Nintendo-Mania & Holiday Gift Guide 🎮🎁

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The Ten News: Season 4, Episode 28

Today on The Ten News 🎮 The Year of Nintendo: Ryan & Everett talk all-things Nintendo 2023 from video games, to movies, and more! 🎁 Need help picking out the perfect presents for the holidays? Pamela shares some ideas that cost little to no money! 📚 Plus, a book recommendation with a special note from Author of Race for the Ruby Turtle, Steve Bramucci ☕ And, on the trivia throne: how big is the world's largest cup of hot chocolate ever?

Resources

• https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/super-mario-bros-movie-surpasses-frozen-second-biggest-animated-film-1235632448/

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TRANSCRIPT:

INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO

RYAN: (sings) It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeear–

PAM: Happy Holidays Ry! You’re looking festive, did we change the holiday party theme to an ugly sweater party?

RYAN: Not…that I know of…this is just my favorite sweater…Isn’t it great how ugly it is?! WAIT. The holiday party is today?!

PAM: Yeah! We’re doing the secret friend gift exchange. Remember?

RYAN: Well of course I remember, I just, didn’t…prepare properly. And now I’m going to distract you by saying: I’m Ryan Willard. 

PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland. It’s Thursday, December 14th.

RYAN: This is the Ten News. 

INT. SNACK ROOM - DAY

<SFX pacing>

RYAN: I need a gift I need a gift I need a gift—

EVERETT: What’s up Ry? You good?

RYAN: EVERETT! YES! No. I’m not. I have Pam for the secret friend gift exchange and I don’t have a gift…

EVERETT: Ooooh, that’s a tough one. Do you wanna take your mind off that and do a video game update? 

RYAN: Okay, you’re speaking my language. Let’s get down with the get down.

<Music: Video Game Update> (I don’t think we have one but would love your pick, Chad!)

EVERETT: It’s been a huge year for games, especially for open world, third person games. Spider-man 2, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Starfield, Hogwarts Legacy…

RYAN: Those are all tremendous games. But honestly, I think this has been the year of Nintendo. I said at the beginning of the year that this was going to be their year, and they managed to exceed my expectations. First off, Super Nintendo World opened up in Los Angeles. I never thought I’d get to go to a video game theme park. And it’s interactive? 

EVERETT: And then there was The Super Mario Bros movie. Which was one of my favorite films this year. 

RYAN: Dude. It made $1.36 BILLION dollars at the global box office, making it the second biggest animated film of all time. Only behind Frozen 2. 

EVERETT: Rightfully so. Nintendo  brought the characters to a whole new level, but I have to say, Jack Black stole the show as Bowser. (sings) Peaches Peaches Peaches–

RYAN: Did you hear that they announced a Legend of Zelda movie? The director, Wes Ball said he hopes to make it feel like a real-life take on legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.

EVERETT: Ooooh, I love Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. But Ry, we gotta talk about THE GAMES. 

RYAN: How about Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? I didn’t know how’d they’d top Breath of the Wild–

EVERETT: –but they did! Tears of the Kingdom felt twice as epic. 

RYAN: And it just won Best Action/Adventure game at the 2023 Video Game Awards.

EVERETT: I gotta be honest, Ry. I haven’t even finished the Tears of the Kingdom main story, because I’ve been distracted just building vehicles. 

RYAN: It felt like Nintendo brought out a bunch of fan favorites this year. We got Metroid Prime Remastered, Detective Pikachu Returns, Pikmin 4, WarioWare Move It!----

EVERETT: Dude. WarioWare Move It! is sooooo fun. I love that you have to stand up to play, and if you wanna win, you gotta shake what your momma gave you. And Pikmin 4 just won Best SIM/Strategy Game at the Video Game Awards. 

RYAN:  We also got Super Mario RPG, which was a remake of one of my favorite Super Nintendo games. The original was the first story driven Mario game.

EVERETT: Don’t forget the DLC for Pokemon Scarlett and Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero and Indigo Disk. My favorite new Pokemon from the DLC is the Metagross: it’s as strong as a tank and as smart as a supercomputer. And of course, your favorite…

RYAN: SUPER MARIO WONDER. Dude. Wonder was electric, I put like 40 hours in that game. It might be my favorite game of the year, and unsurprisingly, it won Family Game of the Year at the Video Game Awards. I don’t know how, but Nintendo keeps taking characters and games that I love, and making me love them more. 

EVERETT: That’s it! You should get Pam a game for the Switch!

RYAN: Pam doesn’t have a switch. 

EVERETT: But…there’s a brand new, OLED Switch on your desk…

RYAN: Yeah, that was more of a holiday present for…myself. 

EVERETT: Don’t you already have a Switch?

RYAN: I do, but this OLED Switch comes with a free copy of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and really cool Smash themed Joycons AND a 3 month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. And the OLED model has a screen that’s bigger, brighter and more beautiful than the original, along with better speakers, and twice as much storage. It’s honestly the perfect gift for someone who doesn’t have a Switch.

EVERETT: Someone like…Pam? 

RYAN: Yeah! But no, I already opened it…I can’t give a gift I’ve already opened. 

EVERETT: I think you can, but…I get it. Good luck figuring it out!

RYAN: Thanks for your help, Everett!

<Music out >

PAM: Are you looking for something to do over the holidays that’s NOT video game related? Well we’ve got some book recommendations for you. First up, another great story from Jerry Craft, School Trip. Join Jordan and his friends on a big school trip to Paris! Do you love mystery and Lemony Snicket? Then check out The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln. And can’t get enough from Dav Pilkey, pick up his latest book, Cat Kid Comic Club Influencers. And you can never go wrong with a classic, my favorite is Charlotte’s Web.

INT. PAM’S OFFICE

<SFX Pam typing>

<SFX Ryan knocks>

RYAN: Hey Pam, do you by any chance have any…gift ideas?

PAM: Yeah! I LOVE giving gifts. 

RYAN: Perfect. How about, gifts that don’t cost a lot of money, or any money, if possible.

PAM: That’s definitely possible. The best gifts don’t have to be expensive, they just have to be from the heart. 

RYAN: Like, blood vessels from my heart? I don’t think I can do that.

PAM: No, Ry, like, a homemade card! You take some construction paper, fold it in half, and then the sky’s the limit! On the cover of the card, you can draw or paint something, or write a funny message. I personally love cutting things out of magazines and pasting them into a collage. But the key to a great homemade card is a kind, personal note written inside of it. You can tell someone why you think they’re cool, things you like about them, or why you appreciate them. 

RYAN: I do love handmade cards. I bet Chad has a good gift idea, he seems like a great gift giver.

<SFX Chad buzzes in>

CHAD: Hey Pam and Ry, here’s an idea I like: (ADLIB YOUR FAVORITE CHEAP/FREE GIFT IDEA)

RYAN: I knew it. Chadimus is a gen-i-us. Ooooh, what about a mixtape?! 

PAM: So, people call those “playlists” these days, but that’s a great idea. You can make a playlist on Apple or Spotify, of YOUR favorite songs OR songs you think the recipient will like. I suggest having a theme to your playlist, like Holiday Jams, or Let’s Dance.

RYAN: I do love a good playlist. Ooooh! I just remembered something I used to do: COUPON BOOKS. You make a book filled with coupons to give to a loved one. And the fun part is that the coupons can be ANYTHING you want, like “I will vacuum the living room” or “I will help you wash the car” or “I will play the quiet game for 1 hour…” 

PAM: Wow Ry,but great ideas! Speaking of books, you can also do a DIY storybook, where you write the story and illustrate it. OR if you wanna try something new, you can find a way to record your voice and record a story so it’s like an audiobook or a podcast! 

RYAN: What if I have a gift… that someone gave me, but I think someone else would like it more…?

PAM: That’s called re-gifting and that’s totally cool. As long as you really think the person might like the gift. 

RYAN: What if they don’t like the gift?

PAM: Well, that’s the fun part about gift giving, you never know. But if it’s from your heart, they’ll most likely appreciate the effort. 

RYAN: So if it’s from my heart, you’ll love my gift?

PAM: Probably!

RYAN: Okay. Okay…I know what I have to do. 

PAM: Have to do, about what?

RYAN: You’re welcome, Pam!  

<SFX: running out of the door>

PAM: Alright, I’ve got another book recommendation for you. Author Steve Bramucci stopped by to tell us about his new book: Race for the Ruby Turtle! 

PAM: Awesome! Steve left us a copy of Race for the Ruby Turtle to give to a lucky Ten’er! If you want to win it, leave us a voice message at 877-TEN-NEWS with a grown-ups email address and we’ll randomly choose a winner! 

<SFX Trivia Room door opens>

<SFX shiny sparkly magical>

OWEN:  Welcome to the Trivia Room!

EVERETT: What up O to the wen! Happy Holidays!

OWEN: Hey Everett! Thanks, and great video game update. 

EVERETT: Thanks! You know I love gaming, so, can I play on the Trivia Throne? 

OWEN: Of course. But I’m going to give you a non video game related trivia question, so it’s extra challenging for you. 

EVERETT: Bring it on.

OWEN: It’s the holidays and no matter what holidays you celebrate there is one thing I think we can all agree we love. HOT CHOCOLATE. 

EVERETT: Yeah, I would bathe in hot chocolate if my mom would let me. 

OWEN: How big was the world’s largest cup of hot chocolate? Was it:

1. 325.8 gallons of hot chocolate

2. 844.6 gallons of hot chocolate 

3. 1272.3 gallons of hot chocolate

OWEN: The answer is…<SFX drumroll> C! The World’s Largest Cup of Hot Chocolate was 1272.3 gallons and was made by the Municipio de Uruapan, in Mexico on January 6th, 2018. The magnificent cup of hot chocolate was made to celebrate Three Kings’ Day and contained more than 600 kilograms of locally grown, semisweet chocolate.

OWEN: Thanks for playing Everett!

EVERETT : Good seeing you Owen!

OWEN: Ten’ers, it's almost the end of the year, don’t miss out being on the trivia throne. If you have a great trivia question or want to sit on the Trivia Throne, leave us a message at 877-TEN-NEWS and we might have you on the show!

<sfx shimmer/shine fades and door closes>

<SFX presents unwrapping>

RYAN: Okay, so, Pam, I actually had you for the Secret Friend Holiday Gift Exchange…here you go.

<SFX hands box over>

PAM: No way! I actually had you too! <SFX unwrapping> You got me a Nintendo Switch?!? And it’s already opened…?

RYAN: I did…It’s actually the OLED Switch and it’s open because I had to test it for you, to make sure it worked. And it comes with a copy of Super Smash Bros, my favorite game of all time, and I threw in a copy of Metroid Dread, because it’s a 2D side scroller with a female protagonist who’s fighting crazy aliens and robots, because I know how much you love space. 

PAM: Ryan, that is so amazing and generous of you. Thank you so much. And now we can game together!

RYAN: Exactly!

PAM: Well, I got you something a little different… Your gift is a special trip to the Boston Museum of Science, where we’re going to explore Mars through Roblox.

RYAN: I don’t understand how that’s possible but I’m very excited about all of the words you just said. Thank you so much!

PAM: (laughs) Do you wanna play some video games? 

RYAN: Obviously. But first, we gotta give Ten News Snaps to one of our listeners. 

PAM: You’re right. But before that, here’s a quick note for the grownups. 

[Ad Break]

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps! <Grand fanfare SFX>

PAM: Ten’er Catgirl left us this review on Apple Podcasts: Ok so I love this podcast but I’m not sure if it’s really “news” but I really like it and I think Tuesday <SFX cat meow> is cute. Four and a half stars. When I’m grown up I want to track the migration of endangered birds and other wildlife animals. 

RYAN: Thank you Catgirl! We do our best here to not just be normal and boring news. I told my cat Tuesday that you think she’s cute and she immediately thanked you, then asked me for a treat for being so cute. And thanks for listening to the Ten News. Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Thursday. And if you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten’ers Club on our website. 

PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

RYAN: The Ten News creative team is wearing ugly sweaters and getting ready for the holiday break and includes Tracey Crooks, Logan DeYoung, Corinne Catibayan, Carson Potter, and Chad Chenail. Big thanks to Owen and Everett for contributing to the episode. 

PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. 

RYAN: I’m Ryan Willard 

PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland; thanks for listening to The Ten News.