Yearly Archives: 2018
PlayStation 4 Worldwide Shipments Reach 79 Million
Sony's fiscal results for the last financial year have been released and the company has confirmed that its worldwide shipments of PlayStation 4 consoles have reached 79 million.
Sony announced its intention to increase worldwide PS4 shipments to 78 million in its forecast last year. Since then, the company has shipped 19 million units, which is a decrease of one million, year-on-year.
For the upcoming fiscal year, Sony forecasts 16 million PS4 hardware sales, predicting a decrease of 3 million units from last year.
Avengers: Infinity War’s Surprise Returning Character Was Recast
The villainous Red Skull -- whose fate has been unclear since he disappeared in a Tesseract-induced glow at the end of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger -- makes a surprise return appearance in Avengers: Infinity War. But that’s not original actor Hugo Weaving playing the character this time around.
The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand succeeds Weaving in the role of the Hydra leader-turned-Soul Stone keeper on the planet Vormir. In addition to playing“Aaron” on AMC’s hit zombie TV series, Marquand is also a master of celebrity impressions (as seen here and here). Marquand certainly captures enough of Weaving’s voice and delivery in Infinity War to make this new version of Red Skull tough to differentiate from the original.
Avengers: Infinity War Ending Explained
The end of Avengers: Infinity War completely changes the status quo of the MCU, so we’re here to break down all the big twists of the Avengers’ final showdown with Thanos, and explain what that ending could mean for Avengers 4.
For more on Infinity War, check out why the movie finally gave us the real Doctor Strange. Needless to say, there are major spoilers ahead, so read on at your own risk.
How Apple is Attempting to Lead the AR Future
When Apple’s new augmented reality platform ARKit was announced six months ago, it was designed to bring accessibility to a market that previously required developers to create or onboard their own tech. So accessible was the platform that the AR-heavy future that has seemingly been looming for years suddenly felt a lot closer; on the cusp of becoming as omnipresent as that first week when Pokemon GO spread throughout the globe like an infection.
So are we experiencing the AR revolution? Not quite. We’re yet to see children’s bedtime stories unfolding in exquisite 3D detail as demonstrated in Apple’s ARKit announcement, and it’s safe to say most people are still using tape measures over AR ruler tools in their homes. Pokemon GO is still enjoying a healthy user base, but feels like something of an anomaly; a perfect combination of gimmick and franchise popularity that no AR app has touched since.
Nintendo Promises Support for the 3DS Through 2019 and Beyond
Nintendo and has promised new 3DS games will be coming "in 2019 and beyond".
In its financial results briefing published on Nintendo's official site, the company highlighted previously announced 3DS games coming this year (Dillon's Rolling Western: The Dead Heat Breakers, Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker for Nintendo 3DS, WarioWare Gold for 3DS and Luigi’s Mansion), and next (Mario & Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story + Bowser's Jr.'s Journey). "In addition to the titles currently on sale we have announced the coming release of the titles shown here," reads the accompanying text, "we are even preparing new software for release in 2019 and beyond."
Nintendo to Focus on Super Smash Bros. For Switch at E3
Nintendo is spotlighting Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch at this year's E3.
Nintendo's usual video presentation on June 12 will feature "games releasing in 2018," with a particular focus on the recently announced Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch will also be playable on the show floor, alongside the console's "most noteworthy upcoming third-party games."
The presentation will be followed by three day's worth of Nintendo Treehouse Live, which will kick off with a deeper dive into Smash Bros.
Announced last month, Nintendo is also focusing on competitive play at E3, with the two day Splatoon 2 World Championship tournament kicking off at the Belasco Theater in LA on June 11, followed by the Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018 tournament on June 12.
How Captain Marvel’s Movie Fits into the MCU Before Avengers 4
Spoilers follow for Avengers: Infinity War!
With the first official photos of Brie Larson's Captain Marvel recently revealed and word coming that a trailer is about to hit, let's take a look at everything we know about Carol Danvers' much-anticipated movie and how she will fit into the MCU.
As that symbol showed up at the end of Avengers: Infinity War in the after credit scene, attention began turning to Marvel Studios' 2019 lineup. Next year will kick off with Captain Marvel, a movie that marks the debut of Brie Larson as Air Force pilot-turned cosmic superhero Carol Danvers and has a release date of March 6, 2019.
Avengers: Infinity War Has an Arrested Development Easter Egg
Avengers: Infinity War has worked hard to establish itself as the biggest crossover event in film history, but directors Joe and Anthony Russo haven’t stopped with just squeezing The Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Black Panther crew, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange into a single movie – they’re even shoehorned in a character from Arrested Development for good measure.
Spoilers for the movie continue below!
During the Guardians of the Galaxy’s visit to Knowhere a blue-skinned Tobias Fünke can be seen reclining in one of The Collector’s display cases, slumped against the glass in a pair of denim cutoffs. Tobias’ ongoing obsession with joining the Blue Man Group is one of the show’s most-memorable gags. The cameo was spotted by a sharp-eyed fan, via Pajiba. Even if you did miss the Easter egg, chances are you probably caught the special thanks in the credits to 20th Century Fox for giving Marvel and Disney the rights to include an Arrested Development reference.
Our E3 2018 Predictions, Switch Hardware Hack, Nintendo Labo Review Discussion, and more! – NVC Ep. 405
Weeelcooome to episode 405 of our weekly Nintendo show and podcast, Nintendo Voice Chat. This week, the NVC crew shares their big E3 2018 predictions!
As always, you can watch NVC here on IGN and on our YouTube channel (subscribe and hit that bell! It gives fairies wings!) or listen to it on your commute in audio format. If you enjoy the show, share it with other Nintendo fans, leave us a comment, and give us a thumbs up or leave us a review! If you prefer audio over video, please subscribe to NVC on iTunes or your podcast service of choice. You can also download and listen to the last week's episode of NVC Right Here.
Fortnite Is the Biggest Free-to-Play Console Game of All Time
Despite being free-to-play, Fortnite has been bringing in revenue hand-over-fist, reportedly becoming the biggest free-to-play console title of all time and earning $223 million across all platforms last month alone.
Research firm Superdata reports Fortnite has overtaken its battle royale rival, PUBG, in both revenue and the number of active users across all platforms, making it the biggest free-to-play console title of all time. And despite its free-to-play status, last month, across both PC and consoles, Fortntie earned $223 million.
Fortnite's revenue is up 73% from February, when it brought in $126 million, eclipsing PUBG's $103 million. Since its launch on iOS, the mobile version has raked in more than $25 million in the space of a month, with an average daily spend of $1 million.