Month: October 2017

Konami, the publisher of games such as PES 2018 and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, has reported a profit increase for the six months ending September 30. The Japanese company saw profits rise over 40% year-on-year during the period to ¥17.2 billion / US $152 million.

Total revenue during that time also rose to ¥115.4 billion / $1.02 billion, an increase of nearly 14% over the same period last year. This is noteworthy because the company reported in February that profits were up but revenue was down, which is not the case this time.

Konami attributes its encouraging results to “continued strong performance of mobile games Jikkyou Pawafuru Puryakyu and Professional Baseball Spirits A” in Japan, as well as the announcement of a new PES mobile title for the region. In addition, the company highlights global sales of Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games and the worldwide release of PES 2018 on consoles and PC. Konami also has a substantial health and fitness division, its second-biggest section in terms of revenue.

The company goes on to cite the Japanese economy’s “long-term recovery” as a contributing factor, though it does warn that “the future remains uncertain because of concerns about political and policy movements and North Korea’s actions.”

On the horizon for the company is Metal Gear Survive, a multiplayer stealth game coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The spinoff is set in the same universe as Metal Gear Solid V and takes place after the events of Ground Zeroes. Metal Gear Survive’s release date has been set as February 20 in the US and February 22 in Europe.

A new international trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been released. This latest teaser follows the second full trailer that was released earlier this month, and while much of it is the same, there are a few new shots in there.

The main addition is a first glimpse of C-3PO from the upcoming movie, and eagle-eyed fans will notice that he has a golden right arm once more, instead of the red one he had in 2015’s The Force Awakens. In addition, there’s some new dialogue from Rey and a few extra shots of BB-8. Check it out below.

The Last Jedi is directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, and Andy Serkis. Tickets for The Last Jedi are now on sale prior to its December 15 release.

Unsurprisingly, the movie is expected to have a huge opening weekend at the box office. Early first-weekend projections have predicted that the film will make $215 million in the US over its first three days. While that would be below The Force Awakens‘ first-weekend haul of $247 million, it would still be the second-biggest of all time, ahead of Jurassic World‘s $208 million opening in 2015.

The next Star Wars game is November’s Star Wars: Battlefront II. We recently played a portion of the campaign and you can read our thoughts on that here.

Stephen King’s magnum opus hits Blu-ray today. Here’s what we thought of the long-awaited big screen version!

Rockstar has revealed the newest batch of content coming to Grand Theft Auto V this week. Along with a brand-new vehicle to purchase, GTA Online players will find a slate of Halloween-themed discounts and bonuses.

The new ride you can add to your collection this week is the Western Seabreeze, a stylish and colorful plane that can land on a runway or on water. You can purchase one from Elitas Travel, and its many customization options allow you to outfit it with weapons like a machine gun and bomb bay.

Rockstar is also still offering double GTA$ and RP for playing Condemned, the new Adversary mode introduced in last week’s update. Players have until November 6 to take advantage of these bonuses. A Halloween Playlist is also available until then and includes the following modes, though you’ll only be able to earn double GTA$ and RP for playing them today, October 31:

• Lost vs. Damned
• Slasher
• Beast vs. Slasher
• Come Out to Play
• Transform – Inferno Race

There are also a number of Halloween-themed items on sale in GTA Online for a limited time. Players can get 25% off of the FränkenStange, Lurcher, LCC Sanctus, and Duke O’Death until November 6.

Outside of the Halloween bonuses and discounts, Rockstar is also offering double GTA$ and RP for Smuggler’s Sell Missions and the Stockpile Adversary Mode, as well as a double GTA$ salary for Bodyguards and Associates until November 6. Players also have until then to get 25% off of the following items:

• Western Company Besra (Jet)
• Nagasaki Blazer Aqua (Special Vehicle) — both Buy it Now and Trade Price
• Hangar Custom Shop Add-On
• Progen GP1 (Super)
• Grotti Cheetah Classic (Sports Classic)
• HVY Insurgent (Off-Road) — both Buy it Now and Trade Price
• Lampadati Toro (Boat)
• All Melee Weapons

Finally, this week’s premium race is Drop Ship, which is locked to the Ruiner 2000. Everyone who participates will receive triple RP, while the top three players will be rewarded with a hefty GTA$ payout. The time trial this week is Observatory. Players who manage to beat the target time will earn a big GTA$ and RP reward.

Another weekly reset has arrived for Destiny 2, which means it’s time for a new Nightfall Strike… except it doesn’t. The Flashpoint has moved to the EDZ, but despite the reset, players still have access to the same Nightfall as last week: The Arms Dealer. It features the same exact Challenges but different Modifiers, which is unusual. We do know that a new Destiny 2 update is slated to arrive this week, and it’s possible the Nightfall will change following that. We’ll update this story if that proves to be the case, but for now we’ll look at the Nightfall version of The Arms Dealer.

The time limit is in place and can be extended because of the first of the two modifiers, Timewarp: Killing Time. By slaying enemies, you’ll receive additional time–up to a limit–to complete the Strike. The other modifier is Prism, which cycles through each of the damage types. The selected damage deals more than usual, while the others are less effective.

In terms of Challenges, Speed of Dark is active, which asks you to finish the Strike with at least five minutes left on the timer. Unbroken requires you to make it through the mission with fewer than three deaths. And finally, Trash the Thresher tasks you with bringing down a Thresher (the Cabal gunship) during the fight with Bracus Zahn.

The reward for completing the Nightfall is Powerful Gear. This is one of the few activities to offer those, and they’re among the best items you can get your hands on. It’s also a reliable way to increase your Power level past 265, should you be struggling to pass that point. If you haven’t made it to that point, you may want to consider waiting until after you’ve raised your Power level before grabbing the Nightfall reward. This Nightfall will be available until the next weekly reset, which occurs at 2 AM PT / 5 AM ET / 9 AM GMT / 4 PM AEST on Tuesday, November 7.

The Nightfall is available from the start for the PC version, which is out now. If you haven’t yet unlocked the Nightfall, you’ll need to complete two Strikes and approach the suggested Power level of 240 before Zavala will allow you to take part in them. Traditional matchmaking is not available, but in its place we have Guided Games, providing players with the opportunity to be matched up with members of a clan for the mission (which requires a Nightfall Ticket). Alternatively, clan members can sign up to serve as guides through the Nightfall. Doing so does not require a Ticket.

With less than a month before Justice League hits theaters, the superhero team-up film has a lot riding on it–including future DC Entertainment films. While Aquaman has already wrapped filming for a 2018 release, there’s a rumor floating around that the future of Flashpoint–the standalone movie featuring The Flash–could be in jeopardy.

The news comes from Variety film reporter Justin Kroll, who appeared on a recent episode of Meet the Movie Press. “I’ve been tracking various movies in this world, director-wise, specifically Flashpoint,” he says. “I’ve heard they’ve slowed that search down to see how this film does.”

If true, it’s hard to blame Warner Bros. for hitting pause on the film at this point. Flashpoint was originally set to be directed by Seth Grahame-Smith, who left over creative differences. His replacement Rick Famuyiwa departed the project for the same reasons. Since then, names like Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) and Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie) have been reported as possible directors, though nobody has been properly announced.

Justice League is a major moment for the DC film universe, as it comes on the heels of the critically acclaimed and financially successful Wonder Woman. With the movie currently tracking for a bigger opening weekend than Wonder Woman, it may behoove the studio to wait and see how the movie truly performs before rocketing forward with yet another spinoff. After all, Wonder Woman 2 is already a guarantee, while Shazam is currently in pre-production for a 2019 release. And that’s all before any critical response to Justice League, which could change the way the movie is received by the general public.

With so many superhero movies already in the pipeline, taking your time with Flashpoint isn’t a bad idea. Given how important the character of The Flash is to not only the Justice League, but the entire DC universe, it’s one Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment need to make sure they get right.

Justice League is in theaters on November 17.