Monthly Archives: March 2018
Iron Man Director to Write and Produce Star Wars TV Series
Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man and The Jungle Book, will executive produce and write a live-action Star Wars TV series for Disney's upcoming streaming service.
Although Disney hasn't made this specifically clear, we'd assume that this is the already-announced series coming in 2019, which will be a part of the launch of Disney's unnamed new streaming platform.
That's not definitely the case, however. Disney CEO Bob Iger previously said that the company is "developing not just one, but a few Star Wars series specifically for the Disney direct-to-consumer app."
Nintendo Filed a Switch Patent That Includes the Donkey Konga Drums
Nintendo has filed a patent for the Switch that includes Donkey Konga drums.
The patent was filed in the US in August of 2017 and pertains to a set of "extended input devices" for the Nintendo Switch. It has only been made public today.
Examples shown include a keyboard peripheral and a pair of bongo drums that look similar to the device used in 2004's Donkey Konga for the Nintendo GameCube.
Patent Image for the Extended Input Devices
What Did You think of This Week’s Comics?
As you probably saw last week, we're ending our old approach to comic book reviews going forward. The goal now is to to deliver a handful of weekly reviews paired with critical analysis pieces and editorials. But even though the old weekly review round-ups are no more, we still want IGN Comics readers to have a place to discuss new releases and their favorite books of the week.
Head down to the comments section to join in on the discussion. But before you do, check out this week's new reviews and a couple of our latest analysis pieces to get a feel for the new approach.
Torn Is The Twilight Zone Mixed With Black Mirror in Virtual Reality
Aspyr Studio's Torn is coming to all three virtual reality platforms, bringing a dark science fiction world in which players can fully immerse themselves.
Created by BioShock, Stranglehold, Tomb Raider, and Middle-earth: Shadow of War veterans, Torn follows a vlogger who discovers a forgotten mansion riddled with evidence of "disturbing experiments."
Apsyr Studio released a gameplay trailer showing off what it calls a "VR tourist destination built for fans of classic science fiction."
Through exploring the mansion, players piece together clues about an alternate dimension known as "The Parallel," where the mansion's owner, Dr. Talbot, is trapped.
The main tool for exploring and deconstructing the mansion is a Half-Life-like gravity tool that lets you pick up and "fling pianos with the flick of a wrist."
Layers of Fear Dev Partners With Friday the 13th Publisher for New Game
A new game is in the works from Bloober Team and Gun Media, code-named Project Méliès, and the spooky submarine-y teaser has us intrigued.
The teaser came alongside the announcement that Gun Media has entered a publishing agreement with development studio Bloober Team, whose past titles include psychological horror Layers of Fear, and Observer. This new project looks like it won't be straying far from the genre either.
The teaser begins with an old film reel countdown, with the numbers presented in a jumbled order, before plunging us into the midst of an underwater wreck, surrounded by debris - which includes a film reel.
Interestingly, George Méliès is the French director behind the famous 1902 film, A Trip to the Moon, whose story revolves around a group of scientists who travel to the moon, kill the aliens they find there, and inadvertently kidnap one, before returning home to a parade.
Mario Tennis Aces Box Art and Release Date Reportedly Leaked
Mario Tennis Aces' release date may have just been revealed thanks to leaked box art that places the launch on June 22.
The box art and some leaked screenshots were posted over on ResetEra, seemingly coming from a now-deleted Rakuten Books entry for the game. Listings often appear ahead of official release date reveals, and today's Nintendo Direct seems a likely place for that.
Mario Tennis Aces was announced earlier this year, with a Spring 2018 release window. The official last day of Spring falls on June 21, so it's entirely possible that the date is serving as a placeholder.
H1Z1 Goes Free-to-Play
Daybreak Games has announced H1Z1 is going free-to-play.
The battle royale game will be available for download on PC free of charge today, starting at around 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm UK (March 9 at 5am AET).
As a thank you to those who have supported the game during its time in Early Access, everyone who already purchased the game will receive the "H1Z1 Appreciation Pack," which includes 10,000 Skulls and 10 Victory Crates, as well as a Gasrunner Hoodie, Bloom Survivor T-Shirt, and Splinter Camo ARV.
Additionally, Bronze, Silver, and Limited Edition Gold Battle Royale packs have been added to coincide with H1Z1's free-to-play launch. Details about the packs can be found on Steam.
Darth Vader’s Best Moments Come in Total Silence
Darth Vader has proven to be a difficult character to portray outside of the Star Wars movies and TV series. It's tough to capture the character's best qualities when you only have words and still images to rely upon. How do you convey what the Dark Lord of the Sith is thinking and feeling without breaking that mystique? How do you show emotion in a man covered entirely in ebony armor? These challenges have often weighed down Darth Vader-focused comics and novels in the past. But as Marvel's current Star Wars: Darth Vader comic is proving, it's possible to convey a lot about the character without saying much at all.
The series, which is written by Charles Soule and drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli, is currently unfolding in the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith, with Vader still coming to terms with everything he's lost and doing his best to extinguish any lingering traces of Anakin Skywalker. It's easy to picture the book going wrong in trying to depict a younger, less experienced Vader. Especially because this series lacks a consistent foil for Vader, unlike the previous volume by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca, which introduced Star Wars fans to plucky, self-serving archaeologist Doctor Aphra. The biggest mistake the new series could have made would be for Vader to become too chatty or to bombard readers with awkward narrative captions.
From Hydra to Ghost Rider, Agents of SHIELD Celebrates 100 Episodes
With the ragtag team of heroes from Marvel's Agents of SHIELD now back from the future and facing new threats here on Earth - including Dove Cameron's Quake-obsessed Ruby - the series itself closes in on Episode 100.
In this milestone episode, "The Real Deal" - airing Friday, and written by executive producers Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeff Bell - the mystery of Coulson's crumbling condition, which is connected to his Season 4 deal with Ghost Rider, will finally be revealed. It will be an emotional journey filled with fun Easter eggs and startling discoveries, as we learned during a visit to the set and a chat with some of the cast and creators. "Definitely things that only die-hard fans will appreciate," EP Jeff Bell shared.
Nintendo Switch Triples PS4’s First-Year Sales in Japan
The Nintendo Switch has sold over 3,800,000 units in Japan during the course of its debut year. By comparison, PS4 managed 1.1 million consoles sold in its first 12 months.
DualShockers reports the figures for week ending March 4 - via Media Create - which illustrates the huge divide between the two consoles' first years' sales. So far, the Switch has sold 3,802,910 units, compared to the PS4's 1,143,542 sold during its first year on the shelves in Japan.
The Switch has sold over 14 million units globally since its March 2017 launch, already outselling the Wii U's lifetime sales of 13.5 million. It's the fastest-selling home console in US history and Japan's, and sold 7.23 million units in the last quarter alone.