Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

Sony announces the end of PlayStation game discs via a three paragraph blog post - bringing to an end the era of physical media and actually owning the games you buy, along with the right to resell them, share them and preserve them. A sombre panel assesses the full implications of Sony's decision, why it's doing it, the damage it'll cause and how the PlayStation Store needs a major revamp to take the place of physical media. Also: Sony shuts down the PS3 and Vita stores, Xbox may have alternative plans for potentially phasing out discs and a new Switch 2 LCD panel will hopefully address the problems of the current one.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:00:52 News 1: Sony planning to cease manufacturing new PlayStation games
0:43:32 News 2: Sony pulling PS3, Vita digital stores
0:54:47 News 3: Xbox disc to digital program reportedly planned
1:01:55 News 4: New Switch 2 display reportedly enters the fray
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In the wake of Steam Machine pricing and sharp Xbox MSRP increases, are we looking at the prospect of a $1000 next-gen console? John, Rich and Oliver discuss. Meanwhile, in the current climate, how can you save money on gaming hardware? Is GTA 6 in danger of being the most over-hyped game ever? And if time travel were available, how could the current Xbox crisis have been averted?

00:00 Introduction
00:51 News 1: How does the gaming industry survive recent hardware price bumps?
24:54 News 2: What’s your advice for saving money on gaming hardware?
33:44 News 3: How is John feeling after the GTA 6 code-in-a-box fiasco?
42:11 News 4: Is GTA 6 the most overhyped game ever?
46:57 News 5: If you could time travel, how would you fix Xbox?
55:28 News 6: What’s the future of the Steam Machine?
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Oliver, Rich and Tom discuss GTA 6. Are the 63 new screenshots indicative of actual gameplay? What about the "code in a box" situation? Are the latest PS5 Pro rumours plausible? Meanwhile, the panel is shocked by the huge Xbox price rises, somewhat more positive about FSR 4 arriving on RDNA 3 GPUs, and there's a full breakdown of Sonic Frontiers for Switch 2. And finally, SteamOS can now power a range of desktop PC hardware - but wasn't Bazzite doing that already?

0:00:00 Introduction
0:02:37 News 1: New GTA 6 assets, details released
0:32:43 News 2: AI-driven price rises hit Xbox, Apple
0:45:52 News 3: FSR 4.1 released for RDNA 3 GPUs
0:57:50 News 4: SteamOS 3.8 supports wide range of AMD PCs
1:05:53 News 5: Sonic Frontiers tested on Switch 2!
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In the wake of our Steam Machine review, Rich and Will tackle a range of Supporter questions on the price, value and design of the hardware, the ability of Valve to supply it - and the future of SteamOS in general.

00:00 Introduction
00:37 Supporter Q1: What should we think of the value of the Steam Machine?
12:03 Supporter Q2: What’s the target audience for the Steam Machine?
20:01 Supporter Q3: Should Valve have used unified memory?
25:19 Supporter Q4: Is Valve incapable of shipping hardware in volume at the moment?
29:30 Supporter Q5: Will Nvidia be supported in future SteamOS releases?
35:09 Supporter Q6: Why doesn’t the Steam Machine have a lunchbox-style handle?
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Actual GTA 6 news - and a new clip - see John, Tom and Oliver "concerned" over missing RT reflections. Then it's onto Unreal Fest with discussion on the latest Unreal Engine 5 upgrades and the implications of AI in Unreal Engine 6 workflow. The Gears of War: E-Day tech demo demands attention, while John gets to grips with a staggeringly expensive VR headset. And would you believe it's been a whole five years since we published our massive PS1 launch episode of DF Retro? John's got some stories to share.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:02:33 News 1: Rockstar releases new GTA 6 footage
0:11:10 News 2: Unreal Engine 5.8 demonstrated at Unreal Fest
0:31:10 News 3: Epic reveals new Unreal Engine 6 details
0:39:41 News 4: New PS5 8TB SSD costs nearly $3000
0:45:20 News 5: Call of Duty Black Ops 1 and 2 being ported to PlayStation
0:50:49 News 6: John tests Pimax Dream Air
1:03:56 Retrospective: looking back on DF Retro PS1
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