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Super Mario Bros. recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, and the series continues to be extremely popular to this day. The character of Mario is particularly iconic–30 years ago, a poll outside of Japan found that the character was more recognizable than Mickey Mouse, the head Disney mascot.

Nintendo has just published their Q & A summary from Nintendo’s corporate management policy briefing for the current fiscal year, and Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, has reflected on this poll. His reaction to having made such a popular character is surprising–but he also details how the character’s popularity galvanized him.

Asked about 35 years of Mario, Miyamoto notes how much each major platformer in the series differs. “We often hear our consumers saying that each title in the Super Mario Bros. series feels like a meaningfully different game,” Miyamoto says. He then reflects on the Mickey Mouse poll, and how he felt about it. “I felt bad that Mickey Mouse, who had been hugely popular among fans, including myself, for 60 years at that point, was even being compared to Mario, who had just been around for a few years back then.”

He continues, explaining how this direct comparison has influenced the series. “Even so, considering that Mickey Mouse had grown up alongside the evolution of animation technology, I resolved that we would help Super Mario grow up alongside the evolution of digital technology,” Miyamoto says.

“In fact, every time, every time Nintendo has launched new hardware, we also released a new title in the Super Mario series so players can experience a new type of entertainment that new technology allows us to achieve.”

Miyamoto goes on to talk about how new members of each Super Mario development team have unique relationships with the series. “When asked about their experiences with the Super Mario series over the past 35 years, their responses ran the gamut from ‘The first Super Mario Bros. was the best’ to ‘I like the newest one the best,'” he says. He also says that the upcoming Super Mario movie will expand the character’s reach even further.

A new collection of classic Mario 3D platformers has been released on Switch, called Super Mario 3D All-Stars. It brings together Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War alpha on PS4 has come and gone, and one part of it that’s leaving a lasting impression is its use of skill-based matchmaking (SBMM).

This is a backend matchmaking system that puts players into matches with players determined to be of a similar skill level. Some people complained about SBMM for the Black Ops Cold War, and now the technology director at Treyarch has responded.

Martin Donlon corrected someone on Twitter who claimed that games like Black Ops 2, Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, and 2007’s Modern Warfare did not have SBMM, and this made them better as a result. But Donlon made it clear that they all had SBMM, even if it wasn’t immediately noticeable.

Donlon also remarked that SBMM is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to matchmaking algorithms. “SBMM is one of many many tuneable parameters in a matchmaking system. It’s funny watching people talk about it like it’s a big switch that can only be turned on or off,” Donlon said.

The Black Ops Cold War alpha was held this past weekend on PS4, and it is now over. You might have noticed that sniper rifles were OP in the alpha, and this was on purpose.

If you didn’t get a chance to try the alpha, Treyarch will hold an open beta in October on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can check out our Black Ops Cold War beta guide to find out everything you need to know.

Black Ops Cold War launches on November 13 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The game is a direct sequel to the original Black Ops, taking place in 1981. In addition to multiplayer and campaign, the game brings back the fan-favorite Zombies mode.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War alpha test was held this weekend on PlayStation 4, and if you were one of the many, many people who took part, you might have noticed that the sniper rifles felt a little too powerful.

This was intentional, according to Treyarch lead designer Tony Flame. He said on Twitter that snipers were buffed during the alpha, and you can expect a nerf for the upcoming beta in October based on player data from the alpha weekend.

Flame also pointed out that the alpha version of Black Ops Cold War that you might have played this weekend represents an outdated look at where the game stands today. The studio has made a range of improvements already, covering weapons and movement, as well as “new gameplay and system features.”

The Black Ops Cold War beta begins on October 8 for PS4, before coming to Xbox One and PC later. You can check out GameSpot’s Black Ops Cold War beta guide to find out everything you need to know.

Black Ops Cold War, which is a direct sequel to the original Black Ops, launches on November 13 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It’s also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S that day.

Just a few days after exiting its early access stage and becoming a “full” game, Supergiant’s Hades has already managed to hit 1 million total sales. Of this number, about 300,000 occurred since its official release.

In its announcement on Twitter, the developer thanked players for not only purchasing the game, but for helping to shape its development during the early access phase. During this period, it was only available on PC, but it has since released for Nintendo Switch, as well.

GameSpot critic Suriel Vazquez played it on both systems for our Hades review, and awarded the game a 9/10. He did note, however, that the Switch’s small screen can make reading text an issue in handheld mode.

Prior to developing Hades, Supergiant Games was already an acclaimed developer with Pyre, Transistor, and Bastion under its belt. Hades takes things in a more procedurally generated direction than the developer’s past work, and its clever twists on the roguelike formula and satisfying combat have made it a hit, if those sales numbers are any indication.

The game had been in early access for nearly two years before its most-recent update. Along with new gameplay and item changes, additional story elements, and even new environments, the v1.0 version of Hades introduced the game’s true ending. Cross-save between Switch and PC will let you play on both systems without losing progress. However, the feature was not ready by the game’s release date and will be added further down the line.

Red … Undead Online? As we approach the Halloween season, which should be quite a bit different than in years past, it appears Red Dead Redemption 2 could be getting zombies in Red Dead Online.

The data-miners at YouTube channel Red Dead Guides have been digging through new game files and discovered nearly 50 different zombie models that haven’t yet been released. As October is arriving soon, this presumably is going to be saved for a “Fear” Halloween event in the game.

The models are labeled “Army of Fear,” but it isn’t clear if they’re being used for a new game mode or for some larger temporary overhaul of Red Dead Online. The game has received continuous content updates that added things like missions, hunting events, and new gear, but this could be enough to get former players interested in the game again.

The Red Dead series is no stranger to the undead. A standalone expansion called Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare was released back in 2010, just about five months after the main game. It added a new zombie campaign to the game that fit with the western setting surprisingly well. To date, we haven’t seen true expansions for Red Dead Redemption 2, with Rockstar focusing all its efforts on free content updates, instead.

Let’s be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologize for that.
Over the next few days, we will release more PS5 consoles for preorder – retailers will share more details.
And more PS5s will be available through the end of the year. pic.twitter.com/h1TaGsGBun

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 19, 2020

Start planning out space for your PS5 games on the system’s SSD now, because they are going to take up a lot of room. In fact, it might not be too long before you have to start deleting games if the file sizes Sony has revealed are anything to go by.

On the PlayStation Direct website, which lets you buy PlayStation games and accessories directly from Sony, Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls both have their file sizes estimated. In the case of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the standard version of the game takes up 50GB, while the Ultimate Edition, which packs in a copy of Spider-Man: Remastered, takes up 105GB. Demon’s Souls, meanwhile, is a full remake of the 2009 PS3 game and takes up about 66GB.

With updates down the line, these file sizes could get even bigger. Games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare have drawn some controversy this generation for ballooning file sizes of well over 100GB, and with higher-resolution textures and more detailed game worlds, that only looks to become more of a problem for PS5. The system’s 825GB capacity is lower than the PS4 Pro, and though it will support expansion cards to increase that storage space, those are expensive and likely out of many users’ budget range.

The PS5 is releasing on November 12 in two versions: a $499 standard console and a $399 digital edition. The systems are otherwise identical, so you won’t be losing out on power or other features if you choose to go with one over the other.