After watching the video above I am almost positive that NES cartridges will be sitting side by side with cockroaches watching the world burn as nuclear war destroys the rest of us. BloggerRinrywas inspired by aJapanese videoto see just how tough NES cartridges actually are. She put a few cartridges ofSuper Mario Bros.through a variety of tests to see if they’d play. I’ll leave the outcomes for you to find out by watching the video, but needles to say, these things are some strong pieces of plastic....

The above image is what will happen to you if you actually useDriver’s Ed PortableDS to learn how to drive a car … except with less Moose. It’s a pretty small list of new releases again this week with the only notable title beingRise of the Argonauts. I just started paying attention to the title so I’m looking forward to hearing more about it from Jim’s review that’s going up tomorrow....

Also, SolSeraph It’s a unique week for the Nintendo Download list, as the publisher has released this coming week’s offerings a day earlier due to the July 4 holiday falling on the usual Thursday cycle. As such it’s a smaller spread, withStrange Things 3: The Gamearriving on Switch on July 4 (which will apparently spoil the third season inherently, so be sure to watch the TV show first if you do pick it up), alongside ofSolSeraphon July 10....

DOOOOOOOMED! Nintendo is doomed, obviously, but the plucky platform holder is still going to try its best anyway. Part of that valiant, if futile, effort involves bringing more Japanese-developed games to Western audiences. “The challenge for Nintendo 3DS exists in the overseas market, not the Japanese market,” Nintendo President Satoru Iwata stated at the company’sthird quarter financial results briefing. “We need to think about the method and its possibility of making what we have done in Japan happen....

Is wiping the headset down between uses enough? Forget the idea of pinkeye and the fear of germs from slipping your head (and hair/part of your face) into a VR headset that’s been used hundreds of times, VR has always had a “demo” problem. When I was first shown VR, it was some lousy tech demo that turned me off. But after strapping in my consumer grade Oculus Rift and spending several weeks immersed in every launch game, I was more than happy with the idea of spending a lot of my time gaming with modern virtual reality....

Curse you, directional pads! Now that OUYA developer consoles have made the rounds, the team working on the Android-powered system has been listening to feedback from game designers. What are they saying? In short, the controller needs work. And work has been done: the D-pad has gone from what they call a “disc” style to a “cross” style, which is reassuring to hear. This latest iteration also has rubberized thumbstick tops, a more responsive touch pad, triggers with improvements made to the “design and mechanics,” and a more tightly fit battery bay....

Check out a soundtrack sample Minority Media’sPapo & Yowas originally a PlayStation Network exclusive, but now it’s moving to PC, coming soon to Steam, Amazon andother download platforms. Starting today, pre-orders are open for the game. Getting yours in gets you a 10 percent discount off the $14.99 asking price as well as a free copy of the the game’s soundtrack. The soundtrack you’ll get for free with your pre-order will be hitting iTunes later this month for $5....

Larianhas releasedthe anticipated Patch 6 for the winner of some awards,Baldur’s Gate 3. This patch improves the most important feature of the game: kissing. Actually, we basically coveredthe gist of this patch before, but now that it’s out in the wild, we can cut it open and see what’s inside. As I lead with, the biggest addition is a tonne of new kissing animations. Beyond just kissing, the patch notes highlight they’ve “improved” some of the final cinematics to “better reflect the connection between players and their partners....

Producer slams those who criticize Japanese game developers Platinum Games producerAtsushi Inaba has hit back at those who talk about the “decline” of Japanese game studios, claiming it’s a “joke” to lump every developer together, and pointing out that there are plenty of awful Western studios. “I don’t like it when people lump Japanese games developers all together into one group,” he said in the new issue ofEdge. “Frankly, I think it’s a joke....

Customers who purchased on Steam will receive refund It’s very rare to see titles on Steam pulled and customers offered a refund, but now we’ve seen it happen once again. Last week,Ashes Cricket 2013was released for PC and many fans of the sport jumped at the chance to play it. However, they got more than they bargained for as the game was plagued with glitches and an overall lack of polish....

I’ll admit, I am super hyped forDiablo III, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to start buying themed collectibles until I’ve actually played the game. Not everyone thinks that way, though, and Sideshow Collectibles is at the ready for anyone who does buy their collectibles early. TheOverthrown statuedepicts the Barbarian wielding his dual axes in the fiery heat of battle and comes with an interchangable helmeted head in case you want to swap it out....

Prepare to scroll Send help! It’s that deal-filled time of year when I have far too many browser tabs open. As you might have noticed from the new storefront illustration, Steam began itsautumn saletoday (officially, it’s the “Exploration Sale”). Those sharks are on the hunt for deep discounts. Will they find any? As we recently heard, Valve istinkeringwith its formula. For this sale, there aren’t going to be the usual “lightning,” “daily,” or “community’s choice” deals to tempt us....

Memories One of the first games I ever played wasDragon Queston the NES, known asDragon Warriorin the west. It was the game that gave me the RPG knowledge I have today, and I still have vivid memories of the colorful and bright art direction. I totally needed help from my parents on the last dungeon though. To celebrate the series’ history, Square Enix has released two infographics covering the heroic and villain sides ofDragon Quest Heroes....