New Toys Allegedly Violating Privacy of Children
Nuance Communications is allegedly violating the privacy of children who own toys containing the company's speech recognition software.
According to The Boston Globe, consumer watchdogs have found Nuance is saving recordings from the My Friend Cayla and i-Que Intelligent Robot toys for later use, without warning parents.
The controversial i-Que Robot
Nintendo Switch May Run Gamecube Virtual Console Games
The Nintendo Switch may be getting GameCube Virtual Console support.
Three separate sources have confirmed the existence of GameCube titles running via the Switch’s Virtual Console to Eurogamer.
The site says three games have already been prepared and already run on the Switch, the games in question being Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Bros. Melee. A fourth game, Animal Crossing, is also apparently currently being tested.
The number of past platforms to run on Switch is yet to be confirmed by Nintendo. Eurogamer also heard rumblings of an upgrade program similar to what’s been seen on Wii U, whereby owners of the previous games can purchase the game on Switch for a discounted price.
Groot/Rocket Raccoon Guardians Spin-Off “Highly Possible”
Vin Diesel says that Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director James Gunn would like to make a Groot and Rocket Raccoon spin-off movie to follow Avengers: Infinity War, calling the move "highly possible".
The duo - who already star in their own spin-off comic series - have become fan favourites after being depicted by Bradley Cooper and Diesel (plus some advanced CGI) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"I think if it's up to James Gunn," Diesel told Screenjunkies, "you're going to see a Groot-Rocket movie after Infinity Wars. That's highly possible."
Sony Can Now Turn Physical Card Games Into Digital Ones
Sony and its new smartphone game studio, ForwardWorks have revealed Project Field, an NFC platform for physical card games.
Announced by Sony Japan, Field uses a bespoke card pad (which can be connected wirelessly to smartphones and tablets). Performing actions on the pad - say turning a card on its side - with Field-compatible cards will then perform the same action and its connected effects on the connected screen.
Two Project Field pads, and ForwardWorks' new Yokai Watch game in action.
Star Wars Battlefront is Heading to EA Access
Star Wars Battlefront will be available free of charge to EA Access and Origin Access members from December 13.
EA confirmed that the full base game will be "joining The Vault" on Twitter, but those wishing to play Star Wars Battlefront's DLC - say, the new Rogue One-themed expansion - will have to purchase it separately.
In a startling coincidence, the game's season pass is currently on sale for £24.99 on Xbox One - or £22.99 for Access members, who swipe an extra 10 percent discount on all Xbox One Digital Purchases. It includes the full arsenal of Battlefront's expansion packs.
Final Fantasy XV Aiming to Add Custom Character Creation
Final Fantasy XV director, Hajime Tabata has revealed the short-, mid- and long-term plans for updating the new action-RPG.
Alongside the game's six pieces of paid DLC, Tabata used a blog post to explain that the game will receive free updates throughout the next year, including both tweaks to existing content and brand new material.
Most ambitiously, Tabata announces that his team is looking into making "certain key characters playable" (presumably above and beyond the three other main party members, who will each become playable in their respective DLC packs), as well as "considering the possibility of customizable avatars".
Where Agents of SHIELD Is Going With its Next Arc
Season 4's fall finale of Agents of SHIELD, “The Laws of Inferno Dynamics,” concluded with a surprise ending that sets up the show’s next major arc.
IGN visited the set of Agents of SHIELD along with a group of press and spoke with executive producers Jeff Bell and Jed Whedon about what to expect when the series returns in January.
Also, make sure to check out our review of "The Laws of Inferno Dynamics."
Warning: this article contains full spoilers for tonight’s episode!
Attack on Titan Season 2 Is Coming in April
After a long wait, we finally have confirmation that Attack on Titan season 2 will premiere in April 2017.
Animenewsnetwork reports that the wraparound jacket band on the 21st volume of the Attack on Titan manga reveals the news. While we've known to look out for a Spring 2017 release date since July, this is final confirmation of a season that's suffered from delays - it's been a whopping two years since season 2 was announced, and three years since the finale of season 1 aired in Japan.
Mad Max 2: Why We Love The Road Warrior
Some movies you just love, and one of those movies for me is The Road Warrior. Also known as Mad Max 2, the second film in director George Miller’s iconic post-apocalyptic series received a special 35th anniversary screening this past weekend at the brand new Alamo Drafthouse* in Brooklyn. Co-presented by sci-fi convention Wintercon, the event also featured a Q&A with cast members that, for fans, when combined with seeing the film on the big screen, was paradise. The Road Warrior’s old Curmudgeon character couldn’t have put it better himself.
The cast members in attendance were Vernon Wells (who played the insane and dangerous Wez), Bruce Spence (the funny and heroic Gyro Captain), Emil Minty (the fierce, mute Feral Child), Virginia Hey (the tragic Warrior Woman), and Kjell Nilsson (the mysterious hulk Lord Humungus). All had interesting memories and fun anecdotes to relay from the making of the film.
Westworld: 12 Questions for Season 2
Westworld: Season 1 has come to a close and now... we want Season 2! Alas, the wait for a second season will be a notably long one too, as the show is not expected to return until 2018.
In the meantime, the very busy finale laid the groundwork for the future in many notable ways - though with so many characters and storylines, there also were some lingering elements not yet dealt with (Elsie!?) we're still trying to get to the bottom of.
That being the case, click through the slideshow below to see some of the big questions we have for Westworld: Season 2.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheEricGoldman, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman.