Nintendo will issue a new update to its iOS and Android game Super Mario Run on September 29th, which will include a new world, mode, and playable character.
The update will introduce a new mode called Remix 10, which randomly splices together 10 sections from the game’s various levels in quick succession and rewards players with rainbow medals. Completing the various stages will allow players to rescue Princess Daisy and subsequently play as her throughout the rest of the game. Players will also be able to unlock a new world called World Star, which includes nine new levels, enemies and some additional gameplay mechanics.
Polygon notes that there’s some other minor updates: players can get new items to put in their Mushroom Kingdom, and can listen to their own music while they play — when they do so, their runners will wear headphones. Nintendo is also temporarily cutting the price in half starting on September 29th through October 12th.
Nintendo is adding a new layer of security to its online accounts: users can now enable two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access.
To enable the authentication method, users are prompted to download Google Authenticator, which will provide them with a code when logging in.
The move is long overdue. Sony implemented two-factor authentication last year after a number of hacks that compromised user details, while other companies such as Steam and Microsoft have utilized the system for years.
Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security for online accounts, which verifies a login attempt with a phone or an e-mail. It’s not foolproof, but it does help add some additional protection. Here’s how to add it to your other devices.
Minecraft has been available on tons of different devices in the past. Now, Microsoft is finally bringing all those platforms together with the “Better Together” update, which is rolling out today for Xbox One, mobile devices, and Windows 10 PCs. The Nintendo Switch is still set to get the Better Together update, too, although that’s been delayed until later in the winter.
The update essentially takes the different versions of Minecraft that have been available on PC, Xbox, iOS, and Android, and consolidates them into one master version, with the same features, functionality, and content no matter where you play. That means that the console versions of Minecraft on Xbox One (and eventually, the Nintendo Switch) will now run the same version of Minecraft as PCs, mobile, and VR, built on what Microsoft calls the Bedrock Engine.
But the biggest advantage to creating a single version of Minecraft across all these platforms is that cross-play will be possible between Minecraft games. This means that you’ll be able to play Minecraft on your PC with a friend playing on an Xbox, while your buddy joins in from their Android phone. Microsoft is calling this the first time a game has offered cross-play across all these platforms, and with the addition of the Nintendo Switch to the mix, Minecraft could be one of the first true platform-agnostic titles, which is an incredible thing.
You may notice that the PlayStation 4 is glaringly absent from that list. That’s because Sony has — once again — decided to sit out on cross-platform play, an unfortunately familiar refrain from the company this console generation. Similar issues have come up with Rocket League, and most recently Fortnight, which accidentally enabled Xbox One and PlayStation 4 cross-play before pulling the feature. Sony has offered numerous explanations for avoiding cross-play in the past, including citing concerns of protecting children online, but given that the console still has a considerable competitive lead when it comes to users and sales, it’s unlikely that it will be budging on that issue anytime soon.
In an interview with Engadget, Microsoft Studios CVP Matt Booty commented, “We just flat-out couldn't get those two completely in sync,” in regard to getting Minecraft cross-play with the PlayStation 4. Although, he noted that Microsoft is continuing to talk with Sony on the issue.
Also missing are the Mac and Linux versions of Minecraft, which will continue to exist alongside the original PC version as the renamed Java Edition for now. It’s supposed to continue to receive updates and get them along a similar time frame as the Bedrock Engine version.
That said, the unified Bedrock Engine version will be the canonical Minecraft title moving forward, with the original PC title and older console-specific versions getting appended “Edition” names like Minecraft: Wii U Edition and Minecraft: Java Edition to tell them apart from the core Minecraft title.
Creators using Mojang's Minecraft Marketplace have made more than $1 million since the service launched in June, the company has announced.
The program, which allows Minecraft community members to make money from their user-generated in-game content, runs alongside the Minecraft Store, and has seen users create everything from their own adventures, worlds, texture packs and characters skins over the last few months.
Microsoft, who now owns Mojang, also released a statement saying it is continuing to expand the Minecraft Marketplace team. Since the service launched in June, the number of partners has risen from nine to 12, with plans to keep adding more as the months go on.
Highlights from the Minecraft Marketplace so far include Dinosaur Island, which lets players confront wild raptors, tame triceratops and raid ruins while they explore the island's mysterious ruins, and Infinity Dungeon EX, a randomly generated dungeon adventure. July also saw the release of the colour-coded Cyber Space Team Pack and a pet-themed skin pack, as well as a variety of mini-games and extra kingdoms.
Microsoft recently announced a limited edition Minecraft Xbox One S bundle, which is due to hit shelves on September 12th. The console, which features a unique voxel-based design, also comes with a special Creeper-themed controller.
There were plenty of people who thought the purchase of developer Mojang by mega-publisher Microsoft was signaling the end of Minecraft’s appeal of universality. Speculation within the gaming community was rife with claims that Microsoft may entirely stop developing for anything outside of the Microsoft family of systems — or worse.
With all of those fears trumped up at the time, it seems like a day-and-night difference with how Microsoft is truly handling the property — principally with the Better Together Update, coming free to Windows 10, mobile, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Announced at Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, the news took the gaming community and Minecraft fanbase by storm; as the name implies, gamers would have the option to cross-platform play with friends (as long as they weren’t on the PlayStation family of systems).
While the Better Together Update with the original plan to launch before the end of the summer — it seems that estimation has been pushed back. According to the Minecraft Better Together Update FAQ, the update is planning on coming to Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, mobile and Windows 10 around Fall 2017.
There is no indication why the update has been delayed, but perhaps it has to do with possibly incorporating the PlayStation 4 version into the initial roll out. There is no indication that progress has moved forward, however the FAQ had this to say about their talks with Sony:
we are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm. We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well.
Either way, everyone who owns the Windows 10, mobile, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch version of the game can expect to receive the update for free. However, those purchasing Minecraft after the release will have to purchase the new Better Together Edition — the original Minecraft: Console Edition will be removed from the respective marketplaces.
Minecraft is popular—really popular. So it’s no surprise that Pfizer is looking to capitalize on that success.
The pharma giant has launched Hemocraft, a take on the ultrasuccessful video game that’s just for hemophilia patients. Developed in partnership with the Entrepreneurial Game Studio at Drexel University and representatives from the hemophilia community, the game is meant to help younger patients—between the ages of eight and 16—learn “the importance of integrating treatment into their routine,” Pfizer said.
How does Hemocraft do that? As part of their quest, game players interact with the so-called “village doctor”—a fictional healthcare professional—to learn how to adhere to their treatment plans and understand how their therapies work. They put that knowledge to use throughout the game, as they’re challenged to monitor factor levels and self-infuse to control bleeding.
If Hemocraft turns out to be a hit even a fraction of the size of Minecraft, Pfizer will be in good shape. The building game has sold more than 1 million copies around the world and ranks high among the most popular games ever created.
But Pfizer isn’t stopping there. It’s also rolled out a new piece of wearable tech: a wristband dubbed HemMobile Striiv. The wearable—the first made for hemophilia patients, Pfizer says—tracks activity levels and heart rate, and the company is offering it free of charge to all U.S. hemophilia patients, no matter what therapy they’re on. To use it, though, patients will likely want to download the HemMobile app—used to log bleeds and infusions, monitor factor supply and set appointment reminders–that Pfizer already offers.
“These new digital innovations can be integrated into everyday routines to help empower people with hemophilia to learn about and track different aspects relevant to their disease so that they can have informed conversations with their health care providers,” Kevin Williams, chief medical officer of Pfizer’s rare-disease unit, said in a statement.
Pfizer, which markets recombinant factor IX treatment BeneFix, is currently battling a host of companies in the hemophilia field, including Bioverativ, Novo Nordisk, Shire and Bayer. And things are only set to get more intense once gene therapies hit the scene.
At that point, though, the New York drugmaker is hoping to be in the thick of things; in late 2014, it struck a gene therapy collaboration with Spark Therapeutics over hemophilia B candidate SPK-FIX.
