Nintendo and Lego have partnered again on a new Lego set for nostalgic gamers.
The companies unveiled the Lego NES Building Kit on Tuesday, a set of Lego bricks that will allow users to create a Nintendo Entertainment System, controller, and even a 1980s style TV set — complete with Super Mario Bros. on the screen.
The set will launch on August 1 at both Lego stores and the Lego website for $230. It’ll be available at other retail outlets starting in 2021.
The Lego console even includes an opening slot where a game cartridge can be inserted and locked into place.
The kit’s controller features an attached cable that can be plugged into the console and the television includes everything from a stand and dials to an attachable antenna, similar to many TVs that were available in 1985 when the NES launched. The television has a rotating insert featuring a Super Mario Bros. level. Using a crank on its side, users can have a Lego Mario traverse the level. In total, the kit has 2,646 pieces.
Are you ready to play like never before? pic.twitter.com/XuNFD7rP0B
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) July 13, 2020
In addition to bricks, the kit also includes a digital element. If users buy the separately sold Bluetooth-ready Mario in the Super Mario Starter Course LEGO set, they can place it on top of the television and watch as it makes sounds reacting to obstacles, enemies, and power-ups. The companies said the sounds will be identical to those in the original 1985 game.
The new building kit is part of a broader partnership between Lego and Nintendo. Earlier this year, the companies launched a Super Mario set, featuring the Super Mario character and other elements from the franchise’s world. Lego has released additional expansion packs in recent months for players to add more Nintendo characters to their sets.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.