Yearly Archives: 2020

Apple iPhone 2020 Event: All News Announced

Apple's iPhone event might be a month later than usual this year, but it was a big spectacle worth waiting for. It was a big show for Apple with four new iPhones ranging in sizes from 5.4-inches to 6.7-inches. Apple also introduced a smaller HomePod mini speaker, and at $99 we can easily see homes filling up with more than one of these. In case you missed it, here are all the announcements Apple made today in one neat and tidy place. Apple HomePod mini

Apple HomePod mini

Apple’s original HomePod speaker is a beefy unit that goes for a hearty $299 price, that might just be too chunky for everyone. That’s exactly why Apple announced the smaller Apple HomePod mini, a far smaller speaker. Inside the HomePod mini, you’ll find one driver, two passive radiators, and an "acoustic waveguide" on the bottom. Powering the whole thing is Apple’s S5 processor, which is the same chip that powers the recently announced Apple Watch SE. The HomePod mini uses this processor to dynamically tune itself using "computational audio." Using this feature the HomePod mini will adjust how loud it is, its dynamic range, and more by measuring how it sounds in your room 180 times a second. With its new spherical shape, this Bluetooth speaker might have been more aptly named the HomeSphere, but it definitely seems to be a direct competitor to the new Echo Dot that Amazon recently unveiled. Apple is definitely going for the Echo Dot crowd as its new mini speaker will retail for just $99 when it releases on November 16th.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/13/apple-unveils-new-iphone-12-lineup-ign-news"]

iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12

If you loved the iPhone 4, you’re going to love the iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 harkens back to the iPhone 4's straight-edged and squared-off design that's not only nostalgic, but it also helps shrink the size of the iPhone 12. According to Apple, the iPhone 12 is 11% thinner, 15% smaller, and 16% lighter. The new iPhone 12 also comes rocking the Super Retina XDR display, Apple custom OLED display, which we originally saw on the iPhone 11 Pro. This screen brings a lot of improvements to Apple's mid-range handset including up to 1200-nits of brightness, plus Dolby Vision, HLG, and HDR 10 support. The screen is also made of a new Ceramic shield glass that claims to be the strongest smartphone screen ever developed with 4x better drop performance. The resolution of the display has also been bumped up to 2,532 x 1,170 pixels. iPhone 12 Apple's new A14 Bionic powers the iPhone 12 and it promises to be 40% more performant than the A13 that powered the iPhone 11. The GPU on the iPhone 12 is so powerful it can run League of Legends: Wild Rift, a new MoBA game made specifically for mobile, without a sweat. As for cameras, the iPhone 12 features the same 12MP wide-angle and Ultrawide cameras as last year's model, but Apple has improved the lens on the main wide-angle camera with a new seven-element lens that will apparently drive a 27% improvement in low-light shooting. Apple has also introduced Smart HDR 3, as well as Night Mode selfies and timelapses. Lastly, Apple has introduced magnets to the iPhone 12's wireless charging technology and rechristened it MagSafe. There's a whole new line of MagSafe accessories including magnetically attachable batteries, wireless chargers, and even battery wallets. The iPhone 12 will come in two sizes with the 5.4-inch iPhone Mini and the 6.1-inch iPhone. The iPhone 12 Mini will start at $699 and the iPhone 12 is priced at $799. iPhone 12 Pro

iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone

While the new iPhone 12 Mini might be Apple's smallest smartphone yet, the iPhone 12 Pro takes an opposite tactic and take everything to the max. The signature design feature on the new iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max are their extremely shiny sides and it's all thanks to Apple's new magnetron coating process. The phones are available in four colors including black, white, gold, and a new blue color replacing the Midnight Green hue from last year's iPhone 11 Pro. Both iPhone 12 Pro models feature Super Retina XDR displays with a 6.1-inch screen on the Pro and a 6.7-inch display on the Pro Max. Internally, the iPhone is also powered by Apple's new A14 Bionic processor. Screen Shot 2020-10-13 at 2.03.33 PM The iPhone 12 Pro series is getting Apple's first optical zoom lenses and you'll be able to zoom up to 4x optically on the iPhone 12 Pro. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is getting a few extra camera features over its smaller brother with a 65mm equivalent focal length telephoto lens for up to 5x optical zoom, plus the wide-angle camera features a 47% larger sensor with Optical Image Stabilization. The new sensor-shift OIS system on the iPhone 12 Pro Max will enable users to take up to two-second stabilized exposures on a phone. What's more, Apple's new Pro-series iPhones will be able to shoot in a RAW format called Apple ProRAW. There are also new capabilities to shoot multi-frame smartHDR and shoot movies in either 10-bit HDR or Dolby Vision HDR. For all of their new capabilities, Apple is surprisingly keeping the prices for its iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max the same as last year. The iPhone 12 Pro will stay at a starting price of $999 while also double the standard storage to 128GB. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, meanwhile, has a starting price of $1,099. The iPhone 12 Pro is available to preorder on October 16th and will ship on October 23rd. The iPhone 12 Pro Max will be coming at a later date with preorders on November 6th and a November 13th release date. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=apple-hi-speed-event&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

Apple iPhone 2020 Event: All News Announced

Apple's iPhone event might be a month later than usual this year, but we're expecting a big show of at least four iPhones. We're also hoping to see a few other announcements like a smaller HomePod Mini speaker and Apple's AirTag Bluetooth enabled trackers. Stick with us and we'll keep you apprised of all the announcements and new products Apple introduces at its Hi Speed Event today. Apple HomePod mini

Apple HomePod mini

Apple’s original HomePod speaker is a beefy unit that goes for a hearty $299 price, that might just be too chunky for everyone. That’s exactly why Apple announced the smaller Apple HomePod mini, a far more smaller speaker measuring just 3.3-inches in circumference. Inside the HomePod mini you’ll find one driver, two passive radiators, and an "acoustic waveguide" on the bottom. Powering the whole thing is Apple’s S5 processor, which is the same chip that powers the recently announced Apple Watch SE. The HomePod mini uses this processor to dynamically tune how it sounds using "computational audio." Using this feature the HomePod mini will adjust how loud it is, its dynamic range, and more by measuring how it sounds in your room 180 times a second. With its new spherical shape this Bluetooth speaker might have been more aptly named the HomeSphere, but it definitely seems to be a direct competitor to the new Echo Dot that Amazon recently unveiled. Apple is definitely going for the Echo Dot crowd as its new mini speaker will retail for just $99 when it releases on November 16th. iPhone 12

iPhone 12

If you loved the iPhone 4, you’re going to love the iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Mini harken back to the iPhone 4 straight-edged and squared-off design that's not only nostalgic, but it also helps shrink the size of the iPhone 12. According to Apple, the iPhone 12 is 11% thinner, 15% smaller, and 16% lighter. The new iPhone 12 also comes rocking the Super Retina XDR display, Apple custom OLED display, that we originally saw on the iPhone 11 Pro, which means you'll see up to 1200 nits of brightness, plus Dolby Vision, HLG, and HDR 10 are all supported. The screen is also made of a new Ceramic shield that claims to be the strongest smartphone screen ever developed with 4 times better drop performance. The resolution of the display has also been bumped up to 2,532 x 1,170 pixels. Apple's new A14 Bionic powers the iPhone 12 and it promises to be 40% more performant than the A13 that powered the iPhone 11. The GPU on the iPhone 12 is League of Legends: Wild Rift, a new MoBA game made specifically for mobile. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=apple-hi-speed-event&captions=true"] more to develop...

Jiu Jitsu: Exclusive Trailer and Poster for the Nic Cage-Tony Jaa Movie

Martial arts, alien invaders -- and Nicolas Cage?! Yes, you get all three of those in one new action movie, Jiu Jitsu, which is written, produced and directed by Dimitri Logothetis (Kickboxer: Retaliation). We have the exclusive first trailer and new poster for Jiu Jitsu, both of which you can see below. In addition to Cage, the cast also includes Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo, Rick Yune, Marie Avgeropoulos, Juju Chan, and Tony Jaa. You can see them all in action in the exclusive trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/13/jiu-jitsu-exclusive-official-trailer"] Jiu Jitsu is actually based on a comic book of the same name, which Logothetis also penned along with Jim McGrath. Here's the official plot synopsis to shed further light on the story:

"When Jake Barnes, a master Jiu Jitsu fighter, refuses to face Brax, an indomitable alien creature, the future of humanity hangs in the balance. Injured and suffering from severe amnesia, Jake is captured by a military squad unequipped to fight the merciless intruder who has descended upon the planet.

Jake is rescued by Wylie, and an ancient order of Jiu Jitsu fighters who must help him recover his memory and regain his strength in order to band together and defeat Brax in an epic battle that will determine the fate of mankind."

And here's the new one-sheet for the film: FINAL DOMESTIC POSTER 27X40 JIU JITSU SDJiu Jitsu is scheduled for a theatrical and Digital release on November 20, 2020.

Nintendo Sues TikTok Influencer Over Pokemon Branding and Merch

Nintendo has taken legal action against a TikTok user with 1.9 million followers, forcing them to change their name and pay back all money earned through use of the Pokemon brand. TikTok influencer Digitalprincxss - formerly known as Pokeprincxss - was contacted by Nintendo after attempting to trademark her Pokemon-inspired username. The company issued a cease-and-desist order, informing Pokeprincxss that her username and merchandise - which features Pokemon imagery - infringed Nintendo’s copyright. She has since been forced to change her username and pay back all money earned via sales of the Pokemon-featuring merch to Nintendo. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/05/10-best-legendary-pokemon"] Digitalprincxss also runs a successful OnlyFans account, which she believes contributes to Nintendo’s action against her. “Nintendo doesn’t want people to think that I’m in any way, shape or form affiliated with them, or that I have a partnership with them, and it all comes back to me being an adult entertainer,” she said in a video explaining her name change. Talking to Kotaku, Digitalprincxss said: “I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to play the victim in the situation, and only hope to be somebody people can learn from and not make the same mistakes I did.” “It’s kind of a cool thing to say, that...the ones who made my childhood so cool, they finally noticed me! All it took was for me to infringe on everything about them,” she added, which seems to show that she’s taking the situation in good spirits. For Nintendo merch that doesn't infringe copyright, why not check out the IGN store? And for more Pokemon, check out the release date for Pokemon Sword and Shield's Crown Tundra DLC. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Exclusive New Image of the Monster Hunter Movie’s Rathalos

IGN Premiere is rolling out a full week of exclusive Monster Hunter movie content, starting today with this brand new image from the video game adaptation. Tune in all this week for more first-look content at Monster Hunter -- including the domestic trailer debut at 6am PT on Wednesday, October 14, exclusively here on IGN! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Fans got their first glimpse at the Monster Hunter movie's Rathalos right here on IGN this past weekend, and now we have another exclusive new look at the film adaptation's "King of the Skies" for you! This large flying wyvern has been a flagship creature in the Monster Hunter franchise since the beginning. Commonly found in the Ancient Forest, the Rathalos breathes fire and boasts vicious claws. Woe unto those who fall prey to it! Feast your eyes on this exclusive new look at the Monster Hunter movie’s Rathalos: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=monster-hunter-movie-images&captions=true"] "I love the Rathalos, because the Rathalos is pretty much the rock star of the Monster Hunter video games," director Paul W.S. Anderson said at this month’s New York Comic Con. "It's been in nearly all of the games. It's probably one of the hardest creatures to kill. It's just badass. So I'm very excited that that's in our movie." Check out how the movie's Rathalos compares to the video game's incarnation by watching the video below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/monster-hunter-exclusive-official-game-to-movie-creature-comparison"] Along with the frightening likes of Rathalos and Diablos, the Monster Hunter movie will also include less threatening-looking creatures like the brawny Felyne called Meowscular Chef, the old partner of the Admiral (played by Hellboy’s Ron Perlman). We’ll see more of what creatures are in the Monster Hunter movie when the first domestic trailer premieres on IGN this Wednesday, October 14, at 6am PT! For more on the film, learn why Monster Hunter’s hero comes from Earth and discover 12 details about the Monster Hunter movie that fans will want to know about.

No Time To Die: How the Pre-Title Sequence Defies James Bond Tradition

No Time To Die director Cary Fukunaga has revealed how he is breaking tradition with his opening sequence for Bond 25. According to IndieWire, new details about No Time To Die's pre-title sequence emerged in a recent article published by The Wall Street Journal. The outlet interviewed Fukunaga who discussed the newest installment of James Bond, which has now been pushed back to 2021. The conversation became shaken and stirred when he shared some rather large teasers about his version of the opening scene. Warning: The text below contains SPOILERS for No Time To Die. [poilib element="accentDivider"] [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/03/no-time-to-die-official-trailer-2"] Typically, the Bond films have action-packed opening sequences packed with gratuitous chases, violence, and sex, however, Fukunaga is reportedly bucking that trend with an opening scene that pulls more from horror movies than action films. "It's slow-paced, visually arresting, subtitled with dialogue in French, and entirely Bond-free," the outlet notes. Instead of checking in with Daniel Craig's 007 at the start of his final mission, Fukunaga's opening scene will reportedly center on Lea Seydoux's Madeleine Swan who will recount a tragic childhood memory in which Rami Malek's Safin, "wearing a Japanese Noh mask, kills her mother, pursues Madeleine through the home, and hunts her down on a frozen lake." The acclaimed director joked about his contrasting approach to Bond 25's opening scene, as he acknowledged that it might sound similar to another franchise that he was once involved with. "Some clown chasing a child around the house," he said. "It's like I brought back [Stephen King's] IT in the first five minutes of Bond." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=james-bond-no-time-to-die-character-posters&captions=true"] Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a little while longer to watch Fukunaga's opening scene, as the release date for the 25th Bond film has been pushed back for the second time due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. No Time To Die will now be released in April 2021, a year after it was originally set to hit the big screen so that it can hopefully be watched by a worldwide theatrical audience. In the meantime, have a browse through IGN's 007 files and find out why the internet thinks Rami Malek is playing a rebooted version of Dr. No, read Daniel Craig's sage advice for the next actor who takes on the iconic Bond role, and catch up with the first episode of The Official James Bond Podcast, which is available on Apple, Spotify, Acast, and all major podcast providers. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Bloodborne Modder Promises to Release 60 FPS Mod if Sony Doesn’t Upgrade the Game

A prolific console game modder has managed to get Bloodborne running at 60 frames-per-second, but has decided to hold back on making the mod public and will wait to see if Sony upgrades the game for PS5 first. Lance McDonald - perhaps best known for his work with PT - recently shared a video showing Bloodborne running at 60fps. In the comments of the video, he stated his intention to release the mod to the public: “I’ll be releasing this patch publicly once the PlayStation 5 has released and Sony have made it clear whether or not Bloodborne will be enhanced on that system in any way,” he said. “Out of respect for PlayStation, I want them to have the first chance to put 60 fps Bloodborne into the hands of players.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/03/27/bloodborne-review"] Should Sony’s Boost Mode for PS5 not bring Bloodborne up to 60 fps, then McDonald will release the mod for players to use. It should be noted, though, that PS4’s are not simple to apply mods to like PCs are, so it will require some technical know-how to use. The standard debug menu for Bloodborne can double the framerate, but this also doubles the gameplay speed. McDonald had to study the PS4 Pro update for Dark Souls 3, which uses the same engine as Bloodborne, to work out how to hack and modify the game. “A vast array of features, such as cloth physics, particle and special effects, environmental wind, enemy patrol pathing, motion blur sampling rate, and elevator movement speed all require manual patching,” said McDonald in the video detailing his process. “This way, gameplay logic is correctly adjusted based on the amount of time that has passed between each frame rather than being locked to a fixed timestamp.” Sony has revealed that almost every PS4 game will be playable on PS5 thanks to backwards compatibility, with some enhanced by a Boost Mode. It’s not clear, however, if Boost Mode enhancements are tailored to the specific games by Sony/the developer, akin to many Xbox backwards compatibility projects, or if Boost Mode is an automatic process. Without any developer input, it seems like Bloodborne may need McDonald’s patch to hit that golden 60 fps. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 – Exclusive Character Images

Star Trek: Lower Decks just finished its terrific first season and now we've already got another new season of Trek to binge, as Season 3 of CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery debuts this week on Thursday, Oct. 15. And today IGN has a gallery of exclusive character images in anticipation of Disco's third year. Check out all the images in the slideshow below, featuring Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Commander Saru), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Commander Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Ensign Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira), and Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georgiou). [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-discovery-season-3-exclusive-character-images&captions=true"] Star Trek: Discovery's 13-episode third season will drop new episodes weekly beginning Thursday, exclusively on CBS All Access in the United States. Here's the logline for the season from CBS: After following Commander Burnham into the wormhole in the second season finale, season three of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY finds the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery landing in an unknown future far from the home they once knew. Now living in a time filled with uncertainty, the U.S.S. Discovery crew, along with the help of some new friends, must work together to restore hope to the Federation. The disco team brought a sneak peek of the season to New York Comic Con last week, including the opening scene from Season 3, which you can watch below: In other Star Trek news, Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan recently broke down the Season 1 finale with IGN (while also offering a look forward at Season 2), CBS also revealed at NYCC that Kate Mulgrew will return as Captain Janeway in the Nickelodeon animated show Star Trek: Prodigy, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds -- the upcoming series featuring Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and Rebecca Romijn as Number One -- will deal with Pike’s knowledge of his ultimate, tragic fate. Be sure to check back for our review of Star Trek: Discovery's Season 3 premiere later this week.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Finally Gets Mode Uninstall Options on PC

Infinity Ward’s latest patch for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has finally provided options for PC players to uninstall specific game modes. A tweet from Infinity Ward’s Production Director, Paul Haile, revealed that the update would include the much-requested feature. The PC version of Modern Warfare demands a huge 225GB of hard drive space. While the console versions of the game require a similar amount of space, those versions allow players to uninstall modes that players are not using, which helps reduce its HDD footprint. Prior to Call of Duty being made exclusive to the Blizzard Launcher on PC, many Steam versions of Call of Duty games were split into two library entries for campaign and multiplayer. This helped reduce install space, but the feature has been missing for the last few entries. Thankfully, this update provides more control for players. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/29/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-warzone-season-six-battle-pass-trailer"] For those with limited hard drive space remaining, this new system may free up enough gigabytes to install the Black Ops Cold War beta, which arrives on PC this Thursday. If you’re jumping in, check out our essential tips and every weapon you can pick up, plus the best loadouts. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

King Arthur: Knight’s Tale Is a Next-Gen Tactical RPG for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X

NeocoreGames has announced King Arthur: Knight’s Tale; a tactical RPG for PC and next-generation consoles that reimagines the Arthurian legend as a dark, gothic fantasy. Launching first on Steam in early 2021, the game is also planned for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. King Arthur: Knights Tale mixes an XCOM-style turn-based battle system with traditional RPG mechanics, including character development, choices that impact the direction of your campaign, and upgrading your home base of Camelot. The story follows Sir Mordred, who travels with a band of knights across Avalon in search of King Arthur. This is already an interesting twist on the classic legend, as Sir Mordred is King Arthur's nemesis, traditionally shown as the king's traitorous nephew. In this version of the tale, Mordred has actually mortally wounded Arthur, and is now stalking him through the isle of Avalon to finish the job on command of The Lady of the Lake. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/13/king-arthur-knights-tale-official-announcement-trailer"] The band of knights he travels with is, naturally, Neocore’s dark reimagining of The Round Table. Each of the 30 knights has a “traditional” RPG progression system, and can be permanently killed if they succumb to disease, curses, or straight-up battle wounds. Neocore notes that the game has roguelite elements, but told IGN that constant replays of the campaign are not necessarily part of that, and so it seems like permadeath characters may be where those elements come into play. Sir Mordred and his knights will act as your troops in the XCOM-style turn-based tactical battles, which take place on battlefields that have been rendered using photoscanned environments and a physics-based rendering engine. The heroes you can recruit are assigned one of five different classes - including fighters and magic casters - and are able to make use of “hundreds” of skills and artefacts. You can also use traps and lures, as well as tactical use of cover and terrain, to put the enemy at a disadvantage. Those enemies won’t just be men in plate armour. Thanks to that dark fantasy setting, this is an Arthurian tale filled with monsters that look like they take fashion advice from Dark Souls. There are seven enemy factions to clash with, made up from over fifty different enemy units, including bosses. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=king-arthur-knights-tale-screenshots&captions=true"] As leader of the kingdom, it will be your job to oversee the issue of these terrors haunting Britannia, and manage and expand your Camelot stronghold. A campaign map, showing Camelot and the various locations across the kingdom, will allow you to choose which quest you take on next. As you make decisions, the consequences of your actions will be plotted out on a ‘Morality Chart’. Your position as ruled goes beyond the campaign, too, with a promised endgame mode. NeocoreGames plans to release King Arthur: Knight’s Tale on Steam sometime in the first quarter of 2021, with console releases coming later. Ahead of that, though, there will be a Kickstarter campaign that launches today, October 13. Neocore notes regardless of if the crowdfunding goal is met or not, King Arthur: Knight's Tale will release. The use of Kickstarter is to gather funds for additional features that the studio would like to implement, rather than actually making the core game. Before the 2021 release, Neocore plans to release a beta in November. Hopefully this will provide a good insight into the kind of game Neocore has put together without the use of any Kickstarter funding. Knight’s Tale won’t be NeocoreGames’ first experience with the Arthurian legends; the studio also created King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame, which mixed RPG elements with real-time tactics. Read our review of King Arthur 2 to find out more, as well as our review of the studio’s latest game, Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.