Here’s What’s in the Oscars $125,000 Goodie Bags
The contents of this year's Academy Awards goodie bags have been revealed to be worth more than $125,000.
Variety reports the some pretty spectacular swag will be given to nominees, alongside the standard array of skincare products and accessories.
Highlights include: a $1,500 three-night stay at a resort in Tuscany; a luxury train journey through the Canadian Rockies worth $14,500; French Mediterranean sea salts worth $1,500; a silver necklace bearing the latitude and longitude of the Dolby Theater where the Oscars were held worth $150; a glamping trip valued at $12,500; a $800 cotton candy and dessert voucher; a $250 Haze vaporiser; a $250 Afterglow vibrator; a Wellness 360 gift pack worth $1,200; a full year of Audi A4 car rental worth $20,000 and a Reset Yourself makeover package coming in at over $14,200.
Redeeming the Third Reich (or Not) in Hearts of Iron 4
Taking control of Germany in 1936 is always going to be an awkward proposition. In theory, the actions I'm taking are not so different from my usual modus operandi in Crusader Kings II or Europa Universalis IV: establishing military hegemony and manipulating the political web of Europe to conquer as much territory as I can realistically get away with. Yet, the historical context and the popular understanding of the atrocities committed by this particular imperialist superpower adds a layer of queasiness to every heavy-handed annexation or political coup I enact.
What is unambiguously awesome are the ways Iron 4 brings Paradox's World War II grand strategy series up to the modern standard set by Europa Universalis IV. The world map is the best looking one the studio has ever crafted. The shorter timeframe has allowed the introduction of a day/night cycle, which shifts with the seasons, and dynamic weather visible in the form of gathering storm clouds and flurries of snow. The individual infantry, armor, and air detachments with which you will wage the greatest conflict of the 20th century are modeled to a level of quality comparable to recent Civilization games. The number of nations using generic models is a reminder of Paradox's DLC strategy, which will doubtlessly dole out personalized, regional GIs and halftracks piecemeal, over time. And the UI is also not quite up to EU4's level in terms of tooltips or readability, but it's one aspect the devs were insistent is still actively being tuned up.
Capcom and Sega Join Forces for Worlds Unite Comic
Update: We've added the fourth and final teaser image that reveals the entire cast of this epic Sega/Capcom crossover.
Last year, Archie Comics announced that they were planning another crossover between their Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog comics in 2015. The big twist with Worlds Unite is that the traditional Mega Man and Sonic casts will be joined by characters from the Mega Man X and Sonic Boom games. But as it turns out, even that just scratches the surface of this epic crossover. World Unite will bring together a number of popular franchises from both Sega and Capcom.
Blizzard Says Diablo 3 Microtransactions Won’t Come West
Blizzard has countered concerns regarding microtransactions in Diablo III, explaining there are no plans to bring the feature to Europe or North America.
The developer was responding to files discovered by dataminers, which seem to suggest the upcoming patch 2.2 will add the controversial payment method. Thankfully, Diablo community manager Brandy ‘Nevalistis’ Camel has now explained this is primarily planned for Asian markets.
“While the above features will not apply to this region, players will still benefit from some of the quality of life perks tied to these additions, such as a streamlined UI for selecting cosmetic benefits like pets and Collector’s Edition wings,” he wrote about the premium Platinum currency used to buy experience boosts, increased inventory storage and character slots.
Nvidia Facing a False Advertising Lawsuit
Nvidia has been hit with a class action lawsuit that claims the company has falsely advertised its GeForce GTX 970 graphics card.
It is marketed as having 4GB of video RAM. However, users have reported that the performance of the card is drastically reduced after using 3.5GB of the allocation.
The lawsuit names Nvidia and Gigabyte Technology as the defendants. A judge will have to decide whether the lawsuit will be followed up with a jury trial.
Nvidia's competitor AMD poked fun at the situation, advertising its Radeon R9 290 card using the slogan "4GB Means 4GB".
Nvidia recently released the GTX 960, the cheapest product in the 900 series. Make sure you read IGN's impressions of the new card.
Feudal Japan Skin Pack Reported For Mortal Kombat X
An image doing the rounds online appears to show Mortal Kombat X's first skin pack will be themed around Feudal Japan.
The image (via MP1st) appears to have been taken on a PS3 and shows the game, pre-order bonus character Goro and the rumoured skin pack. We've been unable to verify the authenticity of the screenshot, and have reached out to Warner Bros. for more information.
The State of PS4 and Xbox One in Australia
It’s been 15 months since Sony and Microsoft launched their respective new-generation consoles in Australia. Shortly after launch, we ran an article on what was and wasn’t available for the brand-spanking-new Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and discovered that Australia’s offering was significantly reduced compared to other regions. There may have been hardware available to purchase around the globe, but what that hardware could do – the apps, the services, the core non-gaming functionality - differed greatly.
Of course, Australians weren’t the only ones scratching their heads. There were touted features for both systems that just weren’t ready at launch. Anywhere. Modern consoles, however, evolve over time, and the last 15 months have seen a host of post-launch updates designed to deliver on the potential of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Some of these have been global, others have helped close the gap between the services and functionality on offer for Australian gamers versus North American gamers. So how big is that gap now? And how have both machines changed in general? Let’s take a closer look.
Supergirl’s Mother Cast in Upcoming Series
CBS has cast Laura Benanti (Nashville, Go On) as Supergirl's mother, Alura Zor-El, in the upcoming DC Comics-based TV series.
According to Deadline, Benanti's version of Alura Zor-El will appear in a recurring role, and is described as, "A strong noblewoman, Alura sends Kara to Earth to escape Krypton’s destruction. Her wisdom and guidance echoes across space and time, proving invaluable on Kara’s journey toward becoming Supergirl."
Laura Benanti in a promo image for Go On.
Kanye is Working on a Video Game
In his ongoing quest to conquer the world, Kanye West is making a video game.
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club radio show on Power 105.1, West revealed that a video game based on his song Only One - dedicated to his mother who passed away - is currently being worked on.
"Right now I'm working on a video game for Only One", said West, "and the idea is that it's my mother going through the gates of heaven and you have to bring her to the highest gates of heaven by holding her to the light. We've been working on it for like six months."
West is following in the footsteps of his wife Kim Kardashian, who released a successful mobile game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, last year.
2015 Oscars: Who Won?
The winners of tonight's 87th Annual Academy Awards are marked in red and will be updated throughout the broadcast!
Before we get started, check out our Oscar Predictions and see how we match with what the Academy ultimately selects!
IGN's 2015 Oscar Predictions!
You can also follow the live Tweet coverage below!
[widget path="social/shared/twitterlist"