Nyko’s New iPhone Power Cases Revealed
Nyko, the maker of wireless charging stations for various video game consoles, announced its new iPhone charging cases at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show today.
The company's new line includes the Power Shield case, Power Shield Dock, Power Shield Q, and Q Shield, all of which can be used with the iPhone 6 or 6S. The Power Shield case has a battery capacity of 2500 mAh, 3000 mAh, and 3500 mAh—"supporting more than double the usage time over the standard iPhone battery." The case will sell for $120 USD.
The Power Shield case can be used with Nyko's Power Shield Dock, which is a "drop-and-go charging station" for your phone. It'll ship with a "dedicated AC power cord" that boasts faster charging than the original iPhone cable. The expected price is $40 USD.
New Edition of Star Wars: Monopoly to Include Rey
Taking to Twitter last night, Hasbro has announced that it will include Rey in the new edition of Monopoly: Star Wars, releasing later this year.
.@CarrieMGoldman @JillPantozzi @Epbot pic.twitter.com/IQ5TNbOygW
— Hasbro (@HasbroNews) January 6, 2016
This comes after major controversy regarding Rey's omission from the classic board game. The original release of the game featured only the film's male characters—Finn, Luke, Kylo Ren, and Darth Vader (who isn't even in Star Wars: The Force Awakens).
Force Awakens Tops Avatar, Now Top Grossing Movie
Well, that was fast.
J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become the highest-grossing film ever in North America, overtaking the previous record-holder, James Cameron’s Avatar.
In just 20 days of release, the seventh Star Wars film has hit a domestic total of $758.2 million (as of yesterday). Compare that to Avatar, which topped out at $750 million after a seven-month run, which began back in December of 2009. That film earned an additional $10 million or so when it was rereleased in theaters, bringing its North American total to $760.5 million. The Force Awakens, which made $8 million yesterday alone, is blowing past Avatar today.
That said, the adventures of Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren are far from doing the same kind of international business that Jake Sully, Neytiri and Colonel Quaritch (uh, remember them?) did for Cameron. While Avatar made $2.78 billion worldwide, Episode VII is at $1.56 billion as of Tuesday. (The film has yet to open in China.)
Mafia 3 Release Date Possibly Leaked by Retailers
Update: 2K provided the following statement to IGN:
"Mafia III will release in calendar 2016 during Take-Two Interactive’s fiscal year 2017. No official release date has been announced at this time. It is common practice for retailers to list placeholder dates before an official release date has been announced due to the requirements of their operating systems."
Original story follows:
Mafia 3 may be releasing on April 26, according to several retailers.
An image from a Best Buy store was sent to IGN, and shows a pre-order card for the game along with a tag for that date. This lines up with a listing on GameStop, which also lists April 26, 2016.
Just Cause 3’s ‘Sky Fortress’ Nearing Completion
Avalanche Studios has announced new details on Just Cause 3's upcoming expansion packs. Those who purchased the season pass for the open-world game will have access to three add-ons—air, land, and sea.
In an update posted to Just Cause 3's Steam page, Avalanche revealed the air expansion pack, Sky Fortress, is "nearing completion." The first pack will include "new missions, features, and other exciting surprises to the skies of Medici."
One half of the studio is working on "patches, fixes, and optimizations," while the other half is preparing the game's new content. The company writes that the air expansion pack is in its play-testing phase right now, and more information will be available "very soon."
Ben Foster and Co. on The Finest Hours
We were among the select media outlets invited to the Quincy, Mass., set of Disney's The Finest Hours almost exactly a year ago today to observe filming and chat with director Craig Gillespie and his cast about making the fact-based maritime drama. The movie, which stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Casey Affleck, sails into theaters in Digital 3D, Real D 3D and IMAX 3D on January 29, 2016.
(Check out our interview with Pine and Gillespie for what they had to tell us on the set.)
Perception Channels BioShock and Blair Witch for First-Person Horror
A horror game where the protagonist is blind might seem detrimental to the effort to scare the heck out of you, but let me assure you that is not the case in Perception, a new first-person horror adventure from Boston-area startup The Deep End Games. First, the PC game’s art style cleverly allows for tricks to be played on your own eyes; the teenage heroine Cassie uses a white cane to tap the floor and “see” via echolocation, hauntingly rendered in a black-and-blue outline style that’s often renders objects there one second and gone the next. That means that, occasionally, something that’s not there (or is it?) will blink in for just a split second, like a huge spider hanging in a doorway or a crouched ghoulish man in a corner facing the wall, Blair Witch-style. Insert full-body shudder here.
The Jungle Book: Shere Khan Gets a Poster
Disney will unveil a brand new triptych poster this week for their forthcoming live-action retelling of The Jungle Book. The second part of the new poster, seen below, features the villainous tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba).
The first part of the poster debuted yesterday and features King Louie (voiced by Christopher Walken) and the serpent Kaa (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).
The third and final part of the poster will be released Thursday, January 7th, at 9am PT along with our sneak peek at some of what we learned on the film's set last year.
Homefront: The Revolution Release Date Leaked
Homefront: The Revolution could be releasing on May 17 in the United States.
That's according to an image taken at the retail store Target, seen below, sent in to Xbox Achievements. The $1 reservation card shows the May 17 release date in two separate spots. The first-person shooter is set to release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Nintendo to Unveil NX ‘Concept’ Before E3, Says Analyst
Official details on Nintendo NX are allegedly not far off, as a new report claims Nintendo will reveal the console during the first half of 2016 and launch the device before year's end.
According to Nomura Securities analyst Junko Yamamura (via Barron's Asia), Nintendo plans to unveil the "concept" sometime between March and May, followed by a full console reveal in June. Yamamura's also claims that NX will launch in either October or November of this year.
With the impending release of NX, Nomura Securities expects the console's launch to cannibalize 3DS and Wii U sales, and as such has lowered its projections. "We have lowered our estimates for current consoles to reflect the present situation, fiercer competition, and what has happened in the past when new hardware is announced," Nomura said.