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Fortnite 5.30 released – New items, gameplay modes, and the Blunderbuss AR

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Fortnite 5.30 released - New items, gameplay modes, and the Blunderbuss AR 1

Fortnite has just hit version 5.30, which brings some big additions to both the Battle Royale and Save the Worlds gameplay modes. The main features are the Rift-To-Go item, which was teased previously by Epic Games, and a new LImited Time mode dubbed “Score Royale.”

They work exactly as they’re named. Rift-To-Go is a place that exists in the player’s equipment which allows the player and their allies to fly out from the sky and make a surprise ambush. However, other players can also pull the same move and use the same portals. This adds a new level of complexity to the game and new strategies that will ultimately be centered around these portals.

Score Royale will be a new mode where players gain points for completing various tasks like collecting items, loot crates, and killing enemies. It scores you for doing things like opening ammo boxes, llamas, supply drops, treasure chests, using an apple/mushroom, and more.

Here’s the scoring guide from Epic Games:

  • Winning Score (Solo) 2000
  • Winning Score (Duos) 3000
  • Winning Score (Squads) 4500
  • Use an Apple or Mushroom 10
  • Open an Ammo Box 25
  • Open a Llama 50
  • Open a Supply Drop 100
  • Eliminate an Enemy 100
  • Open a Treasure Ches t50
  • Find a Bronze Coin 30
  • Find a Silver Coin 50
  • Find a Gold Coin 100

The Save the World campaign is last but not least. It has a new weapon called the Blunderbuss Assault Rifle (BAR) which does a hefty amount of damage with a giant clip to spare.

The patch is now available on all platforms and no issues have been reported so far.

You can check out the full details here.

 

Twitch Prime users now have to watch ads; Amazon rids 20% discount for pre-orders

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Twitch Prime users now have to watch ads; Amazon rids 20% discount for pre-orders 2

Twitch Prime users now have to watch ads like the rest of the internet now. And they won’t get the 20% discount off pre-order titles on Amazon anymore. Subscribers aren’t happy.

Twitch announced the new changes coming to the world’s most popular live streaming service, noting that they’ve “continued to add value to Twitch Prime,” yet they’ve also” re-evaluated some of the existing Twitch Prime benefits.” Twitch announced ad-free viewing for subscribers back in 2016, but now they’ve reverted back to the original plan of having all viewers watch ads.

Amazon announced that instead of the 20% discount off new titles, subscribers get a $10 promo credit for pre-ordering select titles starting on April 28, 2019.

It’s a pretty bleak time to be a subscriber to Amazon/Twitch. Twitch’s explanation for the purpose of reinstallation ads:

“Advertising is an important source of support for the creators who make Twitch possible. This change will strengthen and expand that advertising opportunity for creators so they can get more support from their viewers for doing what they love. We want Twitch to remain a place where anyone can enjoy one-of-a-kind interactive entertainment, and ads allow us to continue making Twitch the best place for creators to build communities around the things they love and make money doing it.”

Former Twitch VP, Justin Wong, explained that the reasoning behind it is “BS” in a tweet:

“Partners don’t see any direct benefit from the Twitch Prime ad-free removal. There are possibly indirect benefits depending on whether viewers will subscribe to avoid ads. In other words, the ‘benefiting creators’ shtick is BS.”

In retaliation, some streamers on twitch have been asking their viewers to block the ads, such as Rober Moran:

“Please install an ad blocker if you watch my content on Twitch/YouTube because ads are a waste of your time, and I have no interest building a business off ad dollars.”

This has led to increased usage of ad blockers on Twitch. These are some dark days for the streaming giant. What do you think will happen? Will Twitch revert? Or will the community just “deal with it?”

Super Mario Party River Survival co-op mode teaser released

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Super Mario Party River Survival co-op mode teaser released 3

Nd Cube and Nintendo are going back to a traditional setup with Super Mario Party. After many experiments with various game layouts in the long-running party franchise, it seems like it’s time to go back to the roots of the game. This new title will still feature many new features, such as exclusive dice, minigames, and setups that utilize the Switch’s capabilities. It’ll also have side modes, one of which is called River Survival. Perhaps it’s time to stick to what works.

In this mode, up to four players will have to work cooperatively in order to reach the goal at the end of a river before time runs out. Players will have to use the Joy-Con’s motion controls to row the boat before cop-op minigames pop up at specific time intervals.

If they’re completed successfully, more time will be added. It’s a pretty cool feature with multiplayer co-op. Players can work together kind of like Mario Party 9 and 10′s main modes. And it demonstrates the motion controllers, which show make it a good tech demo.

Super Mario Party will launch on the Switch on Ocboeter 5th, and can already be pre-ordered Amazon, Best Buy, and other major retailers.

You can see River Survival in action in this trailer released by Nintendo earlier today, which has already garnered over 100K views at the time fo this writing:

Grandia I and II remastered are coming to Switch as a packaged game

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Grandia I and II remastered are coming to Switch as a packaged game 4

Grandia I and II are coming to the Nintendo Switch as a remastered game. GungHo Online Entertainment America announced that the titles will be coming to the Switch fully remastered. This is the first time the game has had an easy release since 1999 when it was launched for the original PlayStation in North America. Grandia II hasn’t been available since early 2000 when it was available on the PlayStation 2 and Sega Dreamcast. But now it’ll be coming out for the holiday season in 2018.

Developed by Game Arts, who may be known for their work in Sliphead and the Lunar series, Grandia games have only seen four main releases- plus an MMO, special disc, and a spinoff game. Other than that, there hasn’t been much action for this series over here in the West. Similar to the Lunar games, the Grandia games are known for their insane combat mechanics and awesome sprite art.

It was very well-received and highly-rated overseas and at home in the US. It released around the same time that FFVII came out and both of the games were compared against each other. Gamespot said that Grandia is superior to “FF7 in all of the ways that matter.”

Grandia was released for the Japanese Sega Saturn originally, then found its home on the PlayStation shortly thereafter. Then it migrated to the PS3 in Japan on the PS Network. PC and Switch owners will now get a piece of the action later in 2018. Switch players will also get Grandia II, which aims for a more grown-up storyline compared to the original game. It tells the tale of Ryudo, a blade mercenary who’s tasked with protecting a songstress from the church which has been leading humanity to prosperity and peace for many centuries.

Steam players will get a remaster of the Dreamcast version with upgraded visuals and audio.

Grandia II was originally released on the Dreamcast to which then was ported poorly onto the PS2 and PC. Similar to the original game, it got some pretty positive reviews. The game expands on the positional-based battle mechanics and had a more difficult gameplay style.

The game will be available for demo at PAX West and also packaged for the Switch later this year.

Super Neptunia RPG delayed until 2019 for Westerners

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Super Neptunia RPG delayed until 2019 for Westerners 5

Super Neptunia RPG is now planned for a Spring 2019 release, according to a post by Idea Factory. The game was previously scheduled for 2018, but has been delayed since then. Idea Factory and Canadian developer Artisan Studios are still bringing Neptune to the 2D perspective for the first time ever. Super Neptunia RPG will be the first 2D Neptunia game and will also be released by a Western Studio- again for the first time.

The Japan launch is scheduled for September 27th while Westerners will have to wait until 2019.

The game takes the classic self-referential humor in a 2D sidescroller with RPG elements. Artisan Studios is well-aware that this is a challenge to build. In an interview with Digitally Downloaded, Mario Rizzo, head at Artisan, talks about the difficulties in adapting a Japanese title in a Western Studio. Staff at Artisan re no longer developing with Japnese developers and doing Neptune their own way with detailed artwork and splendid backgrounds.

The game has Neptune finding herself transported to a world without any memory. An organization called Bombyx Mori enslaves citizens and makes them develop game after game as a tribute. Anyone who tries to use tech beyond their means or makes a game tp subpar standards will risk imprisonment in the Trial Grounds. Neptune has an immense power and sets out to explore and save the world.

Alexa and Cortana integration slightly different than planned

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Alexa and Cortana integration slightly different than planned 6

Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa can now communicate and interact with one another. The collaboration between the two virtual assistants was announced in 2017 and was originally planned to be released in the same year. After some delay, it’s now possible to have them talk to each other.

Microsoft showed off how the integration would work at its Build conference earlier in 2018. The feature rolled out on the 15th of August and it seems to be a little different from what was demoed at the conference. Cortana devices (PC, Xbox, the exclusive Harman Kardon speaker) can launch Alexa by saying “Hey Cortana, open Alexa” to switch the user over to Alexa, which allows the user to shop, ask for the weather, and so on.

The opposite interaction on an Alexa to Cortana can be activated by saying “Alexa, open Cortana” which will launch Microsoft’s VA to launch your to-do list, check your calendar, or even check your emails.

Over time, we can expect that improvements will shorten the incantation users must say before interacting with the other device. If an Echo device would simply let you speak directly to Cortana and a Windows PC directly to Alexa without the switch, it’d be a lot more convenient for users without needing to affix the VA’s name.

After all, users need to say the name of the device they want t interacts with anyway- so why bother going through more hoops just to switch.

There have also been rumors that Windows PCs may ship with Alexa support in the near future.

Souce: ArsTechnica

Image: Amazon

DOOM Eternal: No SnapMap. No mods. Better multiplayer.

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DOOM Eternal: No SnapMap. No mods. Better multiplayer. 7

At QuakeCon, id Software revealed that DOOM Eternal won’t have SnapMap, which is the map editor that was used in their previous title, DOOM. Instead, it’ll have single-player DLC.

In a Q/A interview, director Marty Stratton explained their reasoning for getting rid of the previous feature. He says:

“Right now we don’t plan on bringing SnapMap back into Doom Eternal,” he said. “We’re really focusing those resources on doing some of the things that players wanted more from us post-launch.”

DOOM’s fans were pretty disappointed when the campaign mode didn’t get any DLC post-release. The SnapMap mode was basically a successor to mods made by the community. SnapMap was an editor that allowed modders to customize maps in fairly advanced ways.

It could do a lot more than typical editors but wasn’t a full-blown code-required map editor. WIth the omission of this feature, id is not working on improving their tech to offer mod support again.

“One of the big criticisms – and even if I could go back and do it again – I think we’d do campaign DLC after launch. People really wanted that. They wanted stuff created by us. SnapMap was really cool. I loved it. But it didn’t really scratch that itch for people. But we know we can.”

Stratton was clear about DOOM Eternal mods and how they’re not guaranteed to be in the game.

“We had made some technical decisions way back that just pushed us in a different direction than mods. We have spent the last several years making technical decisions that get us back towards being able to do mods.

He went on to talk about how they’re shifting focus based on the previous title. He also talked about the multiplayer aspect of DOOM Eternal as another example of their plans for expansion after the game is released.

The multiplayer part will be developed with the same team rather than outsourced to another studio like in DOOM– where it was criticized for being sub-par compared to the campaign. The game will also have an invasion mode, where players can play as a baddie and invade other player’s campaigns to take the place of an AI.

He also briefly talks about a new-fangled PvP component, which is something completely new to the series:

“But we’re not really going deep into that. We are working on a PvP component. It is new. It’s not an extension of what we did last time. So it’s new. It is something we’re developing internally, which we didn’t do last time. I think players are gonna really enjoy it.”

Player Housing demolished without warning in FFXIV; Investigation continues

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Player Housing demolished without warning in FFXIV; Investigation continues 8

Player-owned houses in Final Fantasy XIV are being razed without any warning. Reports across multiple servers warrant a warning on the FFXIV subreddit and a thread on their official forums. GMs have already acknowledged the issue by reimbursing affected players, but they’re not able to fully restore their lost properties.

The bug usually occurs after the owners visit the house- just days later. Housing works on a timer: if you don’t visit your house for a set period of time, it’s automatically reclaimed by the server. If it’s reclaimed, 80% of the land fees and 100% of the furnishing are returned to the owner. Square Enix has turned off the demolition timers before, such as during the heat and flooding in Japan. The North American servers also had it turned off last year due to the flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. However, it’s currently active right now even though numerous reports are surfacing while they attempt to fix the issue.

Players get a full 45 days before scheduled deletion- with two warning emails. However, there have been reports that the email system wasn’t working- all the way back since May of this year.

The housing crisis is something that Square Enix is definitely aware of. Directory Naoki Yoshida knows about the issue and changes were made earlier in 2018 so that players could only own one piece of land, which stop squatting. Smaller servers don’t really have much of an issue because land can be reclaimed due to lower populations. Populated servers are where there are problems due to competition between players for plots.

Diablo III: Eternal Collection confirmed for Switch; See details and pricing

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Diablo III: Eternal Collection confirmed for Switch; See details and pricing 9

A Forbes post published by Erik Kain was quickly removed soon afterward, but some swift Reddit users captured it and already started a few threads about it all too fast. The news is that Diablo III port for the Switch has been confirmed for release in 2018. With only a few months left, it’ll likely be ready for the holiday season.

After its rocky PC launch back in 2012 and a process of continuous updates and community feedback, the ARPG received console ports in 2014 and 2013 for Xbox and PlayStation. Now, the Switch is next in the lineup of games.

It’s called the Eternal Collection, which includes both the Reaper of Souls and Rise of the Necromancer expansions and some other additional content. It’ll retail at full price- $59.99. It’ll also have special Nintendo exclusive in-game content like a Ganondorf-esque cosmetic armor set, a Tri-Fore portrait frame, a Chicken pet, and even some Echoes of the Mask cosmetic wings. This content is pretty neat since it combines two different universes into one- especially for returning players who are already familiar with Diablo games.

The game allows returning players to explore the new content or new players who’ve never played a Diablo game to play it for the first time. It includes both docked and portable modes and up to 4 players on a single Switch console or separate Switch consoles linked wirelessly and without an Internet connection. The Nintendo Switch Online service will also allow online play with cloud-saving support.

So far, no release date has been announced. This will be the first time Blizzard’s released a game on Nintendo in 15 years, which is definitely something to be excited over. There have been a efforts to bring more exclusive Nintendo content to the Switch in terms of games released in the West, with Ubisoft announcing Starlink: Battle for Atlas at E3 which has exclusive Nintendo goodies.

As we near the holiday season, we should see more news about the Diablo III: Eternal Collection. Stay tuned for updates.

Source: TechRaptor.

Patrick Söderlund steps down as EA’s CDO

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Patrick Söderlund steps down as EA's CDO 10

Earlier this week, Electronic Art’s CDO Patrick Söderlund has stepped down and left the company. A memo shared by the current CEO Andrew Wilson, he states that Patrick was a “pioneer” with over 20 years of experience for EA. He was also known to be a great friend and an “inspiring leader” for EA as a whole.

Söderlund recently was promoted to the office of Chef Design Office back in April of 2018. Before that, he was the CEO of DICE. When he entered EA, he was appointed to the Worldwide Studios where he oversaw many franchises in EA’s household. He’s also credited for advocating the Frostbite engine and making it EA’s primary in-house game engine.

Last year, he was also given a bonus of $20M USD in 2017, based on a SEC filing and a report by Jason Schreier of Kotaku. His total salary for 2018 totaled to $48M. The median salary for the typical employee at EA is $96K. His position demands this level of pay and his expertise was priceless. This was to keep him working for the company.

Even with this level of pay, he’s left the company. Wilson noted that some teams within EA will definitely see changes following his departure. The SEED team which is currently led by Johan Andersson will join the studio’s group along with EA Originals and EA Partners Programs joining the Strategic Growth group.

No other news has been reported about the other executives at EA regarding changes. They’ll likely stay in their current positions. As for a when and who the new CDO will be and when this person will be appointed is TBA.

Steam copies Discord’s chat system; Discord copies Steam’s store

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Steam copies Discord's chat system; Discord copies Steam's store 11

A few weeks ago, Steam rebuilt their chat system and added some features that looked like they were ripped right out of Discord. Now, the VoIP giant for gamers is retaliating by releasing a game distribution platform. That’s right, Discord now sells games.

The Discord Store is an experience that’s built by curated content that’ll automatically suggest games based on player interests. It’s like the Steam front page, but more personalized and catered for each individual player instead of the general population’s tastes. Discord staff curates the content that appears in the store in order to prevent Steam’s issue with game saturation and competition for virtual sell space.

Right now, players can buy a variety of games like Hollow Knight, Moonlighter, Starbound, This is the Police 2, The Banner Saga 3, and more.

Discord is making a bold move by competing directly with Steam, but they probably would’ve done so regardless of whether or not Steam copied their chat system’s layout and design.

The most interesting news is the First on Discord section. They plan to show off indie games they’ve helped support and develop and launch them exclusively only on Discord fora limited period of time. This is typically a period of 90 days before the game devs can sell it anywhere else, like Steam. Discord also takes 30% of sales just like the DRM giant. So far, the only game that’s premiering on this program is Bad North, an indie real-time roguelike. The post states:

“To be very clear, First on Discord games are temporarily exclusive. They’re literally first on Discord — usually 90 days and then the developers can sell anywhere else they want. This beta won’t have any First on Discord titles, but we’ll be showing off some soon.”

Discord Nitro is also getting revamped. Subs will see a curated list of popular titles picked by the staff, such as Super Meat Boy and System Shock Enhanced Edition. And the new Discord also has a Universal Library tab that scans your computer for games on all platforms like Steam, UPlay, and Discord itself. It then links them to this singular tab so you can play directly from Discord no matter where the game is housed. It’ll just launch the other launcher and then continue the game automatically.

Discord Store is currently in beta and will roll out worldwide slowly over time. It’s currently available to Canadian users only at a cap of 50K players. US players should soon be able to try out the full version.

Chrome 68 adds native Windows notifications

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Chrome 68 adds native Windows notifications 12

Earlier this week, Chrome users using the newest version of Chrome on the Windows 10 platform began seeing notifications from the world’s most popular web browser in their Action Center. Chrome notifications will use the same design and style as the standard Windows notifications and will show up in the Action Center (the bottom-right corner of the screen on a traditional desktop layout).

Google is rolling out the new version in waves. The update was released on August 8th and 50% of users with the stable and most updated version of Chrome (Chrome 68) will be automatically opted-in to the new notifications system. Chrome users who don’t want to wait for the rollout and want the update right now can easily do so:

  • Update to the newest version of Chrome- Chrome 68.
  • Launch Chrome and type in “chrome://flags” in the address bar and hit Enter.
  • Turn on the “Enable native notifications” option.

This will force Chrome to enable the native alerts immediately.

This update will make Chrome’s notifications work with Windows settings.

For example, if you’re a user of Focus Assist (AKA Quiet Hours), which allows users to block notifications during a videogame or when the screen is being mirrored, Chrome won’t bug you with notifications and will respect your Windows settings. Users with lots of notifications from Chrome (Facebook, Twitter, Calendar, Slack, Stocks, Gmail, etc.) will have all their alerts silenced when needed rather than showing up when they’re not welcome.

Source: ArsTechnica

Hackers turn Amazon Echo into a spy device

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Hackers turn Amazon Echo into a spy device 13

With the push of companies launching their virtual assistants (VAs), security should always be a concern since these things are mass-produced on a large scale. A small security loophole could put thousands or even millions at risk, whether it be Google Home or Amazon’s line of Alexa-equipped devices. Since they’re all connected to the internet at all times, it enables hackers to potential siphon information about the data it collects and can be exploited.

A hack was demonstrated at Def Con 26, where hackers used multiple vulnerabilities to demo how the Echo could be used as an eavesdropping device:

“In this talk, we will present how to use multiple vulnerabilities to … remote attack some of the most popular smart speakers. Our final attack effects include silent listening, control speaker speaking content and other demonstrations. And we’re also going to talk about how to extract firmware from BGA packages Flash chips such as EMMC, EMCP, NAND Flash, etc. In addition, it contains how to turn on debug interfaces and get root privileges by modifying firmware content and Re-soldering Flash chips, which can be of great help for subsequent vulnerability analysis and debugging. Finally, we will play several demo videos to demonstrate how we can remotely access some Smart Speaker Root permissions and use smart speakers for eavesdropping and playing voice.”

For the plain-English person, this roughly translates to tweaking Alexa’s onboard firmware content in order to use it to spy on its surroundings. it can listen silently, be controlled to speak, and have the speech module overwritten from a remote location. this means a hacker could potentially hack into an Echo device and force it to speak or listen to its environment and relay the sounds back to the hacker’s computer.

As companies jump onboard the VA bandwagon, security is an issue that needs to be addressed. Simply having it in the household doesn’t mean it’s safe from hacking and vulnerabilities. Companies that are new to the scene like Facebook, who plans to launch their own version of a smart speaker very soon, will only create more demand for these types of products, which means a larger audience to safeguard from hacks and a more appealing target for hackers to bypass the security.

Although Amazon’s Alexa already listens to what its users say, it follows and purges in a timed interval (trailing five seconds after its name), unlike this hack which actually relays the information without a purge.

Amazon has fixed and patched the security issue that was demonstrated with a patch and quickly resolved.

Image via Amazon.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War and Child of Light coming to Switch

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Valiant Hearts: The Great War and Child of Light coming to Switch 14

Child of Light and Valiant Hearts: The Great War are both coming to the Nintendo Switch this Fall. They were confirmed for the Switch in a news post on the official Ubisoft site. Child of Light will release on October 11th and Valiant Hearts will release on November 8th.

Child of Light features amazing artwork and players must save their kingdom from evil forces. The game is a turn-based RPG in a fantasy world where players must take the role of a hero named Aurora who happens to reside in the kingdom of Lemuria. The game has a skill-tree progression system for all characters and allows the freedom to tailor each character to suit different roles or playstyles.

The isn’t the first game in this series on a Nintendo console, as it was also available for the Wii U back in 2014. This game won’t have any new Switch exclusives, but a second player can join in with a Joy-Con to control Aurora’s companion Igniculus to allow players to play in co-op. However, this feature is available in other releases of the game.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War will ship with integrated touch controls just like the iOS, Android, and Windows versions. Switch owners will have Valiant Hearts: Dogs of War which is an interactive comic that was previously available on mobile platforms.

This is a point-and-click adventure game which focuses on multiple strangers during WWI. You’ll guide a character through many puzzles with a trusty dog as your companion to infiltrate enemy bases, investigate different events, and discover WWI history. Valiant Hearts for the Switch is the first time it’s ever been on a Nintendo console.

Stay tuned for more news upon release.

Swery reveals more details about his newest project: “The Missing”

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White Owls Studio is teasing its first game developed completely in-house called The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Mysteries, which is set to roll out later this year. With this year being close to over, it’ll likely surface sometime during the holiday season.

Swery was recently in the news for his The Good Life project which received decent success on Kickstarter. The game will be developed by Swery himself and staff from White Owls Studio. Arc Systems Works has been “very supportive” in giving him the opportunity to “create something entirely new” which will “blow your mind,” as Swery likes to put it. He’s known for his mind-boggling storylines and plots, and we expect nothing different from The Missing.

The game is an indie title developed by White Owls Studio and Swery. It’s an action adventure game coming to all major consoles and PC. It’s published by Arc Systems Works, which previously worked on titles that consisted of fighting games and similar genres. The announcement was filmed in their office with a humorous tone depicting cacti, stuffed monkeys, and a random White Owl. It promises a healthy dose of mystery and some speculation about the game’s release.

It was originally just known as “The Missing” and was revealed six months ago in February 2018 without any further details. The announcement trailer that was just released simply lists some details, screenshots, and the platforms the game will be released on. From what it shows, it looks like some kind of Castlevania-type action platform complete with sidescroller elements. Players will have to solve mysteries in rural settings similar to Deadly Premonition released by Swery back in 2010.

Blizzard confirms Diablo projects are in the works – keyword “projects”

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Blizzard confirms Diablo projects are in the works - keyword "projects" 15

Blizzard made headlines a few weeks back with a job listing for a Diablo dungeon designer. A Diablo game was confirmed to be in the works, but there was no other news. It wasn’t confirmed whether it’d be a new game or just a remake, but speculators say it had to be a new game because of the job posting’s details.

It’s been a whole 6 years size Diablo III came out and the community is stoked to see another title in the works. Now, Blizzard has finally released some more details about the long-running series. Brandy Camel, Diablo Community Manager tells the world in a recent video that multiple projects are in the works which will be revealed later this year. Camel also talks about the recent introduction of themed seasons in the latest game with the first season being Greed.

The ARPG genre has always been the game’s core mechanic. Blizzard ridding this would be very surprising, though they’ve done this type of move before with Warcraft.

For players who haven’t revisited the game, it’s a good time to get excited again and new content is still being pumped out while we wait for the next game. Blizzcon is coming on November 2nd and there will likely be an announcement then. How many projects? Is it a direct sequel? is it a new game? Will it be traditional or new? Fans are excited. Sit tight for more announcements.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at Nintendo Direct: New characters, amiibos, and a special edition

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at Nintendo Direct: New characters, amiibos, and a special edition 16

Nintendo has announced five new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo characters and a special limited edition amiibo and GameCube controller/adapter combo.

SSBU Nintendo Direct announced the news on August 8th where the new characters were revealed for the upcoming and much-anticipated crossover fighter. The characters and their respective amiibo figures will be available for purchase “in the future” according to a Tweet by Nintendo.

The characters announced were Simon Belmont, Richter Belmont, King K. Rool, Chrom and Dark Samus. SSBU is the newest entry in Nintendo’s flagship title Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighters. The game will be released on Nintendo Switch in the holiday season. Today’s Nintendo Direct event confirmed the new characters’ addition to the game.

As for when these will ship, there’s no confirmation yet. Nintendo is still being vague about the actual launch, but it’s safe to assume that they’ll be around during the game’s launch or shortly thereafter.

Nintendo’s special limited edition version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released with the regular edition both on the same day, which is scheduled to be on December 7th, 2018.

T he special edition will contain a physical copy of the game, a GameCube controller themed with SSB designs, and an adapter so you can use it with the Switch. This adapter also works with any existing GameCube controllers you may already have.

Pricing for the limited edition version is still TBA, so expect more information to roll out as we approach the holidays. The GameCube controller for the limited edition isn’t exclusive by any means, as anyone can purchase the one that’s already on sale. It’ll be the same one that exists on the market today but bundled differently.

Dragon Quest XI will be a throwback to older titles in the series

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Dragon Quest XI will be a throwback to older titles in the series 17

A new trailer for the upcoming game Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age shows off the game’s gorgeous artwork and the group of companions that you’ll be playing alongside in this brand-new journey.

The game is supposed to be somewhat of a throwback to older, retro Dragon Quest games with each character in the party reflecting some older designs and personalities. Yuji Horii, developer, and creator of the series had an interview with Siliconera about each of the members of the party in greater detail.

Each character which accompanies the nameless hero, which is Dragon Quest tradition, on their journey to defeat the evil that’s wreaking havoc on their land. Horri went over how each character’s design and personality reflects an older Dragon Quest entity:

Erik is the down-to-Earth character. He’s fully governed and is a young thief who’s the first character to join the Limnitary.

Veronica and Serena are the pair of female girls similar to previous female duo Maya and Meena in Dragon Quest IV. They’re opposites in terms of personality and function for the party. Veronica is a mage and Serena is a healer. Their personalities offer plenty of content for the game’s moments with a dynamic opposing personality setup.

Sylvando is a guy who’s loud and annoying, probably because he’s an entertainer. He’s flamboyant, chivalrous, and somewhat buff. He has acrobatic skills.

Jade is a martial artist who acts as a sister to the hero.

Rab is an older character who’s somewhat of a troublemaker.

The game is the 11th title in the long-running series, which was first released back in 1986. It’ll feature many elements from the entire series due to it being somewhat of an homage to past titles, including the turn-based combat and classic designs created by Akira Toriyama and crew.

The game has already been released in Japan on the PS4 and Nintendo 3DS last year, with total sales around 3M copies. Worldwide release is scheduled on September 4th, 2018 for PS4 and Windows with a Switch version planned for release later on.

Only 2% Amazon Alexa users actually buy something

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Only 2% Amazon Alexa users actually buy something 18

A new report claims that only a very small percentage of their customers that own Alexa devices shop with voice commands. Analysts have been optimistic in their predictions about consumer shopping via virtual assistants.

Most customers who do actually place an order only do it once or stick to a very limited scope of products. Two people who were briefed on Amazon’s figures said that only around 2% of people who own Alexa-equipped devices have ever bought something with said device. And of that 2%, 90% tried it only once. That’s a very small percentage of people who buy using Alexa and isn’t really “optimistic” at all.

An Amazon spokesperson told ArsTechnica that they “do not agree with the numbers represented in the article” that was published. The full statement reads:

We do not agree with the numbers represented in the article. Millions of customers use Alexa to shop because it is the most convenient way to capture needs in the moment. It’s as simple as saying, “Alexa, order dish detergent” while you are doing the dishes or “Alexa, order copier paper” as you reach for the last one. We want to enable customers to shop in whatever way is easiest for them.

Purchasing with Alexa usually involves low-cost products out of impulse or minor repurchase decisions. Things like toilet paper or toothpaste are purchased because of consumer familiarity. This is what composes regular shoppers with Alexa. You can simply tell it to “order some more toothpaste” and that’s it. you don’t have to consider your decision because you already know what you want. And you don’t really care because you’re familiar with it and it’s cheap. Alexa will likely buy “Amazon’s Choice” products to fulfill your order.

But in the case of expensive items like electronics or appliances, consumers don’t really opt for virtual assistant purchases. Making decisions like this requires reading reviews, specs, and even finding cheaper retailers before buying.

However, Amazon is well-aware of this and has tried to incentivize Alexa buy offering special discounts for using it. Some third-party analysis reports confirm that Alexa usage is actually much higher than what the report from earlier states. Alexa sales continue to do well in sales numbers and has a growing user base. Even with just 2% of people making purchases, that 2% will continue to encompass a growing number of users as Amazon continues to develop the user base of Alexa-powered devices.

Source: ArsTechnica

Image via Amazon.

Surviving Mars Da Vinci update live on PC; What’s new?

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Surviving Mars Da Vinci update live on PC; What's new? 19

Surviving Mars released a new update this week according to a news post on their Steam Community page.

Surviving Mars is exactly what it sounds like. You need to establish a colony on the planet with just a cargo rocket and some drones and basic resources to start with and you need to expand your colony, build shelter, and explore the planet. The game doesn’t just put you alone on the planet though, you can breed humans to help perform tasks on your base in the harsh environment. You can actually expand beyond a thousand humans if you play well enough.

The game’s newest content patch is called the Da Vinci update. It allows a bunch of new features and balance adjustments to take place in the game. The main feature is Creative Mode, which allows players to basically have a large amount of capital and disable all the nasty diameters in the game in order to build creatively. It’s like RollerCoaster Tycoon on Mars with unlimited cash. It’s basically your typical freedom custom mode. Of course, achievements will be disabled if you’re playing in Creative.

Resource management has also been revamped to make it easier to harvest and utilize materials. Players can set a minimum desired amount of resources on a per-depot basis which allows adequate stockpiles of materiasl in various sections of your colony. The UI has also been improved and simplified. And power producers/consumers will now automatically connect to nearby buildings rather than requiring a tile power cable to be built.

Balance has also been addressed with some tweaks like building power consumption increases or maintenance parts changed. The Electronics Factory now uses machine parts for maintenance. Genius colonists will now grant research if you keep their Sanity high enough and Celebrity colonists will provide funding if their Comfort levels are kept well.

There’s also a Tourist trait for colonists now. Colonists will generate $10M upon arrival and stay for a few days, then leave. When they go back, they’ll bring back two new Tourist applicants. This is pretty cool because players can now establish a vacation destination on Mars and also get some additional income from it!

The Da Vinci update is already live on PC and console launches coming shortly. Another update called the Sagan Update will come next month in September with plenty of challenges along with it.

Octopath Traveler sells 1M copies; Thanks fans with banner art

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Octopath Traveler sells 1M copies; Thanks fans with banner art 20

Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler for Nintendo Switch has now shipped over 1M copies globally.

Developed by Square and studio Acquire, the Switch exclusive title’s success was relayed through an announcement from the official Octopath PR Twitter account stating that download numbers and shipments worldwide have netted over a million copies. They also drew a “1M thanks” banner using characters from the game for their fans with “1,000,000 Travelers! 1,000,000 Thanks” in text.

Octopath Traveler has become very successful for Square Enix. Over 90% of its initial stock in Japan was sold in July with over 100K units sold in less than 14 days. The game also has several sold-out locations of the physical disc all over the world, but mainly in Japan, to which at one point sold hundreds of copies in just a few hours after a new batch was released tot he public. Square then apologized for the shortage of physical copies and encouraged a digital download on the Nintendo E-shop if possible.

The game is obviously more popular overseas but has garnered a sizable audience in the West as shown by the sales figures.

Traveler is a retro take on the classic RPGs for an older console with 8 different characters each unique with abilities and personalities. There are also 8 stories in total. Some modern revamps include an improved turn-based system for battles and the use of animated sprites in an HD texture environment which was called an HD-2D effect by the developers.

The characters and positioning of the banner alluded to the official artwork of Bravery Default, which was released for the Nintendo 3DS which the producers of Octopath Traveler worked on also. Tomoya Asano and Masashi Takahashi both worked on both titles to create a consistent universe and their style shows in the fan art created for the community.

Spyro Reginited Trilogy: Two games are DLC, what about the last?

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Spyro Reginited Trilogy: Two games are DLC, what about the last? 21

Spyro Reignited Trilogy will be releasing in about a month and fans will be able to return to familiar nostalgic locations like the Summer Forest or Artisan’s World. Their official Twitter account has been teasing fans with updated box art of the game.

A few changes were obvious on the official pre-order page compared to the older design.

For one, Spyro cover the majority of the face of the box with his face being zoomed in on a lot more than previously. Perhaps this will bring attention to fans who’ve wandered from the Spyro series and haven’t been keeping up with the news. Seeing the family purple dragon’s face may just get more sales for players who weren’t expecting another Spyro game to be rolling out- especially if they used to like the game. The background shows off the games included in the trilogy, with a selection of levels that represent their final bosses: Gnasty Gnorc, The Sorceress, and Ripto. This may bring back some nostalgia for older players who grew up with Spyro.

Spyro Reginited Trilogy: Two games are DLC, what about the last? 22

The design the art is also eager to let players know that will require content to be downloaded in order to play with a bold “requires content download” and a lesser-bold “original 3 games remastered.” Spyro’s horns divide the backdrop into their respective games with the logo and branding right in the middle. It’s hard to miss this title with the contrast of bright colors.

The latter two games will require an internet connection and fans seem to be taking this very negatively They’re asking why the physical release is necessary if 2/3 of the games are available via download. It could be single-use code or it’ll act like a patch for the game.

Activision Gameinformer received this response from the company:

“The global launch date of Spyro Reignited Trilogy is Sept. 21, and we’re excited for fans to play all three reignited games on that day, As with most games today, downloading an update after purchase is quite common. The language on packaging and on the web is to let players know the requirements for Spyro Reignited Trilogy.”

But then that means if the entire games will be downloaded, or if it’s a day one patch, or if the games are split between disc and download. Activision has done this before with games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater where only a portion is on the actual disc and the rest requires a download. The Twitter account also continues to release news about the trilogy, but as for actual details about the download situation, none yet.

The Long Dark getting new content; Episodes 1 and 2 getting reworked

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The Long Dark getting new content; Episodes 1 and 2 getting reworked 23

The Long Dark is getting a new episode for its story mode later this year in December. Unlike the previous two episodes, Episdcoe Three doesn’t have any working title at the moment, however, players can expect a confirmed title in the coming months.

Hinterland Games, the developer, announced a release window on the Steam’s Community page. Players will also receive “Redux” editions of the first two episodes which have been adjusted and improved by Hinterland based on community feedback.

In the tertiary episode of Wintermute, players will play as Dr. Astrid Greenwood who’s on a quest to discover the secrets behind “First Flare,” which was the event which triggered the “Long Dark.” Players will interact with new characters and explore a huge new region. Details about the game are still relatively unknown, however, Hinterland has promised more info to be released as we near December.

The Redux work on the previous episodes started almost a year ago and was detailed in their developer diary. Updates to two chapters were made and include a restructuring of mission structure, newly playable inro for the first episode, new dialogue, and more. The work was done to “set up a stronger foundation” for the new content coming in December.

Also, to accommodate for the Redux work in Episodes One and Two, all progress saves for either of them will be deleted when the next episodes roll out. Hinterland suggests that you finish these episodes before it rolls out if you don’t want to lose all your progress so far. The latest update for The Long dark was the Vigilant Flame update which added a new region, cooking mechanic improvements, and more.

We’ll continue to release news about the newest update to the game as news comes out. Stay tuned.

Destiny 2: Forsaken DLC adds a ton of new weapons

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Destiny 2: Forsaken DLC adds a ton of new weapons 24

Destiny 2 is getting its third DLC expansion rolling out this September called Forsaken, which follows up on Warmind which was just released this May. Forsaken adds a large amount of new content tot he game and the official Twitter account of Destiny confirms it.

Several weapons have been teased under the banner of “new tools of the trade,” which seems interesting enough to draw some attention to the game as most of the recent packs have been criticized for not having enough content and things to do in the game.

The Two-Tailed Fox is a weapon that launches that two rockets simultaneously. The Antaeus Wards armor allows the player to reflect projectiles by sliding. The Trinity Ghoul weapon is a bow that generates an electrical storm arrow when precision killing enemies. The Sixth Coyote armor lets you double doge attacks. Malfeasance is a weapon hits five hits in swift succession and will detonate with an explosion. And the Black Talon is a projectile sword that can be thrown.

There’s also a gun called the One Thousand Voices that shoots and beam of fire and the Chromatic Fire armor takes on the same theme with elemental booms from precision kinetic kills. There’s another bow called the Wish-Ender which is a bow that allows the player to see through walls and price targets. Lastly, there’s the Ace of Spades which ss gun that grants extra damage bullets after reading following a kill. The Forsaken pack seems to be all weapons, but there will probably be no complaints from the community as weapons are always welcome.

Additional details to be released in the coming weeks. Forsaken for Destiny 2 comes out on September 4th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Pre-orders will get you a nice cosmetic skin.

Salt and Sanctuary released for Nintendo Switch

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Salt and Sanctuary released for Nintendo Switch 25

Salt and Sanctuary, a 2D hack-and-slash platformer released on the Nintendo Switch yesterday, the 2nd.

The game is also available on PS4, PC, and PS Vita and will also be released in digital and physical form. There will also be a collector’s edition called Salt and Sanctuary: Drowned Tome Edition which will launch sometime this “holiday” according to the developer Ska Studios. The game is being ported by BlitWorks, a Spanish developer who’s previously worked on Bastion, Spelunky, and Don’t Starve.

Ska Studios uploaded a new trailer for the game. It features some very nice artwork with plenty of hacking and slashing indeed:

It looks similar to Dark Souls with a lot of punishing combat and a few character classes. It uses a checkpoint system as you explore the world and typical boss encounters which you’ll struggle with unless you know the weak points and attack patterns. The player can also upgrade their abilities in order to unlock the world’s various zones.

The game follows a protagonist who’s been player-created. This character sails across the ocean to stop a war between two kingdoms. You’re then shipwrecked on an island and you must solve the puzzles behind an evil mastermind and survive the attacks by the hostile enemies on the island along with the traps and tricks.

Salt and Sanctuary is available now for the Switch. It has no exclusive content for this port, but if you’re looking for an awesome and distinctive platformer, you should consider this game.

 

Star Control: Origins releases Fleet Battles update patch – what’s new?

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Star Control: Origins releases Fleet Battles update patch - what's new? 26

Star Control: Origins, a space strategy indie game, just got a whole bunch of new updates in the Fleet Battles Beta patch.

Stardock, the developer, calls the update a major milestone in the game’s progress. It adds a few new ships, maps, weapons, and various improvements overall. The quality of life updates has also been implemented. The beta update is available to all players who pre-purchase the game.

The game is developed by Michigan-based company Stardock Entertainment. Star Control: Origins is the newest game in the series which began back in 1990. The game is different from earlier titles because it takes place in an alternate universe. Origins were announced back in 2016 and are available for PC via Steam on September 20th.

The Fleet Battles mode is probably the major update in this patch. It allows plates to build a fleet of starships and fight other fellers. Players can control fleet and battle enemy fleets, AI, or even with friends in local multiplayer. The game also now offers a fully integrated crafting system, which allows players to create, craft, and build, their own vessels and even share them with others in the Steam Workshop community.

A new gameplay feature has also been added to the game. Scavenging allows players to collect power-ups from destroyed ships found around the battlefields in the game. Each power-up allows players to get abilities like acceleration, restore energy, refill HP, and even get speed bursts.

There are also new ships added to the lineup in this update patch. Two new ships, the Kzinti Intimidator and the Arillou Observer, which both have their own unique features. The former is a “nimble ship equipped with deadly proximity mines and a Repulsor” while the latter can cloak. They both also have their weapon loadouts and players will receive new maps.

Performance improvements include an improved camera, UI, and multiplayer. Stardock has also released new content in the form of DLC, which add music, lore, and concept art. This is only available to players who pre-purchase the game.

Commodore 64 Mini (THEC64 Mini) launches on October 9th

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Commodore 64 Mini (THEC64 Mini) launches on October 9th 27

ThECE64 Mini (yes, that’s how it’s spelled), it’s coming out later in October. Like the Nintendo and Sega retro systems that have recently been released, the Commodore 64 is about to come out with its own spin on the retro take and jump on the bandwagon.

Based on a press release from the manufacturer, they’ve secured a release date of October 9th, 2018. It was first announced in 2017 and has now been updated with the confirmed release date.

For those who’ve never played with a Commodore 64 before, it’s a very complicated and fascinating setup. For starters, it was a home computer that used cartridges like you see in consoles like the SNES and NES. It also could run floppy discs. And it had a gigantic keyboard that had the ability to expand the capabilities of the system using add-ons. It also housed all the electronics of the system inside the keyboard, which explains the size.

PC gaming wasn’t really as mainstream as it nowadays during that time, so the C64 was one of the first systems to have a huge library of games for players to choose from and play inside the house. Some of these classics have now been ported to this system so players can experience a mini version one of the most popular computer systems ever built. For 90s kids, that’s hard to believe. But that was the case.

THEC64 Mini will come with 64 games and include a joystick. It’ll also have an HDMI cable for crisp retro gaming and USB cable for power. Updates for the computer will be uploaded via USB. There’s a flash drive attached to the Mini, which lets you add your own games to the device. They’re not as regularly as Nintendo it seems.

A number of retailers will carry the system and some already have it for pre-order. The North American version hasn’t announced any partners yet, but one can expect it to show up at GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, or even eBay for scalpers. A price hasn’t been annoyced either, but stay tuned for updates.

Project Loon signs its first commercial deal with Telkom Kenya

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Project Loon signs its first commercial deal with Telkom Kenya 28

Project Loon, an internet-delivery ballon system has announced its first commercial deal. It’s a system that spawned from Alphabet’s Project X division where recent Project X will partner with Telkom Kenya to increase internet connectivity in the country. Public details of the deal are still sparse. There’s no timeframe for deployment, financial details, nor press. BBC notes that Telkom Kenya will provide the signal for internet, and Loon will distribute across the country in remote areas.

The project started in 2011. The idea is that instead of building permanent structures to distribute signals with limited range, balloons with antennas could fly 60,000 feet in the air and follow wind patterns to cover about 2,000 square miles at once. The company has simulated over 30 million kilometers of navigation paths every day to understand how weather conditions will affect the predetermined balloon routes.

Loon’s solar-powered air structures have been improved a lot over time. Project Loon started off with just 3G-levels of connectivity but then provided 4G instead in 2015 across an area as big as Rhode Island. The project was recently toured by Wired as Loon showed off its factory and smoother launch with powerful signals. Testing areas including New Zealand, Central California, Brazil, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Loon works with local governments and provided internet access to over 200,000 people in Puerto Rico after Hurrican Maria.

They plan to improve connectivity for large areas of Kenya currently not covered by mobile providers rather than building structures due to the difficulty of erecting such towers. Some local experts expressed concerns stating that dependency on a foreign company may be an issue. Regardless, Project Loon is an amazing idea coming to reality in the world.

Photo: Project Loon.

No Man’s Sky Next released – Now what’s next?

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No Man's Sky Next released - Now what's next? 29

The future of No Man’s Sky is already in the works and planned after their huge multiplayer update No Man’s Sky Next arrived last week. In a recent news post on their official page, Sean Murray, Lead Developer, thanked his team for making it through the highs and lows and sticking by the game even after the horrible launch in 2016 and silence period towards the community afterward.

Hello Games has now included the community’s input in their ARG Waking Titan over the past year. They’ve let the players build and craft its own lore in the Euclid Galaxy which is built on regions on influences between fan-made factions.

Murray wants to continue this player-induced effort in the creation of the Galactic Atlas, which is a platform that’ll contain major points of interest found in the Euclid Galaxy which were nominated by the fans in a survey. Players can still continue to develop it in the new update and Hello Games will now continue their new “community season” for some fresh feedback. The studio will be weekly content and events for all players soon- free of charge.

No Man’s Sky Next is the latest update to the game. Sean Murray also jokingly replied to a tweet by PC Gamer over the excitement of the game in two years after its launch. The Next update is a free update for PS4 and PC. So if you’re looking for a reason to pick up the game again, grab it and try it out. The game also launched for the Xbox One for the first time on the same day the patch rolled out.

The Clone Wars gets a 12 episode commission on Disney’s streaming platform

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The Clone Wars gets a 12 episode commission on Disney's streaming platform 30

At this year’s Comic-Con, a panel celebrating the 10-year anniversary of The Clone Wars had a special announcement at the end of it- a surprise season of 12 episodes has been confirmed and commissioned to run on Disney’s streaming service which launches in 2019.

Back in 2003, there was the first animated series of the Clone Wars with Genndy Tartakovsky’s 2D take that ran until 2005 with a few Emmy awards in the process. The Clone Wars then came out in 2008, this time another fully-animated but 3D series of episodes developed by Dave Filoni which ran for 5 seasons on The Cartoon Network and got a final 6 episodes on Netflix in 2014.

Now that Disney is competing directly with Netflix and developing its own streaming platform, we’ll be getting another full season of 12 episodes. With Disney’s demonstration on Netflix, there’s definitely fan demand for their shows with its Marvel series.

Whether or not the 12 episodes will be reruns is unsure. Now that Disney has the own platform, they may create some original content. Besides The Clone Wars, there will be some live-action Star Wars directed by Jon Favreau that takes place somewhere between Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens.

It’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan.