Key Note Gaming

Lost Origins saw reprints earlier this year, but now that they've dried up, we're seeing the usual climbs in this Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield expansion. What I didn't expect was to see so many Trainer Gallery cards drop in value, but I think this is more of a market correction. It was only at the beginning of the year that Gengar and Pikachu were in the pocket money binder at your local TCG and collectables stores, but those days are still a distant memory. Crashers and Climbers: Lost Origin With Pokémon Mania 2025 still going crazy, everyone is trying to grab new release sealed product at retail, which means it's a great time to snag some overlooked cards from older sets before they climb up. For example, I got most of the cards in today's crasher section for around $5 each 12 months ago, so although they're currently lowering in price, they're still a great buy. Let's get straight into it. Pokémon Card Crashers Gengar TG06/TG30 is a bit o...

Borderlands 4 is a looter shooter that revolves around… loot. But what happens when you can’t get your hard-earned Legendary drop because it got trapped out of bounds or behind an invisible wall? Desperate Borderlands 4 players are running into that exact problem and are now pleading with developer Gearbox for a fix. If you’ve played Borderlands 4 you’ll probably know the feeling. It’s the europhoria that comes from a Legendary drop among the confetti-like explosion of loot that erupts from a downed boss. This is something the Borderlands series has always done well, perhaps better, even, than any other looter shooter. When Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford recently said if more developers better understood why gamers love loot, then Borderlands would have “good competitors,” most agreed with him. But if that Legendary flies off and lands out of bounds, the frustration is just as intense as the euphoria that proceeded it. Double the intensity if the Legendary spirals away after a par...

As players continue to deploy into Battlefield 6 multiplayer to try out its many maps, modes, and guns, they are finding a new enemy to fight: the sun. The millions of players who have checked out EA and Battlefield Studios’ latest large-scale FPS in its first week since launch have been hit by lights so bright they feel like they are being “flash-banged." It’s an issue affecting every class from Engineers to Recon, especially when exiting a building or, even worse, aiming down sights (ADS) while looking outside from the inside of a structure. The whole lighting system seems broken by u/Popcornmix in Battlefield “It's my main issue right now,” one Reddit user commented . “It actually gives me a headache. Footage of the issues plaguing Battlefield 6 players is hard to ignore, and we here at IGN have experienced them, too. Simply walking around on outdoor maps rarely presents any issues, but the instant you try to leave a building, nearly the entire screen turns whit...

In an impassioned end to his keynote address on the opening day of Gamescom Asia x Thailand Game Show in Bangkok, Dead Space creator and industry veteran Glen Schofield has declared that the games industry is in dire need of fixing, and he believes he knows just how to go about it. “We need to fix the gaming industry right now,” said Schofield to a room of games industry professionals. “It's broken. It's beaten, it's battered, our developers are battered, they've been taking it on the chin for the last couple of years. We need to bring it back to what it was, right? Instead of all this negativity.” The first and arguably most controversial step to take in Schofield’s opinion, is for the games industry to widely embrace the use of generative AI as a standard part of their development tool set. “AI isn’t here to replace us,” continued Schofield. “It’s here to make us faster, better, and more efficient. And AI is for all of us, it really is. It’s not just for directo...

A new offline mode for Ubisoft’s The Crew 2 is available now, which will allow owners to play the racing MMO offline if desired. The functionality – dubbed Hybrid Mode – has been explained in full on the publisher’s website . According to Ubisoft, Hybrid Mode gives us the “freedom to choose” how we want to play The Crew 2. That is, online mode (which is “the original experience as it was designed from the start, complete with multiplayer features, leaderboards, summits, and community sharing”) or offline mode (which the publisher describes as “a new experience”). “Whether you’re looking to preserve your progression for the future or simply enjoy the freedom of playing without a connection, Hybrid Mode ensures The Crew 2 remains accessible for years to come,” explains the publisher. To transfer progression into offline mode, players can simply select “Export to Offline Save” after a session online. Doing so will create a copy of current progression in the game’s multiplayer world s...

Hallmark's brand new Halo 3-themed Christmas ornament is now up for preorder at Amazon , and it looks absolutely stunning. It features a 3D Master Chief leaning out from the front cover of the iconic Xbox 360 game case, and measures approximately 2.75in height, 3in width, and 1in length. It's listed for $24.99, and it's shipping on October 20, 2025. It's not the only Xbox-themed Christmas ornament going this year, either, with a slick-looking Xbox 360 decoration also now available to buy for $28.99 . Pairing this up with the Master Chief might be the move, if you don't mind the cost of picking up both, especially since the Xbox 360 ornament features light and sound effects, even playing the Halo 3 theme tune. Otherwise, my next favorite ornament from Hallmark right now isn't Christmas-themed, but more aptly, Halloween. It's the spooky season right now, and the Halloween Pikachu ornament features the adorable Pokémon decked out in a pumpkin costum...

Japanese video game developer Tomonobu Itagaki has died aged 58. Itagaki, best known for creating the Dead or Alive series and for reviving the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004, issued a post on Facebook hours before his death was confirmed. Last Words The light of my life is finally fading. The fact that this message has been posted means that the time has finally come. I am no longer in this world. (I am entrusting this final post to someone important to me.) My life has been a series of battles. I kept winning. I have caused a lot of trouble, too. I am proud to say that I followed my beliefs and fought to the end. I have no regrets. However, I am filled with regret that I was unable to deliver a new work to all my fans. I am sorry. That's how it is. So it goes. Itagaki Tomonobu James Mielke, co-founder of Tigertron and BitSummit, took to social media to say : “RIP, senpai. You will always be a ninja.” “Today I lost someone who was truly like a brother to me,” M...