Author: Trafficblast

Sony will soon cease production of the PlayStation Vita in Japan. The company revealed the news on the PlayStation Japan website, where it was confirmed both remaining models of the handheld will be discontinued soon.

While Sony has not confirmed what this means for the handheld in the West, the writing has been on the wall for a while. In May 2018, physical PS Vita games were discontinued in the US and Europe, while incoming PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said in June 2017–when he was head of PlayStation in Europe–that the Vita was “not an active line” outside of Japan.

The Vita launched in Japan in late 2011 before being released elsewhere in early 2012. A smaller, lighter model was released in 2013 in Japan and the following year in other parts of the world.

The handheld was a critical success, as reviewers and consumers praised its hardware and many of its games. However, it struggled commercially and Sony admitted as early as March 2016 that its focus had shifted elsewhere.

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Netflix’s The Punisher and Jessica Jones series’ have been canceled. Deadline reports that the third season of Jessica Jones will still air on the streaming service, but it will mark the end of her run. The Punisher, meanwhile, will not return, having had a second season launch on Netflix in January, 2019.

This seemingly brings Marvel and Netflix’s relationship as it pertains to creating new shows to an end. The streaming service has already called time on its Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist shows, which means The Defenders are no more. Netflix has indicated that the shows will remain on Netflix for subscribers to watch, however.

“Marvel’s The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix,” reads a statement issued to Deadline. “Showrunner Steve Lightfoot, the terrific crew, and exceptional cast including star Jon Bernthal, delivered an acclaimed and compelling series for fans, and we are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come.

“In reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the upcoming third season will also be the final season for Marvel’s Jessica Jones. We are grateful to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, star Krysten Ritter, and the entire cast and crew, for three incredible seasons of this groundbreaking series, which was recognized by the Peabody Awards among many others.”

Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb has also released a statement, saying that the company was thrilled by the stories it told with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Punisher. He went on to reflect on the achievement of bringing together the characters and talked up the talent that contributed to doing so.

“Marvel assembled amazing teams to write, produce, direct, edit, and score 13 seasons and 161 one-hour episodes. Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft. We loved each and every minute of it. And we did it all for you–the fans–who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it.”

Interestingly, his statement also indicated that it was Netflix’s decision to drop the shows, and suggested that Marvel isn’t done with the characters. “Our network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters … but you know Marvel better than that,” he teased. “As Matthew Murdock’s Dad once said, ‘The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it’s how he gets back up.’ To be continued…!”

Of course, Marvel is owned by Disney and it has been speculated that these characters could have a future on Disney’s own streaming service, which is called Disney+. The service will be home to Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and another new live-action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian. Disney has also confirmed TV shows based on “beloved superheroes” that may not have had their own spotlight on the big screen. One of these is a show based on fan-favorite character Loki.

Disney’s Kevin Mayer, the chairman in charge of direct-to-consumer offers, previously said that migrating Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Punisher is a possibility.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is getting a big update, and it’s coming to PS4 first this week. Operation Grand Heist adds new characters, outfits, maps, and a lot more. A lengthy trailer (above) sped through all the new content, but it’s so jam-packed you could blink and miss something.

Grand Heist will bring back the Outrider Specialist, and introduce a new Blackout mode map called Ghost Town. Those who own the Black Ops Pass will also get two new multiplayer maps, Casino and Lockup, along with an exclusive Cosmic Silverback character for use in Blackout.

The trailer teases two new modes, called One in the Chamber and Hot Pursuit. It also promises that more outfits, weapons, vehicles, and camos are on the way. In the briefest flash, it also teases something happening with the Zombies mode as a ghoulish figure rushes the screen for a split-second.

Operation Grand Heist is coming to PS4 on February 19, with other platforms to follow after. Treyarch had previously teased this update alongside a double XP weekend and other special modes.

Black Ops 4 is a collection of three multiplayer modes–Competitive MP, Zombies, and the battle royale Blackout mode–and abandoned the series’ traditional single-player campaign altogether. That won’t be the case for this year’s installment of the long-running series, though, as Activision has already confirmed that CoD 2019 will have a campaign. It’s rumored to be Modern Warfare 4.