Author: Trafficblast

The Morbius trailer dropped today and keen-eyed fans have spotted a very specific Spider-Man Easter egg. The Easter egg appears in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment when Jared Leto’s Morbius is escaping from some kind of facility. In the shot, you can see an image of Spider-Man with the word “murderer” spray-painted over it.

Here’s why this shot has the internet buzzing. First, the presence of Spider-Man indicates that this film could be connected to previous Spider-Man films. Second, the word murderer signals that the film takes place after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, which means this version of Spider-Man should be Tom Holland. However, the Spidey suit in question is not the one Tom Holland wears, but the one Tobey Maguire wore in his Spider-Man trilogy.

Third, this specific shot of Spider-Man actually comes from a loading screen from Sony’s PS4 game. So, is Sony just trolling here? Did they pull a random loading screen image from their game that just so happened to be of Toby Maguire? Are they trying to show that the Spider-Verse exists in Morbius, thus confirming that Sony’s ongoing Spider-Verse is connected to past iterations of Spider-Man? Without confirmation from Sony, we may never know the answer. However, social media has some brilliant reactions to this webbed mystery.

Social Media Reactions to Morbius’ Spider-Man Art

We’ve gathered a few Twitter reactions to the Spider-Man Easter egg, as well as a Reddit post discussing the implications.

And if we needed any further confirmation that this art is from the PS4 game, Bill Rosemann (head of creative at Marvel Games) tweeted this earlier today:

So, what is the truth? Does Morbius take place during the Toby Maguire/Sam Raimi Spider-Man universe? Does it take place during the Tom Holland timeline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? If Michael Keaton’s appearance is a clue, then it’s possible this takes place in the MCU and that the PS4 game also exists in that universe. If that’s the case, that would be the most meta video game/film crossover in history. Or is it just a cute Easter egg that we should all stop thinking about so hard? (Pfft, are you new here?) Weigh in with your theories below!

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Lauren Gallaway is a Social Media Coordinator for IGN. Find her tweeting at @LaurenGallaway and streaming at Glimpse Entertainment on Twitch.

Update:

After Sony confirmed they wouldn’t be at E3 2020, IGN reached out to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) which runs E3 every year for a statement regarding Sony’s absence again at its key consumer trade show. While the ESA did not mention Sony by name in its statement, the organization says there will be new experiences, partners, and programming at this year’s event.

Here’s the statement in full below:

“E3 is a signature event celebrating the video game industry and showcasing the people, brands and innovations redefining entertainment loved by billions of people around the world. E3 2020 will be an exciting, high-energy show featuring new experiences, partners, exhibitor spaces, activations, and programming that will entertain new and veteran attendees alike. Exhibitor interest in our new activations is gaining the attention of brands that view E3 as a key opportunity to connect with video game fans worldwide.”

Original story follows:

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Sony has announced that it will once again be skipping E3. This is the second year in a row the company has opted out of appearing at one of the biggest video game events of the year. It’s also particularly surprising given how Sony announced a holiday 2020 launch for the PlayStation 5.

E3 2020 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 9 to June 11, but Sony will not be present at the show for the second year in a row. In a statement to IGN, Sony said:

“After thorough evaluation SIE has decided not to participate in E3 2020. We have great respect for the ESA as an organization, but we do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year. We will build upon our global events strategy in 2020 by participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe. Our focus is on making sure fans feel part of the PlayStation family and have access to play their favorite content. We have a fantastic line up of titles coming to PlayStation 4, and with the upcoming launch of PlayStation 5, we are truly looking forward to a year of celebration with our fans.”

Sony first skipped E3 in 2019. At the time, Sony issued a statement saying, “As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community.”

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In the past year, Sony has opted for a more direct approach to engaging with fans like the State of Play live streams. Similar to the Nintendo Direct, the State of Play is a live stream video that is published throughout the year with news and announcements for upcoming PlayStation games.

Sony will be attending other game shows this year, including the Taipei Game Show where the company is holding some kind of PlayStation fan experience. Sony used to hold a PlayStation fan convention called the PlayStation Experience but hasn’t hosted a convention in North America since 2017.

E3 is one of the largest video game trade shows of the year. Hosted by the ESA, E3 has recently allowed members of the public to attend the convention. Other companies like Activision and EA have also skipped E3, and Microsoft technically hosts an off-site presence at E3.

(via GamesIndustry.biz)

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Pokemon Go has introduced a new way to evolve some Pokemon. Just as in the mainline series, you can now evolve certain Pokemon by trading them to a friend. However, this works a little differently than it does in a traditional Pokemon game, so we’ve put together this explainer detailing how to evolve Pokemon through trading in Go.

How To Evolve Pokemon By Trading

In mainline Pokemon games, a handful of monsters can only be evolved by trading them to another player, but in Pokemon Go, these creatures could be evolved the same way as most other Pokemon: by feeding them a set amount of Candy. Now, however, there’s an alternate method of evolving them: if you receive an eligible Pokemon through a trade, its Candy requirement will be completely removed, essentially allowing you to evolve it for free.

While this new evolution method has only been recently added to Pokemon Go, it retroactively applies to past traded Pokemon. That means if you’ve previously received one of the eligible Pokemon through a trade, its Candy requirement to evolve will also be removed.

Which Pokemon Evolve By Trading?

The new trade evolution method applies to the same Pokemon that evolve by trading in the mainline games:

• Kadabra -> Alakazam
• Machoke -> Machamp
• Graveler -> Golem
• Alolan Graveler -> Alolan Golem
• Haunter -> Gengar
• Boldore -> Gigalith
• Gurdurr -> Conkeldurr
• Karrablast -> Escavalier
• Shelmet -> Accelgor

In the main series, a handful of other Pokemon–such as Scyther and Onix–also evolve by trading if they’re holding certain items, but their evolution method in Pokemon Go has not been changed, so you cannot trade for a Scyther and then evolve it into Scizor without spending any Candy; only the Pokemon listed above will have their Candy requirement removed if obtained through a trade.

Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast, and Shelmet are among the newest Gen 5 Pokemon to arrive in the game. However, a handful of other Gen 5 Pokemon can only evolve using a new item called the Unova Stone. You can read more about how to obtain one of those and which Pokemon it works on in our Unova Stone guide.

Apex Legends players thought they may have caught a glimpse of a teaser for the coming season, but it turned out to simply be a very unusual bug. A falling object that appeared to be a meteor was actually an error involving Gibraltar’s Ultimate ability.

GamesRadar reports that the rumors have been swirling since October, when several players started seeing a meteor falling from the sky. At least one captured and shared the sight, and it certainly looks like a meteor streaking through the sky and crashing into the ground.

The fan community has been working to understand the sight, and Reddit user PenPineapplePen recently discovered how to reliably replicate the bug. It comes from triggering Gibraltar’s Defensive Bombardment ultimate ability, but if he’s killed after calling the airstrike, the missile comes in horizontally. More datamined sleuthing from Twitter user That1MiningGuy explained further disparities, like if his beacon grenade falls through the map.

Apex Legends Season 3 began in October, but Respawn hasn’t made clear when we can expect Season 4 to follow. Launched last January, it was one of GameSpot’s Best Games of 2019–in part because of the updates that kept us coming back.

“Apex Legends was one of those games we kept coming back to throughout the year, whether it was to dig into new updates or just enjoy the thrill of claiming to be champions,” wrote Michael Higham. “Never have we, the staff at GameSpot, been this excited to ask the question: where we droppin’?”

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of our most anticipated games of 2020. While its April 16 release date is only three months away, we’re still looking for every bit of sweet, sweet Night City content we can get our hands on to make the wait seem that much less painful.

In the game, players will take control of a fully customizable character for an RPG experience by CD Projekt Red, the studio that brought us The Witcher series. With FPS-style combat, celebrity cameos, and a massive, sprawling world full of rival gangs vying for power and control, Cyberpunk 2020 will plunge characters into the gritty underworld of Night City.

Luckily, Dark Horse has us covered on that front, with a deluxe hardcover edition of The World Of Cyberpunk 2077, a massive artbook compiling in-game lore, history, and worldbuilding to fully immerse and prepare you for your upcoming trip to the not-so-distant future. Take a look at some of the goodies you’ll find inside of the deluxe edition, including:

• An exclusive Night City map cover

• A slipcase featuring Night City graffiti

• A set of temporary Cyberpunk 2077 tattoos

• A poster of Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves)

• And a set of vehicle postcards

The World Of Cyberpunk 2020 cover, courtsey of Dark Horse

The World Of Cyberpunk 2077 includes 192 pages of Night City goodness and hits shelves April 22, mere days after the game debuts on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia.

Some new Pokemon have arrived in Pokemon Go. A handful of monsters originally from the Unova region–the setting of Pokemon Black and White–can now be found in the wild and raids in the hit Pokemon mobile game. On top of that, Niantic has also implemented a new method of evolving certain Pokemon that harkens back to the series’ roots.

Pokemon Go players around the world can now encounter the following Pokemon in the wild:

• Roggenrola
• Tympole
• Dwebble
• Trubbish
• Karrablast
• Joltik
• Shelmet

On top of that, the following Pokemon can now hatch from certain eggs:

• 2 km eggs: Venipede, Dwebble
• 5 km eggs: Roggenrola, Tympole, Trubbish, Karrablast, Joltik, Shelment
• 10 km eggs: Timburr, Tirtouga, Archen, Axew

A handful of new region-exclusive Pokemon have also been added to the game. The following Pokemon can now be encountered in certain parts of the world:

• North America, South America, Africa: Throh
• Europe, Asia, Australia: Sawk
• Southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean,South America: Maractus
• Egypt, Greece: Sigilyph
• Eastern hemisphere: Red-Striped Form Basculin
• Western hemisphere: Blue-Striped Form Basculin

Finally, you can now evolve certain Pokemon by trading, just as you can in the mainline series. If you trade Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler, Haunter, and other Pokemon that traditionally evolve through trading, the Candy cost to evolve them in Go will be removed. This also retroactively applies to these Pokemon if you’ve previously received them through trades.

In other Pokemon Go news, the Legendary Heatran recently returned to five-star Raids. Pokemon Go’s January Community Day also takes place this coming Sunday, January 19, and the featured Pokemon this month will be Piplup, the Water-type starter from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.