"The Overwatch Community Won't Be the Same Without Him"

figured it's a good time to re-float this video of Jeff Kaplan giving me tips on playing Reinhardt.

the ow community won't be the same without him pic.twitter.com/HE9H5wDhFk — mellon collie and the infinite dadness (@_mandotorres) April 20, 2021

"The Overwatch Community Won't Be the Same Without Him"

figured it's a good time to re-float this video of Jeff Kaplan giving me tips on playing Reinhardt.

the ow community won't be the same without him pic.twitter.com/HE9H5wDhFk — mellon collie and the infinite dadness (@_mandotorres) April 20, 2021

Oculus Gaming Showcase April 2021 Date and Start Time

How to Watch the Oculus Gaming Showcase April 2021

• IGN.com (homepage)
• IGN's Facebook Channel
• IGN’s Twitter
• IGN's Twitch Channel
• IGN’s Youtube Channel
• IGN's iOS App
• IGN's Android App
• IGN's PlayStation 4 App
• IGN's Xbox One App
• Roku
• IGN App for Android TV
• IGN for Amazon Fire TV
• Apple TV
• IGN 1 on Samsung TV Plus
• Pluto TV
• Plex Live TV

What Games to Expect at Oculus Gaming Showcase April 2021

Oculus Gaming Showcase April 2021 Date and Start Time

How to Watch the Oculus Gaming Showcase April 2021

• IGN.com (homepage)
• IGN's Facebook Channel
• IGN’s Twitter
• IGN's Twitch Channel
• IGN’s Youtube Channel
• IGN's iOS App
• IGN's Android App
• IGN's PlayStation 4 App
• IGN's Xbox One App
• Roku
• IGN App for Android TV
• IGN for Amazon Fire TV
• Apple TV
• IGN 1 on Samsung TV Plus
• Pluto TV
• Plex Live TV

What Games to Expect at Oculus Gaming Showcase April 2021

After a record breaking 2020, all eyes are on Netflix to see if the company can come close to recreating unprecedented success found during a year when everyone was stuck at home.

This quarter was rougher by comparison, in part because Netflix is beginning to feel the effect of productions shutting down during COVID. If it seemed like there were less Netflix hits over the last few months than in previous years, that's because technically there were. Netflix still reported just under four million new subscribers for its first quarter, however, coming in under analyst and the company's expectations.

The company noted the miss in expectations was "due to the big Covid-19 pull forward in 2020 and a lighter content slate in the first half of this year, due to Covid-19 production delays." While the company finished its first quarter with 208 million paid subscriptions, which is up 14% year over year, it fell short of the previous 210 million paid subscriptions prediction. As the company heads into the second half of the year, Netflix executives are expecting subscriber growth to increase as shows come back. Still, Netflix is advising investors to expect about one million net adds next quarter compared to 10 million the year before.

If we examine Netflix and the streaming industry as pre- and post-2020, the biggest change is an influx of competition. Up until late 2019 and the debut of Disney+, Netflix didn’t have any real competition in the subscription video on demand (SVOD, which simply means a streaming service you pay monthly or annually for) space. Hulu wasn’t really a threat, and Amazon Prime Video was grouped in with the overarching Amazon machine. Netflix’s biggest threat, as co-CEO Reed Hastings often said, was Fortnite, YouTube, and sleep.

Or, blatantly, Netflix was competing with other time sinks that people were finding quality entertainment in for free.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/13/anime-coming-to-netflix-in-2021"]

Now, Netflix has those same competitors, but a flurry of new ones: Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Discovery+, Paramount+, Tubi, and arguably the biggest time sink, TikTok. While Disney+ and HBO Max aren’t going to wipe out Netflix’s business by any means, executives will have to innovate new ways to keep people’s attention and continue growing subscribers. It’s something far easier said than done.

Competition impact is already visible. Two years ago, Netflix commanded about 65% of global platform demand share across all digital originals. Those are a lot of trade words that simply mean Netflix saw the most demand from audiences looking for new programming. In turn, that translated to consistent sign ups. Maybe people talked about The Handmaid’s Tale or Marvelous Ms. Maisel, but Netflix’s originals were constant conversation. Fast forward to 2021, however, and Netflix’s command has slipped to 50%. Why? Simple. It's that tiny Baby Yoda, Kong taking on Godzilla, and a pleasant football coach named Ted Lasso trying his best in England.

There are more originals than ever before. Every company is trying to demand your attention, and there are only so many hours in the day. If a company can command people's time and enjoyment, it makes the cost of a subscription more justifiable. Some competitors have obvious advantages. A new Marvel or Star Wars show is going to own people’s attention online every Friday (and into the weekend). Highly anticipated films like Mortal Kombat, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Wonder Woman 1984, Godzilla vs Kong, and Dune will direct customers to HBO Max. Netflix’s obvious advantage is quantity; spending $18 billion a year on content will always help, but it’s not about how much you spend, it’s where you spend it.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-the-witcher-season-2-photos&captions=true"]

Netflix doesn’t have built in franchises, but it’s getting there. Bridgerton saw 82 million households tune into the show within the first four weeks. (Or, at least two minutes of one episode, according to Netflix’s measurement for a stream.) The show has remained at the top of Nielsen’s most watched streaming programming in the United States for weeks on end. Ginny and Georgia, Lupin, Yes Date, and We Can Be Heroes all saw tens of millions of streams, according to Netflix.

On the horizon, Netflix has a number of shows that could become the next big thing. Shadow and Bone, Jupiter’s Legacy, Sweet Tooth, and Cowboy Bebop are some of the new series, while popular favorites like Ozark, The Witcher, and Dead to Me are all returning for new seasons, too. Add in Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, Money Heist, and unscripted series like The Circle, and Netflix is doing just fine.

Look, Netflix isn’t at any risk of becoming a forgotten platform that will see droves of people cancel their subscriptions. But there’s still a question about how to spend $18 billion. If someone gave you the choice between buying Iron Man or buying something like Iron Man, you’d probably buy Iron Man. There are plenty of things like Iron Man, but only one has Tony Stark. The “like Iron Man” space becomes cluttered with junk — fast.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/26/netflixs-shadow-and-bone-official-teaser-trailer-ign-fan-fest-2021"]

It’s extremely difficult to create a franchise. Netflix has done it a few times, but there’s a reason the company is partnering with Ubisoft for an Assassin’s Creed series, and The Witcher was an obvious choice. Those are Iron Man. Other companies create shows that feel like The Witcher, but aren't. For everything else, Bridgerton and Stranger Things are the ultimate goals. They’re shows that feel new in an overtly crowded space and, to tie everything together, they demand attention from people who are bouncing around between a dozen different entertainment platforms.

Finding those diamonds in the rough is, again, easier said than done. If Netflix can command attention, they can command monthly subscriptions. And if they can command monthly subscriptions at a high rate (meaning people aren’t canceling en masse), they can increase prices slightly from time to time and boost their revenue. This can only happen if demand stays high and people are willing to pay.

That was simpler to accomplish when there wasn't a horde of massive conglomerates releasing quality entertainment, and looking to take some of Netflix's customers time. Trying to determine how to continue growing Netflix in the United States, at a time when the platform has almost hit max saturation (anyone who wants Netflix would have Netflix by now), is about to become more of an issue, too. The solution is in line with the other half of streaming's equation: how do you keep customers when it's easy to cancel every month and there are a plethora of options?

Regardless, Netflix is still Netflix — it’s still the streaming service that I open first and foremost when I switch on the television. It’s just that HBO Max and Disney+ are eating way more of my time; time that would have belonged to Netflix just two years ago.

After a record breaking 2020, all eyes are on Netflix to see if the company can come close to recreating unprecedented success found during a year when everyone was stuck at home.

This quarter was rougher by comparison, in part because Netflix is beginning to feel the effect of productions shutting down during COVID. If it seemed like there were less Netflix hits over the last few months than in previous years, that's because technically there were. Netflix still reported just under four million new subscribers for its first quarter, however, coming in under analyst and the company's expectations.

The company noted the miss in expectations was "due to the big Covid-19 pull forward in 2020 and a lighter content slate in the first half of this year, due to Covid-19 production delays." While the company finished its first quarter with 208 million paid subscriptions, which is up 14% year over year, it fell short of the previous 210 million paid subscriptions prediction. As the company heads into the second half of the year, Netflix executives are expecting subscriber growth to increase as shows come back. Still, Netflix is advising investors to expect about one million net adds next quarter compared to 10 million the year before.

If we examine Netflix and the streaming industry as pre- and post-2020, the biggest change is an influx of competition. Up until late 2019 and the debut of Disney+, Netflix didn’t have any real competition in the subscription video on demand (SVOD, which simply means a streaming service you pay monthly or annually for) space. Hulu wasn’t really a threat, and Amazon Prime Video was grouped in with the overarching Amazon machine. Netflix’s biggest threat, as co-CEO Reed Hastings often said, was Fortnite, YouTube, and sleep.

Or, blatantly, Netflix was competing with other time sinks that people were finding quality entertainment in for free.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/13/anime-coming-to-netflix-in-2021"]

Now, Netflix has those same competitors, but a flurry of new ones: Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Discovery+, Paramount+, Tubi, and arguably the biggest time sink, TikTok. While Disney+ and HBO Max aren’t going to wipe out Netflix’s business by any means, executives will have to innovate new ways to keep people’s attention and continue growing subscribers. It’s something far easier said than done.

Competition impact is already visible. Two years ago, Netflix commanded about 65% of global platform demand share across all digital originals. Those are a lot of trade words that simply mean Netflix saw the most demand from audiences looking for new programming. In turn, that translated to consistent sign ups. Maybe people talked about The Handmaid’s Tale or Marvelous Ms. Maisel, but Netflix’s originals were constant conversation. Fast forward to 2021, however, and Netflix’s command has slipped to 50%. Why? Simple. It's that tiny Baby Yoda, Kong taking on Godzilla, and a pleasant football coach named Ted Lasso trying his best in England.

There are more originals than ever before. Every company is trying to demand your attention, and there are only so many hours in the day. If a company can command people's time and enjoyment, it makes the cost of a subscription more justifiable. Some competitors have obvious advantages. A new Marvel or Star Wars show is going to own people’s attention online every Friday (and into the weekend). Highly anticipated films like Mortal Kombat, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Wonder Woman 1984, Godzilla vs Kong, and Dune will direct customers to HBO Max. Netflix’s obvious advantage is quantity; spending $18 billion a year on content will always help, but it’s not about how much you spend, it’s where you spend it.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-the-witcher-season-2-photos&captions=true"]

Netflix doesn’t have built in franchises, but it’s getting there. Bridgerton saw 82 million households tune into the show within the first four weeks. (Or, at least two minutes of one episode, according to Netflix’s measurement for a stream.) The show has remained at the top of Nielsen’s most watched streaming programming in the United States for weeks on end. Ginny and Georgia, Lupin, Yes Date, and We Can Be Heroes all saw tens of millions of streams, according to Netflix.

On the horizon, Netflix has a number of shows that could become the next big thing. Shadow and Bone, Jupiter’s Legacy, Sweet Tooth, and Cowboy Bebop are some of the new series, while popular favorites like Ozark, The Witcher, and Dead to Me are all returning for new seasons, too. Add in Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, Money Heist, and unscripted series like The Circle, and Netflix is doing just fine.

Look, Netflix isn’t at any risk of becoming a forgotten platform that will see droves of people cancel their subscriptions. But there’s still a question about how to spend $18 billion. If someone gave you the choice between buying Iron Man or buying something like Iron Man, you’d probably buy Iron Man. There are plenty of things like Iron Man, but only one has Tony Stark. The “like Iron Man” space becomes cluttered with junk — fast.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/26/netflixs-shadow-and-bone-official-teaser-trailer-ign-fan-fest-2021"]

It’s extremely difficult to create a franchise. Netflix has done it a few times, but there’s a reason the company is partnering with Ubisoft for an Assassin’s Creed series, and The Witcher was an obvious choice. Those are Iron Man. Other companies create shows that feel like The Witcher, but aren't. For everything else, Bridgerton and Stranger Things are the ultimate goals. They’re shows that feel new in an overtly crowded space and, to tie everything together, they demand attention from people who are bouncing around between a dozen different entertainment platforms.

Finding those diamonds in the rough is, again, easier said than done. If Netflix can command attention, they can command monthly subscriptions. And if they can command monthly subscriptions at a high rate (meaning people aren’t canceling en masse), they can increase prices slightly from time to time and boost their revenue. This can only happen if demand stays high and people are willing to pay.

That was simpler to accomplish when there wasn't a horde of massive conglomerates releasing quality entertainment, and looking to take some of Netflix's customers time. Trying to determine how to continue growing Netflix in the United States, at a time when the platform has almost hit max saturation (anyone who wants Netflix would have Netflix by now), is about to become more of an issue, too. The solution is in line with the other half of streaming's equation: how do you keep customers when it's easy to cancel every month and there are a plethora of options?

Regardless, Netflix is still Netflix — it’s still the streaming service that I open first and foremost when I switch on the television. It’s just that HBO Max and Disney+ are eating way more of my time; time that would have belonged to Netflix just two years ago.

MLB The Show 21 has made headlines this year for what it's done off the field of play. In an unprecedented move, the Sony-developed title is now available on Microsoft consoles, signalling the end of 15 years of PlayStation exclusivity. It's a monumental shift for a series that's also making its debut on next-gen consoles, and MLB The Show 21 maintains the series' high bar of excellence once the ball's in play. Away from the diamond, however, there are a number of missing features and questionable decisions that take some of the shine off an otherwise fantastic game of baseball.

The card collecting mode, Diamond Dynasty, is the basis for most of these dubious decisions, particularly in regards to Road to the Show (RttS). MLB The Show 21's career mode still revolves around the core idea of creating a player and taking them from the minor leagues through to the majors, but the structure of the mode has been significantly reworked. Your created Ballplayer is now a single unified entity that functions much like the NBA 2K series' MyPlayer. This Ballplayer, with all the improvements you make to their attributes, also carries over into Diamond Dynasty, where they can be inserted into the starting lineup alongside current players and legends of the sport. It's a solid idea on paper, but the execution severely hampers RttS in a few major areas.

For one, having a single Ballplayer limits your options since you're unable to create more than one distinct character. You can still create multiple saves to make characters who play in different positions, but you're stuck using the exact same player in each. On top of this, there's also a new loadout system that allows you to create multiple custom loadouts. Each one features one main archetype and up to two perks that improve certain attributes while slightly decreasing others. This change appears to be geared towards another new addition, which gives you the option to play as a two-way player similar to Shohei Ohtani. For games when you're hitting and playing the field, you might select a loadout with perks based around improving your contact, power, and arm accuracy; on days when you're pitching, you might opt for another loadout with pitching-centric perks.

MLB The Show 21 has made headlines this year for what it's done off the field of play. In an unprecedented move, the Sony-developed title is now available on Microsoft consoles, signalling the end of 15 years of PlayStation exclusivity. It's a monumental shift for a series that's also making its debut on next-gen consoles, and MLB The Show 21 maintains the series' high bar of excellence once the ball's in play. Away from the diamond, however, there are a number of missing features and questionable decisions that take some of the shine off an otherwise fantastic game of baseball.

The card collecting mode, Diamond Dynasty, is the basis for most of these dubious decisions, particularly in regards to Road to the Show (RttS). MLB The Show 21's career mode still revolves around the core idea of creating a player and taking them from the minor leagues through to the majors, but the structure of the mode has been significantly reworked. Your created Ballplayer is now a single unified entity that functions much like the NBA 2K series' MyPlayer. This Ballplayer, with all the improvements you make to their attributes, also carries over into Diamond Dynasty, where they can be inserted into the starting lineup alongside current players and legends of the sport. It's a solid idea on paper, but the execution severely hampers RttS in a few major areas.

For one, having a single Ballplayer limits your options since you're unable to create more than one distinct character. You can still create multiple saves to make characters who play in different positions, but you're stuck using the exact same player in each. On top of this, there's also a new loadout system that allows you to create multiple custom loadouts. Each one features one main archetype and up to two perks that improve certain attributes while slightly decreasing others. This change appears to be geared towards another new addition, which gives you the option to play as a two-way player similar to Shohei Ohtani. For games when you're hitting and playing the field, you might select a loadout with perks based around improving your contact, power, and arm accuracy; on days when you're pitching, you might opt for another loadout with pitching-centric perks.

Despite featuring several visual upgrades, Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturn HD Remaster will reportedly run at a locked 30 frames per second on PC.

In a video posted by RPG Site staff writer Josh Torres, Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturn HD Remaster can be seen running at 30 FPS.

I've touched a bit of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne's upcoming PC port on Steam. Sad to report that it is indeed capped at 30fps. I've taken a small slice of gameplay footage at the very beginning of the game with a Steam FPS counter at the top left (sorry that it's super small). pic.twitter.com/FRGrMJoF89

— HDKirin (@HD_Kirin) April 20, 2021

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturn HD Remaster is due out on PS4, Switch, PC, and PC via Steam on May 25, 2021. Fans who order the Digital Deluxe Edition will receive the game on May 21, four days earlier than the standard edition.

The HD Remaster includes remastered 3D models and backgrounds, new difficulty settings, the ability to save wherever you want, voiceovers for Japanese and English, an alternate branch with Radio Kuzunoha, and other changes.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/31/shin-megami-tensei-iii-nocturne-hd-remaster-the-worlds-rebirth-trailer"]