Sony Shares Rebound After Earlier Console Wars Plunge Sparked by Microsoft Deal for Activision Blizzard

NBC’s primetime Olympics host will return to the U.S. from Beijing after Monday night’s broadcast, earlier than was originally planned.

Fight Club‘s original ending has been restored on Chinese streaming service Tencent Video following cuts to its conclusion.Last month, the 1999 film hit headlines after it emerged that its final scenes had been altered on the platform, replacing The Narrator (Edward Norton) killing of imaginary alter ego Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and watching buildings collapse.Instead, a blank slate reads: “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding. After the trial, Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment.”Following a backlash, however, Tencent has now reportedly restored 11 of the 12 minutes cut in its version, only keeping a sex scene between Durden and Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) out.China has strict rules on censorship, which may have explained the original cut ending, though it is unclear if the backlash has led to the restoration.

China to NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, to host Wednesday's and Thursday's shows before heading to Los Angeles on Friday to anchor Olympic and Super Bowl coverage through Sunday.Tirico will then head back to Stamford for the final week of Olympic coverage. The Games conclude on Feb.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorShaun White has announced his official retirement from competitive snowboarding, with Beijing 2022 marking not only his last time on the Olympic stage, but also in any official competition.“It will be my last competition, which is pretty special,” White told a news conference in Zhangjiakou, China on Saturday, according to the official Olympic website. “It’s been a beautiful run.

Meghan McCain has slammed the 2022 Winter Olympics, branding them the "Genocide Games" over China's human rights abuses.MORE: Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie share disappointment over 2022 Winter Olympics newsThe 37-year-old took to social media to share an image designed by Chinese artist badiucao, which was created in protest of the host country. It showed an ice hockey player wearing the Chinese flag with blood on their stick and mask as they knocked over a Tibetan monk.WATCH: Meghan McCain announces departure from The View"I will not watch one minute of the @Beijing2022," she captioned her post, adding the hashtag, "#GenocideGames."On Twitter, she expanded on her opinion, writing: "There is no reason to watch a Winter Olympics that is holding up and spreading propaganda for a regime that is committing actual genocide and ethnic cleansing - on top of poisoning the world and killing 6 million people.

Today is the fifth anniversary of Process, the game-changing debut album from Sampha. Yes, you are old, but the good news is that to celebrate his album, Sampha has shared two songs that are probably new to you.

Nintendo reportedly hints at making its next console backwards compatible with the Nintendo Switch.Following the announcement that the Nintendo Switch has sold 103.54million units since it was launched in March 2017, the company reportedly spoke on the future of its consoles in a new Q&A with investors (thanks, VGC).According to Japan-based analyst and investment adviser David Gibson, who summarised the answers on Twitter, the company is ready to make its next console backwards compatible.Responding to a question regarding the Switch’s 98million annual players and how they will factor into the next console, Nintendo said: “Into 6th year of Switch and we are maintaining momentum, we are looking at how to expand and grow this 100m users, leading into next-gen device.”Q) How think about the 98m versus next console?A) Into 6th year of Switch and we are maintaining momentum, we are looking at how to expand and grow this 100m users, leading into next gen device (sounds like next device will be backward compatible!) 7/— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 3, 2022Gibson also added his theory to the Tweet, saying, “sounds like next device will be backward compatible,” although Nintendo didn’t elaborate.The company was also asked how new console users are buying their games. Nintendo said that around 60 per cent of game purchases were from the console’s catalogue in the last fiscal year.

Savannah Guthrie has shared a rare behind-the-scenes moment with fans as she prepares for the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC.MORE: Savannah Guthrie shares throwback baby bump photo during touching on-air tributeThe Today Show star will host the NBC coverage of the Opening Ceremony from New York after it was confirmed that the anchors would not be sent to China over continuing COVID-19 concerns, and she took to social media to share a video taken from behind the cameras.WATCH: Today Show's Savannah Guthrie shares rare behind-the-scenes moment with fans ahead of new projectSavannah was joined by former Olympian Lindsey Vonn for studio rehearsals, with Lindsey sharing a video and Savannah later resharing it.The mom-of-two also posted several pictures from the green room, captioning the post: "Getting ready!MORE: Savannah Guthrie shares incredible family photo featuring her rarely-seen siblingsSavannah was sent to Tokyo in 2021 for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics but the team will mostly report from the studio's Stamford facility and 30 Rock in Manhattan.Today anchor Craig Melvin will represent the morning show in Beijing across the two weeks, while Mike Tirico will also be in the Chinese city for the Opening Ceremony and the first few days of the game.A post shared by Savannah Guthrie (@savannahguthrie)On Wednesday Team USA announced that John Shuster and Brittany Bowe will carry the American flag at Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony.John, 39, will make history as the first curler to carry the flag during the opening ceremony.

investigation by TheWrap to accuse the Palestinian journalist of abusing their trust by turning professional situations into sexualized encounters, including a former assistant who said that Asi showed her pornography at work and kissed her on the lips without her consent. A spokesperson for the HFPA — which has been under fire for much of the last year amid accusations of corruption, racism and self-dealing that prompted NBC to back out of televising the Globes last month — said that the organization sent the information provided by TheWrap to an outside law firm for review, citing the group’s “intolerance for any type of discrimination or harassment.”“The HFPA takes any and all allegations very seriously and does not condone any type of inappropriate misconduct or behavior,” the spokesperson said.

TOKYO -- Sony’s profit for the quarter through December edged up 11% on healthy sales from its film division, including the new Spider-Man movie, the Japanese electronics and entertainment company said Wednesday.Tokyo-based Sony Corp. recorded a 346 billion yen ($3 billion) profit for the fiscal third quarter, up from 310.7 billion yen the previous year.Quarterly sales edged up to 3 trillion yen ($26 billion) from 2.7 trillion yen.Sony said strong offerings in its music division, like the album “30" from Adele; movies like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and licensing income from the “Seinfeld” series lifted earnings.Its imaging and sensor unit also posted solid results.In video games, sales fell short of expectations as a parts supply crunch, especially of semiconductors, dented sales of its PlayStation 5 machine, Sony said.The company's chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, said Sony's acquisition of Bungie Inc., known for its Halo and Destiny games, for $3.6 billion highlighted its commitment to the gaming business.The purchase includes payments to the shareholder creators at the independent studio to ensure their retention, he said.Analysts say the addition complements Sony’s strength in shooting games and will further solidify its position.But competition is heating up in the video game industry.Microsoft Corp.

Refresh for latest…: With a major assist from the phenomenal global box office performance of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony Pictures Entertainment has recorded a third-quarter profit of $1.314 billion, up a staggering 570% from the comparable period in 2020. Revenues saw a 122% increase to $4.063 billion versus the same quarter the previous year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSony’s pictures division achieved net profits of $1.3 billion in the three months to December 2021, boosted by a return to theatrical releasing and the blockbuster performance of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” The $1.31 billion figure compares with profits of $194 million in the equivalent quarter of 2020, and with profits of $288 million in the preceding three months to end of September 2021.Parent company, Sony Group’s net profits grew by 20% in the three months to December 2021 hitting JPY461 billion. Sales were up by 13% to JPY3.03 trillion.The bumper results, unusually, made the pictures division the largest contributor to Sony’s consolidated net profits.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake part two is set to be revealed sometime this year.During the Final Fantasy 7 25th anniversary event held in Japan today (January 31), the game’s original director Yoshinori Kitase stated that he was going to reveal the first details about Remake part two during the event (thanks, VGC).“We are hard at work on Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, so please look forward to that. In addition, with regards to the long-awaited Final Fantasy 7 Remake [part two]… there will be more information… this year if we can,”  Kitase said, in a translation provided to VGC by PushDustIn.Additionally, Kitase also confirmed that the game will be revealed this year, saying, “Well yeah.

I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, said she was so poorly she ended up being rushed to hospital as it was feared she was suffering a brain aneurysm. She opened up about the scary time, saying her body was "shutting down".

Take Out With Lisa Ling, now streaming on HBO Max, there's one thing Lisa Ling wants to make clear: “I'm not a cook," says the , who hosts and executive produces the docu-series. “So I'm very forthcoming about the fact that it's not a cooking show.

Naman Ramachandran Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired exclusive South Asia media rights for the 2022 Asian Games taking place later this year at Hangzhou, China. SPN will have the rights to broadcast the games across its sports channels in India and the subcontinent including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives, and on streamer SonyLIV through Sept. 2023.