8BitDo has released a new firmware update, opening up the compatibility of its wireless controllers on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and even Mac. Now, players can use a number of 8BitDo controllers for gaming natively or via the cloud.
According to the company, the most recent firmware update adds support for six wireless controllers. These include the following:
8BitDo SN30 Pro
8BitDo SN30 Pro for Android
8BitDoSN30 Pro+,
8BitDo Pro 2
8BitDoUltimate 2.4G
8BitDo Lite SE
If you’re an Apple user and are looking to use an 8BitDo controller, all you need to do is ensure you’re running the latest firmware. To do so, ensure you’ve installed the 8BitDo firmware updater on a Mac or PC. This tool will help identify which controller is running the appropriate firmware.
After installing the latest firmware, you can connect the aforementioned controller to an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Mac. This can be a great option when playing a mobile title. Additionally, those running a game via Xbox Cloud Gaming may want to opt for a controller over touch controls. 8BitDo’s hardware can be a great alternative to other Bluetooth controllers like the Xbox Wireless Controller and DualSense.
On top of additional support, 8BitDo users can also use the company’s app to better customize their experience. Whether on iOS, Android, or PC, players can use the app to remap controls, set custom profiles, and more.
Toronto-based Visai Games has announced that its narrative cooking game, Venba, will be coming to Xbox consoles (plus Game Pass) and PlayStation 5 this summer in addition to Nintendo Switch and PC as previously announced.
This marks a slight delay from its original spring 2023 release window.
Venba focuses on an Indian mother who moves to Canada with her family in the ’80s. Through minigames, players will prepare authentic South Indian dishes, which help to connect her to her old home. Players will also engage in branching conversations to learn more about the immigrant family.
On Monday, March 27th, Nintendo is sunsetting the eShop for the Wii U and 3DS. As part of Nintendo’s plan to shutter its marketplace, every game and DLC will no longer be available to purchase on either device. YouTuber ‘The Completionist’ took it upon himself to purchase every game available ahead of the shutdown.
In a recently published Youtube video, The Completionist claims to have purchased all 866 Wii U and 1,547 3DS games available in the eShop. This also includes DSi and Virtual Console titles and respective DLC. This entire ordeal cost over $22,791 USD (roughly $31,146 CAD).
To compile a library of Nintendo games, The Completionist required three external hard drives for the Wii U and four micro SD cards for 3DS. The results came to a staggering 1.2TB of Wii U games and 267GB on 3DS. The latter translates to 2,136,689 blocks, which is the figure Nintendo uses to track storage on the handheld.
This journey of purchasing every Nintendo game on the brink of endangerment by way of the eShop’s closure was also a battle of time. Nintendo’s eShops on Wii U and 3DS are more archaic than the current version on the Switch. On Nintendo hardware, the marketplace runs slower and features less-than-ideal search functions. Additionally, funds pose a major hurdle. Because of this, it took The Completionist 328 days to finish this endeavour.
As shown in the video above, a lot of time was spent purchasing eShop gift cards. Limits on purchases are in place to prevent scams. Plus, the marketplace has a $250 USD cap. The Completionist also had to work around Nintendo’s limit of purchasing 10 games at a time prior to installing them. Throughout the video, he shows how even purchasing DLC for some games meant doing so in-game rather than in the eShop.
The Completionist concludes the video by emphasizing the importance of video game preservation. This idea that games can be fleeting and erased from existence is a very real concern within the industry. The Completionist states that all hard drives and SD cards loaded with the Wii U and 3DS titles are being donated to the Video Game History Foundation.
Microsoft envisions a future where Apple will be forced to open up its App Store to third-party storefronts and hopes to take advantage of this changing tide with its own Xbox mobile marketplace.
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said that Microsoft wants “to be in a position to offer Xbox content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play.”
“Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up,” said Spencer.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Xbox’s mobile gaming ambitions. Back in October, Microsoft detailed plans to build its own mobile apps store in a filing to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority tied to its pending purchase of Activision Blizzard.
The Xbox mobile store will likely feature notable Activision Blizzard-owned mobile games like Candy Crush Saga, Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal and more.
While Microsoft could easily launch an Xbox storefront on Android right now, it needs regulators to push Apple to allow alternative stores on the iPhone and iPad. Through the EU’s Digital Markets Act, this could become a reality in the coming months.
“The Digital Markets Act that’s coming — those are the kinds of things that we are planning for,” said Spencer. “I think it’s a huge opportunity.” Microsoft has a small presence in mobile gaming right now, and the Xbox maker admitted that in a filing with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year: “Microsoft currently has no meaningful presence in mobile gaming and the [Activision Blizzard] transaction will bring much needed expertise in mobile game development, marketing and advertising,” said Spencer during the interview.
Microsoft’s Xbox App Store will also likely be tied to its Xbox Cloud Gaming platform that allows players to stream dozens of titles, which is available through a native app on Android and via a browser on iPhone. With this in mind, it likely wouldn’t be difficult for Microsoft to adapt this app into a more unified app store on Android, and then port it over to iOS.
How would Canadian cities fare during a zombie apocalypse?
It’s a question that online rental platform Rentola Canada has been looking to answer amid the popularity of HBO’s The Last of Us in a new ranking. Notably, Edmonton took home the top spot, while Toronto came in quite low.
To compile the report, Rentola looked at Statistics Canada data for 35 of the country’s metropolitan areas in five different categories:
Vulnerability — population density, perceived physical and mental health
Hideouts — average household space, green spaces, vacancy rate
Supplies — everything from fuel and weapons to food and medicine
Safety — crime rate and number of firearms
Mobility — the prevalence of walking, running and cycling, the number of roads
Min-max normalization was then used to index the data sources on a 1-10 scale, with 1 representing worst and 10 representing best.
Overall, Edmonton received high marks across the board, leading it to claim the top spot with an average of 7.6. In particular, the Alberta town got 10/10 in both hideouts and mobility. Saskatoon, meanwhile, came ever so slightly in second with 7.95, while Guelph, Ontario rounded out the top three with 7.0.
Toronto, for comparison, scored a dismal 4.66, particularly due to 1.0 for vulnerability and 2.0/10 for supplies. It did score fairly high (8.45) in hideouts, though.
See below for the full rankings:
1. Edmonton
2. Saskatoon
3. Guelph, Ontario
4. Calgary
5. Regina
6. Winnipeg
7. Kelowna, British Columbia
8. Greater Sudbury, Ontario
9. Kingston, Ontario
10. Abbotsford, British Columbia
11. London, Ontario
12. Windsor, Ontario
13. Oshawa, Ontario
14. Ottawa
15. Peterborough, Ontario
16. Brantford, Ontario
17. St. Catharines, Ontario
18. Halifax
19. Hamilton, Ontario
20. Barrie, Ontario
21. Thunder Bay, Ontario
22. Vancouver
23. St. John’s
24. Quebec City
25. Kitchener, Ontario
26. Victoria
27. Lethbridge, Alberta
28. Moncton, New Brunswick
29. Toronto
30. Saguenay, Quebec
31. Sherbrook, Quebec
32. Montreal
33. Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
34. Belleville, Ontario
35. Saint John, New Brunswick
It’s especially interesting that Edmonton and Calgary are two of the top cities, given that The Last of Us series was partially filmed in those cities as part of a year-long shoot in Alberta. Therefore, it’s almost poetic that the province that stood in for such a major interpretation of the post-apocalypse would, hypothetically, end up being well-prepared for a real-life one. The second season of the series is also expected to film in Alberta either this year or next.
What cities are you most surprised to see ranked where they are and why? Let us know in the comments.
Last year, Netflix said it was working on a cloud gaming platform to expand its mobile games offering, but don’t expect it anytime soon.
Speaking during a Netflix Games media briefing attended by MobileSyrup, Leanne Loombe, Netflix’s vice president of external
Leanne Loombe
games, provided an update on the company’s game streaming. Per Loombe, the streamer is still “very early” in development on a cloud gaming platform, which is intended to expand the company’s gaming offerings beyond Android and iOS.
That said, she stressed that Netflix remains “very committed to making sure games can be played wherever you stream Netflix,” noting she’s bullish on cloud gaming technology.
Elsewhere in the briefing, Loombe relayed some other updates on Netflix Games. To start, there are currently 55 games on the platform since its launch in November 2021, with an additional 70 in development with external partners and 16 in the works at Netflix’s internal studios. Of all these titles, around 40 are slated for 2023.
Some of the upcoming third-party titles, which Netflix revealed for the first time during the briefing, include ustwogames’ Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 (TBA 2024), Ubisoft’s Mighty Quest: Rogue Palace (coming April 18th) and an unannounced game based on a yet-to-be-revealed Netflix IP from Vainglory developer Super Evil Megacorp (TBA). However, Loombe that some of its first-party games are still in the “very early” stages, given that games “take some time to develop.”
The goal with building this catalogue, Loombe said, is to “have a game on Netflix for every one of our members.” Admittedly, the company isn’t revealing data on how many of its roughly 230 million subscribers are playing games, with Loombe simply saying “we’re super happy and super proud” of the performance so far.
However, she noted that the data Netflix has been gathering from player habits helps inform its future gaming efforts. “Each one of those games has allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of what our players enjoy,” she said. “With that learning, we’re really honing into what our members want.”
For example, she said Netflix has observed three main types of games that players are gravitating towards:
Recognizable games (those from other platforms) — the Canadian-made TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, Immortality, Valiant Hearts: Coming Home (a new, Netflix exclusive title, but a sequel to an existing gaming property)
Netflix IP (games based on existing Netflix movies/shows) — Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game, Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales, Stranger Things: 1984
In fact, Loombe said the most popular Netflix game of all is Nanobit’s Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game, based on the Too Hot to Handle reality dating show that’s going into its fifth season. She attributed this success, in part, to having the game readily available alongside weekly episode drops of the series. Loombe also teased that a new Nanobit Too Hot to Handle game is coming later this year alongside Season 5 of the show, although no further details were provided.
This coordination extends to games that aren’t directly related to Netflix IP. For example, Etienne Tardieu, senior director, business and distribution of Ubisoft Mobile Games, pointed out that Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, which centres around soldiers, deliberately came out around the same time as Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front, a recent war drama that just received nine Oscar nominations and took home four. He went on to say Netflix’s availability in almost 200 countries makes it appealing as a publishing partner.
María Sayans, CEO of ustwogames, echoed this statement while taking it one step further. The studio’s most recent game, Desta: The Memories Between, features a protagonist who’s non-binary, Afro-Caribbean, Mancunian (from Manchester, England) and pansexual, which Sayans noted doesn’t translate easily across different languages and cultures, especially those that use masculine and feminine words. However, she said “Netflix’s focus on localization of the highest calibre” for all of its productions helped bring the game to different countries.
Meanwhile, Kristian Segerstrale, CEO of Super Evil Megacorp, said Netflix Games’ lack of microtransactions or ads frees up developers to focus on the craft of game making. These monetization schemes, he said, “force certain design paradigms that fit with the free-to-play model.”
Ubisoft has rolled out a free update for Far Cry 5 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S that adds native 60fps support.
The update comes as part of the French publishing giant’s celebrations of the open-world shooter’s fifth anniversary. The current-gen update also includes support for 3840 x 2160 and 4K resolution on Series X and 1920 x 1080 on Series S. PS5 players can still play the game at 2880 x 1620 resolution.
Originally released on March 26th, 2018 on PS4, Xbox One and PC, Far Cry 5 follows a sheriff’s deputy as they try to stop a doomsday cult in rural Montana. Despite the American story and setting, though, the game was developed by the prolific Canadian studio, Ubisoft Montreal.
A free weekend for Far Cry 5 will run from March 23rd-27th, and the game is also 85 percent off on all platforms throughout the month.
Meanwhile, the most recent Far Cry game, Far Cry 6, launched on current- and last-gen hardware in October 2021 and follows a revolutionary’s efforts to topple a dictator in the Cuba-esque Yara.
Tango Gameworks’ Ghostwire: Tokyois coming to Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass on April 12th.
Along with the Xbox console release, the game is getting a new update called Spiders Thread that releases on the same day. The update includes a new game mode, areas, extended story cutscenes and more.
Spiders Thread has players moving through 30 unique stages pulled from 120 levels. You can unlock in-game money, skills and other upgrades through the mode. New map areas include a Middle School that offers new missions, and two new enemies called “the invisible Silent Gaze” and “elusive Retribution.”
Ghostwire: Tokyo was first released on PlayStation 5 and PC in 2022. Microsoft purchased Tango Gameworks last year as part of its acquisition of ZeniMaxMedia (Bethesda’s parent company). Despite the purchase going through, the tech giant still honoured Tango Gameworks’ commitment to release Ghostwire: Tokyo on Sony’s competing PS5.
Fast forward to now, and an updated game version is making its way to Microsoft’s consoles. For more on Ghostwire: Tokyo, check out MobileSyrup’sin-depth look at the game.
The annual Toronto Comicon event returns to Ontario this week.
Taking place from March 17th to 19th, the pop-culture show offers a variety of programming related to movies, TV shows, comics and more. While it’s a smaller-scale event compared to its sister show, Fan Expo, in the summer, there’s still a decent amount to check out.
Here are some of the streaming and gaming highlights for MobileSyrup readers:
Matt Ryan, who did the voice and motion capture for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway, is making an appearance. While he’s since been best known for playing the charming sorcerer Constantine in DC projects like Legends of Tomorrow, his role as Edward is noteworthy, considering Black Flag is one of the most beloved Assassin’s Creed games (it was also made in Canada over at Ubisoft Montreal!).
Ryan is appearing all three days and will host a panel on Saturday at 1:45pm. More on his schedule is available here.
The Boys extravaganza
Oi, lads! The Boys are coming to Toronto 😈 Meet the stars of the hit Amazon show next weekend & head to both cast Q&As, happening Saturday and Sunday. https://t.co/HRszod4IYDpic.twitter.com/M79i5pkKQ8
The fourth season of Amazon’s popular gritty superhero series is currently filming in Toronto, which makes it the perfect opportunity for some of the cast to show up. In fact, almost all of the series’ key players are attending Toronto Comicon:
Karl Urban (Billy Butcher)
Jack Quaid (Hugh “Hughie” Campbell, Jr.)
Jessie T. Usher (Reggie Franklin/A-Train)
Tomer Capone (Serge/Frenchie)
Laz Alonso (Marvin T. “Mother’s” Milk)
Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko Miyashiro/The Female) [also co-starred in last year’s The Callisto Protocol]
They’ll be appearing on different days for autographs, photo ops and panels. In fact, there are so many of them that there will be two The Boys panels:
Saturday, March 18th at 12:30pm — Laz Alonso, Claudia Doumit, Jack Quaid and Karen Fukuhara
Sunday, March 19th at 12:30pm — Karl Urban, Jessie T. Usher, Tomer Capone, Colby Minifie and Nathan Mitchell
The Mandalorian’s Armorer
Ever wanted to hang out with a Celebrity after the show closes? We’ll do you one better: you can karaoke with Emily Swallow! Tickets are on sale now for this exclusive Toronto Comicon event. Grab your ticket now. This is the Way: https://t.co/kPtUlsDMcTpic.twitter.com/ZgB8Dd5qlV
Emily Swallow, who plays The Armorer in The Mandalorian, is one of the show’s guests. Video game fans may also recognize her for her small role of Emily in The Last of Us Part II.
Swallow will appear all three days and host a panel on Sunday at 11:15am. She’ll also be hosting a special ticketed karaoke event on Friday at 7:30pm. More information on her schedule can be found here.
Other guests include Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings series), Toronto’s own Robbie Amell (Upload), Danielle Panabaker (The Flash), Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Steve Agee (Peacemaker).
The full Toronto Comicon schedule can be found here. Tickets for the show start at $27.
Microsoft has signed a 10-year deal to bring its PC games to Ukrainian cloud gaming company Boosteroid’s platform.
The Redmond, Washington-based company says this will include existing and future Xbox games, as well as Activision Blizzard titles, should its acquisition of the Call of Duty publisher be approved.
Boosteroid says it’s the largest independent cloud gaming provider in the world with more than four million global users. Despite the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Boosteroid also says it’s continued to see growth in the past 13 months. Some of the markets it serves beyond its native Ukraine include the U.S., U.K., France and Italy. It remains to be seen whether the partnership with Microsoft might push Boosteroid to expand into Canada.
This is the latest 10-year game licensing deal that Xbox has signed in an effort to get approval for its Activision Blizzard deal. This includes similar decade-long agreements with the likes of Nintendo and Nvidia. While Microsoft has said it’s willing to make a similar commitment with Sony, the Japanese tech giant has been trying to block the deal by arguing that it’s anti-competitive. Most recently, the company expressed concerns that Xbox would give PlayStation inferior versions of games like Call of Dutyto prop up its own hardware and services.
