As expected, the first trailer for Avengers: Endgame leaves us with many more questions than answers – like, “who’s going to rescue Tony Stark from a depressing death in space?” and “how did Ant-Man escape the Quantum Realm” considering that Hope, Hank, and Janet all disintegrated at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp?
New Ghost in the Shell Anime Coming to Netflix
A new Ghost in the Shell anime is headed to Netflix by studios Production I.G. and SOLA Digital Arts.
Announced by Netflix, Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 will arrive in 2020 and will be co-directed by Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’s Kenji Kamiyama and Appleseed’s Shinji Araki.
This project was announced in 2017, the same year as the Scarlett Johansson-led film that had a underwhelming debut at the domestic box office.
Why the Epic Games Store is a Threat to Steam
This week, Fortnite developer Epic Games announced and then launched a digital storefront housed in the Epic Games Launcher. Apparently that’s the trendy thing to do nowadays since Discord launched its own back in October, but the Epic Games Store feels like the first real threat to Steam’s dominance as the go-to place to buy PC games.
I’m not saying that Steam is certainly doomed, and even if Epic does manage to push it off the top spot it will likely take years. But this new store is in a unique position to do so. Thanks to Fortnite, there are millions of players out there with the store already installed, and Epic doesn’t have to convince or force a player base into using its store in the same way other developer-made launchers like Origin and Uplay did.
Red Dead Online’s Economy Update By the Numbers
Yesterday, Red Dead Online got its first major update after being in beta for more than a week. In a post on their newswire, Rockstar said the changes were “specifically geared towards creating a more balanced, fun and rewarding overall experience, across all modes and missions,” so of course, the big question is: does the update really do all that much to fix what so much of RDO’s early user base was complaining about? The short answer is yes, it makes a huge difference – even if it doesn’t fix all of the beta’s problems.
Best Tech Gifts of 2018
When it comes to tech, the gift-giving choices are broader than they’ve ever been. We help you narrow down your focus with the best tech gifts of 2018.
Smash Bros: Controls and Basic Tips
Starting Smash Bros. for the first time? See our explainer on controls and basic tips.
Avengers: Endgame Trailer Breakdown
Marvel just dropped the trailer for Avengers 4 and we’ve combed through it to find the most interesting and nerdiest info just for you. Let’s kick things off at the end with the reveal of the title.
Avengers: Endgame. Now, “Endgame” is a term that’s been mentioned twice before in past Avengers movies.
The first time was in Age of Ultron when Captain America and Tony Stark had the following exchange, which seems a bit more poignant now. Tony said to Cap, “That up there. That’s the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?” To which Cap replied, “Together.”
And then most recently when, right before he died in Infinity War, a devastated Tony asked Doctor Strange why he gave up the Time Stone to Thanos, to which Strange replied, “We’re in the end game now.”
Shonen Jump Offering More Free Manga, Massive Subscription Change
Shonen Jump is overhauling its manga subscription service into an extremely affordable model.
Announced in a blogpost on Viz, former editor-in-chief of Japanese Shonen Jump Hisashi Sasaki detailed the changes coming to its American branch beginning December 17.
The subscription model will drop to $2 a month for access to new chapters in various manga (the same day they’re released in Japan) and almost all of Shonen Jump’s English back catalogue (over 10,000 chapters). What’s more, non-members will be able to read much of the newest manga chapters for free through the official website or app, expanding recent efforts to provide new issues for free.
Joker in Smash Is ‘Emblematic’ of DLC Character Approach
On the heels of last night’s announcement that Persona 5 protagonist Joker will join the Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, Nintendo of America COO Reggie Fils-Aime says this reveal should prime fans for the type of characters to expect from the rest of the DLC.
“It’s emblematic of the approach that Mr. Sakurai and the team are taking with the DLC,” Fils-Aime told IGN. “He wants characters that are unique, different, to bring them into the Smash Bros. environment. So it’s going to be tremendously exciting.”
Fils-Aime explained that Sakurai and the team working on Ultimate’s DLC don’t necessarily see characters from franchises not typically associated with Nintendo as a limiting factor when it comes to Smash Bros.
The 20 Best Comedies Of 2018
6. Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Rich Asians is fashion porn and wealth porn; you find yourself gawking at the massive estates, the expensive cars, the brand designer clothes, and the decadent wedding where the center aisle floods so the bride can walk on water. But the film is edited well and moves at a brisk pace. The cumulative effect is breezy and carefree rather than gross and exploitative.
These types of movies, which give us plebes a peek at how the other half lives, are best when they have a regular, middle class protagonist who we can identify with. In The Devil Wears Prada, it was Andy, played by Anne Hathaway. In Crazy Rich Asians, it’s Rachel, played by Constance Wu, who is dating the heir to a wealthy Singaporean family and is judged on her Asian-ness, her American-ness, and her lack of wealth and family pedigree.
The much-celebrated, all Asian cast — an extreme exception for an American production — was excellent. The two standouts were Gemma Chan, who played the role of Astrid, and action star Michelle Yeoh, who played the protective mother that Rachel must win over.
The inclusion of Asian men who are sexual, desirable, and fill a variety of narrative roles is an advancement that is both welcome and embarrassingly late. Hopefully, Crazy Rich Asians will be one of the last times that an Asian American film has to “break new ground.” Let’s go upwards and onwards, from here on out. — Kevin Wong