I also think that the new management may be more open minded about going for newer and more powerful hardware, but some habits are hard to die.

Price wise, I'd be very cautious about it. $400 is a lot of money and Nintendo would have to work hard to justify it.

By the way, Yuri, this could interest you:

Valve says Steam Deck production will 'be in the hundreds of thousands' by next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/valve-says-steam-deck-production-will-be-in-the-hundreds-of-thousands-by-next-month/
If you're sat in the long queue for a Valve Steam Deck then designer, Lawrence Yang, has some positive words of encouragement, mainly regarding how many Decks the company is going to be producing now that we've had an effective launch of the device. Speaking with IGN (via Forbes) he says the company expects the launch to "ramp very quickly" and that by the second month hundreds of thousands of Decks will be filing off the production line.

Hundreds of thousands seem too many to me, but maybe I underestimated Valve's plan for it.

You would think so but Switch OLED is $350 and it's selling like hotcakes. $50 more and you get one of the biggest generational leaps that the console industry has seen in a long time would be easy enough to sell imo. They could always do two separate SKUs like Sony/MS are doing.

Switch 2 Lite, portable only, no DLSS. $300.
Switch 2, portable + docked, DLSS, $400.

That is good to hear since many people that I have seen are on the "After Q2" reservation. Hopefully I will get mine sooner than April though but it wouldn't be a bad birthday present.

You're right about the Switch OLED. It's crazy how much it can sell after five years by simply adding a new screen.

I don't doubt Nintendo will release two SKUs with time (no way they'll do it at launch), but I don't see why they should remove DLSS to make the handheld only model, specially since this would mean using a new SoC, incresing costs and causing extra supply problems. The savings from having two less batteries and one single chassis will be enough to justify the price difference, but I don't think the difference will be that much.

Yea it does depend on the pricing and how much it costs to get a SKU with tensor cores vs without. Tensor cores does add increased complexity so it could be a situation where the SoCs without tensor cores could be cheaper. But yea, maybe not having the dock or the detachable joycons and etc might make it cheap enough without needing to change up the SoC.

This Humble month is Legen... wait for it... dary!

The 3 great Mass Effect games (with all DLCs) as unlimited licence... instead of a temporary sub via GamePass / EA Play.

Plus the awesome (and Steam Deck verified) Desperados 3. Plus a few other good games.

Steam Deck stick drift is a software problem, and a fix has already rolled out
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/steam-deck-stick-drift-is-a-software-problem-and-a-fix-has-already-rolled-out/
Recently, Steam Deck users started reporting a worrying problem with their brand new units: stick drift. It's an issue that has plagued the Nintendo Switch, and to a lesser extent Xbox and PlayStation controllers, and manifests as a slight drift of the analog sticks while gaming. That can be a huge problem in most games, but especially where precision is necessary, like for example, in Elden Ring.

XCOM 2 is losing multiplayer and challenge mode on PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/xcom-2-is-losing-multiplayer-and-challenge-mode-on-pc/
Based on the replies when Firaxis announced it was "retiring services" for the multiplayer and challenge modes in XCOM 2, it seems like a lot of players didn't realize XCOM 2 even has multiplayer. It does! Or at least it does until March 28, when an update will remove it from the Steam version on PC. Guess we'll have to get the achievements before then.

Artesian Builds called out by Twitch streamers after refusing to honor PC giveaway
https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/artesian-builds-called-out-by-twitch-streamers-after-refusing-to-honor-pc-giveaway-1773630/
Twitch streamers ‘kiapiaa,’ ‘protezee,’ and ‘strwbrrymoogle’ have called out prebuilt-PC company Artesian Builds after the CEO Noah Katz allegedly changed the rules of a PC giveaway after “belittling” their stream stats.

Be careful if you want to play Destiny 2 on the Steam Deck, Bungie has reserved the right to ban people that try to bypass the incompatibility of playing it on the Deck.

https://help.bungie.net/hc/en-us/articles/360049024592-Destiny-2-Steam-Guide#steam-deck-and-destiny-2-0-3

Steam Deck and Destiny 2

Destiny 2 is not supported for play on the Steam Deck or on any system utilizing Steam Play's Proton unless Windows is installed and running. Players who attempt to launch Destiny 2 on the Steam Deck through SteamOS or Proton will be unable to enter the game and will be returned to their game library after a short time.

Players who attempt to bypass Destiny 2 incompatibility will be met with a game ban.

The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has four new sales:

• The first flash deal is Iron Danger, 84% off during the next 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/iron_danger
• The second flash deal is Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Collection, 90% off until Friday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/jazz_jackrabbit_2_collection
• The Midweek Sale is full of games featuring animals with up to 90% discounts until Sunday: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220302_midweek_sale
• The last deal features games from Piko Interactive up to 60% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/promo/2022_piko

Steam has a new deal (the other is part of the weeklong deals): Crown Trick / 不思议的皇冠 will be 60% off until Monday 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1000010/Crown_Trick/

Fanatical has two new sales:

• The new Star Deal is The Suicide of Rachel Foster, 88% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-suicide-of-rachel-foster
• The new bundle added to the BundleFest is the BYO Backstage Bundle 2, featuring 18 games to choose for your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-backstage-bundle-2

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Doom Brutal Hell Royale Version 1.0 available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/doom-brutal-hell-royale-version-1-0-available-for-download/
Modder ‘TRUDADDY’ has released Version 1.0 of the battle royale mod for the classic Doom games, Brutal Hell Royale. This mod allows up to 32 players to battle for their lives across over 12 maps.
Version 1.0 adds a massive 2 city block map called BHR14: Survival Instincts. This new map can be played on DM mode, and has vehicles, as well as a 23 hour day/night cycle.
Additionally, this new version changes levels to now include PVPVE. Maps will now have monsters spawned at certain points. Moreover, some levels now have environmental traps as well.
It’s also worth noting that Version 1.0 changes some item locations in many maps, and brings more texture alignments on all of them.

GAMING NEWS

Valheim Update 0.207.20 released, full patch notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/valheim-update-0-207-20-released-full-patch-notes-revealed/
Iron Gate has released a brand new update for its exploration and survival game, Valheim. According to the release notes, Patch 0.207.20 adds a pause function in singleplayer. Moreover, it introduces an FPS limiter, and reduces background performance.

Here are 20 minutes of gameplay footage from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-20-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-tiny-tinas-wonderlands/
2K Games and Gearbox have released a new trailer of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, offering a fresh look at gameplay for it. The new gameplay walkthrough features two Fatemakers teaming up for some co-op heroics beneath the treacherous peaks of Mount Craw, an optional area within the game that gives you a sense of the scale of zones you can find off the beaten path.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Title Update 1.5.0.1 is 7GB in size, releases today, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/assassins-creed-valhalla-title-update-1-5-0-1-is-7gb-in-size-releases-today-full-patch-notes/
Ubisoft has announced that Title Update 1.5.0.1 for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will release today on PC, and will be 7GB in size. Additionally, the French team revealed what this patch will resolve/address.

Elden Ring Update 1.02.2 released, fixes some bugs, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/elden-ring-update-1-02-2-released-fixes-some-bugs-full-patch-notes/
FromSoftware has released a brand new update for the PC version of Elden Ring. According to the release notes, Update 1.02.2 fixes some bugs, though it does not address any of the major issues that currently plague the game.

GeForce RTX 40 “Ada” GPUs to feature very large L2 Caches, NVIDIA’s own “Infinity Cache”?

https://videocardz.com/newz/geforce-rtx-40-ada-gpus-to-feature-very-large-l2-caches-nvidias-own-infinity-cache

Alleged Nintendo Switch 2 Specs Leak Out: Powered by NVIDIA Ampere GPU With Ray Tracing & DLSS 2.2 Support

https://wccftech.com/nintendo-switch-2-next-gen-console-nvidia-ampere-dlss-2-2-ray-tracing-leak/

Looks like Kopite has adjusted their speculation based on their sources and leaks. Switch 2 won't be based on Lovelace but rather Ampere which does sound more legit as the Switch came out during Pascal era with Maxwell based Tegra X1. So Switch 2 coming out being Ampere based during Lovelace era makes sense. While it won't be the latest and greatest, it will still be a huge generational leap. And since it's rumoured to have Ray Tracing enabled, it should be more powerful than the Steam Deck when it comes out in (imo) 2024.

Hackers now demand NVIDIA should make their drivers open source or they leak more data

https://videocardz.com/newz/hackers-now-demand-nvidia-should-make-their-drivers-open-source-or-they-leak-more-data

Doubt that will ever happen. Not the best year for Nvidia. First losing out on Arm deal, now getting hacked and having all your secrets leaked! But hey, I am not complaining.