New OLED Model Nintendo Switch Launches in October

July 6, 2021July 6, 2021 Jamal Michel

After the rumor mill about a new Nintendo Switch console reached new heights, Nintendo announced today the new Switch (OLED model) with a brilliant 7-inch OLED screen is launching October 8. The new model will also feature a wide adjustable stand, a dock with a wired LAN port and 64GB of internal storage. Rumors have been mounting for months that the new console would in fact be the Switch 2 but it’s clear Nintendo is going in a different direction until then.

Gaming, Video Games

‘Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut’ Set to Arrive in August

July 1, 2021July 1, 2021 Jamal Michel

Sucker Punch announced today that Ghost of Tsushima, their Japanese masterpiece of an RPG, is getting a director’s cut release on both PS4 and PS5 August 20. Players will experience the brand new Iki Island and loads of additional content, new features, and some PS5 exclusive enchantments that will further elevate the critical hailed title.

Interview, Video Games

DevTalks: Davionne Gooden is One of the Dopest Indie Developers You’ll Meet

June 29, 2021December 10, 2021 Jamal Michel

As I prepped my Zoom background with a gorgeous wallpaper of She Dreams Elsewhere game art, I hadn’t really anticipated the kind of indie developer I’d be sitting down with. Oftentimes you’ll hear stories of conversations that turned sour because of personalities that couldn’t share the same room but the cameras turned on and Davionne Gooden and I were vibing.

Conventions, Gaming, Streaming

WitcherCon is Coming in July

June 28, 2021June 28, 2021 Mike Manalo

If you’re a huge fan of The Witcher then you’re about to have the best day ever! On July 9, Netflix and CD Projekt Red are teaming up to bring you WITCHERCON! Today, the two companies partnered up to release details and a full schedule for the upcoming virtual event.

Conventions, Video Games

Indie Developers Thrive Despite Post-Pandemic Challenges

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 Jamal Michel

If this year’s E3 expo showed us anything it’s that indie game developers are built different. Throughout the span of the four day long event, viewers were shown dozens of new titles coming to consoles and PC, and many of those titles came from small studios turning passion projects into marketable content. Between this summer’s E3 and the 2021 Wholesome Direct, gamers saw first-hand the hard work put in by indie game development studios who were also coming off one of the most damaging events to the industry and globe as a whole.

Gaming, Video Games1 Comment

‘Pokémon UNITE’ Finally Gets a Release Date As Nintendo Shows Off More In-Game Details

June 17, 2021June 17, 2021 Jamal Michel

A year ago at Pokémon Presents, we got an amazing first-look at a Pokémon themed multiplayer online battle arena, Pokémon UNITE, a MOBA in the same vein as League of Legends and Smite where teams face off against each other for control of various resources over the course of a given match. In Pokémon UNITE, “players will compete in Unite Battles, where they form teams of five and compete against each other to see who can score the most points before time runs out.”

Marvel, Video Games

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Console Game Debuts, Prompts ‘Avengers’ Comparisons

June 15, 2021June 27, 2021 Dominic Mah

Square Enix and Eidos Montreal showed off the first clips from a new Guardians of the Galaxy game for PS5/PS4/Xbox Series XJS/PC at their E3 showcase on Sunday. The preview included the reveal trailer, an extended Alpha-build gameplay clip, and information about the AAA superhero game’s launch date.

Conventions, Video Games

Nintendo Rocks the House at E3 2021 With a Heap of New Announcements

June 15, 2021June 15, 2021 Jamal Michel

During Nintendo’s nearly 40-minute E3 2021 presentation, viewers got a look at a huge selection of new titles, forthcoming, DLC, and surprise announcements that sent social media into an understandable frenzy.

Conventions, Video Games

SK Telecom Set to Participate in E3 2021 For the First Time

June 12, 2021June 12, 2021 Jamal Michel

SK Telecom (SKT) will be participating as the first ever South Korean telecom company at this year’s E3 to stake its claim in the global video game market. With its participation in the world’s biggest game exhibition, it will be presenting Anvil, Little Witch in the Woods, and NEOVERSE, and plans to actively support South Korean game markets.

Conventions, Tech, Video Games2 Comments

E3 2021 Press Conference Live Updates!

June 11, 2021June 21, 2021 Jamal Michel

This year, The Nerds of Color has got your back on everything E3! Be sure you’re tuned in on Twitch, YouTube, or wherever else you plan to watch the online press conferences, and keep our tab open to catch live updates.

Conventions, Video Games

Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest is a Bright Spot in Tumultuous Times

June 10, 2021June 17, 2021 Jamal Michel

I first saw Geoff Keighley on G4TV back in my early teens and after noting his passion for games, his quirky presentation, and his overall excitement to share some good news, I knew I had finally found some long lost brother who became infinitely more successful than me, and rightly so. Geoff’s been an icon in the entertainment and gaming industry for the last two decades and while his reputation precedes him, there still never seems to be a shortage of excitement when he hits the stage to share a famous WORLD PREMIERE.

Conventions, Video Games

The 2021 PC Gaming Show Officially Airs June 13

June 9, 2021June 9, 2021 Jamal Michel

The return of PC gaming’s biggest showcase finally arrives June 13, the weekend of E3, with a bevy of exclusive content, trailers, and more for fans and gamers to enjoy. PC Gamer will be streaming the show from their YouTube and Twitch channels from Los Angeles within E3’s official programming to bring viewers some of PC gaming’s most innovative and exciting new titles.

Conventions, Tech, Video Games

E3’s Media Week Includes Lackluster Perks, Buggy Features, and Bizarre Avatar Creator

June 9, 2021June 11, 2021 Jamal Michel

Since its inception, the Electronic Entertainment Experience (or E3 expo) has been the number one hotspot for fans and gaming journalists alike to get a sneak peak at the biggest and most anticipated titles to come to the gaming world. As of late, however, the once celebrated video game and tech expo has been against the ropes, fighting the wavering reality of its relevance amid a changing landscape that saw the announcement of the PlayStation 5 in an interview with Wired magazine. In 2019, the expo was rocked by Sony’s withdrawal from the convention and before that, faced increased criticism for “over hyping” titles that would ultimately bust (i.e. Anthem).

Reviews, Video Games

Flight School Studio’s ‘Stonefly’ is a Must-Play Indie Game

June 2, 2021June 3, 2021 Jamal Michel

This week, the folks at Flight School Studios and MWM Interactive released their indie mech title, Stonefly. The adventure game is a chill yet wholly beautifully exploration of legacy, resource gathering and mech building, as players follow Annika Stonefly in her search for her father’s stolen rig. After a late-night excursion, Annika mistakenly leaves the garage door storing the mech wide open, leaving it victim to a theft that launches our main character on her journey through dangerous and captivating flora and fauna.

News, Video Games

20 Iconic Bethesda Games are Coming To Xbox Game Pass

March 11, 2021June 3, 2021 Jamal Michel

Earlier this week, Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, officially announced their acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks. Speculations of the move had been mounting for months leading up to the multibillion dollar acquisition of one of gaming’s most robust publishers. In a sweetening of the pot today, Xbox announced the 20 blockbuster titles joining their Game Pass library by the week’s end.

News, Video Games

Botched Release of ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Proves it May Not Have Been Worth All the Hype

December 16, 2020June 3, 2021 Jamal Michel

I remember back in 2006 when our most pressing concern as gamers was the introduction of the now-infamous Horse Armor Pack for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a seemingly innocuous $2 cosmetic bundle for your mount that is known to many as the genesis of microtransactions. From in-game currencies and season passes, to multiple editions of games and their exorbitant expansion packs, the culture of “games as a live service” has dominated the last decade of gaming news.

Books, Marvel, Video Games

Brittney Morris’ ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury’ Delivers

December 2, 2020June 3, 2021 Jamal Michel

There could not be a better time to grab the companion novel to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales than now. The game dropped on PS4 and PS5 November 12 to rave reviews, as the pop cultural significance of Miles Morales seems to be losing zero steam, and rightly so.

Author Brittney Morris (Slay, The Cost of Knowing and Together, Apart) packs a ton into the prequel novel — from Miles’ dealings with police outside of his uniform, to Peter having to grapple with being a mentor to a Spider-Man whose reality greatly differs from his own. Wings of Fury delivers a story both heartfelt and absolutely action-packed that leads directly into the start of the game on consoles.

Marvel, Video Games

Why ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ for PS5 Brings Me So Much Black Boy Joy

September 16, 2020June 3, 2021 Jamal Michel

My first real experience as the famous web-slinger, in a purely polygonal sense, came in the year 2000, when my dad surprised me with a copy of Spider-Man for the original PlayStation. I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing, and the elation that came from donning original and secret costumes as our one and only friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man was something my little heart could hardly contain at the time.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Star Wars, Video Games

Janina Gavankar: How a Nerd of Color Became the Face of Star Wars

November 29, 2017May 8, 2020 Hard NOC Media

Since the NOC launched in 2013, actress Janina Gavankar has been one of the community’s biggest celebrity boosters. Now, finally, Janina is able to join us on Hard NOC Life! In the intervening years, she has racked up the nerd bona fides by starring in Arrow, True Blood, and Sleepy Hollow. But now, she is part of the biggest nerd franchise of them all: as Iden Versio in the blockbuster game franchise Star Wars: Battlefront II.

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Animation, Video Games4 Comments

Reviewing Netflix’s ‘Castlevania’ from a ‘Castlevania’ Junkie

July 19, 2017June 3, 2021 hiarashi

Recently Netflix has released the first “season” of Castlevania, a gory, animated version of the beloved Konami series featuring our favorite vampire killers trying to take down Dracula. I am a huge fan of Castlevania, from the platformer NES days to its Metroidvania-style games on the DS; I was curious to see how they would portray the game in a show format. There is definitely some potential if given to the right people. With only being four episodes long, how does show fare with the original material?

Long story short, some work is required but it is a good start.

Continue reading “Reviewing Netflix’s ‘Castlevania’ from a ‘Castlevania’ Junkie”

Conventions, Video Games

A Washed Up Gamer Goes to E3

June 16, 2017June 3, 2021 Ren Hsieh

There were more than 68,000 total attendees at E3 this week, and I’m almost certain all of them have been gaming more than I have in the past five years. I’m retired. Too many consecutive days of realizing I’d played through the night until dawn had me putting the sticks down. Not to mention, I just can’t keep up with these kids. I’m washed.

Yet here I got the fortunate opportunity to cover E3 for NOC in the conference’s first year open to the public. I had to do this, for the culture, for the kid inside who never finished Mario 2, and for the same kid that reached the end of Streets of Rage and chose to kill my brother to take over the gang.

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Nerd Nostalgia, Video Games4 Comments

Stumbling Down Memory Lane with ‘Double Dragon IV’

February 6, 2017June 3, 2021 hiarashi

The NES was my staple console for the majority of my childhood. While I did not have many games at my disposal, games like Double Dragon and Double Dragon II were titles that I played just about every day on my own and with friends. I still consider Double Dragon II to be one of my favorite NES games and it influenced my tastes in games I play today. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series’ creation, Arc System Works recruited many of the original crew that made the original game to make a brand new sequel in the form of the 8-bit games I cherished as a child. When hearing about this news, I was excited and skeptical at the same time. The nostalgia side of me wanted it but would it be enough to maintain my interest in the current era of video games?

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Guest Post, Video Games1 Comment

‘Pokémon Go’ and Choosing the Blackest Joy

July 8, 2016June 3, 2021 Guest N.O.C.

by Lauren Bullock | Originally posted at Black Nerd Problems

As you might expect, it begins with a selection of starters: today, do you choose fuming rage, crushing grief, or helpless fear? Perhaps you feel all three. Or none. Being Black in America is not just some game that anyone can control, after all.

As a Black Nerd it’s impossible to ignore that in the same week that we gained Pokémon Go, arguably one of the most anticipated games of the year, we lost Alton Sterling and Philando Castile to police brutality (who in reality are part of an even longer list of murders by the police this week alone). Once again the debates flare up between distraction and self care, between what people “should” be talking about or feeling at any given moment. But if Pokémon taught me anything, it’s that there is always another option than the “starters” you’re given, and sometimes this, too, is its own revolutionary act. I’m talking about allowing ourselves to sometimes choose Black joy. No, the Blackest Joy.

Continue reading “‘Pokémon Go’ and Choosing the Blackest Joy”