Daily Deals: 70% Off Amazon Sale, PS4 Uncharted Bundle
Up to 70% Off End of Year Sale on PS4, Xbox One and PC Digital Games at Amazon
We're pretty much past the point of no return for getting physical items shipped to you in time for Christmas on Friday, but you can still give the gift of digitally-delivered goods with plenty of time to spare! Amazon's got major savings on the downloadable versions of tons of 2015's most popular games, so click over and browse the selection.
Animated Spider-Man Movie Pushed Back
Sony Pictures announced that the release date of its planned animated Spider-Man film has been pushed back. The movie, produced and written by The LEGO Movie's Phil Lord and Chris Miller, will now open on December 21, 2018 instead of July 20, 2018.
Lord and Miller have the option to direct the animated Spider-Man movie, but currently aren't slated to do so. They are, however, directing Lawrence Kasdan's upcoming Han Solo origin movie, which is expected to hit theaters on May 25, 2018.
Sony also announced the release dates for two of its other animated movies: The Emoji Movie and Peter Rabbit. The Emoji Movie will release on August 8, 2017, and it's rumored that Sony spent nearly seven figures to acquire the film, which was written by Eric Siegel of Men at Work and Anthony Leondis of Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters. Peter Rabbit will release on March 23, 2018.
The Next Sword Art Online Game Is Coming to America Next Year
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is coming to American territories.
Publisher Bandai Namco made the announcement during Jump Festa. Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, based on the wildly successful manga and anime franchise, is set in a different virtual world than the previous material. This new environment is "Sword Art: Origin," and seems to recall past events from the original (and much deadlier) game world, Aincrad.
The announcement points out that the action-RPG's story was created by the original author, Reki Kawahara. It will be available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita when it lands here sometime in 2016.
Unlocked: All Our Nonsensical 2015 Outtakes
NOTE: As this is a collection of outtakes from the year, there's no video episode this week. See below for .mp3 audio download links.
Continuing the tradition started last year, we're giving you an episode full of 2015's Unlocked outtakes while the Xbox world rests for the holidays. These outtakes span the entire year, will in some cases make absolutely no sense without any context, and you might think this episode is pointless and/or totally dumb. But you might also think it's hilarious. Let us know, and Happy Holidays! We'll be back with regular episodes of Unlocked starting January 6!
Ruffalo: Hulk Solo Film ‘Doesn’t Look Particularly Promising’
A new solo film centered around the Hulk isn't likely to happen anytime soon, according to Bruce Banner actor Mark Ruffalo.
In an interview with Yahoo! Movies Ruffalo explained that while the studio is looking into a new film, Universal's ownership of the solo Hulk movies has made it difficult. "Marvel and Universal famously don’t get along very well, and so that’s working against us, definitely," he said.
"The nature of the relationship right now, it’s a little prohibitive," he added, noting it may change sometime in the future, "but right now it doesn’t look particularly promising."
Jonathan Blow’s The Witness Aims For a Physical Release
The Witness is getting closer to its completion, and developer Thekla Inc. has revealed the game might see a physical release.
In a blog post, creator Jonathan Blow said a physical version of the game seems likely, as Thekla has "been in talks with a couple of parties for a while about that possibility."
However, should the physical release happen, it most likely will follow the digital release, rather than release day-and-date. The reason behind a delay with a possible physical release has to do with the logistics involved in manufacturing and distributing. The company "would have to freeze the game right about now" if it wanted to make a physical release happen by the game's release date.
NASA’s Astronaut Applications Are Officially Open
NASA is now accepting applications for its astronaut program, and the position is open to all qualified U.S. citizens.
The application period is set from December 14, 2015 to February 18, 2016. NASA hopes to announce the new astronauts in mid-2017. Potential astronauts could be flying on the International Space Station (ISS), two new commercial spacecrafts, and NASA's Orion deep-space exploration vehicle.
"This next group of American space explorers will inspire the Mars generation to reach for new heights, and help us realize the goal of putting boot prints on the Red Planet,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “Those selected for this service will fly on U.S. made spacecraft from American soil, advance critical science, and research aboard the International Space Station, and help push the boundaries of technology in the proving ground of deep space."
ReAgent Games Releases Crackdown 3 Concept Art
Crackdown 3 developer ReAgent Games is getting in the holiday spirit by releasing new concept art images for the game.
Posted to the Crackdown 3 site, the images are part of an interactive postcard of sorts—by clicking a bulb, a new image will popup. The art focuses on new weapons, suits, and environments, while the postcard itself shows two festive agents decorating a Christmas tree. Check out the art in the slideshow below.
We learned at Gamescom 2015 that Crackdown 3 will be released in the summer of 2016. The game will have both campaign and multiplayer modes. The campaign mode seems "to be an experience built to remain faithful to the spirit of the original, much-loved Crackdown," says IGN's Luke Reilly, while the multiplayer "is all about unscripted, real-time destruction on an unseen scale."
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Delayed
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End has been delayed to April 26, 2016.
In a post on PlayStation Blog, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley announced that the studio needs a bit more development time to put the finishing touches on its "largest Uncharted game to date."
"As we approached our final deadlines and started wrapping up the game’s levels, we realized that several key sequences needed extra resources to bring them to the finish line," Druckmann and Straley explained. "Pushing the date is not an easy choice, and we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t feel in our hearts it’s the best course of action for the game."
Nicolas Cage to Return Stolen Dino Skull to Mongolia
Nicholas Cage has been requested by the Mongolian government to return a stolen Tyrannosaurus bataar skull that he purchased several years ago.
According to authorities, Cage has agreed to hand over the rare dinosaur skull after he was informed it had been illegally taken from Mongolia, the BBC reports. The actor won the item at a gallery in Beverly Hills for $276,000 back in 2007, after outbidding Leonardo DiCaprio.
Cage has been found innocent in the matter, since he was completely unaware the skull had been stolen. According to the actor's publicist, he was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security last year and told the item may be have been illegally obtained.