Microsoft has released its latest earnings report, detailing how the business is performing across all sectors. Overall, business is good for Microsoft, but the Xbox division is (mostly) struggling.
Gaming revenue at Microsoft for quarter ended December 31–the holiday quarter–dropped by 21 percent, which works out to a downturn of $905 million. Revenue from Xbox One console sales dropped by a significant 43 percent due to fewer systems sold and lower prices.
Revenue from game sales and services fell by 11 percent, or $295 million. Microsoft said it was a particularly tough quarter to compare against because Holiday 2018 was so strong due to a “third-party title.” It wasn’t specified, but analyst Daniel Ahmad said it was Fortnite, while noted Microsoft reporter Tom Warren said it was Red Dead Redemption 2.
Microsoft gets a cut of all games sold on Xbox, so when a title does exceptionally well as both those games did, Microsoft benefits as well. Similarly, when their sales moderate, Microsoft sees a drop-off in its third-party royalty payment.
There was some good news for Microsoft during the quarter, as subscription revenue grew. This is no surprise, given Microsoft is ramping up Xbox Game Pass.
Looking at the six-month period ended December 31, gaming revenue overall was down 16 percent, or $1.1 billion. The downturn was driven hardware sales that were down 40 percent, and content and services revenue dropping 6 percent, or $302 million, overall.
Microsoft no longer reports monthly active Xbox Live users, so that information will remain a mystery.
Across all business categories, Microsoft posted revenue of $36.9 billion for the quarter, which is up 14 percent. Net income was also strong, as Microsoft made $11.6 billion in profit during the three-month period.
It is expected that Microsoft’s gaming revenue is slowing down, as the Xbox One is at the end of its lifecycle. Microsoft’s next system, the Xbox Series X, releases this holiday with Halo Infinite as a launch title. That should help improve Microsoft’s fortunes, while the company will also continue to expand Xbox Game Pass and xCloud as revenue-drivers.
The real money in gaming for Microsoft is in software and services, not console sales. “The business is around software and service growth. That is the profitable part of the business; selling the hardware is not the profitable part of the business,” Phil Spencer has said.
Microsoft is the first of the major gaming companies to announce earnings for the quarter. Nintendo and Electronic Arts will announce their latest results on January 30, while Sony, Take-Two, Ubisoft, and Activision Blizzard will report next week.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
It won’t be in theaters until February 7, but the first social media reactions to Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) have arrived, and they sound very promising. This is the first DC film since 2019’s Shazam, which was well-received, and it seems like Warner Bros. may have another winner on its hands.
“Just saw [Birds of Prey] and am happy to report that it’s my favorite modern DC movie yet,” GameSpot’s own Michael Rougeau said in a tweet. Like Shazam, it carves its own path with totally unique aesthetic, action, and tone. Margot, Ewan, and all the rest are 100% fantabulous.”
GameSpot’s Meg Downey echoed his thoughts, tweeting, “So [Birds of Prey] was an absolute blast. Harley feels exactly like the human Looney Toon she ought to be, Black Mask is a scene-stealer; Dinah, Helena, Cass, and Renee all rule. This was everything I want from DC movies and then some.”
You can take a look at even more reactions from critics and press below.
Just saw #BirdsofPrey and am happy to report that it’s my favorite modern DC movie yet. Like Shazam, it carves its own path with totally unique aesthetic, action, and tone. Margot, Ewan and all the rest are 100% fantabulous. Why aren’t there more roller skate action scenes?? pic.twitter.com/BDipKiB0qU
So #BirdsofPrey was an absolute blast. Harley feels exactly like the human Looney Toon she ought to be, Black Mask is a scene stealer; Dinah, Helena, Cass, and Renee all rule. This was everything I want from DC movies and then some.
Saw #BirdsofPrey this morning! I liked it a lot. The stuff I loved: the action, the tone and just how creative the direction is. Margot Robbie completely sells the incredibly choreographed fight sequences and their gleeful brutality, this whole scene in particular ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/UBb0FPAa14
Birds of Prey is solid. The unpredictable structure keeps the first half moving and the action boosts the rest. Robbie is excellent, as is McGregor. It’s tamer than expected and the basic story can get lost in the complex setups but it works more often than not. #BirdsofPreypic.twitter.com/H6TxjiudjI
#BirdsofPrey is a riot – oozing with attitude and some of the most inventive, bone-crunching fight sequences in the superhero genre to date. I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but has style to spare.
#BirdsOfPrey: winning characters, above-average action, and a killer soundtrack hampered by uneven tone and pacing. The girls at their best together, and they’re not together enough. Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Huntress is the not-so-secret MVP. 💕
Members of the press were able to attend early screenings of Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, and first impressions are overly positive.
Many praise the film’s action, how great Margot Robbie is as Harley Quinn, and how creative and inventive the latest DC film is.
Here’s our roundup of the first social reactions to Birds of Prey ahead of its theatrical release on February 7, 2020.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
IGN’s Jim Vejvoda said “#birdsofprey is fun! Probably the most (and best choreographed) fight scenes of any DC movie yet and another great turn by Margot Robbie. Ewan McGregor is a hilarious, scenery-chewing scene stealer as Black Mask. I also enjoyed the nonlinear approach to the story. Not all the characters pop but overall this was a very entertaining romp. It’s also totally a sequel to Suicide Squad despite the “standalone” talk. It’s just way, way better than Suicide Squad was.”
IGN’s Laura Prudom said Birds of Prey is a “riot – oozing with attitude and some of the most inventive, bone-crunching fight sequences in the superhero genre to date.”
IGN’s Terri Schwartz liked Birds of Prey a lot. She also thinks this film may have “one of the highest percentages of action in the modern comic book movie era.”
IGN’s Joshua Yehl thinks Birds of Prey is like watching Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti’s “zaniest Harley Quinn comics come to life.”
Atom Ticket’s Alisha Grauso says Birds of Prey is “like if John Wick were run through a crazy funhouse filter and stuffed full of glitter and f-bombs.”
Fandango’s Erik Davis commended Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina for their performances.
Mashable’s Angie J. Han enjoyed Birds of Prey but said it is “hampered by uneven tone and pacing.”
Fandom’s Eric Goldman called Birds of Prey “weird, wacky, super violent, occasionally really gory (the R is well earned on this one), and very up my alley.”
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 who can’t wait and is so excited he just can’t hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
The Grammy awards red carpet is known for its daring fashion choices, and this year some of those signature looks have been immortalized–as Pokemon fanart. Some fans noticed that the wild styles and bright colors looked a lot like the fancy duds worn by Pokemon trainers in the games and anime series.
The trend started when Twitter user Gatelygate matched four music stars with their red carpet styles–Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande, and Billy Porter–to Pokemon types. The comparison took off, and then user Refrainbow took it a step further with fanart of each musician drawn in the Pokemon style, and matched with a coordinating monster. They were dubbed the “Grammy League Elite Four.” You can see the fabulous results below:
The four command a lot of star power, as three were nominated for awards at the 2020 Grammys. Eilish won multiple awards and set a record in the process for the youngest artist in Grammy history to win Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year.
Ahead of Super Bowl LIV taking place this Sunday, February 2 at 3:30 PM PT, the creators of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty have shared a new fourth wall breaking commercial set to air during the big game.
The TV ad, posted to Adult Swim’s official YouTube channel, begins with a deadpan commercial for Pringles. Rick and Summer are chitchatting about the ad as Morty, carrying an assortment of Pringles cans, enthusiastically asks if anyone wants to stack Pringles flavors to make new ones. Rick sniffs out the elephant in the room, which happens to be Morty who is revealed to be a Pringles-controlled robot, and comes to the stark realization that he and Summer are trapped in a Pringles commercial. It’s short, lasting only 30-seconds long, but it’s hilarious and unsettling in the way Rick and Morty typically is. Check out the ad below.
This Sunday’s Super Bowl will be between the Kansas City Chiefs (14-4) and San Francisco 49ers (15-3) and takes place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira are scheduled to perform during halftime, with pop artist Demi Lovato singing the National Anthem.
Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland wrapped up the first half of Rick and Morty’s fourth season on December 15. The season, which kicked off on November 10, consists of 10 episodes and is part of a 70-episode deal with Adult Swim. Simultaneously, Roiland is working on a new claymation series with upcoming streaming service Quibi (short for “quick bites”), a Hollywood-based start-up targeting mobile devices.
The second half of Rick and Morty Season 4 is said to return “sooner than later,” according to an interview with Summer’s voice actor Spencer Grammer. An official date has yet to be announced.
Pokemon Home, a new cloud storage service in the vein of Pokemon Bank for 3DS, is set to launch on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices next month. While we’ve known about Home since last June, The Pokemon Company has only recently shared full details about the service, including how much it will cost and what kind of features it will offer.
Ostensibly the biggest appeal of Pokemon Home is being able to bring over monsters you’ve caught in previous games to Pokemon Sword and Shield on Switch, but the service provides other functionality as well. As we recently learned, Pokemon Home also allows you to trade Pokemon with other players outside of the actual games, and you can use it to check information about Pokemon as well as battling stats.
To help catch you up on everything the service entails, we’ve rounded up all the most important details about Pokemon Home below, from its price and features to all the games that are compatible with it. You can learn more about Pokemon Home on its official website.
Like Pokemon Bank, Pokemon Home is a cloud service that allows you to store Pokemon you’ve captured from various games in one place and easily move them between titles. The service also offers a handful of other ancillary functions, such as the ability to trade Pokemon, view detailed information about your monsters, and check battle data for online competitions happening in Sword and Shield.
How Much Does Pokemon Home Cost?
Pokemon Home will be available in two tiers: free and premium. The former can be used at no charge and gives you access to most of the service’s features, albeit in limited capacity; for instance, you will only be able to store a maximum of 30 Pokemon in the cloud using the free plan, and you can only deposit a single Pokemon in the Global Trade System at a time.
The premium plan, on the other hand, carries a subscription fee and offers more benefits, including greater storage capacity. With a premium plan, you will be able to deposit 6,000 Pokemon in Home, and you can place three Pokemon in the GTS at a time. A premium plan also gives you access to some additional perks and features, such as the Judge function, which allows you to view your Pokemon’s base stats.
The premium Pokemon Home plan will cost $3 USD for one month, $5 USD for three months, and $16 USD for 12 months–slightly less than the price of a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. You can see the full breakdown of features for each tier of the service below.
Description
Basic
Premium
Moving Pokemon from Pokemon Bank
Unavailable
Available
Number of Pokemon that can be deposited
30 Pokemon
6,000 Pokemon
Number of Pokemon that can be placed in the Wonder Box at once
3 Pokemon
10 Pokemon
Number of Pokemon that can be placed in the GTS at once
1 Pokemon
3 Pokemon
Room Trade
Participate
Participate and host
Judge function
Unavailable
Available
Do I Need Nintendo Switch Online To Use Pokemon Home?
Pokemon Home is a separate service from Nintendo Switch Online, so a subscription for one does not grant you access to the other. You don’t need to have a Nintendo Switch Online membership to use Pokemon Home, but you do need a Nintendo Account, which can be created for free on Nintendo’s website. However, a Switch Online subscription is required to use the online features in Pokemon Sword and Shield.
What Games Are Compatible With Pokemon Home?
The Nintendo Switch version of Pokemon Home is compatible with both Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee and Pokemon Sword and Shield. Additionally, both the Switch and mobile versions of the service are able to connect with Pokemon Bank, allowing you to bring your Pokemon over from 3DS to Switch. However, you will need to have a premium Pokemon Home subscription to transfer Pokemon from Bank.
Pokemon you’ve moved from Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee to Home can either be retrieved in those games or in Pokemon Sword and Shield, provided they appear in the Galar Pokedex; however, any Pokemon from Let’s Go that you’ve taken into Sword or Shield can no longer be used in their original game. Similarly, Pokemon you’ve transferred from Bank to Home can no longer be returned to 3DS.
In addition to those titles, Pokemon Home will also be compatible with Pokemon Go; however, support for the mobile game will not be available when the service launches and will implemented sometime in the future.
What’s Different Between The Switch And Mobile Versions Of Pokemon Home?
You’ll have access to both the Switch and mobile versions of Pokemon Home, provided you own the appropriate hardware and have linked them to the same Nintendo Account. While many of the service’s features are available across both platforms, each also has some unique functionality. For instance, only the Switch version of Pokemon Home is compatible with the Switch Pokemon games. The Switch version also allows you to exchange Pokemon Home Points–which you can accumulate by using the service–for Battle Points, a type of in-game currency used to purchase special battle-focused items at the Battle Tower in Sword and Shield.
The mobile version, meanwhile, offers the ability to trade Pokemon and receive exclusive Mystery Gifts. On top of that, the mobile version displays more detailed information about a Pokemon, such as its Abilities and what moves it is able to learn. You can also use the mobile version to check news updates as well as battle data for Sword and Shield’s online competitions, although this functionality will be added sometime after the service launches. You can see which features are available in each version of Pokemon Home below.
Feature
Nintendo Switch version
Mobile version
Move Pokemon with Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee
Available
Unavailable
Move Pokemon with Pokemon Sword and Shield
Available
Unavailable
Move Pokemon with Pokemon Bank
Available
Available
Judge Pokemon
Available
Available
Trade Pokemon
Unavailable
Available
Receive Mystery Gifts
Unavailable
Available
Check Battle Data
Unavailable
Available
Check News
Unavailable
Available
Exchange Pokemon Home Points for Battle Points
Available
Unavailable
How Do You Trade Pokemon Through Home?
As previously mentioned, the mobile version of Pokemon Home offers you the ability to trade Pokemon with other players. The service features four different trading options: the Global Trade System, Wonder Box, Room Trade, and Friend Trade.
The Global Trade System allows you to offer up a Pokemon in exchange for a specific monster. You can specify which particular Pokemon you’re looking for–even if you don’t have it registered in Pokemon Home’s National Dex–down to its gender and level. When another player offers a Pokemon that matches your criteria, the monsters will automatically be traded. You will also have the option to search Pokemon other players have put up on the GTS and seek out potential trades yourself.
Wonder Box, meanwhile, functions much like the Surprise Trade feature in Pokemon Sword and Shield. A Pokemon you place in the Wonder Box will be traded for a random one offered by another player. The free version of Pokemon Home allows you to place three Pokemon at a time in the Wonder Box, while the premium plan gives you the ability to place 10.
Room Trade allows you to set up a room and trade with the other players who join. Rooms can host up to 20 players at a time, and you won’t know which Pokemon you’ll be receiving until the trades are complete. All Pokemon Home users will be able to join rooms, but only those who have a premium plan can create one.
Finally, Friend Trade allows you to trade Pokemon directly with other players you’ve registered on your Pokemon Home friends list. The Pokemon Company notes, “The features related to adding and managing friends in Pokemon Home cannot be used by users under the age of 16.”
When Does Pokemon Home Launch?
The Pokemon Company has not yet pinned down an exact release date for Pokemon Home, but the service is slated to launch for Switch and mobile sometime in February 2020.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Netflix is taking another gamble on developing a beloved manga and Japanese anime series to live-action. The streaming service announced today that One Piece will be getting an original show in the near future.
The first season of the series will consist of 10 episodes. Back in early 2019, a listing for a One Piece series popped up on Netflix, and recently, a new synopsis has been added on the One Piece Netflix page: “A live-action adventure story based on the bestselling manga by Eiichiro Oda.” At the time, there was no official announcement of the series or it being tied to Netflix. The original synopsis from 2019 made mentions of Monkey D. Luffy and pirating, which no longer exists on the new listing.
The official One Piece Netflix series page on Twitter sent a message to the world announcing its arrival, which you can check out below.
Steven Maeda (Lost, CSI: Miami) and Matt Owens will serve as showrunners for the series. No details about cast or release date are known at this time.
One Piece follows the previously mentioned Luffy, a young man who idolizes the pirate Shanks. Luffy and his Straw Hats pirate crew set sail to find the legendary One Piece treasure, so he can become King of the Pirates. The manga and anime series follows his adventures as he sails around the world, meeting interesting people, corrupt governments, bounty hunters, and more.
This isn’t Netflix’s first time adapting a manga to live-action. In 2017, Netflix released Death Note to mixed reviews, earning a score of 43 on Metacritic–GameSpot’s sister site. One year later, Netflix produced a long, live-action version of Fullmetal Alchemist that received a 48 on Metacritic. Both critics and fans didn’t speak highly of either of those films, but hopefully, the One Piece series or the recently revealed live-action Cowboy Bebop show will be when Netflix reaches its stride.
The move comes after an announcement on Tuesday, January 28, in which Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc.–MoviePass’ parent company–confirmed plans to allow for the liquidation of all its assets. The company found that “after considering strategic alternatives,” MoviePass no longer seemed viable as a business to continue. With bankruptcy moving forward, a trustee will be assigned to clean out MoviePass, Helios and Matheson Analytics, and all other affiliated companies in the coming months.
“As a result of filing the Petition, a Chapter 7 trustee will be appointed by the bankruptcy court to administer the estate of the company and to perform the duties set forth in Section 704 of the Code,” the filing said.
MoviePass put an end to its subscription service in September 2019, with the service’s parent company looking for financial assistance at the time. During the closing of MoviePass, Helios and Matheson Analytics stated there was a possibility the service could make a return. However, the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing all but ensures that MoviePass will not make a comeback for the foreseeable future.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Developer Motion Twin has announced that new DLC is coming to its rogue-lite Metroidvania game, Dead Cells. Titled The Bad Seed, Dead Cells players will be able to pick it up for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on February 11 for $5 USD.
The Bad Seed adds two new territories to explore, The Swamp and The Arboretum. Both are alternatives to the Courtyard/Toxic Sewers and The Ramparts/Ossuary/Ancient Sewers in the original game, with the new boss designed to be on par with The Concierge. This is intended to spice up early game runs for those who have played through the core game already. The DLC also adds new weapons (including a massive scythe), enemies, and artefacts. The 1.6 update will also be arriving on consoles at the same time.
Prepare to die all over again when The Bad Seed launches next month.
Daniel Starkey praised Dead Cells in GameSpot’s review, giving it 9/10 and saying, “Dead Cells is a phenomenal effort to blend together some very disparate genres into a tight, cohesive whole. It’s one of the better examples of how to remix ideas without losing their individual strengths”.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
PC gaming can be expensive, especially when you’ve already dropped a fat stack of cash on that slick gaming PC sitting under your desk. Thankfully, there are plenty of sales on accessories, and the latest is from Amazon. The latest Deal of the Day discounts a wide range of PC accessories, including gaming headsets, keyboards, and mice.
Razer’s Seiren X USB streaming microphone has its price slashed from $100 to $55. It features a supercardioid pickup pattern, which means it excels at picking up sound in a specific direction and works well for streaming. It comes with a built-in shock mount, which should help alleviate audio issues if bumped or on the same surface as a vibrating phone.
In addition to all the PC accessories, a number of memory cards and adapters are featured. You can see them in the full sale on Amazon, but if you want to see all of the PC gaming peripherals, then check out our list below.
