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PVR disappointed with films going directly to streaming platforms, Carnival Cinemas understands producers’ dilemma

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Indian films are heading straight to the digital platforms that has led to causing a lot of debate amongst the theatre chains in India. INOX has already showcased their anger at producers who did not wait for the situation to get better and chose OTT as their resort amid this crisis. Now, PVR is left disappointed that the Indian films are directly releasing on streaming platforms.

PVR disappointed with films going directly to streaming platforms, Carnival Cinemas understands producers’ dilemma

“As PVR, we believe that the theatrical release is the best way for audiences to experience the labour and creative genius of our filmmakers. This has been so for decades and not just in India, but globally,” Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures, stated.

“We are confident, once we get to the other side of this crisis, there will be enough and more pent-up demand from cine-goers who have been cooped up at homes for the last many weeks. We are likely to see demand by force on a sustained basis, once we reopen,” he added. He further said that exhibitors had asked the producers to hold back the films till the cinemas reopen after lockdown is lifted. “Needless to say, we are disappointed with some of our producers deciding to go straight to streaming platforms,” he said.

“That said, this is not the first time films are being premiered on streaming platforms. Cinema exhibition has regularly faced competition from new emerging distribution platforms over the last many years, and it has continued to enjoy cine goers patronage and affinity. I would also like to use this opportunity to express our appreciation for all the producers who have publicly voiced their support for the theatrical platform and have decided to reschedule their releases to accommodate the reopening of cinemas,” he added.

Carnival Cinemas also released their statement regarding direct-to-OTT release debate. While they understood that producers are also in crisis, they said that mid-budget movies won’t affect the theatres as such. “Though we are disappointed with the move of the filmmakers to go straight to digital, we understand the financial burden/compulsion that one may have in these times. Even in the past, there have been a few cases of filmmakers facing failure when they opted for digital release, skipping the theatrical run. The ones who have decided to go ahead with a digital release were possibly in a difficult situation due to the coronavirus pandemic. There is money invested, there may be interest (on it), someone wants to minimize the loss and If they are in a position to monetize it, we can’t stop them. The situation is such that you cannot blame anyone. In this time of uncertainty, some producers have decided to release their content directly on OTT. It is within their rights to decide but we will not release those movies in our theatres,” Multiplex chain Carnival Cinemas said it understands the financial stress of the producers.

“We hope filmmakers stick to theatre format. We were expecting them to stand by us because we are family. I feel that the trend of releasing films on OTT platforms directly is a temporary phenomenon. I don’t see this going beyond the lockdown. While OTTs are a reality, big film producers will prefer a theatrical release before a digital one. The overall collection from theatrical releases also surpasses what is garnered by directly releasing movies on OTT platforms. Once people are able to go back to theatres there would still be demand and all of us will be able to resume our business like before,” said Carnival Cinemas CEO Mohan Umrotkar.

Films like Gulabo Sitabo starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana and Shakuntala Devi starring Vidya Balan will release on Amazon Prime Video. Meanwhile, the streaming giant has also announced a bunch of South films to be released on their platform too.


2020-05-16 12:41:01

The Rise Of Skywalker: 5 Ways The Sequel Trilogy Worked (& 5 Ways It Disappointed)

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After more than forty years and nine films, The Skywalker Saga has come to a close with the ultimate chapter The Rise of Skywalker. This mammoth mythic film series has been the bedrock of the Star Wars universe since 1977, telling three-generational tales about a single-family in this far away galaxy.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Major Differences In Colin Trevorrow’s Rise Of Skywalker Script

With The Rise of Skywalker, another trilogy comes to a close as well, with the story starting with 2015’s The Force Awakens completed. Perhaps no other trilogy or series had more pressure on it. Now that it is finished, it’s time to look at where the trilogy excelled and where it could have used a bit more work.

10 Worked – The Treatment Of Legacy Characters

While some feel that the deaths and ends of legacy characters were disappointing, in reality, they were exactly what they needed to be. If this trilogy excelled at anything, it was the reverence and respect for what came before it.

Not since Empire had Harrison Ford given such an ecstatic performance as Han Solo. Carrie Fisher’s profound legacy couldn’t have been celebrated in a better way, especially after her untimely passing. And perhaps the most controversial opinion of all, but Luke Skywalker, not only lived up to his legend but became a more complex and profound version of the character than ever before.

9 Disappointed – Not Enough World Building

The Prequel Trilogy is often lambasted for its heavy exposition and dry treatment of its political elements. The Sequel Trilogy, on the other hand, went too far in the other direction, not giving enough explanation for some crucial aspects of its story.

RELATED: Star Wars: 5 Ways Rise of Skywalker Is A Better Trilogy Closer Than Revenge of the Sith (& 5 Ways It’s Worse)

Unlike the Prequels, there was little groundwork from the Original trilogy that established what came after. These films needed to give fans a little more (but not too much more) establishing dialogue to explain the current state of regimes, governments, and character relationships.

8 Worked – It Brought Heart And Soul Back To The Franchise

Another thematic and emotional element that had been severely lacking from the Saga for years was the fun and heart of the original trilogy. While the Prequels embraced its mythic status, a lot of the all-ages fun and spirit of the originals was a second thought.

There is no denying that the filmmakers tried really hard to bring back the charm of the zippy dialogue, weird practical creatures, and uplifting musical score of the original. While some of these elements can be dismissed as pure nostalgia, a lot of it was the successful recapturing of why we love Star Wars.

7 Disappointed – Lacked In Prequel Connections

The Prequels left a stink on the Star Wars Saga until fairly recently. Thanks to its younger audience aging into primary viewers and the work done in The Clone Wars series, this trilogy became revered nearly just as much as the Original Trilogy.

Sadly, the fear of embracing the Prequels has remained a consistent issue with the current era of Star Wars. When the current creative team does include references or characters from this era, most fans enjoy it, so it’s a shame that so little was utilized for the Sequels.

6 Worked – Expanded The Racial And Gender Representation

For so long, Star Wars lacked in any meaningful strides in representation outside of Princess Leia and Lando. The Prequels failed the character of Padmé profoundly, and most people of color were designated as small supporting roles or dressed up in alien makeup.

With the Sequels, the entire new trio, as well as a lot of the supporting cast, were played by a hugely diverse range of actors. People of color and women finally found a place in the galaxy, becoming the heroes they always looked for in this series.

5 Disappointed – Failed To Represent LGBTQ+ Audiences

It’s no secret now that many fans are upset at the still lacking LGBTQ+ representation in Star Wars, let alone most major film franchises. Fans have clamored since The Force Awakens, for example, to see Finn and Poe become the first queer couple in the series.

Sadly, that never came to fruition, much to the disappointment of Oscar Isaac. While it is great to see a small moment of queer representation in the final moments of the saga, it still isn’t anywhere near enough to feel much more like a token offering.

4 Worked – Completed The Original Nine Film Saga

Ever since the release of Star Wars in 1977, George Lucas remarked on how the films were always meant to round out to a complete nine-film saga. Though Lucas didn’t stick around to complete this vision, Disney and Lucasfilm finally completed it with the Sequels.

The balance of three series of three films fits just right into the themes of the Skywalker Saga. With its completion, the franchise can finally move forward into new and uncharted territory, leaving the past to rest (hopefully).

3 Disappointed – The Restrictions Of Release Dates

The former director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Scott Derrickson, took to Twitter in December, stating, “Studio release dates are the enemy of art.” If that isn’t a more fitting statement on modern Hollywood, we don’t know what is.

RELATED: MCU: 10 Storylines Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Can Have

This is an issue, especially for Disney, which has to keep to as tight a timeline of releases as possible. The synergy of all of their products and franchises have to fit into their plan. There is little doubt that many of the issues of current Star Wars films, let alone Marvel and other properties, couldn’t be solved with more lenient time frames.

2 Worked – Practical Effects

Perhaps the greatest success of the current era of Star Wars has been its hiring of practical effects artists. The success of the original films was creating a world that fans believed existed. Neal Scanlan and his team made that possible in these new movies.

The best part about modern-day practical effects is that they don’t need to work alone. All of them can be touched up or enhanced with CGI technology, creating a marriage of the two art forms and resulting in some of the best blockbuster creature work in decades.

1 Disappointed – Balancing The New And The Nostalgic

For the most part, the Sequel Trilogy was able to craft a world of brand new characters, planets, and heroes that fit right into the established worlds of the Originals and Prequels. Sadly, there was often a tug of war between old and new that held many of these characters back.

The power of generations and history is a dominant theme in this saga. Still, the amount of callback and thematic reuse from the original Star Wars films often felt more like a distraction, if anything. Though never purely shallow fan service, some could have taken more of a backseat to flesh out the new ideas and characters.

NEXT: Star Wars: 5 Ways Rise of Skywalker Is A Better Trilogy Closer Than Return of the Jedi (& 5 Ways It’s Worse)



2020-01-29 01:01:05

Matt Berger

Dark Fate: Controversial John Connor Scene Disappointed Edward Furlong

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WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Terminator: Dark Fate

It turns out Edward Furlong is just as shocked and dismayed about what happened to John Connor in the latest Terminator film as everyone else as the often-troubled former child star weighs in on the death of his character in Terminator: Dark Fate. Set after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Dark Fate featured Furlong’s long-awaited return as the future savior of mankind, John Connor. He reprised the role via the use of CGI to imprint his face on a younger body in order to recreate the character as he was in 1991.

Terminator fans were expecting the boy hero to have a larger role in the sequel, but John’s fate took a much darker turn in the new timeline created by him and his mother in the previous film. While relaxing at a beach in Guatemala, John is gunned down by a remnant Terminator, dying mere minutes into the movie and radically changing the course of history. With John dead, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) makes it her mission to hunt Terminators, until she comes across the new destined savior, Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes).

Related:  Terminator: Dark Fate’s Controversial Opening Was Good

In an interview with Alex Leyba, Furlong was apparently caught off-guard about what would become of his character and was a little let down by the development. “They smoked my ass!” he exclaimed. “That was the role. I did it for a day – I shot for one day. And, yeah, we did some CGI. They paid me. So, I mean, ya know. It kinda bums me out. Cause I’d love to do a whole one and make a shit-ton of money. I would love to do more, but we’ll see what happens.”

The plot twist, which was series creator James Cameron’s idea, took many fans by surprise. Several viewers were outraged by the death of the central character of the franchise in such a sudden manner, and this, alongside the plot borrowing heavily from past films, lead to Dark Fate being one of the most divisive and poorly performing installments of a series that has seen its fair share of fan backlash over the years.

One area of Furlong’s statement gives pause, the mention of wanting to return for a larger role in a future film. John may be dead for now, but the one thing the Terminator series is known for, aside from killer robots from Austria, is constant retcons to the lore via time-travel. It’s entirely possible that in a sequel to Dark Fate, new Resistance leader Dani might wish to save John by undoing his tragic end, most likely to gain the former soldier’s aide in battling the machine armies of the rogue A.I., Legion. If that were to happen, we could finally see an adult Furlong in the future, helping to lead mankind to victory like many moviegoers were hoping for with Terminator: Dark Fate.

More:  Theory: Dark Fate: Why Didn’t The Resistance Send Anybody Back To Stop The Terminator?

Source: Alex Leyba (via Bloody Disgusting)


2019-11-26 02:11:34

J Shirey

George Lucas Was Disappointed The Force Awakens Copied A New Hope

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George Lucas was disappointed when he first saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm – and with it, the Star Wars franchise – to Disney for $4.05 billion. It didn’t take long for the House of Mouse to capitalize on their acquisition, and in 2015 they launched the Sequel Trilogy.

There have long been reports that George Lucas wasn’t particularly impressed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Back in 2015, he gave candid interviews in which he criticized the “retro” tone, and even went so far as to quip that he felt like he’d sold his kids to slavers. He later publicly apologized, acknowledging that he’d used a very inappropriate analogy, and insisted he still had the utmost respect for Disney.

Related: Star Wars 9 Can Explain George Lucas’ Special Edition Changes

Disney CEO Bob Iger has now given an inside look at the controversy. He’s published a tell-all book, The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned From 15 Years As CEO Of The Walt Disney Company. According to Iger, those early years were quite difficult. Lucas was struggling to let go of Star Wars, and felt personally let down because Lucasfilm didn’t develop his own ideas for the Sequel Trilogy. That built to a head when he saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Just prior to the global release, Kathy screened The Force Awakens for George. He didn’t hide his disappointment. “There’s nothing new,” he said. In each of the films in the original trilogy, it was important to him to present new worlds, new stories, new characters, and new technologies. In this one, he said, “There weren’t enough visual or technical leaps forward.”

This is a common criticism of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Iger concedes that Lucas had a point. For all that’s the case, however, he still believes it was essential in order to persuade fans to stick with Star Wars. This first film had to serve as a bridge between the Lucas and the Disney eras. The visual style, the thematic nods, even the basic plot structure was intended to appeal to nostalgia. “George was criticizing us for the very thing we were trying to do,” Iger observes, and it’s not difficult to read a note of irritation in that comment. While Iger does feel Disney made mistakes – he acknowledges they rushed Star Wars, for example – in this case he believes they made the right call.

It does seem as though Lucas has become a lot more comfortable with the Disney-era Star Wars as the years have passed. He’s become content with occasional set visits, giving Gareth Edwards jokes rather than advice when he dropped in on the set of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and he reportedly enjoyed Rogue One a lot more. Lucas seems to have been a little more ambivalent when it comes to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, complimenting the film as beautifully made; that quixotic comment has been read into a lot by fans, but may be high praise given Lucas’ interest in the technical aspects of filmmaking. No doubt Lucasfilm will be hoping Star Wars‘ creator will be much more excited about The Rise of Skywalker.

More: Star Wars 9 Should End With George Lucas’ Original R2-D2 Twist


2019-09-23 02:09:54

Thomas Bacon

Married at First Sight’s Iris Disappointed with Husband Keith

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Married at First Sight’s Iris is disappointed with her husband Keith. The couple has seemingly gotten off to a rocky start since their “I dos.”

On Married at First Sight, fans have watched as Keith had openly said that he was not sure that Iris would make him happy, and he is not even sure that he wants Iris to take his virginity. In a confessional to the camera, the reality star commented that he felt immense pressure and responsibility for the relationship. The idea of being someone’s first is a very big deal to the newlywed, and the possibility of the marriage not working out is at a much higher risk due to the circumstances of how they met. The reality star went on to say that he just would not feel very happy with himself if they were to break up, having the interaction haunt him forever.

Related: Married At First Sight’s Jamie & Doug Announce Pregnancy After Miscarriages

Iris, who is 27 years old and works as a non-profit program coordinator, has opened up on what it is like to star on the hit show, Married at First Sight, telling fans her relationship with Keith is not all that it seems. While fans are aware thanks to Keith’s confessionals that Iris is lacking in the sexual intimacy area, as he believes she is sexually immature, in a new interview by RealityWithBee, Iris had argued that her husband had this impression of her because she lacked sexual partners. In her opinion, sexual maturity meant that she understood a sexual relationship as a shared relationship. The whole ordeal involved getting to know and understand one another, including her partner’s preferences. To Iris, sexual maturity is not based on how many partners she had slept with, but more with knowing how to understand and learn from the journey.

Avid viewers of Married at First Sight would argue that Keith said those words because of Iris’s obvious discomfort when it came to having a conversation about sex. Fans are on Keith’s side, it seems, as Iris’s refusal to finish the sexy dice game exploited her lack of sexual knowledge. Naturally, Iris defused the allegation of being frosty by saying that she only acted that way because, prior to filming, she and Keith had discussed and decided not to go into details about sex on camera because they both work with children. The non-profit worker said, “It was upsetting to see Keith had an issue with this when we both discussed we wouldn’t talk about certain things on camera.” Towards the end of the interview, Irish said that she believed she had tried her best to be a good wife for Keith, constantly endeavoring to let her guard down.

While being open about their sex life to a camera and a nationwide audience is hard, fans hope that the new couple can overcome the hurdles of discomfort. She had made strides towards embracing her sexuality, but maybe just not quickly enough. Unfortunately, Iris said that she does not feel that her husband, Keith, has helped at all when it comes to taking the next step and being vulnerable together.

Next: Married At First Sight: 20 Rules Couples Have To Follow

Source: RealityWithBee


2019-09-16 01:09:14

Jennifer O'Brien

Justice League: DP Was Disappointed by Changes to His Photography

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The director-of-photography for 2017’s Justice League, Fabian Wagner, has expressed his disappointment at how much of his work was cut from the film’s theatrical version. Following the tragic passing of his daughter, Zack Snyder stepped down from directing duties on the superhero team-up and the film headed in for significant reshoots. Despite assurances from Warner Bros. that the film would essentially remain Snyder’s vision, the finished product proved to be a massive detour from what Snyder intended for Justice League.

In the nearly two years since the film’s release, the topic of the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League remains as omnipresent as ever among DC fans. Aquaman star Jason Momoa recently threw gasoline on the fire after boasting about seeing the film on social media. Wagner also recently commended the “Snyder Cut” campaign’s charitable contributions towards suicide prevention, while also voicing his own support for the film’s release, becoming just the latest in a growing number of the Justice League cast and crew to do so.

Related: Justice League: What HASN’T Been Revealed About The Snyder Cut Yet?

During Wagner’s interview with Comic Book Debate, the cinematographer, who was not involved with the film’s reshoots, was asked to estimate what percentage of the footage seen in the theatrical version of Justice League was shot by him. Wagner explained that “It’s hard for me to say how exactly much was changed, but a lot was changed, and it looked very different.” Wagner further stated that he was “crying“ through the film due to just how much of his and Snyder’s original work had been omitted from the movie’s theatrical cut.

Additionally, Wagner shared that he had met his wife while making Justice League, and expressed his gratitude for working under Snyder’s direction, stating “Its sad for me, because I loved working with Zack. I had the best time of my life.” Wagner further illustrated just how drastic a departure the theatrical cut of Justice League was from the what he shot under Snyder’s stewardship, stating “There was not much stuff left of the stuff that we’d done.” This, of course, stands completely at odds with the studio’s official description of the reshoots in the lead up to the movie’s theatrical release in November of 2017.

On top of Wagner’s public support of Snyder’s vision for Justice League, the details he’s shared on how heavy the alterations to the film ultimately proved to be is sure to add even more fuel to the fire for the “Snyder Cut”. Aside from his interview with Comic Book Debate, Wagner has also shared quite a few never-before-seen images from the film himself on social media, which along with Snyder’s own social media teases have provided a clear picture of how radically different a film the “Snyder Cut” really is from the theatrical cut. Ultimately, the decision to release the “Snyder Cut” rests with Warner Bros. However, until the green light is finally given, the details shared by Wagner have ensured that the demand for the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League won’t be dying down anytime soon.

Next: Justice League Cinematographer Confirms Snyder Shot Darkseid Scenes

Source: Comic Book Debate


2019-08-23 03:08:43

Brad Curran

The Bachelorette’s Tyler Is Disappointed in Jed Over Lying to Hannah

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Tyler Cameron, a model not only in vocation but also of honesty and integrity, expressed disappointment recently that Jed Wyatt lied to Hannah Brown on The Bachelorette. A friend of Wyatt’s during filming, Cameron thought Brown would be in good hands no matter who she chose once Luke Parker was eliminated. That wasn’t the case.

While Wyatt went from aspiring singer to lying cheater once it was revealed he came on the show with a girlfriend, he still seemed like a decent guy to the other contestants on the show. He and Cameron were friends, united in a romantic interest in Brown and blatant disinterest in Parker, though Wyatt was more vocal about the latter. When Brown dumped Cameron before he could propose, he held in tears and wished her a happy future with Wyatt. Of course, that was before he was given the information the rest of the audience had learned by the time The Bachelorette finale aired.

Related: Bachelorette Finale: Hannah Gives Tyler Unexpected Second Chance

On The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast (via: Us Weekly), Cameron said he was disappointed once he found out all the details about Wyatt’s string of lies about his past relationship. Along with Peter Weber, who was eliminated before the final two, Cameron thought Brown had narrowed the field down to three quality men. He figured that if he left without a rose before those two guys, they would be able to provide her with a lifetime of happiness. Cameron said, “I felt like they would be able to take care of her. And just to see all that go down the way it did is just truly disappointing.”

Cameron believed Wyatt had a chance to make things right, something Brown had also admitted. But he kept stating falsehoods about the nature of his partnership with ex-girlfriend Haley Stevens. Cameron stood up for one of his close friends in the house, stating – in contrast to what many now believe – that he thought Wyatt’s feelings for Brown were genuine. Still, Cameron said, “My heart ached for her to see her go through that because I wanted her to be the happiest person ever. She went through some tough times.”

At every stop in his journey on The Bachelorette and every post-show interview he’s given thus far, Cameron has refused to bad-mouth any former contestant while continuing to stand up for what’s right. It could very well be a ploy to be named the next Bachelor, but more likely, it’s a reflection of his unselfish character. Cameron didn’t ignore that what his friend did was wrong, but instead of trashing Wyatt, he’s used the situation to lift up Brown. During The Bachelorette and after its conclusion, Cameron has tactfully avoided throwing himself into the center of controversy, and as a result, no contestant on the show is currently as universally beloved as him.

Next: The Bachelorette’s Tyler Doesn’t Want To Rush Anything With Hannah

Source: Us Magazine, The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast


2019-08-05 01:08:37

Justin Fedich

Analysts Say Nintendo Switch Has Disappointed in Second Year

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Some gamers may have embraced the innovative design and portability of the Nintendo Switch, but industry analysts say that the console has disappointed in its second year. The biggest problem for the Switch has been a lack of fresh content, with fewer new games leading to lower hardware sales, while cardboard add-on Nintendo Labo has failed to generate much interest.

The Nintendo Switch was launched in 2017, and offered a unique way for players to seamlessly “switch” between couch-bound gaming and gaming on the move. The handheld controller can either be docked, allowing for people to play games on a larger screen, or undocked and used as a portable gaming device. So, you could be playing Skyrim on the Nintendo Switch at home, and then undock the console and continue playing your game on the train to work. The console was initially a huge success, exceeding Nintendo’s expectations by selling 14 million units in the first year of its release.

Related: Nintendo Switch Finally Getting YouTube App This Week?

But a games console is ultimately only as good as the games that are available for it, and many AAA releases tend to skip the Nintendo Switch, releasing only on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Nintendo makes up the shortfall by having many exclusive franchises, like the Zelda and Super Mario games, but even those exclusives have been thin on the ground in 2018. BNN Bloomberg reports that the Nintendo Switch is on track to ship 35 million units by March 2018 – which may sound like a lot, but is short of the company’s target of 38 million. William O’Neil & Co. analyst Cornelio Ash said, “All great consoles need a great second year, and Nintendo hasn’t delivered one for the Switch… Investors thought over five years they could sell maybe 90 million units. But after this year, that’s looking pretty much impossible.”

The Nintendo Switch came out of the gate strong in 2017, with new titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Bomberman R available at launch, and heavy-hitters like Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, and Fortnite arriving later in the year. The console also acquired ports of older hit games like Skyrim and Dark Souls, making them available to play on the go for the first time. 2018, by contrast, has been considerably less exciting. Yoshi‘s release was pushed back to 2019, and Nintendo’s lacklustre E3 2018 presentation caused the company’s stocks to plummet this summer.

Bloomberg speculates that Nintendo could offer drastic price cuts in order to boost sales, which would at least be good news for those who have been holding off on buying the Switch. Nintendo declined to comment on these reports, saying only that sales projections haven’t changed and it’s still too early to get an accurate picture of what lifetime sales will be by March 2019. Still, if Nintendo is to put its current generation console back on the right track, it will need to line up some pretty special releases for next year.

More: Nintendo Switch Online Isn’t Worth the Price of Admission… Yet

Source: BNN Bloomberg



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