April Fools’ Day 2023: the best and cringiest pranks – The Verge

Love & Translation is basically that Duolingo reality dating show minus the owl

2023-04-12T14:03:42-04:00

While it was clearly in development long before Duolingo's very funny and compelling April Fools' joke, Love & Translation is definitely going to get a lot of comparisons to the viral ad. That's because they're basically the same thing.

In the new show, three men who only speak English look for love amongst 12 women who don't speak any English at all, which is… a little cringier than the Duolingo gag. Also, there's no green owl looming in the distance and trying to teach people to new languages so they can better communicate.

But if you're okay with all that, this sure looks like the kind of show you'll plow through on a rainy Saturday whe …

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Asus announced its handheld gaming PC in the worst way possible

2023-04-04T15:30:10-04:00

Asus’ ROG Ally video made the device look pretty real. Turns out, it was! | Image: Asus

Asus' ROG Ally, a Steam Deck-like handheld gaming PC, is actually real. But because of the messy and ill-informed communications about the device that, of course, involved April Fools' Day, you'd be forgiven for not knowing that. Companies, take note: please don't follow Asus' lead next year.

The confusion started with an announcement at midnight on April 1st "revealing" the handheld. The video felt somewhat tongue-in-cheek, especially during one moment when someone is locked out of their house and happily remembers they have the Ally in their jacket pocket. The tagline felt April Fools'-y - "you'll never have to stop gaming again" - and th …

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The Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC is real, not an April Fools’ joke

2023-04-03T19:00:20-04:00

Considering the date on the calendar and the lack of a price or other details, my first response to Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) surprise-announcing a handheld gaming machine was that this must be an April Fools' Day prank.

Still, this Asus ROG Ally launch video was just a little too good to simply shake off - the link to Best Buy and the use of real games like High on Life, Moving Out, and WRC Generations seemed unusual for a prank, and now we know why. After waiting a couple of days, Asus has confirmed it is a real device (well, as real as a product can be without a launch date, detailed specs, or price) and says gamers can sign up with …

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The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a new, real, and free game you can play right now

2023-03-31T16:10:46-04:00

Oh, Mario went missing once? Big deal - Sonic's just been murdered!

In a very sudden, very confusing surprise, Sega has shadow dropped a new Sonic the Hedgehog game for PC and Mac. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, as baffling as that sounds, is a free murder mystery game on Steam you can download and play right now. The point-and-click adventure puts you amid the Sonic cast on a murder mystery party aboard the Mirage Express to celebrate Amy Rose's birthday, but - gasp - the game turns out to be real as Sonic is found keeled over, dead on the floor.

Our beautiful blue boy? He ded. | Image: Sega" data-portal-copyright="Image: Sega">

I'm no fan of silly April Fools' gags, but I'm all for lighthearted and weird headcanon ex …

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