Sony Corporation has revealed that it is launching a $100 million global relief fund to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund was announced in a press release from Sony, which detailed the Sony Global Relief Fund for COVID-19. It's worth noting that Sony Interactive Entertainment, the company responsible for PlayStation, are subsidiaries of the Sony Corporation conglomerate, which is where this news is sourced from. The corporation revealed that it will be supporting the COVID-19 relief effort in three main areas: "assistance for those individuals engaged in frontline medical and first responder efforts to fight the virus, support for children and educators who must now work remotely, and support for members of the creative community in the entertainment industry." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/25/how-coronavirus-is-affecting-nintendo"] $10 million of the fund will be allocated first and foremost to organizations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, UNICEF and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Sony is also looking at ways in which it can use its expertise in technology to support the loss of education opportunities around the globe, while schools are closed and teachers and students forced to isolate. The statement also notes that it is working on means to support the creative community in "music, pictures, games and animation." Sony Corporation CEO Kenichiro Yoshida rounded off the statement with a message of support for those affected by the virus. "We will do all we can as a global company to support the individuals on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, the children who are our future, and those who have been impacted in creative communities," his quote reads. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/how-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-games-industry"] This follows a number of other companies in the games industry who are doing their bit to help fight the pandemic and support health workers worldwide. Nintendo recently donated nearly 10,000 respirator masks to healthcare workers in Washington, and CD Projekt Red has donated almost $1 million to help fight COVID-19's spread in Poland.  IGN is encouraging safety and positivity for all of our readers during this pandemic. Read our tips on how to help, and stay safe, during the COVID-19 pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Sony Corporation has revealed that it is launching a $100 million global relief fund to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund was announced in a press release from Sony, which detailed the Sony Global Relief Fund for COVID-19. It's worth noting that Sony Interactive Entertainment, the company responsible for PlayStation, are subsidiaries of the Sony Corporation conglomerate, which is where this news is sourced from. The corporation revealed that it will be supporting the COVID-19 relief effort in three main areas: "assistance for those individuals engaged in frontline medical and first responder efforts to fight the virus, support for children and educators who must now work remotely, and support for members of the creative community in the entertainment industry." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/25/how-coronavirus-is-affecting-nintendo"] $10 million of the fund will be allocated first and foremost to organizations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, UNICEF and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Sony is also looking at ways in which it can use its expertise in technology to support the loss of education opportunities around the globe, while schools are closed and teachers and students forced to isolate. The statement also notes that it is working on means to support the creative community in "music, pictures, games and animation." Sony Corporation CEO Kenichiro Yoshida rounded off the statement with a message of support for those affected by the virus. "We will do all we can as a global company to support the individuals on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, the children who are our future, and those who have been impacted in creative communities," his quote reads. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/how-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-games-industry"] This follows a number of other companies in the games industry who are doing their bit to help fight the pandemic and support health workers worldwide. Nintendo recently donated nearly 10,000 respirator masks to healthcare workers in Washington, and CD Projekt Red has donated almost $1 million to help fight COVID-19's spread in Poland.  IGN is encouraging safety and positivity for all of our readers during this pandemic. Read our tips on how to help, and stay safe, during the COVID-19 pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Asus has revealed its latest ultra-powerful gaming laptop, but this one is a little more interesting than just a folding PC with a beefy graphics card in it. The ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is a dual-screen laptop, designed to give both gamers and creators more screen real estate in a portable package. The Zephyrus Duo 15’s approach to dual screen is a neat party trick; as you lift the laptop’s lid, a slim second screen rises up above the keyboard, with its final resting spot sitting at a shallow angle above the top row of keys and below the ‘chin’ of the main display. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/02/the-new-asus-rog-zephyrus-duo-is-a-dual-screen-monster"] This non-glare 14.09” screen - dubbed the ROG ScreenPad+ - is UHD resolution (3840x1100) at 60hz, with touch and stylus support. It’s not as tall as the main monitor panel, and so sort of works as a miniature ultrawide. The narrowness of the screen means this second panel is best suited to tools such as the Photoshop colour wheel or OBS, rather than playing games on. While Windows recognises the ScreenPad+ as a second monitor and you can drag items to it as you’d expect, the touch panel also has its own software. This allows you to assign various apps or windows to it and create presets, with up to three windows open across the width of it. During a hands-on session I played the Quake RTX demo while also having Steam and a browser displaying IGN open on the second screen. This is a simple way of showing its base capabilities, but it’s easy to imagine playing Escape from Tarkov and having an all-important map open in one panel of the second screen, and Discord in another. Aside from its obvious uses for creatives reliant on Adobe software - Asus is partnering with Adobe and other companies to create specific content for the ScreenPad - the laptop could be useful for streamers on the go. Being able to broadcast from a laptop that offers a dedicated screen to monitor chat and provide touch-pad streaming tools seems quite useful. The main display is a 15.6” panel available in two variants; a UHD 60Hz Adobe, Pantone Color Calibrated option, or a 1080p version that runs at 300Hz with 3ms response time. The former is suited to creative work, while the speed of the latter is designed for game performance. Talking of performance, the Zephyrus Duo 15 is powered by an Intel 10th generation CPU - either an i7 or an i9 - and Nvidia’s RTX series of graphics cards, with a choice of the 2070 Super or the 2080 Super. As for memory and storage, you can opt for up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of NVMe SSD storage in RAID 0. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=asus-rog-zephyrus-duo-15&captions=true"] Additionally, the laptop comes with a 90Wh battery that can be powered through the Thunderbolt port, and a liquid metal thermal compound on the CPU allows for an apparently 10% performance increase. The lifting action of the second screen also opens up an additional air intake to aid in further cooling of the components. All of this does, naturally, come at a hefty price tag. Asus is pricing the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 from $2,999/£2,999 for the entry model, with the beefier version sporting the 2080 Super coming in at $3,999/£3,999. It goes on sale in July this year. If this isn't the desktop replacement for you, check our our suggestions of the best gaming laptops. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Asus has revealed its latest ultra-powerful gaming laptop, but this one is a little more interesting than just a folding PC with a beefy graphics card in it. The ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is a dual-screen laptop, designed to give both gamers and creators more screen real estate in a portable package. The Zephyrus Duo 15’s approach to dual screen is a neat party trick; as you lift the laptop’s lid, a slim second screen rises up above the keyboard, with its final resting spot sitting at a shallow angle above the top row of keys and below the ‘chin’ of the main display. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/02/the-new-asus-rog-zephyrus-duo-is-a-dual-screen-monster"] This non-glare 14.09” screen - dubbed the ROG ScreenPad+ - is UHD resolution (3840x1100) at 60hz, with touch and stylus support. It’s not as tall as the main monitor panel, and so sort of works as a miniature ultrawide. The narrowness of the screen means this second panel is best suited to tools such as the Photoshop colour wheel or OBS, rather than playing games on. While Windows recognises the ScreenPad+ as a second monitor and you can drag items to it as you’d expect, the touch panel also has its own software. This allows you to assign various apps or windows to it and create presets, with up to three windows open across the width of it. During a hands-on session I played the Quake RTX demo while also having Steam and a browser displaying IGN open on the second screen. This is a simple way of showing its base capabilities, but it’s easy to imagine playing Escape from Tarkov and having an all-important map open in one panel of the second screen, and Discord in another. Aside from its obvious uses for creatives reliant on Adobe software - Asus is partnering with Adobe and other companies to create specific content for the ScreenPad - the laptop could be useful for streamers on the go. Being able to broadcast from a laptop that offers a dedicated screen to monitor chat and provide touch-pad streaming tools seems quite useful. The main display is a 15.6” panel available in two variants; a UHD 60Hz Adobe, Pantone Color Calibrated option, or a 1080p version that runs at 300Hz with 3ms response time. The former is suited to creative work, while the speed of the latter is designed for game performance. Talking of performance, the Zephyrus Duo 15 is powered by an Intel 10th generation CPU - either an i7 or an i9 - and Nvidia’s RTX series of graphics cards, with a choice of the 2070 Super or the 2080 Super. As for memory and storage, you can opt for up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of NVMe SSD storage in RAID 0. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=asus-rog-zephyrus-duo-15&captions=true"] Additionally, the laptop comes with a 90Wh battery that can be powered through the Thunderbolt port, and a liquid metal thermal compound on the CPU allows for an apparently 10% performance increase. The lifting action of the second screen also opens up an additional air intake to aid in further cooling of the components. All of this does, naturally, come at a hefty price tag. Asus is pricing the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 from $2,999/£2,999 for the entry model, with the beefier version sporting the 2080 Super coming in at $3,999/£3,999. It goes on sale in July this year. If this isn't the desktop replacement for you, check our our suggestions of the best gaming laptops. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

In a rare double header, both Intel and Nvidia today introduced new components for gaming laptops. For Intel, that's 10th Generation H-Series processors, while Nvidia announced Max-Q versions of its RTX Super line. We’ll start with the latter announcement of the brand new Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q and 2070 Super Max-Q for gaming laptops. Going from the RTX 2080 Max-Q to its new Super variant, Nvidia has bumped up the CUDA core count from 2,944 to 3,072 while also increasing the boost clock speed from 1,230MHz to 1,560MHz. It’s almost the same story for the RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, which has seen the addition of 220 more CUDA cores, but interestingly a reduction in maximum frequency by 75MHz. Aside differences in CUDA core counts and boost clock speeds, there’s not much different on the surface specs of these two new laptop GPUs. However, there have been plenty of under the hood improvements including low-voltage DDR6 memory and a next-generation regulator to reduce power usage. [caption id="attachment_2330453" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Yes, this is a dual-screen gaming laptop[/caption]

To the Max

These two new parts also bring a boat load of new Max-Q features. Most importantly these second generation mobile Max-Q graphics chips have been granted Advanced Optimus Technology, which finally allows gaming laptops to switch between integrated and discrete graphics while also supporting G-Sync at the same time. Previously, any gaming laptop outfitted with G-Sync support could not switch back to integrated graphics in order to improve battery life, as its display was essentially hard wired to Nvida’s GPU. Aside from being able to save on battery life thanks to the graphics switching software, G-Sync itself has also seen an upgrade to support 4K 120Hz displays—though there has yet to be a single gaming laptop that features both of these screen specs. The other important Max-Q technology here is Dynamic Boost, which basically shifts power between the CPU and GPU. This isn’t a simple boost to both processing power and graphical horsepower, rather the software will reduce power going to the CPU to GPU to squeeze a little more FPS while playing graphically demanding games like Doom Eternal. Nvidia says that all these new features, including the low-voltage DDR6 memory and next-generation regulator, will come to all new Max-Q GPUs across the company’s entire range of RTX and GTX chips. However, the company doesn’t have any plans to clearly mark which laptops will feature all these new Max-Q chips, so we’re hoping the individual manufacturers will place a box sticker or other clear indication on its products. At the very least we can expect the price of Nvidia-powered gaming laptops to decrease soon. The company confirmed that this April we’ll start seeing GTX 1650-equipped machines starting at $699 while gaming laptops with an RTX 2060 will start at $999.

Octa-core power

On the Intel side of things, the Santa Clara-based company has introduced 10th Generation H-series processors. Before you get too excited about the notion of gaming-grade Ice Lake processors, we’re sad to inform you that this is yet another lineup of 14nm chips. The good news is this new line of CPUs finally brings eight-core, 16-thread processors to gaming laptops at long last. What’s more, all of these new Intel Core i7 and i9 processors are able to hit a maximum (single-core) clock speed of 5.0GHz or higher. Core i5 processors aren’t far behind either with the lowest Turbo frequency sitting around 4.5GHz. Intel has also added the Intel Speed Optimizer as a feature inside the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for simple one-click overclocking. This new automated feature will scan your system for its available power and thermal overhead and set an appropriate multi-core overclock on your gaming laptop. Otherwise, these new processors bring integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) and boost DDR4 memory speeds up to 2,933MHz—though we’ve seen a few Asus machines up the ante to 3,200MHz. This is one of the biggest component refreshes we've seen in gaming laptops for some time and as such manufacturers are already pulling all the stops with new models. Below in  our slideshow  we've featured just a few of the latest models including the insane dual-screen laptop we teased earlier so click on. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gaming-laptops-2020&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

UPDATE 4/1/20 7:55pm PT - George Takei announced on Twitter that his announcement was actually an "April Fools prank, a bit of levity in an otherwise dark time." Original story follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] George Takei, best known for playing Hikaru Sulu in the original series of Star Trek, will be the final torchbearer for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Takei revealed the news on a Facebook post, explaining due to the current global situation he's had to keep it under wraps until now. "I am honored beyond belief to have been selected to be the final torchbearer who will light the Olympic Flame in Tokyo in 2021!" the post reads. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/19/how-george-takeis-real-life-story-influenced-the-terror-infamy-comic-con-2019"] "This will be such a unique moment, before the eyes of a billion people, lighting the torch as a symbol of hope for the future in 2021 in Tokyo. As a life-long runner, I’m especially grateful to have been chosen, and hope to do everyone in the US of A proud!" He included a picture with his post which featured him holding the Olympic torch amongst various memorabilia from his career, which included his Starfleet uniform from the show. Takei's not just a Star Trek superstar and avid runner: recently we awarded his graphic novel They Called Us Enemy the best original graphic novel of 2019. He's also working on the AMC horror show The Terror, which made it into our best 20 horror shows of the last 10 years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/10/10/george-takeis-best-of-star-trek"] Last month the 2021 Tokyo Olympics made history by being the first Olympic Games to be officially postponed. They're now set to be held during 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"]Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

UPDATE 4/1/20 7:55pm PT - George Takei announced on Twitter that his announcement was actually an "April Fools prank, a bit of levity in an otherwise dark time." Original story follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] George Takei, best known for playing Hikaru Sulu in the original series of Star Trek, will be the final torchbearer for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Takei revealed the news on a Facebook post, explaining due to the current global situation he's had to keep it under wraps until now. "I am honored beyond belief to have been selected to be the final torchbearer who will light the Olympic Flame in Tokyo in 2021!" the post reads. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/19/how-george-takeis-real-life-story-influenced-the-terror-infamy-comic-con-2019"] "This will be such a unique moment, before the eyes of a billion people, lighting the torch as a symbol of hope for the future in 2021 in Tokyo. As a life-long runner, I’m especially grateful to have been chosen, and hope to do everyone in the US of A proud!" He included a picture with his post which featured him holding the Olympic torch amongst various memorabilia from his career, which included his Starfleet uniform from the show. Takei's not just a Star Trek superstar and avid runner: recently we awarded his graphic novel They Called Us Enemy the best original graphic novel of 2019. He's also working on the AMC horror show The Terror, which made it into our best 20 horror shows of the last 10 years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/10/10/george-takeis-best-of-star-trek"] Last month the 2021 Tokyo Olympics made history by being the first Olympic Games to be officially postponed. They're now set to be held during 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"]Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano and Max Scoville discuss Resident Evil 3 Remake, which Beyond!'s own Lucy O'Brien reviewed for IGN. Watch the episode below! We discuss what we loved and didn't about Resident Evil 3's gameplay, offer our spoiler-free impressions overall, and discuss what RE3 makes us hope for Resident Evil's future and what the series could look like on PS5 and Xbox Series X. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/01/resident-evil-3-impressions-and-our-hopes-for-resident-evils-future-beyond-episode-637"] Plus, we discuss why you need to play Persona 5 Royal, Jonathon's Predator: Hunting Grounds impressions, and more! Don't forget to send in your Infamous: Second Son thoughts to beyond@ign.com for our lookback episode! Have a That One Thing or Memory Card story to share? Write in to beyond@ign.com! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=big-ps4-ps5-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] Download or listen to the show on these platforms:

• Direct Download

• YouTube

• Apple Podcasts/iTunes

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• PlayerFM

• Podbay

• TuneIn

• Podbean

• Feedburner

Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT. For the latest on PS5, check out the PS5 full specs list, why we're excited about PS5's 3D audio focus, an analysis of what teraflops really mean for the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and check out images of the allegedly PS5 dev kit and controller. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano and Max Scoville discuss Resident Evil 3 Remake, which Beyond!'s own Lucy O'Brien reviewed for IGN. Watch the episode below! We discuss what we loved and didn't about Resident Evil 3's gameplay, offer our spoiler-free impressions overall, and discuss what RE3 makes us hope for Resident Evil's future and what the series could look like on PS5 and Xbox Series X. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/01/resident-evil-3-impressions-and-our-hopes-for-resident-evils-future-beyond-episode-637"] Plus, we discuss why you need to play Persona 5 Royal, Jonathon's Predator: Hunting Grounds impressions, and more! Don't forget to send in your Infamous: Second Son thoughts to beyond@ign.com for our lookback episode! Have a That One Thing or Memory Card story to share? Write in to beyond@ign.com! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=big-ps4-ps5-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] Download or listen to the show on these platforms:

• Direct Download

• YouTube

• Apple Podcasts/iTunes

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• PlayerFM

• Podbay

• TuneIn

• Podbean

• Feedburner

Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT. For the latest on PS5, check out the PS5 full specs list, why we're excited about PS5's 3D audio focus, an analysis of what teraflops really mean for the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and check out images of the allegedly PS5 dev kit and controller. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was released on March 31, and the book has details on a few rejected storylines and characters that didn't make it into the film. Polygon says Finn was going to have a long-lost brother, Finn and Poe were supposed to have a mini adventure involving an encryption device, and more rejected script ideas are detailed in the art book. It was once written in the script that Finn has a brother who would help in the destruction of the First Order. That sibling would supposedly have been stranded on a world filled with garbage, but had an important piece of information that would lead the heroes to victory. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-exclusive-preview-of-the-art-of-the-rise-of-skywalker&captions=true"] Also, Finn and Poe were supposed to go on a quest that involved an encryption device. Stormtroopers were going to invade a bar on a snow-covered planet, which somehow would've jeopardized the device. The location developed into Kijimi, which is the place where Rey, Finn and Poe meet up with Zorrii Bliss and Babu Frik. Speaking of Babu Frik, the character was originally a chef but was molded in with another character into the droidsmith that was seen in the final movie. That other character was an old, blind shipbuilder associated with Rey's upbringings on Jakku. Rey, Finn and Poe would've visited the blind character, but the location was changed to the desert planet, Pasaana, and the three heroes meet up with Lando Calrissian instead. The droid D-0 would've also been a part of that original sequence with the blind woman, and would've been one of many machines that followed the old shipbuilder around her home. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/18/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-every-ship-bonus-feature"] Poe had a few different storylines that never saw the light of day. A scene would've had him on a swampy planet trying to get up-river with a bunch of pirates as his crew. Another had him captured by an old gang he was affiliated with. Neither of those scenes make it into the film, although Poe runs into old friends during the sequence on Kijimi. There are also some images of Kylo Ren's friend, the Oracle. That character was a hairless, spider-esque creature that would've directed Kylo Ren to Exegol. More details on that character were released in the Rise of Skywalker novelization. The Oracle never made it into the final film, because the filmmakers didn't want a prolonged explanation for how Kylo Ren got to Exegol. Instead, the movie began with Kylo Ren obtaining a Sith wayfinder that leads him to Exegol. As for plot details that never changed, Polygon says the hidden fleet of First Order ships and the Sith temple were in the script from very early on. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-17-ways-the-rise-of-skywalker-novelization-adds-to-the-movie&captions=true"] And, yes, there is art of a tank designed to look like BB-8. Gizmodo has pictures from the book and reports that concept designer Jake Lunt Davies wasn't taking the BB-8 tank design too seriously. "I was just having some fun with this tank. I’m not sure I would have actually wanted to see it realized in the final film," Davies said. These are far from the only Rise of Skywalker details to be released since the movie debuted in December. Here are 17 details from the Rise of Skywalker novelization and a Jedi actor talking about the process behind his cameo. And for more concept art from The Art of Rise of Skywalker, check out five exclusive images. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.