Month: March 2021

Pokemon Fan Reimagines Diamond And Pearl Remakes With Improved Graphics

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were announced earlier this year, and while the remakes do look like a visual step up over the original pair of games released in 2007, the 3D chibi-style hasn’t won everyone over. YouTuber Millenniumloops remade the trailer using assets from previous games, creating a more modern interpretation of the Sinnoh region journey. It’s not a game that is being made, but a concept trailer that imagines what the remakes could look like with more recent Pokemon aesthetics applied.

“I decided to make a re-imagined trailer of the Brilliant Diamond and Shinning Pearl games the way I wanted them to be,” Millenniumloops tweeted. “This is just my take on it. I have used models from previous Pokémon games as well as some things that I created myself.”

The YouTuber’s trailer shows off a version of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl that aesthetically more in line with recent games such as Pokemon Sword and Shield.

The Diamond and Pearl remakes are being helmed by developer ILCA, the studio responsible for the cloud-based storage app Pokemon Home and has provided support on other games such as Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Yakuza 0, and NieR: Automata. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl producer Junichi Masuda is still involved with these remakes and is co-directing the project alongside Yuichi Ueda.

Longtime Pokemon developer Game Freak is currently busy developing Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which features a similar visual style to Pokemon Sword and Shield. Set in a bygone era of the Sinnoh region’s history, players will create the first Pokedex of that region and encounter the mythical Arceus along their journey when the game arrives next year on Nintendo Switch.

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Matthew McConaughey Says He Might Run For Governor Of Texas

Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey has yet again spoken about a potential career in politics, and this time he sounds a little more serious about getting involved.

Speaking on The Balanced Voice podcast (via EW), the 51-year-old said he is thinking seriously about running for Governor of Texas in 2022. He said a potential bid is a “true consideration” of his.

This is a slight change in direction from 2020 when McConaughey said he had “no plans” at the time to run for a political office.

“Politics seems to be a broken business. Politics needs to redefine its purpose,” he told Stephen Colbert on his late-night TV show.

McConaughey wouldn’t be the first actor to get into politics, as Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor of California from 2003 – 2011. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, more recently, has said he might run for President of the United States if people want him to.

Even if McConaughey doesn’t find a future in politics, he has already branched out into leadership activities beyond his acting career. He is now teaching at the University of Texas, while he said on the podcast that he’s been spending time working with children who come from difficult backgrounds.

Gothic Remake For PS5, Xbox Series X|S, And PC Is Coming From THQ Nordic’s Newest Studio

THQ Nordic has opened a new studio in Spain that will develop a remake of Gothic as its first title. The studio is called Alkimia Interactive, and it’s based in Barcelona, Spain.

The studio will focus on “high-quality RPGs,” THQ Nordic said in its announcement. Work is already “well underway” on the Gothic remake, and THQ said fans can expect more news soon.

The Gothic remake is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. THQ released a playable teaser of the game back in 2019, and the publisher later announced it planned to develop it as a full game. According to THQ, it won’t be a simple remake but instead a “re-imagining [of] the whole thing.”

More than 180,000 people tried the Gothic playable teaser, and THQ had said part of its plan was to establish a studio in Barcelona to see it through, which is now happening.

“We are up for the challenge to develop a full Gothic Remake which will stay as faithfully as possible to the original experience and transport the atmospheric world of Gothic into a high quality look and carefully modernizing certain gameplay mechanics,” THQ Nordic’s Reinhard Pollice said.

In the summer of 2020, THQ Nordic started its new Barcelona studio and began assembling a team. The office is still ramping up, as it has more than 15 open positions on its website.

“We strive to build Alkimia Interactive as a top-notch RPG studio,” Pollice said. “Our ambition is to become one of the best addresses for PC/Console core game development in Southern Europe.”

The original Gothic was released in 2001. Multiple sequels were released, including Gothic 3 in 2006. A spin-off called Arcania: Gothic 4 launched in 2010.

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Halo Pringles Get A Shout Out On Stephen Colbert’s TV Show

Microsoft’s new Halo Pringles that taste like the extinct Moa bird are now on store shelves, and they’ve attracted the attention of one late-night TV host in particular.

Stephen Colbert’s late-night show dedicated some time to the Moa Pringles this week, with Colbert asking his audience, “If you’ve ever been blasting away at creatures in Halo and thought, ‘I wish I could eat them.’ Great news. Pringles and Microsoft–yes, you heard that right–have announced a new Halo potato chip that tastes like a space ostrich.”

Colbert goes on to joke that he hopes the Halo/Pringles collaboration goes over better than the Yoshi-flavored burgers at White Castle, which are not a real thing. You can check out the segment for yourself at around 3 minutes into the video below.

Limited-edition cans of Halo-branded cans with the “Moa Burger” flavor are now available to buy only at Walmart. “Our latest shipments from Reach have arrived, so be sure to grab them while you can,” Microsoft said in a tweet. Bear in mind that these are the “wavy” Pringles, not the standard chips.

The “Moa Burger” is a reference to an in-game ad from Halo: Reach. Restaurants in the game’s universe made burgers out of the flightless birds that call Reach home. The Moa was also a real bird that lived in New Zealand until it went extinct.

From the looks of it, these special Pringles cans don’t contain any bonuses or extras like double XP or anything like that, so they are purely a collector’s item.

Because Halo Infinite was supposed to release in Fall 2020, a number of marketing campaigns for the game have already rolled out. Microsoft’s partnership with Butterfinger included free DLC for people who bought the sugary snack, though the campaign is now over. Additionally, Microsoft teamed up with Monster Energy to offer double XP in Halo Infinite when it releases.

Halo Infinite will release in Fall 2021 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game’s multiplayer element will be free-to-play with microtransactions.

Recently, developer 343 Industries released a series of images from the game’s campaign mode that show off a massive graphical improvement.

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Wipeout-Style Anti-Gravity Racer Pacer Is Now Available On Xbox

Pacer is a futuristic, high-speed racing game that’ll be immediately familiar to fans of the classic 90’s Wipeout series. After launching on PS4 and PC late last year, the game is now available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

“The year is 2075. You’re a fresh pilot on the starting grid, ready to take on any and all challengers to make a name for yourself and become the Pacer world champion,” the official Xbox description reads. Normally priced at $40, Pacer is on sale at launch for $32 on the Xbox Store.

Pacer has been around in one form or another for a while now, first appearing as Formula Fusion in a 2015 Kickstarter campaign. The game released in early access that same year, before rebranding to Pacer in 2019 and finally seeing its full release in October 2020.

Always intended as a spiritual successor to the Wipeout series, Pacer studio R8 games includes some Wipeout veterans among its ranks, including R8’s founder Andrew Walker. The gameplay has players customizing their anti-gravity racers, collecting mods, weapons, and defenses, and of course racing to earn credits to pay for it all. Pacer features 8 different game modes, 4 speed classes, and 14 race maps with a broad array of map variants available.

Pacer is now available on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam.

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Roblox Passes $2.5 Billion Mobile Revenue Ahead Of Successful Public Listing

Just before it went public via a direct listing on Wednesday, Roblox announced that it had reached a milestone of $2.5 billion mobile revenue between the App Store and Google Play–with $1.2 billion of that earned solely in 2020.

It was only October last year when Roblox passed its previous milestone of $2 billion in mobile revenue, meaning Roblox players have spent $500 million on mobile in the last five months. The game is free to download, with all Roblox’s revenue coming from the sale of its in-game currency, Robux. While players can also spend on other platforms, more than half of Roblox’s sales go through either the App Store or Google Play, with players from the United States accounting for 65% of that mobile revenue.

After multiple delays to its public listing, Roblox finally went public via direct listing on March 10. The New York Stock Exchange set a reference price of $45 a share, but the stock was up almost 55% to $69.50 by market close, as reported by CNN. The listing means the company is now valued at over $45 billion, higher than other industry giants such as EA and Take-Two.

After initially exploring an IPO, Roblox eventually went public via a direct listing. “For us, a direct listing seemed natural,” Roblox CEO and co-founder David Baszucki told CNN. “It brings the whole community together and everyone is using the same price at the opening of trading.”

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Creed 3 Set For Thanksgiving 2022 With Michael B. Jordan Directing

The idea of a spinoff from the Rocky series sounded silly before we saw the first film, but the Creed movies have become a showcase for actor Michael B. Jordan. That’s even moreso the case with Creed 3, where Jordan will be stepping behind the camera in addition to starring in the film. And now, we know when to expect the next chapter of the boxing saga–Creed 3 is set to release in Fall 2022.

MGM revealed today that Creed 3 will arrive just in time for Thanksgiving, hitting theaters on November 23, 2022. Creed 3 marks Jordan’s directorial debut. Keenan Coogler, brother to Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, is taking on writing duties for the film. Coogler also wrote the upcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy.

“Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right,” Jordan said in an official statement. “Creed 3 is that moment–a time in my life where I’ve grown more sure of who I am, holding agency in my own story, maturing personally, growing professionally, and learning from greats like Ryan Coogler, most recently Denzel Washington, and other top tier directors I respect. All of which sets the table for this moment.”

“This franchise and in particular the themes of Creed 3 are deeply personal to me,” Jordan continued. “I look forward to sharing the next chapter of Adonis Creed’s story with the awesome responsibility of being its director and its namesake.”

Other details on the film are sparse; it’s assumed that co-stars Phylicia Rashad and Tessa Thompson will reprise their roles, but that hasn’t been formally announced. Thompson initially revealed Jordan’s directorial debut back in December 2020, but didn’t directly confirm that she’s in the film. In a fun bit of symmetry, Variety notes that Sylvester Stallone, who starred in all of the Rocky films, began directing them with Rocky II, and went on to direct four more of them.

John Wick Director Chad Stahelski to Helm “Die Hard Meets Indiana Jones” Thriller

The director of the “John Wick” series has set up his next action outing.

New Line Cinema has won an auction for Chad Stahelski’s action-thriller “Classified,” per Deadline. The film is based on a story by Paranomal Activity: The Ghost Dimension writers Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan. There’s currently no word on who will star in the picture.

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The project was pitched as a cross between Die Hard and Indiana Jones. The film is set inside a secret government bunker like the one seen at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark and the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The facility contains artifacts recovered during World War II that prove to be dangerous. And then some Die Hard-style shenanigans proceed, presumably.

Stahelski made his name in Hollywood through stunts, serving as the stunt double for Keanu Reeves and a martial arts stunt coordinator for the original Matrix trilogy. Stahelski and David Leitch made their directorial debut in 2014 with the Reeves’ vehicle John Wick.

While Stahelski stayed attached to the series, helming the second and third entries, Leitch went on to direct blockbusters like Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.

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Additionally, Stahelski is also set to helm a reboot of the cult fantasy film Highlander. He is also directing the fourth and fifth John Wick movies, which are currently in pre-production and set to be filmed back-to-back. John Wick: Chapter 4 will release on May 27, 2022.

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J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

EA Is Investigating FIFA Scandal After Employee Allegedly Caught Selling Rare FUT Cards

EA is investigating allegations that an employee, or at least someone involved with EA FIFA, is selling rare FIFA 21 Ultimate Team items in exchange for real money through a kind of makeshift black market.

Earlier this week, reports began spreading on social media that claimed to have screenshots of a text exchange between an alleged EA employee and a FIFA 21 player trying to purchase FUT Icon and Team of the Year cards. In the text exchange, the seller was offering rare cards for over $1,000 USD.

Typically, the legitimate ways to acquire these cards require trades between players or by purchasing random loot packs, making these cards incredibly rare. And it should be noted that Icon and TOTY cards aren’t just rare because of the famous players on them, but because their competitive stats are also some of the best in the game.

The exchange has since been named EA Gate on social media. You can check out the alleged details in a tweet from @FutArcade below.

It’s unclear exactly how these transactions begin, but according to the chat screenshots, a person seeking rare FUT cards just needs to provide their PSN and EA ID, and the appropriate funds. When asked by the buyer if there’s a reason to worry about being banned, the seller says there’s “no risk” but can’t divulge why out of concern for security.

The alleged seller appears to offer a menu of items, including 3 Icon cards for 750 Euros (~$895) or 3 Icon cards and 2 Team of the Year cards for 1,000 Euros (~$1193).

In a statement published on the official EA Sports FIFA Twitter account, the company says it’s aware of the allegations and has started an investigation.

“A thorough investigation is underway, and if we identify improper conduct, we will take swift action,” says EA. “We want to be clear — this type of behavior is unacceptable, and we in no way condone what is alleged to have happened here.”

IGN has contacted EA and received the same statement published on Twitter. We’ll have updates for when EA concludes its investigation.

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Matt T.M. Kim is a News Editor at IGN.

What the Bethesda Deal Means for Sony

On this week’s episode of IGN’s PlayStation show Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano and Lucy O’Brien to discuss what implications the Bethesda deal  has on Sony’s current plans, how and what we think Sony can do to keep PlayStation Plus competitive and improve it, and our expectations for the future of PSVR and its successor.

Watch the new episode above!

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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out our PS5 console review and our PS5 wiki guide for tips on how to best use your system. And for more Beyond, be sure to watch the first episode of our Bloodborne let’s play!

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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.