Monthly Archives: July 2019
Xbox Home Screen Redesign Removes Cortana
Microsoft has redesigned the Xbox One Home user interface with a variety of features designed to provide a faster experience. Among the changes, support for the Cortana voice assistant has been dropped.
Announced on the Xbox Wire blog, Microsoft explained that the company intends to shift voice assistant elements away from on-console and into the cloud. This means that, while you can still use voice commands to control your console, you’ll talk to Cortana via a smart device such as an Alexa product with the Cortana skill or a mobile device with an app, rather that via your Xbox headset.
HBO’s His Dark Materials Adaptation Will Be One Book Per Season
The upcoming BBC and HBO co-production adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy will be largely sticking to adapting one book per season, according to showrunner Jack Thorne. But that doesn't mean you won't see little hints at what's to come in this TV series telling of the beloved fantasy series.
"Largely it’s one book per season," he said during the His Dark Materials' TV Critics' Association press tour panel. "There are a few treats I’ve stolen from other books. ... The whole story of three books and how can we celebrate them in the best possible, and sometimes that involved moving certain elements forward."
Fire Emblem Director Explains How Marriage Has Changed in Three Houses
One of the goals for Intelligent Systems with Fire Emblem: Three Houses was to give players a more personal experience with the world and setting. That’s why the support system was revamped to focus more on the player character, who is more of an avatar for the player than a unique hero with their own story.
Speaking with Intelligent Systems ahead of the release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, director Toshiyuki Kusaskihara explained to IGN why only the player can unlock S-Rank support levels:
“The reason that we have S-Rank endings for only the protagonist has a lot to do with the fact that you’re using an avatar for the game,” Kusakihara says. “We really want the player to feel like they get some kind of satisfaction out of getting to know a certain character the best through gameplay.”
Fire Emblem Devs on If They’ve Thought About an Advance Wars Sequel
Intelligent Systems, co-developers of this week's Fire Emblem: Three Houses, are of course also known for another renowned Nintendo strategy franchise — Advance Wars. But for fans of the more modern military aesthetic of that series, Intelligent Systems' work on the lengthy Three Houses campaign, and plans for post-launch DLC, hasn't left much room for the developers to consider an Advance Wars follow-up in the near future.
Speaking to IGN ahead of Three Houses launch, Intelligent Systems Director Toshiyuki Kusakihara told IGN the developers "don't even have the time to think about" what they're doing after Three Houses."
“While we can say that we’re working on the DLC and there’s going to be a lot of content
EA Details FIFA 20’s Biggest Pro Clubs Changes
FIFA 20 is gearing up to make a ton of improvements to Pro Clubs, including increased customization for Virtual Pros, better broadcast presentation, new match types, more kits, and much more.
Pro Clubs allow FIFA players to create a Virtual Pro player and play a specific position online with real teammates. FIFA 20 is all about making that experience more immersive and giving players more options to personalize their star.
FIFA 20 implements a new Avatar system that will replace player creation across the entire game, and will allow players to utilize an improved 4 quadrant axis morphing tool to truly customize each detail of each created player.
Looks aren't all, as players can now choose to play as LF/RF, LM/RM, RWB/LWB positions. These and all other positions will take advantage of the revitalized progression system which will allow you to improve your Pro from his base overall rating of 80.
UK Daily Deals: Logitech Harmony Elite TV and Home Entertainment Remote for £117
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Today Only: Logitech Harmony Elite Kit for £117
Gambling Laws Block GTA Online Update In Over 50 Countries
Stringent local laws appear to be blocking Grand Theft Auto Online players in over 50 countries from gambling in the new Diamond Casino update.
The update went live yesterday, but some players soon received in-game notifications that they didn't "have permission" to buy gambling chips to use in the virtual casinos.
The new Diamond Casino runs on in-game cash, which can be purchased with real money. It would seem that developer Rockstar Games feels that the transaction mirrors online gambling too closely to ignore. IGN has reached out to Rockstar for comment.
Reddit users are reporting that they are able to go inside the casinos, but they are blocked from purchasing betting chips. One user wrote, "I launched and headed straight for the new building, and wanted to buy myself some chips for the games.
Halloween Sequels to Start Filming in September
Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions' forthcoming Halloween sequels are set to enter production in September.
Following the recent announcement of the deadly double-bill, it has now been confirmed that Halloween Kills, the follow-up to the 2018 revival, and Halloween Ends will be filmed back-to-back later this year.
The sequels will be directed once again by David Gordon Green, from a script he co-wrote with Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley. Green and McBride recently opened up about their upcoming films, which will continue the blood-pumping saga of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode.
Control: Ask the Developers Anything – IGN First
We're fast approaching the end of our month of coverage of Control. But with a game this new and this strange, I'm sure you have some questions left to ask that we haven't been able to answer yet. If that sounds like you, now's your chance - we'll be putting your questions to the developers at Remedy.
Just leave a comment below and we'll comb through for the best (or weirdest) to send over to Finland for answers. Check back with us on Wednesday, 31 July for all the answers and, in the meantime, check out all our Control coverage so far this month.
Jean Smart Confirmed as Silk Spectre in HBO’s Watchmen
As fans speculated, Jean Smart will be playing former Silk Spectre Laurie Juspeczyk (aka Laurie Blake) in Damon Lindelof's Watchmen series, Lindelof confirmed to IGN at HBO's Television Critics Association presentation on Wednesday.
A new trailer shown to critics at the panel featured a shot of Smart's character, previously rumored to be FBI Agent Blake, juxtaposed against a pop art-style painting of the Minutemen that included a costumed Silk Spectre. In the footage, Agent Blake even admits that she used to dress up in costume and punch bad guys too.
The Comic-Con trailer for Watchmen released this past weekend doesn't include those scenes with Smart but does feature more overt ties to the storyline of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal comic, including several shots of Doctor Manhattan, a shot of Nite Owl's Owlship, more emphasis on Jeremy Irons' Adrian Veidt (aka Ozymandias), and acts of violence being perpetrated by the terrorist group known as the 7th Cavalry, who have co-opted Rorschach's mask for their own political ends.