Month: February 2021

Change is in the air at Sega, as the company is readying itself for not only an organizational restructure but also a new role for Yakuza series director Toshihiro Nagoshi. Having been involved in the Yakuza series since its inception in 2005, Nagoshi will step down as chief creative officer of Sega and will become its new creative director.

A veteran of Sega whose career dates back to the mid-1990s and the company’s arcade days, Nagoshi’s new role will formally begin on April 1, 2021. Sega’s upcoming restructure is also designed to “integrate corporate functions and administrative operations” and “accelerate global business” according to its announcement. This will essentially allow Sega to streamline its various divisions so that it can make quicker decisions.

Sega has been through some big changes over the last few months. With the COVID-19 pandemic having a massive impact on social gatherings, Sega’s arcade and amusement facilities businesses were hit hard. Sega Sammy, the company that owns Sega, announced that it would sell the majority of its shares in its Sega Entertainment division to Japanese amusement rental business Genda Inc. after business in its arcades “declined remarkably” and resulted in “a significant loss.”

As for the Yakuza series, the latest entry has been universally well-received since its launch last year. In GameSpot’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon review, we scored it a 9/10. Critic Michael Higham said that the game “is a passing of the torch, and a fantastic entry in a beloved franchise that proves that it’s in good hands with Kasuga Ichiban.”

WandaVision has officially kicked off Phase 4 of the MCU, and the next big Marvel project isn’t far behind. Ahead of the March premiere of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Topps has given fans their first looks at the new costumes for two key characters, Baron Zemo and John Walker.

The reveals come as part of Topps’ Marvel Collect! app, which is adding a set of new digital trading cards featuring concept art from the Disney+ series. Get a look at Zemo and Walker, along with the updated costumes for the titular superheroes, in the slideshow gallery below:

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-new-mcu-costumes-revealed&captions=true”]

These cards will be added to the Marvel Collect! app once per week, beginning with Zemo on February 1. Topps is also teasing a future “Who Will Wield the Shield?” trading card wave that digs even deeper into the characters and plot points of the series and tackles that all-important question – who will replace Steve Rogers as Captain America?

This isn’t the only unexpected preview of the new series we’ve gotten lately. A leaked action figure may have revealed a major Falcon and the Winter Soldier plot point.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie as Falcon, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes and Daniel Brühl as Zemo. Wyatt Russell makes his MCU debut as John Walker, a patriotic hero better known as US Agent in the comics. Though his trading card calls into question whether he’ll actually be using that codename in the show.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/marvels-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-official-trailer-1″]

For more, check out what to expect from the MCU in 2021, as well as the cast and characters from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier revealed so far. And if you have Disney+, be sure to read our review of WandaVision’s season premiere.

[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.

Elon Musk claims one of his companies has implanted a device into a monkey’s brain, and hopes to make it play “mind pong” with another cyborg monkey.

The billionaire, who owns a variety of science-based companies, discussed the augmented monkey in a speech hosted on private social app Clubhouse, according to Sky News. During the talk, he revealed that his brain-machine interface company, Neuralink, has “a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull with tiny wires”.

Neuralink is using the monkey as a test subject for its technology, something it previously did with two pigs. The ultimate aim of the company is to create a brain-computer interface, with current trials focused on potentially using the technology to treat people with brain and spinal injuries.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/28/elon-musk-wants-to-put-a-chip-in-your-brain-ign-daily-fix”]

As part of these tests, Musk wants to make the monkey play video games in its own mind. “One of the things we’re trying to figure out is whether we can have the monkeys playing mind pong with each other?,” he said. “That would be pretty cool.”

The device itself is made up of more than 3,000 electrodes that are capable of monitoring around 1,000 neurons. This is attached to threads slimmer than a hair, the so called “tiny wires” Musk spoke about.

Animal welfare within the realm of science is, naturally, a concern for many groups, but Musk claimed that “You can’t see where the implant is and he’s a happy monkey.” He claims that an inspector from the US Department of Agriculture said that the Neuralink laboratory was “the nicest monkey facility” they had examined.

In less absurd news, Musk’s other company, Tesla, has produced a car fitted with a gaming PC that can play The Witcher 3.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Fortnite appears to be readying even more Mandalorian content. A teaser video released on the official Fortnite Twitter shows the hero of the popular Star Wars streaming series viewing a hologram.

The tweet shows Mando viewing a hologram with the offer of a job. In the Mandalorian series, the main character makes his way as a bounty hunter before his career takes a radical turn due to an obligation to protect The Child, aka Baby Yoda.

The game already added quite a bit of Mandalorian content, including a Mandalorian skin, Baby Yoda, and the appearance of his signature ship, the Razor Crest. It’s unclear what else Epic Games may have in mind as a tie-in for the Mandalorian series. It could even just be using the bounty hunter role as a way to introduce another pop culture element altogether.

Fortnite is still one of the most successful free-to-play battle royale games, and in the past year it has become a sprawling pop culture mash-up. Just recently the game added Snake Eyes, the popular ninja character from GI Joe.

Netflix has announced an all-new animated Sonic the Hedgehog series, Sonic Prime, set to premiere worldwide in 2022.

The animated adventure will consist of 24 episodes, which will follow Sonic on a “high-octane adventure where the fate of a strange new multiverse rests in his gloved hands.” However, Netflix notes that the series is “more than a race to save the universe,” as the Blue Blur ultimately finds himself on “a journey of self-discovery and redemption.”

Sonic Prime will be a collaboration between SEGA and Wild Brain Studio, as the two companies are jointly handling production, distribution, and licensing of the series, alongside Ben 10 creators Man of Action Entertainment, who will be serving as showrunners and executive producers on the project, which was accidentally teased towards the end of last year.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/08/sonic-the-hedgehog-official-movie-easter-eggs-breakdown”]

“Sonic is a beloved character and holds a special place in everyone’s heart including my own,” Netflix’s Director of Original Animation, Dominique Bazay, said in a statement following the announcement. “I spent many hours with the blue blur as a kid and it’s a privilege to be able to bring this character everyone knows and loves on a brand new adventure with Netflix — one that a generation of loyal fans and brand new fans around the world can enjoy.”

The series based on the beloved video game — which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year — is said to build upon the momentum that was generated for the iconic character following the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie last year, with an all-new adventure that aims to “match the scale and scope of the epic adventures synonymous with the Sonic franchise.”

“Sonic the Hedgehog is a global entertainment icon that has captivated audiences since its video game debut in 1991,” added SEGA’s Ivo Gerscovich. “With over 1.14 billion game units sold and downloaded to date, an exciting feature film, a robust licensing program, and more, SEGA’s iconic hedgehog continues to surprise and delight audiences worldwide. We’re thrilled to partner with WildBrain, Man of Action Entertainment, and Netflix to speed into this new, animated chapter in the Sonic franchise.”

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true”]

Developing…

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

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

February is Black History Month and Halo developer 343 Industries is celebrating the occasion by promising to continue to fight systemic racism and launching a special nameplate for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Writing on Twitter, the studio remarked: “We are proud to celebrate Black History Month with our colleagues and community! In keeping with that celebrating, 343 Industries remains committed to fighting against systemic racism and creating a space where everyone can be their best self and have fun.”

As for the nameplate, all you need to do is log in to Halo: MCC during February to claim the special item (which you can see below). And looking ahead to March, 343 said it will give away a special Women’s History Month nameplate–check it out here.

Halo: MCC Black History Month Nameplate:

Last summer, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, 343 said it was increasing its efforts to ban players for racist and hateful behavior. Additionally, the studio released a statement in which it said it “stands united with our black colleagues, friends, players, and communities in the fight against racism. We emphatically believe that Black Lives Matter.”

343 also donated 100 percent of the revenue from all Halo 5: Guardians microtransaction sales between June 19 and July 19 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and this worked out to more than $600,000.

Halo: MCC’s Season 5 just kicked off, promising 100 new items to collect, including the fabled and previously unreleased GRD helmet for Halo: Reach.

MLB The Show 21, the latest instalment of the PlayStation-exclusive baseball series from Sony first-party developer San Diego Studio, has been announced for both PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

Launching on April 20, it will be available across both generations, with PS4/Xbox One versions retailing at $59.99 USD/£59.99 GBP and the next-gen versions at $69.99 USB/£69.99 GBP.

The advent of a new platform for the game also means cross-platform play and cross progression has been introduced, meaning MLB The Show 21 players can carry progression between both PlayStation and Xbox platforms, as well as play multiplayer with all players on both console families.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/01/mlb-the-show-21-announcement-with-fernando-tatis-jr-trailer”]

Further new features will be revealed as part of a series of six Feature Premiere streams, starting in March. Another reveal will be held on February 3, which will show off the Collector’s Edition of the game.

While you’ll have to wait until then to find out what is inside the more premium edition, the PlayStation Blog does suggest that only the Collector’s Edition will feature a free next-gen upgrade. “There will be no standard edition upgrade path from current gen to next gen,” says the article from Ramone Russell, game designer at developer San Diego Studio. “If you are interested in having access to the game on both current and next gen platforms, please wait for more info about the collector’s edition.”

While the regular edition is the only one to be shown so far, the artwork does show off this year’s cover athlete: Fernando “El Nino” Tatis Jr. This won’t come as a surprise to some fans, as the cover – as well as the Xbox version – was leaked last week.

To see how the series has fared recently, take a look at our MLB The Show 20 review.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

10-15% of all PS5s sold in the US are estimated to have been resold, earning huge profit for scalpers, according to a new report.

Data engineer Michael Driscoll posted the latest in a series of reports on the scalping market, this time focused on PS5. The report scraped data for thousands of listings on eBay and StockX, up until January 16. Among other things, Driscoll included only listings that had actually sold, excluded any listing using terms commonly included in scam listings, excluded listings from low feedback accounts, and removed all results that sold for less than the recommended retail price.

Driscoll was left with a figure of 157,000 PS5s sold at retail price or higher on eBay and StockX – 7.06% of of the 2.067 million PS5s VGChartz estimates were sold in the US up until January 16. Driscoll then looked into active listings on services such as OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, coming to the conclusion that a likely 10-15% of PS5s have been resold in the US.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/ps5-scalpers-used-a-loophole-to-buy-stock-before-it-was-live-in-the-uk-ign-news”]

Driscoll’s report makes for very interesting reading beyond the headline figures. On eBay and StockX, the most recent estimated average price for a digital edition PS5 is $799 (twice its recommended price), while a disc edition is $849 (1.7 times recommend price). Driscoll estimates that scalpers have made $43.2 million in profit during that time, with eBay, PayPal, and StockX making a combined $15.9 million as a result of the resales.

While we can’t be completely sure of the figures involved (Sony has yet to release its own official data for launch) the report puts the scale of PS5 reselling into perspective, especially with scalping becoming a major talking point in the launch window of PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and new Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. Supply shortages and widespread use of automated bots have led to price inflation and repeated disappointment for normal customers. Some UK politicians are even calling on the practice to be made illegal as a result.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

With the world in the midst of a deadly pandemic, Plague Inc.: The Cure shakes up the games usual formula by tasking players with saving the world instead of destroying it. The new expansion is now available on Steam and is currently free for all Plague Inc.: Evolved players “until COVID-19 is under control.”

Developer Ndemic Creations has described the new DLC as the series’ biggest expansion yet as it adds new mechanics to help you stop the spread of a virus. You’ll dispatch research teams around the world to track the spread of the outbreak and boost testing capacity, implement measures such as contact tracing, lockdowns, and border closures to limit the spread of the outbreak, support the economy by using furlough schemes, and eventually develop a vaccine.

The nine-year-old game has been more relevant than ever over the past year, but The Cure adds a number of pertinent mechanics that will be familiar to anyone who’s glanced at the news recently. It was created with the help of world health and infectious disease experts from all over the world including the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), World Health Organisation (WHO) and Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).

Plague Inc. made headlines early last year when Ndemic had to provide a disclaimer informing players that the game was not a “scientific model” following a sales boost generated by players wanting to know how the coronavirus could spread. The game was later removed from sale in China for allegedly containing content that China deemed illegal.