Category: Worldwide

Now is both a great and possibly terrible time to be a video game fan.

The Nintendo Switch is coming off a hot Animal Crossing-dominated summer. Among Us is the latest viral gaming hit. The future offers a lot to look forward to with the new Playstation and Xbox consoles, as well as the developing cloud gaming sector.

These reasons and others make now a terrific time for gamers and non-gamers to engage with the medium in ways they hadn’t before, whether that means diving in for the first time or diving deeper. For many, though, these attractions will have to be put on hold because of the pandemic. With people out of work, finally returning to work, or otherwise focused on just getting by during trying times, gaming isn’t as big a financial priority as the electric bill or novelty face masks. That’s especially true since new games and consoles can cost hundreds of hard-earned, hard-to-come-by dollars.

Even folks who have the money to get a Switch may have trouble tracking one down. Stock has been low at times in 2020 because everybody and their cousin has gotten one (and quickly racked impossible amounts of debt to Tom Nook). However, a fresh experience doesn’t have to cost a lot or be near-impossible to attain, especially for gaming newcomers: Let me (re)introduce you to the Nintendo 3DS, which, perhaps now more than ever, is a perfect gateway into gaming.

A brief recap of what the 3DS has been up to: It launched in 2011 at a bonkers price point of $250 in North America, which was quickly dropped down to $170. The platform picked up steam after its slow start, went through multiple iterations, had a lot of fun games, and has done well during its lifetime. Gradually, Nintendo worked its way to what will likely be the final handheld in the storied 3DS family: The New Nintendo 2DS XL launched in July 2017, which was actually a few months after the Switch first hit shelves. Over 75 million units have been sold across all 3DS models, which is more than the Xbox One and the Switch (for now, anyway).

(If you’re confused: The 2DS came after the original 3DS consoles, but is still part of the 3DS console generation. The primary difference is that the 2DS units do not have the 3D functionality of the 3DS. They still play the same 3DS games, but without 3D. It’s just a peculiar naming convention that makes 2 come after 3 here. Anyway, generally speaking, 2DS = 3DS.)

Sadly but understandably, The Verge noted in mid-September that no 3DS or 2DS models are in production anymore, meaning the platform has been discontinued nearly ten years after its launch. This news comes via the Japanese 3DS website, and mentions of the 3DS have been mostly removed from Nintendo’s US site.

This ode to the 3DS wasn’t written as a nostalgia-induced and overly laudatory reaction to its discontinuation. I actually had the idea for this piece and wrote the bulk of it in late August (check the date on the 2DS XL top screen in my lead photo above). Whether or not the 3DS is a headline right now, I felt it was worth communicating that the handheld is a tremendous, often-overlooked gaming platform that’s still a viable purchase in 2020.

Since the 2DS XL isn’t too old, the used market isn’t that icky. Within the couple months, I bought a purple one for $80 from a local seller on Facebook Marketplace and it was in beautiful like-new condition. The seller told me they had only played it a handful of times, and looking at the console, their story checks out. Meanwhile, Nintendo still sells refurbished 2DS XL consoles, which go for $100 and come with a one-year warranty. There are also new-in-box 2DS XLs out there from third-party sellers, with plenty of options for around $150 on eBay as of late October.

The original 2DS model, first released in 2013 and also discontinued this year, is even cheaper; Used units can routinely be found for under $60. That said, the slate-like, non-clamshell form factor just isn’t my jam and I don’t find it comfortable or worthwhile to play on. So, I’ll disregard it, but you should at least be aware of the option.

It is likely that no more significant new games will be released for the 3DS (not by Nintendo, anyway), but that’s fine because it already has a gargantuan and impressive library. Wikipedia’s exhaustive (but still likely incomplete) list of all 3DS games has 1,344 titles, and there are some all-time greats in that collection.

93 3DS games have achieved a Metacritic score of at least 80, meaning there are plenty of reputable 3DS games that experts love and believe are worth playing through. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, the N64 classic that is the highest-rated game of all time on Metacritic, has a beloved 3DS port that itself is the highest-scoring 3DS game on the site, with a 94 rating.

Furthermore, of the 20 best-selling video games of all time across all platforms, nine of them have versions that are playable on the 3DS: Minecraft, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow, Tetris, Pac-Man, New Super Mario Bros., Terraria, and Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal (we’ll circle back to those older Pokémon games in a minute).

We’ve also come this far without mentioning one of the biggest draws of the 3DS: It can play every* game from the original DS. Access to the beloved DS library more than doubles the number of games you can play on a 3DS system.

(*There are rare exceptions that don’t fully work on 3DS, like Guitar Hero: On Tour. That game needs an accessory that plugs into the DS’ Game Boy Advance slot, a port that 3DS and 2DS models lack. That’s an extremely minority case, though, and not really worth taking into consideration here.)

There is an abundance of quality available in the combined DS/3DS library. There are six main-series Pokémon games (counting companion titles like Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum as one game), two remakes, and a bunch of spin-offs. There are also some of the best Mario games ever, like New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 3D Land. Other noteworthy first-party Nintendo titles include Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart 7, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time, among many others.

A majority of these games, by the way, will likely only ever be available on DS and 3DS. It’s not that Nintendo isn’t willing to re-release games, especially considering they just dropped Super Mario 3D All-Stars. However, DS and 3DS games are a challenge to bring to other platforms because of their unique design. The DS and 3DS are dual-screen experiences, while virtually every other console makes use of a single display. So, especially for games that utilize the DS/3DS hardware and form factor (like the touch screen) in critical ways, a port to any other platform just won’t work without significant alterations. It’s possible to fit a square peg in a round hole, but you’ll have to cut literal corners to make it work. Ultimately, if you want to play a DS or 3DS game, firing it up on the original console is the best, and probably only, way that will ever be possible.

As you may figure at this point, the DS/3DS library offers a deep look into the history of gaming. Aside from the aforementioned Ocarina Of Time remake and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (a remake of the Wii’s Donkey Kong Country Returns), other classics that have been revamped for or ported to the 3DS or DS include Diddy Kong Racing (as Diddy Kong Racing DS), Star Fox 64 (Star Fox 64 3D), Super Mario 64 (Super Mario 64 DS), the first six Mega Man games (compiled on Mega Man Legacy Collection for 3DS), Luigi’s Mansion (released on 3DS with the same title), and the list goes on.

The 3DS offers more comprehensive access to historically significant games than the Switch does. The Switch includes a handful of vintage titles as part of its online offerings, but it bafflingly hasn’t gotten the Virtual Console yet, which the 3DS has. For the unfamiliar, the Virtual Console is Nintendo’s library of classic games that are individually downloadable on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. Available on the 3DS are games for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, NES, Super Nintendo, and even Sega Game Gear. So, 3DS owners can play the original Pokémon and Mario games, as well as others that can be a challenge to find and enjoy in an official capacity on modern consoles.

The 3DS can also serve as a transition from casual mobile phone gaming to console gaming. A lot of 3DS games offer the same level of enjoyment that console titles can, all in a form factor that won’t keep you parked in front of a TV for hours at a time. By their nature, handheld games are meant to be of a more pick-up-and-play affair that are fine for shorter gaming sessions, but not as ephemeral as the experience most mobile games provide. Additionally, their low price point also makes them appealing to prospective gamers who want to take a stab at something more substantial than whatever colorful match-three game they have on their phone.

I touched on cost a bit earlier, but let’s get more into the weeds on that aspect of the 3DS’ current appeal by comparing it to the Switch and asking: What can $300 get you in each platform’s ecosystem?

The Switch retails for $300, but due to its scarcity, consoles are often marked up by third-party sellers. Let’s say you’re able to find one at retail price, though: Our $300 budget will cover a console (not including tax) that doesn’t come with any games or accessories.

That same amount of money gets you a lot farther on the 3DS. Yes, it’s an older and technologically inferior platform to the Switch, but as I’ve been trying to hammer home, it can be as fun as (or more fun than) things newer than it. So, if you can get a 2DS XL for $100, that leaves you with $200 to spend on games. That can take you a long way.

Metacritic’s five highest-rated games on 3DS (Ocarina Of Time 3D, Fire Emblem: Awakening, The Legend Of Zelda: Link Between Worlds, Shovel Knight, and Super Mario 3D Land) cost an approximate total of $83 when buying them used online (according to data from pricecharting.com). The five top-scoring games on DS (Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Chrono Trigger, Mario Kart DS, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, and The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass) total around $95 used. The $40 price tag of Chrono Trigger (a sought-after Super Nintendo remake) jacked the DS figure up a bit, but regardless, the 2DS XL, five 3DS games, and five DS games total $278. That leaves $22 to get a case — which go for around $10 to $15 — and other accessories.

It seems to me like a $300 3DS bundle can offer significantly more hours of fun than can a Switch and the no games that come with it — unless you get a kick out of browsing the system settings menus and checking if your joysticks are drifting yet. If money was tight, I didn’t own any video games (LOL), and I was offered either a Switch or a 2DS XL with $200 worth of games, I’d probably opt for the older handheld.

If you’re not trying to spend $300, though, here’s one more quick money experiment, in which I pick my most fun and cost-efficient DS/3DS mini-library for about the cost of one new Switch game ($60). Based on pricecharting.com data, I’m going with Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS ($10), New Super Mario Bros. for DS ($11), Super Mario 64 DS ($14), Pokémon Moon for 3DS ($14), and The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for 3DS (which I personally bought on eBay recently for $14).

That brings us to $63 and gives me a group of games I would choose collectively over any individual Switch title. Even for people who already own a modern console, a relatively small investment in the 3DS ecosystem — the cost of a few current-gen games — can expand and enrich their gaming experience significantly.

Instead of mourning the 3DS’ death, let’s celebrate its life, including the life it still has.

That’s what some Japanese gamers are doing: Demand for the 2DS XL rose in Japan during Switch shortages in April. Some of the all-time greatest video game experiences can be enjoyed on the handheld today, and devices are cheap now, especially when compared to a $500 PS5. Netflix has brought renewed attention to TV shows that have been out of circulation for years, so why can’t a bit of awareness and willingness do the same for the 3DS?

Getting behind this idea of trading newness for value can make now an inarguably great moment to be a video game fan.

The Mandalorian season two finale is on December 18, but don’t you dare think about canceling your Disney+ subscription.

For one thing, when was the last time you watched Adventures of the Gummi Bears? Do it for the theme song alone. Also, and more importantly, WandaVision begins shortly after the adventures of that egg-eating monster Baby Yoda ends (until season three).

Disney+ revealed on Thursday that WandaVision, the bonkers-looking superhero series (that’s also an old-school sitcom?) starring Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany as Vision, premieres on January 15. It’s the first new installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Spider-Man: Far From Home in July 2019, as Black Widow and Eternals were delayed until next year, and the first MCU show on Disney’s year-old streaming service. It will (hopefully) be joined by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Ms. Marvel throughout 2021. Watch a brief teaser below.

“The show is a love letter to the golden age of television,” WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer told Entertainment Weekly. “We’re paying tribute and honoring all of these incredible shows and people who came before us, [but] we’re also trying to blaze new territory.” That shouldn’t be too hard, considering the apron-wearing housewife is a telekinetic witch and the dopey husband is a big red dude. I don’t remember that episode of Father Knows Best.

It’s not often that we hear from indie mainstays Fleet Foxes but every time we do, they have something exciting in the works. Back in September, Fleet Foxes returned to announce their fourth studio record Shore was arriving the next day at the exact moment of the autumn equinox. While much of their album’s recording process happened under wraps, the band are offering an inside look at their Shore studio sessions with the soothing “Sunblind” video.

The visual is compiled of short video clips filmed throughout their Shore recording process. It shares a look at each one of their studios — from a cozy wooded cabin to a grand sound booth in Paris, and everywhere in between.

Ahead of the “Sunblind” video’s release, Fleet Foxes’ vocalist Robin Pecknold spoke with Uproxx and explained how “Sunblind” was written:

“There was a moment when I thought it would be cool to have a gang vocal with a ton of people singing on it, but then that started to seem a little too ‘We Are The World’ or something. But I really wanted Kevin on there, so I asked him just a few weeks ago. One of the small upsides of the lockdown situation is that everyone has the home recording situation pretty dialed in. And Kevin was really close with Richard Swift, Joshua Jaeger played drums on this song, and Homer Steinweiss plays drums on this song as well — and he played drums with Richard in The Arcs. I wanted to involve people who knew those guys, and that were a little younger than me. Mentioning a bunch of people that had passed that were our heroes, and then to include the guys that were younger than me, in a way keeping that memory alive.”

Watch Fleet Foxes’ “Sunblind” video above.

Shore is out now via Anti-. Get it here.

The Walking Dead universe, which has been reluctant to do so in the past, is getting into the product placement game. In the past decade, the series has only placed a product into the show for promotional purposes once, in an opening season episode that featured a Hyundai Tucson as a getaway car. However, it’s leaner times now; viewership is dropping (and therefore ad rates), and so I expect are carriage fees, as more people cut the cord and get their zombie fix from Netflix. AMC is casting a wider net now for revenue opportunities.

This weekend’s of The Walking Dead: The World Beyond will reintroduce product placement, beginning with Mtn. Dew, and the insertion will not be subtle. From Variety:

Viewers on Sunday will see one of the “World Beyond” characters, played by Annet Mahendru, surprise another, played by Nico Tortorella with a full bottle of Mountain Dew, cloaked in a label that might have greeted a consumer around 2010. “Is this legit?” he asks, mentioning the soda by name. “I will never stop missing these. I mean, I used to drink this like water, back in the day.”

The clip is already online if you don’t want to wait until this weekend’s episode of The World Beyond to watch it:

I should note that the Mtn. Dew he is drinking — which Mahendru’s character, Huck, tells him she found “chilling out back in the stream” — has to be at least a decade old because the series is set ten years after the apocalypse. A quick search reveals that carbonated beverages are only good for 9 months, and it’s unlikely that “chilling out in a stream” for a decade will preserve the soft-drink any better than a refrigerator might. I’m not sure how “refreshing” that drink will be.

I suppose, however, that artistic license for profit is totally acceptable. It’s not the first time product placements have been introduced to the apocalypse, either. Remember Tallahassee’s frantic search for Twinkies in Zombieland? Contrary to urban myths, Twinkies do not remain fresh forever. In fact, according to NPR, Twinkies shelf life is only 45 days, which means that survivors in zombie apocalypses must eat a lot of really stale and rotten foods. After all, the chocolate pudding that Carl ate many seasons ago on The Walking Dead had only a shelf life of three to four weeks. Gross, Carl.

(Via Variety)

The Weeknd and the NFL have announced that the Canadian superstar will perform at the next Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show on February 7, 2021.

In a press statement, Pepsi’s Vice President of Marketing, Todd Kaplan, said, “The Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show is one of the most anticipated performances of the year and we are thrilled to welcome The Weeknd to the stage,” said Todd Kaplan, VP of Marketing, Pepsi. “Pepsi has worked with some of music’s biggest artists over the years – from Prince to Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and most recently, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. After a year that’s largely been void of live music, we can’t wait to watch The Weeknd transform the world’s biggest stage with his limitless talent and creativity, delivering what will most certainly be an unforgettable performance that will be remembered for years to come.”

Adam Harter, Senior Vice President of Sports, Media, and Entertainment added, “We can’t wait to welcome multi-award-winning artist The Weeknd to the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show stage. In collaboration with the NFL and Roc Nation, we continue to reimagine what a Pepsi Halftime Show looks like with some of the biggest musicians in the world. We expect The Weeknd will continue to raise the bar, setting a new precedent both musically and visually for the most-watched performance of the year.”

The announcement caps a stellar year for The Weeknd, whose March album After Hours has proven to have legs a mile long, with a deluxe version featuring a who’s-who of star artists, a string of well-received television appearances including a VMA win for Best R&B, and a virtual concert on TikTok. The Weeknd himself has also popped up Ariana Grande’s new album, Oneohtrix Point Never’s new EP, and Calvin Harris’ latest single.

As Stan culture evolves and grows, artists’ superfans are going to greater and greater lengths to get their faves’ attention. While the Barbz still relentlessly hound anyone who speaks ill of Nicki Minaj — or even her collaborators — Eminem, the man who coined the term Stan, had a run-in with a stalker who broke into his house this year. Another Eminem fan got into the Guinness Book Of Records for inking her 16th tattoo of the star’s face on her. And the wrath of the Beyhive knows very few bounds.

However, the latest superfan shenanigans led to the fan being arrested after trying to illegally board a Los Angeles-bound flight to try to meet her hero. According to The New York Post, 23-year-old Yaazmina Payton was stopped from boarding a flight at O’Hare International Airport on Sunday, November 8 after ducking the ropes at the boarding gate for an American Airlines plane headed to LA. She was charged with felony criminal trespassing after failing to produce a boarding pass. On Monday, her counsel at a hearing said that she suffers from PTSD and anxiety disorder and she was released on $500 bail. She’ll have a hard time flying out of O’Hare in the future; she was banned from visiting the airport.

Meanwhile, Jay-Z himself is launching his own cannabis brand, which might help Payton with that anxiety.

Tiffany is the forgotten Trump… to everyone except Matt Gaetz.

On Wednesday, while her father continued to refuse to concede the election, Donald’s daughter posted a photo of herself in the White House on Twitter, adding a heart emoji for good measure. The typical reply ranged from “remember having a lavish birthday party while Covid is a raging pandemic?” to “I, too, randomly pose with drapes,” but the weirdest response came from Gaetz, the conservative congressman from Florida, who one-upped Trump’s heart emoji with the fire, heart-eyes, and thumb-up emojis. Weird!

This isn’t the first time Gaetz has turned into the Tex Avery wolf for Trump, either. In response to the president congratulating her for graduating from Georgetown Law earlier this year, he wrote, “Tiffany is a beautiful person inside and out! It’s so great to see her success.” Trump “liked” Gaetz’s new tweet, but everyone else was creeped out.

It’s unknown what Nestor thinks of Gaetz, a publicly-elected official, getting “horny on main” for the president’s daughter, but Ron Perlman might have something to say about it. The pair were locked in a long Twitter feud, where the Sons of Anarchy actor called Gaetz a “dipsh*t,” among other amusing insults. “A guy who wins a totally gerrymandered district with daddy’s money deserves our deepest admiration. You’re right… I only PLAY scumbags and grifters. You’re the real deal!” he tweeted. Perlman hasn’t said anything about Gaetz, but he has been unloading on the president.

Haim aren’t usually purveyors of intense guitar-driven rock, but that’s just what they’ve made for the new animated film The Croods: A New Age. Their contribution to the soundtrack, “Feel The Thunder,” is the theme song for the movie’s Thunder Sisters characters, and it was inspired by Guns N’ Roses.

The band recorded and co-wrote the song with producer Ariel Rechtshaid, who Danielle Haim told Rolling Stone is “the biggest Guns N’ Roses fan,” saying, “He’s obsessed with them — he went and saw them on their most recent tour a bunch of times. And so I figured that that’s what we were looking for. We were like, ‘Let’s get Ariel.’ But I’d never tried to make music like that before, so it was fully like a crazy experiment.”

Danielle also said of the track, “We grew up listening to rock music, pop, a healthy smattering of a ton of different kinds of music. I don’t know how often you really hear rock music in a kid’s film anymore, or rock music in general anymore.”

The band also worked on the track with Croods composer and Devo leader Mark Mothersaugh, who spoke highly of the group: “I thought it was cool how these young women are in this cool part of their trajectory right now. I look at them and think about what a great time Devo had when we were where they are right now. They’re very talented ladies who are very fun to work with.”

This song isn’t terribly unlike another track the group made for an animated film this year, as their Trolls: World Tour cut “Rock N Roll Rules” is also an uncharacteristically rocking tune for them.

Listen to “Feel The Thunder” above.

It’s no secret that longtime actor Jon Voight is a huge Trump supporter who regularly finds himself being dragged on Twitter for his outlandish takes backing the president. This time around, Voight caught the attention of Samuel L. Jackson after the Ray Donovan star made a new Twitter video that essentially calls for war over the (fake) “lie” that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Voight even goes so far as to accuse Biden’s supporters of being “evil” and says that the right is now locked in a “battle of righteousness versus Satan.” Via The Hill:

“We must fight this corruption that has taken over and fight for the good that seems lost,” he said. “Let us give our trust to God, and fight now for Trump’s victory because we all know this ballot count is corruption like they are. So let us not back down. Let us fight this fight as if it is our last fight on earth.”

After catching wind of Voight’s rhetoric, Jackson fired back with one of his trademark F-bombs. “First, you gotta stop looking at this insanity!!” Jackson tweeted. “The Civil War was about Slavery so pay attention to the symbolism. Lastly F*CK. John Voight!!!”

Jackson’s fiery condemnation of Voight did not sit well with right-wing Twitter users, who fired back at the Pulp Fiction actor and chastised him for his use of profanity, which is like chastising McDonald’s for serving hamburgers, but okay.

But it wasn’t all backlash in the replies. Jackson had plenty of supporters who were very happy to see him call out Voight in pure SLJ style.

(Via Samuel L. Jackson on Twitter)

Pharrell is known for his Grammy Award-winning music and his work in the film industry, but everyone can also agree on one thing about the musician: he doesn’t seem to age. Pharrell has been questioned about his flawless skin for many years, and he’s now finally ready to reveal his secrets through a line of carefully-developed skincare products.

Pharrell has been praised for his age-defying skin for years. Travis Scott even quizzed him on his routine last year, asking if it was true that the musician only washes his face with cold water, to which Pharrell replied: “You gotta exfoliate like a f*cking madman.”

But now taking things one step further, Pharrell teamed up with his longtime dermatologist Elena Jones for the product line Humanrace. The skincare line will be released everywhere November 25 and includes include cleansers, creams, exfoliators, and more.

The products are also made with waste-reduction in mind. Each bottle comes with a removable chamber at the bottom to allow an easy way for refilling products without needing to toss the entire container. Speaking about the products in a statement, Pharrell said: “Humanrace Skincare doesn’t differentiate by race or gender. We’re creating for humans; we are all born in the same skin.”

Check out a preview of Pharrell’s Humanrace skincare line above.