Blizzard Shuts Down New World of Warcraft Legacy Server 5 Hours After It Opens
After only five hours of activity, a new legacy server for World of Warcraft has been shut down by Blizzard.
VG24/7 reports that the creator of the Flemyst server, which launched last Friday, received an unexpected cease and desist letter from Blizzard's lawyers.
Flemyst was set to show players World of Warcraft as it stood during the release of 2007's Burning Crusade expansion.
This is not the first legacy server to be taken down by Blizzard, after the Nostalrius server was removed last year. However the core of Nostalrius was reused as part of the Elysium server, which remains active, and Blizzard did meet with the Nostalrius team to discuss a potential future for vanilla WoW.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s Chun-Li Being Reworked
The reaction to Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite's take on Chun-Li has been... loud. Loud enough, in fact, that Capcom is now in the process of changing her look to appease fans.
Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con (as reported by Gamespot), producer Yoshinori Ono said:
"The development team is hard at work finishing the game for the September 19 release date, and based off the feedback we heard, we are currently making improvements to Chun-Li as well as other Capcom characters. Since the work is still in progress, we don’t have anything final to show you just yet, but stay tuned."
The Defenders – First Impressions
This Year’s Gamescom to be the Biggest Yet
This year's Gamescom, already touted as the biggest event for video games, will be even bigger.
In a press release from Gamescom's marketing team, it was revealed that more than 900 expected exhibitors are expected this year, a 20% increase from 2016. The show will also extend into hall 1 of the Cologne, which sees it stretch across 201,000 square meters - a 4 percent size increase from last year.
This year's Gamescom will also include a new developer event, Devcom, beginning August 20. Devcom will offer a classic conference component, international speakers, summits, masterclasses, and workshops.
Gamescom 2017 will be held in Cologne, Germany, and will run from August 22 to August 26. While you wait for all the coverage, check out our cosplay gallery from Gamescom 2016.
Greater Gender and Age Diversity in Game Characters Wanted, Finds Survey
Australia’s Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) has released its latest Digital Australia report, which shines a spotlight on the number of Australians playing games, who they are, and how they’re doing it. The research, produced in conjunction with Bond University, is the latest in a series of audience studies that date back to 2005.
Considering the 2.7% margin for error, a lot of the key stats remain roughly the same as the previous report released in 2016. Digital Australia 2018 found that 97% of homes with children have computer games (98% in Digital Australia 2016) and that 67% of Australians play video games (68% in Digital Australia 2016). 89 minutes is the average daily total of all play, and one in three Australian gamers has chosen not to download games due to download limits.
Justice League Reshoots Encounter Scheduling Issues
A new report detailing Justice League's reshoots suggests the Joss Whedon-directed portion of filming has run into scheduling issues, and that Whedon himself may not receive a co-directing credit for his work.
Sources have told Variety that the reshoots cost a reported $25 million and have gone on for two months, in part due to scheduling conflicts for the cast.
Possible spoilers for Justice League and spoilers for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them follow.
According to Variety, both Ezra Miller's work on the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel, which has begun shooting, and Henry Cavill's shooting for the sixth Mission: Impossible film have both factored into the reshoots. While WB can reportedly better accommodate for Miller's schedule, as Fantastic Beasts is a WB film, Cavill has had to jump back and forth between the two productions with more scheduling difficulties.
New Harry Potter Ride Coming to Universal Orlando
A completely new Harry Potter ride is coming to Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
According to Universal, the new attraction will be a thrill ride located around Hogsmeade where you encounter some fan-favorite characters and creatures from the series.
The ride promises to be one of the most highly-themed coaster experiences Universal has ever done, combining a "new level of storytelling with an action-packed adventure."
The production design team from the Harry Potter movies will be working closely with the Universal Creative team on the attraction. No word yet on when the ride will open.
ABC Announces Fall Premiere Dates
ABC has revealed the premiere dates for its 2017-18 season lineup, which features several returning shows and five new series, including Marvel's Inhumans.
As previously announced, Marvel's Inhumans will premiere on Friday, September 29, just a few weeks after IMAX theaters screen the first two episodes on September 1.
ABC's other new drams include The Good Doctor, which premieres on Monday, September 25, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, which premieres on Tuesday, October 3, and Ten Days in the Valley, which premieres on Sunday, October 1. The network's new comedy, The Mayor, will premiere on Tuesday, October 3.
Windows 10 Update Signals the End for Microsoft Paint
Today, Microsoft released a list of features and functionalities that are set to be removed from Windows 10 in the Fall Creators Update. The list is mostly made up of underutilized or non-functioning programs, but one application in particular stuck out on the list: Microsoft Paint, the beloved drawing/editing program.
According to Microsoft's official update notes, Microsoft Paint is tagged as "deprecated," meaning it is "not in active development and might be removed in future releases." Based on that wording, it sounds like Paint isn't going away just yet, but Microsoft would recommend finishing up any MS Paint masterpieces sooner than later.
How Thor: Ragnarok’s Valkyrie Cuts Thor Down to Size
Valkyrie makes her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut later this year in Thor: Ragnarok, and IGN had an opportunity to speak with star Tessa Thompson this past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con about her role in the upcoming film, including her dynamic with Chris Hemsworth's Thor.
"She cuts him down so to size, and that's so exciting because Chris Hemsworth is a big person," Thompson told IGN. "To be able to cut someone down to size and you can't even look them in the eye is just so fantastic."
Thompson went on to jokingly add that "it's good because as an actor sometimes when you're tasked to do something on-screen you can kind of do it in daily life, so I just like to do that to Chris all the time."