FIFA 20 Pros Decide Match With Rock, Paper, Scissors Due to Server Issues

Two professional FIFA 20 players had to decide who would be the winner of a qualifying match for a tournament with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors over the weekend.

Red Bull's Shaun Galea and free agent Hasan Eker were competing against each other to qualify in the FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Champions Cup Stage V on February 29, 2020. Unfortunately, EA's online services experienced many problems over the weekend (now apparently resolved), which meant that both players failed to connect to the servers and each other twice.

Statement on FUT Champions Cup Stage V Qualifier match between Brandsha56 and Hasoo. #FGS20 pic.twitter.com/g0Rt62iSQV

— EA SPORTS FIFA Competitive Gaming (@EAFIFAesports) March 2, 2020

As EA's statement on the matter says, "a double-failure to connect and compete in a qualifying tournament match results in a loss for both participants. This is to prevent connection issues from being exploited as a competitive advantage." However, rather than both automatically lose, the two pros took matters into their own hands and played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide the winner.

I cannot believe it !! @EASPORTSFIFA @EAFIFADirect We literally had to play a rock paper scissors becauce we couldn’t find each other to invite in an EA LICENSED QUALIFIER . WTF !! I am done

— Shaun Galea (@brandsha56) February 29, 2020

Stehe 3-1, da ich mich im Rock Paper Scissors erfolgreich durchsetzen konnte! pic.twitter.com/PvBcQ8EXqx

— Hasan Eker (@eker_haso) February 29, 2020

Eker won with three rounds to one. However, EA let both players go on to play more qualifying matches afterwards, but neither of them advanced any further in the tournament. EA's statement says that it's "reviewing this really unique situation to understand what occurred and try to prevent this from happening again, especially as both competitors competed in subsequent matches with clean connections."

This game of Rock, Paper, Scissors is far from the only issue that FUT Champions Cup qualifiers experienced over the weekend. Giuseppe Guastella, a pro FIFA player for LA Galaxy, failed to qualify for the North American qualifiers after a last penalty kick wasn't registered as a goal despite it clearly being one.

Guastella provided video proof and released a statement that asked, "how can anyone take the game seriously when EA can't take the game seriously and fix these elementary school issues?"

This is unbelievable from ⁦@EASPORTSFIFA⁩. I’m out of the North American qualifiers because of this. pic.twitter.com/RQtSx3hQ98

— Giuseppe Guastella (@Guastella11) March 1, 2020

FIFA pro and head coach for AS Roma Esports, Nathan Horton, also released a statement that expressed his disappointment over the state of FIFA 20 esports. He says that some of the issues with the game have simple fixes and that "blatant cheating needs to be eradicated" from FIFA 20.

Please read: Some thoughts on the recent qualifiers. To any pros struggling and feeling in a bad place with how their season is going, make sure you look for help if you need it ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BXRjjHFJyG

— Zel (@Zelonius) March 1, 2020

Due to the server issues, EA did extend the Weekend League for 24 hours to give players a chance to qualify for the tournament.

In further FIFA 20 controversy, last week EA permanently banned pro player Kurt Fenech from all of its games and online services. EA says that Fenech crossed “a line of decency into very personal attacks and breach our Terms of Service.” A number of EA FIFA staff Twitter accounts were hacked in retaliation to Fenech's ban.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-fifa-game-review-ever&captions=true"]

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2VBG3Ef
via IFTTT

Dead or Alive 6 Now Charges Money Each Time You Change a Character's Hair Colour

Dead or Alive 6 recently added the option to change a character's hair colour on PS4, but it costs money each time to do so. Players must purchase a Premium Ticket in order to pick a new hair colour for their fighter. However, purchasing a new hair colour doesn't unlock it forever, as it also costs a Premium Ticket to revert hair back to a previous colour.

The Premium Tickets can only be purchased at a minimum of two, which costs $1.99. They can also be bought as a bundle of 10 at $9.99, or you can get a discount if you purchase them in larger quantities - specifically 20 at $19.99, or 50 at $44.99. That means to change a character's hair even once it costs at least $1.99.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/01/dead-or-alive-6-launch-trailer"]

The new hair colours were added to the PS4 version of Dead or Alive 6 on February 25 with the v1.20 update. Part of this update removed the limit on the maximum number of Premium Tickets that can be purchased - previously it was set at the number of Tickets needed to purchase all the game's costumes.

The FAQ also reveals that "hair color change data is stored in the save data and any hair color changes you have purchased will be reset if you clear your save data." So if you lose your Dead or Alive 6 save then your characters' hair colours will return to their defaults and you'll have to buy each hair colour again.

The price of changing a Dead or Alive 6 character's hair colour has not gone down well with some of the game's fans.

Dead Or Alive 6. Long story short the new hair colours are one dollar each, you can revert them back to the original hair colour for 10,000 in game currency; But if you do that then you have to re-spend a dollar to buy the same hair colour because you did not own it. Bullshit!

— LionHeart100 (@Androktasai) February 25, 2020

Dead or alive 6 is just in a terrible place atm with all the micro transactions

— #IMtrash@COD (@CombatxxWombat) March 1, 2020

Thought about buying Dead Or Alive 6 since I used to love playing the games back on the Xbox and PS2 era of consoles. But seeing Ninja Theory charge just to change a characters hair color in the game is shameful. I can change the hair color of my character in most AC games. Lol

— Josh Bieker (@BiekerJosh) March 2, 2020

Some fans thought that the being charged each time to change hair colour may have been a mistake on the developer's part. But Dead or Alive community forum Free Step Dodge reached out to developer Team Ninja and reports that a representative got back to confirm that it's intentional design.

The v1.20 update also came with new DLC costumes that are available on the PC and Xbox versions of the game too. Some of those costumes are mashups with the characters of Gust, one of Tecmo Koei's game developer studios, mostly known for its Atelier and Ar tonelico series.

Those new DLC costumes are sold separately or as a pack that costs $39.99 / £32.99. The costumes are also included in the Season 4 pass, along with other DLC released between January and March 2020, and that costs $89.99 / £73.99.

This new DLC adds to the long list of DLC that is now available to purchase for Dead or Alive 6, which at its smallest cost when bought on Steam as season passes totals to about $343 / £280. If you were to buy each DLC individually, and therefore at the highest cost, you're looking at a grand total of around $900 / £776. It's worth noting that the Dead or Alive 6 base game costs $59.99 / £54.99.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-fighting-game-nominees&captions=true"]

In comparison, Tekken 7 offers season passes at $24.99 / £19.99 while all of its DLC sold individually costs about $94 / £77. Street Fighter V sells character passes at $9.99 / £7.99 except its fourth and most recent one which costs $19.99 / £15.99. Mortal Kombat 11 offers a Kombat Pack with new characters and extras for $39.99 / £32.99, and sells individual characters for $5.99 / £4.99, with a max cost of $78 / £65.

We gave Dead or Alive 6 a 7.7 in our review when it came out a year ago, saying that it "proves there's plenty of depth to this fighter beneath its skimpy outfits, but its story mode is disjointed and its multiplayer features are currently bare." Team Ninja is currently getting ready to launch its next game, Nioh 2, on March 13, 2020.

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2Vz38HD
via IFTTT

Red XIII Is Not a Playable Character in Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Final Fantasy 7 Remake features Red XIII, but the beloved character will not be playable in the first game in the remake series. Talking to VG247, Final Fantasy 7 Remake co-director Naoki Hamaguchi said "We felt the point at which Red XIII joins the party in the story is very late on so we thought okay, if we’re gonna have him as a full character and try and get the player to enjoy his character development arc and growth as a character through that, it’s not really enough time to do that." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/02/final-fantasy-7-remake-full-chapter-1-gameplay"] Instead of being a playable character, Red XIII will instead be an AI-controlled 'guest' party member, fighting alongside your playable team. "We thought that the best way to have him involved was as a guest character," Hamaguchi explained. "Normally throughout the game you’ll be playing as a three-man party, but you will have him as a guest character that fights alongside you during the the last part of the story.” Hamaguchi reassures that the talking wolf/dog/flame-tailed canine will still be equipped with all his "nostalgic" moves, so it seems sensible to expect a bit of Sled Fang action in the Shinra building towards the end of the game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-over-100-screenshots&captions=true"] Not explained in the interview is if Red XIII is confirmed to be playable in the second game in the remake series. Square Enix is not talking about the next game in general, though, so this isn't necessarily a sign of anything. For more from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, check out our latest hands-on preview, as well as a close look at one of the biggest changes revealed so far, and our discussion with producer Yoshinori Kitase about Sephiroth's expanded role in Midgar. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

from IGN News https://ift.tt/39hJEuW
via IFTTT

Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Why Sephiroth Is Showing Up in Midgar

Final Fantasy 7 Remake producer, Yoshinori Kitase, has explained why Sephiroth features in the game, despite the character not being present in the section of the original game that the new project recreates. Remake only covers the Midgar section of the original story. The opening hours of the 1997 original holds back the reveal of the game’s big bad, Sephiroth, instead opting to just hint at his existence with snippets of dialogue. But for Remake, Square Enix did not feel the need to be so cryptic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-over-100-screenshots&captions=true"] Talking to IGN at a Final Fantasy 7 Remake hands-on event, Kitase - who also directed the original game - said: “In the original players had no prior knowledge of that world or many of its characters, so I really wanted to build Sephiroth up as this really major threat. You don't see him, you see the after effects of what he's done. You hear rumors about him to build up the fear of this massive evil presence without actually seeing it. “Obviously nowadays, of course, everyone knows who Sephiroth is, so I thought we didn't really need to go quite as far to hold him back and to hide so much,” he explained. “Looking at the the remake overall, it's clear that Sephiroth is going to be this massive presence overarching throughout the whole of the story, and this rival of Cloud’s throughout the whole story,” he added. “So I really felt I want to include that in this first game in the project, to really have that feeling of him as a really clear presence right from the start.” Sephiroth can be seen in many of the Remake’s trailers, sometimes even clashing blades with Cloud. It’s unclear from this footage if Sephiroth is actually present in these sequences, or if it’s just a figment of Cloud’s imagination, but no doubt veterans of the original game will be able to come to their own conclusions about this. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/31/final-fantasy-7-remake-theme-song-trailer"] In regards to “everyone” knowing who Sephiroth is, this is actually one of the reasons Square Enix opted to remake Final Fantasy 7. “There's a lot of people who may not have played the original Final Fantasy 7, but who know the characters,” Kitase said. “They have come to love the lore and the story of the characters, but never really saw their origins. And when these people will come to say ‘Okay, I want to play, I want to see what the start of story was’, the only game available to them was the original Final Fantasy 7 with PlayStation 1 generation graphics. So I felt that I really wanted these people to be able to experience that story with this more modern, more realistic style of Cloud and Sephiroth.” More graphically advanced titles such as Crisis Core, Kingdom Hearts, and the Final Fantasy 7 movie Advent Children helped more realistic depictions of characters such as Sephiroth permeate pop culture. It’s easy to understand how after seeing those interpretations, for some the blocky polygons of the 1997 original may have been a difficult sell. For more, check out our latest preview of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, as well as our breakdown of one of the new game’s biggest changes from the 1997 original we’ve seen so far. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

from IGN News https://ift.tt/39lFkv2
via IFTTT

Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Biggest Change So Far

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a faithful retelling of the original story, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t big changes. In a new hands-on preview, it has been revealed that the Sector 5 Reactor - the second target of the Avalanche freedom fighters group - has been substantially reworked in a couple of key ways. As you’d expect of the remake, the area is notably larger and more detailed, with wider spaces to allow for the action-focused combat to unfold. The core journey through the reactor remains the same as in the 1997 original game; Cloud, Tifa, and Barret must place the bomb, use a simultaneous button switch to unlock the gates, and then fight the Airbuster boss battle. But the route through the reactor to this techno soldier fight involves a new mechanic unseen in the original game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-over-100-screenshots&captions=true"] Spoiler warning: the following paragraphs reveal in detail how the contents of Sector 5 Reactor have changed. [poilib element="accentDivider"] As the party enters the reactor, they discover that this is not just an electric power plant. It is also an assembly line for anti-armour robots known as Airbusters. Pretty much the first thing you see is a powered-down shell of one held in a docking clamp. After placing the bomb and setting a remote trigger, the party is confronted by huge holographic representations of both President Shinra and Heidegger, Shinra’s head of Public Safety. They threaten the team with the Airbuster, but cannot immediately deploy it due to the robot not yet having been assembled. Subsequent rooms contain the production line being used to manufacture the Airbuster, which introduces a new mechanic for the reactor. Components can be removed from the production line, which prevents them from being installed into the robot and thus allowing for a slightly easier fight. Removing components is done by plugging a keycard into a console. After defeating a room’s enemies, the card is easily found, but there is a catch: there are not enough keycards to deactivate every console. After the first room, which has one card and one station that can deactivate one of the Airbuster's three ‘M Units’ that provide Mako-fuelled attacks, the further two rooms each have one keycard, but two and three consoles each respectively. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/14/final-fantasy-7-opening-movie-comparison"] This setup forces players to make a decision about which element is removed. Available to deactivate are 3x M Units, 3x Big Bomber Shells (hugely damaging explosives), and 4x AI Programming Cores (which enable a stunlock ability). The options provided in each room means you’re unable to completely deactivate any one of these attacks, but allows you to focus on reducing abilities you know you struggle with. For instance, if you know you’re often tripped up by stuns, then you can spend the keycards on removing two of the AI Programming Cores. For more Final Fantasy 7 Remake, check out our big hands-on preview for extra details on the Airbuster fight, the party’s abilities, and summons. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2TxmI4b
via IFTTT

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Demo Now Live

The playable demo for Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Remake is now available to download from the PlayStation Store. The demo allows you to play the first chapter of the game that includes the iconic Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission. Any progress that you make in the demo won't be carried over to the full version upon release however. A demo for Final Fantasy 7 had previously been leaked back in February, which resulted in spoilers making their way across the internet. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-over-100-screenshots&captions=true"] Final Fantasy 7 Remake launches March 3 this year on PS4, and could come to additional platforms in 2021. It will feature new boss fights alongside remakes of the classic ones, as well as new characters. You can see everything we know about Final Fantasy 7 Remake right here, too.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2VCcuT5
via IFTTT

New Riot Shooter, Valorant Announced: Screenshots, Release Window, PC Specs

Riot Games has officially revealed the title of its tactical shooter formerly known as Project A. Valorant is a 5v5, free-to-play shooter from the developers of League of Legends that is set launch in summer 2020. Valorant features a cast of characters known as agents who are from real-world cultures and locations, meaning it’s not tied to the lore of its League of Legends series. Set in a near-future Earth, characters will come from a wide range of locations and cultures. Each agent has a set of unique abilities, though the core gameplay is focused on tactical, team-based shooting. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=riot-games-fps-valorant&captions=true"] Riot Games executive producer Anna Donlon says that the shooter will “uphold the fundamental values of a competitive tactical shooter: precise shooting, lethal gunplay, and strategic execution.” Some examples Riot gives is how "a player with steady aim and a pistol will always beat an unsteady sniper." Time-to-kill is also low, meaning headshots are usually instant kills and rifle kills take 3-4 bullets. Recoil is said to be punishing. Two teams will work together and lock in as an agent for the entire duration of a round-based, attackers vs. defenders match. The team who wins a best-of-24-rounds match wins the game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/16/riot-games-project-a-announcement-trailer"] Riot says it has high-end performance in mind for Valorant and as such implemented dedicated 128-tick servers for global players, a custom-built netcode for precise hit registration, and proprietary anti-cheat prevention and detection.

Valorant PC Specs

Recommended Specs - 60fps

• CPU: Intel i3-4150
• GPU: Geforce GT730

High-end Specs - 144+fps

• CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz
• GPU: GTX 1050 Ti

Minimum Specs - 30fps

• CPU: Intel i3-370M
• GPU: Intel HD 3000

PC Hardware recommendations:

• Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
• 4GB RAM
• 1GB VRAM

  Valorant is the latest game from Riot, which spent the previous decade focusing primarily on a single game, the MOBA League of Legends. At its 10th anniversary, Riot announced a variety of new projects including the League of Legends card game Legends of Runeterra, a fighting game called Project L, and a mysterious social game called Project F. For everything Riot has in the pipeline, including a new animated TV series, check out IGN’s recap of Riot’s 10th-anniversary livestream. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2vlSDNi
via IFTTT

The Long Dark Developer Pulls Game Off Nvidia GeForce

Raphael van Lierop, the director of the popular survival game The Long Dark has a bone to pick with Nvidia’s GeForce Now game streaming service. In a post shared on Sunday, Lierop said that the studio had asked Nvidia to take The Long Dark off of their service, saying the graphics card and technology company did not ask for permission to host the game. The matter calls into question what rights a game company may have when a service like Nvidia’s GeForce Now aims to sell access to their product.

“Sorry to those who are disappointed you can no longer play #thelongdark on GeForce Now,” Lierop tweeted. “Nvidia didn't ask for our permission to put the game on the platform so we asked them to remove it. Please take your complaints to them, not us. Devs should control where their games exist.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/21/the-long-dark-episode-3-the-first-9-minutes"]

Lierop followed up his statement by saying that “[Nvidia] offered us a free graphics card as an apology, so maybe they'll offer you the same thing,” though it’s not entirely clear if he meant the comment in jest or was serious.

Nvidia GeForce Now is a game streaming service, much like Google Stadia or Microsoft’s Project xCloud, wherein customers stream games from a central cloud hub over wi-fi or a mobile connection. The trick with GeForce Now is that you can link your account to other services, such as Steam or the Epic Games Store, to prove that you already own a game. Depending on what level of membership you’re paying for (or not paying for), you may also have to wait a few minutes for an available PC rig to open up so you can play. Check our review of Nvidia GeForce Now for more details. There’s no one centralized page listing every game available on GeForce, but those interested in checking out the catalog (which Nvidia says includes “hundreds of games from more than 50 publishers) can use a search bar to see if a game they want pops up.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/10/nvidia-geforce-now-review"]

When pushed on the subject of game ownership and why The Long Dark developers should have any say in the matter (since any GeForce user playing The Long Dark ostensibly already paid for the game), Lierop reiterated that Nvidia had never formally signed any deal with the developer Hinterland Studio.

“Because they sell this service based on access to a library of content,” Lierop said. “We have the choice whether to be in that library or not. Our distribution agreement is with Valve, not with Nvidia.”

After another Twitter user pushed Lierop on the same subject, he responded: “It's our content. We determine where it lives and where it does not.”

Funnily enough, this isn’t even the first time Nvidia has found itself being asked to remove a game from its service. Activision-Blizzard, the publisher of such massive properties as Overwatch, Diablo, Call of Duty, and Hearthstone, pulled its games from GeForce after the service exited its beta last month. Nvidia blamed the incident on a misunderstanding between the two companies, and says it hopes to work with Activision-Blizzard to bring the games back to its service.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/22/google-stadia-review"]

Regardless, the string of incidents raises the question of just what legal rights and ethical guidelines game developers and publishers have when streaming services such as Nvidia GeForce Now hope to bolster their libraries with popular titles.

Business lawyer Richard Hoeg (of Hoeg Law and Virtual Legality) generally agrees with The Long Dark developer's position, saying that Nvidia should have asked for the consent of the developer.

"I think Nvidia thought that they could convince developers/publishers of the value proposition of participating in “Now” and that just hasn’t coalesced, particularly with big publishers that may have their own streaming solutions in the works," Hoeg told IGN, adding he'd be "very surprised" if Hinterland Studio somehow gave up distribution rights to their own game.

"As you know, a developer owns the copyright to their game, and they don’t lose the rights associated with that copyright when they license their game to a 'buyer,'" Hoeg continued. "And games are, in general, licensed and not sold, with terms related to that license applied to the 'buyer.' Most of these are known or otherwise non-controversial ('you won’t reverse engineer this product,' 'you won’t use it to post speech we find hateful.' But some are probably less well known. Most licenses are going to say (some version of) 'you have the right to play a single copy of the game on a personal computer/system in your control' and you can’t use your copy for “commercial access, use your copy to run an arcade, etc.' So in this case, the Long Dark folks (and probably Steam, GoG, Epic above that too) have similar language in their EULAs, and Nvidia probably should have gotten permission."

IGN has reached out to both Nvidia and Lierop for comment, but did not immediately receive a reply. We'll update this story accordingly.

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer with IGN.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2wnhf88
via IFTTT

No Time to Die: Billie Eilish Has Broken a Bond Song Record

Daniel Craig's final James Bond film, No Time to Die, doesn't even hit theaters until April, but Billie Eilish's song for the film, also titled "No Time to Die," is already a smash hit in the U.K. As reported by MI6 HQ, Eilish has topped the U.K. charts with the biggest opening week ever for a James Bond song. The track has sold 90,000 copies in its first seven days of release, and racked up 10.6 million streams. The only other Bond song to nab the number one spot was 2015's "Writing's On The Wall" by Sam Smith, selling close to 70k copies in its debut. Both Adele and Duran Duran got close to hitting the top, but just missed. Adele, however, holds the record for most weeks on the Top 100 chart for a Bond song. Here's a quick look at the highest positions each released Bond song got on the charts (ranked from highest to lowest)...

• 1 No Time To Die - Billie Eilish (2020)
• 1 Writing's On The Wall - Sam Smith (2015)
• 2 Skyfall - Adele (2012)
• 2 A View To A Kill - Duran Duran (1985)
• 3 Die Another Day - Madonna (2002)
• 3 We Have All The Time In The World - Louis Armstrong (1994)
• 5 The Living Daylights - a-ha (1987)
• 6 Licence To Kill - Gladys Knight (1989)
• 7 You Know My Name - Chris Cornell (2006)
• 7 Nobody Does It Better - Carly Simon (1977)
• 8 The James Bond Theme Re-Version - Moby (1997)
• 8 For Your Eyes Only - Sheena Easton (1981)
• 9 Another Way To Die - Jack White & Alicia Keys (2008)
• 9 Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney & Wings (1973)
• 10 GoldenEye - Tina Turner (1995)
• 11 The World Is Not Enough - Garbage (1999)
• 11 You Only Live Twice - Nancy Sinatra (1967)
• 12 Tomorrow Never Dies - Sheryl Crow (1997)
• 13 The James Bond Theme - The John Barry Orchestra (1963)
• 20 From Russia With Love - Matt Munro (1963)
• 21 Goldfinger - Shirley Bassey (1964)
• 35 Thunderball - Tom Jones (1965)
• 38 Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey (1971)
• 39 From Russia With Love - John Barry (1963)
• 49 If There Was A Man - The Pretenders (1987)
• 75 All Time High - Rita Coolidge (1983)

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/04/no-time-to-die-official-trailer"] Looking for more No Time to Die content? Read more about Rami Malek's supervillain and check out everything we know about Bond 25, including plot details, shooting locations and specifics on the cast and crew. [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.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2VA8rGL
via IFTTT

Mark Ruffalo Says There is 'Talk' of Hulk Appearing in She-Hulk Series

Appearing at Chicago's C2E2 this weekend, MCU star Mark Ruffalo revealed that there have been preliminary discussions about him appearing on Marvel's She-Hulk series as Bruce Banner/Hulk. Created in 1980 by Stan Lee and John Buscema, She-Hulk -- real name: Jessica Walters -- is Bruce Banner's cousin. In the comics, it's a life-saving blood transfusion from Bruce that turns Jessica into her own (eventually smarter) version of Hulk. Check out The Laughing Place's tweets for what Ruffalo said about a possible Hulk appearance on the show...

Ruffalo says there is talk about his Hulk potentially showing up in the #SheHulk series... but talks are preliminary. #C2E2

— LaughingPlace.com (@laughing_place) March 1, 2020

Previously announced, Jessica Gao, who wrote Rick and Morty's Emmy-winning "Pickle Rick" episode, will be the head writer on She-Hulk. Production on She-Hulk will wrap in 2020, though the Disney+ series will most likely air in 2021. Check out our full rundown of She-Hulk's origins and most famous storylines here. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=she-hulk-through-the-years&captions=true"] [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.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/39ejjhz
via IFTTT

Box Office: The Invisible Man Sees Big Opening Weekend

It may not be part of the "Dark Universe," but Universal and Blumhouse's The Invisible Man scared up some serious box office loot, with an estimated $29 million opening. This is good news for horror/thrillers as the genre has been flailing a bit since It: Chapter Two, what with Doctor Sleep, The Turning, and Brahms: The Boy II pulling in less than ideal hauls in recently months. Overseas, as reported by Variety, The Invisible Man nabbed another $20.2 million, bringing it to $49.2 million worldwide. You can read our review of The invisible Man here, where we call it a "chillingly effective" reimagining of a classic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-horror-movies&captions=true"] Funimation’s My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising also did well for itself, in a much smaller release, generating $5.1 million, and a grand total of $8.4 million (since debuting on Wednesday). Check out our positive review of My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, which calls out the fun action and "excellent team-ups."

North American Box Office Estimates

Sonic the Hedgehog continued to race for gold, earning $16 million and landing in second place. With $128 million domestically, to date, Sonic is now has a global total of $265 million. Everything else in the Top 10 held on as expected. Call of the Wild has only brought in $79.3 worldwide so far, which doesn't bode well considering its massive budget. Parasite didn't crack the Top 10, but it's raked in $51.5 million in America to date, closing in on setting a record for a non-English language film here in the States. Here are the Top 10 North American box office estimates for the (2-day) weekend (via Box Office Mojo)

• 1. The Invisible Man $29,000,000
• 2. Sonic the Hedgehog $16,000,000
• 3. Call of the Wild $13,205,000
• 4. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising $5,109,247
• 5. Bad Boys for Life $4,300,000
• 6. Birds of Prey $4,100,000
• 7. Impractical Jokers $3,545,000
• 8. 1917 $2,670,000
• 9. Brahms: The Boys II $2,622,381
• 10 Fantasy Island $2,330,000

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/28/my-hero-academia-heroes-rising-exclusive-official-clip"] [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.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2Tgrp3L
via IFTTT

Spanish Voice Actor for Dragon Ball's Gohan Reportedly Killed

Warning: This story contains details regarding death and attempted suicide. Read with caution.

Luis Alfonso Mendoza, the Spanish dub voice actor for iconic characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Dragon Ball’s Gohan, has been killed, according to reports from Spanish media.

According to Cartoon Brew, who translated a report from Media Tiempo, Mendoza was allegedly killed during an altercation with a man who was renting living space from Mendoza and his family. The suspect also allegedly killed Mendoza’s wife and brother-in-law. Mendoza lived in the Portales Norte district of Mexico City.

The suspect later attempted suicide via shooting himself in the head, but survived and is currently in “serious condition.”

Mendoza’s castmates took to Twitter to share their condolences.

Mario Castañeda, who voices the Spanish dub of Goku, reflected on just how recently he had shared a laugh with Mendoza.

Rossy Aguirre, who voices the Spanish dub of Krillin, shared her condolences, along with an image of her and Mendoza.

Eduardo Garza, who voiced Krillin in the latter half of Dragon Ball Z’s Spanish dub, similarly shared a photo and condolences.

Mendoza voiced the Spanish dub of Gohan since 1996, but also provided the Spanish voice for numerous other recognizable roles, both live-action and animated. Besides Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Mendoza voiced Count Duckula, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Leonardo, Kon from Bleach, and more. As for live-action roles, Mendoza provided dubbing for Fresh Prince’s Carlton, Karate Kids’ Daniel LaRusso, Joey on Friends, and The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon.

He was 55 years old. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2PGdRwe
via IFTTT

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Novelization Reportedly Confirms Palpatine Was a Clone

A few weeks back, an excerpt from the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization was released that expanded upon the opening scene of Episode IX, having Kylo Ren encounter a strange creature protecting the Sith Wayfinder. Not due out officially until March 17, some advance copies of the book were sold at C2E2 this weekend in Chicago, and a new passage is being passed around (h/t Screenrant) that answers a huge mystery regarding the return of Emperor Palpatine. This is what Kylo observed while visiting Exegol for the first time and seeing Palpatine still alive. Check it out... "All the vials were empty of liquid save one, which was nearly depleted. Kylo peered closer. He'd seen this apparatus before, too, when he'd studied the Clone Wars as a boy. The liquid flowing into the living nightmare before him was fighting a losing battle to sustain the Emperor's putrid flesh." "What could you give me?" Kylo asked. Emperor Palpatine lived, after a fashion, and Kylo could feel in his very bones that this clone body sheltered the Emperor's actual spirit. It was an imperfect vessel, though, unable to contain his immense power. It couldn't last much longer." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-every-new-planet-in-the-disney-movies&captions=true"] It would appear that Palpatine's spirit, his essence, was now housed in a clone body - one that wasn't strong enough to maintain the Emperor's power. It isn't clear, however, if the galaxy's most dominant Sith Lord had gone through many clone bodies over the decades, using them until they basically disintegrated completely, or if he'd just resided in this single one - and was just now losing control of it. This clone method of brining Palpatine back is similar to how 1991's Star Wars: Dark Empire comic series had him return. For more on the Skywalker Saga, check out how Rise of Skywalker's Visual Dictionary answers a ton of key plot questions, our explainer of the ending, and every Jedi that spoke to Rey in her final battle with the Emperor. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/21/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-kylo-rens-fate"] [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.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2Tci5Ob
via IFTTT

Japanese Superhero Ultraman Makes His Way to Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics is already home to many of the most iconic superhero characters in the world, and they're about to add another huge name to their ranks. Marvel has revealed a new ongoing series featuring Japanese hero Ultraman to debut later in 2020. As revealed at the Marvel Comics: Next Big Thing panel at C2E2, the new Ultraman series is titled The Rise of Ultraman and will be co-written by Kyle Higgins (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and Mat Groom (Self/Made), with art by Francesco Manna (The Avengers). The comic appears to be a full reboot of the Ultra Series, one aimed at introducing a new generation of Western readers to Ultraman and the Japanese Tokusatsu genre, as well as exploring how the character's heroic ideals hold up in the uncertain world of 2020. [caption id="attachment_2311613" align="aligncenter" width="2500"] (Image Credit: Marvel Comics)[/caption] “A few years ago, thanks to my time on Power Rangers, I was able to discover and learn more about Tokusatsu. With its wildly different conventions and inspirations, Tokusatsu — and Ultraman in particular — has been a huge source of joy for me,” said Higgins in Marvel's press release. “It’s a genre so ripe with possibilities, even down to what we conceive of in the structure of super hero storytelling. It’s both an honor and a privilege to bring Ultraman to Marvel.” “Monsters in fiction have been embodying all that is dark and scary in our world for as long as we’ve been telling stories. But I don’t think anybody understood the immense scale of our most pressing problems quite like [Ultra Series creator] Eiji Tsuburaya,” teased Groom. “He imagined the darkness looming overhead as tall as skyscrapers— alien and unknowable and ANGRY. But he also imagined us being able to stand up to those monsters, by rising above our worst impulses and embracing a nobler way of being. He imagined ULTRAMAN. What does that mean in this complex, contradictory world of lies? We’re going to find out...” Marvel hasn't yet revealed a release date for The Rise of Ultraman #1, but they are teasing more announcements in the near future. Let us know if you're excited for this Ultraman re-imagining in the comments below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=20-most-anticipated-comics-of-2020&captions=true"] For other major Marvel projects in the works, find out about the X-Men crossover X of Swords and what to expect from Empyre, Marvel's ambitious Avengers/Fantastic Four event. Then learn why we think Empyre could be a sign of things to come for the MCU. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2PAswZE
via IFTTT

Indiana Jones' Ark Prop Estimated to be Worth up to $250,000

A prototype of the lost “Ark of the Covenant” from the first Indiana Jones film recently found itself on an episode of PBS’ long-running Antiques Roadshow, evidently escaping from its former confines in a secret government warehouse. The prop was professionally valued at anywhere from $80,000 to $250,000.

[caption id="attachment_2311604" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image Credit: PBS' Antiques Roadshow[/caption]

An unnamed man brought the Ark prop to the Antiques Roadshow, saying it previously belonged to his father, who he said was an employee for VFX studio Industrial Light & Magic, working on Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and even Star Trek. The owner said his father worked for ILM as a pyrotechnician.

The owner said his family stored blankets inside, though he did enjoy getting to tell friends he owned the Ark.

Appraiser James Supp rightly notes that the man’s version of the Ark is different from what audiences saw in the final version of Indiana Jones.

“I know that this was a prototype used to size the pyro,” the owner said. “I know that the Ark that they used was significantly smaller, the details are different. This is one of the prototypes, maybe the first prototype for pyro [effects].”

The infamous Ark of the Covenant was the magical item/MacGuffin that spurred Indiana Jones and his friends to adventure across Egypt, Nepal, and the Aegean Sea. Fabled to house the Ten Commandments, Nazi forces pursue the Ark in the film, believing it could grant them invincibility. Ultimately, the legends turn out to have a dark twist, with the angels of death emerging from the Ark to explode, liquefy, and generally murder every single Nazi in the vicinity.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/15/harrison-ford-indiana-jones-5-will-see-part-of-his-history-resolved"]

Supp points out that the prototype is definitely cobbled together from various junk and crafts you might find at any prop studio. The two winged angels on the top are made from trophies, the lid is made from a picture frame, and the seemingly ornate “carvings” on the side are just squiggles from a hot glue gun painted gold.

“That original prop is somewhere in the LucasFilm archives at Skywalker Ranch,” Supp said. “People who want to replicate props have scoured every scene to copy all the little details on it. This is the closest anybody in the private market can get to owning the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Supp said that while his conservative estimate would put the Ark prop between $80,000 to $120,000, he admits he could see the prop earning a price tag “in the quarter-million-dollar range.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/steven-spielberg-might-not-direct-indiana-jones-5"]

If hearing all this news about a famous Indiana Jones prop has you excited for more adventures, you won’t have to wait too long. Indiana Jones 5 is currently in development. Here’s everything we know about Indiana Jones 5, including director options, cast and crew, release date, and more. Last we heard from Harrison Ford (who will be returning in his iconic role as Indy), filming begins shooting in April, although a recent director change may have shifted that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/golden idol for IGN.

from IGN News https://ift.tt/2TabJPb
via IFTTT