Category: Gamespot

Sales of Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption – Game of the Year Edition on Xbox 360 have skyrocketed since the announcement that Rockstar’s acclaimed open-world game will be playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.

Amazon’s Movers & Shakers list, which tracks sales ranking and notes increases, lists a 6329% rise in Red Dead Redemption sales and currently lists it at as the 17th most popular video game on the site. It was previously at No. 1093.

The game of the year edition, which includes the Undead Nightmare expansion, has increased in sales by 1877% and is currently the 36th most popular game, previously being No. 712.

The Duck Hunt Amiibo is also quite popular right now, for some reason.

Red Dead Redemption will become playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility on July 8. If you don’t own the game, it is currently on sale sale this week on Xbox 360 for $7.50/£6.49 for Gold members; for everyone else, it’s available for $10.50/£8.47.

Earlier this year Red Dead Redemption was discovered to be playable on Xbox One through an error that Microsoft quickly fixed.

On the Xbox Feedback site, only two games have more votes to join the Xbox One’s backwards compatibility catalog: Call of Duty: Black Ops II and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. With more than 148,000 votes, Red Dead Redemption was the No. 3 game on the list.

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Fans of shows such as The Flash, Supergirl and The Vampire Diaries will no longer have to wait months for them to hit Netflix. A new deal between the streaming giant and the CW now ensures that the network’s output will arrive on the service within eight days of season finales.

The new arrangement was rumoured last month, but Deadline have now confirmed that it has been finalised. The deal ensures that all new CW shows in the upcoming 2016-2017 season will hit Netflix eight days after each season ends. It covers both the shows currently on the CW’s slate, plus any future series produced for the network.

In a statement, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, said: “Netflix members in the US love the great lineup of series from the CW, and we are thrilled to extend the relationship and bring those shows to our members exclusively now, just eight days after their season finales. This is a great step forward with a valued network partner to give fans exactly what they want, when and how they want it.”

Netflix had been seeking to renegotiate its deal with the CW for several months. Previously, the network had a deal with Hulu that meant that selected episodes were available to stream there initially, with Netflix subscribers having to wait months to watch this content.

Current CW shows include the DC properties The Flash and Arrow, with Supergirl moving there from CBS for its next season. Other popular shows include The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Jane the Virgin.

Disclosure: CBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

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Microsoft is adding a new feature to its Xbox avatar system.

Writing on Twitter, Xbox engineering lead Mike Ybarra revealed images of a new wheelchair option. His shared the pictures in response to a comment from Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley, who wondered publicly how technically difficult it would be to add wheelchairs.

Someone responded by saying he should start a petition, and that’s when Xbox boss Phil Spencer jumped in to say a petition would not be necessary.

“No petition needed, we hear you,” he said. “This is something that we’ve already looked at, not far off.”

Microsoft job ads spotted in January 2015 revealed the company was hoping to make better-looking and more feature-rich avatars for Xbox One and other devices and platforms. As it happens, the images Ybarra shared do appear to be a step up in terms of visuals.

“As we cross the threshold to a unified operating system and product experience across Microsoft, it is time to for Xbox avatars to also advance to the next level,” reads a line from one of the job ads. “Come with us, as we take Xbox avatars on their biggest adventure yet with higher fidelity and a bigger stage in new Xbox experiences.”

Microsoft first introduced avatars on Xbox 360 in 2008. The premise is that you can create your own virtual self, complete with a wide variety of hairstyles, clothes, and accessories. Microsoft even sells a range of extra avatar content from the avatar store, including materials from real-world non-gaming brands such as the NFL, My Little Pony, and the United States Armed Forces.

The Xbox One’s next major update, Anniversary, comes out later this summer (it’s also headed to PC), though it’s unclear if the avatar changes are included with it.

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Looking to pick up some new games this summer? Microsoft’s annual Ultimate Game Sale might have what you’re looking for. The sale, announced last week, kicked off today, July 5, and runs until July 11. There are more than 250 deals available, offering savings of up to 60 percent off. On top of that, Xbox Live Gold members can save up to 10 percent more.

The sale features Xbox One and Xbox 360 deals alongside offers on Windows 10 PC games and Xbox One consoles–you can now get the system for $280.

Among the games included are newer releases like Doom ($42), Quantum Break ($45), Mirror’s Edge Catalyst ($36), Dark Souls III ($45), and The Division ($40). As for older titles, Fallout 4 is discounted to $30, while Watch Dogs is marked down to $12.

Xbox 360 games featured in the sale include Red Dead Redemption ($7.50), WWE 2K16 ($20), Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ($5), Far Cry 4 ($20), and BioShock Infinite ($10).

This is just a very small sampling of all the offers. Major Nelson’s blog has a full listing of all the deals, including information about which Xbox 360 games in the sale are playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.

What are you picking up? Let us know in the comments below!

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July 2016’s free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers are available starting today, July 5. The games–there are six up for grabs across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita–will be available to download when the PlayStation Store updates in the coming hours.

As announced previously, July 2016’s lineup includes Furi and Saints Row: Gat out of Hell on PS4, while Fat Princess and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood will be free on PS3.

PlayStation Vita owners, meanwhile, can pick up Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines and Prince of Persia: Revelation free during the month. As an extra bonus, the Paragon Starter Pack is going to be free all month long.

It appears the PlayStation Store has not yet updated today, so go grab June 2016’s free games while you still can–they won’t be available for much longer.

On the other side of the fence, July 2016’s Games With Gold titles, including The Banner Saga 2 and Rainbow Six Vegas 2, are now available for Xbox One and Xbox 360.

PlayStation Plus July 2016 Lineup:

PS4

• Saints Row: Gat out of Hell
• Furi

PS3

• Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
• Fat Princess

PlayStation Vita

• Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines
• Prince of Persia: Revelation

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Following its release last week on Xbox One and PC, The Division‘s huge 1.3 update landed today, July 5, on PlayStation 4. It was originally pegged to launch on all platforms at the same time, but Ubisoft delayed it on Sony’s system. Additionally, a new update for all platforms has also arrived, fixing some bugs.

The new PS4 update does not, however, unlock The Division’s Underground expansion. It’s already available on Xbox One and PC, and comes to PS4 on August 2. DLC for The Division launches first on Xbox One and PC per a timed-exclusivity arrangement between Microsoft and Ubisoft.

In addition to the weapon balance changes and bug fixes in 1.3 (see the full patch notes here), the new update for PS4, Xbox One, and PC fixes a bug where High Value Target NPCs were incorrectly capped at a max level of 30. The problem where the High Value Targets were not dropping any Target intel has also been fixed.

Here are two other fixes included with the new update for all platforms:

• Fixed a bug where players that died after defeating the final encounter would be able to repeat it and gain loots again.
• Fixed instances of server instability that could lead to players being disconnected from the game.

The Division’s servers were offline for around three hours to make these changes and should be back up and operational now.

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Star Wars Episode VIII has been shooting since February, but the end is finally in sight. Star Mark Hamill has revealed that production on the film will wrap in just over two weeks.

The actor, who plays Luke Skywalker, tweeted that the film will complete principal photography on July 22, 2016. This follows his earlier comments that he would soon be finished on the movie and would then be “out of work.” Hamill had to subsequently clarify that he meant that the production was about to wrap, not that Skywalker was being killed off.

Fans will be able to get their first taste of what to expect from Episode VIII at the Star Wars Celebration for Europe, which takes place in London this month. Director Rian Johnson will be attending, alongside Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who are making the Han Solo movie, and Rogue One’s Gareth Edwards.

Unsurprisingly, very few details about the movie’s plot are known at this stage. However several of the cast have suggested that fans should expect something different from previous films in the franchise.

In April, Oscar Isaac, who plays Poe Dameron, likened it to working on an independent film. “Rian is definitely going to places and investigating things that haven’t really been done in the Star Wars universe,” he told the LA Times. “For me, it’s so fun getting to explore different things that I wouldn’t have expected in this universe.”

Co-stars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega have also spoken about the film’s darker tone. “It’s a different take–darker, bigger,” Boyega told Variety. “Someone will say: ‘How do you get bigger than Force Awakens?’ But it’s crazy.”

Star Wars Episode VIII arrives in theaters on December 15, 2017. It also stars Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Domhnall Gleeson, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis.

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Thor: Ragnarok has started production. The Norse God’s third Marvel movie is now shooting in Australia, and director Taiki Waititi has tweeted the first image from the set. Check it out below:

Waititi was himself replying to a tweet from Ant-Man director Peyton Reed, who wished him well on the first day of production.

The film stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor once more, with Mark Ruffalo joining him in his role as the Hulk. The impressive cast also includes the likes of Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban, and Jeff Goldblum. Blanchett is know to be playing a villainous character, while Goldblum will portray immortal games-playing Grandmaster.

In a recent interview with The Verge to promote his acclaimed new film Hunt For The Wilderpeople, Waititi spoke about the experience of moving from low budget independent productions to the big budget world of Marvel. “It hasn’t been that different,” he said. “So far it’s been good! I’ve been more organized, which is saying something, for a guy like me to be organized. I’m surrounded by really intelligent, amazing people. I’ve got access to great minds and great resources. So I’m at a real advantage.

“In terms of the studio thing, these people don’t act like a studio. They’re cool, smart storytellers. I’ve been enjoying hanging out with them. And I’ve made commercials, so I’ve worked with the worst people in the world.”

Waititi also explained that he was hoping to make Ragnarok a film that still contained the comedic sensibilities of his earlier films. “I’ve got to bring as much of myself as I can to this, and then see how it goes,” he said. “You obviously need people overseeing the bigger picture, the next five movies or whatever. Otherwise we’d all be left to our own devices, and God knows what would happen.”

Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters on November 3, 2017.

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A live-action Hollywood adaptation of the anime classic Akira has been in development for a long time, with numerous directors and stars attached over the years. Now concept art for one of the potential productions has emerged, that features Chris Evans and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead roles. Check the images out in the gallery below, via Slashfim:

The artwork was created by illustrator Ruairi Robinson, and dates from around 2014. At that stage, Non-Stop director Jaume Collet-Serra was attached to the project.

Last week, it was revealed that Star Trek Beyond‘s Justin Lin was in talks at Warner to direct Akira. Prior to that in September, it was reported that the studio planned a trilogy, with Christopher Nolan involved at some level. In 2012, the film actually reached the pre-production stage before the Vancouver productions offices were shut down by Warner.

The manga of Akira ran between 1982 and 1990, and is widely credited for popularising Japanese comic books internationally. Equally, the success of Otomo’s animated version did much to introduce Western viewers to anime, and is now considered one of the finest sci-fi films ever made.

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