Month: January 2019

CES 2019 in Las Vegas is still a few days away, but you won’t have to wait until the trade show starts on January 8 to get a load of what LG has to offer. The electronics maker has already put out a press release about at least some of what it means to show off in Vegas–and it’s mostly big, powerful TVs.

LG put out a press release detailing the big improvements to its TV sets it means to show off at CES this year. Specifically, the company is introducing its new ThinQ AI, a “deep learning algorithm” that looks to make content look and sound as good as possible on your LG TV, no matter what’s going on in the room you’re watching in.

ThinQ makes use of the Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor in LG’s newer sets and “recognizes content source quality and determines the best upgrade method for optimal visual output,” according to LG’s press release. It’ll also use the TV’s ambient light sensor to take into account conditions in the room it’s in, adjusting screen brightness and refining the way it displays HDR content to make sure scenes and images are always clear. ThinQ is also supposed to be able to improve sound quality, mixing up two-channel audio to make it sound like 5.1 surround sound.

While LG hopes to interest customers with the under-the-hood improvements to its sets, it’s the size and resolution that are likely to wow anyone headed to Vegas. The Alpha 9 Gen 2 and ThinQ are in a number of LG’s new set models, most notably its huge 88-inch 8K Z9 OLED TV and 75-inch 8K LCD TV (model SM99). The LG is also continuing its partnership with Amazon in 2019, with all its new ThinQ models featuring support for Alexa, Amazon’s voice-controlled personal assistant app.

You can read more about what LG is bringing to CES in its press release. Other potential hints and teasers are starting to trickle in about what else might show up in Las Vegas during the show, starting with HTC tweeting a photo suggesting new products in its Vive VR line. Stay tuned for all our CES coverage during the show, which runs from January 8 to 11.

The UK’s best-selling physical video games of 2018 have been revealed, with the usual suspects leading the charts. FIFA 19 came out on top, selling just under 1.9m units.

Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 was the second-biggest seller, shifting 1.75m copies, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 found its way into 1.2m UK homes, placing it at No.3. Sales monitor GfK Chart-Track says the PS4 exclusive Spider-Man–which finished at No.4 in the overall chart–sold more copies than any other exclusive game in 2018. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (No.5), God of War (No.8), and Forza Horizon 4 (No.9) were the other exclusive games to sell well.

Overall, video games now generate more revenue than any other entertainment medium in the UK. The games market has more than doubled in value since 2007, with a large portion of that growth coming from digital sources such as DLC and microtransactions. Digital sales make up over 80% of the UK games market.

“The games industry has been incredibly effective in taking advantage of the potential of digital technology to offer new and compelling forms of entertainment, said CEO of the Entertainment Retailers Association, Kim Bayley. “Despite being the youngest of our three sectors, it is now by far the biggest.”

Take a look at the top 20 biggest-selling boxed games of 2018 below. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.

January is officially here! While the flow of big releases is slowing down, that doesn’t mean there aren’t exciting new games coming this month–let alone in 2019 as a whole. There are still a handful of noteworthy games on the way you should keep an eye on.

Headlining January’s releases are new installments and re-releases in several classic franchises. The long-awaited Resident Evil 2 remake is set to launch at the end of this month, as well as the climactic conclusion to the Kingdom Hearts series. But if you’re in the mood to play older games on current-generation platforms, we’re getting remasters/enhanced ports of Tales of Vesperia, Onimusha: Warlords, and New Super Mario Bros. U.

That’s only a smattering of this month’s releases. You can see all of the biggest games on the way for each platform in January 2019 below. For a look at all of the most notable releases coming in 2019, check out our complete list of game release dates in 2019.

Resident Evil 2 Remake — January 25 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Ever since the outstanding Gamecube remake of Resident Evil 1 in 2002, fans have adamantly requested the same treatment for its much-loved sequel. After years of waiting, Capcom granted this wish when it confirmed development of Resident Evil 2 Remake in August 2015. Resident Evil 2 fans and newcomers, rejoice! We’re finally going to be able to play the game this month. It features a host of changes and improvements over the original, such as a new over-the-shoulder camera, revised puzzles, and modernized controls.

Further reading:

Kingdom Hearts III — January 29 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The Kingdom Hearts saga is coming to a close at this end of the month. This much-awaited concluding chapter is looking to wrap up Sora’s quest to thwart the evil Xehanort’s plan to form a true Organization XIII. Kingdom Hearts III will include new worlds to explore based on Disney and Pixar properties, an expanded party system, mini-games inspired by classic Walt Disney animations, and much more. If you’re looking to catch up on previous entries before Kingdom Hearts III releases, we highly recommend the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 Remix on PS4, which collects the majority of the series on a single disc.

Further reading:

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe — January 11 (Switch)

The Nintendo Switch is getting a collection containing enhanced ports of both New Super Mario Bros. U and its standalone expansion, New Super Luigi U. While the games remain largely the same, there are a couple new additions. A new character named Toadette is being added, and Nabbit, who you could previously only play in New Super Luigi U, will be playable across both games.

Further reading:

Full January Release Schedule

Netflix has confirmed the released date for The Punisher Season 2. Following last week’s leak, the streaming giant has confirmed that the Marvel show will return on January 18 and revealed the date announcement in a new teaser.

The teaser doesn’t feature any footage from the new season, but instead teases the upcoming confrontation between Frank Castle and Billy Russo–better known as the Punisher’s classic nemesis Jigsaw. Actors Jon Bernthal and Ben Barnes provide an intense voiceover that suggest that this will be a fight to the death–check it out below.

While there is much anticipation for The Punisher Season 2, the future of the show is unclear. In recent months, three of Netflix’s roster of Marvel shows have been cancelled. While the axing of Iron Fist and Luke Cage weren’t necessarily surprising, the cancelation of Daredevil within a few weeks of the acclaimed Season 3 hitting the service suggested that Netflix is looking to drop all of its Marvel shows.

Disney is launching its own streaming platform, named Disney+, later this year and is developing several Marvel series for it. Netflix still officially has The Punisher and Jessica Jones as active shows, and Season 3 of the latter is expected later this year. However, it remains possible that both will be cancelled once these latest seasons have been released.

In terms of new Marvel shows, in November Disney confirmed that Tom Hiddleston will star in a Loki show for Disney+. In addition, it has been reported that a Falcon and Winter Soldier team-up series is in development, and there are also rumors of a Scarlet Witch show.