Last week, myself and many others made the trip to SickKids Hospital in Toronto for the annual Extra Life Kick-Off party. It served as an opportunity for existing guild members to reconnect and for newcomers to learn how to get involved. Most importantly, it was an opportunity for all of us to reflect on why our fundraising efforts are so important.
Are you ready to expand your horizons? Animal Crossing: New Horizons is coming soon! Based on what we saw in the recent Direct presentation, here’s what I’m most excited to experience in this upcoming Nintendo Switch game!
In case you were wondering, yes, this is inspired by my post earlier this week. Even so, I do take a slightly different approach to discussing the subject. Hope you enjoy both!
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One of Nintendo’s biggest releases on the Switch is coming soon! Animal Crossing: New Horizons is set for release on March 20th and many are can’t contain their excitement. Though I’ll admit that my hype for the franchise was at its peak during the GameCube days, the recent Direct showed me a few things that have piqued my interest.
A recent interaction I had with my 3-year-old nephew got me thinking about our impact on others within the gaming community. Through gaming, the influence of others has greatly shaped me into the person I am now. Odds are, I’ve had a major impact on others through this mutual hobby as well. We all have the power to make a difference in the lives of our family, friends, and fellow gamers through our words and actions. What will you do with that power?
This one started out as a personal anecdote with no real direction. However, as I got going, it felt like an opportunity to discuss how one voice can really make a difference. Adding some of my parents home footage of me and my brother gaming as kids really added to that point. Stick around to the very end to see the moment when I got a Super Nintendo for my birthday! In retrospect, that moment really changed my life!
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With so many amazing games on the Nintendo eShop, it’s easy for titles to get buried. Especially indies! I take a moment to showcase four amazing Nintendo Switch games on the eShop that you might have missed!
While this technically isn’t my first foray into YouTube content, I’m approaching the challenge with a lot more knowledge and somewhat better equipment. Hoping to establish a steady pipeline of non-streaming video content in 2020! Enjoy!
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Long before Nintendo blazed the trail for what the modern retro mini console should be, Sega had been peddling numerous versions of a mini Genesis. Unfortunately, Sega enlisted a third-party to put the consoles together. The shoddy work of AtGames prevented these mini consoles from being anything more than bargain bin fodder.
This time, Sega promises it will be different. The upcoming Sega Genesis Mini is being developed by M2, who have handled the emulation for the Sega Ages and Sega 3D Classics collections. Assuming Sega finally gets the emulation and production quality right, is it time for me to finally pick one of these up?
Steff and I have big dreams for this basement of ours. We want to rip out the carpet, update the walls to anything other than wood paneling, and knock down the dividing wall so that the basement is one large space. Someday, we envision it being a larger entertaining space.
In light of these plans, I’ve been reluctant to decorate down here. Didn’t want to go through the trouble of putting things up, only to have to duplicate the effort after the room has been renovated. As such, the only real decor you’ve seen of my streaming room until recently was a large Snorlax bean bag chair.
However, a couple of things have happened since we came up with our future vision for the basement. One, our priorities around the house have shifted to other projects. Two, I started taking streaming seriously. Part of taking streaming seriously is ensuring that everything you see adds to the overall experience. Snorlax is cute, but I’m no longer content with using an empty wall and an oddly-placed divider curtain as my backdrop. Recently, I finally decided to spruce the place up a bit.
As a kid, I had this vision for what my dream gaming setup would look like. On one end, a large screen with all of my gaming consoles hooked up to it. On the other end, a nice comfy couch for me and my friends to sit on and enjoy the action. Lined along the walls would be all of my games and gaming memorabilia. Even as an adult, I had it in my mind that I would work towards creating a setup like that someday.
These days, my wife and I are pretty settled into our house. I have the basement as a space to create this gaming den of my dreams. Money is still an issue, but that’s not what’s ultimately stopping me from assembling some version of that dream setup.
In less than a week, I completed the main story found within Yoshi’s Crafted World. Immediately after, I made plans to loan my copy to my brother. Until I get the chance to give it to him, I’ve been running through all of the flip side levels while trying to collect enough flower to unlock the post-game content. This is a bit unusual for me, as I’m generally not the type of gamer that cares all that much for experiencing every last bit of content a game has to offer.
The concept of streaming games to home platforms is not new. Off the top of my head, Sega was trying to do it in the mid-90s with the Sega Channel, but I know there were efforts even before then. More recently, services like OnLive and PlayStation Now have been trying their hand at the approach.
At the keynote for GDC 2019, Google unveiled Google Stadia, their new game streaming platform. In short, it will allow players to game from any instance of Google Chrome or Chrome OS, running games with modern graphics at resolutions up to 4K, at frame rates up to 60 fps, with almost whatever controller you have. It’s also got deep hooks with YouTube streaming, allowing gamers to stream and interact with viewers in all new ways. All of this will be playable for those in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe later in 2019.
I have some serious reservations about what Google’s promising here. However, my concerns about controller input delay, game library, broadband access, and data caps might be a moot point in the long run. What Google just showed us appears to be the future of gaming.
