poly-lt-wire-logo Visceral Games/Electronic Arts Licensed games only make sense for very specific teams EA recently canceled an open-world Star Wars game that was being developed at its Vancouver studio, and commentators are pissed. Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta, who has also worked on the creative side of games development, blasted EA on Kinda Funny Games…

I have played too many games that treat trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming characters as sexual objects. These games portray the lives and identities of marginalized, real-world people as little more than titillation for the (assumed cisgender) player. Hardcoded is not that game. It is a story about dating trans people, written by trans people.…

We can’t even pretend to enjoy these anymore. Photo illustration by Slate Read Slate’s complete list of the 40 Best Family Games. A Deranged Superfan’s Guide to Making Monopoly Fun H_NGM_N IS _CTU_LLY F_N Murder for Kids: A Defense of Clue While assembling our list of 40 essential family games, we spent a lot of…

It’s the inevitable truth of college football season that September seems a distant memory by the time the bowl matchups are set, but at the same time, the season seems to have gone by all too quickly. There’s a reason for this paradox.In three short months, college football packs in more action, drama, heroics and…

The PlayStation 4 is the most popular video game console on the market. Sony Many stores have already launched their video game sales for Black Friday and the holiday season. Sony’s main offerings are a discounted PlayStation 4 bundle with “Marvel’s Spider-Man” and a big price drop on PlayStation’s virtual-reality headset. Plenty of PlayStation 4…

binspamdupenotthebestofftopicslownewsdaystalestupid freshfunnyinsightfulinterestingmaybe offtopicflamebaittrollredundantoverrated insightfulinterestinginformativefunnyunderrated descriptive typodupeerror 104740686 story Fortnite Dev Launches Epic Games Store That Takes Just 12% of Revenue (venturebeat.com) 174 Posted by msmash on Tuesday December 04, 2018 @09:50AM from the tussle-continues dept. The 30/70 revenue-sharing split that turned into something of an industry standard is on the ropes. From a report: Epic…

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. Cyber Monday deals at Amazon are here — shop all day and save big.Image: amazonBy Rudie ObiasMashable Deals2018-11-26 08:33:33 -0800 Let’s keep the savings going, shall we? If you’re still looking for a good deal but missed Black…

Magnus Carlsen confessed to nerves after holding on for a high-wire draw with Fabiano Caruana on Thursday in the marathon 10th game of their world championship showdown, which left the best-of-12-games match in a 5-all deadlock with two contests remaining. The 27-year-old champion from Norway, playing with the black pieces, weathered Caruana’s novel deviation from…

Kotaku Game DiaryDaily thoughts from a Kotaku staffer about a game we’re playing.  Some games’ post-release plans are stingy, others generous, some comically convoluted. And then there’s the seven-part plan for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, an awkward game that is now getting some awkward expansions.On paper before release, it all seemed pretty good. Shadow of…

Florence Fu/Tech Insider The Xbox One is an incredible gaming console with the capability to do all sorts of cool things, but unless you have your finger on the pulse of the latest Xbox news, you might be missing out on a few of its best features. Here are nine especially great features of the…

Sunset Overdrive is a garish, over-the-top explosion of color and sound. Its punk rock sensibilities are evident at every turn. Even four years after launching in 2014 as an Xbox One exclusive, this is still one of the best games of its generation. The credit for that belongs entirely to Insomniac Games, the same studio…

Red Dead Online’s opening sequence is a great way to get players into the online wild west. The intro is made up of cutscenes, missions and tutorials. It feels more focused than GTA Online’s introduction, and overall it seems like Rockstar has learned from GTA Online’s introduction. I took a look at both games’ opening…

Laya’s Horizon is easily one of the best games you can play on mobile devices, and it’s effectively free as long as you have a Netflix account.Photo: Kyle Barr / GizmodoNetflix’s game section is now an established part of the brand, despite how I’m constantly fielding queries of “Wait, Netflix has games,” or “How do…

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, sitting on the weight bench in the gym of his palatial home, is restless, rubbing his hands together, chugging another bottled water, keeping an eye on the latest baseball news on his big-screen TV.He has played only three baseball games in the last 493 days…

The Italian coach has been unfairly and prematurely maligned, just as the Manchester City boss was during his difficult first season in England Not long into Pep Guardiola’s first season at Manchester City, a disgruntled supporter told a fan TV channel that the club should have hired Diego Simeone instead. It was not a common…

Premature Evaluation is the weekly column in which Steve Hogarty explores the wilds of early access. This week it’s extremely not buggy pirate ’em up Atlas Developer: Grapeshot Games, Instinct GamesPublisher: Grapeshot Games Release: Out now (early access)On: WindowsFrom: SteamFor: £23.79, $30, €25Last week brought news that beleaguered swashbuckling MMO Atlas had been hacked by…

SCUF’s Envision Pro controller feels so good, so clicky, so responsive, it makes me hate it. I know it’s not the controller, it’s my dumb thumbs, and yet SCUF’s $180 device feels like a memento mori for all the years I spent trying and failing in online multiplayer. The Envision Pro is packing so many…

Nov 27, 2018Brady HendersonESPN CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Seattle Seahawks still know how to finish after all.They were in danger of dropping yet another close game Sunday when Russell Wilson found David Moore for a 35-yard, game-tying touchdown. Seattle’s defense then stiffened just in time on the Carolina Panthers’ ensuing drive (which ended with Graham…

To root for the former home team or not? It’s a question for which there is no right answer, especially in a laid-back city on the ocean.ImageThomas Powell, front, with Johnny Abundez at Cali Comfort BBQ near San Diego, still a popular spot on Chargers game days.CreditCreditSandy Huffaker for The New York TimesSAN DIEGO A…

In just a year, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, 27, has become the multimillionaire face of Fortnite, the impossibly popular battle royale video game in which up to 100 players are dropped onto an island to fight to the death, with only one emerging victorious. A former competitive Halo player, Blevins plays Fortnite for 10 hours a…

binspamdupenotthebestofftopicslownewsdaystalestupid freshfunnyinsightfulinterestingmaybe offtopicflamebaittrollredundantoverrated insightfulinterestinginformativefunnyunderrated descriptive typodupeerror 105095986 story Nintendo Warns It Won’t Make More Retro NES and SNES Consoles (engadget.com) 87 Posted by BeauHD on Friday December 14, 2018 @05:58PM from the end-of-the-road dept. Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime warned that the NES Classic and SNES Classic will sell in the Americas through the holidays, but will…

Dec 13, 2018Tim BontempsESPN OAKLAND, Calif. — The Toronto Raptors had just completed an evisceration of the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night — doing so without Kawhi Leonard — when Kyle Lowry was asked about his team’s performance.But even on this night, Lowry wasn’t satisfied.”I’m sure we could…

Welcome to our weekly column, in which YouTuber NimbleThor brings you a short list of the best new mobile games for your Android device. Whether you’re into casual time wasters or hardcore shooters, you’ll find something in here to exercise your thumbs with. Listen, the holiday season as the end of the year is great and everything. But sometimes,…

When virtual reality company The Void released its first collaboration with ILMxLab, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, the mission was pretty straightforward. Star Wars fans want nothing more than to step inside the world of that franchise, so the experience, which lets participants play Rebel spies infiltrating an Imperial base, had to deliver something…

Allocating responsibility for violent acts to any politician or pundit should be done only with the greatest of care. Nov 14, 2018 Senior writer at National Review People march in memory of the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in PittsburghCathal McNaughton / Reuters This story was updated on Wednesday, November 14 at…