CNN
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In the six months since Elon Musk finalized the Twitter acquisition, the billionaire has turned the platform on its head by overhauling how it decides which accounts to check.

Once issued to authenticate a limited number of accounts from celebrities, government agencies and media organizations, the coveted checkmark is now available for purchase through Twitter Blue’s subscription service. The result: more checks and more confusion.

There were at least 550,000 Twitter Blue followers as of April 23, according to estimates provided to CNN by Travis Browne, a Berlin-based software developer, just days after Musk stripped all users of the outdated blue checks. In comparison, over 400,000 accounts were verified with stale blue checks prior to being cleared.

But with Musk gifting the favor to some celebrities, it’s unclear how much customers are actually paying. It’s also unclear how much more Twitter can increase followers, which Musk has made the centerpiece of his plan to boost Twitter’s revenue.

The change in Twitter’s review process is just one of the many ways Musk has rocked the company since taking over Twitter in October. He fired 80% of his staff and changed the site’s policies, drawing criticism for how the moves could affect security and transparency. Many top advertisers have left the platform, and Musk valued it at about $20 billion last month, less than half of what he paid for it.

But one of Musk’s boldest and most ambitious changes was Twitter Blue. Advertised as a successor to the old checkout system, the subscription model allows anyone to pay $8 a month for a blue badge and other features like priority ranking in conversations and search.

The backlash was swift. Twitter Blue has sowed chaos and confusion. The program was initially suspended just a few days after it was launched, when the account impersonate Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company tweeted that “insulin is now free,” sending stocks plummeting.

More recently, the removal of blue checks has brought about a cultural change on the platform. Once a popular status symbol, many users find the blue badge not cool anymore. Last week, after the blue tick started appearing on prominent accounts, celebs like Lil Nas X and Chrissy Teigen furiously rejected service payment.

Here’s a look at the rise and fall of the blue Twitter badge:

It’s a shame that two of the best retro gaming consoles in recent years, NES Classic Mini And SNES Classic Mini, are out of production. Both feature great designs, miniature looks true to the original, great performance, and powerful gaming lines of Nintendo’s greatest hits. You can still buy them online (usually from third party resellers), but the prices are seriously inflated. For example, the SNES Classic Mini was $80 at launch, but the reseller has it for $300 on Amazon right now. You might be lucky to buy one is used.

Nintendo fans who are into classic action games would be better off picking up a Switch and buying it Nintendo Switch Online membership ($20/year) to access over 100 NES and SNES games (here is the complete list). Add Expansion Pack ($50/year) and you can get these N64 games too much. If you’re craving some fun in an old-school Nintendo pocket format, check out the resurrected game. Play and View ($50) line. They are limited to a couple of games each, but when those games Super Mario or Zelda titles that can last for hours of fun.

V Analog Mega SG ($200) (8/10, recommends WIRED) is expensive and doesn’t come with games or controllers (they cost $25 each). But it can play old Sega Genesis cartridges, so it’s a good choice if you have a box of them in the basement. Thanks to the FPGA chip, this console runs original games just as you remember them.

There are many Classic arcade games available on PlayStation 4 or 5.. If you choose PS Plus Premium subscription ($18/month or $120/year)You are getting Catalog of classicspacked with old PlayStation games.

Xbox Series X|S boasts better backwards compatibility as the latest Microsoft consoles can play Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. You can also find classic games included in our favorite game subscription, great Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($15/month).

If you have a Valve Steam Deck, check out the full Emudek to emulate a wide variety of older systems in style.

PC gamers also have a huge selection of emulators to choose from. I love RetroArch because it emulates multiple systems, but if you have a favorite old console and want to get closer to that original experience, you can probably find a specially made emulator to get rid of that itch.

Facebook Gaming, a division of Meta, announced that you can now play games during video calls in Messenger. At launch, there are 14 free games available in Messenger video calls on iOS, Android, and the web. Among the games there are such popular titles as Words With Friends, Card Wars, Exploding Kittens and Mini Gold FRVR.

To access the games, you need to start a video call on Messenger and press the group mode button in the center, then tap on the Play icon. From there, you can browse the game library. The company notes that you must have two or more people on your call to play the games.

“Facebook Gaming is pleased to announce that you can now play your favorite games during video calls on Messenger,” the company said in a statement. Blog post. “This new shared experience on Messenger makes it easy to play games with friends and family during a video call, allowing you to strengthen bonds with friends and family while engaging in conversations and games.”

The company says it is working on adding more free games to the platform this year. Facebook Gaming invites developers interested in integrating this feature into their games to contact the company.

News comes like Facebook close offline Facebook Gaming application last October. The app was launched in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic to allow users to watch their favorite streamers, play instant games, and participate in gaming groups. At the time, Facebook noted that users would still be able to find their games, streamers, and groups when visiting Gaming on the Facebook app.

Although Facebook was experiment with games in messengers over the past few years, the idea of ​​playing games while video chatting in a quick and easy way can be a welcome addition for some users.

The launch comes after Facebook recently announced that it is testing the ability for users to access their messenger included in the Facebook app. Back in 2016 Facebook removed messaging capabilities from their mobile web app to push people to the Messenger app, which annoyed many users. The company is now testing a reversal of this decision.