Here in the Search nav, you can.... SEARCH. Start typing a game or gamer, it will autosuggest. Press one to go, or hit Enter to get the full search results.
Below the searchbox, you'll see recent games, gamers, clubs, events, and quests you've visited.
Below that is the full site map with all of the different pages on this platform. Most of these are accessible in the other navs too. But here they're all in one place, if you're into that sort of thing.
Jump in a virtual or IRL event, tournament, or league. Participate in a Quest (a gaming challenge that you can do any time). Channel 3 has something for all skill levels, including gaming-focused daily minigames.
Go to Events below to search for real-time tournaments or other events. Quests will show you offline challenges you can complete at any time.
You can post original content directly on Channel 3, but you can also post links to other platforms and it will embed it. Currently supported: YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and more...
You may have friends here already, or you may meet your next lifelong squadmate here. Either way, Channel 3 is most fun when you find your people and can have friendly competitions and participate in challenges together.
Below you can navigate all the gamers, clubs, and causes on Channel 3.
If you'd like to create and run a Club, submit an New Club Request.
Whether it's 1 to 2, or 99 to 100, leveling up is the best feeling in the world. On Channel 3, when you participate in quests, when your post gets 1Up'd, when you crush a daily minigame, you get XP. Get 1k XP, and you level up and unlock rewards. Rewards can be custom reaction GIFs, cool backgrounds, or prize wheel spins for IRL gaming gear or in game currency.
Turbo is an optional subscription for superusers. You don't need Turbo to enjoy Channel 3. Turbo users get early access to new features, and are able to unlock more levels in a season.
On Channel 3, seasons last 3 months. They will always run January 1 - April 1, April 1 - July 1, July 1 - October 1, and October 1 - January 1.
Open channel3.gg in Chrome. Click the Install icon in the right side of the address bar:
Click Install when you get this prompt.
After installation, you can pin to the Windows taskbar alongside your other favorite apps.
Open channel3.gg in Safari. It has to be Safari.
Tap the Share button in the middle of the footer.
Tap Add to Home Screen.
Tap Add on the prompt.
BOOM. You're done. iPhones try to act like it's "just a website bookmark" because they want everyone to go through the App Store but really it functions just like an app... Full screen, moveable icon on your home screen. All of it.
Enjoy.
Install the Channel 3 app from the Google Play Store.
I came here to chew bubble gum and play video games, and I got some bubblegum right here. You are most likely to find Smash Brothers and Mario Kart here.
It's amazing how far the medium has come. So far that I can hook my PS5 controller up and play my PS5 remotely on it, and cleanly at that. It's not five stars for two reasons:
1. Predatory micro-transactions still dominate the medium, though that could be said for other modern games.
2. A combination of poor on screen controls and lazy, non-optimized ports.
That said this is still four stars. If you told me 25 years ago the power I'd have at the palm of my hand I would have laughed.
Spider-Man. Horizon Zero Dawn. Ghost of Tsushima. God of War. And those were just at the tail end. This really pushed gaming completely forward. This was my Last of Us machine. The exclusives, the quality, the multi-media use. What a system.
A forgettable generation for Xbox. By the end of this console generation, Sony blew them out of the water on load times, exclusives, quality, games, graphics, all of it.
So I've been mulling this since I got assigned this one as my personal quest. Four stars feels generous, but still fair. It has a few exclusives but certainly not enough to overcome the legendary red ring of death.
I have to say this is possibly the worst aging system besides the Wii U, but that one wasn't even good at the time. That said still 5 stars. I'll never forget turning on Mario 64 for the first time, Ocarina, Goldeneye, 4 player games, all of that. Top tier.
This was a hefty machine from the moment I turned it on. It was such a massive leap from the 2 to the 3. The Bluetooth controllers alone were staggering. As always it seems with PlayStation an amazing catalog of games to boot.
I have to rate this in the context of the time and not hindsight (not that I was around then), but interchangeable games? No unit did that. Sure you look back now and it is primitive and ancient, but mind-blowing to have in a home.
I was more on the N64 but the leap Sony made with CD tech cannot be ignored. It's weird that the games on the PS1 classic don't reflect all that I think were the strongest. What an entry for a first console.
I mostly missed this and have only been picking things up here and there after the fact as the generation is dying. I was actually going to give it 4 stars because I hate the control "stick" but then I remembered the 3D functionality and man it looks good. An epic game library to boot.
Everything you loved about NES kicked up exponentially. The sound improvement, the controller upgrades. Immaculate upgrades to major series that hold up to this day and new series that left a mark for years. RPGs that are at the top of their genre to this day. While the Genesis holds a strong place in my heart, looking back this one won the generation.
I'm not a member of the PC master race, sorry. If you've got a beefed up super computer at the cutting edge of technology at all times? 5 stars. Not independently wealthy? You'll be at the top of your game for a few months. I know consoles have plenty of issues also, don't get me wrong...
Just got a hold of one recently. This game out during my dark ages of gaming. I had no idea this thing played Game Boy and Game Boy Color games too. It has its own solid collection. Quality screen. Short lived but deserved more.
We were a Sega Genesis household before we had an SNES and there was nothing wrong with that. The Sonic run on Genesis alone was killer. Everything was a bit gritter and rougher around the edges compared to Nintendo, but not in a flawed way. The sports games were top tier as well. Some quirky and unique ones on here as well.
I tried explaining to my kids the cultural phenomenon the Wii was. Everyone was trying to get their hands on one, contacting sources, seeing people in back alleys. Old people everywhere who said video games would rot your brain were bowling and sporting in Senior Centers and Retirement homes around the country. Cultural nonsense aside Nintendo nailed it and really secured their niche. They'd go bankrupt if they tried to keep up with Sony and Microsoft as far as hardware and graphics go. Both of those companies can build their hardware with the spare parts found in their figurative couches. Nintendo looks goofy and doesn't have the best graphics by far but they had some great games. LoZ Twilight Princess, Smash Brawl, Wii Sports/Resort, etc. Great use of the motion controls but also games not entirely reliant on it. A few months ago I cracked the Wii out again for real and the kids have been going at Wii Sports especially since then.
As someone who plays a lot of Smash Bros. I know that this is a take that will get me guff: I HATE these controllers more than anything. In hindsight there were some cool games on here but this just felt like a generational miss for Nintendo. I was firmly camp PS2 in this era and the games were way better over there. Even Mario (Sunshine) was one of the weaker entries as well. Some games have grown on my learning of them after the fact (Pikmin) but so much didn't land for me.
I didn't have a Gameboy, I had this little guy and man oh man did I feel superior. All kidding aside, the games were great, the screen and colors were great, especially compared to Gameboy with its monochrome screen. I got ahold of one recently in my ongoing mission to replace my lost youth. It's not as crystal clear as my memory but it was good little system, though the batteries a Game Gear could leave in its wake without the rechargeable battery packs or hard line (the latter of which I have picked up).
I'm amazed things are still released for this. My internet is strong enough by the books for this for download speeds but it is clunky and non-respinsive. Someday this may be looked back upon that this walked so something else could run but this is not the thing to do it.
There was a good period of time where this thing was the longest running, highest selling system. Was it a cruddy screen and monochrome? Yup. Did it matter? Nope. As is so often the case Nintendo is behind technologically but their software more than makes up for it.
I feel like history rightly looks back on this as the winner over the Game Gear though. The game's don't need excessive bits and colors. Heck, some of them weren't even that long.
A perfect Tetris machine, great Mario titles, an all-time Legend of Zelda, wholly disruptive Pokémon (again one I didn't play but I respect), a canonical Metroid, and hundreds more. The games are so good and iconic that Nintendo kept slapping Game Boy units onto systems to play more.
Fun fact, I didn't even have one in my youth, I was happily a Game Gearer. The majority of my time playing a Game Boy in my youth was either at the Dentist's office where they had one or at my buddy's house where we would exchange said Game Gear and Game Boy.
If nothing else you have to respect the historical impact of this.
See my profile pic. I hardly remember life without the NES. Nintendo is still able to coast on the successes they had with this and the franchises they created. The controller was perfect. Sure there were cartridge maintenance issues but so what. Mario, Zelda, all of it. 716 licensed games alone. Hall of Fame talent.
My now 9 year old still cracks these games on the Switch and the NES classic.
Nintendo hit the sweet spot real time. I understand now that Nintendo has accepted that they will not throw down with the PS/Xbox graphics and they will focus on their own games. Groundbreaking graphics? Nope. Convenience and generational games? Check.
I got the Switch very early on and was spending a lot of time in hotels and the Switch saved my sanity even early on when Breath of the Wild was the main game (and Kart). I easily spent 200+ hours devouring every corner of Hyrule.
Smash Bros., Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8, Mario Maker 2, Luigi's Mansion 3, Pikmin 3 (the last two were the first of their franchise I played), Fire Emblem Three Houses, Arms, so many more games that arr worth the time and money. A lot were retreads from the Wii U but I never bothered with that one so have at it!
I had a pro controller but it wasn't for me. I'm good with Joy-cons either handheld or strapped. Great versatility.
I am notorious for telling anyone who asks that they should not get the Lite. You may regret not having the ability to connect to the TV but you definitely won't regret having it even if you don't event up using the TV dock.
Last thing: I thought Nintendo was nuts when they said they designed this expediting multiple switches in a single home. Here I am with three in the home now as each kid has one. Their digital game policies leave something to be desired between multiple devices when this was their intent. Still keeping the 5th star.
