Latest Nintendo Direct event led by Zelda: Skyward Sword HD remaster

Splatoon 3, Fall Guys, a Ninja Gaiden 3D trilogy collection, new Mario Golf, more.

It's been a while since we've seen a particularly long Nintendo Direct video presentation, and Wednesday's news-filled flurry of game announcements lived up to the company's reputation for surprises and weirdness. And in a tip of its hat to The Legend of Zelda series' 35th anniversary this year, Nintendo capped its first Direct of 2021 with the reveal of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, coming to Nintendo Switch on July 16.

Skyward Sword was the only mainline Zelda game to launch with a serious reliance on Wii-like controls (Link's Crossbow Training notwithstanding). The 2011 game required the Wii MotionPlus add-on, as its swordplay revolved around precisely angled swipes for the sake of certain enemies and puzzles, and this remaster will let players relive that experience by assigning motion controls to both left and right Joy-Con controllers. Don't worry, Switch Lite owners: This HD re-release doesn't mandate Wii-like waggling. If you prefer, Link's sword angles and item tosses can be assigned to the controller's right analog stick instead.

Whether this control update alone will redeem the game compared to other Zelda classics will probably be a matter of taste. Skyward Sword was notorious for clinging to classic series tenets in ways that bogged down its otherwise gorgeous and accessible gameplay (a criticism that somehow escaped Ars' original review). Its successor, 2017's Breath of the Wild, famously shattered the classic Zelda template—and for the better. But in general, even a lukewarm Zelda game is still a good video game, and like other remastered Zelda games before this one, it looks like we're getting a handsome and tasteful touch-up of everything—and this does particular wonders for LoZ:SS's unique "watercolor" aesthetic, which looked quite blurry on the original Wii.

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Nato will "Bürden teilen"

Die Finanzierung der Luftüberwachung oder des Unterhalts einer Flotte aus der Gemeinschaftskasse soll “Anreize für Alliierte setzen, mehr Ressourcen zur Verfügung zu stellen”

Die Finanzierung der Luftüberwachung oder des Unterhalts einer Flotte aus der Gemeinschaftskasse soll "Anreize für Alliierte setzen, mehr Ressourcen zur Verfügung zu stellen"

Pushbacks in Griechenland: Jetzt muss sich Athen erklären (Update)

Flüchtlinge wurden zu Gewalt gegen andere Flüchtlinge gezwungen. Probleme der griechischen Migrationspolitik sind nicht neu: Schon 2021 wurden Kinder und Säuglinge in klirrender Kälte sich selbst überlassen

Flüchtlinge wurden zu Gewalt gegen andere Flüchtlinge gezwungen. Probleme der griechischen Migrationspolitik sind nicht neu: Schon 2021 wurden Kinder und Säuglinge in klirrender Kälte sich selbst überlassen

The world’s second-most popular desktop operating system isn’t macOS anymore

Chrome OS’s rise in market share has been swift and decisive.

Market share chart

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

For ages now, every annual report on desktop operating system market share has had the same top two contenders: Microsoft's Windows in a commanding lead at number one and Apple's macOS in distant second place. But in 2020, Chrome OS became the second-most popular OS, and Apple fell to third.

That's according to numbers from market data firm IDC and a report on IDC's data by publication GeekWire. Chrome OS had passed macOS briefly in individual quarters before, but 2020 was the first full year when Apple's OS took third place.

Despite the fact that macOS landed in third, viewing this as an example of Google beating out Apple directly might not be accurate. Rather, it's likely that Chrome OS has been primarily pulling sales and market share away from Windows at the low end of the market. Mac market share actually grew from 6.7 percent in 2019 to 7.5 percent in 2020.

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Lilbits: Microsoft Edge gets more interesting, Chromebooks outsell Macs, and a 31.2 inch color E Ink display

Now that Microsoft’s Edge web browser is based on Google’s open source Chromium project, it behaves a lot like Google’s Chrome browser… and for the most part that’s left me wondering why you’d use Edge instead of Ch…

Now that Microsoft’s Edge web browser is based on Google’s open source Chromium project, it behaves a lot like Google’s Chrome browser… and for the most part that’s left me wondering why you’d use Edge instead of Chrome. Microsoft has been adding features that help set its browser apart, but up until now I haven’t […]

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