Xbox's collab with Asus results in two impressive, if not groundbreaking, handhelds - but my biggest concern is that the ROG XBOX Ally and Ally X will tempt people who think they're getting Microsoft's answer to the Switch, when these are anything but. By me, over @wired.com:

My deep dive retrospective on @play.date at three years old, over @wired.com - from getting started to the current development scene of this quirky handheld! Thanks to developers @synapticsugar.games, @raphcal.bsky.social, and @loudo.lugludum.com for their contributions!

If AI hype were real, companies would allow you to disable it. Meta AI in WhatsApp, Google Search's AI Overviews, all of the little ways AI has been insidiously foisted on us, could be turned off if they didn't need to manufacture engagement to look like the billions invested weren't a total waste.

I really need people to understand that if you vote for Reform, this is what you get: YOUR services slashed, YOUR communities harmed, YOUR opportunities killed off. This is at council level too - imagine how bad this would be if they were the national government?

"Oh, we have £2bn spare!" "Fantastic! Can we address homelessness, cost of living, environment, crime?" "No, silly! The best use is-" "Don't say it…" "Buying everyone PREMIUM auto complete!" "…" "That gets things wrong! Frequently! And wastes water & energy every time you use it!" *Screams*

Have you developed a game for #Playdate? If so, get in touch - would like to throw a question or two at you!

Got a hot new 'date Working on a fun piece for @wired.com - keep an eye out!

Help, my #Switch2 is already full... and yours probably will be soon, too. Me, over @wired.com, on the precarious storage situation on Nintendo's new darling:

Now THAT was a #Superman movie. Embraces the source material, trusts the audience (no pointless redux of the best-known origin story on Earth!), and remembers that superheroes can be hopeful without being cloying. Also: #KRYPTO 🐶 @jamesgunn.bsky.social & team smashed it.

I don't recall approving this publication of my innermost thoughts

The #Switch2 is a clear upgrade that remains reassuringly familiar - an easy recommendation. My review over @wired.com

👀👀👀 Review coming to @wired.com soon #Switch2 #Nintendo #NintendoSwitch2

What the hell just happened? #Eurovision

I ADORE this game! Easy contender for my GOTY so far, incredible work from Sandfall. My review over at Empire:

A "Mouse Pro" for Switch 2 would fix a lot of these issues. By me, over @wired.com

My latest over @wired.com, on how the Switch 2 is shaping up to be far better than expected when it comes to backwards compatibility - just make sure you keep some original Joy-Con controllers around

I feel like some people may miss the incredibly subtle point being made in #Ultimates issue 11. I just think it's going to fly over some readers' heads. (Hint: this doesn't only apply to Norse gods and the Nine Realms)

CONTROL FREAK: The one controller to rule them all is making a comeback. @mattkamen.bsky.social has the full details for @wired.com www.wired.com/story/how-th...

Love opening my inbox or generally being on the Internet on International Endless Stream of Terrible Jokes Day

This really blows my mind. The government is cutting funding for life-saving uses of AI, but opening the floodgates for parasitic generative AI by planning to essentially strip copyright protections from creators. That's the wrong way around!

Meta has forced AI into WhatsApp. It cannot be turned off or opted out of. It's incorporated into search too - so, per Meta's statement that it "shares information with select partners", can we trust that searching our own chat histories won't be considered fair game?

Is the DualSense Edge still a worthwhile controller upgrade for PS5? I took a look at Sony's pro-tier pad over @wired.com:

Latest piece from me @wired.com - amid mysterious controller patents and rumours of big visionOS updates, is Apple about to finally embrace gaming for Vision Pro? And can even that save the struggling headset?

The Independent chose this screengrab VERY deliberately

In which I can only apologise* for the amount of mushroom puns: my review of #Avowed over at @empiremagazine.bsky.social (*I do not apologise)

If you enjoyed this piece, reposts would really help - especially while I'm rebuilding here after abandoning the *other* place!

So, I've been on a "weight loss journey" over the last year, and while I've not (quite) become an insufferable gym bro, it's been literally life-changing - and video games helped. One of the more personal pieces I've written in a while, over @wired.com

Have my speculative hat on over @wired.com today, with five things I think the #Switch2 needs to succeed:

It me, on why Nintendo playing it safe with Switch 2 is the smartest thing it could have done:

Get a Meta Quest 3 or 3S for the holidays? Had one a while? Either way, you NEED #BatmanArkhamShadow in your life:

Kudos to the staff member who put this out!

It's 2025. Generative AI is going to go utterly out of control this year, especially with video. I'm going to need you all to be a LOT more cynical & disbelieving of what you see & share on social media going forwards. Even the cute, seemingly harmless stuff. Presume fake until proven otherwise.

Spent a while testing out cloud gaming on #PSPortal for @wired.com - a nice extra feature for the gadget, but Switch and Steam Deck don't have anything to worry about when it comes to handheld competition just yet:

Am I losing it, or has @microsoft.com #Office (particularly #Word) swapped a bunch of its keyboard shortcuts? Ctrl+B (which should be BOLD, obviously) is now opening new documents, while Ctrl+N is bolding text. Some others are different too. I've changed NOTHING myself. 😵‍💫

I love #DaftPunk and Discovery is hands down their best album, in large part because of the sublime #Interstella5555 movie that accompanied it. I was incredibly excited to hear of a remaster, but this AI-upscaled slop is a tragedy. It's lost so much detail & richness. What a missed opportunity!

Reviewed the @thrustmaster.bsky.social H.E.A.R.T. controller over @wired.com - an upgrade for most PC gamers, but tied up in one big drawback for Xbox players:

Game streaming is here for PlayStation Portal - but can even Sony make cloud gaming take off? Or is the feature just a stepping stone to a next gen PS Vita? Me over @wired.com again:

One of the coolest bits of gaming hardware I've gotten my hands on recently is the @evercade.bsky.social Alpha - read my review over at @wired.com

Post your favourite Pokémon. Wrong answers only.

Checked in on the… other place… and the only notifications nowadays are of getting a wave of spam bot followers. That place really is done, huh? #Xit #Xodus

Some genuinely terrible people whining about the "block culture" here on Bluesky is how you know the block culture is working, keep blocking those genuinely terrible people, folks, soon the only people they'll be able to bother here is each other

The Brands™ are leaving the other place. It's happening. And this one took place on 31st Oct, before the mass exodus after 5th Nov - it's only accelerated since.

Conversely, the GameCube controller was an absolute delight - and there are rumblings Nintendo may be doing SOMETHING relating to it in the near future. Me, over at Wired:

I said what I said: the N64 controller is, and always was, awful.

Hey #Fashion folks - I've been invited to a dinner event (there'll be speeches and everything) where the dress code is "whatever makes you happy". That's TOO nebulous, and I doubt that what normally makes me happy (jeans & tee) fulfills the assignment. What should I wear?!

I tripped and landed on my wallet… 🙊 Still, first #StudioGhibli 4K UHD! #PhysicalMedia #TheBoyAndTheHeron

AI (or at the very least, TERRIBLE use of photoshop) has gone too far

New rule: smartphone speakers should not be able to work unless they're connected to a home WiFi network. If you're in public - on a train, bus, whatever - you need headphones to get any sound. 😤

The law works. Social media companies and billionaire bullies don't get to trample democracy and enable the publication of far-right lies. Governments around the world could learn a lot from Brazil on this. (Also, tax the billionaires out of existence)