Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following videos I found.
#1 CinePals react to Predator 2 – I saw Predator 2 a number of times since the 1990s. I even reviewed the first issue of its 2-part comic book adaptation. Predator 2 was essentially a police story with science fiction elements mixed in and it was a worthy sequel. That being said, I saw a lot of Predator 2 reaction videos on YouTube and in my view, the reaction video by CinePals is the most entertaining one yet. Watch the video below.
#2 How AMD overtook Intel – Do you own a personal computer that has an AMD chip inside it? Mine does not but our Xbox Series X console has. In the world of business, the rivalry between AMD and Intel on CPUs has lasted for decades. While Intel led the industry for a very long time, it has gradually lost market share to AMD over the past several years. The company behind Ryzen and Athlon CPUs bounced back significantly under the leadership of Lisa Su and their alliance with TSMC was a great gamble that paid off well. Watch and learn from the video below.
#3 Do You Like Japanese Pork Cutlet? – When was the last time you had a pork cutlet for a meal? In Japan, their pork cutlet called Tonkatsu is popular and there are lots of food joints that offer it to customers. Tonkatsu is composed of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet, and historically it started during the Meiji era in the late 20th century. I recently discovered a YouTube video about one particular Japanese food joint that offer Tonkatsu that look large. Watch and enjoy the video below.
#4 Clash of the Titans (1981) Reaction Videos by Rhetorical Thrill and You, Me and The Movies – As a very young boy, I was fortunate enough to have seen the fantasy film Clash of the Titans inside the movie theater. The 1981 film was also the final work of stop-motion visual effects legend Ray Harryhausen and it had Burgess Meredith (the same actor who played Rocky’s trainer in the first 3 Rocky movies) in a key supporting role. I found two entertaining movie reaction videos of Clash of the Titans (1981) from You, Me and the Movies and Rhetorical Thrill. I encourage you to watch their respective videos below.
#5 Get To Know IMAX Better – You may have seen some movies inside an IMAX theater but are you aware of what IMAX really is apart from the experience of seeing a movie on a very large screen? IMAX is a brand, a special film format, a series of large cameras, a chain of special cinemas and an enterprise to say the least. Among the Hollywood directors, Christopher Nolan is the most prominent one who uses IMAX cameras in films like Dunkirk, Interstellar, Oppenheimer and his two last Batman movies. You can learn more about what makes IMAX different from the rest by watching the video below.
#6 Ashleigh Burton Reacts to Iron Eagle – What is there to say about the movie Iron Eagle? A movie about fighter planes and American military culture, the film was released the same year as the more famous Top Gun. I only saw the film on home video but in 1986, I had friends who were raving about Iron Eagle. That said, you should watch Ashleigh Burton’s reaction video about the old movie.
#7 A Look At Silent Hill 2 – Back in 2001, I still remember there was a lot of pre-release hype for the video game Silent Hill 2. Released on the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox console (Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams), the game went on to achieve big commercial and critical success. To this day, a lot of gamers called Silent Hill 2 as the most definitive game of the entire Silent Hill game franchise. To know more about the history and production of Silent Hill 2, watch the video below.
It has been more than a week since Microsoft announced its latest round of layoffs affecting not only thousands of employees but also Team Xbox, its game studios and certain game projects as well.
To be clear, this is not the first time Microsoft had layoffs this year but it is much more significant because the latest layoff round hit Xbox really hard and already Xbox fans and gamers saw their excitement about future video games drop. It is important to keep in mind that Microsoft and its Xbox division are both profitable which makes the new round of layoffs baffling to some. So far this year, over 15,000 employees were laid of by the technology giant. With the layoffs affecting Xbox’s developers and projects, there are matters that concerned both the Xbox fans and gamers who could have joined in.
Firstly, the Xbox game studio The Initiative will be closing down and their high-profile game Perfect Dark (which involved Crystal Dynamics) has officially been cancelled. This is tragic because Team Xbox had the opportunity to reboot the decades-old Perfect Dark franchise, delight the long-time PD fans while offering other gamers something new and exciting to play. A lot of gamers have been anticipating Perfect Dark for many years now only to end up frustrated.
The Perfect Dark reboot is no more!
Secondly, the successful and reliable Xbox game studio Turn 10 saw several of its employees laid off and their team will reportedly work as a supporter for Playground Games. For the newcomers reading this, Turn 10 created and built up the Forza Motorsport franchise of simulation racing games that started in 2005. To see Turn 10 get demoted and work on support duty for Playground Games on the Forza Horizon franchise is just very odd and baffling. Could this mean that Forza Motorsport (2023) is the last game of its franchise? Do you think a leaner Turn 10 will still be able to make another Forza Motorsport game?
Thirdly, the much-delayed Xbox game Everwildgot cancelled and its developer also suffered from the Microsoft layoffs. This unfortunate development only added to the perception that developer Rare (the team behind many hit games it made with Nintendo decades ago) kept going downhill creatively, critically and commercially. Considering how long the game development lasted, I can only imagine that many millions of Dollars were spent on Everwild and Microsoft decided to pull the plug.
Fourthly and most notably, Xbox head Phil Spencer’s official email (addressed to employees) related with the huge layoffs was revealed and its content has been posted below for you to see. Some parts in boldface…
Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.
I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.
Do you miss the good old days of Xbox? Are you a long-time Xbox gamer who became disappointed over Team Xbox’s decisions and releases? You are not alone!
Prioritizing our opportunities is essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved. Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.
HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review.
Thank you to everyone who has shaped our culture, our products, and our community. We will move forward with deep appreciation and respect for all who have contributed to this journey.
This is my opinion about Spencer’s message…as head of Xbox, Spencer is really powerless and he has no choice but to follow orders from Microsoft’s top management whose views about video game culture and interests do not really match with what we gamers and the game makers have. For Microsoft’s leadership, they have a business to run but it is clear that gaming (electronic entertainment) won’t be going away soon and they will keep investing more money in video game projects. Of course, Microsoft expects healthy returns on its investments which is why they will keep the Game Pass subscription service moving, offer games to varied users (console, computer, mobile and cloud) and they will push through with the next-generation Xbox with AMD as a bigger strategic partner.
Regarding layoffs reaching thousands, it is depressing on face value because those who lost their jobs will have to deal with the high costs of living in first world economies like the United States and in parts of Europe. However, I see an opportunity that others cannot see…the opportunity for Team Xbox to get rid of their least-productive employees as well as laying off the woke activists scattered among the employees of the many Xbox game studios. As seen in entertainment over the past several years, woke activists working in movies, video games, comic books and TV shows do not prioritize quality, do not care about the fans, and they keep on abusing the company resources as they prioritized their Leftist agenda. Is it any wonder why modern entertainment sucks? Did you notice the use of pronouns in Xbox games?
To be fair, Microsoft and Team Xbox both have been woke for years already. In America, the tone of society has changed drastically ever since Donald Trump successfully returned as United States President. Perhaps Microsoft and Xbox executives realized that they should get rid of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) from their business practices and corporate culture before the wave of change under Trump’s America leaves them behind. As of this writing, Trump is making America great again and the woke know they are losing the culture war.
As US President Trump is reshaping America to be great again, meritocracy has become essential too. This means DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) really has no place in government, business, entertainment and culture. DEI must DIE!
I can only speculate that as Xbox game studios each have less employees to work with, there could be a renewed effort to focus more on making high-quality video games that are both enjoyable to play and worth the money of customers. The Outer Worlds 2, which will be released this October, has an eye-catching American price of $79.99 (regular edition) and already a lot of gamers – including The Outer Worlds fans – find the price excessive.
The way things are right now, the future of Xbox looks gloomy and the excitement of the Xbox fans and other gamers have weakened. That being said, we can only wait and see what will happen next in the near future. Perhaps a month from now, Team Xbox will clarify what direction they are headed to and what exciting projects or events fans can still look forward to.
How do you gamers feel about Xbox gaming right now? If you are an Xbox fan, are you feeling disappointed with the cancellation of Perfect Dark and Everwild? Do you think it is time for Team Xbox’s leadership to be changed now that Microsoft impacted the gaming projects and work forces?
Welcome back fellow Xbox fans, geeks and gamers! The new generation of console gaming has begun with the twin-launch of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S done around the world. Even though there were not too many images of gamers and long-time Xbox fans lining up at retailers or at special launch-related events to buy the new consoles (due to the pandemic which changed life and business the way we know it), the launch has been declared the largest in Xbox history.
On Twitter, Xbox chief Phil Spencer posted: Thank you for supporting the largest launch in Xbox history. In 24 hrs more new consoles sold, in more countries, than ever before. We’re working with retail to resupply as quickly as possible. You continue to show us the connective power of play is more important than ever.
As you can see above, Spencer declared the launch as being the largest just as he thanked those who supported it. While no sales figures were provided, he stressed that more new consoles were launched in more countries this time which means that they already exceeded the respective launch of Xbox One in 2013. In retrospect, Microsoft sold over a million units of Xbox One at launch.
The new generation of console gaming has officially started with Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S now making their way through retailers worldwide.
With regards to supply, Spencer stated that they will resupply their retailers so that those who failed to secure a unit at launch won’t be left behind. It should be stated that retail giant Amazon told a certain number of their customers that Xbox Series X units ordered through them won’t be available until the end of the year. It should be noted that Amazon itself is a rival a Microsoft’s when it comes to cloud-related business and making gaming available to billions of people around the world. Delays regarding the two Xbox Series consoles also hit Canada and the United Kingdom. When it comes to launching games overseas, Yakuza: Like a Dragon reportedly (note: local publication Game Watch the source) has been delayed. Team Xbox needs to work on these issues.
In relation to the launch, EA Play has been made available to Xbox Game Pass (XGP) ultimate subscribers. This means that the said subscribers who own Xbox consoles – including the brand new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S – will be provided EA Play membership for free and this will enable them to are able to play many games. Think about the many sports games, first-person shooters, role-playing games (RPGs), racing games and many other games from EA being offered apart from the many games already listed under Xbox Game Pass own lineup. Definitely there is no shortage of games to play at launch and backward compatibility is also a factor. With regards to the Xbox ecosystem, XGP Ultimate subscribers will be able download and play games from EA Play’s library on their Windows 10 personal computers starting this December.
By the way, do you own a copy of the acclaimed Xbox One-exclusive Gears 5? The said game has been relaunched along with the Xbox Series consoles with technical optimization for the said machines. The main campaign of the game has been updated and includes Dave Bautista (presented as WWE’s Batista) as Xbox icon Marcus Fenix. This is the closest thing Xbox and Gears of War fans will have to a live-action movie adaptation. For the newcomers reading this, Bautista appeared in two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and the James Bond movie Spectre.
More on Gears 5, the game takes advantage of the new technology of the Xbox Series consoles and this means heavily reduced load times, utilization of Quick Resume (now one of the most notable new features only on the new consoles), reduced input latency (meaning improved responsiveness), variable rate shading (a key feature of AMD’s RDNA 2) and the super smooth 120 frames-per-second frame rate in Versus mode. With regards to Xbox Series X, the game is presented in 4K resolution thanks to the Ultra-HD pack and Ultra-Spec graphics that were previously only made available to PC gamer. As if that was not enough, developer The Coalition prepared new features for the Gears 5 campaign, new achievements (worth almost 100 Gamerscore points), etc.
Gamers of Gears 5 transitioning from Xbox One consoles into Xbox Series consoles will be delighted to know that it will take only a push of a button to download the update and download the next-generation version of the game via Smart Delivery for free!
In relation to the availability of Xbox Series consoles, over forty new games (including 30 games optimized for the new generation) have been made available and Team Xbox made the effort to ensure that Xbox Series consoles owners will play the best versions of the games they owned (for consoles) across the generations. While a lot has been showcased about the acclaimed Forza Horizon 4 optimized for the new consoles, it should be noted that Halo: The Master Chief Collection has also been optimized and ALL Halo games have been improved to run at higher resolutions and higher frame rates as well. Being a long-time Halo gamer myself, being able to replay past Halo games way above the 30FPS limits alone is very enticing.
Project xCloud General Manager and Head of Product Catherine Gluckstein wrote: In each of these four markets we’ll begin with this Preview to test, iterate, and gather your feedback. And next year, we’ll move to the next step and bring cloud gaming to these markets as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate; this is an important step in our journey as we look to reach more gamers around the world.
2020 has brought challenges to all of us, but we hope that cloud gaming simply opens up new ways for you to play when and how you choose. Enjoy Master Chief anywhere and everywhere when you play on your phone, get some laps in on Forza while someone else occupies the TV, or to try out a new-to-you Xbox game. Cloud gaming makes it possible to play those top titles on your Android phone or tablet.
Come join us in Preview as we test and learn in Australia, Brazil, Japan and Mexico. During this Preview you’ll have access to a curated library of great games for free, including favorites from Xbox Game Studios such as “Minecraft Dungeons,” “Halo: The Master Chief Collection” and “Forza Horizon 4” in addition to some fantastic content from our partners such as “Black Desert,” “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” and “Yakuza 0.”
Our Project xCloud Preview is currently supported on Android phones and tablets through the Xbox Game Streaming (Preview) app in the Google Play Store, available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.
I find notable how the head of Xbox reacted towards GameSpot’s mentioning of a Bloomberg report which said that several developers in Japan have been approached by Microsoft about acquisition.
Let’s see how receptive gamers in Japan are towards the new Xbox consoles.
When asked if there was any truth to the report, Spencer responded: I don’t think so. I say, I don’t think so… I mean, I’m not in every meeting that every team has, but I’ll say not from me. Most of the opportunities that we’ve had to date have been a long-lasting relationship, and so, I don’t think we’re out there with our business card, throwing them out on the corner, trying to find people. I’ve talked about my affinity for Japanese studios and thinking back in the day when we had more games that were created in Japan as part of our first party, I’m excited when the deal closes to get to spend more time with Tango [Gameworks] and the work that they’re doing. So it’s an area that I’m interested in, but no, I don’t think it’s… I think that’s not accurate.
Spencer also expressed his view about the Asian market from a gaming standpoint and noted how different the Japanese market is compared to those in Korea, China and Southeast Asia. He also stated that he has an affinity for all the amazing creators based in Japan and he spent a lot of time there and wants to make sure those creators see Xbox as a great place for their games. It should be stated, in relation to what was said, that a free downloadable demo of Dragon Quest XI S is now available via the Xbox Store. The blockbuster Japanese RPG will be released in full on December 4, 2020 for Xbox One, Windows 10 PC and – via backward compatibility and XGP – on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Back to the interview, Spencer mentioned Mistwalker and their notable Xbox 360 JRPGs Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. Eventually, the interview focused on the upcoming RPG Elden Ring and when asked about it, the head of Xbox stated: I’ve seen actually quite a bit. I’ve played quite a bit.
In closing this article, here are some gaming-related videos for your enjoyment.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
How fast time flies. The much-anticipated launching of the premium Xbox Series X and the budget-friendly Xbox Series S next-generation consoles from Microsoft will launch 9 days from now. Have you already ordered a unit? If you really want to make the jump to the next-generation with Xbox, keep looking at the legitimate online retailers who are open to accepting pre-orders.
Before the end of October, an article was posted at Xbox.com which confirms what has been speculated for some time now – the next-generation Xbox consoles indeed have AMD’s RDNA 2 technology complete with unique technological features.
For the newcomers reading this, RDNA 2 is defined as follows: The custom designed processor in the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S leverages RDNA 2, the latest next generation graphics architecture from our partners at AMD. RDNA 2 provides a significant advancement in performance and efficiency as well as next generation graphics features such as hardware accelerated raytracing and variable rate shading.
More on the article by Technical Fellow Andrew Goossen and Director of Program Management Jason Ronald, Team Xbox congratulated and celebrated their amazing partners at AMD with regards to the announcement of Radeon RX 6000 Series of GPUs (graphics processing units) which use the RDNA 2 architecture. Microsoft and AMD’s business relationship has lasted fifteen long years and it started with the Xbox 360 console which was a very memorable, fun-led console I had.
For the next-generation of console gaming, Microsoft and AMD’s strategic partnership is already making things look exciting. Here’s a big confirmation from the Xbox.com article: Xbox Series X|S are the only next-generation consoles with full hardware support for all the RDNA 2 capabilities AMD showcased today.
Here’s a detailed excerpt: AMD’s latest RDNA 2 architecture delivers a significant increase in performance and efficiency over previous architectures, as well as adding new hardware acceleration capabilities including hardware accelerated DirectX Raytracing, Mesh Shaders, Sampler Feedback and Variable Rate Shading. Hardware accelerated DirectX Raytracing, showcased at launch by titles such as Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs: Legion, enables developers to deliver a new level of visual fidelity and immersion through techniques such as realistic lighting, shadows, reflections and acoustics. Mesh Shaders can manipulate geometry in real time to provide a high level of fidelity and flexibility that developers have never had before. Sampler Feedback greatly improves memory efficiency by allowing games to load into memory, with fine granularity, only the portions of textures that the GPU needs for a scene, as it needs it, providing an effective 2.5x memory and bandwidth multiplier beyond the raw hardware capabilities. Sampler Feedback also enables efficient creation and shading of textures on-demand.
Finally, Variable Rate Shading (VRS) delivers much finer grain control on how developers can leverage the full power of the Xbox Series X|S by enabling developers to focus their GPU resources on the areas of a frame that most benefit without reducing the overall image quality. By leveraging techniques like VRS, games such as Gears 5 can see performance increases up to 15% and beyond resulting in higher, more consistent frame rates and resolution at the exact same image quality. All of these next-generation capabilities are available via hardware in both the Xbox Series X and Series S and we are excited for them to also come to PC, providing a common set of features that developers can rely on when developing their games across console and PC.
At the very beginning of development of the Xbox Series X | S, we knew we were setting the foundation for the next decade of gaming innovation and performance across console, PC and cloud. To deliver on this vision we wanted to leverage the full capabilities of RDNA 2 in hardware from day one. Through close collaboration and partnership between Xbox and AMD, not only have we delivered on this promise, we have gone even further introducing additional next-generation innovation such as hardware accelerated Machine Learning capabilities for better NPC intelligence, more lifelike animation, and improved visual quality via techniques such as ML powered super resolution.
In our quest to put gamers and developers first we chose to wait for the most advanced technology from our partners at AMD before finalizing our architecture. Now, with the upcoming release of Xbox Series X|S and the new AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series GPUs, developers have a common set of next-generation tools and performance capabilities that will empower them to deliver transformative gaming experiences across both console and PC.
Boom! The two Xbox Series consoles have the complete features of RDNA 2 technology. The wait that Team Xbox had to go through was worth it. In the years to come, the terms DirectX Raytracing, Mesh Shaders, Sampler Feedback and Variable Rate Shading will be more discussed as game designers create more of their projects for Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and Windows 10 PCs equipped with RDNA 2-based GPUs.
To make things clear to everyone, here are the definitions:
Hardware Accelerated DirectX Raytracing (DXR) – From improved lighting, shadows and reflections as well as more realistic acoustics and spatial audio, raytracing enables developers to create more physically accurate worlds. For the very first time in a game console, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S include support for high performance, hardware accelerated raytracing. Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S use a custom-designed GPU leveraging the latest innovation from our partners at AMD and built in collaboration with the same team who developed DirectX Raytracing. Developers will be able to deliver incredibly immersive visual and audio experiences using the same techniques on PC and beyond.
Mesh Shading – Mesh shading will enable developers to dramatically improve the performance and image quality when rendering a substantial number of complex objects in a scene. As an example, mesh shaders could enable the player to experience asteroid belts and fields of flowers in more pristine detail without seeing a loss in performance.
Sampler Feedback Streaming (SFS) – A component of the Xbox Velocity Architecture, SFS is a feature of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S hardware that allows games to load into memory, with fine granularity, only the portions of textures that the GPU needs for a scene, as it needs it. This enables far better memory utilization for textures, which is important given that every 4K texture consumes 8MB of memory. Because it avoids the wastage of loading into memory the portions of textures that are never needed, it is an effective 2.5x multiplier on average on both amount of physical memory and SSD performance.
Variable Rate Shading (VRS) – Variable Rate Shading increases GPU efficiency by concentrating shader work where it’s most needed and reducing shader work in areas where it won’t be noticeable. With minimal developer effort, VRS significantly improves GPU performance resulting in more stable and higher resolutions and frame rates with no perceptible loss in visual quality.
Remember when I mentioned many times before that Xbox is an ecosystem composed of Xbox game consoles, Windows 10 PC and smartphones (supported by Project xCloud) backed with the fast-growing Xbox Game Pass (XGP) subscription service? With all the technical information and explanations above, the strategic partnership between Microsoft and AMD is much greater than just hardware and features…it also serves as a foundation for supporting Xbox ecosystem users regardless of what hardware they use.
While it is a fact that AMD also partnered with Sony for the PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles, so far the Japan-based corporation has not boldly stated anything about having full-featured RDNA 2 on their next-generation consoles. While we don’t know what exactly Jim Ryan and Mark Cerny know behind the scenes at PlayStation headquarters right now, it is clear that their team strongly focused on the PS5’s SSD (solid state drive) and tried to manipulate people into believing it is the next big thing. It seems like the PlayStation guys, whose idolaters are still restless and agonizing over the Xbox-Bethesda deal until now, just could not admit that the AMD technology PS5 has is actually inferior to what the Xbox Series consoles have.
Going back to RDNA 2 and Xbox, Ubisoft recently presented Watch Dogs: Legion running on Xbox Series X with raytracing implemented. Watch the video below…
In ending this, here are more gaming-related videos for your viewing pleasure. Right now, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the only next-generation consoles with full hardware support for all the RDNA 2 capabilities and that ensures great value in return for the respective $499 and $299 prices of the consoles.
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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Author Carlo Carrasco 