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Optical drive demand surges amid Windows 10 retirement — Japanese users switching to Windows 11 are buying up Blu-ray drives | Tom's Hardware
Winsage
October 18, 2025

Optical drive demand surges amid Windows 10 retirement — Japanese users switching to Windows 11 are buying up Blu-ray drives | Tom’s Hardware

Microsoft has officially concluded support for Windows 10, leading to a surge in demand for Windows 11, particularly in Japan's Akihabara district. This increase in interest in Windows 11 has coincided with a revival in the popularity of optical drives, as consumers seek to retain access to their physical media collections. There is a notable scarcity of internal Blu-ray drives (BD-R) in the market due to this demand. A representative from Dospara Akihabara Main Shop noted that many consumers prefer internal drives for their writing speed, despite modern PC designs often not accommodating them.
GPU sales skyrocketed 27% last quarter — tariff jitters sparked an odd gaming hardware spending surge in Q2 '25
Winsage
September 19, 2025

GPU sales skyrocketed 27% last quarter — tariff jitters sparked an odd gaming hardware spending surge in Q2 ’25

In 2025, there has been an unexpected surge in CPU and GPU shipments, contrary to the typical summer lull in PC hardware sales. This increase is attributed to fears of new U.S. import tariffs, leading both manufacturers and consumers to purchase proactively. The client PC industry experienced a "panic-build quarter," with retailers and consumers, especially gamers, rushing to secure hardware before potential price hikes. Discrete desktop graphics cards saw a 27% rise quarter-over-quarter and a 22% increase year-over-year, driven by new offerings from major vendors. Nvidia captured a 94% share of the add-in board market. This surge is atypical for the second quarter, which usually sees a decline, and is influenced by the threat of tariffs, prompting consumers to buy now to avoid higher future costs. JPR termed this phenomenon "buying ahead of tariffs," warning that it could lead to weaker performance in Q3 and Q4. The buying frenzy coincided with the launch of Nvidia's Blackwell cards and AMD's RDNA 4 GPUs, with flagship GPUs experiencing rising prices and shortages. The current consumer behavior reflects panic buying rather than natural growth, raising questions about the sustainability of this momentum as the year progresses.
3D capture firm Clear Angle establishes new studio in LA
AppWizard
December 11, 2024

3D capture firm Clear Angle establishes new studio in LA

Clear Angle Studios has opened a new studio in Culver City, Los Angeles, leading to collaborations on three game projects and five film productions. The company, founded in 2013 and headquartered in the UK, also has studios in Atlanta and Vancouver, with plans to expand to Asia and Australasia. CEO Dominic Ridley noted an increase in demand for their services in LA, particularly for face and full body scanning. The studio anticipates a strong pipeline of work expected to grow in 2025 and beyond.
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