Marc Normandin
@marcnormandin.bsky.social
Newsletters on retro video games and sports labor, regular at The A.V Club and Baseball Prospectus. Editor at FOX Sports. he/him
https://retroxp.beehiiv.com
https://marcnormandin.com
https://www.avclub.com/author/marc-normandin
https://retroxp.beehiiv.com
https://marcnormandin.com
https://www.avclub.com/author/marc-normandin
Pinned
Past meets present: Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Before there was Sonic the Hedgehog, there was Alex Kidd.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
It's pretty easy to see how Alex Kidd in Miracle World failed to live up to Sega's hopes that it would be as popular as Super Mario Bros. I don't mean that as a negative, though, more that the latter was designed for a mass audience, and Miracle World was specifically for the weirdos [complimentary]
Reposted by Marc Normandin
Everyone in the "PR emails" business has seen a huge uptick in low-effort AI spam in the past couple years, but this is the first time in my experience that someone has setup their AI agent so incorrectly that it is emailing me the overnight business updates it's supposed to be sending home.
February 19, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Everyone in the "PR emails" business has seen a huge uptick in low-effort AI spam in the past couple years, but this is the first time in my experience that someone has setup their AI agent so incorrectly that it is emailing me the overnight business updates it's supposed to be sending home.
Reposted by Marc Normandin
don't you dare make a legolas and gimli meme about fighting side by side with arizona republican small business owner nimbys. close that photoshop tab now
“my children might see the children I voted to put in shackles, how shall they grow up”
February 19, 2026 at 12:31 PM
don't you dare make a legolas and gimli meme about fighting side by side with arizona republican small business owner nimbys. close that photoshop tab now
My latest at @baseballprospectus.com is a response to a couple of really strange and prominent paragraphs from an ESPN feature reacting to what the MLBPA has to do post-Tony Clark.
Whose Fault is a Lockout? An Investigation | Baseball Prospectus
There were a lot of odd reactions to former executive director of the MLB Players Association Tony Clark resigning this week. Some had concerns that this meant the union was now going to be doomed in ...
www.baseballprospectus.com
February 19, 2026 at 12:25 PM
My latest at @baseballprospectus.com is a response to a couple of really strange and prominent paragraphs from an ESPN feature reacting to what the MLBPA has to do post-Tony Clark.
Reposted by Marc Normandin
Here's my latest piece for @pcgamer.com! Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse is a brave, beautiful step forwards for the series; a game bold enough to be weird in its own unique ways - previous experience neither required nor helpful:
www.pcgamer.com/games/visual...
www.pcgamer.com/games/visual...
Spooky visual novel The Mermaid's Curse is the best kind of sequel: a self-contained mystery
Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse is better for not caring if you've played the first game.
www.pcgamer.com
February 19, 2026 at 4:19 AM
Here's my latest piece for @pcgamer.com! Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse is a brave, beautiful step forwards for the series; a game bold enough to be weird in its own unique ways - previous experience neither required nor helpful:
www.pcgamer.com/games/visual...
www.pcgamer.com/games/visual...
I won't embarrass Reejy here so I will simply say he's one of the best we've got and you already know this if you've read him
Programming note: Friday is my final day at CBS Sports (though you may see my byline pop up on prewritten items.) My decision, no one else's. I’ve loved my time and my team there. Mike Axisa, Dayn Perry, and Matt Snyder were doing great work before me, and they’ll continue to do so after me.
February 19, 2026 at 1:47 AM
I won't embarrass Reejy here so I will simply say he's one of the best we've got and you already know this if you've read him
Well. Good thing Quiñonez is back, because what the fuck
February 19, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Well. Good thing Quiñonez is back, because what the fuck
Maybe playing the pope's school on Ash Wednesday wasn't the best plan, but these schedules are made well in advance and all
February 19, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Maybe playing the pope's school on Ash Wednesday wasn't the best plan, but these schedules are made well in advance and all
Feeling better about missing a layup on a steal this Sunday because I just watched UConn do it except now I also feel worse because I just watched UConn do it
February 19, 2026 at 12:23 AM
Feeling better about missing a layup on a steal this Sunday because I just watched UConn do it except now I also feel worse because I just watched UConn do it
Blanca Quiñonez welcome back
February 19, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Blanca Quiñonez welcome back
My opinion on an MLB salary cap is [distills a decade of work into a single social media post] and frankly I don't know what's wrong with you if you disagree.
February 18, 2026 at 11:31 PM
My opinion on an MLB salary cap is [distills a decade of work into a single social media post] and frankly I don't know what's wrong with you if you disagree.
Reposted by Marc Normandin
WITH THAT SAID, if any editors still want to commission this hmu. It’s a good and timely piece that I haven’t seen written anywhere else.
I’m working on a deep dive of t.A.T.u.’s music & its connections to the Winter Olympics, from Sochi to Milano Cortina, & the connections that music has to anti-LGBTQ+ resistance at the Games & in the host countries. I even interviewed my father-in-law, who wrote & produced t.A.T.u.’s album.
February 18, 2026 at 9:48 PM
WITH THAT SAID, if any editors still want to commission this hmu. It’s a good and timely piece that I haven’t seen written anywhere else.
Reposted by Marc Normandin
If you don’t read old stuff you’ll never discover that people in the olden days had the same thoughts and feelings and dreams and anxieties you do, sometimes articulated differently, sometimes exactly the same way. You are never truly alone in anything and old writings are a neon sign telling you so
Meanwhile, on threads, which actually is like what people on twitter think bluesky is like, a "teacher, author, poet" speaks...
February 18, 2026 at 9:00 PM
If you don’t read old stuff you’ll never discover that people in the olden days had the same thoughts and feelings and dreams and anxieties you do, sometimes articulated differently, sometimes exactly the same way. You are never truly alone in anything and old writings are a neon sign telling you so
Knew what this was the second I saw the video but also was hoping I was wrong
JT Toppin's knee nooooo
February 18, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Knew what this was the second I saw the video but also was hoping I was wrong
16 major programs, huh? more like 1K992
VIDEO GAME NEWS:
As previously reported by Extra Points, Season 5 of NBA2K, which starts 2/20, will include current MBB and WBB athletes from 16 major programs.
It's the precursor to 2K getting more involved in college basketball IP and projects.
IP will be in MyTeam and MyCareer:
As previously reported by Extra Points, Season 5 of NBA2K, which starts 2/20, will include current MBB and WBB athletes from 16 major programs.
It's the precursor to 2K getting more involved in college basketball IP and projects.
IP will be in MyTeam and MyCareer:
February 18, 2026 at 8:04 PM
16 major programs, huh? more like 1K992
Reposted by Marc Normandin
Reposted by Marc Normandin
One of the main reasons Tokimeki Memorial can feel obtuse to people playing it now in 2026 when it didn't to Japanese players in 1994 is you're not playing with the manual and info cards, which explicitly spell out the game's entire calendar and all major events so you can plan runs in advance.
I'm older than you so I can confirm that they came with a little book that had the tutorial in it and you read it on the way home
February 18, 2026 at 3:08 AM
One of the main reasons Tokimeki Memorial can feel obtuse to people playing it now in 2026 when it didn't to Japanese players in 1994 is you're not playing with the manual and info cards, which explicitly spell out the game's entire calendar and all major events so you can plan runs in advance.
The reason the league has been running out the clock at every opportunity, by the way, is to be able to wield the lack of time as a weapon
In a statement provided to ESPN, a WNBA spox calls the WNBPA's proposal "unrealistic & would cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for our teams. We... are running out of time. We believe the WNBA’s proposal would result in a huge win for current players & generations to come.”
February 18, 2026 at 2:31 PM
The reason the league has been running out the clock at every opportunity, by the way, is to be able to wield the lack of time as a weapon
Reposted by Marc Normandin
“why do you hate technology” as though “technology” were some discrete entity divorced entirely from the context of what it does and what it creates, rather than a category so broad as to constitute reality itself
February 18, 2026 at 1:47 PM
“why do you hate technology” as though “technology” were some discrete entity divorced entirely from the context of what it does and what it creates, rather than a category so broad as to constitute reality itself
Reposted by Marc Normandin
“When will the left be excited about tech?” Brother, wait until you hear about mRNA vaccines.
February 18, 2026 at 1:51 PM
“When will the left be excited about tech?” Brother, wait until you hear about mRNA vaccines.
Appreciate the specific angle taken by this from the start. Difficult to trust anyone whose primary goal is "be ludicrously wealthy"
I wrote about LeBron James' Israel comments. The article starts with me quoting an article I wrote 22 yrs ago about the aspirations of a 19 year old LeBron and then I look at how the 41 year old James ended up compared to his hero Muhammad Ali. Also, I feel old AF. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
The basketball great once said he wanted to be like Muhammad Ali. He can’t do that and shrug off Israeli war crimes.
www.thenation.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Appreciate the specific angle taken by this from the start. Difficult to trust anyone whose primary goal is "be ludicrously wealthy"
Reposted by Marc Normandin
The @shutdownfullcast.bsky.social is up, just realizing with horror that Apple Podcasts auto-generates transcripts now
February 18, 2026 at 12:57 PM
The @shutdownfullcast.bsky.social is up, just realizing with horror that Apple Podcasts auto-generates transcripts now
Nothing like an "out for delivery!" notification that does not result in delivery and then when you check the next day the tracker basically says "hey I don't know either"
February 18, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Nothing like an "out for delivery!" notification that does not result in delivery and then when you check the next day the tracker basically says "hey I don't know either"
Reposted by Marc Normandin
Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.
February 18, 2026 at 5:13 AM
Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.
That Margot Robbie quote is very funny because it boils down to "I don't think critics have emotions"
February 18, 2026 at 12:02 PM
That Margot Robbie quote is very funny because it boils down to "I don't think critics have emotions"
Reposted by Marc Normandin
They only say this when the movie sucks. I’m sure she’s plenty smart and she just makes bad movies as a choice.
February 18, 2026 at 11:53 AM
They only say this when the movie sucks. I’m sure she’s plenty smart and she just makes bad movies as a choice.