Category: News

Emerald Fennell just made history. Last week, the filmmaker — who made of one of last year’s most acclaimed (and hotly debated) movies, Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan — became only the sixth woman ever be nominated for a Best Director Oscar. And that’s not all: As per Variety, her next order of business will be helming a DC movie, one that will see a certain character hitting the big screen for the first time.

That character is Zatanna, and her day job is a stage magician while her night job is an actual magician, who uses her powers to fight for good. She debuted in 1964, and she’s been a part of the Justice League — and perhaps she will do so on the big screen, should the DCEU find a way to bring that portion of the comics back now that everyone’s fawned over the “Snyder Cut.”

Though Zatanna has long been a regular of the animated portions of the DC-verse and she played a key role on the ‘90s live-action show Smallville, she’s never made it to the movies. She was rumored to be a part of David Ayers’ Suicide Squad, but that was not to be. She didn’t even make the cut of James Gunn’s expanded The Suicide Squad. But that just means she has more room to strut solo, playing another of Fennell’s fascinating anti-heroes.

(Via Variety)

Cardi B’s showstopping performance at the Grammy Awards last week launched her song “Up” to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It officially becomes her fifth No. 1 single, which extends her record for the most chart-topping songs by a female rapper. Even with her accomplishments, Cardi still has her success questioned by everyone from talk show hosts to other rappers. So to silence her haters, Cardi made her achievements loud and clear.

Speaking directly to fans in a video posted to social media, Cardi detailed how critics only give her motivation to keep up the hard work:

“Y’all be claiming that, yeah, you want females to strive and all that, but that’s a lie — y’all be hating. Y’all keep asking how I do this, how I do that, blah, blah, blah. Let me tell you something because y’all like to bring all these excuses for my success. […] A b*tch is winning, get over with it. The more hate y’all think, the more harder I get, the more sh*t I have to talk about for my album. Stop hating. When I win, it doesn’t take away from other women’s success, neither. When another female wins, it doesn’t take away from nobody’s success so stop crying.”

Cardi then proceeded to read off the accolades that her single earned this week. Along with extending her record for the most No. 1 singles by a female rapper, “Up” earned 26.5 million streams last week alone. That makes it the most-streamed song of the week, and it also reportedly raked in $18,300 in sales.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The 2020 presidential election has been over for months now, but the legal fallout from Donald Trump’s loss looks like it will continue for years to come. Republican lawmakers are pushing strict new voting laws to limit voting access in an attempt to combat largely overblown cries of voter fraud, while some are at odds with voting system companies who have responded to wild claims about that voter fraud with defamation lawsuits.

One of those suits is against former Donald Trump lawyer and coup enthusiast Sidney Powell, who is facing a $1.3 billion lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems after repeated, baseless claims of voter fraud somehow executed by the company that makes voting machines.

As Axios detailed, Powell’s defense is essentially that no one should take her words and thoughts seriously, even though she’s a lawyer who directly fueled Donald Trump’s very visible (and baseless) claims of voter fraud to the point where he still feels he had the election stolen from him.

What she’s saying: Powell argues in her motion that “no reasonable person” would conclude that her accusations of Dominion’s election-rigging scheme “were truly statements of fact.”

She claims that Dominion conducted a “well-orchestrated public relations campaign to save their business” and that allegations against her are “sparse.”

Axios has the full dismissal attempt, but the highlights are clear: Powell’s best defense is that no one should believe anything she says.

“The Tucker Carlson” defense was trending as of Monday evening, as many pointed out that the Fox News host had the same argument when he faced similar legal trouble. But while it may hold up in court, it’s a pretty bizarre claim to try making with a straight face after months of endless media coverage that has influenced millions of Trump supporters and other Republicans and eroded their faith in the democratic system.

And it had a direct impact on the lives of plenty of people, leading to a MAGA coup attempt on January 6 as Trump supporters tried to prevent congress from certifying the results of the Electoral College.

It’s a matter of time whether Powell’s dismissal will work, and it will likely change anyone’s opinion of Powell but it’s a good reminder of whether you should believe anything she has to say about pretty much anything moving forward. If her best defense of her actions and beliefs is that she’s a fool who cannot be trusted, well, what more is there to say?

Sneaker brands, pull up a chair. We need to discuss something that’s been needling at us. It’s high time for you to drop all of your big releases in full-size runs. In fact, it’s past time.

Look we get it, it’s probably not sustainable to drop every single sneaker release in every single size. But the big releases? Your Virgil Abloh Off-White collaborations, the Supreme team-ups, the latest Yeezys, the dopest Air Max and SB Dunk colorways, and the next Cactus Jack launch? Everyone across the gender spectrum wants these.

Hopefully, this doesn’t feel like a radical take. Clearly it’s being discussed at the big brands and some lines are beginning to toy with the idea. So just take the leap already — commit to more inclusive sizing and celebrate the universality of sneaker culture.

Do it both because it’s the right thing to do and because there’s plenty of demand to support the move. Do it because streetwear — the clothing style that sneakers generally pair best with — is moving rapidly away from any sort of gender-exclusive aesthetic. And while a certain type of exclusivity certainly drives hype in the shoe world, gender exclusivity isn’t what sneakerheads want.

We break down the case for inclusive sizing below:

Women are driving the sneaker industry growth

Women aren’t only buying sneakers, they’re driving the growth of the market. According to data collected by ForwardPMX in 2019, women’s sneaker sales growth greatly outpaced men’s in recent years, spiking as much as five times faster between 2016 and 2017 alone. The study also found that female sneaker buyers tended to be more discerning about sneakers, and, on average, have stronger opinions regarding different styles when compared to their same-aged male counterparts.

An uptick in female consumers led to Jordan Brand hitting its first billion-dollar quarter in December of 2020, according to Input Magazine. This boom was driven by hyped-up designs by creators like Aleali May, Yoon Ahn, Melody Ehsani, and Jazerai Allen-Lord, to name a few. Meanwhile, Who What Wear reports that aftermarket sites like GOAT have seen their female user bases grow twice as fast as their male user bases.

While a new spate of sneaker lines created by female celebrities like Rihanna, Solange, Venus Williams, and Beyonce has certainly been part of this boom, the numbers show that much of this new user base at the aftermarket sites are buying sneakers made exclusively in men’s sizes more often than designs exclusive to women. In short, people who wear women’s sizes are shopping for Yeezys, Air Maxes of all numbers, Jordans, Off-White collaborations, etc. — all the same attention-grabbing drops that people who wear men’s sizes shop for.

Aftermarket site GOAT recently launched a feature that allows you to shop according to your personal shoe size in men’s and women’s styles. Shoe brands can take it a step further by universalizing their sizes altogether.

“Aren’t women’s and men’s shoes are made differently?”

Women’s shoes differ from men’s in two major ways. Firstly, the shape — women’s shoes are typically wider in the forefoot and narrower at the heel, and often have different midsole materials or heel support differences, which can affect the fit and weight of the sneaker. Many brands also take into account what is known as the Q-Angle, which is the angle of the quad muscle relative to the kneecap.

But as we all know, no sizing is ever “fits all.” Every major sneaker website has a review section in which customers advise people to size up or down and to consider how narrow or wide a particular sneaker silhouette is. Many have a chart that looks something like what Adidas has on their website,

Clearly, the big shoe brands are aware that not every sneaker fits the same, it’s why the best way to buy a pair of shoes will always be to try them on to see how they fit. The solution here is to make the shoes in multiple profiles — especially in the thick part of the sizing bell curve, where men’s and women’s sizes are most likely to overlap.

The argument to make more sizes seems to make good financial sense. Prior to the pandemic, Nike revenue was up 11 percent in the first half of fiscal 2020. That same year, the brand produced the Grateful Dead Dunks, the Off-White Jordan Vs, Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack SB Dunk Lows, the Dior Air Jordan 1s, and the aforementioned Off-White Jordan IV Sails only in men’s sizes. All of those shoes now sell for above $1000 on aftermarket sites like GOAT and StockX. You know, the sites with a rapidly growing female user bases.

Things are changing for the better, slowly but surely

Thankfully we aren’t the only people saying this. We’re simply adding our voice to the chorus. Shouts to Tora Northman writing for Hypebae, or Bianca Valle writing for Elite Daily, or Anna Bediones writing for Complex, or Noah Thomas writing for Highsnobiety — the latter of whom wrote a style hack for how men with small feet can open up a whole world of sneaker variety by copping women’s sneakers. Clearly, the media is in support of a more egalitarian sneaker world.

Brands for the most part are responding to this criticism, increasing their focus on women’s shoes, but they’d be wise to listen to what people are actually saying. Northman writes, “we don’t need more shoes that are pink, glittery, and labeled as “women’s exclusive” – we really just want what the dudes are getting.” Bediones writes “Why should women’s color ranges be limited to pinks, purples, and pastels? Female sneakerheads want the same colorways and makeups that every sneakerhead wants,” and Valle adds, “In today’s fashion sneaker culture, there is no guarantee you’re going to find your size. In other words, sneaker culture is not going out of its way to include us. We have to make it make room,”

Creatives concur with this assesment. Titi Finlay, artist, social media manager at Los Angeles sportswear retailer LACED and an Air Max 90 designer wrote to her 10k followers on her Instagram, “We don’t need women’s exclusives. We need inclusive sizing… I still don’t understand why sneaker brands bother with women’s exclusives that are sub-par versions of their male counterparts. Just give us inclusive sizing on all regular sneakers jeez.”

Amen. Anything less is unacceptable. With more inclusive sizes, we all win, and sneaker culture will feel truly unified.

Derrick Rose last took the floor for the New York Knicks on Feb. 28 and, since that time, the former NBA MVP has been listed as out as a result of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. On Monday, however, Rose revealed that he was dealing with COVID-19 and it was a difficult battle for the 32-year-old.

“Oh man, I was away because I actually had it. I felt all of the symptoms, sick and everything. But I’m happy to be back and that’s in the past,” Rose said Monday, via Peter Botte of the New York Post. “It was completely different. They say everybody is different, but with me, I never felt anything like that before.

“I’ve had the flu. It was nothing like the flu. My sense, the flu, your stomach, or like you’re drained and everything. It was that times 10. So like I said, slowly getting back, I’m progressing every day and just trying to get back in the swing of things.”

Rose also indicated that he was not alone in testing positive and dealing with the effects, saying “my girl, my kids, her mom, all of us had it.” While he certainly is not unique in having troubling symptoms, Rose commendably made sure to mention that, while some may dismiss the virus, it is nothing to downplay.

“Yeah, it just sucks, where you feel everything, your body is sore, headaches, all that,” Rose added. “The kids weren’t too bad, they had fevers and runny noses, but that was pretty much it, and a bad cough. But it’s real. COVID thing, I know a lot of people overlook it, but it’s very serious. It’s real.”

Since joining the Knicks via a midseason trade, Rose has appeared in 10 games, averaging 12.5 points and 4.9 assists per contest. He could return to the floor as soon as Tuesday when New York hosts the Washington Wizards, though both Rose and Tom Thibodeau did not commit to that reality, citing potential conditioning concerns.

Everyone enjoys a cute kid video, but when a cute kid also exudes precociousness and personality, that’s the stuff of viral delight.

Maliya Kabs is only four years old, but remember her name because if this car conversation with her dad is any indication, she’s probably going to rule the world someday.

Not only can she say words in several different languages, but she can also sing and dance with more soul than most adults—and she can put her dad, Tay, in his place without the most adorable shade ever thrown.

In just two minutes, it’s clear that this kiddo could command a room. She’s not overbearing or disrespectful, she’s just calmly and indisputably in charge of herself and everything in her orbit.

When she starts singing Selena—oh my. And When Tay sings the song wrong—she was just done. So hilarious.

Maliya Kabs SHOCKS dad with Spanish & Portuguese

www.youtube.com

The best part is that a four-year-old doesn’t really know how funny they are. This isn’t an act—it’s just her being her fabulous self.

The Kabs family shares videos on social media, and if you enjoyed this car karaoke, you’ll enjoy their others as well. The North London family is made up of husband and wife, Tay and Chan, and their three kids, Teija, Maliya, and TJ, and they share the vibrant joy of their loving family life with silly games, dance-offs and sing-offs, celebrations, and more.

Mali and Tay’s car songs are a highlight, every time. Here they celebrated her fourth birthday with a fancy dress, a dance lesson for dad, and a surprise from mom and big sister:

MALIYA KABS TURNS 4 🎉🎉

www.youtube.com

Their car videos go back all the way to when she was just a toddler singing “Baby Shark,” and each one is as adorable as the next.

Check out this one from when she was three and she had to open the car door so she could dance properly:

AFROBEATS MAKES 3 YEAR OLD JUMP OUT THE CAR‼️

www.youtube.com

Social media can be a mixed bag of awfulness and awesomeness, but the Kabs family is bringing nothing but awesome to it.

Their social media journey started off three years ago with Tay and Teija messing around in the car and making videos to send Chan at work to make her smile. Someone suggested they post it on Facebook, and after it racked up 100,000 views, they knew they had something and grabbed the opportunity.

Now Tay and Chan, who previously worked as an engineer and a cardiac technician, have made sharing their family life their full-time jobs, which they say allows them to spend more time with their kids.

“The best bits for us is to spending time together and working as a family,” Chan told Mirror last month. “I think because we all do enjoy it so much, it’s great to do something you love and spend time with your family. We’re able to get really more involved in their life, whereas when you’re working, nine to five, you can miss so much.”

The Kabs Family is definitely a channel to check out if you could use a little more delight in your life. You can follow them on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Last November, The National celebrated the 20-year anniversary of their self-titled debut album. Since the LP’s release in 2001, the band has gone on to play countless shows and festivals and earn a number of accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album. To chronicle their impressive career, The National tapped photographer Graham MacIndoe to turn their decades-spanning career into an exclusive photo book.

MacIndoe took The National’s first-ever publicity photo 20 years ago. Since then, he’s captured behind-the-scenes recording sessions and lively concerts. His most iconic photos will be compiled in the book Light Years, which is limited to only 3,200 copies. Light Years will be accompanied by a vinyl containing live songs selected from one of The National’s performances and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the band’s touring crew.

Announcing the book on social media, The National wrote:

“Light Years chronicles Scottish photographer Graham MacIndoe’s 20-year relationship with The National through newly published images, essays and quotes from members of the band. Graham took The National’s first official publicity photo in 2001, back when they were friends working in creative careers, lost touch with the band as their lives took very different paths, then reconnected in 2012 just as Trouble Will Find Me was released. Since then, Graham has documented recording sessions for The National’s last three albums and a multitude of gigs and rehearsals, capturing life in the studio, backstage and on the road. Graham’s black-and-white photographs provide a unique and intimate view of the band and their interactions with each other, their crew, family, friends and fans. The book is accompanied by a vinyl album of songs selected by Graham and Scott Devendorf from The National’s September 2018 performances at Forest Hills Stadium in New York.”

See a preview of The National’s Light Years photo book above.

The 2019-20 Golden State Warriors won’t be one remembered by NBA fans or, really, much at all by Warriors fans, as the post-Kevin Durant era saw what was effectively a reset year. Klay Thompson was out for the season with his torn ACL and Stephen Curry missed most of the year with a hand injury, meaning it was all about trying to find something for the future as they limped to the worst record in the league at 15-50.

However, for Steve Kerr, that experience was still more enjoyable than the final year of their run to five straight NBA Finals that ended in a loss to the Toronto Raptors. That was a season that started to show cracks in the dynasty with the much talked about Draymond Green-Kevin Durant spat on the bench early in the season, which followed a year in which David West proclaimed that no one knew everything that was going on behind closed doors.

Kerr echoed that sentiment on the Ringer NBA Show with Logan Murdock and Raja Bell on Monday, when he explained why last year was more enjoyable even amid all the losing than that final year, and again pointed to things that no one knows about (and he wasn’t about to divulge) going on in that Warriors locker room.

“I think every year is different, so it’s not as clear cut as that,” Kerr said. “I would tell you the first four years of our run, the coaching was way more fun, just because we were joyful and everything was really simple and no agendas. And then that last year things kind of went haywire, and even though we went to the Finals, it was difficult. I enjoyed last season, when we had the worst record in the league, more than I enjoyed that last season when we went to the Finals. Last year we had young guys who were trying every day, working hard and we had a great energy, great spirit and great camaraderie, and losing sucked, but what you want is a great vibe and you want to look forward to going into the gym every day and seeing everybody. And that last year was tough. It really was tough. There was just a lot going on that you guys, some that you know about, some that you don’t, and that was very difficult. Every year is unique and you try to enjoy each one for what it is.”

It’s not a shocking quote, as just about everyone on that Warriors team seemed fairly miserable in 2018-19, and the departure of Durant felt inevitable for almost the entire season. That it ended with two stars hurt and a loss in the Finals added to the misery of the season, but as Kerr notes, few were excited heading to the gym every day despite their status as the NBA’s best team for most of the year.

Kerr pointed to the “great vibe” of last year even as they struggled, and this year has seen them build some on that, even as they continue to be without Thompson. They’re still a couple steps behind where they once were and will be fighting for a play-in spot, not a championship this season, but it seems Kerr and just about everyone in the organization is pleased the drama of the 18-19 season is behind them.

Ever since Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars released their side project Silk Sonic‘s debut single “Leave The Door Open,” the track has been everywhere. The duo even brought the sultry single to the Grammys stage for a groovy performance. Now, Chloe Bailey, one half of R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle, has put her own spin on the song.

Chloe x Halle are usually joined at the hip, but Halle is currently in the UK while filming a live action version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Because of their distance, the two formed separate social media accounts in recent weeks, and Chloe has been enjoying her independence. The singer even broke the internet after participating in a viral “Buss It” challenge.

This time, Chloe opted to showcase her talent by taking on a cover of “Leave The Door Open.” Sharing her version on TikTok, Chloe stripped back the lush single into a piano ballad. The singer took the opportunity to display her powerhouse vocals, hitting high notes during the song’s chorus.

Ahead of Chloe’s cover, the singer was able to virtually attend the 63rd Grammy Awards last week. She and her sister were nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best Progressive R&B Album, and Best R&B Song. Even though Chloe x Halle didn’t end up winning in any category, Chloe said she’s “grateful to be on this journey” with her sister.

Watch Chloe Bailey’s “Leave The Door Open” cover above.

Bruno Mars is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After Video Game: The Movie and Unlocked — two doc projects centered on the culture of gaming — Jeremy Snead was set to turn his attentions to other topics. But then came the chance to go deeper into that most foundational, enduring, and sometimes mysterious video game company: Nintendo. The result is Playing With Power: The Nintendo Story, a five-part exploration of the company’s mythos told through the experiences of insiders, experts, and competitors that is now streaming on Crackle.

Does it tell the whole story? As he told us when we spoke with him and his producing partner (and the docuseries’ narrator) Sean Astin, that may not be fully possible. But throughout, you do get a sense of that which keeps this company afloat (going all the way back from its creation as a playing card manufacturer in late 1800s Japan thanks, in part, to the use of miniatures that play a role throughout) — a seemingly mismatched blend of stubbornness and a willingness to bet big on not just innovation, but the idea of play and, especially, connection and immersion.

Here’s our talk with Snead and Astin on that and standing out in a crowded field of video game documentaries, edited and condensed for clarity and length.

What has your personal relationship to Nintendo been over the years?

Jeremy Snead: It’s funny because one of the first conversations Sean and I had was how he was pre-Nintendo. He was an Intellivision guy and I was a Nintendo guy and Sean probably has way more memories of Intellivision stuff than I do of NES.

Sean Astin: I was a very blessed kid. My parents had means and I had means. So I played everything. But when you asked that question, the image that popped into my head was sitting in the bed in my wife and I’s first home. I got married very young. I was 21 when we got married. And I had never really liked Mario. I just didn’t get the Mario thing, but we went into the wormhole and there were many, many, many days that I don’t think we came out of the bedroom for several reasons. Not the least of which was Mario’s journey. [Laughs]

How long did it take to develop this project?

Astin: This project is the culmination of at least a decade of Jeremy’s blood, sweat, and tears. He has dedicated his life, his business, his creative expression to the world of video games and has collected and conducted interviews with thousands of people in the video game space. And when it came time, as he did his movie, his documentary, and then the Unlocked series, the question inevitably inexorably became, where do you go now? What, one thing [would you focus on] if you could really zero and telescope in and really explore something specific? Jeremy was like, it has to be Nintendo because of its history and its importance in the video game world. And its continuing relevance. He just liked the story. I didn’t know anything about the story.

The market has seen a lot of documentaries in this space. Obviously, you guys have been a part of some of them, but how do you look to make this stand out when you start the process?

Snead: Especially in this documentary renaissance that we’re in, people are super drawn to kind of exposé type stuff. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s just that I think with journalism and stories that we’ve seen the past few years, people have kind of been trained to be drawn to that type of stuff. And again, not that it’s a bad thing

Astin: In terms of the storytelling, it was really a question of, how much do you do it as a love letter to the company and how much do you look at it as a kind of a critical analysis of what the company has done over time? And I feel like this is Jeremy. It’s critical in some ways, but not like in a mean-spirited way. And it’s a love letter in the sense that this company is really, I mean, I’m sure if you’re Universal, you don’t love them as much, but you know, for the audience, for the people who are at any of these game design schools that Jeremy’s shown me or whatever… people who watched this documentary series… [We want] it to speak to them. It’s a purist communication, I think.

Was it harder to cast this or bring people in to talk about this than it was in past works that you’ve done, and do you think that’s partly because of the culture where people are kind of looking to kind of blow things up a little bit more?

Snead: Oh yeah. No question, this was the most difficult subject matter to get interviewees for. We should definitely make a distinction here between NOA and NCL. So Nintendo of America, Nintendo Company Limited, which is, you know, Nintendo Japan… anyone who’s kind of worked in video game journalism knows Nintendo NCL just doesn’t really do interviews. They don’t really grant the Miyamoto’s of the world… I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Reggie Fils-Aimé a handful of times, and he’s great, but he’s on the Nintendo of America side. And so it’s like anyone and everyone wants to go into the hallowed halls of R & D 1 and R &D 2 or R & D 3, where Mario is made, where Zelda is made… to see how the sausage is made.

But you know, smartly, that’s their secret sauce and they know it. And as definitive as I want for this series to be, I don’t know if anyone will ever really get into the Willy Wonka factory there and really see if we requested it. We requested Nintendo of Japan and they weren’t able to participate at that level, but it really worked out even better because the veterans of the company, Nintendo of America, they have this perspective on both NOA and NCL. In hindsight, if they had been at the company now as an active employee, it’s like, I’m not going to say they would be muzzled, but they’re definitely going to sort of pull their punches a little bit on what they’re talking about. And so I think getting the veterans of the company to talk about it, in retrospect, both Nintendo of America’s point of view and Nintendo Japan, we get a very pure voice from the people that, you know, want their contributions and their legacy to be remembered, but also to tell a true story.

Lastly, what’s your favorite Nintendo game?

Snead: I have to tie my favorite Nintendo game to my favorite Nintendo memory, which would be… you know, it’s kind of a cliche, but I mean, it was Christmas ’86. I got the original lunchbox grey box NES. Like so many kids around America, me and my siblings played it into the wee hours of the morning and had to kind of share it for, for a couple of weeks. And then my brother lost interest and I had it to myself. So, I’m an NES kid through and through, and that original Mario is the white hot center of my Nintendo nostalgia.

Astin: Oh, for me, it’s Donkey Kong full stop, but I have to give an honorable mention for the thousands of hours that my daughters and I, and my wife and I have played Mario Kart on the Wii. If I added all of the video games that I’ve ever played, including the countless hours of Call Of Duty and everything else, it’d be about half of the amount of time that we spent playing Mario Kart.

Doesn’t that speak to the enduring appeal of the thing? I mean, you guys touch on it a little bit in the last episode of the series, but that family connection and the ability to kind of sit and play with someone else and share that. Especially generationally. It really does speak to the appeal of Nintendo because they obviously court that experience above all others. Is that a fair assessment?

Astin: I think it’s a communal meditation, that game in particular. I mean, we play lots of games together… you know, sometimes when you play board games with a family, there’s a competitive element to it, or it’s shaped around an evening with dinner or Pictionary or something like that. But there’s something about these games that, yeah, it’s just meditative. I can just picture all the discussions we’ve had over Bowser. It’s hilarious. If you walk in and listen to any one of us, my wife included, or the three girls describe which of the bikes have the greatest aerodynamics, you would think that we have like a Ph.D. in it. There’s no question that they’ve created technology and the creativity that they’ve come up with is a solve for this terrible world that we sometimes inhabit.

Snead: I agree with that. I mean, it’s the, the couch co-op or whatever you want to call it… That’s the most successful of Nintendo’s products and they, somehow have found a way to do it better than anyone else. I mean, you look at Sony Move and the Xbox Kinect. I mean, they’re great, but they kind of came and went and how many people still have their Wii connected in their living room? Cause it’s just easy and it works. That’s what makes Nintendo special. And I think, you know, Phil Spencer in the series, was probably one of my favorite interviews that we got, because here you have one of Nintendo’s direct competitors saying, no, this company is special. And here’s why. I think that’s a big part of it is like knowing the community… That communal aspect is always going to be at the heart of gaming and what brings people together, and what makes it special.

You can stream all 5 episodes of ‘Playing With Power: The Nintendo Story’ on Crackle now.