or or an Intel Core i3 2130 CPU with 8GB of RAM and an AMD HD7750 or NVIDIA GTX650Ti graphics card.

THQ Nordic issues official statement about Metro Exodus releasing as timed-exclusive on Epic’s store
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/thq-nordic-issues-official-statement-about-metro-exodus-releasing-as-timed-exclusive-on-epic-store/
In a series of tweets, THQ Nordic stated its official stance regarding the timed-exclusive release of Metro Exodus on Epic’s digital store. According to THQ Nordic, the decision to release the game initially only on Epic’s store was made entirely by Koch Media who is responsible for Deep Silver’s games.
>> I guess THQ Nordic would have gone for a multi-store approach. We'll have to wait until Feb 2020 to buy the game on Steam.

Tuesday news, part two:

Path of Exile to cease support for Windows XP, Vista, and DirectX 9
https://www.pcgamer.com/path-of-exile-to-cease-support-for-windows-xp-vista-and-directx-9/
Massive ARPG Path of Exile will end support for Windows XP and Vista as of its next update, Grinding Gear Games has reported.
In an announcement on the game's website, Grinding Gear stated that "March's 3.6.0 update will not work with the Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems.”

Destiny 2's 'The Last Word' trailer also teases the return of Thorn
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2s-the-last-word-trailer-also-teases-the-return-of-thorn/
To mark tomorrow's debut of the PvP-dominating Destiny hand cannon The Last Word in Destiny 2, Bungie has dropped a new trailer that also hints at the upcoming arrival of another infamous firearm.

Hearthstone's ladder is changing to enable 'a faster climb'
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstones-ladder-is-changing-to-enable-a-faster-climb/
Blizzard is making a "quality of life" change to Hearthstone ranked play that will make it easier for players to advance through the ranks. Currently, players must earn five stars to advance through most ranks, but beginning with the February Ranked Play season, the number will be reduced for all but the top-most ranks.

Guardians of Ember, delisted from Steam last year for review manipulation, is coming back
https://www.pcgamer.com/guardians-of-ember-delisted-from-steam-last-year-for-review-manipulation-is-coming-back/
The MMO hack-and-slasher Guardians of Ember was removed from Steam in February 2018 after Valve determined that publisher Insel Games had been manipulating review scores—specifically by compelling its employees to purchase the game and write positive reviews for it. (Or explain to the studio CEO why they don't want to.)

Resident Evil 2 Remake is getting three free DLC stories, starting in February
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-2-remake-is-getting-three-free-dlc-stories-starting-in-february/
Free DLC is coming to Resident Evil 2 Remake starting in February, Capcom has confirmed. The Ghost Survivors is a trio of ‘what if’ stories following three other survivors of the Raccoon City outbreak. Leon and Claire aren’t the only people doing exciting things amid the zombie apocalypse.
>> And apparently, most players prefer to start to play with Leon.

BioWare lists fixes planned for Anthem's public demo
https://www.pcgamer.com/bioware-lists-fixes-planned-for-anthems-public-demo/
The Anthem 'VIP Demo' that took place over the weekend came off a lot more like a first-round beta test: Players couldn't get in, many of those who did experienced performance issues and crashes, and BioWare scrambled to address concerns about server capacity and PC-specific problems. For an event that was intended to strut Anthem's stuff for its most committed fans, it was far from a resounding success.

BioWare is lifting the ban on running in Anthem's Fort Tarsis
https://www.pcgamer.com/bioware-is-lifting-the-ban-on-running-in-anthems-fort-tarsis/
Anthem’s buggy VIP demo coughed up quite a few issues—better now than launch day, I suppose—and while it’s unlikely they’ll all be tackled come February 22, BioWare already has fixes planned for the public demo. It’s not just bugs that the studio is looking at, however. It’s also using the feedback to walk back questionable design choices, like Fort Tarsis’ slow movement speed.