Yearly Archives: 2018
Microsoft Announces Monthly Streaming Show Inside Xbox
Microsoft has announced that this weekend it will premiere a new monthly live show called Inside Xbox.
Xbox director of programming Tina Summerford shared the news on Xbox Wire. Inside Xbox will debut this Saturday, March 10 at 12:00 p.m. PT/3:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. UK (March 11 at 7:00 a.m. AET) with a behind-the-scenes look at Sea of Thieves.
Rare will discuss the core design concept of Sea of Thieves, as well as how player feedback from the closed beta helped shape game. The studio will also cover what players can expect from the game when it launches on March 20 and offer a tease at what lies ahead in terms of post-launch content.
Fortnite Developer Working to Match Controls Across Modes
Fortnite developer Epic Games is currently working to bring control scheme parity between the game's two modes.
Darren Sugg, Creative Director for Fortnite, told USgamer the developer is working on creating a unified control scheme for Fortnite's Battle Royale and Save the World modes, following player feedback that switching between control schemes is difficult.
"Because Save the World features class-based abilities that require additional buttons, it's not as easy as simply adapting the default Battle Royale, 'Combat Pro' control scheme," Sugg says. "The team has some ideas, though, so players should see updates in the future."
Stardew Valley Publisher Talks Next Game
Chucklefish, the publisher behind popular farming sim Stardew Valley, has revealed more details about its upcoming game Spellbound, which Chucklefish CEO Finn Brice described back in September as "Stardew Valley meets Harry Potter."
Brice elaborated on the concept in an interview with Red Bull last week, where he described Spellbound as a "wizard-school sim" inspired by a host of popular fantasy series. There's a bit of Harry Potter in there, but also Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series, Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series, and Studio Ghibli's animated films, with a dash of Steven Universe.
Everything the U.S. Government Has Said About Video Games Since the Florida Shooting
Over the past few weeks, video games and the U.S. government have overlapped more than usual, with conversations taking place in response to a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Here’s a run-down of the recent political news updates that have potential to affect video games.
On February 22, U.S. President Donald Trump pointed to mature content in video games as a potential cause of youth violence during a meeting on school safety. He said, “I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts. And then you go the further step, and that’s the movies. You see these movies, and they’re so violence, and yet a kid is able to see the movie if sex isn’t involved, but killing is involved, and maybe they have to put a rating system for that.”
Black Panther Helps February Box Office Pass $1 Billion
For the first time in domestic box office history, ticket sales for the month of February reached a whopping $1 billion.
Black Panther is primarily responsible for this landmark achievement. According to Deadline, comScore reports ticket sales for the record-breaking Marvel movie make up 43 percent ($428.8 million) of all of February's ticket sales in the United States and Canada.
The prior record holder was February 2012, which garnered a total of $818.4 million thanks to the success of Safe House, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, and The Vow.
WWE 50-Man Royal Rumble to Compete with Infinity War
Though no ticket or broadcast information is available at this time (look for it in the coming weeks), WWE has announced, in partnership with the Saudi General Sports Authority, the Greatest Royal Rumble event at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27th.
At the Greatest Royal Rumble event, a Royal Rumble match will be held outside of the annual Royal Rumble PPV - featuring 50 WWE Superstars.
As part of this historic card, WWE has noted that fans will see John Cena, Triple H, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, The New Day, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, and Shinsuke Nakamura, among others - though the press release wasn't clear as to whether, specifically, these men would be in the Rumble match or just somewhere else on the show.
15 Photos of the Detective Pikachu Amiibo
Alongside our recent hands-on session with Detective Pikachu, we had a chance to get up close and personal with the gigantic new Detective Pikachu amiibo, a super-sized version of the mystery-solving Pokemon with some unique abilities.
You can check out more than a dozen brand new images of the XL amiibo, including a few photos next to the regular-sized Pikachu amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series, in the gallery below:
The Detective Pikachu Amiibo doesn't work how we assumed when it was first revealed. While we knew the amiibo would provide "some useful hints," it only unlocks those hints and clues after you've completed a chapter. Then, from the home screen, you can tap the amiibo to the bottom screen to see every "Pika Prompt" from a chosen chapter.
Out This Week: Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition, Scribblenauts Showdown
With so many new games and movies coming out, it can be hard to keep up. Lucky for you, IGN is here to help with a weekly round-up of the biggest releases each and every week. Check out the latest releases for this week, and be sure to come back next Monday for a new update.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Netflix Renews Black Mirror for Season 5
Black Mirror has been renewed for a fifth season, Netflix announced today.
The streaming service shared the news on Twitter via a teaser video, saying "The future will be brighter than ever." A premiere date for Season 5 of Charlie Brooker's anthology series has not been set yet.
The future will be brighter than ever. pic.twitter.com/slVeg3VPd7
— Black Mirror (@blackmirror) March 5, 2018
Star Wars: Why Rebels Is Crucial to Canon
Update: Now that the final episode of Rebels (read our review) has aired, we've updated this story with all the latest info on how the animated series connects to some of the most important aspects of the Star Wars canon.
The Emmy award-winning Star Wars Rebels has reached its series conclusion, leaving an indelible mark on Star Wars mythology. The animated series continues the legacy of powerful storytelling, unforgettable characters, and thrilling action Star Wars is known for. But, one thing you may not be aware of is how important Star Wars Rebels is to the franchise’s lore. Executive-producer Dave Filoni and the animation team at Lucasfilm have created a crucial piece of storytelling that adds elements which have changed the galaxy far, far away forever.