Tiger King Prompts Florida Sheriff To Seek New Leads On Don Lewis’ Disappearance

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is a Netflix true crime documentary focusing on the bizarre world of private exotic animal collectors in the USA. It’s been keeping viewers hooked with a story that seems too insane to be true, featuring murder plots, polygamy, drugs, tiger maulings, and rich husbands mysteriously disappearing.

It’s the last of those that Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister is interested in, however. The sheriff has posted out a tweet that namechecks Netflix, the Tiger King doco, and even the COVID-19 quarantine situation for bringing the case back into the light.

The disappearance of Carole Baskin’s husband Don Lewis is the focus of the series’ third episode, The Secret (spoilers if you haven’t watched this far yet). Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue and nemesis of titular Tiger King Joe Exotic, inherited most of her multi-millionaire husband’s wealth when he went missing in 1997, leading many to accuse her of having a hand in his presumed death.

Joe Exotic and others interviewed for the documentary aren’t shy of accusing Baskin of murdering her husband, even claiming she could have fed his body to the tigers. Baskin for her part maintains her innocence, saying she would rather Lewis’s body was found so she could clear her name once and for all. Other theories suggest Lewis faked his death and fled to Costa Rica in secret. Since the documentary was released, a post has been published on Big Cat Rescue telling Carole Baskin’s side of events and how she feels they were misrepresented in the documentary.

Whatever happened to Don Lewis, Sheriff Chronister wants to find out. With Tiger King repeatedly taking out the number one spot in Netflix’s internal chart, in a time where more people than usual are watching Netflix, there’s a possibility that one of those viewers could have a legitimate lead. And if they do, maybe we’ll get a Tiger King Part 2?

Xenoblade Chronicles On Switch Cuts Some Features From The 3DS Version

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is coming to Switch on May 29, complete with new story content and upgraded visuals. But while this release has the potential to be the best version of Monolith Soft’s beloved RPG, it will be missing two features introduced in the 3DS version of the game.

As spotted by Twitter user Luxin, the Japanese store page for Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition says that the “Collection Mode” and amiibo compatibility of the 3DS version will not be available in the Switch edition.

The Collection Mode allowed you to use tokens to unlock 3D models that could be viewed, as well as music from the game. Tokens could be unlocked using Streetpass tokens or with the Shulk amiibo. In fact, scanning Shulk to unlock tokens was the only amiibo functionality in the game.

While it’s not the biggest feature, it’s a shame that the game’s Definitive Edition will be missing a feature from the 3DS version, which was very good despite having to compromise on the game’s graphics.

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition will come with new content that veteran players can access from the start. Here’s our guide for how to preorder the different regional collector’s editions.

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Xbox Live, Game Pass Seeing “Record Numbers” Amid COVID-19 Crisis

As more and more people stay home, either voluntarily or by government order due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Xbox Live gaming network is surging in popularity. Microsoft said in a post that Xbox Live, Xbox Game Pass, and Mixer are seeing “record numbers” as people spend more time playing games while adhering to social-distancing policies.

The message, which was first reported on by VideoGamesChronicle, also states that Microsoft is making “small adjustments” to ensure a smooth experience for users during the spike in usage. One of the adjustments is the removal of the ability to upload custom gamerpics for your profile. Not only that, but you can no longer upload pictures for club backgrounds.

This change is only temporary, so these services will return at some point in the future.

A separate post from Microsoft regarding its cloud networks states that Microsoft’s engineers are keeping a close eye on “performance and usage trends” to ensure that Xbox Live is optimized for people around the world. Microsoft is also taking steps to minimize the impact of increased bandwidth by asking its partners to hold back their “higher-bandwidth activities,” which include game updates, for off-peak hours.

It’s not just Xbox Live that’s seeing big numbers during the global lockdowns. Valve’s Steam platform continues to set and then break its own record for peak concurrent users. The service eclipsed 23.5 million peak concurrent players recently, which is an all-time high for the network.

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The Tiger King/The Office Crossover You Didn’t Know You Needed

If you haven’t yet heard about Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, it’s the latest true crime documentary to take the world by storm, repeatedly topping Netflix’s internal top 10 list–and now it’s being mashed up with Netflix’s most popular show of all time.

Revolving around a cast of very real but still larger-than-life characters, Tiger King has provided plenty of fodder for new memes–and it was only a matter of time before it got mashed up with other popular TV shows.

The Office actor Rainn Wilson has mashed up his character Dwight Schrute with Joe Exotic, the documentary’s titular Tiger King. The resulting photo is a true gift to the internet, blessing us all with “Dwight Exotic”.

Of course, Dwight isn’t the only character to have been mashed up with Joe Exotic’s self-proclaimed, mullet-sporting, “gun-toting gay redneck” style. Comparisons between Exotic and the President of the USA have resulted in this far more horrifying image:

The TV series has spawned more than just memes, however–a Florida sheriff is hoping the documentary’s popularity will help him solve the decades-old cold case of Don Lewis’s disappearance.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is streaming now on Netflix in a seven-episode limited series.

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Pokemon Go Revenue Is Up Despite People Being Stuck Indoors

Pokemon Go is a game that thrives on people going outside, so you might not expect it to do well during a pandemic when players are stuck indoors. And yet, despite COVID-19 forcing people worldwide to self-isolate, Pokemon Go’s revenue has gone up recently, according to a report from gamesindustry.biz.

For the week ending March 16, according to data taken from Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go’s gross revenue hit $23 million–a 67% increase on the week before. In fact, 13% of revenue earned by the game so far in 2020 was earned during that week, despite people not being able to play as they usually would.

It was by far the biggest week of in-game spending the game has had in 2020, and it indicates that the game will continue to turn a profit as the way it is played necessarily changes.

Pokemon Go has made some changes to account for the current state of things, with bonuses being handed out to players, and you’ll soon be able to do raids from home. A Lugia raid was canceled due to the pandemic, but adapting quickly has allowed the game to remain successful and popular.

Pokemon Go is also adding a Today View tab to make events easier to track. It should come to the game soon.

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Former Call Of Duty Exec Responds To Skill-Based Matchmaking Controversy

One enduringly controversial topic for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is that, despite the game using a skill-based matchmaking system, there is no ranked mode. Call of Duty professional player Nadeshot stoked the flames of this debate recently when he spoke openly about his frustration with the lack of a ranked mode. And now, former Call of Duty executive Michael Condrey has responded, saying he, too, was frustrated by some of the decisions about Call of Duty that were made outside of his control.

“I’ll never understand why Call of Duty goes through all the trouble to implement skill-based matchmaking but won’t add a ranking system,” Nadeshot said. “If you’re going to match me up against better players, why can’t I have a rank to be proud of and work towards?”

For his part, Condrey said it was never his decision to not include a ranked mode. Instead, decisions about analytics, skill-based matchmaking, monetization, and dedicated servers, came down from Activision corporate. Condrey said he had “frustratingly little influence” on those decisions, “despite their impact on our games and the Call of Duty community.”

Activision has not officially announced that Modern Warfare uses a skill-based matchmaking system, but tests from various YouTubers have shown that this is likely to be the case. Anyone who has played Modern Warfare might agree that matches are generally even, with some anomalies.

Nadeshot observed that the new battle royale mode, Warzone, also probably uses skill-based matchmaking. He said he consistently plays against people he knows to be top Call of Duty players. Out of a pool of 30 million players, it’s “beyond coincidence,” he said.

As for Condrey, he’s able to speak openly about his frustrations now because he’s no longer working for Activision. During his run there, he started Call of Duty: WWII studio Sledgehammer Games before moving into a corporate position at Activision HQ. He has since left Activision, and he now is heading up a new Silicon Valley studio for 2K Games, 31st Union, which is making a brand-new IP.

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Total War: Three Kingdoms Patch 1.5.1 Will Fix Titles And Make Confederation An Option Again

Total War: Three Kingdoms has a new patch, and hotfix 1.5.1 is available in beta right now. The update, which is not live in the full game yet, introduces several changes and fixes, including displaying titles correctly and allowing players to seek confederation once they’ve been declared King of Emperor.

To access the beta, you can right-click on the game in your Steam library, click on Properties and then the Beta tab, and select the 5.1 option in there. This will update your build to 1.5.1, and allow you to test out the update.

Here’s the full update notes, which are also available in simplified Chinese and Korean through the Total War website.

Total War: Three Kingdoms 1.5.1 Patch Notes

  • Fixed an issue where Titles were not unlocking correctly once a save had loaded
  • Confederation is available again as a diplomatic option once you become King/Emperor
  • Fixed an issue where effects from buildings and assignments to reduce Fervour weren’t working in the Mandate of Heaven campaign
  • Fixed issue where some Yellow Turban buildings in Mandate campaign required some techs from the main campaign
  • Bandit minor settlements can now gain population properly
  • Fixed a bug where if Yan Baihu was attacked while using Poison Volley ability he became stuck and unable to move or fight for the rest of the battle
  • Fixed an issue where the political influence bars were not showing up for Liu Hong on his court screen
  • Fixed an issue where if Lü Bu has administrators and accepted an event to move to Liu Bei’s territory those administrators were unassigned
  • Fixed a crash caused by Requesting Tribute from a faction which is the target of a Mercenary Contract
  • Tao Qian set so he can no longer spawn into the A World Betrayed campaign (as he’s absolutely meant to be dead)
  • Cheng Yu will no longer leave Cao Cao in A World Betrayed on turn one if the player starts a legendary campaign
  • Pang Ji will no longer leave Yuan Shao in A World Betrayed on turn one if the player starts a legendary campaign
  • Cai Mao has been added to Liu Biao’s faction in A World Betrayed

Total War: Three Kingdoms was a big success, selling over 1 million copies in the first week on sale. The game earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review, and reviewer Ginny Woo had a lot of nice things to say about it. “By harkening back to the intricacies of older titles and builds on some of the foundations laid by Thrones of Britannia, it offers a distinctly contemporary and thorough experience,” she wrote. “This is the most ambitious that Total War has ever been, from the variety of different ways that you can enjoy the game to the sheer scope of the stories that they’ve weaved around each unique character’s playable experience.”

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Fortnite V12.30 Update Arrives Very Soon

Fortnite has another update coming as Chapter 2, Season 2 continues on into its second half. While Epic Games is holding with their tradition of not releasing patch notes, there is some speculation about what update v12.30 will contain.

Last week’s 12.21 update added new challenges and rewards, as well as bug fixes. It’s likely that v12.30, being a more major update, will add more in the way of new content.

Fortnite’s community Trello board also gives us an idea of what bugs are being addressed in the new update. Cards marked as ‘fixed in next update’ include issues with the Harpoon Gun catching loot inconsistently, as well as problems with Auto Pick Up. Also marked for this update is a bug with Spy Games where players would get stuck at the “Select Tech” screen. An issue with tournament scores displaying incorrectly in the lobby and in-match will also be addressed, as well as a number of minor issues with Creative Mode, Save the World and mobile versions of the game.

As with all Fortnite updates we can never be sure what will be added or taken away, but we can be sure to see some new challenges to take you through this week.

Downtime for the update is scheduled for March 31 at 2 AM ET, for an unspecified amount of time. Updates during this period can be found at the Epic Games status page.

Check out our Fortnite Season 2 roundup to make sure you get the most out of Epic’s battle royale game this season.

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Contagion Movie Cast Release Video PSAs Explaining What To Do Amid COVID-19 Crisis

The cast of the movie Contagion–a film about a virus that starts in China and then moves across the world–has released a series of PSA videos urging people to stay home to help stem the spread of the real-world coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.

Five members of the cast–including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, and Jennifer Ehle–have teamed up with the Columbia Universal Mailman School of Public Health to tell the public critical information about COVID-19 and how to stay safe and recognize misinfornation. Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns are also featured in the videos.

Winslet plays an epidemiologist in the movie Contagion, and she said in her PSA that she prepared for her role by speaking to some of the best public health experts in the world. “One of the most important things they told me: Wash your hands like your life depends on it. Because right now, in particular, it might,” she said in her video, which also includes a tutorial for how to best wash your hands.

Damon, meanwhile, talks about the importance of listening to experts, while Fishburne’s video is aimed at measures you can take to help stop the spread of the virus. Cotillard speaks about what might happen if we fail to listen to the advice of experts, while Ehle speaks about the “novel” nature of the virus.

You can check out the videos from Damon and Winslet embedded in this post, while the videos from Fishburne, Cotillard, and Ehle are are available here on YouTube. More information can be found at the Control the Contagion website.

Contagion the movie surged in popularity at the onset of the coronavirus. Burns, the writer of the movie, called out the Trump administration for the handling of the situation in a March 2020 interview.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Wallpaper Shows V’s Metro Commute

CD Projekt Red have released a shiny new Cyberpunk 2077 wallpaper featuring protagonist V chilling on the Night City metro, as a riot unfolds on the station outside. Aside from giving fans a tantalizing taste of a game that’s still almost six months out from release, the poster is full of tiny world-building details just waiting to be discovered in high resolution.

The new Cyberpunk 2077 wallpaper shows the game's protagonist V on the city metro.
The new Cyberpunk 2077 wallpaper shows the game’s protagonist V on the city metro.

The new wallpaper gives us a better look at the metro, the city-wide transport system that players will be able to use to travel around the city’s districts.

The main details of the picture are immediately obvious–V, sitting nonchalant with his gun out, a sleepy businessman beside him. Behind him the people of Night City clash with heavily armored Arasaka employees. As one fan on Reddit pointed out, the helmets on the police look like a callback to the Nilfgaardians of CD Projekt Red’s Witcher series.

The smaller details require zooming in to see–the faint bloody footprints leading from the body to V’s metro seat, the detailed metro map and numerous stickers, slogans and graffiti. One by the businessman’s knee references Pulp Fiction, saying “does he look like a b___?”

Now all we need is the female V version of this image. Please, CDPR?

Cyberpunk 2077 is due out on September 17, 2020 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

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