Nvidia’s Next Generation of GPUs | EVGA Breaks Up with Nvidia | Activision Reveals the Future of Call of Duty
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GPUs
Nvidia Reveals Next Generation of GPUs Launching in October and November with a trio of video cards
Hail to the King
In keeping with tradition, Nvidia announced three video cards at the top of its product stack. Also in keeping with tradition: a bunch of internal benchmarks of dubious quality. Suffice to say, however, the RTX 4090 will be the most powerful video card for a couple months, and potentially a year.
- RTX 4090: Launches Oct. 12 for $1,599
- RTX 4080 16GB: Launches in November for $1,199
- RTX 4080 12GB: Launches in November for $899
Nvidia’s announcements on the software side are arguably more impactful for your average gamer.
- RTX Remix: A free addition to Nvidia’s Omniverse suite that make adding realtime raytracing to older games significantly easier
- The company showed off a free RTX Remix upgrade for the legendary puzzle game, Portal
- DLSS 3: Nvidia is promising up to a four-fold performance boost for its proprietary upscaling technology
- Similar to motion smoothing on your TV and targeted at cinematic, not competitive, titles
- Currently an RTX 40 exclusive feature
The Good News
- The $100 increased price of the RTX 4090 compared to the RTX 3090 isn’t outrageous
- The less powerful RTX 3090 Ti officially launched at $1,999
- Similar or even lower power consumption means PC OEMs and builders won’t need new power supplies and cooling solutions
- High-end RTX 30 series cards should finally correct to under $1,000
The worst news for consumers – and potentially OEMS – is Nvidia’s questionable branding for the RTX 4080 12GB. The performance gap between the two RTX 4080s appears noticeably wider than previous video cards sharing the same product name (RTX 3080 10GB vs. 12GB vs. Ti, for example). Unfortunately, it looks like Nvidia is trying to pull a fast one by labeling a “70” level card as an “80” level one – with an stealth price increase.
- RTX 4080s carry a $400 and $200 price hike over the RTX 3080 launch
- Overall price/performance has not significantly improved over the past few generations
- Unfavorable exchange rates are making RTX 40s even more expensive in EU markets
Nvidia’s announcement didn’t have any huge curveballs and hit the expected high notes. Pricing suggests that Nvidia is continuing to abandon less premium customer segments.
- Is it a real launch? All signs point to RTX 40 series stock being sufficient by the holiday season given the surplus of older cards…if this isn’t a paper launch.
- How will AMD respond? There’s a real opening for the Red Team compete on price and performance with the RTX 4080s come their November 3 announcement.
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Components
EVGA Ends 22-Year Relationship with Nvidia Longtime Nvidia-only partner cites poor treatment
A Clean Break
EVGA CEO Andrew Han told GamersNexus that not only will it not participate with Nvidia’s RTX 40 series, but it will wind down production of RTX 30 series cards by end of year. Those cards will be set aside for warranties and replacements. Han claims EVGA is not interested in working with AMD or Intel.
- EVGA has been an Nvidia-only partner since 2000
- 40% of Nvidia’s North American AIB sales
- The lion’s share of EVGA’s revenue is video cards
- EVGA may have overordered Nvidia GPUs
EVGA’s decision largely comes down to three issues.
- Poor Communication: EVGA claims Nvidia treated it as a seller, as opposed to a manufacturing partner.
- Nvidia allegedly did not inform EVGA and other partners of critical information like MSRP or component costs before product announcements
- Suffocating Control: EVGA felt Nvidia was too strict with its design and price controls
- EVGA historically customizes its video cards more than most AIB partners
- Undercutting Sales: Nvidia FE cards are usually a couple hundred dollars cheaper than partner cards
- As both supplier and seller, Nvidia can more aggressively price FE cards
Nvidia: The current glut of now last generation cards will help ease the transition. The GPU leader will likely increase FE shipments for Best Buy and lean on other AIB partners to fill the hole left by EVGA.
EVGA: The mid-sized manufacturer is promising no layoffs, but that seems unlikely given how much revenue it is leaving behind. It will likely lean into the power supply segment, betting that gaming PCs will continue to be more and more power hungry.
Intel: We’ve all been where EVGA is: heartbroken and newly single, swearing off relationships. But sometimes a chance you can’t refuse comes along. If Intel is committed to Arc but don't at least show up to EVGA's offices with an open checkbook, they’re fools.
Games
Activision Reveals the Future of Call of Duty Will it be a return to form?
Activision revealed new details for upcoming Call of Duty launches at a showcase last week. While the jury is out on how Activision’s crowning jewel franchise will do this year, there are signs of promise.
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022): The sequel to 2019’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare reboot of 2007’s landmark Call of Duty 4 and 2009’s blockbuster follow up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 got a full gameplay reveal.
- Call of Duty Warzone 2: The sequel to the pandemic’s breakout battle royal hit is set to arrive November 16.
- To the developers’ credit, this iteration is not a copy and paste and appears to have substantial changes
- Call of Duty Warzone Mobile: We also got gameplay from the upcoming mobile port of Warzone.
- Cross-progression with console & PC titles
- iOS & Android release in 2023
Activision struck gold twice with Call of Duty in 2019. First, it revitalized interest in an aging franchise, and more importantly, it provided the foundations for the massive cash cow that was Warzone during the pandemic. Now, Activision is counting on developers Infinity Ward to again right the ship. We won’t know for a while if they succeeded, but there is cause for optimism and caution.
- A Return to Form: Some of the reasons offered for the underperformance of the last two CODs (Cold War & Vanguard) were pandemic work conditions and the lack of a modern setting. This upcoming duo of COD games have modern settings and the benefit of some post-pandemic development time.
- Leaning into Mobile: There is no reason to think Warzone cannot also be a hit on mobile, especially as consumers shift away from pandemic habits and foreign markets continue to grow.
- 2022 Isn’t 2019: It can’t be understated how much having a captive audience stuck at home amid a surge in new gamers boosted the performance of COD during the pandemic. With the downturn in gaming this year, it’s increasingly looking like 2019 and 2020 were a singular moment of time we won’t see again soon.
Supply Drop: Games & Players
Upcoming Games (September 23 - 29)
Deathverse: Let It Die - PlayStation
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter - PC
DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms - PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Dorfromantik - Switch
Dual Universe - PC
From Space - PC, Switch, Stadia
Hokko Life - PlayStation, Xbox
Life is Strange Arcadia Bay Collection - Switch
Moonbreaker - PC
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Railgrade - PC, Switch
The Spirit And The Mouse - PC
Tales of Tomorrow: Experiment - PC
Valkyrie Elysium - PlayStation
The episodic graphic adventure game follows Maxine “Max” Caulfield as she grapples with her new found ability to rewind time after witnessing the death of her child hood friend Chloe Price. The prequel, focused on Chloe Price and her new friendship with Rachel Amber, with the two looking to uncover secrets that will lead to Rachel's birth mother.
The game series has garnered praise for its depiction of real world issues not normally addressed in video games, winning numerous awards with its intricate story telling and top talent voice acting.
Comms: Social Campaigns
The Tap: News to Go
- Virtual Reality: Sony confirmed that its upcoming PlayStation VR2 will not be backwards compatible with games for the original PlayStation VR, which originally launched in 2016.
- Console: Xbox head Phil Spencer told CNBC that Microsoft will not raise prices for its Xbox Series X & Series S consoles right now. He revealed that half of new Xbox players could be attributed to Series S purchases. Spencer, however, did leave open the possibility of future price increases.
- Streaming: Twitch announced a partial ban on streaming gambling content. Going forward, gambling sites must be legal in the US or certain other jurisdictions. Sports betting, poker, and other regulated gambling will still be allowed. The Amazon-owned service also announced a controversial change in revenue sharing that will negatively impact higher-earning streamers.
- Software: A ransomware hacker who claimed to have stolen the source code of GTA VI leaked gameplay of Rockstar Game's upcoming title. Before footage was taken down, it appeared to reveal a return to the Miami-inspired Vice City and a female protagonist.
