Category: Games

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A bill that would ban loot boxes has been officially introduced before the United States Senate. Now industry lobbying group the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has responded, criticizing the bill for what it calls “inaccuracies” and a misunderstanding of how video games actually work.

“This legislation is flawed and riddled with inaccuracies,” ESA CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis said in a statement (via USGamer). “It does not reflect how video games work nor how our industry strives to deliver innovative and compelling entertainment experiences to our audiences. The impact of this bill would be far-reaching and ultimately prove harmful to the player experience, not to mention the more than 220,000 Americans employed by the video game industry. We encourage the bill’s co-sponsors to work with us to raise awareness about the tools and information in place that keep the control of video game play and in-game spending in parents’ hands rather than in the government’s.”

The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act, introduced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), aims to regulate what it characterizes as predatory and casino-like mechanisms in video games, particularly ones aimed at minors. Specifically it would bar the sale of any randomized unlock, with the exception of difficulty modes, cosmetic items, and expansions. It also targets pay-to-win content, defined as anything that gives a competitive advantage.

The PCAGA defines “minor-oriented video game” very broadly, in such a way that it could impact lots of games that aren’t necessarily meant for children. It also sidesteps the ESRB’s own age classifications for these criteria.

Loot boxes have come under fire recently, following a controversy over their use in games like Star Wars Battlefront 2 and concern over their similarity to gambling. Some countries, like New Zealand and France, have already ruled that the practice does not constitute gambling. Belgium and the Netherlands reached the opposite conclusion, forcing Rocket League developer Psyonix to disable its loot box mechanic in the countries. Nintendo will be pulling a few of its own mobile games from Belgium altogether.

The workplace comedy The Office, an adaptation of Ricky Gervais’ show of the name, is Netflix’s No. 1 most popular show “by far.” That’s according to actor Brian Baumgartner, who said on a recent podcast that The Office is No. 1 by a huge margin.

“It’s not even close,” the Kevin Malone actor said on the Erik Anders Lang Show.

He said The Office is more popular now than it was when it originally aired on NBC in the 2000s. The reason why The Office is so enduringly popular is because it’s “subversive,” according to Baumgartner. He said young people in particular respond to its kind of humor, especially Steve Carell’s Michael Scott character who is known to make off-color jokes about race and sexual orientation.

“The show is bigger now than it was at the height of the show,” Baumgartner said. “It’s because it’s subversive. It appeals to that younger demographic … Some people who watched it when it came out, they’re still watching it, or watching it with their kids. It just keeps repopulating because of young people.”

“I don’t think it’s a secret; it is verifiably the number one show on Netflix right now which is the number one thing in the world,” he added. “By the way, it’s not close. I don’t know how much really I am supposed to say. It’s crazy.”

Baumgartner is presumably talking about popularity by measure of viewership. He’s also probably talking about popularity in the United States, as The Office isn’t available on Netflix worldwide. In Australia, for example, The Office streams on Stan, not Netflix.

A revival of The Office is reportedly in the works, but Carrel is not going to be involved. The actor thinks it’s a bad idea to bring back The Office because “the climate’s different” in regards to the kinds of jokes people think are acceptable.

“Apart from the fact that I just don’t think that’s a good idea [to bring back The Office], it might be impossible to do that show today and have people accept it the way it was accepted ten years ago,” he said. “The climate’s different. I mean, the whole idea of that character, Michael Scott, so much of it was predicated on inappropriate behavior.”

NBC Universal owns The Office, and Netflix pays a licensing fee to have The Office on Netflix. The current contract to keep The Office on Netflix expires in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. At that time, or perhaps sooner, Netflix would have to pay NBC Universal to retain The Office, and another layer of complexity is that NBC is launching its own streaming service relatively soon.

Netflix’s No. 2 show is believed to be Friends. Netflix reportedly paid $100 million to WarnerMedia to keep Friends on Netflix at least until the end of 2019.

Also on the podcast, Baumgartner talked about why The Office was the “worst possible show you could be on.” Unlike other shows where actors come in, film their scenes, and leave, The Office kept each actor on set at the time time. He says he worked 12-14 hours per day to film one episode.

According to reports, the new version of The Office will feature a combination of returning cast members and newcomers, while a new boss is reportedly coming in to take over for Michael Scott. Once again, it would take place at Dunder Mifflin’s office in Scranton, PA.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC, and it won’t be long until we learn more about Microsoft’s plans to release the compilation package on PC.

Developers from 343 Industries, including community director Brian Jarrard, design director Max Szlagor, and STE lead IK Grubb will appear on the 343 Social Stream on May 29 to provide an update on how the game is coming along.

The panelists will provide a “show-and-tell update on Halo: Reach and the journey to bring MCC on PC.” The event begins at 1:30 PM PT, and you can watch the event live on Mixer.

In addition to the livestream, 343 is planning a massive blog post that will dive deep into “many topics,” including Halo: Reach for Halo: MCC and MCC for PC in general. It will truly be a huge info dump, as 343 says the current draft is 22 pages and almost 6,000 words long.

Halo: MCC is coming to PC in stages, with each title in the package released and sold separately. This begins with Halo: Reach (which is also coming to Xbox One) and then continues on PC with Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4.

343 Industries originally planned to launch the first beta for Halo: Reach on PC in April, but it didn’t happen. Presumably the stream tomorrow will provide more answers on when people might be able to begin playing Halo: MCC on PC. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

You can sign up for the free Halo Insider program for a chance to get into the beta tests. The tests will start small before expanding to additional users over time.

In other Halo news, Microsoft is reportedly going to share more details on Halo Infinite at E3 2019 next month. For more, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of what we know about Halo Infinite so far and what we want to see at E3 2019.

Actor Timothy Olyphant bought a house just before his TV show Deadwood was canceled. He needed money. So what does an actor do? Take more jobs. He explained to Rolling Stone that he decided to take the role of Agent 47 in 2007’s Hitman movie because he had bills to pay.

He took that job and the villain in another 2007 movie, Live Free or Die Hard, to help pay off his house. “How about the villain of Die Hard?” Olyphant says he remembers being asked. “I said, ‘Sure.’ And they’re like, ‘Do you want to read the script?’ I said, ‘I get it. I’m in. I just bought a house. Did you not hear? They just canceled my fucking show. Yes, I’ll do it.'”

“‘What about this video game adaptation?’ ‘Yes to that too. I’m in. I’ve got to make up some TV money,'” Olyphant said.

He said working on those movies gave him valuable experience, perhaps even more than projects that he personally cares about more. Referring to Hitman, Olyphant said about his work ethic, “Find yourself bald in Bulgaria doing some pile of sh**, that will get you up a little earlier in the morning and make you work a little harder.”

The Hitman movie made almost $100 million at the box office, while Live Free or Die Hard made more than $380 million. Olyphant did not return to play Agent 47 again in 2015’s Hitman: Agent 47, with the role instead going to Homeland’s Rupert Friend.

Deadwood ran for three seasons on HBO before its cancellation. Olyphant and other cast members from the show came back for a TV movie on HBO that will premiere on May 31.