UK Commission Determines Loot Boxes Aren’t Gambling
Loot boxes whose contents rely on chance don't meet the UK's criteria for unlawful gambling.
According to the UK Gambling Commission, since the prizes unlocked in loot boxes are usable only in the games in which they're won, and can't be cashed-out, they don't fit the bill for "licensable gambling activity."
While loot boxes, like those found in EA's Battlefront II, Blizzard's Overwatch, and more games, don't fall under the umbrella of an illegal gambling operation, the commission still expressed concern over the practice in games.
The commission said while "the line between video gaming and gambling is becoming increasingly blurred," its job is to step in when the practice meets the definition of gambling under UK law.
HBO’s Watchmen Aims to Be a “Dangerous” Show
Lost and The Leftovers co-creator Damon Lindelof recently shared new details about his next project, an adaptation of Watchmen, which received a pilot order from HBO back in September.
During a panel at Vulture Fest (via IndieWire), Lindelof was asked why he opted to tackle a comic book property after finishing The Leftovers. In response, the showrunner highlighted how Watchmen is a "dangerous" graphic novel, which is something he'd like to carry over in the TV adaptation.
Destiny 2 Director Teases December Update
Ahead of next week's Destiny 2 livestream, game director Luke Smith has teased what Bungie will discuss with regards to the forthcoming December update.
"Next week the Destiny 2 team will detail the systems side of the December update," Smith said on Twitter. Bungie will discuss everything from "economy updates (vendors and acquiring their gear, tokens, legendary shards)" to "investment updates (new reward systems for weapons and armor)," and more.
In a subsequent post, Smith confirmed both he and project lead Mark Noseworthy will address community feedback and answer questions during that time as well.
Drama Strikes the Overwatch House in Our New Series
Welcome back to Brick Battles, our new stop-motion animated series that brings your favorite video game worlds to life. Each episode is made in conjunction with the talented folks at Digital Wizard Studios, and for this first season we're focusing on Blizzard's popular hero shooter, Overwatch.
In Episode 2, Widowmaker's dark powers of seduction send D.Va and Winston on an emotional roller coaster. Watch "Heroes Never Cry" in the video player to see the hilarious, action-packed drama unfold.
The 8 Most Frustrating Moons In Super Mario Odyssey
Throughout your quest to collect the nine hundred and ninety nine Power Moons hidden across the vibrant and delightful worlds in Nintendo’s brilliant new platforming game Super Mario Odyssey, your adventure will make you laugh, cheer, and fill you with joy. Super Mario is back and he’s better than ever. But like any video game, if you truly want to 100% it, you’re also going to have to deal with some frustration. Some infuriating, anger inducing, throw your Switch through a plate glass window frustration. These are the 8 most frustrating Moons to collect in Super Mario Odyssey. Get ready to scream.
What Did Picard Do After the Enterprise?
David A. Goodman is, among other things, a Star Trek TV writer and a lifelong fan. He's also written for shows like The Golden Girls, Futurama (he wrote the great Star Trek episode “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”), and Family Guy, where he was also the head writer for years. But now he has a new book out, The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard, which serves as a follow-up to his James T. Kirk "autobiography" from a couple of years ago.
I jumped on the phone to speak to Goodman about the Picard book, and along the way we discussed the parts of Picard's life not depicted in the show and movies, the captain's greatest achievements and biggest regrets, and even the merits of the latest decedents of Trek on TV -- The Orville versus Star Trek: Discovery.
Christmas Comes to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
In order to celebrate the holiday season, Universal Studios Hollywood has transformed the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park into a Christmas wonderland. There have been numerous additions to Hogsmeade village in order to give it that holiday flair, and top among them was a dazzling light projection show that transforms Hogwarts castle into something, well, magical.
Hogwarts castle overlooks Hogsmeade village and houses the premiere ride, Harry Potter and Forbidden Journey, but from November 24, 2017 through January 7, 2018, theme park attendees can gather around for a new light show, The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle. Festive music mixed with that ominous/whimsical Harry Potter tune played as the entirety of the castle was repeatedly transformed. At one point it was encased in beautiful blue ice; ghostly carolers sang songs and danced in the air; and a full array of Christmas decorations suddenly appeared. Owls and floating lanterns could be seen flying across the castle walls. Fred and George Weasley even made an appearance to wrap the castle in advertisements for their joke shop.
Bungie Changing XP Earn Rates in Destiny 2
The way experience gains scale in Destiny 2 is being changed.
In a post on its official website, Bungie acknowledged the issues with XP gain in Destiny 2, noting it's been a discussion point among the community, as well as the studio. "After reviewing our data, we agree that the system is not performing the way we'd like it to," the developer said.
As such, Bungie is deactivating its system, which has XP scale up when playing for long or fixed duration actives like Raids or competitive Crucible matches, and scale down when playing shorter activities like Public Events.
So what does this mean for players? According to Bungie, "players will see XP earn rates change for all activities across the board, but with all values being displayed consistently in the user interface." The developer will look over XP game data gathered in the coming week to make sure the changes are up to the community and Bungie's standards.
How Much The Last Jedi Might Earn Its Opening Weekend
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is tracking to have a massive opening weekend at the domestic box office.
As reported by Variety, current estimates indicate director Rian Johnson's highly anticipated Star Wars film is tracking to earn $200 million its opening weekend. As such, The Last Jedi is expected to have the biggest debut of 2017, eclipsing Beauty and the Beast, which currently leads the year with $174.8 million.
16 Shared Universes From Before There Were Shared Universes
We like to think that we invented everything, and more-or-less recently, but the fact of the matter is that there are no new ideas. Everything we think is nifty is either a rip-off, spin-off or direct product of something that came before. And the shared universes we’re seeing nowadays - like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe, the Arrowverse and beyond - are no exception.
Sure, those examples all sprang from shared universe comic books, but the idea of connected worlds isn’t even all that novel on television. The TV medium has been a hotbed of crossovers, interconnected storylines and franchise mentalities for decades. Some of these shared universes are very official, some of them are implied and some of them are exceptionally weird. But they all make the history of TV a fascinating subject, filled with fan theories, continuity errors and awesome revelations. Let’s take a look at 16 of the greatest, weirdest and - in one case - mind-blowingest shared TV universes on record!