DF Direct Q&A: GPU Supply, Consoles and Game Ports
RTX 5090 supply and pricing
Discontinuation reports and shortages
The hosts discuss reports that NVIDIA had stopped allocating GB202 dies to GeForce RTX 5090 cards and might redirect them to RTX Pro products. NVIDIA later said the 5090 had not been discontinued, citing supply constraints. The panel notes that the card is still listed for sale in the UK, but at a much higher price than previously reported. They consider possible causes, including AI demand for consumer GPUs and supply being directed to professional cards, while stressing that the exact mix is unclear.
“Without GeForce, NVIDIA wouldn't be where it is today.” — Jeff Fisher
What NVIDIA could do, and a possible 5080 variant
The discussion turns to whether NVIDIA should take more control of scarce supply, including by selling Founders Edition cards directly or prioritising verified gamers. The hosts question who is benefiting from the price increases and whether the situation could spread beyond the 5090. They also discuss the risk to GeForce if gaming cards are priced around the AI market, and whether future gaming hardware should arrive more slowly while software features continue to improve.
A hypothetical 5080 with 24GB of memory is considered as a possible high-end option between the 5080 and 5090. The panel discusses its potential appeal for games and prosumer workloads, possible performance and pricing, and whether it could be a 5080 Ti. They agree that NVIDIA’s statement about continuing to ship the 5090 does not explain how much supply will reach gamers or at what price.
Next-generation console costs and design
The hosts respond to a question about rising memory and storage costs and whether a larger GPU could be a smaller share of a future console’s total cost. They say console makers still need to keep systems affordable and consider power use, cooling, power supplies and chip yields. The discussion considers whether Microsoft’s rumoured Project Helix design could benefit from a larger GPU, alongside potential differences in memory needs and console subsidies between Microsoft and Sony.
Rumoured Xbox physical media
The panel is sceptical about reports of a proprietary Xbox cartridge format, noting the cost and constraints of storage-based media. They consider whether a cartridge could instead act as installation storage, and discuss game key cards, resale, ownership and legacy disc support.
Switch 2 OLED screen question
The hosts discuss whether the Xbox Ally X’s rumoured 7.4-inch OLED screen could suit a Switch 2 OLED model. They say a smaller display would create design and compatibility challenges, including bezels, dock fit and existing controllers. They also discuss other OLED screen sizes and the possibility of Nintendo sourcing a screen at the Switch 2’s size.
GTA 6: upscaling and ray tracing
The panel considers whether GTA 6 will use PSSR or QSSR, following observations of rain disappearing in some games with upscaling. They say developers may be able to address such artefacts, but that the trailer footage is too limited to establish what GTA 6 will use. On PS5 Pro, they weigh higher resolution, more ray-traced global illumination and improved denoising or ray reconstruction, while noting that the final game is needed to assess the weaknesses.
GTA development times and future content
The hosts discuss a developer’s claim that future GTA releases could arrive more quickly because of changes to the engine and tools. They expect future projects still to take years, since the bottlenecks may include more than rendering technology and improved tools could lead to bigger ambitions. They also discuss the possibility of single-player expansions and how GTA Online affected plans for GTA 5 content.
Unreal Engine 5: Hardware Lumen and MegaLights
The panel considers why more Unreal Engine 5 games are using Hardware Lumen and MegaLights. They describe engine updates and developer work to improve optimisation, and say running Hardware and Software Lumen together can be difficult to maintain. The discussion credits work by The Coalition and Epic with helping MegaLights reach shipping games and a 60 FPS target on consoles, including Series S. They compare the adoption of these lighting features with earlier shifts in rendering techniques.
What counts as an “impossible” Switch port?
The hosts compare Dragon’s Dogma 2 on Switch 2 with earlier ports such as Doom 2016 on the original Switch. They discuss how Switch 2’s custom hardware differs from the repurposed Tegra X1, and consider demanding games such as GTA 6, Cyberpunk and Microsoft Flight Simulator as possible challenges. The panel argues that an impressive port is not just about getting a game to run, but about achieving good performance; they also mention community efforts to bring games to Dreamcast.