Monthly Archives: March 2018

Twitch Institutes New Guidelines for Harassment and Attire

Twitch has brought in new guidelines for streamers and viewers, focusing on harassment and appropriate dress.

While the streaming service's guidelines on what constitutes hateful content remain relatively unchanged, the update now puts the onus on streamers themselves to prevent hateful content in their communities as well as their broadcasts.

"Creators are role models and leaders of the communities they create or foster around them," reads Twitch's statement. "We ask that you make a good faith effort to quell any efforts from those in your community to harass others."

The guidelines also indicate that users who harass others on platforms other than Twitch itself can now be punished. Twitch will not be monitoring other platforms itself, but will act if offered sufficient proof.

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Monster Hunter: World is Capcom’s Best Selling Game Ever

Monster Hunter: World has now shipped 7.5 million copies, making it the best selling game in Capcom's history.

Announced in a press release, it outdoes the best efforts of Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Devil May Cry.

This achievement comes before World gets a PC release, currently scheduled for autumn this year.

Capcom's previous best-seller was Resident Evil 5, which had shipped 7.3 million copies as of December 2017.

World had previously become the fastest-selling game in Capcom's history, but this will be the more important milestone for the developer.

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Batman Star Adam West Notably Absent From Oscar Obit Reel

The late Batman star Adam West was notably missing from the 2018 Academy Awards' In Memoriam reel during Sunday's Oscars broadcast.

Oftentimes, actors omitted from the Oscars' In Memoriam reel are those generally who have been deemed more closely associated with TV than movies.

While he may have been primarily known for his role as the small screen's Caped Crusader (and, later, stints on Family Guy) on television, West did appear in several movies during his long acting career, including the 1966 feature film version of Batman.

West's feature film credits include Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Geronimo, and the Young Philadelphians. West died last June at the age of 88.

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Here’s Who Won That Jet Ski at the 2018 Academy Awards

It's become standard for awards show acceptance speeches to be a race against the clock, as the award winner tries to rattle out his or her long list of thanks before the orchestra plays them off. At the 2018 Oscars, host Jimmy Kimmel added a new incentive to try to get winners to stay on schedule: whoever gives the shortest speech gets a jet ski, presented by Helen Mirren.

Played off like a Price Is Right prize, Kimmel's opening monologue concluded with the reveal of Mirren showing off the jet ski, and it became a recurring bit throughout the show. Multiple nominees referenced the "prize" as a reason to keep their speeches within the Academy Awards-determined time limit -- or admitted they were going over time even if it meant they were going to be losing their chance.

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Jordan Peele Makes Oscars History with Get Out Win

Get Out's Jordan Peele made history at the 2018 Oscars on Sunday night, becoming the first black writer to win an Academy Award for Original Screenplay.

In 90 years of Oscars history, only four black writers have been nominated in the category, including Peele. Other nominees include John Singleton in 1991 for Boyz n the Hood, Spike Lee in 1989 for Do the Right Thing, and Suzanne de Passe for Lady Sings the Blues in 1972.

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Oscars 2018: What Is an Inclusion Rider?

Best Actress winner Frances McDormand demanded that Hollywood contracts include an "inclusion rider" from now on during her Academy Awards acceptance speech tonight. But what exactly is one?

Good question, and while the answer isn't exactly spelled out in stone, it would suggest that actors and artists up for a movie demand that their contracts include requirements to provide for gender and racial diversity.

If more artists and performers were to demand inclusion riders in their contracts then perhaps more diverse casts and films will make their way to the screen -- and to the Academy Awards.

McDormand called for inclusion riders after asking for all the female attendees to stand up during her speech, and said:

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Australian Greens Announce $100 Million Fund for Game Development

The Australian Greens have announced the commitment of $100 million to a new fund aimed at stimulating and growing the video game development sector in Australia. The purpose of the Games Investment & Enterprise Fund would be to invest in game projects and help create more jobs by assisting successful studios to grow their businesses.

The Greens would also extend the Producer Tax Offset and the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Offset to video game developers. The Producer Offset is a rebate for producers of Australian feature films and TV shows and the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Offset is a 30 per cent tax offset which encourages film producers to carry out post-production and visual effects work in Australia, no matter where the film is actually shot.

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Guillermo del Toro Carrying a Party Sub Across Hollywood Wins the Oscars

Gal Gadot, Mark Hamill, Lupita Nyong'o, Margot Robbie, Guillermo del Toro and more crashed a preview screening of Disney's A Wrinkle in Time during the Oscars this evening.

To celebrate 'movie-goers' (and do a bit of promotion for the upcoming fantasy flick), host Jimmy Kimmel and the celebs threw hotdogs into the crowd, handed out candy, and greeted delighted fans. del Toro and Lin-Manuel Miranda solemnly carrying a party-sized sub was possibly the highlight of the evening.

To top off the stunt, Kimmel asked a random audience member, Mike, to introduce hosts Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph.

Watch along with us as we update the full Oscars winners list, check out what's new with the Oscars envelopes this year, and enjoy our 5 favourite jokes from Kimmel's opening monologue.

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Hearthstone: Talking Tournaments and the Hall of Fame with Team 5

Hearthstone has set a blistering pace so far in 2018. The game has seen its first World Championship Finals outside BlizzCon, has completely revamped its esports structure, has nerfed problematic cards, has adjusted its ranked play system and has held events like Wildfest. I caught up with Lead Game Producer for Hearthstone, Yong Woo, to dig into the details of the latest announcement, which included in-game tournament support and new Hall of Fame cards, as well as to chat about the health of the game in general.

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