Category: Games

Between 2010 and 2020, Nickelodeon lost more than 60% of its audience.

Snapped up by Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, and other streaming-first or user generated content platforms, Nickelodeon began to feel like a product of a bygone era. It didn’t necessarily matter that Nickelodeon was still the most popular kids network on cable TV; the issue was cable TV was bleeding customers as cord cutters turned to streaming alternatives.

Kids content was arguably more susceptible to the changing tides. Children are more digital friendly, and cheaper mainstays like YouTube Kids, Netflix, and Disney+ provided an always-on, ad-free, constant alternative to a television schedule. Nickelodeon executives were aware of their declining ratings. There were some options throughout the mid-aughts — NickHits launched on Roku and Amazon Prime Video Channels, while Viacom (now ViacomCBS) licensed some of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows to Netflix.

Some helped, but none really stuck the landing. Until Paramount+ launched, and Nickelodeon found its new moment.

Bookended with classic Paramount films and live sports, Nickelodeon became part of a bigger general entertainment streaming package that caught people’s attention. If kids were spending more time watching entertainment online, Nickelodeon would meet them where they were. It’s working, according to ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish.

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Yes, Spongebob Squarepants is still popular.

“Nickelodeon, in particular, is turning into a powerful driver of subs and engagement, probably more quickly than we would have thought,” Baskish said. “It’s a clear sub driver since the relaunch, and it now accounts for a strong double-digit share of streams…I think it’s also worth noting that the SpongeBob franchise in totality quickly moved to the top of the rankers at Paramount+.”

In layman terms, Nickelodeon is a primary reason people are signing up for Paramount+. This may seem obvious, but the battle for kids content is only just heating up for three reasons:

1. Kids watch a lot of television

2. Having kids content on a streaming service makes the service a necessity not an option

3. Streaming becomes multi-generational

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Ever Heard of Paw Patrol?

Saying kids consume large amounts of television is an understatement. In 2020, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry found that “children ages 8-12 in the United States spend 4-6 hours a day watching or using screens,” on average. They’re increasingly spending more time watching things online, mostly split between Netflix and YouTube.

While YouTube is the most popular platform among kids, it poses a threat that parents hate: It’s completely unregulated and there are risks that children will come across content they shouldn’t. Netflix is better. Disney+, arguably the best. Anything that goes on Disney+ is certified Disney. Not only are parents paying for a brand they know their kids will enjoy, but it’s safe.

Netflix is getting into the kids game, but there are still two companies whose brands are synonymous with children’s television: Disney and Nickelodeon. When developing a general entertainment service (as opposed to a niche offering like Criterion), not playing to kids’ interest is a nail in the coffin more often than not. Even Apple is trying to find its way into the kids market, parenting with Skydance Animation — a studio run by former Pixar chief John Lasseter. (Lasseter left Pixar after allegations of sexual harassment were brought forward.)

But whereas Netflix and Apple have to try and come up with kids programming that draws tykes in and keeps their attention, Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon Network, which has found its home on HBO Max, don’t have to try as hard to convince consumers they have the goods. As Brian Robbins, president of Nickelodeon, told Variety last year, “franchises are so important in a world where there is so much content being made.” See: a Star Trek cartoon airing on Nickelodeon. Big franchise plus big network ideally equals audience recognition.

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Again, it can seem obvious, but brand recognition — and more importantly, character recognition — is vitally important in the streaming space. In 2019, 60% of Netflix’s usage came from kids and family driven entertainment. Netflix has partnered with DreamWorks Animation, Sony, and even ViacomCBS to ensure kids can find their old and new favorite shows on the streaming service. Paramount+ and Disney+ don’t have to try to convince kids (and their credit card wielding parents) that they’re home to favorite movies and TV shows. They just have to keep producing.

For every new High School Musical series or Mighty Ducks show, Nickelodeon is going to have a Paw Patrol movie or new Spongebob Squarepants film. ViacomCBS is launching an entire studio dedicated to producing more content based in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe.

Kids already know the characters, and having more of what they know might convince them to spend more time on Paramount+ than Disney+. Companies look at a few key streaming metrics: what leads to people signing up (growth), what are people watching (engagement/usage), and what’s preventing them from canceling (retention). Kids content, if done properly, helps accomplish all three.

“Clearly, ‘kids’ is working for us,” Bakish said on a recent earnings call, adding that ViacomCBS is leaning into producing more Nickelodeon originals for Paramount+. “We’re really excited about getting to have something on the platform every week that’s fresh for someone to watch.”

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We Can’t Cancel

The key to pulling ahead in the colloquial streaming wars is finding a way to be a necessity instead of an option.

There are a few ways to do this: HBO Max is the best place for HBO fans to watch their favorite shows or anticipated new shows, Hulu is the only streaming service to watch new FX series on, and Disney+ is the only streaming service that’s 100% kid friendly. Let’s examine the last one.

If you live in a household with kids, Disney+ is a no brainer. The streaming service is on the cheaper end of the spectrum, it’s guaranteed to carry something they want to watch, and there’s no risk of stumbling upon shows or films they shouldn’t be watching. If parents are into Marvel and Star Wars, well, that’s just an added bonus.

Before Disney+ launched, Disney’s former head of streaming, Kevin Mayer, reiterated that Disney+ was more than just a platform for kids. That’s true, but Disney’s biggest strength is that it’s so synonymous with safety, gold standard entertainment (classic animated films), and characters that kids already know and love. The core to being a successful entertainment company in 2021 is love and being able to monetize that love. No company is better at that than Disney.

On the kids front, one company that comes close is Nickelodeon. In 2018, Spongebob Squarepants was still the most recognizable kids brand in the United States, according to Parrot Analytics. Paw Patrol is rated the most popular kids show in the United States. New upcoming series that play on classic titles, like Rugrats and iCarly, are tapping into decades-plus of recognizable programming that parents and kids might enjoy together.

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This, too, is key — 75% of parents polled in a Common Sense Media report in 2018 said they spend multiple hours a week watching television with their kids. New parents may have grown up with Spongebob and iCarly themselves. Paramount+ has enough Nickelodeon catalog to encourage adults to revisit childhood favorites like All That, CatDog, Drake and Josh, Rocket Power, Fairly OddParents, and Hey Arnold while their kids watch their own favorite series.

Nickelodeon, alongside Disney and Cartoon Network, become a part of every new generation. If executed right and brought together on one platform, bookended with a plethora of other content, Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+ become obvious ongoing subscriptions instead of possibilities.

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This Is Just the Start

The fight for kids’ attention in the streaming space feels like it’s only just beginning. WarnerMedia is rebranding its Cartoon Network division to make it the company’s family brand, and ordering way more series. Apple is beginning to tap into the kids market, and Netflix is trying to release six animated films a year — more than Disney Animation Studios and Pixar combined. Plus, Netflix has a litany of kids shows, and partnerships with crucial studios like Moonbug (makers of Cocomelon, one of the most popular global kids channels on YouTube). Disney will continue to Disney.

ViacomCBS is in a position to become a go-to streamer for kids content. Executives overseeing Paramount+ need to determine how to make it a necessity, not just an option. The answer might not be in a new Halo live-action show or another NCIS; the answer might be found in Bikini Bottom.

Cheaters have been a big problem in Call of Duty: Warzone lately, as the battle royale has a number of hackers running exploits that allow them to auto-aim and ruin the fun for everyone else. YouTuber Jack “CouRage” Dunlop has faced off against cheaters, and in one recent stream alongside other Warzone streaming personalities NICKMERCS, TimTheTatman, and Cloakzy, the quartet managed to attract some hackers to the game. It did not go well for the hackers.

Using his influence in the Warzone scene, Dunlop tweeted Activision and Warzone developer Raven Software to take action against the players who were blatantly cheating.

“Hey Activision and Raven Software, I think it would be extremely beneficial to have someone watch our live-streams and ban blatant cheaters on the spot,” Dunlop tweeted. Currently, there are two cheaters joining our lobbies and ruining our Warzone experience with about 150,000 live viewers watching.”

A few hours later, Raven banned a player who had obviously been cheating, much to the joy of Dunlop and TimTheTatman who were spectating at the time. There some not safe for work language in the video below, which you can see below.

While the situation spawned some debate about high-profile influencers in Warzone being afforded better treatment by the developers, the end-result was the game having at least one fewer hacker to worry about. While cheating will likely be a continuous issue for Warzone–especially since it has 100 million players–Activision has been making an effort to police the game’s servers. The company has already permanently banned more than 475,000 accounts, and it has plans for more anti-cheating measures to be taken.

For those players who rely on skill over hacks, Warzone is about to become a whole lot more explosive when the game’s new ’80s Action Hero DLC launches on May 20. Die Hard and Rambo content is coming to the game, which is part of, which is part of Activision’s new plan to build its own Metaverse.

It’s going to be difficult to justify building a “huge world” without any characters that look Asian. Turn that imagine on us @JSalke. It’s not hard, we’re right here.
Amazon Boss Justifies ‘Lord of the Rings’ $465 Million Budget: ‘Huge World-Building’ https://t.co/Xx8F651k7m

— Ludi Lin (@ludi_lin) May 13, 2021

The Season of the Splicer is here in Destiny 2, bringing new weapons and armor, a new six-player activity, and new transmog capabilities. Xur returns for his weekly visit to bring you new Exotics for your collection as well, giving you a chance to outfit your Guardian characters with a new weapon and new pieces of armor.

Xur appears every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET each Friday. The thing is, it’s not always clear where he’ll show up. Xur can hang out at one of several locations, including in the Tower Hangar area, on Nessus in Watcher’s Grave, and in the Winding Cove area of the EDZ. We’ll update this post with Xur’s location when he arrives in the solar system.

Xur offers a fresh weapon each week for the cost of 29 Legendary Shards, as well as three pieces of armor, one for each of Destiny 2’s three character classes. Armor costs a bit less at 23 Legendary Shards. In addition, you can also purchase an Exotic Fated Engram from Xur for 96 Legendary Shards, which is guaranteed to give you an Exotic you don’t already have (not counting Exotics tied to specific activities). Just note that you can only buy one per week, and the engram is specific to the character class who buys it–so if you’re trying to get a new Titan helmet, don’t buy the engram with your Warlock.

There are many fantastic side missions in the Mass Effect series–known in-game as Assignments–that are well worth your time. There are also plenty that aren’t worth doing at all, so we’ve compiled below a list of some of the best side missions you won’t want to skip during your time playing the series in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

Note that we’ve only listed Assignments from the first Mass Effect so far. We’ll be updating this feature with even more you shouldn’t miss in other games in the coming days. Otherwise, be sure to read our Mass Effect: Legendary Edition review in progress.

MASS EFFECT 1

Asari Consort

Acquisition Details: Located in the Citadel. You can find this one in the Consort’s chambers in the southeastern corner of the Presidium. Speak to Sha’ira.

Why It’s Worthwhile: In this Assignment, the Asari Consort Sha’ira asks you to help with a Turian general who is spreading lies about her. It is a fun quest in its own right with two rewards: One being a steamy encounter (if you pick the right dialogue), and the other a Prothean trinket, which, if taken to the uncharted world on Eletania, gives you a nifty little Easter egg.

Rita’s Sister

Acquisition Details: Located in the Citadel. Speak to Rita in Flux to pick up this Assignment.

Why It’s Worthwhile: This particular Assignment has you helping a C-Sec officer save her sister, Jenna, who is working undercover and in potential danger. Complete it, and Jenna will show up in Mass Effect 3 in an unexpected way.

The Fan

Acquisition Details: Located in the Citadel. Speak to Conrad Verner in the Upper Markets of the Ward.

Why It’s Worthwhile: You’ll get to meet Conrad Verner, the galaxy’s biggest fan of Commander Shepard. You’ll need to return to the Citadel several times for this one (typically after each major story quest) and talk with Conrad to finish the quest. Conrad is a fan favorite and will return in both Mass Effect 2 and 3 as long as you complete his quest.

Homecoming

Acquisition Details: Located in the Citadel. Talk to Samesh Bhatia, who will be in the Presidium Emissary suites after Tali joins your party.

Why It’s Worthwhile: This Assignment is a heartbreaking little quest about a man who wants to recover his wife’s body so he may give her a proper burial. It’s hard to miss because, as we mentioned above, it will present itself outside the Presidium Emissary after meeting Tali.

The Fourth Estate

Acquisition Details: Located in the Citadel after you’ve completed one or more of the game’s main missions (Therum, Noveria, or Feros). After coming down off of the elevator to meet with Captain Anderson in the story, a reporter will be waiting for you. Talk to her to trigger this Assignment.

Why It’s Worthwhile: The Fourth Estate is a tiny little quest where reporter Khalisah Al-Jilani interviews Shepard. Al-Jilani makes an appearance in all three games, each time referencing how things played out previously, so it’s a good idea to talk to her and experience that fun continuity of events as you go.

Shepard’s Backstory Quests

Acquisition Details: When you first start Mass Effect, Shepard has three possible backstories to choose from, and each has a related Assignment you can do that fleshes out your selected background. All three of them are located on the Citadel and are available after completing one or more of the game’s main missions (Therum, Noveria, or Feros).

• Old, Unhappy, Far-Off Things (Spacer Background): A human named Zabaleta will call Shepard over when you’re passing by the Wards Access corridor.
• Old Friends (Earthborn Background): A human named Finch will address Shepard in passing when you’re running around Chora’s Den in the Wards.
• I Remember Me (Colonist Background): When you returnto the Citadel and leave the elevator from the docking bay, Lieutenant Girard will contact Shepard.

Why It’s Worthwhile: For the most part, Shepard is built as a blank slate for you to define through your decisions as you play through the Mass Effect series. However, these backstory Assignments offer more story detail to help provide insight and color to Shepard’s past.

Squad Member Assignments

Acquisition Details: While squad loyalty missions wouldn’t become a series hallmark until Mass Effect 2, there are missions available for Garrus (Find Dr, Saleon), Tali (Tali and the Geth), and Wrex (Family Armor) in ME1. To unlock them, keep talking with your crewmates and exploring all their dialogue options when on the Normandy between missions until they come up.

Why They’re Worthwhile: All three of these squad member Assignments are great missions and will help progress your relationship with these characters. Wrex’s, in particular, is worth doing if you don’t play pure Paragon or Renegade, as completing it can be invaluable to keeping Wrex around as a mainstay party member.

Colony of the Dead

Acquisition Details: Located on Feros. Hack the server node in the upper level of the ExoGeni headquarters to retrieve it.

Why It’s Worthwhile: This one is a creepy horror-themed Assignment that we won’t spoil. Just expect to be spooked. It’s important to note that you need a character with good decryption to hack the server node, so make sure you’re allocating your skills accordingly or have a teammate who can handle it.

Hostile Takeover

Acquisition Details: Located in the Citadelafter completing the main missions in Therum, Noveria, and Feros. Hack one of the computers in the C-Sec Academy located at the Aroch Ward of The Citadel to pick this one up. C-Sec is investigating a suspected criminal named Helena Blake, who you can find near the Emporium in the Financial District.

Why It’s Worthwhile: Criminal Helena Blake asks you to take out her two business partners. It’s a fun quest, and depending on the outcome, Helena will make a small appearance in Mass Effect 2.

Missing Marines, Cerberus, Hades’ Dogs

Acquisition Details:

• Missing Marines: Acquired when you talk to Admiral Kahoku after the meeting with the Council, who can be found at the terminal before the stairs up to the Council’s chamber. Alternatively, you can get it by completing the Doctor Michel Assignment. You can also pick up the marine unit’s distress call yourself when you approach Edolus.
• Cerberus: After completing Missing Marines, the next time you use the Galaxy Map, Admiral Kahoku will message you about a new Assignment.
• Hades’ Dogs: You can acquire this after completing Cerberus. When you return to the Normandy, you’ll be able to track the location of the main Cerberus base.

Why They’re Worthwhile: This ongoing questline involves Alliance officer Rear Admiral Kahoku. These three quests technically contain the first mention of the organization Cerberus, which plays a major role in Mass Effect 2 and 3.

Rogue VI

Acquisition Details: You’ll get this Assignment after warping into a system. Admiral Hackett will contact you and ask that you return to Sol.

Why It’s Worthwhile: Shepard’s asked to visit an alliance training ground and destroy the VI stationed there. The quest takes place on Earth’s moon, which is always fun. It’s worth doing from a gameplay standpoint, as completion will unlock Shepard’s specialization class. It also comes back in a very interesting way in later games, which we won’t spoil here.

Bring Down the Sky

Acquisition Details: Becomes available after you leave the Citadel. It’s marked on the map as Asteroid X57.

Why It’s Worthwhile: This is Mass Effect 1’s only major DLC (Rest in peace, Pinnacle Station). It is not required to beat the game, but it is an excellent mission involving stopping a group of terrorists from sending an asteroid into the planet of Terra Nova. It is also the introduction (and only appearance in Mass Effect 1) of the Batarian species, which shows up regularly in the following games. Depending on your choices at the end, you’ll even get an epilogue of sorts in Mass Effect 3.

MASS EFFECT 2 & 3 Coming Soon

As noted above, we’ll be updating this feature with all the side missions that you need to play in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 in the coming days. For now, enjoy your time in Mass Effect 1 and make sure you complete the ones we highlighted to optimize the fun continuity of your series playthrough.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition brings the first three games in the series together in one package, letting new players experience it for the first time with new visual enhancements. But if you’re an experienced Spectre, you should know that playing the Legendary Edition won’t feel exactly like you remember. BioWare has made some quality-of-life and balancing changes from the originals. If you’re diving back in for your second trip through the galaxy (or third or fourth), read on for things you may need to know.

For more about how the collection stacks up, be sure to read our Mass Effect: Legendary Edition review in progress.

DLC Is Sprinkled Throughout

In the original Mass Effect releases, DLC expansions were added post-launch as usual, so buying the extra stories would grant you immediate access to them. Sometimes there might be level restrictions, but in general, you wouldn’t have to wait. The Legendary Edition includes almost all of the DLC across all three games from the start, but you can’t just jump straight into the DLC. Instead, BioWare has spread out the DLC missions so that they’ll appear more organically alongside regular missions. That makes it a single, unified experience, but it also means that you can’t, for example, start up the Shadow Broker mission as soon as you start playing Mass Effect 2 (you can go recruit the two DLC squadmates, Zaeed and Kasumi).

But The Pinnacle Station DLC Is MIA

The one piece of DLC missing from the package is the Pinnacle Station add-on from the first Mass Effect. As BioWare has detailed before, the data was corrupted after the original Mass Effect was released. That led to the DLC being absent from the PS3 port for Mass Effect. Similarly, when BioWare went to remaster the game for this Legendary Edition, the same corrupted data problem prevented it from inclusion in the game. Pinnacle Station does still technically exist on the Xbox Store, for the original Xbox 360 release, but for obvious reasons, it isn’t compatible with the Legendary Edition.

Use Weapons Without Penalties

The original Mass Effect included classes like the rest of the series, but more narrowly defined them by creating penalties for using certain weapons that weren’t optimized for your class. The Legendary Edition removes these penalties to give you more flexibility in your class and weapon choices. However, certain classes will be able to allocate points into certain weapon types to improve their effectiveness.

Galactic Readiness Depends More On All Three Games

In the original Mass Effect 3, your Galactic Readiness level could be buffed by playing plenty of the multiplayer mode. In the Legendary Edition, that mode has been cut (though it could return), and the Galactic Readiness level has been rebalanced. If you’re playing through the entire trilogy in order, it will be determined by the content you’ve completed across all three games. If you jump straight to Mass Effect 3, however, you’ll need to do almost everything to reach max readiness and get the best ending.

Respec at a Discount With Shadow Broker

You can respec your party’s powers and upgrades in Mass Effect 2 by investing in the Retrain Powers upgrade from the Research Terminal on the Normandy. You can find it on the second deck. But if you can wait a little while until you complete the Shadow Broker mission, you can get a significant discount. The Normandy respec costs 2500 Element Zero, while the Shadow Broker respec is only 1000 EZ. Either way, don’t worry too much about spending your upgrade points because you can always retrain.

FemShep Looks More Consistent

In the original Mass Effect releases, the male Shepard was the default in all marketing materials, and this was reflected in the games themselves. Though FemShep was always an option, her default look was inconsistent between games. That has been fixed for the Legendary Edition, so you can pick FemShep (expertly voiced by Jennifer Hale) without worrying about the consistency being broken by an ever-changing face. Naturally, if you make your own custom Shepard–male or female–that will carry through all three games too.

Trophies And Achievements Are Easier, Thankfully

Some of the Trophies and Achievements were extremely tricky, or even required multiple playthroughs to claim them all, and Legendary Edition makes some much-needed adjustments. One, for example, rewards you for playing with certain squadmates in the first Mass Effect. While it used to require you to play most of the game with squadmates–which effectively restricted you from swapping out squad members and only let you get a couple per playthrough–now you can claim the equivalent Trophy or Achievement by playing a handful of missions with a squadmate. Others that make a cumulative count will stack through different playthroughs. All these changes make getting a Platinum trophy much more attainable.

EA is releasing a new Courtyard Oasis Kit for The Sims 4 on May 18. The DLC goes live across PC, PS4, and Xbox One at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET and introduces a variety of fountains and other opulent furniture with which to furnish your Sims’ homes.

“Curated for Simmers who want to design a serene and stylish oasis at the center of their homes, The Sims 4 Courtyard Oasis Kit uses vibrant and harmonious pieces inspired by the Riads of Morocco,” EA said in a press release. “Courtyard Oasis offers even more ways for players to express their creativity and design opulent spaces with traditional filigree designs, vibrant colors and intricate tile patterns.”

The kit includes “colorful fountains, ornate furniture, resplendent textiles and lush, tropical plants,” as well as columns, archways, and latticed wooden windows. EA did not confirm a price, but previous kits have each cost $5.

This marks the fourth “kit” to arrive for The Sims 4 to date. As EA describes, these add-ons are “bite-size” pieces of content that are smaller than the big Game Packs and Stuff Packs, and they typically introduce new items or features. The three other kits include the Throwback Fit Kit, Country Kitchen Kit, and the Bust the Dust Kit.

Despite first launching back in 2014, The Sims 4 continues to receive new content and updates regularly. EA recently rolled out a patch for the game that fixed a handful of small issues. The publisher plans to release another update later this month that will address even more issues; you can read more on the official Sims website.