Activision CEO Leaving Company After 8 Years
After eight years as Activision Publishing CEO, Eric Hirshberg will depart the company in March, the publisher confirmed to IGN today.
An Activision representative provided the following statement to IGN:
After serving for eight years as the CEO of Activision, Eric Hirshberg has decided to leave the company at the conclusion of his contract on March 31st, 2018.
Eric has had a great run, has delivered many historic successes and is departing on a high note after a great year in 2017. As of December 21, 2017, Call of Duty®: WWII and Destiny 2 were the #1 and #2 top-selling console games of 2017 in North America, based on revenue. Additionally, Call of Duty was the top video game franchise for the ninth year in a row in North America, and eight of the last nine years globally, based on revenue.
Justice League Blu-ray and Digital Release Announced
Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment have announced Justice League will arrive in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-Ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD on March 13. Fans will also be able to purchase a digital copy of the film one month early, on February 13.
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack will cost $44.95, with the Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack priced at $44.95, Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 and DVD for $28.98.
The Justice League Blu-ray/DVD/digital combo packaging
Nintendo Switch Sold 1.5 Million Units in the US Last Month
Nintendo celebrated the holiday season by coming in with the top sales numbers for the month of December.
According to Nintendo, reporting numbers from analysts The NPD Group, Nintendo Switch moved 1.5 million units in the month of December, making it the top-selling console in the United States once again.
At the beginning of the month, Nintendo announced the Switch was the fastest-selling console in US history, selling 4.8 million units since its introduction in March 2017.
The success of Switch seems to have bled over to Nintendo 3DS, with Nintendo reporting it sold 750,000 units in the month, a "27 percent increase over the same period a year ago."
Why Have The Avatar Sequels Taken So Long?
It took 15 years for James Cameron - the visionary filmmaker behind The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss - to transform his original pitch for Avatar into a feature film. It may have been worth the wait. The technologically innovative science-fiction thrill ride became the highest grossing film in history, jumpstarted a new wave of 3D blockbuster filmmaking, and raised the bar for motion-capture visual effects technology.
So you would think that, with all that money filling 20th Century Fox’s coffers, they would have moved as quickly as possible to get Avatar 2 into theaters. In fact, that was actually the plan, but it’s been almost 10 years now since Avatar became the biggest “original” film since the first Star Wars, and for the most part, the only new content we’ve had in all that time is news stories about what may or may not be in the sequels. Eventually.
4 Superstars Who Should Win the Women’s Royal Rumble (and 4 Who Shouldn’t)
The wrestling world is all abuzz, atwitter even, about the upcoming Women's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble PPV on Sunday, January 28th. With 30 entrant spots in play, there are a ton of empty spaces that need to be filled with fun surprises - be they NXT call-ups or returning legends.
There's already an avalanche of articles out there speculating about which names we might see pop up for the Rumble, but I thought we should look at who we'd actually like to see win the damn thing. Acting under the assumption (and this is, naturally, subject to change) that Charlotte and Alexa Bliss will be the brand champs being challenged by whoever takes the contest, we've cooked up a few names we'd love to see be the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble winner.
Metal Gear Survive Beta Starts Today
The beta for Metal Gear Survive begins today.
Konami announced the dates for the beta back in December, and reconfirmed today it will be available from now until January 21 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The beta includes two maps with three missions for co-op mode. Players participating in the beta will earn bonus in-game items, which will be unlocked for the full game. The items include a FOX HOUND name plate, a Metal Gear Rex head accessory, and a bandanna accessory.
Metal Gear Survive picks up where Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes left off, following a group of soldiers who were pulled through a wormhole and end up in a hostile world fighting for their own survival. Players will develop a camp, build weapons and structures, and forage for food as deadly creatures lurk around every corner.
The Coolest gadgets of CES 2018
Even though CES is known for TVs, robots, and cars, it's also known to offer a dazzling assortment of smaller pieces of tech that can only be described as "gadgets." This year's show offered a pretty interesting assortment of breakthrough technologies, so we roamed the show floor and dug through all the press releases to find eight of the coolest gadgets announced during CES 2018. Some of which ship in just a few weeks, while others might never see the light of day if the past is prologue.
Nanoleaf
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Gets Physical Release in March
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is getting physical editions on March 6.
The game will receive two different physical editions, the Standard Edition and the Vinyl Edition. Both editions are available for pre-order on the Square Enix Store.
The Standard Edition is available for PS4 and Xbox One, costs $30 USD, and includes every episode of Before the Storm, as well as the special bonus episode "Farewell." It also includes a digital download for Episode 1 of the first season of Life is Strange. It also comes with three outfits for Chloe and a Mixtape Mode, which allows players to use the game's licensed soundtrack to create their own playlists to use while watching a cinematic scene from the game.
Pokemon 3DS Players to Get Free Legendary Each Month
The Pokemon Company is celebrating 2018 in a legendary way with promotions across its popular creature-collecting franchise, including a free Legendary Pokemon each month for Pokemon Sun/Moon and Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon players.
Starting in February and running until November, 3DS players will get a different Legendary Pokemon, which will be distributed through one of the brand's partners.
Here's an overview of which Legendaries will be available for free each month:
- February: Dialga or Palkia
- March: Regigigas or Heatran
- April: Raikou or Entei
- May: Xerneas or Yveltal
- June: Zygarde (with three distinct Formes)
Electric Dreams: ‘Autofac’ Explores the Dark Side of Robotics
Philip K. Dick’s 1955 short story “Autofac” envisioned a post-apocalyptic world where the surviving humans are supplied their goods by a robotic system that cares nothing for the planet overall and simply creates and distributes, in a manner that leaves humans with no ability to provide for themselves.
“Autofac” is now one of the episodes of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, Amazon's new anthology series based on the stories of the prolific writer, whose work has previously been adapted into projects like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and The Man in the High Castle. Written by Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim), the episode stars Janelle Monae as Alice, an android representative of the Autofac, and Juno Temple as Emily, a member of the human rebellion against the Autofac, joined by the likes of Conrad (David Lyons) and Reverend Perine (Jay Paulson).