John Boyega Will Star in Nickelodeon Animated Web Series
Star Wars: The Force Awakens' John Boyega is lending his voice to a main character in Tinkershrimp & Dutch, an animated web series from Nickelodeon UK and Ireland.
Comprised of five five-minute episodes, the series follows a loris (Boyega) and a langoustine (Darren Evans) who travel in time to protect the monarch of New Great Great Britain, King Hunnybun III (Alex Lowe). The series' villain, a headless chicken named Michael The Fowl, is voiced by Sam Riley.
John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Casio Reveals New Rugged WSD-F10 Smartwatch Series
During CES 2016, Casio revealed a new series of smartwatch designed for rugged outdoor use.
The WSD-F10 series comes in four colors - green, orange, black, and red - and includes a dual LCD/LED touchscreen, a 24-hour battery life, an internal altimeter, barometric pressure sensor, and compass.
The watch is not yet available, but is targeting a Spring 2016 release at an estimated $500 price point.
In related CES news, Oculus recently announced a $600 price point for the upcoming consumer release of the Rift, and LG has revealed a "rollable" television.
Lucha Underground Season 2 Poster Debut
Ready for Round 2 of intense wall-to-wall action? El Rey's Lucha Underground pro-wrestling promotion returns for a heart-pounding second season on January 27th at 8pm ET and we've got your exclusive first look at the Season 2 teaser art - featuring the current, and imposing, Lucha Underground champion Mil Muertes!
Check it out...
Lucha Underground features talent like Johnny Mundo (formerly WWE's John Morrison), Chavo Guerrero, Prince Puma, Fenix, Drago, Brian Cage, Willie Mack, Pentagón Jr., Sexy Star, Ivelisse, and more! Season 2 will bring the addition of Joey Ryan, PJ Black (formerly WWE's Justin Gabriel), and the legendary Rey Mysterio!
EVE Valkyrie VR Alpha Begins This Month
Developer CCP Games has announced the EVE: Valkyrie will enter into alpha testing later this month.
Starting January 18th, a select number of players can play the dogfighting space shooter in its alpha state. Those who currently own an Oculus Rift DK2 headset can sign up now via the official website.
Optimized specifically for virtual reality, EVE Valkyrie is a spinoff of the MMO EVE Online and places players in the cockpit of a starfighter amidst a large scale space battle.
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.)