Microsoft will not acquire TikTok’s US operations. The Xbox company announced on Sunday evening that TikTok owner ByteDance has rejected Microsoft’s offer.
Microsoft said it believes its proposal was a good one, but the two companies ultimately could not come to terms. The Wall Street Journal reported that Oracle has emerged victorious in the discussions, though it’s not an outright sale. Instead, Oracle will become TikTok’s “trusted tech parter” in the US.
Microsoft’s statement follows below.
It’s a great time to be a fan of platformers, thanks to Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Spelunky 2 both launching this week. It’s also a really action-packed week, with Crysis Remastered and WWE 2K Battlegrounds on the horizon, too. If you prefer to play something at a slower pace, you can also check out narrative adventure game Welcome to Elk. Here are some of the hottest games launching this week.
Available on: PS4
The long-anticipated roguelike sequel has arrived. Spelunky 2 has you take control of new characters exploring randomly generated levels on the moon, which is full of new enemies to beat, traps to dodge, and treasures to collect. There’s a base camp where the explorers can hang out between runs, too. This week’s launch is for PS4 players only: PC gamers will have to wait until the 29th for the Steam version.
Releasing into a movie market where many theatres remain closed and in regions where they are open, people are choosing to stay home, the box office results for Christopher Christopher Nolan’s new movie Tenet was always going to face an uphill struggle at the box office.
The financial fortunes of the mind-bending action movie continue to come into focus, with Deadline reporting that the film has now crossed $200 million worldwide at the global box office.
The film made a further $6.7 million in the US over the weekend, which is down compared to the Labor Day opening weekend in America. Across all regions in the world, Tenet made $37.3 million this weekend to push its global haul past $200 million.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is, in many ways, a throwback to the 90s: a Crash game that aims to take players back to the time when mascot platformers were at their best. And now, the game has a new commercial that reminds us of another 90s icon, one of the greatest game commercials of all time–the Japanese ad for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
The latest Japanese ad for Crash Bandicoot 4 features someone in a huge Crash Bandicoot suit dancing and cavorting with a family. They dance in their home, in the forest, and on the streets, and the father seems to be really getting into it.
There’s really nothing in the way of game footage here until the very end. Instead, this trailer is tapping into a feeling–the sheer joy of Crash’s return. The exaggerated actions, the silly song, and the emphatic dancing all feels pretty true to the Crash Bandicoot that fans know and love.
Disney’s live-action Mulan remake is only available on Disney Plus is most markets, but the film has debuted in cinemas across China. The film, however, hasn’t done so well–it has opened to just $25 million in its first weekend, Variety reports.
The film, helmed by New Zealand director Niki Caro, opened to $23 million over the September 11-13 weekend. That made it the number 1 film at the Chinese box office, but not by the margin Disney would have been likely expecting, as the film seems to have been made with the Chinese market in mind.
The new film, which is more serious than the previous animated version (there are no talking animals or musical numbers), was subjected to a media blackout in the country after outcry against the movie’s troublesome production, where filming took place in the providence of Xinjiang, a region that contains interment camps used as part of an assimilation campaign.
After years of waiting and numerous false starts, Sony’s Uncharted movie is finally filming. Actor Tom Holland is currently filming the action flick, but he had a day off recently, and he spent some time interacting with fans in an Instagram Live Q&A.
One of the first questions was about the Uncharted movie, and Holland said filming is going well … except for an injury he sustained that led to a “glorious bruise.”
“Filming is going so well–the film is like everything I’ve ever dreamed it would be,” Holland said. “I was such a huge fan of the game, and it’s been going so well. I do have the biggest bruise of all time on my leg, but it’s in a bit of a revealing area for Instagram Live. I think I would get shut down by Instagram. But it is a glorious bruise.”
Xbox Game Pass is a critical component of Microsoft’s next-generation strategy around the world, and this includes South Korea where Samsung has released a new advertisement for the service featuring the world’s most popular boy band, BTS.
Analyst Daniel Ahmad posted an ad that is currently airing in South Korea. The spot is meant to promote Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 20 phone, and it also features members of BTS using Xbox Game Pass on the phone.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 x BTS x Xbox Game Pass ad for South Korea market.
Features JungKook and Jin. pic.twitter.com/foliMUM7kh— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) September 13, 2020
In August, Microsoft announced a sweeping partnership with Samsung to promote Xbox Game Pass. Those who pre-ordered the Galaxy Note 20 could choose the Gaming Bundle that comes with three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a Power A controller.