Polygon:

Though we still don’t have a great explanation as to why, the first ever Polygon podcast has returned on a monthly basis. Join The Besties (Russ Frushtick, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy and Chris Plante) as they nonsensically attempt to pick the “best” game released in January 2017.

I was introduced to The Besties when I moved to San Francisco in 2013. Any time I was walking the city, out on a jog, or commuting to work, there was a fair chance I was listening to The Besties. Their comradely and banter provided me company during those moments when my wife was away. (Such is the power of podcasts!)

Over the past two years, what was a monthly show turned annual. This surprise relaunch of the monthly cadence is just what I, nay the world needs right now.

Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge:

To put it plainly, with the Nintendo Switch launch right around the corner, the current inability to purchase the 3DS should seriously worry anyone without a preorder in place. Because if the Switch turns out to be as successful as the NES Classic or 3DS have been, fans could be facing yet another tough choice between a long wait or a grey market gouging for a Nintendo console.

Looking on Target.com, there’s not a single 3DS within 100 miles of Palo Alto. 250 miles on BesyBuy.com. Prime availability through Amazon is limited to Pikachu Yellow and Pokémon 20th Anniversary XL editions for $300+ through forth-parties. A new 3DS XL retails for $199. The Switch retails for $299.

I’ve shared Gartenberg’s concern since missing the Switch’s pre-order allotment. Not to mention the continued unavailability of the NES Classic. And being the dummy I am, I already traded my Wii U in at GameStop in anticipation of the Switch’s March 3 release date—$200 burning a hole in my pocket. This is crazy. At the very least, take my order and send when ready.

I’ve got a feeling I’ll be staring at my copy of Breath of the Wild longingly for a while.

Matt Peckham, writing for TIME, with a great profile of Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi:

“If all of Nintendo’s content creators were to be seen as a symphony, then Mr. Takahashi is our conductor,” says Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aimé, when asked to contrast Takahashi’s role with Iwata’s. “What I mean by that is, it’s his decision to bring the different players in our orchestra onto a particular game or a particular initiative. He’s the ultimate decision maker in what gets played by the symphony or what gets created by Nintendo as a company.”

And to follow the metaphor through, audiences rarely get to see the conductor’s face. “He’s been creating this big show, but because you only see his back, you really don’t know him all that well,” adds Fils-Aimé. “But he drives the orchestra and he sets the pace and the bar for the performance.”

Fils-Aimé pushes back on positional comparisons between the preeminent role Takahashi now plays with the myriad ones performed by Iwata, Nintendo’s former “ultimate decision maker,” calling them “different roles, different times, different needs of the organization.” What’s changed, he says, is that after Iwata’s passing, the company decided it was time to ask its less visible luminaries to step up. It’s a a philosophy others in the company, like Miyamoto, have espoused in passing for years.

“The people that came out in the presentation, when you look at it from the perspective of Nintendo, they’re actually not new at all,” says Miyamoto of the varied group chosen to rep Nintendo’s Switch during the system’s January feting. Miyamoto, whose hands have touched virtually all of Nintendo’s storied IP, will be 65 this year, while the company’s new president, Tatsumi Kimishima, turns 67 in April.

Takahashi has a storied career with the company. I especially love his history with Wave Race 64 and 1080° Snowboarding, two of my favorite Nintendo 64 titles. His views on management are similarly inspiring.

Andrew Webster, The Verge:

For 14 years — starting in 2000 — the Chinese government enforced a ban on video game consoles. Between 2014 and 2015, both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 made their long-awaited and overdue debut. Microsoft described its release as a “monumental day” and celebrated by lighting up the Shanghai skyline in bright Xbox green. Sony’s chief executive Kaz Hirai told The Telegraph that “I think that we will be able to replicate the kind of success we have had with PS4 in other parts of the world in [China].”

The lifting of the Chinese console ban is not news, but the fact it was a thing still blows my mind. Where were you in 2000? Can you imagine your life without console games from then til now? It may sound like a silly question, but video games are a massive part of 21st century culture. Wild.

Regardless, a very cool and interesting story.

Brianna Wu—software engineer, game developer, and South Boston congressional candidate—on the Tomorrow podcast with Josh Topolsky of The Outline:

Josh Topolsky: It seems like we’re in a particularly rotten place in America right now. We have Trump controlling the White House in a way—and with people like Steve Bannon—that seems dangerous. It feels somewhat out of control. I assume you’re following this pretty closely.

Brianna Wu: Steve Bannon—this is the editor in charge of Breitbart—legitimized vast parts of Gamergate. This is extremely personal to me.

JT: He is, in many ways, a major figure in the “alt-right” and Gamergate movements which are linked. I mean, they seem very linked to me.

BW: It’s the same people. It’s the exact same people; same playbook, just on a wider scale.

JT: Let’s talk a little bit about your experience with Gamergate. You dealt with enormous amounts of harassment from these people. Really violent and vile.

BW: Violent. I had to leave my house. They targeted my company’s financials repeatedly.

This is a great listen.

Wu speaks from first-hand experience to the source, damaging effects, and cascading effect of Gamergate and it’s current place in American politics.

It’s easy not to take a term with the word “gamer” in it seriously. But, as Wu explains, the lack of serious investigation into Gamergate and knowledge of tech in general is likely a big part how we ended up in this mess. It’s candidates like Wu—with deep knowledge of tech, engineering, privacy, and security—that will truly revolutionize the US government and make America 21st century ready again.