Author: trafficblast

Retailer GameStop sold nearly all of its Xbox One X stock on launch day, November 7, the store has announced, according to The Wall Street Journal. As WSJ mentions, GameStop did not say how many units its sold, which is a critical detail.

Retailers don’t want to be stuck with excess stock, so it’s possible GameStop requested a conservative number of units, though we don’t know for sure. Not having units to sell puts GameStop in an unfortunate situation in the short-term, but the company will surely receive more shipments. And in the meantime, it creates the feeling of scarcity, which could in turn create more interest in the new console.

As mentioned, GameStop’s Xbox One X stock is not completely sold through. You can still order the $500 console through GameStop’s website, though in-store availability may vary.

GameStop will report earnings next on Tuesday, November 21, at which time the retailer may discuss Xbox One X sales and more. We will report back with more details as they are announced.

GameSpot’s Xbox One X review called it a “future-proof Xbox for 4K and HDR.” Reviewer Jimmy Thang said, “While the Xbox One X is an expensive box, from a hardware standpoint, you’re getting a very powerful and capable machine. You’ll be hard pressed to build a comparably powerful PC for $500. On top of that, you get a 4K HDR Blu-ray player, which can cost several hundred dollars on its own.”

Though Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was reintroduced at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi is truly the moment fans have been waiting for when it comes to the character. For the first time since Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, the world will find out what’s become of Luke.

What they’re less likely to find out, though, is what Luke has been up to since the events of Return of the Jedi. While small hints were given in The Force Awakens, the next movie in the franchise won’t explore it much either.

In an interview with Disney Insider, Hamill says coming up with what happened to Luke in the years that followed Return of the Jedi was difficult. “The biggest challenge for me was actually in the time between Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I had to know what had happened to Luke during those years,” he says. “I had to glean decades of backstory from the script. And some of it I had to make up for myself. I had to know what he went through during that time.”

However, according to the actor, what he came up with doesn’t need to be addressed. “It’s not important to the storyline for this film,” he explains. “But I did discuss some of my thoughts with [writer/director] Rian Johnson to make sure I wasn’t coming up with anything in my personal backstory that would affect Luke’s portrayal in this film.”

Given how the creative minds behind Star Wars are already looking beyond the ninth installment of the saga, perhaps it’s a good choice to not dwell on Luke’s past. As he explains to Disney Insider, “Luke has lost confidence in his ability to make good choices. It haunts him to the core. But he hasn’t gone to the dark side. This isn’t an evil version of him.”

Losing his nephew Ben, otherwise known as Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), to the dark side would no doubt be a massive blow to everything Luke believes in. The question is whether he can still regain not only his faith in the Force, but faith in himself.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters on December 15.

Be sure to visit IGN Tech for all the latest comprehensive hands-on reviews and best-of roundups. Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

The Portal router (See it on Amazon) isn’t made by Aperture Science, though it certainly looks like it could have been. This device is a new router that can be integrated into a “mesh” setup, and its claimed superpower is that it can access wireless channels most 5GHz routers can’t access. The sales pitch is that since there are fewer devices on these previously-hidden channels, you get less interference and theoretically higher throughput. I put the Portal through the paces to see if these claims were true, so let’s jump in:

Continue reading…

It’s not unusual for comic books to have synergy with the movies when it comes to how the character looks, and it turns out that the look of Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman almost made it to the ongoing Aquaman comic book series. Aquaman artist Brad Walker shared his unused designs on Twitter, showing Arthur Curry with the same big beard, shaggy hair, and shoulder-armor chest strap that Mamoa sports in the Justice League movie.

“Don’t think I ever posted these. Early round of #aquaman designs when we thought we would need to lean into the movie look. Ended up going more classic though, which I probably like better, anyway,” Walker said in his tweet.

Continue reading…

When people think of future promises unfulfilled, they often lament the lack of the flying car. Ride-sharing service Uber wants to change that in a way no one could have predicted 50 years ago.

Instead of a vast highway system of flying cars like we were promised in Back to the Future 2, UberAir instead wants to bring on-demand electric flying taxis to Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth by 2020.

Artist Rendering of an Uber Flying Taxi

Continue reading…

A Star Wars Battlefront 2 trial is now available on Xbox One and PC.

The trial, which includes up to 10 hours of gameplay featuring campaign missions and multiplayer, is now up on EA Access and Origin Access. However, it’s only accessible to EA Access subscribers and players who bought the $79.99 Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition on Xbox One or PC.

Battlefront 2 trial on Origin Access.

Battlefront 2 trial on Origin Access.

Continue reading…

The more I think about The Florida Project, the more its images begin to stand out for me. Take for instance, one of its more poetic sequences, when a little girl and her two best friends walk aimlessly through a batch of abandoned, pastel-colored condos. The sweltering Florida heat wears them down, but never before they’re done playing. All that divides them from Disney World, the supposed “Happiest Place On Earth,” is a ring of swamp land.

Much like writer and director Sean Baker’s previous film, Tangerine, which got notice for being shot entirely on an iPhone, The Florida Project is about the people living in the in-between. Sitting continuously on the brink of someplace much better than they’re in right now, but also one much worse. It’s about a group of people, barely making ends meet, living in a beat-up purple motel called The Magic Castle, where sometimes Disney tourists accidentally make reservations. To most adults, the place looks and feels like one that you’d try to avoid at all costs, but to the kids living there – it’s no different or less magical than anywhere else in the world.

Continue reading…

Stardew Valley developer ConcernedApe has shared an update on the multiplayer mode coming to the game.

The progress report came in the form of a screenshot posted to ConcernedApe’s Twitter page.

via ConcernedApe

Continue reading…

With the release of Blade Runner 2049, fans finally got the chance to return to the distinctive world introduced in the original film. As it happens, though, Blade Runner 2049 could be construed as not quite the first time Ridley Scott has revisited the Blade Runner universe. Both Blade Runner films are, in a sense, part of a larger shared universe that includes the Alien and Predator franchises.

We don’t expect to see Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver joining forces to battle Xenomorphs anytime soon, but it is fascinating to see how Blade Runner and its sequel intertwine with films like Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Taken as a whole, these movie form one large meditation on the nature of humanity and what truly separates the creator from the creation. Check out our breakdown of how Blade Runner and Alien link together thematically and in terms of continuity. Full spoilers follow for Blade Runner 2049, Alien: Covenant, and all the films that preceded them both.

Continue reading…

Marvel’s flagship Star Wars comic kicked off a major new story this week, one that revealed some surprising connections between the Original Trilogy and the characters and events of Rogue One.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Star Wars #38!

New series writer Kieron Gillen picks up right where outgoing writer Jason Aaron left off, as the Rebel Alliance is still searching for a new base in the period in between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. This issue brings Luke, Han, Leia and the gang to the ruined world of Jedha, which is still clearly feeling the effects of the Death Star attack in Rogue One.

Continue reading…