One of the most popular web television series on YouTube right now is Cobra Kai. It picks up exactly thirty-four years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament at the end of the iconic film The Karate Kid, where Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) defeats his rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka).
The new series is currently in its second season and while it’s mostly filled with a lot of flashbacks to the original films, there are also a lot of modern cultural references thrown in for good measure. For example, throughout season two, the popular television and book series Game of Thrones is name-dropped, and in the first and last episode, Daniel’s son Anthony “Antonio” LaRusso can be seen playing a Nintendo Switch.
In the previous season (released on YouTube last year), the character is spotted playing Tekken on a PlayStation Vita:
Of course, the roles have been reversed in the past when Atlus brought The Karate Kid to NES back in 1987, a game which loosely followed the action of the first and second films.
It seems like a positive sign for Nintendo when one of the most popular web television series of 2018 – and one that’s likely to be similarly huge in 2019 – has swapped from a Sony console to its hybrid system. Then again, it has been a natural move for many gamers in the real world as support for PS Vita dries up. You've got to hand it to Sony's portable, though - it has hung around long after first party support ended and it's always been a nice little system; Switch should be proud to pick up where Vita left off.
Are you a fan of the Karate Kid? Have you been watching Cobra Kai? Do you think movies, television and web series are an effective way to promote video games? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 24
Daniel San owned a car dealership and he let his kid play with a vita. Someone call child protective services
I've never even heard of this show
@ALinkttPresent That's just sad. You must be a youngin.. This amazing show is a gift to all us "old folgies" that grew up in the 80s.
Wonder how much Nintendo pay to have their Switch featured in this programme? What ever it is, I hope it's worth it - didn't seem to do much for Sony
There's a Karate Kid TV show? Huh.
Makes sense, though. Hardly anything is coming to the Vita these days. It's all about the PS4 over there.
Cobra Kai is the best TV show I've seen in the last decade. Season 1 was better than season 2, but it's still better than anything in recent memory. I noticed the Switch immediately as I was watching S2.
When I first heard about this show, I thought it was a parody. I'm still not entirely sure it isn't.
@ALinkttPresent do you even internet bro?
Didn’t know this existed. Haven’t watched a web series since The Guild ended.
PS Vita is Dead.
Nintendo Switch is the Future.
Daniel only bought him Tekken for the Vita, so once Smash was out, they figured a Switch would be fun with friends.
I heard Ryu is Daniel's main.
You will also see Enterprise in the show for Season 2. They selling product placement to help pay for the show (decent show)
The show is produced in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios
https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/cobrakai
SONY will plug the Switch if it makes you watch the show and they get payed to make another season - they know the power of videogames.
Excellent show. There's a wealth of 80s-inspired stuff at the mo, not all of them pull it off, but this does it with aplomb.
What game he plays? Tekken wasn't even on Vita outside Streetfighter X Tekken and PSP Tekken 6
Amazing, my mom learned about this show this morning, and we just watched all of season one together. We both love the movies, and loved this show. Now I want to keep an eye out for the Switch when we start season two.
Kid's my role model.
"It seems like a positive sign for Nintendo when one of the most popular web television series of 2018 – and one that’s likely to be similarly huge in 2019 – has swapped from a Sony console to its hybrid system."
Yeah, product placement is amazing, Liam!
Must be a real slow news day.
I can't believe this. The Karate Kid got laid.
@MeatSauce nope, really busy day for news actually.
@antdickens Coulda fooled me “child plays videogame system in web series” is not something that needs to be reported unless zero news is happening.
@MeatSauce umm, why not? It's interesting seeing the change of pop culture references to Switch. We don't expect every reader to read every article, if you're not interested in the subject of the article then just skip it, as others might find it more interesting than you.
@MeatSauce @antdickens I find this kind of news interesting. Have you seen the amount of articles they put out over the last 24hrs? After the financial briefing, upcoming releases, feature articles and cool little random stuff like this, the only reason I'd think you'd say it's a slow news day is to throw a stab at the fact that random articles like this don't interest you.
This is my second favourite TV show, just under Stranger Things! I disagree that its mostly comprised of flashbacks to the movies. There are a lot but they a small fleeting moments in a show full of new ideas and twists!
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