The Arcade

Hey, friends, and welcome to this brand-new episode of The Arcade! We're getting figuring out how to get back into the swing of things this week after having an unplanned two-week hiatus. That might explain why we spent quite a bit of time discussing Ren & Stimpy as our first Ludicrous Leadoff story. We followed that up with the final dollar amount that Niantic plans to donate to Black Lives Matter related charities and causes before talking about the news this week that Halo Infinite is no longer a launch title for the Xbox Series X after being pushed back to a 2021 release. We then opined about Riot Games planning to hold the League of Legends World Championships in Shanghai this fall, Spider-Man being an exclusive character to the PlayStation for the Marvel's Avenger's game, as well as when you'll finally be able to play Microsoft's new Battletoads game. In our Blast From The Past segment, we have two movies celebrating their 10-year anniversaries for they were released on the exact same day back in 2010, those movies being The Expendables, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Continue reading →

Ludicrous Leadoffs: Physical Copy Of Flight Simulator Coming On 10 Discs In Europe Expensive Pokémon Card Sold For New Record Amount News of the Week: Rocket League Becoming Free-To-Play This Summer Untitled Goose Game Getting A Physical Version (watch the … Continue reading →

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

* New Game Being Released For Wii & Wii U… On Disc

* Sealed Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Sells For Record $114,000

(learn more at the official auction page here)

News of the Week:

* LEGO Reveals Replica NES Set

(watch the announcement video here, and pre-order yours here)

* Sony Invests $250 Million In Epic Games

* Amazon Pulls First-Game, Crucible, From Wide Release

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who has finally decided to start smoking

Blast From The Past:

* X-Men (Movie / July 14, 2000)

* Eddie Murphy – How Could It Be (Album / July 20, 1985)

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

* Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge Is Now Playable

* KFC Philippines Opens An Island In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

* KFC Reveals The KFConsole

News of the Week:

* itch.io Bundle For Racial Justice & Equality Finishes w/ Over $8 Million

* Humble Bundle Launches Fight For Racial Justice Charity Bundle

* The Pokémon Company Matching Niantic’s Donation Of At Least $5 Million

* New Pokémon Snap Announced For Nintendo Switch

(watch the announcement trailer here)

* Pokémon Smile Announced For Smartphones To Get Kids Into Brushing Their Teeth

(watch the trailer here)

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who finds it funny that the Wikipedia page for Stephen King’s Dark Tower series breaks the series novels down by word and page count

Blast From The Past:

* “Weird Al” Yankovic – Dare to Be Stupid (Album / June 18, 1985)

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

* Bandai Releasing Plastic Model Of Noodle Cup In Japan

* Japanese Researcher Creates Lickable Taste Synthesizer

(read the research paper here, and watch a brief video about it here)

News of the Week:

* Sony Reveals The PlayStation 5

* Niantic Donating At Least $5 Million To Support African-American Community

* itch.io Bundle For Racial Justice & Equality Surpasses $5 Million

* Sega Releasing A Game Gear Retroconsole… For Ants

(watch the announcement video here, and learn more at the official site here)

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is amused, saddened, and mostly amused by browsing Cameo

Blast From The Past:

* Spider-Man (TV Series / Sept. 9, 1967 – June 14, 1970)

Ludicrous Leadoff:

* Race Car Driver For Hiring Pro-Gamer To Take His Place In Virtual Race

* Nvidia Uses AI Neural Networks To Fully Recreate Pac-Man

(see a bit of it in action here)

News of the Week:

* Blizzard Officially Cancels BlizzCon 2020, Planning Virtual Event For 2021

* Tokyo Game Show Cancels 2020 Event Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

* New Game+ Expo Announced

(visit the official site here, and bookmark their Twitch page here)

* Epic Games Switching To More Generous Royalty Structure For Unreal Engine

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is continuing his game completion streak

Blast From The Past:

* Back to the Future Part III (Movie / May 25, 1990)

* Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (TV Series / May 28, 1995 – Feb. 13, 2002)

Ludicrous Leadoff:

* Madden Bowl Champion Won Without Using A QB Or Throwing A Pass

* Cyberpunk 2077 Will Let You Customize Your Character’s Genitals

(read it for yourself at the official ESRB rating page)

News of the Week:

* Tony Hawk Pro-Skater 1 & 2 Remaster Announced

(see what it looks like in the first trailer here)

* Nintendo Reportedly Revisiting Idea For Sleep-Monitoring Device

* Nintendo Announces Paper Mario: The Origami King, Coming To Switch In July

(watch the first trailer for it here)

* Nintendo Switch Surpasses 55-Million In Lifetime Sales

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is finally shaking his aversion to finishing long RPGs

Blast From The Past:

* Rambo: First Blood Part II (Movie / May 22, 1985)

* Die Hard with a Vengeance (Movie / May 19, 1995)

Ludicrous Leadoff:

* Billy Mitchell Suing Twin Galaxies Over Donkey Kong High-Score

(read a thorough write-up here and read the official court documents here)

News of the Week:

* Fortnite, DOTA 2 eSports Events Cancelled Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

(read the Fortnite announcement here and the DOTA 2 announcement here)

* EVO 2020 Cancelled Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

* Geoff Keighley Unveils Summer Game Fest

(visit the official site here)

* Mortal Kombat 11 Getting DLC Expansion, RoboCop As New Character

(watch the announcement trailer here)

* Amazon’s First Game, Crucible, Releasing On May 20

(watch the trailer here)

* The Sims 4 Adding Eco Lifestyle Expansion In June

(watch the first trailer here)

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is glad that Billy Mitchell is still unintentionally entertaining us in these trying times

Blast From The Past:

* The Beatles – Let It Be (Album / May 8, 1970)

* King of the Hill (TV Series / Jan. 12, 1997 – May 6, 2010)

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

* Japan Retro Game Association Sending 100 Super Famicoms To Families To Keep Kids Indoors

(visit the official Japanese site here)

* Sony Patents Pet-Like Robot Companion For Gamers

(check out the official patent page here)

News of the Week:

* Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla Officially Revealed

(watch the announcement trailer here)

* Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla To Feature Viking Rap Battles

* The Last Of Us Part 2 Now Releasing In June

* Death Stranding For PC Delayed Until July

* Nintendo Network Accounts Suffer Security Breach

* Nintendo Reportedly Won’t Be Holding A Nintendo Direct In June

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is glad that the Hard Times is cataloging all Geneva Convention violations possible in video games

Blast From The Past:

* The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Movie / April 29, 2005)

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

* New Microsoft Flight Simulator Requires 150GB To Install

* Cannibal Holocaust Is Getting A Video Game Sequel

(watch the announcement trailer here)

News of the Week:

* Valve Confirms Source Code To CS:GO Was Leaked To The Public

* Animal Crossing: New Horizons Has One Of Nintendo’s Biggest Launches Ever

* Games Done Quick Raises Over $400,000 For Coronavirus Aid

* Crysis Being Remastered For Current Systems

(watch the announcement trailer here)

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is finally starting to actually complete long RPGs

Blast From The Past:

* Dolemite (Movie / April 26, 1975)

* Death Race 2000 (Movie / April 27, 1975)

* Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Movie / April 27, 1975)