Star Trek: Picard's First Trailer From Comic-Con 2019 Is Here
At San Diego Comic-Con, fans attending the Star Trek panel were treated to the first trailer for Star Trek Picard, the CBS All Access show that brings one of Starfleet's most respected officers to screen once again--and with a number of familiar faces in tow. Picard is set many years after The Next Generation and, in the time he's been away, much has happened. While the details remain vague (and will likely only be explored once the show premieres), the end result is that Picard has retired and now runs a vineyard.
The trailer opens in the vineyard, where Picard opens some doors and stares at his old belongings. It's noted that Data sacrificed his life for Picard. "I wanted to belong here, but it never felt like home," he says. A woman comes to Picard for help, and Picard discusses her with another officer. "If she's who I think she is, she's in serious danger," he explained.
Picard is then shown enlisting a crew to join him. He pours a drink out, and at this point it's revealed that Seven of Nine will return. "What the hell are you doing here, Picard?" she says, to which he replies, "Saving the galaxy."
The classic order of, "Engage," is said, and then Data is shown, taking part in a card game. "I don't want the game to end," Picard says, showing his sentimentality. "I can see that, Captain," Data offers in return.
Patrick Stewart, who plays the iconic character, also appeared during the panel and, as you can imagine, the crowd was very excited to see him. "We never know do we, when our best moment will be? And that is now," he said. There were a whole bunch of other characters confirmed for the show, including Riker. Check out the full breakdown of the Star Trek: Picard panel for more.
It was a pretty exciting hour for fans of the sci-fi series, as the Stak Trek panel also provided new insight into Star Trek Discovery Season 3, Lower Decks--the new animated series developed by Rick & Morty writer Mike McMahan--and Short Treks, the short film series.
For more on what's been happening at the show, check out our SDCC 2019 hub, where you'll find all the latest news. We've also put together a roundup of all the coolest trailers from SDCC, so it's the place to go if you want to catch up on what TVs and movies have in store for us.
Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 20th)
What a week it’s been! Nintendo revealed a Switch revision with improved battery life, locked in the release date for Luigi’s Mansion 3 and announced two new sets of Joy-Con. On the third-party front, we found out when Resident Evil 5 and 6 would arrive and Sega finally confirmed Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD.Brushing aside the week that was, it’s now time to focus on the final Splatoon 2 Splatfest, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 and the many other games we’ll be playing this weekend. We’re also joined by a special guest from a certain website you’ll likely be familiar with!
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
Well – my weekend plans will likely be the same as last weekend’s, but I’ll be replacing What Remains of Edith Finch (which I finished and wept over), with the final Splatfest (which I will also likely weep over). I also plan to acquire the full version of Dragon Quest Builders 2 and get lost in that – I checked out the demo last weekend and loved it, so you’ll find me splatting and building all weekend long.
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer
This weekend, I’ll be a busy boy with three very different games occupying my free time. Firstly, I’ll be taking FIA European Truck Racing Championship for a spin to see if big rig racing can really work on Switch. Then I’ll be channeling my inner Ragnar Lothbrok as I brave the elements and attempt to survive (and thrive) in the survival RPG realm of Dead in Vinland: True Viking Edition.
Finally, I’ll be trying out a game that’s been on my to-do list for a while now: Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. I’ve never been the biggest fan of tactics-style games, but the art style and the fact you can play as a grizzled-looking mallard has me seriously intrigued. Look out for reviews of all three in the coming weeks, right here on Nintendo Life.
Liam Doolan, news reporter
My main gaming priority this weekend is to help Team Order win the Splatpocalypse event. Who knows what will happen to the world of Splatoon if we let Pearl and Team Chaos win? It’s just a pity my expensive Splatfest-themed t-shirt won’t arrive until well after this event has finished.
When I’m not fighting to the bitter end in Splatoon 2, I’ll be saving the galaxy or at least attempting to save whatever else needs saving in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. I’m still trying to work out my ultimate team. I’m thinking Wolverine, Spider-Man, The Hulk and Captain Marvel might be a good combination to start with. I should probably revisit Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night as well.
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
The Summer of Switch relentlessly continues to bombard us with quality titles. I had a ton of music-related work due to the release of two individual projects, so I ended up not playing as much as I wanted during the week. I will make up for it this weekend with sessions of The Messenger, Blazing Chrome, Rise: Race The Future, Arcade Archives The Ninja Warriors (Zuntata turned up to 11, of course) and by participating in the Splatpocalypse.
Game of the Week naturally falls onto Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. I have always enjoyed the series and no way I was not going to snap up the ultimate, Switch exclusive edition of the franchise. A true shame I have no local buddies to play it with…
Gavin Lane, staff writer
I’m currently on my holidays and the 4G/3G reception in this particular corner of rural Portugal means internet distraction is (thankfully) being kept to a minimum. Therefore, I should have plenty of time to finish GRIS, Abzu and one or two others queued up in my backlog. I’d love to get involved in a match or two of the final Splatfest, but that’s dependent on the hotel WiFi, so we’ll see. I sided with Team Order purely because it’s Marina’s team and as tentacle-haired ladies go, Marina’s particularly lovely. Stop judging me!
Robert Ramsey, Push Square deputy editor
Yes, you read that right — I’ll be sitting down to play some Nintendo Switch this weekend. Naturally, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is on the docket — a family favourite and once things get heated, it’s incredibly difficult to put down. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is also on the agenda, I think. I’ve loved me some Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled over the last few weeks, but there’s only one king of the kart racers, and it’s Mario.
Which games are you playing this weekend? (98 votes)
The First DLC Pack For Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Releases This September
In celebration of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order arriving on the Switch, the Marvel Games panel at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con revealed Loki was joining the alliance on day one and also announced Cyclops and Colossus from X-Men would show up on 30th August.
This followed with a teaser of one of the three DLC packs from the game’s Expansion Pass. It featured Blade, Moon Knight, The Punisher and Morbius from Marvel Knights. Thanks to a listing on Nintendo’s UK store, we now know the official title and release date of this first DLC pack. It’s called Marvel Knights: Curse of the Vampire and is due out on 30th September.
Have you played Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 yet? Will you be purchasing the Expansion Pass? Leave a comment down below.
SDCC 2019: New Watchmen TV Series Trailer Revealed During Comic-Con
During SDCC 2019, a new trailer for the upcoming Watchmen HBO series was released. The trailer further details the escalating conflict that will take center stage in the show: A world set after the events of the legendary comic series where police have elected to wear masks like vigilantes following a coordinated attack on cops everywhere--what's the difference between a masked policeman and a dangerous vigilante, though? That's the rub. The trailer also takes time to flesh out the motivations of some of the key characters, some more familiar for fans of the comics than others. You can watch the new San Diego Comic-Con trailer above.
Based on the comic of the same name, Watchmen takes place in an alternate version of the US in which vigilantes rose to prominence and then quickly became outlawed after billionaire "philanthropist" Adrien Veidt staged a catastrophic attack on New York City to prompt a sort of unification of the world in shared terror of extraterrestrial threats. Seriously, there's a giant squid and everything--it's just as crazy as it sounds.
In the show, however, costumed heroes as criminals and the police have stepped into their place, wearing masks and bending laws and reigning terror down on the people they're supposed to be protecting. Superheroes may still exist in this new status quo, however--several characters from the comics are featured in the trailer, including Hooded Justice and the omnipotent blue Doctor Manhattan, who moved to Mars during the events of the comics and apparently remains there.
Watchmen has always been, at its core, an exploration of the "reality" of a society populated with vigilantes--superpowered or otherwise, and a text looking to question the ability of anyone to engage in violent actions with little accountability. The trailer suggests that tone will be maintained, though from a completely different angle.
Airing on HBO, Watchmen will debut in October 2019.
Hori Announces New Line Of Officially Licensed Accessories For Switch Lite
The prolific peripheral maker Hori has announced it has been selected as an officially licensed launch partner for the Nintendo Switch Lite. As a result, it will be working closely with Nintendo from an “early stage” to produce “a robust line” of accessories, which will be available alongside the launch of the system on 20th September.
Hori intends to offer storage and screen protection accessories, and many “other items” that will be available at retailers around the globe. In the PR, Hori said it was incredibly proud to be a launch partner:
HORI has worked closely with Nintendo to develop these products and is proud to be a launch partner supporting the Nintendo Switch Lite.
Are you glad to hear you’ll be able to pick up some Hori accessories when the Switch Lite is released? Do you intend to purchase Nintendo’s dedicated portable hardware? Leave a comment below.
Machinations.io is a fairly rare breed, a tool dedicated to game design. Currently in a free beta, Machinations is a browser based tool for designing and simulating mechanics for gameplay.
Descriptions for the Machinations.io website FAQ:
Machinations.io is a browser-based platform to design, balance and simulate game systems. It allows you to map any game system in an interactive diagram, set parameters that define elements and the relationship between them, and visualise the way in which these systems work. Based on that, you can simulate different outcomes, plot results and balance your game economy.
If you are familiar with diagramming software like Visio or have used a mind mapping application, you have a decent understanding of Machinations. Machinations is however one of those tools that is easier to understand when seen in action, so I would recommend watching the video below.
Netflix Releases Its First Official Teaser For Season One Of The Witcher
After what feels like an incredibly long wait, Netflix has finally released the first trailer for its live-action version of The Witcher, starring Superman’s Henry Cavill as the White Wolf.
In this first look, we find out a bit about the lore within the universe of the Witcher, see some of the well-known characters from the series and witness an eight-legged monster surface from the depths of a swamp.
As previously explained, this series is based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s popular line of fantasy novels, rather than the video games – this includes The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year. The Netflix series is “coming soon” and will be comprised of eight one-hour long episodes.
To help promote the show, Netflix has opened up dedicated social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Take a look at the teaser trailer above and tell us what you think down below.
Review: Grado’s GW100 headphones make open-back wireless affordable
There may be superior-sounding open-back headphones, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better than the Grado GW100 that’s both wireless and affordable.
Recently I checked out Audio-Technica’s ATH-AD1000X headphones as a possible open-back option for Macs, iPads, and iPhones. They sound excellent — I’m wearing them as I write this — but a fundamental obstacle is that as with many open-back models, they’re wired-only. That doesn’t fly with too many people these days, especially iPhone owners.
Grado is a well-known brand in the audio world, primarily as a source of open-back headphones that won’t break the bank. The GW100 is its first Bluetooth option, which it claims it held off on until it could match the quality of wired products.
Once more, a quick primer. Most headphones are closed-back, which improves qualities like noise isolation at the expense of shaping output and creating a narrower soundstage. Open-back headphones tend to have a “purer” sound with a wide stage, at the cost of bass.
Construction-wise the GW100 isn’t terribly impressive out of the box. Most of it is built of lightweight plastic, and the earpieces are covered with a cheap, removable foam lining. It’s not what you’d anticipate from something costing $249.
It does retain Grado’s signature style though, and lightweight means exactly that — this might something to consider if you feel other on- or over-the-ear headphones weigh too much. Foam lining isn’t ideal for comfort, but it is tolerable.
Thankfully, the tradeoff in build quality is made up for in sound. Grado says it custom-configured its driver design for the GW100, which further employs Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX, a Qualcomm compression technology that enables “CD-like” quality.
As a rule the headphones sound great. They’re not audiophile quality — you’d need aptX-HD for that — but frequency response ranges from 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz, and most of that comes through loud and clear. I sometimes felt as if sound was a little muffled or lacking in bass, but not in any serious way, and that was more than offset by having a smooth and open soundstage.
Another pleasant feature: real physical buttons for playback. Many headphones use touch gestures these days, which I find maddeningly imprecise. Here, it’s quick and easy to change tracks or volume.
A couple of minor complaints are that they bleed audio, and while portable, are even less suited to rain and sweat than usual. Both issues are inherent to open-back technology, however, so there’s no faulting Grado.
Conclusions
If you’re considering a first step into open-back headphones or simply want a more portable version, the GW100 won’t disappoint so long as you know what you’re in for. That’s the catch, naturally — people who want privacy or or more rugged design will have to turn elsewhere. So too will audiophiles, but they’re probably browsing far more expensive options anyway. For the common man, this is excellent.
Score: 4 out of 5
Where to buy
The Grado GW100 Wireless Headphones sell for $249 at top retailers, such as Amazon and B&H Photo.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 07-21-2019, 02:18 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Microsoft sees dip in quarterly Xbox revenue as hardware sales slow
Microsoft has closed out the fourth quarter of its 2019 fiscal year with year-over-year decreases in both its game and Xbox businesses, declines that come as the next generation of consoles looms on the horizon.
For the quarter ending June 30, the company reported a $233 million decrease in game revenue, down about 10 percent from the same period last year. That makes for just over $2.05 billion in game revenue, down from $2.29 billion during the same period last year.
Microsoft’s earnings report calls out a 48 percent year-over-year decline in Xbox hardware revenue specifically, noting that the shift was mainly due to a decrease in consoles sold during the quarter. Xbox software and services, meanwhile, fell by 3 percent year-over-year, offset partially by a rise in subscriptions. Microsoft notes that it had a strong Q4 in that category last year, which likely also contributed to the year-over-year decline.
However on a yearly basis, the company saw an increase in game revenue. Its games business as a whole saw $11.39 billion for the 2019 financial year, up from $10.35 billion in 2018. Monthly active Xbox Live users have also increased over the last year. As of June 30, 2019, Xbox Live has 65 million MAUs, up from 57 million at this same point last year.
In its full report, Microsoft also called out games, cloud/AI engineering, and GitHub as three of the four departments responsible for a 15 percent increase in its R&D expenses.
