Category: Games and Gaming

AMD Reduces Radeon RX 5700 Prices To Beat NVIDIA RTX Super

AMD had announced its latest offerings of graphics card in Computex 2019 in May. The Radeon RX 5700 series was set to take on NVIDIA’s RTX series graphics card by undercutting it in terms of price. However, NVIDIA had just unveiled its own trump card, with the RTX SUPER series which was teased after AMD’s Computex keynote. The latest RTX SUPER cards feature a noticeable bump in performance at a reasonable price tag; so why would gamers go with team red (AMD) cards if they can get a cheaper similarly performing team green (NVIDIA).

Now, AMD is countering the latest NVIDIA cards by slashing its price down for the Radeon RX 5700 series before its launch.

The Competitor

AMD had originally announced its new 7nm NAVI GPUs, the Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT at a price of $379 (approx. Rs.26,000) and $449 (approx. Rs.31,000) respectively. They were priced in a manner to undercut the RTX 20 series graphics card, mainly the RTX 2060 and RTX 2070. The cards would’ve been a worthy competitor at that price with the performance offered. At launch, the RTX 2060 cost $349 (approx. Rs.23,889) while the RTX 2070 cost $599 (approx. Rs.41,000). The latest RTX 2060 SUPER carries the same price tag as the RX 5700 XT and should deliver performance slightly below it, while the RTX 2070 SUPER is priced at Rs,43,600 for India.

New Price & Availability

The Radeon RX 5700 series from AMD will launch on 7th July carrying a price tag of $349 (approx. Rs.23,889) for the RX 5700; while the higher end will be sold for $399 (approx. Rs.27,331). NVIDIA had seemingly cut off the AMD’s cards before they had even launched, but team red had been prepared. The decision arrives directly after the launch of the RTX SUPER series graphics cards. The price drop might have already been planned by AMD.

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One of AMD’s top officials went on Twitter to post the term ‘Jebaited’. It is a word associated with the gaming community. It is basically used when one either outmanoeuvre or outsmart the enemies. The tweet clearly states AMD’s intention of upping its long-running competition with team green. The prices drops are a big deal as gamers finally have a myriad of viable choices at reasonable prices after the boosted prices of yesteryears. Users can look forward to the upcoming Radeon RX 5700 series as a worthy competitor to the RTX SUPER series.

July 6, 2019
NVIDIA Collaborates With PUBG, Offers Exclusive Limited Edition Skins

NVIDIA has been known to have collaborated with many game studios. The joint ventures generally revolve around close optimization with its popular graphics cards; in some cases also involves game copies offered with the purchase of the said video card. The company is now working with PUBG Corp. to bring exclusive limited edition tracksuits which will be bundled with the purchase of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti, 1660 and 1650 graphics card or gaming laptops.

PUBG or PlayUnknown’s Battlegrounds is an online multiplayer looter shooter that took the world by storm. Its revolutionary battle royale genre gave the game a unique identity. The new style of gameplay involves the last man standing formula in a vast open map. The game is extremely popular and is known to have collaborated with other companies as well. According to a report, NVIDIA is now planning to incorporate its signature green style into the video game.

The unique green tracksuit will be available as an in-game cosmetic item which will be offered to customers that buy the latest entry of NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics card. The offer includes the GTX 1660Ti, GTX 1660, and GTX 1650 cards and gaming laptops. It is a promotional marketing move from team green that seeks to promote its latest iteration of entry to medium level performance video cards. The GTX 1660TI and 1660 are the successors of one of the most popular graphics card the GTX 1060; while the GTX 1650 will seek to replace the ageing budget GTX 1050 and 1050Ti cards.

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The new offer from NVIDIA will be available for prospective buyers till 30th September 2019. The promotional slogan goes by “Don’t Dress To Survive, Dress To Win” and certainly holds true with flashy green and white aesthetics. Design features a letterman’s jacket on top while the bottom an entirely green track pants. Many OEMs have made gaming laptops that are equipped with the aforementioned graphics card and will also offer the unique game item.

July 5, 2019
PUBG Lite PC Released In India
PlayerUnknown’s Battleground or PUBG is a popular game that brought the battle royale genre to mainstream media. Unfortunately, many players were barred by the cost of entry of a AAA title which also required a capable PC to run it on. Hence, PUBG Corp has now introduced PUBG Lite, a toned down free to play version of the game for PC.

Prior to PUBG, games such as H1Z1 and ARMA had been in successful in the same genre without widespread media acclaim. The game took the gaming community by storm and had soon become one of the highest played game in the world, especially Steam. Many loyal fans have waited for months since the initial announcement to try out PUBG Lite in India. However, the game was only initially launched in Thailand, soon followed by Brazil, Turkey and Bangladesh, as an open beta.

Steps To Download

The company has announced the inclusion of India in the open beta through its official Facebook page with a 4th July date of release. For those interested follow the steps below to download PUBG Lite:
- Users need to visit the official site of PUBG Lite.
- Download the game launcher from the website.
- Install PUBG Lite launcher and start it. Clicking on the install option will give users access to the beta version of the game.
Minimum PC Requirements
- CPU: Intel Core i3 2.4GHz processor
- Memory: 4GB of RAM
- HDD: 4GB of storage
- GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000
- OS: Windows 7, 8 and 10 64 Bit
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PUBG Lite was made following the massively successful formula of the free to play mobile port of the PC game named PUBG Mobile. The game holds great potential for the company if it achieves success similar to the aforementioned mobile title. Users that had registered for the game early on will receive extra goodies in the form of in-game cosmetics. These include Tiger-finish M416 skin, and a Cheetah pattern parachute skin. Stay tuned for more updates and hands-on with the game.
July 4, 2019
PUBG Lite PC Releases In India On 4th July With Hindi Support
PlayerUnknown’s Battleground or PUBG is currently one of the most popular multiplayer game title. The battle royale genre of shooter had taken the world by storm with PUBG at its forefront. In India, the game took off with its mobile port in the form of the free-to-play PUBG Mobile. However, many players still faced various barriers to the original experience. Some players couldn’t afford the game while others had PCs that couldn’t run it. The successful formula of free cost of entry with easier accessibility (as seen in PUBG Mobile) has now led to the creation of PUBG Lite.

PUBG Lite is a free to play version of the original battle royale shooter from PUBG Corp. The differences do not end there as the Lite version carries toned down graphical fidelity to improve performance in non-gaming/low-end PCs and laptops. The game had initially launched as Open Beta in Thailand and soon spread to other nations like Brazil, Turkey and Bangladesh. Noteworthy, a Lite version of PUBG Mobile is also being worked on, however, an Indian launch is currently unconfirmed.

Minimum Hardware Requirements
- CPU: Intel Core i3 2.4GHz processor
- Memory: 4GB of RAM
- HDD: 4GB of storage
- GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000
- OS: Windows 7, 8 and 10 64 Bit
Availability & Support

The long-awaited looter shooter has finally received a release date. PUBG Lite can be downloaded and played from the 4th of July. The closed beta registrations had opened in India a month prior. Additionally, the official Indian servers will be released on the aforementioned date. The information arrives after PUBG Lite’s Facebook page shared the information online. One of the noteworthy additions to this game is its inclusion of the Hindi language option for its Indian audiences. Countries including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka will also receive the same launch date.

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PUBG Lite has great potential to have a positive impact on the Indian gaming community. A good free-to-play title is rare and new additions will always be positively received in the country. It will most likely be a success globally just like its graphically intensive original paid version. Stay tuned for more updates and hands on with the game.
July 3, 2019
NVIDIA Unveils The RTX 2060 SUPER, 2070 SUPER, 2080 SUPER GPUs

Computex 2019 has seemingly started off an arms race for the gaming industries giants. AMD spearheaded the electronics expo with its keynote that saw the company announce the RX 5000 series graphics card. These cards had undercut NVIDIA’s existing RTX series graphics card in price and, to some extent, power. While team red was preparing for the launch, team green had teased a new and improved lineup of RTX graphics card.

Nvidia is now officially announcing its SUPER Series of RTX graphics card which will bring a sizeable upgrade over its existing lineup.

AMD will soon launch its graphics card which was supposed to be a viable alternative to the RTX cards at a competitive price. However, NVIDIA has already started phasing out its existing RTX graphics card, excluding the RTX 2060. The company has “supercharged” its products by the introduction of its new GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, and GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER. These new cards are one of the latest and most powerful cards currently available for gaming purposes.

GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GPU Specification

The new SUPER variant of the RTX 2060 GPU brings a noticeable improvement to overall performance with a bump of 22% (average 15%) than the standard variant. The graphics card houses 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM which is 2GB higher than the RTX 2060. It is also claimed that the card will be faster than the last gen GTX 1080 and features 7+7 TOPs (FP32+INT32) and 57 Tensor TFLOPs.

GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER GPU Specification

RTX 2070 SUPER is reportedly 24% (average 16%) faster than the regular RTX 2070 which is a great improvement. Notably, NVIDIA is claiming that this card is faster than the GTX 1080 Ti with 9+9 TOPs (FP32+INT32) and 73 Tensor TFLOPs

GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GPU Specification

The new graphics card is the flagship and one of the most powerful GPU under NVIDIA’s arsenal. The card has had its speed bumped upto 15.5Gbps from the originals 14Gbps. Furthermore, the SUPER variant is faster than the TITAN Xp and features 11+11 TOPs (FP32+INT32) and 89 Tensor TFLOPs.

All of the new cards will support every new technique that was employed by the original RTX card. That includes Ray-Tracing technology alongside NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS). The new cards will also be one of the few new cards from team green to support the Mesh Shading and NVIDIA Adaptive Shading. These techniques are used for polishing the graphical fidelity of any game without drastically impacting the performance and responsiveness of the game being rendered.

NVIDIA is also launching a new integrated frame benchmarking & power tool by the name of “FrameView”. This new software enables accurate real-time information regarding game performance like FPS and average FPS, power drawn from the board, completely customisable overlay and even a log file for analytics. The feature will also be available to AMD cards, although power draw will not be read. The beta will be released soon, stay tuned for more on this.

Price and Availability

GeForce RTX cards pricing will start from INR 34,890 for the 2060, while the RTX 2070 SUPER will be sold for INR 43,600. The premium graphics card RTX 2080 SUPER will have prospective buyers shell out INR 61,400. The first two cards will be commercially available from 9th July in India, while the later premium card will be released on July 23rd. The existing cards will be phased out apart from the RTX 2060 while the 2080 Ti still remains as the crown prince of the company.

NVIDIA is known to collaborate with other companies that provide gaming-related peripherals and electronic components. Companies like, ASUS, Colorful, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, MSI, Palit, PNY and Zotac versions of the card will be available alongside the Founder’s Edition. The graphics card will also be available on gaming laptops such as Dell, Alienware, Acer, HP and Lenovo. A special deal is being offered by NVIDIA, in which users buying the graphics card on 9th July will receive a free copy of Control and Wolfenstein: Youngblood.

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NVIDIA has made an impressive move with the affordable price of entry for its RTX SUPER series in India. The move will prove to be a great adversary to the upcoming RX 5700 & 5700 XT that will go on sale on 7th July. The upgraded additions to NVIDIA’s latest gen of graphics card will again be a strong choice for potential buyers for their gaming needs.

July 2, 2019
Nintendo Mini Switch Gaming Console Leaked

Nintendo launched its latest gaming console, the Switch in the year 2017. The device has since seen record-breaking sales, with the company often failing the keep it sufficiently in stocks. It was expected that Nintendo will launch two new variants of the console in the form of a Switch Pro and Switch Mini but no details about them surfaced since. Now, a popular gadget tipster has leaked the renders and cases of the mini version of the Switch. It has been revealed that the device will be called the Nintendo Mini Switch and may be introduced in the market soon.

Nintendo Mini Switch

As mentioned above, the alleged Nintendo Mini Switch is the smaller variant of the gaming console. The leaker has revealed the cases of the console which exhibit a similar design to the regular Switch. However, the removable joy cons which are used as a remote control seem to be affixed on the Mini Switch. Also, the packaging of the case lists the product as of the Mini Switch 2. This is odd, considering not even the first generation of the device has been announced yet. The leaker claims the case maker is a legitimate source, but the name raises a few questions.

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The leaked renders of the Nintendo Mini Switch reveal a similar story to the cases. The layout of the console is similar to the regular Switch, albeit in a smaller form factor. It is being speculated that when the device launches, it will support the same gaming titles as the Switch. Unfortunately, more details about the launch date, specs and features of the Nintendo Mini Switch are not known yet. However, the latest leaks suggest that the company may make an announcement regarding the console soon.

July 1, 2019
A 15 Year Old Indian Stabs Elder Sibling Over PUBG Mobile

The World Health Organization had officially classified video game addiction under the mental health condition category a couple of months ago. This implies that individuals suffering from gaming addiction are as vulnerable as mentally impaired people. PUBG Mobile has taken the world, especially India by storm and has set the standard for the mobile gaming industry. However, many negative incidents regarding the popular have since started emerging (1,2).

A new report details a 15-year-old minor killing his elder brother after being scolded for playing PUBG Mobile excessively.

PlayerUnknown’s BattleGround (PUBG Mobile) is a battle-royale styled online multiplayer shooter. The game places a heavy emphasis on team and gunplay. Furthermore, it is an example of how a well made free-to-play game can receive critical acclaim on handheld devices if done right. Unfortunately, PUBG Mobile has been surrounded by numerous debacle after various unfavourable reports surfaced such as the death of a 16 year old that played the game for 6 hours.

According to the new report, a 15 year old boy from Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra killed his elder brother over the game. The incident allegedly occurred due to the older sibling scolding the accused for spending too much time on PUBG Mobile. This caused the aggression which led to the death of Mohammad Shaikh (19). The victim’s head was reportedly banged against the wall and was repeatedly stabbed with scissors. After being rushed to the hospital Shaikh was declared brought dead.

A case has been registered by the police officers under section 302 (Punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). PUBG Mobile has been the centre of numerous controversies all across the globe. Negative incidents such as these, spark the age-old debate regarding video game violence being mirrored in real life. Parents in India, multiple Government and even educational institutions have asked for the game being banned.

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Historically, people have always criticised video games, citing ill-effects on children caused by the content portrayed (like shooting PUBG Mobile). However, many studies such as the one from Oxford University have shown no relation of video game violence and violence in real life. This goes against the popular belief of most parents and teachers but it is still a common stigma. Issues regarding video game addictions stem from various factors ranging from the external environment and even personality. Simply blaming a game like PUBG Mobile or even banning it will not cure humankind of violence.

July 1, 2019
PUBG Mobile India Tour 2019 Launched With 1.5 Crore Prize
PlayerUnknown’s BattleGround or PUBG has taken over the mobile gaming market by storm all over the world and especially in India. The mobile port of the popular PC game was made possible via Tencent Games. PUBG Corp and Tencent Games have now announced one of the biggest open tournaments for the country.

The PUBG Mobile India Tour 2019 is the latest large scale tournament arriving after the ‘PUBG Mobile India Series‘ of 2018. The new tournament has the highest prize pool ever to be seen in a PUBG Mobile tournament, with 1.5 crores over last years 1 crore.

https://youtu.be/SA5fGkN3YII

How To Register
- To enter the tournament users need to visit the PUBG Mobile official website and fill out their personal details that also require id proof details.
- Once the details have been filed up, users must click on ‘Register’ for the India Tour.
- Users thereon will receive a verification mail to their registered email ID (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) Simply clicking on the verification link on the mail will complete the process.
- A pop-up will appear once users are verified via email that says “Activate my account.”
- Clicking on the aforementioned pop-up will complete the registration process.
Key Points
- The upcoming tournament will be open to all Indian residents who possess a PUBG Mobile account that is ranked higher than Platinum Tier 5 or at least level 20.
- The tournament is only available for entire squads, solo and duo queue are not allowed, so interested candidates need an entire team.
- Emulators are strictly prohibited and only the mobile gaming platforms are allowed.
- Players can be banned if they are found using any 3rd-party apps that give them any unfair advantages.
- Incorrect information will lead to disqualification.
Format

The PUBG India Tour 2019 is exclusive to the squad-only format. Furthermore, the matches will be played across every battle royale map over the various rounds. To even the odds of winning, the tournament will also have contestants switch between first-person and third-person perspective modes. This will ensure players have an all-rounded experience regarding the game.

Availability & The 4 Regions

The tournament will be open to all users in India, although the contestants must select one of the 4 regional options provided to them to register in. The options include Jaipur (Group A), Guwahati (Group B), Pune (Group C) and Vizag (Group D). The area where users register on will have them compete against the others who opted for the same region. The tournament will follow in 4 Phases.

Phase 1: In-Game Qualifiers

Squads of 4 will have to play 15 classic mode matches. The 10 best-scored games will be considered and the scoring is based on kills and finishing position. If a tie occurs with other, other factors such as survival time and accuracy will come into play. A total of 500 squads will qualify the first phase on the map Eragnel that will be held over a period of 7 days.
- Group A: July 15th- July 21st
- Group B: July 29th – August 4th
- Group C: August 12th – August 18th
- Group D: August 26th – September 1st
Phase 2: Online Play-Offs

The 500 qualified squads will now play two rounds. In round 1, 500 squads will be divided into 25 groups, with 20 squads each. Only the top 3 squads by the score from each group will advance to round 2. In the second round, 100 squads from round 1 are divided into five groups with 20 squads in each group. All five groups will play three matches. Only the top four squads, by score, from each group, will move on to the Group Finals.

Maps will include Eragnel, Vikendi, Miramar or Sanhok and the playoffs will be held four times during the course of the PUBG Mobile India Tour.

Round 1:
- Group A: July 29th- August 5th
- Group B: August 12th – August 19th
- Group C: August 26th – September 2nd
- Group D: September 9th – September 16th
Round 2:
- Group A: August 6th- August 10th
- Group B: August 20th – August 24th
- Group C: September 3rd – September 7th
- Group D: September 17th – September 21st
Phase 3: Group Finals

The top 20 squads from the Online Playoffs move to the Group Final. These 20 squads will play five matches. Four squads with the highest scores move to the Grand Finals. Maps include Eragnel, Vikendi, Miramar or Sanok. For this round, the squads will travel to pre-determined venues.
- Group A: August 25th
- Group B: September 8th
- Group C: September 22nd
- Group D: October 6th
Wild Card Entries:

The bottom 16 squads from a group final match will join the bottom 16 squads from other groups, making a total of 64 squads. These 64 squads will be divided into four groups of 16 squads each and will play five matches. The squad with the highest score from each group will join the Grand Finals. Wild Card matches will be played online between October 8-11th, 2019 on every map.

Phase 4: Grand Finals

The top four squads from each of the four groups (total of 16 squads), plus the four winning squads from the Wild Card matches, will play in the Grand Finals. These 20 squads will play five matches. For the finals, all contestants of Grand Finals matches will travel to Kolkata. Grand Finals matches will be held on October 20 and will again play on every map.

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The tournament offers a total prize pool of INR 1.5 crores and promises the winner to walk away with INR 50 lakhs. The team that gets second place receives INR 20 lakhs while the third receives INR 10 lakhs. Furthermore, all teams will receive cash prizes for making it to the finale. The tournament will also acknowledge individual performance and provide titles to exceptional individuals and squads. This will mark a great stride forward towards India’s esports league and will hopefully bring more organisations to hold tournaments within the southeastern country.
July 1, 2019
Sony PlayStation 5 Benchmark Reveal A 4x Performance Jump Over PS4

Sony revealed a few key details about its next generation of gaming console a few weeks ago. This device assumed to be called the PlayStation 5, will be the successor to the PlayStation 4 launched in the year 2014. The loading times of the upcoming console were shown off a while ago which revealed a ten times improvement over the last generation. Now, a tipster on the microblogging website Twitter has leaked the benchmarks scores of the PlayStation 5 and it is claimed to be four times as much as the PlayStation 4. The tipster notes that the four time improvement will not apply to the latest PlayStation 4 Pro.

Sony PlayStation 5

According to the tipster on Twitter, the Sony PlayStation 5 has been codenamed, Gonzalo. The upcoming console has scored an impressive score of 20,000 on the 3DMark Fire Strike benchmark. This is four times higher than the roughly 5,000 score of the PlayStation 4. It also corroborates the company’s promise that the latest device will be a big jump in performance and power. The score of the upcoming gaming console are on par with what the NVIDIA GeForce 2070 has scored in the test, if not better. This is supposedly an indication that the PlayStation 5 can finally match up to the gaming performance of gaming PCs.

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Sony previously revealed information regarding some features of the upcoming console. For instance, the PlayStation 5 is expected to sport 3D audio technology, which will enable gamers to have immersive gaming experience. Another speculated feature of the PS5 is the incorporation of a Solid State Drive or an SSD. This will lead to visibly faster game load times and seamless switching between various applications within the console’s interface. The device is expected to launch towards the end of next year at an expected price of US$ 550 (~INR 39,000). This is the same time when Microsoft will also announce its latest gaming console, called Xbox Project Scarlet.

June 28, 2019
New PUBG Game Announced By The Developer Of Call of Duty, Dead Space

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG for short, was released back in the year 2017 for PCs; and has since seen unprecedented popularity. It was later ported to major consoles like the Microsoft Xbox, the Sony PlayStation and was also available on smartphones last year. The game has been credited for popularizing the Battle Royale genre; in which users fight out to remain the last one standing. Now, the publisher of the title, PUBG Corporation has announced a new PUBG game, which will be overseen by the developer of the famous games such as Call of Duty and Dead Space.

About The Game

As mentioned above, a new PUBG game has been announced by its publisher. It has not been provided with a title yet and is being developed by a new studio called Striking Distance. The most notable part about the studio is its CEO Glen Schofield; as mentioned above, he has many famous games like Call of Duty and Dead Space to his credit. The game is still in its early stages, so not much information is available regarding how the gameplay will be. However, in a press release, the PUBG Corp has said that the game is an original narrative experience within the PUBG universe. Unfortunately more details like the release date are not available as of yet.

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It is also confirmed that the upcoming title will not carry forward the battle royale legacy of the original. It will rather focus on a storyline, which PUBG lacks in its current state. What this storyline will be is not known yet, but what is known is that it will be set in the same universe as the original. This is similar to what Respawn Entertainment did with the game Apex Legends. That title is set into a much larger Titanfall universe but features a battle royale genre as a base. It is being stressed that the upcoming game from the PUBG Corp is not a sequel to PUBG but is merely set in the same universe. So maybe the new game will finally reveal the reason behind the mysterious locations and the history behind them.

June 27, 2019
PUBG Lite To Soon Launch In India Announces Company
PUBG Mobile short for Player’s Unknown Battleground Mobile has become a global phenomenon due to its highly engrossing elements. In comparison to regular PUBG which is available on PC, the mobile version is much more popular in developing countries. This is due to the fact that users in these countries don’t have access to high end gaming PCs which are required to play the full blown variant of the game. Instead, they use smartphones to play PUBG.

Additionally, modern smartphones are highly portable therefore users can play the game even when on the go. This factor has also contributed to the growing popularity of the mobile game.

Though, for PUBG players who want to experience the game on a large screen display, but don’t have access to a high end gaming PC, the developer of the game had previously unveiled PUBG Lite. The said game was originally made available to a limited demographic and after long anticipation, it will soon be launched in India. On the 20th of June, PUBG LITE opened up the registration in all SAARC countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

The registrations for the game will last for 13 days and interested users can visit (https://lite.pubg.com/) and create an account for free. PUBG Mobile users that already have an account can simply log in and complete the registration process. Users that register via this event will be rewarded the Tiger M416 skin and Cheetah parachute for free. Also if the registrations cross the 100k mark, the game developer will bundle the Black Scarf, Punk Glasses and Bloody Combat Pants without any extra charges. Upon crossing 200k registrations, the users will receive Gold PUBG scarf, Striped Long-Sleeved Shirt and Red Sports Top.

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The minimum specifications requirements to play PUBG Lite are as follows:
- OS: Windows 7,8,10 64Bit
- CPU: Core i3 @2.4Ghz
- RAM: 4GB
- GPU: Intel HD 4000
- HDD: 4GB
Even though the PUBG Lite is currently not available to download, interested users can register by heading to the company website and enjoy the game as soon as it is rolled out.
June 21, 2019
Nube Gaming Smartphone With Extendable Gamepad

Handheld gaming machines have been in the entertainment industries for almost 40 years now. These type of devices have always been a hit or miss with the audiences centred around gaming. Sony is a great example of this with the successful PlayStation Portable aka PSP and the subsequent failure of the PlayStation Vita. However, with the mobile gaming market being the largest revenue generator for the industry, it was inevitable that hybrid technology would be born soon. Nube Mobile is currently developing one such gaming device.

Specifications & Design

The company which is largely unheard of had patented designs last year regarding an extendable smartphone. These extended forms now include buttons such as controller D-pads and even joysticks, and may even feature special cooling functions. Nube Mobiles is based in Hong Kong and also works off of Spain in Malaga. According to the company’s own website, development is underway regarding two products. “One is a new smartphone for new players” while the other is a “new game based on one of the most popular films of the moment.”

The product in question is probably the hybrid device which at a glance would resemble a regular handset with bezels at the top and bottom. In addition to this, the key feature manifests itself once the corners bezels are pulled out from the device. Once fully extended gamepad buttons will flank the screen from the left and right sides. This, in turn, makes the smartphone look like a Nintendo Switch since the button layout is entirely similar. The Nube Gaming Mobile would although likely sport a larger and higher resolution display than the 6.2-inch HD screen found on the Switch.

Nube’s hybrid device has its buttons slightly encaved within the smartphone, just enough to slide in behind the screen. This makes it a practical smartphone and handheld gaming system simultaneously. Optional gamepad for smartphone do exist in the market, but no other company has it in-built within their handsets. Apart from the gaming peripherals, the essential front sensors are provided on the top like any other smartphone. The left side houses the volume rockers while the right has the power button along with two SIM card slots. The charging port is found at the bottom of the device alongside the apparently lone speaker on the left.

Nube Mobile’s upcoming smartphone only has a single camera at the back with a flash. Notably, the camera modules will move when the controls are extended due to their placement. Unfortunately, internal specifications cannot be discerned but going by the trend, a high refresh rate with a powerful processor is expected. The device will also probably be powered by a large battery pack. The website claims that Nube Mobile’s have 5 years of video game industry experience and that the new products will be introduced soon.

Also Read: Samsung Patents A Gaming Laptop With Expandable Display

With the mobile gaming market surpassing the PC and consoles in terms of revenue generated, a new shift in development focus has already started. Popular game studios for the aforementioned platforms are now taking the mobile market more seriously. This is evident with Activision bringing the Call Of Duty experience to smartphones. Official launch dates or any information was not provided by the company, but according to the website, the announcement would’ve been made in April. More updates are expected soon since the month has long since passed.

June 19, 2019
Google Announces Game Builder To Create 3D Games Without Coding

American technology giant Google has announced a new tool called Game Builder. As the name suggests, it allows users to build, or create their games without any knowledge of coding. While first released in November last year; this is the first time the company has announced the confirmed the software in any manner. It has been introduced via a Google blog post on the 13th of June.

Game Builder

As mentioned above, Game Builder is a tool designed to create video games without coding. It is developed by Google’s in house Area 120 team which has been responsible for a few experimental projects in the past. When running for the first time, it asks the user what screen size they are aiming for the resulting game to run on. Then it offers an option to either start a new project, work on an existing one or try sample projects. These sample projects include a variety of options, like a first-person shooting game, a platformer title; or show a demo of the Game Builder card system for trying complex interactions inside a game.

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The design inside Game Builder is reminiscent of Mojang’s Minecraft game due to the blocky nature of the graphics. To make a game, users will have to select a variety of cards to choose how the player interacts inside the game. The movements can also be selected by using real-time javascript functionality; which does not require compiling to save a command. Google claims the tool has thousands of 3D objects like animals and plants which can be placed inside the game. Game Builder is available for free on Valve’s Steam platform for both the Windows and MacOS platforms. While not for everyone, the Game Builder tool seems to be a great platform for people wanting to create their own game without wanting to learn complex coding.

June 14, 2019
Netflix Will Release A Stranger Things Mobile Game In 2020

Mobile gaming has blown up in the past few years. It’s a huge market that holds a ton of potential for game developers, since mobile games are widely accessible. For instance, Pokémon Go, the mobile game based on popular anime series “Pokemon” was released in the year 2016. The game was a location-based RPG that required players to commute around the actual places (in real-time) to capture Pokémon. The game became globally viral in a short span of time. The Netflix Stranger things-based game will be built along the same lines, and will be unveiled next year.

Finnish developer Next Games is teaming up with streaming service Netflix to design the new game which will be based on the “Stranger Things” series. The ’80s cartoon-themed game will require users to walk around their cities/towns to fight evil forces. Players would be able to team up with their friends to earn rewards as they go around uncovering mysteries. As expected, the game will incorporate Google Maps integration to enable players to follow correct paths while playing.

Also Read: Google Stadia Will Need A 20Mbps Connection For 1080p Gaming

CEO of Next Games stated that the Stranger Things game will include social themes such as friendship and adventure which will spur the younger generation to play this game. Next games was the same studio which developed The Walking Dead: Our World game, which implements the user’s location to generate location-based objectives. Noteworthy, another studio called Telltale Games previously launched two “Stranger things” games, however, they followed an entirely different format. As per reports, the game will be unveiled in the year 2020, and will be available on both iOS and Android devices. Alongside, the third season of Stranger things will hit Netflix on the 4th of July, 2019.

June 13, 2019
Google Stadia Will Need A 20Mbps Connection For 1080p Gaming

Earlier this year, Google surprised the world by unveiling a dedicated gaming platform dubbed Stadia. The platform will allow users to play high end games on max visual settings without shelling out money for buying new high end hardware. Any device that can run Chrome browser can be used to play the said high end games with the help of Stadia services. Talking about the functionality of the service, the computing power required to run graphics intensive games will take place remotely in Google’s data centres which will be streamed directly on to the Chrome browser running on the user’s machine. Even though Google has done away with the need for high end processing power with Stadia, the dependence on high speed remains. In fact with the new service, not only is the essential game data transferred over the internet, the HD game stream itself is transmitted online.

In order to make sure, the users are able to smoothly play games on Stadia, Google has revealed minimum internet speeds required to stream games in different video quality. The data sheet is attached below:

To enjoy games in the highest available video quality and 5.1 surround sound, it requires an internet connection with 35 Mbps transfer speeds. According to data collected by contributors on Speedtest, the average download speed in the United States was higher than 35 Mbps in the year 2018. Therefore, the maximum number of users hailing from the country can use the Stadia service at its maximum available quality. However, in countries like India, where the internet quality is not at par with some of the developed countries, users might be limited to using the service at 720p or 1080p quality.

Also Read: Apple And Microsoft Plan An iCloud App For Windows 10

Conclusively, only time will tell what the future holds for the hyped up gaming service from Google which is set to roll out later this year. Also, Sony and Microsoft have teamed up for a similar game streaming service which will compete against Google Stadia. Interested readers can find the pricing of Stadia service here.

Users can check their internet speeds by visiting www.speedtest.net or www.fast.com.

June 13, 2019