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Nintendo has finally revealed its long-rumored new model of Nintendo Switch – the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model). It will be released on October 8, and retail at $349.99 USD.

The upgraded machine – which many had taken to calling the ‘Switch Pro’ when it was being rumoured ahead of this announcement – features a larger 7-inch OLED screen (but the size of the console is unchanged from the base Switch model), a wider, adjustable base stand, enhanced audio, 64GB of internal storage, and a wired LAN port in the dock.

Contrary to previous reports, the new model doesn’t appear to offer 4K TV output, or improve performance. The new OLED screen, while providing an improved picture contrast, remains a 1280×720 resolution screen. Battery life remains the same as the improved base Switch model from 2019, at an estimated 4.5-9 hours.

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The new model comes in two variants – the familiar red-and-blue colour combination of the original Switch (with a black dock), and one with with new white Joy-Con controllers, and a matching white dock. The new docks are mostly unchanged, aside from the LAN port and a more rounded edge. Pre-orders have not yet opened at time of writing.

Existing Switch docks, Joy-Cons, and other accessories will remain compatible with the new OLED model. The new Switch dock is also compatible with older Switch models, including its wired LAN port.

The new Switch has been timed to release on the same day as Metroid Dread, but no bundle has yet been announced. The trailer for the new model (above) shows yet-to-be released games like Metroid Dread, the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, and Splatoon 3, but all footage appears to be pre-existing.

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Despite saying that it was focusing on existing Switch models, and saying it wouldn’t announce a new model ‘anytime soon’ in February, reports continuously emerged about a new model of the hybrid console. We’d previously heard that the upgraded model would come with a larger screen and 4K output, and that it would offer improved graphics, support Nvidia DLSS, and would come in at a higher price point. It remains to be seen whether another new model is on the way.

Nintendo had a record-breaking year in 2020, driven by huge sales of Switch and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and is reportedly expecting to break that record again this year. That could be in part to do with the release of a new Switch, and getting existing owners to upgrade. The only impediment might be the ongoing global semiconductor shortage, which currently means Nintendo can’t physically make enough Switch consoles.

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After months of rumors, Nintendo has surprise-announced a new Nintendo Switch model. The Nintendo Switch OLED sports a 7-inch screen and a wider adjustable stand. It’s coming on October 8 alongside Metroid Dread, and will cost $350.

The announcement notes it includes 64 GB of internal storage, enhanced audio, and a wired LAN port built into the dock. Aside from the HD support in the dock, the debut trailer makes no mention of performance improvements or 4K support, and the technical specs from Nintendo confirm it maxes out at 1080p in TV mode. It will come in the white-and-black finish with a white dock, shown in the trailer and a neon red/blue set with a black dock. All previous Joy-Con controllers will be compatible with the new unit.

Prior to the announcement, reports widely suggested the device would have a 7-inch OLED screen and a faster graphics element from Nvidia, capable of outputting at 4K in docked mode. Nintendo confirmed to The Verge that this model “does not have a new CPU, or more RAM, from previous Nintendo Switch models.” You can check out the full technical specs below.

Nintendo tends to make hardware revisions for its most popular hardware, especially handheld systems like the Game Boy, DS, and 3DS families. The Switch is a cross between a console and handheld, and it already introduced one hardware revision with the Switch Lite. The $200 Lite will also remain circulation as the lower-end model.

Nintendo had previously claimed that it would not be announcing a Switch hardware revision this year. And of course, this announcement comes within the context of an ongoing semiconductor shortage that is impacting lots of high-tech industries, including game console production. Nintendo’s president says the company is no exception, and that the shortage has impacted Switch supply. That means that the remodeled Switch OLED could be difficult to find. President Joe Biden has launched an investigation into the problem.

Even without a hardware revision, though, the current Switch models have been selling very well. The system has sold almost 80 million units in total across both available models, which means it has now beaten the also-popular Nintendo 3DS. And its software has been no slouch either, as popular first-party game Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold over 30 million units in total.

Nintendo Switch OLED Technical Specs

According to Valve’s official stats, Final Fantasy XIV has once again broken its record for concurrent players on Steam. With 47,542 players at its peak, that new number has beaten the 41,200 fans who flocked to the game in 2019 for the launch of Shadowbringers on PC. It’s worth noting that this figure doesn’t include the players on PS4 and PS5, where Final Fantasy XIV also enjoys a healthy and steady audience.

As for why there was a sudden surge in player numbers? That’s likely thanks to popular World of Warcraft Twitch streamer Asmongold, who decided to try the game out for himself and had over 200,000 people watching at one point, while the Final Fantasy XIV servers filled up with legions of fans who wanted to meet him.

This references a current joke in the World of Warcraft community that more players from that game are jumping ship to Final Fantasy XIV as players are unhappy with recent WoW expansions and Blizzard’s current direction for the game.

“Many people have moved over to Final Fantasy from WoW, and I understand why,” Asmongold said on a recent stream. “The truth is that WoW’s best release in the past 5 years has been a release that came out 15 years ago,” Asmongold said, referring to Blizzard’s release of WoW Classic.

For longtime fans of Final Fantasy XIV, there’s a lot to look forward to in the near future for Square Enix’s MMORPG. The game’s latest expansion, Endwalker, is due for release in November and brings with it a new melee DPS class called the Reaper, as well as male Viera and female Hrothgar races being integrated into the game.

Fortnite Week 4 will bring five more Alien Artifacts to the island. You’ll want to be sure to grab them once they appear starting this Thursday, July 1 at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET. You’ll only have until the same time next week to grab them all, and doing so will help you further customize Kymera, the Tier 1 Battle Pass alien character for Fortnite Season 7. Here’s where to find all Alien Artifacts in Fortnite Week 4.

Week 4 Alien Artifacts

After last week brought just four Alien Artifacts, this week sees the return of the set of five. Each Alien Artifact cylinder actually gives you four Artifacts to spend on Kymera’s customization options, so in total, another 20 Alien Artifacts can be found–excluding the bonus randomized Artifacts that can be found in Cosmic Chests when you’re playing in teams of two or more. You can find the five Alien Artifacts this week in the following locations:

• In the center of Holly Hatchery (currently Holly Hedges, but will change this week)
• In the northeast cabin at Weeping Woods
• In the small northwestern shed of Lazy Lake
• Outside the big eastern warehouse of Dirty Docks
• On an outside wall of centermost building of Steamy Stacks

Kymera can be customized across a variety of features, including armor color, skin color, armor underglow, eye color, head shape, and more. Each category of Kymera’s features includes a tiered list of options ranging from two to 17 Alien Artifacts per item, including a full set of free options which act as the default Kymera style. To unlock the most expensive item in any category, you’ll need to first unlock all the others before it in the same category.

That’s why collecting all Fortnite Alien Artifacts each week is so important if you’re hoping to unlock the full range of features. Unlike past customizable Battle Pass cosmetics like Chapter 2 Season 2’s Maya or Chapter 2 Season 3’s ‘Brella, Kymera can be restyled whenever you feel like it. There’s no permanent locking-in of his look. You could even make multiple Kymera characters for different presets. It’s like amassing an alien army for your loadouts. But you have to get Alien Artifacts during the week in which they debut, as they’re replaced the following week with new ones.

If you still need to collect last week’s Alien Artifacts, you can do so before Thursday, July 1. Meanwhile, don’t miss the outgoing Week 3 challenges and the incoming Week 4 challenges as well.

Actor Sean Astin famously portrayed Sam the Hobbit in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings series, and now he’s shared his thoughts on Amazon’s upcoming TV series.

Speaking to ComingSoon, Astin said he’s “very excited” to see the show. In particular, he said he’s enthusiastic about the possibilities if the show gets into The Silmarillion.

“If they’re digging a lot into The Silmarillion, it might be new information to me. I have not quite made it through The Silmarillion,” he said, adding that he thinks Amazon “was great to do it.”

Astin also shared that, all the way back in 2002, he predicted that in 20 years the series would be remade for a new audience. “I know in a generation, people want to experience what they love again. I’ve always been a big one to support sequels and remakes and particularly of classics. A lot of people think, why would you want to remake a classic? The good news is the classic will always remain,” he said. “So maybe somebody will do something interesting, and if it stinks, don’t watch it.

“But I have every expectation that this Lord of the Rings adaptation is going to be amazing. It’s been a long time in the making, really talented people working on it, and it only helps people remember 20 years ago when we brought out our version of Lord of the Rings. So it’s good for everyone when stuff like that happens.”

Astin also shared his advice for the cast, and that is to “enjoy the ride.” The Lord of the Rings is a massive franchise, and Astin said he felt overwhelmed when the original movies came out. “How much energy there was. How many people loved it and all of it,” he said.

In addition to Amazon’s TV series, Warner Bros. is fast-tracking a Lord of the Rings animated movie for theaters. As for the TV show, it’s currently in production in New Zealand and recently added four new cast members. The show has also been in the news lately due to its stunts and injuries on its sets. Amazon responded by saying reports of unsafe working conditions are “completely inaccurate.”

Nintendo Switch has received a firmware update, 12.1.0, which comes with a small but useful change to how updates work.

Announced by Nintendo, the new version makes one specific change alongside the usual stability improvements. The patch notes read:

“If there is not enough space remaining on the system memory (internal storage) or microSD card when downloading game software update data, you can now delete old data for that software, enabling you to download the new data.

“When deleting the old data, you won’t be able to play the game until the new data has finished downloading.”

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Essentially, instead of having to delete other games to make room for a new patch, you can now delete the existing data for the game that needs updating, before downloading the new version. It’s a minor alteration, but a welcome one, helping those of us who have already stuffed their Switch storage.

The new update also comes alongside a new Joy-Con controller update, but no patch notes have been released for that as yet.

This update will hopefully come with a little less fuss than the last one, after Nintendo pulled firmware that caused network connection problems and also stopped downloads from functioning properly.

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Amazon Studios has responded to reports about the working conditions on the sets of its big-budget The Lord of the Rings TV series. In the wake of a report from The New Zealand Herald regarding the safety of cast and crew for stuntwork, Amazon Studios said that allegations about unsafe conditions are “completely inaccurate.”

“Amazon Studios takes the health, physical and emotional welfare of our cast and crew extremely seriously,” a spokesperson told the Herald and Variety. “As a top priority, the production team continues to be in full compliance with the mandated WorkSafe New Zealand Safety and Security government regulations. Any allegation or report that activities on set are unsafe or outside of regulations are completely inaccurate.”

It’s reported that acclaimed stunt performer Dayna Grant–whose previous credits included Wonder Woman 1984 and Mad Max: Fury Road–suffered a serious injury on set in March. She has subsequently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help raise money for emergency brain surgery. A source told Variety that Grant’s head injury was classified as a “mild concussion.” As such, this was not a “notifiable event” based on WorkSafe’s criteria.

“The source also claims that Grant was not diagnosed with the brain aneurysm until June, and had previously been cleared to return to work on several other projects after suffering the concussion,” Variety reported.

Another Lord of the Rings stunt performer, Elissa Cadwell, received a payment of $500,000 NZD following her injury, according to the Herald. Variety said this money was provided to help pay for her care and for her to travel home.

Variety’s source added that the Lord of the Rings series has an “extremely large mount of stunts.” The source added that the production team compiles a risk analysis at every stunt site. And all “near misses and accidents” are logged. According to the source, the injury rate on the TV series is .068%, and this is mainly made up of sprains, bruises, and muscle and soft tissue strains.

Go to the Herald and Variety to learn more about this story.

With no sign of an official remake after decades, the classic Star Wars: TIE Fighter has been remade by fans as a total conversion mod with an impressive scope. While the game it builds on, X-Wing Alliance, is also pretty old, it makes use of an existing X-Wing Alliance mod that provides impressive visual updates.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter was the first ever Star Wars game that was played from the villain’s side, and while many games have since included playable Sith characters and Dark Side routes, not many have followed a rank-and-file member of the Galactic Empire like TIE Fighter did.

Fans of the original concept have been working hard to modernise the 1994 original in the form of a total conversion mod for 1999’s X-Wing Alliance–while also making use of the X-Wing Alliance Upgrade, a massive fan project that has seen the decades-old game upgraded in both content and quality.

The modders behind the TIE Fighter Total Conversion project have been building a version of the original TIE Fighter game on top of this already massive fan upgrade, resulting in a mod that, in their own words, imagines “how TIE Fighter could’ve been had the technology of the time not limited it.” The mod includes all the content from the original game and its two expansions, Defender of the Empire and Enemies of the Empire, as well as reimagined campaigns that expand on the original content.

You can play the reimagined TIE Fighter now, which requires a clean copy of X-Wing Alliance on Steam or GOG. The modders have released a video explaining how to get the game running for anyone who wants to check it out.

Richard Donner, the director of such films as the original Superman film starring Christopher Reeve, Lethal Weapon, and The Goonies, has died at the age of 91.

As reported by Variety, Donner’s production company confirmed the news of his death on Monday, July 5, although no cause was been disclosed.

His first directing credit on IMDB is listed as the episode of Zane Grey Theatre called “So Young the Savage Land.” One of his breakout hits was 1976’s The Omen, and that was followed up two years later with Superman.

He left Superman II after a litigious dispute with the film’s producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind. Richard Lester took over directing duties, but Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released in 2006, the same day as Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns debuted on home video.

He would continue on to direct Lethal Weapon 1-4, and his final directing credit was 2006’s 16 Blocks starring Bruce Willis.

Donner did much more than just direct, as he started a production company with his wife Lauren Shuler Donner that would produce X-Men movies like 2000’s X-Men and the prequel X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

While he may not have directed a film in some time, his influence on those creating some of the biggest movies in the world can’t be overstated. One of the interns at his production company was Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Had Donner chosen a different intern, the MCU as we know it may not have ever happened.

In a statement, Feige shared a few words that expressed how much Donner meant to him.

“Richard Donner not only made me believe a man could fly, he made me believe that comic characters could be brought to life on the big screen with heart, humor, humanity, and verisimilitude,” Feige wrote. “Above all he taught me that it can and must be done with respect, caring and kindness to everyone in front of and behind the camera.

“Dick and Lauren became mentors during my early career, and key supporters throughout the birth of the MCU. I owe my career to the way they took the time to nurture and teach a kid from New Jersey who didn’t know how to use a fax machine or make coffee very well. I always thought Dick was immortal. I still do. My thoughts are with Lauren and the entire family.”

Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born on April 24, 1939, in the Bronx. He attended Parker Junior College and went on to study at NYU where he majored in business and theater. He would begin his career as an actor, but ended up finding great success behind the camera.

Alongside the previously mentioned films, Donner also directed multiple episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, Perry Mason, Route 66, The Fugitive, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, and much more. He even worked for Hanna-Barbera for a time, where he directed episodes of Danger Island.

Richard Donner is survived by his wife Lauren Shuler Donner, who he married in 1986.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.https://variety.com/2021/film/news/richard-donner-dead-dies-superman-the-goonies-lethal-weapon-1235012025/

The 4th of July may be behind us, but the deals are still coming in hot. GameStop in particular has a nice selection of deals, as they’ve extended their original weekend sale, now having it last all week. This includes a great discount on Mario Odyssey, a must have for all Switch owners. There’s a bunch of Robotic Vacuums on sale today too, a nice discount on an elliptical bike and topping things off, a couple RTX 3000 equipped PCs.

Daily Deals for July 5th 2021

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