Amazon Prime Video Now Available as Standalone Service
You no longer need to be part of the Amazon Prime shipping program to purchase Prime Video in the U.S.
According to Variety, the standalone Prime Video will cost $8.99 per month, undercutting rivals Netflix's most popular payment plan by one dollar.
Amazon is also now offering a monthly plan including both Prime video and shipping priced at $10.99. Using the existing yearly plan ($99) will be considerably less expensive, but the monthly plan is designed to offer some flexibility.
It's worth noting the full Prime package is also less expensive than 12 months' worth of Prime Video.
New Dark Souls 3 Patch out Today, Greatswords at Risk
Dark Souls 3’s next patch is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC later today.
In keeping with From Software’s storytelling technique, the patch itself doesn’t give much away. Greatswords – which have become the go to weapon for strength build players – will be receiving an “adjustment,” whatever that means. That’s as well as “Battle performance” changes for Dancer’s Enchanted Swords and the Winged Knight Twinaxes.
The full list of changes are as follows:
- Performance adjustment for Greatsword
- Battle performance adjustment for Dancer’s Enchanted Sword, Winged Knight Twinaxes
- Performance adjustment for Soul’s Greatsword, and Farron Flashsword
Overwatch’s Tracer Coming to Heroes of the Storm This Week
Tracer will be available as a playable character in Heroes of the Storm starting this week.
The Overwatch character will be available from April 19 if you're pre-ordered a digital copy of Overwatch: Origins Edition through Battle.net. If you're going to be grabbing it elsewhere, you'll get Tracer with the game on May 24. For everyone else, she'll become available for purchase on April 26.
Blizzard recently released Tracer's spotlight video, which you can check out below.
On Tracer's Heroes of the Storm page, she is described as "an extremely mobile and deadly teammate," capable of "bending space and time." Interestingly, you'll be able to play as Tracer in Heroes of the Storm before the game she hails from is even out.
The Division’s Daily Missions Haven’t Updated Since Saturday
More complaints are being leveled at Ubisoft about The Division, as the game's Daily Missions haven't changed since Saturday.
According to VG247, from Saturday through Monday, the Lincoln Tunnel Checkpoint has been the Challenge Mode, and Hudson Refugee Camp and Madison Field Hospital have been on Hard. The Daily Missions are supposed to live up to their name and change every 24 hours.
It's been a tough couple of weeks for the dailies, after disappearing from the game twice. The latest patch also starting deleting characters on Xbox One, however this has now been fixed.
Seems Like We Almost Had a Guitar Hero MMO
Footage has emerged of what appears to be a cancelled MMO in the Guitar Hero franchise, called Hero World.
The information comes from a new video by Unseen64, which purports that, following the release of DJ Hero 2 in 2010, FreeStyle Games pitched the idea of an MMO that connected the entire Hero franchise.
The footage reportedly comes from an early version of the game made by now-defunct Dutch developer, Virtual Fairground. The game would have been akin to a management sim in which players build customisable music venues, and then invite players from connected games like the mooted DJ Hero 3 or Guitar Hero 7 to play in their club, earning in-game currency for both parties.
Dark Souls 3 Outstrips Dark Souls 2 Launch Week
In the UK, Dark Souls 3 has sold 61% more copies than Dark Souls 2 in their respective first weeks on sale. It's also the UK's number one game.
The data comes from ChartTrack - and it’s worth keeping in mind that ChartTrack only covers physical sales, so factor in digital sales and that number will – presumably – be higher.
You can get an idea how well Dark Souls 3 is performing on PC via the SteamSpy webpage (thanks Eurogamer), which estimates some 600,000+ copies have been shifted since release. It's worth pointing out that, according to the same site, the Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin edition has sold just over 650,000 copies on Steam, lifetime.
The Jungle Book Roars in Stellar Box Office Debut
Disney's live-action remake of The Jungle Book has become an instant hit, grossing just over $100 million at the domestic box office this weekend.
The Jungle Book is miles ahead of the pack this week, taking in $103,567,000 compared to its closest rival, Barbershop: The Next Cut's $20 million.
The movie has seen critical acclaim as well as box office dollars. IGN's review of The Jungle Book says it's "a stunning take on a classic tale."
Its success makes it seem as though Disney's decision to already start planning the sequel is going to pay off. Director Jon Favreau is in talks to return as director, and the company will reportedly delve deeper into Rudyard Kipling's stories about Mowgli.
In-Store PlayStation VR Demos Coming Soon
According to Sony Interactive Entertainment vice president of marketing John Koller, PlayStation VR is a technology that "needs to be lived to be believed."
And that's why—starting in June—Sony will be rolling out over 500,000 in-store demos across retailers. Speaking at a GameStop investors meeting last week, Koller said "experiential marketing" will be a large part of PlayStation VR's marketing.
"Trial drives the conversion to purchase," Koller said. "We'll have a fantastic technology, but you need to get your hands on it."
Fortune reported GameStop will be a "key launch partner" for Sony. The retailer will have a "significant" amount of stores with "dedicated PlayStation VR demo stations."
What ‘The Dead Are Coming’ Means for Game of Thrones: Season 6
“The dead are coming.”
So Davos Seaworth says in the trailer for Game of Thrones: Season 6, heralding the biggest threat to the Seven Kingdoms that disturbingly few characters on the show seem to be concerned about. Even with infighting in Westeros between the Lannisters, Boltons, Martells and last remaining Starks, the biggest threat to face the world is the army of the dead, led by the Night’s King and White Walkers, ready to invade from the north.
That’s a conflict that’s been brewing since the opening scene of Season 1, and it seems like it will finally boil over in Season 6. When I had a chance to sit down with the cast of Game of Thrones and preview the new season, I asked each of them what the words “the dead are coming” means to them and their characters, and their answers should put the fear of the Night’s King in each and every viewer.
Director Discusses Big Change Made to The Jungle Book
Disney’s latest big-screen version of The Jungle Book is a photo-realistic feast for the eyes that combines the wisdom of Rudyard Kipling’s tales with the charm of their 1967 animated adaptation. But how did the studio decide what to include and what to leave out?
We sat down with director Jon Favreau to discuss getting that combination of songs, scares and laughs right, his dissatisfaction with the ending of the original, and how he's endeavoured to put that right. Plus some clues as to where the inevitable sequel could begin...
IGN: What specifically did you want to capture from the original Kipling tales?
Jon Favreau: From the Kipling I wanted to have them inform the tone and the life-or-death stakes of the story. I liked the mythic quality. I liked the sense of order and the culture of the jungle with things like ‘The Law of the Jungle’ and the water truce and the peace rock. That’s all from the original Kipling and we found a way to incorporate it, especially through the character of Bagheera, who often as narrator will quote chapter and verse from the passages of the Kipling stories, which I felt was a nice way to make the two worlds come together and also gave us a sense of cultural history that could be drawn upon as back story and to give dimension to this world. Whereas in the 1967 film it all felt like a kid’s musical and there were emotional scenes, but they were mostly emotional because of the quality of the character animation as opposed to the depth of the story.