Monthly Archives: April 2017
Why 1 Million People Play PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
For the past month, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has taken Steam by storm. The unusually-titled multiplayer shooter earned a whopping $11 million dollars during its first weekend on Early Access and has already sold over one million copies. It sits comfortably among the most-watched games on Twitch, next to streaming staples Hearthstone, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and League of Legends. The reason for this oddly named game’s sudden, meteoric success is simple: it’s really, really good.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds does what many games like it struggle to do: make large-scale, competitive multiplayer survival gaming exciting and accessible. The premise is straightforward. Up to 100 players parachute out of an airplane onto a huge island, where they must immediately arm themselves with any weapons they can scavenge from its abandoned towns, factories, and military bases. Over the course of each match, the size of the battlefield rapidly shrinks, as does its pool of survivors as players begin taking each other out. This imposes an increasingly player-dense playground for shoot-outs. By the end of each game, the last player standing or the last team standing wins.
Rocket League Hits 30 Million Registered Players
Rocket League has passed 30 million players across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Psyonix revealed the news on Rocket League's official Twitter account with the celebratory image seen below. As of January 11, that figure stood at 25 million, meaning the vehicular sports game has seen 5 million new players in the last three months.
Image via Rocket League on Twitter
Ant-Man and the Wasp Director Teases Sequel’s Suits, Tech
As has become customary for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, each hero goes through a visual update with each new appearance. Such is the case for Ant-Man, as well as the introduction of the Wasp in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp.
During a tour of Marvel Studios, Ant-Man director Peyton Reed and Marvel Co-Head of Visual Development Andy Park hinted at what viewers can expect in the upcoming sequel.
"One of the things with our movie that’s different and that I love is that all the technology — all the Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Wasp technology — it’s all a product of the Hank Pym character so it’s got to have a different look than the stuff that
Stark designs and all the other designs," Reed said.
Everything We Know About Batman and Flash’s Watchmen Investigation
Batman and Flash are currently at the heart of the single biggest mystery in the DC Universe. Last year's DC Universe Rebirth #1 ended with the revelation that the DC Universe has been manipulated by Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan. Now, DC is kicking off a new crossover storyline called "The Button," as the two greatest costumed detectives in the world join forces to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Why are the DC and Watchmen universes colliding? How does all of this tie into the events of Flashpoint? We've put together a helpful guide breaking down everything we know about the mystery fueling "The Button."
Everything happening in DC's current Rebirth status quo has its origins in 2011's Flashpoint mini-series. Flashpoint featured an alternate reality where Atlantis and Themyscira were at war and many familiar heroes like Superman and Green Lantern were dead or MIA. A de-powered Barry Allen found himself teaming up with Thomas Wayne (who in that reality became Batman after the death of his son) in order to restore the normal timeline. Barry eventually learned that he himself caused Flashpoint when he traveled back in time to prevent his mother's death. In the end, Barry undid that mistake and restored his reality, though not without some significant changes. Flashpoint became the catalyst for DC's streamlined New 52 continuity.
Rob Liefeld on Finally Creating Deadpool’s Archnemesis
With the Deadpool: Bad Blood original graphic novel hitting on May 17, we hopped on the phone to talk with Rob Liefeld about how he’s using this new story to finally introduce an original archenemy for Wade Wilson..
We also have the details for Liefeld’s launch day book signing in Los Angeles, CA at the end of this article.
Art by Rob Liefeld. (Marvel Comics)
We’ve Seen Captain Marvel’s Costume Design
IGN was among the media outlets invited to an open house Monday night at Marvel Studios' office on the Disney lot in Burbank for a preview of what's in store in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ... as well as to screen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in its entirety! (Our film review cannot be posted until the studio-mandated embargo lifts so that's all we can really say about that until then.)
During our tour of their office, we were brought into an office that had concept art for the upcoming Captain Marvel movie. The artwork showed the likeness of a blonde Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in her costume as well as one of her fighting two large robots that resembled Iron Monger from the first Iron Man movie.
Best Nintendo Switch Games
What are the best games on Nintendo Switch? That’s a big question for any platform, and a very fun one to answer. During the process of putting together this list of Switch games, we took the following criteria into account: 1) How much fun we had at home and on the go with these games, 2) We weighed elements like longevity/staying power, influence, and innovation, 3) We opted for new games or ports with added content over games that were straight ports.
It’s worth noting that the Switch has great ports of I am Setsuna, Lego City Undercover, Human Resource Machine, World of Goo, and more, but we didn't include them in this list, as we're opting to spotlight only new games or games with new content. Without further ado, let’s run down the list of the best games on Nintendo Switch.
Stranger Things Star Joins Netflix’s Carmen Sandiego Series
Netflix has officially announced a new Carmen Sandiego animated series is arriving in 2019.
As previously reported, Jane the Virgin actress Gina Rodriguez will voice Carmen Sandiego. But Netflix has revealed that Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard will join her on the animated show as Player, an accomplice and friend.
Rogue One Tops Blu-ray, Home Video Sales Charts
Disney's Rogue One has continued on from its box office dominance last year to rule home video release.
Home Media Magazine reports that Rogue One was the top seller for its first two weeks of availability on Blu-ray and DVD, the first ending April 9 and the second ending April 16. The film debuted on physical home release on April 4, having been available digitally since March 24. No exact sales numbers are currently available. The former No. 1 film for Blu-ray and DVD sales the previous week was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Sony Releasing 1TB PS4 Slim This Month
Those in North America will soon be able to purchase a PS4 Slim with more storage space, as Sony has announced a 1TB version of the console is on the not too distant horizon.
According to the official PlayStation Twitter account, the console will be available sometime this month for $300 USD, which is the current retail price of the 500GB model.
While details regarding the new 1TB model can now be found on the official PlayStation website, a specific release date has yet to be provided.