With the sheer amount of news that happens within the gaming industry, it can be hard to keep up with the hottest stories of any given week. To combat that, TheGamer is launching a new weekly recap that quickly summarizes everything you should know from a given week. If you missed anything during your busy schedule, fear not: We've got you covered!
From Genshin Impact's Mona getting her own figure to the surprising Adin Ross Twitch ban, here are the top stories for the week of July 9 through July 16, 2021.
Donkey Kong 64 Voice Actor Apologizes For The DK Rap, Shares Some Voice Clips
In celebration of Donkey Kong's 40th anniversary (which Nintendo seemingly forgot about), many across social media started sharing their favorite memories about the King of Swing. One such was Grant Kirkhope, an ex-Rare employee known for composing a number of tunes for Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, and more. In his tweets, he apologized for the DK Rap and shared a number of outtakes from sessions for Donkey Kong 64.
I don't know if his apology was sincere or more a wink-wink, nudge-nudge type of deal, but it's funny to see that the song in question remains contentious all these years later. I think it's kind of silly, but it's also a hilarious footnote in Nintendo history and shocking to hear "Hell" come up in an official Nintendo product.
Related: It Really Shouldn't Be This Hard To Legally Play Old Games
Genshin Impact's Mona Is Getting Her Own Figure
Genshin Impact has been a runaway success ever since it launched, so it's not surprising to see physical merchandise crop up for it. After announcing a series of figures based on popular characters from the game over the last few months, developer Mihoyo revealed that hydro wizard Mona would be the next character to join Klee, Ningguang, and Paimon. Coming in at 1:7 scale just like the other figures, toy manufacturer Wonderful Works gave a nebulous "soon" as a release date.
I’ll admit that I know absolutely nothing about Genshin Impact (I’m an old man), but the figure does look nice. It reminds me of some of the Fire Emblem figures with their sexy poses and immaculate detail. It's very clear why people are interested in this.
GTA Streamer Adin Ross Banned From Twitch For Breaking The Law By Using His Phone Whilst Driving
Likely the biggest story from the week, prominent Twitch streamer Adin Ross had his account banned on July 7, 2021, for texting while driving during a Livestream. In clips shared across social media, Ross is seen stopped at a red light checking his chat log and responding to viewers while behind the wheel of his car. Since he lives in California, this activity is considered a crime and is the likely reason he was banned from Twitch.
It doesn't help that Ross also had previous temporary bans on his account. Just this year alone, Ross had used a homophobic slur and was banned for nudity at one point. Fearing that this ban will be a permanent one, Ross did admit that incident was completely his fault. "I am 100% in the wrong I'm so sorry," he tweeted later.
A few days later, however, Ross was unbanned and resumed streaming on Twitch. That hasn't stopped this particular story from taking off, likely because readers are trying to figure out what happened. The story eventually had a happy ending for him, but it certainly made for some gripping tabloid-style drama over the week.
Related: Genshin Impact's Preservation Of Art Is Refreshing In An Increasingly Tech-Obsessed Industry
Biology Teacher Publishes A Paper Claiming Red Dead Redemption 2 Teaches Players Natural History
Remember the old days when your parents told you playing video games would never help you in real life? Yeah, we now have some empirical evidence showing otherwise. A Biology teacher from Cornwall, UK took to the truegaming subreddit to post the results of a study he conducted asserting that Red Dead Redemption 2 helped teach players about natural history and ecology. As it turns out, looking at highly detailed recreations of animals helps you identify their real-life counterparts much easier.
While the specifics of the study weren't mentioned in the post (you can find the full report here), author Edward J. Crowley polled roughly 586 participants on their ability to identify 15 animals featured in the game. Players of RDR2 were able to get roughly 10 out of 15 correct while those without experience in the game faired three times worse. As an added bonus, many players described their experience seeing said animals and were able to correctly recall the wildlife habits of each creature.
It’s an amazing thing to see how developers can authentically nail different aspects of our lives in digital form. I may not like Red Dead Redemption 2 all that much, but even I cannot deny how visually impressive and realistically accurate the game is. With the game also acting as an educational aid, it may have reach beyond being pure entertainment as well.
Man Arrested For Selling "Ultimate" Breath Of The Wild Save File
In a bit of news that will sound truly bizarre to many of us, 27-year-old Chinese national Ichimin Sho was arrested in Tokyo, Japan for selling modified Zelda: Breath of the Wild save files to players. Labeling the saves as "ultimate save data," the modder would tailor each file to the user's exact specifications and would charge around 3500 yen (or $31 USD) for the privilege of cheating.
While that doesn't initially sound bad, it actually violates a law in Japan known as the "Unfair Competition Prevention" act. It’s really complicated to explain, but according to Niigata authorities, the perpetrator in question would fall under a part of the act that outlines "imitation of the configuration of a third party's product." Since he is modifying Nintendo's copyrighted code and profiting from it, it can be considered a crime.
Sho admitted to the crimes and even revealed he earned roughly 10 million yen (around $90,700 USD) from services he started in December 2019. It's hard to tell if Nintendo was involved in stopping Sho or if the company backs the charges against him, but it certainly sends a strong message. If you live in Japan, maybe don't sell cheats for games.
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