Video game console and handheld modder Obirux created a re-imagined original Game Boy sporting a horizontal orientation similar to Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance handheld.
As reported by Gizmodo, Obirux wanted to keep the modded Game Boy as authentic as possible, so they sacrificed two original Game Boy shells to make the custom handheld, which helps lend it that authentic look. Obirux carrier over the power switch, volume wheel, link port, headphone jack, and original buttons and directional pad controls.
Still, there are some much-needed upgrades in the prototype. For one, Obriux added a better screen with a proper backlight and the ability to change a game’s colour palette.
Overall, the modded Game Boy looks like a long-lost authentic Nintendo prototype. Unfortunately, it also looks like it won’t be readily available for fans. Obirux reportedly doesn’t plan to make a kit with necessary parts for people to make their own horizontal Game Boys.
So is the horizontal Game Boy hype? I’d say so. I loved my Game Boy Advance as a kid — the horizontal form factor felt incredibly ergonomic. The only real complaint I’d make about the Advance was its lack of a backlit screen (that, and the flip on the Game Boy Advance SP had me very jealous). While I never found the original Game Boy that comfortable to hold, the form factor might have been better.
You can check out the horizontal Game Boy on YouTube or through Obirux’s VSCO page.
I will never take for granted how fortunate I am to get to play and cover games for work.
The standard price of most games in Canada is $79.99, which gets to around $90 after tax. If you want a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S title, the cost can go up $10 for a total of roughly $100. And that’s to say nothing of how publishers like Activision Blizzard will try to nickel and dime you in other ways. Simply put, this is a luxury hobby.
That’s why I’ve been so happy to see a growing trend in games lately: game demos. Leading up to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, we used to get so many of these, be it through Pizza Hut-distributed discs, pack-ins with other games (like Zone of the Enders having a Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty demo) or just digitally released, publicly downloadable trials. But in the past several years, outside of multiplayer betas, publishers have put out far fewer demos for single-player games.
Anyone remember these?
It’s really only during the COVID-19 pandemic that we’ve seen companies embrace the concept of demos again. After all, with a lot of physical events cancelled, they were pushed to find a way to bring the games straight to the players. For example, Xbox and Summer Game Fest have run multiple special events to offer dozens of free downloadable demos. Steam has also had similar initiatives, on top of having a reasonable refund policy to let people try a game for a bit but still be able to get their money back. The Game Awards, produced by Canada’s Geoff Keighley, has also been pushing to quickly bring experiences shown on-stage to people at home, like the fascinating The Matrix Awakens demo. And that doesn’t even account for 2022.
A free demo containing the RPG’s three chapters dropped in late June, and progress carries over to the main game. Live A Live is the perfect title for a demo — it’s a remake of a Super Famicom JRPG that was only ever released in Japan. For that reason, a lot of people understandably didn’t even know about it. That’s a shame, as it was helmed by Takashi Tokita, co-director of one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time, Chrono Trigger, and features music from legendary composer Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts). Since the demo dropped, strong word of mouth has circulated for the game, and it was even trending on Twitter earlier this week as the preview embargo lifted. For a little-known game like this, the demo has been the perfect way to get on people’s radars. (For what it’s worth, I’m reviewing Live A Live for MobileSyrup and am so far adoring it.)
PlayStation, meanwhile, has recently taken a different approach to demos — full-game trials. Available through the highest tier of its newly relaunched PlayStation Plus service, these demos offer time-limited access to the complete experience, so you really can get a decent idea of whether you like a game. So far, these mostly are capped at two hours, but two larger titles, Cyberpunk 2077 and Horizon Forbidden West, kindly afford you five hours of playtime. On top of that, just like the Nintendo demos, your saved data — plus trophy progress — will be retained should you decide to purchase the game. While it’s frustrating that there are only 15 demos available at the moment and that they’re locked behind the most expensive PS Plus membership, it’s a good idea that will hopefully be expanded upon.
Then there’s Xbox. In addition to the aforementioned seasonal demo events, the company’s Netflix-esque Game Pass service — which includes hundreds of titles at an affordable monthly cost — is certainly always a more cost-effective way of sampling different experiences. Further, Microsoft also recently confirmed plans to offer demos through Game Pass, not unlike PlayStation Plus. The company didn’t reveal many details about this ‘Project Moorcroft,’ but did say it will launch sometime within the next year and focus on indie games. The goal is to give smaller developers a way to promote their work while also gathering feedback that can be used for the final product. It’s unclear how well it will actually function in practice, but on paper, it sounds like a lovely idea.
Not needing to own a console or high-end PC to even try Resident Evil Village is pretty neat. (Image credit: Google)
I’ll also give a special shoutout to Google Stadia. While I’ve been (justifiably) hard on the service in the past, I admire how Google has used the service’s inherently solid streaming technology to offer easy-to-access demos to people. For example, being able to sample a demo of Resident Evil Village — a polished modern game, no less — simply by visiting Capcom’s website or Stadia’s site is really cool. The best part of streaming — when your internet isn’t down due to outages like Rogers’, at least — is being able to eliminate the need for an expensive console or PC to play a high-quality game. Other Stadia demos require a free Google account but are otherwise easily accessible as well. Initiatives like these are effective in allowing Google to keep its fledgling Stadia service relevant while also offering consumers something unique and helpful.
Again, pretty much everything I’ve mentioned has only just sprung out since the start of 2022. Part of what’s cool about games is the medium’s constant progression, given the rapid growth of technology. It’s tantalizing to think of the ways companies can further push the idea of game trials. I always think back to comments made in 2019 by Canada’s Jade Raymond, the ex-Stadia boss who’s now leading her own Montreal-based PlayStation studio. While still at Google, Raymond proposed a gaming documentary on YouTube that would, through the power of Stadia, allow you to actually play through part of the film. Things like that are extremely intriguing, and I’m eager to see how tech wizards around the world might pursue similar ideas. For now, though, let me get back to playing more Live A Live.
CD Projekt Red released The Witcher-based card game Gwent for several platforms as a single-player deckbuilding game.
In Gwent: Rogue Mage, gamers play on a generated map and fight off a series of monsters and bosses with the help of card-based abilities and characters. Those abilities and characters are able to be deployed onto the battlefield.
GWENT: Rogue Mage is our first single-player expansion! And you can start playing it tomorrow!
Thursday morning, PlayStation Indies revealed new trailers, release date reveals, gameplay debuts and more for seven upcoming games coming out for PS4 and PS5.
Inscryption is a creepy roguelike deck-building game developed by Vancouver-based Daniel Mullins Games and published by Devolver Digital. The title was originally released on PC. Sony says that the game will now have PlayStation-exclusive features and is coming to PS5 and PS4.
The game is described as part deck-building roguelike but also part escape-room puzzler and part psychological horror, which is a pretty interesting mixture.
The next is another Canadian game, Sea of Stars, from Quebec’s Sabotage Studio.
This is a retro-inspired turn-based role-playing game with seamless transitions from navigation to combat, no random encounters, no grinding and very interesting combat. This “actual turn-based” fighting has no time bars to reduce pressure when making decisions. It also features timed hits, combo moves, the ability to boost your characters, swapping characters without any penalties and more.
Sea of Stars will also reportedly feature a “sometimes epic, sometimes silly, and other times emotional” story.
That’s it for the Canadian games, but we also got more information about Cult of the Lamb. The title, coming out on August 11th, has players fighting through hordes of monsters and false prophets in order to find new followers and resources to bring back to their cult.
The game has players finding followers, customizing them, building new structures, and performing sermons. In order to run a great cult, you need to have your followers healthy and keep their faith high. Build homes, grow crops, cook meals and more.
Signalis is a survival game with psychological and cosmic horror elements.
The game is set in a retrotech sci-fi world with concrete walls, CRT screens and a totalitarian regime. It’s underlined by a Cold War-inspired setting, and fans of cassette futurism will like handling floppy disks, self-developing photos, and old fashion operating systems.
Signalis is launching on PS4 on October 27th.
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition is launching in North America on September 7th.
“The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition takes place in an alternate future following a failed experiment to unite the minds of all humanity.” Now, humanity’s hope is in the hands of ‘Projection Clones’ that are capable of going into the Void in search of preserved human survivors.
You can learn more about The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition, here.
Schim, is a game where you play as a shadow creature trying to get back to their person. You’ll travel through Dutch-inspired locations, but only through other shadows. You’ll also meet other shadow creatures and characters that you can interact with.
Schim doesn’t have an exact release date but it’s coming out next year. You can learn more about Schim, here.
Last but not least, Cursed to Golf is landing on PS5 and PS4 on August 18th. Cursed to Golf is a ‘Golf-Like’ 2D side-scrolling golf game with roguelike elements.
You’ll be playing as a would-be golf champion who dies just as he’s about to win a tournament and get sent to Golf Purgatory.
Nintendo has unveiled a special edition Switch (OLED model) that’s inspired by the upcoming Switch exclusive, Splatoon 3.
It includes one blue and one yellow gradient Joy-Con, while the Switch tablet itself sports a white underbelly. Splatoon-themed graffiti is layered throughout the Joy-Cons and console’s rear, as well as the white Switch dock.
The Nintendo Switch – OLED Model Splatoon 3 Edition will launch in Canada on August 26th at a cost of $469 CAD, which is slightly more than the $449 standard OLED Switch. In addition to functioning exactly like a standard Switch, the OLED model features a bigger, more vibrant 7-inch OLED screen, wide adjustable stand and enhanced audio. Read more in our review.
Notably, the Splatoon OLED Switch will drop just a couple of weeks before the September 9th launch of Splatoon 3. The squid-focused third-person shooter will feature a single-player campaign on top of various multiplayer modes, including 4v4 ‘Turf War’ and the co-op ‘Salmon Run.’
God of War: Ragnarok will officially launch on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on November 9th, 2022.
The release date was confirmed in a PlayStation Blog post alongside a brief CG trailer for the upcoming action game.
The highly anticipated sequel to 2018’s God of War was originally unveiled in September 2020 for a 2021 launch, but was later delayed to 2022. The last time we saw the game was the following September, when a full-length, in-engine trailer was shown.
Quebecois streamer Félix ‘xQc’ Lengyel is again in the spotlight for his gambling.
The content creator has been working with an online casino called Stake and often gambles on his Twitch streams. Recently, however, the streamer was directed to an online slot machine called Fluffy in Space. The viewers on his channel referred to this as “slots for kids.”
The online slots had a maximum wager of $12.50 USD (about $16.29 CAD), which is a lot less than what xQc typically spends. The online machine is filled with stuffed animals and silly sound effects that play with each and every pull on the slots.
xQc described the online slot machine as “goofy-ass dogsh*t,” but still spent two more hours gambling.
The streamer has been the centre of debates about whether he should be accepting gambling sponsorships and handing out promotional codes.
Additionally, xQc is losing more than $2 million CAD from gambling, and had his father call him during a stream to call him about his gambling problem.
Starting October 1st, 2022, Xbox 360 games will no longer be offered at no additional cost as part of Microsoft’s Xbox Games with Gold program.
The company confirmed the news in a July 5th email sent to Xbox gamers. In the note, Xbox says “we have reached the limit of our ability to bring Xbox 360 games to the catalog.” However, the company promised that Games with Gold will continue to feature “exciting Xbox One titles and exclusive savings” each month.
Historically, Xbox Games with Gold has offered Xbox Live Gold subscribers four games per month, with one or two usually being 360 titles. Xbox Live Gold costs $11.99 CAD/month or $29.99/three months. The service is also included with a $16.99/month Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
It should be noted, however, that any 360 titles redeemed through Games with Gold before October 2022 will be yours to keep permanently, even if you don’t continue your Gold subscription. Further, many digital 360 games will also remain available for purchase on the Xbox Store as an alternative.
In November, Microsoft added nearly 80 Xbox 360 games to its backwards compatibility program to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Xbox. At the time, the company said that would be the final batch of new backwards compatible titles, as it had “reached the limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalog from the past due to licensing, legal and technical constraints.” Naturally, then, it was only inevitable that it would stop offering them through Games with Gold as well.
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 July. Notably, a few fan-favourite Yakuza games have returned to the Game Pass catalogue this month after leaving months ago.
See below for the full list:
Last Call BBS (PC) — July 5th
Yakuza 0 (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 5th
Yakuza Kiwami (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 5th
Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 5th
DJMax Respect V (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 7th
Matchpoint: Tennis Championships (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 7th
Road 96 (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 7th
Escape Academy (Console and PC) — July 14th
My Friend Peppa Pig (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 14th
Overwhelm (PC) — July 14th
PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 14th
PowerWash Simulator (Cloud, Console and PC) — July 14th
Additionally, here’s what’s leaving Game Pass on July 15th:
Atomicrops (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Carrion (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Children of Morta (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Cris Tales (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Lethal League Blaze (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.
Over the last few years, the augmented reality (AR) mobile games market has seen quite the rise in popularity. For some studios such as Pokémon Go developer Niantic, this translated to an unwavering amount of success. However, the trajectory of mass user adoption and success may be slowing down.
Niantic has launched a number of popular AR titles over the years. This includes Ingress and Pokémon Go. The latter has seen a ton of success both in revenue and player acquisition. Over the course of seven years, Niantic and Pokémon Go have set the bar for AR mobile titles.
However, Niantic recently faced internal layoffs. Despite acquiring new studios and developing new games like Peridot, the studio let go of eight percent of its staff (85-90 employees). The company is also cancelling the development of Transformers: Heavy Metal.
Now, analysts believe that the AR gaming market may be facing a significant dip. Omidia Analyst Guillermo Escofet states that Pokémon Go’s revenue has dipped an estimated 45 percent in 2022. Outside of Niantic, the market itself faces a decrease of 20 percent in revenue. The last time the AR gaming market saw a significant decline was in 2019.
Based on these drops, Escofet now believes that the AR game market’s projections require a major recalculation. Previously, it was predicted that the market would bring in roughly $6.7 billion USD (about $8.6 billion CAD) in projected revenue. Now, Escofet states that the AR games market is on track to earn only $2.5 billion USD (about $3.2 billion CAD).
While the AR games market faces another decline, Escofet believes that it can sustain itself once again. However, there are two major barriers. The first is that Niantic and Pokémon Go dominate the market space. As of now, it appears as though players adopt one title and stick with it. Breaking that cycle will be crucial.
The other barrier is the Chinese market. As of now, AR titles don’t have the mass popularity of other mobile games. Pokémon Go, for instance, isn’t available in China. Tencent’s Let’s Hunt Monsters, an equivalent title, has failed to generate a lot of revenue.
Pokémon Go’s launch in 2015 set a course for AR games. For many players, this was their first exposure to AR gaming. However, its success has placed the game and Niantic in a bubble. For now, there hasn’t been a competitor that has come close to being that next sensation in the market.
However, AR technology is still quite young and as it advances, so can its popularity. Plus, with new innovations come new ways to generate revenue.
