New Bates Motel: Season 3 Trailer
IGN has an exclusive new promo for you for Bates Motel: Season 3, debuting March 9th on A&E. This year looks to be escalating things considerably, as Norman Bates becomes the (disturbed) man we know he's destined to be, and as the preview above indicates, he's not always feeling like himself...
For more on Bates Motel, check out our interview from Comic-Con last year with executive producer/showrunner Kerry Ehrin and stars Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore.
YouTube to Introduce Ad-Free Video Subscription Service
YouTube is reportedly working on a subscription model that would remove ads from videos for paying customers.
CNBC reports the service is set to launch in the next few months, as the team is still working on the finer details. The subscription model is meant to boost revenue and help content creators on YouTube while also providing customers with options.
This service will likely be similar to the pilot test YouTube launched back in 2013, during which people could pay $1 a month for ad-free videos. At this time, no details surrounding price or the intricacies of the service are known.
In related YouTube news, Nintendo recently announced their plans for a program that would allow YouTube content creators a share of ad revenue profits for videos of their games.
Hostel Star Reportedly Joining Suicide Squad
Hostel star Jay Hernandez is reportedly joining the cast of the next big DC Comics movie adaptation, Suicide Squad.
According to TheWrap, "Hernandez’s role is being kept under wraps, but it’s possible that he could be playing an inmate on the same cell block as The Joker, though there are several other open roles at this time." Oscar winner Jared Leto will play Joker.
Hernandez's other film credits include Quarantine, World Trade Center, Takers, Torque, Friday Night Lights, and Carlito's Way: Rise to Power.
David Ayer will direct Suicide Squad, which also stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, and Cara Delevingne. Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis and Jesse Eisenberg are also in various stages of negotiations to join the cast. Filming begins in April.
Guild Wars 2 DLC Getting New Profession
A new soldier profession called Revenants are coming to the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns DLC, the ninth added to Guild Wars 2.
Revenants are heavy armor-wearing Mists channelers with a medium health pool and a new energy bar for using skills.
They’re able to harness the power of legends which they select from a pool, slotting one active legend and one inactive legend.
A blog post on the Guild Wars 2 website details several new weapons-based skills, including the hammer’s Coalescence of Ruin, the mace’s Manifest Toxin, and the axe’s Temporal Rift.
Don’t miss our feature on the newly introduced Mastery system, also coming to Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.
The Oscars: Best Picture Movie Review Roundup
With the Oscars ready to be handed out this weekend, let's take a look back at our reviews of the eight 2014 movies nominated for the Academy Award as Best Picture.
Bear in mind that these reviews were written by several different critics throughout the year ... and that just because a movie is nominated for an Oscar doesn't mean everyone liked it or that it deserved it.
Review score: 5.7 out of 10.
"Whatever people believed, Kyle forged his own myth around a core of truth. He survived war. He saw it all. Somehow, none of that valor, dramatic intrigue, or moral complication seeps into Clint Eastwood's American Sniper, a stale adaptation with a lead performer struggling to dig deep." Read the review.
Iwata: New 3DS XL and Amiibo Shortages Caused by Strikes
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has explained the shortages of New Nintendo 3DS XL units and the erratic shipments of Amiibo.
Nintendo Everything reports that during a recent investor Q&A, Iwata confirmed that the port strike on the western coast of the United States have largely been to blame for the issues regarding the availability of Nintendo's newest handheld iteration and NFC figurines.
According to Iwata, it's only the heavier objects like the New 3DS XL and Amiibo that have been impacted by the strike. Copies of games are lighter and can be shipped via air, so no shortages of game copies are to be expected. IGN has reached out to Nintendo for comment.
Lenovo Laptops Came Intentionally Pre-Loaded With Spyware
Certain Lenovo laptops were shipped with adware intentionally pre-installed by the company.
In a statement from Lenovo, it said the purpose of the adware was "to help customers potentially discover interesting products while shopping." However, security experts have said the software, known as "Superfish," could fail to flag counterfeit sites as forgeries, according to a report by Ars Technica.
What does that mean for those Lenovo owners whose computers came factory-installed with the software? In a nutshell, it provides fertile ground for a man-in-the-middle attack. "Attackers may be able to use the key to certify imposter HTTPS websites," pretending to be any number of sites that use the HTTPS protocol, according to the report.
Why a 500 GB Hard Drive Is a Big Problem for Xbox and PlayStation
PlayStation 4’s and Xbox One’s first full year on the market saw blockbuster games, indie titles, lifestyle apps and more, all of which rapidly filled up hard drive space.
With new-generation games occupying increasingly larger amounts of storage than we’ve been used to, the stock 500 GB hard drive inside the new consoles diminishes in space rather sneakily after installing a few full release games, downloadable content packs, and patches. The accessible tools given to players to easily record and share their own gameplay also contributes to the storage issue, especially if it’s something a player revels in.
The small hard drive is a short-sighted restriction, as it isn’t even enough to cope with the content appetite of the average gamer across one year. Although there are a few solutions to mitigate the problem, such as storing save files on the cloud and taking advantage of external drives, micromanagement shouldn't be part of the Xbox One and PS4 experience that both companies spent so much energy on marketing. We need to start seeing more console options with larger capacities to support the average gamer’s content consumption.
Report: Harmonix Developing New Rock Band for Xbox One and PS4
Harmonix is developing a new Rock Band game for Xbox One and PS4, according to a report from Bloomberg Business.
Bloomberg says its information comes from "a person familiar with the plan." If the report is correct, this new game is the first in the Rock Band series since Rock Band Blitz was released in 2012.
We reached out to Harmonix for clarification. They didn't outright confirm or deny the report in their response below:
“We’re excited by how enthusiastic our fans have been in regards to our most recent DLC releases, and we think it’s awesome that people are speculating about the future of the franchise!
Are You Ready for Archie vs. Predator?
As far as comic book crossovers go, we're hard-pressed to think of a pairing more strange than Archie vs. Predator. This new mini-series may look like any old bright and cheery Archie comic, but expect a violent, blood-soaked romp as Archie and his friends run afoul of the greatest hunter in all the galaxy.
Archie vs. Predator is written by by Alex De Campi and drawn by Fernando Ruiz. We have an exclusive preview of four interior pages from the first issue below:
Here's Archie Comics' full description for Archie vs. Predator #1:
America’s favorite teen meets the galaxy’s fiercest hunter! Archie and friends hit Costa Rica for Spring Break, where party games and beach games are soon replaced by the Most Dangerous Game! What mysterious attraction does the gang hold for the trophy-collecting Predator, and will the kids even realize they’re in danger before it claims them all?