From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


All the gaming news I think interesting to talk about!

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* Hardware's getting more expensive, duh! https://www.digitalfoundry.net/news/2026/06/xbox-memo-predicts-over-5x-increase-in-storage-and-memory-costs-by-holiday-2027
A memo from the XBox division was released where they
indicate that one of the challenges facing that platform
(and, indeed, gaming is a whole) is that they expect RAM
and storage costs are probably going to go up by five
times by the end of 2027. We all know who's to blame for
that (and if you don't, it sounds a lot like Ay-Eye), but
these cost increases are definitely going to impact gaming
hard. Although hopefully SOME developers will take this
to mean that MAYBE they shouldn't be releasing games that
require 64GB RAM and 200GB storage just to run properly;
that maybe actually optimizing the games might get more
players able to run their games with a good experience (I
can dream, can't I?). But if you're waiting to buy some
upgrades for your PC, hoping the prices will come down
soon? Don't. Buy now. It's expensive sure, but it's only
going to get worse.


* Check those updates! https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/06/windows-and-linux-users-the-deadline-to-update-secure-boot-keys-is-near/
Okay, it's not entirely gaming related, but if you're a PC
gamer this is still important. You need to ensure that the
cryptographic certificates that protect SecureBoot are up to
date, because the original certificates from 2012 that released
with the technology are going to expire in seven days. And
after that, if you use SecureBoot, you won't be able to boot
your OS. Windows should update them automatically, but other
operating systems may require more work.


* My hat is safe, for now https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-european-commission-will-not-legislate-stop-killing-games-but-the-campaign-isnt-dead-yet-say-its-organisers
The EU has declined to legislate on behalf of Stop Killing
Games, indicating " it cannot propose a legal obligation
to keep video games playable after they stop being
provided commercially". This is disappointing, but not
entirely unexpected. SKG will keep fighting the good fight
(and they're making good inroads in the USA in California)
but so far, my promise to eat my hat if they succeed goes
unfulfilled. Which is good, because I was considering
actually buying a hat and had to put it off because I don't
like the taste of felt.


* AMD makes inroads https://www.digitalfoundry.net/news/2026/06/latest-steam-hardware-survey-shows-amd-radeon-at-new-19percent-high-9060-xt-and-9070-xt-chart-for-first-time
According to the latest Steam Hardware Survey, AMD Radeon
cards now own 19% of the market, a record high. This is
up from 16% at the beginning of 2025. I guess Nvidia's
high prices and basically abandoning the gaming market for
AI are starting to have some effect (all those melting
video cards probably don't help either). While I
personally still lean towards nvidia myself (my bad
experiences with ATI cards from twenty years ago still
sour me on the brand) I very much want to see AMD and
other competitors increase their market-share. It's
better for the industry as a hold, and nvidia's
attitude taking gamers for granted is really annoying.


* Stop being dicks, Blizzard https://www.gamesindustry.biz/blizzard-sues-private-world-of-warcraft-server-for-large-scale-egregious-and-ongoing-infringement-of-blizzards-intellectual-property
Acti-Micro-Blizz are suing private "World of Warcraft"
servers for 'large scale infringement' on their intellectual
property. Which, let's be clear, is absolutely what those
servers are doing but c'mon; the people playing on these
servers are your biggest fans. Suing them is not a good look.
Work with them instead. The private servers are providing them
with something you're not providing. Rather than using the
legal system to force them back into your arms, maybe
actually provide them a product they want to use? Especially
when you state the 'harm' they are causing is to your
bottom line, rather than to the reputation of the product.
It's just making you look greedy. You may be legally in the
right, but it's really hard to emphasize with you.


#

Are you dismayed by rising hardware costs? Are your secure boot
credentials up to date? Should Blizzard be nicer to its straying fans?
Will SKG ever catch a break? And are you one of the 17% using an ATI
card? Digest these bits of news and then let us know!



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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

Are you dismayed by rising hardware costs?

Annoyed but what can you do?

Are your secure boot credentials up to date?

I hope so, although no secure boot on my gaming rig but with my little
Samsung Galaxy Book I (apparently) needed to do something and it
eventually updated something and the "Windows Security" thing now says everything is updated for secure boot. The need to do this something was apparently thanks for turning off telemetry. Spent some time trying to
figure out if there's a BIOS update but after some searching, it seems
those should come from Windows Update and there hasn't been one since
2024.

As for gaming on that thing, I tried to run old Epic freebie "Lego
Builder's Journey" and some other games I thought were light on it but
got only a black screen. I guess it's really not up to do much for
gaming.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Thu, 18 Jun 2026 14:15:26 +0300, Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> said this thing:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

Are you dismayed by rising hardware costs?

Annoyed but what can you do?

Are your secure boot credentials up to date?

I hope so, although no secure boot on my gaming rig but with my little >Samsung Galaxy Book I (apparently) needed to do something and it
eventually updated something and the "Windows Security" thing now says >everything is updated for secure boot. The need to do this something was >apparently thanks for turning off telemetry. Spent some time trying to
figure out if there's a BIOS update but after some searching, it seems
those should come from Windows Update and there hasn't been one since
2024.

As for gaming on that thing, I tried to run old Epic freebie "Lego
Builder's Journey" and some other games I thought were light on it but
got only a black screen. I guess it's really not up to do much for
gaming.

Another way to check (on Windows) is to look at Event Viewer. If you
see Event ID (in Windows Logs/System) 1808, then the credentials were
updated. If you don't see 1808, look for 1801, which is the ID for
"tried to update but something went wrong). Either way, you should get
a clear picture if you're updated or not.

Of course, half my PCs don't even support secure boot so the whole
thing is moot for those devices. Alas, I fear my 1999-era beige box
will never be truly Windows 11 compatible! ;-)

Note that the lack of updates doesn't necessarily mean you won't be
able to boot... so long as you aren't using anything that relies on
SecureBoot. If you've Bitlocker'd your boot drive, for example, then
you might have problems.

[Then again, if you rely on these protections, then Windows has
probably already updated automatically. If you don't, then its
probably because your hardware doesn't support it anyway ;-)]

But in many cases, you will still be able to boot. You will be missing
out on security patches that harden the boot process, however... and
there are numerous known exploits that take advantage of that
vulnerability in the wild.

But just update, to be sure.



--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2