Nintendo is obsessed with this talking flower. The sousaphone-faced flora first came on the scene in 2023 with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and since then it’s infiltrated other Mario family titles like Super Mario Party Jamboree. It’s set to referee (and repeatedly antagonize) players in the upcoming Mario Tennis Fever as well. Now, the $35…
Microsoft has a big year ahead for Xbox as it marks its 25-year milestone. After the tough decision to release more Xbox games on rival consoles two years ago, 2026 is a chance to refocus on the platform and celebrate some of Xbox’s biggest franchises. It’s also an opportunity for Microsoft to define its vision…
Though the Virtual Boy was both a commercial and critical failure, the console’s infamy is part of what has made it such a fascinating piece of Nintendo’s history. Original units are still going for hundreds of dollars on bidding sites, and hobbyists have spent years keeping the Virtual Boy alive through emulation and homebrew games.…
Walk the rows of the farmers market in a small, nondescript Texas town about an hour away from Austin, and you might stumble across something unexpected: In between booths selling fresh, local pickles and pies, there’s a table piled high with generic-looking streaming boxes, promising free access to NFL games, UFC fights, and any cable…
When Netflix first acquired cozy game developer Spry Fox in 2022, it made a lot of sense. The studio had been around for over a decade and had several hits with mobile games like Triple Town and Alphabear. That approachable style of puzzle game seemed like a good fit for Netflix’s mobile-first strategy, and, as…
Strap in, because the next PlayStation event is going to be a long one. Sony’s latest State of Play — a showcase event for upcoming PS5 games — kicks off on February 12th at 5PM ET and it’ll last more than an hour.We don’t know what exactly will be shown. Sony says that the event…
Media caption, Arsenal held by Brentford as they miss chance to restore six-point leadByArsenal reporter at Gtech Community StadiumThe pressure in the title race was always going to come for Arsenal, and maybe after the 1-1 draw at Brentford this is where it turns up a notch for Mikel Arteta’s side. It must be pointed…
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about video game industry’s pushback against generative AI, follow Jay Peters. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.Long before the generative AI explosion, video game developers made…
I’ve written about a lot of different video game hardware over the years, from new consoles to retro gadgets to whatever you want to call the Playdate. But I can’t remember ever being perpetually sore from testing a device; such are the joys of the Virtual Boy. Nintendo has turned its biggest flop into an…
It’s no secret that Cassette Boy is inspired by the classics. It’s a top-down adventure game in the vein of a retro Legend of Zelda, while your home base is a small town like in an older Pokémon game, complete with a mom who is constantly wishing you well. The game’s blocky 3D graphics evoke…
73% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months). Now only $3.49/month See more details Want to Watch the 2026 Winter Olympics? You Can Stream the Games Without Cable When to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics in the US without cable How to watch the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics…
When a video game series goes on for a long time, it raises a question for newcomers: Just where is the best place to jump in? In the case of Dragon Quest, there are nearly a dozen mainline titles, not to mention copious spinoffs and ports that span four decades of history. Of late, though,…
What’s better, a roundup of several $500-$1,000 arcade machines or a single, ultra-expensive XR headset? Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro with its striking 4K micro OLED displays seems like the perfect candidate to finally determine if a virtual arcade can ever match a bare ounce of a real arcade’s glory. That’s why the upcoming Apple Arcade…
Jennifer Lawrence played Katniss in four films. Lionsgate; Emma McIntyre/WireImage/Getty Images Updated 2025-04-07T17:37:51Z This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? . “The Hunger Games” was released 13 years ago. Since then, the original “tributes” from the first games have gone on to varied…
(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central) As I peered around the corner to see if SWAT had entered a doorway, I suddenly felt an explosion on the other side of the room. It triggered something primal in me, causing me to duck and spin around immediately and focus on a new entry point. As…
The biggest threat to the Steam Deck in 2025 won’t be the arrival of other Windows-based handheld gaming PCs. Instead, it’ll likely be the Nintendo Switch 2, which arrives on June 5 for $449.99 — smack dab between the cost of the $399 Steam Deck LCD and the $549 Steam Deck OLED. Ironically, the Steam…
Squidge, splodge, splat: Skin Deep doesn’t sound like most immersive sims. It doesn’t sound like most video games. Close your eyes and what it aurally resembles is a slapstick cartoon with a healthy dollop of toilet humor. These sounds, though, bookend chains of effects that are pure video game magic. Take the splodge, produced when…
It was really great seeing all the excitement from fans when Oblivion shadow dropped earlier this week. For a lot of people, the fourth installment in the Elder Scrolls series is the game, the experience that either was the impetus for their career in video games, instilled in them an everlasting love for the format,…
The official unveiling of the Switch 2 was an incredibly confident moment for Nintendo. It was brief and lacking almost entirely in details. There was no price, no release date, and no confirmed games outside of a Mario Kart tease. The 2 in the name implied a bigger and better Switch, but when it came…
Elon Musk sounded extremely depressed on Tesla’s earnings call Tuesday after the EV company reported a 71% drop in profits last quarter. But one of the big headlines you’re seeing everywhere is this claim that Musk is leaving his role in President Donald Trump’s government as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency…
Microsoft has started testing an early version of its Copilot for Gaming experience. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans tell me that employees can now access Copilot within the Xbox mobile app, and that while it looks similar to the existing Copilot chatbot, it’s designed to tap into your Xbox account.Announced last month, Copilot for…
Unai Emery has always been a manager who dreams big.”My dream is to win the Champions League,” he told Aston Villa fans after guiding them back into Europe in 2023. The notion of Villa helping him achieve that would have, then, been almost laughable.Now, after his side beat third-placed Nottingham Forest 2-1 in the Premier…
Search for “SimCity 4” on YouTube, and you’ll see players constructing multilevel highway interchanges and intricate railroad networks, or maybe even a swooping flyby of a sprawling metropolis. None of these features came with the original game, which was released just after the turn of the millennium. They’ve been developed slowly and painstakingly over the…
This week, on April 4th, Microsoft turns 50 years old. The company has gone through sweeping changes over that time — from two guys in New Mexico to more than a quarter-million employees worldwide, from making text-based operating systems to holographic video games — but through the decades, it’s remained a foundation of the tech…
Assassin’s Creed Shadows brings the franchise to the shores of Japan. After almost 20 years and 13 mainline games, Assassin’s Creed — the series about using flashy gadgets and techniques to murder your enemies undetected — has finally been set in a place famous for assassins who use flashy gadgets and techniques to murder their…