I tried the demo of Rustler during one of the Steam events and it's interesting, but it really need more work on its controls. Both controller and KB+Mouse had a lot of problems.

Yeah, we'll see. Asus will sure deliver a great product, but it will probably be the most expensive of the bunch as well.

So the way I think it's going to play out in the laptop space is like this.

Both AMD and Intel are going to give pretty notable discounts to OEMs that configure their laptops using both their CPUs and GPUs. So most likely, the most expensive configurations is probably going to be Intel + Nvidia, then AMD + Nvidia, then Intel + Intel and finally, AMD + AMD. I highly doubt we will see AMD CPU with Intel GPU or Intel CPU with AMD GPU anytime soon.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I am sure Nvidia will dominate the laptop market least in the short term but in the long term, it might be bad for Nvidia. But we will have to see the real performance numbers of Intel Arc as well as their 12th gen and AMD's 6000 series mobile cpus.

QD-OLED Hype!

I think this may be the first time in a while when a new industry leading display technology has come out for TVs where PC monitors are also getting it. Of course, we have on idea what the price point will be but least Alienware will cover burn-in with their advanced exchange warranties.

Also some additional thoughts on Intel Arc:

Yeah just saw that video, looks awesome. The other big thing is that these QD-OLED displays uses full RGB sub-pixel arrangement, rather than the WRGB we have in current OLED TV/Monitor panels from LG. Technically it could even be more sharper (will be most apparent in text) as well as being quite a bit brighter than regular OLED. This being a sponsored ad I'd be cautious of the comparison (for color) here though as I'm sure that Samsung would have been calibrated perfectly whereas that LG looked very off - looked way too cool in color temp. The extended color gamut and brightness is nice though.

And yeah the while Arc thing is weird with Intel, not sure why they aren't really showing their cards at CES. It kinda feels like they're sweeping it under a rug and that there's something terribly wrong with it and they're not confident in showing.

Am I the only one annoyed that this is even still a thing any more? You would think that screen calibration could be a factory automated process that wouldn't require an extra premium at this point, but it feels like the issue is barely even on manufacturer's radar, let alone being actively improved upon.

I think the for most part its done intentionally. For consumers I don't think most people will notice. In fact they probably want to show cooler temperatures as default as colors pop more in bright enviroments such as showrooms or shop/s due to appearing brighter. That's the thing about these controlled environment comparisons you just don't know what and how the other screen is set and measured. And when they say the colours look a lot better I usually take with a mountain of salt until the products get tested and reviewed properly. Like just by looking at the LG, color looks completely wrong in some scenes.

Like I have a Samsung QLED LCD monitor which has a Samsung panel and it looks 'off' without calibration despite being semi calibrated out of factory (>2dE according to the monitor). And with it, it looks great despite being a little over saturated due to the extended gamut, which idm.

The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG says goodbye to its Winter Sale with a new flash deal and a sale:

• The new flash deal is VirtuaVerse, 55% off during the next 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/virtuaverse
• And the Midweek Sale brings up to 80% discounts on a variety of games during the rest of the week: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220105_midweek_sale

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Square Enix Winter Sale features up to 90% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/square-enix-winter-sale/
• Plug in Digital also has a Winter Sale, with up to 90% discounts during the next 9 days. The keys are for Steam, GOG and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/plug-in-digital-winter-sale/

Fanatical has launched its Platinum Collection BYOB for January, with 20 games to choose for your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD launches Radeon Super Resolution upscaling that'll work across 'nearly every game you own'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/amd-radeon-super-resolution-rsr-fsr/
AMD's upscaling technology, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), is beginning to pick up steam, but AMD is hoping to help it along with a new driver-side version that'll work across "thousands of games" out of the box. It's called Radeon Super Resolution (RSR), and it's actually powered by FSR.
"We've taken our FSR technology and we've integrated it into the next version of the Adrenalin software suite," Frank Azor of AMD says during the company's CES 2022 live stream. "This new feature it's called Radeon Super Resolution, and it allows you get the performance benefits of FSR across nearly every game you own."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Final Fantasy 7 Remake modders put clown makeup on Sephiroth, let Cloud wear a dress for the whole game
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-7-remake-modders-put-clown-makeup-on-sephiroth-let-cloud-wear-a-dress-for-the-whole-game/
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is on PC and modders have found a way to hit the upgrade button on some of gaming's most iconic characters. Instead of spending 35 hours with Cloud trudging around in his baggy pants and one shoulderpad, you can wrap him up in a dress and a tiara from later in the game. And if you're feeling funny, you can put clown makeup on Sephiroth like he's Ronald McDonald with a katana.
>> There are several mods in the article.

GAMING NEWS

The Day Before will release on June 21st, will support Ray Tracing & DLSS
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/the-day-before-will-release-on-june-21st-will-support-ray-tracing-dlss/
NVIDIA has announced that The Day Before will release on June 21st, and will support both Ray Tracing and DLSS. In addition, the green team released the first RTX trailer for this game that you can find below.

New Dying Light 2 gameplay video showcases its Ray Tracing effects
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-dying-light-2-gameplay-video-showcases-its-ray-tracing-effects/
At CES 2022, NVIDIA revealed a new gameplay video for Dying Light 2. This new gameplay video showcases some of the games Ray Tracing effects.

New God of War PC gameplay footage surfaces at CES 2022
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-god-of-war-pc-gameplay-footage-surfaces-at-ces-2022/
At CES 2022, NVIDIA revealed a short gameplay video for the PC version of God of War. This video is dedicated to NVIDIA’s Reflex tech, which God of War will support (alongside DLSS and AMD FSR).

Wednesday news, part two:

Ian Livingstone, creator of countless fantasy worlds, becomes a proper knight
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ian-livingstone-creator-of-countless-fantasy-worlds-becomes-a-proper-knight/
Ian Livingstone has had a remarkable career spanning books, tabletop games, videogames and business. Both a creator and an industry leader, with an unquenchable thirst for new projects, among his more famous productions are the Fighting Fantasy game books and co-founding Games Workshop, while he also played a pivotal role in the story of Eidos and, latterly, led the Next Gen Skills Review to improve digital and computer education in the UK.

EVE Online is doing a Doctor Who crossover
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/eve-online-is-doing-a-doctor-who-crossover/
EVE Online will kick off its first ever crossover event later this month when CCP Games teams up with the BBC to bring Doctor Who to the big MMO galaxy of New Eden.

Rainbow Six Extraction system requirements probably won't force you to upgrade your PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/rainbow-six-extraction-pc-system-requirements/
With Rainbow Six Extraction now just a couple of weeks away, Ubisoft has rolled out the full rundown of the PC hardware you'll need if you want to play. Happily for all, the hardware requirements shouldn't shift your eyebrows much, so any recently updated setup should get you into the action straightaway.

Halo Infinite lead narrative designer leaves 343 Industries for Riot Games
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinite-lead-narrative-designer-leaves-343-industries-for-riot-games/
On December 31, Halo Infinite lead narrative designer Aaron Linde announced the "bittersweet news" that he was leaving 343 Industries to do something new. It's still not clear what exactly he'll be doing, but at least now we know where it'll happen: In a follow-up tweet posted yesterday, Linde revealed that he's now a part of Riot Games.

A broken Call of Duty: Warzone skin is turning players invisible (again)
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-broken-call-of-duty-warzone-skin-is-turning-players-invisible-again/
Call of Duty: Warzone players be aware: There's currently an operator skin that can turn players almost completely invisible while using it. The troublesome skin in question is the Awoken operator outfit for Francis, which is unlocked at the maximum level of Warzone Pacific's Season 1 battle pass.

Activision has filed a lawsuit against cheat site EngineOwning
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/activision-has-filed-a-lawsuit-against-cheat-site-engineowning/
On January 4, Activision filed a lawsuit in the Central District of California against EngineOwning, one of the more popular sites currently selling cheats for Call of Duty: Warzone and other online shooters. The suit describes EngineOwning as "a German business entity and numerous individuals", accusing them of "trafficking in circumvention devices", "intentional interference with contractual relations", and "unfair competition".

Playground Games co-founder and studio director steps down
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/playground-games-co-founder-and-studio-director-steps-down/
Microsoft has announced that Playground Games co-founder and industry veteran Gavin Raeburn has left the company. Raeburn was a driving force behind the Forza Horizon series and has a list of industry credits as long as your arm. He co-founded Playground with Trevor Williams in 2009 after decades at Codemasters, since which time the studio has developed five Forza Horizon games and the upcoming Fable reboot.

Aya Neo Next launches with Ryzen 7 5800U APU, up to 32GB RAM, 2TB storage and very high price tag

https://videocardz.com/newz/aya-neo-next-launches-with-ryzen-7-5800u-apu-up-to-32gb-ram-2tb-storage-and-very-high-price-tag

• AYA Neo Next with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage for $1315 retail / $1265 at launch
• AYA Neo Next Advance with 16GB RAM and 2TB storage for $1465 retail / $1365 launch
• AYA Neo Next Advance Signature Edition with 16GB/2TB for $1465 / $1345 (only 300 units)
• AYA Neo Pro with 32GB RAM and 2TB storage for $1565 / $1465

Of course, Vega graphics means it may as well be DOA

Samsung Odyssey Ark Is a 55-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor That Can Be Rotated Vertically Too

https://wccftech.com/samsung-odyssey-ark-is-a-55-inch-curved-gaming-monitor-that-can-be-rotated-vertically-too/

The irony of Samsung is that a lot of their aggressive curved designs actually put people off but I suppose if they are going vertical, it would be a nessessity

The new Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 loses the microSD card slot and the 3.5 mm headphone jack, you get just two Thunderbolt 4 ports

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-13-Plus-9320-gets-upgraded-to-28-W-Intel-Alder-Lake-P-screams-minimalism-with-capacitive-function-keys-seamless-haptic-Forcepad-and-no-headphone-jack.585059.0.html

Not even Apple was couragous enough to get rid of the headphone jack from their laptops... Why dell?

CES 2022: ASUS Announce ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ & PG42UQ Gaming Monitors

https://www.anandtech.com/show/17172/ces-2022-asus-announce-rog-swift-oled-pg48uq-pg42uq-gaming-monitors

Now because this are most likely sourced by LG, it would be better to get the LG OLED tvs than these ones. The reason is that Monitor manufacturers can be very iffy about firmware updates unless there is a huge backlash if something goes wrong. LG on the other hand has provided quite a lot of over the air updates to fix issues with their OLED tvs.

Man, the XPS+ seems to be taking a lot of steps backwards. The Apple envy is obvious and it's so bizarre to see them lean into the Macbook trends people hated and even Apple themselves admitted defeat on. I hope there are regular XPS's going forward that don't fix what isn't broken, otherwise I may have to look elsewhere or the used market for my next laptop.