Sean is a senior editor at The Verge, a very good website he helped found in 2011. He thrives at the intersection of gaming, technology, and toys, with a side of consumer advocacy because companies just can’t help themselves, can they? Sean previously led breaking news teams at The Verge and CNET and the reviews program at Gizmodo. He also has that voice. (Contact me securely at Signal: seanhollister.01) Ethics statement, June 2023: Sean’s wife is employed by Apple as a video producer. He therefore does not currently report or edit stories about Apple products or Apple as a company.
I guest-starred on the Expedition: Handheld podcast this week and brought LOTS of show-and-tell. It’s almost like an extended version of Today I’m Toying With, though it’s on audio podcast platforms as well! Let me know what you think?
How can Xbox possibly get to a billion users per day while cutting studios? Oh, just by obtaining three more hits as big as Minecraft, Call of Duty and Candy Crush. “We’ve got three billion-dollar annual franchises every year. I think we should have six to eight in the coming years,” she tells BBC News.
She says she will invest: “Last year was a record spend on content and services and we’re going to match that.”
Ever seen an Xbox handheld play real Super Nintendo cartridges? Today I’m toying with the $60 SN Operator and $50 GB Operator, which turn your PC, Mac, and Linux devices into classic cart-playing consoles and backup your old games and saves. I’ll have a bigger writeup in the next few days!
How is Amazon getting away with this? This isn’t a third-party seller; they’re shipped and sold by Amazon Germany. Even DJI knows the DJI Pocket 4P isn’t legal to import, but Amazon’s been offering one of the best prices to US buyers for over a week now.
Till 6:06AM ET, technically, for Windows, MacOS and Ubuntu PCs. Even Curry’s video game roles were legendary.
The ninth Today I’m Toying With giveaway is live. Each week, I give away gadgets from my TITW videos, because I can’t ethically keep them! You can enter each new giveaway at theverge.com/TITW (or by email, see the rules) starting 9AM each Wednesday; I draw a winner a week later.
This Cyberpunk 2077-themed Commodore 64 Ultimate looks too good to be true. (We wound up asking if the paintjob was AI; exec Jim Squires says it’s all real.) It’s up for preorder for $377, shipping 2027, bundled with an exclusive “Arasaka” cartridge with an original demo from C64 demoscene group Arise and a chiptune OST from LukHash.
