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Nintendo fans are compiling a master list of what games run better - or worse - on Switch 2
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Nintendo fans are compiling a master list of what games run better – or worse – on Switch 2

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Industrious Switch fans have started compiling a fan-made list that tracks which Switch 1 games have seen an improvement – or a decline – in performance when running on their new Nintendo Switch 2 consoles.

So far, over 350 games have been submitted and over 150 of them comprehensively categorised, recording what performance changes players have identified, regardless of whether or not there has been a formal patch or update deployed by the publisher.

Stellar Blade PC features trailer.Watch on YouTube

For instance, players who have played ARMS on their new Switch systems – for which Nintendo has deployed a free update for all players – believe they see an increased consistency in framerate, both docked and undocked, as well as dynamic resolution scaling in terms of resolution. However, they do not notice much difference in terms of loading times.

By comparison, Diablo 3: Eternal Edition also shows increased consistency in framerates and improved loading times, but that hasn’t been formally patched at all.

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As the list owner admits, perceptions of what is or isn’t an improvement can often be subjective, of course, and a handful of the hundreds of commenters have chimed in to say their experiences are different from those listed in the spreadsheet. However, the thread “isn’t meant to decide whether a game is worth buying (now) for you”, but is “purely informational”.

If you’d like to join the effort, head on over to Reddit.

Nintendo recently revealed it has sold 3.5m Switch 2 consoles in its first four days on sale, becoming the fastest-selling piece of Nintendo hardware. It also provided a solution to an issue causing the Switch 2’s battery indicator to display incorrectly.



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Seven years later, Nintendo fans beat Switch game even the devs didn’t
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Seven years later, Nintendo fans beat Switch game even the devs didn’t

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For every massive success Nintendo releases, there’s an oddball that confuses everyone. In 2017, that was the two-player party game 1-2 Switch, a collection of accessible mini-games. Think Wii Sports, but without the cutesy Miis, or Mario Party without the brand recognition. Players would be prompted to do anything from milking digital cows, to inflating fake balloons as fast as possible. The casual party game sold a few million copies, but by and large the world seems to have forgotten Nintendo’s inclusive experiment. Except for at least two people, who recently sought out a record that defied the very people who made the game.

A gamer with the username Elfilin tells Polygon that they initially bought the game when it was released and they were in high school. It quickly became a favorite for introducing people to video games regardless of their background.

“I’m a big fan of Nintendo’s deeper, technical games, like Super Smash Bros., but with 1-2-Switch, I can pluck someone off the street and they might beat me in a Quick Draw,” Elfilin says, referring to mini game where players have to draw fake guns out as fast as possible, cowboy style. Elfilin thus brought 1-2 Switch to college, where it became a running bit that helped them develop a social life.

“It’s honestly a good ice-breaker when you’re just getting to know someone,” Elfilin says, noting that half of the games encourage players to maintain eye contact as they’re instructed to do things like thrust their butts at one another.

One of the games included in 1-2 Switch is called Plate Spin. As the name implies, players must balance platters using their Joy-Con. The twist is that players can try and mess with one another in real life while the game periodically shrinks the dishes further. It’s a fun game, but a tough one. Most of the time, matches of Plate Spin don’t last very long. Here’s one video from IGN in 2017 where the round lasts just barely over 20 seconds; here’s one where the match is over about 10 seconds in. Curiously, Plate Spin includes a 2 minute timer while the events unfold. A friend of Elfilin’s noticed this in 2024, and asked if they’d ever managed to get to the end of it.

“I said that I’ve never done it, and that I haven’t been able to find anyone online posting them beating it or even acknowledging that it could be beaten,” Elfilin recalls. “It was then that my friend agreed to join me in attempting this Herculean task.”

Over the course of three separate sessions, the duo pushed themselves to the limit in what is a surprisingly demanding game. You’ve got to move your hands the entire time, and so does your partner. If either of you fails, then the timer is over and neither of you gets to see what happens at the end. It didn’t take long for Elfilin’s arms to start getting sore, and the pair had to start using cushioned stools to rest their appendages.

Strategies had to be developed. Though it was difficult, the players realized that Plate Spin telegraphed some of its nuances. If you go slowly, the plates wobble. If you go too fast, the sticks holding up the plates go off-center. Recovering from speediness was possible, though — you could simply stop moving for a few seconds. The two resorted to trying to go as quickly as possible until the game gave its telltale warning.

Adjustments had to be made as the plates minimized every 30 seconds; the two had to maintain the same pace while the radius of their spins progressively got smaller. Easier said than done. It took six hours and plenty of soreness before the two got to see the timer hit zero.

So, what happens? See for yourself:

The audience roars, and the game acknowledges the player’s feat before calling a draw. It might sound silly — and it is — but to their credit, it’s something seemingly no one has done before. There’s no evidence online of a Plate Spin ending, which makes sense, because it’s not exactly the sort of thing that would typically bestow gaming glory, like a speedrunning world record in a popular game. Though it’s a first-party game developed by Nintendo itself, most people never played 1-2 Switch. If they did, they probably didn’t get through every single mini-game in its entirety. That includes the very people who made the game themselves.

After posting about the feat on Reddit, a game tester on 1-2 Switch came out of the woodwork to reveal that even folks internally hadn’t seen the ending of Plate Spin.

“As one of the testers on that game, congrats! I dont think any of us beat it in-house,” wrote a user named cellShock_r, which belongs to an account that has a history of posts revolving around game development prior to the thread. “Tbh I’m surprised we even bothered making it.”

Elfilin says that they technically accomplished this achievement last year, but with the launch of the Switch 2, it seemed like a good opportunity to brag about something outside of their immediate friend circle.

“There was clearly a lot of effort put into programming the mechanics of the minigame, which I appreciate,” Elfilin tells Polygon.

“It’s a big flex to be able to say that I’m the only person to complete a first-party Nintendo game, especially one that has sold 4 million copies.”





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Yakuza 0 Director's Cut Is a Punchy (But Pricey) Upgrade For Diehard Fans and Newcomers
Game Updates

Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut Is a Punchy (But Pricey) Upgrade For Diehard Fans and Newcomers

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It’s more or less agreed that Yakuza 0 is really good–many will even say the best in the whole series. But with the Switch 2’s launch lineup being somewhat sparse, Sega (and Nintendo, which has timed exclusivity on this edition) are likely hoping players want to complement their Mario Karting, Cyberpunk 2077ing, and Street Fighting with a hard-hitting open-world adventure. But is it worth it? It really depends.

At $50, Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut is cheaper than many of the other Switch 2 launch games, and there’s a lot to do here between the lengthy, dual-protagonist narrative and the surprisingly involving minigames. You can easily get hundreds of hours of gameplay out of Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, and that’s not even taking into account the new content.

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Now Playing: Switch 2’s Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut Is An Upgraded Version Aimed At Old And New Fans

The first major difference is the addition of new voice and subtitle tracks. Your choice of voice actors is down to personal preference, but for me, the Japanese ones are too iconic to switch away from. Chinese and English voice tracks have been recorded for the entire game. If you’re a series veteran, you’ll also notice that the demo cinematic features the Japanese rock song “Bubble” by Shounan no Kaze–a song featured in the original Yakuza 0’s Japanese release but excised overseas. It’s back, it’s rockin’, and it sets the stage for a grand old time in 1988 Bubble Era Japan.

At the title screen, there’s a mode selectable right off the bat: Red Light Raid, which has you and up to four online or offline companions beating up waves of hooligans for fun and profit. I was intrigued by this mode, hoping it might serve as a callback to classic multiplayer arcade brawlers–some of which were made by Sega itself. What I actually got was somewhat underwhelming: You pick a character out of a massive roster (many of which require a good amount of in-game cash to unlock) and take them into battle with up to four player- or CPU-controlled companions. You’ll pick a challenge, fight wave after wave of enemies, sometimes encountering a boss fight, before dealing with a final boss. Finishing a challenge run earns you lots of sweet, sweet yen.

The Director’s Cut looks on par with the original game on PS4.

You can do all the fun head-cracking, chest-smashing moves here as you can in the base game (though both Kiryu and Majima require you to pick one fighting style and stick with it). It’s a way to play as characters who are otherwise uncontrollable in the base game, which is nice. But overall it feels undercooked: Characters vary wildly in usefulness, and the sessions can devolve into messy chaos, especially in dark settings and on the Switch 2’s handheld mode. It’s obvious this game’s combat, which frequently takes place in narrow streets, corridors, and cluttered rooms, wasn’t built for multiplayer originally—and it frequently feels crowded and hard to get your bearings even on more open arenas. There’s a mix of character models and moves mostly mashed together from this game and others in the series, including a lot of barely-seen NPCs. Still, if you can get your friend group together in a GameChat channel as you play, you’ll have some fun.

Graphically, I didn’t notice any major changes or upgrades compared to the PS4 original–the textures look mostly identical and the character models seem to be a 1:1 port, though the Switch 2 version does include 4K support.

The Director’s Cut adds five brand-new cutscenes to the game’s story.

One of the bigger selling points has been the addition of five brand-new cutscenes–almost a half-hour’s worth. I got the impression that these new scenes were meant to give some additional screen time to characters who fell by the wayside in the original, along with additional screentime for the Kiryu and Nishikiyama duo. They’re certainly a nice addition, though how much you’ll get from them depends on how invested in the cast you are.

Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut is definitely an upgrade–but the biggest elephant in the room is that the original Yakuza 0 has frequently gone on very deep discount on Steam and elsewhere; during some sales, you could pick this saga up for well under $10. Even at a lower-than-average price of $50, this poses the question: Do the additional cutscenes, voice/subtitle languages, and other extra content in Director’s Cut make up for that big price hike? For me, no–I like this series a lot, but I’m not hungry enough for new Yakuza to want to pay a huge premium for some extras that ultimately don’t add all that much. But if you can’t get enough of that crime drama, English isn’t your first language, or you just have to have an English or Chinese voice track, then go ahead and grab it–it’s a fantastic time.



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Wonder Woman smiling as she glides through the air next to some white doves in one of her DC comic books
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New Wonder Woman movie is on the way, James Gunn confirms, and DC fans say there’s a clear frontrunner for the role

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  • James Gunn has confirmed that a new Wonder Woman movie is in the works
  • The DCU Chapter One film is “being written right now”, Gunn says
  • DC fans have drawn up a wish-list of actors they want to play Diana Prince

Diana Prince is coming to the DC Universe (DCU) earlier than anyone expected after James Gunn confirmed that a new Wonder Woman movie is in development.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly (EW), the co-chief of DC Studios surprisingly revealed that a Wonder Woman film is not only “being written right now”, but also being worked on separately to Paradise Lost.

The latter is a Max TV show that would be a Game of Thrones-inspired project based on Themyscira, aka the idyllic, all-female island nation Diana Prince hails from. Paradise Lost was announced as part of the DCU Chapter One lineup in January 2023, but, as Gunn also told EW, progress is moving slowly on this series’ development.


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It’ll be a few years before we see Wonder Woman make her DCU debut (Image credit: DC Comics)

A Wonder Woman movie announcement isn’t a shock in itself – after all, the Amazonian is a member of DC Comics’ iconic Trinity of superheroes. If you weren’t aware, the others are Superman and Batman.

Still, considering that Paradise Lost was meant to act as a precursor to Wonder Woman’s eventual arrival in the DCU, I don’t think anyone predicted that Gunn would confirm a Diana Prince-led project is already being worked on. I say that after Gunn sparked excitement over Wonder Woman’s DCU debut less than a month ago (at the time of publication, anyway), too.

Which actor do fans want to play Wonder Woman in the DCU?

Gal Gadot is the latest actor to portray Diana Prince on the big screen (Image credit: Warner Bros)

It’ll be a few years before Wonder Woman returns on the big screen. We don’t actually know how much work has been completed on its screenplay, nor do we have any idea about which actor will follow in the footsteps of Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter, who’ve previously played Diana Prince in a live-action capacity.

For his part, Gunn told EW he and fellow DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran haven’t opened the casting call yet. That hasn’t stopped DC devotees from drawing up a shortlist of actors they’d like to see tackle the role. Indeed, threads on the DC Cinematic and DCU Leaks Reddit pages, as well as one on ResetEra, are full of suggestions from comic-book fans and casual observers alike.

Lots of great options are being proposed, too. Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown, Fubar), May Calamawy (Moon Knight), Charlee Fraser (Anyone But You, Furiosa), Melissanthi Mahut (The Sandman), and Elizabeth Dulau (Andor) have all been fan-cast since the news broke.

Comment from r/DCULeaks

However, it’s another Star Wars alumnus – one who joined Dulau on Andor‘s cast roster – who’s the clear favorite among many DC fans: Adria Arjona.

I could see that happening. I think any of the aforementioned actors would be a good fit to play Diana Prince, but Arjona would certainly be my top pick to assume the role of one of DC Comics’ most popular heroes.

She’s shown she has the capabilities to play such a multidimensional character in numerous projects, including Andor, Hit Man, Blink Twice, and Good Omens. Make it so, Messrs Gunn and Safran, and I’m sure you’ll make plenty of people happy.

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Mario Kart World Fans Unlock All Vehicles W/ Fast Coin Farming
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Mario Kart World Fans Unlock All Vehicles W/ Fast Coin Farming

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Mario Kart World is full of cool stunts and lots of things to unlock, like new characters, costumes, and vehicles. The last of those requires accumulating a certain number of coins during your time with the Switch 2 exclusive, and while you could do that the normal way by just playing tons of races, you can also use the latest entry’s open world to farm coins faster or even while being completely AFK.

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Players have been swapping methods for how to most efficiently grind through all of Mario Kart World’s unlocks, because although the joy of any new Mario Kart is taking your time and enjoying the slow process of discovery, unlocking stuff fast is also cool. Every 100 coins you collect in races in the game adds a new vehicle to your garage, and with 4,000 coins total you can unlock them all.

That might take an average player about 200 races to complete. Exploit Mario Kart World’s new free roam mode, however, and you can do it much faster. The first trick—recently shared by FannaWuck on the game’s subreddit—revolves around locating a question block car near the Mario Bros. Circuit area. It continuously throws out coins, and you can hoover them up by driving along behind. It’s neat, but might feel a bit laborious.

The other trick is much simpler and doesn’t require you to actually do anything. As pointed out by user EntireCombination773, just drive over to Toad’s Factor and find the conveyor belt that drops coins. Position yourself in front of it, go AFK, and watch your in-game gold reserves slowly pile up. To get 4,000 coins this way would take about four hours. Set it and forget it over night and you’ll instantly unlock access to every vehicle in the game, including the final one: Bowser Bruiser, a weighty buggy with a high top speed.

Now, some players are like, why the hell would anyone do this. Just race normally and you’ll eventually unlock everything anyway. That way they’re like little rewards sprinkled throughout each grand prix and knockout tour. But others prefer to have every racing option available as soon as possible. Plus, if you’re collecting the game’s stickers, you need way more coins. Players are still unlocking new sticker collectables even after 10,000 coins.

The free roam mode is generous in other ways as well, between its P-Switch challenges and the coin piles simply lying around. But the above methods are two of the most efficient right now for fans who don’t mind letting their optimization-pilled brains ruin even a wholesome family game like Mario Kart World.

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Switch 2’s a big upgrade for hardcore Animal Crossing New Horizons fans
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Switch 2’s a big upgrade for hardcore Animal Crossing New Horizons fans

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons had the world in a chokehold during the pandemic, but it’s been five years since Nintendo’s cozy simulator. Even with updates and daily gameplay mechanics, many of us have moved on to newer games. Then there are the people who have diligently cultivated their islands since day one. They’re still playing today, except they’ve upgraded to the latest Nintendo hardware. And the experience is way better on Switch 2, they say.

These are the sorts of players who spend hundreds if not thousands of hours decorating their islands just so, intent on cultivating a specific vibe or style. More often than not, this approach pushes Animal Crossing to its limit as players place so many items on the map, the game starts lagging. The original Switch, after all, was arguably outdated the moment it was released. Switch 2, on the other hand, is a much more capable machine that closer approximates the graphical standards players expect from modern gaming hardware.

While Nintendo doled out enhancements for many of its core titles to mark the occasion, Animal Crossing: New Horizons wasn’t marketed as such. At most, Nintendo ensured that New Horizons players could properly transfer their saves, as the files are tied to hardware. But the new console has still made a difference for players, especially those who have some of the most elaborate islands around.

“I’ve built, torn down, and rebuilt my island many times,” says a content creator named Ash Snap’em, who estimates that she has put over 2,600 hours into the game. Recently, she shared footage of her most recent island, a pastel wonderland akin to a digital Disney World. Every villager’s house is decorated to look like a store or restaurant. The carnival-like landscape is so detailed, rides are layered upon one another. There’s even secret passageways and other flourishes meant to dazzle visitors, like dedicated photo walls where players can pull out their cameras for posed pictures. And it could only be fully realized on the Switch 2.

Previously, as other players discovered over the last few years, elaborate islands could stutter and have severe pop-in, which undermined the brilliance of the meticulously crafted worlds. Some players settled for lesser visions, but others didn’t let the tech deter them.

“The lag was a little disheartening, but as someone who played about 1800+ hours in New Leaf leading to New Horizons where customization was very limited in comparison, I just gave it my all anyways and made it MY perfect island,“ Ash said in a message. ”I feel that many in the Animal Crossing community who have very decorated islands all have just settled with the lag because it was the only way to have our islands the way we imagined and desired.“

“I just decided early on that if that’s what I had to live with so my island could look the way I wanted it to, then so be it,” Ash added.

This type of upgrade is commonplace for re-releases on Switch 2, as its predecessor often required compromises in order to make games run at all. While power does not determine whether or not a game is enjoyable, in cases like that of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the hindrance actively got in the way of the game’s intended experience. Where the developers sought to provide a seamless open world, instead players were relegated to playing a game that seemed to barely keep it together. On Switch 2, however, the improvements make entirely new playstyles possible now.

Similarly, in New Horizons, the upgrades are more than skin deep as evidenced by the game’s wildly disparate loading times on both platforms. Already, Ash is contemplating the possibilities that open up with a more powerful console. Perhaps she’ll build a cityscape, castle ruins, or a tropical paradise.

“I’ve had a lot of people tell me in the last day that if the Switch 2 can handle having a lot of furniture out on Animal Crossing without lag, they’re sold on getting a Switch 2,” Ash says.





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Microsoft Still Working To Bring Call Of Duty To Nintendo Fans
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Microsoft Still Working To Bring Call Of Duty To Nintendo Fans

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Image: Nintendo / Activision / Kotaku

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the next entry in Activision’s long-running military shooter franchise and it’s once again coming to last-gen consoles. But what about the Switch 2? More than two-years after Microsoft and Nintendo entered into an agreement to bring Call of Duty to Switch, nothing has materialized. Sources close to the matter tell Kotaku that both sides are still working on it.

Nintendo Switch 2 Could Launch With Almost No Reviews

Microsoft and Nintendo have now negotiated and signed a binding 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players—the same day as Xbox, with full features and content parity—so they can experience Call of Duty just as Xbox and PlayStation games enjoy Call of Duty,” Microsoft president Brad Smith announced back in February 2023. We are committed to providing long term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms, bringing more choice to more players and more competition to the gaming market.”

That deal, the details of which have never been made public, was inked backed when Microsoft was trying to consolidate regulatory approval for its roughly $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. To assuage concerns that it might take one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world and make it exclusive to Xbox, Microsoft made agreements with other companies, including eventually Sony, promising that at least for the first 10 years it would continue bringing Call of Duty to other platforms, including ones it hadn’t been in years like the Switch.

So where is it? The list of platforms for Black Ops 7 revealed today does not include Nintendo older hardware or the recently launched Switch 2, even though the latter has performance capability on par with the PlayStation 4, which is getting the game this fall. While sources tell Kotaku that both Microsoft and Nintendo are still committed to getting the franchise on the latter’s hardware, it’s unclear what the hold up is or what the final result will be.

Call of Duty hasn’t appeared on a Nintendo platform since 2013’s Ghosts came to the Wii U. While the ports of the multiplayer shooter never ran particularly great on the Mario maker’s underpowered consoles, it at least provided an option for fans to access the annual blockbuster. One obvious avenue for getting Call of Duty on weaker hardware is using cloud gaming. Black Ops 6 is currently available to stream with Game Pass Ultimate but cloud gaming hasn’t been used to bring last year’s entry to Switch.

Black Ops 7 isn’t the only Microsoft first-party game that’s currently a no show on Switch 2. Despite the increased horsepower of the handheld hybrid, games like Sea of Thieves and Grounded which were previously ported to PS5 remain MIA. That might be because Microsoft doesn’t currently have plans to bring either of them over, or it could simply be that Nintendo wants to announce those plans on its own time. For now, the Switch 2 remains conspicuously absent from Microsoft’s recent multiplatform shift.

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Fans Track Gabe Newell's Yacht For Clues About Half-Life 3
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Fans Track Gabe Newell’s Yacht For Clues About Half-Life 3

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Not-E3 is in full swing today with Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest Live showcase scheduled for the evening of June 6. No one but the Game Awards host and his close circle of confidants and business partners knows what will be announced during the event, but fans are once again praying for the impossible as fanatics track Valve owner Gabe Newell’s superyacht hoping for signs he’s one his way to the gaming event to reveal Half-Life 3.

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“Gabe’s Yacht just arrived in California, the state with SGF’s Youtube Theater [in LA],” fans posted on the Half-Life subreddit earlier this week. They spotted its departure from the San Francisco port using Vessel Finder as visions of Gordon Freeman and synth hunters danced in their heads. They knew it was ridiculous but nevertheless dared to dream. “Well. SGF is actually Friday and, Gabe is in the gaming industry,” one fan wrote on the subreddit. “So, It’s not a shock he would be in attendance but I doubt he’s there to present anything. But, I really hope I’m wrong.”

Newell owns several big boats. The one currently heading down the California coast is called the Rocinante. It weighs 2,334 tons and is worth an estimated $100 million. “The motor yacht can accommodate 18 guests in 9 cabins with an interior design by Albert Pinto and an exterior design by Espen Oeino,” reported Luxury Launches back in 2023. “The ship is equipped with a beauty salon, sauna, gym, deck Jacuzzi, and an affluent owner!” So that’s where the billions Valve earns from Counter-Strike loot boxes go!

Rumors of Half-Life 3 have been swirling since shortly after the second game was released way back in 2004, but picked up steam last year after a mysterious “White Sands” codename popped up on a voice actor’s resume before later being scrubbed from the internet. The discovery renewed belief that Valve is not only working on a new Half-Life game but also one that’s not in VR like 2020’s critically acclaimed prequel Half-Life: Alyx. Fans thought it might be announced at The Game Awards 2024. It was not.

Now they think it could happen at Summer Game Fest, mostly because Keighley posted about the series’ 19th anniversary earlier this month. Alleged leaks suggesting Half-Life 3 is in development and might even be completed continue to mount, but whether that means an announcement could happen at one of Keighley’s shows is something else altogether. Whatever’s going on, the superyacht probably has nothing to do with it. Its destination is currently set to San Diego, over two hours south of Los Angeles by car, and it’s not set to arrive there until tomorrow.

There’s not even any evidence that Newell is currently on the Rocinante as it journeys south. But, I mean, it would be cool if the Steam billionaire decided to temporarily park his big boat in the Pacific and take a helicopter to the YouTube Theater and parachute in during the end of the ceremony to show the crowd one last trailer for an unannounced game the internet hasn’t shut up about for decades. It would certainly make the $450 front-row seats worth the price of admission. More likely, this is just another case of the “community trolling the community,” but a fun one nonetheless.



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Lilo and Stitch make funny faces
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Labubu is so popular that fans are insuring their plushies in case of theft

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If you’ve scrolled through TikTok lately, you’ve probably seen at least a few videos featuring a rabbit-like critter with shark teeth called ‘Labubu.’

Labubu is actually an “elvish creature” who first appeared in a series of children’s books called ‘The Monsters,’ published in 2015 by Dutch-born Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung.

While Labubu is just one of many monsters who appear in the books, her toothy grin and bunny ears have charmed audiences worldwide, becoming the new ‘Hello Kitty’ of mascot characters.

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Ten years later, Chinese figure retailer Pop Mart has cornered the market on Labubu merchandise, selling different versions of the critter as plushies, keychains and dolls in locations around the world.

Unsplash.com: David KristiantoLabubu is part of a larger cast of characters from a 2015 children’s book series called ‘The Monsters.’

They first started selling Labubu vinyl figures in “blind boxes” in 2019 — and since then, she’s become a worldwide sensation, taking over social media and creating massive lines of fans at Pop Mart stores everywhere.

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However, Labubu figures have become so insanely popular that some customers are literally taking out insurance on the dolls for fear that they might get stolen to be resold online.

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Labubu fans insure their figures as theft rises

Travel insurance provider Passportcard cites that one in three Millennials or Gen Zers have thought about insuring their Labubu merch when traveling abroad.

More specifically, one in four Australian travelers have thought the same, with an average of 20% of total travelers fearing the figures will be a specific target for pickpocketers abroad.

“It might seem ridiculous to insure a toy, but it speaks volumes about how emotionally invested people are in what they pack,” Peter Klemt, PassportCard’s Australia chief, said in a statement.

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“When you consider some Labubus are now selling for nearly $652 USD on resale sites, it makes sense why they want to protect them.”

In fact, several Labubu fans have come forward with stories of how their plushies were stolen while out and about, such as TikToker Sarah Mariesan, who says her figure got lifted from her bag while shopping at The Grove in Los Angeles, California.

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Two different Labubu fans and international jetsetters admitted to the Daily Telegraph that they’ve taken out insurance packages on their grinning Labubu figures.

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“I’ve been hearing about many people having theirs stolen,” 24-year-old Olivia Bubalao revealed. “I did some research and, once I found an insurance package that included my Labubu in personal items of value, then it was a no-brainer.”

“If I lost one on a trip I’d feel sad, especially nowadays with how hard they were to get and how long ago I bought them – they’re a part of me at this point,” Rachael Clayton said, who took out a $98 policy on her Labubu collection.

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You don’t have to be traveling abroad to have your Labubus lifted; one TikToker says a thief broke into their car and stole a series of plushes sitting on their dashboard.

While Labubu might look a bit mischievous, Pop Mart describes her as “kind-hearted and always wants to help, but often accidentally achieves the opposite.”

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True crime fans have one complaint about new JCS doc Amber’s Afternoon

by admin



JCS, aka Jim Can’t Swim, really is spoiling us, with two new videos within the space of just over two months. However, followers of the true crime YouTuber have raised a familiar complaint with their latest mini-doc, Amber’s Afternoon. 

While streaming services drop a wide range of new true crime documentaries each and every month, YouTube has become a go-to source for fans of the genre. 

That Chapter, Rotten Mango, Explore With Us, and Law & Crime Network are just a few of the big names dropping mini-docs on the platform, benefiting from the lack of restrictions compared to mainstream networks. 

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But JCS is on another level. Considered the pioneer of YouTube’s modern true crime style, their videos rack up millions of views, yet the creator remains notoriously elusive, rarely posting more than once or twice a year – until now. 

JCS faces AI backlash for Amber’s Afternoon

On June 4, 2025 – two months after his Husband Tries To Act doc – JCS has released Amber’s Afternoon. However, fans of their content have accused the creator of using artificial intelligence (AI). 

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This is hardly the first time JCS has faced these allegations. In December 2024, the account added the mini-doc Newlyweds Tell On Each Other, but it was later removed after viewers accused them of replacing narrator, YouTuber Kizzume, with AI. 

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Due to the long gaps between posts, the change in tone, and JCS’ flip-flopping between YouTube and Patreon, there were also rumors about burnout, legal issues, and that the channel had been sold or abandoned.

In April, the YouTuber shared an apology alongside Husband Tries To Act, writing, “Sorry for letting you guys down… The channel wasn’t sold, and we haven’t quit. We just been dealing with some outside YouTube-related stuff.”

They went on to say they’ll make it up to the fans by sharing “consistent content, if you’re willing to give us a second chance.” 

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It appears they’ve made good on this promise with the fast turnaround of Amber’s Afternoon, which centers on the interrogation of attempted murderer Amber Rose Rizwan, contextualizing it with a series of other cases. 

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YouTube: JCS

But while it’s another success story for the channel, earning nearly 900k views in 15 hours, the new documentary is facing fresh allegations regarding AI and quality. 

Taking to Reddit, one wrote, “Couldn’t sit through this one and closed it after 20 minutes. It’s another JCS video where it’s mostly just interrogation footage with little to no commentary, meaningful or otherwise. 

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“Even worse, they bring in unrelated cases, again with little to no commentary, just to pad the runtime. Previously, they’d play some relevant footage, explain what interrogation techniques the investigators are using, point out the suspect’s subtle shifts in behavior, and wrap up the video neatly.

“It’s nice they got rid of the AI slop, but whoever’s making the script has lost the sauce on what made the original videos good.”

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However, another replied, “I’m not convinced AI is completely out of the picture. The way this is written feels like someone fed a script through it, then tried what they could to redeem it but just gave up part way through and slapped the video together.”

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Elsewhere, one commented, “Is it just me, or is the interrogation video edited/saturated? Maybe the last few videos have left an uneasy taste in my mouth. I loved JCS content, but I’m exactly one minute in, and I’m not feeling optimistic?

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“Just off the bat, I’m automatically feeling like AI was involved. Edit to add: I’m 20 minutes in, this feels disjointed and the narrative is sloppy. Does anyone feel differently, is this just not clicking with me? 

“I get not every video will have the editing, commentary, style etc of Dalia Dippolito or the Jon Koppenhaver case, but this feels… ?”

Another agreed, “Honestly, I was feeling the same way. I’m not finished with the video just yet. So it may all come together. But so far, everything just feels… disjointed. We’re jumping around so much for seemingly no purpose (so far).”

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What Kizzume said about AI

YouTube: Kizzume

For the most part, viewers are just happy to be receiving more JCS content, with one writing, “It’s certainly an interesting video. It’s a montage of how different people react to the same type of situation. 

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“Each of the reactions is unique and memorable. I hope we get more content in the future. The only negative is that I wish they had more commentary on WHY each of them had that type of response. 

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“I feel that was something more common in the earlier videos. Still, far better than no new content, well worth a watch.”

Although JCS hasn’t publicly comment on the use of AI in the new video, narrator Kizzume did clear up any confusion earlier this year.

“Look, there are people saying things that are just incorrect about JCS and myself. JCS got my permission first to use AI regarding my voice, and I am also being compensated word for word like I normally would,” he wrote.  

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“They’re simply not screwing me over. And their future uploads should have my actual narration on them.”

Kizzume went on to say, “The AI was used to save time. They’ve been gone for two years due to personal struggles and wanted to get the videos out quick. But it is understood now that it was a mistake and they will take more time to create videos with my authentic voice.”

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For more true crime, check out the creepiest YouTube mini-docs to watch right now, the most shocking docs on Netflix, and the most underrated true crime podcasts.

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