Ninja Says It's "Not My Job" to Educate Racist and Sexist Kids on His Stream
Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins was recently interviewed by The New York Times which goes into his career as a streamer and his audience. The interview also goes into his responsibility for his younger audience, and his comments made a few years ago about streaming with women players. Ninja made a name for himself through streaming Epic Games' Fortnite on the Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch, before signing a contract to be exclusive to Microsoft's now-dead streaming platform Mixer. He returned to Twitch following Mixer's shutdown.
In the interview he talked about the toxic nature of the live-stream chat, "it sucks that there are kids who can say racist things and be incredibly aggressive and threatening to women online and have zero repercussions." Ninja continued "it all comes down to parenting. You want to know who your kid is? Listen to him when he's playing video games when he thinks you're not."
He added: "How does a white kid know he has white privilege if his parents never teach him or don't talk about racism? If they're gaming and their first interaction with racism is one of their friends saying the N-word and they have no idea what it is".
He continued by going into who the responsibility should fall to, "what if it was on my stream? Is it my job to have this conversation with this kid? No, because the first thing that's going on in my head is, This kid is doing this on purpose to troll me."
A bit later in the interview, the question regarding his stance on streaming with women is brought up following his comments from an interview back in 2018. "The second a girl's voice comes over the mic, guys lose their [expletive]. It's like: "Holy [expletive]! A girl is playing a video game!" It's astonishing that someone could think it's OK to say stuff like that to women."
He continued, "it's like how it is with actors. I don't want to start drama, but Justin Timberlake — he's married — was filming a movie, was at a bar, was holding hands with an actress. They were just working together, but all it takes is one moment, and now it's horrible, even if it's just accusations. Accusations are what made me say that about female gamers."
Ninja went on to say that because of the potential for these accusations, he now does anything in his power to avoid rumours and clickbait videos being created about him. He also said, "I still stand by not having a lot of alone time with a woman, in general, if you are a married man. I mean, they could be your best friend, that's totally cool."
He then mentioned that people would start talking if he played with a woman streamer in a one-on-one setting, so instead "if I am going to play with female gamers, I do it with a big group so it's not that one-on-one interaction."
When asked about having a platonic relationship Ninja replied, "Of course a guy and a girl can be friends without getting intimate. But it's like, temptation, man."
He continued, "Actually, I don't like that word, because I have control of myself and 100 percent respect for my relationship, but — I don't know how to word it. I know people are going to potentially take this now like, "Oh, he can't trust himself, blah blah blah." Dude, no."
Ninja's comments on his audience came back a bit later in the interview where he said, "We know that we have a large, young audience who is in love with Ninja, with this gamer, this blue-haired avatar. We're super aware of that," and then continued to talk about his shift into voice acting for cartoons and animation. But it seems as if he has no plans to try calling out toxic behaviours on streams in the near future.
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Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood Launch Trailer Revealed
Cyanide's Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood will eventually make its way to the market earlier next month. Nacon, the publisher behind the game, recently shared the launch trailer for this upcoming third-person action title, highlighting some of the key skills of the protagonist.
Playing as Cahal, a warrior werewolf dedicated himself to defending Earth, you will find yourself among other members of a pack of wolves planning to infiltrate the local sites of Endron, a military corporation that has been damaging nature for a long time and now has expanded its presence to the home of wolves.
At its core, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is a third-person action game with fast-paced combat that requires perfect timing and awareness, however, it's not as hardcore as a Dark Souls game. Aside from its wolfy side that mostly offers bloody combats, there's a human side for the gameplay as well, where you can accomplish your objectives by staying out of enemy sight and crawling behind them. Here you can check out the trailer:
As shown in the trailer, you can easily transform into a wolf or a human and take down the security guards quietly. Each form of your character has a dedicated skill tree that offers upgrades and new abilities as you earn Spirit Points by making progress in the game's story.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood has been in development since 2016 and officially announced as a new project from Cyanide in 2017. The game was first supposed to launch by Focus Home Interactive, but after the developer was acquired by Nacon in 2018, it's now being published by the Lesquin-based company.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is set to be launched on February 4 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It's worth noting that the PC version of the game will be exclusive to Epic Games Store.
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Tomb Raider Movie Sequel Lands Lovecraft Country Showrunner as Director
In a report from Deadline, a sequel to 2018's Tomb Raider film has landed Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green as writer and director.
This will be Green's feature film debut. Alicia Vikander will reprise her role as Lara Croft. Additionally, Graham King and Elizabeth Cantillion will produce the film. Green is the latest director attached to the Tomb Raider sequel. The film sequel was announced in April 2019, over a year since the film released. Back in 2019, Free Fire's Ben Wheatly was set to direct the film but left the project.
Green is the showrunner and executive producer on Lovecraft Country, a new HBO series. It follows Atticus Freeman as he and his friends travel through the 1950s to find his missing father. It stars Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, and Courtney B. Vance. It's based on a novel of the same name by Matt Ruff. The show has been a hit for HBO, with Variety saying the season finale was the highest-rated episode of the season. Additionally, HBO hasn't announced a second season of the show yet. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it. You can watch a trailer for the show below.
Alicia Vikander's Tomb Raider film from 2018 was directed by Norweigan filmmaker Roar Uthaug. The film grossed $58.2 million domestically and $274.6 million worldwide. It's Lara Croft's origin story and is inspired by developer Crystal Dynamics' game reboot trilogy. Additionally, it stars Dominic West, Walton Goggins, and Donnie Wu alongside Vikander.
Currently, there's no release date or production date for the Tomb Raider sequel. You can watch a trailer for the first movie below. Additionally, if you want to see Lovecraft Country, you can stream it on HBO and HBO Max now. Stay tuned to DualShockers for more news on the sequel.
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Battlefront 2 Sees An Uptick in New Players thanks to Epic Games Store
Star Wars Battlefront 2 has done what few other games could. Following one of the most tumultuous launches in recent memory, Battlefront 2 and its ecosystem has seen nothing short of a total 180. Thanks to a number of free updates and additions, it's become one of the best Star Wars games of all-time. Now, fans of the series are flocking to Battlefront 2's gorgeous, lovingly recreated battlefields in droves now that it's more accessible.
A few months after being added to Xbox Game Pass as part of EA Play, Battlefront 2 was also free to play on the Epic Games Store. According to a Tweet from EA's Twitter account dedicated to their Star Wars games, partnering with the Epic Game Store brought over 19 million new players into the fold.
More than 19M PLAYERS got #StarWarsBattlefrontII from the Epic Game Store promo!
Thank you so much for the continued support, even after our final content drop! We'll watch your careers with great interest! May the Force be with you, troopers! pic.twitter.com/fC4A92HLNN
— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) January 25, 2021
The account also encouraged veteran players to be welcoming to all of the new players discovering the game for the first time. This is hardly the biggest Star Wars news we've seen in the past few weeks. Earlier this month, Disney announced a new umbrella for a number of franchises, including Star Wars, called Lucasfilm games.
Following that announcement, EA confirmed that they would no longer have an exclusive license to develop Star Wars games. While they won't be the only publisher creating new entries in the Star Wars universe, it's still safe to assume that their most successful series, like the Battlefront and Jedi: Fallen Order franchises will see some sort of continuation. EA hasn't explicitly promised that they would be making Battlefront 3, but they have confirmed that Jedi: Fallen Order was the beginning of a new franchise.
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Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Will Feature 300 Playable Characters
In a report from Gamesradar, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will feature 300 playable characters.
Dawn McDiarmid, a lead hub designer recently spoke with Official PlayStation Magazine on the upcoming Lego game. McDiarmid said there will be 800 unique characters in the game, but 300 will be fully playable. One of these many playable characters is Babu Frik, a character from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. "I think fans of the new trilogy will be pleased to hear that Babu Frik is making an appearance as a playable character and he is possibly one of the cutest things I have ever seen," said McDiarmid.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was announced during Microsoft's E3 2019 showcase. The game lets you play through all nine of the main Star Wars movies. Like other Lego games based on movies, you can play through the series in any order you'd like. The game was reportedly supposed to release last October but it's been pushed to this spring.
In addition to 300 playable characters, there will be new gameplay features. These include aim-down-sight shooting and a new upgrade system. One feature pointed that makes me excited is a new quest system where you can multitask several quests. While the game will be on next-gen systems, it won't support the DualSense's haptic feedback, 3D audio, and ray-tracing. The report points out these features won't be available at launch so maybe they can be patched in at a later date.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga launches this year on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. You can watch a trailer for the game below. If you want to learn more, you can read our E3 2019 preview and interview of the game now.
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Resident Evil 3 Remake and The Last of Us Part 2 Characters Join Forces in This Amazing Mod
Just when you thought that (most of) The Last of Us Part 2's cast had walked off into the sunset when the credits rolled, a modder has decided to give them a fresh new lease of life by adding the gang into Resident Evil 3 Remake. This strange but fun mod is brought to you by 'Darknessvaltier' who has 13.3K subscribers on their YouTube channel and loves nothing more than taking games that include Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, and Resident Evil, and then adding a little je ne sais quoi to them for entertainment purposes.
This particular mod that 'Darknessvaltier' has crafted puts Ellie into the shoes of Resident Evil's Jill Valentine and then throws poor old Joel into the place where Carlos should be. You'll also see in the video below that that the modder has replaced Tyrell Patrick with Tommy, Victor with Jesse, Nicholai with Abby, and Nemesis with a huge, badass Bloater. Most of the facial expressions look great but I do have to say that Abby looks tormented in this mod, her mouth seems to have taken on a life of its own. Many of the comments under the video say that this was the true ending they wanted to see and that they were happy that Abby got what was coming to her, even though I'd disagree.
It's a really cool mod and if you fancy messing around with it yourself for Resident Evil 3 Remake, you can head over to Nexusmod and give it a whirl. To go along with the mod, you'll also need to download and install Fluffyquack's Mod Manager in order to play it. This isn't the only mod available, and if it floats your boat, you can also play as Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 3 but with Animal Crossing's Isabelle's head on. Now, doesn't that sound like a great way to spend your evening? Unless you would prefer to witness Nemesis in a pair of Speedos or find out what he looks like turned into Thomas the Tank Engine. The choices are endless. Have fun!
Throughout the Resident Evil Showcase from Capcom, fans not only got their hungry eyes on some gameplay for the title but we also got the reveal of the Maiden demo, which was announced and consequently released exclusively for PS5. During the demo, viewers may have gotten a teaser of the backstory about the mysterious Tall Lady, Lady Dimitrescu. If video game box art is your thing, Capcom revealed cover images that could possibly point to some spoilers for the game. To check out a brilliant Resident Evil: Village cosplay of one of "Tall Hot Lady's" daughters, head on over here.
Resident Evil: Village will release for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 7, 2021. A new demo called Maiden is available now for those with a PS5. Resident Evil 3 released on April 3, 2020, for PS4, Xbox One, and PC and you can pick it up right here from Amazon.
(Featured image supplied by DSOGaming)
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That Godzilla vs Kong Trailer Reminded Me of War of the Monsters
Yesterday, social media went abuzz after the trailer for the theatre and HBO release of Godzilla vs Kong went live. An action-packed trailer with a punchy soundtrack to boot showed the giant Godzilla and equally giant Kong going at it like the primal beasts they are. And while everyone online appeared to be showing their support for either beast, I was reminiscing on an old classic that I now want to see come back from the ashes of games long-forgotten.
Incognito Entertainment released a game back in 2003 called War of the Monsters. It was a beat-em-up game that boasted a roster of different monsters and aliens, some looking familiar to some Hollywood classics. The goal was to simply beat the ever-living-heck out of the other monsters. It allowed up to 4 players to roam a small map, of which they could destroy buildings and use the environment to their advantage in combat. I recall spending hours in the demo when physical-disc demos were a thing just fighting against friends during split-screen matches.
There was a story, but I'd be lying if I said I paid any attention to it. Back then, I just wanted to smash everything and lob antennas from rooftops and launch them into a weird praying mantis-inspired alien thing. It was a fantastic destruction-focused game, and it would be fantastic is it came back for current-generation. Sure, Godzilla vs Kong is going to be a fun action flick where a bad-tempered ape fights against the big lizard thing, but imagine if War of the Monsters came back and whatever studio working on it got the rights to bring Godzilla and Kong into the roster!?
War of the Monsters already tried to slot King Kong into the game by calling a giant ape "Congar", and there were other types of giants that shared similarities to characters such as a Transformer. But with the modern audiences' love for both the video game and movie mediums, crossover events would be welcomed, and I'll touch on this a bit later. But essentially we could see different characters enter the games universe in the same way that Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate throws characters from different universes into its own.
As I've already gushed about, the destruction was a large part of my enjoyment for War of the Monsters, and in Godzilla vs Kong, it's looking likely that we'll see billions of dollars in fictional damages being dealt to the city. And with the capabilities of modern consoles, we could see damage similar to Crackdown 3 being brought down on the game's world — perhaps to the point sections of the building break away rather than the entire thing collapsing down on the streets below.
The last time I brought up War of the Monsters in a conversation with someone —a few years back now— they started going on about Rampage, an arcade-themed side-scrolling destruction game. And they also brought up King of the Monsters. But while they may be nostalgic titles for some, I only ever remember playing one of the Rampage games and not really caring for it. In fact, after looking on Wikipedia, it seems those two games are listed as games that are similar…maybe the person I spoke to was just reading Wikipedia and acting clever.
War of the Monsters presented its destruction and button-mashing combat in a wonderful 3D environment that felt "big" for its time. And so far we've seen a bunch of games keep pushing this open-world formula, bragging about how big the world is to explore. But for this, the environment would be better suited to areas, or stages if you will. Allowing players to make use of everything, from the rubble to vehicles, to maybe even having the destructive power to smash their way into an underground subway system with more obstacles and places to duck for cover from incoming thrown items.
It'd have to keep the third-person perspective with the freedom to move around the environment at will, and maybe the addition of tiny humans trying to shoot everyone down could work against, or for each player. I just remember the evil feeling of squishing tiny human bodies with my giant electrical eyeball feet. Gosh, some of the monster designs were strange.
I think if something similar was to return today, having crossover collaborations with major film releases such as Godzilla vs Kong would help keep the game alive with fresh, recurring content for fans of mainstream media beasts. And yes, I suppose we could include Ghostbusters' marshmallow man and bring back weird things from cinema's past. Maybe even having different areas added through post-launch content, like Kong's jungle, or having Optimus Prime defending Cybertron.
Honestly, I just miss War of the Monsters, and rather than feeling excited about the upcoming blockbuster Godzilla vs Kong I just wanted to go back to sitting on my PS2 Slim and telling my friend to stop spamming my face with rubble. He didn't. Sure, the game is available on PS4 as well, but it lacks that magic that developer can instil in it today. Especially given how far consoles have come in this day and age, I think it could be a winner. Everyone likes to be big, furry, and break things…don't they?
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Ticket to Ride Europe to Get Gorgeous 15th Anniversary Edition
If you're talking about the very best modern board games for newer players, it doesn't get much better than Ticket to Ride and its many spin-offs. The game is just so elegant and easy to pick up that gamers of every kind can hop in and have a blast. Ticket to Ride Europe is the second version of the classic game and 2020 marks its 15th anniversary. Like base TTR before it, that means it's time for a stunning new collector's edition from the teams at Asmodee and Days of Wonder. Check it out in all its glory below.
New release
We are excited to announce the release of Ticket to Ride Europe: 15th Anniversary, a new, collector and limited edition of the Ticket to Ride® Europe version.
https://t.co/tv7LVjJzbS pic.twitter.com/Z07lyulP4w
— Days of Wonder (@days_of_wonder) January 25, 2021
It's just absolutely gorgeous. From the board to the trains to the storage tins, this just screams quality. It's going to look beautiful once you set it up on your table. And, as anyone who has played it will tell you, it'll play great too. It doesn't look like they've announced the price just yet, but if you're a fan of the game, it's worth it. This is one of the best-looking collector's editions out there. I would maybe put Suburbia Collector's Edition above it, but it's close.
That said, if you haven't played a TTR game yet, I'd probably save my money. Personally, I think you'll like it, but that's a lot of money. Spending it on a game you don't already know you like would be a gamble. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't like Ticket to Ride, but they have to out there. Right?
Ticket to Ride Europe 15th Anniversary Edition will come to a board game store near you in May. Until then, take some time to hop into the excellent app version and get your game back.
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Hades Gets Funky With Alex Moukala's Bass Cover
It's no secret that Hades was the most popular roguelike game that came out last year, acquiring many Game of the Year awards, including one from us right here at DualShockers. A pantheon of fan art and cosplay for the game has been created since its official launch back in September. This morning, musician Alex Moukala posted his bass rendition of a popular Hades track.
Hades is funky #HadesGame pic.twitter.com/JcnvjmnrCk
— Alex Moukala (@alex_moukala) January 25, 2021
The song Moukala is covering is called "The Painful Way." Hades fans will recognize it from when it plays as Zagreus makes his way through Tartarus. The cover matches the energy of the song and game perfectly and is nothing short of exceptional. At the end of the day, Moukala's bass cover of the song is fresh as hell (get it?).
If you liked that Hades bass cover and are looking for more, Moukala's Twitter account is just the place for you. He regularly posts covers of video game music including Octopath Traveler, Final Fantasy VI, and Persona 5. Additionally, his YouTube channel has full covers on it as well as orchestral arrangements for games that he creates himself.
For more great Hades fan content, check out this fan art that reimagines the characters with techwear. The outfits are flashy and the art is so spot on that it looks like it almost made its way into the actual game. If you liked Hades so much that you would want it to sit in your living room forever, check out this fan-made arcade cabinet that captures the essence of classic cabinets and reimagines it with a Hades theme. The biggest problem with the cabinet is that it's not for sale and that I can't have one.
Make sure to check out DualShockers' full written review of Hades right here and stick with us for more underworld coverage.
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Netflix's The Witcher Prequel Casts Jodie Turner-Smith as Lead Character
In a report from Deadline, actress Jodie Turner-Smith has landed a leading role in Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin. The six-part miniseries was announced in July 2020 with Lauren Hissrich as a producer. Turner-Smith plays Eile, "an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, who has left her clan and position as Queen's guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician," says Deadline. When a "grand reckoning" threatens her continent, Eile goes on a quest for redemption and revenge.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is a prequel set 1,200 years before the 2019 show. The series takes place before the Conjunction of Spheres, a time period where monsters and magic came to man's world. The show follows the creation of the first Witcher, a story not touched on by the games and books. The show's writer's room includes writers from shows like Snowpiercer, Swamp Thing, and Iron Fist.
Turner-Smith's biggest movie is 2019's Queen & Slim, a crime movie she stars alongside Daniel Kaluuya. Another big project she's starred in is SyFy's Nightflyers, a show based on a novella from Game of Thrones' George R.R. Martin.
Blood Origin isn't the only Witcher spinoff. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is an animated film from the show's Lauren Hissrich and Beau DeMayo. In addition to the spinoffs, season three is reportedly in the works. Season two of The Witcher is in production right now. Production was halted last November due to COVID-19 outbreaks and in December after Henry Cavill received an injury on set.
The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix now. You can read our review of season one here. Currently, there's no release date for season two and the show's spinoffs. If you're craving more from the series, you can read the book series now.
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