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Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left To Cry” is one of the hottest songs on Earth right now, and Nintendo smartly is getting in on that to promote Nintendo Labo. Yes, really.

Jimmy Fallon and his house band The Roots performed the song in its entirety with Grande using cardboard instruments from Nintendo Labo. This is a version of Fallon’s silly “Classroom Instruments” segment where he and his band perform popular songs like Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” with kazoos and melodicas. This “No Tears Left To Cry” segment is probably the best produced video of the bunch.

The video never mentions it, but this is surely a paid promotion from Nintendo for Labo. Video games paying to appear on late night TV is nothing new, as publishers regularly pay for their games to appear on Conan O’Brien’s show. Additionally, Fallon’s show in years past has held a “video game week” where some of the guests are people from the industry.

In 2016, Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime appeared on Fallon’s late night TV show to show off the Nintendo Switch. During the same broadcast, legendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto performed the Super Mario Bros. theme music with The Roots.

In case you’re wondering, here’s the full rundown of who played what for Fallon’s incredible version of “No Tears Left To Cry.”

• Ariana Grande – Vocals
• Jimmy Fallon – Guitar, Piano Studio
• Questlove – Robot Kit
• Black Thought – Electric Guitar Fishing Rod
• Kamal Gray – Toy-Con Piano x2 (Organ)
• James Poyser – Toy-Con Piano x2
• Captain Kirk – Acoustic Guitar
• Mark Kelley – Bass Guitar
• Stro – Toy-Con Garage Drum Machine

GameSpot’s Nintendo Labo review scored the game a 7/10. Reviewer Kallie Plagge said, “It’s a remarkable educational tool and an opportunity to see your creations come to life, and that’s something very special, even if the games themselves don’t stand out.”

It’s the end of the road for EA’s latest golf game. Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is being removed from all digital storefronts for PS4 and Xbox One on May 22, which is also when it’ll be taken out of the EA Access free game “Vault” on Xbox One. It’s just the second game to leave the service, following FIFA 14 last year.

The news comes by way of sports site Pasta Padre. The site surmises that this may have something to do with a licensing deal expiring. We have contacted EA in an attempt to get more details, and we’ll update this story with anything we hear back.

Rory McIlory PGA Tour, like EA’s previous Tiger Woods PGA Tour games, uses a lot of different licenses. The game features the likenesses of many professional golfers in addition to McIlroy, including Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, and Jason Dufner. There are also a number of real-world courses such as St. Andrews and TPC Sawgrass that require licensing. What’s more, the presentation is voiced by broadcast TV veterans Rich Lerner and Frank Nobilo.

Even after losing Augusta National and bigger-name commentators like Jim Nantz from past games, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour likely incurred a significant and potentially complicated licensing situation that was probably always due to expire at some point.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour launched in July 2015 to middling reviews and criticisms over its perceived lack of content at launch. More courses were added as free DLC after launch.

After dropping Tiger Woods as its cover star, EA announced McIlroy would take over for what was expected by some to be a new series of licensed PGA Tour games from EA. However, EA released no follow-ups and has yet to comment on the future of the franchise.

While EA may be backing away from licensed golf games, there are still golf games on the market and new ones coming. Golf Story for Nintendo Switch is delightful, while HB Studios’ The Golf Club franchise–which allows players to build and design their own courses–is due to return this year with The Golf Club 19.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire delivers pitch-perfect old-school role-playing this week, while Steins;Gate 0 scratches that visual novel itch and Laser League makes a splash with its frenetic multiplayer sports action.

by Edmond Tran and Jess McDonell on May 14, 2018 at 4:00PM

If you’re a diehard PC gamer, then you’ve been spoiled for choice on Steam this past month. So many games, so little time, and it NEVER STOPS. This week is no different, with games that will completely destroy your free time if you let them. Open world survival, RPG, multiplayer action, visual novel, pick your poison, and it’ll be good. We promise!

Laser League ($14.99)

From the studio that brought you the amazing Olli Olli comes Laser League, a frenetic and futuristic multiplayer sports action game. You’ll compete in 3-on-3 scenarios as you sprint around Tran-Inspired arenas and light them up with coloured laser grids. If you hit a laser of your opponent’s color, you’re out. Your teammates can revive you, but once you’re all out, that’s game. Dodging the dense grids of moving lasers requires intense concentration, and there are multiple classes to choose from, with unique offensive and defensive skills that can really make things tricky. It’s slick, well-designed, easy to learn and fun to watch.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire ($49.99)

Old-school computer RPGs fans, this week has been Christmas for you. Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity returns for a second outing, and it’s as deep as ever. The classic Dungeons and Dragon-inspired formula has been given some hefty upgrade, with full voice acting, more intricately-connected mechanics, ship combat, and consequences to every single little decision you make. It’s deep as the ocean, and a no-brainer for fans of the genre.

Steins;Gate 0 ($34.99)

One of the most beloved Japanese-style visual novels finally gets its latest release on PC. Steins Gate brings along its cast of characters into a new time-travelling scenario, but you don’t necessarily have to have played the first game to appreciate it, I promise. This narrative adventure focuses on hardcore science and moral quandaries about memory and artificial intelligence, with all the twists and turns that make this subcategory of visual novel games great. Also returning is the smartphone mechanics where your texts change the outcome to the story, and possibly the entire fabric of your reality, because of course. If you’re curious about visual novels, this is definitely one of the better ones to check out.

Conan Exiles ($39.99)

After a super rocky start on Early Access, Conan Exiles got itself together and transformed into the game players wanted to be. And that game is huge and overwhelming, with a ton of stuff to do. It’s open-world survival at its best, with beautiful biomes, granular and robust crafting options, a combat system that provides a variety of options and is satisfying to participate in, and probably about a thousand other things we haven’t even touched yet. With PvP, PvE, and custom servers along with a single-player option, Conan Exiles wants to be the survival game you want it to be, and judging by the player base, it’s hitting the mark for a lot of people.

What new PC games have you been playing this week? Let us know on Twitter: @EdmondTran + @JessMcDonell

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When it was announced that Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow would no longer helm Star Wars: Episode IX, LucasFilm said the parting was due to creative differences. Mere days later, it was revealed that Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams would return for the film.

Now, with Solo: A Star Wars Story heading to theaters, some information about the events leading to Trevorrow’s dismissal has been revealed. According to the Wall Street Journal, at the heart of the matter was the scripts being turned in to Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy.

While Trevorrow was hired based on his pitch to Kennedy, Disney president Alan Horn and Disney CEO Bob Iger, the scripts simply weren’t up to snuff. The WSJ reports that Kennedy was unhappy with the drafts Trevorrow co-wrote, as well as one from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playwright Jack Thorne. While Trevorrow was keen to try again, Kennedy opted to fire him instead.

From there, the search was on for a new director. While Abrams ended up with the role, he wasn’t necessarily the first person Lucasfilm went to. Also on their list was Rian Johnson, who was fresh off of directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi–and who will tackle his own trilogy of Star Wars films after Episode IX. According to Johnson, though, any discussions about his helming the film were not serious.

In the end, Abrams took the job, which brings him full circle in the Star Wars universe. After launching a new trilogy, he’ll now bring it to a close. “I had a bunch of ideas from the beginning, back on VII, of where the story would go,” he tells the WSJ. “I just never in my wildest dreams thought I would have a chance to execute them.”

Of course, fans are going to have to wait a while to see how he executes those ideas. Star Wars: Episode IX is in theaters on December 20, 2019.