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☆ All 8 of Beyoncé's solo albums, ranked by critics
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"I Am...Sasha Fierce""I Am...Sasha Fierce" was released in 2008. Columbia RecordsMetacritic score: 62/100What critics said: "The album's songs are divided into two parts, ballads of a purported personal nature on the first disc and more aggressive club tracks attributed to the singer's newly christened doppelganger on the second. "It's a momentum-murdering formula that makes for not only a disjointed listening experience but, with the slow songs presented first, an incoherent narrative. This problem would be negligible, particularly in the age of iTunes, if it weren't clear that Beyoncé intended to make an Album and wants it to be consumed as such." — Sal Cinquemani, Slant Magazine

Persons: Sasha Fierce, Sal Cinquemani Organizations: Columbia, Magazine

☆ Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' shouldn't win album of the year at the 2024 Grammys. Here's who should win instead.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"Midnights" by Taylor Swift"Midnights" was released on October 21, 2022. 1 for six weeksTaylor Swift's 10th studio album (not including rerecords) is nothing short of a sensation. "Midnights" sold over 1 million copies in its debut week, the first album to achieve the feat since Swift's own "Reputation." After experimenting with folk and indie-rock during the pandemic, "Midnights" marked Swift's return to radio-primed pop. Since its release in late 2022, Swift's fame and reach have expanded to unprecedented levels.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift's, Swift, Jack Antonoff, Midnights, Kaur, — Organizations: Recording Academy, Harvard

☆ CI Games shares drop on critical reviews of 'Lords of the Fallen'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Adrianna Ebert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummaryCompanies CI Games shares extend losses to hit six month lowLosses follow some critical reviews of 'Lords of the Fallen'Critical reviews may affect sales - analystGDANSK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Shares in Polish video game producer CI Games (CIG.WA) dropped as much as 18% to a six month low on Friday, adding to heavy losses the day before, following some critical reviews of its newest game "Lords of the Fallen". At 0844 GMT, CI Games shares were down 13.6% at 3.89 zlotys. The game release for PC and PlayStation 5 is set for Friday. CI Games' most popular game series is "Sniper Ghost Warrior", which has sold over 13 million copies. The first version of "Lords of the Fallen", released in 2014, sold over three million copies.

Persons: Piotr Bogusz, Bogusz, Adrianna Ebert, Sharon Singleton, Mark Potter Organizations: Games, IGN, Erste Group, Steam, CI Games, Thomson Locations: GDANSK

☆ CD Projekt's 'Phantom Liberty' rated very positive on Steam
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GDANSK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - "Phantom Liberty", the long-awaited expansion to Polish video game developer CD Projekt's (CDR.WA) flagship game "Cyberpunk 2077", had received a "very positive" rating on Steam platform based on 1,067 user reviews just few hours after game's launch on Tuesday. Cyberpunk 2077, which is offered at a 40% discount, has led the top sellers chart on Steam platform since Monday, with Phantom Liberty in second place. The release of Phantom Liberty is CD Projekt's first major game premiere since bug-ridden launch of Cyberpunk 2077 in December 2020. "Phantom Liberty is Cyberpunk 2077 at its best. The expansion is the last project to be developed on CD Projekt's own technology RED Engine, with the company switching to external Unreal Engine for its upcoming developments, that include Cyberpunk sequel.

Persons: Keanu Reeves, Johnny Silverhand, Idris Elba, Solomon Reed, Adrianna Ebert, Kirsten Donovan, Michael Perry Organizations: Phantom Liberty, Liberty, PlayStation, GameSpot, Thomson Locations: GDANSK, American

☆ CD Projekt's rocky road from Cyberpunk 2077 to Phantom Liberty
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Adrianna Ebert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

GDANSK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Phantom Liberty, the long-awaited expansion to CD Projekt's (CDR.WA) flagship game Cyberpunk 2077, will debut on Tuesday on current generation consoles and PCs. In the months leading up to the release, CD Projekt's market capitalisation exceeded 40 billion zlotys ($9.28 billion). NEXT-GENERATION UPDATEIn February 2022, CD Projekt released a Cyberpunk update for next-generation consoles. PHANTOM LIBERTY RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCEDOn June 11, 2023, CD Projekt said the Phantom Liberty expansion would be released in September. UPDATE 2.0On Sept. 21, CD Projekt released a free update 2.0 to the base game, featuring various improvements to the game mechanics.

Persons: Liberty, Phantom Liberty, Adam Kicinski, Projekt, Adrianna Ebert, Milla Nissi, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Polish, OF, Projekt, Xbox, SONY, Sony, PlayStation, Netflix, North America ., Liberty, Steam, Thomson Locations: GDANSK, North America

☆ Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer says Starfield is seeing 'huge demand'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, appears at the Political Opening of the Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 23, 2023. Microsoft is seeing "huge demand" for its new Starfield video game, Phil Spencer, the software company's CEO of gaming, said Wednesday. Microsoft picked up the game through its $8.1 billion acquisition of game publisher ZeniMax, the parent of Bethesda. Spencer said Starfield is the most wish-listed game the company has had on the Steam game store. Spencer said tens of millions of Game Pass subscribers were getting a chance to play Starfield on Wednesday.

Persons: Phil Spencer, Spencer, CNBC's Steve Kovach, ZeniMax, Jim Ryan, Ryan, We've, we've, Starfield Organizations: Microsoft Gaming, Microsoft, Microsoft's Bethesda Game Studios, PlayStation, Gaming, Activision Blizzard, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Activision, Sony, Nintendo, Markets Authority, Ubisoft Locations: Cologne, Germany, Microsoft's, Bethesda, San Francisco

☆ ‘Zelda’ sales breakout juices Nintendo’s aging Switch
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Tokyo CNN —Japan’s Nintendo on Thursday said it sold 3.91 million units of its Switch console in the April-June quarter, exceeding sales in the same period a year earlier, boosted by the runaway success of its latest “Zelda” title. Nintendo (NTDOF) said it sold 18.51 million units of “Tears of the Kingdom” in the first quarter. The Kyoto-based gaming firm maintained its full-year forecast for the console of 15 million units. It sold 17.97 million units in the previous financial year. Nintendo’s shares have delivered a more than three-fold return, including dividends, since the Switch went on sale in major markets in March 2017, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei’s 91% return over the same period.

Persons: Zelda, Mario, ”, Serkan Toto, Pikachu Organizations: Tokyo CNN —, Nintendo, Mario Bros, Kantan Locations: Kyoto

☆ 'Zelda' sales breakout juices Nintendo's aging Switch
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Sam Nussey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Attendees use a Nintendo Switch game console while playing a video game at the Paris Games Week (PGW), a trade fair for video games in Paris, France, October 29, 2019. Nintendo said it sold 18.51 million units of "Tears of the Kingdom" in the first quarter. The results underscore Nintendo's success in extending the life of the aging Switch system, which has sold almost 130 million units, and using its roster of popular characters to boost revenue beyond the core gaming business. The Kyoto-based gaming firm maintained its full-year forecast for the console of 15 million units, which would be a 16.5% decline on a year earlier. First-quarter operating profit leapt 82% on a year earlier to 185.4 billion yen with sales of first-party software at record highs.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Mario, Zelda, Serkan Toto, Shuntaro Furukawa, Pikachu, Sam Nussey, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Nintendo, Paris Games, REUTERS, Mario Bros, Kantan, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, TOKYO, Kyoto

☆ 'Barbie' blows up 'Oppenheimer' as Greta Gerwig's plastic fantastic looks set to make $100 million more than Christopher Nolan's atomic blockbuster this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Greta Gerwig's comedy is headed for a $155 million US opening, with "Oppenheimer" on $77 million. According to studio projections seen by The Hollywood Reporter, Greta Gerwig's film is heading for a $155 million domestic opening weekend, while Christopher Nolan's atomic bomb epic is set to take $77 million. That means the first outing in the "Mattel Cinematic Universe" will outstrip Nolan by more than $100 million. "Barbie" cost a reported $145 million to make, plus an estimated $100 million for its elaborate marketing campaign, while "Oppenheimer" reportedly cost $100 million. It's the first where one title has more than $100 million and another taken more than $50 million in the same three-day period, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Greta Gerwig's, Margot Robbie, Christopher, outstrip Nolan, Patty Jenkins, Barbie, Stephanie Keith, Insider's Chris Panella, you'll Organizations: Hollywood, Mattel, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, National Association of Theater, Associated Press, Rotten Locations: Manhattan

☆ The Harry Potter video game 'Hogwarts Legacy' is here, and topping sales charts — despite the JK Rowling controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"Hogwarts Legacy" was at the top of the Steam PC and PlayStation Store sales charts on Friday. The early success comes despite backlash over Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's anti-trans comments. The game's early success is in the face of some calls for a boycott over Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's past anti-trans comments. Warner Bros. Games, which released "Hogwarts Legacy," wrote on the game's FAQ page that Rowling was "not directly involved in the creation of the game." Discovery CEO David Zaslav in November expressed an interest in doing "something with J.K. on Harry Potter going forward."

☆ The response to HBO's 'The Last of Us' shows homophobia is still a major issue in gaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Homophobia has long been an issue in the gaming community and larger fandoms. HBO's series is based on the 2013 video game of the same name and is set 20 years after a fungal pandemic leaves the world in ruins. Sunday's episode, titled "Long, Long Time," depicts a gay romance between Bill, played by Nick Offerman, and Frank, played by Murray Bartlett. Echoes of "gamergate" could be seen in criticism against "The Last of Us Part II," the 2020 video game sequel, in which Ellie's sexuality is further explored. On Metacritic, it has a 5.8 user score, while the first game received a 9.2 user rating.

☆ HBO's big bet on 'The Last of Us' is paying off so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

HBO's "The Last of Us" had one of the network's biggest premieres with 4.7 million viewers. It's based on the hit 2013 video game of the same name. The hour-and-a-half series premiere was watched by 4.7 million viewers across linear TV and HBO Max on Sunday, the network announced on Tuesday. "Boardwalk Empire" remains HBO's overall second-biggest premiere of all time, with 4.8 million viewers in 2010. There are two installments of the game thus far, with "Part II" released in 2020.

☆ HBO's 'The Last of Us' creators promise it won't have the same issue as 'Game of Thrones': 'We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"We won't run into the same issue as 'Game of Thrones,'" co-creator Neil Druckmann told The Hollywood Reporter. "Game of Thrones" ran out of source material after catching up with the unfinished book series. Neil Druckmann, the show's co-creator who also developed the game, told The Hollywood Reporter that the series won't stray from the source material. "We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games," Druckmann said in the interview. "We won't run into the same issue as 'Game of Thrones' since 'Part II' doesn't end on a cliffhanger," he added, referring to the game's sequel, "The Last of Us Part II."

☆ Some Amazon staffers joked that the writers of its mega-expensive 'Lord of the Rings' series should be laid off after the company cut thousands of roles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Travis Clark | Katherine Long | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some Amazon staffers have joked that the "Rings of Power" writers should be laid off. "The Rings of Power" was hit with a mixed reception, and Amazon has been quiet about its viewership. Several of those employees have joked that the writers of Amazon's uber-expensive series, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," should be laid off, Insider reported. No press release followed its season finale; by contrast, HBO released viewership for the finale of its own fantasy series, "House of the Dragon," the next day. And judging by the jokes in the layoffs-focused Slack channel, that seems to even be a narrative within Amazon among staffers.

☆ Who's watching 'House of the Dragon' and 'The Rings of Power'? New numbers shed light on the audience for both shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A third of the audiences for both "Rings of Power" and "House of the Dragon" is watching the other show. Notably, large swaths are watching both shows: 34% of "The Rings of Power" audience also watches "House of the Dragon," and 34% of "House of the Dragon" viewers also watch "Rings of Power." "Rings of Power" was watched for 988 million minutes the week of September 12 through September 18. But the streaming chart only includes "House of the Dragon" viewing on HBO Max. Nielsen's data this week didn't break down how much the new episodes of each series accounted for its viewing minutes.

☆ 'The Rings of Power' creators promise that if you were disappointed with season 1, you'll like the second season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The first season of "The Rings of Power" concluded on Friday with a reveal about who Sauron was. The creators are confident fans who wanted more of the villain in season one will dig the second season. Payne and Patrick McKay promise that if viewers were disappointed with season one's story because they expected more Sauron, then they'll dig the second season, which started filming earlier this month. "There may well be viewers who are like, 'This is the story we were hoping to get in season one!,'" McKay told The Hollywood Reporter. "I hope after the last episode airs, viewers watch the whole season again, which is now a different experience," McKay told THR.

☆ Amazon's 'Rings of Power' isn't making as big of a splash as HBO's 'House of the Dragon' — and it shows the potential risks of dueling big-budget fantasy shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"The Rings of Power" has been hit with poor audience reactions, and online engagement is muted. 'House of the Dragon' is driving more sustained interest than 'The Rings of Power'The shows are airing at the same time; "Rings of Power" debuted four days after "House of the Dragon" did. HBOGoogle Trends shows that searches related to "House of the Dragon" spike with impressive consistency weekly after each episode, showing sustained interest. In the first weeks for their premiere episodes, "House of the Dragon" had 45% more piracy than "The Rings of Power," according to the piracy analytics company Muso. But the explosion in piracy for "House of the Dragon" between episodes one and two shows a growing demand.

☆ Amazon's 'Rings of Power' still doesn't have any user reviews on Prime Video nearly a week after it premiered
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" premiered last week. Nearly a week later, there still aren't any user ratings for the series on Prime Video. Nearly a week later, there still aren't any user reviews for the series on Prime Video. Amazon did not immediately return a request for comment on when user reviews would be visible. It has a better user score of 6.8 (out of 10) at IMDb, which is owned by Amazon.

☆ The 75 worst movies of all time, according to critics
▼ + stars: | 2021-02-24 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

We turned to review aggregator Metacritic to find out what the worst movies of all time are, based on critic reviews. Sign up for our newsletter to get the news, trends and strategies that advertising and media pros want to know — delivered weekly to your inbox. Loading Something is loading. Loading Something is loading. Here are the 75 worst movies of all time, according to critics:Note: Only movies with seven or more online reviews appear in the ranking, so it skews toward more recent films.

☆ (video) Surpriză pentru fanii DC. A fost publicat noul trailer pentru Justice League
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-20 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +2 min

Justice League este departe de a fi unul dintre cele mai apreciate filme din universul DC, dar va avea parte de o a doua iterație, pe HBO Max. Destinul filmului Justice League a fost unul foarte controversat. Pentru cea mai mare parte a producție, Zack Snyder a ocupat poziția de regizor, în timp ce soția sa, Deborah Snyder, a fost producător. Frustrat în ceea ce privește rezultatul final, Zack Snyder a stabilit împreună cu Warner Bros. că va relansa Justice League într-o ediție Director′s Cut. Pentru a defini tonul din spatele Zack Snyder′s Justice League, pe coloana sonoră a trailer-ului a fost utilizată piesa Hallelujah.

Persons: HBO Max ., Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Joss Whedon, Snyder, IMDb, HBO Max Organizations: Justice League, HBO, League, Metacritic, Warner Bros, Justice

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