Month: November 2020

The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 2 takes Mando (Pedro Pascal) and The Child aka Baby Yoda on a series of sidequests as they continue trying to take The Child home. The duo make a new frog lady friend and run into some trouble along the way involving some terrifying spiders.

This episode had many references to The Mandalorian Chapter 6 – “The Prisoner”. There were also quite a few Easter eggs and Star Wars references hidden in plain sight. Mando visits Mos Eisely Cantina, there’s a fun nod to Galaxy’s Edge, Dave Filoni appears again as X-Wing pilot Trapper Wolf, and the frog lady is voiced by a well known Star Wars voice actor from The Clone Wars.

It’s finally here, the day we can finally tell you everything we know about the PlayStation 5. Sony’s new console is almost here and, ahead of its November 12 release date, review embargoes have been lifted. GameSpot’s review is available to read on the website or watch on YouTube. But, of course, the Generation Next team is also here to answer your questions.

Last week we asked you what you wanted to know most about the PS5 and did our best to answer the questions, while staying within the boundaries of the many legal documents we signed. However, now we have permission to tell all, so we’ve gone back and grabbed a few more questions to answer.

In the episode, Jordan puts your questions to Lucy and Tamoor, who talk about UI, how PS4 games run, whether Boost Mode is helping, if we’ve tested Blu-ray movies, and what the 3D audio is like. If that isn’t enough, they also dig into the DualSense’s battery life, how loud the PS5 is, download speeds, and more.

There’s also some chat about Spider-Man: Miles Morales, one of the games that will be available for the PS5 at launch. Jordan reviewed the game, while Lucy and Tamoor have both completed it. So, tune in to find out whether the PS5 is an exciting new future for PlayStation owners and whether Miles Morales is as good as Insomniac’s original Spider-Man game.

Much has been made about the PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility with PlayStation 4 games. Sony has confirmed that 99% of all PS4 games will play on its new system, but some titles will be receiving patches to optimize the experience.

One such title is 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, which already looked stunning on PlayStation 4. It’s been optimized for PS5, taking full advantage of Game Boost, with an option in the game to allow frame rates up to 60fps. In the above video, we compare the PS4 version of the game running on a PS4 Pro to the PS5. Both were captured in resolution mode.

For more on the PlayStation 5, including in-depth looks at its backwards compatibility, as well as reviews for its launch games like Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, keep your eyes peeled to GameSpot.

It’s now pretty normal that when an older show hits streaming services, a few episodes don’t make the transition for one reason or another. The Comedy Central classic, Chappelle’s Show, is now streaming on HBO Max and Netflix, but without a particular episode.

Starting November 1, HBO Max made Chappelle’s Show, Reno 911!, Inside Amy Schumer, Nathan For You, and Key & Peele available for streaming. Netflix, too, is streaming Chappelle as of the first of the month.

Neither service, though, includes Season 2, Episode 6: “The Internet & Moment in the Life of Lil Jon.”

So what’s going on? The episode includes a variety of sketches, but the one keeping the episode offline is titled “If the Internet Was a Real Place.” The 2004 sketch sees Dave Chappelle going to a physical representation of the internet; a mall, basically. Here, Chappelle encounters multiple instances of people promising him sexual enhancements, a free downloads store, and offers for increasingly sketchy adult content.

Here, Chappelle encounters porn star Ron Jeremy, who asks Chappelle if he wants to watch him have sex before taking him behind closed doors to view socialite Paris Hilton’s leaked sex tape.

In a report, The Daily Beast reports cites a source that saysthat the episode was first removed from Comedy Central’s streaming platforms and CBS All Access in June when Jeremy was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault.

The Daily Beast notes that this isn’t a choice by HBO Max and Netflix; the streaming rights exclude this particular episode. This isn’t the first instance of this happening with a Comedy Central property, either. When South Park hit streaming earlier this year, five episodes were missing in action. Meanwhile, over on Disney+, The Simpsons is missing the episode “Stark Raving Dad,” and Adult Swim has pulled episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Boondocks, and The Shivering Truth as well. A few NBC shows have been recently re-edited or removed due to depictions of blackface, including The Office, Scrubs, and Community.

Some studios have taken a different route with some more prominent content; Disney is adding disclaimers about problematic depictions to more and more of its content, following in the footsteps of Warner Bros.’ treatment of Looney Tunes. This lets the content stay available for viewing without skipping over the fact that it has aged poorly. That missing episode of Chappelle’s Show has a bunch of great sketches, and we’d love to see the episode edited to remove that particular sketch and brought back online.

Image credit: Getty Images/Lester Cohen

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After a year away, 100 Thieves is returning to the Call of Duty League and competing under the moniker Los Angeles Thieves. 100 Thieves purchased their re-entry by acquiring Immortals Gaming Club’s OpTic Gaming LA slot.

100 Thieves is a gaming organization/lifestyle brand with multiple esports teams under its management. It is founded by a well-known and decorated Call of Duty player, Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag. The organization has also achieved impressive results in the CoD World League, including placing second place in 2019. To the surprise of many, 100 Thieves left the CoD esports circuit in 2019 when the new Call of Duty League launched. Haag cited the prohibitive cost of entry as the exit’s reason. Activision priced CoD league spots at $25 million, so any organization needs that at a minimum in order to compete. It is undisclosed how much 100 Thieves shelled out for a CoD franchise.

Haag explains 100 Thieves’ change of heart by stating, “We won two Call of Duty championships in 2019 so our year away reminded us how amazing Call of Duty fans are, and how much we missed them. Our fans deserve the best Call of Duty team in the world – and we’re gonna do everything in our power to give it to them.”

100 Thieves also appears to be convinced of CoD’s longevity and retention of fans. “We were impressed by the Call of Duty League’s performance in its first year,” said John Robinson, President & COO of 100 Thieves. “The YouTube partnership, record ratings, and the addition of Warzone events showed us that Activision Blizzard Esports has the ambition and ability to make the Call of Duty League a world class esport.” Call of Duty is indeed having a big moment with the buzz around its newest title Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

100 Thieves also recently departed from the CS:GO League. Haag explained that there were a “multitude of factors” for the exit, but the primary reason was that 100 Thieves was based in North America, while players needed support in Europe. The gaming organization now owns teams in Call of Duty, League of Legends, Fortnite, and Valorant. LA Thieves will officially begin play in 2021.

Though COVID-19 means Christmas 2020 certainly won’t look the same as previous years–big gatherings are still discouraged, and cross-country travel feels iffy–many families will still be putting up a Christmas tree, which means pulling out and hanging all the ornaments of years past. If your family likes to add new ornaments to the collection every year, you might be wondering what Christmas tree ornament to get for the gamer in your life. Though there aren’t a ton of great gaming-related ornaments out there, we’ve done the work for you in rounding up the best Christmas tree ornaments to gift in 2020, several of which are new from Hallmark this year.

Check out some of our picks for the best gaming (and gaming-adjacent) Christmas ornaments below, and for more gift ideas, see our 2020 holiday gift guide, including the best Nintendo gifts, PlayStation gifts, Xbox gifts, and PC gaming gifts. We’ve also rounded up the best stocking stuffer ideas for 2020, Funko Pop gifts, tech under $50, and more, so you’re sure to find something for everyone on your list who’s into gaming, tech, or pop culture.

This 2020 ornament from Hallmark is one of our favorites, and it’s proving popular with others as well, as it’s been going in and out of stock on Amazon. It features the shiny gold Legend of Zelda NES cartridge, making it the perfect gift for old-school Nintendo and Zelda fans.

Hallmark’s 2020 ornament line includes another nod to the NES, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, with this ornament that resembles the system’s original controller.

Alongside the NES, the Super Mario franchise also celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2020, so it’s fitting to see these two 8-bit Mario and Luigi ornaments release just in time for the holidays. Available for $9 each, these tiny ornaments showcase the iconic sibling duo in their classic pixel-art styling.

Fortnite is still one of the biggest games in the world, especially among young gamers, and this impressively detailed ornament features one of the game’s most recognizable elements: the Battle Bus.

Fortnite’s colorful Loot Llama makes a great Christmas ornament and keepsake for fans of the battle royale game. Geek Store has several other Fortnite ornaments available as well, and the store has a two for $20 offer to help you save on multiple.

If you’re shopping for a Minecraft fan this holiday season, this new ornament from Hallmark makes a cool and unique gift. It shows a slice of the game’s menacing alternate dimension, the Nether, including one of its creatures, a floating Ghast.

We’re not through with Minecraft just yet. This resin Christmas ornament features one of the Overworld’s iconic pixelated foes, the Zombie.

This retro ornament pays homage to the 1982 co-op arcade game Joust. Not only does this ornament feature a remarkable level of detailed design; it also lights up and plays classic sounds from the game.

The last time we saw a new game starring the Super Mario franchise’s beloved dinosaur Yoshi was in 2019 with the release of Yoshi’s Crafted World–but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a spot on your tree. This 2020 ornament features Yoshi as he appeared in the 2001 Game Boy Advance game Mario Kart: Super Circuit.

There are a lot of Baby Yoda ornaments out there this holiday season, but this is the cutest one–and as a result, it keeps selling out. Assuming you can nab it in stock at Amazon or elsewhere, this keepsake ornament featuring The Mandalorian’s best baby would add a hefty dose of cuteness to any Christmas tree.

Mario’s ultimate foe and the king of the Koopas, Bowser, looks particularly ferocious in this Christmas ornament from Hallmark.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the next game in PlayStation’s web-slinging hero series, releases this holiday season, and though there aren’t any ornaments for Miles just yet, Spidey fans will still appreciate this ornament featuring Peter Parker’s Spider-Man. This neat Christmas ornament has the hero posing from an upside-down position as he hangs from his web, waving hello.

Eight full generations of Pokemon have been released in the nearly 25 years since the series’ Japanese debut, but there’s no question Pikachu is still one of the most recognizable and popular characters from the franchise. This ornament shows Pikachu looking particularly fierce, as though he’s dashing to perform Thunderbolt on an opponent during battle.

Over on the official Pokemon Center website, you can buy this newly released and absolutely adorable Eevee Christmas ornament, which shows the Normal-type Pokemon gleefully riding a sleigh.

There’s no shortage of Star Wars ornaments out there, but this new BB-8 ornament has to be one of the cutest. This highly detailed model shows BB-8 giving you a little thumbs-up, and it even plays some of the droid’s memorable sounds from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Destiny 2’s next major expansion, Beyond Light, releases November 10, and according to developer Bungie, it marks the beginning of a new era for the first-person shooter franchise. For Destiny fans, this Christmas ornament featuring the Exo Stranger would make a great addition to the tree. Geek Store also has a nice promotion on bauble ornaments–they’re $5 if you buy anything else on site.

Doom Eternal released earlier this year, and you can treat fans of the action-heavy shooter franchise to this little ornament designed to look like the Doom Slayer’s head. He can take a break from mowing down the forces of hell to sit on your Christmas tree and look cute (but still deadly).

It’s hard not to laugh looking at this spherical representation of Ryu from Street Fighter, and you’re sure to get a smile out of any fighting game fans when they unwrap this ornament.

We’re a bit obsessed with this Gamer Santa ornament we found on Amazon. It’s something about the inscrutable look on his face (is it joy? fear? shock?), the ambiguous controller, his wholly uncomfortable sitting position… we can’t put our finger on it, but we love Gamer Santa all the same. And if you’re not sure what kind of games your giftee is into–whether they play Destiny, Minecraft, Fortnite, or something else–they’re sure to love Gamer Santa too.

Tis the season for gift giving! While we’ve given you plenty of ideas for gaming related gifts, we’ve also got ideas for movies, comics, and anime gifts.

From Hasbro’s Animatronic Baby Yoda to Marvel gaming chairs to the Dragon Ball complete box set, here is our list of top gifts for the Marvel, Star Wars, and Anime fans in your life.

For more options, check out our full lists for the Best Marvel, Star Wars, and Anime gift ideas over on GameSpot.com. Happy Holidays!

In another timeline, we’d all be watching The Eternals, the second of Marvel’s anticipated 2020 releases that was scheduled to premiere on November 6, right now. Instead, we’re facing our first year without an MCU movie since 2009 with both Eternals and Black Widow bumped up to new release dates in 2021.

Still, while releases and premieres are facing some major setbacks, production and behind-the-scenes work is still clipping right along–with the proper precautions in place, of course. One movie that is currently rolling is the highly anticipated Spider-Man 3, which is reportedly set to return Jamie Foxx to his role as Electro, blurring even more lines between the MCU shared universe and the other live-action Marvel hero franchises after JK Simmons made a surprise appearance as J. Jonah Jameson back in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Peter Parker himself, actor Tom Holland, shared our first official image from set, featuring Spidey perched in costume wearing a safety mask over his character mask–a cheeky reminder to everyone that it’s the most responsible thing to do in the pandemic.

The costume appears to be the same one we saw back in Far From Home with the strong black and red accents and the blue screen background doesn’t give much away in terms of plot or context, but this likely won’t come as a surprise. We don’t actually have an official title for the threequel yet, but, if Sony and Marvel keep up their tradition of letting the notoriously spoiler-happy Holland “accidentally” leak details about the movie on social media, we should probably keep our eyes peeled.

Spider-Man 3 is set to hit theaters on December 17, 2021.