Heroes of the Storm Founder’s Pack Now Available
Blizzard has revealed a Heroes of the Storm Founder's Pack is now available for purchase.
The Founder's Pack costs £29.99 / $39.99 and grants immediate access to the game, which is currently in closed beta, as well as several additional heroes and mounts to use in-game.
Anyone who opts to buy a Founder's Pack will get access to Raynor, Diablo and Tyrande for use as heroes right off the bat, with an additional skin also granted for each. You'll get Commander Raynor, Lurkablo Diablo, and Blood Elf Tyrande.
This Week on the PSN (January 20, 2015)
Every Tuesday, Sony drops a bunch of new stuff onto the PlayStation Network. Those with a PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, or PlayStation Vita can download these goodies, which include PSN games, movies, themes and more. While the Official PlayStation Blog outlines these updates in full each week, we thought we'd help truncate the good news into something more digestible.
After two weeks of no PS4 games, there are now seven new ones to choose from!
- Citizens of Earth ($14.99)
- Ironclad Tactics ($14.99)
Evo 2015 Lineup Includes Tekken 7 on Arcade
Evolution Championship Series organizer Joey "Mr Wizard" Cuellar took to a Twitch TV stream today to announce the lineup for this year's fighting game tournament Evo 2015, a list notably featuring Tekken 7 on arcade.
This year’s competition currently includes nine fighting titles, although Cuellar stated during the stream that organizers aren’t likely to add more titles to the lineup after this date. The definitive list for Evo 2015 follows:
- Ultra Street Fighter 4
- Marvel vs. Capcom 3
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
- Guilty Gear Xrd
- Killer Instinct
President Obama Urges Congress to Pass Cyber Security Legislation
During his State of the Union Address, President Barrack Obama encouraged legislation that would give companies more modern tools to combat cyber threats, and establish a national standard for companies to notify victims about security breaches.
The proposed legislation follows retail breaches at stores such as Target and Staples, along with the Sony Pictures calamity that was later credited to North Korea.
"No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids," President Obama said. "We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information."
Dragon Tattoo Actress Up for Star Wars
Tatiana Maslany and Rooney Mara are reportedly screen-testing for the first Star Wars standalone film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Maslany (Orphan Black) and Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) are testing for the female lead in the film, which is being directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). Sources indicate that the actresses will test this week along with a “handful” of others and that reading and testing also took place in the U.K. in December.
Rooney Mara in The Social Network
Podcast Beyond Episode 378: Our Favorite PSP Memories
Greg, Colin, and Marty gathered together to discuss their favorite PSP memories, whether or not we'll actually see Uncharted in 2015, and when the PlayStation 4 will receive its first price drop. Also Colin talks about hockey. Shocker. All this and more on the Internet's No. 1 PlayStation podcast!
BEYOND!
Podcast Beyond, Episode 378 (MP3) - 63 MB
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Marty Sliva is an Editor at IGN. He enjoys casting pods. Follow him on Twitter @McBiggitty.
State of Decay Boss Explains Lack of Co-Op
Speaking with IGN on an upcoming episode of Podcast Unlocked, Undead Labs CEO Jeff Strain explained that while he understands and even wants cooperative multiplayer in State of Decay, it would be difficult from an engineering standpoint and would take up time better spent elsewhere in development.
"We could go retrofit cooperative multiplay into State of Decay," he says of the possibility. "It would feel janky. it would not feel like it was a native part of the experience."
Strain explains that while the team could "band-aid something in," several concessions would have to be made to the gameplay, due to the way the systems are currently set up in State of Decay's code. Attempting to go in and alter the current architecture would be too difficult to justify, especially when the team could use that time working on the next iteration.
Mortal Kombat and Arrow Actor Has Died
Mortal Kombat: Legacy and Arrow actor Darren Shahlavi has died at the age of 42.
Shahlavi was well known for playing Kano in Machinima's Mortal Kombat web series. He also played Constantine Drakon on The CW's Arrow.
Darren Shahlavi in Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Arrow star Stephen Amell took to Twitter to pay his respects to the late actor, calling him a "great dude" and a "patient, thoughtful partner."
RIP Darren Shahlavi. 1st guy I ever fought on Arrow. He was a great dude & a patient, thoughtful partner. Fight looked good because of him.
FDA Publishes Guidance for Wearables
The FDA has released its draft guidance on how wearable devices for medical use could be regulated and how it would distinguish casual wearables from serious medical tech
While "general wellness" wearables that make no specific claims about their use (like Fitbit or Apple's health apps) will remain unregulated, any device that claims to treat a specific ailment or is more invasive will receive the same level of scrutiny as devices designed for professional hospital use.
The key here is that a "general wellness application" can help users lose weight, but not claim to treat obesity; it can claim to help a user reduce stress levels, but it can't claim to fight an anxiety disorder. A device can also claim it "may help to reduce the risk of" or "may help living with" specific illnesses or disorders without losing its general wellness categorization.
Director Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters 3 Update
The plot details for the female Ghostbusters reboot have been kept more secret than Bill Murray's phone number -- but finally, director Paul Feig has given us an update on the reboot's status, answering questions about the film's setting, Melissa McCarthy casting rumours, his reasoning for doing the movie, and more.
Speaking to Empire, Feig expressed his desire to keep the Ghostbusters franchise set in New York City, saying, "...to me it’s such a New York movie and the biggest sin would be to pull it out of there." He elaborated, "I just love New York and, selfishly, I just want to shoot in New York."