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Category: Gamespot

Star Wars: The Last Jedi — Disney CEO Has Seen It Already And Weighs In

Many months before the film’s release, Disney CEO Bob Iger has seen an early cut of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. His verdict? It’s going to be great. Speaking on an earnings call this week, Iger teased the highly anticipated sequel.

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi, otherwise known as Episode VIII, will open in December and I just saw it last week,” Iger said (via SeekingAlpha and Hannah Sampson). “It’s a great next chapter in the iconic Skywalker family saga.”

A sequel to 2015’s The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi will pick up right after where that movie left off. It will reportedly focus heavily on the relationship between Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker and Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

The title is very mysterious and ominous-sounding. Actor Josh Gad grilled Ridley multiple times to ask her for answers–but she did not give anything away. Check out GameSpot’s breakdown here to find out what we think The Last Jedi could mean.

Hamill said he likes how minimalist The Last Jedi title is. He also said he likes how the title has a “samurai” feel to it.

Following a delay, The Last Jedi arrives in theaters on December 15, 2017. It also stars John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Laura Dern, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. Carrie Fisher filmed her Leia scenes for the movie before she passed away in December.

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February 8, 2017
Nintendo Switch Overview Video Shows What Makes It Unique

Nintendo has released a video providing an overview of its next console, the Switch. The trailer offers a three-minute breakdown of all the features in the new hybrid device.

It starts by showing off the base unit and the tablet, before moving onto the Joy-Cons and showing how they attach to the tablet to offer a more robust gaming experience. There’s also a showcase of the TV mode, handheld mode, and tabletop mode.

The video digs deeper into the hardware inside the Joy-Con, which offers “new HD rumble,” allowing them to “reproduce sensations and experiences in entirely new ways.” The controllers’ motion control capabilities are also highlighted, with attention drawn to their gyroscopes and accelerometers, as well as the right Joy-Con’s infrared sensor. The right controller also features NFC “read and write” tech, which allows the console to support Amiibo.

The left controller meanwhile, has a capture button, for saving screenshots–similar to the PS4’s share button. Each controller also feature two standard triggers–R/L and ZR/ZL–as well as two bumpers for when you’re holding only one Joy-Con: SR and SL.

The Joy-Cons are used to their fullest in 1-2-Switch, which recently had its weirdest minigame yet revealed. If you’re curious to know what the Switch feels like to hold and play, check out our hands-on impressions here.

Nintendo Switch launches on March 3, priced at US $300/£280/AU $470. The console’s touchscreen was recently shown off for the first time, using Skylanders Imaginators. The toys-to-life game is one of 10 confirmed Switch launch titles. The other nine are: 1-2-Switch, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, Just Dance 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I Am Setsuna, Human Resource Machine, Little Inferno, World of Goo, and Super Bomberman R. For all the games confirmed to be coming to Switch–but not necessarily at launch–take a look at our roundup.

The Switch launch lineup could continue to grow between now and release in March, but it’s unlikely there will be as many launch titles as there were for Wii U, which had 23. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently spoke out to stress that launch is “not the be-all and the end-all.”

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February 8, 2017
Check Out This Amazing Japanese Kong: Skull Island Poster

A stylish new poster for the upcoming Kong: Skull Island was released last week, homaging the war classic Apocalypse Now. Now an even more impressive poster for the Japanese release has been revealed. It was tweeted by director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and is in the style of classic Japanese monster movies–check it out below:

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Vogt-Roberts revealed that he had a simple rule for the monstrous inhabitants of Skull Island. “The first mandate for me was ‘No dinosaurs,’” he said. “Jurassic World owns that as far as I’m concerned, and Peter Jackson’s version did such a great job with that V-Rex fight.”

The director went on to explain that his inspiration for the creatures was in fact Japanese animation. “[Hayao] Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke, and in a weird way Pokemon were odd reference points,” he said. “Because I wanted these things to have a spirituality to them and an essence to them, and I wanted all of them to simultaneously be gorgeous and terrifying.”

Kong: Skull Island is released on March 10, 2017. It stars Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, John C Reilly, Corey Hawkins, and John Goodman.

In 2015, it was announced that the film would form part of an ongoing monster movie series. Following the success of 2014’s Godzilla, producers Legendary teamed up with Warner to create a “shared cinematic franchise” that will also include Godzilla: King of Monsters in 2019 and Godzilla Vs Kong in 2020.

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February 8, 2017
For Honor Open Beta Preload Begins

The upcoming For Honor beta is slated to start on February 9. But you can pre-load it right now. VideoGamer.com reports that preloading is now available and that the client is around 27GB.

The beta features four modes: Elimination, Dominion, Brawl, and Duel. There are nine heroes in the beta. The full game contains 12 heroes and five modes, so beta players are getting to try a good chunk of the complete game’s content. The beta is being held on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

As mentioned, this is an open beta, so everyone can jump in. Before this, a closed beta ran January 26-29. The full game launches on February 14.

In other news, Ubisoft will hold a “War of the Factions” competition today featuring Game of Thrones star Jason Mamoa and MMA’s Demetrious Johnson, as well as Twitch personalities, today. You can watch the competition here on the For Honor Twitch channel, starting at 2 PM PT.

For more on For Honor, you can read all of our coverage and watch every video here.

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February 7, 2017
Matt Damon Sneaks Onto Jimmy Kimmel's Show Dressed As Tom Brady

The long-running fake feud between late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel and actor Matt Damon continues with a special Super Bowl edition. Last night, Kimmel introduced a very special guest, Super Bowl LI champion and MVP Tom Brady. Except, it was really Damon dressed up as the veteran QB.

Here’s how it went down:

Damon emphatically exclaims that he’s finally made it onto Jimmy Kimmel Live, but Kimmel points out that Damon never sat down on the couch so it doesn’t count.

The fake feud between Damon and Kimmel started when Kimmel would end his late night show by apologizing to Damon for running out of time to interview him, even though he wasn’t there. Then, when Damon finally appeared on his show and sat down, Kimmel said it again, and Damon went (fake) ballistic. Check out the video below to catch up on the drama so far.

Kimmel and Damon have played up the squabble for years, including with a silly couples counseling video, attack ads, and a skit at the Emmys. Damon’s friend Ben Affleck even snuck Damon onto Kimmel’s shown once in his shirt.

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February 7, 2017
Bad Boys 3 Delayed, Bad Boys 4 Removed From Schedule

The next Bad Boys movie has been delayed. The release of Bad Boys For Life has moved back nearly a year, while the fourth film in the series has been removed from Sony’s schedule entirely.

The date changes were revealed by industry analysts Exhibitor Relations. They tweeted:

Sony’s BAD BOYS FOR LIFE is now a holiday vehicle, rolling out November 9, 2018 instead of January 12, 2018. BAD BOYS 4 is now TBD.

— Exhibitor Relations (@ERCboxoffice) February 7, 2017

This follows the news last month that star Will Smith was in talks to appear in Disney’s live-action remake of the animated classic Dumbo. As Variety reported, Dumbo and the Bad Boys sequel were scheduled to shoot at the same time. It was suggested that Smith’s involvement in Dumbo would have a “significant effect” on Bad Boys For Life.

Both Bad Boys For Life and Bad Boys 4 were announced by Sony in August 2015. At the time the former was given a February 2017 release, which subsequently moved back to early 2018. The movie is set to be directed by Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, The Grey.)

Last year, Smith confirmed that he and Lawrence were returning to the series. “I saw Martin a few weeks ago,” he said. “I haven’t seen him for about two years. We just looked at each other. We hugged.

“In that moment, we knew we were making another Bad Boys. We’re definitely doing another one.”

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February 7, 2017
Xbox Boss Responds To Overwatch Director's Mouse & Keyboard Comments

Recently, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan spoke out about mouse-and-keyboard controls on console, saying Blizzard is in discussions with Microsoft and Sony to decide how to move forward.

Now, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has weighed in. Writing on Twitter, Spencer said mouse-and-keyboard controls on console can “clearly” provide an advantage in some cases. But overall, he said he wants to put the tools in the hands of the studios and let them decide what works best.

@LosDreamss Clearly in some cases M&K is an advantage. I’m a fan of giving the tools to studios and they’ll do what’s best for their games.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 7, 2017

Kaplan, Overwatch’s game director, recently stated, “The Overwatch team objects to the use of mouse-and-keyboard on console.” He added that Blizzard has reached out to Sony and Microsoft to express its “concern” about this, as well as input conversion devices. Kaplan said Blizzard wants Sony and Microsoft to either prohibit the use of mouse-and-keyboard controls and conversion devices or officially add support for those control setups for everyone.

Although the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One do not officially support mouse-and-keyboard controls, people have found ways, including converters, to make that setup work. Regarding a full, officially supported mouse-and-keyboard setup for Xbox One, Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently said he hopes this will happen in part to help RTS games grow in prominence on console.

In other Overwatch news, Blizzard recently announced that the game has crossed 25 million registered users. We may learn more about how the game is performing from a business perspective this week when Activision Blizzard reports earnings on February 9.

What’s your take on mouse-and-keyboard controls on console? Let us know in the comments below!

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February 7, 2017
Nintendo Explains Why Switch Could Have Better Third-Party Support Than Wii U

One of the issues with the Wii U was a lack of third-party support. Nintendo plans to turn things around with the Nintendo Switch–and now we know more about how Nintendo plans to do that.

The English translation of Nintendo’s investor Q&A was published today. In it, Nintendo director Shinya Takahashi explained that with Nintendo’s previous consoles, focusing on proprietary development tools was a “high priority” for the company. But with the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo changed things up.

“Since the start of Nintendo Switch development we have been aiming to realize an environment in which a variety of different third-party developers are able to easily develop compatible software, such as by making it compatible with Unreal and Unity as well as our own development tools,” Takahashi said.” As a result, even companies with only a few developers have already started making games for Nintendo Switch.”

Takahashi went on to say that Nintendo provided demonstrations for the game 1-2-Switch to developers as a pitch of sorts to show them the unique qualities of the Nintendo Switch. If Nintendo keeps creating compelling, unique Nintendo Switch software, other developers might be further encouraged to do the same.

“During our recent (January 13) Nintendo Switch presentation, we played a video message from the creator of Skyrim, Mr. Todd Howard of Bethesda Game Studios, in which he shared the genuine impression he had already given us when we first showed him Nintendo Switch,” Takahashi said. “Nintendo will keep on creating unique software. By doing so, I believe we will encourage third-party developers to create a number of quality software titles for Nintendo Switch.”

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto is also quoted in the Q&A. He said third-party developers who are building games for PC can now “easily adapt” them for the Nintendo Switch.

“In the current development environment, I’d say that it would take less than a year for them to port a PC game to Nintendo Switch,” he said.

Also in the Q&A, Miyamoto said it’s been said in the past that game developers in the west have “superior skills” to their Japanese counterparts in the area of game development techniques. This may no longer be the case, as he said Nintendo’s developers have “mastered” the Unreal Engine and more.

“Nintendo’s software developers have mastered state-of-the-art technologies such as Unreal engine, and their skills can now be compared with those of Western developers,” he said. “Our developers are more excited than ever to create software.”

The Nintendo Switch launches on March 3, priced at $300. You can see all the launch titles here and every game confirmed for the system here.

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February 7, 2017
Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility On PC? "Never Say Never," Xbox Boss Says

The Xbox One added backwards compatibility support in November 2015, allowing users to play some Xbox 360 games. Backwards compatibility for Xbox 360 games will be available with Project Scorpio, which launches this holiday. But could the popular feature also come to PC? That’s the question someone asked Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently.

Responding on Twitter, Spencer said this would be challenging, in part because whereas the Xbox One has a locked spec, the PC environment is far more varied when it comes to configurations. “Running [backwards compatibility] reliably on all the different PC [hardware] configs would be a lot more work than [Xbox One],” Spencer said. He added: “But never say never.”

January was a monster month for additions to the backwards compatibility catalog, with 18 titles added. None have been added so far in February. You can see a full list of the 300-plus backwards compatibility games here.

Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere system brings Xbox and PC close together. For these titles, when you buy a digital copy on Xbox One or PC, you get access to the game free on the other.

Would you be interested in playing Xbox 360 games on PC? Let us know in the comments below!

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February 7, 2017
FIFA YouTuber Pleads Guilty To Gambling Charges [UPDATE]

Update: Fines have been levied against both Douglas and Rigby after pleading guilty in court today. Douglas was ordered to pay £91,000 (about $113,000), while Rigby must pay £174,000 (about $217,000), according to The Guardian.

“The aggravating features of these offences are they were committed over a relatively long period of about six months,” said district judge Jack McGarva. “Children were gambling on your site. It’s impossible for me to know how many or the effect on them. In my opinion, both of you were aware of the use of the site by children and the attractiveness of it to children. At the very least, you both turned a blind eye to it.”

The Guardian notes how, during the trial, a YouTube video of Douglas was shown where he states, “You don’t have to be 18 for this, because this is a virtual currency.”

On Twitter this afternoon, Douglas posted a series of messages apologizing. “I owe a huge apology to my family and close friends for putting them through this process, and appreciate all those that stood by me.” He also said he intends to publish a “video in due course presenting my side of the story.”

The original story follows.

FIFA YouTuber Nepenthez has pleaded guilty to gambling offences under the UK’s Gambling Act.

According to the BBC, Nepenthez (whose real name is Craig Douglas) and his business partner Dylan Rigby ran a site that allowed users to gamble FIFA coins–which, it is argued, hold real-world value–on real-life football matches. The men reportedly pleaded not guilty at first, but they have now switched their pleas.

The pair were charged in 2016 with inviting children to gamble (many of Nepenthez’s near-1.5 million subscribers are minors), as well as promoting a lottery and advertising unlawful gambling.

This case, which is being held at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, is the first of its kind in the UK; no individual or company had previously been prosecuted for running an unlicensed video game gambling website.

Nepenthez talked about the then-upcoming court case in a recent video. “I’ve got something coming up on Monday, 6th of February that could change my life, define my future,” he said. “There is a probability that I won’t be walking out of court on Monday morning, and that’s scary man, that’s really scary.”

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February 7, 2017