Ten-Dollar PS4 Gift Cards Have Beaten Out Twenty-Dollar Ones On Amazon

The titan has been toppled. Amazon’s 2018 list of best-selling video games (and video game accessories) has revealed that the $20 PS4 gift card—2017’s best-seller—is now in third place, behind the more affordable $10 gift card. But what could have caused such a fall from grace? I have a few theories. If you buy two…

There Was Nearly A Sequel To Space Jam About Skateboarding

Tony Hawk could have been the next Michael Jordan, but instead we live in the timeline where he’s just that guy who gets mistaken for Tony Hawk a lot He hasn’t done badly, it’s just that Michael Jordan actually met Bugs Bunny, and no amount of skateboarding awards can ever reach those lofty heights. But,…

LGBTQ Video Game Exhibition Opens In Berlin

Berlin’s Schwules Museum has opened a brand new exhibition named “Rainbow Arcade” to celebrate the history of LGBTQ culture and stories in video gaming. The exhibition was co-curated by curator and PR for the museum, Jan Schnorrenberg; German game journalist Sarah Rudolph; and Dr Adrienne Shaw. Dr Shaw is a professor and author with a specialism…

Here’s Where, When, And How To Watch Awesome Games Done Quick 2019

Can it really be that time again? Awesome Games Done Quick is upon us once more, showcasing the very best and very fastest of speedrunners in a week-long marathon of Personal Bests and ridiculous glitch manipulations. Update: All times displayed are UTC-5. Check the schedule to find out the times in your own timezone. AGDQ…

Did You Know That The New York Times Makes Games?

Me neither. But according to a January 5 post on the NY Times website, they have a whole team of game designers on staff. The piece is written by Sam Von Ehren, one of the game designers that works at the company. Given that the demographic of NY Times readers is probably not particularly knowledgeable…

Independent Games Festival 2019 Finalists Announced, Return Of The Obra Dinn Leads The Pack

The Independent Games Festival, known as the IGF, has announced its finalists for 2019’s awards show, which will be held at the Game Developers’ Conference on March 20. Sweeping the nominations this year is piratical murder-mystery-and-insurance-inspection adventure game, Return of the Obra Dinn, the newest game from Papers Please developer, Lucas Pope. With five nominations…

There’s A Massive Tiny House Community In The Sims 4

Tiny houses are, perhaps, one of the greatest/worst legacies of late capitalism. Forced into increasingly minuscule apartments because of housing prices and baby-boomer landlords trying to maximize their income, millennials are getting into house ownership the only way they can: by purchasing (and, sometimes, building) property that crams as much house into a tiny space…

You Should Play Do Not Feed The Monkeys

20th century sci-fi was so hopeful. By now, we should have flying cars, but instead we have Elon Musk. We should have robots that do all our chores, but instead we have a Russian guy pretending to be a robot. We should have stopped pollution, gone to Mars, reversed climate change. Instead, we have… none…

Yakuza 0 Is Really Cheap On PC Right Now

If your New Year’s resolution was to continue building your unplayed pile of shame to unsustainable heights, then you’ll be delighted to know that the first Humble Monthly bundle of 2019 features two excellent games for $12: Yakuza 0 and Tom Clancy’s The Division. Play The Division if you like—although it’s only two more months…

Warner Bros. Pulls LEGO Lord of the Rings Games From Steam, Doesn’t Say Why

Bad news for fans of LEGO, Lord of the Rings, and buying things: Warner Bros. has taken The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit away from us—possibly forever. The saga seemingly began when the two games were free on the Humble Store last month, sparking debate over whether new games were on the horizon—or…

This Week in the Business: Out of Business

QUOTE | “I’m so proud of the team and what it looks like—diversity attracts diversity.” – Bonnie Ross, head of Halo developer 343 Industries and corporate VP at Microsoft, says she wants more diversity both in the games the industry makes and in the people who make them QUOTE | “I predict no next-gen PlayStation…

Overwatch Team Says Player Questioned About Identity Was Impostor After All [UPDATE]

Earlier this week, a player going by the handle Ellie—no first or last name provided—departed Overwatch Contenders team Second Wind after facing harassment and doxxing threats surrounding their identity. This evening, rumors circulated that they may have been an impostor after all. Now their former team has confirmed as much. In a TwitLonger post, Second…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for going to Norway, to live out my bizarre lifelong dream of turning a birthday in the Arctic Circle. My boss dubbed it “a real-life The Long Dark,” which is pretty on-brand for a Riley dream. I will be unable to play very much The Long Dark before I leave, but I…

Twitch Re-Suspends Alleged Domestic Abuser After Fan Outcry

Last month, Twitch streamer Luke “MrDeadMoth” Munday was arrested by Australian authorities after a Fortnite stream during which he seemed to be hitting his partner. Twitch suspended his account shortly after. At the start of this week, however, Twitch viewers were surprised to find that Munday’s channel was already back. His suspension, which some presumed…

Wolf Is One Of Competitive Smash Ultimate‘s Most Popular Fighters So Far

Some of the winter’s biggest esports tournaments are still a ways off, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which ended 2018 on a Donkey Kong smackdown, begins 2019 strong with a handful more events taking place across the globe this weekend. Last weekend, I noted that the still-evolving meta around Smash Ultimate meant the Let’s Make…

In case you missed it (we forgive you), Tim and I streamed the Japanese version of Dragon Quest Builders 2! Follow us on Twitch to join us live next time.

HQ Trivia Doesn’t Always Pay Players Their Winnings And Won’t Say Why

For months, players in HQ Trivia, a trivia app that offers cash prizes, say they have been having issues getting their money. HQ Trivia is basically Bar Trivia: The App. Twice a day, every day, there’s a live trivia show, hosted on the app, that has a pool of cash that goes out to the…