Good Smile Company is re-releasing the Crash Bandicoot Nendoroid just…

Good Smile Company is getting in on the Crash Bandicoot 30th Anniversary festivities by re-releasing his cute and chibi Nendoroid figure, and my inner '90s kid is frothing at the mouth.

The $53.99 (via Good Smile Company) toy features Crash in all his orange-colored, jeans-wearing glory, and like the rest of the Nendoroid line-up, it includes swappable parts so you can recreate your favorite scenes and poses. You've got extra arms, and even a spare eye and tongue to play around with, but most importantly, Good Smile made sure to include Crash's iconic pal, Aku Aku.

Aku Aku does not make the iconic "ooga-booga" sound when you slap him on Crash's face, but he still looks absolutely adorable in Nendoroid form. Just beware that if you want him, and a little posable Crash to keep amongst the best Crash Bandicoot merch in your collection, the pre-order window closes on October 20 next month.

I don't know about you, but as someone who remembers clutching the original gray PlayStation controller in their hand and looking longingly at the screen as Crash typhooned his way through crates and skunks, I feel like I'm turning into a pile of dust acknowledging his 30th anniversary. Yet this re-release of the incredibly detailed figure is giving me reason to stay on earth and not disappear off into the wind.

Sculpter toytec D.T.C has really outdone themselves with this toy, as Crash looks like he jumped straight out of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. While I would have preferred if they took more inspiration from the original PS1 games, the details are glorious. From the 3D tufts of hair on Crash's arms to the markings on his gloves, this is probably one of the best depictions I've seen of the iconic game mascot in toy form.

Of course, what makes any Nendoroid special is not just how adorable these chibi-inspired toys look, but what you can do with them. As I mentioned earlier, you can attach Aku Aku to Crash's face just like in the game series. While that doesn't grant this toy a short stint of invincibility, as a neat detail, the figure includes an additional stand so you can pose the sentient mask next to Crash instead.

That detail alone is what has me hammering to pre-order this Nendoroid while I still can. Aku Aku was such a prominent part of my PlayStation-playing childhood, and I love that Good Smile thought to allow you to pose him on or alongside Crash. Again, the only thing that'd make it sweeter would be if Good Smile packaged in a polygonal version of the iconic sidekick, but maybe we'll get a PS1-looking Crash toy in the future.

If you want a little articulated Crash Bandicoot for yourself, you can pre-order him now from the US or UK Good Smile Company online stores. Just be warned that while the pre-order window closes on October 20, he won't arrive at your door until between April 1 to June 30, 2027. It's a long time to wait, but the pure, nostalgia-fueled detail on display should make it worth it.

• View all Good Smile Company Nendoroid toys at Amazon

For more cool collectibles, check out the best Lego sets.

The games industry's been in an (understandable) fuss lately about the prophesied death of physical media from Sony, which has announced it'll be going discless for the foreseeable future. Players are really angry because it's not exactly great if the one place you can buy your games also controls the entirety of the pricing—as Sony hypothetically would on its PlayStation consoles.

Things are a little easier for us over here on PC land, but this recent allergy to download-only games has had fans up in arms whenever they get a whiff of digital exclusivity. As is the case with Final Fantasy 7 Revelation which, even though it's getting a physical disc version, will require a digital download.

Speaking with IGN, director Naoki Hamaguchi claims to be with gamers on the importance of physical media: "Personally, I'm very happy that we are able to release a physical disc version of FFVII Revelation considering how the entire gaming market, or the landscape, is veering towards the disc-less direction."

Regarding the download requirement, however, Hamaguchi says it was there to avoid compromising on detail: "When we had an internal discussion with the development team about how we wanted to approach the physical discs and the physical releases of FFVII Revelation, initially there were conversations about using the same disc size as we did for, say, FFVII Rebirth.

"But if we were to do that, it would mean that we would have to make a compromise in terms of the fidelity and the quality of the game. So as a development team, we didn't want to do that. We didn't want to make any compromises for the game. So realistically, the only choice that we had was to release this physical disc, but with certain sections of the game being a digital download format through the physical disc."

Which is an interesting take on it, depending on its implementation. On the plus side, a hypothetical PC version of this sort of thing skirts around a couple of the problems folks have with gaming's disc-pocalypse: It still lets gaming stores set the price, giving folks a wider range of options for purchasing, which is healthier for the consumer on the whole.

It also, depending on implementation—like whether the game requires a code—might preserve the second-hand gaming market, though I'd be surprised if Square Enix didn't slip a sneaky set of numbers in there to drive up sales.

On the downside, it also makes them inherently perishable. I don't think Square Enix is going anywhere for a while, but over the course of decades? Sure, anything can happen. And if it does, and Square can't provide a download for the rest of the game, then the disk becomes inherently useless. Counter to an ever-evolving future, at the very least.

In the prestige TV streaming era, it's not uncommon for new seasons of the biggest shows to take upwards of two years to hit screens. And a new report has confirmed what we all knew deep down: lengthy delays between new TV seasons leads to massive drops in viewership.

The report comes from data analytics company Luminate (h/t DiscussingFilm), who crunched the numbers on several of the biggest streaming releases, including Stranger Things season 5 and Wednesday season 2. The report concludes that "long breaks between seasons usually leads to audience shrinkage for hit series." A long hiatus is defined by Luminate as anything over 18 months between seasons.

Among the hardest hit shows, according to Luminate, were The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, which saw a 57% dip in viewership when it landed two years after its debut season; Wednesday season 2, which saw a 59% drop upon releasing 2.75 years after the first season; and even Stranger Things season 5, which, despite being the final season, saw audience figures drop 23% when it finally arrived 3.5 years after season 4. In contrast, The Pitt season 2 saw viewership soar 132% when it released 12 months after its initial run, but that was a critically acclaimed breakout series.

The long breaks between seasons can sometimes be attributed to behind-the-scenes turmoil (which seems to have been the case with Severance season 2, though that turned out OK), but more often than not it's simply the reality of producing big-budget shows in the prestige TV era, with audiences now expecting movie-quality visuals that require movie-length production timelines. This is particularly acute for effects-heavy shows like The Rings of Power and Stranger Things.

The binge release model can also have a deleterious effect, as despite inflating first-week numbers, Luminate points out that "binge-release viewership tends to decay quickly, whereas a weekly-release hit can remain on the charts week after week." There is a silver lining in the long breaks between seasons for streamers, though. Luminate's numbers point to long delays "supercharging" catch-up viewing, as audiences capitalize on the extra time to watch (or re-watch) previous seasons, ahead of new episodes.

Following another 2-year break between seasons, The Rings of Power season 3 returns this November and is set to tackle one of Middle-earth's biggest moments: the forging of the One Ring. The Rings of Power season 4 is reportedly already in the works, perhaps in an effort to speed up production and reduce the the wait for new seasons.

For more, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows, or look ahead to the new TV shows hitting screens this year.