Exp.pack

Starter and Pokémon aren't done. 👀

Just a month after dropping a Starter Jacket that celebrated the Kanto region, Starter, Pokémon, and Target are reconnecting on jackets that represent Johto and Hoenn- the Gen 2 and Gen 3 regions, respectively.

The jackets come off the heel of a very messy launch of the Kanto jacket, where Target stores across the US reportedly got as few as single-digit jackets to sell on drop day. Fans were faced with the disappointment of missing out on such an iconic piece of streetwear history. The jacket is now reselling for over 200 dollars on the secondary market.

The best news of all, though, is that the jackets will launch as a pre-order on June 7th, after an initial limited run drops on June 6th.

As the volatility of the Pokémon market continues, this pre-order window will be welcomed by Pokémon fans. After all, Pokémon is for everyone, and it seems that Starter and Target are finally getting that.

Toonami didn’t just put us on our favorite shows, it also put us on some epic video games.

Toonami is widely credited for popularizing anime in the United States. The time block created by Adult Swim helped put Anime on the map. Shows like Cowboy Bebop and even Dragon Ball Z reached a wider audience thanks to Toonami.

Tom, the sentient robot character who, in essence, became the host of Toonami, was an icon for a generation. He was the epitome of cool. That is what made video game reviews such a no-brainer for Adult Swim.

Beginning in 1997, Toonami used commercial breaks to slot in iconic segments, like Toonami Game Reviews. You name the game, and some rendition of Tom or Sara reviewed it.

These video game reviews typically ran the length of a minute ad block, giving them just enough time to cover key gameplay aspects, as well as explain some of the story behind these games.

As console eras changed, so did our hosts, but the reviews remained. Most of the reviews were a passion project by the Toonami staff. Though there was a partnership with XBOX at one point, the games covered by Toonami Game Review were generally just the games the staff was currently playing.

Though Toonami is more known for its pivotal role in the adoption of Anime in the US, it also played a role in tastemaking an audience ready to sink their teeth into the latest games. Tom, Sara, and the Toonami gang were really putting us on, and they were influencers decades before that was even a thing.

Turns out one post wasn't enough to cover how unhinged the Resident Evil modding community really is.

From turning Leon into a merman who still somehow escapes on a jetski, to replacing two different RE4 villains with Pennywise, to swapping baby Rose's face with a bearded Chris Redfield, to making the Verdugo a Xenomorph. Modders have been doing this across almost every title, and nobody is slowing them down.

Shoutout to the modding community for never letting Resident Evil take itself too seriously.

What's the wildest mod you've seen or played?

In 1999, Nintendo and Dr. Pepper teamed up for a special campaign to promote Donkey Kong 64.

The multi-million dollar campaign aligned with the Holiday 1999 launch of Donkey Kong 64. Thousands of prizes were up for grabs during this “Kong Likes Pepper” campaign, including items like Nintendo 64 consoles and Donkey Kong 64 cartridges, with the grand prizes being Panasonic Home Entertainment Centers that also included the aforementioned prizes.

The brands went all out to promote the event. They developed a reality-TV spoofed commercial, released ads in magazines, placed Donkey Kong on the cover of Dr. Pepper packaging, and even released promotional t-shirts.

"Consumers will go ape over this fun-filled, family-oriented promotion, which links two of America's most familiar and popular brands,” said Cindi Clark, who was Dr Pepper's Senior Vice President of Marketing, about this campaign.

And Ape they went. The promotion was deemed a success. It also opened the door to future video game and soda crossovers. Some of which we hold close to our hearts today.

Back in 1986, Japan got a unique educational video game featuring our favorite plumber.

Designed in a collaboration between Nintendo and Royal Industries, a Japanese sewing machine company, ‘I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater’ literally taught you how to design sweaters featuring Mario and other Nintendo characters.

The software included knitting charts of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and even Gumbas. Once you finished your character pattern, you had the option to finish the sweater by hand or to send it to Royal Industries so they could finish creating your special sweater.

This special game saw spiritual successors all the way up to the Game Boy Color. Since it was released on the Japanese Famicom Disk System, ‘ I AM a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater’ never saw a release in the US.

Toonami didn’t just put us on our favorite shows, it also put us on some epic video games.

Toonami is widely credited for popularizing anime in the United States. The time block created by Adult Swim helped put Anime on the map. Shows like Cowbob Bebop and even Dragon Ball Z reached a wider audience thanks to Toonami.

Tom, the sentient robot character that in essence became the host of Toonami, was an icon to a generation. He was the epitome of cool. That is what made video game reviews such a no-brainer for Adult Swim.

Beginning in 1997, Toonami began using commercial breaks to slot iconic segments- like Toonami Game Reviews. You name the game, and some rendition of Tom or Sara reviewed it.

These video game reviews typically ran the length of a minute ad block, giving them just enough time to cover key gameplay aspects, as well as explain some of the story behind these games.

As console eras changed, so did our hosts, but the reviews remained. Most of the reviews were a passion project by the Toonami staff. Though there was a partnership with XBOX at one point, the games covered by Toonami Game Review were generally just the games the staff was currently playing.

Though Toonami is more known for its pivotal role in the adoption of Anime in the US, it also played a role in tastemaking an audience ready to sink their teeth into the latest games. Tom, Sara, and the Toonami gang were really putting us on, and they were influencers decades before that was even a thing.

Hayley Williams has been a barrier breaker.

Back in 2008, the lead singer of Paramore was riding a high tide. The band’s debut album “Riot!” was a massive success. That year, the band also had the privilege of being featured on the Twilight Movie soundtrack with the song ‘Decoded’. would be presented with a special opportunity that year.

The development team behind the Guitar Hero games approached her to appear in their game, Guitar Hero World Tour. Hayley would take them up, getting really into the project. It was only after she signed up that she realized how big a deal it was: Hayley would become the first female artist to be featured in a Guitar Hero series.

Of course, this was a massive deal. The series was at its peak, putting out title after title of games that allowed fans to feel like they were in a band. This was no different. Fans could rock out with Hayley and play Paramore’s biggest song ‘Misery Business’.

Paramore fans were obsessed. Her appearance would become popular fodder for Tumblr. Fans would even make sprites of Hayley’s character in the game.

Hayley would call it an honor to work on the game. She would joke about how the game would immortalize her. Little did she know that she was always on that path.

Twenty years later, Hayley Williams is a multiplatinum recording artist, a Grammy winner, and a critically acclaimed songwriter. She is currently on pace to sell out her Second Solo Tour in as many years. Talk about being immortalized.

Did you score any tickets to the Show Tour coming later this year?