Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Skyrim hides some shop inventories in chests beneath the world.
Skyrim hides some shop inventories in chests beneath the world. A merchant’s goods can live in a container connected to the trading system, rather than being…
Discover more
The PlayStation 3 arrived with a $599 option and a format-war stake.
The PlayStation 3 arrived with a $599 option and a format-war stake. Sony's 2006 U.S. launch offered a $499 model and a $599 model, both equipped with Blu-ray…
Discover more
Cyberpunk 2077 was announced in 2012, eight full years before its disastrous launch, creating a hype cycle so massive that the developers physically could not deliver a functional product on older console hardware.
Cyberpunk 2077 was announced in 2012, eight full years before its disastrous launch, creating a hype cycle so massive that the developers physically could not…
Discover more
The first Oregon Trail printed the adventure on paper.
The first Oregon Trail printed the adventure on paper. Three student teachers—Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger—created the game in 1971.…
Discover more
Some D&D boxes came with paper instead of dice.
Some D&D boxes came with paper instead of dice. During a dice shortage in 1979, certain Basic Sets included numbered cardboard chits and a coupon for ordering…
Discover more
A World of Warcraft bug carried an epidemic into its cities.
A World of Warcraft bug carried an epidemic into its cities. In 2005, Corrupted Blood escaped the encounter where it was meant to stay. Infected pets could be…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Grand Theft Auto V lasted across three console generations.
Grand Theft Auto V lasted across three console generations. Released in 2013, the game kept finding audiences through new editions and the continuing online…
Discover more
Guitar Hero turned a plastic controller into the main attraction.
Guitar Hero turned a plastic controller into the main attraction. The 2005 Harmonix game invited players to follow on-screen notes with fret buttons and a…
Discover more
Nintendogs made caring for a pet the game instead of a side activity.
Nintendogs made caring for a pet the game instead of a side activity. Shigeru Miyamoto's experience with his own dog helped inspire the project. Feeding,…
Discover more
LEGO's crucial breakthrough was hidden underneath the brick.
LEGO's crucial breakthrough was hidden underneath the brick. Adding tubes beneath the studs improved the grip between pieces, helping models hold together…
Discover more
Skyrim's treasure foxes emerged from a navigation shortcut.
Skyrim's treasure foxes emerged from a navigation shortcut. Developer Joel Burgess explained that fleeing foxes sought routes across the game's navigation…
Discover more
Twitch Plays Pokemon was a chaotic social experiment in 2014 where millions of internet users typed inputs into a chat room to collectively control a single game of Pokemon Red.
Twitch Plays Pokemon was a chaotic social experiment in 2014 where millions of internet users typed inputs into a chat room to collectively control a single…
Discover more
Gun Fight was released in 1975 and holds the prestigious title of being the very first arcade video game to use a microprocessor instead of basic solid-state routing.
Gun Fight was released in 1975 and holds the prestigious title of being the very first arcade video game to use a microprocessor instead of basic solid-state…
Discover more
Clefairy was a comic-book star before Pikachu ruled TV.
Clefairy was a comic-book star before Pikachu ruled TV. In the early Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga, Red travels with a mischievous Clefairy as a central…
Discover more
A fictional PlayStation executive became a real contract dispute.
A fictional PlayStation executive became a real contract dispute. Jerry Lambert was closely associated with Sony's Kevin Butler commercials when he appeared…
Discover more
Fallout's Vault Boy borrowed his cheerful look from Monopoly cards.
Fallout's Vault Boy borrowed his cheerful look from Monopoly cards. Art director Leonard Boyarsky described the mascot and his illustrated situations as an…
Discover more
The Dreamcast put online play beside the family telephone.
The Dreamcast put online play beside the family telephone. Sega's console launched in Japan in 1998 with a modem, making network play part of the machine…
Discover more
Lara Croft's endless pistol ammo solved a late development problem.
Lara Croft's endless pistol ammo solved a late development problem. Tomb Raider co-creator Paul Douglas recalled that early versions had limited ammunition.…
Discover more
Resident Evil's awkward dialogue became part of its identity.
Resident Evil's awkward dialogue became part of its identity. The original game mixed a threatening mansion with strangely stiff English performances and…
Discover more
Metroid hid Samus’s identity behind the armor until the ending.
Metroid hid Samus’s identity behind the armor until the ending. Different completion times produced different ending images, with faster play revealing more…
Discover more
Pokémon's million-dollar bicycle was priced beyond your wallet.
Pokémon's million-dollar bicycle was priced beyond your wallet. In the original games, the bicycle's listed price exceeds the amount of money the player can…
Discover more
Madden NFL 92 sent an ambulance straight through the players.
Madden NFL 92 sent an ambulance straight through the players. When it arrived for an injury, other figures in its path could be knocked down too. A vehicle…
Discover more
Space Invaders got its aliens partly because shooting people felt wrong.
Space Invaders got its aliens partly because shooting people felt wrong. Designer Tomohiro Nishikado first tried vehicles, then soldiers, before settling on…
Discover more
Resident Evil makes a red herb useless—until you mix it.
Resident Evil makes a red herb useless—until you mix it. A green herb restores health, but a red herb on its own cannot do the same job. Combine them and the…
Discover more