Month: June 2017

Enlarge (credit: Mark Walton)

While the Nintendo Switch is quickly becoming the handheld of choice—thanks in part to the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey—the 3DS still has some life left in it yet. Kirby's Blowout Blast, Hey! PIKMIN, Metroid: Samus Returns, Fire Emblem Warriors, Layton's Mystery Journey, and Dragon Quest XI are all due for release in 2017 alongside updated (and cheaper) hardware in the form of the £130 New 2DS XL, which goes on sale July 28 (pre-order here).

For those keeping track, the New 2DS XL (the "New" is important) is the sixth revision of the 3DS hardware, which started with the original (and smallest) 3DS. That was followed by the 3DS XL, which sported a 90 percent larger screen along with improved battery life. Following developer demand for a second analogue stick—a problem Nintendo initially solved with the bulky Circle Pad Pro add-on—Nintendo released the New 3DS and New 3DS XL, which not only integrated a second analogue stick, but also incorporated more powerful hardware.

This lead to the a confusing state of affairs where games like Xenoblade Chronicles requires the New 3DS XL hardware, and won't play on an original 3DS or 3DS XL. Then came the 2DS, a stripped back version of the console aimed at a younger audience. It ditched the clamshell design, second analogue stick, and more powerful hardware, instead only playing games compatible with the original 3DS. The 2DS doesn't feature the glasses-free 3D screen of the 3DS either, although given the feature ended up being more of a novelty than a necessity, it was hardly missed.

Enlarge (credit: Mark Walton)

Ten years ago this week—on June 29, 2007—many waited (in line or online) for the first iPhone's formal release. Steve Jobs revealed what he promised would be a game-changing device months earlier, providing plenty of time for the lofty dreams, predictions, and excitement to build. The decade since has largely justified the hype. Apple's now-signature product has made a lasting mark not only on our communications, but on many unexpected walks of life. So this week as the iPhone celebrates its 10th anniversary, we'll be examining its impact and revisiting the device that changed it all.

In the heart of Stockholm, Sweden, mobile games developer King has built its own forest. Alongside Earth-toned carpeting and plywood trees are walls coated in Norwegian lichen. Instead of the harsh glow of a fluorescent strip, there are ambient lights that change hue with the seasons. Instead of chairs there are ceiling-hung wicker baskets and long maple desks with multicoloured stools. Along the floor is an artificial stream that scans the footsteps of employees, allowing them to interact with virtual fish and insects. In the winter, the stream freezes over, lending an audible crunch to each footstep.

Such extravagance is hardly extraordinary for the startups and venture capitalists that have spread across California's so-called Silicon Valley (Airbnb has its own makeshift forest, complete with taxidermied raccoon). But for the companies that build their fortunes on the fickle market of mobile games, success is far from guaranteed. King is one of the lucky ones. It has, in its finer moments, raked in profits of half a billion dollars in a single year. So compelling were its profits that publishing giant Activision Blizzard swallowed it up for $5.9 billion in 2015.