Google TV is faster now
We’re big fans of Google TV OS at the Stuff office; having taken it for a test drive when Xiaomi’s TV Box S (2nd-gen) was in the building. It makes the search giant’s announcement that it would be “enhancing [the] Google TV experience with performance improvements, new updates, and more,” all the more sweet.
Unfortunately, those “new updates” don’t apply to South Africa. Google is introducing some changes to the ‘Live’ tab — a feature that’s currently only available in the US, with no official word on a global rollout. We haven’t been skipped where the performance improvements are concerned at the least, with Google promising improved speeds and improved storage once the update goes live.
Once Google’s had its way with your Google TV device, things should fly. It’ll do that by optimising the device’s memory usage, specifically speeding things up on the home page by changing how it uses and optimises onboard memory. It’s also “simplified” the basic system apps themselves so that they require less memory. “As a result of using less memory, navigating your TV interface feels smoother, apps open faster, and your entertainment starts playing more quickly.”
That app simplification is also putting less strain on the device’s storage, requiring less space to continue living on your device. We haven’t had the chance to play around with the update ourselves, but that won’t be the case for much longer, with Google confirming the update rollout everywhere.
Sonic Mania Plus Pro Max Mobile?
When Netflix first started to get into the world of gaming, pickings were… sparse. It didn’t give up, though — since adding 40 games to its repertoire, with 46 more titles hitting the mobile app “by year’s end” (including GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. We haven’t even mentioned the 90 other titles still in development from both third-party developers and Netflix’s Finland studio. In short, Netflix is turning itself into a mobile gaming powerhouse. If you weren’t already convinced, it’ll be adding Sonic Mania Plus to the line-up. Just to prove you wrong.
The streamer announced a slew of new games (while not so discreetly patting itself on the back) in a blog post released earlier today — the coolest of which features the too-fast blue hedgehog. It’s joined by Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, FashionVerse, and Game Dev Tycoon. But it’s the revival of the 2D speedster that interests us most. Sonic Mania Plus was, up until recently, a console exclusive that launched in 2018 to decent reviews (it performed better than the last Sonic game we had a chance to play).
Mania Plus is now hitting both Android and iOS for the first time, being exclusive to Netflix’s library in the mobile market. Unfortunately, neither Sonic nor the other games mentioned will be released before 2023 is over. Netflix has attached vague ‘2024’ release dates to each but doesn’t delve into any specifics. It’s joining a stacked 2024 line-up, standing alongside a mobile Hades and Braid.
Nintendo’s Year-in-Review is live
2023 has been extremely kind to Nintendo. Not only were Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Tears of the Kingdom nominated for Game of the Year at this year’s Game Awards (with TOTK snagging a win), but the brand extended its South African roots by opening an ‘official’ store’ over in Sandton City. Anyone who’s got a Switch they call their own has probably spent a fair amount of time inside Nintendo’s worlds — and now you can prove it with a screenshot on your Instagram story.
Yup, Nintendo’s Year in Review is live. Like Spotify’s Wrapped, the Year in Review will give you a glimpse of what you played most this year. We already know the top answer will be Tears of the Kingdom, but seeing what caught our attention before and after May of this year is interesting.
You won’t need your Switch to get hold of your Year in Review. All you’ll need is a mobile phone or PC that’s got an internet connection and the post-it note with your Nintendo login information handy. Step 1: Visit the Nintendo Year in Review website. Step 2: Log in with that post-it note we mentioned and hit ‘Get started’. And voila! It’ll even compress those stats down to a more pleasing mobile-friendly (and thus more shareable) infographic for you at the end.
Bring me DLC of Spider-Man!
After a disappointing Game Awards for fans of Insomniac’s latest attempt to bring the fast-talking web-slinger to life, the only thing keeping Spider-Man 2’s Twitter/X.com die-hard fans going was the promise of a NG+ update arriving sometime before 2023’s end. If you’ve got a friend who is that die-hard fan we’re describing, we’d recommend keeping an eye on them over the December holidays once they catch wind of Insomniac’s decision to delay the update.
Despite the developer’s name, the company is taking a well-earned break over this period, meaning that development is being paused, too. “We are now targeting early 2024 for the next game update, and we’ll have a feature-complete list closer to its release,” the statement reads. That could mean within the first couple of weeks of 2024, or three months down the line.
It’ll hopefully be worth the wait, with the developer confirming that the update would also feature “some highly requested features” such as the ability to change the time of day (Photo Mode nerds are going to have a field day with this one), swap tendril colours, and replay missions – “just to name a few.”