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…

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,…

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…

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…

This year, we may finally see if PC gaming can become the de facto mode for play. Valve’s long-promised Steam Machine is ready to make landfall early this year. Yes, we still don’t know how much it will cost (and judging by current RAM prices, we don’t imagine it will be cheap). We doubt it…

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…

Enthusiast gaming keyboard tech has made the jump to gaming mice — well, to one gaming mouse so far. The $179.99 Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike is the first to feature analog sensors that use induction to register clicks faster than microswitches used in many mice.Those sensors allow for a host of cool features beyond…

I’ve been writing about Apple’s newfound gaming ambitions for years now, but I’m still waiting for the company to come to grips with what today’s gamer actually wants. My halting enthusiasm is often tempered by what the company regularly shows off at both its private and public events. As if to put a pin on that…

It’s become an unfortunate par for the course in modern collecting that if you want something, you’re no longer just racing against fellow fans who want it: you’re facing off against a bot army driven by scalpers who want to make a pretty profit on the aftermarket. From trading cards to action figures, from sneakers…

In the years since Lucasfilm overhauled Star Wars continuity—reclassifying years of Expanded Universe material as “Legends” before wiping a clean slate of continuity it has developed over the last decade-plus—much of what has been rebuilt has been done so off of the back of re-canonizing elements of that old material. In some ways re-imagined, in…

I love going to Summer Game Fest. It’s a rare opportunity to connect with my colleagues and friends in person, as well as listen to developers talk about why they make their games. In some ways, this year’s SGF gave me everything I love about the event. But while I was comfortably ensconced in a…

In the quiet city of Espoo, a short drive west from Helsinki in Finland, is an unassuming building that’s home to one of the most confounding studios in games. Remedy Entertainment is known for getting weird. It started with the meta horror of Alan Wake, and has since expanded with Control, a game that turns…

The first Switch was such a hit that Nintendo decided not to mess with a good thing. Instead of releasing a successor that feels like a generational leap or a pivot in a new direction, it’s following up the hugely successful original with the Switch 2 — a welcome upgrade that largely sticks to the…

Microsoft and Asus have just announced two ROG Xbox Ally devices that include a new full-screen Xbox experience for handhelds. After promising to combine “the best of Xbox and Windows together” for handhelds earlier this year, Microsoft is now revealing exactly how it is overhauling the Xbox app, Game Bar, and Windows itself to better…

I feel like a broken record, but I’ve been writing for more than a year that the next Xbox console will be more PC-like. Now, I think Microsoft just teased its next-gen Xbox plans while announcing its partnership with Asus to bring two Xbox Ally handhelds to the market later this year.The Xbox Ally handhelds…

Microsoft and Asus have been working together over the past year to create not one, but two new ROG Xbox Ally handhelds. Both of these Xbox Ally devices, part of the Project Kennan effort I reported on earlier this year, include a new full-screen Xbox experience on Windows that’s designed to be more handheld-friendly and…

I wouldn’t have preordered a Nintendo Switch 2 just for myself. The price is high, there’s no new Smash Bros. or Metroid Prime (yet), and I’ve got a perfectly good original Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck that keep me plenty busy. At first, I could only justify the $450 because I write about gaming tech…