October 2019 – Page 41

Netflix in November: The Irishman, The Dragon Prince, The Crown, and More

There are plenty of good movies and TV shows to be thankful for in November on Netflix!

First off, Martin Scorsese’s highly-anticipated crime drama, The Irishman, is dropping on November 27 with an all-star cast that includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. The film centers on the “epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century,” according to a synopsis from the streaming provider. Be sure to check out our review of The Irishman right here.

Conan O’Brien Watches Death Stranding Trailer With Kojima — “What’s Wrong With You?”

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To hype the upcoming release of Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima invited comedian and late night TV host Conan O’Brien to his office for a behind-the-scenes look at the game.

It went about as well as you would think, as Conan spent his time cracking jokes and ribbing with Kojima through a translator. Upon viewing a Death Stranding trailer and meeting BB for the first time, Conan said to Kojima, “What’s wrong with you?”

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Also during the silly segment, Kojima reveals that Death Stranding actor Norman Reedus, who plays main character Sam “Porter” Bridges, asked the team to make his muscles bigger.

In another segment, Kojima invites Conan to have himself scanned into Death Stranding. Conan entered the camera rig and made all manner of silly faces, and we sure hope they make it into the game. There is even a sequence at the end when Conan’s character model in the game speaks with Sam. It’s pretty great; take a look at the video below.

We can only hope that Conan follows this up with a Clueless Gamer segment for Death Stranding, because that would seemingly be comedy gold.

The Death Stranding review embargo lifts on November 1, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more on the title in the days and weeks ahead.

Death Stranding officially launches on November 8 for PS4.

Persona 5 Scramble New Trailer And Release Date Revealed

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A brand-new trailer for the Persona action game spinoff Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers has arrived. The newest trailer shows off more of the project that Atlus is creating alongside Koei Tecmo and Omega Force (the Dynasty Warriors team).

In addition to showcasing new gameplay and more of the setting and characters, the trailer ends by confirming a release date: February 20, 2020. So far, it’s only confirmed for Japan, so there is no word on when or if The Phantom Strikers will be released in the US or other parts of the world.

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The Phantom Strikers is coming to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. It is the first action-RPG in the Persona series.

In other news, Persona 5 Royal, which features new characters, more areas to explore, additional story elements, and more, is coming to PS4 in Japan on October 31. It’ll be released in the west in Q2 2020, which is sometime between April and June.

Hocus Pocus Sequel Being Developed for Disney Plus

A sequel to 1993’s Hocus Pocus is in development for Disney+ and Workaholics writer and co-producer Jen D’Angelo will be writing the script.

As reported by Collider, Hocus Pocus’ stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy have not been attached to the new project as of yet, but “D’Angelo has been tasked with finding a way to bring back the original cast” in some way.

The original followed Midler, Parker, and Najimy who were witches from 1693 in Salem, MA that were resurrected 300 years later. They must learn to live in the 20th century and deal with the fact that Halloween has become a holiday.

Why PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass, And Apple Arcade Worry Devolver

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Subscription services in gaming are growing in popularity and prominence. One of the most recent introductions was Apple’s Arcade offering, while Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus came before that. These services, and others like them, are worrying in some regards to boutique games publisher Devolver Digital (Hotline Miami, Genital Jousting).

Co-founder Graeme Struthers told GameSpot that the increasing popularity of subscription services is a worry because it could lead to a situation where games get buried. The thinking is that subscription packages are so stuffed with games that subscribers might have difficulty finding something to play (anyone who has used Netflix is aware of this phenomenon).

“The world of subscription is a worry. And we’re active in these areas, so we can’t stand on the sidelines and just complain about these things. Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, and Apple Arcade, they are things we are participating in,” he explained. “You do wonder if it’s going to lead to a situation where there is so much content that you kind of fall off the edge. That’s the one that keeps us up at night. That and Donald Trump, and Boris Johnson.”

Microsoft’s data regarding Xbox Game Pass paints a more positive picture of the impact that the service can have on its users. Just recently, ID@Xbox boss Agostino Simonetta told GI.biz that subscribers are playing 40 percent more games, which includes titles outside of the Game Pass library. Additionally, 91 percent of polled subscribers said they played a title they otherwise would not have tried were it not in the catalogue. Additionally, Microsoft’s data says members are playing 30 percent more games than before subscribing.

Also in our interview, Struthers explained to GameSpot that he’s excited about the future of gaming as it relates to the next-generation consoles coming out in 2020 and also the depth and breadth of games being made. “The diversity in every sense of that word of games creators and what kinds of games are being released is great,” Struthers said.

One of Devolver’s next games is the whimsical battle royale game where you don’t kill anyone, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which launches in 2020 for PC and PS4.

Mary Jane’s First Solo Comic Is Less Than Amazing

It’s not difficult to understand why Marvel might want Mary Jane Watson to have her own solo series right about now, especially with the MCU and Insomniac’s Spider-Man game both giving us much more assertive takes on Peter Parker’s favorite flame. Whether The Amazing Mary Jane will actually appeal to those hungry for more Mary Jane is another matter. The first issue works as a perfectly entertaining spinoff of the ongoing Amazing Spider-Man series, but it doesn’t have a huge amount to offer beyond that.

This series builds on recent MJ-related developments in writer Nick Spencer’s work. MJ has reluctantly put her relationship with Peter Parker on pause in order to jump-start her Hollywood career. Little does she know the production she’s joined is being run by Mysterio.

Former Xbox Exec Is Joining Blizzard

Former Xbox executive Mike Ybarra has announced his next job–and it’s a big one. Ybarra confirmed on Twitter that he will join World of Warcraft and Overwatch studio Blizzard.

He will be the company’s executive vice president and general manager. He starts at the Irvine, California-based company on November 14, which is after BlizzCon (though he will attend the show). “We will work with all our energy to serve gamers with incredible content and experiences,” Ybarra said of his new role. “I can’t wait to be part of this team.”

Ybarra formerly worked on Microsoft for nearly 20 years. He most recently served as a vice president at Microsoft, a position he held from January 2017 until he left earlier in October.

Ybarra joins Blizzard at a tumultuous time for the company. Blizzard recently came under fire for the actions it took against a professional Hearthstone player who expressed support for the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Although Blizzard reinstated the player’s prize money and reduced his ban, that hasn’t ended the controversy. A group of lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, wrote a letter to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick to express their concern about Activision pursuing financial interests ahead of freedom of speech.

Many are calling for Blizzard to address the ongoing controversy at BlizzCon next month, though it remains to be seen if the company will. The company is also expected to announce Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

Marvel Reveals New Avengers Team From Old Man Logan Timeline

The Marvel Universe as depicted in Old Man Logan may be a pretty awful place, but at least it still has the Avengers. Marvel gave fans their first look at this dystopian version of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with the announcement of a new comic book miniseries titled Avengers of the Wastelands.

As revealed by Marvel.com, this new series brings together Old Man Logan and two other heroes who have been given the “Old Man” treatment recently – Hawkeye and Star-Lord. These three heroes will form a new Avengers team alongside the Hulk and Danielle Cage, the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. We’ve seen Dani take up the mantle of Captain America in one alternate Marvel timeline, but here she’ll be wielding Mjolnir and becoming the new Thor instead.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Returning To Theatres With 10 Minutes Of New Footage

Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is returning to theatres. Producer Sony Pictures have announced that Tarantino’s ninth movie will be back in theatres this Friday, October 25, with new scenes spanning more than 10 minutes of bonus footage.

The “never-before-seen footage bookending the motion picture” will include four scenes in all, according to Collider. The theatrical cut of the movie is 2 hours 41 minutes, and now this new cut is 10 minutes longer.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s new, longer cut will play in 1,000 theatres, though there is no word on if the re-release is limited to the US or if it will also be in other parts of the world.

Given the wording of Sony’s statement, at least some of the new footage will apparently include extra scenes at the end of the movie, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the impact of the theatrical ending will change.

In other news, Tarantino recently said that he refuses to re-cut Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to please Chinese regulators. The country is reportedly taking issue with the film’s depiction of Bruce Lee and its level of violence.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and numerous other very famous people.

Even Fallout 76’s Most Loyal Supporters Are Mad at Bethesda Over Its New Subscription Service

Today, Bethesda is celebrating a fictional celebration called “The Day the Bombs Drop” which is the fictional day in which the world of Fallout was born from a nuclear war. It’s also the day Bethesda dropped the news that a premium subscription will be coming to Fallout 76 that gives players some heavily requested features for a monthly fee.

Everyone disliked that.

The new subscription service is called Fallout 76 1st, and it’s an add-on subscription that players can purchase on top of the base game (which retails for $39.99). With Fallout 76 1st, players will get access to the following perks: