iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 5h

I've noticed this Xbox One appearing in a bunch of Sony patents lately. The console wars just ain't what they used to be. (And that's probably for the best.)

Patent arts of a home entertainment stand with a console in it. The console is clearly Microsoft's Xbox One. The patent was filed by Sony.

120

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I'll take any excuse to link this. It's been a dozen years somehow, so people may have forgotten arguably the most embarrassing video game tie-in song ever. www.youtube.com/watch?v=163_...

youtube.com

Paul McCartney - Hope For The Future

YouTube video by PaulMcCartneyVEVO

021

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I'm really going to miss the era of dozens of tiny companies putting out niche gaming hardware at semi-reasonable prices. Polymega was already charging a significant premium so maybe its customer base isn't super sensitive to this, but still. There are limits, you would think.

051

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I opened my physical copy of Culdcept Begins and saw it had an actual instruction book and my heart jumped in a way that isn't reasonable. Darn you, modern game industry, for making this minimal gesture to players feel extravagant and luxurious.

Picture of Culdcept Begins Switch 2 copy with the case open and the instruction book open to the page detailing the characters Tarhunt and Guntz.

0150

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I finally started a Letterboxd account, but fair warning it's mostly to help me keep track of all my favourite old kung fu movies. Speaking of, here's an in-progress list. letterboxd.com/lowenbrow/li...

letterboxd.com

Fave kung fu films

As I revisit the classics I watched decades ago, I figured it would be fun to keep a rough (and meaningless) ranking of them. Also because lists like this have helped me find films I had never heard o...

040

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Microsoft adopting the AOL business model for Game Pass. It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for them.

050

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Shaw Brothers put a bunch of their movies up on YouTube for free. Watched Chor Yuen's The Killer today. Solid action melodrama made delightful by a frankly distracting number of defenestrations. If you see a window, chances are good someone's going through it. m.youtube.com/watch?si=K6S...

m.youtube.com

ENG SUB! | The Killer (1971) | 大殺手 | Full Movie | Shaw Brothers Cinema

YouTube video by Shaw Brothers Cinema

1165

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Toronto's luxury spa game is unrivaled.

Dilapidated store front covered in plywood and grafitti. Some of the graffiti has "Spa" in red spray paint and an arrow pointing to the door, which has "Kawaii Spa" and a phone number spray painted on it.

1100

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Wow. Current-gen consoles didn't just hit the $1,000 mark (CAD), they blew right past it.

081

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Canada’s retaliatory U.S. tariffs include a 50% hike on game consoles, but I imagine supply chains could be changed to limit the impact. But it also covers pinball machines, which AFAIK are almost exclusively manufactured in the U.S. (and are already very expensive). www.canada.ca/en/departmen...

canada.ca

List of products from the United States subject to counter-tariffs effective September 8, 2026 - Canada.ca

Effective September 8, 2026, Canada will impose 15, 25, and 50 per cent tariffs on products drawn from those targeted by U.S. Section 338 and Section 232 tariffs, with individual product rates based ...

250

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I think I can trace most of my FOMO to a single 1993 weekend of driving around the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex with my older brother looking for a copy of FIFA International Soccer on Sega Genesis. And a few months earlier driving around for a copy of Madden '94.

130

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

This one seemed to resonate with people. www.tumblr.com/contextfreep...

000

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The thing I respect about Stray Kids is their commitment to whatever bit they might choose. Like this song about farming, which goes harder than any other song about farming I can think of. Take a seat, Old McDonald. m.youtube.com/watch?v=HCvI...

m.youtube.com

FARMING

YouTube video by Stray Kids - Topic

100

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

No. 1 - your hungry when theres a hot dog on the ground - Someone who is good at the economy help me - Torment Nexus - Y'all ever see a take so bad

0100

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Update: Killer Clans and Secret Service of the Imperial Court remain amazing. Also saw Shaolin Intruders for the first time and it joins the list, along with Holy Flame of the Martial World. Descendant of the Sun was also a good time. Amazing that none of this was readily available for decades.

040

Reposted by Brendan Sinclair

Jonathan Ore @jonore.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

David does great work covering the CDN games scene and has damned fine journalistic instincts, which is rare in the specialist press world. Hire him!

162

Reposted by Brendan Sinclair

David Carcasole @slybowser.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

So while editors can expect me in their inbox, I'll also say: if you're looking for a writer who is more than capable of independently handling a daily news grind, writing longer features and interviews, reviews, guides, or anything else you may need, reach out at davidcarc96@hotmail.com

188

Reposted by Brendan Sinclair

Chris Franklin @errant-signal.com · 01/08/2026

Venba is less than $4 today If you like immigrant stories, food, or games that might make you cry and want something you could finish this weekend I'd highly recommend it.

store.steampowered.com

Save 75% on Venba on Steam

Venba is a short narrative cooking game, where you play as an Indian mom who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s. Cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching conversatio...

117395

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

With the acquisition of Electronic Arts set to close next week, it seems like a good time to re-up this column about how much insight into the games industry we lose through acquisitions and consolidation. www.gamesindustry.biz/activision-b...

gamesindustry.biz

Activision Blizzard goes into the black box | This Week in Business

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a…

16017

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

If I have to be optimistic about video games, it's going to come from news like Ron Gilbert continuing to be able to make games. www.grumpygamer.com/twp2_announce/

grumpygamer.com

Thimbleweed Park 2

Ron Gilbert's often incoherent and bitter ramblings about the Game Industry

1143

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Imagine having this franchise in your catalog and thinking any of those others would make for a better movie.

Box and cartridge for Ninja Golf on the Atari 7800. The picture shows a ninja with a giant curved sword standing on a golf course.

57139

Reposted by Brendan Sinclair

pauline kael bot @paulinekaelbot.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

It seems to me that the critic’s task should be to help people see more in the work than they might see without him. That’s a modest function, and you don’t need a big theory for it. (1962)

09221

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Sony patent application published today shows off an idea for a new modular game controller. I got a kick out of the alternate face buttons for some reason.

Patent art of a PS5 controller with the circle/square/triangle/X buttons replaced by +/hexagon/star/diamond buttons

Patent art of a game controller with a grid of pegs in the front and various thumbsticks, buttons, and a d-pad that could plug into those pegs.

120

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

TWIV is a great video game site and always worth my subscription fee.

1234

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Just a reminder that even though Sony is only now getting around to ending physical software, it's been a dozen years since they changed terms of service and forced people to agree they couldn't rent or sell discs. www.eurogamer.net/sony-reitera...

eurogamer.net

Sony reiterates you can sell and share your PS4 games

You can sell or share your PlayStation 4 games, Sony has reiterated.

0102

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Lots of people worried the next generation of consoles will hit $1,000. I'm curious if the current generation of consoles will hit $1,000.

1321327

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Very much channeling the energy of 20-years-ago Tim Schafer and hoping that guy was right. www.gamespot.com/articles/bit...

“I’ve always found that at any given time there’s some publisher out there who’s interested in innovation,” Schafer explains. “Different people have taken up that mantle from time to time and they always get excited about it and then for some reason or another that light kind of goes out and someone else picks it up. And as long as there’s at least one publisher out there who is interested in innovation and doing something revolutionary then I think games like that will keep getting made.”

“I am optimistic about it because I have things I want to try,” Schafer says, “and that would make it easier for me to do the kinds of things I like to do. And also because I’m just very, very determined to stay in the game and be annoying to everybody else until we win.

“Can’t let the f*****s win,” he laughs.

1105

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Days like today make me grateful to not be in games journalism any more.

2200

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

As a Toronto fan, it's a little frustrating to see the year we miss the playoffs as the year that great NHL teams with average goalies thrive in the playoffs.

131

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Calling a profit margin an "accountability margin" strongly suggests you don't intend to hold anyone accountable for anything except profit.

0132

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

@timsalmons.bsky.social Just wanted to thank you for the excellent reviews of Shaw Brothers films on The Digital Bits! It's hard to find reviews online that treat them as seriously. I also appreciate the heads up about poorly aged stuff/transphobia.

110

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Great write-up on the Yakuza series here that really articulates why the big genre and narrative shifts of Yakuza: Like a Dragon worked so well with each other.

072

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

This is loads of fun. I wish more mobile games were built with Nintendo's design and monetization sensibilities.

000

Reposted by Brendan Sinclair

David Reevely @davidreevely.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

In the early 2020s, Canadian startups didn’t get much hotter than ApplyBoard, whose business matching foreign applicants to university and college programs was worth $4 billion and had the immigration minister comparing its founding brothers to the Wright brothers. Things have changed.

142

Reposted by Brendan Sinclair

The Logic @thelogic.co · 27/05/2026

ApplyBoard, the edtech unicorn, turned the foreign-student bubble into a $4-billion Trudeau-era success story, but let workplace norms take a back seat to growth. Now everyone’s feeling the hangover. thelogic.co/news/the-big...

001

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

"Level 10 gambling wizard" is a pretty fantastic creative writing prompt, I think. www.tumblr.com/contextfreep...

Patent art for US patent application 2026/0143199 with line art drawing of a football team celebrating and a banner at the bottom saying "Congratulations! You have correctly predicted the outcome and are now a Level 10 Wizard!"

030

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

It's Bea Arthur's birthday, so of course today's Context-Free Patent Art is Golden Girls-related: www.tumblr.com/contextfreep...

tumblr.com

Post by @contextfreepatentart · 1 image

💬 2 🔁 27 ❤️ 90

020

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

I don't put captions on Context-Free Patent Art, but if I did, today's would be "The Trojan Zamboni." www.tumblr.com/contextfreep...

051

Reposted by Brendan Sinclair

Joe Wintergreen @joewintergreen.com · 02/05/2026

hot tip: when someone says something nice to or about you screenshot it or write it down and put it in a note on your telephone and then one day you can find out about it again as if for the first time

18415

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

As someone who has almost always hated autoscrolling levels, I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying Ron Gilbert's Death By Scrolling on the Switch. It takes a mechanic I hate, builds a roguelike around it, and delivers it all with Gilbert's humour and sensibilities. Good stuff.

Screenshot of Death By Scrolling with a small pixel art player character in a snowy field picking up gold while the grim reaper closes in on her. A note in the top corner says "Found Hester's lost Nice Pants."

1100

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

The theatre I worked at had a "brainwrap" at exactly the moment the asteroid hit Earth in Deep Impact. We wound up showing what we called "the [theater name] cut," where the approaching meteor segued immediately to the horrible aftermath. In my mind, that's the epitome of "dirty multiplex scan."

041

Brendan Sinclair @brendansinclair.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

If you've ever wondered why I am The Way I Am, this video was my formative years. Me re-enacting the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey with the Goobers box instead of the monolith.

020