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Reggie Fils-Aime, the affable president of Nintendo of America, announced that he’ll be retiring in April. The shadow of Fils-Aime looms large–in part because he is just very physically large–but mostly because he was well-known as an friendly figure and public face, not just for Nintendo but for the video games industry as a whole.

As a result, his retirement is bittersweet, and the industry is gathering to let him know he’ll be missed. Several industry leaders have stepped forward to issue congratulations and thanks on Twitter, including his ostensible competitors like Phil Spencer from Microsoft.

“All the best to Reggie Fils-Aime on the next phase of his life and career,” said Spencer. “Great leader, industry partner and friend.”

Others have thanked him for his contributions, shared endearing anecdotes, or otherwise wished him well. As of April 15, the role of Nintendo of America president will go to current sales VP Doug Bowser, who definitely hasn’t heard anyone else tell him your very creative “Bowser” joke yet. Fils-Aime has also released a heartwarming message of his own on Twitter.

Check below for a sampling of reactions from around the industry.

And the Academy Award goes to…

The Oscars are “Hollywood’s Biggest Night,” the occasion when we should be celebrating the best, most ambitious motion pictures of the past year. But it rarely works out that way. Oftentimes, the best, most groundbreaking picture of the year does not win Best Picture; the Academy gives its biggest award to the most “Oscar-y” movie, that deals with important issues in a sweeping, yet safe manner. Genres like fantasy and science fiction are also at an extreme disadvantage on Oscar night.

As for the acting Academy Awards, they do not reward subtlety and rarely reward comedy. You need to chew some scenery to get into the final five. And sometimes, the Oscar is awarded to right a wrong–a past performance that was overlooked or otherwise snubbed in prior years. Thus, the current crop of deserving stars is overlooked. And the cycle is doomed to repeat itself.

The 91st Academy Awards air Sunday, February 24. In recognition of this landmark, we’re counting down the 10 most undeserved Oscar wins from the past 30 years. Yes, we all know that How Green Was My Valley beat Citizen Kane for Best Picture in 1942. But that’s all most people know about the John Ford film these days. The Oscar wins in this gallery are recent enough to still sting.

Nintendo of America’s iconic president and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, is set to retire this spring, the company announced today. He’ll be replaced by the company’s senior VP of sales and marketing, Doug Bowser, a man whose name requires a “yes, really” after every mention.

Fils-Aime has been in the role for more than a decade, serving as the company’s face in North American territories. He’s often seen in Nintendo Direct streams and was often the primary presenter back when the company did live E3 media briefings. Fils-Aime stood out both due to his Terminator-like stature and meme-friendly antics, like when he danced in an attempt to convince a western audience to take notice of Yo-Kai Watch.

“Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever,” Fils-Aime said in a press release revealing his departure. “It’s a part that is filled with gratitude–for the incredibly talented people I’ve worked with, for the opportunity to represent such a wonderful brand, and most of all, to feel like a member of the world’s most positive and enduring gamer community. As I look forward to departing in both good health and good humor, this is not ‘game over’ for me, but instead ‘leveling up’ to more time with my wife, family and friends.”

In addition to that message, Nintendo shared a video from Fils-Aime on Twitter in which he thanks fans for their support. “I wanted to reach out directly to you, the Nintendo community, because there’s one thing I really want to say: thank you,” Fils-Aime said. “Thank you for your never-ending support, and for your passionate love of Nintendo. And personally, for giving me a Mushroom Kingdom full of incredible memories that I will never forget, ever.” In addition to this, there’s also been an outpouring of well-wishes on Twitter from various members of the games industry.

“I really appreciate everything Reggie has done for Nintendo,” said Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa. “Inside and outside our company, Reggie is known as an exceptional leader. We are grateful that he is leaving the business in good shape with strong momentum. While we will miss him and we wish him the very best in his retirement, we are also pleased to have such an able successor ready to step into that role. Doug Bowser and the rest of the team will ensure a seamless transition and continued momentum for Nintendo.”

Fils-Aime will officially step down on April 15, at which point Bowser will assume the title of president of Nintendo of America. Prior to his current position at Nintendo, he worked for EA. When he was first hired at Nintendo, he tweeted an image offering his thanks but–with a nod toward his surname–Mario and Luigi plushes discreetly tied up in the background.

Bowser also had a comment to share in the press release regarding Fils-Aime’s retirement. “It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America,” he said, before going on to menacingly promise, “And rest assured, we will continue to build on his work to evolve and expand our brand, furthering Nintendo’s global mission of creating smiles. There are millions more of those to come.”

Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb has announced four more games are now backwards compatible on Xbox One. The first three are all a part of the Lost Planet series, while the fourth is a Resident Evil game.

All three of the mainline Lost Planet games–Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Lost Planet 2, and Lost Planet 3–are now backwards compatible, as is the gold edition of the first game, titled Lost Planet: Colonies. Resident Evil Code: Veronica X, an extended cut version of a game that originally released on Dreamcast, is also now backwards compatible.

Published by Capcom, the Lost Planet franchise consists of a series of shooters that follow the struggles of different protagonists that all live on a planet that’s in the midst of an ice age. Gameplay evolves throughout the series, but each title primarily focuses on survival in the harsh environment, as well as shootouts with alien creatures or soldiers from corporations hell bent on controlling the planet. At the time of its release in 2007, we enjoyed Lost Planet: Extreme Condition–calling it “a great action game because it focuses on tense, thrilling battles.” We weren’t quite as fond of Lost Planet 2 or its sequel, criticizing the former for its “broken, tedious, or downright frustrating” missions and the latter for struggling to maintain the series’ identity.

Resident Evil Code: Veronica X continues the series’ survival horror gameplay, following the story of siblings Chris and Claire Redfield after the events of Resident Evil 2. In our Resident Evil Code: Veronica X review, Joe Fielder gave the game a 9/10, praising it for its visuals and soundtrack while also commending the storytelling in spite of some cheesy moments.

To play any of these four games on Xbox One, you’ll either need to own their respective physical Xbox 360 copy or buy their digital versions from the Xbox Live marketplace. We’ve outlined the full list of Xbox One backwards compatible games, and also highlighted some of our favorites.

GameStop has announced another “Pro Day” sale, with special deals and discounts reserved exclusively for its reward members. In the same announcement, the shop also announced this year’s “tax sale,” running for the week just after Pro Day, in case that tax refund is burning a hole in your pocket.

Pro Day will take place on Saturday, February 23. It includes $100 off a Fallout 76 Xbox One X 1TB bundle, $50 off Xbox One S bundles, and a download code for Gears of War 4 with any Xbox One. You can also snag some good prices on software like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey ($20), Black Ops 4 ($30), and Battlefield 5 ($25). There’s also a buy-two-get-one-free offer on used PS4 and Xbox One games. Plus accessories, Xbox Live memberships, and collectibles will be discounted.

The Tax Sale, which lasts February 24 through March 5, has similar deals on Xbox One hardware, and some of the same software deals. You can pick up Red Dead Redemption 2 and Fallout 76 for $40, alongside some of the deals that Pro members had access to before.

Check out the list of promoted deals below.

Pro Day (2/23)

• Save $100 on new Xbox One X 1TB Fallout 76 bundle
• Save $50 on new Xbox One S Bundle
• Free full-game download of Gears of War 4 with purchase of any new Xbox One console
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: $19.99
• Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII: $29.99
• NBA 2K19: $24.99
• Madden NFL 19: $19.99
• Battlefield V: $24.99
• WWE 2K19: $24.99
• Just Cause 4: $39.99
• Save up to $60 on select headsets
• Save $10 on Xbox wireless controller
• Save $10 on 3-month or 6-month Xbox Live Gold membership
• Get 3 months of Xbox Live FREE with purchase of 6-month of Xbox Live
• 40% off board games and puzzles
• 30% off apparel and apparel accessories, collector boxes and all lighting
• 25% off select toy collectibles
• $10 T-shirts (excludes clearance)
• Buy 2 Get 1 Free on pre-owned Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games (coupon valid 2/25 – 3/3 and will be in visible in Active Offers on 2/25. Must be PowerUp Rewards Member)
• Get 10% more credit when you trade games and accessories
• Get an extra 10% off pre-owned games and accessories

Tax Sale (2/24-3/5)

• Save $100 on new Xbox One X 1TB Fallout 76 bundle
• Save $50 on new Xbox One S Bundle (plus Battlefield V deluxe edition bundle)
• Save $10 on 3-month or 6-month Xbox Live Gold membership
• Red Dead Redemption 2: $39.99
• Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII: $39.99
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: $19.99
• NBA 2K19: $29.99
• Madden NFL 19: $24.99
• Battlefield V: $29.99
• Fallout 76: $39.99
• Just Cause 4: $39.99
• Save $10 on select Xbox One wireless controllers
• Save 20% off on SCUF performance accessories when you purchase any new Xbox One Elite Controller or PS4 SCUF Vantage Controller
• Save up to $20 on select headsets
• Buy 1 Get 1 50% off all POP! vinyl figures
• Buy 1 Get 1 50% off all apparel and apparel accessories
• Blind Bags: Buy 2 get 1 free
• 60% off clearance toys and apparel
• 25% off all statues and action figures
• 25% off all Pokémon toys and plush

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Fortnite has long since surpassed its inspiration, PUBG, going on to become the rare sensation that transcends the level of popularity that even the most popular games typically see. But it’s faced some serious new competition to start out 2019 with the release of Apex Legends, an excellent take on the battle royale genre from Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment. Epic Games wants you to know Fortnite is just fine, though.

With much being made about the player figures Apex has amassed since its release–more than 25 million players and a peak concurrent count of 2 million in its first week–there has been speculation that this success will surely cut into that of Fortnite. Seemingly in response to this, Epic has released some updated figures of its own, revealing Fortnite had its best day ever in terms of peak concurrent players (meaning the number of players online simultaneously) earlier this month.

During the DJ Marshmello concert on February 2, Fortnite had 10.7 million players, the game’s biggest day ever. It followed that up more recently with 7.6 million players on February 16, which Epic says was the game’s best non-event day ever.

This would all suggest that Fortnite is not struggling due to Apex. Certainly, numerous other game companies have–in the interest of alleviating investors’ fears–stated that Fortnite is growing the market, rather than simply stealing players from other games. They’d likely claim the same is true of Apex, which will continue to grow with its first-ever Battle Pass in March and the recently added Havoc gun.

That said, there is a caveat to keep in mind. Epic recently announced that you can earn the upcoming Season 8 Battle Pass for free by completing new Overtime challenges right now. Some saw this move as an attempt to stop bleeding players drawn to Apex by giving them the opportunity to avoid having to drop about $10 (or spending previously earned V-Bucks) to gain access to exclusive challenges and rewards during Season 8. That record day on February 16 was the first Saturday during which the Overtime challenges were available, and it seems fair to assume the Battle Pass freebie played a major role in that big day.

Whatever the rationale behind giving away the Battle Pass for free, it seems clear that it’s having the intended effect. And however big Apex may grow, don’t expect Fortnite to go anywhere in the near future.

While the story of the Crane family on Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House–GameSpot’s favorite show of 2018–may be over, the show will go on. Netflix has announced a second season of what it’s calling an “anthology series,” as well as the scary story it’s going to tackle next.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is what Season 2 will be known as, taking inspiration from The Turn of the Screw, a horror novella by Henry James. The work from 1898 tells the story of a governess watching over two orphans in a massive and creepy old mansion. In what should come as a surprise to nobody who saw the first season of the show, this house is also believed to be haunted. However, just as Hill House examined whether members of the Crane family suffered from mental illness or were being tormented by supernatural entities, the woman in The Turn of the Screw also wonders if she’s simply going insane.

The next season of Haunting will be part of a new overall deal with series creators Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy. The duo, who are also putting the finishing touches on Dr. Sleep–a sequel to The Shining due in theaters in November–will continue making shows for Netflix beyond more installments of Haunting.

“Netflix has been an important part of our story, and we’re proud to have worked with them on The Haunting of Hill House, not to mention Gerald’s Game, Hush, and Before I Wake.” they said in a statement. “They’ve enabled and supported a great deal of our work and we look forward to much more.”

Now for the bad news. A teaser for The Haunting of Bly Manor revealed a 2020 arrival, meaning you are going to have a while to wait before getting to devour that series. And, sadly, you shouldn’t get your hopes up about seeing your favorite Hill House characters return. That said, there’s no telling if any members of the cast will return in new roles. Spookier things have happened.

PC players can now claim another free title from the Epic Games Store. From now until March 7, the retro-style point-and-click adventure Thimbleweed Park is up for grabs. Like other freebies from the storefront, the title will be yours to keep and play forever once you claim it.

To grab your copy of Thimbleweed Park, simply create an Epic account on the company’s store page, sign in, and then download the game. Epic regularly offers free titles through the storefront, so it’s worth keeping your account and checking back regularly to pick up the freebies.

Thimbleweed Park originally released in 2017. Designed by famed Maniac Mansion creators Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, the game is a satire of the television series Twin Peaks, The X-Files, and True Detective. It also features retro-styled pixel visuals and five playable characters that players can switch between during the course of the adventure.

“Thimbleweed Park is a time capsule that reminds us what we love about the point-and-click genre while still retaining many of its unremedied issues,” critic Matt Espineli wrote in GameSpot’s review. “Its amusing open world is packed with infectious personalities and clever puzzles that magnify the joy of its experiences. And its efforts to shift beyond the template of its predecessors and contemporaries make it surprisingly affecting, especially if you’re a longtime devotee of point-and-click adventures.”

Epic offers a new free game through its store every two weeks. The next one players will be able to pick up is Slime Rancher, which will be available from March 7-21.

Tetris 99 was a surprise reveal during Nintendo’s recent Switch Direct presentation. It’s Tetris’s take on the battle royale genre, as 99 people battle it out to be the last brick-layer standing.

As it’s an online multiplayer game, you’ll need a Switch Online membership to play, however the game itself is free-to-play. As with last year’s Tetris Effect, it’s an interesting new twist on a series that’s been around for nearly as long as gaming itself. However the question remains: is it any good?

Our critic, Peter Brown, certainly thinks so, as he awarded the game an 8/10 in our Tetris 99 review. For more reviewers’ opinions, read on below; alternatively, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic for the full picture on Tetris 99’s critical reception.

GameSpot — 8/10

“Tetris 99 may not be a proper battle royale game, but it taps into the same emotional well, where a large number of players vying for supremacy creates an ever-present intensity that’s difficult to shake. Add that layer to a game that’s plenty capable of instilling tension on its own, and you’ve got a riveting experience that even at its worst is still a game very much worth playing. There’s obvious room for improvement, but that’s the last thing on your mind when the pieces start falling and the players start dropping.” — Peter Brown [Full review]

IGN — 8.5/10

“Tetris 99 is a maniacally intense battle royale that forces you to make strategic decisions beyond just where to drop your next piece. This is Tetris on steroids, where a good run can quickly turn into a disaster and a bad run can turn into a surprising comeback. There’s a lot of luck involved, which can lead to some unfair-feeling knockouts, but it’s quick and easy to jump back in. This nerve-wracking and utterly delightful take on one of the greatest games of all time feels perfect on Switch, and on its own it justifies the $20 annual cost of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription.” — Steven Petite [Full review]

Nintendo Life — 9/10

“The complete oddball of the family, Tetris 99 offers a truly unique way to play the tried-and-tested classic, even if the overall package feels a little lightweight. Playing live against 98 others is chaotic, and the action feels fast, precise, and wonderfully addictive. It’s seriously difficult, too–we’d fancy our chances in Fortnite over this any day–and we’re impressed with the fact that it’s forced us to play the game with a completely different approach to our usual slow-and-steady ways. Signing up for Nintendo Switch Online just to play this game might be a bit of a stretch, but if you’re already a member, what are you waiting for? It’s free, and it might just become your next favourite time sink.” — Ryan Craddock [Full review]

Pocket Gamer — 4/5

“Tetris 99 is chaotic, ridiculous, and a little barebones, but it’s also a damn good game of Tetris.” — Ric Cowley [Full review]