We like to think we know how to have fun. After all, our role is to bring you an exciting digest of pop culture - we hope it gives you a moment’s escape from the weekly grind, or news of something you can look forward to.

But this week we all have a heavy choice to make. The media blitz has been inescapable for weeks. Both sides have their pros and cons, and both have their own diehard supporters those in the middle would rather avoid. The decision each of us makes will affect us for years to come, which is why it’s so important to be informed - our lead story can help you with the essential facts if you still need to decide. But history shows that most of you already know which way you’re going to go...

So what will it be? Are you buying a PS5? Or the new Xbox?

Next generation gaming begins with PS5 & Xbox Series launch

Millions of gamers around the world are getting comfy in front of their TVs this week, as Sony and Microsoft are set to catapult the games industry into a new console generation. The Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X arrive in stores roughly 7 years after their predecessors, the now-familiar PS4 and Xbox One.

These incoming models boast optimized loadouts comparable to current gaming PCs, quadrupling the power of their predecessors! Launch titles built to showcase the hardware dazzle with cutting edge graphics techniques like real-time ray tracing, which creates hyper-realistic lighting and reflections on every frame. Faster load times and improved, more responsive controllers are other innovations tempting early adopters to line up on release day.

Of course, the year is still 2020, so they won’t be lining up in-person. Sony has indicated that no PS5s will be sold directly at stores for the first week after its release tomorrow, so even big box stores are fulfilling orders via no-contact pickup or delivery. The new Xbox, on the other hand, already launched on Tuesday with no such limitations. With similar technical capabilities and few exclusive titles announced for either machine, sheer impatience could well be the tipping point for gamers around the country.

But Microsoft did throw its own curveball, simultaneously launching the smaller Xbox Series S. Its reduced profile (and price tag) are achieved by removing the disc drive - a goal of Microsoft’s big push towards always-online digital gaming. The Series S also gives up a little bit of performance compared to the Series X, which matters if you’re determined to game in 4k quality. Sony is likewise releasing a digital-only build of the PS5, but has held back on changing any of its other specs.

The Xbox Series X is set to retail for $500, with a reduced $300 price tag on the Series S. Sony has its stock and digital-only PS5s priced at $500 and $400 respectively. Whichever you choose, an impressive launch library of new, remade and backwards-compatible titles offer instant gratification for buying into the future of console gaming.

Classic MTG artist set for record auction prices on Alpha haul

Magic: The Gathering released its first set, Alpha, some 27 years ago - an incredible amount of time for any commercial game to hold an audience. That original Alpha card set is still tournament legal, and vintage cards like Black Lotus and Lightning Bolt are cornerstones of the Magic subculture - not to mention highly collectible!

But even the most valuable of them pales next to the demand from collectors for Alpha artwork - the 300 original paintings which adorned those cards and brought their fantasy to life for millions of players. And this week, a once-a-decade auction has some of the most famous art in Alpha up for grabs!

Artist Doug Shuler illustrated hundreds of cards from Magic’s first decade, including iconic Alpha all-stars Serra Angel and Demonic Tutor. The canvas for Demonic Tutor, in which a stern devil tempts the viewer with a tome of dark knowledge, is the centerpiece of the treasure trove now for sale on Heritage Auctions, and is looking to breach the $100,000 mark when the hammer falls next week. Other notable Alpha pieces up for grabs include Shuler’s Contract From Below, Mark Poole’s intricate Jayemdae Tome, and Mana Flare - a rare offering from the career of the late Christopher Rush, venerated for his painting of Black Lotus.

These Alpha pieces sit at the peak of a burgeoning market for Magic artwork, with even the most recently published paintings fetching $15,000 and prices rising for older sets. We interviewed Doug Shuler this week to ask about his Magic art, and his responses offer some insight as to why Alpha art is on another level.

“My best-known pieces are some of my earliest,” he explained. “Serra Angel and Demonic Tutor for sure, followed closely by Icy Manipulator, Force of Nature and Prodigal Sorcerer.” All these paintings are part of that first Alpha set, and were then reprinted over and over through other later editions. So why does Demonic Tutor stand out at auction? Shuler prefers to attribute its $100K price tag to the power of the card his artwork is attached to: “Players tend to be biased based on game mechanics.”

The full text of our Shuler interview focuses heavily on another of his famous Alpha paintings: Benalish Hero. This memorable portrait of a confident female soldier has been announced as an upcoming investment offering on the Mythic Markets platform - so check out the interview to learn more of its history and value to Magic.

Fast fandom

As always, there is a ton going on in the interconnected world of pop culture and fan media. Here are a few of the stories that caught our eye:

TwitchCon avoids schedule glitch by moving show online

Amazon-owned streaming giant Twitch has followed the pandemic trend set by ComicCon and other prominent conventions, announcing that its 2020 TwitchCon expo will be held online. While it’s a blow to the platform’s celebrity creators who anticipate the annual networking and partying TwitchCon usually provides, at least Twitch is in a better position than most to adapt for a fully-livestreamed convention.

Already, the announcements for the event are spinning it in a positive light - changing the title to “GlitchCon” and teasing fans with appropriately fun and warped previews. Those curious should tune in on November 14 to see what entertainment Twitch can pull out of its hat - or as it is insisting, “a portal from another dimension”.

Internet cheers as fish complete 3,000-hour Pokemon marathon

This is one of those headlines which really tells most of the story - a team of fish owned by a Japanese YouTube channel has finally completed Pokemon Sapphire by swimming around their motion-tracked fishtank for 3,000 hours. The stunt follows in the grand tradition of “Twitch Plays” marathons, which use chat messages from thousands of viewers to generate inputs so they can all “play” the game being streamed.

But after human viewers became too good at cooperating, the search for novel ways of simulating inputs branched out; the “Mutekimaru” channel chose a system which presses different buttons based on where fish swim in a tank. These essentially random inputs have, eventually, led the fish to complete their run of Pokemon. Perhaps Mutekimaru should set them up with Shakespeare and some typewriters next?

100 Thieves make triumphant return to CoD with home city franchise

100 Thieves founder Nadeshot has announced his team’s purchase of a Call of Duty franchise in its stronghold of Los Angeles. Nadeshot, a.k.a. Matthew Haag, is a former Call of Duty world champion himself, so the entry of 100 Thieves to the current top tier of CoD esports has been long awaited by fans. The opportunity to base their team in L.A. was the last piece of the puzzle, allowing 100 Thieves to take full advantage of their new 15,000 square-foot esports facility there. This concentrated investment by a top brand in one city might even be enough to achieve a genuine “home team” relationship with locals - something that esports executives have been trying to manufacture for decades.

Mythic Messenger #17 - We have a heavy choice to make...