The money will go to survivors and families of 270 people killed in the Brumadinho disaster in 2019.
Xbox Controller Drift Lawsuit Ordered To Go To Arbitration
Microsoft recently requested that a class-action lawsuit over Xbox controller drift go to arbitration instead, and a US judge has now granted that request.
VGC reports that Washington Judge Ricardo S. Martinez agreed with Microsoft’s assertion that the plaintiffs had agreed to the Microsoft Services Agreement, which requires arbitration for such disputes. Microsoft had requested arbitration on the basis that agreeing to its terms of service bound the plaintiffs to use arbitration, and that a class-action suit wasn’t even permitted.
“The avid Xbox gamers who bring this lawsuit repeatedly agreed with Microsoft to submit their disputes to a consumer-friendly, individual arbitration process,” the judge wrote. “The Court therefore should compel Plaintiffs to arbitration, where they can litigate their arguments as to scope, unconscionability, and disaffirmance.”
Viggo Mortensen Talks About Replacing Another Actor As Aragorn
Viggo Mortensen’s most well-known role is Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings series, but he wasn’t originally even supposed to appear in the fantasy film. Peter Jackson started filming the movie with Irish actor Stuart Townsend in the role, but it was determined that he was too young to be believable, and Mortensen got the call to come to New Zealand and play the role that would go on to define his career.
Mortensen has now reflected on replacing Townsend and his first days on set. Speaking to The Ringer, Mortensen had nothing but praise for Townsend, celebrating his capabilities and pointing out that he has gone on to have a successful career. By the time Mortensen got to set, Townsend was already gone, but it was still awkward.
“He was too young. It was a bad casting idea because he was the same age as the actors playing the Hobbits and Aragorn needed to be a little older,” he said. “So I think that was really the only issue there. I felt uncomfortable, to be honest; I hadn’t had that experience of taking the place of another actor.”
New Japan Pro-Wrestling Lands TV Deal With Roku
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been a company on the rise with American audiences in the past decade due to partnerships with TNA, Ring of Honor, now possibly AEW. The launch of New Japan World back in 2014 was a turning point for the company with how accessible it became, but now they’re taking it a step further.
Variety is reporting that the wrestling company is launching its own Roku channel in the near future. The channel will be viewable in American, Canada, and the UK. Beginning February 11, New Japan will air every Thursday at 5 PM ET, then the replays will be available on-demand.
Additionally, the Roku Channel will have a slew of content from NJPW 2020 events so new fans can be initiated with the company fairly quickly.
Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition For Steam Gets Huge Discount
Newegg’s Tech is in the Air sale kicked off today, offering steep discounts on a wide range of gaming PCs, monitors, and PC peripherals. While tech is certainly the focus, there are also some solid game deals sprinkled throughout, including an excellent discount on Resident Evil 2’s Deluxe edition for PC. Resident Evil 2 Deluxe edition is on sale for $17.49, which is the lowest price we can recall for this version of the impressive 2019 remake.
The Deluxe edition comes with multiple costumes for Leon and Claire, a bonus weapon, and the soundtrack from the 1998 original. You have to enter promo code EMCESEU25 to drop the price to $17.49 at checkout. If you snag this deal, you’ll receive a code that can be redeemed on Steam. The discount is only available through tomorrow, February 5.
Watch Fight Club Director David Fincher’s Super Bowl Beer Ad With Music From NIN’s Atticus Ross
Famed movie director David Fincher has turned his sights to TV for his latest project: a beer ad for the Super Bowl. Anheuser-Busch recruited the Fight Club director to shoot the company’s first-ever Super Bowl ad that will play this weekend during the big game. The music in the film comes from Atticus Ross, who won an Oscar for the music he created for Fincher’s Facebook movie, The Social Network.
Ahead of that, the beer company has released the trailer online. Called “Let’s Grab a Beer,” the 90-second spot aims to demonstrate how getting a beer with friends and loved ones not just about the beer; it’s about spending time together.
“When we say, ‘Let’s grab a beer,’ it’s never just about the beer. It’s always about life’s most meaningful moments–big and small–that happen when we come together over a beer,” reads a line from the ad’s description. It’s all a little bit odd, given the current health crisis that is keeping people physically distant these days.
GTA Online Update Fixes Submarine Glitch
Rockstar Games has quietly updated Grand Theft Auto V with an unannounced patch for GTA Online. The background update fixes a fairly major glitch that gave a single Molotov the power to destroy an entire submarine.
GTA Online’s expensive Kosatka submarine–added in the recent Cayo Perico Heist update–can be used as a base to set up heists or as a lumbering nuclear-powered vehicle. Considering it’s virtually immune to small-arms fire, it’s easy to imagine the owner’s anguish when a lone Molotov is more than enough to blow it out of the water. Thankfully, the new patch fixes the problem.
Aside from this, the dupe merge glitch, which allowed players to merge and duplicate vehicles, has also been patched out. The update also makes some minor adjustments and fixes to freemode event spawns.
The NFL Wants More Video Games, Announces Game Jam
The NFL is looking to expand its presence in mobile gaming–the most popular gaming platform in the US–and has announced a new game jam of sorts where developers can create football video games with NFL branding.
The NFL signed a deal with the esports company Skillz to host what it is calling a “global game developer challenge.” Developers and studios can create an NFL-themed game using the Skillz esports platform, and successful games will get the joint marketing support of the NFL and Skillz.
The NFL is partnering with Skillz as part of its effort to expand its presence on mobile and reach the “next generation” of football fans.
Hitman 3 Adds Ninja Gear, Elusive Targets, And More In February
IO Interactive has revealed the February roadmap for Hitman 3, which kicks off with the Baskerville Barney Escalation Contract in the Dartmoor level. The goal here is to eliminate the entire Carlisle family and make each murder look like an accident.
Featured Contracts on the Dubai level will arrive on February 11, courtesy of video and podcast show Minnmax. IO Interactive says that you can expect to use plenty of bananas in these contracts. The Sinbad Stringent Escalation Contract will be added on February 18, and will also take place in Dubai.
Unlike other Escalation Contracts, these missions will feature Agent 47 practicing his knife-throwing skills against boxes that have been arranged throughout the level, with each slain cube containing some sort of a surprise.
Gearbox Founder Teases New IP That Could Shake Things Up Like Borderlands Did
The head of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software has teased that the studio is working on ambitious new IP projects that he believes are capable of shaking up the gaming industry and make an impact not dissimilar to Borderlands.
Speaking to VentureBeat about Gearbox’s recent sale to Embracer Group for $1.3 billion, Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford teased that the studio has “so many new IP concepts” that the company is incubating right now that are primed to “explode.”
Selling Gearbox to Embracer will help allow Gearbox to take bigger risks and make bigger bets that might not have been possible as an independent studio.