SASKATOON -- Welcome to GAME TIME, a recurring feature in which CTV Saskatoon’s Matt Young brings us the latest news from the world of video games.
A Saskatoon game development company is working on technology in hopes of producing more small multiplayer games.
Jason Knight, the new Chief Technical Officer (CTO) for Winter Pixel Games, says the goal is to create more games to learn more about what types of games users enjoy.
“Our plan is to make a bunch of small multiplayer games to see what hits and then try to grow a user base.”
Knight says the array of multiplayer games would be online mobile games, but they also want them to be able to run in a web browser.
“As far as future ideas, I would say competitive, fast paced multiplayer action games is kind of our bread and butter.”
Winter Pixel Games is a three person game developer based in Saskatoon. Knight says he is just coming on as CTO after Winter Pixel acquired his own independent solo development studio Night Owl Games. He had been working on a golf puzzle game called IsoPutt.
Jordan Schidlowsky, Winter Pixel’s CEO, and CCO Ty Haugen were all co-founders of NoodleCake Studios in 2011. Schidlowsky says the gaming development sector in Saskatchewan is growing.
“It’s slowly but surely taking place. You know, tech and video gaming in particular is kind of foreign to Saskatchewan in general. But it’s kind of slowly getting there as people more experienced in this industry are getting older and are getting into places of influence.”
Study shows Canada is one of the cheapest countries to buy a new console
It might be hard to get your hands on a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X, but when it comes to cost, Canada is one of the cheapest.
That’s according to a new study from Paxful, which analyzed data from brand websites and other retailers to help rank countries, using U.S. dollars, according to how much it costs to purchase a gaming device.
“Factors such as import taxes, exchange rates, shipping costs and inflation issues can all account for how much you have to pay to get your hands on the platform of choice,” according to study on Paxful’s website.
A PlayStation 5 had the second-lowest price in Canada at $385.95. Japan had a cheaper price at $383.
Canada was listed as the fourth cheapest country in which to purchase an Xbox Series console, with a price of $295.69. Japan, Macao and Hong Kong were less expensive.
The cost for a Nintendo Switch in Canada was the eighth least expensive in the world with an average price of $312.04. Again, Japan had the lowest price at $288.53 followed by the United States at $299.
The study was done to show how accessible major brands are in the gaming industry.
If you build it, they will come
A sneak peak of the much anticipated stadium creator feature in the upcoming release of MLB The Show was revealed in a new trailer posted online.
It says users will be able adjust almost everything in their custom ballpark, to create the stadium of their dreams. Players will be able to use their custom creations in Diamond Dynasty and Franchise Mode.
MLB The Show will also be on Xbox consoles for the first time, as the game was previously a Playstation exclusive. Users will also be able to enjoy cross-platform and cross-gen play as well.
The Playstation store shows the game will be available on April 19, while the Xbox news website says it’s slated for release on Xbox consoles April 20.
