Exactly, and it's why I haven't really gone out of my way to get anything from the 4000 line yet. My 1080ti is still getting me by, it's just the CPU is really holding it back by now, and I would like a faster RAM kit, and maybe an NVME (turns out my mobo supports 1 slot).

That's easy. They'd put their cards at about the same price as the others in the US. Why wouldn't they? It's not like they get infinite Nvidia GPUs to sell anyway.

Gentlemen, it's my pleasure to inform you that today's free game on the Epic Store is Orcs Must Die! 3: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/combo-a7e03a

My comment was focused more on the free will of pricing them the way they want or if they'd be forced by Nvidia to price them as the rest.

A smart company would go for the middle ground, charging more than they could but still being something like $100 cheaper than anyone else to sell more units.

The thing is, the 4080 also had competition in form of the 7900XTX which was faster in Raster, plus the 4090 kinda set an upper limit. The 5080 won't have that competition unless the 5080 ain't much faster than the 4080 (considering that according to rumors the 50 series will be mainly improved in RT and AI, raster could have had a much smaller increase that gen), as then the 9070XT might creep up on it.

Also, failed miserably? The 4080 is still in front of the 4080 Super in the Steam survey. Of course, the 4090 was a much better deal price/performance (hence why it has sold about as much as both 4080 versions combined according the steam survey), but it's successor the 5090 is already rumored to go for ~$2500, creating a much larger gap between itself and the 5080.

That all being said, I also think that the prices in the leak are inflated, though just somewhat. Don't expect the 5080 to go for less than $1199 at launch, with $1499 on the high end.

Well, mind that AIB partner margins are below 10% nowadays and Nvidia can't allocate and sell infinite GPUs on demand to them anyway. The more likely scenario is local consumers bearing 100% of the additional cost with some extra scalping elsewhere as a side-effect.

The US isn't that massive of a PC gaming market anymore (probably ~10%) for anything to revolve around them, really.

Ok, I got carried away, I admit it. Still, at launch it all the 4090s were really hard to find in stock while there were plenty of 4080 everywhere, so it didn't sell as well as Nvidia hoped.

Nvidia has a finite number of chips, no doubt about it, but if other brands sell less because of the high price, they'll buy less chips from Nvidia (no one wants to have a big stack of unsold GPUs) and Zotac/Inno3D could step in and get ahold of those unsold chips for their cheaper products.

With that said, just like there are some die hard fans of AMD or Nvidia, there are also the same number of die hard fans of brands lile Asus, so it's difficult to see them jumping to another brand to save some bucks.

And are you sure about the size of the PC gaming market in the US? Because that number seems very low.

I went to redeem it....and realized I already have it :(

Intel’s Newest “0x114” Microcode Reportedly Fails To Resolve “Arrow Lake-S” CPU Issues, Now Bringing In Up To 18% Performance Drop

https://wccftech.com/intel-newest-0x114-microcode-reportedly-fails-to-resolve-arrow-lake-s-cpu-issues/

TSMC Arizona Set to Begin 4nm Production in H2 2025, Costs Expected To Be Up to 30% Higher Than In Taiwan

https://wccftech.com/tsmc-arizona-set-to-begin-4nm-production-in-h2-2025/

AMD Reportedly Won’t Mandate The Use Of 12V-2×6 Power Connectors On The Radeon RX 9070 Series GPUs

https://wccftech.com/amd-reportedly-wont-mandate-the-use-of-12v-2x6-power-connectors-on-the-radeon-rx-9070-series-gpus/

Intel Rumored To Launch Battlemage GPU Model With 24GB Memory By 2025, Targeting Productivity Markets

https://wccftech.com/intel-to-launch-battlemage-gpu-model-with-24gb-memory-by-2025/

LG unveils world’s first bendable 5K2K OLED gaming monitor with DisplayPort 2.1

https://videocardz.com/newz/lg-unveils-worlds-first-bendable-5k2k-oled-gaming-monitor-with-displayport-2-1

Nvidia believes the robotics market is about to explode, just like ChatGPT

https://www.techspot.com/news/106134-nvidia-believes-robotics-market-about-explode-like-chatgpt.html

"The company is pivoting to powering humanoid robotics as AI chips experience stiffening competition"

Terminator warned me of this future

Welcome to the Monday news, all in one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Unlikely hit Nier: Automata has now sold over 9 million copies
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/unlikely-hit-nier-automata-has-now-sold-over-9-million-copies/
Square Enix and Platinum Games say that Nier: Automata has sold more than 9 million copies, meaning that the androids-on-robots post-apocalypse is more popular than ever and going strong eight years after it first released.
The NieR Series social media accounts announced the milestone by sharing an image celebrating "Over 9 Million Global Shipments & Download Sales" alongside the message "This isn't possible without you."

Today, the Epic Store is giving away [REDACTED]: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/redacted-d9d21e.

Not to be a party pooper, but the Winter Sales from both GOG and Steam end this Thursday, January 2nd. Your time to buy *that* game in running out.

Fanatical has three deals:

• The Star Deal is Dredge Deluxe Edition, with a 50% discount. It will last 24 hours (it started yesterday): https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/dredge-deluxe-edition
• The Build your own Triple Pack - Fantasy Edition features 28 games to make your pack of three. It will last 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-triple-pack-fantasy-edition
• And the Monsters' Den Collection Bundle has three games and it will be 13% off for an unknown amount of time: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/monsters-den-collection-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Nearly 19,000 games released on Steam in 2024
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/nearly-19-000-games-released-on-steam-in-2024/
Nearly 19,000 videogame products released on Steam this year—18,945 as of press time, meaning if 50-some things get dropped before January 1, 2025 my headline there turns into a lie but whatever I'm going for it. Where was it?
Oh, right, what the hell? That is a lot of game releases. According to ever-reliable stat tracker SteamDB, that's our total for the year, and that is a lot. Like, a whole 5,600 more than 2023 which was itself a few thousand higher than 2024. It means that 2024 is what appears to be the highest single-year jump in game releases ever tracked on Steam with no signs of the flood slowing down. More games than ever, faster than ever.
Despite the onrushing tide of games, only a few more of them made the threshold of popularity that Valve requires for community profile features to get enabled—that's when they can have profile customization like trading cards, badges, and emoticons, and when they count towards a user's Game Collector and Achievement Collector totals.
Just 3,964 games reached that total compared to 3,874 in 2023 and 3,491 in 2021—with the number dropping by a few hundred for years before that. So there are more games than ever, but only a few more of them than ever are getting noticed and played by the community.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Marvel Rivals Just Got the Best Dragon Ball Vegeta Mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/marvel-rivals-just-got-the-best-dragon-ball-vegeta-mods/
Earlier this month, NetEase released Marvel Rivals on PC. Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play super hero team-based PVP shooter. And, in a matter of weeks, the game has received a lot of character swap mods. However, there is only one that impressed me and that’s the Vegeta Mod.
Created by ‘Leonaura’, this mod replaces Iron-Man with Vegeta. The mod has two different color versions of Vegeta. Default Iron Man is the blue version, while Model 42 is the black one.
Alongside that mod, you can also use this one which uses AI to replace the voice of Iron-Man with the one for Vegeta. And, by using these two mods, you can get the best Dragon Ball Vegeta experience.
So, if you are a big Dragon Ball fan, you should definitely download these mods. By using them, you can wreak havoc as the Prince of all Saiyans.
>> The article has a 20 seconds video.

We may soon get a co-op multiplayer mod for Marvel’s Spider-Man
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/we-may-soon-get-a-co-op-multiplayer-mod-for-marvels-spider-man/
It appears that a team of modders is working on a cool co-op multiplayer mod for Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered. And, below, you can find its debut trailer. So, make sure to watch it as it looks pretty great.
This co-op mod is only for PVE, and it will not allow for any PVP modes. So, no. You won’t be able to fight other players. Instead, you will be able to explore the game’s main city with your friends.
What’s really cool here is that up to 16 players can play online at the same time. Plus, the mod will work on both Steam and Epic Games Store versions.
As its creators noted, some main story missions work with this mod. However, they are currently working on free-roam content. Once they polish it, they will look into the main story.
To join a game session, a player will have to create a lobby. Then, other players can either join via a Steam invite or they can add the host’s IP and join that way.
Although this mod only works with the first Marvel’s Spider-Man game, the modding team plans to port the mod to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Sony will release Spider-Man 2 on January 30th. So, hopefully, we’ll get a similar multiplayer mod soon after its release.
>> The article has a 2 minutes video of this still not available mod.

New trailer for Operation: Black Mesa, a fan remake for both Half-Life Opposing Force and Blue Shift
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-trailer-for-operation-black-mesa-a-fan-remake-for-both-half-life-opposing-force-and-blue-shift/
Tripmine Studios has shared a new trailer for Operation: Black Mesa. Operation: Black Mesa is a fan remake of the Half-Life Opposing Force and Blue Shift expansions. The trailer shows new gameplay from its latest build. So, make sure to give it a go.
For those unaware, Operation: Black Mesa features reimaginings of both Half-Life Opposing Force and Half-Life Blue Shift through two unique campaigns. Moreover, this fan game will be using the Source Engine, in a similar way that Black Mesa did before it. So, expect the remake to look way better than the original expansions.
As the team has noted, Operation: Black Mesa will include many engine upgrades and new graphics effects. It will also feature over 30 unique enemies and 18 weapons. Plus, it will have an expanded story to connect with the existing Half-Life lore. Not only that but you’ll be able to customize the game to your liking with a mod-friendly set of tools. Pretty cool, right?
Similarly to Black Mesa, Operation: Black Mesa looks really ambitious. For what it’s worth, there is no ETA for when it will come out. An despite that, I’m really looking forward to it.
>> You’ll find a 3 minutes video of this fan project.

GAMING NEWS

Sniper Elite: Resistance will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sniper-elite-resistance-will-be-using-the-denuvo-anti-tamper-tech/
Rebellion has announced that the next game in the Sniper Elite series, Sniper Elite: Resistance, will use Denuvo. Sniper Elite: Resistance is set to release on PC on January 30th, 2025. Moreover, we got some early minimum system requirements. So, let’s take a look at them.
>> And, given that Sniper Elite 4 & 5 still have Denuvo, they’ll never remove it. A shame.

Some madperson briefly, beautifully recreated the corrupted blood plague in World of Warcraft Classic
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/some-madperson-briefly-beautifully-recreated-the-corrupted-blood-plague-in-world-of-warcraft-classic/
Back in 2005 World of Warcraft was ravaged by a digital plague that once removed from the raid dungeon it spawned in infected some four million players, spread across servers as how to give it to others was discovered, and left cities barren, skeleton-littered wastelands for a month before developers Blizzard were able to fix it. Now, somehow, briefly, someone managed to yet again spread the dreaded disease in World of Warcraft Classic.

If you ever wanted a game about digging a hole, A Game About Digging A Hole is a game about digging a hole
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/if-you-ever-wanted-a-game-about-digging-a-hole-a-game-about-digging-a-hole-is-a-game-about-digging-a-hole/
Hey, have you heard about this game about digging a hole that's coming out next year? It's called A Game About Digging A Hole and that's pretty much what it's about. You dig a hole in your backyard and find treasure and ores and you sell all that stuff and use the money to buy other stuff to make digging go faster and get richer from digging up more stuff to sell, ad nauseum, until you're very rich from digging a hole in A Game About Digging A Hole.

Here's 20 delightfully isometric minutes of Underrail 2's apocalyptic undergrounds
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/heres-20-delightfully-isometric-minutes-of-underrail-2s-apocalyptic-undergrounds/
Isometric apocalypse sequel Underrail 2: Infusion is setting up to tee off in the coming years, and we've now got a first look at indie dev Stygian Software's sequel to their first RPG. The new footage from an early alpha build is about 20 minutes showing off the new movement and combat systems developed for the sequel.

Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood Animal
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/rule-the-talking-movie-industry-in-tycoon-game-hollywood-animal/
I'm not sure why there hasn't been a business simulator where you could live up the glamorous, extremely vicious, exploitative, and horrible life of a movie studio owner in Old Hollywood. At least until now, that is, as Weappy Studio has announced Hollywood Animal for release in February 2025 as an early access game where your job is to navigate the dark streets against other major film studios in order to build a movie empire that'll last.