The Muppet Movie: An Oral History
Forty-years ago this summer, a man and a frog made their dreams come true.
The release of The Muppet Movie in the summer of 1979, starring Kermit the Frog, was the culmination of puppeteer/writer/filmmaker Jim Henson’s ambition to translate the small screen success of his feel-good felt from Sesame Street and The Muppet Show over to the big screen where they could make “millions of people happy.”
However, despite Emmy-award wins and global recognition for The Muppet Show, obtaining funding for a theatrical film with The Muppets interacting in the real world wasn’t an easy sell. As Henson, Frank Oz and their Muppet team shot The Muppet Show in London, they had to spend time shooting proof of concept camera tests that eventually attracted the foreign investment of Lord Lew Grade’s British Independent Television Corporation (ITC).
Star Wars Arcade1up Cabinet Now Up for Preorder
The next entry into the ever-growing line of Arcade1up arcade cabinets is now up at GameStop's site.
The 4-foot tall Star Wars arcade cabinet, which stands just over 5-feet with the included riser, has the arcade versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
In addition to the riser, the Star Wars Arcade1up cabinet includes a light-up marquee and "real-feel flight yoke and control buttons." We got our first glimpse of the Star Wars Arcade1up cabinet during E3, as well as a look at other upcoming cabinets from Capcom and Namco.
Is Professor X Actually the Villain of House of X?
Warning: this article contains spoilers for House of X #1! For more on the sweeping changes in House of X #1, check out our review for the new issue here and our spoiler-filled recap here. Then learn what this series reveals about the Omega Level mutants in the Marvel Universe.
Marvel just kicked off an ambitious new relaunch of the X-Men line. House of X #1 introduces a drastically different status quo for the mutant race, with the X-Men forming a mutant nation on the island of Krakoa and demanding to be recognized as a sovereign state. Professor Charles Xavier has opened a brand new playbook in order to ensure the survival of the mutant race.
Sam Lake: Writing Control Has Given Me Max Payne Flashbacks
Sam Lake wants you to know that he loves when stories get super meta – what you could describe as getting really self-aware and irreverent of their own world. The Max Payne franchise was infamous for this, throwing its titular hero into a hallucination sequence, with Payne commenting that it feels like he’s in a video game. With Remedy and Lake’s next game, Control, out on August 28, the writer says that he’s had many a flashback to writing Max Payne.
“It's fascinating, especially when you are studying
,” Lake told IGN on this month's episode of IGN Unfiltered. “It almost feels like it's a literary genre made for analyzing it, almost like you're playing a game. Like you are coming up with interpretations and investing into it and gaining more out of it by investing into it. So playing the game almost with the writer has also been in my mind when writing for games in some ways. That's where it started. It's all post-modern and playing around with point-of-view and what's real and what's not real ...I've had many kinds of flashbacks to working on Max Payne.”
Nintendo Reveals Cute Japan-Only Disney Switch
Japan is getting a Disney Tsum-Tsum Festival Nintendo Switch bundle this October that includes pink and purple Joy-Cons that are decorated with patterns and feature a home button adorned with Mickey Mouse ears.
As reported by The Verge, Nintendo Japan unveiled this new bundle that will arrive alongside Disney's Tsum-Tsum Festival on October 10 for 36,080 yen ($333 USD). This new game includes Switch-exclusive minigames and the ability to play a version of the popular mobile Tsum-Tsum game by holding the Switch vertically.
Xbox Home Screen Redesign Removes Cortana
Microsoft has redesigned the Xbox One Home user interface with a variety of features designed to provide a faster experience. Among the changes, support for the Cortana voice assistant has been dropped.
Announced on the Xbox Wire blog, Microsoft explained that the company intends to shift voice assistant elements away from on-console and into the cloud. This means that, while you can still use voice commands to control your console, you’ll talk to Cortana via a smart device such as an Alexa product with the Cortana skill or a mobile device with an app, rather that via your Xbox headset.
HBO’s His Dark Materials Adaptation Will Be One Book Per Season
The upcoming BBC and HBO co-production adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy will be largely sticking to adapting one book per season, according to showrunner Jack Thorne. But that doesn't mean you won't see little hints at what's to come in this TV series telling of the beloved fantasy series.
"Largely it’s one book per season," he said during the His Dark Materials' TV Critics' Association press tour panel. "There are a few treats I’ve stolen from other books. ... The whole story of three books and how can we celebrate them in the best possible, and sometimes that involved moving certain elements forward."
Fire Emblem Director Explains How Marriage Has Changed in Three Houses
One of the goals for Intelligent Systems with Fire Emblem: Three Houses was to give players a more personal experience with the world and setting. That’s why the support system was revamped to focus more on the player character, who is more of an avatar for the player than a unique hero with their own story.
Speaking with Intelligent Systems ahead of the release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, director Toshiyuki Kusaskihara explained to IGN why only the player can unlock S-Rank support levels:
“The reason that we have S-Rank endings for only the protagonist has a lot to do with the fact that you’re using an avatar for the game,” Kusakihara says. “We really want the player to feel like they get some kind of satisfaction out of getting to know a certain character the best through gameplay.”
Fire Emblem Devs on If They’ve Thought About an Advance Wars Sequel
Intelligent Systems, co-developers of this week's Fire Emblem: Three Houses, are of course also known for another renowned Nintendo strategy franchise — Advance Wars. But for fans of the more modern military aesthetic of that series, Intelligent Systems' work on the lengthy Three Houses campaign, and plans for post-launch DLC, hasn't left much room for the developers to consider an Advance Wars follow-up in the near future.
Speaking to IGN ahead of Three Houses launch, Intelligent Systems Director Toshiyuki Kusakihara told IGN the developers "don't even have the time to think about" what they're doing after Three Houses."
“While we can say that we’re working on the DLC and there’s going to be a lot of content
EA Details FIFA 20’s Biggest Pro Clubs Changes
FIFA 20 is gearing up to make a ton of improvements to Pro Clubs, including increased customization for Virtual Pros, better broadcast presentation, new match types, more kits, and much more.
Pro Clubs allow FIFA players to create a Virtual Pro player and play a specific position online with real teammates. FIFA 20 is all about making that experience more immersive and giving players more options to personalize their star.
FIFA 20 implements a new Avatar system that will replace player creation across the entire game, and will allow players to utilize an improved 4 quadrant axis morphing tool to truly customize each detail of each created player.
Looks aren't all, as players can now choose to play as LF/RF, LM/RM, RWB/LWB positions. These and all other positions will take advantage of the revitalized progression system which will allow you to improve your Pro from his base overall rating of 80.