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Epic Asks Court To Force Apple To Return Fortnite To US App Store
The ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Apple has fired up again recently after a district-court injunction led Epic to attempt to get Fortnite back on the US App Store for the first time in five years. Apple has since blocked the submission, and Epic is appealing to the court to uphold its injunction against Apple.
After Apple left the Fortnite submission unaddressed for over a week, it finally responded to Epic to block Fortnite's return in the US. Apple has said that it won't take action on the Fortnite submission "until after the Ninth Circuit rules on our pending request for a partial stay of the new injunction," a move Epic believes is in violation of the injunction itself. In response, Epic has filed a second Motion to Enforce Injunction with the California district court in question.
Epic Games managed to get Fortnite back on iPhones in Europe last year, thanks to the European Union's Digital Markets Act, but the game is currently offline again in the EU due to the ongoing drama with the US App Store.
Continue Reading at GameSpotFortnite's AI Darth Vader Voice Draws Union Complaint
Earlier this month, Fortnite's Star Wars-themed Galactic Battle event reintroduced Darth Vader to the game with a twist. Thanks to an AI-generated voice based on the late James Earl Jones, players can speak to Darth Vader in real time and get the Dark Lord of the Sith to respond within certain limitations. Now SAG-AFTRA--the actors union which is currently engaged in a protracted voiceover performers strike against video game publishers, largely over the use of AI voices--has filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint against Epic Games for Fortnite's use of Darth Vader's AI voice.
Two years before Jones passed away in 2024, he retired as the voice of Darth Vader and signed a deal that allows an AI program to recreate his iconic voice in perpetuity. SAG-AFTRA's filing contends that the deal with Jones' estate doesn't extend to other voice actors who have portrayed Darth Vader in its filing with the National Labor Relations Board.
"We celebrate the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles," noted a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson via Deadline. "However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games."
Continue Reading at GameSpotThe Siege and the Sandfox
RoadCraft
15th Prison
Kyosho
Save 20% On This Cool Wireless Controller With A Built-In Screen At Amazon
ManbaOne Wireless Controller (PC, Switch, Mobile)
$56 (was $70) for white | $60 for black
See at Amazon
One of the most popular Nintendo Switch and PC controllers sold by Amazon is on sale for a great price. The ManbaOne Wireless Controller, which released in March 2024, is up for grabs for $56 (was $70). This matches the lowest price yet for this pro-style controller with a built-in miniature display. Yes, the ManbaOne has a terrible name, but it's a pretty awesome controller that impressed us when we tested it last year. The white model shown below is eligible for the 20% discount, while the black version is slightly more expensive at $60.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
Did You Know Disney's Stitch Has A Samurai Manga Series?
If the upcoming Lilo & Stitch live-action remake has you wanting to revisit the series, but you've already seen the original animated movie and its TV series spinoffs enough times, you might want to check out the official Lilo & Stitch manga series where Stitch winds up in feudal Japan and befriends and brutal samurai warlord. Yes, it's a real thing, and you can grab the entire series with the Stitch and the Samurai: The Complete Collection, which is on sale for $20.45 (was $22) at Amazon.
Stitch and the Samurai manga $20.45 (was $22)Stitch and the Samurai is an official manga series by Hiroto Wada set in an alternate plotline where Stitch crash-lands in Sengoku-era Japan instead of modern-day Hawaii. The warlord Lord Yamato discovers Stitch and believes him to be a "blue tanuki" he can deploy in battle--only for the cute alien to slowly soften the samurai's stoic disposition. The full series is now available in a single 564-page hardcover omnibus, Stitch and the Samurai: The Complete Collection, for $20.45 (was $22). The series was previously published in three separate volumes, which are also available. Buying the paperback volumes separately is more expensive than the omnibus version, but their smaller format makes them much easier on your hands.
Stitch and the Samurai: The Complete Collection Stitch and the Samurai Volumes 1--3 Disney Manga featuring StitchSurprisingly, Stitch and the Samurai isn't the only Lilo and Stitch manga. The Stitch manga, illustrated by Yumi Tsukurino, sees the adorable superweapon travel to a Japanese island near Okinawa, where he befriends a young girl named Yuna who excels at karate, and wacky hijinks ensue. You can pick up the full series in a 352-page omnibus collection for just $12 (was $15). The two original separate volumes are also available for purchase. The series was followed up by two sequels, Best Friends Forever and the upcoming Best Food Forever. There's also the Disney manga series Magical Dance, which features Stitch and a few other characters from the House of Mouse helping aspiring performer Rin to realize her dream of becoming a dancer.
More Lilo & Stitch Manga
- Stitch! The Manga Collection -- $12 ($15)
- Stitch! Volume 1 -- $9.68 ($11)
- Stitch! Volume 2 -- $11
- Stitch! Best Friends Forever -- $10.22 ($11)
- Stitch! Best Food Forever -- $13 | Releases October 21
- Disney Manga: Magical Dance Volume 1 -- $11
Over in the US, there have been quite a few Stitch graphic novels published as well. Last year saw the release of a new adventure set after the first film, written by one of the best talents to ever work on Marvel's Incredible Hulk, Greg Pak, and illustrated in vivid detail by Giulia Giacomino. This is a nice 104-page graphic novel for kids that you can pick up for $11.18 (was $13) and it follows Stitch as he takes on evil aliens and giant robots powered by his own DNA. The second volume is also out soon on July 8, and this storyline sees Lilo recruited by the Galactic Federation to be their go-to expert for animal control.
Lilo and Stitch: O'Hana Volume 1 Lilo and Stitch: O'Hana Volume 2 Agent Stitch booksOn the prose side, there are also the kid-friendly books in the Agent Stitch book series. Written by Steve Behling and featuring illustrations by Arianna Rhea, these books revolve around Stitch investigating paranormal activities on Earth on behalf of the Galactic Federation. The first book sees Stitch travel to Paris to uncover the disappearance of one of the federation's best operatives, Cobra Bubbles, and rumors of snail-like aliens known as Snailiens, and the second book sees Stitch land in New York City to solve a missing persons case involving shape-shifting aliens. Book three shifts the action to Korea as Stitch teams up with K-Pop idols to aliens operating in the city of Seoul.
Agent Stitch: A Study in Slime Agent Stitch: The Trouble with Toothoids Agent Stitch: The Menace at the Mall Lilo and Stitch (4K) $41As much fun as Lilo and Stitch's expanded adventures are, nothing beats the animated source material. Over 20 years later, Lilo and Stitch still holds up as one of Disney's best traditionally animated films, and you can grab it on 4K Blu-ray for $41. This edition includes 4K, Blu-ray, and digital download versions of the movie, plus a bunch of bonus features like a lesson on how to do a Hula dance, music videos, audio commentary, featurettes, and the cheeky promotional materials where Stitch "invaded" other Disney movies.
See at Amazon Nightmare Before Christmas mangaDisney also released manga based on its Nightmare Before Christmas film, so if you'd like a creepy tour of that movie in print format, you can pick this up right now. The 176-page full-color edition is available for $16 (was $20) through Amazon, and there's also the deluxe Collector's Edition that combines the entire Zero's Journey series into one full-color book. This one was originally priced at 450 when it was first released, but it's on sale for 50% off currently.
The Nightmare Before Christmas Manga