Ouya Is Entering China’s Console Market With $10 Million Deal
Ouya has officially confirmed its $10 million investment from the Alibaba Group, as well as a partnership that will help bring the Ouya library of games to Alibaba's YunOS platform.
There's been great interest in bringing gaming to televisions in China, following the country's 2014 decision to lift its 13-year ban on gaming consoles. China has an especially large market in downloadable and free-to-play games, so this Ouya deal makes sense; the $99 console launched with a requirement that all its games have some sort of free aspect, such as a demo.
Humble Bundle Features Key Star Wars Games
Several key Star Wars video games are currently available in a pay-what-you-want collection of games from Humble Bundle.
The standard bundle available for whatever price the buyer chooses includes Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and Star Wars: Dark Forces.
Those who pay the average selling price of $10.23 or above will access the basic bundle and a few extras, including Star Wars Battlefront II, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and Star Wars Republic Commando.
People who pay $12 or more will gain access to all of the previously-listed games in addition to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, and Star Wars: Empire at War: Gold Pack.
Wrestling Wrap Up: Will Bryan Take Reigns’ Mania Spot?
Man, another hectic, crazy week for the WWE. And things were just beginning to pick up when I wrote the post-Rumble Wrap Up last week. That week's RAW had been cancelled, moved to WWE HQ and turned into a Rumble recap show. News sites were still covering the fan outrage. In fact, the only thing that sort of quieted everything down was the Super Bowl, but that still wouldn't come until the weekend.
And hell, let's be honest, even team-wise the Super Bowl pitted The Authority vs. Daniel Bryan. It was inescapable.
First Look: The Frozen Sequel Short
Today Disney released the first images from their upcoming short "Frozen Fever," which of course is a continuation of the the studio's ultra-popular film Frozen.
The new images, which feature Elsa, Anna, and Olaf, can be seen in the slideshow below:
Here's the official synopsis for "Frozen Fever": "In Frozen Fever, it's Anna's birthday and Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever, but Elsa's icy powers may put more than just the party at risk."
Directed by Frozen helmers Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the short will debut in front of Kenneth Branagh's live-action Cinderella when that hits theaters March 13.
Arrow: See Brandon Routh as The Atom
Ray Palmer's been tinkering on his suit for The Atom for awhile on Arrow now, but the time has come for him to actually don the costume of the DC superhero.
The CW and Warner Bros. have just debuted the first image of Ray (Brandon Routh) in the Atom costume, which you can see below.
Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer / The Atom in Arrow. (Photo: Cate Cameron/The CW)
McDonald’s Auctioning Big Mac Special Sauce Bottle for $23,000
McDonald's is producing a limited 200 bottle run of its special Big Mac sauce. Bottle number one is being auctioned off on eBay, where its current bid is over $23,000 AUD (about $18,000 USD).
"For too long, Big Mac Special Sauce has been trapped in a beautiful, delicious burger -- now we've set it free!" reads the Big Mac sauce action page. "This bottle is #1 of only 200 being produced worldwide, and they won't be sold in restaurants."
App Store Update: February 3
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.
Evoland – ($4.99)
Go on a journey through the visual evolution of video games, all within one adventure! Evoland's graphics evolve as you progress, going from old-school retro to modern 3D. Take a look:
Producer Talks Ouija 2, Purge 3, Paranormal & Jem
I recently spoke with producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, the micro-budget movie shingle behind the Purge and Paranormal Activity franchises as well as the recent hit Ouija. Universal Home Entertainment went all out for Ouija's Blu-ray release (out today), holding a special Ouija-themed scavenger hunt in Hollywood followed by a special seance demonstration with renowned Ouija expert and film consultant Robert Murch at the historic and haunted Boardner's by La Belle.
Here's what Blum had to tell me about making Ouija, as well as updates on Blumhouse's upcoming Purge and Paranormal sequels and the big screen, live-action adaptation of the '80s cartoon classic Jem and the Holograms.
Forza Horizon 2 Top Gear Car Pack Out Now
Forza Horizon 2's Top Gear Car Pack is now available on Xbox One for $5 USD, or free to Car Pass holders.
The Top Gear Car Pack adds six cars to the open-world racer's roster: the 2015 Lexus RC F, 1993 Jaguar XJ220, 2014 BMW M235i, 1986 Lamborghini LM002, 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale, and the 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina -- which is free to all throughout February.
Last month's G-Shock car pack also added six cars, including the 1953 Ferrari 500 Mondial.
In IGN's Forza Horizon 2 review, we said "when it comes to open-world racing games, Forza Horizon 2 is best-in-class." It was also crowned IGN's Best Racing Game of 2014.
Bates Motel: Season 3 Poster Is as Creepy as You’d Expect
The official poster for Bates Motel's third season has been revealed.
It features Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) glowering creepily from the embrace of his mother (Vera Farmiga). It's the prequel show's strongest reference yet to the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film on which it's based, and an intriguing follow-up to the Season 3 shower-scene trailer that debuted last year (see below).