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For months, it’s been a bit shocking to see the disconnect between the popularity of the Baby Yoda character from Star Wars: The Mandalorian and the sparse amount of official, licensed merchandise available. It seemed, based on initial impressions, that Disney was unprepared for the character’s wave of popularity.
But at the Disney+ Star Wars Product Showcase in Manhattan on February 20, it was revealed that the delay in Baby Yoda merchandise was purposeful. Series creator Jon Favreau wanted as few people to know as possible; putting massive toy orders into production, for example, would create too many possibilities for leaks.
“We sat down with Jon about two years out,” said Paul Southern, senior vice president for licensing and franchise at Lucasfilm. “He brings out this big box and says, ‘I’m going to show you The Child,’… And then we talked about the idea that we were going to do no development on the ground until after the show aired, and we talked around that for a little while… we came to terms with it, but it created some challenges for us.”
Even within Disney’s retail product chain of command, many high-ranking executives had no idea what the character was or looked like; even within the company, the assets were kept secret. They found out about Baby Yoda at the same time that we did–when Disney+ launched–and had to play catchup.
“I was definitely in the dark; I was after the lockdown, so I didn’t know about the character until I saw the show myself,” said JoAnn McLaughlin, senior vice president of brand merchandising and product design at Disney. “So I was one of those people who had that magical moment… The next day was all-hands-on-deck: ‘How are we going to get this done?’ It was really exciting.”
The latest Baby Yoda merchandise, which includes toys, clothing, apparel, accessories, and electronics, will be released at steady trickle over the next several months. The crown jewel is Hasbro’s large animatronic plush, which coos, giggles, blinks its eyes, and wiggles its ears. It retails for $60 and is available for pre-order now.
2020 is all about the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X release this holiday season. But their predecessors will remain relevant for years to come thanks to huge install bases and massive back catalogs. Earlier this week, the PS4 Pro was discounted to $300, and now it’s the Xbox One X’s turn. Three Xbox One X bundles–Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Gears 5, and NBA 2K20–are currently discounted to $299 at major retailers, including Amazon and Walmart. The bundles regularly go for $500, and the current discounts actually beat their Black Friday prices by $50.
The Xbox One X, for the time being, is the most powerful home console and boosts the performance and resolutions of some Xbox One games. There are plenty of notable upcoming games in 2020 that will surely benefit from the increased power of the Xbox One X, including Doom Eternal, Resident Evil 3 Remake, Marvel’s Avengers, Cyberpunk 2077, and Halo Infinite (also coming to Xbox Series X).
There’s no telling how long the $299 price will hold, so if you’re interested in grabbing an Xbox One X at a phenomenal discount, you may want to do so sooner rather than later.
This bundle actually comes with all five mainline Gears of Wars games, making it by far the best value of the three discounted bundles.
The Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order bundle comes with the deluxe edition of the game and a one-month EA Access trial.
The NBA 2K20 Xbox One X bundle comes with a one-month trial of Xbox Live Gold. The bundle is available in black at Amazon and Walmart. The speckled-white special edition bundle is available at GameStop for $300.
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If you’ve ever played Animal Crossing, you know that you really have to take everything a day at a time–and in the beginning of the game, you have to be especially patient as the basics of your town open up to you. I recently played the first half hour or so of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and as I expected, not much technically happened in that time. But it was more than enough to set the tone for Tom Nook’s island getaway, and it also assuaged some of my concerns about changes to the series formula for its debut on Nintendo Switch.
From the very beginning, there’s already more freedom to customize than in any previous Animal Crossing game. This is the first main game in the series that lets you select a skin tone–in the past you had to “tan” by standing outside in the sun if you wanted to be anything besides pale–and on top of that, it’s also the first one that gives you a character creation menu instead of having you take a quiz to determine your appearance. You can pick out your hairstyle and color, eye shape and color, nose and mouth types, and even cheek color before you begin, and you can always change your look later, too. There are also more hairstyles and eye shapes than in previous games.
You arrive on your deserted island of choice with Tom Nook, Timmy, Tommy, and two villagers. After some introductions, you get to decide where to put your tent and then weigh in on where each villager places theirs–they actually welcome the interference and will let you totally take over if you want. Once that’s done, it’s time to prep for a party. This is where gathering resources for crafting comes in; you need to get some tree branches for a campfire and some fruit for a tropical drink, which requires just a quick walk around the island.
Admittedly, I was nervous when New Horizons was first announced, since I didn’t care for Pocket Camp much and was worried that crafting meant the series was moving too far in that direction. But it’s clear even from the short time I played that crafting is really just another layer to the resource-gathering you’re already doing in Animal Crossing. I found myself instinctively picking up other materials, like small stones, even during that first tutorial section when I didn’t need them (and never would, since it wasn’t my save file). In that way, crafting seems to make a lot of sense with what the series already is, and now I’m not even sure why I was so resistant to the change in the first place.
I was also worried that the desert-island setting would feel lonely. One of the best things about Animal Crossing is the sense of friendship and community you build in your new home, and I wasn’t sure how you could get that in a “deserted” place. But the fact that all three of you start out on the same level–with only your tents, a few items, and each other–establishes a sense of camaraderie right away.
Of course, I can’t say whether crafting or the setting continue to work as the days pass and your island life goes on–but the Direct itself addressed my major questions about how life would develop over time on the island. Knowing that mainstays like the Museum, shops, and even home improvement are all goals to work toward makes the deserted island a truly enticing proposition. From the gradual development of amenities to the unprecedented landscaping and town customization options, it seems like New Horizons is all about building up the same kind of charming, laidback Animal Crossing town I love, just from scratch and exactly how I want it. And now that I’ve gotten to really see the potential in a deserted island getaway, I can’t wait to start my own island.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches for Nintendo Switch on March 20. For more on New Horizons, be sure to watch our roundup of 19 things we learned from the Direct and check out our feature on everything we know so far.
We’re now in Chapter 2 of Fortnite, which is uncharted territory for Epic Games’ massively-popular battle royale. One thing you can always count on, however, is the seasonal change to inject a fresh dose of content into the game. As is usually the case, the transition into a new season brings with it meaningful gameplay changes alongside the usual new customization options. In this video we’re going to break down the biggest changes that have arrived in Fortnite Chapter 2 for Season 2.
Whether you’re a veteran player or completely fresh to Fortnite, you’ll find plenty to interest you. New content ranges from henchmen loitering around the map and new areas such as The Rig, The Grotto, The Shark, The Yacht, and The Agency, to an interesting new story that involves spies, hideouts, fortresses, and plenty of loot–in case it wasn’t abundantly clear, spies, secret agents, and subterfuge is the theme of the season. Excitingly, there’s also the opportunity to align yourself with one of two factions and, at some point, you’ll need to make a key decision to pledge your allegiance one way or the other.
Perhaps most intriguing of all the new additions, however, is the seemingly random inclusion of Marvel character Deadpool. Whether or not he plays a big part in the events of the season remains a mystery, but at the very least it’s looking like players will be able to unlock the Merc With A Mouth’s outfit to use as a skin. There’s plenty of other changes for Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 2, so you should watch the video for an in-depth discussion of it all.
Crytek’s lawsuit against Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games has been settled. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2017, with the German developer and publisher suing the Star Citizen creators over breach of contract and copyright infringement claims.
Both companies previously discussed a dismissal of the suit but could not come to an agreement. It would now appear that they have. Terms of the arrangement were not disclosed, but both parties will move to jointly file to have the case dismissed within 30 days of the settlement agreement, as reported by Gamasutra.
Back in January, a filing suggested that Crytek wanted to temporarily dismiss the case and refile it when CIG released Squadron 42, the Star Citizen spin-off single-player campaign that kicked off the dispute. CIG shot back at this motion, stating that Crytek’s claim “is and has always been meritless.”
Crytek filed the suit against CIG in 2017 for copyright infringement and breach of contract because it switched Star Citizen from Crytek’s CryEngine to Amazon’s Lumberyard engine. Squadron 42 was a significant factor in the suit, too, as Crytek alleged that the original licence agreement for CryEngine was only for Star Citizen, not a second standalone title. At the time, CIG said that development of Squadron 42 had also switched to Amazon’s Lumberyard engine.
CIG is planning to launch a beta for Squadron 42 in the second half of 2020. It was initially set to release in 2016 before being delayed.
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Clearer pictures of Robert Pattinson’s batsuit were leaked today. These new photos and a video were apparently taken during a location shoot at the Glasgow Necropolis cemetery in Scotland and feature Robert Pattinson’s stuntman.
Director Reeves posted a camera test of Robert Pattinson in the costume on February 13, but the video clip was dimly lit in red and didn’t give a full-body look at the new Batman. In these new pictures, Pattinson’s batsuit notably has intriguing gauntlets that don’t resemble any others we’ve seen in previous movies. The cowl’s ears are also shaped more like spikes than the more subtle ears of Ben Affleck’s batsuit. Pattison’s ears also look like those drawn by comic book artist, Norm Breyfogle.
People online are guessing that the film takes place during Bruce’s second year as Batman, judging from this less slick and rougher version of the batsuit. Noticeably, Pattison isn’t wearing a cape either, but that could be added later using CGI. It would logistically be difficult for Pattinson to film while riding a motorcycle with a giant cape behind him.
Aside from casting and Pattinson’s batsuit looks, details about the new Batman movie are still relatively unknown. How the movie will be tied into the rest of the DCEU is also undetermined. We may very well have to wait until its release in June 25, 2021 to find out.
Ghost of Tsushima, the open-world samurai game in development for PlayStation 4 by the Infamous studio Sucker Punch Productions, still doesn’t have a release date. So eager fans have taken to the game creation toolkit Dreams to recreate Ghost of Tsushima’s stunning E3 2018 gameplay reveal–and it’s quite uncanny.
The resemblance basically mirrors that of the E3 2018 demo. Minus a few complex animations, an obvious dip in visual fidelity, and a subtraction in on-screen enemy numbers, the Dreams recreation recaptures Ghost of Tsushima’s gameplay reveal with precision. It even features that really cool iaijutsu (quick-draw) strike, which is pretty much a flashy, one-hit-kill swipe with a katana directly from its sheath. Check it out below.
After a few years in Early Access, Dreams is finally available to the public–and what players have come up with has been bonkers. The Dreams subreddit is filled with all sorts of creations, from vertical slices of games to funny memes and everything in between. Developer Media Molecule has confirmed that it’s “all-in” on Dreams, meaning more features are likely incoming. This also means we won’t see another LittleBigPlanet.
Ghost of Tsushima has been in development for a while now, first getting briefly revealed at Paris Games Week in October 2017 before making a lengthier appearance during Sony’s E3 2018 presentation. An official date for Ghost of Tsushima has been up in the air since 2018, though developer Sucker Punch has teased a summer 2020 window with a new trailer at last year’s The Game Awards.
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Fortnite just began Chapter 2 Season 2, a new update themed after espionage between dueling spy agencies. That means a new battle pass and rewards to earn, but just how long you have to complete it is open to speculation. Based on an in-game message, the end of the season appears to be coming in late April.
GamesRadar reports that an in-game message on the refund policy suggests the end-date will be on or around April 30. That date is a Thursday, and the big seasonal updates tend to come on Thursdays. That would also make the current season ten weeks, which is the usual length for a Fortnite season.
This may be subject to change, however. The first season of Chapter 2 was expected to end in late January, which would be 10 weeks after kicking off in October. That date was delayed, however, giving players almost an entire extra month in the prior season. It released on February 20. Epic has not explained the reason behind the delay, so it could always happen again.
The new season features the Ghost and Shadow spy factions. When pursuing the season’s challenges you’ll be presented with a permanent choice to join one or the other, which will then get you access to faction-exclusive cosmetics. We also know that Deadpool will be joining the fray at some point. That’s in addition to the other new cosmetics available with the battle pass.
For some help navigating this new spy vs spy meta, familiarize yourself with how the map has changed. Then check out our challenge guide, locations guide, and phone booth locations to earn your stripes for the week.
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Between Total War: Warhammer, Space Hulk: Tactics, Warhammer: End Time – Vermintide, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine–among dozens and dozens of others–the Warhammer franchise has touched pretty much every genre imaginable. Up until this point, however, there haven’t been any flight sims.
Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron, announced today by developer Phosphor Games, fills that gap. From the name alone, die-hard Warhammer fans will know the game focuses on Orks, the hilarious green-skinned-maniacs who love warfare more than any other faction in the Warhammer universe.
Players will be able to choose from one of five Ork Clans in Dakka Squadron: Blood Axes, Goffs, Bad Moons, Death Skullz, and Evil Sunz. Each faction has their own unique traits and abilities, taking to the skies in Dakkajets, Blitza-Bommas, and Burna-Bommas.
You begin as a lowly Flyboy who gradually climbs the ladder to become a feared Ork Warboss. There are over 20 missions to fight through during the campaign; you’ll learn special manoeuvres along the way, as well as honing your dog fighting, dive bombing, and carpet bombing skills in varied air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron is set to release later this year for consoles and PC, but no specific platforms have yet been announced.