Month: September 2020

Microsoft didn’t spend $7.5 billion on ZeniMax/Bethesda for its current pipeline alone–the company splashed out that giant fee because it believes in Bethesda’s future games. We don’t know exactly what those are, but now Xbox boss Phil Spencer has provided a tease.

In an appearance on Major Nelson’s podcast, Spencer said he knows the “future roadmap” for Bethesda’s game studios, and he believes it is an “incredibly exciting time.”

“I have the benefit of knowing the future roadmap and having some insight into the things that have been both announced and unannounced that the teams are working on,” Spencer said. “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the work that Bethesda’s studios are doing, as they continue with the craft of creating games and also thinking about how our medium of gaming continues to evolve and their role in that.”

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It’s a very strange time for Justice League fans. While the highly anticipated Snyder Cut is definitely happening and bound for HBO Max as a four-part limited series, a troubling conversation has been brewing around the film’s original release back in 2017. Actor Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg, publicly called out Joss Wedon as well as executives Jon Berg and Geoff Johns for creating an abusive and hostile work environment after Snyder himself left the project in the wake of personal tragedy. Since then, his co-star Jason Momoa has also taken to social media in support of Fisher’s claims, calling for a full investigation by WarnerMedia.

Notably, Momoa also called out Warner Bros. themselves, stating that they released a “fake” release about his involvement in an animated Frosty the Snowman movie to distract from Fisher’s claims.

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Developer Innersloth has decided to cancel Among Us 2 and instead focus on expanding the content offered in Among Us. In a blog post, the developer wrote that the decision was made in response to the recent spike in popularity for the party survival game.

“All of the content we had planned for Among Us 2 will instead go into Among Us 1,” Innersloth writes. “This is probably the more difficult choice because it means going deep into the core code of the game and reworking several parts of it. We have lots of things planned and we’re excited to bring new content to everyone as you continue to enjoy playing.”

These content expansions include new servers, colorblind support, a friends/account system, and a new stage, though Innersloth added that there are “lots of other things planned too, we just need to prioritize and organize.”

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Xbox has become the latest big brand to join the viral app TikTok. The Xbox TikTok account posted its first video today, and it’s a treat.

The video features a narrator talking to themself and wondering aloud what they should post as their first video on TikTok. As the narration unfolds, the video cuts to the camera roll that shows a number of silly Xbox memes making fun of the Series S and Series X console designs. It’s a very self-aware joke, and it works. You can check it out below.

In other news about the next-generation Xbox consoles, here at GameSpot we now have the Xbox Series X in our hands and we’ll bring you lots of reporting on the console soon.

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Now that Cobra Kai is on Netflix, you have the chance to watch both seasons at least once. If you’re like us, though, you already watched it on YouTube Premium when it first debuted in 2018–and have probably binged it a couple of times on its new streaming home for good measure.

Even if you have watched it more than once, you might not realize that both seasons of the series are jam-packed with references and Easter eggs that nod to not only the Karate Kid franchise, but the glorious 1980s they were set in. We’ve already cataloged a long list of Easter eggs in Season 1 that you should definitely check out.

There’s still plenty to keep an eye out for in Season 2, though. We’ve compiled a sizable collection of references, from direct mentions of things that happened previously to music cues, pulled right out of the movies from the 1980s. Cobra Kai is a love letter to Karate Kid fans and these connections are only going to make you love it even more.

Take a look at the Easter eggs and references we’ve collected from Season 2 below, then get ready for Season 3 to arrive on Netflix.

1. Those trophies

Episode 1

The first thing we see in Season 2 is several trophies in the Cobra Kai dojo. While you can’t see their inscriptions on the show, GameSpot visited the set of the series during filming of this season. It may surprise you to know they were all inscribed with the name Johnny Lawrence, showing just how good a student he was.

2. Say hello to the bad guy

Episode 1

Hey, look who’s not dead! For the first time since Karate Kid III–and the final scene from Season 1–it’s John Kreese, the former sensei at Cobra Kai and the man who taught Johnny karate.

3. A role reversal

Episode 1

At the end of the first Karate Kid movie, Kreese has a teenaged Johnny in a chokehold just like this one. Now, the shoe is on the other foot.

4. That car looks familiar

Episode 1

Here we see the car Miyagi gave Daniel for his birthday in the first film. Now, Daniel owns all of the cars–and Miyagi’s former home.

5. Sand the floor

Episode 1

This is one of Mr. Miyagi’s training exercises that’s been passed down to Daniel. He’s teaching his students the only way he knows how–muscle memory. Later, in Episode 5, Daniel goes through the motions once again with his new student Demitri. It doesn’t go as well.

6. Paint the fence

Episode 1

Yet another Miyagi technique in action.

7. Wax on, wax off

Episode 1

And who could possibly forget waxing the car as an extension of karate?

8. Mr. Miyagi’s house

Episode 1

No, this is not the house used in the first Karate Kid film. Unlike that movie, most of Cobra Kai isn’t shot in California’s San Fernando Valley. Instead, it’s filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. In Season 2, the Cobra Kai team actually recreated the home, including the front and backyards, in the parking lot at the studio where the show was filmed.

When GameSpot visited the set of Cobra Kai, we realized the inside of the house was left largely empty, save for one room that was built to resemble the way it looked in the film. However, the front and backyard, along with the cars, were recreated as close to the original film as they could be.

9. Perfect balance

Episode 1

Balance is everything in Miyagi-Do. According to Mr. Miyagi, without balance, everything falls apart. Daniel has adapted the lesson into his own teachings to pretty hilarious results as it ends with his students falling into the water.

10. Upgraded to a Switch

Episode 1

In Season 1, Anthony, Daniel’s son, couldn’t be torn away from his PlayStation Portable. It made some sense, given this show is produced by Sony. However, it also made no sense since Sony stopped producing the PSP in 2014 and Season 1 came out in 2018. Now he’s clearly upgraded to a gaming console people actually want.

11. After Karate Kid III

Episode 1

According to Kreese, he spent some time in Panama in 1989. That timing is interesting, given that Karate Kid III was released that year. However, the movie is set in 1985. In that film, Kreese tries to revive Cobra Kai once again, though LaRusso ultimately beats his top student one more time. We learn in Season 2 that after that happened, he claims he ran “off book” missions around the world. While he claims he reenlisted in the military, he later admits to Johnny that’s not the case.

12. “That drum saved my life”

Episode 1

In Karate Kid II, Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel the “drum technique,” which is a way of avoiding being hit. The movement is like that of a drum Miyagi has–the same one Robby is holding in this scene. Well, not exactly the same one. While this drum is made to look like the one Miyagi has in the film, it’s not as thick.

13. The Medal of Honor

Episode 1

Daniel still has Mr. Miyagi’s Medal of Honor, which he was awarded for his service in World War II. While the movies didn’t dive too heavily into what Miyagi did during the war to earn the medal, he was shown wearing it to a ceremony.

14. The rules of Miyagi-Do Karate

Episode 1

Inside Miyagi’s home, Daniel still has the rules of Miyagi-Do Karate displayed on banners. The first rule is that karate is for defense only. The second rule? First, learn rule number one.

15. Cobra Kai’s Wrestle Buddies

Episode 1

Don’t expect much professional wrestling in the plot of Cobra Kai, but seeing two friends each wearing classic WWE T-shirts is a nice bonus.

16. Rock and roll never dies

Episode 1

In this scene, Johnny is wearing a Metallica shirt. This shirt, in particular, is from the Damaged Justice tour, which ran between 1988 and 1989. We’re guessing this isn’t one of the original shirts from the tour, though, as it has been reproduced over the years. You can even buy it at Walmart.

17. Why did Daniel and Ali break up?

Episode 1

While recounting his romantic history to his teenage daughter, Daniel mentions Ali, the love of his life from the first film. When she asks why they broke up, he said that it’s a story for another time. This is that time. It was revealed in Karate Kid II that Ali dumped Daniel for a football player at UCLA.

18. The gang is back together

Episode 2

Daniel is shocked to find out Kreese isn’t dead after all. Why? Because in Season 1 of the series Johnny said he was. It’s unclear whether he knew it all along or not. Naturally, the three relive some of their unfortunate history.

19. Cobra Kai never dies

Episode 6

Episode 6 sees the returns of Rob Garrison (Tommy), Ron Thomas (Bobby), and Tony O’Dell (Jimmy), as we get to catch up with some other former Cobra Kai members. Johnny spends the majority of the episodes reuniting with his former fellow Cobra Kai members, going on one last adventure before one of them, Tommy, dies. They also reminisce about the old days, with the group being shocked Johnny brought Cobra Kai back.

20. Daniel’s biggest sin

Episode 6

In this episode, Daniel tells the story of Karate Kid III, in which he actually left Miyagi-Do and joined Cobra Kai. Yes, even Daniel went to the dark side once upon a time.

21. Daniel’s mom is back

Episode 8

Randee Heller, who plays Daniel’s mom Lucille in the movies, reprises her role in the eighth episode of both Seasons 1 and 2.

22. The jacket

Episode 8

If that jacket looks familiar, it’s because Miguel borrowed it from Johnny. It’s the one Johnny wore in the first Karate Kid movie. Honestly, there’s probably some of Daniel’s blood on there somewhere.

23. It never ends with these two

Episode 10

Even all these years later, it still always comes to blows between Johnny and Daniel. This fight, naturally, harks back to the climax of the first film. Now, though, this isn’t a tournament bout. Instead, it’s just two adults that can’t seem to keep their cool and are karate fighting each other in a tiny apartment in the valley.

24. It was a cruel summer

Episode 10

As kids head back to school in this scene, the song “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama is heard. Released in 1984, it became a Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 after it was featured in the first Karate Kid movie. It’s also not the last time you’ll hear it in this season, as a cover by Kari Kimmel is used at the end of this episode.

25. RIP Trapper Keeper

Episode: 10

For those of you out there that didn’t grow up in the ’80s or early ’90s, the Trapper Keeper Johnny mentions in this scene–which has his son perplexed–was the coolest binder kids could ask for. They were often emblazoned with illustrations, geometric designs, or pictures of your favorite fictional characters.

26. High school karate riot

Episode: 10

Not really an Easter egg, but we can’t not talk about the high school karate riot in the Season 2 finale. It’s easily one of the best TV fight scenes in some time. What’s more, it takes the rivalry between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do to an entirely new level and has us assuming Robby’s in jail after this. They should all be in jail, honestly.

27. Kreese’s Cobra Kai never dies

Episode: 10

As if things weren’t bad enough, Kreese has risen once again to take control of Cobra Kai, in an attempt to ensure that his vicious and destructive form of karate lives on.

28. What a cliffhanger

Episode: 10

Miguel might die, Johnny’s lost Cobra Kai, and Daniel is giving up karate. That’s a lot to leave hanging at the end of Season 2, but Cobra Kai had one more twist to drop on everyone–Ali is back in the mix. She’s accepted Johnny’s Facebook friend request and now we just need to hope she actually appears in Season 3.

Game of Thrones delivered its most significant, iconic shock toward the end of its third season back in 2013 when Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn, and his wife Talisa were killed by a rival family at an event that came to be known in-fiction as the “Red Wedding.” It rocked fans who read the original scene in the 2000 novel A Storm of Swords–fans who then looked forward to show-only people’s minds being blown once the scene finally aired. And with some minor tweaks, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss mostly succeeded in translating the gut-wrenching event to television.

One major change related to the show’s version of the Red Wedding only became evident long afterward, as it grew more and more clear that one iconic character would not be adapted from the source material to the screen. In the novels, you see, Catelyn Stark doesn’t stay dead. Like other characters in the series, she’s resurrected by Red Magic–think priests of R’hllor like Melisandre and Beric Dondarrion’s friend Thoros. (If this is all starting to sound like nonsensical trivia, don’t worry, we’re getting to a point.)

In the books, fire zombie Catelyn–also known as Lady Stoneheart–goes on a tear through the Riverlands lynching any and all “enemies” (as she very loosely defines them) and perpetrators of the Red Wedding, including any members of the rival Frey family she can get her hands on. She hasn’t appeared much in the currently published books, but fans hope she’ll play a more prominent role in future material. In a series where justice is so rarely served, some readers find it cathartic to have an undead agent of pure vengeance floating around on the fringes. So it was extremely disappointing to a lot of people when the show ultimately chose to leave Lady Stoneheart in the realm of the written word.

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In today’s Save State, Persia talks about Metal Gear Solid favorites possibly coming back to PC, a trademark renewal for Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, and Nintendo accidentally leaking a new Kirby game.