Monthly Archives: September 2015
Elon Musk Thinks Nuking Mars Can Make It Earth-Like
During his appearance CBS' new The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said that Mars could be made more Earth-like by bombarding it with thermonuclear bombs.
Musk, who wants to colonize the Mars and visit the Red Planet himself one day, believes the planet could be made hospitable in two drastically different ways.
“It is a fixer upper of a planet,” he said. “At first you are going to have to live in transparent domes but eventually you can transform Mars into an Earth-like planet. You’d warm it up. Just warm it up. There’s the fast way and the slow way. The fast way is to drop thermonuclear weapons over the poles.”
Colbert responded by likening the entrepreneur to a supervillain, saying "You’re a supervillain! That’s what a supervillain does. Superman doesn't say, 'Let's drop nuclear bombs.' That's Lex Luthor, man."
The Flash: Season 2 Extended Trailer
The CW has released an extended trailer for The Flash: Season 2.
The new trailer, title Other Worlds, offers a lengthier look at the upcoming season in which The Flash will contend with the villain Zoom, reportedly voiced by Candyman star Tony Todd, and the repercussions of opening a portal to other worlds.
Recent short promos teased the appearances of Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears), the original Flash in the DC Comics universe, and Atom-Smasher (Adam Copeland), a villain with super-strength and the ability to grow to giant-sized proportions, as well as Barry Allen's new costume.
Do The Force Awakens Stormtroopers Shoot Blue Lasers?
New images of Star Wars: The Force Awakens have surfaced, offering a closer look at the some of the film's ships and a Stormtrooper rifle that appears to shoot blue lasers.
A post on blog site Star Wars 7 News revealed hi-res images from Fathead, a vinyl wall graphics manufacturer, for an upcoming line of licensed graphics for The Force Awakens.
Upon closer inspection of Finn’s image, a thumbnail on the right side shows him firing a blue laser from a Stormtrooper rifle instead of the red lasers seen in previous Star Wars films.
NASA Is Sending HoloLens to Space Again Following SpaceX Explosion
After an unfortunate rocket explosion in June, NASA is now sending two new virtual reality devices based on Microsoft's HoloLens technology to the International Space Station on December 3.
NASA JPL project manager for the two HoloLens projects, Jeff Norris, confirmed that new hardware NASA is certifying for launch into space will be sent up as part of resupply cargo by aerospace company Orbital Sciences, MIT Technology Review reports.
NASA teamed up with Microsoft to develop a virtual reality aid for astronauts based on Microsoft's HoloLens technology. Dubbed Sidekick, two of the devices were scheduled to be sent up into space with SpaceX on June 28. However, the failure of a two-foot-long metal strut led to the destruction of the unmanned Falcon 9 rocket minutes after launch.
A King Kong vs. Godzilla Movie Just Got More Likely
Legendary Pictures is reportedly looking to shift its prequel Kong: Skull Island from Universal Pictures to Warner Bros. in a move that could signal a shared King Kong/Godzilla universe.
"Sources close to the situation say while this is not a done deal, things are moving forward and that the idea is to have future Kong films possibly cross over with Godzilla films, to which WB owns the sequel rights," reports Variety.
"It is unclear at the moment what Universal’s position will be, but I heard the studio move is being done because it is just easier to have all the pieces under one roof, something that Marvel Studios has done with superheroes like The Hulk," according to Deadline. "King Kong is in the public domain, while Legendary got the Godzilla rights from Toho."
Nintendo Has Sold 7 Million Amiibo in the US Alone
Sales for Nintendo's various amiibo figures stand at over 7 million units in the United States. The numbers came as part of today's NPD Group report.
Originally reported by VentureBeat, Nintendo also saw a 30 percent increase in sales for 3DS, while Splatoon has sold 600,000 copies, once again in the US alone.
The next wave of amiibo are scheduled to go on sale tomorrow. Anticipating the huge demand for Nintendo's super-collectible figures, Amazon has blocked out certain times to sell certain amiibo.
Rumor: Marvel Eyes Rebecca Ferguson for Captain Marvel
The (current) hottest actress in town is said to be Marvel Studios' pick to play Carol Danvers.
According to Heroic Hollywood, rumor has it that Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation) is the studio's top pick for the title role in the Captain Marvel movie.
The site claims that they don't know if the studio's actually made an offer or is even in talks with Ferguson for the film.
PlayStation 4 Leads Console Sales in August 2015
PlayStation 4 was the best-selling console of August, outselling Xbox One and Wii U, according to Sony. An official statement from the company explained, “We would like to thank our fans and partners for their ongoing support of PlayStation and for making PS4 the top-selling console and No. 1 in software sales in North America in August."
Last month also "saw the most successful beta in PS4 history with Call of Duty: Black Ops III, marking a significant milestone in our new partnership with Activision. We look forward to furthering momentum with the launch of Destiny: The Taken King next week.”
Madden 16 saw the most sales success on PS4 last month, while Microsoft stated, “This is going to be an amazing holiday for Xbox fans, and it kicked off in August with the releases of Rare Replay and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the first of seven must-play games coming exclusively to Xbox One this year. Coinciding with the release of these highly-rated exclusives and others like Madden NFL 16 and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Xbox One continued to gain momentum in August, with sales in the U.S. up 26 percent over August 2014."
10 Best-Selling Games of August 2015 Revealed
The NPD Group has revealed the top 10 selling games of August 2015, and Madden NFL 16 has taken the top spot.
The PlayStation 4 version outsold every other platform. Minecraft on Xbox 360 followed it up, with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition taking third place. Check out the full top 10 list below.
- Madden NFL 16 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)
- Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4)
- Gears Of War Ultimate Ed (XBO)
- Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
- LEGO: Jurassic World (360, 3DS, NWU, PS3, XBO, PS4, PSV)
Harmonix Outlines Rock Band 4 Career Mode
Harmonix has given a detailed breakdown of the Career mode coming to Rock Band 4. Initially, choices will be straightforward, but "later on things will get… trickier," Harmonix said.
The mode is designed to start your band off as a small-town act with a few followers, and through the choices you make, build yourself up to "figure out exactly what kind of band you are." This means decisions like choosing between a manager, which could lead to "boat loads of cash," or taking to the open-road and the freedom (and risk) associated with it.
In a nutshell, Rock Band 4's campaign really is RPG-like in its execution. "Each choice that you and your band make impacts your story," along with the sorts of shows encountered. Harmonix promises that some paths will "lead to more freedom," while others will trade off restrictions in the set-list for bigger payouts.