This past weekend marked the first anniversary of the Nintendo Switch, but the celebration was dampened for many Switch owners when they discovered the system had begun seemingly resetting their play times. Fortunately, the issue appears to be temporary, and Nintendo has announced an update is on the way to resolve it.
"Some Nintendo Switch owners' play activity info is displaying incorrectly, but play activity is still being recorded accurately in the background," Nintendo said on Twitter. "A future system update will resolve this issue [and] ensure play time data is correctly displayed. We apologize for the inconvenience."
The play time glitch was first reported just prior to the console's first birthday. Many early adopters had discovered that any titles they had started playing on the system's launch day, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, now displayed that they were first played "0 days ago" in their Switch profile, leading many to fear that the system was only keeping track of users' play activity for one year.
Fan publication NF Magazine later reported on Twitter that play times aren't reset permanently, but rather disappear for 10 days--the same amount of time it normally takes for your play activity to show up in your Switch profile. After day 11, your play time would begin displaying again normally. This is certainly good news for players who enjoy having a record of how long they've spent playing each of their Switch games.
The much-delayed reboot of cult '90s comic book movie The Crow is getting increasingly close to actually happening. Following Jason Momoa's confirmation that he will star in the movie, an official release date has been announced.
As reported by Variety, The Crow reboot hits theaters on October 11, 2019. It will be directed by Corin Hardy, who previously made the acclaimed horror movie The Hallow and directed the upcoming Conjuring spin-off, The Nun. The movie had been previously known by the title The Crow Reborn, but it is unknown whether this is still the title.
Hardy has been involved for even longer, and in 2015 explained why he was interested in remaking such a classic movie. "I probably wouldn't take this on if there wasn't a graphic novel of that potency," he told Coming Soon. "The idea of remaking a film isn't that appealing, because I love the [original]. [But] I've read James O'Barr's graphic novel of The Crow a million times. There's a lot of depth and details--the level of emotion, poetry, violence, revenge. Now it's 20 years later from that first film, so I felt with all the remakes that are happening I'll go and revisit that graphic novel and give it my best shot."
The Crow first appeared on the screen in the 1994 movie, and it was also adapted from O'Barr's comic book. The film was a critical and financial hit, but it was overshadowed by the accidental death of star Brandon Lee on set. An unsuccessful sequel, The Crow: City of Angels, was released in 1996.
As it so often does, Twitch is offering another batch of free in-game goodies to Amazon Prime members, this time for Epic's popular shooter Fortnite. Right now, those with a Prime account will be able to claim the Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack, which includes cosmetics and other items for both Battle Royale and Save the World modes.
The Twitch Prime Pack is redeemable on all platforms--PC, PS4, and Xbox One--and comes with two exclusive gliders and outfits for Battle Royale: the Havoc Outfit and Back Bling, plus the Sub Commander Outfit and Slipstream Glider. Additionally, users will receive four exclusive Twitch chat emoji and two heroes for Save the World: Havoc and Sub Commando Jonesy. You can take a look at some of the freebies below.
Twitch Prime regularly offers free items and games for Amazon Prime members, so anyone who's a subscriber to the premium service is able to take advantage of this offer. To grab the Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack, simply click on the Prime Loot icon at the top of Twitch's homepage or visit Epic's official website for more details about how to claim the free items.
The Twitch Prime Pack isn't the only freebie that Fortnite players can get right now. PS Plus subscribers can also download the PlayStation Plus Celebration Pack on PS4, which includes an exclusive glider and outfit. You can grab the pack here. Meanwhile, the next free game for Twitch Prime members is Devil May Cry HD Collection, although that won't be available to claim until March 6 due to "unforeseen technical circumstances."
Since the launch of Fortnite's free-to-play, PUBG-esque Battle Royale mode last year, it's become tremendously popular. If you're among the people playing the PS4 version, you can grab some free cosmetic items right now, provided you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber.
A new PS Plus bonus quietly surfaced on the PlayStation Store in February. Dubbed the PlayStation Plus Celebration Pack, it consists of two exclusive items: a glider and an outfit, both of which are pictured below. These are not available for purchase and can only be claimed if you're a PS Plus member. You can grab the pack here.
The pack became available ahead of a recent Fortnite update. It will only be available for a limited time, but you've got much more time to claim it than the typical PS Plus freebie--the offer expires on February 1, 2019. We've reached out to Epic to find out the exact details of this promotion and whether PC or Xbox One players will also have access to these items.
February's standard lineup of free PS Plus games are still available for a short while longer and include PS4 launch game Knack. Meanwhile, if you were subscribed in the past to PS Plus, a new freebie recently became available thanks to the launch of Mercenary Kings' new Reloaded Edition. Additionally, another smaller perk is out now for Gems of War. And finally, the ongoing PSVR game giveaway continues, with the latest being Starblood Arena.
As Netflix adds more and more original content every week, the streaming service is also removing a lot of popular titles from its library. March is no different, with dozens of films and TV shows being removed.
Among the most notable departure is the Jaws franchise of films. All four movies disappeared from Netflix on March 1. Likewise, the movies Less Than Zero, Baby's Day Out, and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest were removed at the beginning of the month. Later in the month, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Good Son, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou will go away, as well.
When it comes to TV, seasons of Archer, The Killing, Life In Pieces, The Carmichael Show, and The Finder will no longer be available to stream. You can take a look at everything leaving Netflix in March below. After that, check out every title the service is adding next month. Arrivals on the service include new seasons of Marvel's Jessica Jones and Santa Clarita Diet. Additionally, you can see what both Hulu and Amazon Prime are debuting in March.
Leaving Netflix in March
March 1
A Gang Story
Anastasia
Baby's Day Out
Eyewitness
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
First Response
Forget and Forgive
Hitch
Jaws
Jaws 2
Jaws 3
Jaws: The Revenge
Less Than Zero
Memento
Slums of Beverly Hills
The Chase
The Craft
The Panic in Needle Park
Trigger Point
Two Wrongs
xXx
March 4
Chloe
Safe Haven
March 6
The Finest Hours
March 8
Victoria
March 11
Believe
Glitch
March 12
Standby
Disney's The Santa Clause
Disney's The Santa Clause 2
Disney's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
March 13
Breakout Kings: Season 1
City of God: 10 Years Later
London Has Fallen
The Killing: Seasons 1-2
March 14
Archer: Seasons 1-7
March 19
V/H/S: Viral
March 20
Zootopia
March 22
Steve Jobs: One Last Thing
March 24
Voltron 84: Season 1
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
March 26
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
March 29
The Gates: Season 1
March 30
Life in Pieces: Season 1
March 31
Awake: Season 1
Bordertown: Season 1
Breakout Kings: Season 2
Brickleberry: Seasons 1-3
Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life: Season 1
When you're not bogged down in college basketball during March Madness, you're going to need something to binge. Luckily, Hulu is heading into the new month stocked with new shows, movies, and specials for you to watch.
In addition to the Power Rangers movie reboot and the first two XXX movies, March will see the streaming service add films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Dirty Dancing, Jennifer 8, and several James Bond films. The Hulu original documentary March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step will premiere, as well. Perhaps most importantly, the cult hit Hackers will also get added on March 1, in case you're wondering what Hollywood thought computer hacking looked like in 1995.
On the TV front, new seasons of KC Undercover, The Real Housewives of New York City, Angie Tribeca, The Son, and more will arrive in March. Hulu will also have the 90th Academy Awards posted after they air on live TV.
You can take a look at everything arriving on Hulu in March below. In case you're not caught up, you can also check out what was added in February.
Arriving on Hulu in March
March 1
Ask This Old House: Complete Seasons 11-12 (PBS)
This Old House: Complete Seasons 30 & 38 (PBS)
Veni Vidi Vici: Complete Season 1 (Viaplay)
1984 (1985)
A Feast at Midnight (1997)
A Guy Thing (2003)
A Mermaid's Tale (2016)
A Stork's Journey (2017)
A View to Kill (1985)
All the Wild Horses (2017)
Antitrust (2001)
Bad Influence (1990)
Bad News Bears (2005)
Billy the Kid (2013)
Body of Evidence (1993)
Boots on the Ground (2017)
Boulevard (2014)
Branded (2010)
Breakdown (1997)
Captivity (2007)
Carriers (2009)
Chaplin (1992)
Chicago (2002)
Criminal Law (1989)
Die Another Day (2002)
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Dream House Nightmare (2017)
Earth Girls are Easy (1988)
F/X (1986)
F/X 2 (1991)
Fatal Instinct (1993)
Finder's Fee (2003)
Fire with Fire (2012)
Fluke (1995)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Forces of Nature (1999)
Goldeneye (1995)
Gordy (1995)
Hackers (1995)
Hanoi Hilton (1987)
Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)
Hart's War (2002)
Hesher (2010)
High School (2010)
Home of the Brave (2006)
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
I'm So Excited! (2013)
Ill Manors (2012)
Imagine That (2009)
Jack Goes Boating (2010)
Jeff Who Lives at Home (2012)
Jennifer 8 (1992)
Kingpin (1996)
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2005)
License to Kill (1989)
Love Crimes (1992)
Moonraker (1979)
Mr. Majesty (1974)
National Lampoon's Dirty Movie (2011)
National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2: College @ Sea (2006)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Pudsey the Dog: The Movie (2014)
Regarding Henry (1991)
Southie (1998)
Sprung (1997)
Stuart Little (1999)
Stuart Little 2 (2002)
Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)
The Accused (1988)
The Devil Inside (2012)
The Doors (1991)
The Glass Shield (1994)
The Living Daylights (1987)
The Million Dollar Hotel (2001)
The Music Never Stopped (2011)
The Secret of N.I.M.H. (1982)
The Square (2017)
The World is Not Enough (1999)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Twenty Twenty Four (2017)
We Blew It (2017)
Where the Skin Lies (2017)
Who Killed Nancy? (2008)
XXX (2002)
XXX: State of the Union (2005)
Young Adult (2011)
March 4
K.C. Undercover: Complete Season 3 (Disney XD)
Traitor (2008) March 5
Amazing World of Gumball: Complete Season 5 (Cartoon Network)
The 90th Oscars: Special (ABC)
The 90th Oscars: Live From the Red Carpet: Special (ABC)
The Real Housewives of New York City: Complete Season 9 (Bravo)
Everything Beautiful is Far Away (2017)
The New Radical (2017)
March 6
Crash (2005)
Fantasia 2000 (2000)
March 7
Hard Sun: Complete Season 1 Premiere (Hulu Original)
Living Soul (2016)
March 8
Aftermath (2017)
Knock Knock (2015)
March 9
Power Rangers (2017)
March 10
Angie Tribeca: Complete Season 3 (TBS)
March 12
Force Majeure (2014)
Wolf Warrior 2 (2017)
March 13
Food Wars!: Complete Season 2 Dubs (Sentai Filmworks)
Bitter Harvest (2017)
March 14
Tommy's Honour (2017)
March 15
The Bridge: Complete Season 4 (ZDF Enterprises)
The Son: Complete Season 1 (AMC)
4 Lovers (2012)
Blade of the Immortal (2017)
Four Rooms (1995)
Hello I Must Be Going (2012)
LOL (2012)
October Country (2009)
River of Grass (1994)
The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain (1995)
The Fog (2005)
The Forgotten (2004)
The Kill Team (2013)
March 16
John Q (2002)
March 18
Almost Friends (2017)
March 19
Life Itself (2014)
Love and Saucers (2017)
March 23
March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step (2017) (Hulu Original)
March 24
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
March 27
The Little Hours (2017)
March 31
Closing Gambit (2018)
EuroTrump (2017)
The Ghoul (2016)
Habit (2017)
Project Eden (2017)
Leaving Hulu in March
March 31
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004)
Gang Related (1997)
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds (2008)
March is going to be a very busy month for Amazon Prime Video. The streaming service is beefing up its movie and TV show selection with a number of new titles, including cult classic films, big-budget blockbusters, and new seasons of original programming.
On the film front, several James Bond titles are coming to Prime, including A View to a Kill and Moonraker. Additionally, films like 2017's Power Rangers, Earth Girls Are Easy, The Doors, Antitrust, Hackers, and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka were all added on March 1.
As for TV, a new season of the crime drama Sneaky Pete, created by Bryan Cranston and David Shore, debuts on March 9. The series stars Giovanni Ribisi, Marin Ireland, Margo Martindale and more. Other TV titles coming to Prime are a new season of The Tunnel, along with the debuts of Human Trafficking, The Color of Magic, and The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells.
The real March madness is how much binging you'll be doing with everything new coming to Netflix. The streaming service is going all out with its March additions, including a ton of new originals, along with more movies, TV shows, and specials.
While there are over 50 originals being added to the streamer in March, there are two you need to pay very special attention to. Firstly, the new season of Marvel's Jessica Jones. Krysten Ritter is back as the whiskey-drinking hero, along with co-stars Rachael Taylor (Trish) and Carrie-Anne Moss (Jeri Hogarth). Notably, David Tennant will also reprise his role as the evil Killgrave in a guest appearance. The new season of Jessica Jones arrives on March 8--International Women's Day.
The other major original to keep an eye out for is the return of Santa Clarita Diet--the horror comedy zombie series starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. The first photos from the new season were released recently, showing new characters moving into the neighborhood and more undead insanity. New episodes of Santa Clarita Diet arrive on March 23.
As for movies, the Cruel Intentions trilogy--yes, it's actually a trilogy--will begin streaming in March. Other new titles include Adventureland, Jackass: Number Two, Wet Hot American Summer, and Let Me In.
It's not all good news, though. With the arrivals come the departures. March will see all four Jaws films leave Netflix, as well as three seasons of Brickleberry and the Santa Clause trilogy.
After the huge uproar around Star Wars: Battlefront II's microtransaction system, EA is reconsidering its thoughts on the controversial business practice for the next Battlefield game. According to sources speaking to Kotaku, EA and DICE are planning to only offer cosmetic items in the game's loot boxes. The caveat here is that these plans could change before the game, which is rumored to be set in World War 2, is released later this year.
"No one's gonna do any pay-to-win stuff anymore," a source close to the new Battlefield game told Kotaku. "We didn't take any of the loot box controversy lightly."
This follows on from a report last week from USGamer that said EA was planning only to offer cosmetic items in the next Battlefield game's loot boxes. 2016's Battlefield 1 features loot boxes that you could buy with real money, but these only contain cosmetic items. What makes Battlefront II's loot boxes so controversial is that they contain items that actually affect gameplay like better grenades. Loot boxes are still in the game, but you can't buy them with real money, only through gameplay progression. The ability to pay for loot boxes is coming back, but EA hasn't said yet or what changes might be in place.
Kotaku spoke with people from video game companies big and small, and reports that the consensus among developers is to "tread carefully" as it relates to loot boxes.
Historically, game consoles from all major hardware companies get refreshed with hardware revisions over time. This will likely happen for the Nintendo Switch, but it won't be until 2019 at the earliest, according to a new report. Citing sources, The Wall Street Journal reports that Nintendo is not planning a new version of the Nintendo Switch to launch in 2018.
Instead of that, the report said Nintendo will look to beefing up the Switch's online features and offering more peripherals to boost sales, according to GI.biz. The report cited Nintendo Labo, the wacky, wonderful, and weird game that uses actual cardboard as an example of this. WSJ went on to say that Nintendo is looking at more peripherals that use the console's USB-C port.
It's not hard to see why Nintendo would want to do this. Peripherals and online services can have more lucrative margins, and in the case of Nintendo Labo, the company is literally selling cardboard that you could buy yourself very inexpensively.
Nintendo does not typically release major hardware updates for its home consoles in the first two years, so this report is not all that surprising. Portable consoles are a different matter, however, as Nintendo launched hardware revisions for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and 3DS during their second year into their lifecycle. The Switch is a hybrid system that lives between a home console and a mobile system, so the update cycle for the device was never a sure thing.
Back in January, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima teased that the Switch will have a longer lifecycle than previous Nintendo consoles. "Up until now, the hardware lifecycle has trended at around five or six years, but it would be very interesting if we could prolong that life cycle, and I think you should be looking forward to that," he said.
The Switch's first year was not without its problems. Check out GameSpot's video above where we talk about how the system missed the mark and what can be done to improve things.
Nintendo has been on a roller coaster this century. While its dedicated handheld business has remained strong despite competition from Sony and an explosion in mobile gaming, its console business has been up and down, to say the least. GameCube, a fairly direct competitor to PlayStation 2 and Xbox, sold fewer than 22 million units. Nintendo tried something radically different with Wii and it paid off in spades, selling more than 101 million units. With Wii U, Nintendo again shied away from directly competing with the more traditional (and powerful) consoles offered by Sony and Microsoft, but this time it failed, selling fewer than 14 million units. With nearly 15 million sold already, Nintendo Switch has surpassed expectations, outsold Wii U in less than a year, and looks primed to have another tremendously successful year in 2018. How did we get here?
Switch's reveal back in October 2016 came as little surprise. A console/handheld hybrid had been heavily rumored, and to some, it appeared to be nothing more than a second attempt at Wii U that addressed its biggest flaw (the need to be tethered to a console plugged into the wall). The immediate reaction from the investment community wasn't strong; while Nintendo's stock price had recovered somewhat since its Wii U era collapse, it dropped again in the immediate wake of the announcement, and analysts doubted its appeal. Much of Wii's success stemmed from reaching a mainstream audience, attracting those who wouldn't typically buy a games console. Considering the continued surge of interest in free-to-play games, some questioned the potential of the Switch.
Nintendo certainly appeared confident, setting the system's price higher than many of us here at GameSpot predicted. Even with its premier launch game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, being available in functionally identical form on Wii U, strong sales at launch were inevitable. There's a die-hard audience out there who is going to pick up any new piece of hardware, particularly when it comes with the potential to play future Zelda, Mario, and Metroid games.
Sure enough, sales were strong right out of the gate, setting various records for the company by outselling all of its previous systems, including Wii. By the end of its launch month, it had sold 2.74 million units, despite Nintendo planning to ship only 2 million total in that timeframe. It did this in part by making the unusual--and pricey--move of shipping consoles by air in addition to sea. Clearly, the early demand was there.
There were early stumbles. We knew in advance of Switch's release that it would launch without Virtual Console or its premium online service, and Netflix--and every other streaming service--would be absent. (Streaming services are still nowhere to be seen except, oddly, for Hulu.) But in the wake of its release, supply problems (which lasted much of 2017) and technical issues threatened to upend Nintendo's momentum. A number of users reported that their dock had scratched the system's screen. Some found the dock warped the console due to extreme heat. And many of those who used the Joy-Con controllers wirelessly found the left Joy-Con would briefly lose connection with the system. The dock issues only affected some, and after a period of silence, Nintendo began quietly offering repairs for Joy-Cons to those who were impacted.
What appeared to be a potential mass recall situation blew over; despite all of this, Switch's momentum carried on. The system masterfully executes on its vision--the basic concept of being able to seamlessly move from portable to docked mode and vice versa works every bit as well as you'd hope. Just as importantly, it's somewhat quietly had one of the greatest debut years ever in terms of its game lineup. Run through a list of releases from the first year of Switch versus that of PS4 or Xbox One and it's not a crazy argument to say that Nintendo's console comes out on top. That's a fact that may have been lost on some Switch owners. Thanks to its exceedingly basic Eshop (seriously, where's the Wii shop music?), those who don't check in routinely may miss out on some quality Switch game releases.
The Eshop has been home to so many good games thanks to solid third-party support--a trouble area for Nintendo platforms in the past. While we've occasionally gotten decidedly inferior versions of multiplatform games, and some of the big-name releases of the past year haven't shown up, Switch has still amassed a very strong lineup. It's easy to naysay ports, but whether they come from Wii U (a system that few people bought) or other platforms (where people still may have missed them), the abundance of re-releases on Switch has made it easy to build up a huge library of quality games. And thanks to Switch's hybrid nature, many of these games feel like fresh experiences in handheld mode. Quick-fix games like Gonner or Graceful Explosion Machine, for instance, can be more appealing when you can easily jump in for a round. Being able to play a single day in Stardew Valley across multiple short sessions or collect one moon in Super Mario Odyssey before turning the system off transforms those games into different types of experiences that wouldn't be possible on other platforms.
Year one for Switch has not been without its flaws. Accessories--particularly the $90 dock for those wanting to connect to a second TV--feel excessively priced. The system's user interface, while pleasantly minimalist in some ways, still lacks some of the features we've been hoping to see for quite some time now: better game management and folder support, system-level rumble settings, and an activity log. Worse still is the absence of any way to back up save data; even older system like PSP (saves could be backed up to a PC) and Vita (cloud saves) offered some option, yet Switch offers nothing. Particularly for a system that is meant to be played on the go, where it could easily be dropped, the inability to do anything to protect your Breath of the Wild progress beyond developing an ironclad grip is worrisome.
Online support remains rudimentary. Voice chat support is laughable, and the system lacks any kind of messaging or invitation features at the system level. And Nintendo faces an unappealing task in asking those who have enjoyed online multiplayer for free to this point to begin paying for it after 18 months, assuming its paid online service launches in September as planned. It's been delayed multiple times now and we still know very little about it, beyond the fact that it will grant access to online multiplayer, exclusive deals, and a library of online-enabled classic games. That last point is of course the most intriguing, particularly with no sign of Virtual Console surfacing. The specifics of exactly how that will work remain to be seen but will play a large role in determining how worthwhile it is.
Despite some shortcomings, Switch's future is bright. Sales thus far have exceeded those of PS4 through a comparable period following its launch, and investors seem confident, with Nintendo's stock price doubling since Switch's release and reaching heights not seen since the Wii's heyday. And that's with good reason: Switch's handheld nature opens the door to sell multiple units per household, rather than the one-per-family you traditionally see with consoles. That may seem unimportant to you, but a larger install base can only help in convincing third parties to continue or expand their efforts on Switch.
We don't yet know if Nintendo will be able to keep up the software momentum seen in 2017--we didn't go more than a few months without a big new first-party game, and it's still kind of wild to think we got Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey in the same year. To Nintendo's credit, it does feel like it's finally inclined to open the floodgates to some extent, confirming the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 and bringing the Pokemon RPG to a non-handheld that fans have been wanting to see for years. Beyond all that, there's the unrealized, unexpected potential of the system: Labo, while not appealing to everyone, showcases functionality no one realized was possible. And we've yet to see alternate Joy-Cons that are more than just new colors. Combined with what we can hope will be a quality online service, there's good reason to feel that year one for Switch was just the start of something greater.
A new Nvidia Game Ready driver is now out for download (version 391.01), and users of GeForce graphics cards get optimizations for the PC port of Final Fantasy XV, one of 2016's biggest RPGs. In addition, Nvidia users should expect better performance for the incredibly popular battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The upcoming first-person action game Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and the multiplayer phenomenon World Of Tanks 1.0 both get support for better optimization.
Final Fantasy XV will be one of the best-looking PC games to date, when it launches on March 6, thanks to the slew of Nvidia GameWorks graphics technologies: Flow, HairWorks, ShadowWorks, Turf Effects, and Voxel-based Ambient Occlusion (VXAO). There is also native support for resolutions up to 8K as well as HDR10 for much better brightness and colors. The GeForce Experience application provides support for Ansel, which allows for customizable in-game screenshots. Ansel lets players change the camera angle on the fly, add image filters, and even capture 360-degree screenshots that can be viewed in VR. The ShadowPlay Highlights feature is also integrated, which can automatically record gameplay footage for specific circumstances in the game such as certain summons, special achievements, and defeating powerful enemies.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds continues to get optimizations; the new driver can give users of GTX 10-series cards up to a 7% boost in framerate. Nvidia conducted benchmarks with every card between the GTX 1050 and GTX 1080 Ti using a system equipped with an Intel Core i7-7820X CPU clocked at 3.6GHz and 32GB of DDR4 RAM at 2666MHz. The following chart outlines the performance improvements with driver 391.01 compared to the previous version:
Video Card
1920x1080
2560x1440
3840x2160
GTX 1050
7%
-
-
GTX 1060 (3GB)
5%
6%
-
GTX 1060 (6GB)
5%
6%
-
GTX 1070
5%
5%
6%
GTX 1070 Ti
4%
5%
6%
GTX 1080
3%
7%
7%
GTX 1080 Ti
5%
5%
7%
The new driver gets ahead of the March 8 release of Warhammer: Vermintide 2 to make sure the game runs as smoothly as possible at launch. Wargaming's long-standing game World Of Tanks also gets technical updates and optimizations on top of the upcoming 1.0 overhaul that's currently in beta.
As with every driver update comes a handful of smaller fixes. Here are a few of the issues ironed out in version 391.01:
For all the advancements that have been made in gaming, one element that remains in place is the character-select screen. Talk to someone who played games years ago--whether it was Super Mario Bros. 2, Street Fighter II, or any number of games--and you'll likely see them reminisce about the time spent on those screens agonizing over their character choice.
While they're most commonly associated with fighting games, that genre is hardly the only to be home to them, as evidenced by games like Mario 2 to Team Fortress 2 to countless MMOs. And although perhaps not as prominent as they once were, character-select screens are still present in many games today.
In the video above, we've put together a nostalgia-inducing run through a number of the most memorable such screens. You should get a sense for how they've changed over the years, from the basics of the aforementioned Mario to more modern examples, like Overwatch and Injustice 2.
What character-select screens do you remember most fondly? Let us know in the comments below!
From now until March 15, players can embark on a new Event Quest called The Proving. This six-star mission requires a Hunter Rank of 11 or higher to accept, and it takes place in the Ancient Forest. The objective of the quest appears to be fairly straightforward--hunt an Anjanath--but this particular monster is much larger than the ones players have encountered in the game so far.
"Many captivating machines appear in Horizon Zero Dawn, but the one that made the biggest impression on the Monster Hunter: World development team was the Thunderjaw," Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto explained on the PlayStation Blog. "Anjanath has a very similar skeletal structure to the Thunderjaw, so we felt it was the best fit to be the main adversary in the quest, but not just any Anjanath would do. This Anjanath is at a scale that many players will have never before encountered, and your typical attacks may not reach its height."
Completing The Proving quest will reward you with materials that can be used to craft Aloy's Bow and armor set. Equipping the full set will change your hunter's appearance to resemble Aloy, regardless of your character's gender. You can find out exactly how to unlock Aloy's armor and bow in our guide. You can also take a look at some screenshots of the gear in the gallery above.
The first Horizon-themed Event Quest in Monster Hunter World, Lesson of the Wild, ran until February 8. If you missed out on that quest the first time around, you'll soon have another chance to get the Palico gear. Tsujimoto revealed that Event Quests operate on a "rotating schedule," so the Lesson of the Wild quest will return to the game again "at a later date."
In addition to the new Horizon Event Quest, some PS4 players can also still take part in Monster Hunter World's first Street Fighter V quest. Those who have a save file of Street Fighter V on their console can accept the Event Quest titled Down the Dark, Muddy Path, which will reward players with material to create a set of Ryu armor. That quest and a second one for Sakura armor will be available to all PS4 and Xbox One players at a later date.
The acclaimed sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror has been renewed for a fifth season. Netflix has confirmed that the show will return for another batch of episodes, although Season 5 has yet to be given a premiere date.
The streaming giant also released a short teaser for Black Mirror Season 5 on Twitter. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't feature any new footage, but it does show excerpts from previous episodes, displayed menacingly on a giant bank on screens. Check it below:
All previous four seasons of Black Mirror can be found on Netflix. The show was originally produced by Channel 4 in the UK, but Netflix took over production in 2016. Although the show is thematically linked in the way it explores the dangers of technology, each episode is a self-contained story. In a recent interview with NME, creator Charlie Brooker expressed surprise that the show is one of the most quickly binge-watched on Netflix.
"They must just want to get it over with quickly," he said. "It surprises me because we have a definite ending to each episode. You feel as though you've had a full meal. You know what I mean? You've eaten your dessert and everything, and now here comes the starter again. I mean, these people are psychotic."
The Total War series continues to go strong after nearly 20 years, but it didn't start out as a no-brainer success story. The debut title, Shogun: Total War, was released in 2000 by Creative Assembly, a developer that was not exactly known for its experience with the strategy genre.
Prior to Shogun's release, many of the studio's previous titles had been based on rugby and cricket. And while the past two decades have seen it try its hands at some different types of games--it developed 2014 horror game Alien: Isolation, for instance--it has almost exclusively focused on strategy games with Total War in the title.
In the video above, we dive into the history of the Total War series, which now consists of more than a dozen games. We look primarily at the core entries in the series, which have often been based on historical settings--although recent years have also brought Warhammer-inspired entries, which we also explore. Although the games share a familiar underpinning, Creative Assembly has managed to introduce wrinkles to keep the series fresh across so many titles, thanks in part to shifting between radically different settings.
On the current-gen console, PS Plus subscribers can pick up the PS4 launch title Knack and the Ico-esque adventure game Rime at no cost. Additionally, the tactical RPG Grand Kingdom is available for free right now on both PS4 and Vita thanks to Cross-Buy. One of January's free offerings, the PSVR title Starblood Arena, is also set to return to its regular price on March 6, giving PS4 owners a total of four possible freebies to grab from the PlayStation Store right now.
On PS3, PS Plus members can download the remade platformer Spelunker HD and the turn-based RPG Mugen Souls Z. Vita owners, meanwhile, can grab the side-scrolling adventure game Exile's End and the aforementioned Grand Kingdom. You can find the full list of February's free PS Plus titles at the bottom of this story.
All of the above games are free to download for PS Plus subscribers until March 6, on which date they'll be replaced by this month's lineup, which features one of the best selections Sony has ever offered through the program, including Bloodborne and Ratchet & Clank. Subscribers can also still pick up a free, exclusive cosmetic pack for Fortnite's free-to-play Battle Royale mode right now from the PlayStation Store.
Sony has recently announced some big changes to PS Plus. Beginning March 8, 2019, the company will no longer offer free PS3 and Vita titles as part of the program. This change won't affect any titles you've already downloaded, which will all remain free to play for as long as you have an active Plus subscription.
Another big sale is now underway on the US PlayStation Store. This week, Sony is holding a Critics' Choice sale, which offers discounts on a ton of acclaimed PS4, PS3, and Vita games through the beginning of next week. [Update: It's now March 5, making today your last chance to take advantage of these offers.]
The Critics' Choice sale runs until 11 AM ET on March 6, giving you a week to take advantage of the above deals. Sony is also holding a promotion this week that rewards players with a $15 credit if they spend $100 on the PlayStation Store. You can find the full list of games that are currently on sale on the PlayStation Store website.
This Week's PSN Deals Highlights
PS4
Assassin's Creed Origins -- $40.19 ($46.19)
Axiom Verge -- $10 ($12)
Battlefield 1 Revolution -- $19.79 ($30)
Call of Duty: WWII -- $39 ($48)
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy -- $24 ($30)
Darkest Dungeon -- $10 ($12.49)
Destiny 2 -- $33 ($42)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition -- $30
Enter the Gungeon -- $7.49 ($9)
The Flame in the Flood: Complete Edition -- $6 ($7.49)
For Honor -- $19.79 ($25.79)
Gran Turismo Sport -- $33 ($39)
Grand Theft Auto V -- $30 ($36)
Gravity Rush 2 -- $18 ($22)
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice -- $21 ($24)
Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition -- $32.49 ($35)
Inside -- $8 ($10)
The Last of Us Remastered -- $10 ($12)
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is $30 ($36)
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor -- $12 ($14)
Middle-earth: Shadow of War -- $37.49 ($40)
Nidhogg 2 -- $9 ($10.49)
Okami HD -- $14 ($15)
Oxenfree -- $5 ($7)
Prey -- $20 ($24)
Pyre -- $10 ($12)
Resident Evil 7: Gold Edition -- $40 ($45)
South Park: The Fractured But Whole -- $30 ($36)
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition -- $30 ($32)
Tekken 7 -- $30 ($36)
Titanfall 2 -- $6 ($15)
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy -- $20 ($24)
What Remains of Edith Finch -- $11 ($13)
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Complete Edition -- $20 ($25)
PS3
BlazBlue: Central Fiction -- $20 ($25)
Grand Theft Auto V -- $20 ($24)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition -- $9 ($12)
Limbo -- $3 ($4)
Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare bundle -- $16 ($20)
Microsoft has revealed this week's Deals with Gold for Xbox One and Xbox 360, along with a Spotlight sale that includes some big titles like Grand Theft Auto V and Star Wars Battlefront II. The deals are available for the next week and will expire next Tuesday, March 6, at 6 AM ET / 2 AM PT / 11 AM GMT. [Update: It's now March 5, making this your last chance to take advantage of these offers.]
Top of the list in this week's Deals with Gold is Forza Motorsport 7 for Xbox One. The latest instalment in the hit racing franchise is available at a discount in the Standard Edition ($39), Deluxe Edition ($52), and Ultimate Edition (the biggest deal at $60). Of course, you will need to have an Xbox Live Gold membership to access the games at these discounted prices. Other Xbox One Deals with Gold include space sim Elite Dangerous for $12 (a bundle that includes Elite: Dangerous and expansions Arena and Core) and the Elite Dangerous Commander Deluxe Edition for $30 (that includes bonuses and more expansions).
Just a few days after we got the official confirmation that Brigitte is indeed the identity of the new Overwatch character, she's already gotten a new look. Following an accidental early reveal, Blizzard has officially released a brief video showing off one of Brigitte's skins.
Referred to as the Engineer skin, Brigitte still has the same basic look, but it introduces some new colors to her outfit, changes the look of her weapon, and puts some spinning gears in the middle of her shield. She's also got some new (cosmetic) equipment on her, including welding goggles that rest atop her head and a tool pouch on her belt. It looks to be the gear she's assembling in her origins trailer.
According to Blizzard, the Engineer skin will be available "soon" on the Public Test Realm, where Brigitte herself is currently in testing before her official release. The PTR is only accessible by owners of the PC version; it requires a separate download through the Battle.net client. With it installed, you can try out Brigitte and her distinct abilities.
Armoring you up! 🔧 🛡️ Brigitte's ENGINEER skin will be available soon on the PTR. pic.twitter.com/OtDun7DKNo
As revealed last week, Brigitte is a Support-class hero who can heal and provide armor to her allies, hit multiple enemies at once with her flail, and equip a shield. With the use of her Shield Bash ability, she's able to do some notable things, like stun Reinhardt through his shield, stop Reinhardt's Charge, and stun Torbjörn's sentry.
There's not yet a date for when Brigitte will be released in full on all platforms, but once revealed, it's typically not too long before new characters arrive on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
This week's episode of New Releases kicks off the month of March, which brings plenty of sequels and console exclusives, like the much-anticipated Sea of Thieves, which is finally leaving port after a few delays. Nintendo Switch gets an adventure all its own with Kirby Star Allies, while RPG fans can dive into Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom on PS4 and PC. You can also work together to escape prison in the EA Original title A Way Out, or shoot your way to freedom in Far Cry 5.
Kirby Star Allies -- March 16
Available on: Nintendo Switch
The pink puffball's latest adventure is all about working together, even if you're playing alone. That means four-player co-op is included, but you can also use the new heart mechanic to bring enemies over to your side if you don't have a full party. Of course, the real treat here is seeing an insanely buff King Dedede.
If I tell you that Sea of Thieves is all about gathering a pirate crew with your friends, you can probably figure the rest out: you can explore a massive ocean, run a tight ship, battle other crews, search for buried treasure, and so much more. You might even run into a kraken or two.
A Way Out is a forced co-op game--one player controls Leo, the other controls Vincent--where your goal is to escape prison. In practice, this means one of you can be stuck in a cut scene while the other explores or take on a sticky situation from multiple angles.
This RPG sequel had its own set of delays, but it'll soon be time to help King Evan restore his stolen throne. New to the game are the Pikmin-like Higgledies, which can be commanded in battle. And you'll definitely be having plenty of those across the game's open world.
Even Far Cry 5 had its share of delays, but it's still looking to make a bang this month. The latest entry in the shooter series eschews the typical exotic locale for a home-grown conflict in the American midwest. You'll be fighting to liberate an entire county from a gun-toting cult.
Update: In addition to the European Eshop, the free Nintendo Switch demo for Kirby Star Allies demo is now live in North America. The demo contains two levels and boss fights from the upcoming game and can be played with up to three other players locally.
The original story follows below.
A bunch of new games are now available on Nintendo Switch. It's yet another busy week for the hybrid console, with a total of 20 titles arriving on the Eshop over the course of the week, in addition to a big new update for the open-world JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Headlining this week's releases is Mulaka, a Zelda-inspired 3D adventure game steeped in Tarahumara culture. Switch owners can also now pick up the co-op heist game Payday 2; Outlast: Bundle of Terror, which includes the base adventure and its Whistleblower DLC expansion; and Bridge Constructor Portal, a mash-up between the Bridge Constructor series and Valve's inventive puzzle game Portal. You can learn more about the titles in this week's episode of New Releases.
In addition to this week's releases, Nintendo has rolled out a new update for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Players who've purchased the game's expansion pass will receive another DLC items pack, which contains eight Legendary Core Crystals, upgrade parts for Poppi, and other useful items. On top of that, the update adds a New Game+ mode for all players who've cleared the main adventure, which unlocks "many new features" in the game.
This month's big first-party game for Switch is Kirby Star Allies, which arrives on March 16. Ahead of its release, Nintendo has added a free demo of the game to the Eshop--but so far only in Europe. While Nintendo hasn't said if it will release the same demo in North America, all Switch owners are able to access the European Eshop and download the demo by creating a new Nintendo Account (with your region set as Europe) and linking it to your console.
On Xbox 360, you can pick up Brave: The Video Game completely free. Based on the Pixar movie of the same name, the Brave video game puts you into the role of Merida in mythical Scotland. The game, which plays on Xbox One through backwards compatibility, also incorporates motion controls through the Kinect camera.
You can download Trials of the Blood Dragon and Brave: The Video Game now on your Xbox console or through the Xbox.com links here: Trials of the Blood Dragon; Brave.
Trials of the Blood Dragon is free on Xbox One throughout all of March, while Brave: The Video Game is free until March 15. Then on March 16, Xbox One owners can grab the first-person shooter Superhot for free, while the puzzle-platformer Quantum Conundrum will go free on Xbox 360 on that date. Also note that one of February's free Xbox One Games With Gold titles, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India, will stay free until March 15.
It's a familiar story at the top of the UK physical games charts this week, with FIFA 18 finishing at No.1 for the third week in a row. Below EA's sports title, Grand Theft Auto V retains the No.2 spot, while Call of Duty: WWII keeps its place at No.3.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of UKIE and Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
With March drawing near, Microsoft has announced the lineup of games that Xbox Live Gold members will be able to download for free next month. There's the usual total of four new games being introduced across Xbox One and Xbox 360, with an especially good one up for grabs on the newer console.
On Xbox One, the month starts out with Trials of the Blood Dragon, a more action-oriented take on the Trials series that's somewhat in the vein of Far Cry 3's Blood Dragon spin-off. It will be available for free for the entire month. From March 16 through April 15, Superhot will be free. The excellent shooter sports a distinct visual style and an even more novel concept, as time (mostly) freezes when you stop moving, allowing you to set up some Matrix-style bullet-dodging sequences.
Xbox 360 owners also get two games to download in March. During the first half of the month, it's Brave: The Video Game, which is based on Disney's film of the same name and was just added to the Xbox One's backwards compatibility list. It's then followed in the second half by Quantum Conundrum, the puzzle-based first-person game from Airtight Games and Kim Swift, one of the key developers behind Portal and Left 4 Dead. As always, both Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.
In the meantime, it's not too late to grab some of February's free Games With Gold titles. One of the Xbox One games, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India, will also remain free for the first half of March. Claiming any of these games allows you to continue playing them for as long as you're an Xbox Live Gold subscriber.
Black Panther continues to dominate and set records at the box office. The Marvel superhero movie made an estimated $67.5 million at the US and Canadian box office this weekend, putting it firmly ahead of newcomers like Jennifer Lawrence's Red Sparrow and the new Bruce Willis movie Death Wish.
$67.5 million is good for the third best third weekend in history at the domestic box office, only behind the juggernauts Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avatar. It's a dropoff from last week's $108 million for its second weekend, but downturns are always expected.
Black Panther has now pulled in $501.1 million in the US and Canada over its first 17 days, and it has been No. 1 at the box office every weekend since its release. The movie now ranks 10th best all time domestically (before inflation), and its $501.1 million is better than every previous Marvel movie to date except for 2012's The Avengers.
Black Panther is also a hit overseas. This weekend it made an estimated $56.2 million, pushing its haul to $396.6 million. Combined with the more than $500 million it's made in the US and Canada, Black Panther has now brought in close to $900 million.
You can see the full Top 10 list for the March 2-4 US/Canada box office below, as rounded up and compiled by Entertainment Weekly. As you'll see, there is a massive gap between Black Panther and everything else.
A new update for the Xbox One edition of PUBG is out now, and it makes some significant changes. Included in the big new update are requested bug fixes, Game DVR support, and, perhaps most notably, the removal of a single starting area for all players.
Now, PUBG has multiple pre-match starting locations. The issue before was that, with 100 players in the same area, PUBG's performance dropped on the server and client sides. Additionally, all weapons have been removed from the starting locations.
Other gameplay changes include lowered damage taken from objects such as rocks, trees, and uneven terrain. On top of that, squad member colours should now be more visible, while you can now use the right stick to rotate your character at the customisation menu.
In terms of bug fixes, some water sound effects were apparently busted, but they should sound better now. Additionally, there was a bug that caused your character to teleport somewhere else after landing, but this is now fixed. The update also fixes a bug that caused some objects to float in the air. Whoops! You can see the full patch notes below, as posted on the game's forums.
PUBG Xbox One Patch Notes:
Gameplay
Introduced multiple pre-match starting locations in order to optimize both server and game client performance
Weapons are removed from the starting island prior to the match starting
Game DVR is now supported for automatic recording of gameplay highlights. This feature must be enabled within the Options / Settings menu.
We continue to listen to your vehicle feedback and have lowered the damage taken from objects throughout the world such as rocks, trees, and uneven terrain
Adjusted the sound effects of both water and red-zone bombing
Party matchmaking is now influenced by the player's MMR
Adjusted long-range blood VFX back to the original colors
UI/UX
Improved visibility of squad member colors (yellow, orange, blue and green)
Players can use the right thumbstick to rotate their character model during customization
When customizing character appearance, the D-Pad can be held to switch between menus
Preview is supported when customizing appearance or creating a new character
Items
Updated the design of the energy drink
Bug Fixes
Fixed water sound effects
Fixed Red Zone disappearing immediately after it starts
Fixed random character teleportation following initial landing
Fixed an issue where some doors could not be entered despite appearing open
Fixed issue of recovery and boost items being able to be used when underwater
Fixed the character animations when transitioning from jump-prone to standing
Fixed unexpected character death caused by falling while moving
Fixed areas of fencing where specific sides could not be penetrated by bullets
Fixed buildings with missing stairs
Fixed bug which caused objects to float in the air
Fixed areas of terrain which were causing player characters to become stuck
Fixed an issue which prevented team members being displayed following acceptance of an invite
Fixed the issue of revive being cancelled unintentionally
Fixed hand animations when reloading/shooting the Kar98 in a prone position
Fixed the issue limiting peak parachuting speed in FPP mode
Fixed character animations when moving from prone to entering a vehicle
Optimization / Stability
Optimized textures, landscapes and buildings throughout the island to improve performance
Fixed a crash occurring when HDR was enabled
Fixed a frozen character issue when reconnecting following a crash
Fixed a crash occurring when the player opened their inventory
Fixed a crash occurring when the spectated player was using a scope
Localization
Applied new Russian, Japanese and Chinese (simplified/traditional) fonts
Japanese only: Adjusted the Katakana font
Japanese only: Fixed incorrect order of wording during object interactions
Portuguese only: Fixed the display of height meter when parachuting
Known Issues
B button incorrectly displayed to cut parachute cable; this should be X
When viewing the map, the X, Y, and B buttons are fully functional – please be aware that this can cause you to exit the plane or vehicle whilst in motion. Please only use the map button to return to gameplay until this is resolved.
The Roseanne reboot comes to TV later this month, and now the first proper trailer for it has landed. "Some things aren't meant to change," reads the trailer's description.
The show brings back all the major Conner family actors, including Roseanne Barr (Roseanne), John Goodman (Dan), Laurie Metcalf (Aunt Jackie), Sara Gilbert (Darlene), Michael Fishman (D.J. Conner), Alicia Goranson (Becky), and others. Sarah Chalke, who played Becky on the original show after Goranson left to go to college in real life, will appear in the reboot as a new character. Johnny Galecki is coming back, too, but he's only going to be in one episode due to scheduling conflicts, according to Deadline. He now stars on the massively popular Big Bang Theory, so that makes sense.
In the finale of the original Roseanne, it was revealed that Dan actually died from a heart attack and that the previous season was a complete fictionalization that Roseanne came up with to help cope with the loss. It was pretty heavy stuff.
But Dan is back in the reboot. How? It's not exactly clear. But in the trailer, Roseanne loudly wakes up Dan and says to him, "I thought you were dead!" Then Dan replies, "Why does everybody always think I'm dead?" This confirms the new show will at least address the Dan situation, though it's not clear how far they'll go into it.
Roseanne returns on March 27 on ABC. The original show ran for 10 seasons from 1988 to 1997.
The first trailer for the final season of House of Cards aired tonight during the 90th Academy Awards. The trailer shows a bustling White House, leading to the Oval Office. The door opens and we see someone behind the Resolute Desk.
It's revealed to be Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), who is now the President of the United States. "We're just getting started," she says from behind the desk. The tagline for the season appears to be "hail to the chief." Here's the trailer:
This trailer also confirms that House of Cards Season 6 will premiere this Fall. We don't know precisely when all the episodes will premiere, but it will be the show's final season.
House of Cards premiered in 2013 and kicked off Netflix's now-massive original programming lineup. The first seasons were generally well-received, but the later runs were not as well-liked, though the show remained popular regardless. After allegations of sexual misconduct came to light against lead actor Kevin Spacey, Netflix announced that the sixth season would be its last.
Spacey will not appear in the final House of Cards episodes. In addition to dropping him from House of Cards, Netflix canceled the Kevin Spacey movie Gore.
The biggest night in Hollywood has arrived. The 90th Academy Awards are honoring the very best films of 2017, with movies like Get Out, The Shape of Water, and Lady Bird nominated for Best Picture.
Who took home an award? Was this the year Guillermo del Toro finally won an Oscar for Best Director? Follow along with GameSpot's list of winners below. The winners will appear in bold once the categories are announced. Make sure to keep checking back as this post will be updated throughout the Oscars telecast.
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