A new Xbox update adds the ability to switch your TV’s input to your Xbox console using a game controller.
Once the feature is enabled, all you’ll have to do is press the Xbox button on the gamepad.
It’s important to note, however, that this feature is only available on Xbox Series X and S, not the last-gen Xbox One. That’s because the newer systems sport HDMI-CEC, which is required for this functionality.
To turn it on, go to your console’s settings –> TV & A/V power options –> Sleep mode & startup –> Switch TV input using controller.
If you didn’t know it, the Canadian gaming industry is the third-largest of its kind in the world, behind only the U.S. and Japan. According to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC), the lobbying group that represents Canadian gaming companies, $5.5 billion of the country’s GDP comes from this sector every year.
With all of that in mind, Canadian esports organizer Northern Arena is once again putting on the Canadian Game Awards, an annual ceremony to honour Canadian games, studios, content creators and esports players. The show, which kicked off last year virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is being held digitally once again this year via Twitch.
However, things are a little different this year: now, there are actually two ceremonies. The first, the Canadian Indie Game Awards show, will take place on Thursday, April 7th at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT, featuring nominees like Inscryption(Vancouver’s Daniel Mullins), Echo Generation (Toronto’s Cococucumber) and Moonglow Bay(Bunnyhug, an international team led by Canadian ex-pat Zach Soares).
To help put all of this together, Northern Arena has tapped the ESAC to be one of its sponsors, with president and CEO Jayson Hilchie also set to present Game of the Year during the April 8th show.
Ahead of the two ceremonies, MobileSyrup caught up with Hilchie to talk about ESAC’s involvement in the Canadian Game Awards, the evolution of the show, and the possibility for other events in Canada to promote Canadian-made games.
Question: How did your involvement in the Canadian Game Awards come about?
Jayson Hilchie: The older iteration of the Canadian Video Game Awards, we endorsed, and [Canadian Game Awards creator] Carl [Edwin-Michel] and I are longtime friends. And when he came up with the idea, there was a two- to three-year absence and lull with no award ceremony. And Carl just called me and said, ‘Look, I want to put on this award ceremony, what do you think we had some initial kind of strategic discussions about what went wrong with the old ones? What would need to happen for the new ones to kind of go forward.’ He was really interested in doing everything that was possible to do to appease all of those things. And he seems to be pulling it off.
We decided as a board that an award ceremony in Canada was an important thing to drive the industry forward — also to promote the industry. I mean, you’re writing about it, so that’s proof that that works. So it really came down to a discussion. I recommended to the board that we were going to endorse this. But when you get our endorsement, you’re getting endorsed by Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox — all the big companies. And so it’s not just a simple endorsement; there is a discussion that has to happen. And there’s always a reputational risk if the thing fails. And so that’s what happened before, and so we want to be involved in something that’s sustainable. And so far, Carl’s done a really good job with the production side of things and pulling it together. It’s looked really, really good the last two years, and just looking forward to seeing what it looks like this year. And even though it’s virtual, I went down there and shot the presentation. So it’s a bit of a mix, right? So I’m excited to see what it looks like. And Carl’s proven time and time again that he’s got the chops to be able to produce stuff like this.
Q: You mentioned looking at what was done before with the Canadian Video Game Awards. What are some of the things that have come up in your discussions with Carl and observing what was done in the past that are being done differently now with the new show?
Hilchie: There were some really good iterations of the old show. For a time, it was moving forward in a direction that was fantastic. I guess the brass tax on the differences right now is that Carl’s yet to host an in-person event, and there’s a massive difference between the virtual side of things and then putting on an event with 500 people buying tickets and coming and buying tables. The former awards did that — that was always in person. They never did a virtual one. So right now, I think it’d be difficult for me to opine about the differences between what this one’s doing different or better.
I can say that this one has a production value to it that is where we would like to see it. And I know because Carl did produce at least one — I think a couple — of the former iterations of the Awards, that he’s got the chops to be able to do this in person when it comes time. And I think the challenge with any of these types of things is trying to convey value to sponsors, trying to convey value to the industry, and trying to convey value to people to come and buy tickets. Like, if it’s in Vancouver, it’s challenging for people from Montreal and Toronto to get there. That’s an expensive trip, and it’s kind of a luxury item. It’s not E3, it’s not GDC — it’s just an award ceremony. And so, how do you convey that necessity to companies to set aside a budget to send a group of 10 people at minimum and buy a table to the award ceremony in Vancouver or, if it’s in Montreal, the same for people out west. So I think that’s a challenge with the old one, and Carl has yet to deal with that challenge.
And so time will tell how that goes down. I’m hoping that people want to get out of the house and want to go to things that will be a kickstart for [Carl] next when we start to do things in person, hopefully. But that’s the challenge with award shows, right? I mean, you can see what Geoff Keighley has been able to do in the U.S. [with The Game Awards]. He’s been able to do things very successfully because he’s well connected. He’s got a lot of sponsors and he’s connected to the agents to be able to bring in the celebrities that bring people into the room. I don’t know how well he does, but he’s been going for a number of years now, and I think that it’s a great model that Carl might want to look at when it comes time to do things in person.
Q: That covers the business side of the show, but let’s move on to the actual nominees. What were some of your big takeaways when looking at the games? Do you have any personal favourites?
Hilchie: Well, you know, I never say I have a favourite because there’s like three or four of my members represented in those games. [laughs] But I think the difference here is they’re all big games. And the Indie Awards are separate, so you’re not having a small game versus a large game. Even though in the old iterations of the awards when [Toronto-based] Capybara’s Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP won Game of the Year — it won everything, and it beat all of the big games. I think it actually made some of the bigger companies a little bit irritated because “this small little game just beat out my big game that we spent a $100 million on — how does that happen?” So it’s possible for that to happen, but I think it’s a good idea to separate them, at least for now. But it would be great to bring them all together in a one-night show at some point.
Tomorrow is the #CanadianIndieGameAwards! Which of these games will take home the title of Indie Game of the Year?
But for me, I have no real favourites. For me, it’s like, every single game that is in Game of the Year was built during the pandemic. That’s something that, whoever wins, all of those [developers] whose games are nominated have a lot of pride to be able to say ‘we did this during the pandemic and we’re up for Game of the Year.’ I think that’s the big takeaway from this: every game that’s nominated had at least a large portion of it built during the pandemic. I mean, that’s something, right?
Q: What does it mean for you and the ESAC to be involved in something like this? Why would you say it’s important to spotlight Canadian-made games?
Hilchie: That’s the heart of what we do: we promote the Canadian video game industry, and we protect it and we make sure that it continues to grow […] The Awards, for us, is an opportunity to support another organization doing an awards show that is going to add to the visibility and promotion of Canadian video games across the country. It’s another touchpoint. We’re always trying to pitch stories about games doing this, and the industry doing this. So for us, the ability to highlight games and promote them and get media attention, but also get recognition for the people who are working really hard.
I just did a Q&A with my counterpart in Spain at AVEI [Spanish Association of Video Games], which is their industry association. And they’re highlighting the Canadian industry as an example of what Spain’s can be. I was answering some of his questions, and Canada, at one point, was not where we are today. We were where Spain is. So it’s amazing to get recognition for the people who are busting their butts making these games, especially the ones who have been doing it from home, building these massive budget games and trying to meet ship deadlines for the holidays or whatever the date is. For them to get some recognition, that’s great for them and that’s really important.
But ultimately, for ESAC, it’s about getting more visibility for the industry in a positive way. And getting articles like what you’re going to write about, how important this is, and getting some spotlight on the fact that we even have something like this. So that’s why support it, and that’s why we endorse it. And that’s why I present an award at it. Because it’s an important addition to the strategy around visibility.
Q: On a similar note, but moving somewhat away from the Awards… The ESA, your American counterpart, just confirmed that E3 2022 has been fully cancelled — no digital or physical show. When we talked at E3 2019, you noted that a major reason why a show like that hasn’t happened in Canada is that there are all these other events, like E3, Gamescom and PAX, so getting buy-in from companies for another event is difficult. Fast forward three years, though, and the landscape is a little different with COVID, E3’s cancellation and more digital shows. Do you think there’s a possibility now for some sort of similar gaming event in Canada, especially with what’s happening with E3, that could, in particular, spotlight Canadian-made games?
Hilchie: We’ve had that conversation as a board so many times, and since we spoke about it last time, I don’t really think anything’s changed. I think the virtual stuff is a great filler for events that already have brand recognition and loyalty around them. But I don’t think that starting a new event virtually is really kind of going to drive that value, especially because Carl has kind of done that with this event. And it’s fantastic. And he did that. And he got stuck in the pandemic. He stuck to it — he did the 2020 Awards, and it was all virtual, because if you recall, it was supposed to be an in-person event. And so he pivoted pretty hard. And he stuck to it, right? He could have quit, but he stuck to it.
I think for an expo of some sort, like an E3-style style of things, I think you really only need to look at ESA’s decision to not hold a virtual E3 get an idea of how great they think that was, right? I mean, I’m not going to speak for them. But if it was a great experience for everybody, you’d think that they’d be doubling down on it and doing it again. They’re just not doing it.
[In] our industry, you have to get people physically touching the controllers, physically playing the games — it’s hard to do something that’s just trailers, that’s just gameplay virtually you can watch. That already exists on YouTube and Twitch and other places. You get to watch people play the games before they launch. So to do another event like that, I think, would be forcing it.
Super proud of the work our team put into this year gala. It’s going to be a banger 🔥 https://t.co/XVp6Xnqm6p
Now, when this is all cleared up, and the risk profile of hosting an in-person event considerably decreases? We’re always open to looking at something. But in the short-term, I certainly wouldn’t recommend to my members to do a virtual event create something new. If some of the other events that used to exist kind of fall off the calendar or they don’t survive or things change or the schedule changes? Yeah, I would definitely take a look at what the opportunities are for something in Canada. I get it — I get your point.
It’s just that it’s just so challenging for our members to just, you know, ‘be at this, and then this, and then this, and then this.’ And it’s very costly for them. So they need to be able to identify some sort of value proposition and [return on investment] on every event that they go to. And we’ve got some members who want it, some members who don’t — we just haven’t been able to get to a point where we have a critical mass that’s going to make it worth it. That’s a long-winded answer, but it’s a complicated discussion. It’s not as simple as we talk about it and this person says, ‘Let’s do it.’ It has the potential to be politically rapturous.
For sure. For now, at least, we have the Canadian Game Awards, and raising exposure for that.
Hilchie: Yeah, it’s always one of the challenges, right? I think Carl does a good job. I think the world just needs to get back in person again for a lot of these brands — he’s trying to build a brand, like I said I wouldn’t do from a virtual standpoint. It’s hard. People fall in love with brands, because they have touchpoint with them, right? They either buy them or wear them or they use them or they attend them. And anything that came out of nowhere during a pandemic is really difficult to get people to build that emotional attachment to. But we’re excited.
This interview has been edited for language and clarity.
Disclaimer: I participated in the judging committee for this year’s show, but was not paid for this opportunity and had no involvement in the actual creation of the show itself. I also do not know any of the winners.
Twitter has revealed the most tweeted about games of the first quarter of 2022, and popular word puzzler Wordle has claimed the second spot globally.
This puts Wordle above Ensemble Stars, Apex Legends and Final Fantasy, respectively. That said, the viral sensation couldn’t top Genshin Impact.
Here’s the full top 10, for reference:
Here were the most talked about games across the globe.
Wordle coming in at #2 is a testament to the game’s grasp of the TL (shoutout to everyone keeping their daily streak alive!), & @ELDENRING making the list so quickly after launch speaks to the popularity of the game 🤯👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/RDtzzIPokI
Elden Ring is particularly notable considering it only just released on February 25th.
Outside of this top 10, Twitter says Q1 2022 was the biggest quarter to date in terms of gaming conversation, with nearly 800 million tweets about games during this time. This marks a 52 percent increase from Q1 2021 and a 12 percent jump from Q4 2021.
These tweets came from 48 million unique authors, Twitter says, which is up 12 percent year-over-year.
What games have you been tweeting about the most? Let us know in the comments.
The heroes of two Ubisoft Montreal-developed Assassin’s Creed games are diving into the world of Fortnite.
Starting April 7th at 8pm ET, fans can snag the Ezio Auditore Outfit (inspired by the eponymous Assassin’s Creed II lead) and Eivor Varinsdottir Outfit (featuring the female version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s protagonist of the same name).
The former includes Ezio’s Hidden Blade Pickaxe and Assassin’s Strike Emote, while the latter includes a Viking War Cry Emote, Eivor’s Shield Back Bling and the Handaxes of the Raven Clan Pickaxe.
Both bundles can be purchased individually or together as part of the “Tales From the Animus Bundle,” with the latter option offering the following additional items:
Wolf-Kissed Spray
Eivor’s Fury Loading Screen
Raven Clan Emoticon
A Tales from the Animus Banner
Finally, the Wolf-Kissed Longboat Glider can also be purchased as a standalone item.
The HD60 X, Elgato’s latest video game capture card features an updated design with rear-facing HDMI/USB ports, but more importantly, compatibility with variable refresh rates (VRR).
This includes 1440p 60fps SDR, 1080p 60fps HDR, and pass through for up to 4K 60fps HDR, 1440p 120fps SDR and 1080p 240fps SDR. It’s also possible to capture 120fps in 1080p if you scale down 1080p 240fps footage.
Introducing HD60 X.
The new standard for next-gen game capture has arrived.
As someone who just purchased an Elgato HD60 S+ a few weeks ago, I’m not exactly pleased by the reveal of the HD60 X. However, I don’t own a monitor or TV that supports VRR, so I’m not missing out on much, though the rear-facing HDMI/USB ports would be great for cable organization.
Epic Games has officially launched Unreal Engine 5 (UE5), the latest version of its ubiquitous game development engine.
The launch came during Epic’s April 5th ‘State of Unreal’ stream. As part of the presentation, Vancouver’s The Coalition, the Xbox-owned studio behind the recent Gears of War titles, has unveiled a tech demo to showcase the engine’s capabilities on Xbox Series X.
The demo, titled “The Cavern,” features brief looks at various technical elements, including real-time lighting and reflections, character rendering, open-world visuals and cinematics. The most significant part of the demo features a man fleeing from a creature in a dark cave.
Of course, this is a highly polished short tech demo, not an actual game. Still, the photorealistic visuals are extremely impressive, especially since this is so early in UE5’s life cycle. A more tech jargon-filled breakdown of The Cavern can be found on Xbox’s blog.
Other news that came out of the State of Unreal show includes confirmation that Crystal Dynamics, the lead developer of 2013’s Tomb Raider and 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider, is working on a new Tomb Raider game on UE5.
PlayStation says it’s planning more acquisitions following a slew of gaming studio purchases over the past few years.
Appearing on Episode 427 of the Official PlayStation Podcast, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan confirmed that the company is looking to continue to grow both organically through existing studios and through acquisitions.
“We acquired five studios during the course of 2021. We’re in discussions with Bungie and we have more planned. This is getting us into a cycle, a virtuous cycle where success begets success.”
The five studios Ryan is referring to are Finland’s Housemarque (Returnal), Netherlands’ Nixxes (PC port of Marvel’s Avengers), England’s Firesprite (The Playroom), the U.S.’ Bluepoint (Demon’s Souls remake) and Valkyrie Entertainment (contributed to 2018’s God of War). Of course, Bungie — the Destiny studio and original creators of Halo — is the highest-profile acquisition, a $3.6 billion USD (about $4.9 billion CAD) deal that was announced in January 2022.
The company’s most recent purchase, though, was Montreal’s own Haven, a studio founded by Canadian-born games industry Jade Raymond and several members of her former Google Stadia team. That was a particularly noteworthy purchase for PlayStation since Haven was only just founded last year and hasn’t yet released a game. The team’s first project is a brand-new multiplayer IP, although further details have yet to be revealed.
With all of these acquisitions, PlayStation Studios now consists of 18 teams around the world. While it’s currently unclear exactly what most of these studios are working on, this year’s God of War: Ragnarok from Sony Santa Monica is PlayStation’s next big first-party title. MLB The Show 22, from PlayStation’s San Diego Studio, was also just released this week on PlayStation, Xbox and, in a series’ first, Nintendo Switch.
Ubisoft has revealed Rainbow Six Mobile, a new entry in the tactical shooter franchise that brings the Rainbow Six series to smartphones.
Ubisoft Montreal says that Rainbow Six Mobile will look and play very similarly to Rainbow Six Seige on console, right down to its 5 vs 5 attack and defend FPS gameplay, and destructible environments.
That said, there are also notable changes to the game’s formula, including shorter matches and a HUD that’s been better optimized for mobile. Operators Bandit, Caveira, Smoke, Valkyrie, Mute, Ash, Sledge, Twitch, Thermite and Hibana are all included in the game, and each character features a loudout similar to the counterpart in Siege loadout that offers unique gadgets and equipment.
Finally, Ubisoft says that the game will feature “several game modes” at launch. Unlike Fortnite, Rainbow Six Mobile is its own standalone experience, similar to the smartphone versions of Apex Legends or Call of Duty Warzone.
A release date for Rainbow Six Mobile hasn’t been revealed yet, but you can currently register to access the game prior to its official iOS or Android launch.
Furthermore, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs $16.99/month and is required for streaming (which Xbox refers to as ‘Cloud’) to mobile devices and browsers. On top of that, this tier includes Game Pass for both Console and PC, as well as subscriptions to Xbox Live Gold and EA Play.
After a tumultuous wait, Valve is sending shipment notifications for Q2 reservations of its highly anticipated Steam Deck.
Announced via Twitter, Valve has confirmed that the first set of order emails have been sent to those lucky enough to secure a Q2 reservation. Valve first revealed the portable PC handheld in July of last year. Initially, shipments were scheduled to kickstart in December but were delayed. Thanks to supply chain issues, shipments were postponed until February, and many were pushed later to Q2 2022.
Welcome to Q2! We've just sent out the first set of order emails to Q2 reservers (in order of reservation time). Starting today we're ramping up Steam Deck shipments, and will be sending more order availability emails every week. Sometimes even twice a week! pic.twitter.com/54TAoCQXfd
However, the time has finally come, and Valve is making good on its promise. Starting today, the company is ramping up Steam Deck shipments. Every week, Valve says it’s sending more order availability emails. However, some weeks may see two waves sent out.
In addition to the tweet, Valve has updated its Steam Deck product page. Now, anyone who aims to reserve a Steam Deck for $5.70 will be notified of the expected window of availability. For instance, it currently states that new orders are expected to be fulfilled “After Q3” and as early as October 2022.
The Steam Deck is highly sought after, not only because of its specs but also for its features and portability. In addition to having access to your Steam library, Windows is now supported by the handheld, and Microsoft has added Xbox Game Pass and Cloud Gaming support.
Speaking anecdotally, I received an email outlining the notice to finalize my order. Once sent out, the recipient must confirm their order within 72 hours. If the order is not finalized by that time, Valve will automatically cancel it and move on to the next in line.
Keep an eye on MobileSyrup as our very own Patrick O’Rourke will have a review of the handheld up on the site in the coming weeks.
