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In the beer world, the end of October feels like the official beginning of winter and the coming holiday season. Thanksgiving is only three weeks away and we’re only two months from 2021. It’s 100 percent time to start drinking heavier, spicier, and higher alcohol beers. If for no other reason than that this is when brewers typically release them.

While the beers we’re shouting out this month aren’t all winter warmers, they’re all big beers for cold weather sipping. Beers that are made to be enjoyed right now — packed full of flavors you don’t typically get the rest of the year.

Hopefully, the eight beers we’re giving love to this month will pique your interest and inspire you to explore exciting brews made near you or sold at your closest bottle shop. The picks below are regional craft beer releases from breweries that we vouch for along with seasonal bottles we’ve been looking forward to tasting again.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST DROP: Alaskan Freeride

Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.3%

The Beer:

We’re pretty big Alaskan Brewing stans around these parts and Freeride — their wintery pale ale — is a good example of why. The beer is a marriage of that famous Alaskan glacial water with Pacific Northwest hops and malts. The ABVs are middle of the road, making this an easy after-work sipper to take the edge off all November long.

Tasting Notes:

Tropical fruits meet floral-yet-mild dankness, with a caramel malty underbelly. Those fruity and floral hops really drive the taste with a nice dose of dry texture and a balance of slightly sweet malt character. The sip is refreshing, enticing, and light enough to keep you coming back for more.

SOUTHWEST DROP: Sierra Nevada 2020 Bigfoot

Style: American Barleywine
ABV: 9.6%

The Beer:

This is a classic ale from a classic microbrewery. The brew is made by heavily roasting quality malts and adding whole cone hops to bring about balance and amp up the flavor. The end result is a beer that works great as a sipper right now or as a cellar beer that you can age for years to come.

Tasting Notes:

“Big” comes to mind when you first smell this beer as the resinous hops mingle with well-roasted and caramel-laden malts. The beer touches on dark Christmas cakes full of mild spices and dried and candied fruit with a signature beer fizz that’s light and approachable.

The toffee malts and resinous hops are the stars of this show in the end.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN DROP: New Belgium Accumulation

Style: Belgian IPA
ABV: 6.2%

The Beer:

The beauty of this winter ale is its divergence from the darker, strong ales that usually dominate the scene this month. The brewers at New Belgium decided to go the wheat beer route with their winter ale. That addition of smooth wheat malts brings an accessibility to the brew that makes this a very easy-sipper.

Tasting Notes:

The hoppiness of the nose draws you in by touching on glowing citrus, sweet tropical fruits, and an almost spicy/resinous hop edge rounding it out. That taste delivers on that hoppiness, with a mild counterbalance of sweet/spicy malts underneath it all.

SOUTHERN DROP: Rahr & Sons Winter Warmer

Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 8%

The Beer:

Texas’ Rahr & Sons Winter Warmer is a stone-cold classic winter ale. The beer leans into the big, malty, Christmasy, fruity flavors with no hesitation whatsoever. The strong ABVs combined with the strong flavors suit what drinking feels like right now.

Tasting Notes:

You really get a sense of the deeply roasted malts with dark cacao next to a bit of spicy hops. The beer embraces the malts with plenty of caramel, creamy dark chocolate, and Christmas cake full of dried fruit. This is wintertime in a can.

MIDWEST DROP: Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 7.5%

The Beer:

Great Lakes Christmas Ale is another seasonal classic that’s hitting the shelves right now. This multi-award-winning ale manages just the right note of seasonal conviviality, with enough nuance to keep you interested all season long. Though be warned, this is a really easy beer to drink, and those high ABVs will catch up to you.

Tasting Notes:

The maltiness of this beer leans more towards a honeyed sweetness and the spices kick up more of a grated ginger freshness. There’s plenty of Christmas spices in play with all that malty honey nature — making for a balanced, lush feel to this sipper.

NORTHEAST DROP: Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Style: Bock
ABV: 5.6%

The Beer:

This is probably the easiest find on the list this month. The new version of Winter Lager from Boston takes the goodness of their lager and takes it into bock (that’s just a lager with longer storage times) territory with the addition of cinnamon, ginger, and orange peel in the beer.

Tasting Notes:

Toffee malts greet you with a clear sense of those spices up top. The beer delivers on what it promises, with plenty of those sweet malts balanced with orange citrus, spices, and a hint of ginger. The hops are present but take a backseat to the malts and spices on this very easy-drinking brew.

WILD CARD DROP: Deschutes Jubelale

Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.7%

The Beer:

No list of November beers would be complete without Oregon’s Jubelale. The brew is a masterful mix of five malt and five hop varieties with a lean towards classic English dark ale. The finished product is the gold standard of an American winter warmer.

Tasting Notes:

This is a big beer with big notes of chocolate roasted malts next to subtle Christmas spices and clear toffee sweetness. Those sweet malts shine brightly as the spices offer a great counterpoint with a touch of hoppiness on the backend. The sip leans into the malts with a return of rich cacao powder on the final notes.

INT’L PICK OF THE MONTH: Ayinger Celebrator

Style: Doppelbock
ABV: 6.7%

The Beer:

This doppelbock from Bavaria should be fairly easy to find from most good beer shops or delivery services. The beer leans into the malty nature of the season while holding back on the cloying sweetness of an average winter warmer. This is about expert craft done well for generations.

Tasting Notes:

The beer dives straight into the malts — with an espresso bitterness mingling with dark chocolate and a wisp of bacon fat. The maltiness has bready notes, plus toffee and an almost cherry fruitiness. But it’s really the dark coffee bean oils and dark cacao that shine in this one.

The whole sip is a well-balanced bit of bliss in a bottle.

Joe Biden has racked up a bunch of celebrity endorsers in the lead-up to the election, and now Eminem has allowed the Biden campaign to use his music in a new ad.

The 45-second spot, titled “One Opportunity,” is full of B-roll, including black-and-white shots of things like a masked Biden at campaign events, a Biden campaign bus on the high way, farm land, cities, a sports stadium, families, firemen, doctors, and that sort of thing. The whole thing is scored by an edit of “Lose Yourself” that jumps from the intro (“Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity / To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment / Would you capture it, or just let it slip?”) to the chorus (“You better lose yourself in the music / The moment, you own it, you better never let it go / You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow / This opportunity comes once in a lifetime”).

Sharing the video on social media, Eminem wrote, “One opportunity… #Vote.”

Eminem, of course, has been famously critical of Biden’s opponent, Donald Trump. On “The Ringer” from Kamikaze, for example, Em raps, “‘Cause Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service / To meet in person to see if I really think of hurtin’ him / Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists / I said, ‘Only when it comes to ink and lyricists.’” Those lyrics actually prompted a Secret Service investigation.

Watch the video above.

Quinnen Williams has been among the few bright spots for the New York Jets this season, as the second year defensive tackle out of Alabama has already outpaced his rookie production through eight games this season.

Williams has 31 tackles (18 solo) on the season, including seven for loss and three sacks, as he wreaks havoc on the interior of opposing lines. Being one of the Jets best players has also made him a target of trade rumors, as the 0-8 Jets figure to be sellers at the trade deadline. For his part, Williams is just trying to stay focused on the field and what he has to do on Sundays, allowing everything off the field to sort itself out and he’ll keep trying to play and dominate no matter where he ends up.

Last week, Williams spoke with Uproxx over the phone on behalf of his new ad spot for Tide Hygienic Clean to talk about his season so far, his comfort in Year 2, how Nick Saban mantras have become words to live by while dealing with trade rumors, and how unique the Alabama fraternity is in the NFL.

Your production through seven games has already matched what you did last year and it seems like you’re really comfortable and confident in your role. What do you feel has been the biggest difference coming from your rookie year to this year and knowing what you’re going to be asked to do?

The biggest difference is it’s my second year. My first year, it was just everything was new and scheme was new and different things were new in general in my lifestyle and football in general. But this year, my second year, man, I just feel like everything is on a roll. I worked hard this offseason and I worked hard during OTAs and stuff like that to stay healthy, to stay in shape and lift weights and things like that, and I just feel like I’m performing like I should’ve been performing the way I should’ve been performing last year. Like I know I can perform.

You mention the work you did this offseason. What were some of the things you learned from your rookie year that you said, ‘OK, I kinda need to work on this’ in the offseason? What were the focal points for you in being able to come out and be this productive?

Just a lot of stuff, man. I can’t pinpoint anything specifically, but I looked at a lot of guys who were doing it at an elite level and guys that everybody knows that every defensive lineman wanted to be on that elite level and different things like that. So I look at those guys who are on an elite level and see what they do on the field, off the field, different techniques and different things like that, and wanted to make sure it was muscle memory on those techniques and those things so I can’t break it.

Like you said it helps to be in a second year in a system and knowing what Gregg Williams is going to want you to do and the aggression he wants you to play with. How helpful is that in just being solid in the system and knowing what you’ll be asked to do?

It was great, man. Just knowing, like I said it’s my second year, so I was just expecting less things this year. I know the offenses and I know our defensive scheme, so I just knew everything, man, honestly, and it’s just coming much smoother and easier this year.

You’re coming off a Bills game where defensively you guys played really well against an offense that’s been one of the best as a passing offense this season. What do you take away from that game and what you were able to do against Josh Allen going forward?

The main thing is execution. Executing the plays, executing the calls that Gregg calls, and that was the main thing. Everybody executed on one accord, so. That’s the big thing.

When you go to New York, I’m sure people told you you’d have to deal with the noise and a different level of spotlight. There’s obviously trade rumors out there right now and how are you trying to keep that internalized and stay focused on what you need to?

Honestly man, I’m just keeping it out of the way, not really thinking about it. I’ve just got the mindset of, if they trade me, they trade me. If they don’t, they don’t. I’m just trying to be the best person I can be on the field and off the field and just be the best player I can be.

It’s a very Nick Saban thing, right? Keep the main thing the main thing and control what you can control.

Yes. Coach Saban definitely taught me that and it saves football players and a lot of people a lot of headaches at the end of the day, so.

You’re partnered with Tide. What do you have going on with them and this new ad spot?

Coronavirus had happened and they had canceled out the jersey swap on the field and things like that, so I partnered with Tide to do a Tide Hygienic Clean spot with guys like Mark Ingram and other guys in the NFL just to show our gratitude that Tide helped us jersey swap and do different things like that and keeping our jerseys clean.

In the spot you run through a bunch of Alabama guys. How big is that Alabama fraternity in the NFL and how much do you lean on guys when you’re going through something or need advice on something in the league having that network of so many Alabama guys?

Oh man, it’s amazing. I think it’s like 73 of us that came from the University of Alabama into the NFL, and you can really just call anybody. Guys from Pro Bowl level to just beginning, man. So every level, each level, guys who’ve been doing it for a long time and if you need anything you just call one of your buddies and one of your teammates from the University of Alabama and just talk with them. We all a brotherhood at the end of the day, so it’s just great to have.

Are there any guys specifically you still talk to from your days at Alabama?

Not really specifically. I just know if I have any problem or questions I have, I’ve got guys to call.

Beyonce may more-or-less define “glamor” but as it turns out, the Black Is King singer is a lot more down-to-earth than you might think. Sure, she actually does have a literal beehive to make her own honey and she’s married to Jay-Z and her latest Ivy Park collection sold out the instant it went live but she’s also got to deal with many of the same mundane realities as the rest of us. In Vogue UK‘s new profile, Beyonce revealed the things she struggles with and they’re very relatable.

“I’m always losing my phone in my house or office, and I never know where my keys are,” she admits. “My phone is always dead. I get days and dates confused all the time but guaranteed, I’ll remember every detail of a conversation, what you were wearing, or how your hair was styled. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

So, there you have it. The next time you forget to charge your phone or leave the house ten minutes late because you didn’t know where your keys were, you can rest assured you’re in good company. Also, invest in a Command hook and stick it to your door jamb. Problem solved. As for getting dates confused, it’s probably not that big deal for a billionaire with a small army of assistants to remember them for you.

Read the full Vogue profile here.

Thanks to the pandemic, this may well be the first election you’ve ever voted by mail. If that’s the case, you’ve probably got a healthy level of anxiety about whether or not your ballot will actually end up being counted (anxiety that’s been amplified by political operatives). We’d like to tell you not to worry, that millions of Americans have voted by mail since the Civil War, but recent Supreme Court decisions and inconsistent deadlines from state to state have many fearing whether their ballots will add to the final tally.

The good news is that most states offer a way for you to track your ballot and ensure it’s been received prior to any state deadlines. The bad news? There isn’t one universal way to track your ballot.

In short, the world of ballot tracking is every bit as dense as navigating America’s voting laws. Some states will rely on BallotTrax, some will require you to use a US Postal Service tracking number, and — most annoying of all — some will even require a call to your county clerk’s office.

To make the process a little easier, we linked each state’s name with the best method for tracking your ballot. Get some answers below!

Track your Vote-By-Mail ballot

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• Washington D.C.
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Michael Keaton is back with another message for his home state of Pennsylvania as it continues to be a tense battleground for the presidential election, prompting Donald Trump to make several campaign stops across the Keystone State in the past week. In the latest video, Keaton dons a Pittsburgh Steelers cap as he gives his best game-winning pep talk to urge Pennsylvanians to vote for Joe Biden and end Trump’s presidency once and for all.

“It’s come down to us. We get the chance to be the hero right now,” Keaton says in the new endorsement video. “Don’t just do it for Joe and Kamala. Do it for your little brother, your little sister. Do it for the next generation. Do it for the environment. For justice, for equality. And just to end this insane chaos. Four more years of that, I don’t think so.”

You watch Keaton’s full endorsement video below:

Keaton has been pulling out all of the stops for Biden’s campaign. In the final weeks of October, the actor released a viral video endorsing Biden, and while he knows the average PA citizen doesn’t want to hear a celebrity talk about politics, Keaton brought out the big guns to make his case: “Let’s be honest, I’m frickin’ Batman.” In an interview with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, Keaton revealed his reason for campaigning so hard in Western PA where the actor grew up.

“All bets are off. This is too important, this election.” Keaton said before deferring to the experts in the room. “Really listen to scientists, really listen to teachers. Really listen to people who know more than I know. But if I can do anything, I feel it’s my responsibility to do a little something.”

(Via Michael Keaton on Twitter)

Earlier this month, I was honored to join a tasting for a special Irish whiskey. A whiskey that sort of tied off an entire segment of my professional drinking life — the latest Midleton Very Rare release. For me, this wasn’t just any dram. It was the end of an era.

Over the summer, Irish Distillers announced that their damn-near legendary Master Distiller Brian Nation would be leaving Midleton and handing the reins to some of Ireland’s biggest and best whiskey brands (Jameson, Readbreast, Powers, etc.) over to Master of Maturation Kevin O’Gorman. The Midleton Very Rare 2020 would be Nation’s final release with the company.

For those who don’t know, Nation has long been a powerhouse in the whiskey world. On a personal note, he was also my first major interview for UPROXX Life. When I started working for the section back in 2016, I was still bartending at a high-end cocktail bar and deep in the Berlin booze scene. I was already going to brand launches and conventions. I knew the ambassadors, distributors, and so forth. Once it got out that I was also writing about alcohol, the next round of invites arrived with press passes. Synergy.

In March of 2017, I found myself on a flight to Dublin for a day-trip to celebrate the re-opening of Jameson’s Bow Street whiskey center. Once there, I was given a full tour by Nation himself. He led a tasting in this famed cathedral to Irish whiskey and talked me through their maturation process while surrounded by sherry and bourbon casks filled with the good stuff. Then we sat down for a long, one-to-one chat.

So it’s no wonder that tasting Nation’s final expression with Irish Distillers felt personal to me.

Before we get to the whiskey, let’s take a quick look at Brian Nation and his impact on Irish whiskey and whiskey in general. Nation arrived at Irish Distillers in 1997 and worked his way to becoming Master Distiller by 2013. To say that Irish whiskey was struggling when he started would be a massive understatement. The style was nearly destroyed in the 20th century. First, American Prohibition hammered the Irish whiskey industry in the US, which had been one of the largest sectors of the entire whiskey industry up to that point. Then there was a trade blockade inflicted by Britain, wrecking Ireland’s alcohol exports and leading to the rise of scotch.

By the time the ’90s arrived, Irish whiskey was at a low (as was much of the whiskey industry). But there was light at the end of the tunnel — the country’s spirits sector was officially open for business on the world stage.

It wasn’t until the early 2000s when things started turning around in full. Pop culture got nostalgic about whiskey. Young people began wondering about the brown liquor that their grandparents had enjoyed. Don Draper and Roger Sterling hit TV. A new generation of distillers arrived, keen to recapture the energy of pre-Prohibition and pre-Blockade while also moving the entire genre into the 21st century.

When it comes to Irish whiskey, Brian Nation was a big part of that revolution.

As their sector expanded and diversified, so did Irish Distillers’ offerings. In the 1990s, Jameson had a standard bottle, a 12 year, an 18 year, and… that was pretty much it (besides one-offs). Today, the brand has eleven regular expressions — everything from distiller’s picks to beer barreled expressions to bottles cut with cold brew coffee. Meanwhile, Redbreast has become one of the most awarded and sought after whiskey brands on the planet. Under Nation’s watch, Powers extended their pot still whiskey and maturation programs. Green Spot, Yellow Spot, and Red Spot have all thrived, as well.

For as seismic as Nation’s departure feels, he isn’t retiring. He’s moving to the U.S., to be the Master Distiller of O’Shaughnessy Distilling Company in Minneapolis. The shingle plans to capture the essence of the Irish-American experience through a line of whiskeys distilled within a stone’s throw of all the grains they could ever possibly need. Still, it’s a big shift in an industry where distilling jobs often last decades.

To my surprise, the tasting for Nation’s final expression with Irish Distillers wasn’t actually led by Nation himself. Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman had already been handed the keys. But while Nation wasn’t in attendance, the Zoom tasting definitely felt like a farewell to a comrade. O’Gorman — Nation’s collaborator on this bottle — is bringing about a new era to Irish whiskey and, after tasting Midleton Very Rare 2020, I’m excited to see what the coming years bring.

Midleton Very Rare 2020

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $180

The Whiskey:

This the 37th edition of the highly coveted Midleton Very Rare. It was also crafted as a parting gift from Master Distiller Brian Nation to the Irish whiskey drinkers of the world.

Nation spent a long time in the storehouses tasting single pot still and single grain whiskeys for this expression. The barrels he chose to focus on were lightly-charred ex-bourbon barrels. They ranged in age from 13 to 35-years-old. This focus on single pot still whiskeys that were aged in refill barrels offers the chance to achieve more balance among flavors and a bit more svelte nature.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a sense of vanilla from that bourbon wood on the nose next to a peppery note with a little freshly ground nutmeg. With a little water, the nose veers into an orchard fruit sweetness and chocolate powder that’s dialed back and complimentary to bolder, oaky notes.

The taste really holds onto the fruit with a pear and orange nature while the oak carries on with a nice sense of the spice. The water turns that spice more toward a mild chili with an added edge of cedar. But it’s really a perfect balance of the light oak, semi-sweet fruit, and mild spice that keeps you sipping this dram.

The end is longish. The fruit fades out first, leaving you with the oak and spice giving you a warm embrace on the very end. I also noticed that once the dram is drained, there’s still a sense of the cedar in the glass.

Bottom Line:

This is a very nostalgic dram for me. So I’ll be savoring it without any additions. It really doesn’t need much more than a few drops of water to open it up. It’s soft and inviting enough to drink without a rock. A masterful goodbye to a whiskey legend.

One of the most telling offshoots of the New York Times‘ recent report about Trump’s stunning tax avoidance and hairstyling writeoffs turned out to be people thinking a lot about how Wesley Snipes did not get away with not paying taxes. In fact, Snipes spent three years in prison on misdemeanor charges (he was acquitted of the felony counts), but the Blade star would like to point out that definitely did not go to jail for other claims made against him regarding alleged behavior while making Blade: Trinity.

Yes, that’s a bizarre seque, but Snipes is pushing back at resurfaced claims about what Patton Oswalt said that he witnessed while making the 2004 threequel. During a 2014 discussion with comedian Pete Holmes, Oswalt cited a “wall of pot stench” coming out of Snipes’ trailer, along with the claim that “he would only answer to the name ‘Blade’” while largely communicating via Post-its. Oswalt remained amazed, years later, at Blade: Trinity surfacing in theaters — he joked that it was more accomplished than Citizen Kane simply for existing because, allegedly, Snipes was “going crazy” and acting like a diva on set. No refutation from Snipes’ camp arrived after that discussion, and everyone laughed along with Patton’s accounts, which yeah, people found very funny.

However, Snipes recently sat down with The Guardian, where a more serious claim resurfaced as read by journalist Simon Hattenstone. As Snipes reacted to what he heard (and it must be noted this next quote made a few waves when Oswalt spoke with the AV Club), things grew contentious:

I ask if I can read him a quote about his behaviour on the set of Blade: Trinity to see if he thinks it is fair. “Yes, yes, yes, which one is this?” It’s from the actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, I say. “A reliable authority on me,” he replies sarcastically.

I read the quote: “Wesley was just fucking crazy in a hilarious way… he tried to strangle [director] David Goyer.”

“Let me tell you one thing. If I had tried to strangle David Goyer, you probably wouldn’t be talking to me now. A black guy with muscles strangling the director of a movie is going to jail, I guarantee you.”

So that’s a no, then? “Did I go to jail for strangling him? Never happened.”

Hattenstone notes that Snipes then giggled at the Post-its claim but did not appear to be truly amused. Snipes then wondered aloud why everyone simply believed these claims against him without question:

“This is part of the challenges that we as African Americans face here in America – these microaggressions. The presumption that one white guy can make a statement and that statement stands as true! Why would people believe his version is true? Because they are predisposed to believing the black guy is always the problem. And all it takes is one person, Mr Oswalt, who I really don’t know. I can barely remember him on the set, but it’s fascinating that his statement alone was enough to make people go: ‘Yeah, you know Snipes has got a problem.’”

Snipes also pointed out that he was an executive producer on the threequel, which he says gave him “au-thor-i-ty to say, to dictate, to decide.” And back on our original subject, Snipes states that Trump got preferential treatment on his taxes because “This is not rocket science. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Officially, Snipes was on hand to promote his role alongside Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America, which will stream on Amazon Prime beginning on December 18.

(Via The Guardian & The AV Club)

As we quickly approach the next generation of video game consoles we are all anticipating what PlayStation and Xbox have in store for us, but one player in the video game market that has been going a little unmentioned in all of this is Nintendo.

As support for the Nintendo Switch only strengthens. there is no reason to believe that they will be releasing a new console anytime soon. At least not one that isn’t just an enhanced version of the current Switch. This in itself is fine, but it’s odd to see Nintendo actively take a step away from the console wars and focus on doing their own thing and strengthening their current fan base. It’s a move that most video game companies wouldn’t make. But then again, Nintendo doing the unusual feels pretty standard at this point.

Rarely has a video game company bucked tradition the way Nintendo seems to. As other consoles make beefier, more powerful consoles, try to deliver incredibly artistic stories, and fill their boxes full of Mature rated games, Nintendo continues to maintain that they want to make games for everyone. Whether you are 6 or 60, Nintendo wants you to be able to play video games and have fun doing it. Franchises like Mario, the Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing will always follow this belief system. All of their first-party titles will really. Fun matters above everything. This allows them opportunities for experimentation, but it also severely limits them. They also choose to limit themselves in extremely odd ways.

One of them is their refusal to adapt to the modern internet. When you buy a new console, it is going to have internet connectivity at this point and the Switch does have that. Games update with patches and you can purchase them digitally on the eShop. If you want to play these games with your friends, however, then buckle up. That is going to be a process of exchanging friend codes, hoping the game you are playing supports multiplayer, and then hoping that the game itself has a functional multiplayer mode.

Let’s use Animal Crossing as an example. The latest version on the Switch is the second-best selling Switch game to date. A huge aspect of the game is visiting your friend’s islands. This is what the process of visiting looks like.

And this is only a snippet. To reach this point I had to first have a friend on my Switch friend list so I can add them to my Animal Crossing friend list who then has to open up their Island gate so I can run over to the airport, and then tell this cute Dodo that I want to fly to an island. I have to go through this process every single time. This doesn’t even get into what it’s like if someone is visiting your town. When someone is visiting an animation plays, and then you get a little airport arrival loading screen. This plays every single time no matter how many people are visiting. So if you are inviting nine people over, then every time someone is visiting this animation will play out.

Getting together with a friend can take up to five minutes and it becomes exhausting after a little bit. You can say that this is part of the charm of Animal Crossing, and in a way it is, but it’s an example of how Nintendo just doesn’t embrace the ease of online multiplayer that other games do willingly. In most games, it’s a far more seamless operation to link up with your friends online. You send an invite, you get connected, and you’re on your way.

On top of the difficulty of getting to your friends online, sometimes you get a game where the online multiplayer function feels very half baked, such as the Mario Maker 2 multiplayer that was plagued with poor servers and major lagging. This has been an issue for some major online Nintendo games ever since the Wii, but on Switch, you are paying for these internet services, which makes it far less excusable.

So the internet on Nintendo games isn’t always great, but not many people buy the Switch for multiplayer gaming. If there is something we can expect from Nintendo, it’s a library of incredible titles that are unique to them, and that drives gamers to their systems. They almost always deliver on that and the Switch is no different. Titles like Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, and most recently a collection pack of Mario’s greatest 3D hits with Mario 3D All-Stars give gamers characters they know and love, with a modern-day spin. Nintendo has a willingness to give players what they want, right up until they decide they don’t.

Nintendo has decided it wants to be the video game version of Disney and give their collection of old games a limited release before returning to the proverbial vault. It is only available until March 31, 2021, and that’s not just the physical version. Digital will only be available for that period of time as well. This is a truly befuddling decision for a video game company to make. It creates a false limited supply on games that existed on other consoles for over a decade. It makes no sense, it costs $60, and many people who have played the game say it’s not much of a port in terms of improving upon the previous games. It’s just a straight up collection pack of games and for some reason it is limited.

While odd, it tracks with Nintendo’s history of having sparse production in their products. During the peak of the pandemic, Ring Fit Adventure was insanely difficult to find — as were Switch consoles in general — and Amiibos on the Wii U were notoriously difficult to get at their peak due to limited production. There’s a business argument for making a set number of items to lower production costs and ensure you don’t have overstock to maximize profits and limit spending, but there are times where it seem Nintendo purposefully isn’t coming close to meeting the full demand of the market. Illustrating just how strange that is for a gaming company, Microsoft is intentionally taking a loss on the Xbox Series S to try and ensure they get it in living rooms and reach as many people as possible.

Nintendo may operate with a completely different mindset than their gaming counterparts, but it’s a system they’ve found to be very successful and likely won’t change anytime soon. They are the richest company in Japan and that financial stability means they won’t be making any sweeping changes to their approach. Fans of Nintendo love them and will defend every single decision they make no matter how infuriating. Switches are still flying off shelves and that brand loyalty means the gaming giant has little incentive to join the console wars that consume Xbox and PlayStation.

It’s going to be interesting to watch the next console generation, because as the two major titans fight it out we’re probably going to continue to watch Nintendo do their own odd thing. Are they ever going to embrace modern gaming, or will they continue to be the black sheep of the industry? As long as they’re pocketing cash it’s hard to see them ever changing how they operate. They seem to actively oppose the way modern gaming works and so far that hasn’t done a thing to dent their standing in the market. Maybe one day that’ll change, but for the foreseeable future, Nintendo will continue to zig when everyone else zags.

“Gucci Gang” rapper Lil Pump recently drew a lot of attention — and anger — from hip-hop fans after co-signing Donald Trump on his Instagram with a post complaining about his taxes. While it would have been easy to write the post off as a troll, like 50 Cent’s similar post a couple of weeks ago, it looks like Pump really is going all-in on his support for the incumbent. Over the weekend, Pump attended a Trump rally in Florida, posting live from close to the front of the stage.

It’s probably worth noting that the last time Lil Pump’s Instagram Story drew this much attention, it was because the “Be Like Me” rapper had posted cryptic slides that prompted concerned fans to worry about his mental health. “Not feeling good right now,” he wrote at the time. “Idk if I wanna keep doing any of dis. I feel like Ima die soon & all dis will be over.” Earlier this year, he appeared to be bouncing back after announcing his retirement, then returning days later with a new sound.

His erratic behavior has been mirrored in that of other rappers who previously showed support for Trump. In 2016, Kanye West met with Trump at the Trump Tower after having a breakdown on his The Life Of Pablo tour, leading to nearly four years of concerning behavior culminating in West seemingly denouncing Trump to run for office himself. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne was also recently berated by the rap community for endorsing Trump’s so-called “Platinum Plan.”