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As The Good Place creator Mike Schur acknowledges, the entire future of his show was riding on keeping season 1‘s shocking finale twist a secret. And that’s the exact reason why it was less than ideal that star Ted Danson was running around town telling everyone, including John Krasinski.

The cast and crew of the critically-acclaimed NBC series gathered in the actual Good Place neighborhood Friday night for a screening and Q&A, which Schur kicked off by saying there would be no spoilers of the upcoming third season. Saying he’s “very spoilerphobic,” Schur then explained why he might be justified for being so secretive.

When Danson and Kristen Bell first signed on for the show, Schur shared with what would eventually be revealed: that the characters were actually in the Bad Place. Schur implored them to not tell anyone, which Bell held firm to, not even telling husband Dax Shepard. And Danson? Well, he probably told Dax Shepard.

“Ted said, ‘Absolutely, of course, I completely understand, I won’t tell a soul,'” recalled Schur. “And he proceeded to tell literally every single person who asked him, random strangers at cocktail parties, anyone he ran into he’d spill the entire season. And I only found out about that after the finale had wrapped. He was like, ‘Okay, I’m glad it aired because I literally told everyone that happened.'”

But Danson insists he did it to prove how innovative and creative the show was. “I was talking to John Krasinski, because he knows well and loves you,” Danson said of Krasinski, who worked with Schur on The Office. “I went, ‘Yeah, I’m working with Mike Schur and Kristen Bell.’ When I said it takes place in the afterlife, I saw his eyes go, ‘Oh, it’s The Office in Heaven.’ And that pissed me off. I’m like, ‘No! No! See, the trick is I’m actually a demon.’ And he was suitably impressed.”

Schur added, “And unlike you, John is a professional, so he then didn’t tell anyone about it. He kept it quiet.” Well, we know he’s good at that.

Read on for more highlights from Friday’s event.

Danson’s evil idea

While the reveal of the characters being in the Bad Place was stunning, the most memorable part of the scene was, as Schur calls it, Michael’s (Danson) “wonderful, maniacal, creepy, awful” giggle. And even though it was news to him, the idea for that reaction came from Danson himself. According to Schur, the script originally called for Michael to throw a temper tantrum after Eleanor (Bell) had her big epiphany. And while that part would still stay in, Danson had something in mind to precede it. “It was great, but also we kept feeling like it wasn’t quite exactly what it should be,” said Schur. “We didn’t know why. And Ted just said, ‘Let me try something else.’ And I said, ‘Okay.’ And then he did that giggle and it was immediately like a million times better. That’s 100 percent pure uncut Ted Danson.” Joked Danson, “I think that’s where the phrase ‘national treasure’ comes from.”

The reboot we didn’t see

At the night’s event, the season 2 episode “Dance Dance Revolution” was screened, in which Michael reboots the neighborhood hundreds of times, leading to brief glimpses of crazy moments that would end with the characters once again realizing the Bad Place twist. But there was one dark and amusing reboot that the show shot and didn’t use. In it, Chidi was unable to make a decision (so out of character), this time being if he should choose his soul mate or Tahani (Jameela Jamil). Eleanor was attempting to help by making a pros and cons list for each of the women, with a pro for the soul mate being that she got him a cute puppy named Bernard. Then, Tahani comes in and they start fighting, which helps Eleanor figure things out. “It’s like, ‘Wait a second, there’s a bunch of women fighting over a man? This is the Bad Place,'” shares Schur. “At which point Michael walks in holding a very cute puppy and a samurai sword. And he’s like, ‘This really sucks because I was going to make you kill the dog.’ It’s Ted holding a puppy and going, ‘You were gonna die. He was going to put a samurai sword through your little head.'” Added executive producer and episode director Drew Goddard, “Why did we cut that out?” But don’t worry, there’s a happy ending, because the show’s makeup artist adopted the dog. “It’s a little known Hollywood secret that if there are ever animals involved, they’re free at the end of the day,” cracked moderator Marc Evan Jackson, who also stars on the series as Shawn.

The character they can never lose

All of the characters on The Good Place are either robots, demons, or dead (or at least they were), but there’s one character that Schur says they will never kill. “The original conception was at the end of the episode, we were going to get rid of him,” Schur says of Derek, Janet’s artificial boyfriend, played by Jason Mantzoukas. “Janet was going to blink and he was going to disappear. Then we were like, ‘Wait a second. Maybe she should stash him in her void somewhere so we can bring Mantzoukas back.’ Because I think Jason Mantzoukas is one of the 12 funniest human beings who’s ever lived on the planet…. And then we immediately brought him back and then we kept saying, ‘We can’t kill him, he can’t disappear.’ So we put a giant bag of cocaine on him and sent him to Mindy St. Claire’s (Maribeth Monroe) house, so that’s where he is, he’s hiding out there. So we will always sort of stash Derek somewhere so that he always at least has the possibility of coming back because I love him so much.”

The Good Place has been renewed for season 3, which is expected to premiere this fall on NBC.

London's Heathrow Airport has created a Star Wars-themed arrivals and departures board for May the 4th.

Heathrow Airport's official Twitter account shared the Star Wars Day design, which can be seen in one of the advertising spots next to the real departures board. The board comes complete with Star Wars font, a small Tie Fighter decal, and is packed with references to the Star Wars universe.

Star Wars-themed departures board at London's Heathrow Airport, via Twitter

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Say you're at a record store and you come across an album that you'd like to listen to before you buy it. Now there's an app that can help you out with that. It's sort of like Shazam, but for album covers, Pitchfork reports, and once you snap a pictu...

Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of ten years and 18 movies-worth of interconnected storytelling. But what’s next? We don’t mean Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, or the next Avengers 4 – those are set in stone, but after that – Phase 4 and beyond.

We interviewed Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who have worked on multiple Marvel movies including Infinity War, and Marvel’s head honcho Kevin Feige, and asked them all about the future of the MCU. This was before we got to see the latest Avengers movie, so we couldn't get stuck into specifics. Instead we asked them some larger questions about how Marvel may tackle things in the future.

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Arrow is losing an original cast member after Season 6.

THR reports Paul Blackthorne won't reprise his role as detective Quentin Lance for Season 7. The character has been a part of the show since the pilot, and there's currently no word yet on why Blackthorne is leaving and how Quentin Lance will be written out.

This will leave Stephen Amell (Oliver/Arrow) and David Ramsey (Diggle/Spartan) as the only two series regulars remaining from the first episode. Arrow is also getting a new showrunner in Beth Schwartz, with current co-showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle stepping down soon. Find out more about the showrunners' exits in the video below:

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Red Dead Redemption 2 is still over six months away at this point, but we've got a new trailer to dissect in the meantime. The trailer is all about narrative and setting a tone, but looking closer, developer Rockstar Games tucked a handful of gamepla...

We offer some clarity by comparing Norse Mythology to God of War's interpretation.

God of War hides an incredible Avengers: Infinity War-themed Easter Egg, letting Kratos use his own Norse Infinity Gauntlet similarly to Thanos.

The secret was published on the God of War Reddit by user Moxxxxxi who put the pieces together. Players can find a talisman called the "Shattered Gauntlet of Ages" during the "Family Business" quest given by Sindri. The description heralds an untapped power hidden within the gauntlet.

"An ancient relic of Hel deemed too powerful to remain whole, fragments of its former strength lie scattered throughout the realms," reads the description for the talisman.

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Update: With Infinity War hitting digital and Blu-ray this month, it seems like the right time to take a look at some of our theories about what could happen in Avengers 4.

Spoilers follow for Avengers: Infinity War.

And just like that -- snap! -- as Avengers: Infinity War comes to an end, half the population of the universe is dead. Or turned to ash or dust or whatever you want to call it. And that includes half of the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Man, they even took out Spidey…

Which of course means that fans will be speculating for the next year about what it all means, and how the Avengers and their friends can possibly undo the damage that Thanos has wrought. Of course, we have a few theories of our own on where Avengers 4 could lead, so read on for them all…

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Multiple nations, including China and the US, have pursued offshore or floating nuclear reactors, but neither will be first to christen one. Russia has launched the world's first floating nuclear power plant, the 70-megawatt Academik Lomonosov, on th...

Warning! Full SPOILERS follow for Avengers: Infinity War. Check out our SPOILER-FREE review right here.

Last year, Spider-Man: Homecoming threw a wrench in the MCU timeline with its opening title card that said the movie takes place eight years after the Battle of New York from the original Avengers movie.

Avengers is supposed to be set in 2012, so that means Homecoming, Ant-Man, Civil War, and Black Panther all take place in 2020, which shifts the entire MCU timeline four years and makes some earlier dates incorrect. Be sure to check out our full breakdown of the entire MCU timeline in chronological order right here.

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Agents of SHIELD's latest villain reveal pays off an easter egg from Season 1.

A lot has happened over the course of the decade of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Heroes have been tested. Planets and galaxies have been in jeopardy, saved, and put in jeopardy again. And on a few glorious occasions, really good-looking men named Chris have been shirtless.

That last bit is what Ellen DeGeneres highlighted when Chris Hemsworth appeared on her show Thursday to promote the latest MCU installment, Avengers: Infinity War.

DeGeneres noted that with the stakes in this film being so high, there’s a good chance not every hero makes it out alive. Hemsworth couldn’t confirm or deny anything, of course, but juuuuuust in case Thor ends up worse off than just losing an eye, she made him a video celebrating his “best-of” moments from the franchise.

Those moments, it turns out, were all moments when the god of thunder happens to not be wearing a shirt.

“It’s all I’ve done for 10 years,” Hemsworth joked after watching the footage.

Avengers: Infinity War arrives in theaters Friday. Watch the full Ellen DeGeneres clip above.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. closed out Friday’s episode with a surprising twist: Adrian Pasdar’s Talbot has become Graviton.

During Friday’s hour, as Team S.H.I.E.L.D. fought off an invasion of aliens hell-bent on retrieving the gravitonium, a brainwashed Talbot jumped into the Rebirth machine and absorbed the rest of the gravitonium, effectively transforming him into the Marvel villain known as Graviton.

In the promo for next week’s episode, Talbot’s new powers appear to quickly go to his head, as he threatens not just the villains, but also Coulson (Clark Gregg) to bow before humanity’s new savior.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

Blue Origin's first test flight of 2018 was a success, and then some. After last-minute weather setbacks, Jeff Bezos' outfit completed its eighth New Shepard launch and landing, including a touchdown for the dummy-equipped Crew Capsule 2.0. More impo...

Don’t be fooled by the off the scale cuteness quotient. This is the Sand Cat – or Felis margarita, a little known species of desert cat. In the wild it lives in areas that are too hot and dry for any other cat- the deserts of Africa and Asia, including the Sahara. It is the only desert species of cat known to us. As such, this cat is one tough cookie.

It also lives in the Arabian desert and those of Iran and Pakistan, yet despite being so widespread it was not described by a European until 1858. That happened to be one Victor Loche, a French soldier and naturalist who explored the Northern Sahara and found the sand cat waiting patiently there for his descriptive skills.


He named it Felis margarita after Jean August Margueritte. Although this made the species sound half cat half cocktail, Margueritte had led the expedition during which Loche had ‘discovered’ the cat and went on to be a distinguished army general who served in Algeria. He died after sustaining a mortal wound during the great cavalry charge at the battle of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian war. Loche sought to preserve his name for prosperity by naming his ferocious feline find after him.

To an extent the sand cat could be mistaken for a domestic cat but there are differences, noticeably the very broad head. Additionally the ears are much wider apart than they are in the domestic cat – a feature which means that the sand cat can flatten them horizontally when hunting. They are a little larger, growing up to ten centimeters longer in length than the domestic cat, with a span of up to sixty centimeters.

Likewise with their height – they usually grow to about six centimeters taller than the domestic cat. Their sandy yellow fur sets them further apart, as do the pale bars which can be found on their legs and backs. Perhaps what adds to their attractiveness is the white chin and underside and the pale red stripes which run over the cheeks from the eyes.

One difference from the cats that we know which is difficult to see in these pictures is the fur that the cats have between their toes. You might think that the last thing a desert living cat might need is more fur but this helps to insulate them against the piping hot sand over which they must stalk their prey. They also have fur on their footpads which makes it very difficult to hunt as the fur misshapes their tracks.

The hollow structure that encloses part of their middle and inner ear, their auditory bullae, are also larger than those of the domestic cat. This helps to enhance their hearing and with it they can pick up vibrations in the sand. Finally their mucosa (the membrane around their eyelids) is a conspicuous black which gives them a certain eyeliner look.

So desolate is their natural habitat that sometimes the sand cat can go for months without a drink of water. Instead, they survive off the water in their food;, which is mostly rodents but they will also eat birds, lizards and insects. They will not eat a human diet like Medifast; or use Medifast coupons. They will not live in sand dunes themselves but prefer flat or rolling terrains, retreating to their burrows when it becomes too hot even for them.

As they mostly eat rodents, they do a lot of digging. Skulking close to the ground they use their extremely sensitive hearing to detect the sound of burrowing underneath them. When they hear something which corresponds to a meal they dig down to catch their prey.

Despite the fact they are not terribly social and only really get together for mating they do not defend territory. They have even been observed taking turns sharing burrows. One cat will leave and hunt while another stays behind and rests. When the first returns, the other will leave.

As well as their obvious enemy (us!) the sand cat is not at the top of its own particular food chain. It is predated by wolves and even occasionally by snakes and large birds of prey. Yet they are fearless creatures – and are obliviously unafraid of humans when they come in to contact with us.

Hunting the sand cat is prohibited only in half the countries in its range, though it is hoped that this law will soon extend throughout its territories. It has even recently been reintroduced in to the wild in Israel where it had been previously extirpated. It remains one of the least known but beautiful cat species on the planet.

This alligator in Florida was captured on camera by Flickr user Marc Barrison.  While we should really - at all costs - avoid anthropomorphism, when you see a picture of an alligator with flowers on its head its is really hard to resist the temptation.  It might be hard to take an apex predator seriously with such a pretty bonnet but I would imagine that if it chose to lunge - flowers or no - we might not be the ones having the last laugh!

In the modern era of video games, it's impossible to overlook the need for quality voice acting. This is especially true for games as ambitious as God of War, the new series entry from the developers at Sony Santa Monica. Kratos' latest adventure is more than a simple blood-soaked brawl — it aims to tell a more human story, a tale of the lengths a father will go for his family. As such, the studio called upon the talents of some of the industry's biggest names to voice its characters, the likes of which we're detailing below.

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Voice Actors in God of War

The following list of voice actors is pulled straight from the God of War credits. Over 60 different actors gave their talents to the game, and we're highlighting some of the biggest stars that fans might recognize from other games, TV shows, and movies.

Kratos - Christopher Judge

As series fans surely know, the latest God of War release has a new voice for its protagonist — Kratos is now voiced by Christopher Judge, star of longrunning sci-fi series Stargate SG-1. Judge has also worked on other video game projects, voicing the character Jericho in 2008 release Turok as well as additional voices in StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void.

Atreus - Sunny Suljic

The role of Kratos' son Atreus is acted and voiced by Sunny Suljic, a noted skateboarder and star of films like 1915 and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. He's also slated to play the role of Stevie in Jonah Hill's upcoming film titled Mid '90s.

The Stranger - Jeremy Davies

The role of God of War antagonist The Stranger is voiced by the talented Jeremy Davies, who starred as Corporal Upham in Saving Private Ryan and Laurence in 1996 blockbuster Twister. Davies has acted in a number of popular television series recently, playing the roles of Dickie Bennett on Justified, Malcom Dreyfuss in Sleepy Hollow, and Ephraim Knowles in Texas Rising.

Freya - Danielle Bisutti

The voice and likeness of Freya in God of War are based around Danielle Bisutti, a movie star fans might recognize from Curse of Chucky as well as Insidious: Chapter 2. Film roles aside, Bisutti is also known for several guest spots on popular TV series NCIS: Los Angeles, Rizzoli & Isles, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, and Parks and Recreation.

Mimir - Alastair Duncan

God of War's disembodied guide Mimir was voiced by video game veteran and distinguished Scotsman Alastair Duncan, who has provided voices for titles including Middle-earth: Shadow of War, The Order: 1886, Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Uncharted 3, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Mass Effect 3, and even God of War: Ghost of Sparta. He's also had a number of credits for TV shows, including a recent role in Westworld.

Brok - Robert Craighead

The voice of dwarven blacksmith Brok came from none other than Robert Craighead, an actor that players and TV fans may recognize from shows like Future Man, Too Close to Home, and New Girl.

Sindri - Adam J. Harrington

Brok's eternally-nauseous brother Sindri was voiced by Canadian actor Adam J. Harrington, a talent fans may recognize from his roles playing Agent Walker in Dexter as well as Congressman Murray in Parks and Recreation. Harrington also guest starred alongside Christopher Judge in two episodes of Stargate SG-1.

Magni - Troy Baker

The role of Magni was voiced by Troy Baker, another video game veteran who fans may recognize for voicing Joel in The Last of Us or Harvey Dent in Batman: Arkham Knight. Baker also worked alongside Nolan North in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and according to IMDb will be providing his voice for Hideo Kojima's upcoming game Death Stranding.

Modi - Nolan North (plus additional voices)

Most game fans will likely have no trouble identifying the voice of Modi as that of legendary voice actor Nolan North, a man players will surely recognize from his work in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Destiny and Destiny 2, Black Ops 3, The Last of Us, the Uncharted series, and even TV series Rick and Morty.

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Looking to learn even more about Kratos' latest adventure by checking out our God of War walkthrough and guide, featuring a detailed history of Kratos' story so far plus in-depth guides outlining the locations of the game's many different collectibles.

<em>Warning: full spoilers for the Infinity Gauntlet comic and the Avengers: Infinity War movie! Read on at your own risk!</em>

As promised, Avengers: Infinity War saw some of Earth’s mightiest heroes meet their end. But rather than wait for the second half of the story to hit in 2019, we’re looking to the comics to examine just how permanent those deaths really are.

Now, it’s important to note that Infinity Gauntlet only loosely inspired the events of Infinity War and its story is really, really different from the movie. The only major common factors are that Thanos is up to no good with the Infinity Gauntlet and the heroes have to stop him.

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The end of Avengers: Infinity War completely changes the status quo of the MCU, so we’re here to break down all the big twists of the Avengers’ final showdown with Thanos, and explain what that ending could mean for Avengers 4. 

For more on Infinity War, check out why the movie finally gave us the real Doctor Strange. Needless to say, there are major spoilers ahead, so read on at your own risk.

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For even more on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Avengers Infinity War, check out our review of the film.

Avengers: Infinity War has just one post-credits scene and it comes right at the end. As Avengers: Infinity War is now opening in theaters worldwide, we've broken down everything that happens so it goes without saying this article and the above video are going to be overflowing with SPOILERS.

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The only thing we see after the mid-credits is a shot of the Avengers: Infinity War title turning into ash and blowing away. Then after all the credits have finished (and there's a lot of them), we hear the familiar voice of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who’s in a car with Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill. We learn there’s a search for Tony Stark underway and hear Fury has been trying to get in contact with ‘Klein’, which is this SHIELD agent we've seen in multiple Avengers movies. 

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If an automaker wants to succeed in China, they need to electrify their cars. The country has strict EV plans and for anyone looking to buy a car in a city like Beijing, going electric means not having to apply for the license lottery to own a car. S...

Most image editing tools aren't terribly bright when you ask them to fix a photo. They'll borrow content from adjacent pixels (such as Adobe's recently demonstrated context-aware AI fill), but they can't determine what should have been there -- and...

Biotech company Mammoth Biosciences is working on a simple, portable test that would give everyone, from healthcare professionals to just people at home, the ability to detect various diseases, infections and cancers quickly and easily. The test woul...

Battlestar Galactica's Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is embarking on another mission. Netflix has ordered a 10-episode season for a sci-fi drama original entitled Another Life, and yes, it stars Katee Sackhoff. The story revolves around Sackhoff's character...

Deadpool 2's latest IMAX poster might be the most ridiculous one yet.

The one-sheet, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, features the Merc with a Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) and his friends riding a majestic unicorn across a rainbow.

While Cable (Josh Brolin) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) don't seem to be enjoying themselves, Deadpool and Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) are having the time of their lives. Domino (Zazie Beetz), on the other hand, just seems happy to be along for the ride.

Deadpool 2 unicorn poster, via EW.

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In the past, we've seen hotel rooms and even entire hotels specifically designed for those who prefer the orange glow of de_dust2 to a sandy beach. But Alienware's new gaming suite in Hilton's Panama City location might well be the easiest place yet...

The French have a saying: Les extremes se touchent. It’s a way of saying that things so far out on either side of a spectrum might actually have some overlap. Some of the world’s brightest minds throughout history, for example, have had a touch of madness. Perhaps some of Nintendo’s designers have this trait too. Innovation requires unique thinking. Nintendo’s newest innovation, Labo, is a series of cardboard construction kits that interact with the Switch platform. And frankly, it feels so mad, that maybe it’s brilliant.

As Nintendo describes it, Labo “combines the magic of the Nintendo Switch system with the fun of DIY creations.” It draws on the appeal of building blocks like Lego as well as the Switch itself, which has already sold well over 14 million units worldwide. Nintendo will begin by selling a Variety Kit and a Robot Kit on April 20th, for $69.99 and $79.99, respectively.

Reactions to the Labo announcement a few months ago were, unsurprisingly, polarizing. Some took to social media to lavish praise on Nintendo for doing something truly creative, something that no other major company in the business would even dare to attempt. Others bemoaned the fact that Nintendo is charging people 80 bucks for pieces of pre-cut cardboard.

Nintendo’s product track record is certainly not flawless (Virtual Boy, Wii U anyone?) but if the house of Mario can legitimately sell cardboard pieces at those prices, it’s hard not to think of it as genius. The margins are going to be substantially better.

As Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter explained, "The only costs are design (R&D) and marketing. My guess is that R&D is very low, but marketing is around the same as for any other games. So the difference in profits is the difference in R&D spending. That is likely $50 - $80 million total. If they sell 10 million Labo [units], the profit per unit will be $5 - $8 higher than a conventional game."

The announcement and pending launch also serve to fill a marketing gap for the Switch, which is coming off the stupendous release of Super Mario Odyssey last holiday but doesn’t have any major first-party titles on the immediate horizon.

“Labo is a great and novel product that fits well with Nintendo's history and its penchant for coming up with cool accessories,” Joost van Dreunen, CEO of SuperData Research told me. “Its key value currently is to boost the marketing effort for the Switch. Releasing the Labo footage unexpectedly bought Nintendo a lot of traction on social media, which is clearly a critical component to its overall marketing strategy. By continuing to feed its fanbase, Nintendo keeps its core offering top of mind.”

That said, the analyst was unsure “whether people will buy it en masse and whether it will have a life-cycle beyond a few weeks of novelty before it ends up on a shelf much less relevant.”

Predictions aside, Nintendo Labo is already a hit with one important crowd: creatives. The bulk of the developers I spoke to about the cardboard kits expressed genuine enthusiasm.

“There's something about building the toys you play with that I'm sure will reach a broad audience,” said Jean-François Major, co-founder at Tribute Games, which has released the Contra-like 2D action title Mercenary Kings Reloaded on Switch and other platforms.

“With games like Minecraft, we've proven people are open to non traditional and linear experiences. However, the Labo games will need to be as creative as the cardboard construction.”

Klaus Lyngeled, CEO of Zoink, which just released the platformer Fe, is equally enthused.

“I think it’s an amazingly creative idea,” he said. “I personally really love games that also are toys. A few years back we developed a plush toy for the Wii called WeeWaa. It was a real passion project for me. My kids were quite young then and both played a lot of games and with their plush toys, so I created this cute little character that could eat the Wiimote, and when you moved WeeWaa he would react accordingly on screen. 

“As we designed the game we explored lots of ways to use the accelerometer and IR camera and I can really see how Labo is being very creative with all these features.”

Mike Wilson, co-founder of both Devolver Digital and Good Shepherd, has gotten to know a wide array of developers over the years, and he knows creativity when he sees it.

“I’m pretty sure my response was the same as everyone else’s, which at first was like ‘WTF is this a joke?’ and then soon moved to ‘Wow this is crazy and kind of cool.’ As someone that works with a lot of developers, I don’t think the potential of Labo has even sunk[en] in,” he commented. “... I could see the younger end of Switch players really embracing it. I love it when Nintendo does weird stuff!”

Nintendo, of course, has always had youth in mind when developing its games. That family-friendly image extends to Labo, as well. It’s something that’s targeted at kids, yes, but importantly it’s an activity that can be enjoyed jointly with parents. Anecdotally speaking, my wife does not play games, but as a woman who’s very artistic and crafty, she’s already cut and assembled things for our two toddlers using Amazon boxes. Who’s to say that’s not an untapped audience for Nintendo?

“Since I have kids, I'm already planning on buying some of the Labo things,” John Comes, CTO of indie publisher tinyBuild Games told me. “As someone who was also a mechanical engineer at one time, the entire concept is right up my alley.”

Jeremy Dunham, VP of Publishing at Rocket League developer Psyonix is planning to purchase Labo as well. “I plan on buying Labo for my kids when it's released to see what they think. I'm really excited to see what kind of ideas this kit will spark and how different (or similar) those ideas are to other building sets,” he remarked.

There’s something especially gratifying about learning to build things. You take a certain pride in what you’ve constructed. When I was a boy in 1986, I used to play endlessly with a mechanized, battery-powered construction kit called Robotix. Had I been told that I could hook up my Robotix creations to my Nintendo Entertainment System to control Mario’s jump or Simon Belmont’s whip, I think I would have been ecstatic. Nintendo may be onto something special with Labo.

I feel like this is the first gaming platform that can bridge the gap between 'games' and 'educational games'.

“My son already has an engineering mind, so the STEM learning opportunities will be huge,” Comes said. “I feel like this is the first gaming platform that can bridge the gap between 'games' and 'educational games'. There's such a divide there when you weigh teachings vs. fun gameplay.“

Dunham, too, is optimistic about the educational aspect, but he cautioned that Nintendo must remain open to broad possibilities with Labo.

“If you're only ever relegated to a few recurring designs, or add-on packs are hard to find, or any other number of challenges, it could be limiting,” he said. “I think of toys like Lego and love their concept of giving you blueprints, but still giving you the freedom to make whatever you want. If Nintendo Labo maintains that kind of flexibility, the potential is very, very high. The real trick is making sure that the cardboard itself is the only rigid thing about it.”

I also imagine that a community of Labo hackers will form and we might see some much more innovative designs floating around the internet.

Major added, “Labo is a great opportunity to see what makes something tick… it [could]l be a great parent/kid weekend project. A Labo kit could replace building a birdhouse.”

Lyngeled took it even one step further, suggesting that Labo has genuine classroom potential: “I could see that the Swedish educational system might pick this up and start using it in class -- especially if you can start programming your own toys, which it seems like Nintendo are hinting at in the trailer. I also imagine that a community of Labo hackers will form and we might see some much more innovative designs floating around the internet."

But what about the selection of cardboard as Labo’s building material? Surely, Nintendo has made a mistake by not using plastic? Time will tell how durable these kits can be, but Nintendo explained the reasoning behind its decision in a recent investor Q&A.

Shinya Takahashi, Nintendo Director and Managing Executive Officer, remarked, "I'm sure we surprised everyone with the use of cardboard, but it's not so far-fetched if you consider how familiar the material is, at least to Japanese people who, from a young age, use it for play and as a material for creating things such as fancy crafts.”

Tokyo-based veteran games journalist Justin Leeper can attest to how ingrained the papercraft hobby is with Japan’s youth. His mind immediately turned to Origami upon watching the Labo announcement trailer.

“While a mere novelty in the West - ‘Aunt Carol can make paper cranes’ - origami is a long-standing and beloved art here in Japan. Building is much more than a niche portion of Japanese toys as well,” he told me. “Go to any toy store in Tokyo, and you’ll see beautiful dioramas you can buy and build from scenes out of Studio Ghibli movies, for example, or metal sheets that somehow turn into abstract TIE Fighters. Then there’s Gundam models, train sets, Lego... all based on building.”

He continued, “The Japanese are also big on packaging. A gift isn’t a gift unless its box is put in another cardboard box that’s placed in a decorative bag and wrapped with a few hundred yards of ribbon."

"Cardboard is called ‘danboru’, a word whose origins I’ve never known despite being written in the character set for foreign-to-Japan words. There’s a relatively popular manga character, Danbo, who’s a cardboard robot from the series Yotsuba&. If anything, it shows the acceptance of cardboard in Japan’s pop-culture consciousness.”

For his part, Comes isn’t concerned about Labo’s cardboard pieces. Should a piece wear out, there’s an obvious fix, he said:

“I personally feel like cardboard was the perfect material to use. It's very approachable. I'm not worried about it getting damaged. I mean, it's cardboard. If it breaks, take the last Amazon box you got and cut out the same piece.”

Along with the worries about cardboard longevity, there’s still the very legitimate issue of price sensitivity. Nintendo will have to convince parents that the value that Labo brings justifies the expenditure. Dunham, however, has seen much worse in the hobby industry.

There appears to be a bit of a stigma associated with the cardboard so far, which is understandable, but kids and their parents will tell Nintendo really quickly if the quality and replayability is worth the price once it's out.

“As a parent of two kids myself, I can tell you that most crafting/building/exploration kits are typically a bit more expensive than you'd expect,” he offered. “There appears to be a bit of a stigma associated with the cardboard so far, which is understandable, but kids and their parents will tell Nintendo really quickly if the quality and replayability is worth the price once it's out.

“Given that a lot of smart-device-controlled robots are typically in the range of $100 or more, though, I can see the argument that the ability to build the toy first would make the price worth it for some.”

Regardless of how well Labo performs on the market, Nintendo deserves credit for trying something this bold. And let’s say that it does take off, would the one-time playing cards company begin to partner up with outside developers to make unique kits for their games? Nintendo has shown an increasing willingness to work with third parties and especially indies on Switch, but extending Labo feels unlikely, even if it does get developers’ creative juices flowing.

“That would be fantastic [if they did],” exclaimed Comes. “I have a mechanical engineering degree and I've made games for 17 years. So building my own Labo thing would be a great combination of my two life loves. I'd spend hours tinkering with building them.”

Dunham liked this idea as well: “A Rocket League kit would be really neat to see on store shelves, but I imagine that Nintendo wants to see how its initial experiment works out first before opening the floodgates. If it is a success, though, and kids start asking for themed sets based on their favorite properties, Nintendo has shown in the past (in games like Smash Bros. and even our own to a lesser extent) that they have no problem finding ways to make that happen.”

Major went so far as to call Labo “an indie’s dream” and Tribute would love to see Nintendo reach out to indies for more ideas. “A lot of innovation comes from smaller studios. It would probably be a great idea to tap into other studios’ creative minds as long as Nintendo maintains a certain level of quality control,” he said.

Clearly, the developer community is fired up, but from a business standpoint, getting indies involved in Labo would still involve clearing some major hurdles.

“[It] would be amazing [to work on Labo], but unfortunately I don’t think it will happen. I don’t think Nintendo will fund an indie developer to make a game for Labo as it’s too niche,” Lyngeled said. “And funding on our own is too big a risk. We survive because we can sell digitally. Distributing a Labo kit on our own [would be] very complicated. We never managed to get the [WeeWaa] plush out on the market because of distributing.

“One solution could be that people build a construction [kit] out of household materials and their own cardboard. That could be a fun way to make an indie Labo game. Let’s see how well [these] Nintendo kits sell before diving into this.”

April 20 should be an interesting day for Nintendo. It could be utterly inconsequential or it could mark the beginning of a new long-term franchise. “Given how beloved Nintendo is and how much weight their name carries, I think [Labo] will do very well at launch,” Dunham said.

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This article is a preview of Greenlit Content's upcoming industry site, launching soon.

On Wednesday, Western Digital introduced its highest capacity hard drive based on conventional magnetic recording to date. The HGST Ultrastar DC HC530 can store 14 TB of data and uses perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) with two-dimensional magnetic recording (TDMR) read heads to ensure consistent read performance. Because of extremely high areal density, the new HDDs offer up to 267 MB/s sustained transfer rate, slightly higher when compared to previous-gen drives. The new hard disks will be available in high volumes later this year.

The HGST Ultrastar DC HC530 hard drive is based on Western Digital’s latest helium-filled HelioSeal platform (5^th generation) featuring eight 1.75 TB PMR platters and TDMR heads with two readers to ensure predictable read performance by mitigating effects of inter-track interference. The new platform not only packs eight 3.5-inch platters and features new heads, but also uses revamped (3^rd generation) dual stage microactuators to improve head positioning and rotations vibration robustness, thus, advancing reliability of the datacenter-grade HDD in general. Other ingredients of the new HelioSeal platform include a top and bottom attached motor (with a 7200 RPM spindle speed), top and bottom attached disk clamps, RVFF sensors, humidity sensors, and so on. The new datacenter-grade Ultrastar DC HC530 HDDs are rated for a 550 TB/annual workload, a 2.5 million hours MTBF, and are covered by a five-year limited warranty.

The Ultrastar DC HC530 will be available only in 14 TB capacity with 4Kn and 512e sectors. The hard drive will feature a 7200 RPM spindle speed, a 512 MB buffer, and a SATA or SAS interface. The manufacturer will offer Ultrastar DC HC530 HDDs with hardware self-encryption capability, instant secure erase feature, TCG encryption, and TCG FIPS encryption to various parties. When it comes to performance, HGST declares up to 267 MB/s sustained transfer rate, a 4.16 ms average latency, a 7.5 ms seek time.

HGST Ultrastar DC HC530 General Specifications
			SATA	SAS
Capacity			14 TB
RPM			7200 RPM
Interface			SATA 6 Gbps	SAS 12 Gbps
DRAM Cache			512 MB
Format: Sector Sizes			4Kn: 4096 512e: 512	4Kn: 4096, 4112, 4160, 4224 512e: 512, 520, 528
Helium-Filling			Yes
Areal Density			904 Gbit/inch2
Sustained Transfer Rate			267 MB/s
Average Latency			4.16 ms
Seek Time (read/write)			7.5 ms
Acoustics			2.0/3.6 Bels
Power Rating	Idle		5.6 W	6.3 W
	Operating		7.6 W	10.2 W
Power consumption efficiency at Idle			0.4 W/TB	0.45 W/TB
MTBF			2.5 million hours
Warranty			5 Years
P/Ns, Features	4Kn	Instant Secure Erase	WUH721414ALN6L0	WUH721414AL4200
		Secure Erase	WUH721414ALN6L4	WUH721414AL4204
		TCG Encryption	-	WUH721414AL4201
		TCG w/FIPS Encryption	-	WUH721414AL4205
	512e	Instant Secure Erase	WUH721414ALE6L0	WUH721414AL5200
		Secure Erase	WUH721414ALE6L4	WUH721414AL5204
		TCG Encryption	-	WUH721414AL5201
		TCG w/FIPS Encryption	-	WUH721414AL5205

HGST’s Ultrastar DC HC530 14 TB HDD will not be the only datacenter-grade 14 TB CMR hard drive on the market: it will be challenged by Seagate’s Exos 14 featuring eight platters (PMR+TDMR) as well as Toshiba’s Toshiba’s MG07ACA featuring nine platters (PMR only). All of these drives are drop-in compatible with existing backplanes and provide a 40% more storage than their 10 TB predecessors, enabling datacenter operators to store 3360 TB of data per rack (compared to 2440 TB with 10 TB HDDs). This naturally increases storage capacity per square meter and per watt, which is what companies who run large datacenters want.

Meanwhile, there is one thing to keep in mind about contemporary high-capacity hard drives. While datacenter-grade HDDs have been steadily increasing their capacity over the recent years (capacity of PMR HDDs has nearly doubled in just three years), their IOPS performance stayed flat at around 80 IOPS random reads, which means that their IOPS-per-TB performance declined from 10 IOPS per TB on an 8 TB nearline HDD to 5.7 IOPS per TB on a 14 TB nearline HDD. IOPS-per-TB is a critical performance metrics for cloud datacenters that deserves a separate coverage (so stay tuned), but in a nutshell, if IOPS-per-TB drops below a certain level, datacenter operators cannot guarantee time to data for their customers on a particular drive. Various datacenters have different performance requirements, but 5.7 IOPS per TB is considered to be the lowest viable performance for a nearline HDD (at least based on one of Seagate's presentation that uses data from operators of massive scale-out datacenters). There are applications that need a higher random performance and they will not be able to use these 14 TB drives. There are, of course, other applications that will use the new 14 TB HDDs perfectly (after all, many of HGST’s customers can use SMR-based Ultrastar Hs14 HDDs), but a lower IOPS-per-TB performance means a somewhat smaller addressable market.

Western Digital has already begun to ship samples of the HGST Ultrastar DC HC530 14 TB HDDs to select hyperscale cloud clients for qualification. Volume shipments of the drives will commence in the second half of the year. 

Related Reading:

• Seagate Announces Exos X14: a Helium-Filled 14 TB PMR HDD
• Toshiba Announces 14 TB PMR MG07ACA HDD: 9 Platters, Helium-Filled, 260 MB/s
• Western Digital Now Shipping 14 TB HDDs: HGST Ultrastar Hs14 with 1000 Gb/in2
• Western Digital Announces Ultrastar He12 12 TB and 14 TB HDDs
• Seagate Announces Enterprise Capacity 12 TB HDD: 2nd-Gen Helium-Filled Hard Drives
• Western Digital Ships 12 TB WD Gold HDD: 8 Platters and Helium