Yearly Archives: 2020

Tom Holland Updates from Uncharted Movie Set: ‘It’s Going So Well’

On Sunday morning, a restless Tom Holland took to Instagram Live to talk to his fans after not posting for a long while. "Filming is going so well," Holland shared, giving a brief updated on the Uncharted movie production, which was prepping to start up back in July after being put on pause last March due to the pandemic. "The film is like, everything I dreamed it would be," Holland added. "I mean, I don't know if you guys played the games, but I was such a huge fan of the game, and it's been going so well." Hinting at the physicality required for the role of Nathan Drake, Holland said "I do have the biggest bruise of all time though, on my leg. That's in a bit of a revealing area for Instagram Live." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"] The Uncharted film is finally headed our way after a turbulent series of setbacks that have stretched well over the course of a decade, with a number of directors and stars coming and going throughout the movie's cursed development history. In March of this year, Venom's Ruben Fleischer became the seventh director to be attached to the project. Previously, Holland shared some pre-production teasers on his Instagram stories, tagging co-star Mark Wahlberg, who is playing Drake's treasure-hunting mentor, Victor "Sully" Sullivan. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/12/cbs-all-access-console-wars-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Tom Holland Updates from Uncharted Movie Set: ‘It’s Going So Well’

On Sunday morning, a restless Tom Holland took to Instagram Live to talk to his fans after not posting for a long while. "Filming is going so well," Holland shared, giving a brief updated on the Uncharted movie production, which was prepping to start up back in July after being put on pause last March due to the pandemic. "The film is like, everything I dreamed it would be," Holland added. "I mean, I don't know if you guys played the games, but I was such a huge fan of the game, and it's been going so well." Hinting at the physicality required for the role of Nathan Drake, Holland said "I do have the biggest bruise of all time though, on my leg. That's in a bit of a revealing area for Instagram Live." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"] The Uncharted film is finally headed our way after a turbulent series of setbacks that have stretched well over the course of a decade, with a number of directors and stars coming and going throughout the movie's cursed development history. In March of this year, Venom's Ruben Fleischer became the seventh director to be attached to the project. Previously, Holland shared some pre-production teasers on his Instagram stories, tagging co-star Mark Wahlberg, who is playing Drake's treasure-hunting mentor, Victor "Sully" Sullivan. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/12/cbs-all-access-console-wars-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Console Wars Shows the Battle Between Nintendo and Sega in the ’90s

Console Wars, CBS All Access' first feature-length documentary, looks to tell the story of the battle between Nintendo and Sega in the '90s on September 23, 2020. Console Wars will be available for CBS All Access subscribers in the U.S. and was an Official Selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. It looks to take "viewers back to 1990 when Sega, then a fledgling arcade company, assembled a team of underdogs to take on the greatest video game company in the world, Nintendo." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/12/cbs-all-access-console-wars-official-trailer"] This documentary is being produced and directed by Jonah Tulis and Blake J. Harris, the latter of who is the author of 2014's Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, James Weaver, Josh Fagen, Scott Rudin, and Eli Bush are executive producers, and Julian Rosenberg, Doug Blush, and Katie Mustard are producing the film. Console Wars is another big video game documentary releasing this year, and follows Netflix's High Score, which was a six-part docuseries that offered a much broader look at the evolution of video games over the last 50 years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/09/the-lie-that-helped-build-nintendo"] Reports of a film and/or movie adaptation of Harris' book have been appearing since 2014, with one of the more recent ones being that Console Wars was set to be a television series with Kong: Skull Island's Jordan Vogt-Roberts directing, and American Vandal's Mike Rosolio writing the pilot episode. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Console Wars Shows the Battle Between Nintendo and Sega in the ’90s

Console Wars, CBS All Access' first feature-length documentary, looks to tell the story of the battle between Nintendo and Sega in the '90s on September 23, 2020. Console Wars will be available for CBS All Access subscribers in the U.S. and was an Official Selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. It looks to take "viewers back to 1990 when Sega, then a fledgling arcade company, assembled a team of underdogs to take on the greatest video game company in the world, Nintendo." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/12/cbs-all-access-console-wars-official-trailer"] This documentary is being produced and directed by Jonah Tulis and Blake J. Harris, the latter of who is the author of 2014's Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, James Weaver, Josh Fagen, Scott Rudin, and Eli Bush are executive producers, and Julian Rosenberg, Doug Blush, and Katie Mustard are producing the film. Console Wars is another big video game documentary releasing this year, and follows Netflix's High Score, which was a six-part docuseries that offered a much broader look at the evolution of video games over the last 50 years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/09/the-lie-that-helped-build-nintendo"] Reports of a film and/or movie adaptation of Harris' book have been appearing since 2014, with one of the more recent ones being that Console Wars was set to be a television series with Kong: Skull Island's Jordan Vogt-Roberts directing, and American Vandal's Mike Rosolio writing the pilot episode. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Warner Bros. Hiding Tenet Box Office Numbers From Other Studios

IGN serves a global audience, so we will be covering films that may be available theatrically in some countries but not others due to local COVID-19 restrictions. Read more on IGN's policy on movie reviews in light of COVID-19 here. IGN strongly encourages anyone considering going to a movie theater during the COVID-19 pandemic to check their local public health and safety guidelines before buying a ticket. If in doubt, stay home — keep yourself and others safe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] With Tenet now passing the $200 million mark globally, it’s important to note that distributor Warner Bros. hasn’t been as regularly forthcoming with box office data for the film’s domestic release as they would’ve been had the film not been released during a pandemic. Indeed, Warners has so far been playing the numbers game for Tenet much differently than it has for past films — and it’s been noticed by rival studios and the media. Last weekend, Tenet made $20.2 million in its U.S. box office debut over Labor Day weekend, but Warner Bros. is still shielding Tenet's box office hourly figures from rival studios in Comscore - which is the "data crossways between exhibitors and distributors." Along with Sony, which isn't releasing the figures for new release The Broken Hearts Gallery, Warner Bros.' "blackout" is now in its second weekend, and according to Deadline it's due to the studio "knowing that [Tenet's] box office wouldn’t be robust due to the pandemic" and wanting "to control their own narrative in the press on how the Christopher Nolan film was doing." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/26/tenet-ending-explained"] Essentially, the studio doesn't want the press to report that the low numbers signal the death of mainstream distribution in favor of a streaming model. Especially with theaters in "coastal cities like San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles closed, which is where Nolan’s movies play." The downside to this is that "not having access to box office hourlies prevents distribution executives from doing their job and providing their filmmakers and top executives with the health or lack thereof in the marketplace." Basically, "having access to drill-down theatrical hourlies helps immensely; it truly helps the industry overall." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=87-images-from-christopher-nolans-tenet-official-trailer-2-2020&captions=true"] Critics have said that Tenet is a thrilling spectacle despite being cold and confusing. Our own review of Tenet said the film is "a thrilling addition to the Christopher Nolan canon, but is slightly held back by a sense of over-familiarity." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Warner Bros. Hiding Tenet Box Office Numbers From Other Studios

IGN serves a global audience, so we will be covering films that may be available theatrically in some countries but not others due to local COVID-19 restrictions. Read more on IGN's policy on movie reviews in light of COVID-19 here. IGN strongly encourages anyone considering going to a movie theater during the COVID-19 pandemic to check their local public health and safety guidelines before buying a ticket. If in doubt, stay home — keep yourself and others safe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Last weekend, Tenet made $20.2 million in its U.S. box office debut over Labor Day weekend, but Warner Bros. is still shielding Tenet's box office hourly figures from rival studios in Comscore - which is the "data crossways between exhibitors and distributors." Along with Sony, which isn't releasing the figures for new release The Broken Hearts Gallery, Warner Bros.' "blackout" is now in its second weekend, and according to Deadline it's due to the studio "knowing that [Tenet's] box office wouldn’t be robust due to the pandemic" and wanting "to control their own narrative in the press on how the Christopher Nolan film was doing." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/26/tenet-ending-explained"] Essentially, the studio doesn't want the press to report that the low numbers signal the death of mainstream distribution in favor of a streaming model. Especially with theaters in "coastal cities like San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles closed, which is where Nolan’s movies play." The downside to this is that "not having access to box office hourlies prevents distribution executives from doing their job and providing their filmmakers and top executives with the health or lack thereof in the marketplace." Basically, "having access to drill-down theatrical hourlies helps immensely; it truly helps the industry overall." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=87-images-from-christopher-nolans-tenet-official-trailer-2-2020&captions=true"] Critics have said that Tenet is a thrilling spectacle despite being cold and confusing. Our own review of Tenet said the film is "a thrilling addition to the Christopher Nolan canon, but is slightly held back by a sense of over-familiarity." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Xbox Series S Won’t Run Xbox One X Enhanced Versions of Past-Gen Games

Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox Series S will not run Xbox One X Enhanced versions of backwards compatible games, and will instead run the Xbox One S versions of Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles with other beneficial features. As reported by VGC, while the Xbox Series S won't run the Xbox One X Enhanced versions of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, it will still be a step above the Xbox One S with "improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent framr rates, faster load times, and Auto HDR." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/08/xbox-series-s-world-premiere-reveal-trailer"] “Xbox Series S was designed to be the most affordable next generation console and play next generation games at 1440P at 60fps,” A Microsoft spokesperson said. "To deliver the highest quality backwards compatible experience consistent with the developer’s original intent, the Xbox Series S runs the Xbox One S version of backward compatible games while applying improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent frame rates, faster load times and Auto HDR.” When a game has been Xbox One X Enhanced, it means the developer has made improvements to a standard Xbox One game, including higher resolutions, faster framerates and/or improved textures. This all shouldn't be too surprising, as the Xbox One X can run games up to 4K, while the Xbox Series S can run games at 1440p at up to 120 FPS. However, the Xbox Series S does support 4K upscaling for games. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/11/why-xbox-series-s-game-pass-is-microsofts-secret-weapon-next-gen-console-watch"] Additionally, as first reported by Digital Foundry, the Xbox Series S also has less RAM than the Xbox One X - 10 GB vs 12 GB - but that doesn't mean there aren't upsides to this new next-gen system. “It may be be running backwards compatible games in Xbox One [S] mode, but because the GPU is so much more capable, and knowing what we know about how backwards compatibility works, you should actually still be able to clean up performance issues,” Digital Foundry's John Linneman said. “So games that maybe struggled on Xbox One S – either the dynamic resolution was overly-aggressive, with slowdown and things like that – conceivably they could actually run noticeably smoother on this machine.” Furthermore, the Xbox Series S also boasts DirectX Raytracing, 4K streaming media playback, variable rate shading and refresh rate, and much more. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will both be released on November 10, 2020, and will cost $499 and $299, respectively. Pre-orders for both consoles begin on September 22, 2020. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] For on the Xbox Series S, check out the leaked "virtual press briefing" that was part of the original reveal plan for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, the first gameplay footage shown on a Series S, and 56 comparison shots of Microsoft's next-gen consoles. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Xbox Series S Won’t Run Xbox One X Enhanced Versions of Past-Gen Games

Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox Series S will not run Xbox One X Enhanced versions of backwards compatible games, and will instead run the Xbox One S versions of Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles with other beneficial features. As reported by VGC, while the Xbox Series S won't run the Xbox One X Enhanced versions of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, it will still be a step above the Xbox One S with "improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent framr rates, faster load times, and Auto HDR." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/08/xbox-series-s-world-premiere-reveal-trailer"] “Xbox Series S was designed to be the most affordable next generation console and play next generation games at 1440P at 60fps,” A Microsoft spokesperson said. "To deliver the highest quality backwards compatible experience consistent with the developer’s original intent, the Xbox Series S runs the Xbox One S version of backward compatible games while applying improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent frame rates, faster load times and Auto HDR.” When a game has been Xbox One X Enhanced, it means the developer has made improvements to a standard Xbox One game, including higher resolutions, faster framerates and/or improved textures. This all shouldn't be too surprising, as the Xbox One X can run games up to 4K, while the Xbox Series S can run games at 1440p at up to 120 FPS. However, the Xbox Series S does support 4K upscaling for games. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/11/why-xbox-series-s-game-pass-is-microsofts-secret-weapon-next-gen-console-watch"] Additionally, as first reported by Digital Foundry, the Xbox Series S also has less RAM than the Xbox One X - 10 GB vs 12 GB - but that doesn't mean there aren't upsides to this new next-gen system. “It may be be running backwards compatible games in Xbox One [S] mode, but because the GPU is so much more capable, and knowing what we know about how backwards compatibility works, you should actually still be able to clean up performance issues,” Digital Foundry's John Linneman said. “So games that maybe struggled on Xbox One S – either the dynamic resolution was overly-aggressive, with slowdown and things like that – conceivably they could actually run noticeably smoother on this machine.” Furthermore, the Xbox Series S also boasts DirectX Raytracing, 4K streaming media playback, variable rate shading and refresh rate, and much more. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will both be released on November 10, 2020, and will cost $499 and $299, respectively. Pre-orders for both consoles begin on September 22, 2020. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] For on the Xbox Series S, check out the leaked "virtual press briefing" that was part of the original reveal plan for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, the first gameplay footage shown on a Series S, and 56 comparison shots of Microsoft's next-gen consoles. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Hades Switch-to-PC Cross-Save Delayed

When Hades was announced for Nintendo Switch, it was said that cross-save support with the PC version would be supported at launch. Due to "some setbacks in the final testing of this feature" it has been delayed past its Fall 2020 release date. Supergiant Games announced the news on Twitter, saying "we recently announced we're working on cross-saves for Hades, which will let our Early Access players transfer their save data to the Nintendo Switch version of the game. During our preparations for launch, we encountered some setbacks in the final testing of this feature. Rather than postpone out v1.0 launch plans un til the feature is complete, we're going to introduce cross-save in an update later this year, after Hades v1.0 launches this fall. We appreciate your understanding." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/12/13/hades-early-access-review"] Hades became available on PC in Early Access in 2018, and was announced for Nintendo Switch at the latest Nintendo Indie World Showcase. In our review of Hades Early Access, we said, "Hades nails the core elements of the rogue-lite — tight combat, meaningful customization, varied abilities that differentiate runs, and interesting progression — all laced with a meaningful story hook. It’s one of the few games where the fact that it will keep changing and growing just makes me want to play it more. There is a big difference between a great Early Access release and a great finished game, but Hades has all the makings of something special." Hades will exit Early Access on PC with the launch of the Nintendo Switch version, but no specific date has been given yet. Supergiant did confirm, however, that v1.0 will add a "true ending and much more." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20091975&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Hades Switch-to-PC Cross-Save Delayed

When Hades was announced for Nintendo Switch, it was said that cross-save support with the PC version would be supported at launch. Due to "some setbacks in the final testing of this feature" it has been delayed past its Fall 2020 release date. Supergiant Games announced the news on Twitter, saying "we recently announced we're working on cross-saves for Hades, which will let our Early Access players transfer their save data to the Nintendo Switch version of the game. During our preparations for launch, we encountered some setbacks in the final testing of this feature. Rather than postpone out v1.0 launch plans un til the feature is complete, we're going to introduce cross-save in an update later this year, after Hades v1.0 launches this fall. We appreciate your understanding." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/12/13/hades-early-access-review"] Hades became available on PC in Early Access in 2018, and was announced for Nintendo Switch at the latest Nintendo Indie World Showcase. In our review of Hades Early Access, we said, "Hades nails the core elements of the rogue-lite — tight combat, meaningful customization, varied abilities that differentiate runs, and interesting progression — all laced with a meaningful story hook. It’s one of the few games where the fact that it will keep changing and growing just makes me want to play it more. There is a big difference between a great Early Access release and a great finished game, but Hades has all the makings of something special." Hades will exit Early Access on PC with the launch of the Nintendo Switch version, but no specific date has been given yet. Supergiant did confirm, however, that v1.0 will add a "true ending and much more." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20091975&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.