Monthly Archives: October 2015
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Is Coming to Netflix — in Canada
Canadian Netflix customers will be the first to stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2016. According to Variety, Canada is so far the only territory to have nailed down the rights to stream what will no doubt be one of the biggest films of the year.
The report goes on to say in the U.S., premium cable channel Starz has exclusive rights to Disney's 2015 titles. Netflix's Disney deal doesn't begin until the 2016 crop of pictures, and with Episode VII hitting theaters on December 18, Netflix US misses Star Wars by mere weeks.
In Canada, however, Netflix snatched up the streaming rights to Disney's new films beginning with its 2015 offerings. Canadians will be able to invite a galaxy far, far away right into their homes with just a Netflix subscription.
10 Important Things About Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
After three years of focusing on frequent, bite-sized content updates, Guild Wars 2's first bona fide expansion launches today. It's called Heart of Thorns, and in true ArenaNet fashion it differs significantly from what you normally get in an MMORPG expansion package.
Here are the 10 big things you need to know about Heart of Thorns.
MMORPG expansions usually include a boost to the level cap, which generally means that newer players get left farther and farther behind with each new expansion. But with Heart of Thorns, Guild Wars 2's level cap will remain at 80. Players who've reached level 80 will instead focus on building Mastery points, a type of horizontal progression that gives them the option of mastering everything from hang gliders to new languages that open new PvE content. Masteries improve with experience much like traditional levels, but since you're allowed to focus on the mastery you choose, they allow for a uniquely customizable "leveling" experience.
Don’t Expect Xbox Sales Numbers Very Often
Microsoft has confirmed it's modifying the way in which it reports Xbox financials, focusing more on user engagement rather than hardware sales.
As first reported by Game Informer, the company is shifting its focus away from console sales and over to Xbox Live activity. As such, Microsoft will be reporting on Xbox hardware sales periodically, but tracking its monthly active user base will be the primary metric going forward.
"To better reflect the company’s strategy and ambitions to build best-in-class platforms and productivity services for a mobile-first, cloud-first world, Microsoft is changing the reporting of its financial results," a Microsoft representative told IGN in response to our request for further information.
Gears of War Esports League Announced
Starting next week, eight North American teams will have the chance to curb stomp and chainsaw their digital opponents in pursuit of money.
Microsoft and the ESL have announced the Gears of War Pro League, an eSports league pitting eight teams against each other in a tournament for a prize pool of $50,000. The teams include Annex, EnVyUs, Enemy eSports, Murder by Numbers, Swarm Gaming, Synergy, Tragedy, and VexX Gaming.
The Gears of War Pro League will kick off on Thursday, October 29 at 5pm PT on the league's official Twitch channel. Those who watch the broadcast will be entered to win a custom painted Xbox One with a digital copy of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
Punisher, Iron Man and More Get New Comics
Marvel is preparing a few more series starring popular characters Iron Man and The Punisher, among others.
Comic Book Resources reports that Marvel has announced four more comic series: International Iron Man, The Punisher, Hyperion, and X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever.
International Iron Man will be coming from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev as another book on top of Invincible Iron Man.
The new Punisher book is being written by Becky Cloonan of Southern Cross and Gotham Academy. The artist will be Steven Dillon, known for his Punisher runs with Garth Ennis.
Dora the Explorer Live-Action Movie in the Works
Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action adaptation for Nickelodeon's popular TV series Dora the Explorer.
According to Deadline, Puss In Boots writer Tom Wheeler will be penning the script. Aside from the fact that Wheeler's on board to write, however, details on the movie adaptation remain scarce.
In addition Dora, Wheeler is involved in yet another kid-friendly live-action film from Paramount, this one based on the popular comic and Hasbro toy line, Micronauts. The studio has been working on it with Bad Robot for quite some time, and now Wheeler has been brought on to pen the next draft of the film's script.
Stormtroopers March on the Great Wall
To celebrate the forthcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney unleashed an army of 500 stormtroopers upon the Great Wall of China.
On Tuesday night, the stormtroopers stood in formation on the steps beneath one of the Great Wall's guard towers. According to The Guardian, giant billboards displayed the message "The Force Awakens" in Chinese, and fans were given red and blue lightsabers so that they could take epic selfies.
Star Wars Prequel Skins Coming to Minecraft
Thanks to an all-new character skin pack, Minecraft players on all Xbox and PlayStation consoles can play as their favorite characters from the Star Wars prequels.
The Minecraft Star Wars Prequel skin pack adds a number of new character skins to Mojang's wildly popular sandbox game, including key characters like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, Darth Maul, Mace Windu, and Count Dooku, among others. Sadly, Jar Jar Binks is not included.
Bruce Willis Talks Young McClane Prequel
According to recent rumblings, Die Hard 6 will serve as a prequel story centered around a young John McClane. And now series star Bruce Willis has weighed in on the idea, saying he's very much on board with the concept.
"It's a very good idea, a really tricky idea, and I'm very happy about it," Willis told ET. "It's a really cool idea, because it's the origin story. It's gonna happen at the beginning of this. We're going to bounce back and forth."
Just last week, we heard Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman is in talks to direct the prequel for 20th Century Fox. While the movie is said to star a younger John McClane set in 1979 New York City, Willis is expected to appear in present-day sequences as well.
Power Rangers Movie Finds Its Blue Ranger
RJ Cyler will play the Blue Ranger in Lionsgate's upcoming Power Rangers movie.
"Big Ranger Nation welcome to RJ Cyler, who is playing the Blue Ranger in the Power Rangers Movie, coming 2017!" a post on the film's official Facebook account announced.
Cyler now joins Naomi Scott's Pink Ranger, Dacre Montgomery's Red Ranger, and Ludi Lin, whose role as the Black Ranger was revealed just yesterday.