Monthly Archives: February 2017
55 Million of Us Still Play Minecraft Every Month
Minecraft has now sold over 122 million copies, with over 55 million of us still checking into the game every single month.
The figures - which came courtesy of a tweet from the official Minecraft twitter account earlier today - are up from the 106 million copies of Minecraft sold as of last year, placing it among the best-selling games of all time.
... We didn't calculate how many of you in the conga line would be going for a swim. Pack your snorkel! pic.twitter.com/trDqqDbgI2
Bioshock Movie Was “Literally 8 Weeks” From Shooting
Gore Verbinski's lost Bioshock movie adaptation was "literally eight weeks" from shooting before it was abandoned.
Speaking on the IGN UK Podcast, Verbinski explained that the film had taken shape in pre-production, and that he had a clear vision for how it would turn out:
"What's interesting is when you get that close to shooting a movie, you've kind of made it. That's the danger - you've kind of made it in your head.
"It's one thing when your movie doesn't happen
but when you go literally eight weeks before you start shooting, it's devastating."
How Is GameStop’s Publishing Division Doing?
GameStop entered the world of game publishing in 2016 with its new division GameTrust, and the company's first title, Song of the Deep, was a success, according to one of GameTrust's executives.
"The game broke all levels that we had put in front of it for both retail and digital," Mark Stanley, vice president of internal development and diversification at GameStop, said while speaking to IGN at DICE 2017. "So, thankfully, Song of the Deep is still doing well. We're hoping to work again with Insomniac soon with another project."
Song of the Deep was developed by Insomniac Games that released in 2016 both digitally and in physical form exclusively at GameStop. In addition to publishing the game itself, GameTrust took a wider approach, publishing a tie-in book and other collectibles alongside Song of the Deep. Stanley acknowledged that people stepping into a GameStop may not initially know what these collectibles relate to, but their existence alongside the game allows those who do buy it to deepen their connection to this new franchise.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Sequel Officially Announced
Warner Bros. has officially announced Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the sequel to 2014's excellent Shadow of Mordor - it will be released on August 22 in North America and August 25 in Europe (Australia not confirmed at time of writing).
Following a retailer leak yesterday, the publisher has officially announced the game for PS4, Xbox One (including Project Scorpio), Steam, and Windows 10 (where it will be an Xbox Play anywhere title).
Developed by Monolith Productions - creators of Shadow of Mordor - the game will once again feature an original story in the Middle-earth universe, and will see the return of Talion and his ghostly companion Celebrimbor. Here's a trailer:
Get Out Topples The LEGO Batman Movie at the Box Office
After a two-week run in first place at the domestic box office, The LEGO Batman Movie was dethroned by Get Out, which debuted in placed first with $30.5 million.
As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, Universal's new horror movie, starring Daniel Kaluuya and Rose Allison Williams, is the first feature film directed by Jordan Peele and performed well above expectations. Get Out had an incredibly modest budget, costing less than $5 million to produce.
Meanwhile, The LEGO Batman Movie slipped to second during its third weekend in theaters, earning $19 million. The DC-inspired animated feature, which enjoyed 2017's biggest opening yet, has now surpassed the $200 million mark worldwide, racking up a current total of $226 million.
After 3 Years, Streamer Completes all 714 NES Games
It's taken him three years and over 3,400 hours of actually playing them, but Piotr Delgado Kusielczuk has finally completed every single NES game.
According to Kotaku, Kusielczuk, who is nicknamed "The Mexican Runner," finished his 714th NES game over the weekend. He started playing the games, which included all North American releases, plus 35 games which came out in PAL regions only, in May 2014.
It all started when he was jokingly challenged by a friend to complete all the games. Kusielczuk already has speed running records in Battletoads and Contra, but this is likely to be his proudest achievement.
Sony Reveals PlayStation VR Sales So Far
Sony has sold almost 1 million PlayStation VR headsets worldwide.
Speaking with The New York Times, Sony Interactive Entertainment head Andrew House revealed that 915,000 PlayStation VR headsets had been purchased by people as of February 19. That's apparently outpacing company expectations, with House saying supply should catch up in April.
“It’s the classic case in any organization — the guys who are on the front end in sales are getting very excited, very hyped up," House said. “You have to temper that with other voices inside the company, myself among them, saying let’s just be a little bit careful."
1TB Xbox One S With Battlefield 1 and Halo Wars 2 for Under £230
Help us get to 2000 likes! Like our page to get the latest deals straight to your news feed and also to find exclusive codes that we provide for our readers.
Great Xbox One S Bundle That Includes Halo Wars 2
Xbox One S (1TB) Battlefield 1 Bundle, with Halo Wars 2 is available to buy from GAME for £229.99
Oscars 2017 Presenter Falsely Announces Best Pic Winner
In a surprising end to the Oscars telecast, the wrong film was initially announced as the Best Picture winner.
At the 89th annual Academy Awards, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway incorrectly announced La La Land as the night's Best Picture winner. The film's cast and crew gave an acceptance speech but stopped midway through to reveal that Moonlight, and not the Damien Chazelle-directed musical had won Best Picture.
La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz announced Moonlight's win and handed off the Oscar to director Barry Jenkins and the rest of the Moonlight cast and crew.
Beatty took a moment in between the two speeches to say he and Dunaway were given a card that had Emma Stone's name, as well as La La Land's title on it. In their confusion, they announced that film as the winner. As spotted by Reddit and Neil Patrick Harris, the card in Beatty's hand clearly reads "Actress in a Leading Role," though backstage Emma Stone told reporters she was holding the card with her name announcing her as the Best Actress winner the entire time.
Oscars 2017: Full Winners List
The 89th Annual Academy Awards were held today in Hollywood — and you can now find out every winner from this year's Oscars.
Read on for a full list of winners from the awards telecast, and for more on the night's biggest moment, read on for a look at the surprising twist ending to the Oscars, as the wrong Best Picture winner was initially called by presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the celebration, which saw La La Land leading the pack with 14 nominations. The musical tied the Oscar nominations record held by Titanic and All About Eve.