Monthly Archives: April 2019
George Lucas Helped Direct Game of Thrones Season 8 Premiere
George Lucas, the legendary filmmaker and creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, helped direct the season 8 premiere of HBO's Game of Thrones.
As reported by Vanity Fair, Lucas' involvement was revealed via a behind-the-scenes video by HBO that looked into the making of the first episode of the final season of Game of Thrones.
"When we found out George Lucas wanted to visit, we thought maybe it was a practical joke," show co-creator David Benioff said. "We were really excited and also nervous because it's George Lucas."
Swamp Thing Revealed in First Look at the DC Streaming Show
DC has revealed the first look at the titular Swamp Thing in its upcoming DC Universe original series of the same name.
While but a glimpse, we do get to finally see the Swamp Thing as he rises from the water, red eyes and all.
Swamp Thing will be released on DC Universe on May 31, 2019, and a recent report has said that the planned 13 episode season has now been cut down to 10, with production reportedly set to shut down after the tenth episode.
Swamp Thing will be one of the many original live-action TV series that were created specifically for DC Universe that include Titans, Doom Patrol, and Stargirl. Titans is even getting ready to add Batman into its second season.
Spider-Man: Far From Home North American Release Date Moved Up
Sony Pictures confirmed to IGN that Spider-Man: From From Home will now be released on July 2 in North America instead of its originally scheduled date of July 5.
This change in date, initially reported by Screen Rant, was quietly reflected on Sony Pictures’ official Far From Home webpage, as well as on the film’s official Twitter account.
Because of the shift, Far From Home will now be released on a Tuesday as opposed to a traditional Friday slot. This change is likely to take advantage of the Fourth of July timeframe, despite it being mid-week.
Critical Role Cast Reflects on Record-Breaking Kickstarter Campaign
Critical Role, best described by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer each week as a show where “a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons” has seen a seismic shift in this last month.
The company launched a Kickstarter to fund an animated special based on their Vox Machina characters featured in the first campaign of their livestreamed D&D game. Seeking $750,000 to fund the special, they amassed...over $10 million as of today, with just over 24 hours left.
In that time, the special has ballooned from an animated special to a 10-episode animated series. The Legend of Vox Machina fundraising campaign is, as of press time, the fifth most-successful Kickstarter campaign ever, and the CR fans, known as Critters, have continued to support the campaign and the show at every step of the way. And all of that support has left, as several Critical Role members told IGN, awestruck at the gratitude of their fans.
Original Burnout Paradise Servers Shutting Down After Almost 12 Years
Servers for 2008’s Burnout Paradise will shut down on August 1, 2019.
Revealed on the official Burnout Paradise Facebook page, this applies to the original PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. Offline play will remain available, and the servers for 2018’s Burnout Paradise Remastered will not be impacted.
Burnout Paradise remains a beloved game known for its open-world and explosive crash systems. In our review of the original, we called it “Great” saying "Criterion has once again delivered a racing experience that can best be described as controlled chaos, one where even crashing is immensely rewarding."
13 New Details Revealed About Borderlands 3
Thanks to various Twitter replies from Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford (and one from managing producer of narrative Randy Varnell) 13 new details about Borderlands 3 have been revealed.
The majority of these details were collected by Reddit user BooleanBarman in a comprehensive thread. One of the biggest pieces of news is that the Slag effect won’t be carried over to Borderlands 3, and will instead be replaced by a similar nuclear radiation-like Elemental effect. “We replaced it with something that actually makes a little sense. The new 'element’ damage type, which is like a nuclear radiation effect, has a similar effect to slag (increased vulnerability by those affected) and also has a damage-over-time component.”
Breaking Down Those PS5 Confirmed Details
BEYOND!
On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Beyind!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Lucy O'Brien and Tom Marks to break down all the big, confirmed PS5 details we learned thanks to an interview with Mark Cerny. The crew gives their thoughts about the console's power, release window, backward compatibility, and more. Plus, we discuss a potential Horizon Zero Dawn sequel, God of War's new card game, and much more.
Timecodes:
- 1:10 - News Crunch - PS5 Details
- 42:45 - Horizon Zero Dawn sequel talk
HBO Releases New Photos for Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 2
If you don't want to know anything going into episode 2 of Game of Thrones Season 8, turn back now!
HBO has released photos from Game of Thrones Season 8, episode 2 ahead of Sunday's debut. As with the season premiere, the episode 2 title is being kept under wraps until it airs - but we do know how long Game of Thrones episode 2 is, with a slightly longer run-time than the premiere at 58 minutes.
Check out the 15 new images from episode 2 in our Season 8 gallery below:
HBO is going to great lengths to obscure any plot details about Season 8 (in addition to hiding the episode titles, the cable network hasn't released any episode descriptions this season), but there are some things we can infer from the new photos.
Switch Passes 3DS on List of All-Time Best-Selling Consoles
15. Xbox One – 41 million*
Initial release date: November 22, 2013 (NA, EU, AU, SA)
Production status: Ongoing
Highest-rated games: Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto V, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
*Microsoft stopped reporting Xbox One sales in October 2015, opting to "look at engagement" as a "key metric for success," according to a Microsoft spokesperson (via Variety). However, according to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad (via ResetEra), the Xbox One family — Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X — combined to sell roughly 41 million units by the end of 2018. That number has certainly grown since then, but it's unclear how many additional units were sold in 2019 and 2020.
14. SNES/Super Famicom – 49.10 million
Initial release date: November 21, 1990 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid
This sales figure comes directly from Nintendo. While the SNES fell short of its predecessor in terms of sales, the console is remembered fondly for its expansive library of high-quality games, including those listed above. 379 million units of software were sold for the system
13. NES/Famicom – 61.91 million
Initial release date: July 15, 1983 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games (according to IGN; Metacritic data not available): Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo's official numbers put NES sales at over 61 million units. The most senior entry on this list, Nintendo's first console went on to generate over 500 million units of software sales.
12. Nintendo 3DS – 75.94 million
Initial release date: February 26, 2011 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Fire Emblem: Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
This sales figure comes directly from Nintendo and is current as of December 31, 2020. It encompasses total sales for all systems within the 3DS family, which includes all variations of Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 2DS. To date, the handheld family has generated 385 million units of software sales.
11. Nintendo Switch – 79.87 million
Initial release date: March 3, 2017 (Worldwide)
Production status: Ongoing
Highest-rated games: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
As of December 31, 2021, Switch has sold nearly 80 million units, according to Nintendo, with 13.53 million of those being the handheld-only Switch Lite. To date, over 530 million software units have been sold for Switch. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains the console's best-selling game, with over 33 million copies sold.
10. PlayStation Portable – 80 million*
Initial release date: December 12, 2004 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: God of War: Chains of Olympus, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
*Sony last reported an official sales total for PSP in 2012, when it announced the handheld had sold 76 million units. The system would continue to be produced for an additional two years, during which time it's unclear exactly how many units were sold. Estimates for lifetime sales generally sit around 80 million, with some reports coming in closer to 82 million, which would put it above Nintendo's GBA. However, sticking with the more-conservative estimate of 80 million, PSP comes in as the 10th-best-selling console of all time.
9. Game Boy Advance – 81.51 million
Initial release date: March 21, 2001 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
This official sales figure comes directly from Nintendo. The company also notes software sales for the handheld closed at 377 million units.
8. Xbox 360 – 85 million*
Initial release date: November 22, 2005 (NA)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V, BioShock
*In June 2014, Microsoft reported it had shipped 84 million Xbox 360s to retailers. While Microsoft stopped reporting specific sales figures in 2015, the system remained in production for nearly two years. During that two-year period, we can safely assume Microsoft converted that 84 million figure from sell-in to sell-through, while, conservatively estimating, moving an additional one million units. If accurate, that would place Xbox 360 in the eighth spot on the list of best-selling consoles.
7. PlayStation 3 – 87.5 million*
Initial release date: November 11, 2006 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
*As of March 31, 2017, PS3 had sold 87.4 million units, according to Sony. The system would remain in production through May of that same year. With that in mind, it's likely PS3 ended its run with somewhere between 87 and 88 million units sold, leaving us with our conservative estimate of 87.5
6. Nintendo Wii – 101.63 million
Initial release date: November 19, 2006 (NA)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
According to official sales figures from Nintendo, Wii ended its run as the fifth-best-selling console of all time. With over 100 million systems sold, Wii generated 920 million units of software sales — the second most for any Nintendo console.
5. PlayStation – 102.4 million
Initial release date: December 3, 1994 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Tekken 3, Gran Turismo
According to Sony, the original PlayStation's final sales total sits at 102.4 million, with over 960 million software units sold. This makes it the third-best-selling Sony console ever, as it was recently surpassed by PlayStation 4.
4. PlayStation 4 – 113.8 million
Initial release date: November 15, 2013 (NA)
Production status: Ongoing
Highest-rated games: Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us Remastered
PlayStation 4 has dominated the eighth generation of consoles. As of September 30, 2020, Sony has shipped 113.8 million PS4s. It holds the title of "fastest home console to reach 100 million unit sell in," according to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, beating PS2 to the milestone by two months. To date, more than a billion software units have been sold for the console.
3. Game Boy/Game Boy Color – 118.69 million
Initial release date: April 21, 1989 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (Metal Gear Solid), Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
This sales figure comes directly from Nintendo and includes sales of both the original Game Boy and subsequent Game Boy Color. 501 million units of software were sold for the console — good for third on Nintendo's all-time software list.
2. Nintendo DS – 154.02 million
Initial release date: November 21, 2004 (NA)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Flipnote Studio, Chrono Trigger
This sales figure comes directly from Nintendo and encompasses total sales for all systems within the DS family, including the original model, DS Lite, and DSi. Nintendo DS is also the company's best-performing system in terms of software sales, with nearly 950 million games sold.
1. PlayStation 2 – 159 million*
Initial release date: March 4, 2000 (JP)
Production status: Ended
Highest-rated games: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Grand Theft Auto III, Resident Evil 4
*PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling video game console of all time. Sony's beloved system tops Nintendo DS by roughly 5 million units sold, while handily outselling every other console in existence. As of January 31, 2011, Sony had sold 150 million PS2s to retailers. While that was the last official total reported, the console would remain in production through early 2013. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad (via ResetEra) noted sales climbed to 155.1 million through March 2012. Our grand total of 159 million was reached using Ahmad's continued logic:"In the fiscal year ending March 2013 a total of 16.5 million PS3 & PS2 units were shipped," he wrote. "PS2 was still being shipped during this period so the info we're missing is how many units were PS2 and how many were PS3. Using PS3's 80m sell in announcements as a guide you can work backwards and ultimately work out that PS2 [sales from March 2012 through the end of its production] must have been close to 4m."
Its software sales sit at a staggering 1.5 billion units, according to Sony.
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Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.
What Questions Are People Asking About Borderlands 3?
We've scoured the web and drawn from a combination of sources including search traffic, trending terms, forum posts and our own curiosity, to attempt to answer the web's most burning questions surrounding Borderlands 3.
This list will be updated as we get ever closer to the release date, and will live on even after release, as people turn to the internet to find tips, locations, and other information related to the game itself.
Is Borderlands 3 an Epic Store Exclusive?
A whole lot of people are asking, and even more people are unhappy with the answer. The short answer is "yes," Borderlands 3 on PC will be exclusive to the Epic Store, a fact many fans are unhappy with.