Crunchyroll has announced the nominees for this year's Anime Awards. 2021's event is composed of 18 different categories, ranging from Anime of the Year to Best Animation.Voting for each category is now open and will remain so until Friday, January 22. You're allowed to vote in each category once per day, so you can vote seven separate times if you log in everyday. The voting period resets each day at 12am PT / 3am ET.It's a pretty varied list of nominees this year, so there aren't too many repetitions. But a few shows do dominate the list. Most notably, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken is nominated for 10 of the 18 categories: Anime of the Year, Best Girl, Best Protagonist, Best Animation, Best Score, Best Director, Best Character Design, Best VA Performance (JP), Best Opening Sequence (OP), and Best Comedy. Great Pretender is also quite prominent, being nominated for nine different awards.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

An upcoming update for Destiny 2 will be revamping the rewards system, which means a lot of changes to loot to make it more worthwhile to visit the Moon and the Dreaming City. As part of the changes, though, Bungie will be changing Crucible tokens, so be sure to cash those in while you can.In a This Week At Bungie blog post, the studio detailed the changes to the reward progression, including Crucible tokens. Tucked away near the bottom of the explanation is a warning to use them or lose them before the new season begins, expected in February."Due to this automated progression, Crucible Tokens and Crucible Token Gifts are no longer needed and will be deprecated into junk that will delete as a full stack starting in Season 13," the blog notes. "So, cash those tokens in before the end of the Season, and get ready to earn some Masterwork materials!"Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Only a couple of weeks remain in Destiny 2's Season of the Hunt, so if you're looking to wrap up your adventures on Europa or finish off the Wrathborn and the High Celebrant, you need to get on it. Xur's back in the solar system for the weekend and can help, providing a fresh stock of Exotic weapons and armor for your collection. Head to The EDZ, to the Winding Cove area, to find Xur this week. For his weapon, Xur is offering Arbalest. Hunters can pick up the Oathkeeper gauntlets; for Titans, there's the ACD/0 Feedback Fence gauntlets; and for Warlocks, Xur has The Stag helmet.Xur LocationSpawn in at the Tower's central transmat zone to find Xur this week. When you load in, turn left and head down the stairs to the Hangar area. When you enter it, turn left and walk to the north end of the area, then take the stairs up to the catwalk. Xur is hanging out near the edge of the area, overlooking the Last City.Head to the Hangar and look for Xur up a flight of stairs, waiting for you on a catwalk.Xur Exotic ItemsXur's weapon for this week is Arbalest, a newer Exotic, but a highly effective weapon in a lot of situations. This linear fusion rifle does devastating damage to enemy shields, and any enemy you hit with it becomes vulnerable to extra damage from Kinetic weapons. If you're not a fan of his other options, Xur also sells an Exotic engram that will decrypt into an Exotic you don't already own. He also has the new Xenology Quest, which rewards an Exotic Cipher you can use to purchase Exotics from either Xur or the Tower's Monument to Lost Lights. The quest requires you to either complete Strikes or win matches in Gambit and the Crucible.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Last of Us and Uncharted developer Naughty Dog is apparently ramping up hiring for a new game, which is a project that executive Neil Druckmann is particularly excited about.Druckmann said, "Come work with us! We're making something very cool!" He included the lips-sealed emoji with his message, referencing how he cannot share any more information.Come work with us! We're making something very cool!🤐 https://t.co/ZGU6W3cAKU — Dr. Uckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) January 14, 2021Naughty Dog, which is based in Santa Monica, California, has more than two-dozen open positions across a variety of disciplines, including animation, art, game design, and production.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Earlier this week Netflix revealed its extensive line-up of upcoming movies in 2021, which showed the company is sparing little expense when it comes to making new films. It's now been announced that it will be producing a big-budget thriller titled Heart of Stone, starring Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot.Netflix announced the movie on Twitter, describing the movie as "an international espionage thriller." It will be directed by Tom Harper, who previously helmed the drama Wild Rose as well as episodes of Peaky Blinders, with a script by Greg Rucka (The Old Guard) and Allison Schroeder (Hidden Figures).A Gal Gadot spy thriller? yes please!! 💥 👊 💥 👊 💥 👊Gadot will star in HEART OF STONE, an international espionage thriller written by THE OLD GUARD's Greg Rucka and directed by Tom Harper.(📸 Getty) pic.twitter.com/zUEgobdzT1 — NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) January 15, 2021A few more details about Heart of Stone have been revealed by Variety. The rights to the movie have been bought from Skydance Media, where it was in development. While Netflix previously released the Skydance movies Old Guard and Six Underground, those movies were finished before Netflix picked up distribution, while Heart of Stone is yet to start production.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Two months after the Xbox Series X and Series S launched, Microsoft's naming conventions for this console generation are still confusing for those outside the know or unfamiliar with the industry. But even prominent developers have a hard time wrapping their heads around Microsoft's new Xbox names, and Hazelight Studios founder Josef Fares is one of them.In an interview with IGN discussing Fares' ambitions and Hazelight's games, Fares delivered some choice words about the Xbox Series X|S, calling the names a "total f**king mess.""That's a f**king confusing name," Fares said. "What the f**k's going on with Microsoft? They're losing it, man. What the f**k is going on? Like Series S, X, Mex, Next. I mean, who knows this? Come on. Madness. Call it the Microsoft Box and that's it. I don't know. It's a total f**king mess. Trust me, even them, they're confused in their offices. What is this X, S... I don't know, what the f**k."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

2021 has kicked off in earnest so the GameSpot After Dark crew are back with those sweet, sweet podcast you love so much. This week, Jake, Lucy, and Tamoor are joined by Gav Murphy of RKG fame. If you're not familiar with RKG, you should check out their superb work on YouTube and, if you're into it, support them on Patreon.Lucy, Tamoor, and Gav go way back, so expect a fair bit of going off the rails as they catch up and have a good time chatting about whatever nonsense pops into their head, while Jake attempts to keep the conversation on track--bless him. They also talk about Bethesda's Indiana Jones game, as well as Ubisoft's newly announced Star Wars title.Of course, there's also the regular listener question section. This week we talk about how we approach coverage of mobile games, and how the industry treats them as a whole, as well as Welsh video game characters.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A custom-made Xbox controller pokes a bit of self-deprecating fun at America's northern neighbor, Canada. The official Xbox Canada account shared an image of the controller clad in all denim, calling it the "Canadian Tuxedo."The tweet says it's one-of-a-kind, so don't expect to buy this controller anytime soon. Still, it's a fun and cheeky look for the standard Xbox Series X controller, and even includes tiny little denim pockets for holding, presumably, strategic poutine reserves.The "Canadian Tuxedo" is North American slang referring to a denim jacket with denim blue jeans. Those of us outside of Canada are only allowed to say it because the Xbox account said it first, so we're not technically making fun.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Microsoft is addressing a new Windows 10 exploit that can corrupt your hard drive with extreme ease, which could make it a nightmare for IT administrators globally. The exploit allows attackers to hide a single line of text in a file as innocent as a shortcut or zip file. What makes it so dangerous is that the file in question doesn't need to be explicitly interacted with--a user can simply open a folder with a compromised shortcut inside it for the exploit to be enacted.The loophole was discovered by Security researcher Jonas L earlier in the week, before being corroborated by Will Dormann, a vulnerability analyst at the CERT Coordination Center. Dormann explained that the exploit has existed within Windows 10 for years already, citing other potential NTFS flaws that Microsoft has yet to address.Thankfully, the exploit does sometimes trigger Windows' automatic chkdsk process, which will automatically repair the drive after a restart. The recovery process is far more complicated if this solution fails, which has been reported to be possible, meaning the attack is still very concerning for Microsoft.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Nintendo gave fans another look at New Pokemon Snap this week. In addition to announcing the game's release date, the company has shared a few more details about the title on its website, including its file size.According to Nintendo's product page, New Pokemon Snap will weigh in at 6.8 GB. For comparison, Pokemon Sword and Shield each take up 11.3 GB of space on Switch, while the upcoming Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury only takes up 2.9 GB.The product page also confirms that New Pokemon Snap is a single-player game. Despite this, it appears there will be some kind of online component; the page mentions that New Pokemon Snap supports Nintendo Switch Online and features "online play," although no other details were shared beyond that.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Another weekend has arrived in Destiny 2, and so the Trials of Osiris are back for players who want to take on the game's toughest multiplayer challenge. As always, the rewards are great if you take on the Trials--this week, you can snag a bunch of different weapons and armor you can get anywhere else, particularly if you go Flawless.Here's the Crucible map you'll face in Trials, plus all the rewards you can earn in this rotation. Trials ends with the weekly reset on January 19, so get your matches in or you'll have to wait for another weekend to roll around.Trials of Osiris Map And Rewards (January 15-19)Map: Pacifica3 wins -- Tomorrow's Answer, Void rocket launcher5 wins -- Exile's Curse, Arc fusion rifle7 wins -- Astral Horizon, Kinetic shotgun Flawless run -- Hunter, Warlock, or Titan Helmet: Hood, Cover, or Helm of the Exile Adept Mod: Projectile SpeedFor those who have never braved the Trials of Osiris and are unfamiliar with how it works, the multiplayer tournament only shows up on weekends and puts you into some of the Crucible's most challenging PvP battles. In the Trials, the challenge isn't just to win, but to go on winning streaks. Notch seven victorious matches without losing a single one and you'll earn what's known as a "Flawless" run. That gets you a trip to the Lighthouse--a special social space only accessible to players who go Flawless--and exclusive rewards and recognition. In the Beyond Light expansion, opening the Flawless chest earns you an "Adept" item, which comes with extra stat boosts unavailable on any other loot in the game, as well as powerful Adept mods that are likewise unavailable anywhere else.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The highly-anticipated Marvel show WandaVision premiered on Disney+ on Friday morning, winning over plenty of new fans--including us at GameSpot. And while the new series is a love letter to classic sitcoms, there's one thing fans won't find: famous sitcom cameos.Despite Scarlet Witch herself, Elizabeth Olsen, being the younger sister to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Matt Shakman wants to be upfront about what the story is about and how he doesn't want to pull the audiences out of it."For us, we were faithfully recreating the style of the shows with authenticity. It wasn't about parody or homage or spoof," he tells Variety. "It really was about telling the story of Wanda and Vision. And so, for that reason, we were focusing on our characters who are the best actors to bring those characters to life, rather than trying to find a way to have Bob Newhart pop by."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In response to an increase in COVID-19 cases, Capcom has decided to cancel its flagship fighting game series, the Capcom Cup. However, the event is living on, in a way, through an online season of the Capcom Pro Tour to be held in February.The Capcom Cup and the Street Fighter League World Championship were scheduled to take place in person February 19-21, but Capcom has canceled both events due to the health crisis."While we strongly believe that we could have executed a great event with limited risk to players, staff, and crew, we have reevaluated as the situation has evolved and the state of the global pandemic has heightened," Capcom said in its announcement.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Ukrainian developer GSC Game World has provided an update on the status of the highly anticipated and long-in-development first-person horror survival title STALKER 2.According to GSC Game World, STALKER 2 development is "progressing smoothy" on PC and Xbox Series X|S. While a release date has not been nailed down yet, the studio reiterated that STALKER 2 will hit Xbox Game Pass the same day it launches on both platforms.GSC Game World's public relations specialist Zakhar Bocharov said the studio is "pleased to see" how well STALKER 2 is progressing and is confident about the experience being created.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Comedian and actor Bill Burr has a role on the Star War TV show The Mandalorian as Mayfeld, a character who--like Burr himself--speaks with a Boston accent. Some part of the Star Wars community has raised some concerns about this.Burr defended this character's Boston accent in an interview with Jimmy Fallon. Burr said people don't seem to care that Han Solo can communicate with Chewbacca or that C-3PO has an English accent, so it's not much concern that Mayfeld has a Boston accent."What about English? Doesn't that look weird if you went to a galaxy far, far away and you get off, and somebody's like, 'Hey, how's it going?' And you totally understand them?" Burr said. "What about the fact that Han Solo is talking to a bigfoot? He's talking bigfoot, Han Solo's speaking English. They never break character. How about C-3PO with an English accent, that was OK?"Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com