A world where anthropomorphic animals live their lives much like our own is such a perennial setting for animation that Goat is opening while the very well-received – and insanely financially successful – Zootopia 2 is still in theaters. And it’s not even the only animated animal film with a basketball focus, given there are two animation/live-action hybrid Space Jam movies. So with that burden on the back, it’s perhaps even more gratifying for it to turn out to be an entertaining, lively and terrifically animated film in its own right.
Our hero here is Will Harris (voiced by Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin), a young goat who is not just a massive fan of roarball – this film’s name for basketball – but also dreams of making it as a professional player himself, despite being one of the so-called “smalls,” i.e., animals who, quite literally, don’t seem to be built for the game.
But after videos of him go viral when he plays a game of streetball against an actual pro (Aaron Pierre’s amusingly named horse, Mane Attraction) and more than holds his own, Will finds himself on his beloved hometown team, the Thorns - even though he’s basically been hired as a publicity stunt by team owner Flo (Jenifer Lewis), with no one intending for him to ever actually play in a game.
Goat plays things very safe on the story side. Is there a point where circumstances lead Will to be called off the bench and enter a game? Does he then show just how great he is to the fans? Can he and his teammates work through their personal issues to actually become a cohesive unit? Who’s to say!?
Yes, this is a kids/family animated movie, but we’ve still seen many in recent years with some interesting and surprising storylines or plot points. Yet there’s something to be said for telling a predictable/traditional story well, and while Goat is going down a rather safe path, there’s a lot of wit, charm and warmth to be found in the way that writers Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley (working from a story by Nicolas Curcio and Peter Chiarelli), director Tyree Dillihay, and the animators take us along on Will’s journey.
Part of that is accomplished by giving the film a near co-lead in the form of Thorns team captain Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), a black panther who’s a roarball legend but now facing getting older and criticism that she’s long past her prime. There are a lot of good scenes for Jett on her own and also between her and Will, as she begins to bond with him despite her initial dismissive nature towards her new young teammate, and the film gives the two a well done and properly emotional rapport.
Where Goat truly shines and stands out is in its animation.
McLaughlin and Union both bring a lot of heart to their vocal performances, with Union also adding the right touch of world-weary cynicism (and a touch of narcissism) to Jett, who’s used to dominating the game in a way that’s made her a bad teammate over the years. And they’re aided by a strong group of supporting players comprising their teammates, including Nicola Coughlan as the ostrich Olivia Burke, David Harbour as the rhino Archie Everhardt, and Nick Kroll as Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko, along with Patton Oswalt as their coach, proboscis monkey Dennis Cooper, all of whom get some funny spotlight moments. It was amusing, but made sense, to learn via the closing credits that the only one of these characters that never really pops comedically or feels especially interesting vocally, the Thorns’ giraffe player, Lenny Williamson, was the one voiced by the non-actor in the cast, Stephen Curry, who is one of Goat’s producers.
But where Goat truly shines and stands out is in its animation. Sony Pictures Animation has put out a lot of impressive – and very impressive-looking – films in recent years, including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and KPop Demon Hunters. The work of Sony’s extremely talented designers and animators continues to impress with Goat, which boasts some fantastic visuals throughout.
Will and his friends live in the part of their world called Vineland, which is packed with wonderful details. Rather than simply having these animals live in a town just like our own, or do something cute and old-school cartoon-esque like put a regular-looking house up in a tree, Vineland has a vibe all of its own. It’s as if branches, trees, bushes, and foliage were actively intertwined with the architecture in our world. The park court Will plays at has massive branches around the hoop, while leaves line the walls of restaurants and homes. It’s a cool mashup of things that look built with nature and feels like a vibrant and creative spin on this sort of “wild animals in suburbia” animated scenario.
And then there are the other lands the team travels to for their games, and specifically the courts they play on. Because while roarball’s rules are pretty much one-to-one with basketball, when it comes to the environments these teams play in, things get much trickier and outright dangerous. One court is covered in stalagmites bursting forth from the ground to navigate, while another is covered in ice that begins to crack and separate beneath the feet of the teams, revealing the freezing water below, even as the game keeps going. And then there’s the game that looks like what would happen if Darth Vader set up a basketball court on Mustafar, with flowing magma beneath the volcanic rock the teams are playing on, adding a suitably operatic vibe to the situation. It’s all awesome to behold, with high-energy, kinetic motion to the games themselves that help further invest you in Will and his teammates in classic underdog fashion.
Goat also has a lot of fun with the idea that these characters truly are animals, not just people who look like animals. While they walk on two legs, we soon learn that these goats, horses, panthers and other creatures also still run on all fours when the situation calls for it. And lots of fun sight gags come from how they still act and behave as we might expect them to act in our world in certain scenarios, from how Jett drinks from a bowl like a cat, to the easily panicked Olivia carrying a bucket of sand that she can bury her head in when she’s freaking out. (Yes, ostriches don’t actually bury their heads in sand; it just can look that way, but a good gag based on a common animal misconception is still a good gag!)
Ryan Gosling will notch his fourth Saturday Night Live hosting gig next month, and with him will be the first ever SNL performance of Gorillaz, NBC Universal announced.
The show will take place on March 7, just days after the band releases its new album, The Mountain. In typical Gorillaz fashion, the album will feature a lot of guest performers, including Sparks, Black Thought, Dennis Hopper, and IDLES.
As for Gosling, he'll be there ahead of Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi movie based on a book by Andy Weir (author of The Martian) in which Gosling plays an astronaut who wakes up alone on a space ship, with the realization he's meant to find a solution to a terrible event that happened on Earth. Also, he makes friends with a little alien rock guy.
Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.
Girls Frontline 2: Exilium recently revealed the new content that’s coming in its next patch on February 19, and there’s a lot. The headliners are two new T-Dolls, Alva and Voymastina, the latter of which is the strongest Doll in the game. Alva will arrive on February 19, and Voymastina will arrive on March 12. On top of that, there’s new story content, limited-time outfits and events, and lots of free rewards.
New T-Dolls Join the Fray
Alva, the dependable leader of Task Force DEFY, is the first new Doll to join the roster. Though reserved in demeanor, she is fiercely protective of her squad. She’s a Support-class Doll and excels at providing powerful shields and enhancing team survivability, making her a natural fit for shield-focused teams. With her signature weapon, 6P33, she increases the critical damage of Freeze-based allies and further amplifies the damage of shielded units, turning defense into offense. She synergizes particularly well with Robella, creating a 1+1>2 effect, and her arrival marks the full realization of shield-centric Freeze teams.
The new story content, called Corposant, will be released in three parts on February 19, February 26, and March 12. It features CG animations and delivers an experience comparable to a visual novel, with more than 100,000 English words. When the final chapter launches on March 12, it will also introduce the highly anticipated new Doll Voymastina, who is officially recognized as the strongest second-generation Doll in the game.
Codenamed “White Mastiff,” Voymastina is a physical-team core damage dealer who specializes in defense-ignoring capabilities, delivering massive physical damage through both active and support attacks. Her exclusive effect, Predator’s Principle, boosts burst damage, while Eye of the White Mastiff enables sustained offensive pressure. Debuting alongside her is the Elite assault rifle 6P71 (Medium Ammo), Voymastina’s imprinted signature weapon, designed to complete her combat profile and reinforce her role as a top-tier damage dealer.
Free Goodies on the Way
The patch will add lots of new free rewards, led by the ability to earn 55+ pulls, 11,000+ Collapse Pieces, an Elite Doll (Balthilde), and a Commander outfit during the themed Corposant event that launches February 19.
Plus, there are multiple upcoming log-in events that can score you additional goodies. Starting February 19, you can log in to receive 10 Targeted Access Permissions (which are used to pull for characters) and sign in to receive another 10. And another event starts March 12, where you can get an additional 10. Also starting February 19, you can get one reward mail every week, each containing one Access Permission, 100 Collapse Pieces (which can be used to get more Targeted Access Permissions), and 100 Next-Gen Memory Sticks (which can be used to increase your affinity with individual Dolls).
From February 19 to April 1, the limited-time Splash Bash event introduces a PK-style gameplay mode featuring interactive matchups between Dolls and players. There’s streamlined gameplay guidance and stage-clearing tips, making the mode a light but competitive change of pace. And you can unlock the exclusive Commander outfit Leisurely Heat by participating.
On top of all this, the upcoming patch will also add limited-time discounts on three new outfits: Alva - Antje, Lenna - Flying Phantom, and Nikketa - Night on the Silver Bay. And there will be a new permanent gameplay mode called Ashen Tales in Artifact Recovery.
As always, Girls Frontline 2: Exilium will continue to release more new content in the future. In the next six months, you can expect extensive story updates, new gameplay modes, new Dolls and outfits, and collaborations with other major IPs. If you want to stay up to date on those details and announcements, you can visitthe official website or join the community onTwitter,YouTube, orDiscord.
For this weekend and through end of day Monday, Sonos is hosting its own Presidents Day Sale that takes up to 20% off most products on its site, including its best selling Era 100 smart speaker, Arc soundbars, and subwoofers. There are additional savings to be found if you purchase matched bundles, and I even found a great deal on a certified refurbished speaker (which comes with the same warranty as buying new). Shipping is fast and free.
Sonos Arc Soundbar (Refurbished)
The certified refurbished Sonos Arc has just dropped in price to $449 with free delivery. That's half the price compared to getting the Arc Ultra on sale and an excellent deal for anyone looking for a Dolby Atmos capable soundbar. Sonos refurbished products go through rigorous testing; they come with all accessories, manuals, and documentation and are reshipped in "pristine" packaging. Most importantly, Sonos includes the same 1-year warranty as buying new.
Up to 20% Off Select Sonos Speakers
Sonos Era 100
The Era 100 is Sonos' most popular and most versatile speaker. Despite its compact size, the Era 100 houses two tweeters, a mid-woofer, and three class-D digital amplifiers to produce precise, distortion-free audio even at high volumes. It has a microphone for voice control. Because of its flexibility, it's often paired with a sound bar or a second Era speaker.
Sonos Arc Ultra
The Arc Ultra is Sonos' best soundbar speaker, replacing last year's Arc model. It is a massive 46" soundbar that houses 14 total speakers, including five tweeters (plus two upward-firing speakers for Dolby Atmos supported height channels), six midwoofers, and a four-motor, dual-membrane Sound Motion woofer. The Arc Ultra uses AI enhancement technology to isolate and boost the clarity of dialogue and voices. It also has a built-in microphone so that it can be controlled using voice commands from the Sonos app or your favorite smart assistant. Check out our own Sonos Arc Ultra review.
Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
The Sonos Beam is a great option for someone who requires a more compact sound bar or simply doesn't want to spend $900 on the Arc Ultra. The Beam (Gen 2) is a 26-inch long, 5.0-channel soundbar with one tweeter and four mid-woofers for natural, balanced sound and four passive radiators to help with the low end. Although the Beam doesn't have physical height channels, it has two virtual height channels for Dolby Atmos support. It has a microphone for voice control.
Sonos Era 300
The Era 300 is a much bigger, better sounding version of the Era 100. It's nearly double the size and weight. The Era 300 is also shaped differently, but there's a reason for that. The hourglass figure is designed to optimally arrange the six speakers so that they fire sound in all directions, enhancing Dolby Atmos and spatial audio effects. The Era 300 consist of four tweeters and two woofers paired with Class-D digital amplifiers and custom waveguides to help project sound to all corners of your room. Like the Era 100, it also has a built-in microphone for voice control.
Sonos Sub Mini
The audio savvy knows that a single speaker isn't enough to reproduce an entire soundstage. If you could pick only one other speaker to supplement your existing one, then a subwoofer would make the most meaningful impact. If you are space constrained, consider the Sub Mini. Despite its compact size, the Sub Mini can still powerful room-filling bass by way of two inward-facing 6" drivers contained in a sealed (non-ported) enclosure. It features wireless connectivity so you can avoid the hassle of routing a cable back to the rest of your home theater components.
Sonos Sub 4
If you aren't space or budget constrained, the Sub 4 is a step up from the Sub Min. The Sub 4 boasts even more power and a better low-end soundstage thanks to two inward-facing 5"x8" woofers and a traditional ported design.
20% Off Premium Entertainment Set (Arc Ultra and Sub 4)
Less expensive when purchased together
This set includes:
Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar ($879, normally $1099)
Sub 4 subwoofer ($719, normally $899)
If you plan on getting both of these speakers, you'll save an extra $100 if you purchase them as part of Sonos' Premium Entertainment Set for $1,599. If you were to purchase the two speakers separately during the sale, they would total to $1,659. Without the sale, they'd cost $1,998. These are two of Sonos' highest end products and will give you an instant high-end home theater experience.
Why Sonos?
If you're looking for an easy solution to add great sound to your home, then you've probably already heard of Sonos. Sonos speakers are very easy to set up, don't take a large amount of space, and most importantly, offer distortion-free room-filling audio. They're definitely pricier than budget options, but the sound quality is comparable to speakers that cost hundreds more or take up much more space.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
The FIFA/EAFC game franchise has been going strong for more than 30 years, and in that time it’s featured some of the most iconic players in history on the cover. But only one can be crowned the true GOAT, and now is your chance to tell us who that should be.
We’ve created a tournament presented by McDonald’s and their limited-time Hot Honey sauce. Just as these cover athletes elevated the FIFA/EAFC franchise, the Hot Honey sauce elevates your faves to a new level. The tournament will have 32 cover athletes organized into a bracket that you’ll vote on, and they cover just about the entire run of the series, from Erik Thorstvedt (FIFA Soccer 95) to Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala (EA FC 26).
Players will face off in 1v1 matchups, with the one who gets the most votes moving on to the next round. All the matchups in each round will be done at the same time, and voting will be conducted through polls on the bottom of the page you’re currently on as well as IGN’s Instagram stories. If you come back to this page on the dates listed below, the polls will be updated to the latest round and you can vote again.
Just last week Amazon launched preorders for the Fallout Season 2 4K Steelbook, but on the cover was a giant white box saying "Artwork and Product Details Not Final." The underlying cover was later revealed to be the standard 4K cover, which didn't become available to preorder until earlier this week. Now, more than a week after preorders first went live, Amazon has officially revealed what the steelbook cover actually looks like.
Fallout Season 2 Steelbook Cover Revealed
The new cover features Dogmeat, Lucy, The Ghoul, and Maximus in his Power Armor, all walking through the desert with a giant cloud overhead that looks to be in the shape of a Deachlaw. In the background we get a small glimpse of New Vegas. It's a rather minimalistic approach that captures a lot of key elements of season 2, but I can't help but wish they would have gone with the older teased cover instead. You can still buy that version with the standard 4K edition, but it doesn't come with the steelbook case (and presumably additional goodies). Here's a quick side-by-side between the two covers:
Although we now have a finalized cover for the steelbook, we still don't have any sort of release date confirmed. We also still don't have any details about what bonus features or extras come with the steelbook. If the rollout of Fallout Season 1's steelbook is any indication of when we can expect season 2, we're likely looking at a May 2026 release date for these. Amazon followed a totally different release schedule for season 2 episodes this year, however, so it's possible they'll push the physical edition even further back than last time.
As of right now, the steelbook is available for $47.99 and the standard 4K edition is $34.99. There are also DVD and Blu-ray editions now available to preorder as well.
Jacob Kienlen is a Senior Audience Development Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor's degree in communication and over 8 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different pop culture topics -- from TV series to indie games and books.
Have you seen that AI-generated video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise beating the hell out of each other, which looks a tad too real? Well, major film studios in the United States have come out against the platform where those videos are made, Seedance 2.0, which is owned by TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance.
"By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs,” Motion Pictures Association chairman Charles Rivkin said in a statement. "ByteDance should immediately cease its infringing activity."
The MPA — which represents major studios Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Paramount, Universal Studios, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, and Amazon MGM Studios — also told the BBC, "In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of US copyrighted works on a massive scale."
According to Forbes, the Seedance 2.0 platform "offers a level of creative control that mimics a human director" and "enables users to create high-end outputs without needing complicated production tools." ByteDance itself has touted that the program can craft "an ultra-realistic immersive experience."
Naturally, seeing something like this go viral hasn’t exactly been encouraging for folks in the industry. "I hate to say it. It's likely over for us," Deadpool writer Rhett Reese tweeted in response to the video. He later explained his stance further, getting to the heart of why so many creatives are as "terrified" as he is about these major pushes toward AI in art.
"So many people I love are facing the loss of careers they love. I myself am at risk," he added in a separate tweet two days later. "When I wrote 'It's over,' I didn't mean it to sound cavalier or flippant. I was blown away by the Pitt v Cruise video because it is so professional. That's exactly why I'm scared. My glass half empty view is that Hollywood is about to be revolutionized/decimated. If you truly think the Pitt v Cruise video is unimpressive slop, you've got nothing to worry about. But I'm shook."
That said, ByteDance claims to have already taken action to stave off copyright infringement. They claim to have "already suspended the ability for people to upload images of real people," according to the BBC, and will "respect intellectual property rights and copyright protections." Regarding the specific Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fight video, the company also claims that the "the content referenced was created as part of a limited pre-launch testing phase."
"Steps are being taken to further address risks," ByteDance concluded, saying that it planned to "implement robust policies, monitoring mechanisms and processes to ensure compliance with local regulations."
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
Ahead of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu hitting theaters in May, LEGO is dropping a brand new The Razor Crest set for fans. This build is currently available to preorder at both Amazon and the LEGO Store, with a price tag of $149.99, and is set to be released on April 27 this year. That's a little less than a month between it and the film's release on May 22, so fans can have something to build in anticipation of it.
Preorder LEGO The Razor Crest Set
Unlike the huge The Razor Crest set that LEGO released for adults, this is aimed at younger builders that are ages 10 and up. It still comes with plenty of pieces to keep busy with - 930, in fact - that build up the starship in the same design and colors that can be seen in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Plus, it comes with quite a few minifigures to journey in it: The Mandalorian, of course, an Imperial Remnant Stormtrooper, Colonel Ward, Zeb Orrelios, and a Grogu figure.
The ship itself features some cool details as well. It can hold two minifigures in the cockpit, and its side panels can be opened to access the engine and cargo compartment. It even has landing ramps that can be folded down and stud shooters.
LEGO Star Wars sets can be very popular, so it's always worth it to get a preorder in ahead of its release. And if you're looking for even more great Star Wars sets to add to your collection, have a look at our breakdown of the best Star Wars LEGO sets to see some of our top picks. Or, if you're just curious to see what's new from the company in general so far this year, have a look at our rundown of February's new LEGO releases.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Stern Pinball Inc. has teamed up with The Pokémon Company to create the first Pokémon-themed pinball machine ever. While Pokémon has appeared in pinball form on the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance in the past, this is the first attempt at an arcade-ready machine. But this isn’t a throwback; Pokémon Pinball by Stern has tons of crazy high-tech bells and whistles, like the ability to collect Pokémon while playing the machine and save your progress on a Pokédex on your phone, several interactive toys like an animatronic Pikachu, and an HD screen with tons of anime footage. While Stern has only just announced Pokémon, it’s out really soon (in the coming months). We travelled to Stern’s factory to check it out. And after playing a bunch of games we can confirm: It’s awesome.
In Good Company
The Pokémon Company worked with Stern extremely closely on making sure Pokémon was represented perfectly; we heard a lot about that partnership during our visit to Stern’s factory, and it’s obvious from playing the Pokémon machine that Stern really gets Pokémon. Lead Programmer Tanio Klyce explained, “A lot of work went into marrying the necessary pinball design with Pokémon,” and it is clear that they used the license to make a game about battling, catching, and living in the world of Pokémon.
The art package is focused on Kanto Region Pokémon – the first 151 Gen 1 Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Red and Blue – and you start the game with Gen 1 starters available for battles, which we will get to in a bit. The toys and art are clearly a result of careful collaboration. Klyce says, “We didn’t draw anything, we essentially composited [The Pokémon Company’s] stuff … They are very particular. Line weights, colors, relative scales of characters went under tremendous scrutiny.” While that may sound intense, it actually ended up lending the project a sense of legitimacy, according to longtime Stern pinball designer and one of Pokémon’s co-leads, George Gomez.
Beyond the art on the cabinet, there’s plenty more Pokémon crammed into this machine. The monitor in the back glass works in anime clips from Seasons 10-25. For example, if you hit the right ramp a few times you can start a Pikachu vs. Raichu mode in which battle scenes from the anime are shown on screen while you play a multiball mode. The speakers blast the Pokémon theme song, and Meowth’s taunts from the anime are piped in – the voice actor for Giovani even recorded custom shoutouts for certain modes (deeper in the game there are Regional Rivals and even Gym Battles and an ultimate Master Battle against Giovanni. We didn’t get to those… yet!).
Catch ‘Em (Pinb)All
While Gen 1 and Kanto region is the focus of the side art, backglass, and playfield art, Klyce adds, “We have Pokémon in the game from all the Generations … At launch we have 182 that you can discover and catch.” He also says “more are coming” which is a nod at the online nature of Stern Machines these days: Updates can be pushed in the background to add content or limited time events, which, of course, is a perfect match for Pokémon. Here’s how this could work: As you approach a Stern pinball machine, you can log in with a QR code on the Stern Insider Connected app on your phone. Once you do this, you can track your scores, unlock Achievements, and, in Pokémon, add to your Pokédex.
As you discover new Pokémon, a special Pokedex section of the Insider Connected app will get filled out. Stern may then push an update adding to the Pokémon available in the machine and thus expand the Pokédex. It’s not going to be easy! Catching Pokémon is kinda hard in pinball: First, you can basically hit any target or shot to fill a meter – the pop bumpers are “tall grass” that fills the catch meter fast. After this, a random Pokémon will appear. These are based on the biome you are in, which you play in order: Forest, Lake, Mountain, Desert (in the Forest, we ran into a Kakuna, a Bewear, and a Venomoth). At this point you have to shoot a lit purple flashing shot to reveal the Pokémon in the Pokédex. Then you have to shoot the Pokéball toy to capture the Pokémon. This not only adds the Pokémon to your ‘dex, but also unlocks a Battle…
Battle Ready
Despite Ash’s favorite catch phrase, you don’t choose your starters. When start a game, you have a team of four: Squirtle, Pikachu, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. Once you start a Battle by shooting the scoop on the right, you must aim for shots that are lit up to guide you through the battle, with each lamp sending you up a ramp or around a loop or at a target. The first Pokémon automatically deployed in battle is Bulbasaur, and purple shots for poison attacks and green shots for grass attacks are lit up. If you dawdle, the adversary will attack you. In one battle vs. Scyther, we weren’t making good progress with Bulbasaur’s plant attacks, but after a few shots, we lit a shot in a scoop on playfield that let us switch to Charmander and then properly torched Scyther. It was actually kind of sad! The score went way up. Limiting your squad may seem odd, but it’s also super effective: Successfully nailing shots in pinball is a lot harder than selecting your next move in turn-based combat. It’s kind of like playing on a Game Boy while also juggling it! But it does feel like Pokémon, and catching, collecting, and battling Pokémon just feels totally cool and new when done with pinball flippers.
Version Differences
While they don’t come in Red, Blue, and Yellow versions, there are diffent versions of Pokémon available: The Premium and Limited Edition (LE) versions ship with an animatronic Pikachu toy that wobbles about, an interactive Pokéball toy that snatches the pinball and hides it from view, and a magnet that flings the pinball around under the Meowth Balloon toy. These versions also have metal ramps and a more complicated left whirlpool ramp. The LE version (a limited run of 750 machines) has additional lighting, colored “armor” (the metal lining and legs on the cabinet), and its own custom art scheme. The Pro version is stripped down a bit with a non-interactive Pikachu and Pokéball toy and no magnet, but it closely resembles the other models outwardly and also features the pretty cool Meowth Balloon that swoops across the playfield for an easy target (and easy multiball). Other Stern machines have much more striking differences across their models; the most we noticed about the Pro was that the lack of the metal parts and lighting made it look a bit cheaper – which it is.
We can’t wait to play more Pokémon from Stern – the idea of filling out a Pokédex in a whole new way across multiple machines, arcades, bars, and game rooms is super cool and like nothing that’s been done before. And while the innovation is clear in features like the Pokédex, battles, and DLC potential, the basic layout of Pokémon feels approachable and classic like Attack from Mars (central bash shot) or Monster Bash (obvious shots tied to characters). That makes sense because Pokemon Pinball is the product of both one of Stern’s newest designers, Jack Danger, and George Gomez, who worked on classics like The Lord of the Rings and the aforementioned Monster Bash. The shots were easy to hit and flow felt good, but we drained a lot – there’s nothing kiddie about the gameplay on this machine, despite its appearance. And that’s what both Pokémon and pinball have in common: Anyone can play, but few can become a master. We should hear more about Pokémon Pinball from Stern in the coming weeks; the MSRP of the Pro model is set at $6,999, with the Premium at $9,699 and the LE at $12,999 and all models are available for pre-order now.
A good romance can be a defining part of anybody’s life. They can be short-lived and burn bright or slow-simmering and unrequited. They can offer solace, heartbreak, pure joy, and anything in between, all in equal measure and sometimes in a confusing order. So let’s try to chart a course through our own love affair with movies, taking the evolving shape of a relationship’s life cycle, and looking at ten of the ways movies reflect our own romances.
We'll start at the beginning…
10. First Loves
Ah, first loves! There's nothing finer, more wondrous, and innocent than those original pangs of love beating in one's chest. It doesn’t matter where these films highlighting (mostly) youthful adventures into the heart wind up – the point is that they remind us of what it was like to feel those feelings for the first time. These are the loves that all subsequent loves are measured against.
Call Me by Your Name is all gorgeous Italian sun and pushing at one's own edges to figure out what they are, with one of the best speeches about heartbreak ever put to film. There’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’s pastel musical version of a young love tested through time and circumstance. There’s the violent versions of Bonnie and Clyde and Badlands, the growing-up-too-fast version of An Education, the extremely dark version of The Virgin Suicides, and the winter romance version of The Bridges of Madison County (which I wholeheartedly believe is a first love movie)...but none of those are quite the point. While Romeo and Juliet is and perhaps always will be the one story that covers all the first love bases (even in the fantastic Ghostlight, which is a version of the Bard’s work from the viewpoint of the young lovers’ grieving parents), we think that Wes Anderson was on to something with...
In its simplest terms, Moonrise Kingdom is about two kids on a remote island who fall in love over the course of consecutive summers, and the adventure they undertake in their attempts to run away together. It’s a story that anybody could tell; Wes Anderson, however, is one of the most distinctive directors working, and the look and feel and texture of his films is a defining characteristic of his work. Sometimes it feels like an affectation for the sake of it, but with Moonrise Kingdom, and for our purposes here on this list, the postured formality of his storytelling makes for an incredible first love story.
The film is presented like a memory, with a narrator organizing the story with minimal context. The setting is also presented like a myth, with location names like Summer’s End turning Sam’s journey into a pint-sized odyssey to get to Suzy. A first love should have that kind of outsized importance, and the way the entire island drops what they’re doing because of the ramifications of Sam and Suzy’s love is perfect. If a first love is the one that lingers – the one you never truly get over or forget – then it should live in this sort of gauzy, fantastic memory. Presenting it like a fairy tale is the best format, and Moonrise Kingdom is the perfect marriage of filmmaker and subject for a first love story.
9. Feel-Good Films
Once we’ve achieved first love status, being part of a “feel good” story has to be the next step, doesn’t it? We obviously want these feelings to last, and at minimum, cinema has always felt good about a happily-ever-after ending. The world champion of “everything works out in the end” genres is of course the romantic comedy; old reliable classics like Some Like It Hot, The Philadelphia Story, and Pillow Talk laid the groundwork for later just-as-classics like When Harry Met Sally, Pretty Woman, and Sleepless in Seattle (although if I didn’t balance this rule-of-three list quite right, You’ve Got Mail works better as a companion to Pillow Talk, even if it’s the lesser Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan outing).
But what are the other feel-good categories out there? Dirty Dancing is a doubly nostalgic romance, set in the '60s and made in the '80s. There are quirkier romances on offer with Punch-Drunk Love and its two matching lonely hearts. City Lights is silent all-timer made that finds Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp in a whirlwind of farcically delightful near misses. For our number 9, however, let’s go with a modern feel-good romance clearly inspired by the golden age of the Tramp but set in the distant future of...
WALL-E is so many things – a Pixar computer animation masterpiece, a cautionary piece of science fiction, a post-apocalyptic vision (ahem). But as far as we’re concerned, WALL-E is a romance – a warm, funny, and tender look at love in robots that reflects even more about us, not only in actual relationships, but in how we like to model them after what we’ve seen on screen. At this point, what we know of romance culturally is tangled in an "art imitating life imitating art" ouroboros; that WALL-E himself is no different adds to his charm immeasurably.
If indeed we want to feel good about romance by watching feel-good stories on screen, portraying a robot learning how to love by watching romantic comedies is more than just a clever meta-reference; it’s a crucial and brilliant storytelling technique that allows any of us here in the 21st century to empathize with that adorable little trash man. Beyond all of this, however, the romance between WALL-E and EVE literally saves humanity – how’s that for stakes in a rom-com?
8. Odd Couples
Once love has been established, there’s another important step in any relationship; figuring out what kind of couple you are. Movies offer us plenty of pairs that fit perfectly together and only have an obstacle or two in their way, but that’s not what I really want to see on screen. Give me the mismatched duo that needs to make a proper effort for it to work; give me the always entertaining odd couple.
It’s something of a necessity in nearly every stock romance, an element of “when are these two crazy kids going to meet in the middle?” But we’ve got a rich tradition of romantic movies where the oddness in the coupling is not a hurdle, but the point. The Graduate’s summer fling between a kid and his older family friend highlights the difference between “starting out” and “settled down.” There’s Edward Scissorhands’ surreal satire springing from an unlikely romance, or Harold and Maude’s entire-generation-spanning age difference, which is truly one of our favorite on-screen pairings. But what about couples with very real hurdles standing in their way? Lars and the Real Girl’s girl is not a real girl at all, but a stirring romance nonetheless. Her’s love affair between a man and an operating system is as bittersweet as they come, while our number 8 pick is the charming romance between a widow and the spirit of a sea captain in...
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is one of the more romantic hauntings ever put to film. There is, admittedly, a campiness to the proceedings – a sappiness from that era of filmmaking that remains part of its charm and one of the chief reasons I’m highlighting it here. I just want a little of that classic Hollywood glamour in the mix. Gene Tierney plays a young widow moving from London to a seaside cottage inhabited by the crusty specter of Rex Harrison’s old captain. The gruff, salty dog stands in as stark a contrast to the mannered and headstrong Londoner as the shadowy black-and-white photography, but where the pairing may seem familiar, it’s deployed in such a savvy way here.
Lucy Muir’s determination to make her own life after the death of her husband runs headlong into a literal ghost standing in for the past and future challenges of a widowed woman in turn-of-the-century London. The seaside moodiness hanging over every frame leans hard into the gothic romance at play, but as our supernatural odd couple navigate jealousy, heartbreak, and the simple fact that they can’t touch each other, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir offers a rom-com’s plucky sweetness underneath it all, making them an odd pairing worth aspiring to.
7. Not Lovers But Still Romantic
While we’re on the topic of couples in romantic films, we’d be remiss not to spend a pick on the couples that aren’t actually couples. After all, friendship is just as important as romantic love, so here we look to the realm of platonic love, where a couple are not lovers, but still romantic just the same.
Buddy cop movies get a special shout-out here, especially the ones as homoerotic as Tango and Cash. Bridesmaids tests the connection of two lifelong friends, while Swingers sees a friendship stand in for more of a marriage than anything else. The Banshees of Inisherin counts here as a break-up movie, while Silence of the Lambs’ Clarice gets the kind of personal and professional fulfillment from Hannibal Lecter that she’s missing in the rest of her life. But for the most romantic not-a-couple, we’re going with Sophia Coppola’s look at a lonely stay in Tokyo:
I’m not sure there’s a read of this movie that clearly says Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson’s unmoored and disconnected people ever would’ve been romantically involved, but the love and care that deepens between them throughout the film’s runtime is undeniable. Lost in Translation is a testament to the surprise of sudden connection, the wonder of finding someone who’s going through the same thing you are, when on the surface, their circumstances are wildly different. And what better place to explore that idea than a foreign land, where jetlag and a language barrier keep you up all night, and your dreamlike adventures come with the clarity that they may not last forever, but they will change you for the better.
The movie’s climactic, now iconic whispered ending is brilliant for a handful of reasons, but for our purposes on this list, we’ll talk about the blank-slateness of it. What would you say to somebody with whom you’ve shared a moment this important in your life? It’s the romantic version of keeping the shark underwater in Jaws; whatever dialogue anybody could’ve written for that moment can’t possibly be as good as what you can imagine.
6. Second Chances
What’s great – and sometimes terrible – about love is that even when it doesn’t work out, it sticks around long enough to leave the door open for a second chance. Fighting for a second chance, discovering who is worthy of one, and just trying to make one work are all worthy enough endeavors around which to build a romantic movie.
His Girl Friday finds a newspaper man trying to get his wife back from her new husband. There’s a melodramatic May-December variety in All That Heaven Allows. There’s also the second chance happening concurrently in a parallel universe in Sliding Doors. Past Lives is a brilliant look at whether any relationship is itself a second chance on one in a previous life. One of my personal favorites is The Apartment, with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine putting in all-time great work playing the longing, pain, and ultimately happiness inherent in a second chance story. And if we’re crowning a champion of second chance movies, there aren’t many who could argue against Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Michel Gondry’s trippy romance about erasing the memory of a relationship oddly gives Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet’s couple an adorable second chance at a first chance. Blue Jay is the complete opposite, following a couple that gets a messy and difficult second chance to connect. But there’s a second chance film that doesn’t get enough play from another subgenre that was thriving way back in the '90s when my own romance with movies was heating up:
Grosse Pointe Blank
The hitman comedy genre was huge about 30 years ago, but none quite hit the heights of Grosse Pointe Blank. John Cusack’s Martin Blank samples the entire array of second chances as a professional killer attending his high school reunion. It’s funny, infinitely quotable, and has one of the best Alan Arkin supporting roles of all time, but what earns Grosse Point Blank a spot on this list is Martin’s relationship with Minnie Driver’s Debi, the woman he stood up on prom night. Their romance is about forgiveness and honesty and all the things a second chance story needs. The film sets itself apart, however, by the need to get yourself figured out. Martin doesn’t get a free pass, as he’s held accountable for everything he’s done (in their relationship at least; he's still killed a lot of people). There’s also no real happy ending, just a sense that they’re both continuing to work on things; as far as second chances are concerned, that’s really all you can ask for...that and the killer '80s soundtrack.
5. Unhealthy Relationships
As we hit the halfway mark, we have to acknowledge that not all romances exist for the best reasons; obsession, jealousy, enablement, and countless other elements of an unhealthy relationship have had their moments on the silver screen.
Phantom Thread is a favorite of mine here, with Daniel Day-Lewis' Reynolds Woodcock making himself literally unhealthy in the name of romance...but that misses my point a little bit. Vertigo is a look at romantic mania, as Jimmy Stewart’s Scottie molds Kim Novak’s Madeleine into the image of his own trauma. All About Eve works here too, following a manipulative young actor with an added hint of our number 7 category. Days of Heaven’s central romance is built on manipulation and lies as well. Sid and Nancy charts the real-life course of a self-destructive punk rock romance, and the relationship blossoming in A Star Is Born is an unhealthy story no matter what generation remakes the movie. But while we’re swimming in the murky end of the pool, let’s really revel in it with a movie that does a little bit of everything we’ve talked about so far (plus a dash of immortality) and...
There's a very transactional nature to the relationship between the bullied young Oskar and his new neighbor, the vampire Eli. But in the midst of all the bloodshed and blood leaking, there’s a sweetness to it as well. More than that, it’s a portrait of two outcast kids who find each other. The loneliness each of them endures makes them a match, and what they need from the other fits together like a morbid puzzle.
What’s brilliant about the film, though, is the moodiness of a cold Swedish landscape, the brutality of Oskar’s tormenters, and the tinges of darkness around nearly every character we meet, all blended together to create a world where you can’t help but root for these kids...or this kid and this vampire, I guess. But there’s nothing good that will ever come out of this coupling – only more blood and death. That they have as good a chance as any couple we’ve mentioned in this list to live a long life together makes the film undeniably romantic…in a bit of an unhealthy way, of course.
4. Feel-Bad Films
We’ve opened the door to negative thoughts in our exercise to build a romance, Frankenstein style: Should I even keep doing this? Would I have been better off not starting this romance in the first place? Maybe it’s time we look at the romantic films where things don’t work out; after all, as soaring and wonderful as a romance can be, what happens when the lovers don’t end up together?
This is perhaps most famously pulled off on a hill of beans in Casablanca. There are non-life-or-death versions of feel-bad romances in 500 Days of Summer and La La Land. Queer cinema has perhaps more than its share of films that qualify here, like the brief and doomed-from-the-start love affairs in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Carol, and Brokeback Mountain. Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire even takes a tragic ending to a love story into heavenly territory, with an angel giving up his immortality in the name of romance, while Atonement disguises itself as a happy ending for a minute with nothing but feel-bad vibes by the end. Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love is one of the greatest studies of a tragic near-miss romance of all time, brilliantly and gorgeously rendered with a sumptuous color palette accompanying the tortured relationship of two people whose spouses have abandoned their vows. But there’s a film to which every one of these honorable mentions owes a debt: David Lean’s heartbreaking...
Brief Encounter
Before he did The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, David Lean concerned himself with something just as epic, even if it seems to function on a smaller scale. Brief Encounter follows two married people connecting over a simple piece of grit stuck in an eye. The chance meeting blossoms into flirtatious rendezvous before becoming a forbidden love, and all the while there's the anguish of knowing everything they’re feeling is an impossible fantasy. There’s an everyday quality to the proceedings as well; there’s nothing glamorous about the pair, and the slow, almost casual pace in which their good-natured laughing turns to tortured longing feels universal.
The obviously strong emotions are kept at bay; shame and fear dictate their actions, not their hearts and desires. Neither of the participants seem particularly unhappy, nor are they caught in dire circumstances from which they deserve to escape; they don’t even seem bored or trapped by mundanity. What’s on display in Brief Encounter is the sudden spark of romance in the wrong time and place, a tragedy photographed in gorgeous black and white through the steam of a railway station.
3. Falling Out of Love
As we wind down with our last few picks and away from Brief Encounter’s grueling almost-affair, it’s time to put Tennyson’s quote to the test. Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Romance doesn’t always work out, and we can’t just look at the happy endings if we’re aiming for cinema’s definitive studies of the subject. As such, a good movie about falling out of love is a necessary addition.
Ingmar Bergman made the foremost epic on the topic with Scenes from a Marriage. Blue Valentine charts the downward trajectory of a relationship, while Revolutionary Road does the same with suburban life in the '40s and '50s, and Eyes Wide Shut puts a marriage and the entire idea of fidelity to the test with ambiguous results. Marriage Story and Kramer vs. Kramer center their crumbling relationships around custody disputes, but it’s hard to argue that anybody ever did it better than director Mike Nichols and co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in...
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Taking place over the course of one very long night in which veteran drinkers George and Martha welcome young professor Nick and his wife Honey into their home, the film's ensuing emotional warfare has been famous (or infamous?) since Edward Albee’s play debuted. What I love about it, particularly for this category, are the stakes risen to incalculable heights; what is romance if not us at our biggest, our most passionate, with our most sharpened and vulnerable edges on display?
The show that George and Martha put on for their younger counterparts – the games they play and the lengths they’re willing to go to hurt each other – reveals the intense levels of passion in the torment they inflict. As the younger couple bears witness to the long simmering anger, they begin to fall victim to it as well, seeing their own seams split under the weight of it. It is, of course, revealed that George and Martha have their reasons, but outwardly they project a complete lack of love. For Nick and Honey, being confronted by all the things they’re missing out on by not being in a great romance makes for a difficult lesson to learn and a fascinating juxtaposition to watch.
2. Dealing with Exes
Now that we’re well and truly out of love, the next step is adding another name to our list of exes. Jeez, how romantic is this top 10 romantic movies list getting, right? Break-ups, as I said, are part of the life cycle of a romance as much as falling head-over-heels, and a ton of great movies have been built on a premise involving an ex-partner.
High Fidelity is a dramedy examination of an entire list of exes, ranking them in a way that feels relatable enough to us for some reason…(ahem)...but this version of John Cusack belongs in the second chances category about as much as his previously discussed hitman incarnation. The Invitation’s horror is set up by having to face a former relationship, as it is in The Invisible Man, where the bad relationship is the monster from which escape proves difficult. Mrs. Doubtfire qualifies here too, as does Midsommar, but my number 2 pick is the good old-fashioned French husband-killing thriller...
Diabolique
The story of a woman getting rid of an archetypally terrible husband by conspiring with his mistress is outstanding thriller material on its own. Henri-Georges Cluzout’s follow-up to The Wages of Fear ratchets up the guilt right alongside the tension, charting the dissolution of a marriage in ways as violent and nerve-wracking as driving nitroglycerin through the jungle. But the interesting thing about Diabolique – at least where its inclusion on a list of romantic movies is concerned – is how it approaches the idea of getting out of a bad relationship.
The plot twists and turns as a good thriller should, but the revelations begin to make the movie about a nasty break-up. Christina and Michel’s marriage is by all accounts an awful one, made that way pretty exclusively by Michel’s complete shittiness. But in spite of his obvious villainy, Diabolique eventually tells us that ending a relationship can often hurt everybody involved, not least of which the half of the couple that doesn’t deserve it. That it’s telling us this while employing plot elements like murder, poisons, and manipulations is the thriller icing on a break-up movie cake. It’s a great example of why some movies are talked about for decades while others are not. Were it just a capable thriller, it would be fun enough; Diabolique, however, is a thriller that can be interpreted in any number of ways, especially as an entry in the Bad Romances Hall of Fame.
1. Epic Loves
Here we are at number 1, and it’s time to go big before we go home. We veered for perhaps too long into the bad side of romance, so let’s wrap things up with movies about love itself. These are stories where neither the sweeping scale nor the years that pass can rend the relentless and unbreakable bonds of true, unconquerable love; these are the epic loves.
David Lean’s had a shout-out already with one of the all-time greats in Doctor Zhivago, while Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina is an admirable successor in the sweeping Russian romance genre. The Princess Bride is all about the swashbuckling fairytale aspect of romance, while Titanic has the sheer historical scale (and while the gift of Jack’s love for Rose endured, Jack did not). Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a love story that spans lifetimes; the Before Trilogy is the more grounded version spanning part of a lifetime but covering a lot of the same bases. The Notebook naturally gets more than a passing mention here as a universally heartbreaking cinematic experience that’s epic if only for its place in pop culture history. But the epic love story that gets me every time is Darren Aronofsky’s eon-spanning...
Literally taking place over 1000 years, the search for eternal life consumes a man in his quest to avoid ever losing his love. The tale is gorgeously realized with visual motifs connecting: Tomás, a conquistador in 1500; Tommy, a medical researcher in 2000; and Tom, a lonely astronaut in 2500. This film proves that you do not need AI to bring different time periods to life, DARREN. The Fountain deals with love’s role in human nature as something that never changes. We have always been and will always be both terrified of death and completely dependent on love, and the quest to conquer both of those instincts is at the center of the film. Tomás, Tommy, and Tom (Hugh Jackman) destroy themselves while searching for a way to give Isabella and Izzy (Rachel Weisz) the gift of eternal, devoted love, making it one of the most epic romantic movies of all time.
Star Wars fans, if you’re all about cooking a good meal, there’s something you might want to put on your wishlist: the new themed cookbook titled The Mandalorian Cookbook, which is part of a major merchandise campaign surrounding the upcoming film The Mandalorian & Grogu.
The book, which will be published by Insight Editions, was revealed by the film’s director Jon Favreau ahead of New York Toy Fair 2026, where many items that are part of this campaign will be on display.
“Jump in the Razor Crest and start cooking the Mandalorian way!” the book’s official description reads. “Starting fall 2026, fans will be able to cook up delectable dishes from the world of The Mandalorian and the all-new film.
The Mandalorian Cookbook by Jenn Fujikawa and Mark Sumerak showcases 70 striking, flavorful recipes inspired by the adventures of Din Djarin, Grogu, Greef Karga, Ahsoka Tano, and more. Each recipe includes step-by-step instructions suitable for all skill levels, from foundlings to seasoned chefs.”
The cooking bible is chock full of themed recipes, including ones for, no joke, Pog Soup, Mudhorn Egg Halves, Travel Dumplings, Blurggers, Sorgan Krill, Krayt Dragon Sliders, Foundling Fruits, Reptavian Talons, and Trask Market Seaweed Salad.
The text also features dessert recipes like Beskar Bark, Jawa Chews, and Darksaber Chocolate Cake, as well as some cool drinks including a Droid Blast, Corellian Cold Foam, and a Spaceport Sour.
The book — which is one of three books in this campaign alongside The Mandalorian Visual Guide and The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu — will also allow fans to “replicate delectable dishes seen on screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu with exclusive tie-in recipes.” It contains recipe options for folks of all preferences, including vegan recipes, and will be released on October 27 with a $34.99 price tag.
As for the film, The Mandalorian & Grogu is set to be released in IMAX on May 22, which was highlighted in the movie's recent Super Bowl spot.
Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
Nintendo's upcoming Virtual Boy accessory can be used to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Odyssey, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it's been reported.
VGC has tested the new Virtual Boy headset (and its cheaper cardboard alternative) with the four games, which previously received VR modes to become compatible with Nintendo Labo VR following its launch back in 2019.
As VGC reports, the new Virtual Boy accessory works in an identical manner to Nintendo Labo VR, essentially acting as a shell with a pair of lenses for your Switch screen. (And yes, you can remove those red Virtual Boy lenses.)
Viewing the four classic Switch games in their VR modes, players are treated to a VR effect, and can look around naturally by moving their head — which is tracked by the console's motion sensors.
Does Nintendo intend for you to use your new Virtual Boy accessory this way? It's debatable. On the one hand, using the actual Virtual Boy accessory for this is a little difficult, since it is designed to sit on a flat surface, removing your ability to look around easily. On the other, VGC notes that Breath of the Wild's Switch 2 upgrade retains its VR mode option, so perhaps this was the plan all along.
Nintendo will officially launch its Virtual Boy Nintendo Classics collection next week on February 17, which you'll need a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription on either Switch or Switch 2 to access. You'll also need a Virtual Boy ($99.99) or cardboard Virtual Boy ($24.99) accessory, sold via the My Nintendo Store.
As of next week, the Virtual Boy library will arrive with the following games:
Galactic Pinball
Teleroboxer
RED ALARM
Virtual Boy Wario Land
3-D Tetris
Golf
The Mansion of Innsmouth
Over time, Nintendo will then slowly launch more, including two games that previously never saw the light of day.
Mario Clash
Mario's Tennis
Jack Bros.
Space Invaders Virtual Collection
Virtual Bowling
Vertical Force
V-Tetris
Zero Racers (previously unreleased)
D-Hopper (previously unreleased)
"Would I recommend the average Nintendo fan drops $100 or even $25 to play these games? No, probably not," IGN wrote after going face-on with the Virtual Boy accessories recently. "There are only seven of them to play at launch, and they are more enjoyable from a historical perspective than an entertainment one. You could buy seven superior indie games for 100 bucks that come in more than just one color. But if you love exploring wacky bygones from past eras and want a really cool accessory to display in your game room, you’ll probably really like the new Virtual Boy like I did."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
When it comes to LEGO Nintendo sets, the LEGO Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi set is one of our favorites. If you've had your eyes on this delightful retro build, but have been patiently waiting for its price to drop, now is the time to swoop in and grab it. Amazon has knocked its price down to $103.99.
Usually this set comes with a price tag of $129.99, so this deal saves you 20% overall, but what's even better is it marks a return to its lowest price so far at Amazon. What better time to grab it?
LEGO Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi Set for $104
This set looks like a fantastic build for Mario fans to work on. The 1,215 bricks in the box come together to create a pixelated Mario and Yoshi plucked straight out of the side-scrolling Super Mario World. It even comes with a handle at the base that, when turned, makes Yoshi appear to run, and a dial behind Yoshi’s head makes his tongue pop in and out, too.
IGN's Chris Reed very much enjoyed piecing this one together. In his We Build of the set, he said it "gave me a strong dose of nostalgia as I pieced it together over several evenings. It's my favorite Nintendo LEGO set to date, and it looks so good on my desk that I’m going to leave it there for the foreseeable future. I can’t get enough of this thing."
If it's been on your radar, now is an excellent time to grab this set while it's back to its lowest price so far at Amazon. And if you're curious to see more Nintendo-themed sets, have a look at our rundown of the best LEGO Nintendo sets. Outside of Nintendo, if you're wondering what's new in the world of LEGO right now, it's also worth looking at our breakdown of February's new LEGO sets.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Last night's Sony State of Play broadcast ended with an announcement and shadow drop for God of War Sons of Sparta, a side-scrolling spin-off listed as having 1-2 player support via the PlayStation Store. The only problem? Fans can't find its two-player option.
Early reports from those who've paid the game's $29.99 asking price and revisited Kratos' origins say that his sibling Deimos only appears at certain points, there's no two-player option in the game's menus, and plugging in a second PS5 controller doesn't provide extra options.
It's an odd situation that's led some to suspect the PlayStation Store listing is simply incorrect — as it appears to be the only firm evidence a two-player mode exists — and seek help from others online also searching for its multiplayer.
Writing on reddit and social media, fans say the store's listing didn't initially seem odd — since the game's title is "Sons of Sparta" plural, in-game footage shows the two brothers killing bosses together, and its cover artwork focuses on them fighting side-by-side.
The game's store description could also be ready ambiguously, referencing the exploits of both brothers:
"Experience an untold chapter in Kratos' journey set during the harsh years of Spartan training alongside his brother Deimos," Sons of Sparta's official blurb reads. "Through endless trials, their minds, bodies, and hearts have been molded to become Spartan soldiers for whom duty and honor mean everything. After a fellow cadet goes missing, Kratos and Deimos vow to find him and embark on an adventure that will put their training and Spartan spirit to the test."
"Just got it installed and running," wrote God of War fan Mephistocheles on reddit, in a lengthy thread with much discussion on the game's lack of co-op play. "So far it's not allowing drop in play on 2nd controller and there were no two-player options on start menu. Will update if I find it does allow co-op, but it doesn't look like it."
"I’m so sad," wrote bob_th4_build3r. "I bought it instantly because i thought it would be co-op… maybe they will add it in the future?"
Other comments say they are now escalating the matter to PlayStation's customer support, while several fans say they have tried to request refunds. IGN has contacted PlayStation and Sons of Sparta developer Mega Cat Studios for clarification on the game's two-player capabilities, or lack thereof.
Developer ZA/UM may have had a significant hit with 2019’s Disco Elysium, but it remains a reasonably small studio. And, at least as far as writer and VO director Jim Ashilevi is concerned, that’s how things should remain.
“I hope we'll never become a triple-A studio,” he said during a recent interview with IGN.
ZA/UM currently employs just under 100 members of staff, many of whom work remotely from different places across the world. Its has offices in Tallinn, Estonia; London, UK; and Porto, Portugal, and the company remains independently owned. While this is admittedly a bigger outfit than many indie developers enjoy, it’s still small-scale. And that’s how Ashilevi likes it.
“I think we're always deeply encouraged and inspired by the indie scene because that's where the fresh ideas come from,” he said. “The avant-garde stuff always happens on the fringes, and I hope we'll never become a triple-A studio. Honestly, even if Zero Parades sells four billion copies, I hope we are wise enough to stay true to our core sensibilities and values as artists and storytellers.”
As part of that conversation, Ashilevi offered his assessment of the gaming landscape. “I think it's grim out there,” he said. “I think the industry is in a really rough place. We all know that. But I don't think the industry is in a rough place creatively. I think, in a way, it's better than ever. It's better than ever before because anyone can make a game that touches the hearts of hundreds of millions of people.”
The comment came in reference to the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which, while developed on a much higher budget than any of ZA/UM’s projects, was 2025’s demonstration that there’s an enormous appetite for single-player, story-led games produced outside of the mega-publishers’ circles.
“I think the industry has become less gatekeep-y in a way,” he said. “But that also presents another problem, which is how do you even begin to promote your game, or make sure that it actually finds its audience? I think really the only thing you can control is whether you're staying true to your own vision and your own voice.”
As we explored earlier this week, that vision has been ZA/UM’s “North Star” when it comes to Zero Parades. “For that reason, I'm already really proud and happy with what we've done,” says Ashilevi. “It's like the response coming from the players – which will hopefully be positive, mostly positive – is almost just a bonus at this point. The real value I got out of it as a storyteller was just getting to know my friends and colleagues a little better and getting to know more about what goes on in their hearts and minds and souls.”
Riot’s latest venture into the trading card game space with League of Legends’ Riftbound continues to grow with its second set, Spiritforged. The young TCG is holding its own with the likes of Disney Lorcana, Magic: The Gathering, the Gundam Card Game, and many other TCGs competing for the attention of gamers. In the latest Riftbound set, players are introduced to new gameplay mechanics like equipment, which is featured heavily in one of the new champion decks releasing alongside the set. Although global release timings haven’t synced up yet with this expansion, there’s still room for the meta to see some interesting changes when more regions get to play around with the new cards and brew some decks.
So far in Riftbound, pre-constructed champion decks have been the easiest way for new players to jump into games right out of the box. Like starter decks in other TCGs, champion decks have everything you need to play a match. One of the League of Legends’ champions being highlighted in a big way in this set is Fiora. This deck, as well as Fiora’s cards, focus on the keyword Mighty. A unit is Mighty when it has 5+ might, whether that’s printed on the card or gained through a buff. Might in Riftbound represents both a unit’s health and damage output, so decks that tend to have the Mighty keyword are usually big tanky units or have spells to buff. The Fiora champion deck in particular consists of the orange and yellow colors or Body and Order domains, respectively. Orange (Body) cards have big units or have cards to buff units to Mighty status, where yellow (Order) tends to go wide with opportunities to play many token units. With the new Equipment type for gear, this means easily buffing smaller units such as tokens to become Mighty, and that’s where Fiora’s champion decks shine.
Alongside equipment, Riftbound is also introducing the keyword Weaponmaster, which allows the player to equip an available equipment for one less rune or mana to the Weaponmaster unit when played. Imagine a token Sand Soldier unit equipped with Doran’s Blade giving +2 might, and Lucian Merciless enters the field with Weaponmaster. Lucian with his ability can receive the blade from Sand Soldier, making his total might 5 and thus becoming Mighty. Equipment is just another classification of gear, so equipment will need to be played onto the field before paying the extra cost to equip to a unit. In addition to gear giving might, they can also have an ability like Sacred Shears that gives the equipped unit a card draw when they die. Since Equipment doesn’t leave the field when the carrier dies, other surviving units can potentially take up the arms and continue the aggro. The new equipment and Weaponmaster keyword really capitalizes on this color and domain combination in the Fiora deck. It was very easy to play out units and buff to hold locations throughout the game. I’d personally favor this deck since I enjoyed my time with Volibear early on, but the other champion deck led by the Rumble is quite fun as well.
Since Equipment doesn’t leave the field when the carrier dies, other surviving units can potentially take up the arms and continue the aggro.
Instead of focusing on new mechanics like equipment or Weaponmaster in the Fiora deck, the Rumble deck is just good ol’ unit synergy. The Rumble deck is a mech deck where it’s beneficial to have many mechs in play. For instance, the passive ability from the legend Rumble gives all your mechs Shield, which is +1 to might when defending a location. So a duo of 2 might mechs easily become 6 total might instead of 4. There’s also the champion unit, Rumble Hotheaded, that gives your mechs Assault or +1 might when attacking. So whether it’s attacking or defending a location, the mechs get harder and harder to defeat if they are left to multiply.
The Rumble deck showcases other new mechanics introduced in Sprirtforged, even though it’s not the highlight of the deck. The first one being Repeat, which allows a player to pay an additional cost to repeat an effect. For example, the Frigid Touch spell gives a unit -2 might. If I pay an additional 2 runes or mana to the 2 I paid already, I can give another -2 might to a unit. This mechanic tends to be in spells, which fits this deck’s color combination of red (Fury) and blue (Mind) that are typically associated with removal. Another mechanic in this deck is Quick Draw, which allows an equipment to be played any time like other cards that have the Reaction keyword. Like units, gear, or equipment is usually played on your turn. With Quick Draw, players can buff their units on their opponents’ turn to use defensively just like spells. It’s a nice way to buff at a climactic moment, and also keep a permanent equipment on the field for later use. Another new addition is the Gold token that acts as extra runes or mana. Although these mechanics are few and far between in the Rumble deck, the mech synergy makes up for it in many ways.
Since the global release timing is later than China’s, we’re starting to see what the meta looks like before it gets in the hands of players in other regions. This usually means that players will try to capitalize on what’s doing well overseas rather than trying to brew some spicy new decks. With that said, that’s not stopping folks from experimenting. Plus different regions tend to favor different playstyles or deck combinations anyway, so some players may also play based on their locals’ meta vs the popular meta. At the tailend of the Origins meta in one of the last big regionals last year, top cut players favored red (Fury) and purple (Chaos) decks like Annie Dark Child or orange (Body) and green (Calm) decks like Master Yi Wuju Bladesman. With the Spiritforged meta officially kicking off in December with the China release, it’s been a good chunk of weeks leading up to the next big regionals.
Red and purple continue to be popular in the top cut, which is usually because high-level players are still comfortable with those colors so soon after the last meta. Instead of Annie Dark Child, though, Draven Glorious Executioner from the new Spiritforged set is a good replacement that allows for more card draw if the player wins a combat. The new Spinning Axe card, which is a fairly low cost but powerful equipment, fits perfectly in this deck that tries to conquer battlefields quickly. There’s also the new Switcheroo spell card that swaps the might of two units in the same battlefield. These are easy ways to activate Draven’s card draw ability. Even though purple (Chaos) is still popular, new legends like Jax Grandmasters at Arms utilize equipment to its full potential. By paying the cost, the legend Jax can move equipment freely between all their units. For example, the new Guardian Angel equipment can be moved to protect a unit from dying from a game-changing point, especially if the player’s resources are maxed out to re-equip. In addition, the new Jax Unmatched card gives all your equipment in hand Quick Draw to be played at any time. Between that ability and his Deflect that makes it more difficult to target, Jax Unmatched is a sticky unit to deal with in a deck with green (Calm) cards. Even in this fresh meta, yellow (Order) cards seem to be the least used. Maybe over time, new yellow cards like Azir Sovereign will boost token decks with its ability to amass units on attack whether or not the tokens are ready or exhausted.
With any new set, the new cards will be fun to play around with as the meta shakes things out. The Fiora and Rumble champion decks are a good jumping-off point if folks missed out on the premiere set, Origins, and new players won’t have to overcome a high learning curve since the game is still young. We’re also getting a good chunk of new mechanics that’s not typical when a new set is introduced. And probably the most exciting news is the soon-to-be-synced-up global release later this year with Riot’s fourth set, Riftbound: Vendetta. League of Legends Riftbound’s player base is very active, and they’re getting all these meaty updates and news so early in the game. It’s not too late for both new and old fans of the MOBA, to try out League in tabletop form. For more on Riftbound, check out our hands-on impressions of the base set, Origins.
February 27 is a special day in the Pokémon calendar, commemorating the release of the very first Pokémon games in Japan. Known to fans around the world as ‘Pokémon Day’, 2026 will be a special 30th anniversary celebration!
To celebrate, The Pokémon Company has recently dropped a 30th Anniversary Pokémon Day TCG Collection, featuring a specially stamped foil Pikachu promo card, a metallic coin featuring the 30th anniversary logo, and three booster packs from Phantasmal Flames and Mega Evolution.
Proving a popular set, Pokémon TCG's 30th Anniversary TCG Collection is stocked at all major retailers. However, navigating the market requires a bit of strategy; prices are fluctuating from its original $49.99 launch price.
In the week following its release, TCGplayer reported a low sale price of $18.79. That’s a decent drop from the launch price, though it’s back up to around $26.98 market price at the time of writing. Still, that's a significant 58.87% drop in resale value in just a month, making this all the more affordable for fans to pick up right now.
If you’re looking for the lowest "in-stock" price right now, direct from a major retailer, Amazon leads the pack at $34.45 (a 31% discount from MSRP). That being said, we’ve seen them dip as low as $26.99 here before, so it’s up to you if you want to hold for that or opt for TCGplayer instead.
Best Buy is holding firm at $49.99, while Target has already been cleaned out of their $17.99 stock - a price so low you can’t be surprised!
If you’re hunting for a sub-$20 pull, it’s best to keep an eye on local inventory or set up an alert for online restocks from reputable resellers. Just remember - these figures are based on US retailers, so international collectors should factor in global shipping costs.
If you’re looking to resell yourself, I’d recommend you keep looking. Given the lack of exclusive anniversary packs inside, it’s not likely the Pokémon TCG's 30th Anniversary TCG Collection will turn over a huge profit.
That being said, while the stamped foil promo card of Pikachu isn’t a unique illustration, its status as the first official 30th-anniversary product might be worth something to completionists in a few years. I’d recommend picking up two at or near MSRP if you’ve got the space - one to hold onto as an investment, one to rip.
There’s one more Pokémon TCG set to be released in the first quarter of the year - Perfect Order. You can put in your preorders here via TCGplayer for current market price.
Mewgenics co-creator Edmund McMillen has discussed how he drew up the list of the personalities approached to provide the game's numerous cameos, saying that while he "understands we live in a time where a meow from someone who has different beliefs as you is scary and frustrating, confusing and controversial... it felt interesting, so I decided to explore it."
In an interview with RPS, following criticisms that the cameo cast included individuals perceived by some to have controversial views, McMillen said the game's meow roster represented people from across the ideological spectrum, including people — such as Ethan Klein — who had not publicly commented on his views of the Gaza conflicts at the time he was asked to contribute. "When we added most of the people on the list it was ages ago, like, Ethan was included a good four years back," McMillen explained.
"I wanted the game to feature a huge array of iconic voices I’ve been hearing echoing across the internet for most of my time making games. As some probably noticed, I was all over the place when it came to cameos and did my best to include and keep ones that clashed or kinda counterbalanced each other. The inclusion of Ethan and Hila [Klein] was counter balanced by iDubbbz and Anisa," he added, referring to two creators who have publicly supported Palestine.
"I made sure to contact both to make sure they were okay with the others' involvement so it didn’t feel like a weird gotcha on release," McMillen explained. "They were both very adult about it and said they had no issue with the other being added, and I really respected that, since I know they have been publicly feuding for a while now. It’s hard to explain without revealing aspects of the game people haven’t really experienced yet, but the inclusion of people with clashing ideologies felt appropriate."
McMillen concluded: "I understand we live in a time where a meow from someone who has different beliefs as you is scary and frustrating, confusing and controversial… but it felt interesting, so I decided to explore it. Also, I should probably point out that I don’t share the same opinions as, well, probably any of the people we included.
"If I only included people who share the same exact opinions as me, I’d be the only one meowing in the game. I included Chris, but also liquid Chris (those who know, know)... I didn’t [realize] Matan [Evan, an Israeli-American YouTuber] was controversial, I mean a lot of these people are characters doing bits."
Other notable inclusions on the list of vocal performers include Stranger Things star David Harbour and Supernatural's Felicia Day.
IGN thought Mewgenics was 'Amazing.' It returned 9/10 in our review, in which we wrote: "Mewgenics is a fantastic tactical RPG that's good for more than a hundred hours of roguelike runs. Just when you think you have it figured out it'll throw something completely unexpected and hilariously gross at you – and probably a catchy new original song, too."
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
This is a fantastic opportunity to pick up some of the best comics of all time, at even better prices. Most of these are already seeing small discounts, from 7% to 13% off, but they all have an extremely affordable MSRP of $9.99 anyway, making this bundle deal even sweeter. Even if you're picking up just two, you're still looking at a splendid deal at no more than $15 total, depending on your picks.
Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off on DC Compact Comics
You can also take advantage of it as many times as you like, so pack your basket with four comics, and get 50% off two of them, six, and 50% off three, and so forth. Nothing has changed for these fantastic comics besides the size, so if that's not something you care about and have been wanting to jump into some of DC's best, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Trust me, there's plenty to choose from here.
Everything from Superman and Batman to Watchmen and Harley Quinn is included, so there's something for everyone depending on your preferred flavor of DC comics. For the Batman fans, you can't go wrong with checking out Scott Snyder's and Greg Capullo's iconic Batman: The Court of Owls Saga, which collects the first 11 issues in one printing.
Then there's Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb with art by Jim Lee, a personal favorite of mine, which collects the initial Hush story arc with Batman #608 through Batman #619, with an interlude from Wizard #0. Sean Murphy's Batman: White Knight is a very interesting take on the Joker I'd highly recommend, as well.
If you prefer a more superpowered hero, Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman is required reading for any comics fan. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King with art by Bilquis Evely is the inspiration for James Gunn's upcoming Supergirl film and is one of the best depictions of the character to date. From here, I'd check out Mark Waid's and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come, a seminal Justice League tale and one of Bats' and Supes' biggest spats.
For comics outside of the traditional DC Universe, Watchmen is always a no-brainer, and it this price is definitely worth considering. Another personal favorite of mine is Scott Snyder's American Vampire with art by Rafael Albuquerque. It even has an issue penned by horror master Stephen King, and it's amazing. And for you Brian K. Vaughan fans, Y: The Last Man: Unmanned is included in the sale and collects the first 10 issues.
Hasbro is betting big on Transformers: Cyberworld, the latest animated incarnation of the franchise. IGN can exclusively reveal that Cyberworld will be getting a second season this summer, as well as debut a new Bumblebee figure based on the series.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at the Energon Surge Bumblebee Power Spark figure and art from Season 2 of Transformers: Cyberworld:
The Energon Surge Bumblebee Power Spark figure is an 11-inch figure that transforms from robot mode to car in 4 steps. It also features light-up and sound effects and comes with accessory pieces that combine to form a bee drone.
The figure is priced at $54.99 and will be available in Summer 2026 at participating retailers.
As for Transformers: Cyberworld, the series will make its return on YouTube in August 2026. Here's the official synopsis for Season 2:
The hunt is on for Energon and CYBERWORLD will never be the same.
After his adventures with Optimus Prime and Elita-1, Bumblebee discovers a new form of Energon that supercharges his powers and increases his size. But too much of this Energon can cause chaos and maybe even unlock Bumblebee’s inner rage. Along with this surge in power, new regions, upgrades, and missions are unlocked. New allies drop in, but new threats also emerge. Across every part of the map, battles will be fought for control and alliances will be made.
Because whoever controls the power of Energon, controls all of CYBERWORLD…
When questioned over the supposed 2029 date being too far-fetched considering the amount of work a sequel will entail, Belson reportedly responded with a tap of her nose "to indicate that's correct thinking."
While that silent affirmation isn't much, Belson continued verbally to suggest that work on the sequel was yet to really begin, as the first film's huge success on Netflix in late 2025 was still being processed by its creative team.
"There's been a lot to tend to in terms of the award campaign," Belson suggested, before saying that directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans would be reconvening soon to look at the franchise's future. "After all the noise and awards and big parties with big people — yes," she continued. "It'll be back to the two of them in a room."
When asked how KPop Demon Hunters 2 would top the first movie, Belson's fellow co-president Damien de Froberville said the studio could look at its popular Spider-Verse franchise for inspiration on broadening its scope and scale.
"On Spider-Verse, I was like, 'How are they going to top Across the Spider-Verse? And then we're looking at art and design [for 2027's Beyond the Spider-Verse], and it's really blowing my mind. We look at a lot of art, but what we saw at the last presentation, I'm like, 'Wow.'
"KPop will be the same thing," de Froberville continued. "It's just like Spider-Verse. The world is so rich — the world of the demons and the pop star [element], what happened to Jinu. There's so much we could expand into."
If you somehow haven't watched it yet, KPop Demon Hunters is a Sony Pictures Animation film following Korean pop band Huntrix, a trio who are also demon hunters battling against an evil demon king. In our 8/10 review, we called it "a stunning animated action musical with terrific fight sequences, catchy musical numbers, and an ample amount of harmony and heart."
Though past reporting has suggested a live-action remake might be in the works, creator Maggie Kang has since said that the series is best-suited to animation, saying that it's "really hard to imagine these characters in a live action world."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Valve is introducing the ability to include your hardware specs in any reviews you leave on Steam.
Rolling out now in the Steam Client Beta — which means only those with access to the beta test can do this; those of us using the stable branch may have to wait a little — Valve explained that reviewers can "attach hardware specs when writing or updating a Steam User Review on a game's store page."
Some reviewers already include this information in the main body their reviews, but this new feature will not only add a reminder to players to do so, but also help players identify issues that could be unique to certain builds or hardware configurations.
Steam is also testing the additional option to provide anonymized framerate data, too. "When enabled Steam will collect gameplay framerate data, stored without connection to your Steam account but identified with the kind of hardware you are playing on," Valve explains in the beta client patch notes (thanks, PC Gamer). "This data will help us learn about game compatibility and improve Steam. This feature is currently in Beta with a focus on devices running SteamOS."
The beta client also addresses an issue where streaming could leave downloads throttled even after the stream stopped, and fixed a bug that could result in Proton games showing up as "not valid on current platform" for users with "very large libraries when using offline mode."
Other improvements to the beta client include a redesigned settings layout and improved navigation across desktop, mobile, and Steam Deck devices. You'll also now be asked why you disagree with a Steam Deck Verified rating when you submit your feedback, although this'll remain optional for now.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Sega has written off $200 million of its $776 million acquisition of Angry Birds maker, Rovio, stating the "profitability of [the mobile] business had fallen below the initial forecast" — corporate speak for, 'this hasn't made us as much money as we thought it would.'
Sega confirmed back in April 2023 plans to purchase Angry Birds developer Rovio for $776 million, with Rovio's mobile game expertise intended to help boost Sega's own position in the mobile market. The acquisition completed in September that same year.
Now, in its most recent financial report, Sega Sammy said that while Rovio was "a company with strong development and operational capabilities in the mobile game area, a sector with major growth potential," the "business environment in the global mobile game market [has] rapidly changed, with multiple major titles emerging within a short period, and competition for customer acquisition [is] intensifying." Which is why it's now alerting shareholders of "extraordinarily losses and revision of operating results forecast."
"Rovio found it difficult to advance its initially planned business development, and the profitability of this business has fallen below the initial forecast," Sega admitted.
Because the "recoverable amount" related to the buyout fell "significantly" short, the company has written off $198 million (¥30.4 billion), essentially downgrading the value of Rovio to around $578 million — $200m less than it paid for it.
Rovio is just one of the companies Sega owns. It is also home to Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment, Two Point Campus developer Two Point Studios, and perhaps most notably, Persona developer Atlus.
And on the plus side, Sega's tentpole Sonic series continues to impress. IGN's Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds review returned an Amazing 9/10 when it released in September 2025. "Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds fires on all cylinders with a fantastic roster, excellent courses, and lengthy list of customization options," we wrote at the time.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Slowpoke may be one of the laziest-looking Pokémon, but he actually has a job promoting Japan’s smallest region. As part of Kagawa prefecture’s ongoing official collaboration with The Pokémon Company, the Water-type Pokémon is now on a mission to regenerate the area’s centuries-old traditional craft — Kagawa lacquerware.
As reported by local outlet KSB news, a group of local trade school students specializing in Kagawa lacquerware have designed and made a range of Slowpoke-themed pieces to raise awareness of the traditional industry — and now their work is currently on display at an exhibition in Tokyo until February 17.
This is just the latest part of a wider official collaboration with The Pokémon Company, as Kagawa has been using Slowpoke as a mascot to promote the local area for over seven years.
But of all the Pokémon, why is Kagawa prefecture linked to Slowpoke? Located on Shikoku, one of Japan’s four main islands, Kagawa prefecture is best known for its thick, chewy wheat noodles, known as Sanuki Udon. In Japanese, Slowpoke is called Yadon, which sounds a bit like udon.
But that’s not all. Kagawa prefecture gets very low rainfall and has an institute that researches rare sugar. According to the Pokémon Local Acts website, these are just some of the reasons that make the Water-based Pokémon that excretes sweet sap from its tail a good fit. Indeed, Kagawa lacquerware is a technique that uses layers of lacquer (tree sap) to give a durable, often multicolored finish (a process you can read more about here).
Although the association between Slowpoke and Kagawa began in 2015, it wasn’t until 2018 that the Pokémon officially became one of the first local area ambassadors as part of The Pokémon Company’s Local Acts initiative, which pairs Pokémon with Japanese prefectures to promote each area’s charms.
Slowpoke has since appeared on Kagawa souvenirs, mailboxes and even manhole covers. It’s not uncommon for someone to don the Slowpoke mascot suit at various promotional events and festivals (Kagawa also has another official mascot character Udonnoww, i.e. “Udon Brain”- who literally seems to have udon on their mind).
These latest Pokémon pieces were made by Takamatsu Technical High School's Creative 7 group, which focuses on designing and making affordable Kagawa lacquerware items that people will want to buy — even including phone cases. The Pokémon items are just one part of the Kagawa Lacquerware PR Project, which aims to revitalize the local traditional art and ensure it is passed onto future generations.
Craft items created include a range of snoozing Slowpokes with different colored glazes and lacquered Pokéballs. These Pokémon-themed objects and other items by the group will be on display at the Kagawa-Ehime Setouchi Shunsaikan in Tokyo’s Shimbashi district for another week. Perhaps Slowpoke’s Regenerator ability can help make sure Kagawa lacquerware gets a figurative HP restore?
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
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