Quibi May Already Be Up For Sale – Report

Quibi, the short-form mobile video streamer that launched back in April, is reportedly already exploring a sale. According to a Wall Street Journal report, “the company founded by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg [has been] struggling to sign up subscribers in a competitive online-video marketplace.”

“Quibi has successfully launched a new business and pioneered a new form of storytelling and state-of-the-art platform,” a Quibi spokesman said, adding that the company does not comment on rumor or speculation. “Jeffrey [is] committed to continuing to build the business in the way that gives the greatest experience for customers, greatest value for shareholders and greatest opportunity for employees.”

However, founder Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman have cited COVID-19 as making Quibi’s plan for high-production mobile video incompatible with current production realities. Earlier this year at Denver’s SeriesFest–a Denver festival “dedicated to championing artists at the forefront of episodic storytelling”–Katzenberg reportedly described the pandemic as a “brick wall” the company hit.

Beyond an out-and-out sale, the Wall Street Journal also reports that Quibi is considering raising more money or going public through a merger.

If you’re still fuzzy on or generally curious about Quibi’s offerings, you can read our primer that we published back around its launch earlier this year.

Nintendo Switch Games On Sale For $40 Are Becoming Way More Common

Nintendo games, especially first-party titles, are notorious for sticking around $60 for years after release, only seeing significant discounts during major sales like Black Friday and Prime Day. However, that situation seems to be changing, at least for select first-party Switch games and pricey ports. For the past several months, games like Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Splatoon 2, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Super Mario Maker 2 have regularly been on sale for around $40, marking a major shift from recent years.

The growing trend seems to have started several months ago. For example, back in April, we covered a batch of Switch exclusives, including Breath of the Wild and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, going for $40 at Amazon. In June, many Switch exclusives were hovering around $42, but by July, they were back to $40 in a GameStop sale. Best Buy offered the same batch of games for $40 as part of its Labor Day Sale, and right now, as we near the end of September, both Amazon and Target are offering numerous Switch games for $40 each.

Pretty much every other major first-party Switch game you don’t see on that list is sitting at $49.94 on Amazon and Best Buy right now. Meanwhile, expensive third-party ports seem to fall in price faster these days as well. Three 2K collections–Borderlands: Legendary Collection, XCOM 2 Collection, and BioShock: The Collection–just launched in May at $50 each, and they’re already down to $30 at Amazon. Whether they’re $10 or $20 off, it’s incredibly strange to see so many major Switch games discounted at one time on a regular basis, but we seem to have reached the point in the Switch’s life cycle where this is now common.

Of course, we’re talking about Nintendo standards here. Some of these games are over three years old, and if they were PS4 or Xbox One games, they’d be going for 20 bucks at this point. But because Nintendo doesn’t need to drop the price on its games over time–people will keep buying them at $60, and you can’t play Mario on Xbox–spotting a $10 or $20 discount on a Switch game is a steal, even one that released in 2017.

The Nintendo Switch is currently more popular than ever before, with over 61 million systems sold as of August, so we don’t expect to see any of these games get a permanent price cut anytime soon–but if the last few months are any indication, $40 to $50 is now the new regular discount for first-party titles and other $60 Switch games. So if you’ve been thinking about picking up Super Mario Party or know someone who wants to buy Breath of the Wild, know that you don’t need to pay $60 for these titles anymore–chances are, you’ll find them on sale right now and may find them even cheaper within a week or two.

With Black Friday and Prime Day on the way, here’s hoping this means we see even bigger discounts in the near future. Last year, we saw a brief $30 discount on select Switch games that quickly rose back up to $40 during Black Friday, but with the $40 discount price being so common these days, we may see more Switch games going for $30 (and hopefully for longer) this holiday season.

The 5 Biggest Takeaways From Xbox’s Bethesda Acquisition

Microsoft shocked the gaming world this week with the announcement it had acquired ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda, in a $7.5 billion cash deal. The move adds eight more studios to Xbox’s first-party portfolio, including Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and the upcoming Starfield), id Software (Doom), Arkane (Prey, Dishonored), MachineGames (Wolfenstein), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within), and more.

There is a lot to digest here, both about the immediate deal itself as well as the short- and long-term fallout (yes, pun intended). For now, though, in the immediate wake of the announcement, here are my five big takeaways, thoughts, and questions.

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The Elder Scrolls 6 (Among Others) Might Be an Xbox Exclusive Now

We do know that the previously announced deals for timed PS5 exclusivity on Arkane’s Deathloop and Tango’s Tokyo Ghostwire will be honored, but beyond that, Microsoft will have a lot of options. Take The Elder Scrolls VI, the next game from Todd Howard and his team at Bethesda Game Studios following Starfield, which was revealed in 2018 and is expected in either late 2021 or sometime in 2022. While it’s technically been announced, nothing about it is known, let alone set in stone. Microsoft could opt to hold onto it forever as a console exclusive. Or it could make it a timed exclusive and release it on PS5 a year later. Or it could just make it multiplatform from the jump and offer the day-one Game Pass incentive for Xbox players. Odds are Microsoft will choose the most lucrative path – it’s got a $7.5 billion expenditure to recoup, after all – and there’s a case to be made either way. Microsoft could use The Elder Scrolls, already one of the biggest franchises in gaming, as a massive carrot to dangle at the end of the stick for players not yet in the Xbox ecosystem, particularly given that by the time Elder Scrolls 6 releases, it will have been more than a decade since Skyrim. Or it could just put it out on PS5, which is certain to have a very large installed base, and reap a publisher’s cut of every copy sold there. It’s going to be fascinating to see how it all unfolds.

Todd Howard Is Probably Contractually Locked-in

Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios Todd Howard was no doubt already making an excellent living at Bethesda, and deservedly so given his accomplishments. He’s also been an employee for 25 years. And while Bethesda was a private company up until now, it’s possible that Howard has equity in the company, given both his tenure and his stature. If so, he stands to make a lot of money out of this. Like, “F*** it, I’m going to go buy an island and live on the beach forever” kind of money. Odds are, this acquisition specifically locks Howard (and possibly some other senior creatives) in for a minimum number of years, with possible escalator payouts in place the longer they stick around as newly minted Microsoft employees. Simply put, Microsoft won’t want him to leave immediately. He is an immense part of BGS’s value to Microsoft. We seemingly saw something similar back when BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk both left their studio exactly five years after EA acquired it. Hopefully, Howard still wants to continue making games, but I’d set a reminder in your calendar for five years from now to see if we see a similar retirement announcement from him.

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Did This Deal Come About After Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Came Off the Table?

It seems like just yesterday that Microsoft was in the mix to acquire Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and its handful of exceptionally talented studios, including Rocksteady, Monolith, and NetherRealm. Parent company AT&T seems to have pulled any possible deal off the table, and so it’s fair to wonder: did Microsoft move quickly on Bethesda in the aftermath? A trusted source tells me that, in fact, a Microsoft-Zenimax deal was almost locked  two years ago, but fell apart. It’s obviously done now, though, and so the question flips: is it possible that Microsoft could’ve had both Bethesda and WB?

Xbox Is Now the Home for Western RPGs

Sure, PlayStation’s got Final Fantasy XVI, but if you like Western RPGs, Xbox is now the definitive home for those. Microsoft now owns the following studios and IPs: Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Starfield), Obsidian (Avowed, Pillars of Eternity, The Outer Worlds), inXile (Wasteland), and Playground (Fable). That’s just nuts – particularly when you factor in the fact that every single one of those expansive RPGs will be available on Day One as part of your Game Pass subscription.

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Any Argument Against Xbox Game Pass Is Null and Void

There simply is no argument against Xbox Game Pass left. While I’d see some folks online bemoaning the lack of AAA games as part of the service, that is now dead and buried. Regardless of whether or not Microsoft chooses to keep future Bethesda games off of PlayStation 5, the fact of the matter is that the following megafranchises will now see all future entries launch day and date into Game Pass: Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Starfield, Doom, Wolfenstein, Quake, etc. That’s on top of the Halos, Fables, Avoweds, etc. that are already on the way. If it wasn’t already, Game Pass is now a required $10 per month expense for all serious gamers, because the value in return for that $120 per year is through the roof.

No matter how you look at it, Microsoft acquiring one of the industry’s fellow major publishers and suite of developers is a seismic event – one whose ramifications could affect the industry for years to come. Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t possibly have any surprises left in store for us, this happens. Generation 9 is going to be a fun one.

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Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Marvel’s Spider-Man PS5 Remaster Will Not Get A Physical Release

During Sony’s PS5 event, the company revealed that a remastered version of Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS5 will be included in the Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate edition bundle.

Developer Insomniac shared through Twitter a few new pieces of info about the remastered game. The PS5 version of Marvel’s Spider-Man will not be getting a physical release, and saves will also not transfer from the original game to the remastered edition, so you’ll have to restart Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered on the PS5 even if you’ve made progress on the original PS4 game.

Insomniac also acknowledged players who wanted to know if they could still upgrade the PS4 version of Marvel’s Spider-Man if they already owned it and did not purchase the game as part of the Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate edition bundle. Though the developers did not give an answer yet, they’ve promised to release more information regarding that specific situation soon.

The remastered version of Marvel’s Spider-Man will include improved facial features and animation as well as ray-traced reflections, ambient shadows, and enhanced lighting. Three new Spider-Man suits, new photo mode features, and new trophies will also be a part of the remastered game.

The Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate edition bundle, which, as stated before, includes Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered and three DLC packs that make up the Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps, retails for $70. The standard edition that only includes Spider-Man: Miles Morales retails for $50. Both will be released along with the PS5 on November 12. Preorders are now available and you can check out GameSpot’s pre-order guide to the standard and Ultimate editions of Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Now Playing: Spider-Man: Miles Morales Gameplay First Look | PS5 Showcase

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Xbox Buying Bethesda Is a Megaton

We’re live with Unlocked a day early to cover the massive news of Microsoft acquiring Bethesda and the rest of ZeniMax Media. Ryan, Miranda, Brandin, and Destin discuss what it means for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Doom, and the upcoming Starfield to be under the Xbox umbrella, options for exclusivity, Game Pass, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with Geoff Keighley, the creator and host of The Game Awards.

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It’s already been an incredibly fun year of Xbox coverage, and the best is yet to come. Join us! Oh, and feel free to leave us a video Loot Box question below using Yappa and you might be featured on an upcoming episode!

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Miranda Sanchez is the executive editor of guides at IGN. You can chat with her about video games and anime on Twitter.

Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic’s New Force FX Lightsaber Is Extremely Detailed

While most of the Star Wars Expanded Universe isn’t canon anymore after Disney bought out Lucasfilm, there are plenty of characters and stories Star Wars fans love celebrating. And hey, they could all be reintroduced into current canon at some point, right? One of the most beloved Star Wars games of all time is none other than Knights of the Old Republic, and the game’s character–Darth Revan–is having their lightsaber made into a new collectible.

The Star Wars: The Black Series Darth Revan Force FX Elite Lightsaber is about as close as you’ll come to getting a hold of the Fallen Jedi turned Sith Lord’s lightsaber. Hasbro sent a Force FX lightsaber for us to check out.

If your first worry is what color the blade will be on this lightsaber, don’t fret. You can change it between purple and red really quickly. Check out some of the photos of the upcoming lightsaber below.

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The LED-filled tube changes between the two colors when you press both of the buttons on the hilt. Individually, one button turns the lightsaber on/off and the other makes a deflection sound when pressed or a wall-cutting effect when it’s held down.

Along with the lightsaber, you get a stand and a removable kyber crystal, if you just want to display the hilt and not the entire plastic tube on top–as the blade is removable. The lightsaber takes three AA batteries, which are not included.

The Black Series lightsaber is pricier compared to your average toy–as this is more for the collector market. It’s made of metal, not plastic, and is a bit weightier than Hasbro’s other lightsabers, which are geared more towards play. The Darth Revan lightsaber retails for $225, but right now, it’s available on Amazon for $250.

The only real drawback for the latest Force FX lightsaber is that it is a little tough to hold. The the decorative embellishments on the hilt are curved, and when it swoops out, it digs into your palm a bit. But this is more a lightsaber that hangs out on your desk rather than one you chase door-to-door salesman with. I recommend the Kylo Ren one for that–it’s weightier.

The Star Wars Black Series Darth Revan Force FX Lightsaber is available now.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

Hasbro Reveals Stylized Mandalorian Figures

With no new Star Wars movie on the immediate horizon, all eyes are on The Mandalorian: Season 2 right now. And unsurprisingly, Hasbro is betting big on all things Mando and Baby Yoda for its upcoming toy and collectible releases.

As part of the first weekly Mando Monday event, Hasbro revealed a huge bounty of Mandalorian toys in the works for Fall 2020. From new additions to the Black Series and Vintage Collection lines to a Mandalorian-themed version of Monopoly, there’s a little something for every Star Wars fan here. Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at everything:

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Perhaps the coolest reveal in this new batch of figures is the Star Wars: The Black Series Credit Collection. While these various 6-inch Mandalorian figures have all been released as part of the regular Black Series in the past, the Credit Collection rereleases update those figures with new weathered paint scheme designed to mimic the stylish end credits of The Mandalorian. They also come packaged in vintage-inspired boxes (similar to the recent The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary figures) and each include a different replica of an Imperial credit.

Similarly, while the 3.75-inch Vintage Collection series has seen several Mandalorian figures in the past year, the Carbonized Collection updates those figures with metallic paint jobs.

These weren’t the only new Mandalorian toys revealed as part of the first Mando Monday. Baby Yoda is getting his own LEGO set, and he still looks adorable in block form.

In other The Mandalorian news, we’ve got a breakdown of all the characters and cameos in the series so far, including some new reveals from the Season 2 trailer. And Temuera Morrison, the actor who portrayed Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones, was recently cast as Boba Fett in the second series of the show.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Nvidia Apologizes For RTX 3080 Launch

If you’ve been having a hard time trying to order the new Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card, you’re not alone. Nvidia has issued a formal apology to those impacted by the overwhelming demand for the card.

Nvidia put the new card on sale last week, September 17, and production has been in full swing for the RTX 3080 since cards began shipping to retail partners in August and supply is being increased each week to meet the demand.

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Nvidia revealed its next generation of graphics cards earlier this month and immediately had the internet abuzz, and for good reason. The RTX 3080 offers more than twice as much power as its predecessor at almost half the price.

The company reported more than four times the traffic on its website as compared to the 20-series launch, and stated that over 50 retail partners “reported record traffic to their sites, in many cases exceeding Black Friday.”

Many people woke up early hoping to secure their orders only to find the graphics cards were sold out almost instantly, with many taken by bots. RTX 3080s were being listed on eBay shortly after for thousands of dollars above the retail price.

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Nvidia is aware of the many bots attempting to place orders and has assured potential buyers that it is doing everything in its power to reduce the amount of successful bot sales.

“This is the first time that we have seen bots at this scale and sophistication,” Nvidia stated in its blog post. “While individuals using bots may have shown images of email inboxes filled with confirmed orders, NVIDIA has cancelled hundreds of orders manually before they were able to ship.”

Additional security has been implemented on the backend of its website, as well. “We have been quickly working on numerous security upgrades, including CAPTCHA,” Nvidia said. “We will also continue to manually monitor purchases to help ensure cards get in the hands of legitimate consumers.”

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Expect a similar demand for the RTX 3090 which is available to order beginning September 24, but hopefully this time Nvidia’s additional security measures will ensure those eager to purchase the card will be more successful this time around.

Looking to order an RTX 3080 when it’s back in stock? Check out our handy guide for where to preorder the RTX 3080. Also, check out our reviews for the NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founders Edition and the MSI RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio.

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Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Netflix Cancels Emmy Winner The Dark Crystal – Report

Despite premiering last year to critical acclaim, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance has just been canceled by Netflix. According to a report by Gizmodo, Lisa Henson and Netflix have confirmed in separate statements that the show’s first season will also be its only season.

“We can confirm that there will not be an additional season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” Henson said. “We know fans are eager to learn how this chapter of The Dark Crystal saga concludes and we’ll look for ways to tell that story in the future… We are so grateful to Netflix for trusting us to realize this ambitious series; we are deeply proud of our work on Age of Resistance, and the acclaim it has received from fans, critics and our peers, most recently receiving an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program.”

“We are grateful to the master artists at The Jim Henson Company for bringing The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance to life for fans around the world,” Netflix said in a statement. “We’re thankful to the executive producers Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford, and Louis Leterrier, who also directed all episodes, as well as the writers, cast and crew for their outstanding work and thrilled they were recognized with the Emmy this weekend.”

As Netflix states, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance won an Emmy over the weekend for Best Children’s Program. However, Netflix being Netflix, its programming and cancelation decisions are, at best, opaque. And as Age of Resistance indicates, Netflix pulling the plug on a program does not at all signal the streaming service is uninterested in continuing to work and collaborate with the talent involved: Henson is involved with the upcoming Guillermo del Toro Pinocchio adaptation, and executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach is working as a writer on Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop.

You can watch the sole season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance here. The series served as a prequel for Jim Henson’s cult-hit 1982 film, The Dark Crystal.