Star Wars may take place in a galaxy far, far away, but it earns a lot of money here on Earth, and Disney, the studio behind the franchise, knows it. That's why the company is establishing a set of very strict rules when it comes to theaters playing Star Wars: The Last Jedi when it debuts in December.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Disney expects a lot from any theater planning to exhibit the film. First and foremost, 65% of ticket sale revenue will go to Disney. That's up from 64% for the last two Star Wars movies. With most new releases, that number is typically closer to 55-60%. Theaters are also not allowed to begin marketing the movie before Disney gives approval
Additionally, exhibitors will be required to screen The Last Jedi in their biggest auditoriums for a minimum or four weeks. That's a rule Disney has implemented for their previous Star Wars releases. However, there's a catch. Any theater that breaks one of the rules is eligible to be charged an additional 5% of ticket sales--bringing Disney's haul to 70% of the revenue.
These rules will only go into effect if the film grosses $500 million in the United States and Canada, which is practically guaranteed--The Force Awakens earned $936 million domestically, while Rogue One took in $523 million in the United States and Canada. Should the rules go into effect though, it poses a tricky situation for theaters as other films release in the holiday season.
Among the movies releasing in the weeks after The Last Jedi are Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, The Greatest Showman, and Pitch Perfect 3. Under Disney's rules, none of them would be allowed to play on a theater's largest auditorium. That could become problematic for theaters in smaller towns, some of which only have one screen.
That said, the chances that any of those films is going to outgross the next chapter in the Star Wars saga is slim, at best. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters on December 15.
If you're still in the market for a 3DS, a new version of the budget-priced 2DS line is on the way this holiday season. Today, Nintendo announced a Zelda-themed 2DS bundle, which will be available in stores in time for Black Friday.
The Link Edition 2DS sports a new color scheme inspired by the series' iconic hero, Link. It comes in green with a brown backside and yellow face buttons. It also comes pre-installed with the series' classic installment, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, making it a good starting point for those who have yet to jump into Nintendo's long-running franchise. You can see an image of it below.
The Link Edition 2DS will retail for $80, the same price as other standard 2DS units. Unlike a typical 3DS, the 2DS doesn't have the ability to display stereoscopic 3D effects. The Link Edition 2DS is also the lowest-end model in the line, meaning it isn't compatible with a small handful of 3DS titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3D.
If you'd prefer to pick up the more powerful New 2DS XL, Nintendo is releasing a special edition Poke Ball-themed version later this week, on November 3. That model is compatible with all 3DS games and will cost $160. A limited SNES Edition New 3DS XL is also available on Amazon for $200. It's the highest-end 3DS model and includes a download code for the SNES classic, Super Mario Kart.
Leviathan, the first and currently only Raid for Destiny 2, has launched on PC. It's the most difficult challenge available to players, and you'll need to be well-prepared and have an organized group of six to stand a chance at completing it.
There's more to the Raid at launch on PC than there was initially on PS4 and Xbox One. That's because Challenge mode, which was enabled earlier this week on consoles, is available from the get-go on PC. This allows players to fulfill a more difficult requirement during one encounter--this week, it's the Royal Pools--to receive additional rewards. If you'd prefer to just play through the standard Raid, though, you're free to do that.
For this week, you'll need to assemble a group of six on your own or resort to finding people outside of the game. Next week will see the introduction of Guided Games, a feature that allows clans to be matched up with solo players looking to complete the Raid. (This is already available on PC for the Nightfall Strike.) That feature will be enabled on November 7, the same day that Prestige mode for the Raid is released. This is essentially a harder version of the Raid with tweaked mechanics and more difficult encounters.
Whether or not you've done a Raid in Destiny before, Leviathan poses a challenge; it's not as simple as shooting everything that comes your way. You can check out our Destiny 2 Leviathan Raid guide for a basic walkthrough of each area. And even if you aren't ready to participate, at least you can see Leviathan up in the sky.
Following a PC-only patch earlier this week, a new Destiny 2 update arrives tomorrow, November 2, on all platforms. It will be preceded by server maintenance that will take the game offline for a few hours.
New and prospective Nintendo Switch owners who have yet to pick up the console's acclaimed Zelda game will soon be able to get it with a few helpful extras. Nintendo has announced The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Explorer's Edition, which will be available in stores in time for Black Friday.
The Explorer's Edition doesn't contain any additional in-game content; rather, it comes bundled with a beautiful 100-page guide book, as well as a two-sided map to help to help newer players find their way around the game's massive world. You can take a look at it below.
The Explorer's Edition retails for the same price as the standard game--$60--effectively giving you the guide book and map for free. However, it does not include Breath of the Wild's $20 season pass, which consists of two DLC packs, neither of which can be purchased individually. The first, The Master Trials, rolled out in June and added a new hard mode, equipment sets, and a challenging new trial to the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's second DLC expansion, The Champions' Ballad, releases later this year. It will add a new dungeon as well as an original story which will reveal more details about Princess Zelda. Four new Amiibo figures based on the Champions from Breath of the Wild release later this month and unlock a brand-new helmet based on each character's respective Divine Beast. Nintendo is also releasing a Zelda-themed 2DS bundle in time for Black Friday.
Sony's Paris Games Week PS4 press conference felt like an E3-level event. Filled with a bevy of announcements for new game IPs and sequels, including Sucker Punch's samurai epic Ghost of Tsushima and the long-awaited Spelunky 2, there was a lot to see.
Out of all the newly revealed games, which one are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below!
Bow to Blood
Bow To Blood is a team-based competitive battle game where you and a crew of players control an airship to fight fleets of other airships. It's releasing for PSVR in 2018.
Blood & Truth
Blood & Truth is the new VR action game by Sony's London Studio, who most gamers will know for its recent work on London Heist, which appeared in PlayStation VR Worlds. It's a full-fledged experience that puts you in the role of a super spy engaging in sneaky infiltrations and tense gunfights. It's set to release for PSVR in 2018.
Concrete Genie
Concrete Genie is a colorful adventure game where you play as a young outcast with a wild imagination and a magical brush that can turn his creative drawings into living creatures and artifacts from the many structures around him. Those eager to experience this artsy journey will have to wait until 2018.
The Gardens Between
The Gardens Between is a puzzle-adventure game where you control two teenagers, Arina and Frendt, who must work together to explore surreal garden islands and solve puzzles, while at the same time building their bond as childhood friends. The game is set to release Q3 2018.
Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima is the latest open-world action-adventure game by developer Sucker Punch (Infamous, Sly Cooper). It takes place during the Mongol invasions of Japan and details the exploits of a lone Samurai turned vengeful assassin. The game is expected to release sometime in 2018.
Guacamelee 2
Guacamelee 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Metroidvania-style platformer filled with luchador style. DrinkBox Studios is again developing the game, which strongly resembles its predecessor, both in terms of its colorful visuals and its gameplay. On top of new abilities and areas to explore, the game will also have four-player co-op support.
Megalith
Megalith is an upcoming PSVR hero shooter where you play as a giant monster who must fight against other giant creatures in tense competitive battles. The game sports a bright visual style and a wealth of destructible environments. It's set to release sometime in 2018.
Oure
In Oure, you play as a child who can transform into a dragon. Your mission is to figure out why the Titans that inhabit the world have ceased functioning, using your abilities in both human and dragon forms to amass magical power and solve mysteries. Luckily, you won't have to wait long for this one; it's out now.
Spelunky 2
Spelunky 2 is the sequel to the popular rogue-like title Spelunky. You play as the child of the original game's protagonist, who seems to be embarking on an adventure upwards instead of deep underground. No release date was mentioned during the press conference.
By Anonymous on Nov 01, 2017 10:35 pm The Lobby crew discusses what makes Mario Odyssey so essential, and talks about Sony's new exclusive PlayStation announcements.
We're somehow already in November, and as such, Sony has announced the lineup of free PlayStation Plus games arriving soon. Six more free titles are on the way across PS4, PS3, and Vita, and they'll arrive next week.
On PS4, strategy game Worms Battlegrounds and platformer Bound will both be free starting on November 7. To celebrate the recent PlayStation VR anniversary, a bonus game will also be offered for a longer-than-usual period: Until Dawn: Rush of Blood will be free starting on November 7 and will remain that way through January 2.
All of these games go free on Tuesday, November 7 and will be available until December 5. You still have time to claim October's PS Plus games if you haven't already done so. Games like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Amnesia Collection are free right now, with a bonus title--PSVR game RIGS--also available until November 7. You can also now take advantage of the latest batch of PS4 weekly deals, which include some nice offers for PS Plus members in particular.
November 2017 Free PlayStation Plus Games
PS4
Bound
Dungeon Punks (Cross-Buy with Vita)
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (available until January 3)
Worms Battlegrounds
PS3
R-Type Dimensions
Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic
Vita
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse (Episodes 1 & 2)
With Season 2 of Stranger Things now on Netflix, everyone is talking about the world of the Upside-Down, and that includes the WWE. This past Tuesday on Smackdown Live, Tyler Breeze and Fandango, better known as the tag team Breezango, parodied Stranger Things during their weekly comedic segment "The Fashion Files."
In the video, Fandango and Tyler Breeze are joined by The Ascension and Tye Dillinger as they appear as the characters Jim Hopper, Eleven, and Barb from Stranger Things. Breezango is on a mission to find their next tag team opponents, and much like hit Netflix series, it gets a little spooky and mysterious.
Recently, the team has parodied the Blair Witch Project, Pulp Fiction, and Reservoir Dogs on the Tuesday night program, but their biggest hit of the year came from their segment titled "Fashion Peaks," a Twin Peaks parody, which gained national attention. The duo thought that reaction was pretty cool, when we talked to them at a WWE 2K18 event last month.
"People like it, you know, it brings an outside audience that kinda draws their attention to, 'What are these guys doing?'" Fandango told GameSpot. "Whether they see the clip on YouTube or whatever. Even, actually, the main actor from Twin Peaks... They get it. They think it's cool that we're kinda spoofing them."
We recently had Breezango at the GameSpot office and had them create a wrestler in WWE 2K18 to take on our creation, which you can watch here. You can watch all of the second season of Stranger Things on Netflix, and we have reviews of every single episode.
It's taken slightly longer than expected to arrive, but a new update for Destiny 2 will launch on all platforms tomorrow, November 2. This will be accompanied by a maintenance period that will temporarily bring the game's servers offline.
Maintenance begins at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 3 PM GMT (2 AM AET on November 3). This will follow the typical schedule--once maintenance begins, no one will be able to log in, but those already online can continue playing. An hour later, everyone will be booted offline, and the patch will roll out at 10 AM PT. Servers should be back online by 12 PM PT, although, as we've seen numerous times before, that is only an estimate; the wait may be longer or shorter.
The patch is update 1.0.6, which Bungie announced last week. We've already gotten a preview of the patch notes, which you can see below; it adjusts the mercy rule in Crucible and fixes the exploit involving the Bureaucratic Walk emote. Not everything the update does is included in the notes; we'll have to wait until it's actually available to get the complete rundown. This comes just ahead of the return of Trials, which was canceled for two weeks due to the emote bug.
Even after playing over 12 hours of Monster Hunter World, I still died while hunting my final monster. A lot.
Now, some people have already jumped straight to the comments following my opening sentence, or maybe they didn't make it past the headline. But for those of you who've actually read this far, I'll answer my headline outright: Monster Hunter World is not too hard. With the caveat that I played a still-in-development build of the game and just made it through the opening section, my deaths in the game felt important. I learned from them; I learned how to better use my weapons, I learned how to take advantage of my environment, and most importantly, I learned how to read my monstrous opponents all-important tells.
Capcom recently flew a group of journalists out to Monster Hunter's Osaka development office to play the beginning missions of Monster Hunter World and to talk with the developers about the game. I got some insight into what happened to the underwater levels (Monster Hunter Tri introduced hunting in the water, but that setting has been absent from the series ever since), and I also asked about whether the increasingly popular loot box system might make its way to the series. But the question long-time fans of the series have had is whether Monster Hunter World, as both first Monster Hunter game available worldwide at the same time and the first game on a Sony or Microsoft home console in a very long time, is going to dial-back on its infamously complex battle system in order to be more approachable.
From what I've played of Monster Hunter World, it does feel like a more friendly game for new players. A revamped training area makes it easy to experiment with new weapons and loadouts. A hunting guide lays out the weak points and loot tables for the monsters you face. And you can call for help from online friends and strangers even if you're in the middle of a hunt. But Monster Hunter World also retains its signature challenge and depth, the elements that have made it such an enduring franchise.
And it does that while expanding the scope of the game dramatically. I'm told that the dozen hours I played are just a small slice of the game, the trailer showed at Paris Games Week revealed what was almost a completely new set of monsters from the ones I fought, and the environments in that trailer were a world apart from the ones that I'd played around in. Ryozo Tsujimoto, producer on Monster Hunter world, tells me, "There is still a lot more for you to see. You are still at the start of your journey here." And when he says, "There's no question, it's the biggest Monster Hunter project to date," it's easy to believe him.
Death and failure are a natural part of exploring this massive new world. "It's more that the game cycle will ramp up the difficulty where you're gonna hit a wall. Then you're gonna have to examine what you need to do to clear that wall," says Tsujimoto. As an experience, Monster Hunter is about going back to creatures you've bested before, and fighting them again. But you're repeating that process not just to get better items that you can turn into new weapons and armor, but to hone your skills.
"Even though you failed the quest, we don't want it to feel unfair," Tsujimoto says. "It has to be something where you realize that, oh, I need to do better next time. Next time you jump in, you're gonna see that move coming, you're gonna read that tell better, and you're gonna say this is my time to get out of the way and then I'm gonna attack. And then the satisfaction of having improved on that is really a key part of the Monster Hunter experience."
The first hard wall I hit in my playthrough was the Rathalos, a hulking Tyrannosaurus-like creature that far outclassed the power level of previous creatures I'd fought. While in a normal playthrough, I probably would've taken a little more time in getting to him, for this event I plowed through the normal story events and avoided most side missions. So my patchwork collection of armor and a so-so weapon meant that, if I got hit at just the wrong time, the Rathalos could completely knock me with one shot and I could do little to retaliate.
"What we imagine you should do is maybe go back and do a few more of the earlier quests and brush up your skills or check out your weapons and armor. Maybe you haven't made the right ones yet or maybe you haven't quite completed the set," says Tsujimoto when I explain my trouble. "Maybe the monster--the one before the one that you're stuck on--maybe [with] his armor set, you can complete it. It's gonna give you the skill or the defense bonus to get through that quest that you were kind of hitting a wall with."
And that was the case. After forming a hunting party of other journalists at the event playing through the same demo, we hunted down the creatures we needed to kill to collectively upgrade our armor. And then on our next encounter with the Rathalos, we completely destroyed it. For good measure, we went back and did it about six more times after that as well.
Being in a party was helpful, but it was just as important to get in the practice and the better equipment on easier enemies. Even if someone enters your gameplay session in the middle of a fight, the difficulty of that hunt will ramp up on the fly--however the devs told me the challenge doesn't go back down if someone inadvertently leaves your hunt. Increased monster health is one factor in that difficulty, but there are other secret variables that adjust the difficulty of a quest the developers didn't want to divulge. In multiplayer, it's less that you can do more damage as a group, and more the value in having someone distract a monster while you run off to heal up or re-sharpen your weapon.
"Coming into this game, there were lots of things that we wanted to do, that we've always wanted to do," Kaname Fujioka (the game's executive director and art director) tells me. "To be honest, for the portable systems, there was a kind of sense of having to adapt our visions to what the software was capable of, and having to make concessions for that, for the hardware." And a lot of what the team wanted to create were monsters that behave naturally. They wanted to make fantastical beasts that could actually exist in real life. And in Monster Hunter World, the amount of detail you can see on a creature makes it possible not just to find more clues about what your opponent is going to do and what attack they're going to pull off next, but you have a good indicator of how well you're doing. You can see the injuries, cuts, and broken sections of your prey more clearly than is possible on previous, less powerful systems.
All of these things help balance the game's difficulty, making it feel fair even when you've misjudged your opponent and you're getting slaughtered in battle. And games like Cuphead and Dark Souls show that players are eager for brutal, but fair challenges that reward practice and skill. However, there are other, even bigger questions that Monster Hunter World will need to answer as it approaches its launch on January 26. I played the game in, essentially, ideal settings--the online system worked perfectly because I was at the company headquarters with a full team able to troubleshoot any potential problems. From my relatively brief time with the game, playing solo is still fun and there's a mystery-filled story to pull you along, but the combat is just more exciting with friends. It was easy to get a team together to play with, because I could just look across my table at every other available player. A vitally important question is: when Monster Hunter World launches, will it have the online stability to support its player base? With the game spread across different platforms, will players have a full online experience regardless of where they choose to play?
Those answers will only come when the game comes out, but the foundation is already there for an experience that builds on what makes Monster Hunter unique, while still evolving the franchise for a new audience.
Monster Hunter has experimented with many different modes and gameplay styles over the years, but one of the biggest changes only lasted for a single iteration: underwater hunting. Monster Hunter 3 (in its various iterations) allowed you to dive deep underwater for a different take on the game's combat.
But why was that feature left out of later games, and is there a chance it could come back? During a recent Monster Hunter World preview trip to Capcom's Osaka office, we talked with game director Kaname Fujioka about what happened to the series' underwater adventures.
"We wanted to challenge ourselves to make underwater action in Tri because we had never been satisfied with how underwater sections worked in other games," Fujioka said. "And we wanted to see if we could make underwater action that still feels like Monster Hunter action. We worked really hard on it, but for the amount of time and effort it takes to make underwater action work, we felt that in [Monster Hunter] World we're better off focusing on other things. So, there are only a few parts where you're gonna dive underwater, but there's no main underwater action parts. As for what the future holds, I've got a really strong attachment to it. So I'd like to try it again someday, but I really can't say."
2017 has seen the rise of the loot box system enter AAA gaming in a big way. Most recently, Shadow of War implemented the purchasable items as a way to acquire Orcs and weapons, and EA addressed player concerns for the system in the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront II. But the major argument for the system tends to focus on players who don't have hours to invest in a game to earn incremental rewards. In a way, loot boxes can potentially level the playing field
Monster Hunter World, like previous games in the series revolves around killing massive beasts over and over again and then carving them up for the chance to get rare parts to turn into new gear. So loot boxes seem like something Capcom could have considered as a way to give newcomers to the series more chances to get some of the rare loot that otherwise requires lots of luck and even more skill.
During a recent preview event, I asked Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto whether his team ever considered adding loot boxes to Monster Hunter World. "I think that Monster Hunter has already built that kind of randomized, item reward into the gameplay," he answered. "Whenever you carve a monster after a hunt, you don't know what you're gonna get within a certain range. You've got certain rare parts that you almost never get. You've got some of the ones you don't need that you get a lot of. And then there are the rewards for the quest as well. There are some [rewards] that are standard, there are some that are randomized, and a bit bigger or smaller chance of getting them."
He explained that it just felt like Monster Hunter World doesn't need that kind of system. "You've already kind of got loot as a core gameplay aspect without having to shove a microtransaction version of it in," Tsujimoto said.
The mechanics are, essentially, a part of the game, but what about saving a player's time? "Our focus is on wanting to get people to play our action game and feel the kind of satisfaction that comes with the achievement you get with completing a hunt and getting rewards," Tsujimoto said. "We want people to have the experience that we've made for them rather than the option to skip the experience."
In a separate interview game director Yuuya Tokuda echoed that response. "I wouldn't see a paid loot box or paid system for getting random items as fitting Monster Hunter because it isn't a game where the strength of the items is the key aspect of how you proceed," he said. "The idea is that the time you spend hunting and the action part of the game is how you brush up on your skills. And then of course you get rewards of better items; but by skipping out on the part where you get better and hunt--if you're simply getting more items--I don't think that'll be a very satisfying experience for players because it wouldn't even necessarily make it that much more of a time saver if you haven't got the skill to use the items you've gotten."
"I think the games that successfully do loot box systems are designed around them completely from the outside and they're a core part of the gameplay loot," added Monster Hunter World game director Kaname Fujioka. "Whereas as our loop, it's more based on the gameplay action itself, then gathering items, then using that to create better gear, and then using that to go and do more action gameplay. We would have to fundamentally rethink our gameplay loop. When you're including loot boxes you have to make them desirable to players and make them want to have them by introducing them in basic gameplay. And then that leads to further opportunities for purchasing to save time or get cooler items. And with our gameplay, we can't just put them in there and have it work. We'd have to have a substantial re-think, which is not something we're particularly planning to do at this time."
Although DC's cinematic universe has been hugely popular at the box office, it has been less kindly received by critics. Wonder Woman was a hit with both fans and reviewers, but the likes of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were met with much criticism. Now, Superman star Henry Cavill has spoken about the state of the DC universe and admitted that "mistakes" have been made.
In an interview with The Rake, Cavill said that DC's problems were more than just a comparison with superhero rivals Marvel. "Even if Marvel didn't exist, we'd struggle," he admitted. "There was a style [DC was] going for, an attempt to be different and look at things from a slightly different perspective, which hasn't necessarily worked. Yes, it has made money, but it has not been a critical success; it hasn't given everyone that sensation which superheroes should give the viewer.
"I feel like now the right mistakes have been made and they haven't been pandered [to], and we can start telling the stories in the way they need to be told. It is even better to come back from a mistake or stylistic error into the correct vein because it will make it seem that much stronger. Wonder Woman was the first step in the right direction."
Cavill's comments follow those made recently by Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, who expressed regret about the way her character's back story was handled in Batman v Superman. In that movie, it is suggested that Wonder Woman is returning to fight evil after a long time away from mankind, which doesn't really match up with the way the character is portrayed in the subsequent standalone movie.
"None of us knew exactly, exactly, the back story of Wonder Woman," she said, via Comicbook.com. "And once they decided to shoot the solo movie for Wonder Woman and we started to dig in to understand the core of this character, we realized that, actually, there is no way that Wonder Woman would ever give up on mankind.
"Sometimes in a creative process, you establish something that is not necessarily the right decision, but then you can always correct it and change it. So Wonder Woman will always be there, as far as she's concerned, for mankind."
It's now November 1, and that means the next set of Xbox One and Xbox 360 Games With Gold titles are now available. Xbox One owners can now pick up the racing game TrackMania Turbo, while puzzler The Turing Test, a holdover from October, will continue to be free through November 15.
Switching to Xbox 360, the Sega Saturn remake Nights Into Dreams is available at the low, low price of free for the first of the month. Later in the month, starting on November 16, Tales From The Borderlands will go free on Xbox One, while Deadfall Adventures will drop to $0.00 that day. Both Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.
Pokemon Go players now have a chance to catch a new Legendary Pokemon. The three Legendary dogs from Pokemon Gold and Silver--Entei, Raikou, and Suicune--are each available in a new region for a limited time.
Unlike most of the previous Legendaries in Pokemon Go, each of the three Pokemon will only be available in a specific region for the duration of the month. This time, the Water-type Suicune can be found in the Americas; the Electric-type Raikou has moved to Europe and Africa; and players in the Asia-Pacific region can catch the Fire-type Entei.
The three Pokemon will be available in their respective regions until November 30. As usual, the Legendaries will appear as Raid Boss battles at Gyms. You have to team with other players to defeat the powerful Pokemon before you have a chance to capture it. You can check out our guide on how to catch Legendary Pokemon for tips on how to tackle these kinds of encounters.
The Lobby crew discusses what makes Mario Odyssey so essential, and talks about Sony's new exclusive PlayStation announcements.
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