Month: December 2020

The Dark Knight, Blues Brothers, and Shrek are among this year’s selections to be inducted into the National Film Registry.

On Monday, the Library of Congress unveiled its annual list of 25 movies that will be added to the National Film Registry in an effort to showcase the range and diversity of American film heritage and increase awareness for its preservation. The selected titles include everything from silent shorts to toe-tapping musicals and even a critically-acclaimed Batman movie.

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Here’s the full list of this year’s additions:

• The Battle Of The Century (1927)
• The Blues Brothers (1980)
• Bread (1918)
• Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
• Cabin In The Sky (1943)
• A Clockwork Orange (1971)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
• Freedom Riders (2010)
• Grease (1978)
• The Ground (1993-2001)
• The Hurt Locker (2008)
• Illusions (1982)
• The Joy Luck Club (1993)
• Kid Auto Races At Venice (1914)
• Lilies Of The Field (1963)
• Losing Ground (1982)
• The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
• Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
• Outrage (1950)
• Shrek (2001)
• Suspense (1913)
• Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
• Wattstax (1973)
• With Car And Camera Around The World (1929)

The Library of Congress outlined the criteria for selection as being movies that are viewed as “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant, with the latest 25 movies bringing the total number of titles selected for preservation up to 800. This year’s selections also include a record number of films directed by women and filmmakers of colour, including nine directed by women and seven by people of colour.

“With the inclusion of diverse filmmakers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of colour have made to American cinema, despite facing often-overwhelming hurdles,” Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, said in a statement alongside the announcement.

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“This is not only a great honour for all of us who worked on The Dark Knight, this is also a tribute to all of the amazing artists and writers who have worked on the great mythology of Batman over the decades,” added Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight, in respect of his entry into the National Film Registry this year.

Following on the heels of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight quickly became one of the most hyped movies of the past decade. Helped by its amazing viral marketing campaign, the sequel quickly took on legendary status as the summer’s most anticipated movie. For more about its release, find out how the fans ultimately helped to spread the word about the beloved blockbuster.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo have partnered together in an effort to protect the safety of their players in our connected and socially-focused world.

Announced on Xbox Wire, Corporate Vice President of Xbox Operations Dave McCarthy discussed how he and the team believe that “gaming is for all people of all ages, including our youngest and most vulnerable players.” However, protecting players online is not an easy task and “requires a multidisciplinary approach” that is only enhanced when working together with the likes of Nintendo and PlayStation.

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“At Xbox, we are aligned with both Nintendo, on behalf of the community of Nintendo Switch players, and PlayStation in our belief that protecting players online requires a multidisciplinary approach – one that combines the benefits of advanced technology, a supportive community, and skilled human oversight,” McCarthy wrote. “We can accomplish more when we work toward the same goal, and so we will each continue investing in, evolving, and amplifying our approaches to user safety. As we continue this work, we will prioritize protecting the safety of our players, especially those most vulnerable.”

McCarthy also discussed the principles that guide their work towards this safer future for gamers around the world, and they are as follows;

Prevention: Empower players and parents to understand and control gaming experiences.

• We provide controls that let players customize their gaming experience.  We support parents with the tools and information necessary to create appropriate gaming experiences for their children.
• We recognize that for safety features to be useful, they must be easy to use. We will promote the availability of our safety tools through our platforms, support channels, services, on our websites and in retail stores to reach more players and parents.
• We continually inform our parents and players through our codes of conduct, terms of use, and our enforcement practices.
• We invest in technology to help thwart improper conduct and content before a player is subject to harm.

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Partnership: We commit to partnering with the industry, regulators, law enforcement, and our communities to advance user safety.

• The industry’s commitment to safety is central. We believe that we have an opportunity to collaborate for the benefit of the video game industry and all players to offer a safer gaming experience.
• We work with industry trade organizations, industry members, regulators, law enforcement, and experts to develop and advance online safety initiatives.
• We commit to conducting shared research for the benefit of the industry.
• We believe that hate and harassment or exploitation of younger players in any way have no place in gaming. We partner with our community to promote safe gaming behavior and encourage the use of reporting tools to call out bad actors.
• We partner with ratings agencies such as the ESRB and PEGI to ensure that our games are rated for the appropriate audience.

Responsibility: We hold ourselves accountable for making our platforms as safe as possible for all players.

• We make it easy for players to report violations of our code of conduct and, in addition to removing content, we take appropriate enforcement actions for violations, including restricting players from using our services for misconduct.
• We comply with all local laws and will respond to all lawful requests from law enforcement. We promptly notify law enforcement if we observe unlawful conduct or where we believe a player is at risk of imminent harm.
• We publish our rules and requirements and we ensure that players who have been reported understand the requirements for continued engagement with our platforms.

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In closing, McCarthy writes that protecting players is a challenge, especially in a “digitally and often instantaneously connected world.” This partnership was forged in hopes to make that battle easier won, as “no one company or industry will solve these challenges alone.”

This isn’t the first time these companies have worked together to help create a brighter future for video games, as just last year Sony and Microsoft teamed up to improve cloud gaming and streaming platforms.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

If you haven’t picked up Assassin’s Creed Valhalla just yet, GameStop has a great deal on the open-world action game that you can take advantage of right now. As part of GameStop’s Green Monday sale, you can pick up Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for $45 on PS5/PS4 and Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for Valhalla since it launched last month, but the deal is only available today, December 14.

The Xbox version of Valhalla works on both Series X|S and Xbox One, and it comes with a free upgrade. For PlayStation owners, you can pick between the PS4 and PS5 version. The PS4 edition also works on PS5 and has a free upgrade, while the PS5 version is only compatible with PS5.

The latest entry in the long-running series earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla review. “Despite its strong connection to past games, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is more than capable of standing on its own,” editor Jordan Ramée wrote. It takes a little while to build momentum, but when it hits its stride, Valhalla is a confident Assassin’s Creed title that takes a few narrative risks which, as a whole, pay off. Eivor is a good hero with an identity that drives the mystery behind the main narrative, and she shines in the self-contained arc structure of Valhalla’s story. The supporting cast may not shine as brightly, but it’s easy to forgive that when exploring England and discovering new nuggets of worldbuilding is so rewarding.”

Valhalla is the standout deal in GameStop’s Green Monday sale, but there are more solid discounts worth considering as well. Persona 5 Royal’s steelbook edition is down to $25, Marvel’s Avengers is $25, and pre-owned Xbox One and PS4 controllers are $30 each. You can check out the full Green Monday sale at GameStop and see our picks below.

Best GameStop Green Monday deals

Electronic Arts has announced that it has made an offer to acquire racing game developer Codemasters for $1.2 billion. Back in November Take-Two Interactive made an offer of $994 million, which would have added racing franchises such as Dirt, Dirt Rally, and F1 to its library of games. EA’s announcement was initially revealed by Sky News and officially confirmed this week.

The Codemasters board of directors has approved the bid, saying that EA’s experience in creating live service games and its wealth of resources will allow EA to dominate the racing game genre once the company adds the various Codemasters studios to its collection.

“With the full leverage of EA’s technology, platform expertise, and global reach, this combination will allow us to grow our existing franchises and deliver more industry-defining racing experiences to a global fan base,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said.

Take-Two had originally offered Codemasters $994 million in November before EA made its counter-offer. EA’s deal is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2021. In a statement on its investor website, Take-Two said, “Take-Two is considering its position in relation to Codemasters and a further announcement will be made when appropriate.”

Burnout developer Criterion Games was acquired by EA back in 2004 and tasked with producing three Need for Speed games from 2010-2013. Recent games in the series have been handled by EA Gothenberg, formerly known as Ghost Games.

Nintendo has announced that a brand-new Indie World Showcase will help “ring in the holidays” on Tuesday, December 15 at 9am PT/12pm ET/5pm GMT.

Announced on Nintendo’s Twitter, this showcase will last “roughly 15 minutes” and will feature “updates and new announcements on indie games coming to #NintendoSwitch from our global partners.

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The last Nintendo Indie World Showcase took place in August 2020 and announced that Hades would be coming to Nintendo Switch, gave release dates for Spiritfarer and A Short Hike, and unveiled that Untitled Goose Game would be getting a free, two-player cooperative mode.

This also follows Nintendo’s October Direct Mini that featured the announcement of a Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity demo, Bravely Default 2’s demo, Control’s Cloud Version on Switch, and more.

These upcoming games, whatever they my be, will undoubtedly only continue help the Nintendo Switch, which was once again the best-selling video game system in November 2020 after selling over 1.35 million units.

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For more on Nintendo Switch, check out the best Nintendo gifts for the 2020 holiday season and our current list of the best Nintendo Switch games available.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Fans of The Witcher have been invited to participate in Netflix’s ‘6 Days of Witchmas’ campaign, which will see highly requested content released daily on social media.

The Witchmas celebration was announced on The Witcher’s official Twitter account, where a thread of tweets revealed more about the holiday-themed event, which is set to begin on December 16 and end on December 21. During this period, fans will be asked to vote daily to accept a “gift” or invoke the “Law of Surprise,” with the winning choice revealed the following day together with the next gift and vote.

I come bearing an invitation to a special #Witchmas celebration!

You are cordially invited to the 6 DAYS OF WITCHMAS, a holiday feast where nobody has to mingle, and everybody receives a gift!

— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) December 14, 2020

“I have acquired these gifts by searching far and wide for the ‘content’ that you so often request from me,” The Witcher tweets explained. “You may choose to accept that gift, OR you may choose to invoke the Law of Surprise. The decision will be made as a collective, based on a vote that will be held here. The winning choice will be revealed the following day – along with a new offering and another vote.”

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“Choose wisely,” a further tweet warned. “For my gift offers are sincere, but the Law of Surprise is out of my musically-gifted hands.”

Season 2 of The Witcher started filming in London earlier this year, with a planned release sometime in 2021. However, the shoot was suspended back in March as Netflix paused filming on all of its films and TV shows in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Netflix then resumed production on the Henry Cavill-led show in August after being given the “green light” to start filming again.

Fans of The Witcher will probably be hoping to see some more Season 2 surprises during the upcoming Witchmas celebration, especially after previous social media drops revealed exclusive photos of Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia in all-new armour, Anya Chalotra’s bound and bloodied Yennefer, and Freya Allan’s Ciri who looked just about ready to start her training at Kaer Morhen, per our slideshow below.

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Before the Witchmas feast commences, check out our breakdown of all the clues about The Witcher Season 2 so far or dive further into the extraordinary world of the hit fantasy series by watching Netflix’s behind-the-scenes specials Making The Witcher and A Look Inside the Episodes, then find out why we think Netflix is actually the best place for video game adaptations.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Phasmophobia players can now accept contracts in a new medium-sized level–the prison. The new level launched in beta at the end of November, but is now available to all players in the live build of the game.

Because the prison is new, it’ll always be available in the contract selection for the next few updates, giving players more opportunity to get acquainted with the two-level map. The prison joins a selection of maps including several residential houses and farmhouses, a school, and an asylum–still the game’s biggest map.

Phasmophobia is the first game by UK Studio Kinetic Games, which launched in early access this September. The game sees players team up with up to three others to investigate a haunting and try to identify what kind of ghost is causing it. Phasmophobia became a surprise hit after being picked up by numerous Twitch streamers, and ended up taking home the award for Best Debut Game at The Game Awards this month.

While Phasmophobia was originally intended to only spend a short time in early access, that period has been extended due to the amount of interest in the game. The game has a public Trello board showing what future updates are planned or currently being worked on, which says that the next levels Kinetic are planning on adding will be an apartment building and a mansion.

CD Projekt Red has apologised for not showing the base PS4 and Xbox One versions of Cyberpunk 2077 before launch, promised more patches, and offered refunds to those unsatisfied.

In a statement on Twitter signed by senior members of the studio, the developer addressed player concerns about major issues when Cyberpunk is run on original PS4 and Xbox One consoles.

“First of all,” reads the statement, “we would like to start by apologizing to you for not showing the game on base last-gen consoles before it premiered and, in consequence, not allowing you to make a more informed decision about your purchase. We should have paid more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.”

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— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 14, 2020

The statement goes on to point out that bug fixes have begun – with hotfix 1.04 released last week – with another update coming “within the next 7 days”. CD Projekt says it will update “whenever new improvements are ready”, with two larger patches to come in January and February. “Together these should fix the most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles.”

After early reports around refunds began circling over the weekend, CD Projekt Red also confirmed that it will offer full refunds to console version owners who don’t want to wait for the updates:

“For copies purchased digitally, please use the refund system of PSN or Xbox respectively. For boxed versions, please first try to get a refund at the store where you bought the game. Should this not be possible, please contact us at [email protected] and we will do our best to help you. Starting from today, you can contact us for a week up until December 21st, 2020.”

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