Latest news with #MarkMatthews
Metro
13-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Games Inbox: Is an Xbox Game Pass subscription worth it?
The Wednesday letters page has some detailed advice for anyone trying to build their own gaming PC, as one reader enjoys Fast Fusion on Switch 2. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Too much of a good thing Back when I bought my Xbox Series X I got 24 months of Game Pass included. I tried a few games now and then, but mostly for 20 minutes or so, and then tried another and after a few months I didn't use it at all really. I think having so much choice actually made it feel cheapened, if that makes any sense. I think if I'd paid £40 for a game I'd feel more inclined to play it but Game Pass was like a buffet just to sample lots of games but not actually play them properly. I didn't renew it when my sub expired a couple of years ago now. Mark Matthews GC: It's a common sentiment, but not one anyone really anticipated before game subscriptions became a thing. Executive logic With the next generation of consoles just around the corner, and with the Switch 2 kind of starting it off, will developers be held back by the difficulties of getting their games to work on all consoles? We saw how the Xbox Series S complicated releases on both it and the Xbox Series X (Baldur's Gate 3). Will developers now have to think about the Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and Switch 2 when making the next generations games? When new generations of consoles come out they usually make sure that their new games can be played on their older iterations of their systems. With development time and costs skyrocketing, I think the video games industry is in serious trouble, and I don't think kickstarting the next generation is the right answer. There's plenty of life left in the PlayStation 5 (and Xbox to a lesser extent) and it feels like the next generation is more trouble than its work. But then again what do I know? dan69247 Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Life after death RE: the short life cycle of the beloved Dreamcast. Two years and four months from start to finish is very, very short. But suppose I don't dump a console once it's shut down, there are still plenty of games to seek out and play. I would suppose I had it for at least another two years after that, all while quietly having an affair with the GameCube. I gave it to my nephews when I finally left her for the GameCube full time and they still have it bundled away in the back of a cupboard somewhere, promising to show me that the apprentices have become the masters at Soul Blade/Edge/Calibur. I'll bet those LED Chao memory card Tamagotchis don't work though! big boy bent Email your comments to: gamecentral@ Do it yourself I never cease to be amazed at the amount of technical know-how and skill you can happen upon after just a cursory search on YouTube. If you have a problem, any kind of problem, chances are someone's already made a how-to video about it. I've had a long-standing issue with my original Xbox, in that the DVD drive has been reluctant to open and close. It turns out this is a common problem that can be solved by fitting a new drive belt, which can be purchased easily online. These belts are so much smaller than you'd think. A spare Xbox DVD drive belt (I bought two) is no bigger than an American quarter (25 cents). Fitting the belt was a fiddly but non-invasive procedure akin to keyhole surgery using tweezers, but I saw how to do it on a YouTube video. Last night I watched some guy revive an old non-working Xbox that he'd bought. Apparently, the capacitor had leaked over the motherboard (another common problem with the original Xbox) and he expertly mended the console and got it working again. Impressive stuff. It's so gratifying when experts turn what might be considered worthless junk back into something useful. I guess the advice that you'd give to anyone with a malfunctioning console that's over two decades old is to get a professional to fix it and I believe retro console repair shops are scattered around the UK. I expect a lot of people would be inclined to buy another old console and commit their malfunctioning machine to landfill but I wanted to try and fix mine myself. Michael Veal / @msv858 (X) Bad timing I think Game Pass is a really good idea, the only problem is it came about 20 years too late. Just hear me out! 20 years ago games were so cheap to make. I mean, 20 years ago games were around £40, half the price to make compared to now. That means a shorter time to make them, which means they could of made more in the same time frame to be able to keep the list fresh. Also, now everyone has had enough of subscriptions. Not only have you got the video subscriptions online, everything is going on a subscription – even going to the gym. And I think everyone is saying not another subscription. But 20 odd years ago there wasn't any subscription services, which would of been perfect for Game Pass. So it's really a great idea, just a shame it was 20 years too late. David GC: 20 years ago, nobody downloaded AAA games, due to slower broadband speeds and limited hard drive space. Fast catch-up Just picked up Fast Fusion on Switch 2. Bought it mainly for the Switch 2 graphics showcase but the gameplay is rather good. I've jumped in just as the game has had a free update. The new additions are another graphics option and also three extra new circuits. Not bad for free DLC. I shall wait for more of that. GC, is there any point me buying the older games in the series or should I leave them alone? Is it going to be a big step backwards playing fast RMX? Nick The Greek GC: They're all just minor variations of each other, so we'd stick with Fusion. Even if the Fusion gimmick is one of the worst things about it. Under budget Regarding Andrew J.'s PC purchase, as others have said, you'll get a very capable machine for £2,000 if that's what you want to spend, easily capable of at least 1440p at 60fps in most games for many years to come. PCPartPicker has good user submitted build guidesif you want to get an idea of which CPUs and GPUs are within your budget, and r/buildapc subreddit is also good for advice. Generally speaking, I'd say an AMD CPU is probably your best bet unless you have a good reason to go with Intel: a 7800X3D (or 9800X3D, if you're willing to pay a wee bit more) would do you for years to come. On the GPU side it's worth getting something with 12GB VRAM minimum as the 8GB cards are struggling to keep up – a RTX 5070 or 5070Ti (if you can stretch to it) would also keep you going for a while, and gives you access to Nvidia's full feature set (upscaling, frame generation). If you're not too bothered about that, then the 9070XT is a really good AMD card which has better ray-tracing and machine learning powered upscaling capabilities than the previous generation cards (I have a 7800XT which is fine for my needs, but relatively rubbish for ray-tracing). This build (from the website you suggested) comes in around £2,000 and could be a good starting point: If you really just want a 1080p machine then you can lower your budget a lot , but you'll maybe need to upgrade sooner. I really like what Intel are doing in the budget GPU space – they have some nice cards with good VRAM capacity that would make great 1080p/1440p machines. Happy hunting! Magnumstache Skimping on power As others in the comments have mentioned, £2,000 to target 1080p at 60fps is overkill and could be achieved for less than half that price. Assuming you actually do want to spend £2,000 then I'd recommend a 7800X3D processor with ideally a 5070 Ti graphics card (Ti over the base 5070 for the extra VRAM), although if you need to shave £150 on your spend this could drop to the 5070. You could probably run many current games at 4K 60fps with this set-up. Ultimately, I would recommend getting in touch with whichever company you plan to use to build the PC and discuss the requirements in more detail with them. I just put a theoretical build through Parts Picker and it came in at £1,900 but there is no upcharge on parts for building it this way. Two suggestions, though. Firstly, add a second 2TB drive. You won't be running games off your old mechanical drive so having extra space now and being able to dump game installs on a separate drive to the operating system is worth the extra £100 at the build stage. Secondly, don't skimp on the power supply, I often see build sites using the cheapest PSU possible, so ensure you're getting a good rated one (gold+ or better). 750w should be fine but you can always go a little higher if you think you might swap out GPUs at a later date to something more powerful. Adam W Inbox also-rans Not an exact response to Andrew J but if he's struggling on compatibility between parts then this is a great site which when you start building out your machine it only shows compatible parts. Steve And people thought GTA 6 would have a big price! Thanks for this great sale at Very, it's more affordable. Mark Matthews Email your comments to: gamecentral@ More Trending The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Does it matter that physical video games are dying? MORE: Games Inbox: What's the best way to play Nintendo Switch 2? MORE: Games Inbox: When will Switch 2 get a new 3D Mario game?
CNA
03-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Stock take today: Vietnam tariff deal spurs record rally on Wall Street
On the daily markets analysis on Open For Business, Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak with Mark Matthews, Managing Director and Head of Research Asia at Julius Baer.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Insane First Lap on One of the Coolest MTB Trails in the World
Insane First Lap on One of the Coolest MTB Trails in the World originally appeared on BikeMag. Mark Matthews, a skilled trail builder, professional mountain biker, and YouTube creator, has just finished building the trail of his dreams, which means it is now time for him to take the first top-to-bottom run of this incredible trail with jumps big enough that they even cause Remy Metalier to hesitate. You don't want to miss this amazing footage as Matthews weaves through the lush Canadian forests. Documented with stunning drone footage and a host of his friends from NOBL wheels, Mark Matthews walks us through his thoughts and feelings while taking the first full run of what looks to be one of the coolest mountain bike trails in North America. Advertisement Mark has dubbed this trail 'The Mega Line', and with huge features, perfectly sculpted berms, and steep chutes, the name is certainly appropriate. Mark began building this trail in 2021 as just a one-off feature for a video segment, but as the terrain and surrounding area continued to inspire him, the trail began to grow and evolve. Matthews states, 'For now, it's done. But it's kind of an endless project, and I'm already thinking about ways to improve the line as I ride it.' Mark going big on the step up on the lower portion of the Mega LinePhoto: Mark Matthews YouTube You can watch the entire build process on Mark's YouTube channel, where he provides detailed breakdowns of each feature and offers beautiful timelapse shots of the work that goes into creating his perfect MTB trail. 'I thought I was going to take a break from digging on it, but as soon as the next rainstorm comes, I'll be right back out here digging.' Check Out More of Mark Matthews' Incredible Videos Related: Mountain Biker Chased by Drone in Intense Footage From British Columbia Related: Incredible POV Footage Showcases Helidropping Into the British Columbia Backcountry Related: Remy Metailler Crashes Trying To Keep Up With Mark Matthews This story was originally reported by BikeMag on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Tariffs not going to move the needle much for Chinese or Indian markets: Mark Matthews
Mark Matthews , MD, Julius Baer , suggests that while the tariff landscape between the US, China, and India is evolving, markets appear unfazed. He notes that exports are no longer critical for either the Chinese or Indian economies. Despite trade tensions, the Chinese market is performing strongly, with Hong Kong experiencing significant growth. For the Indian market, the biggest thing will be the earnings and anything less than high single digits growth will disappoint the market as it is not particularly cheap. Help us with your take on the markets and especially how do you see Indian markets shaping up because we have been doing pretty well. Nifty is at an 8-month high. Nifty Bank is very close to all-time high levels and even the broader markets are participating. Is the worst behind us when it comes to the tariff concerns, and earnings not doing that well? Mark Matthews: Generally, the tariff news is moving from escalation to de-escalation. Most importantly, the US-China relationship is improving. But with India, there were hopes that a deal would be struck by the end of this month and I do not know how much the market has priced that in. I have not heard any news about it happening. There is obviously this big sticking point about access to the Indian market for US agriculture companies and I understand why that is sensitive for India because there are a lot of jobs that could be lost in the rural areas if you open that market to the outside world. So, I do not know. I do not think tariffs are going to move the needle that much. The biggest thing will be the earnings which you mentioned and typically in India, the earnings accelerate in the second half of the year. I am not expecting double-digit earnings for the April to June quarter, but I think that if it is anything less than high single digits, the market will be disappointed because it is not particularly cheap. You probably know it is at around 21 times price to earnings. So, we need some earnings to bring that price to earnings ratio down. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Mosquito Bracelet Is a Canadian Best-Seller Techno Info Gadget Undo What are you making of this entire US-China trade deal? You spoke about the India impact in terms of markets. But when it comes to some of these issues like tariffs or rare earth metals, where do you believe India stands, if at all, to gain from all of this? Can we expect some global delinking with China now that other countries could consolidate a better share of REM? Mark Matthews: Yes, possibly. The tariffs that the US has on Chinese imported goods were 30% until a couple of days ago. Now, they have gone up to 55%, and that is a very high number where companies can substitute from other sources, I am sure they will try. The Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, said that this is a preliminary deal and both sides are willing to continue to negotiate to get a permanent deal where the numbers are lower. I do not think 55% is the final number with China. But I do think that when all is said and done, when the dust is settled, the tariff on Indian imports into the US will be lower than Chinese ones. If I just bring that back to markets, I do not think the markets are that fussed about this because exports are not really that important for the Chinese economy anymore. As you know, they are not for India either. So, this creates a lot of noise, but I do not know at the end of the day, how much it really hurts or helps either country's GDP. The Chinese market is one of the best markets in the world so far this year. The Hong Kong market is up about 20%. Last year, it was also up about 25%. China is really back on the map and Bank of America hosted a conference last month in Shanghai where many investors from around the world went to Shanghai and many of them had not visited China since before Covid. The fact they were willing to get on an airplane and go all the way to the other side of the world shows that many people are willing to be constructive on China and view it as investable again. You Might Also Like: US importers turn to brokers to navigate Trump-era tariffs, at a cost India has 'no basis' to seek WTO consultations on auto tariffs: US
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why 'uncertain' consumers are retailers' biggest challenge
Retailers are split on how to handle tariffs: Some are raising prices, while others are absorbing the hit. National Retail Federation executive director of research Mark Mathews joins Morning Brief to explain how consumer uncertainty is shaping spending patterns and what strategies could help retailers stay competitive. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. Well, retailers across the U.S. are taking different approaches to tariffs, with some raising prices for consumers and others choosing to eat the costs. Joining us now, we've got Mark Matthews, who's the National Retail Federation Executive Director of Research. Good to have you back on the program with us. How are you viewing the retail landscape right now and and the pulse that you're hearing from some of the executives in the face of some of the uncertainty that they're citing when they report earnings? Yeah, it's a great question. It's a really challenging environment right now, uh, just trying to understand what the consumer is doing and how the consumer is behaving. In January and February, we saw, uh, strong disposable income, we saw strong, uh, you know, consumer finances, but sentimentally, consumers have been weak. Uh, you know, as we all know, sentiment is is very low. Uh, and we definitely saw some fallback, fall off in spending in in January and February. Uh, however, we saw the opposite in in March and April, uh, as we saw consumers pull purchases forward because they were worried about tariffs. And and right now, I guess the big question for everybody is, you know, what's going to happen next? Uh, you know, some of those pulled forward purchases represent lost future sales, uh, and we still have a very uncertain consumer. Uh, so the the the challenge becomes understanding where they're headed. And right now, as we see, consumers are are are uncertain, they're concerned, and it looks like, you know, we we see a lot of trading down. You know, consumers are looking for value for the for their dollar. Yeah, they certainly are, Mark. It makes me wonder, too, which retailers are best positioned to win in that particular environment. What do you think is the winning strategy for retailers to navigate tariff policy? Yeah, I think we saw something pretty similar in in 2022 when we had high inflation. When the consumer is out there looking for the best price, uh, you want to be a retailer that is offering the best price. Uh, you want your consumer to believe that, uh, they're getting value for their dollars. So I think that's a challenge for everybody, and uncertain consumer means that they're going to be much more careful with, uh, with their money.
