Monthly Archives: January 2020
Everything Coming to Disney+ in January 2020
The thrilling adventures of The Mandalorian's first season may have come to an end back in December 2019, but Disney+ still has a lot to offer in terms of its original series and feature-length films, like the remakes of Aladdin (in live-action) and The Lion King (in performance capture), which are both dropping in January.
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PS5 News, Rumors, and Predictions – Beyond Episode 625
BEYOND!
On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation show Podcast Beyond, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Max Scoville to discuss everything we know, and don't, about the PS5 so far. The cast breaks down news, rumors, and offers up some predictions about what we hope to see from the PS5 this year.
Download or listen to the show on these platforms:
Aladdin Live-Action Remake Now Available on Disney Plus
Disney has added the Aladdin live-action remake to its Disney+ lineup. The 2019 version of Aladdin joins the 1992 original on the streaming service. For a list of everything else coming to Disney Plus in January 2020, click here.
The Aladdin remake released last year to mixed reception. In our live-action Aladdin review, we called the movie "okay," saying, "Disney's remake of their animated classic doesn't exactly take viewers to a whole new world."
Despite the mixed critical reception, Aladdin grossed over $1 billion at the box office in 2019, good enough to make it the seventh highest-grossing film worldwide last year. For the rest of the top ten, read the full list of the highest-grossing films in 2019.
Warner Bros. Will Now Use AI to Help Decide Which Movies to Make
Warner Bros.has reportedly partnered with Cinelytic to use artificial intelligence to help the studio decide which movies it wants to make in the coming years. The new technology will help with "crunching numbers and breaking down huge datasets," according to Cinelytic founder Tobias Queisser.
The new AI technology will be used by Warner Bros. in the greenlight stage, where executives attempt to look at a bunch of different data and decide if a film will be profitable for them or not. With the Cinelytic AI, the goal is to have more precise data so that Warner Bros. can better engage with audiences. The new AI system is supposed to help create an estimate on a film's expected earnings.
ABC Hopes to Discuss New Superhero Project with Marvel’s Kevin Feige
ABC reportedly hopes to talk with Marvel about bringing a superhero show to the network. Deadline reports that ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke wants to discuss the project further with Marvel's Kevin Feige.
Burke told Deadline, “We love our partners at Marvel and we’re sad to see
go, it’s been a big part of our history. We’re looking forward to working with Kevin Feige and we’re at the very beginning of conversations with him now about what a Marvel and ABC show might look like. Right now, Marvel’s focus has been on Disney+, as it should be."
Resident Evil 3 Remake 90 Percent Done and Shouldn’t Be Delayed, Capcom Says
Development on the Resident Evil 3 remake is very close to the finish line. So close that Capcom says a delay won’t happen.
In an interview with Famitsu, Capcom’s Resident Evil 3 producers Peter Fabiano and Masao Kawada claimed that work on the second remake “is about 90%” completed. They’re so confident in the work accomplished so far that they told the publication “there will be no delay,” according to the interview translation.
While it’s true that the release date for the Resident Evil 3 remake is only a few months away, video game development can be unpredictable. But it’s nice to see the two producers on the project so confident about the game’s current development.
John Cho Didn’t Communicate with Original Cowboy Bebop Director
John Cho, the star of the upcoming live-action Cowboy Bebop series, said he hasn't talked to original series director Shinichirō Watanabe yet.
While promoting his new movie The Grudge, IGN had the opportunity to ask Cho some Cowboy Bebop questions. Cho may be playing Spike, the main character, but he said he hasn't talked to Watanabe yet. He assures fans that he stayed true to the "unique" and "weird" source material.
"I think that was the big thing I was focusing on all the time was...we got to keep it strange and that's hard to do, but I watched some of the stuff and I'm really happy with it," Cho said.
Cho said his favorite moments from the show include the scene where Faye walks into the shower to confront Glen in the episode "Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)" and the eight-minute hunt for a Betamax player from "Speak Like A Child."
Samsung’s New Flagship 8K TV is Our New Ultimate Desire
The Samsung Q950TS is the most gorgeous 8K TV we’ve ever laid our eyes on. While it might seem like easy to fall for a screen just because it has 33,177,600 flashy pixels, the Samsung Q950TS is also just the whole package as a high-end television.
First, off it’s the thinnest LCD TV we’ve ever seen with a side profile that only measures 15mm thin. This makes it even thinner than LG’s newly introduced Gallery Series TV, which measures 20mm deep when sitting flat against the wall.
What’s even more impressive is there isn’t any trickery with a thin panel and a bumped out bottom that houses some crucial components like on an OLED TV, this whole screen is really just 15mm thick from end to end so it’ll fit completely flush against the wall should you decide to mount it there.
Netflix’s Locke & Key: First Scene Revealed
Netflix has revealed the first scene (watch here) for Locke & Key, the upcoming show based on Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's comic book series from IDW Publishing.
The first scene is two minutes long, and it features Ken Pak's character, who is listed as Mark Cho on IMDb. He is shown taking a phone call, entering a house, and revealing one of the magical keys the series is known for. He then stabs himself with that key, seemingly infusing the power of the key into himself. The scene ends with the house going up in flames.
How the 2010s Changed the Gaming Industry, For Better and Worse
A lot can change in ten years. As we enter a new decade and count down to the Xbox Series X and PS5’s debut, let’s look back at the tech of the 2010s that changed the gaming industry — for better or worse.
Virtual Reality
A decade ago, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii were entering their twilight years, PC gaming was allegedly in decline, and anyone that said VR was probably talking about the Virtual Boy or Johnny Mnemonic. But in 2012 Oculus revealed the Rift, a virtual reality device that aimed to truly achieve presence – the feeling when you put on a headset of being present in a virtual world.
The Rift’s success would go on to define much of the decade when it comes to tech innovation. VR was heralded as the next frontier in gaming, and Valve and Sony quickly followed suit with VR headsets of their own. Still, slow user adoption has kept most developers from dedicating major resources toward making VR games. And without games, people don’t have a reason to buy the headsets. Chicken, egg. But however you look at it, VR is here to stay, and with the announcement of Half-Life Alyx coming in just a few months, VR might finally have the killer app it needs to hit critical mass. Probably.