For WWE fans, March 16 is Steve Austin Day, also known as 3:16 Day. Both WWE fans and wrestlers alike come together to celebrate the work of six-time WWE Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Over on Twitter, the love for the “Bionic Redneck” ran rampant with posts featuring various videos and animated gifs of everyone’s favorite ringmaster.
Five years ago, WWE talent did their best impression of Austin’s now-iconic King of the Ring ’96 speech in a compilation video. Now, they’ve done it again with a different roster including former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Montez Ford.
Lastly, former WWE Smackdown Women’s Champ Carmella went all out with makeup and a bald cap with her ode to the Texas Rattlesnake.
Happy #316Day 🍻🍻🍻 Yes, I’m aware @steveaustinBSR didn’t have a mustache, but my goatee ripped after the Roman impression, so I did what I had to do! 🤷🏼‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/2DQqHvoF2H
Last year, Austin celebrated the event in front of an empty area with Becky Lynch as the COVID-19 pandemic had just been declared and live events had been put on hold. While he’s still out of in-ring competition for the most part, his podcast on the WWE Network, the Stone Cold Sessions, have him more in a mentor and historian position with fellow legends and the biggest stars of today.
Netflix has released a trailer for Concrete Cowboy, one of the many films the streaming service indicated back in January would be coming out this year as part of its annual one-movie-every-week release schedule. The Western drama, due to hit Netflix on April 2, had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last fall, and is based upon the novel Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri–which in turn was inspired by the real life Black urban cowboys in North Philadelphia.
The film possibly may be best summed up 10 seconds into the trailer when a teenager (Caleb McLaughlin) walks into his estranged father’s (Idris Elba) house and remarks, “There’s a horse… in your house.” That moment seems to tee the film up as an odd comedy, but the rest of the trailer resets and shows the film to explore deeper themes of overcoming adversity, coming to grips with identity, and similarly coming to grips with community and family. Check out the clip below.
From the official synopsis: “When 15-year-old Cole is expelled from school in Detroit, he is sent to North Philadelphia to live with Harp, his estranged father. Harp finds solace in rehabilitating horses for inner city cowboys at the Fletcher Street Stables, a real-life black urban horsemanship community that has provided a safe haven for the neighborhood residents for more than 100 years. Torn between his growing respect for his father’s community and his reemerging friendship with troubled cousin Smush (Jharrel Jerome), Cole begins to reprioritize his life as the stables themselves are threatened by encroaching gentrification.”
Concrete Cowboy is directed and co-written by Ricky Staub (Snow White and the Huntsman), who wrote the script with Dan Walser (The Cage). In addition to McLaughlin, Elba, and Jerome, Concrete Cowboy also co-stars Byron Bowers (The Chi), Lorraine Toussaint (Orange is the New Black), and Clifford “Method Man” Smith (The Wire).
Activision has dispatched the latest teaser for Call of Duty: Warzone, this time sending hospital scrubs to influencers that contain a startling message about the future of Verdansk. The scrubs carry the “Verdansk General” name and logo for the hospital on the battle royale map.
The message warns players that “it’s looking grim” and that there may be no cure. “The latest diagnosis? It’s looking grim in Verdansk. Escape while you still can. I’d say, ‘Take two of these and I’ll see you in the morning.’ But you won’t last until morning,” the message says.
Players have speculated that the zombie incursion could grow more and more out of control until eventually, Verdansk will get nuked to solve the undead problem. This event is supposed to happen sometime around the end of Season 2, which would be in April. The ongoing theory is that Warzone will then re-launch with a Black Ops theme after the nuke event.
With the Season 3 premiere of Mayans MC on FX, which debuts March 16, the fallout from a major moment in the Season 2 finale is finally seeing the light of day. Thankfully, the biker drama isn’t wasting any time dealing with what comes after the death of Dita (Ada Maris) at the hands of EZ (JD Pardo)–a death she requested as payback for her own misdeeds. No character is rocked by the loss as much as her own son, Miguel (Danny Pino).
Speaking to GameSpot, Pino revealed that the version of Miguel fans will meet in Season 3 has vastly changed in the wake of his mother’s death. “Miguel is untethered in Season 3. Miguel is trying to find sanctuary, in a sense,” the actor explained. “Because of the death by suicide of his mother, he feels a certain amount of responsibility for that, if not the total responsibility for that. But trying to, as most humans do, not feel the full impact of that responsibility, he projects that on the people around him, and what part they had in that in that ultimate act from his mother.”
That projection leaves Miguel’s world in shambles. “The fact that his marriage is torn apart, and that his consigliere Devante (Tony Plana) is no longer around, his lack of trust in Marcus Alvarez (Emilio Rivera) or Nestor (Gino Vento), it’s really isolated him,” Pino continued. “And that makes that character incredibly dangerous, not only to himself but to others. And we’re [going to] see this rawness, this implosion of Miguel Galindo that, you know, looking back on Episode 1 of Season 1, you would never suspect a character that is that self-confident and that’s self-assured and not under control to reach the depths of what he’s encountering and Season 3.”
It’s not just Miguel feeling the weight of Dita’s death, though. The act of killing her itself is going to rock the foundation of EZ’s family to its core.
“The death of Dita becomes this catalyst for these characters to really explore life on their own, in a way,” Pardo said. “EZ’s always felt the protection of his father and his parents all through growing up as a child. And the death of Dita has such an effect on [his father] Felipe (Edward James Olmos), that it creates this feeling inside of him–a fear about who EZ really is. And so, their relationship is strained. EZ can’t just go to Felipe for everything anymore because he recognizes that the energy has changed. Their relationship has changed.”
That shift in dynamic is sure to be a dramatic one, given that the relationship between EZ and his father has been so central to the show. Who will EZ turn to now? One answer, obviously, is the club. He became a full-patch member of the Mayans in the Season 2 finale. However, there might be someone else for him to lean on this season.
“Now, EZ is latching on and he’s on his pursuit in this idea of love, this very romantic fantasy version of love that he wants to have for himself, now that it seems like his history with Emily is exactly that: history,” the actor said.
Pardo speaks, of course, of Gabriela (Sulem Calderon). The character first appeared in Season 2. Based on the trailers for Season 3, though, it looks like she’ll be sticking around for a while. As EZ sinks deeper and deeper into the club, it could be the connection to Gabriela that keeps him from drowning. Then again, if you’ve seen Sons of Anarchy–or the prior seasons of Mayans MC, for that matter–it’s hard to keep any of these characters from falling head-first into the devastation that the life of an outlaw biker brings with it.
Mayans returns March 16 on FX.
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Microsoft has announced all the new additions to Xbox Game Pass over the next couple of weeks, and there are some high-profile titles headed to the catalog, including one major surprise.
Square Enix’s RPG Octopath Traveler is coming to Xbox Game Pass on console and PC on March 25. Previously released on Switch and PC, as well as Stadia, the game takes players to the mysterious world of Orsterra where they experience the stories of eight travelers. Each one has distinct abilities that help them in battle.
While you have to wait a little longer to play Octopath Traveler on Xbox, Toby Fox’s acclaimed 2015 game Undertale is out right now on Game Pass for console, PC, and cloud streaming. The game features some Xbox-exclusive content as well.
On March 18, Xbox Game Pass will add a series of big-name games, including Nier: Automata (PC), Star Wars: Squadrons (console), Torchlight III (PC), and Empire of Sin (console, PC, cloud).
Following those will be Genesis Noir (console, PC), Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Ultimate Edition (PC), and Supraland (PC) on March 25. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life also arrives that day for console, PC, and cloud.
Then on March 30, Narita Boy will come to Game Pass for console, PC, and cloud. And finally, on April 1, Square Enix’s new shooter Outriders from the developers of Gears of War Judgment will arrive on Game Pass day and date with its official launch.
You can see the full list of new Xbox Game Pass titles below, while those leaving on March 31 include Journey to the Savage Planet, Hyperdot, and Machinarium.
Xbox Game Pass costs $10/month for access to all the games, while $15/month gets you Xbox Game Pass Ultimate which also comes with Xbox Live Gold, EA Play, and cloud streaming.
Xbox Game Pass New Additions
Out Now:
Undertale — (console, PC, cloud)
March 18
Empire of Sin — (console, PC, cloud)
Nier: Automata — (PC)
Star Wars: Squadrons — (console)
Torchlight III — (PC)
March 25
Genesis Noir — (console, PC)
Octopath Traveler — (console, PC)
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Ultimate Edition — (PC)
Nintendo has shared more details on Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ next update. In addition to Sanrio-inspired villagers and items, the 1.9.0 update will introduce more new seasonal items, additional design slots, and other new features to the life sim later this week.
As Nintendo detailed on Twitter, the 1.9.0 update will add 50 more slots for both Custom Designs and Pro Designs, greatly increasing the number of patterns you can keep. Additionally, you’ll be able to purchase a Custom Designs Portal and Custom Design Pro Editor+ from the Nook Miles catalog; these will let you download and edit designs right from you Nook Phone, without having to travel to the Able Sisters’ shop to access the terminal.
[Announcement] After the update on 3/18, you can add more Pro Design options, and receive 50 more slots in both Custom Designs and Pro Designs each. With a #NintendoSwitchOnline membership, you can access the Custom Design Portal from your NookPhone! pic.twitter.com/r0Hlk0xA0F
Bunny Day–the first major event to occur after New Horizons launched last year–will return again on April 4. As before, you’ll be able to collect different kinds of eggs from around your island and craft them into special Bunny Day furniture. This time, however, Nook’s Cranny will also be selling brand-new Bunny Day items. These will be available exclusively in the shop, with a different item on sale each day from March 28 to April 4.
[Announcement] Bunny Day is back this year on 4/4! Collect a variety of eggs and craft DIY Bunny Day themed items. You can also visit Nook’s Cranny from 3/28 to 4/4 to grab one item from the Bunny Day series each day. The newly added items are exclusive to Nook’s Cranny. pic.twitter.com/Sj2xlTHJxH
The Nook Link service in the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app will also receive its own update later this month. Following that update, the app will add a new feature that lets you collect Nook Points right from your phone and redeem them for prizes that you’ll receive in your game. You’ll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to use the mobile app.
Finally, Nintendo is launching a new service called the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island Tour Creator on March 23. With this, you’ll be able to create virtual posters and tour video showcasing your island and share them with others online.
[Announcement] Show your island off to the world with the #AnimalCrossing: New Horizons Island Tour Creator. Make digital posters and tour videos that highlight the best things about your island, then share them with others! The app will launch on 3/23. pic.twitter.com/TpdNc6sijB
The 1.9.0 update is slated to arrive on March 18. As previously mentioned, it will also introduce a handful of new Sanrio-inspired content, including brand-new villagers who you can invite to live on your island. You’ll need to scan the Animal Crossing Sanrio Amiibo cards to access these new villagers and items. Those will go on sale in the US starting March 26 and be sold exclusively at Target stores.
When Rick and Morty first began, Morty Smith was more of a punching bag for Rick and his crazy sci-fi needs. Since then, Morty has evolved and grown immensely. Starting as a character who Rick used specifically because of how dumb he was – Morty’s understanding of the multiverse and how to survive in sci-fi situations has emerged, as well as his overall confidence and understanding of himself. From Season 1 to Season 4, here are the Mortyest Morty moments of Rick and Morty so far!
Roger Craig Smith was the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog from 2010 to 2021. He lent his vocal talents to Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Sonic Boom, and Sonic Forces among many other titles.
In this video, we decided to take to the internet to figure out what the people want to know most about him and Sonic. Watch as we ask Roger the most searched questions about the blue blur to see what he had to say, and find out how well he knows the character himself.
But you’ve probably also heard his voice in more than just Sonic games. Roger Craig Smith is prolific and is also the voice of a bunch of other iconic video game characters including Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the Assassin’s Creed series, Batman in Batman: Arkham Origins, and Mirage in Apex Legends. These performances are iconic in their own right, and if you want to see Roger break down those roles you can check out the other video we did with him here: https://youtu.be/svDDP6nx5jg
If you want to keep up to date with Roger you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @RogerCraigSmith, and he also has a website you can check out: https://www.rogercraigsmith.com/
Microsoft has announced it’s acquired The Marsden Group, a global tech group with a focus on infrastructure and industrial manufacturing. That means that you’re unlikely to see the product of this acquisition make a big splash in video games, but Microsoft does note that the acquisition will impact its cloud, Edge, and AI products.
According to the announcement, this acquisition is looking to the future, as the trend toward digital goods shifts toward business-to-business technologies. Microsoft notes that Marsden is known for rapid prototyping, and this will help the company quickly experiment on B2B solutions.
While the acquisition may have some impact on Microsoft’s gaming sector, the announcement suggests that’s not where it’s putting its focus. Instead, it’s looking at industries like manufacturing, automotive, and logistics. It says Marsden will help it leverage its cloud tech for solutions like, for example, connecting industrial equipment to a secure cloud network.
The Marsden Group site reflects this focus, listing harsh and asset-critical environments like offshore drills, industrial plants, and auto manufacturers.
In Fortnite, players and their friends lead a group of Heroes to reclaim and rebuild a homeland that has been left empty by a mysterious darkness only known as “the Storm.”