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SirMadsen

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  1. The pie throwing between the two console giants continues and this time it is the upcoming, highly awaited Silent Hill 2 remake that is in focus. Microsoft now claims that they have evidence that Sony has bought exclusive rights to the game that will prevent a release on the Xbox. The same is also alleged to apply to Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII remake.
    "MS has already told CMA that Final Fantasy VII Remake cannot be released on Xbox. This is because Sony has signed an “Xbox exclusion” agreement with some third-party publishers for several games including FF VII Remake.
    It’s no secret that Sony has been on the war path since Microsoft initiated the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, something they firmly claim would damage the gaming market. Something they are obviously just as guilty of and where exactly this ever-scaling conflict is going to end, no one knows.
    Do you think there will be some breakthrough or consensus during the year new between the two parties, or will the battle escalate even more?
  2. OK, we know this is not the typical article and that it is far from what we normally write about. But listen, it is that time of year and this is just, hilarious and outright pathetic.
    It is virtually impossible to miss the Christmas song “Last Christmas” with Wham during the Christmas holidays.
    Now the Swedish couple Tomas and Hannah Mazetti want to ban the song forever – through a fundraiser to be able to buy the rights.
    "We asked our friends how much they would be willing to pay to avoid hearing that song ever again, Tomas says.
    “Last Christmas” with Wham was released in 1984 and since 2007 has gone up to the singles list’s top-40 almost every year. Last year, the song took first place, as did it 2020.
    But not everyone appreciates the Christmas classic.
    The Mazetti couple in Gothenburg feel such a fiery disgust at the song that they have started a fundraiser to remove it. So far, the spouses have reached out to people who say they are prepared to donate a total of SEK 600,000 – in the hope of buying the rights and banning the Christmas song forever.
    "We noticed immediately that quite a few were prepared to pay quite a lot, says Tomas Mazetti.
    But despite approaching the million, it takes much more to succeed in buying “Last Christmas” owned by Warner Chappell Music UK. According to the British Daily Star, the price tag is estimated to be around $25 million.
    Tormented by the Christmas classic at work
    Tomas Mazetti says that his wife Hannah’s hatred was born 13 years ago when she was tormented by the song during her time as a cafe assistant – it was almost constantly played at the workplace in Oxford, UK.
    She and her husband began to ask their friends how much they would be willing to pay to never have to hear the song again.
    When the notes of “Last Christmas” began to be heard in November 2022, they were reminded of the idea and started the collection “No more Last Christmas”.
    "It’s fun because people to get so angry, while we see it as a joke. Many people seem to think that we want to ruin the Christmas joy, says Tomas Mazetti.
    What are your thoughts? Do you love or hate the classic “Last Christmas”?
  3. Security researchers at Flashpoint and Sekoia is warning of Risepro, a malware used, among other things, to steal login information for a wide range of popular services and crypto wallets.
    Risepro is primarily spread through pirate sites that offer tools to “crack” popular programs and games, reports Bleeping Computer.
    Hackers who want to use Risepro can buy the code on Telegram or various forums on the darkside of the web.
    Who is behind Risepro is unclear at the time of writing, but there are clear similarities to a similar malware called Privateloader.
  4. We haven’t seen the smoke of Fable since the summer of 2020, when it was announced. The reporting since then has mostly consisted of who joins the team. However, we have heard rumors that development is slow as the Forza Horizon studio lacks RPG experience . New report talks about another brake block: Microsoft is said to insist that their games use in-house engines.
    In 2021, we got wind that the engine that will drive Fable is the Forza engine Forzatech.
    Microsoft insider Jez Corden has heard that there is “internal politics” going on around the Xbox games in general. Microsoft would rather see its own engines than, for example, the Unreal Engine, which is somewhat of a standard engine in the industry. Here he specifically mentions Fable , but also Halo Infinite (which is rumored to change engines).
    Corden doesn’t go deeper into Fable than that, so we should probably take this with a grain of salt. It is clear, however, that we haven’t seen the smoke of the new Fable in almost two and a half years, and then we only got to see a pre-rendered film. It possibly means that there is gravel in the machinery.
    That, or fourth Fable was announced way too early.
    Xbox Game Studios’ Matt Booty recently said on the Skill Up podcast that the game overcame both obstacles and his skepticism. He wishes he could tell more, but the studio has his full confidence.
    "Playground makes racing games, but if we deconstruct that a little bit, I think the thing that Playground does is high-craft, high-quality, high attention to detail. They had a particular passion for the IP and I think they also demonstrated that they understand what the heart and soul of Fable is about and how they can bring it forward for today’s sensibilities.
    How to make a modern take on Fable.
  5. In Canada, three parents are suing Epic Games because their children became addicted to the game Fortnite . According to BBC News, the children would rather sit and play than eat, shower and sleep. Lawyer Alessandra Esposito Chartrand from the law firm that submitted the lawsuit, compares the game to tobacco.
    "Our motion was heavily inspired by the tobacco motion just in terms of what we were alleging.
    Judge Sylvain Lussier, who approved the lawsuit, also agrees with the comparison. He also draws parallels to how tobacco was once considered harmless but is seen in a different light today.
    "The harmful effect of tobacco was not recognised or admitted overnight.
    Epic Games themselves put the responsibility on parents and that they have provided tools for them to keep track of their children. They also say they will take the fight to court.
    “Parents can receive playtime reports that track the amount of time their child plays each week, and require parental permission before purchases are made,
    “We plan to fight this in court. We believe the evidence will show that this case is meritless.
    According to techacake.com , Fortnite has approximately 80 million monthly active players. But the number of players does not automatically mean that the game is harmful. Then, of course, there is a clique of players in these 80 million who are certainly addicted to the game in a harmful way. We’ll see how this plays out in court.
  6. Michael Madsen, Chuck Norris, Danny Trejo, Kim Basinger, Danny Glover, Michael Rooker, Damion Poiter, Vanilla Ice…
    The Vice City vibes are clear. Payday too, right? That’s the feeling we get from the Crime Boss: Rockay City trailer, an fps for shooters. It’s honestly hard to draw any major conclusions. Ingame has previously contributed to titles such as Mafia, Arma and Silent Hill , but will now stand on its own action legs.
    What stands out most in the trailer is the star-studded cast; Michael Madsen, Chuck Norris, Danny Trejo, Kim Basinger, Danny Glover, Michael Rooker, Damion Poiter, Vanilla Ice.
    It’s easy to imagine how much money was pumped into Crime Boss: Rockay City . If it goes well? No clue! Fairly soon, however, we should get results. The game will be released for Playstation, Xbox and PC (via the Epic Store) on March 28. The game revolves around Michael Madsen’s cop Travis Baker.
    "Carefully pick Baker’s crew based on their skills and expertise and claw your way to the top in a single player campaign or jump into the PVE co-op multiplayer and execute thrilling hits and heists with up to four players.
     

  7. Rumor: Diablo 4 will be released in June

    Gaming · SirMadsen · 12/05/2022 08:37 PM

    This year’s The Game Awards will be broadcast soon. So expect the week ahead to be filled with noble thistles and tassels – and now smoking hot stuff is coming from a diabolical direction.
    According to several sources, including Insider Gaming, we should prepare for big Diablo IV news during The Game Awards, when “more than 100 journalists” will have had the chance to both see and test the game in advance. Journalists should be encouraged to watch the Game Awards, when news will be released.
    Glitched reports that we may get dates during the show. Windows Central’s Jez Corden says for his part that the big announcement is about those who pre-order getting early access to the beta. There have previously been whispers of a release announcement during the Game Awards, and April was highlighted as the release month. Corden believes that it could rather be a window from April to June.
    June can therefore be the logical release month.
    "I’ve heard the earlier reported April 2023 launch date for Diablo 4 might have represented the earlier end of a launch window, with some recent rumors I’ve received suggesting the launch date could in fact be June.
  8. This summer, analyzes were released that indicate that less than one percent of all Netflix subscribers consume Netflix games on a daily basis. Yep, Netflix is investing in games, which you might have missed. Currently, you get access to roughly 40 mobile games, all of which require Android or Apple format.
    Now, however, we get strong indications that Netflix intends to invest in PC games – from triple-A cuts (via Mobilegamer). Now they intend to hire a game director for their Los Angeles-based studio. What this will do is build the vision for a “brand new AAA PC game”.
    "We’re looking for a creative and highly-skilled Game Director to help us forge the game direction and creative vision on a brand-new AAA PC game. As Game Director, you will be the creative leader of one of Netflix’s first generation of internally developed original games.
    That sounds ambitious. Having experience from fps and/or shooters in third person is meritorious.
    The Los Angeles studio is led by Chacko Sonny, who was previously the executive producer of Overwatch. Netflix has previously said that via the LA studio it wants to invest in cloud gaming, but that it should work as a complement to the Netflix range rather than competing with game consoles. The question is how this will go. With the Stadia shutdown fresh in mind, there are question marks to clear up.
  9. The role in the TV series “Slow Horses” may be the actor’s last, he says himself in a new interview.
    After 40 active years in the film world, with famous roles in the “Harry Potter” films and the “The Dark Knight” trilogy, Gary Oldman is beginning to see the end of his career. In a new interview, the British actor says that he feels ready to retire soon.
    "I’ve had an enviable career, but careers ebb and flow, and I have other things that interest me beyond acting, Oldman told the Times.
    The actor is currently featured in the TV series “Slow Horses”, the first season of which was released in the spring, where he plays the main character Jackson Lamb. Oldman, who has signed on for a total of four seasons of the spy thriller, says he would have felt satisfied if the role was his last acting career.
    "I turn 65 next year, and 70 is just around the corner. I don’t want to be active when I’m 80. I would have been very happy, honored and privileged to go out as Jackson Lamb, and then put an end to it.
    Oldman made his film debut in 1982, in the drama “Remembrance”, and had his breakthrough a couple of years later with the one title role in “Sid & Nancy”. During his career, he has been praised for his performances in films such as “Léon” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, as well as being awarded an Oscar for the lead role in “Darkest Hour”. In recent years, he has been featured in, among other things, the David Fincher drama “Mank”.
    Before Oldman retires from acting, however, we’ll see him reunite with Christopher Nolan for a role in the historical drama Oppenheimer, which hits theaters next summer. Most recently, the actor can be seen in the second season of “Slow Horses”, which premieres on Apple TV+ on December 2.
  10. The sequel was “damn expensive”, says director James Cameron. “It has to be one of the highest grossing films of all time”.
    The first cinema tickets have released and a final trailer for this winter’s (no, this year’s) blockbuster, “Avatar: The Way of Water” have released.
    James Cameron’s sequel to the mega-hit ‘Avatar’ looks set to once again stun audiences with stunning visual effects and push the boundaries of the wonders of modern film technology. But the question is whether the audience success is as given as last time? Do we even remember what happened in the first “Avatar”?
    Despite the high ticket cost (up to $30) and the long running time (3 hours 12 minutes), both Disney and James Cameron hope that the audience will make a pilgrimage to the nearest cinema, as they did 13 years ago. The film was “damn expensive” to shoot, says the director to GQ:
    "It’s a really lousy business model. Because we have to become one of the 3-4 highest grossing films in history. That is the goal, then we reach break-even.
    - James Cameron
     
  11. If the screenwriters of the Jim Carrey comedy from 2003 had their way, the film would have received a much darker second.
    The original film was about a disgruntled reporter (Carrey) who for a week receives the powers of God (Morgan Freeman) and the mission to make the world a better place. It was not unexpectedly a huge success, grossing $484 million, and screenwriters Steve Koren and Mark O’Keefe (who co-wrote the film with Steve Oedekerk) quickly began speculating about a sequel.
    “Brucifer” would be about Bruce’s girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston) dying and Bruce adopting Satan’s powers to resurrect her. In an interview with Syfy, Koren talks about the idea:
    "I remember when we pitched the idea and Jim tanned his ass. We thought she would come back as Jennifer Aniston. But he said “No, she has to look like a zombie first and then we’ll make her beautiful again”. We thought it was brilliant.
    But it seemed that the film company was unsure about the dark theme and in the end the film was never made.
    "It came from a serious site, but we thought of writing it in a very friendly way. We really didn’t want to depress people. So I think that scared the film company a little bit but Jim totally understood that we wanted to make a big comedy and that people would relate to it.
    Instead, we got the 2007 spinoff “Evan Almighty” with Steve Carell, which was a well-deserved flop. In a better world, we would have seen Carrey as Satan and Aniston as a zombie…

  12. Starfield is released after Redfall

    Gaming · SirMadsen · 11/10/2022 05:50 PM

    In May, it was announced that both Starfield and Redfall would miss their planned release dates this year, which is often full of delays. Both have been moved to 2023, but there are no release dates yet.
    But now it looks like Redfall will be released first followed by Starfield. The task comes from none other than Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty and he says it in the Friends Per Second podcast, Pcgamesn writes.
    Bethesda’s latest bid is for both to be released in the first half of 2023, and if that schedule holds, Microsoft worshipers will have two heavy names to look forward to before the summer holiday season.
  13. The rumors has once again blossomed, and this time in South Korea. It is the MTN (Korean) news site that reports that they have spoken to an insider who states that Ncsoft and Sony are discussing an MMORPG set in the Horizon world.
    In that case, the development would be handled by an internal team at Ncsoft, but the project still seems to be in its infancy and the company is now recruiting people. Ncsoft themselves say that they do not want to comment on unannounced projects that are under development, so the whole thing should of course be taken with a pinch of salt.
    Ncsoft has proper experience in the MMO genre, with games like Guild Wars, Lineage and Aion on the track record. They are also known for a long series of controversies and incidents, not least involving Ultima creator Richard Garriot, who was forced to leave the company under questionable circumstances and then successfully sued it for over $30 million.

  14. He-Man and the gang invade Fall Guys

    Gaming · SirMadsen · 11/06/2022 11:55 PM

    Fall Guys have been visited by the Masters of the Universe. At the moment, it is possible to unlock He-man-based content in the game such as Battle Cat, Orko, Teela and Skeletor. There is also an event called The Power of Beanskull going on at the time of writing where even more He-man content can be won.
     
  15. The beat’em’up game featuring the mutant turtles was very well received by both players and critics. Now it seems that TMNT Shredder’s Revenge will also get a dedicated Playstation 5 version. There is really nothing strange about this, but the strange thing here is that according to them themselves, the game will be identical to the PS4 version.
    Why they choose to release an identical version is unclear as the game can already be played on PS5 through the PS4 version, but regardless Shredder’s Revenge is a really good game.
     
  16. As you know, Lionsgate has two films with John Wick on the horizon, but according to IndieWire , the studio also seems to want to make a game based on the series. John Feltheimer at Lionsgate says that they are currently discussing making a big investment in a game project, but that nothing is set in stone yet. According to
    “I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but we believe there is a big AAA game to be made out of ‘John Wick,'”
    “We have been fielding proposals. We certainly are interested in moving that forward, but I don’t want to say anything more about that at this time.”
    Now, there are already games based on John Wick in the form of Bithell Games’ John Wick Hex , but what Lionsgate is talking about would be a title with a much bigger budget.
    Would you like a AAA investment of John Wick?
  17. Big acquisitions in the gaming industry have become almost commonplace in recent years, with deals such as Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax and their ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard. But one who can’t seem to attract any of the industry giants is Hideo Kojima.
    In the latest episode of his podcast Brain Structure – with Geoff Keighley as guest – he addressed the topic, saying that he receives offers from all over the world on a daily basis to buy Kojima Productions.
    Some of these offers reportedly involve “ridiculous amounts of money,” but Kojima says he’s not interested in the money, as he started the studio to be able to make the games he wants to make. He therefore believes that he will not accept such an offer as long as he lives.
    Kojima Productions is currently said to be working on a sequel to Death Stranding , which Norman Reedus happened to reveal. However, they seem to have at least one other project in the works, which will involve the actors, Elle Fanning , Margaret Qualley and Shioli Kutsuna. The project could be the horror game called Overdose that was rumored before.
  18. The release for Diablo IV is approaching, and is rumored to take place already in April. In the past, Blizzard has said that the adventure will take around 35 hours to complete – if you focus on the story. There is, of course, much more to see. In a new interview, Blizzard believes that the open world does not interfere with the story.
    Rod Fergusson, general manager, tells IGN that their open world isn’t of the same caliber as, say, Zelda: Breath of the Wild . It’s not completely organic and you can’t go anywhere.
    "That’s not really our story. Our story allows for non-linearity, but there is a story – we wanted to have a beginning, middle, and end.
    Fergusson says that you can take advantage of the story for a while with breaks for side missions. What is important to point out is that there is a beginning, middle and end – and a more open world around it.
  19. We have to wait longer for some sequels than others. In a press release, Paradox reveals that Victoria 3 will be released on October 25, which means twelve years after the second and nineteen years after Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun. There is time to build up reasonably high requirements during that time. Up to the proof!
    The grand strategy game takes us from 1836 all the way to 1936. The Victorian era is considered strict, ornate and rule-heavy. Proven breeding ground for successful strategy twice before. The nice thing, of course, is that it's up to you to write about the historical century - over and over again.
  20. Rumors of a smaller, more traditional (a.k.a. more stealth, less action RPG) Assassin's Creed have been rife for a while, and we're allegedly set in Baghdad. The rumor mill picks up speed when Youtube profile j0nathan claims that the game we previously knew as Rift will be called Assassin's Creed Mirage. The release for the game, which "goes back to the origin", is due sometime this spring.
    Rumors are always rumors and should be taken at face value, but they are persistent in this case. The omniscient Jason Schreier also takes the opportunity to confirm some of the new rumors, while dismissing others.
    Schreier believes that parts of this are true, while he claims that the chance to explore "multiple cities" is not. We'll see who's right. You will find all thistles and tassels below. J0nathan also claims that a remake of the first game is in the works, and will take advantage of Mirage.
     
  21. Angry "fans" who bomb the ratings of the new series are forcing Amazon to take drastic measures.
    The newly released fantasy series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has a problem with goblins… and not the big angry kind that live in dark mines (although we can't be entirely sure).
    A crowd of self-proclaimed Tolkien fans, who from the very beginning decided to criticize everything from the skin colors of the actors to the first promo pictures, are trying to bomb the ratings of the series online. On the website Rotten Tomatoes , the average rating of viewers is 35% positive reviews, compared to 84% of critics. The most common criticism is that the series does not honor Tolkien's stories.
    The Hollywood Reporter writes that Amazon has temporarily disabled the ability to review on its own sites to prevent trolls. The idea is to wait 72 hours after the premiere, which will hopefully lead to more honest reviews.

    The average rating on IMDb at the time of writing is 6.5 and a closer look at the ratings shows a clear fight between two camps. It's clear with extreme ratings both ways (which, by the way, is why you should never trust IMDb's ratings).

  22. Twitter begins testing post editing

    Tech · SirMadsen · 09/24/2022 03:13 AM

    The ability to edit Twitter posts has long been the most requested feature. At the beginning of April this year, Twitter finally confirmed that they are working on an editing feature.
    The developer has now started testing the editing of posts internally and the function will be sent out to regular users later in September. Here's how it works: users can edit posts for up to half an hour after publication, for example to correct typos or add hashtags.

    Edited posts will be marked with an icon and a label, so that it is visible that the text has been changed and when it was changed. A tap on the label shows edit history. In other words, it is possible to see all previous versions of the post.
    It is not clear how the editing will affect posts embedded in websites. Likely to show the original post. One catch is that the editing function will only be released to Twitter Blue subscribers - at least initially.
  23. The beloved books about Winnie the Pooh and his friends recently became public domain, which means that anyone can use them freely.
    Filmmaker Rhys Waterfield (who produced C-movies such as "Dinosaur Hotel", "Wrath of Van Helsing" and "Crocodile Vengeance") makes his directorial debut with the film, which is said to be a mixture of absurdity and real terror.
    In the trailer, it is revealed that Christopher Robin abandoned Winnie the Pooh and Piglet to go to college, only to find themselves turned into bloodthirsty killers when their human besties return.
    Despite the silly premise, it looks like there will be a lot of blood and violence in "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" when the beasts attack the young people partying according to the genre's standards.
    This can be both a festively entertaining slasher for fans, a blood-drenching slaughter for those who like such things, or a useless turkey that only milks a poor popular brand. It remains to be seen when the film will be released later this year.
  24. Not many productions are known for being “the world’s most expensive TV series ever”… but how much has Prime Video spent per episode?
    After the first two episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” have now officially been released, viewers have finally had a chance to take part in a series that most people at least seem to think looks very lavish. And anything else would be very strange, considering that the series is, after all, the most expensive television series ever created.
    But how much has the first season actually cost Prime Video per episode? There are slightly different sums that have been thrown around over the years, ranging from a billion dollars to 465 million and then we have the fact that just the rights to the characters and the environments themselves cost a whopping 250 million dollars.
    First season: Roughly $58 million per episode!
    The Wall Street Journal states that production costs for the first season have cost $465 million, which does not include the rights of $250 million. Without that, you are up to approximately 715 million dollars so far. However, with plans already in place for a full five seasons, the series is expected to have cost the company $1 billion soon. And now we haven’t included any overheads at all for the huge promotion that Prime Video did for the premiere of the first season – where, for example, they let masses of fans watch the first two episodes for free in cinemas in some countries.
    When “Game of Thrones” released its final season, it had a really lavish budget of a whopping $15 million per episode, “”House of the Dragon” is said to be slightly above this but at least “under $20 million per episode”. “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”, on the other hand, had a budget per episode, during the first season, of roughly 58 million dollars .
    The upcoming “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” seasons, on the other hand, will manage to get away considerably cheaper, considering that the rough work could be done before the first season. And they have also moved the production from New Zealand to the UK as of the start of the filming of the second season. After all, much of everything from props, costumes and different environments will be able to be reused in the future.
    But the budget in the coming seasons will probably end up well above the sums that the biggest competing streaming services Netflix (“The Witcher”) and HBO Max (“House of the Dragon”) will be able to afford.
    The first two episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” are now available on Prime Video. The first season will consist of a total of eight episodes, with a new episode released every Friday.
  25. Sega announces that their comic campus simulator Two Point Campus has now reached 1 million players after only two weeks. Which means it even beats its predecessor Two Point Hospital. Mark Webley at Two Point Studios proudly says this about the game:
    "We had big shoes to fill following the success of Two Point Hospital, so it feels particularly sweet to hit one million players even faster than before" "And this is just the beginning, just as we did with Hospital, we'll be continuously supporting Campus with lots of quality of life updates and other features, plus we have lots of exciting new ideas and plans for the future of Two Point Campus , which we can't wait to share with all of the players out there soon!
    - Mark Webley
    Colleague Gary Carr at the same studio fills in:
    "We had big shoes to fill following the success of Two Point Hospital, so it feels particularly sweet to hit one million players even faster than before" "And this is just the beginning, just as we did with Hospital, we'll be continuously supporting Campus with lots of quality of life updates and other features, plus we have lots of exciting new ideas and plans for the future of Two Point Campus , which we can't wait to share with all of the players out there soon!
    - Gary Carr
    Signed belongs to the million who spent the weekend building their personal university. For those of you who haven't tried it yet, the game is available on all platforms and also Game Pass.
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