Monthly Archives: January 2019
The Early Days of Blizzard With Co-Founder Allen Adham
It’s been an interesting time for Blizzard of late. 2018 was particularly turbulent, with a lot of changes within the company, from the departure of long-running president and co-founder Mike Morhaime, through to shake-ups on other teams, such as major turnover on Hearthstone’s Team 5. Even BlizzCon, usually a celebration of all things Blizzard, turned toxic after the ill-advised BlizzCon reveal of Diablo Immortal. And then, to close out the year, there was the announcement that development on Heroes of the Storm would be scaled back and its esports program axed.
Of course, the year held plenty of highlights for the company too. There was the inaugural season of the Overwatch League, which drew a wide range of viewers and fan support from across the globe, while World of Warcraft received a brand-new expansion in the form of Battle for Azeroth, among many other updates to the studio’s stable of titles.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2019 Speedrun Marathon Raises $2.39 Million for Charity
Awesome Games Done Quick, a charitable annual speedrunning marathon, closed its 2019 event raising a total of $2,394,668 for Prevent Cancer Foundation.
The event, held in Rockville, Maryland from January 6–13, saw over 2,200 attendees and was broadcast on Twitch with 219,240 peak concurrent viewers. With this latest haul, Games Done Quick has raised over $19 million for charities around the world, including Doctors Without Borders, Organization for Autism Research, and CARE. This year’s charity, Prevent Cancer Foundation, is among the leading US health organizations devoted to the early detection and prevention of cancer.
Aquaman Crosses $1 Billion at the Worldwide Box Office
Aquaman has officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
According to THR, Aquaman has earned $288 million domestically and $742 million internationally for a worldwide total of $1.02 billion.
Aquaman is now the first D.C. movie since The Dark Knight Rises to earn over $1 billion at the global box office. Aquaman is the first of the six films in the D.C. Extended Universe to cross $1 billion worldwide according to Box Office Mojo.
Resident Evil 2 Starts 2019 on a High Note
2019 is kicking off with a few tentpole releases in January alone, including the remake of Resident Evil 2.
On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush, along with Lucy O"Brien and Brian Altano, break down why they're excited for the remake of the PlayStation classic horror experience. Watch the clip above to see the trio discuss the remake as fans of the series and as relative newcomers to this particular entry.
If you enjoyed that discussion, be sure to check out this week's full episode of Beyond, in which we discuss whether we want the PS5 soon, and tune in every Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT for new episodes of Beyond.
True Detective Star on Playing Multiple Versions of Same Character
The third season of HBO's True Detective is set to premiere on Sunday, January 13, with an all-new cast featuring Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) and Stephen Dorff (Blade). Dorff and Ali play detectives trying to solve a missing-persons case involving two children in rural Arkansas. Series creator and executive producer Nic Pizzolatto wrote the eight-episode season, alongside Deadwood alum David Milch, who co-wrote episode 4.
Season 3's narrative spans three decades, following the lives of detectives Wayne Hays (Ali) and Roland West (Dorff). In order to effectively show the passage of time from the 1980s to 2015, both Ali and Dorff had to undergo radical transformations with the help prosthetics. Ali spoke to IGN about his approach to portraying multiple versions of the same character.
Young Justice’s The Outsiders Explained
DC fans have plenty to look forward to in 2019. The new year kicked off with the long-awaited return of the animated series Young Justice, which is now exclusive to the DC Universe app. Not only that, but the new season is introducing a new super-team with a long history in the DCU - the Outsiders.
Who are the Outsiders, and what sets them apart from teams like the Teen Titans and Justice League? Here's everything you need to know about this group and how they might play into the new season of Young Justice...
The Outsiders Explained: The Basics
Some missions are too dangerous or politically sensitive for the Justice League to handle. When Batman needs a team willing to get its hands dirty, he brings in the Outsiders. The Outsiders are heroes who exist in the shadows. Whether because of their powers or their use of extreme force, they don't fit in with the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman. Despite this, they've saved the world many times over. That's remained true no matter how many changes and new incarnations this team goes through.
Star Trek: The Picard Show’s Timeline Explained
Many Star Trek fans are psyched that Patrick Stewart is returning to the role of Captain Picard for an all-new TV series on CBS All Access. And while story details on the show have been scarce, we do know that it will be about the legendary character exploring the next chapter of his life some 20 years after we last saw him in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis.
But a recent interview with Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman has revealed some interesting hints about the Picard show, even while it’s gotten some folks confused about which timeline it takes place in. Let’s nerdsplain this thing!
Patrick Stewart is returning as Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series for CBS All Access.
Minecraft Movie Gets New Director
Peter Sollett has been tapped to direct Warner Bros. film adaptation of Minecraft.
According to Variety, Sollett, whose previous projects include Raising Victor Vargas, Freeheld, and Five Feet High and Rising, will serve as both writer and director on the film.
Roy Lee, Jon Berg, and Minecraft's development studio Mojang are set to produce, and Jon Spaihts will serve as executive producer.
Warner Bros. acquired the rights to make a Minecraft film back in 2014, and last year the film was delayed after Rob McElhenney, who was set to direct, left the project. Steve Carell was also in talks to star in the film but, according to Variety, scheduling issues arose, and he departed the project as well.
‘There Should Be a Sequel’ to The Social Network, Says Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Sorkin, writer on the 2010 film, The Social Network, says "there should be a sequel."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sorkin said, "I know a lot more about Facebook in 2005 than I do in 2018 - but I know enough to know that there should be a sequel."
MORE TO THE STORY: Aaron Sorkin says "The Social Network" producer Scott Rudin has reached out to him about revisiting the subject of #Facebook on film. pic.twitter.com/hE5iOwEik1
Verizon Is Also Experimenting With a Game Streaming Service
Verizon is in the process of alpha testing its Verizon Gaming streaming service that is already running on the Nvidia Shield set-top box and could eventually make its way to Android smartphones.
As reported by The Verge, this new initiative will potentially allow players to play such games as Far Cry 5, Battlefield V, and Destiny 2 on their mobile devices.
The screenshots that showed the previously mentioned titles also showed PS4 exclusive God of War and PC port-less Red Dead Redemption 2, so these games may just be placeholders.