Jess
- Dec 4, 2020
- 4 min read

#ICYMI 12.4.20

INDUSTRY

APPLE HIRES VENTURE CAPITALIST JOSH ELMAN TO HELP IMPROVE APP STORE DISCOVERY

Elman is a prominent investor with a keen eye for soon-to-be-popular apps.

The Verge | Twitter

THE NEXT SONIC THE HEDGEHOG MOVIE STARTS FILMING IN EARLY 2021

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will shoot just a year after the debut of the first movie. GameSpot

ZOOM ONCE AGAIN QUADRULPED ITS REVENUE YEAR OVER YEAR

Might have to buy some stocks in Zoom...The Verge

URI GELLER SAYS NINTENDO CAN PRINT KADABRA ON POKÉMON CARDS AGAIN

Spoon-bending magician Uri Geller gave Nintendo permission to use Kadabra on Pokémon cards, after a 20 year legal dispute in which Geller claimed the Pokémon’s Japanese name and image were too close to his own. Kotaku | Twitter

GOOGLE FIRES PROMINENT AI ETHICIST TIMNIT GEBRU

Gebru says the decision came from Google’s head of AI, Jeff Dean.

The Verge

H1Z1 STUDIO DAYBREAK GAMES ACQUIRED FOR $300 MILLION

The developer was formerly part of Sony but had been independent for roughly five years. GameSpot

PINTEREST SHAREHOLDERS SUE OVER 'TOXIC' WORK CULTURE

Top executives ignored allegations of discrimination, complaint says.

The Verge

HALO INFINITE DEV RESPONDS TO "UNFOUNDED" BATTLE ROYALE RUMORS

The reports are "unfounded," 343's community director says.

GameSpot | Twitter

HOW MICROSOFT CRUSHED SLACK

And why the era of worker-centered work tools may be over. The Verge

FCC CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI WILL STEP DOWN ON JANUARY 20TH

Pai has announced plans to depart the commission when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th. Pai has served on the FCC since 2012. The Verge

GAMES, GAMES, GAMES

FORTNITE LEAKS AND TEASES SUGGEST MAJOR XBOX AND PLAYSTATION CHARACTERS COMING TO THE GAME

Kratos and Master Chief could be headed to Fortnite soon based on recent tweets and leaks that hint at a major new cross-over in Epic Games’ massive battle royale game. Kotaku | Twitter

LOOKS LIKE DOOMGUY IS COMING TO FALL GUYS, PLUS SOME CUTE PENGUINS

It looks like a big, beefy addition is coming to the game in the form of a 10 crown skin. Polygon | Twitter

GENSHIN IMPACT'S MOBILE HAUL IS NEARLY $400 MILLION (AND COUNTING)

$400 million only accounts for the game’s mobile income. Kotaku

THAT'S SOME CRAZY SHIT!

SUPER NINTENDO WORLD OPENS ON FEBRUARY 4TH WITH AR MARIO KART ROLLERCOASTER

Universal Studios Japan out here makin' everyone else jealous! The Verge

TWITCH BOT DOES NOTHING BUT CHECK PS5 AND XBOX SERIES X STOCK ALL DAY

Get up-to-the-second availability in this Twitch stream. Polygon

OSSOFF CAMPAIGN TURNS TO TIKTOK AND SNAPCHAT AHEAD OF SPECIAL ELECTION

Along with plenty more new online campaigning tactics. The Verge

WHY ANIMAL CROSSING FANS ARE ARGUING OVER 'SPACE BUNS'

Space buns or puffs? Polygon | Twitter

ENTERPRISING DEVELOPERS ARE EMULATING PS2 GAMES ON THE XBOX SERIES S AND X

Play old PlayStation exclusives on your new Xbox. The Verge

YOUTUBE NEWS

GAME THEORY, MR.BEAST, DREAM, CRANKGAMEPLAYS, MARKIPLIER AND MORE RAISE OVER $3 MILLION FOR ST.JUDE'S

The stream was 10 hours long and raised over $3 million for St.Jude Children's Research Hospital! YouTube | Tiltify

BILLIE EILISH DOES HER VANITY FAIR INTERVIEW FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW

Vanity Fair just released the fourth version of Billie Eilish's "October 18th" interview! YouTube

MIA SALAZAR HIT 200K SUBSCRIBERS

Congratulations, Mia! YouTube

YOUTUBE ASKS USERS TO RECONSIDER RUDE COMMENTS

Stop, drop, don't troll. Polygon

REVIEWS

SAKUNA: OF RICE AND RUIN REVIEW

This rice is anything but bland. GameSpot

IMMORTALS: FENYX RISING: THE KOTAKU REVIEW

"It’s a welcome streamlining of large-scale Ubisoft game design, full of great puzzles and amusing storytelling." Kotaku

EMPIRE OF SIN REVIEW

An ambitious game that doesn't excel at anything it tries. IGN

NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 TI REVIEW: IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE FOR $399

Another great option for 1440p gaming. The Verge

TWIN MIRROR REVIEW

Twin Mirror's solid character work and strong environments are shortchanged by pacing problems that undermine much of what it does well. GameSpot

"EMPIRE OF SIN IS NOT GREAT"

"I really wanted to like this game." Kotaku

MUSIC

AMAZON MUSIC UNLIMITED NOW LETS YOU STREAM MUSIC VIDEOS

Amazon tries to match one of the perks of YouTube Music. The Verge

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

TWITCH STOPPED WORKING RIGHT AFTER FORTNITE'S BIG MARVEL EVENT

With the event ending on a cliffhanger, the biggest boy in a fictional universe of very big boys did not end up going down. But Twitch sure did. Kotaku

A BUG IN SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES GIVES US THE WEB-SWINGING PATIO LAMP HERO WE DESERVE

A bug in the PS5 game turned players into patio lamps and other objects.

The Verge | Twitter

TRYING TO BUY A NEXT-GEN CONSOLE IS STILL A NIGHTMARE

In case you didn't already know, the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are in high demand but short supply. Kotaku

RED DEAD ONLINE'S LATEST UPDATE MAY BE THE LAST STRAW FOR FRUSTRATED FANS

The Bounty Hunter update did not please players. Polygon

MADDEN NFL 21 ARRIVES EARLY ON XBOX SERIES X AND PS5, BUT WITH ISSUES

PS5 version has a last-minute bug that prevents online play. Polygon

PLAYSTATION VITA'S STORE ISN'T WORKING FOR SOME REASON

Widespread issues with PlayStation Network on PlayStation Vita have kept players from downloading or transferring games to the handheld for almost 24 hours. Kotaku | Reddit

NEW GAMES

SWERY'S CAT GAME THE GOOD LIFE FINALLY FINDS A PUBLISHER

The Good Life is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC in summer 2021, and they finally found a publisher in The Irregular Corporation. Kotaku

GAMING TIPS

HOW TO CHIP AWAY AT A MASSIVE BACKLOG

You know, that long list of games you’ll “get to someday” but ignore in favor of re-running Hades yet again. Kotaku

HARDWARE

RASPBERRY PI MADE A TINY $5 FAN FOR COOLING DOWN YOUR MINIATURE COMPUTER

Overclock your Pi with peace of mind. The Verge | YouTube

WYZE ANNOUNCES $20 SMARTWATCH WITH NINE-DAY BATTERY LIFE

With heart rate and blood oxygen saturation tracking. The Verge | Wyze

QUALCOMM'S NEW SNAPDRAGON 888 PROCESSOR WILL POWER THE ANDROID FLAGSHIPS OF 2021

Here's a first look at the chipset that will power 2021’s best Android phone.

The Verge

SOFTWARE

FIRST XBOX SERIES X UPDATE ROLLING OUT WITH MORE DYNAMIC BACKGROUNDS AND UI CHANGES

The new Xbox dashboard update became available Monday. The Verge

NINTENDO SWITCH FIRMWARE UPDATE 11.0 ADDS SEVERAL QUALITY OF LIFE FEATURES

You can finally transfer Nintendo Switch screenshots directly to any computer. The Verge | IGN

FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEMS ARE GETTING BETTER AT RECOGNIZING MASKED FACES

New data from NIST shows significant improvement since July. The Verge

GAMING FASHION

OFFICIAL POKÉMON FACE MASKS NOW ON SALE

Original Stitch’s shirt program extends to masks, bandanas.

Original Stitch | Polygon

COMPLEX TURNED ITS FASHION AND MUSIC FESTIVAL INTO A FUTURISTIC VIDEO GAME

A week of sneakers, panels, and... virtual food trucks. The Verge

WEEKLY WHOLESOME

MICROSOFT'S HOLIDAY AD STARS A DOG THAT GETS TO PLAY HALO INFINITE BEFORE THE REST OF US