Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

PlayStation plans to wait ‘at least a year’ before bringing single-player games to PC

PlayStation has elaborated on how long it intends for its games to remain exclusive to consoles before they are ported to PC.

Speaking to YouTuber Julien Chieze, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst said “I think going forward we’ll see at least a year between releases on PlayStation and on the PC platform.” However, he noted live service games could be an exception, as they require a “strong community, strong engagement right away, right when you go live.”

Single-player games like God of War, Spider-Man and Ghost of Tsushima have traditionally been PlayStation’s bread and butter, so the company has been looking to expand its business strategy to include ongoing multiplayer games. Earlier this year, the company revealed that it plans to release at least 10 live service titles by 2026. One of these is confirmed to be the long-gestating iteration of The Last of Us‘ multiplayer mode, Factions, while rumours indicate Guerrilla Games is making a Horizon multiplayer game and Sony’s recently acquired Bungie is toiling away at a new IP.

For now, though, PlayStation has been bringing many of its single-player games to PC, including Days Gone, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn and Marvel’s Spider-Man. However, all of these have landed on PC at least two years after they were released on PlayStation. It’s worth noting that PC ports of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and The Last of Us Part I are also in development.

On the whole, PlayStation aims to have half of its games available on PC and mobile by 2025.

Image credit: PlayStation

Via: VideoGamesChronicle

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Mobile Syrup

EU law will force devices – including the iPhone – to use USB-C

The European Parliament, the EU’s elected legislative body, voted 602 to 13 in favour of enforcing USB-C as a common charging port across a wide variety of devices. That means future iPhones and other devices sold in Europe will need to offer a USB-C charging port.

Per a press release from the European Parliament:

“By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops.”

The EU says the change is part of a broader effort to “reduce e-waste and to empower consumers to make more sustainable choices.” The new rules would also impact charging standards, requiring all devices that support fast charging to have the same charging speed, which hopefully could reduce confusion around cable, charger, and device compatibility. Similarly, the EU wants to make wireless charging solutions interoperable, and the new rules empower the European Commission to develop acts by the end of 2024 that force open wireless charging solutions.

Specifically, the EU says “all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, earbuds and laptops that are rechargeable via a wired cable, operating with a power delivery of up to 100 Watts, will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port.”

There are exemptions, of course. The rules won’t apply to devices too small for a USB-C cable, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers.

It’s also worth noting that the rules will not have an immediate impact on electronics in the EU. First, the European Council must approve the rules so they can be published to the EU Official Journal. Then, the rules come into effect 20 days after publication. Moreover, the rules come into effect at the end of 2024.

When will you be able to buy a USB-C iPhone

The big question coming out of this is how the rules will impact Apple. The iPhone-maker remains one of the biggest players not to have widely adopted USB-C charging. Most iPhones and iPads still use the company’s Lightning connector. Some iPads do have USB-C, however. Plus, Apple’s MacBooks recently switched back to using MagSafe as the primary method of charging, although most MacBooks also come with USB-C ports and support charging over those ports. And that’s not even getting into the various accessories the company offers with Lightning.

The Verge reports that, due to how and when the rules will come into effect, Apple may be able to skirt by with possibly two more Lightning-equipped iPhones. Apple typically reveals major new iPhones in September, so we could see the 2023 and 2024 iPhones arrive before the restrictions come into place, while the 2025 iPhone (possibly the iPhone 17 series, if Apple keeps up its current branding) might be the first that’s actually forced to have USB-C.

That said, it’s possible Apple might make the change sooner rather than later. Rumours already point to the 2023 iPhone sporting USB-C. Alternatively, if Apple really wants to avoid adding USB-C to the iPhone, it could launch a portless iPhone instead — that seems to be the only real workaround to the new EU rules.

Technically, the new rules only apply to the EU, so Apple could make a USB-C iPhone for Europe and keep Lightning in other regions, or pull out of the EU entirely. Neither of those seem likely, however. Apple has shown a desire to keep its products the same regardless of where you buy them, while the EU remains a major market for Apple. So, the EU rules likely mean we’ll all see a USB-C iPhone in the near future.

Source: European Parliament Via: MacRumors, The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Overwatch 2 is now available on PC and console

Blizzard’s Overwatch 1 shuttered its services forever on October 5th at noon ET, but now Overwatch 2 lives. The new title’s servers turned on around 3pm ET on PC and console. While it’s a completely different game, it’s essentially an update as it still only offers player-versus-player gameplay. Player versus environment and story mode won’t hit the title until 2023.

Overwatch 2 is free-to-play and offers a new battle pass system and in-game store, allowing players to collect new characters, skins, emotes and more. The 80th level of the battle pass also comes with a customizable Mythic skin for Genji. Additionally, Overwatch 2 comes with three new characters, Sojourn (a Canadian hero, finally), Junker Queen and Kiriko – one for each class, support, tank and DPS.

The title also comes with new maps including one based on Toronto’s Queen St. with Kim’s Convenience and everything.

With the free battle pass, you can earn the new hero (if you didn’t already have the first Overwatch) and also get two new epic skins, two souvenirs, one weapon charm, and 15 additional rewards.

The premium tier of the battle pass offers Kiriko as an instant unlock; you can also get a 20 percent season experience boost (presumably to help you gain levels) a new Mythic skin, five legendary skins, an additional epic skin and 66 additional awards, which includes emotes, victory poses, player icons, sprays and more.

Additionally, the new Overwatch shop will have a ‘Just for You’ section with personalized offers based on what you prefer to play and equip in-game. You can also purchase new bundles weekly in the in-game store and complete weekly challenges to earn coins.

The update also revealed that the Halloween event this year has changed and will take place from October 25th to November 8th. 

Overwatch 2 will be adding a new tank character by the end of the year.

I played the console beta for the game, so if you want to learn more, here were my thoughts.

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Mobile Syrup

Elon Musk reportedly ready to acquire Twitter for original $44 billion price

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly reviving his original Twitter buyout offer, proposing to acquire the company for $54.20 USD (about $73.26 CAD) per share, in a deal valued at $44 billion USD (roughly $59.5 billion CAD), as reported by Bloomberg.

According to unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Musk reportedly made the proposal in a letter to Twitter.

A brief timeline of how we got here

Musk had initially backed out of the Twitter deal quoting concerns over the platform’s bot count. During the time, Musk’s legal representatives sent a letter to the SEC, saying that “For nearly two months, Mr. Musk has sought the data and information necessary to ‘make an independent assessment of the prevalence of fake or spam accounts on Twitter’s platform…Twitter has failed or refused to provide this information.” According to Twitter, roughly five percent of its active users are bots, whereas Musk argues that the actual number is much higher.

Quoting said concerns, Musk wanted out of the Twitter deal. Subsequently, Twitter sued Musk, alleging his spam bot complaint was manufactured to get out of the deal. Fast forward to now and the Twitter vs. Elon Musk trial is set to begin on October 17th and will conclude on the 21st in Delaware’s Court of Chancery. That is, if the news about Musk agreeing to buy out Twitter for $44 billion USD (roughly $59.5 billion CAD) turns out to be false.

Twitter’s stock jumped roughly 16 percent since the news of Musk agreeing to acquire Twitter came out earlier today.

Source: Bloomberg

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Mobile Syrup

Koodo, Fido remove $60/20GB and $55/10GB promo plans

It looks like Koodo and Fido finally ended $60/mo 20GB promotional plans the carriers have offered since July.

Judging by updates to both providers’ websites on October 4th, the $60/20GB and $55/10GB promo plans are no longer available. Interestingly, Bell’s Virgin Plus still has both of these promotions, as well as the limited-time $5/mo bill credit for 12 months. However, I’d expect this will leave soon too.

In place of the promo plans, Telus flanker brand Koodo now offers a $55/8GB plan, $60/10GB plan, and a $65/15GB plan. Moreover, Koodo had added notices to the promo plans on its website that said they would go away on October 3rd — looks like that’s exactly what happened.

Rogers flanker brand Fido likewise offers $55/8GB, $60/10GB, and $65/15GB plans. Fido previously removed its $5/mo for 12 months discount for these plans but re-added the promotion shortly after.

It’s definitely a bummer to see these plans go, given the (debatable) value relative to the Canadian wireless market. The Big Three offer plans starting around $85/mo for 25GB of data — while those plans do include 5G access, that benefit remains minimal as carriers are still in the early stages of rolling out 3,500MHz spectrum.

You can check out Koodo’s new plans here and Fido’s new plans here. Although, with the holiday season around the corner, it might make more sense to wait and see what, if any, deals come with it.

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Mobile Syrup

Disney+ relaunches on PlayStation 5 with 4K HDR support

Disney has globally relaunched its Disney+ app on PlayStation 5 consoles to add support for 4K HDR.

It’s available at no additional cost with a Disney+ subscription, priced at $11.99/month or $119.99/year in Canada. The Disney+ app can be downloaded from the PS5’s Media section.

To find out which titles support 4K, head to the ‘4K Ultra HD HDR’ collection on the Disney+ homepage or use the ‘Ultra HD and HDR’ filter on the movies and series pages.

Other streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, already supported 4K HDR on PS5. It should be noted that the improved video quality isn’t available on the PS4 Pro.

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Mobile Syrup

Did you find the last House of the Dragon episode dark? We have a few theories

If you couldn’t see House of the Dragon’s most recent episode, ‘Driftmark,’ because it was too dark, you aren’t alone.

A quick search on Reddit, Twitter, TikTok or any social media platform reveals that viewers encountered significant issues while watching the episode. This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. In 2019, Game of Thrones’ ‘The Long Night’ was also a blurry mess for many viewers.

This isn’t a coincidence either, as both episodes were helmed by the same director, Miguel Spochnik. So why did this happen? According to HBO Max’s official Twitter help account, the ample darkness in the episode was an “intentional creative decision.”

There’s a bit more to it than that, though.

First, if you watch the behind-the-scenes feature tied to the episode, most of Driftmark was shot during the day and adjusted to look like it was set at night. It’s also important to remember that Spochnik isn’t shooting the episode for your smartphone, tablet or even television and instead is calibrating it to an OLED reference monitor that’s likely far brighter than your standard LED or LCD television.

There’s also the issue of the sometimes poor bitrate Bell-owned Crave streams at on specific platforms. I typically watch Crave content on the Apple TV and have experienced very few issues with House of the Dragon, but I know that’s not the case for those watching via game consoles and other streaming devices. In fact, the TV show even streams in 4K on the Apple TV.

Backing up this theory, I didn’t encounter any issues while watching Driftmark and was confused by viewers’ furious tweets. The episode’s dark scenes had a weird blue aura over them, which I assumed was tied to the fact that it was shot during the day, but other than that, I could view everything perfectly. For additional context, I’m currently using a new Hisense U8H LED TV, which doesn’t feature an OLED panel but still offers a decent 1500 nits of peak brightness and Dolby Vision.

With this in mind, unless you want to turn the brightness up on your TV to watch certain episodes of House of the Dragon (which also might not even work), you’ll need to buy a new TV.

Image credit: HBO

Source: @HBOMaxHelp

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Mobile Syrup

Recession risk woes are affecting Apple’s App Store

Consumers worldwide are spending less, and that is visible by taking a quick peek at the Apple App Store revenue. As reported by Sensor Tower, Apple’s App Store revenue fell by 5 percent year-over-year in September, via CNBC News.

Further analyzed by multinational investment management and financial services company Morgan Stanley, the drop in revenue is the most significant decline since 2015, with major decreases seen in the U.S., Canada and Japan.

Gaming revenue experienced a 14 percent drop, which seems to be weighing down the overall App Store average, alongside concerns over the global macroeconomic conditions forcing people to spend less money on things they don’t need.

“We believe the recent App Store results make clear that the global consumer has somewhat de-emphasized App Store spending in the near-term as discretionary income is reallocated to areas of pent-up demand,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring in a note.

Apple’s earning reports don’t mention App Store sales individually, but they are bundled together alongside warranties and subscriptions under “services.”  In the second quarter of the year, Apple reported a 12 percent increase in services revenue but expects growth to be less than 12 percent for the third quarter due to the strong U.S. dollar and the global macroeconomic conditions, said Apple’s finance chief Luca Maestri.

Maestri also said that services sold during the COVID-19 pandemic have raised the bar to levels dchallengingto get to in these conditions. “Our services business a year ago grew a lot and so also the compare [sic] is a bit challenging,” said Maestri.

Apple’s stock has been in a strong downtrend since August 17th, and currently sits roughly 25 percent below its all-time high in January 2022.

Read the Sensor Tower report about the global app revenue decline here.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Sensor Tower Via: CNBC News

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Mobile Syrup

What’s new on Xbox Game Pass on console, PC and mobile in early October 2022

Every month, Xbox brings new titles to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

Normally, these come in two waves and now, the company has revealed what’s hitting Game Pass in the first half of October.

  • Chivalry 2 (Cloud, Console and PC) — October 4th
  • Medieval Dynasty (Xbox Series X/S) — October 6th
  • The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season (PC) — October 6th
  • The Walking Dead: Season Two (PC) — October 6th
  • Costume Quest (Cloud and Console) — October 11th
  • Eville (Console and PC) — October 11th
  • Dyson Sphere Program (PC) — October 13th
  • Scorn (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X/S) — October 14th
  • A Plague Tale: Requiem (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X/S) — October 18th

It’s worth noting that Chivalry 2 was made by Toronto’s Torn Banner.

Meanwhile, here’s what’s leaving Xbox Game Pass on October 15th:

  • Bloodroots (Cloud, Console and PC)
  • Echo Generation (Cloud, Console and PC)
  • Into The Pit (Cloud, Console and PC)
  • Ring of Pain (Cloud, Console and PC)
  • Sable (Cloud, Console and PC)
  • The Good Life (Cloud, Console and PC)

As always, Game Pass subscribers can take advantage of an exclusive 20 percent discount to purchase any game in the catalogue and keep playing even after it leaves Game Pass.

Xbox Game Pass is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Android and iOS in beta. Game Pass for Console and PC Game Pass each cost $11.99/month.

Find out what came to Game Pass last month here.

Image credit: Focus Home Interactive

Source: Xbox

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Mobile Syrup

Early Pixel Watch unboxing images leak online

We recently reported on a supposed Google Pixel Watch band early hands-on that displayed the “Active” watch band in ‘Chalk’ and ‘Lemongrass’ colourways. Now, courtesy of a Reddit user who got their hands on the Pixel Watch, we have hands-on images of the upcoming watch and its unboxing process.

According to the Reddit user, they couldn’t turn the watch on as they “didn’t wanna get caught.” Further, the watch box reads “Demo.” This might indicate that the user is an employee at a retailer that has received early shipments of the wearable.

The Pixel Watch comes with its band pre-attached, with the USB-C charging puck included and Wear OS 3.5 pre-installed. While the box doesn’t state how much the watch retails for, previous leaks have suggested a $399 USD price tag (roughly $518 CAD).

If you love unboxing new gadgets and are excited to get your hands on the upcoming Pixel Watch, these images below will give you an early taste of Google’s first wearable.

Image credit: u/Suckmyn00dle

Source: u/Suckmyn00dle