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
And everyone can now read this fresh piece on Super Mario Land, AKA the weird Mario that finishes on a very shmup-y note:
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2026/02/20/s...
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2026/02/20/s...
February 20, 2026 at 7:44 AM
And everyone can now read this fresh piece on Super Mario Land, AKA the weird Mario that finishes on a very shmup-y note:
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2026/02/20/s...
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2026/02/20/s...
I'm going to have a review of WiZMan's World Re;Try, by the way, just not today. I should have an A.V. Club piece coming out, though!
February 20, 2026 at 10:50 AM
I'm going to have a review of WiZMan's World Re;Try, by the way, just not today. I should have an A.V. Club piece coming out, though!
Reposted by Marc Normandin
I hope these messages Alysa is trying to get out here are hitting athletes who need to hear them, but I hope they’re hitting coaches & parents & admins even harder
February 20, 2026 at 3:12 AM
I hope these messages Alysa is trying to get out here are hitting athletes who need to hear them, but I hope they’re hitting coaches & parents & admins even harder
Alright I saw the Alysa Liu routine now and holy shit
February 20, 2026 at 3:19 AM
Alright I saw the Alysa Liu routine now and holy shit
Oh man Valparaiso is down by one with 3:15 left. They haven't won a game yet!
February 20, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Oh man Valparaiso is down by one with 3:15 left. They haven't won a game yet!
Reposted by Marc Normandin
If a team owner says they don’t have $50 million more to pay players while coughing up $75 million to break players, shouldn’t that be a tell?
How is it remotely possible to defend these people?
How is it remotely possible to defend these people?
February 20, 2026 at 12:57 AM
If a team owner says they don’t have $50 million more to pay players while coughing up $75 million to break players, shouldn’t that be a tell?
How is it remotely possible to defend these people?
How is it remotely possible to defend these people?
Reposted by Marc Normandin
bonus it’s also a good blog!
Sometimes you just have to give it up for a great headline
Emerald Fennell Now Going Moor-To-Moor Trying To Shock People | Defector
“My sister Emily loved the moors,” wrote Charlotte Brontë, in the introduction to a selection of Emily’s poems published in 1850. Emily had died in 1848, and had not lived to see the publication of th...
defector.com
February 20, 2026 at 12:45 AM
bonus it’s also a good blog!
One of Merrimack's players (Madison Roman) throws these cross-court passes all the time, like real quarterback shit, but since she's always doing it on the kind of camera setups that mid-major ESPN+ games have the broadcast keeping up with them is 50/50 at best.
February 20, 2026 at 12:18 AM
One of Merrimack's players (Madison Roman) throws these cross-court passes all the time, like real quarterback shit, but since she's always doing it on the kind of camera setups that mid-major ESPN+ games have the broadcast keeping up with them is 50/50 at best.
Reposted by Marc Normandin
Yes we absolutely can
February 19, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Yes we absolutely can
If you need a $2 billion war chest maybe start bargaining before the lockout this time
nypost.com/2026/02/19/s... With @JonHeyman reporting on the roughly $2 billion war chest MLB owners have amassed for the worst case scenario if there are missed games (or more) next year.
MLB owners taking a $2 billion precaution with lockout threat brewing
The players union remains against a cap and has expressed a strong expectation that the owners will lock out players with the current deal expires.
nypost.com
February 20, 2026 at 12:10 AM
If you need a $2 billion war chest maybe start bargaining before the lockout this time
Good news: girls' varsity won the states semifinal game, so they're in the regional final on Saturday night... after the D-III Bowdoin game in the NASCAC conference tourney. Maddie's response to hearing these playoff games are on the same day a few hours apart was "well we can go to both"
February 20, 2026 at 12:06 AM
Good news: girls' varsity won the states semifinal game, so they're in the regional final on Saturday night... after the D-III Bowdoin game in the NASCAC conference tourney. Maddie's response to hearing these playoff games are on the same day a few hours apart was "well we can go to both"
Reposted by Marc Normandin
You people are staring down the barrel of a gen that you yourselves think now might stretch to 2030 and don't have nearly enough in the oven because of how long your dev cycles are now. You've gotta fill in those gaps somehow and you just killed the team best primed to do it with your back catalog!
February 19, 2026 at 7:16 PM
You people are staring down the barrel of a gen that you yourselves think now might stretch to 2030 and don't have nearly enough in the oven because of how long your dev cycles are now. You've gotta fill in those gaps somehow and you just killed the team best primed to do it with your back catalog!
Reposted by Marc Normandin
Genuinely flabbergasted. Say what you will about the creative choices they've made in their releases—and I have, plenty—this is throwing away a crazy amount of institutional knowledge when of Sony's most esoteric consoles. Profound mismanagement, especially if they're paying for Jim Ryan's mistakes.
BREAKING: PlayStation is shutting down Bluepoint Games, the studio responsible for modern remakes of classic games such as Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus, Bloomberg News has learned.
A shocking end for a well-respected studio.
A shocking end for a well-respected studio.
February 19, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Genuinely flabbergasted. Say what you will about the creative choices they've made in their releases—and I have, plenty—this is throwing away a crazy amount of institutional knowledge when of Sony's most esoteric consoles. Profound mismanagement, especially if they're paying for Jim Ryan's mistakes.
Reposted by Marc Normandin
5 women, one women's team, and one mixed team have won Olympic gold medals for Team USA at these Olympics. Meanwhile, just one individual male athlete and no men's teams have won gold medals for Team USA
Makes you wonder: when will America start investing in men's sports
Makes you wonder: when will America start investing in men's sports
February 19, 2026 at 10:15 PM
5 women, one women's team, and one mixed team have won Olympic gold medals for Team USA at these Olympics. Meanwhile, just one individual male athlete and no men's teams have won gold medals for Team USA
Makes you wonder: when will America start investing in men's sports
Makes you wonder: when will America start investing in men's sports
Reposted by Marc Normandin
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.
Really glad about the gold medal hockey game for reasons beyond "my son wants to see it later when he's home on-demand and if I had to watch a heartbreaking loss twice that'd be terrible" but that is a significant consideration
February 19, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Really glad about the gold medal hockey game for reasons beyond "my son wants to see it later when he's home on-demand and if I had to watch a heartbreaking loss twice that'd be terrible" but that is a significant consideration
I have subscribed to two different high school sports streaming services this week because the girls' varsity basketball team is playing day games in states this year instead of night games. If they win today they're in the regional final on Saturday night at an actual arena, though.
February 19, 2026 at 6:19 PM
I have subscribed to two different high school sports streaming services this week because the girls' varsity basketball team is playing day games in states this year instead of night games. If they win today they're in the regional final on Saturday night at an actual arena, though.
Alright time to listen to new Poppy
February 19, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Alright time to listen to new Poppy
"Danny Ainge once held the single-season NBA 3-point record" is just one of those fun facts
February 19, 2026 at 3:12 PM
"Danny Ainge once held the single-season NBA 3-point record" is just one of those fun facts
I always find it funny when a game that ran perfectly fine and looked beautiful has people going "about time this was a big piece of shit" in replies
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition — Announcement Trailer (out now on eShop, physical on April 16) www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC0X...
up to 60 FPS, up to 4K. owners can purchase upgrade pack
up to 60 FPS, up to 4K. owners can purchase upgrade pack
February 19, 2026 at 2:15 PM
I always find it funny when a game that ran perfectly fine and looked beautiful has people going "about time this was a big piece of shit" in replies
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
