Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django. You play a vampire hunter with a solar powered gun, and the gimmick is that the GBA cartridge contains a UV sensor so that you're required to go outside and use real sunlight. It's such an absurd gimmick, but it works. It works incredibly well and makes it an unforgettable experience.
The first game is alright, but the second is where the series really came into its own.
Games that are in the business of selling anime girls end up attracting a certain demographic. And as the developers know who their audience is and double down on catering to that crowd, this kind of behavior becomes increasingly normalized over time.
It's not like gamers are rejecting live services as a whole, because there are still quite a lot of successful live service games. And when a live service is successful, it's really successful. So much so that it's worth it to investors to keep gambling on them, one hit can compensate for a dozen flops.
In order to get more people on Fedi, we have to get more people on Fedi. People will go whereever everybody else already is. That's the only thing keeping Twitter alive, even though almost everyone there will openly admit they hate it, no one will actually leave Twitter because everyone else is still on Twitter.
It's a chicken-and-egg problem that I don't think Fedi can actively do anything to solve. Or rather, I think it's too late to solve. If there's any competitor that has a chance, BlueSky has established a much bigger userbase in far less time, and that's enough momentum to potentially get there. Anyone who's leaving Twitter will go to BlueSky before they ever look at Fedi.
If this can dual-boot, that could be really handy.
I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus on sale last year and ended up liking it so much that I wish I'd bought a more expensive model with analog sticks. Meanwhile my Steam Deck gathers dust because it's just way too bulky, I grew up on a Game Boy Color and want something that fits in my pocket.
The ultimate dream for me would be if/when someone gets SteamOS running on something this size.
Viable? No. It's pretty much impossible for any new service to compete with the big juggernauts. Video streaming takes a ton of bandwidth so it's one of the most expensive kinds of services to run, and it's pretty much impossible to convince anyone to switch over from the established platforms. Streamers won't move because viewers aren't there, and viewers won't move because streamers aren't there.
Every now and then a new competitor pops up because some venture capitalist thought they'd be special enough to succeed where everyone else failed, and promptly dies. No one stands a chance of taking on Google or Amazon.
People will point out that PeerTube exists on the Fediverse, but all that can really be said about PeerTube is that it is a thing that exists. If it's viability you want, PeerTube isn't there and I don't think it ever will be.
For fighting games, my own custom built stick. Put this together last year to replace the Hori RAP4 that had served me well for seven years until a button cap broke off. Super happy with how this turned out. It's much lighter, I like having a detachable cable. GP2040-CE supports Switch natively so I no longer need an adapter (and I can feel the difference in latency now), and Sanwa silents mean I can practice late at night without keeping anyone awake. And it just looks good, it's on brand for me.
For everything else that is not fighting games, 8BitDo Pro 2.
I also have a soft spot for the Wii Classic Controller Pro, I miss having gates on the analog sticks. I'd kill for a modern refresh of that with L3/R3, gyro, and USB instead of having to plug it into a Wiimote.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] - counter
Street Fighter II: 3rd Strike - Had a friend visit from out of town, played a few rounds of 3S. Also managed to rope them into trying out Waku Waku 7 and Twinkle Star Sprites.
Mahjong Soul/Riichi City - :(
Splatoon 3 - Probably justified, but damn the Edit paint nerf feels kinda harsh.
I dunno, I might buy a reboot of DK64's versus mode.
Will the industry learn any lesson from this?
(no)
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] - Goofy clip of the week
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Friend came to visit from out of town, played some casual 3S for a little while. Also managed to rope him into trying out Waku Waku 7 and Twinkle Star Sprites as I wanted to show off some fun hidden gems in my collection.
Mahjong Soul/Riichi City/IRL mahjong - Remember when I said I was done grinding this game mode and wouldn't do another run?
Splatoon 3 - Haven't touched Salmon Run since the last Big Run. Was able to put up a 154 right away, but I know that gold target isn't actually much. Still can't kill a damn Triumvirate.