It's rare that I read announcements where every little dot seems to be created for gamers by gamers - but today's announcement of the Neo Geo AES+ is definitely one of the exceptions. We're talking about an absolute dream console that is 100% backwards compatible with old Neo Geo games, without the emulation nonsense that so often causes delay and other consequences. This is the real thing.

In addition, we get new productions of both arcade games and controllers, as well as re-releases of classic Neo Geo games with controller and case. These are some of the best looking pixel games in gaming history that will now be able to be enjoyed in a smooth way, while maintaining a collector-friendly concept with very reasonable pricing.

I get all sweaty just thinking about the device that I of course intend to get and permanently retire my original device.

But... as wonderful as this is - I think the ball is now in Nintendo's and Sega's corner. Now, of course, I want to have a Super Nintendo that works in the same way, and that also applies to the Mega Drive. Analogue's stuff is bizarrely expensive on the second-hand market and yet a bit more of enthusiast stuff. An official and simple console like this would immediately become a huge hit, and both Nintendo and Sega could easily sell their classics again - and maybe even launch something unreleased and (if you dare to dream) something completely new to get more people to hit the ground.

Please, fix!

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A retro fan's wet dream. It doesn't get much better and more fanservice than this.

It sounds like an April Fool's joke and is actually an April Fool's joke too. But on April 1, Ikea Norway announced that they would release a lollipop with a taste of meatballs and lingonberry jam. It was... Viral. And now they are making the concept a reality together with classic club manufacturer Chupa Chups.

Even though Ikea is Swedish and meatballs with lingonberry jam even more Swedish, the lollipop will only be available in other countries than the old Svedala parish, but I still feel that I absolutely need to try to get hold of one. Instead, I'll have to make do with real meatballs, I guess, and hope I find these goodies in Japan.

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What do you think of the meatball lollipop?

I've written before that I'd love to have a purely desktop Switch 2, which would allow for a much cheaper device (no screen, easier to design, smaller). After all, there are many who never play portable. Lately, however, I've often felt that I'd also like a smaller Switch 2, and then I'm not really even counting on a Switch 2 Lite - but even smaller.

We're not talking about a Game Boy Advance Micro (which unfortunately is so small that it's hard to play) or anything like that, but maybe it could still be called Micro to tie back to the brand. I think I'd like it to be about the same size as the original version of the Game Boy Advance but with a lot more screen real estate instead of plastic.

Have instructed Copilot to create a device according to the design I envisioned based on a Game Boy Advance. Then of course you need the Switch's buttons and analog sticks (it strikes me that what I'm looking for is very similar to the PS Vita - which is not so strange considering how good it was), but after that we have a device that I imagine fits freely in a man's pocket or a handbag, and thus can be easily taken on trips.

If I can only wish for one more thing, it's a comeback for Street Pass. Few things beat going to Liseberg for a day, visiting a major airport or hanging out at an event like Retromania in Örebro - and noticing that you managed to collect a lot of puzzle pieces from people you don't know. A spot-on concept that concretely made it feel like you're part of an equally cozy com invisible community.

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A slightly more portable Switch 2, please.

Later this summer, as I previously mentioned, I'm off to Japan. I've been there before, but only for work. This will be the first time I'm going there to just soak up the atmosphere, culture, food and of course shopping.

As it should be when you go to what is the homeland of modern video games, there are of course a lot of nerdy things I want to see and do - but nothing in particular attracts me as much as a visit to the Nintendo Museum. However, getting tickets is not easy, you have to enter a lottery three months (!) before you go there, and the lottery then decides if you get tickets.

Of course, there are many who want to go, and think every now and then you hear about people who have been turned down. But to make a short story even shorter, you get to choose which times you are interested in going and then see when less people are expected, so we tried to search for one of these... And last week it was announced that it had gone the way.

In other words, you can look forward to an article about Nintendo Museum when I get back again, and hopefully some pictures (except from the floor where you are not allowed to take photos, of course).

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The pep. THE PEP!

I was completely run over by The Boys when I watched the first season, and even though the novelty was lacking, I was also thrilled with the second and third seasons. When it was time for fourth, however, the air went out of me.

The season felt cowardly, the characters took strange paths and the series' semi-patented shock scenes felt tacked on rather than natural elements in the story. I lost hope and after that I haven't really dared to hope for the fifth and final round. The Boys need to  upset and be disrespectful rather than feel corrected. 

But... after the superb second season of Gen V , I still got some hope and now I've watched the first two episodes of season five... And can only state that it feels very promising. It's like season four never really happened, the characters are like a natural continuation of season three (possibly Kimiko who surprises a bit) and everything is in place for a great finale.

Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the creators and actors deliver the ending we deserve. I'm not willing to forgive season four, but it would be nice to leave Billy Butcher and Homelander and feel satisfied.

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What do you think of The Boys in general and season five in particular?