Update (12/26/20) - Nintendo's Network Status page is no longer reporting any issues with users connecting to the Nintendo Switch eShop and says that "All servers are operating normally." [poilib element="accentDivider"] If you just received a new Nintendo Switch for the holidays and can't connect to the eShop to download new games, you aren't alone. Nintendo has announced that it is "aware that players are experiencing errors accessing Nintendo eShop, and are working to address the issue as soon as possible." Nintendo took to Twitter to give the news and also said "Thank you for your understanding, and please see our Network Status page for the latest updates." You can click here to check the status of the Nintendo eShop, and we will update this article when services appear to be working again. As of this writing, when you go to Nintendo's Network Maintenance Information page, it has a notice that players could be receiving when trying to access the eShop that says, "Unable to connect to the network service. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." Considering today is Christmas, the cause of these network issues could very well be the many new Nintendo Switch consoles that were opened today or those with gift cards trying to purchase new games. As previously mentioned, we will update this article as soon as we hear the problems are fixed. Until then, be sure to check out our list of the top 25 Switch games to give you an idea what you can play this holiday season and beyond. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/the-best-nintendo-switch-games-fall-2020-update"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Update (12/26/20) - Nintendo's Network Status page is no longer reporting any issues with users connecting to the Nintendo Switch eShop and says that "All servers are operating normally." [poilib element="accentDivider"] If you just received a new Nintendo Switch for the holidays and can't connect to the eShop to download new games, you aren't alone. Nintendo has announced that it is "aware that players are experiencing errors accessing Nintendo eShop, and are working to address the issue as soon as possible." Nintendo took to Twitter to give the news and also said "Thank you for your understanding, and please see our Network Status page for the latest updates." You can click here to check the status of the Nintendo eShop, and we will update this article when services appear to be working again. As of this writing, when you go to Nintendo's Network Maintenance Information page, it has a notice that players could be receiving when trying to access the eShop that says, "Unable to connect to the network service. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." Considering today is Christmas, the cause of these network issues could very well be the many new Nintendo Switch consoles that were opened today or those with gift cards trying to purchase new games. As previously mentioned, we will update this article as soon as we hear the problems are fixed. Until then, be sure to check out our list of the top 25 Switch games to give you an idea what you can play this holiday season and beyond. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/the-best-nintendo-switch-games-fall-2020-update"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new, mysterious small marine reptile from 150 million years ago, known as the Thalassodraco etchesi or Etches sea dragon, was recently discovered in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England. As reported by SciTech Daily, this species may have been able to dive to extreme depths, and was determined to be part of the group known as the ichthyosaurs, which are "streamlined marine predators from the Late Jurassic period." “This ichthyosaur has several differences that makes it unique enough to be its own genus and species,” paleontologist Megan L. Jacobs said. “New Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the United Kingdom are extremely rare, as these creatures have been studied for 200 years. We knew it was new almost instantly, but it took about a year to make thorough comparisons with all other Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs to make certain our instincts were correct. It was very exciting to not be able to find a match.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Illustration of Thalassodraco etchesi. Credit: Megan Jacobs[/caption] This specific specimen was discovered in 2009 and was estimated to have been about 6 feet long. It was discovered by fossil collector Steve Etches MBE after a "cliff crumbled along the seaside." It appears to have some similarities to sperm whales with its "extremely deep rib cage" that may have allowed for larger lungs and space so internal organs weren't crushed under the pressure. It also had large eyes, which meant it could have been able to see well in low light. Its hundreds of tiny teeth seem to indicate a diet that may have consisted of squid and small fish, and "the teeth are unique by being completely smooth." [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Photo of the sea dragon (Thalassodraco etches) fossil (MJML K1885). Credit: The Etches Collection, Dorset, UK[/caption] “They still had to breathe air at the surface and didn’t have scales,” Jacobs said. “There is hardly anything actually known about the biology of these animals. We can only make assumptions from the fossils we have, but there’s nothing like it around today. Eventually, to adapt to being fully aquatic, they no longer could go up onto land to lay eggs, so they evolved into bearing live young, tail first. There have been skeletons found with babies within the mother and also ones that were actually being born.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new, mysterious small marine reptile from 150 million years ago, known as the Thalassodraco etchesi or Etches sea dragon, was recently discovered in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England. As reported by SciTech Daily, this species may have been able to dive to extreme depths, and was determined to be part of the group known as the ichthyosaurs, which are "streamlined marine predators from the Late Jurassic period." “This ichthyosaur has several differences that makes it unique enough to be its own genus and species,” paleontologist Megan L. Jacobs said. “New Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the United Kingdom are extremely rare, as these creatures have been studied for 200 years. We knew it was new almost instantly, but it took about a year to make thorough comparisons with all other Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs to make certain our instincts were correct. It was very exciting to not be able to find a match.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Illustration of Thalassodraco etchesi. Credit: Megan Jacobs[/caption] This specific specimen was discovered in 2009 and was estimated to have been about 6 feet long. It was discovered by fossil collector Steve Etches MBE after a "cliff crumbled along the seaside." It appears to have some similarities to sperm whales with its "extremely deep rib cage" that may have allowed for larger lungs and space so internal organs weren't crushed under the pressure. It also had large eyes, which meant it could have been able to see well in low light. Its hundreds of tiny teeth seem to indicate a diet that may have consisted of squid and small fish, and "the teeth are unique by being completely smooth." [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Photo of the sea dragon (Thalassodraco etches) fossil (MJML K1885). Credit: The Etches Collection, Dorset, UK[/caption] “They still had to breathe air at the surface and didn’t have scales,” Jacobs said. “There is hardly anything actually known about the biology of these animals. We can only make assumptions from the fossils we have, but there’s nothing like it around today. Eventually, to adapt to being fully aquatic, they no longer could go up onto land to lay eggs, so they evolved into bearing live young, tail first. There have been skeletons found with babies within the mother and also ones that were actually being born.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian has returned to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the second season of The Mandalorian was made. In this hour-long special, we not only learn some cool details about the show, but we are also treated to the most adorable clip of Baby Yoda/The Child/Grogu dancing with director Robert Rodriguez. Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is available now on Disney+ and, to help celebrate its launch, Robert Rodriguez - who directed this season's episode titled The Tragedy - shared an extended clip featured in the special of him playing guitar as Baby Yoda dances along.

Here’s a Christmas present to all those who asked me what it’s like to hang out with Baby Yoda on the set of #TheMandalorian #TheTragedy. Check out #DisneyGallery for more behind the scenes! pic.twitter.com/6ShINBxJAN

— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) December 25, 2020

Spoiler Warning for the second season of The Mandalorian. As if that wasn't enough of a treat, Rodriguez also told the story of how he went to his backyard and filmed his sons and some Star Wars action figures to illustrate his vision for the epic Boba Fett scene from The Tragedy for the team. We even get a short glimpse of the video at the 42:10 mark in the special. Alongside these wonderful gifts from Rodriguez, The Mandalorian's crew reveal some very interesting details as they go through each episode, and you can check out some of our favorites below;

• The codename for The Mandalorian TV series is Huckleberry.
• The Volume, which is the groundbreaking wraparound LED screen that is used on set for backgrounds and immersing the actors in the scenes, was 100 feet long and 22 feet tall for this season.
• The Krayt Dragon in the season premiere was originally only designed to be 150ft long, but the team decided it needed to have much more presence and ended up being a 600-foot monster.
• David Choe was brought in to help make the graffiti in the premiere feel authentic. He even got the chance to play an alien this season.
• The ice spiders from the second episode of season 2 were inspired by the work of Star Wars legend Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie is responsible for so much of what makes Star Wars look like Star Wars.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-mandalorian-season-2-finale-grogus-jedi-finally-revealed-star-wars-canon-fodder"]

• Misty Rosas played the Frog Lady in season 2. Rosas also played Kuiil in season 1.
• Dave Filoni purposefully didn't bring Ahsoka Tano into the first season of The Mandalorian because he didn't want to mess her introduction up and rush into it.
• Ahsoka's lightsabers went through many iterations as Dave Filoni wanted them to be in a smaller form that was similar to Samurai katanas.
• Ahsoka, who was created by both George Lucas and Dave Filoni for The Clone Wars, was one of the first things Filoni ever drew for the project.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-actor-and-character-in-the-mandalorian&captions=true"]

• Robert Rodriguez turned that Boba Fett battle scene in The Tragedy from a "3-page battle scene into a 9-minute battle scene." He also wanted to make Boba Fett into what we all imagined him to be.
• When comparing Boba Fett to The Mandalorian, Rodriguez said that if The Mandalorian is a gunslinger, Boba Fett is a barbarian.
• Boba Fett actor Temuera Morison, who was born in New Zealand, requested that the gaffi stick he wielded take inspiration from Maori culture.
• While pretty much all of the scenes in The Mandalorian are shot in-doors in front of the Volume LED screen, the team had to go to Simi Valley in California to shoot the battle scene in The Tragedy as the indoor set was just too small.
• One of the most difficult parts of filming in Simi Valley was that they couldn't use explosions due to the risk of causing a fire. The one exception was for the scene where Fennec is running along the rocks as it was far away from anything combustible.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/05/the-mandalorian-season-2-how-this-iconic-character-is-finally-redeemed"]

• In The Believer, with the help of The Volume LED screen, we are able to see the interior of Boba Fett's Slave One rotating during take-off for the first time.
• While many miniatures of ships - like the Razor Crest - in The Mandalorian were scanned in to be used on The Volume, Moff Gideon's cruiser was built as a 5-foot-long miniature that was filmed using techniques seen in the original films.
• The staff wielded by Bib Fortuna in Jabba's Palace was taken from his action figure and is the first time it has appeared on screen.

For more on The Mandalorian, check out our full season 2 review, our explainer of the season's ending and what it means for season 3, and the reveal of The Book of Boba Fett spinoff series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/the-mandalorian-season-2-in-17-minutes"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian has returned to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the second season of The Mandalorian was made. In this hour-long special, we not only learn some cool details about the show, but we are also treated to the most adorable clip of Baby Yoda/The Child/Grogu dancing with director Robert Rodriguez. Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is available now on Disney+ and, to help celebrate its launch, Robert Rodriguez - who directed this season's episode titled The Tragedy - shared an extended clip featured in the special of him playing guitar as Baby Yoda dances along.

Here’s a Christmas present to all those who asked me what it’s like to hang out with Baby Yoda on the set of #TheMandalorian #TheTragedy. Check out #DisneyGallery for more behind the scenes! pic.twitter.com/6ShINBxJAN

— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) December 25, 2020

Spoiler Warning for the second season of The Mandalorian. As if that wasn't enough of a treat, Rodriguez also told the story of how he went to his backyard and filmed his sons and some Star Wars action figures to illustrate his vision for the epic Boba Fett scene from The Tragedy for the team. We even get a short glimpse of the video at the 42:10 mark in the special. Alongside these wonderful gifts from Rodriguez, The Mandalorian's crew reveal some very interesting details as they go through each episode, and you can check out some of our favorites below;

• The codename for The Mandalorian TV series is Huckleberry.
• The Volume, which is the groundbreaking wraparound LED screen that is used on set for backgrounds and immersing the actors in the scenes, was 100 feet long and 22 feet tall for this season.
• The Krayt Dragon in the season premiere was originally only designed to be 150ft long, but the team decided it needed to have much more presence and ended up being a 600-foot monster.
• David Choe was brought in to help make the graffiti in the premiere feel authentic. He even got the chance to play an alien this season.
• The ice spiders from the second episode of season 2 were inspired by the work of Star Wars legend Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie is responsible for so much of what makes Star Wars look like Star Wars.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-mandalorian-season-2-finale-grogus-jedi-finally-revealed-star-wars-canon-fodder"]

• Misty Rosas played the Frog Lady in season 2. Rosas also played Kuiil in season 1.
• Dave Filoni purposefully didn't bring Ahsoka Tano into the first season of The Mandalorian because he didn't want to mess her introduction up and rush into it.
• Ahsoka's lightsabers went through many iterations as Dave Filoni wanted them to be in a smaller form that was similar to Samurai katanas.
• Ahsoka, who was created by both George Lucas and Dave Filoni for The Clone Wars, was one of the first things Filoni ever drew for the project.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-actor-and-character-in-the-mandalorian&captions=true"]

• Robert Rodriguez turned that Boba Fett battle scene in The Tragedy from a "3-page battle scene into a 9-minute battle scene." He also wanted to make Boba Fett into what we all imagined him to be.
• When comparing Boba Fett to The Mandalorian, Rodriguez said that if The Mandalorian is a gunslinger, Boba Fett is a barbarian.
• Boba Fett actor Temuera Morison, who was born in New Zealand, requested that the gaffi stick he wielded take inspiration from Maori culture.
• While pretty much all of the scenes in The Mandalorian are shot in-doors in front of the Volume LED screen, the team had to go to Simi Valley in California to shoot the battle scene in The Tragedy as the indoor set was just too small.
• One of the most difficult parts of filming in Simi Valley was that they couldn't use explosions due to the risk of causing a fire. The one exception was for the scene where Fennec is running along the rocks as it was far away from anything combustible.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/05/the-mandalorian-season-2-how-this-iconic-character-is-finally-redeemed"]

• In The Believer, with the help of The Volume LED screen, we are able to see the interior of Boba Fett's Slave One rotating during take-off for the first time.
• While many miniatures of ships - like the Razor Crest - in The Mandalorian were scanned in to be used on The Volume, Moff Gideon's cruiser was built as a 5-foot-long miniature that was filmed using techniques seen in the original films.
• The staff wielded by Bib Fortuna in Jabba's Palace was taken from his action figure and is the first time it has appeared on screen.

For more on The Mandalorian, check out our full season 2 review, our explainer of the season's ending and what it means for season 3, and the reveal of The Book of Boba Fett spinoff series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/the-mandalorian-season-2-in-17-minutes"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The QR barcode has been enormously helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its creator, Masahiro Hara, is thrilled. Since QR barcodes can handle about 200 times more information than the average barcode, it has been used with contact-chasing apps, contact-free payments, and check-ins at various places, according to The Guardian. Years ago, Hara would feel a sense of joy whenever he would see a piece of garbage on the street that had a QR code on it. Now, he's a bit taken aback at the QR code's usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] "I’m really pleased that it’s being been used to help improve people’s safety," Hara said to The Guardian. "Back in 1994 we were focused on its use in the economy...we never thought it would be used for something like this.” Now that Hara recognizes a far greater purpose for QR codes, he and his team are hard at work to develop the technology further. "I’ve been thinking about how to increase the amount of information that can be stored so that the code can handle images,” Hara said. "For example, it could be possible for people to carry around their x-rays and cardiograms in QR code form." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-sci-fi-movies-on-netflix&captions=true"] Hara purposefully released the patents for QR codes to the world so others can take the technology into the future. All Hara asks is for some spotlight on his company, Denso Wave, which is the birthplace of the QR code. “It would be nice if more people knew about our company,” Hara said. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/19/theres-a-5050-chance-were-living-in-a-simulation"] Meanwhile, some scientists believe that humans might actually be living in a simulation. For some lighter science fun, check out an updated list of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix or IGN's top 25 sci-fi movies of all time. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

The QR barcode has been enormously helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its creator, Masahiro Hara, is thrilled. Since QR barcodes can handle about 200 times more information than the average barcode, it has been used with contact-chasing apps, contact-free payments, and check-ins at various places, according to The Guardian. Years ago, Hara would feel a sense of joy whenever he would see a piece of garbage on the street that had a QR code on it. Now, he's a bit taken aback at the QR code's usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] "I’m really pleased that it’s being been used to help improve people’s safety," Hara said to The Guardian. "Back in 1994 we were focused on its use in the economy...we never thought it would be used for something like this.” Now that Hara recognizes a far greater purpose for QR codes, he and his team are hard at work to develop the technology further. "I’ve been thinking about how to increase the amount of information that can be stored so that the code can handle images,” Hara said. "For example, it could be possible for people to carry around their x-rays and cardiograms in QR code form." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-sci-fi-movies-on-netflix&captions=true"] Hara purposefully released the patents for QR codes to the world so others can take the technology into the future. All Hara asks is for some spotlight on his company, Denso Wave, which is the birthplace of the QR code. “It would be nice if more people knew about our company,” Hara said. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/19/theres-a-5050-chance-were-living-in-a-simulation"] Meanwhile, some scientists believe that humans might actually be living in a simulation. For some lighter science fun, check out an updated list of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix or IGN's top 25 sci-fi movies of all time. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

New York-based Rosen Law Firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Cyberpunk 2077's publisher CD Projekt S.A. due to its alleged violation of federal securities laws. Announced in a press release, Rosen Law Firm is filing the class-action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of CD Projekt S.A. between January 16, 2020 and December 17, 2020, and is seeking to "recover damages for CD Projekt investors under the federal securities laws." The lawsuit claims that CD Projekt has "made false and/or misleading statements" and/or failed to disclose that "Cyberpunk 2077 was virtually unplayable on the current-generation Xbox or PlayStation systems due to an enormous number of bugs." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/18/sony-pulls-cyberpunk-2077-from-ps-store-will-offer-refunds"] In response to the many issues and messy messaging surround the game's launch, Sony removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the PS Store and Sony, Microsoft, and CD Projekt would "be forced to offer full refunds for the game." The lawsuit claims that, as a result of the above, "CD Projekt would suffer reputational and pecuniary harm" and that its "statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages." This news follows a previous report that lawyers and investors in Warsaw, Poland - where CD Projekt S.A. is located - were "circling the situation" and were deciding whether or not they should take action. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/24/20-good-things-about-2020-and-10-things-that-sucked"] Despite all these issues and CD Projekt's stock price dropping around 29% at launch, it didn't stop Cyberpunk 2077 from selling over 13 million copies and recouping its entire development and marketing costs with pre-orders alone. If you are able to get past some of the issues and are enjoying the game, be sure to check out our Cyberpunk 2077 walkthrough, cheats and secrets, and tips on hacking. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

New York-based Rosen Law Firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Cyberpunk 2077's publisher CD Projekt S.A. due to its alleged violation of federal securities laws. Announced in a press release, Rosen Law Firm is filing the class-action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of CD Projekt S.A. between January 16, 2020 and December 17, 2020, and is seeking to "recover damages for CD Projekt investors under the federal securities laws." The lawsuit claims that CD Projekt has "made false and/or misleading statements" and/or failed to disclose that "Cyberpunk 2077 was virtually unplayable on the current-generation Xbox or PlayStation systems due to an enormous number of bugs." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/18/sony-pulls-cyberpunk-2077-from-ps-store-will-offer-refunds"] In response to the many issues and messy messaging surround the game's launch, Sony removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the PS Store and Sony, Microsoft, and CD Projekt would "be forced to offer full refunds for the game." The lawsuit claims that, as a result of the above, "CD Projekt would suffer reputational and pecuniary harm" and that its "statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages." This news follows a previous report that lawyers and investors in Warsaw, Poland - where CD Projekt S.A. is located - were "circling the situation" and were deciding whether or not they should take action. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/24/20-good-things-about-2020-and-10-things-that-sucked"] Despite all these issues and CD Projekt's stock price dropping around 29% at launch, it didn't stop Cyberpunk 2077 from selling over 13 million copies and recouping its entire development and marketing costs with pre-orders alone. If you are able to get past some of the issues and are enjoying the game, be sure to check out our Cyberpunk 2077 walkthrough, cheats and secrets, and tips on hacking. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.