Apple Sitting on $194 Billion in Cash After Second Quarter
Apple released its second quarter earnings report today, announcing that the company is sitting on $194 billion in cash and revenue for the quarter was up 27% from the same period the previous year. Its profits alone for the same period clocked in at $13.6 billion.
However, when compared to the first quarter of 2015, Apple's revenue was down nearly $16 billion.
International sales accounted for 69% of the revenue for the quarter, reflecting the high demand in emerging markets such as China for Apple products. Apple said it sold 61.17 million iPhones and 4.6 million Macs. The Mac figure represented double-digit growth for the company.
Spider-Man Reboot Might Use Avengers Name
The next Spider-Man film may have a title that strongly ties it to Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
Latino Review passed along a rumor that the title will be "Spider-Man: The New Avenger." That would firmly plant the wallcrawler in the current Marvel movie continuity by stating upfront that he's part of the Avengers team. It would also echo the first Captain America's subtitle, The First Avenger.
Marvel cinematic boss Kevin Feige has previously stressed that the reboot would forgo an origin story and focus on the character's high school years. It will still be co-produced by Sony, but Marvel is getting input into the process as part of the announced partnership to bring Spider-Man into the MCU fold.
Minecraft Getting New Skins, Music and More Soon
Minecraft players will have access to new content this week, ranging from new achievements to iconic cartoon characters.
One of the more prominent additons to the Minecraft formula is the ability to play as Alex, the female alternative to the world-building game's pervasive blockhead Steve. Players across every platform will be able to play as Alex for free starting this Wednesday, April 29.
Sony players will have several additional skins to choose from, should they choose to purchase the Simpsons pack. It's already available on Microsoft platforms for $3 USD, and starting Wednesday, PlayStation players will also have access to Principal Seymour Skinner, Groundskeeper Willie, the soul-sapping Dewey Largo and more.
Out This Week: April 27, 2015
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.
Dementium Was Pitched as a Silent Hill Game to Konami
Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham has revealed that Dementium: The Ward was pitched to Konami as a possible Silent Hill DS game.
"Little known fact: We pitched 'The Ward' to Konami in 2007 as something that could have become a Silent Hill DS game," Watsham said on Twitter. Instead, that project became Dementium: The Ward, an original horror game for Nintendo's handheld, and released in 2007 under the now-defunct Gamecock Media Group label.
Watsham elaborated on the Silent Hill DS possibility with IGN, saying the first pitch happened at GDC 2007, before Renegade teamed up with Gamecock. "Our goal was always to release The Ward as an original game, but we were also open to the idea of turning it into a licensed horror game and approached Konami to see if they wanted to work together to mold it into a Silent Hill game for the Nintendo DS."
John Romita Jr. Gets Superman Drunk
Warning: this article contains full spoilers for Superman #40!
Ever since Superman got his new Solar Flare power -- which lets him expel all of his stored-up solar energy in a massive blast at the cost of becoming powerless aka human for 24 hours -- things have been a little different for the Man of Steel. We've seen him stand in front of armed thugs completely powerless; it's not like the city doesn't need saving just because he doesn't have powers. And in Superman #40, out this Wednesday, he does something we've rarely seen: he gets drunk.
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Long Lost Text Adventure Game Recovered
A game called Wander, one of the earliest if not the first text adventure ever, has been recovered.
Wander was a mainframe interactive fiction by Peter Langston. Created in 1974, it pre-dates more well-known classics like Adventure (Colossal Cave).
It wasn't just a game, but a toolkit similar to modern text adventure systems like Inform 7. The original description refers to itself as "a tool for writing non-deterministic fantasy stories."
Arkham Knight Trailer Reveals New Mechanic
The latest Batman: Arkham Knight trailer debuted a new mechanic called Dual Play, which will let you switch, Grand Theft Auto 5-style, between Batman and his allies.
In the trailer, we see Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and Catwoman engaging in seamless, tag team-style combat with Arkham Knight's many foes.
Several other characters make appearances in the trailer too, including Oracle, Two-Face, Scarecrow, and Azrael.
While we don't get a look at anything particularly gruesome, Arkham Knight's darker tone is evident.
We first learned of Arkham Knight's M-rating, the first ever in the series, back in February, and were provided with some details of the game's more violent scenes in March.
App Store Update: April 27
Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Gunpowder – ($1.99, Down from $4.99)
We first presented Gunpowder back on the first of this month, as its explosive chain reactions caught our eye even amid all that day's foolishness. Now it's back on our minds again thanks to its first-ever sale, so check it out now for three bucks cheaper if you missed it on April Fool's: