Toys R Us Is Getting New Life, Kind Of

Toys R Us closed down all 800 of its US retail stores in 2018, signaling the end of an era for the iconic toy shop. But it’s not quite dead yet, and its parent company is planning to piggyback on another retailer as it starts rolling out further expansion.

CNN reports that the company Tru Kids has partnered with Target stores. Under the agreement, users can do their toy shopping through the relaunched Toys R Us website, and then have their purchases delivered or picked up in Target stores.

Tru Kids won the rights to the Toys R Us brand following its bankruptcy, and it has a plan to revitalize the brand. The partnership with Target is just one part. Tru Kids also partnered with Kroger to set up “Geoffey’s Toy Box” sections in 600 grocery stores over the holidays. It is also planning to open two new stores in Texas and New Jersey and expand to 10 locations by the end of 2020.

The death of Toys R Us, while not final, signaled an increasing struggle for brick-and-mortar retailers to compete with online giants like Amazon. The video game retailer GameStop is going through a tumultuous time as well, but it similarly has announced plans for a refreshed approach.

Senior Xbox Executive Leaving The Company

Xbox’s vice president, Mike Ybarra, is leaving the company after 20 years.

Ybarra tweeted the news, saying it is time for him to move on. “It’s been a great ride at Xbox and the future is bright,” Ybarra said. He has yet to clarify what his next venture is, but Ybarra confirmed that details will be revealed in the near future.

Xbox boss Phill Spencer replied to Ybarra’s tweet, thanking him for his work and wishing him the best in his next stage. “[You] have consistently driven to keep games at the center of everything we do,” Spencer said of Ybarra.

Ybarra had a short stint as a software development engineer at HP prior to joining Microsoft as a systems engineer in June 2000. He worked his way through the ranks before becoming Xbox’s partner studio manager between June 2011 and July 2014. Ybarra entered the corporate side soon after, taking on the role of vice president of program management of Xbox for a couple of years before landing in the vice president role in January 2017.

Similar to Microsoft, both Nintendo and Sony have experienced shakeups at the executive level. Earlier this month, Shawn Layden confirmed he is leaving Sony. SIE Japan Asia’s president, Atsushi Morita, announced his departure immediately following Layden’s. Both positions have yet to be filled, but Kazuhiko Takeda will reportedly serve as the new corporate director of Sony’s Japanese branch. Nintendo’s president and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, announced he was retiring before E3 2019, though he was swiftly replaced by Doug Bowser. It remains unclear who will take over Ybarra’s role at Xbox.

Call Of Duty Mobile Has Biggest Mobile Game Launch In History

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Call of Duty Mobile was downloaded over 100 million times in its first week after launch, a record-breaking number according to mobile app analytics experts Sensor Tower. It generated 56.9 million installs on iOS alone, which far exceeds the entire launch week numbers for other popular mobile competitors across both mobile platforms. To compare, PUBG Mobile and Fortnite saw 28 million and 22.5 million installs in their launch weeks, respectively.

According to Sensor Tower’s data, Call of Duty Mobile saw the most installs in the United States, with about 17.3 million or 16.9 percent of the downloads, followed by India with 13.4 percent, and finally Brazil with 7 percent. Call of Duty Mobile, developed by Tencent subsidiary Timi Studios and published by Activision, is not out in China yet, but if Activision earns approval for launch in that market, where mobile games remain extremely popular, installs could potentially skyrocket.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Activision is indeed in the midst of seeking approval to launch Call of Duty Mobile in China, which makes up about 25% of the mobile gaming market in the entire world, according to Business Wire.

Activision Blizzard, or more specifically Blizzard (partially owned by Tencent via Activision Blizzard), is currently under fire from fans for its decision to punish professional Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung (aka “Blitzchung”) after the player expressed support for the Hong Kong protests in an interview. Many in the Hearthstone community are now boycotting the game.

Last week saw another huge mobile game launch in Mario Kart Tour, which earned a record-breaking 10.1 million downloads on launch day. In its first week, it racked up 90 million downloads, making Mario Kart Tour one of Nintendo’s most successful mobile game launches ever.

Pokemon Go October 2019 Community Day: Start Times, Shiny Trapinch, And More

Pokemon Go‘s next Community Day is just around the corner. This month’s event takes place around the world this Saturday, October 12, and as usual, it’ll give players a brief window of time to catch a rare Pokemon and take advantage of other in-game bonuses.

Each Pokemon Go Community Day typically only runs for three hours, but the event details tend to vary month by month. To help you prepare for this month’s event, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about October’s Community Day below, from its start times and featured Pokemon to the special event-exclusive move you’ll have a chance to learn.

What Is October’s Featured Pokemon?

Each Community Day stars one specific “featured Pokemon,” which will spawn in the wild much more often than normal for the duration of the event. This month, the featured Pokemon is Trapinch, the termite-like Ground-type from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Not only will Trapinch be much easier to find throughout October’s Community Day, you’ll also have your first chance to encounter a Shiny Trapinch in the game. These, however, will be rare, so if you’re hoping to catch a Shiny Trapinch, you’ll need to be persistent.

What Is October’s Special Community Day Move?

In addition to increased Pokemon spawns, each Community Day gives you a chance to earn a special event-exclusive move. Typically, if you can evolve the featured Pokemon into its final form by the end of the event, it’ll automatically know an attack that it couldn’t otherwise learn in Pokemon Go.

This month, the special move is the Ground-type attack Earth Power. If you can evolve a Trapinch all the way into a Flygon up to an hour after the Community Day ends, the Pokemon will know Earth Power. This applies to any Trapinch you evolve, even if you’ve caught it prior to the event. However, Flygon will only learn Earth Power if it evolves during the designated window of time–so if you catch a Trapinch during the event but don’t evolve it until the following day, it will not learn the attack.

What Time Does October’s Community Day Start?

Much like last month’s event, October’s Community Day will take place early in the day, from 11 AM to 2 PM local time. That means you’ll have until 3 PM local time to evolve Trapinch and learn the aforementioned Community Day move.

What Other Bonuses Are Available?

On top of increased Pokemon spawns and the special event-exclusive move, you’ll be able to take advantage of a few other bonuses during October’s Community Day. First, you’ll earn triple the normal amount of XP when you capture Pokemon during the event. This applies to any monster you catch, not just the featured Pokemon. As usual, Lure Modules will also last for an extended period of time. Any that you use during the event will remain active for three hours rather than the usual 30 minutes.

PlayStation Controllers Explained, And What Could Be Next For PS5

The Dual Analog Controller | Release Date: April 25, 1997

The Dual Analog Controller | Release Date: April 25, 1997

With PlayStation games making significant strides in the still-new 3D space, Sony would eventually release an enhanced controller that allowed for more sophisticated control. As the direct successor to the Digital controller, the Dual Analog was released in the West on April 25, 1997. With two analog sticks and a slightly larger shape compared to its predecessor, players had a greater range of movement and precision than before. The Dual Analog device also featured longer shoulder buttons, allowing players to get an easier feel of the inputs on the tops of the controller. At launch, the games that supported analog control were Mechwarrior 2, Ace Combat 2, and Colony Wars. In one feature that was dropped from future devices, users could activate a “Flightstick Mode,” which would replicate the experience of the more expensive Analog Joystick controller.

A few months after its release, Japan would get a similar controller–with the difference being that it would feature vibration. This device would eventually be known as the DualShock. During the development of the new twin analog stick controller, Sony Computer Entertainment had planned on releasing a device with analog sticks and vibration for all territories at the same time. This didn’t come to pass, however, resulting in the creation of the Dual Analog, which lacked vibration. Though reasons for this decision–including competing patents from Atari–vary, the lack of haptic feedback made the controller more affordable than other PlayStation peripherals on the market. Eventually, Sony would bring the DualShock to the West, resulting in the subsequent discontinuing of the Dual Analog. Though in a case of history repeating itself, this wouldn’t be the last time that the company would release a controller without the vibration functionality.

Brie Larson Is Pushing For An All-Female Marvel Team Movie

While Avengers: Endgame changed the MCU forever, one moment in the film was incredibly uplifting for younger female fans, as they saw the women of the MCU join forces to fight Thanos. While the moment was brief, it got a lot of people talking.

Brie Larson, who plays Captain Marvel in the film, recently told Variety that the actresses who play Marvel’s female heroes are passionate about this possibility and making it into a reality. “I will say that a lot of the female cast members from Marvel walked up to [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige], and we were like, ‘We are in this together, we want to do this,'” said Larson. “What that means, I have no idea. You know, I’m not in charge of the future of Marvel, but it is something that we’re really passionate about, and we love and I feel like if enough people out in the world talk about how much they want it, maybe it’ll happen.”

Earlier this year, Larson starred as the titular Captain Marvel, a film making over $1 billion worldwide. And as far as female-led Marvel movies go, there is more on the horizon with the Black Widow movie–starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and Scarlett Johansson–will hit theaters on May 1, 2020.

While Gwyneth Paltrow isn’t likely to return to the MCU as Pepper Potts, the MCU is full of characters who could lead the way for this hypothetical movie, including Captain Marvel, Shuri, Valkyrie, Gamora, Mantis, Okoye, Wasp, and Scarlet Witch. Obviously, if this movie were to happen, it would be way down the line, as Marvel already has announced its Phase 4 slate, leading up to the end of 2022. And that’s not including movies without specific release dates yet like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Blade, and Captain Marvel 2.

Sony Restructuring Lays Off Dozens Of Employees

Sony Interactive Entertainment has reportedly laid off dozens of employees in its SIE Europe branch across several departments.

Video Games Chronicle reports that the divisions impacted including marketing, PR, and the US creative services team. Some employees have also been asked to re-interview for their prior roles. The employees were notified on the same day the company shared new details about the PlayStation 5.

Sony’s gaming division has been undergoing a number of structural changes recently, including new CEO and President Jim Ryan being named. That was part of a restructuring that had Ryan switching places with John Kodera, who became Deputy President. Another sudden reshuffle came recently with the recent departure of Worldwide Studios head Shawn Layden.

This comes as the company prepares to launch the PS5 by next holiday season. As part of its recent announcements, it revealed more about the controller, which may or may not be called a DualShock 5, and that the studio behind some high-profile remasters is working on a PS5 project.

New Crossy Road Game Announced For Apple Arcade

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Hipster Whale, the Melbourne-based studio behind the 2014 iOS hit Crossy Road, today revealed their next project: a multiplayer 2D platformer that will be exclusive to Apple Arcade. Crossy Road Castle sees the familiar cast of animal characters in a completely different scenario as they traverse up an endless castle tower with no roads or cars in sight.

Crossy Road Castle supports up to 4 players locally and takes advantage of Apple Arcade’s controller support, as well as multi-device functionality. That means you can play together by using any combination of the devices compatible with Apple Arcade, including iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, Mac computers, and Apple TVs. The arrangement of rooms in the game’s endless towers will be randomly generated, but will cater to the number of players present–you can play the game solo, and you won’t be served any rooms that require cooperation to overcome. It will also feature boss fights, including one against the infamous eagle from Crossy Road.

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Previous games made by Hipster Whale, including Crossy Road, Pac-Man 256, Disney Crossy Road, and Shooty Skies, were all free-to-play games that featured both regular advertisements and optional in-app purchases. Crossy Road Castle, however, as with all Apple Arcade games, will not feature either. GameSpot had a chance to speak to the co-founder of Hipster Whale, Matt Hall, about their shift into the Apple Arcade business model.

GameSpot: Hipster Whale is already a proven success story on the App Store (Crossy Road won an Apple Design Award in 2015, and reportedly earned over $10 million in the first three months). Why did you partner with Apple Arcade for this project?

Matt Hall: With Crossy Road we had a really big success and we were super fortunate–it’s not like we had made lots of games prior to that. But after Crossy Road, everything sort of changes for us. We don’t have to do work for hire, we just make the things we’re interested in. When Namco came up and said:” Would you like to make the new Pac Man?” We were like, “Hell yes!” And there was a super exciting opportunity making Disney Crossy Road which was a really interesting challenge as well, where we managed to make Crossy Road a better game. And so when Apple Arcade opportunity came up it was just an exciting opportunity to make something completely new, not have to worry about the constraints of monetisation, and just make something fun that everyone’s going to be able to play.

I’ve noticed that your games to date have all been free to play–why is that?

I started experimenting with free to play fairly early, but back in the early days of App Store, you had a free version and a pro version, right? There was no opportunity to do in-app purchases early on. I really liked making my games for free, because it meant at least 10 times as many people were going to play it. Like, that was key for me.

And that’s something that putting a premium on your games limits you in?

Yeah, that’s right. Like, okay, you’re going to get paid. But fewer people want to pay for games, because you have to convince someone that this game is for them through icon, blurb, screenshots. Apple Arcade is going to be really interesting for that, because it’s going to be easier for games that can’t market themselves in a single line. You know. Like, using the example of Sayonara Wild Hearts, like okay, so it’s a video game with an all-female motorcycle club and you… dance to music? Is that the marketing pitch? It’s very difficult to explain, but you can just get it, and the moment you see it and play it you go: “Oh okay, yeah” and so that’s what Apple Arcade opens up.

So you think Apple Arcade is a sustainable business model for new, up-and-coming developers?

I’m really looking forward to seeing how it goes. The only thing that never changes that everything changes, so we just got to see, right? We were really excited about the way it was described to us, and we think it’s a great opportunity for many developers, particularly Australian developers.

Having used Apple Arcade for a while, is there anything that you can identify that would be that would help improve the experience for developers?

Probably the key one for me is: the controller support is so new, and there are a huge number of people out there that are totally comfortable playing games with controllers. But at the moment, especially on Apple TV, it’s difficult to see which games are ‘controller-first’ and which games aren’t, and that could be solved with something a simple as a filter, or, you know, just something that says “these are the best controller games for Apple TV”, and I think that would massively change that platform in particular.

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The announcement of Crossy Road Castle comes during Melbourne International Games Week, and just before the commencement of PAX Aus. Other Australian games featured on Apple Arcade include the upcoming visual novel Necrobarista, puzzle-platformer Projection: Last Light, and the adorable Fledgling Heroes.

Sony’s He-Man Reboot Movie May Debut On Netflix

A He-Man and the Masters of the Universe reboot movie has been in the works for quite a while. It was back in April 2017 that it was reported the film would hit theaters this December. And while that’s clearly not going to happen since December is two months from now, the new take on Masters of the Universe remains in development. However, a new report suggests the movie might not end up in theaters at all.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony is “exploring the prospect” of making the movie with Netflix, which would ultimately send the film to the streaming service, rather than the big screen. As THR reports, only preliminary discussions about the prospect have happened between the studio and the streamer.

What it comes down to is price. While the studio could partner with someone to share the cost of the project and split the box office profits, there’s no telling how profitable a Masters of the Universe reboot would be. Whereas partnering with Netflix would mean Sony gets paid and Netflix gets more library content.

As streaming continues to become the way so many are regularly accessing content, Sony isn’t the only studio considering cashing in online, rather than at the box office. Disney and Warner Bros. are both making content for their new dedicated streaming services, while, as THR points out, indie studio A24 has a deal with Apple to create films for Apple TV+.

Meanwhile, Netflix is already cashing in on the He-Man franchise. She-Ra and the Princess of Power has been airing on the service since 2018, while a new Masters of the Universe animated series is in the works with Kevin Smith serving as executive producer.

It remains to be seen what will happen to the Masters of the Universe reboot movie in the end–or if it’ll ever actually happen. If it does, though, it might just be on Netflix.

Halloween Reboot Sequel Starts Shooting, First Behind-The-Scenes Image Revealed

The huge success of last year’s Halloween reboot ensured that the long-running horror series will continue for a while longer. In July, it was announced that masked killer Michael Myers will return for two new movies, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, which will shoot back-to-back. Production has now started on Halloween Kills, and star Jamie Lee Curtis has posted the first image from the set.

The picture is a behind-the-scenes selfie of Curtis as Laurie Strode, smiling but looking dirty, bruised, and battered–presumably from another encounter with Michael. The caption reads “NEVER SAY DIE! First day back in the battle for my life!” Check it out below.

Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends are set to be released on October 16, 2020 and October 15, 2021 respectively. They will both be directed by David Gordon Green, who helmed last year’s movie, while series co-creator John Carpenter is to compose the soundtrack once more.

Interestingly, the original plan for 2018’s Halloween was to shoot it back-to-back with a sequel. As co-writer Danny McBride told Entertainment Weekly last year: “We were going to shoot two of them back-to-back. Then we were like, ‘Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This could come out, and everyone could hate us, and we’d never work again. So, let’s not have to sit around for a year while we wait for another movie to come out that we know people aren’t going to like.’

For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to everything we know to date about Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends.