E3 Hardware Round-Up
While E3 2017 may have ended, the ripples made by the announcements during the show are still being felt. A lot of gamers are still in awe of the flashy new IPs and jaw-dropping graphics while overlooking some of the major new hardware. Here is a round-up that serves to cure that problem.
The Xbox One X
While the nomenclature of the 8th generation of Xbox consoles is a joke, the Xbox One X is most definitely nothing to be laughed at. Packing substantially more power than the PS4 Pro, the One X aspires to deliver native 4K resolution in all its games. The framerate is still variable from game to game, but the prospect of a console running games at that truly is a testament to the fact that we've moved into the future.
It has 12 gigabytes of GDDR5 memory, an octa-core processor (which is less than impressive, clocked in at 2.3 GHz), and an integrated AMD graphics unit that is capable of 6 teraflops of performance. Moreover, this thing can also play 4K Blu-Ray discs of your favourite movies, something that the PS4 Pro can't do (to our utter disappointment). For $500, you'll be getting a beast of a machine that is smaller than the Xbox One S.
Microsoft has announced that the One X will be compatible with all games and accessories that works with the original line-up of Xbox One consoles. Also, there will be free 4K updates of most existing games in the future. Overall, a very good move from Microsoft that should allow them to catch up on lost ground against Sony.
VR in eSports
Intel, in collaboration with ESL and Oculus, will be bringing in competitive titles that are based around VR. When we think eSports, we imagine a line of five or six gamers all staring at their monitors. It will be fun to see how VR delves into the realm of serious gaming and how it ditches the "gimmick" tag that it still carries around.
Out of the games showcased, one was The Unspoken. In this game, players hurl magic spells at each other until one player dies. Sounds pretty bland but since it is being developed by Insomniac Games, high hopes can be held for this one.
In Other News
Razer is bringing the Thresher Ultimate wireless gaming headset to the PS4 and Xbox One. It will have 7.1 surround sound and it will be priced at $249.
Logitech announced the first ever wireless mouse charging mousepad, the Powerplay. With this, you can pair up supported Logitech wireless gaming mice and enjoy a much better battery life.
Sony PlayLink
Sony showed some promise with their new line of games designed to use Android and iOS smartphones as controllers for PS4 games. Currently, there are only a few new titles announced that will compatible with PlayLink. One of those that sounded interesting was Hidden Agenda. It's a choice-based detective story in which one player gets a "hidden agenda" sent to their phone and they must influence other players in completing that agenda. It's an interesting take on deception-based games and PlayLink does have potential in bringing out more unique experiences created by clever developers.