region|US

There are some things you just don’t do in certain parts of the US. You don’t use inferior salsa during a cattle drive in Texas. You don’t eat pizza with a knife and fork in New York City. You don’t yell “Belichick is a big, fat cheater!” in a crowded Boston bar (even if it happens to be true).

And if you’re in New Jersey or just America in general, you NEVER take the holy name of Bruce Springsteen in vain in ANY manner. So it’s bewildering why one New Jersey representative would even think about faking his listening habits when it comes to The Boss.

The Xbox Series X was the perfect opportunity for Microsoft to run far away from its tumultuous Xbox One years and towards an era of genuine 4K gaming, ray tracing and Game Pass abundance. But it was not meant to be. The PlayStation 5 has outsold Microsoft's new consoles by two to one, according to a VGChartz sales comparison, a replay of the battle between the PS4 and Xbox One.

The Game Awards are over — congratulations to Team Asobi for Astro Bot taking home the Game of the Year award. Our review of Astro Bot earlier this year called it "one of the best games Sony has ever made," and it seems the industry and game-playing public agree. 

As always, the long, long stream was a hybrid award ceremony, advertising reel and game announcement marathon. 

Airbnb has announced it’s deploying “anti-party technology” to prevent “unauthorized and disruptive parties” from happening at homes on its platform for New Year’s Eve. If you were planning on hosting a get-together, start thinking of a Plan B.

Staff at another video game studio have organized their own union. The Communication Workers of America (CWA) announced late Thursday in a statement that 461 workers for ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS), the Maryland-based studio behind The Elder Scrolls Online, voted to form the ZOS United-CWA union covering web developers, designers, engineers and graphics artists by a vote of 395-40. 

Microsoft has cut two of Skype’s central premium features: credit and custom phone numbers. Instead of credits, the company is now pushing subscriptions — priced regionally and globally, depending on your needs. As for using a phone number other than your cell’s, there’s no longer an alternative on the platform.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is just barely in the rearview mirror and FromSoftware already has a new game in the wings.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio delivered a meaty one-two punch at The Game Awards. First came the news that the Like A Dragon studio is behind a revival of the Virtua Fighter series.

It's getting close to pinch time, when gifts bought online will probably arrive in time for the holidays, but then again, might not. If you're willing to assume the odds are in your favor — or don't really care when something arrives on your doorstep — you'll be happy to know this turned out to be a pretty good week to save on tech. 

2024 is unquestionably the year of Balatro. It came out of nowhere to fill our heads with dreams of flush fives and legendary Jimbos. But I think what put it really over the top was when it launched on iOS and Android earlier this fall.