Month: January 2021

It’s a strange time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At long last, the first entry of Phase 4 has arrived, but it’s certainly not what was planned. By now, we should have seen the movies Black Widow and Eternals, along with the first season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, those projects have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it’s the Disney+ original series WandaVision, the first Marvel Studios TV show, that’s kicking off this chapter of the universe.

Even with the massive release schedule changes, Marvel Studios Kevin Feige says the planned story of Phase 4 remains the same. Speaking at a press conference for WandaVision, Feige said, “Creatively, it didn’t reshuffle.” However, if necessary, it wouldn’t be out of the question. “Part of having a long-lead plan is having the ability and the ideas of how to shuffle, should the need arise,” he added.

That said, Feige was quick to note it wasn’t smooth sailing for the studio once COVID-19 shut down the entertainment industry. It was just less of a story issue than it was a production one. “I’m not saying we were prepped for a global pandemic. We were not,” he said. “But we’ve always, over the past 12-15 years of Marvel Studios, been able to shuffle around. This required no shuffling whatsoever, in terms of the creative–just in terms of production.”

As it stands, there’s no telling when fans will be able to see another MCU movie in theaters. Currently, Black Widow is scheduled for theaters on May 7, with Eternals said to hit theaters in November. Meanwhile, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will launch on Disney+ at the conclusion of WandaVision’s run.

If you’ve seen the first two episodes of WandaVision on Disney+, make sure to check out our Easter egg gallery to see all of the hidden clues Marvel Studios packed into the show. You’d also be wise to hear what Feige has to say about WandaVision’s impact on Phase 4.

The first WWE PPV of 2021 is one of the best annual events of the year. It’s almost time for the Royal Rumble, where we’ll see two bouts featuring 30 superstars all trying to throw each other over the top rope. There will for sure be a few surprises, but it’s definitely going to be a different atmosphere as there’s still a global pandemic and there won’t be an audience in attendance.

This year’s Royal Rumble is taking place on Sunday, January 31 in the Thunderdome–which still exists at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. If you want to watch the event yourself, you won’t be able to go to Tropicana Field, but you can watch it on your TV.

How to watch:

The best way to check out this year’s Royal Rumble is by watching it on the WWE Network. The streaming service costs $10 a month and will allow you to watch the Rumble live. Aside from live events, the WWE Network has huge catalog of episodes of Raw, Smackdown, NXT, WCW Nitro, and even original series.

If you’re planning on watching this year’s Royal Rumble, you may want to familiarize yourself with when the show will air. Check out the start times for various time zones around the globe below.

Start time:

• 4 PM PT
• 6 PM CT
• 7 PM ET
• 12 AM GMT (February 1)
• 11 AM AEDT (February 1)

Keep in mind that there is usually a preshow for the event, and with larger PPVs like the Royal Rumble, WWE’s Kickoff begins two hours before the main card, so adjust accordingly.

It’s still a bit early for all the matches to come together for the card. As of this writing, there are only four confirmed bouts for this year’s Royal Rumble. Usually, most WWE PPVs have over 10 matches, but considering how long the two battle royals are, this year’s Royal Rumble should have between 8-10 matches, many of which will be for various WWE championships.

Match card:

• Men’s Royal Rumble
• Women’s Royal Rumble
• Roman Reigns (c) vs. Adam Pearce (Universal Championship)
• Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg (WWE Championship)

The most talked-about match thus far is McIntyre vs. Goldberg for various reasons. First, McIntyre tested positive for COVID recently, and while his 14-day quarantine is up before the Rumble, it’s unknown how he is doing–and symptoms for the virus change day to day for many people. Secondly, Goldberg hasn’t been seen in WWE in quite some time, and many fans are not excited about a part-time wrestler showing up out of the blue and getting to challenge for the title.

All of these matches will be on the main card for the event. There should be two matches on the Kickoff Show, but those will most likely be announced a couple days prior or the day of the event. Keep checking back for updates to the card.

Per usual, GameSpot’s Wrestle Buddies, Mat Elfring and Chris E. Hayner, will be doing live coverage of the Royal Rumble and a review of the show on the evening of January 31, so make sure to come back to GameSpot to check out the results. Then, after the show, stay tuned for a special episode of the Wrestle Buddies podcast, where Mat and Chris will break down the Royal Rumble and what they thought of it.

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After the wave of sexual harassment allegations that swept through the fighting game community last summer, the FGC has established a new code of conduct to create a more inclusive community for all current and prospective members.

The FGC doesn’t have a governing document binding the disparate tournaments together. This new code of conduct, signed by video game attorney and prominent FGC member David “UltraDavid” Graham, is the first to attempt to meet that standard. And the community is encouraging all tournament goers and organizers to adopt the newly written code of conduct.

The guidelines are straightforward, with most violations focused on consent between individuals. Anyone who engages in abusive behavior–such as physical, verbal, emotional, suggested (i.e. making threats or using demeaning language), and the like–will be disciplined, likely in the form of temporary of permanent bans from online and in-person tournaments.

The guidelines will be enforced by a new group within the FGC, the CoC Team, and applies to all aspects of tournament organization. This includes fighting game tournaments themselves, as well as tangentially connected aspects like chatrooms, web platforms, and broadcasts.

In a Twitter thread detailing the process and rationale for the FGC’s newly minted code of conduct, Graham said that last summer’s revelations proved the old system was not working.

“Because our old piecemeal system put too much pressure on individual [tournament organizers] to make community-wide decisions and incentivized a dog-piling type of enforcement that nobody enjoyed,” Graham wrote. “Having more (but not exclusively) uniform rules/enforcement can avoid these problems.”

Other signatories accompanying Graham in supporting the FGC’s code of conduct include Super Smash Bros. player Stefan “Shogun17” Pfister, moderators Joe “Super” Munday and Sean “Jester” Stoner, commentator Jamaal “Ryyudo” Graves, and over 30 other members.

In other FGC news, Capcom has announced that Capcom Cup is transitioning online this year as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic rages around the world, particularly in the US.

1999’s sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest, which is a spoof of Star Trek and sci-fi tropes in general, is a cult classic and fans want to see a sequel. Actor Tim Allen, who starred in the movie as ship captain Peter Quincy Taggart, has now provided an update on how it’s coming along.

Speaking to EW, Allen said the writers came up with a “fabulous” script, but it will need to be changed following the death of Alan Rickman, who played the Spock-like Dr. Lazarus. The story for the sequel was all about Lazarus and Taggart, so the idea will need to be rebooted.

“[The script] had a hiccup because the wonderful Alan Rickman passed. So it all got very sad and dark because [the script] was all about [Lazarus] and Taggart. It was all about their story. It doesn’t mean they can’t reboot the idea, and the underlying story was hysterical and fun.”

Allen said he talks about Galaxy Quest 2 “all the time” and is hopeful it can be made someday.

“There is constantly a little flicker of a butane torch that we could reboot it with. Without giving too much away, a member of Alan’s Galaxy Quest family could step in and the idea would still work,” he said.

Galaxy Quest follows the story of the cast of a TV show who come to meet real aliens who unknowingly think the show is real. It gets wacky and weird. The movie also stars Sam Rockwell, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, and Daryl Mitchell.

A Galaxy’s Quest TV show was in the works at Amazon Studios, but plans for the show were scrapped after Rickman’s passing.

CES looked a little different this year, as the annual tech show was held entirely virtually due to the global health crisis. Despite the shakeup in how the show was programmed, there were plenty of big announcements and reveals that caught our attention.

While CES is usually a show focused primarily on consumer tech, this year’s event also had a number of important takeaways for gaming. In this video, we’re rounding up some of the most exciting and interesting announcements from the show, including 8K TVs, RGB facemasks, and updates on PlayStation. The video also covers the latest for gaming laptops, Nvidia’s RTX 3060 graphics card, and new gaming monitors from ASUS, among many others.

Be sure to check out the full video to find out everything new and exciting from CES 2021. And stick with GameSpot for all the latest on games, tech, and entertainment!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was undoubtedly one of the biggest game launches of last year, and its popularity isn’t slowing down in 2021. To the joy of makeup-wearing Animal Crossing fans everywhere, Nintendo has announced an Animal Crossing: New Horizons collaboration with cosmetics brand ColourPop, and the collection looks as adorable as you’d expect. The Animal Crossing x ColourPop collection launches Thursday, January 28 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, and you can sign up to be notified at ColourPop.

The Animal Crossing ColourPop collection appears to include four different eyeshadow palettes, each with four different shades inspired by characters from the game. There’s an Isabelle palette with warm pink and yellow shades; a cool purple palette inspired by the Able sisters; a silvery green palette featuring the Nooks; and a brown neutrals palette that’s a nod to Blathers and Celeste. The shade names are all references to the game as well, like “Resident Rep,” “Meteor Shower,” and “Water Landing.”

The promo photos also show a golden “Bellionaire” face glitter, so Animal Crossing fans can constantly be reminded of the millions of Bells they’ve paid to Tom Nook. The collection also seems to include six different lip pencils in red and neutral shades as well as two blushes in pink and coral.

This isn’t the first gaming/pop culture-related makeup collection ColourPop has created; the store put out a stunning Sailor Moon collection last year, and it recently released a Baby Yoda-inspired eyeshadow palette. While no prices for the Animal Crossing collection were given, ColourPop is known for its affordably priced makeup; the entire Sailor Moon collection, for instance, could be bought for just $89. If past launches are any indication, however, the Animal Crossing collection is going to sell out fast, so you’ll want to be ready when it all goes live on ColourPop’s site on January 28.

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