#have i actually used the eshop in the last few months? not really | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

anxiouslyeccentric · 6 months ago

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@three-dee-ess i figure im a lil late to the party but it'd be worng to not contribute my humble pile

From left to right top to bottom:

The blue 3DS XL belonged to my older brother, who let me use it to play my copy of Pokémon Y until our parents eventually bought me my own 2DS, the one all the way to the far right with its circle pad lovingly rubbed off XD. The XL 3DS for a few years was unplayable since my big brother had dropped it off of a desk while it was plugged in, damaging the charge port until i eventually found a place that could fix it, a place id eventually end up working at myself XD.

The orange new 2ds right below it was also my big brother's, this the replacement he'd bought and used after his first 3ds had its charge port damaged. From a few years stuffed in and out of tight pants pockers, the shell of the console became bent, and it had difficulty reading games until i ended up fixing the issue myself a few months after he decided to part with it.

The Special edition Pikachu 3DS was a Mercari find years ago when i was at my first job making bookoo money with no bills to pay, and decided 200 was a great price for Pikachu and him cheeks. Love this system, even though if you put it in sleep mode and carry it around for more than a few hours, it has an error and makes you turn off the system, so not a Walking-around-as-a-tourist 3DS unfortunately, but other than that and a minor chip in the shell, works perfect!

The blue base model is actually a modded japanese base model with a capture card installed! Ive yet to have time to properly use it in any kind of streaming capacity, but it's still with the box and has everything from the modder! I paid a pretty penny for it a few years back, but im not sure it would pull the same value today. Who knows!

The orange and white new 2ds with the target exclusive pikachu hard shell was a christmas gift from back in highschool. I spent many an off hour in my debate class's script room hunting shinys and playing pokemon Amie in my copy of Alpha sapphire for hours on end. Great times! It's lovingly adorned with stickers, and remains my most decorated 3ds.

And lastly, but certainly not least, my new 3ds with a healthy collection of kisekai plates. This was actually a 20th Anniversary pokemon red and blue edition that had its original box, inserts AND plates included with it! Paid about the same for the 3ds with the capture card, but this one had absolutely increased in price since my purchasing. The other plates id come across separately, all during my time with my first job. Generally i prefer having the 151 pokemon colored spites plates that are on it now, or the Blue Gingam Check plates, and i even purchased the matching theme for the system before the E-shop closed, so they match! This system is my current "main one" and has every pokemon virtual console software downloaded onto it pre eshop closure, and i just recently finally modded it for pretendo and Netpass, both of which work wonderfully!

Im really hoping pretendo can get the Pokémon chat Player Search System up and running eventually for Pokémon X, Y, omega ruby and alpha sapphire, since a bulk of my time with the 3ds was spent battling and wonder trading to my heart's content. I can only hope.

Currently im playing a lot of Tomodachii life, a game i picked up from my job last christmas as a gift to myself, and fantasy life! Both heavy hitters I'd recommend to anyone with a 3DS! But yea, buy a 3ds for a reasonable price, and mod that sucker! Use Net pass and play all the games you want! All emulation is ethical ethical emulation.

#pokemon #gamecube #good times #nintendo 3ds #nintendo switch #pokemon gamecube #3ds #nintendo #nintendo 3ds xl #new nintendo 3ds #new nintendo 3ds xl

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famicom-wars-advance · 2 years ago

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I decided to take a look through the Japanese Super Famicom Wars tag on Twitter, just to see what was there. I don't have any screenshots, because the only way I could look through Twitter without it telling me to get an account and barring me from looking at it was to be in secret mode, which keeps me from taking screenshots.

I was suprised to see it as active as it was. I was expecting there to maybe be 1 or 2 tweets this week, maybe 3 last month, but there was actually alot there. It was mostly people talking about the Eshops closing, being upset that the game will become much harder to find and hoping that it gets on NSO, but there was also alot of people talking about how much they love playing it and their nostalgia for it. Even some people posting about actually managing to get an original copy of it.

It feels, odd, seeing other people actually post about SFW outside of me and a few other people I'm aware of. With the western fanbase being so empty, I often forget that there are still alot of Japanese fans that care about the game.

There was also alot of people hoping that they drop DS2 on VC before before the Eshops close, since the game had a terrible release in Japan. It was released as a download only game for club nintendo members, right at the end of the DS' life cycle. The only way you could get the game being described as playing "Secondhand console gacha" at your local used games store to try and find a console that still had the game data on it. Not the exact wording, but you get the point.

While I was looking through this, I couldn't help but wonder why I got so attached to this game in specific. Believe it or not with as much as I post about it, I've never actually played Super Famicom Wars. Yes, I feel like the fakest fan ever, but something about the game fascinates me. The aesthetics and graphics of the game makes me feel oddly nostalgic, despite the fact that I didn't even exist when the game came out and never played any games similar to it. Like a really early childhood memory that I'll never remember. The weird lack of info around the game and it's shitpost of a cast help with keeping interest. I'll talk more about this in a few days, as I have something planned.

I wanna keep researching this game as much as I can, but I've kinda run out of places to look for info. I've gone through old magazines, websites, satellaview magazines, articles, I just can't really think of anywhere else to look besides asking the devs personally, which I can't really do since most of the dev team is either busy with FE or just straight up don't exist online. There is Hirata, who has a twitter, but I don't think my Japanese is good enough to be able to ask anything of significance.

Also some people tweeted about being scared of Billy which I found funny, being described as "The craziest CO in the Famicom Wars series"

#Text post #Ramblings #Super Famicom Wars

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bryan360 · 4 years ago

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So....What did you guys think about my first purchased DLC Fighter for Smash Bros Ultimate?

🐰👊💥May: *GASSSPP!* YOU GOT MIN MIN!! YOU GOT MIN MIN!! I can’t believe that you actually get the first DLC Fighter from Fighter Pass 2...as a stand-alone female ARMS fighter! You shouldn’t have, but who am I kidding! He got Min Min from ARMS!

🐰🖌Maxwell: He actually got Min Min from ARMS?! Shocked to see he’d chooses something trending over nostalgia like Banjo and Kazooie, even our dad is slightly disappointed that he used to like playing Banjo and Kazooie game since childhood and wishing for our A-Pal to get Banjo and Kazooie DLC first, but never happen. At least he’s feeling fine a little. Don’t worry that our A-Pal will eventually getting Banjo and Kazooie later in the few months soon, dad.

🦊⚽️Sam: Yeah. Also at least you can accept for our sister in a good mood today. As for our A-Pal purchased Min Min, I think it was a good one to try something new since she’s been released back in June 29th, 2020.

🐰🖌Maxwell: I guess so too. *Shrug*

🐰👊💥May: Mine as well! ^^

Anyways you guys, I just did get Min Min as my first DLC Fighter purchased back in July 4th last week and yes that it was something trending, but in a good way since her popular debut from the game ARMS; not to mention she won a Party Crash Bash last year. She was a unique one as her gameplay I’d go through was alright. Like her special moves when I pressed A and B button was her arms attack and can charge a Smash Attack by hold the button til her Dragon Arm laser shots. Her up special when on the ground can lift Min Min boost her jump really high and down special that she can change weapons on her right arm for something powerful like a Megawatt or a Ramram for quick attack.

🐰👊💥May: Don’t forget her final smash that one caught from Min Min’s left Dragon Arm attack, calls out all ARMS fighters to helping “hands” as they can deal LOT of punches at one opponent til Min Min finished this with her left Dragon Arm Laser attack at the end. Gonna say it was pretty great and thank goodness the developers didn’t get to copied from Spring Man’s Assist Trophy attack instead....or so what I’d heard ^^*

🐰🖌Maxwell: Gotta say it was cool he’d purchased and played Min Min for the first time. Also her stage would be fitting if it’s a Ramen Bowl one, but Spring Stadium was good too....with a ‘springs’ in it.

🦊⚽️Sam: It’s a thumbs up for us, but guessing that’s all he’d just had one DLC fighter purchased for $6.00. We can wait to look on Banjo and Kazooie DLC in few months soon.

I don’t think I’d purchased just one content, though. I made a second one for a new Mii Costume that you gonna be in next surprise....*wink*

🐰🖌Maxwell: a Cuphead Mii Costume, of course! It cost about $0.80 less and you still had some money into your eshop account.

I know. At least this one Mii Costume that I’d purchased was something I always wanted as hoping to get Banjo and Kazooie in few months soon.

🦊⚽️Sam: Cuphead....what a interesting purchased you’ve got, but along with Min Min from ARMS was good too. *thumbs up*

@murumokirby360

#tumblr post #special post #super smash bros #super smash bros ultimate #nintendo switch #my first purchased dlc fighter #min min #arms #ramen bomber #stand alone female fighter #cuphead #mii costume #dlc contents #photos #pics #july 2020 #july 6th 2020

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kikaiz · 6 years ago

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If you don’t understand why there’s so many dislikes and uproar about Nintendo’s online service that’s launching tomorrow, let me just provide ya’ll a list, because I feel terrible for the majority of folks that don’t know. And no, this isn’t about the price, it’s about what we’re paying for.

Disclaimer: Let me know if any of this information is wrong with evidence, and I’ll update the info. Everything will be under the Read More so that misinformation doesn’t spread and because frankly, it’s long.

The overall comparisons!

Note: There is a bit of bias here because I am angry and because I don’t care about NES games. Also not everything I’ve listed are things I care about but I know would bother someone out there so they’re in this list. Also here’s the links for the American and Japanese trailers if you’re curious how the dislike ratio has become since this post.

**Price per year**

❎ $60 (Xbox) 🅿️ $60 (PlayStation) 🆘 $20 (Switch Online Service)

**Servers**

❎ Dedicated server 🅿️ Dedicated server 🆘 Peer to Peer WiFi (your own internet server)

**Online and Party Chat**

❎ Need service to play online however, you don’t need it to access apps and services. Membership required for Party chat (thru the system itself). 🅿️ Need service to play online however, you don’t need it to access apps and services or Party chat (thru the system itself). Members also gain a few extra features, including automatic downloads of game updates, early access to some betas, and extended game trials of certain titles. Allows you to share one subscription with all users of the console. 🆘 Need service to play online. Splatoon becomes unplayable offline. No apps available (Netflix, YouTube, browser). Requires smart phone and app in order to Party chat. No Netflix, YouTube, or browser. No themes or messaging.

**Cloud Saves**

❎ Cloud saving for all games as well as free usb transfers. Cloud is also available Free to Everyone and not just paying members. 🅿️ Cloud saving for all games as well as free usb transfers. Unsubscribed members cloud saves are kept for a 6 month grace period. 🆘 Cloud saves for games except Splatoon 2 and Pokémon. No way to back up data otherwise, despite SD card saving being available on Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. Edit: One week after the service launched, we finally got information that there is indeed a 6 month grace period for your cloud saves if you’ve unsubscribed. (Technically 1 year, 6 months, 22 days for this information if we’re counting from when the switch launched.)

**Free Games**

❎ 2 free Xbox one games and 2 Xbox 360 games every month, all new triple A quality. If you unsubscribe, you’ll lose access to these games. However if you resub, you will have access to them and their saves again. Xbox 360 games can be kept regardless of subbing. (Note: xbox 1 is backwards compatible that’s why I’m listing Xbox 360 info) 🅿️ 2 free new triple A games every month. If you unsubscribe, you’ll lose access to these games. However if you resub, you will have access to them and their saves again. 🆘 20 NES games. That’s it. Just these twenty 33 year old games with “more to come”. However they will cycle. When 20 new ones come the old 20 are gone and you do not own them. If you are away from wifi for 7 days (whether that be a storm or a vacation), you cannot play the NES games you paid for. Edit: The co op plays with friends seems seamless and fun for games I don’t plan on playing. WARNING: Do not use the CRT filter on the NES games because they’ll have a temporary “burn in” effect on your switch screen due to how the pixels vibrate. This eventually goes away on its own over time (and not by turning on and off your system) but I wouldn’t chance it, personally.

**Game Discounts or Special Offers**

❎ Many discounts for members but there are a few sales for non members too. 🅿️ The store regularly has discounts for everyone. However members may get a better deal. If a game is 60% off for a regular, it could be 80% off for a member. 🆘 So far the only special offers are NES controllers (only available if you’re a member of the Online service. This means you’ll be paying $80 total) and exclusive sports gear for Splatoon 2.

**Other Info** 🆘

https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/13/17855056/nintendo-switch-online-launch-user-accounts-unlink-how-to

A personal rant from a Splatoon fan! 🦑🐙

When I’d heard about the online being mandatory for Splatoon 2, I was saddened but I understood, especially under the assumption that I would be paying for servers to run to improve disconnectivity drops. I had no problems with just that. And the price was affordable for me to boot.

Then I learned that I cannot back up my save data. I heard about 3rd party docks bricking switches and losing saves, of people who’s switches were stolen at E3′s and losing their saves.

Then I learned that Splatoon 2′s saves aren’t tied to the account or to Nintendo but to each individual switch itself.

Then I found out cloud saves will not work on Splatoon 2 and upcoming Pokemon games “to prevent cheating”. So not only can I not back up by SD card like we have been for the last 12 years, but I can’t save my 700+ hours of Splatoon at all. All to prevent save scumming... despite there already being plenty of Splatoon hackers already that do a lot worse than save scumming. And there are solutions to these problems so that cloud saving is possible for every game!

I just can’t protect my Splatoon 2 data... Not all the weapons I’ve bought, every outfit I’ve bought and leveled up, not my ranks. The only game I would actually care about losing my progress cannot be backed up.

Then I found out I’m not even paying for a better server. It’s going to continue to be peer to peer using our own wifi.

I do not play other online games. Sure some games I would love to play with friends like minecraft and dragon quest builders 2 and pokemon, but I can live without it since local multiplayer is still free. Splatoon however becomes unplayable offline. You cannot even go to the store to buy new outfits. The only part of Splatoon I could play offline are the single player mode and DLC but I’ve already 100% those.

The Splatoon series is my favorite... It’s the first time a game made me feel good about myself and my aim and actually made me improve myself irl. I don’t mind paying for online if I’m actually going to get something out of it. It’s been over a year of delaying this online and they haven’t changed anything for me.

I’ll probably cave in the end... I just love Splatoon so much and I want to play all the new updates and keep getting better. But for now, I’ll try to boycott for as long as possible, maybe use my 1 free week trial for the October splatfest if it’s spooky. But until then, I hope people who will boycott with me will return to Splatoon 1 until Nintendo adds something. I don’t expect this boycott or our message to get to Nintendo in the end. I think there are already too many people blinded by the cheap price and lack of information and upcoming Smash game. I don’t want to pay for something like this.

What would make me feel better about this service:

I just want to know that I won’t lose my Splatoon progress if my switch gets damaged or stolen.

I want confirmation that my Splatoon progress is tied to my account not my system.

I also think Cloud Saves in general should be free for all if there’s no other way to backup saves. (I would say give us SD card backups but I don’t believe games like Splatoon and Pokemon should have those because that’s local save scumming and we don’t want that.) Right now, Nintendo is the only ones charging us to protect our saves.

I want a word from Nintendo that servers will improve in the future, otherwise Peer to Peer should be free and dedicated servers should be paid for. I know for sure that hardcore Smash players would pay for dedicated servers.

Personally, I don’t mind about NES (because I won’t play them) or the phone app (splatnet2 is great and I can just keep using discord or like the actual phone). HOWEVER, I really really need a real way to block/ban players in splatoon 2 in-game and not using the App, (as well as a way to Un-yeah a post in the lobby from accidental clicks but that’s more a splatoon problem than a phone problem.)

Sure what I asked for is taking out all the good stuff from the Online service but imagine this. Imagine if Switch Online actually had things worth paying for. Imagine your themes and browser apps and mutual best friend messaging. Imagine games other than NES coming to that service they’re providing eventually. Imagine bigger sales available on eshop that notifies you when games on your wishlist are on sale. It’s so cheap many more people would buy and keep a subscription without all this controversy. It’s taken them a year to pull this off and they’ve got nothing for it. Why? Because they know people will pay for it anyway.

I want to be wrong about all this, trust me. At the very least, Nintendo is at fault for making about 18k people really really upset and anxious with poor communication.

FAQ

“You knew you were going to have to pay for a service so you shouldn’t have bought a multiplayer game like Splatoon.”

I was under the impression for over a year with no other info that I would be paying for dedicated servers along with the Online.

“Stop complaining, this was a really long free trial and you knew that.”

Yep! And they kept delaying it. And delaying it. And delaying it. So I think we were all assuming Nintendo had a big surprise they were delaying all this for to make it worth the wait. It’s not.

“It’s $20 a year, that’s way cheaper than the competition. Of course it’s not going to have a lot of offers.”

Yes, I agree! But for me this is less than what I expected and trust me I was not expecting much. This is less than the basics.

“So you bought a $300 switch, $60 game, $20 DLC, and $70 pro controller but you can’t pay $20 a year? Sure.”

I want to pay $20 a year for a service not a hostage situation. Sorry if I seem upset about having a gun to my head.

“The Wii U was a failure. Nintendo needs the money. Do you want them to go bankrupt?”

Don’t sympathize with billion dollar companies like they have feelings. We have problem of treating large companies like people instead of money producing companies, especially if there’s nostalgia attached. “Don’t be mean to Nintendo, they’re having a rough time.” The sooner more people realize this, the better. And no they’re not in need of money. They have $10.5 billion in the bank. For some perspective that’s 35 million switches. For further perspective if just one second was a dollar, that’s 333 years. They’re fine.

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

Because I want Nintendo to succeed. I don’t want them to have EA levels of controversy. I don’t want them to worm their way to EA levels of anti-consumerism. We already have loot boxes in a free mobile game. And now the free online we’ve had for 12 years is under a paywall. I’m not mad about either of these. I just don’t want it to get any worse than that. I don’t want Nintendo to think they can get away with the bare minimum just because “they’ll buy it anyway.” Nintendo has been making great leaps forward with the switch but things like this severely set them back.

#nintendo online #splatoon 2 #vote with your wallets #the animation for the service was cute but the service itself angers me rn #make it better so i can play splatoon again with peace of mind #i honestly just feel like luigi throughout the entire trailer #i'll probably come back to this and make the list less biased but gosh i feel like im being ripped off #i literally got selected for a random survey from nintendo just now lol i think it's for the site itself tho

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mikegranich87 · 3 years ago

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Nintendo Switch OLED review: Beautiful, but not a must-have

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Though they don’t come out with the annual frequency of an iPhone, video game consoles can always be counted on to have a few mid-cycle refreshes (think: the PlayStation 4 Pro or Xbox One X). This week it’s Nintendo giving the OG Switch a makeover, adding an OLED screen and a few other exterior tweaks. But it’s basically the same system on the inside, so don’t call it the Switch Pro. It’s officially dubbed the Nintendo Switch OLED, because calling it the “slightly nicer Switch” doesn’t really move units from the shelves. If you’ve already invested in a Switch or Switch Lite you won’t need the upgrade, but if you’re still Switch-less this is the model to buy.

It’s $50 more than the original, which is not being pulled from shelves just yet. For $350, the new Switch has a full 7-inch OLED screen, a step up from the older model’s 6.2-inch display. The larger screen size is appreciated, though after six hours of playing it in handheld mode I didn’t notice the difference as much.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

What did catch my attention when I switched back to the original were the chunky bezels around the 6.2-inch display. I’ve never liked them and found them to be one of the least attractive things about the system. Now they make me recoil in disgust when I compare them to the OLED model’s slim lines, which have been whittled to a third of the size. The matte plastic frame around the screen has also shrunk and changed to a glossy plastic, making it even less obtrusive.

As for the display itself: yes, it is noticeably brighter. There’s enough of a difference that in my initial hands-on I was dismayed when I returned to my personal Switch at home hours later. When placed side by side, the difference is undeniable. The colors pop just a bit more, the blacks are deeper and the whites are… more white, with the original having a slight lavender tint in contrast to the purer white of the OLED screen.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

While not every game will benefit from better colors, Nintendo is also releasing Metroid Dread the same day. Like all titles in the series, the game traffics in a lot of dark spaces, with the bright pop of Samus’ red and yellow (or blue) armor contrasting nicely alongside backgrounds of brown and gray. It’s a good showcase for the OLED’s improved color fidelity and just a nice-looking game in general, which distracts from the fact that the new Switch doesn’t bring any actual improvements under the hood.

The CPU and GPU go unaltered, which ensures that all future Switch titles remain compatible with existing Switch and Switch Lite systems. This is pretty much in keeping with the Game Boy Advance and 3DS lines of products, which saw some radical redesigns like the Game Boy micro and 2DS over their lifespans. Sure, there were handhelds like the DSi and New 3DS that came with improved internal specs, but those never saw widespread adoption. The Switch OLED is a lot more like the Game Boy Advance SP: significant improvements to the display and form factor, but the same old library of games.

Alongside that new display are a bunch of minor tweaks that don’t seem like much when considered individually, but as a whole really improve the experience. The most notable is the new stand on the back. The one on the original Switch is small and roughly a finger’s width, with only two positions: open and closed. The one on my original launch unit no longer locks in the “closed” position and has a tendency to flop out when I’m playing in handheld mode. It also detaches completely if you look at it funny.

The Switch OLED’s stand is an entirely different beast. Instead of a skinny little strip, it’s now a Microsoft Surface-style panel that stretches across the back of the entire unit, with real hinges that can be left in a number of positions so you can now put your unit at whatever angle you prefer. I wouldn’t try to pull this thing off; the hinges are actually molded into the plastic, so if you do break it, it’ll have to go off to the Nintendo repair shop to get fixed up.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

To accommodate the new stand a bunch of stuff has been moved around on the back of the Switch unit. The logo is now printed on the stand itself, so it’s been moved to the lower half of the rear. The manufacturing info, like the parts number and voltage, is now printed in black on the black plastic, underneath the stand. So it’s doubly hidden — a subtle but welcome improvement. The rear speakers have been moved to the bottom edge of the unit, where they also serve as a way to pull the stand out. It’s actually very thoughtful, while providing clear game audio and minimizing system noise. And, while the microSD hasn’t been completely relocated, it’s now placed parallel to the bottom edge. I assume this small change is to keep users from accidentally pulling out the card when they’re trying to adjust the stand. The one thing that hasn’t been relocated is the USB-C port on the bottom, so you still can’t recharge it in tabletop mode.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

There are fewer changes to the device’s top edge, with the most notable being a button redesign resulting in longer, thinner power and volume switches. The new buttons aren’t easier to hit, but they do look sleeker and feel better under my fingers thanks to the textured plastic of the Switch OLED. The system is actually just nicer to hold now, like when it kept the sweat from pooling under my clammy hands during a particularly stressful boss fight in Metroid Dread.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

Because the Switch OLED has to be compatible with all existing accessories, that means the unit is the same height and width as the original model. The Joy-Cons haven’t gotten a redesign, but hopefully the infamous “Joy-Con drift” has been eradicated by now. The new black and white color scheme is very nice, a step up from my all-gray launch unit in terms of style. If you like a more playful color palette, the Switch OLED can also be bought with red and blue Joy-Cons, or you can swap any other Joy-Cons you want. But the white ones don’t show scratches as easily as the other shades, so they’ll look spiffy for longer.

The one change in the system’s dimensions is the weight, thanks to the OLED screen. When handling the original and new Switch side by side, the difference is undeniable. But it’s not a big enough divide to make the Switch OLED less portable in any way. Subjectively, it might actually seem a bit lighter, possibly because the weight is well-distributed. The one thing about the build that feels like a step down is that the OLED model has a tiny bit of flex in the middle of the rear panel that’s not present in the original. However, it doesn’t make much of a difference to the build quality unless you’re planning to take a hammer to the back of the unit.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

Because the system keeps the same internals, that means the battery has gone unchanged as well. It’s the same as the refreshed 2019 battery, which offers between four and nine hours of battery life compared to the launch unit’s cap of six hours. However, the new OLED should be more power-efficient than the LCD, and in use it appears to be. I got almost seven hours of Metroid Dread before I got the “low battery” warning at 15 percent, and that’s a game that makes frequent use of vibration. Compare that to the four or five hours I tend to get out of my OG Switch, even when playing something fairly tame like Animal Crossing or Untitled Goose Game.

If you already have an existing Switch, you can drop the OLED model into your current dock and it will work just fine. But the system does come with its own, redesigned dock that you might want to set up. It looks a lot nicer thanks to its rounded corners and glossy black plastic on the inside (which admittedly will probably scratch up over time). The back panel isn’t great, as it feels flimsy and can come off completely (so you may lose it). But all of these are outweighed by the important addition of an ethernet port.

Prior to this, the Switch has always been intended as a wireless system, and it hasn’t been stellar. Early models had a tendency to “forget” how to connect to your WiFi, forcing you to restart the system. And even now, downloading from the Nintendo eShop can be pokey; even with the OLED model I had to leave my system sitting for an hour or two while it downloaded games wirelessly. But now you can just plug in a cable for a faster, more reliable connection. If you have one in your living room, that is. Many people don’t, which makes this a feature for the more technical-minded fans. It’s the one new feature of the Switch OLED that I would consider “pro” level, and if you have a place to plug in it’s certainly worth the $50 premium.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

Overall, the Switch OLED is a nice system coming out at an odd time, as it’s been over four years since the release of the original Switch. Based on Nintendo’s past release history, that would indicate a new console some time around 2023. So it’s a big ask of people to buy a $350 system if something better is just around the corner. (Nintendo has categorically denied that it has plans for a new Switch as recently as last week, but that doesn’t preclude that one will come out eventually.)

There’s also the specter of the Steam Deck in December, just two short months from now (assuming no delays). It's far more powerful than the Switch, and is also much larger, but promises access to almost the entire Steam library, which happens to overlap with the current Nintendo eShop quite a bit. The biggest selling point for the Switch OLED is access to storied franchises like Mario and Zelda, as well as the incredible bargain that is Switch Online. But you don’t need an OLED screen or wired ethernet to enjoy old NES, SNES, N64 and Genesis titles.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

If you’re not going to be able to plug it into ethernet, or don’t need better speeds because you play offline all the time, the choice to upgrade to a Switch OLED is tricky. If you always play on the TV, there’s absolutely no point in buying this one, as there’s no difference in the dock’s output quality. It’s going to look the same as it always has, as this is most definitely not the rumored upgrade to 4K. But even if you’re a handheld player it’s not a must-have, unless you’ve given up on your original Switch because you just really, really hate LCD displays, or absolutely need more than five hours of battery life.

from Mike Granich https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-switch-oled-review-130025998.html?src=rss

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4colorrebellion · 5 years ago

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4cr Plays - Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Mario and Sonic are, unquestionably, two of the biggest titans of the gaming world - eternally popular characters who somehow, against all odds, work well in a variety of settings. Yet, they rarely meet. Sure, they can brawl in Smash Bros, but everybody is in that. Dedicated crossovers are rare.

The Olympics, apparently, is just the event needed to bring these two heroes together. It makes sense - the real-world Olympics bring together the best athletes from around the world. Why couldn’t it bring together two of the icons of gaming?

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is my first foray into the “Mario and Sonic Crash an Athletic Event” series, and I had all sorts of questions. There is a story mode. Would it offer any explanation of how - or even why - everybody decided to show up in the real world? Would the two of them take on normal humans? If so, how could anybody beat Sonic at something involving running? Even more pressing, how could a portly plumber beat an actual athlete? Is the Mushroom Kingdom considered a country in the Olympics? Or... whatever country or world Sonic is from?

Read on for my impressions. Some of these questions are even answered. I was surprised too!

Alright, here’s the deal - M&S 2020 (I needed to shorten that somehow) is a sports-themed minigame collection for one to four players (locally) or two to eight players (online). Take basically any sport represented in the olympics, and it will be represented here - relays, sprints, archery, karate, you name it - even skateboarding and surfing are represented.

Rather than competing against normal humans, characters from the Mario and Sonic franchises take each other on in the event. The specifics - number of players, controls - vary based on the event, but in general, each minigame attempts to recreate the feeling of taking part in that competition. That is a bit vague, but we can take archery as a simple example. In archery, you press a button to draw the bow, use the stick to aim - fighting against your shaking hands - and release to fire. In many of the running events, you press to focus energy while waiting for the whistle, then spam a button while running to pick up some extra speed.

Since there are a lot of ways to play the Switch, there are also a lot of ways to control each event. For instance, I played quite a lot in handheld mode, using pure button controls (that is, with the joycons attached to the Switch). You can also play most events with two detached joycons, or even with one single joycon. The latter mode will obviously be a bit simpler, but can be nice for a party where you need to spread the controllers among a larger number of players.

This is the second time the summer Olympics have been held in Tokyo - with the first being back in 1964. This is a great excuse for a throwback, so a number of minigames have been included that call back to the previous games. They do this in exactly the way you’d expect - using older pixel style to represent those events. The central plot of the story mode revolves around this. Dr. Eggman has created a game system containing the Tokyo 64 game - as well as a nasty surprise. The system sucks Mario and Sonic in, along with Eggman, Bowser, and Toad. Inside the system, the good guys and bad guys have to compete for gold medals to free themselves, while in the modern world, the remaining characters compete to free the trapped heroes and villains.

The modern events are depicted in 3D, with the modern look for the characters. The Tokyo 64 versions are in 2D, with 8-bit Mario sprites and 16-bit Sonic sprites (against generally 8-bit-ish backdrops). The throwback isn’t just in terms of the appearance either - the modern games tend to be a bit more complicated, while the retro events feel like they dropped out of something like Summer Games. In total, there are about 20 modern events and 10 classic Tokyo 64 events, giving you plenty to try out. There are also three special “dream” events - shooting, racing, and karate - that feel a little more substantial.

My actual enjoyment of the minigames varied quite a bit, depending on which ones I tried. To be honest, I think many of them are actually a little overcomplicated - a little too much to try to work through in a multiplayer setting. Several of the events depend too much on endless button mashing, and I almost started yelling at a canoeing event - one that depended on rapid, timed spinning of the analog stick - that brought back flashbacks of an early Mario Party.

That said, I also quite enjoyed a number of the games. The versions of skating and surfing are both quite fun - simple, but satisfying, timed runs where you attempt to pull off as many combos as you can. I also really liked the shooting and archery events. The retro diving event, where you try to match button patterns in a narrow timing window - representing mid-air movements - was also quite satisfying to master.

This is a minigame collection. While it can be played alone (as I mostly did in preparing the review), it feels like it was designed for multiplayer. If you don’t have a bunch of friends to invite over, I would skip it. While several of the games are fun, they really do work best as quick bursts of fun with a few friends. That said, the story mode is fairly substantial, and acts as a great way to introduce you to all of the games. It is, absolutely, worth working your way through. I just might skip the game if you have no plans to dig into the multiplayer.

Strangely enough, an area where M&S 2020 really pretty well is as an advertisement for Tokyo tourism. In the real world, the Olympics will take place at a number of sites in the Tokyo area. In the game, these events take place where they will in the real world. Likewise, the Tokyo 64 events take place in their equivalents from the 1964 games. In the story mode, you get to wander around these sites - at least, within a small portion of the site. However, you aren’t just running around stadiums and race tracks. You also get to visit several of the major tourist sites in the city - such a Tokyo Station, the Tokyo Tower, Skytree, Asakusa, and a number of others. You can run around a small recreation of each area, and talk to Mario and Sonic characters about these tourist sites. Each area also has a number of trivia questions you can uncover and answer.

Maybe it was the fact that I was just in Tokyo a couple of months ago, but I really enjoyed seeing some of the places that were still fairly fresh in my memory. A Shy Guy laments that Tokyo Station is hard to navigate. I could certainly sympathize. Still, a major part of the Olympics is seeing how the setting influences everything from the mascots, to the ceremonies, to how the sports themselves are conducted. It was cool to see the game make an attempt to present the setting in the same way. Likewise, it’s cool to see the differences between 1964 and 2020 Tokyo - even ignoring the pixel versus polygon difference, you can see just how much Tokyo has grown and changed in the decades since the last event.

M&S 2020 looks fantastic, and performs well, on the Switch. The 3D sections are clean and colorful, lovingly recreating the Tokyo setting. The 2D sections also look great - although the mix of 16-bit Sonic and 8-bit Mario can be a little jarring at times. Framerates are rock-solid, and I didn’t experience bugs or glitches of any kind during my time with the game. It’s solid across the board, and it was clear that SEGA put quite a bit of work into the game.

If you are looking for a party game on the Switch, M&S 2020 is worth a look. While the minigames are a bit mixed, many are quite satisfying. The game offers a huge variety of events, makes great use of its Tokyo setting, and hosts a substantial story mode. The polish and care that went into the release are quite nice - you can tell that getting things right for the Tokyo games was a priority for the Japanese developer. M&S 2020 is a solid pick for your next gaming party.

A copy of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was provided for this review.

Nintendo eShop

Official Website

#video games #review #nintendo #switch #Sega #mario & sonic at the olympic games #tokyo #greg4cr

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samanthasroberts · 6 years ago

Text

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators

http://bit.ly/2Eq5KzI

Cataloged in Holidays

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators

January Nelson Updated December 11, 2018

If you still haven’t finished your holiday shopping, you should think about buying these last-minute gifts suggested by Ask Reddit.

1. Mason jar + equal parts granulated sugar and veg oil + either a few drops of essential oil OR some lemon zest OR vanilla extract = boutique grade body scrub.

2. Buy tickets online for a upcoming play, dinner & show, concert, game, etc. Print out page of ticket confirmation and put it in a nice Christmas card envelope. It’s an awesome gift because people tend to love it more than clothing or other junk you usually give. And if you’re parents are like mine, they barely take the initiative to go to these type of events themselves or don’t even know about them. Experience > material goods.

3. Run to the grocery store, pick up chocolate morsels, butter, and cream.

Takes about five hours to make 200 chocolate truffles. Easy to make them different flavors as well. (Orange, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Cinnamon Honey are the good with milk chocolate. Peppermint, Khalua, and Matcha are good with dark chocolate. Peppermint and matcha are fantastic with white chocolate.)

4. At least for men, my go-to is always a beard or personal grooming kit. It’s likely something that they wouldn’t buy themselves, and many haven’t felt the exhilaration of a peppermint shampoo. Men deserve a little pampering and self care too!

5. I think mugs make a good last minute gift because they’re available at most stores, pretty cheap for a gift, and will actually be used by the recipient.

6. Socks. High-end, badass, toasty warm (if you live where it gets cold) socks. Smartwool/Darn Tough/etc.. They may “meh” at it early on, but will thank you later. Maybe even very later, but it’ll be appreciated (a lot) eventually.

7. Most people I know don’t have bluetooth hook ups in their car, FM Transmitters are absolutely fantastic, they’re relatively cheap and life changers for folks that like to listen to music while driving, Probably $15 and under.

One of those copper chef/gotham steel type skillets. They’re fantastic, less than $20, endless use.

8. Cookie/brownie mix in a mason jar with instructions on a card and a bow.

Or a visa gift card.

9. Fancy pasta, fancy jarred sauce, nice block of parm cheese, in a serving bowl with a kitchen towel. You can do this as expensively or as cheaply as you want.

I also loved a book called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee (basically, a woman exploring Chinese food in the USA as well as her own Chinese roots, and the history of fortune cookies… really fascinating). She talks a lot about soy sauce in that book, so I’ve given that book with a bottle of “real” soy sauce many times. I love sharing things I love with other people, so that’s a gift I love to give.

10. Subscription box. Like coffee? Subscription box. Board games? Subscription box. Make up? Subscription box. Ties or socks or yarn or hot sauce or tea or beer or wine or Japanese candy or marvel or harry porter or fitness? Subscription mother-fuckin box.

11. Go to the dollar store and grab some over the hand oven mitts, then head to the grocery store and get cake & brownie mixes, hand write the baking directions on a decorated index card or slip of paper. Personalize each one with a message or somesuch. Bam.

12. If it’s someone you’re fairly close to, print out a photo of the two of you and put it in a frame. It feels thoughtful, but can also be done in less than an hour and is cheap.

13. Depends how well I know them, or if I’ve used the same trick before – but it’s probably a cast iron skillet. Costs $20 for a good one (rhymes with dodge), and I always get thanked for it, like a year later.

14. Aldi.

A million calories of chocolate for about twenty quid.

Enough to distribute to everyone.

15. Here is what I do every year.

I go buy gift certificates for my favorite restaurants, and gift cards from Best Buy. I then put them in Christmas cards with no name on them.

I keep some in the house and some in my car.

If someone gives me a gift, I say “Wait a minute, I have something for you too” and go get the card. I quickly write their name on it and hand it to them.

Its worked out perfectly for me for years. I give everyone that gives me something, and if I end up with extra gift certificates or gift cards, I just use them on myself.

16. I make them an elaborate Christmas card with an etymology of their name. It’s always a hit and has more meaning than a gift card.

17. Good pair of headphones.

18. I make very good gingerbread cookies and decorate them very elaborately, like I’ll draw a portrait of them in frosting or I draw a cartoon character they like. Im pretty good at it.

19. Chia pet. So many varieties. ‘Ironic’ gift for those recipients, awesome gift for the others.

Either way you are a hero!

20. Those soft-ass blankets you find in any store around Christmas time. And then I buy one more for me. Every goddamn year

21. For girls: anything from Anthropologie. They have a great gifts and the quality/craftsmanship is decent. That and they gift wrap beautifully for free! I use this for last minute birthday gifts quite often and it always impresses.

For guy: gift cards or booze. Guys appreciate utility.

22. Nail place… Women will go wild over a free mani-pedi.

23. A bottle of their favorite spirits, or for non-drinkers/kids, a book.

24. BOOKS!

There is a book on literally any topic ever.

Fan of Formula 1? Book.

Fan of Jujitsu? Book.

Like economic news? Book.

Porn? Book.

Lonely? Book.

Want to improve yourself? Book.

And you can get books everywhere. Online, in store, thrift stores, little free libraries, everywhere.

25. Houseplants!

I usually have lots of spiderplant babies and keep a few small pots on hand. Great for all occasions.

26. Those Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift boxes.

27. For a family – Get a tin bucket of gourmet holiday popcorn (caramel / chocolate flavored popcorn) to share.

For a dude – Get a bottle of fancy champagne or other booze like whisky or bourbon.

For anyone younger than 30 – Get an Amazon gift card.

For a kid – Give them a $50 dollar bill. They likely never handle money and if they do, the $50 looks so much better than the $20. Easy way to become the cool uncle.

For a girl – Get them a gift certificate to a local salon, a big blanket, or fun warm socks (not regular socks but those nicer holiday woven socks).

For your mom – Get her an ornament that has sentimental value, or, go to the mall (who does that anymore) and get them to hand paint an ornament on the spot with the family name & year on it.

For your dad – Get him NFL or NBA tickets.

28. Things that are consumable… everyone has way too many junk trinkets just because someone felt they had to buy something.

Ground coffee from a local coffee shop (if you know the person has a grinder, get whole bean, but not everyone does). They usually have fun Christmas flavors this time of year.

A bottle of dry wine or champagne.

Nice candles (go for ones that are soy based and have lids) or liquid hand soap.

29. Who wants lottery tickets?!?!?!

30. If we’re talking non-money gifts you know what’s a great go to? TJ Maxx. They are just a hodgepodge of random stuff and they have bailed me out so much when it comes to gift giving because with all the things they have you are bound to find something for everyone.

31. Home made egg nog, Irish cream, or Kahlúa. Most people will love one of the three, they are easy to make, made by hand, affordable, and our gifts that go away.

32. I’d bake a bunch of stuff or make fancy looking caramel apples. If I give people food, they seem to be satisfied.

33. I’ll do a blanket/candle/bottle of wine/nice beer and fudge,

OR a movie/board game and stop by the dollar store for a shower caddy, fill it with popcorn, movie candies, etc if it’s for a family. Do a caddy and filler per family member.

34. Starbucks gift card. Everyone loves Starbucks.

35. Lego. Lego for the nephew, lego for dad, lego for mom, lego for granny, lego for EVERYONE!

36. Spicery subscription for three months. Print out the confirmation and chuck it in an envelope. I’ve gifted this twice and both recipients said that they never wanted any other present from me – just for that subscription to repeat.

37. If it’s last minute, I tried to go to a clothing store I know they have clothes from. Throughout the year I’ll ask “bro, nice jacket, where’d you get it?” Then I remember their spot and get them a gift card.

Then to cover my ass cause some people are weird about gift cards I say “I saw a _____ while shopping but I couldn’t remember your size/didn’t know what color you’d like/etc.”

38. Magazine subscriptions. The New Yorker. Times Literary Supplement. New Scientist. Private Eye. Done them all.

39. Mom – Candles and epsom salts.

Brother – Steam/eShop card, or go to a second hand store and find a game I think he’d like.

Dad – Itunes Gift Card or some kind of sports paraphernalia.

Girlfriend – something that reminds me of her, or that I think she’d love (last Christmas it was a pair of socks that said ,”I’m a delicate fucking flower”).

40. I buy ten copies of the best book I’ve read all year and wrap em in newspaper.

Proof of success: I do this every year

41. A brick of batteries. Everybody needs batteries, nobody will say no to batteries, and they will think of you when they are in a pinch and realize you got them a BRICK of batteries.

Great practical gift.

42. Throw blankets from the 24-hour drugstore. They’re $15 and nice enough that I use them myself. This is also my go-to for any gift swap at the office/with people I don’t know super well.

43. Pictures! Take a picture of something the receiver will like, or find one you might already have, throw it in a cheap frame and WABANG

44. Go to CVS and get a gift card (they have Amazon, iTunes, random others). Swing buy a restaurant and grab a gift card for that place. Last ditch, don’t have time to get a hard copy of a gift card- just buy one online that you can email.

45. Luxury kitchen stuff.

There’s a great kitchen & dinnerware shop within walking distance of my home. I can get pretty dinnerware, flatware, glasses and linens in a range of styles, and they have durable, high quality cookware for the more practically minded people. It’s my go to gift-shop, because everyone eats.

46. Lava Lamp!

No one has one.

They’re 20$

Oh, and it’s neat.

47. I’d bring them all to a restaurant and pay for their meal-> easy way to make a party and present at the same time without having to worry about what to buy them since they can order themselves what they want

48. Pharmacies always have cheap last minute crap like travel manicure kits and hot sauce samplers.

49. You get a box of chocolate! You get a box of chocolate! And you get a box of chocolate! Everyone gets a box of chocolate!!!

50. Cash, candy, and/or alcohol.

Image Credit: Anthony Tran

is cataloged in Last Minute Gifts, Presents

What if kindness was cool?

What if you could live a life that would make YOU jealous? What if you could make just one person’s day better with a few simple words of encouragement? is a book of inspirational words that will keep you fighting and ask you never to give up on life, yourself, or others. Open a page to start your day, frame a page that inspires you to keep living, share a page with a friend who needs support, or leave one behind for a complete stranger to brighten their day.

Join The Kindness Revolution

Source: http://allofbeer.com/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/04/22/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/

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adambstingus · 6 years ago

Text

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators

http://bit.ly/2Eq5KzI

Cataloged in Holidays

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators

January Nelson Updated December 11, 2018

If you still haven’t finished your holiday shopping, you should think about buying these last-minute gifts suggested by Ask Reddit.

1. Mason jar + equal parts granulated sugar and veg oil + either a few drops of essential oil OR some lemon zest OR vanilla extract = boutique grade body scrub.

3. Run to the grocery store, pick up chocolate morsels, butter, and cream.

5. I think mugs make a good last minute gift because they’re available at most stores, pretty cheap for a gift, and will actually be used by the recipient.

One of those copper chef/gotham steel type skillets. They’re fantastic, less than $20, endless use.

8. Cookie/brownie mix in a mason jar with instructions on a card and a bow.

Or a visa gift card.

9. Fancy pasta, fancy jarred sauce, nice block of parm cheese, in a serving bowl with a kitchen towel. You can do this as expensively or as cheaply as you want.

12. If it’s someone you’re fairly close to, print out a photo of the two of you and put it in a frame. It feels thoughtful, but can also be done in less than an hour and is cheap.

14. Aldi.

A million calories of chocolate for about twenty quid.

Enough to distribute to everyone.

15. Here is what I do every year.

I go buy gift certificates for my favorite restaurants, and gift cards from Best Buy. I then put them in Christmas cards with no name on them.

I keep some in the house and some in my car.

If someone gives me a gift, I say “Wait a minute, I have something for you too” and go get the card. I quickly write their name on it and hand it to them.

Its worked out perfectly for me for years. I give everyone that gives me something, and if I end up with extra gift certificates or gift cards, I just use them on myself.

16. I make them an elaborate Christmas card with an etymology of their name. It’s always a hit and has more meaning than a gift card.

17. Good pair of headphones.

18. I make very good gingerbread cookies and decorate them very elaborately, like I’ll draw a portrait of them in frosting or I draw a cartoon character they like. Im pretty good at it.

19. Chia pet. So many varieties. ‘Ironic’ gift for those recipients, awesome gift for the others.

Either way you are a hero!

20. Those soft-ass blankets you find in any store around Christmas time. And then I buy one more for me. Every goddamn year

For guy: gift cards or booze. Guys appreciate utility.

22. Nail place… Women will go wild over a free mani-pedi.

23. A bottle of their favorite spirits, or for non-drinkers/kids, a book.

24. BOOKS!

There is a book on literally any topic ever.

Fan of Formula 1? Book.

Fan of Jujitsu? Book.

Like economic news? Book.

Porn? Book.

Lonely? Book.

Want to improve yourself? Book.

And you can get books everywhere. Online, in store, thrift stores, little free libraries, everywhere.

25. Houseplants!

I usually have lots of spiderplant babies and keep a few small pots on hand. Great for all occasions.

26. Those Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift boxes.

27. For a family – Get a tin bucket of gourmet holiday popcorn (caramel / chocolate flavored popcorn) to share.

For a dude – Get a bottle of fancy champagne or other booze like whisky or bourbon.

For anyone younger than 30 – Get an Amazon gift card.

For a kid – Give them a $50 dollar bill. They likely never handle money and if they do, the $50 looks so much better than the $20. Easy way to become the cool uncle.

For a girl – Get them a gift certificate to a local salon, a big blanket, or fun warm socks (not regular socks but those nicer holiday woven socks).

For your mom – Get her an ornament that has sentimental value, or, go to the mall (who does that anymore) and get them to hand paint an ornament on the spot with the family name & year on it.

For your dad – Get him NFL or NBA tickets.

28. Things that are consumable… everyone has way too many junk trinkets just because someone felt they had to buy something.

Ground coffee from a local coffee shop (if you know the person has a grinder, get whole bean, but not everyone does). They usually have fun Christmas flavors this time of year.

A bottle of dry wine or champagne.

Nice candles (go for ones that are soy based and have lids) or liquid hand soap.

29. Who wants lottery tickets?!?!?!

31. Home made egg nog, Irish cream, or Kahlúa. Most people will love one of the three, they are easy to make, made by hand, affordable, and our gifts that go away.

32. I’d bake a bunch of stuff or make fancy looking caramel apples. If I give people food, they seem to be satisfied.

33. I’ll do a blanket/candle/bottle of wine/nice beer and fudge,

OR a movie/board game and stop by the dollar store for a shower caddy, fill it with popcorn, movie candies, etc if it’s for a family. Do a caddy and filler per family member.

34. Starbucks gift card. Everyone loves Starbucks.

35. Lego. Lego for the nephew, lego for dad, lego for mom, lego for granny, lego for EVERYONE!

Then to cover my ass cause some people are weird about gift cards I say “I saw a _____ while shopping but I couldn’t remember your size/didn’t know what color you’d like/etc.”

38. Magazine subscriptions. The New Yorker. Times Literary Supplement. New Scientist. Private Eye. Done them all.

39. Mom – Candles and epsom salts.

Brother – Steam/eShop card, or go to a second hand store and find a game I think he’d like.

Dad – Itunes Gift Card or some kind of sports paraphernalia.

Girlfriend – something that reminds me of her, or that I think she’d love (last Christmas it was a pair of socks that said ,”I’m a delicate fucking flower”).

40. I buy ten copies of the best book I’ve read all year and wrap em in newspaper.

Proof of success: I do this every year

41. A brick of batteries. Everybody needs batteries, nobody will say no to batteries, and they will think of you when they are in a pinch and realize you got them a BRICK of batteries.

Great practical gift.

42. Throw blankets from the 24-hour drugstore. They’re $15 and nice enough that I use them myself. This is also my go-to for any gift swap at the office/with people I don’t know super well.

43. Pictures! Take a picture of something the receiver will like, or find one you might already have, throw it in a cheap frame and WABANG

45. Luxury kitchen stuff.

46. Lava Lamp!

No one has one.

They’re 20$

Oh, and it’s neat.

48. Pharmacies always have cheap last minute crap like travel manicure kits and hot sauce samplers.

49. You get a box of chocolate! You get a box of chocolate! And you get a box of chocolate! Everyone gets a box of chocolate!!!

50. Cash, candy, and/or alcohol.

Image Credit: Anthony Tran

is cataloged in Last Minute Gifts, Presents

What if kindness was cool?

Join The Kindness Revolution

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/184356935077

0 notes

allofbeercom · 6 years ago

Text

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators

http://bit.ly/2Eq5KzI

Cataloged in Holidays

50 Thoughtful Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Procrastinators

January Nelson Updated December 11, 2018

If you still haven’t finished your holiday shopping, you should think about buying these last-minute gifts suggested by Ask Reddit.

1. Mason jar + equal parts granulated sugar and veg oil + either a few drops of essential oil OR some lemon zest OR vanilla extract = boutique grade body scrub.

3. Run to the grocery store, pick up chocolate morsels, butter, and cream.

5. I think mugs make a good last minute gift because they’re available at most stores, pretty cheap for a gift, and will actually be used by the recipient.

One of those copper chef/gotham steel type skillets. They’re fantastic, less than $20, endless use.

8. Cookie/brownie mix in a mason jar with instructions on a card and a bow.

Or a visa gift card.

9. Fancy pasta, fancy jarred sauce, nice block of parm cheese, in a serving bowl with a kitchen towel. You can do this as expensively or as cheaply as you want.

12. If it’s someone you’re fairly close to, print out a photo of the two of you and put it in a frame. It feels thoughtful, but can also be done in less than an hour and is cheap.

14. Aldi.

A million calories of chocolate for about twenty quid.

Enough to distribute to everyone.

15. Here is what I do every year.

I go buy gift certificates for my favorite restaurants, and gift cards from Best Buy. I then put them in Christmas cards with no name on them.

I keep some in the house and some in my car.

If someone gives me a gift, I say “Wait a minute, I have something for you too” and go get the card. I quickly write their name on it and hand it to them.

Its worked out perfectly for me for years. I give everyone that gives me something, and if I end up with extra gift certificates or gift cards, I just use them on myself.

16. I make them an elaborate Christmas card with an etymology of their name. It’s always a hit and has more meaning than a gift card.

17. Good pair of headphones.

18. I make very good gingerbread cookies and decorate them very elaborately, like I’ll draw a portrait of them in frosting or I draw a cartoon character they like. Im pretty good at it.

19. Chia pet. So many varieties. ‘Ironic’ gift for those recipients, awesome gift for the others.

Either way you are a hero!

20. Those soft-ass blankets you find in any store around Christmas time. And then I buy one more for me. Every goddamn year

For guy: gift cards or booze. Guys appreciate utility.

22. Nail place… Women will go wild over a free mani-pedi.

23. A bottle of their favorite spirits, or for non-drinkers/kids, a book.

24. BOOKS!

There is a book on literally any topic ever.

Fan of Formula 1? Book.

Fan of Jujitsu? Book.

Like economic news? Book.

Porn? Book.

Lonely? Book.

Want to improve yourself? Book.

And you can get books everywhere. Online, in store, thrift stores, little free libraries, everywhere.

25. Houseplants!

I usually have lots of spiderplant babies and keep a few small pots on hand. Great for all occasions.

26. Those Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift boxes.

27. For a family – Get a tin bucket of gourmet holiday popcorn (caramel / chocolate flavored popcorn) to share.

For a dude – Get a bottle of fancy champagne or other booze like whisky or bourbon.

For anyone younger than 30 – Get an Amazon gift card.

For a kid – Give them a $50 dollar bill. They likely never handle money and if they do, the $50 looks so much better than the $20. Easy way to become the cool uncle.

For a girl – Get them a gift certificate to a local salon, a big blanket, or fun warm socks (not regular socks but those nicer holiday woven socks).

For your mom – Get her an ornament that has sentimental value, or, go to the mall (who does that anymore) and get them to hand paint an ornament on the spot with the family name & year on it.

For your dad – Get him NFL or NBA tickets.

28. Things that are consumable… everyone has way too many junk trinkets just because someone felt they had to buy something.

Ground coffee from a local coffee shop (if you know the person has a grinder, get whole bean, but not everyone does). They usually have fun Christmas flavors this time of year.

A bottle of dry wine or champagne.

Nice candles (go for ones that are soy based and have lids) or liquid hand soap.

29. Who wants lottery tickets?!?!?!

31. Home made egg nog, Irish cream, or Kahlúa. Most people will love one of the three, they are easy to make, made by hand, affordable, and our gifts that go away.

32. I’d bake a bunch of stuff or make fancy looking caramel apples. If I give people food, they seem to be satisfied.

33. I’ll do a blanket/candle/bottle of wine/nice beer and fudge,

OR a movie/board game and stop by the dollar store for a shower caddy, fill it with popcorn, movie candies, etc if it’s for a family. Do a caddy and filler per family member.

34. Starbucks gift card. Everyone loves Starbucks.

35. Lego. Lego for the nephew, lego for dad, lego for mom, lego for granny, lego for EVERYONE!

Then to cover my ass cause some people are weird about gift cards I say “I saw a _____ while shopping but I couldn’t remember your size/didn’t know what color you’d like/etc.”

38. Magazine subscriptions. The New Yorker. Times Literary Supplement. New Scientist. Private Eye. Done them all.

39. Mom – Candles and epsom salts.

Brother – Steam/eShop card, or go to a second hand store and find a game I think he’d like.

Dad – Itunes Gift Card or some kind of sports paraphernalia.

Girlfriend – something that reminds me of her, or that I think she’d love (last Christmas it was a pair of socks that said ,”I’m a delicate fucking flower”).

40. I buy ten copies of the best book I’ve read all year and wrap em in newspaper.

Proof of success: I do this every year

41. A brick of batteries. Everybody needs batteries, nobody will say no to batteries, and they will think of you when they are in a pinch and realize you got them a BRICK of batteries.

Great practical gift.

42. Throw blankets from the 24-hour drugstore. They’re $15 and nice enough that I use them myself. This is also my go-to for any gift swap at the office/with people I don’t know super well.

43. Pictures! Take a picture of something the receiver will like, or find one you might already have, throw it in a cheap frame and WABANG

45. Luxury kitchen stuff.

46. Lava Lamp!

No one has one.

They’re 20$

Oh, and it’s neat.

48. Pharmacies always have cheap last minute crap like travel manicure kits and hot sauce samplers.

49. You get a box of chocolate! You get a box of chocolate! And you get a box of chocolate! Everyone gets a box of chocolate!!!

50. Cash, candy, and/or alcohol.

Image Credit: Anthony Tran

is cataloged in Last Minute Gifts, Presents

What if kindness was cool?

Join The Kindness Revolution

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/50-thoughtful-last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-procrastinators/

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sporadicbeepboops · 8 years ago

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20 Games I Loved in 2016

The Switch delay. Several big AAA duds. Another year without an official Mother 3 U.S. release. 2016 could have been a disappointing year. (Outside of video games, it certainly took its toll.) But at least from my perspective, the good far outweighed the bad. Virtual reality finally made it out of the gates, and despite some hiccups, it shows real promise. Long-delayed games like Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian somehow made it to store shelves AND surpassed expectations. And love it or hate it, Pokémon Go inspired a genuine pop culture craze the likes of which we’ve never seen before, at least as far as games go. I think all of that is worth celebrating.

Before we get to the list, some quick shout-outs and no-brainer caveats…

2016 was not kind to the Wii U, but the 3DS quietly had one of its best years ever. That’s partly reflected here, but I couldn’t make room for Dragon Quest VII, Fire Emblem Fates, BoxBoxBoy!, Metroid Prime: Federation Force and Gotta Protectors, to name a few. Sometimes it felt like Nintendo was just cleaning out its closet — how long ago was DQVII released in Japan? — but we benefited either way.

Overall, I played fewer games this year, but the ones I did play held my interest longer. Thanks to various microtransactions and DLC, 2016 probably hit my wallet just as hard.

What didn’t I play? Stardew Valley, SUPERHOT, Final Fantasy XV (at least past chapter 2), Frog Fractions 2, Hitman — oh, and I didn’t get to stuff from last year like Yakuza 5 or The Witcher 3, either. Yakuza 4 was pretty solid though.

I left off any new ports of games that came out last year or prior, unless there were substantial additions that changed the experience in a meaningful way. That meant The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and Mini Metro weren’t in the running, while Rez Infinite technically was.

Love making lists, hate ranking items in said lists, just because I’m incredibly fickle. There’s a good chance that I’ll want to shuffle everything around the moment I publish this. But my podcasting buddies are counting on me here, so it’s time to be decisive.

Keeping all that in mind, here are the games I really loved in 2016…

20. The Witness - I’m already cheating because if I’m being honest, I didn’t actually love this game. The Witness takes a couple dozen hours to finish, and I spent at least half of them staring at a notebook, drawing grids, connecting dots, and having no idea how to pave forward. But even if I didn’t love the game, I respect it immensely. I admire Jonathan Blow’s commitment to this singular idea, of taking the kind of puzzle you might see on a restaurant placemat and coming up with every possible permutation of it. And there is of course a “meta” layer on top of that, where solutions to each component change the environment around you — tree top bridges that unfold based on the paths your lines take, or colored glass panels that create new puzzles on top of old ones. It might be cold and off-putting at times, but The Witness is still commendable as the ultimate puzzle box.

19. SuperHyperCube - I bought into PlayStation VR for games like Rez Infinite and RIGs — big, flashy, “immersive” experiences. And they delivered! I’m a very happy PS VR owner, and I hope Sony builds on its momentum this year. (I’m skeptical, but then being a virtual reality early adopter was always a leap of faith.) However, while I got exactly what I expected from most of the launch titles, it's the simple puzzle game seemingly modeled off of “Brain Wall” that I keep coming back to. I turn on the headset to play Job Simulator or Battlezone, but I always play a couple rounds of SuperHyperCube before I’m done. A solid case for virtual reality not as a thrilling roller coaster, but a hypnotic, relaxing voyage.

18. Headlander - The best game Double Fine has put out since Iron Brigade. Free-roaming Metroid-style exploration, a perfect 70s-synth sci-fi score and a fun body swapping gimmick at the heart of it all. I wish there were more vessels for your noggin to control, but there’s a strong foundation here.

17. Kirby: Planet Robobot - It’s easy to take Kirby games for granted, and that’s especially true of Robobot, which uses the same engine and many of the same powers as the recent Triple Deluxe. What does the former bring to the table then? Smart level designs that take advantage of the new mechs without letting them dominate the action. A novel mechanical world that feels distinct from the typical pastel meadows. New amiibo support. OK, so maybe it doesn’t add that much to the series, but it’s right up there with Super Star anyway.

16. Pokkén Tournament - This game is a fresher, more enjoyable fighting game than Street Fighter V. It doesn’t even matter (too much) that the single player is pretty thin or that the roster is small. When’s the last time you played a one-on-one fighting game that felt truly new? Pokkén is a great 3D fighter and a great 2D fighter at the same time, which is no small feat. And it’s also a gorgeously animated recreation of those battles we all imagined happening in our Game Boys 20 years ago.

15. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - The popular sentiment seems to be that Madagascar is when this final Uncharted entry really takes off. Slow drama and frequent cut scenes give way to island exploration and memorable shootouts. My take? The back half is fun and the epilogue is lovely, but I could spend an entire game in Nathan and Elena’s living room, or hopping around the globe for the next story sequence. Wherever you stand, this is a fine way to close out a reliable series.

14. Picross 3D: Round 2 - Seven Picross games — eight if you count the Twilight Princess freebie — on the eShop. That’s a lot of a perfectly fine thing. But none of them are Picross 3D. Thankfully, the real deal finally arrived this year, with hundreds of puzzles and a few extra gameplay wrinkles. Worth the premium price tag.

13. Titanfall 2 - The campaign didn’t need to be good. Multiplayer FPS games live and die by their multiplayer, and many developers seemingly write off the single player experience as an afterthought. That’s why Titanfall 2 is such an unexpected treat. The factory, the time hopping, the airborne carrier — all cleverly designed, with platforming gimmicks that would feel just as suited for a Metroid Prime game. I think the reason the new Mirror’s Edge fell flat for me was that this game featured the same parkour moves in a much more exciting package.

12. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - This crossover game is Persona-lite, yes, but I think that sells the characters and world a bit short. While its inspiration focuses on the pressures of being a Japanese high schooler, #FE is all about the Tokyo show biz scene. Pop music, soap operas, microwave cooking shows — it’s all very goofy, but the game still takes its protagonists’ dreams and ambitions seriously. #FE also makes clever use of the Wii U GamePad, turning it into a tablet/social app that helps keeps the conversations going. Even if you’re not into this particular “scene,” #FE may still win you over.

11. Rhythm Heaven Megamix - I can’t get enough Rhythm Heaven. They could put 20 new musical minigames on a cart annually and it’d make my list every year. Sumo wrestlers, lumberjack bears, monkey slumber parties — all magic.

10. Severed - A Vita game! It’s great to see DrinkBox Studios stretch beyond sidescrollers with this first person dungeon crawler full of grotesque monsters and creepy, colorful mazes. Swiping and poking on the Vita’s touchscreen feels great. The controls are key to Severed’s success; if battles were menu-driven, the entire game would fall apart.

9. Pocket Card Jockey - I hope Nintendo keeps letting Game Freak be this weird. It’s not just that it’s horse racing plus solitaire. It’s your jockey biting the dust and being brought back from the dead to repay his debt to the angels. It’s the brassy, big band score that accompanies every race. It’s horses with luchador masks and cats hanging from their backsides. Pocket Card Jockey is a miracle of localization.

8. Pokémon Sun - Yes, another Pokémon game. The Alola region is the best thing to ever happen to this series. Previous games had regions based on cities like New York and Paris, but the results always felt half-hearted. In Sun (and Moon), the tropical island setting influences everything from the creatures you catch to the trials you complete. I’ve never demanded a believable world from this series, but that’s kind of what we get here, and it’s terrific.

7. Inside - This is the type of game where the less you know going in, the better. It’s Limbo — a previous Justin GotY — filtered through a twisted dream logic that I still can’t get out of my head months later.

6. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I know you don’t like Sticker Star. Rest assured: that 3DS oddity feels like a rough draft for Color Splash, which improves upon its predecessor in every way. A textured, vibrant world that rivals Tearaway in its papercraft. Thrilling scenarios like a train heist, an underwater game show and the throwback above. Hilarious dialogue that mostly makes up for the many, many identical toads. I miss the liberties Intelligent Systems used to take with the Mushroom Kingdom, but everything else about Color Splash restores this spin-off series to its former glory.

5. Overcooked - This year’s couch co-op champ. Cooking with a partner is all about communication, and that’s doubly true when the kitchen is split across two flatbed trucks or on an iceberg rocking back and forth. My friends and I love head-to-head games like Smash Bros. and Towerfall, but it’s nice to play a game that’s all about puzzle solving and careful planning together. And I love the wistful stage select music.

4. Dragon Quest Builders - Minecraft has always fascinated me, but I don’t do well without direction. That’s why I’m so grateful for Dragon Quest Builders, which breaks down the open world construction into small, manageable tasks. I started off just sticking to blueprints and keeping decorations to a minimum; now, I’m spending hours building up towns the way I want them to look, for no other reason than my own personal satisfaction. Even taking the crafting element out of the equation, Builders does a great job of capturing the adventuring spirit of its parent series.

3. Pokémon Go - I didn’t set out to put THREE Pokémon games on here, and in a vacuum, this is much less satisfying than Pokkén or Sun. But we don’t play video games in a vacuum, and certainly not this one. I played Pokémon Go in Central Park, talking to strangers to find out where the Ivysaur was hiding. Or I played on my lunch breaks, exploring parts of South Street Seaport with coworkers that I had ignored for years. Go’s peak came and went, but it remains one of my fondest experiences of the year.

2. The Last Guardian - Another game that’s more than the sum of its parts. The Last Guardian is finicky and sometimes frustrating. Trico is hard to climb. The camera doesn’t know what to do when you’re up against the wall. So what? How many games feature a creature this lifelike? He may be an illusion made up of A.I. routines, scripted animations and fur shaders, but all of those elements come together in a uniquely convincing way. His evolution from reluctant ally to friend has a subtlety I’ve never seen before. I’m glad Ueda spends as much time focusing on the inner struggles as he does the external ones. Hope it doesn’t take another decade for his next game.

1. Overwatch - I didn’t even know what Overwatch was until two weeks before its release, and even then, I didn’t expect much from it. I had played Team Fortress 2 and thought it was just fine. I knew what to expect. Medics, tanks, builders — that sounded familiar to me. But I was so wrong. Overwatch isn’t just a team-based shooter; it’s the superhero team-up game I’ve been longing for since “The Avengers” was in theaters.

All 23 (and counting!) heroes have their superpowers, and all of them have their jobs to do. What really sets Overwatch apart is when these heroes are bouncing off of each other. Any combination of six is going to have its own dynamics. Mei dropping ice walls to give Reinhardt time to recharge his shield. Junkrat dropping traps to help Bastion watch his back. Mercy gliding up to Pharah to give her rockets a little extra punch. Every battle brings new possibilities and strategies to the table. I’ve played over 100(!) hours and feel like there’s still so much to learn.

But it’s not all serious business either. The colorful personalities, animations, costume designs and more do so much to shape the world, even when I know next to nothing about the overall “lore.” Last year, Splatoon felt like the only shooter I’d ever need, but Overwatch has actually managed to supplant it in my heart. That’s something this Nintendo fanboy never thought he’d say. Can’t wait to see how Blizzard builds on their masterpiece in year two.

#video games #games of the year #games of 2016 #nintendo apologist

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operationrainfall · 5 years ago

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Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. It’s a rare occurrence, but I could tell when I saw the first news about Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia that I would love this game. And that’s without me having any experience with the PS One game it was based on! Now that Happinet has kindly released an eShop demo, I finally dug in to see what the world of Runersia is like. Spoiler alert, I really enjoyed it, but to see why, please keep reading!