• Nintendo filed a US patent for a Game Boy-style phone case in March 2018.
• The case is designed to turn a smartphone's touchscreen into a functioning Game Boy with a working control pad and buttons.
• Nintendo does not currently have any Game Boy software available for Android or iOS devices, but the case design suggests that a line of handheld games are on the way.

Nintendo has filed a patent for a phone case that would turn your touch screen into a Game Boy with functioning buttons.

Siliconera discovered the design documents for the case, which was first submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in March 2018.

Based on the images provided, the case would open like a book, with the front cover serving as the face of the Game Boy. The smartphone would snap into place on the bottom layer of the case. When the case is closed, it would limit the view to the classic Game Boy screen and the buttons would be fully usable with the touch screen.

Like the original Game Boy, the case has A and B buttons, a directional pad, and start and select buttons. The L and R buttons featured on the Game Boy Advance are not present.

Nintendo does not currently offer any Game Boy software for Android or iOS devices, but this patented case could mean retro handheld games are on the way. Nintendo jumped into the smartphone gaming market in 2016 and has been wildly successful so far. "Pokemon Go" was a global phenomenon when it launched in July 2016 and "Fire Emblem Heroes" has grossed more than $400 million worldwide since its launch in February 2017.

Still, it's important to take this news with a grain of salt. Companies patent ideas all the time, and a very small number of them see the light of day, or make it into actual products you can buy. Still, we could see this smartphone case being a bit hit, especially among Nintendo fans.

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• "Venom" took in $10 million in Thursday previews — a record-breaking figure for the month of October. 
• "A Star Is Born" also fueled the box office with $4.6 million in previews.
• We could be looking at not just a record-breaking opening weekend for "Venom," but for overall box office.

Hear that laughter? No, it's not audiences laughing at the wacky performance by Tom Hardy in "Venom," it's the movie studio behind it laughing its way straight to the bank. 

The rotten reviews for Sony's latest Marvel movie isn't hurting its bottom line. "Venom" took in $10 million in Thursday preview screenings, according to The Hollywood Reporter (the movie is also getting high marks on post screening surveys, Business Insider has leared from a source at Sony). That's a record-breaking figure for the month of October and it puts the movie on pace to have the biggest opening weekend ever for the month, which is currently held by the 2013 movie "Gravity" ($55.78 million).   

It seems audiences are ignoring the 28% Rotten Tomatoes score "Venom" is currently sporting (the audience score is 89%). What's also impressive is the turnout for the movie despite another much-talked-about title also opening this weekend, "A Star Is Born."

The Oscar-bait Warner Bros. release starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, which also marks his directorial debut, took in an impressive $4.6 million so far (counting Thursday previews and special screenings earlier in the week). 

With industry projections having "Venom" opening somewhere between $57 million - $65 million and "A Star Is Born" coming in around $30 million (or higher), it's looking like this could be a record-breaker for overall revenue for an October weekend. 

SEE ALSO: "Venom" is a darkly comedic Marvel movie you will either love or hate

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

• "The Old Man & the Gun" stars Robert Redford as a 70-year-old bank robber.
• But director David Lowery tells the story in a way that makes it more than just a cops-and-robbers movie.

Every weekend we pick an indie movie currently playing in theaters we think is definitely worth your time and money, and this week's is "The Old Man & the Gun."

From the opening shot of "The Old Man & the Gun" you know you are watching something from a different era. 

Director David Lowery's use of grainy Super 16mm film to capture the story of a 70-year-old bank robber transports you immediately to the early 1980s, where the internet and smart phones are replaced with transistor radios and pay phones. 

And at the center of it all is Robert Redford. Still sporting that grin that made him a big-screen idol in the very decade the movie is set in, it seems like Redford is having the time of his life in every frame of the movie playing a character he knows how to do so well, a charmer from the wrong side of the tracks. 

Based on a true story, Redford plays career criminal Forrest Tucker, who since 15 has spent most of his life getting sent to prisons and eventually escaping them. The movie looks at Tucker as he goes on a string of bank heists after escaping San Quentin State Prison.

But this is hardly a "Bonnie and Clyde" cops-and-robbers movie. Lowery, who has always made movies that have a mythical feel ("Ain't Them Bodies Saints," "Pete's Dragon"), delves deeper into the persona of Tucker and what makes him tick. From the relationship he has with his crew (played by Danny Glover and Tom Waits) to his own vagabond lifestyle that pulls in Jewel (Sissy Spacek) to how he goes about robbing banks. Though he has a gun (we never really ever see him holding it when he's in the bank), it's more a wink and a smile that leads him to getting the money. 

Lowery obviously uses the incredible talents of Redford to push all this forward. One of the more meatier roles he's done in a while (supposedly this is his final movie), he uses every moment on film to explore the layers of his character while also entertaining the heck out of us, the audience. 

"The Old Man & the Gun" has an ease to it that sucks you in. It's a mellow vibe of storytelling that isn't appreciated anymore, but it's absolutely worth revisiting.

See where "The Old Man & the Gun" is playing near you.

Our indie movie picks from previous weekends:

• "Eighth Grade"
• "Blindspotting"
• "The Miseducation of Cameron Post"
• "BlacKkKlansman"
• "Support the Girls"
• "Sorry to Bother You"
• "Operation Finale"
• "Lizzie"
• "Assassination Nation"
• "The Sisters Brothers"

SEE ALSO: The directors of "Ralph Breaks the Internet" address the Princess Tiana backlash and teases more scenes featuring Disney princesses in the movie

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

• Floyd Mayweather flew all the way to Iceland in his private jet just to take a photo for Instagram, according to Us Weekly.
• He then appears to have flown to Paris for a photo of the Eiffel Tower and to Russia to take a snap of him shooting guns.
• He set to visit Dubai on Friday.
• Floyd Mayweather is living his best life.

The retired boxer Floyd Mayweather was renowned for landing the perfect shot, and his flawless record of 50 wins in 50 fights shows that he mastered the art of hitting while barely getting hit.

Even in retirement, he is still taking shots — but now they're with a camera rather than his gloves.

Mayweather, 41, recently flew all the way to Iceland from the US just to take an Instagram photo, according to Us Weekly.

"Floyd flew to Iceland on a private jet to take pictures for Instagram," a source told the magazine on Tuesday. "It's just him and some members of his team. He didn't even spend the night."

The American documented his journey on social media. It all began on his private jet, the Air Mayweather.

He flew to Iceland to check out the hot springs at Blue Lagoon near Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

Shortly after, he watched a boxing fight on a big TV in Paris, took a photo of himself in front of the Eiffel Tower, and ended the European leg of his trip by shooting guns in Grozny, Russia.

Here's Mayweather in front of his private jet:

"Time to do what I do best … explore the world!" he said in the caption. "First stop, Iceland."

Mayweather's next post, a video of the Blue Lagoon, has been watched more than 500,000 times.

"Life is all about experiencing different things," he said. "So, I decided to come check out Iceland. It is one of the most sought out countries for hot springs. What better place than the Blue Lagoon to experience first while in Iceland."

"I'm on paycation!" he said. "It's always gang green."

Mayweather's next photo, uploaded just one day later, was geotagged in Paris.

This photo shows him watching a fight in what is probably his hotel room.

A trip to Paris would not be complete without an obligatory photo of the Eiffel Tower.

That day, Mayweather also posted a video of him shooting guns at a range in Grozny, Russia.

"Keep on thinking I could just hit the target with my hands," he said.

Mayweather's world tour is not yet complete, as there is one more stop — Dubai — set for Friday.

After that, he might decide to return home to his $25 million Los Angeles mansion, which has a candy shop, a 12-seat cinema, and a wine rack with 225 bottles.

Floyd Mayweather is living his best life.

SEE ALSO: Floyd Mayweather's $25 million Los Angeles mansion has a candy shop, a 12-seat cinema, and a wine rack with 225 bottles — take a look inside

DON'T MISS: Floyd Mayweather just bought an $18 million 280-carat diamond watch called 'The Billionaire' — take a look

UP NEXT: Floyd Mayweather’s Instagram shows him living his best life in the Caribbean just a week after a gunman sprayed bullets at his entourage

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I loved Bradley Cooper's "A Star is Born" and honestly can't stop talking about it.

I am also obsessed with all things entertainment (maybe this is why I am an entertainment reporter?) and love to watch things that make me cry, which makes the movie's tragic tale of fame, love, and addiction feel like it was made for people like me.

The main story of "A Star is Born" is the same in each iteration: A famous, alcoholic man's career goes into decline right as the career of the woman he loves blossoms. It is Hollywood's "Romeo and Juliet," except Juliet doesn't die. The only thing that changes is the industry: the first films are about actors, and the most recent versions are about musicians.

After seeing Cooper's 2018 version of the movie, I watched all three previous "A Star is Born" movies and decided which ones are the best and why people keep retelling this story every few decades. 

On this pop culture journey I learned that Gary Busey is in one of them and that in the 1930s, adults who were famous movie stars drank huge glasses of milk with dinner.

Here are all of the "A Star is Born" movies, ranked from worst to best (and where you can stream them):

Note: Although it tells a similar story, we did not include 1932's "What Price Hollywood?" 

SEE ALSO: Bradley Cooper says he was influenced by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder for 'A Star Is Born' — and it makes total sense

4. "A Star is Born" (1976), starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson (and Gary Busey)

Not even the legendary Barbra Streisand saves this movie. It’s terrible, and feels like it was made just to hype people (in Hollywood) up. It has no real purpose beyond obsessing over itself, and doesn’t say anything new about the entertainment industry or Hollywood or culture, despite its focus on musicians instead of actors.

The only thing indicating it exists in its own decade are the costumes and hairstyles. Streisand and Kris Kristofferson do what they can with the lazy script, but this attempt at a modern interpretation of Hollywood’s favorite tragedy took way too many creative liberties that take away from necessary character development. You can skip it, or just watch Streisand’s final song.

This version of "A Star is Born" is available to rent on Amazon.

3. "A Star is Born" (1937), starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March

1937’s “A Star is Born” is the one that started all of this, and is the only one without any songs. Its trailer, which you can watch on YouTube, labels it “Hollywood’s first true story.” It is not based on a true story.

The movie, carried by its endearing lead, Janet Gaynor — who was in a way being born as a star herself in this transition from silent film — is just fine. What is most fascinating eight decades later is its staggering separation from life and the entertainment industry in 2018. In one scene, a woman at a studio tells Gaynor’s character, Esther, an aspiring actress, that her chances of making it in the industry are “one in one hundred thousand.” Today, that’s a pretty good shot. Also, famous adult human beings in this movie drink full glasses of milk with their dinner.

The awful, and very dim lighting throughout is a victim of its time: in the 1930s, lighting wasn’t necessarily considered an art form that could be played with yet. All that really mattered was whether or not you could see anything, so it's almost unfair to compare it to Cooper’s, which uses lighting and thoughtful camera placement to highlight important things about the characters.

But the first version of this story still has one major thing in common with Cooper's 2018 version: the skepticism surrounding fame and Hollywood which, ironically, might be ingrained into the industry and our culture because of this story that Hollywood can’t stop telling.

This version of "A Star is Born" is available to watch with no additional charges on Amazon Prime.

2. "A Star is Born" (1954), starring Judy Garland and James Mason

This movie is three hours long. It literally has an intermission. It’s good, but perhaps a little too obsessed with itself. Like the 1937 and 1976 “A Star is Born” films,  it lacks a strong sense of character in its male lead, Norman Maine. But Judy Garland brings her otherwise undeveloped character to life in the greatest performance of her career, and one of the greatest performances in film history.

Garland’s presence keeps you watching, even when you know exactly what will happen; even as she belts her way through boring songs that still take you on her character’s tumultuous journey. But ultimately, the screenplay clings a little too desperately to the original, which defeats the purpose of a remake, which is a bit of a disappointment. Hollywood certainly changed significantly in the 17 years in between these movies were made, but this one doesn’t feel much different, besides its transformation into a musical and the addition of palm trees at the Academy Awards ceremony.

This version of "A Star is Born" is available to rent on Amazon.

• An online petition to turn the Salesforce Tower into the Eye of Sauron on Halloween night is gaining momentum.
• In 15 hours since being published, the petition has received over 1,300 signatures from supporters of the idea.
• The top of Salesforce Tower has a screen made up of 11,000 LED lights, displaying videos and other art. 
• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff splashed cold water on the idea, saying that his company doesn't actually control what goes on the tower's display — and he wouldn't be into it, anyway.

Some 1,300 people have signed a Change.org petition asking Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff to turn Salesforce Tower, the software company's San Francisco skyscraper headquarters, into the Eye of Sauron on Halloween night. But Benioff has already splashed cold water on the idea.

For non-Lord of the Rings buffs, Sauron is the main antagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien’s "The Lord of the Rings." The Eye of Sauron appeared to instill fear and let it be known that Sauron was watching — something that would be appropriately spooky for the occassion. 

The petition's description is simple: “San Francisco = Mordor. Salesforce Tower = Eye Of Sauron.” The petiton, created by one Red Rainey, seems to have resonated with people: It took only 15 hours to garner those 1,300-plus signatures, and it's still rising. 

“Come on Mark [sic], have a sense of humor, this would be awesome!!!” one supporter wrote.

The recently opened, 61-story Salesforce Tower sports 11,000 LED lights atop its exterior, illuminating the top six floors with videos programmed by artist Jim Campbell and his team. At night, the light show can be seen from 20 miles away.

The bad news: Benioff told Curbed SF that Boston Properties, not Salesforce, actually controls what goes on the tower. Boston Properties owns the tower, with Salesforce as the primary resident. And he says that if the tower's display were going to commemorate Halloween at all, it would be with a "signal for Batkid" — a reference to Miles Scott, the young cancer survivor who "saved" San Francisco in a huge Make-A-Wish production in 2013.

“I would prefer for it to become a signal for Batkid to return as our city needs a lot of love right now," Benioff told Curbed SF. 

As for the likelihood that Boston Properties would give in and allow the Eye of Sauron to shine: In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle before his installation went live in May, Campbell said his art would never contain advertisements or do holiday-themed display. 

“I’m not going to do a bulletin board, ever,” he said. “I’m not going to do red-and-green Christmas lights.”

He did not, it should be noted, explicitly say that the Eye of Sauron is off the table. 

Another thing to note: This would only be the latest connection between Sauron and the world of tech.

Palantir, the secretive data-mining startup cofounded by Peter Thiel, got its name from a magical artifact used by Sauron to communicate with his evil forces and spy on their enemies. Palmer Luckey, the cofounder of Facebook's Oculus VR unit, also appears to be a "Lord of the Rings" fan — his border security startup, Anduril, is named after hero Aragorn's enchanted sword. 

Representatives for the Salesforce did not immediately return a request for comment.

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• YouTube TV now enables users to obtain DVR copies of shows from every content provider save one.  
• CBS is the only network on YouTube TV not to make a DVR copy of its shows available on the multi-channel service.
• This is likely one of the legacies of Les Moonves, the former CBS CEO.
• Moonves was unparalleled at putting together popular TV shows, but his record indicates he never had a good grasp of the Internet or what it means to viewers.

YouTube TV gave a long-awaited gift to it customers this week: It let them skip ads. 

YouTube's subscription TV service rolled out new DVR capabilities that let users pause, rewind and fast-forward their favorite shows, including fast-forwarding past commercials.

That sounds like a no-brainer, but the fact that Google-owned YouTube has only now introduced the ad-skipping feature on its TV service highlights the ongoing turf war between the traditional TV networks and the new breed of digital streaming services. 

And what's really interesting about the new DVR capabilities on YouTube TV is the one name that's missing. Look closely at the list of networks supporting the new DVR functions and you'll see NBC Universal, Disney, Turner, AMC and Fox. 

Three letters that you won't see are CBS.

YouTube declined to comment on why the new DVR features don't support CBS, and CBS did not return a request for comment. 

Fighting the last war

In fact, CBS's absence is likely one of the legacies of Les Moonves, CBS' former CEO who resigned last month after numerous women claimed he sexually harassed or assaulted them (Moonves has denied the allegations).

Moonves had a nearly unparalleled run of success at CBS. The network typically finished at the top of the ratings. And Moonves' response to the rise of Internet distribution and the disruption that it brought was to fight it.

He argued TV couldn't survive if commercials were removed and he stubbornly defended them. When CBS and the other top broadcasters brought a copyright suit against Aereo, Moonves was one of the most vocal critics of the service. 

"If the government wants to give them permission to steal our signal," Moonves told Reuters in 2014, "then we will come up with some other way to get them our content and still get paid for it." 

Aereo relied on tiny TV antennas to capture shows from over the free airwaves and then distributed the content via the web. Aereo prevailed in the courts until the case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, where it ruled 6-3 in favor of the TV networks. Aereo shut down soon after. 

An absurd distinction

But prevailing in the courtroom is not the same as prevailing in the marketplace, and CBS is now the lone holdout clinging to the old ways.

Most TV broadcasters and cable-show providers now understand that TV viewers would generally much prefer not to sit through 30-second commercials. And most content owners are looking for ways to adapt.

At the heart of the YouTube TV update is a distinction that consumers don't care about and shouldn't have to think about. 

It comes down to a difference between two versions of the same program: An "on-demand" version, which includes specially-inserted ads that cannot be skipped, and a DVR recording of the original show as it was aired live, which means users can fast-forward everything, including the ads. 

For a long time, subscribers were prevented from accessing DVR versions on YouTube TV if a video-on-demand version of the show was available. This meant the content guys were bucking the wishes of their fans.

The other TV networks have had a change of heart and have cut deals with YouTube to give consumers DVR.  In an era where viewers have so many choices —not just between TV shows but with videogames, Facebook, the web — that makes sense.

We don't know what kind of financial terms YouTube offered to in order to get the networks to agree to the new licensing terms. There are billions of dollars of ad revenue at stake and as CBS shows, the chess match between the old guard and the new is still very much unresolved. 

SEE ALSO: YouTube TV is rolling out a bunch of new features to woo cord-cutters away from cable

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• Banksy booby-traps his 'girl with balloon' painting to self-destruct after a phone bidder pays £1.04 million for it.
• A device hidden within the frame of the painting causes part of it to be shredded.
• The prank at Sotheby's auction takes the art world, and the new owner of the destroyed work, by surprise.
• There is speculation that the prank may have significantly increased the artwork's value.

LONDON — The legendary street artist Banksy has booby-trapped one of his most famous works to self-destruct right after it was auctioned for over £1 million, in an apparent bizarre prank at the Sotheby's Auction House in London on Friday.

As soon as the 'girl with balloon' painting was sold to a phone bidder, part of the painting shredded due to a previously hidden device within the frame of the artwork.

"We’ve just been Banksy'ed," Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s European head of contemporary art, told journalists following the auction.

"We have not experienced this situation in the past . . . where a painting spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist. We are busily figuring out what this means in an auction context," he added.

In a statement, the auctioneers Sotheby's said they were in discussions with the purchaser of the destroyed artwork, who they described as "surprised."

"We have talked with the successful purchaser who was surprised by the story. We are in discussion about next steps," they said in a statement.

However, there was immediately speculation by art experts on social media who predicted that the value of the work would have been hugely increased by the prank.

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Video-rental company Redbox recently asked its customers to name the horror movie that scares them the most, and the results include a mix of classic films and more-recent thrillers.

The survey, conducted September 11 to September 18, included 1,200 respondents through the online Redbox Customer Panel. The survey also asked respondents to name which is their favorite family-friendly Halloween movie.

The top five family Halloween movies among Redbox customers are below:

1. Hocus Pocus 
2. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
3. Beetlejuice     
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas      
5. Hotel Transylvania

And below are the top five scariest movies of all time, according to Redbox customers:

SEE ALSO: 'The Nun' is now the highest-grossing movie in the 'Conjuring' franchise worldwide

5. "Saw" (2004)

James Wan's "Saw," about a madman that devises cunning traps for his victims, is just as much a crime-thriller as it is a horror movie — though the line between those genres can often blur (see, "Seven"). But it kicked off a grisly eight-movie franchise that symbolized Halloween for nearly a decade.

4. "The Shining" (1980)

Stanley Kubrick's Stephen King adaptation delivers a spine-tingling Jack Nicholson performance — he plays writer Jack Torrance, who falls deep into madness and terrorizes his family at the infamous Overlook Hotel. 

3. "The Ring" (2002)

In Gore Verbinski's remake of Japanese horror film "Ringu," a video warns of the viewer's death in seven days. It drove its fictional viewers mad, but entranced real-life moviegoers.  

• "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" launched on October 5th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. It's the 11th game in the flagship franchise from publisher Ubisoft.
• Set in ancient Greece, the game lets you choose between a male or female protagonist for the first time in "Assassin's Creed" series history.
• The open world in Odyssey might be the largest in any game to date; the main campaign takes about 30 hours to finish.

"Assassin's Creed: Odyssey" is the first game in the series I've ever put any serious time into, and yet, it feels like I've played it before. "Odyssey" takes lots of cues from other big-ticket action games, fully adopting a huge open world and RPG mechanics that have become standard for the genre.

But there's not much that sets the game apart from its competition.

"Odysessy" is the 11th "Assassin's Creed" game in the same number of years, without counting the spinoffs for handhelds and mobile devices. In some ways, the lack of identity in "Odysessy" seems intentional; newcomers to the series like myself don't need any prior story knowledge to start playing. The game picks up in ancient Greece and spends the opening hours largely ignoring the science fiction/time-travel elements that tie the series' story together.

In lieu of relying heavily on old plot points, the game focuses on the story of its protagonist. Indeed, "Odyssey" is the first Assassin's Creed game to let the player choose between a male or female main character, Alexios or Kassandra.

Both have their own voice acting and will garner some different responses from other characters in the game's open world. The main character begins the game as a mercenary on the island of Kephalonnia, but the world quickly expands to involve more than 30 nation-states.

Odysessy builds on the gameplay of the last Assassin's Creed game, "Origins," which was released less than a year ago.

"Origins" revamped the series' combat mechanics in favor of a more straight-forward hack and slash style and introduced traditional RPG elements like character levels and item crafting. While the mechanics should be familiar to anyone who has played a single player action game in the last five years, they continue a departure from the gameplay of the early Assassin's Creed games.

Rather than feeling like an evolution, it feels like "Odyssey" is content to emulate the strong points of games like "The Witcher 3," "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," and "Shadow of Mordor."

As a result, there's not much about "Odyssey" that feels exceptional. The combat is mostly fine, despite some weird targeting issues. The RPG elements ae serviceable, but will occasionally force you to grind side quests to avoid being killed in one or two hits by an enemy that's a few levels higher.

The story isn't awful, but it's spread out over dozens of hours of gameplay and the open world format makes it feel in-cohesive. The visuals are good for a game with such a huge map and variety of areas, but pale in comparison to other big budget games released this year, like "Marvel's Spider-Man" and "Shadow of the Tomb Raider."

"Odyssey" certainly doesn't suffer from a lack of content, featuring dozens of side quests, unique enemies, and mythical creatures spread across the Greek states. Each area is full of life, with warring leaders and political undertones driving interactions with civilians, politicians, religious cults, soldiers and bandits. The player's actions have tangible consequences in the story, which helps add some meaning to a campaign that lasts more than 30 hours. Outside of certain poignant moments with specific characters, it's not particularly memorable.

What's left is the grind. Players who want to complete everything the game has to offer can easily play for 50 or more hours, which is a lot of value for the $60 base game. Having a huge variety of equipment to alter your character's appearance makes the grind for new items less boring, but add to the lack of identity as your character will likely shift between dozens of outfits to best fit your current scenario.

Ultimately, "Assassin's Creed: Odysessy" feels like a baseline for the AAA-quality adventure genre, or the video game equivalent of a summer blockbuster. For gamers who are satisfied investing 50 or more hours into a single player game to unlock everything, "Odysessy" wont disappoint.  On the other end of the spectrum, those with little experience in the adventure games should find "Odysessy" accessible. But overall, "Odyssey" feels somewhat uninspired and doesn't really push the boundaries of what these kinds of games can accomplish.

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New video-game consoles? Already?

Yes and no. It looks as if we've got until at least 2020 before the successor to the Xbox One arrives, according to the latest rumors, which line up nicely with many of the details shared publicly by Microsoft's head of Xbox, Phil Spencer.

Between several reports from Brad Sams at Thurrott and Spencer's statements, we have a surprisingly clear picture of Microsoft's plans for the next Xbox consoles. Here's what we know so far.

SEE ALSO: Nearly 5 years after launch, we compared the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One — and it's a harder decision than ever

1. Microsoft officially announced the next Xbox in June, at its annual E3 briefing in Los Angeles.

In a surprise move, Spencer outright announced Microsoft's work on the successor to the Xbox One.

"The same team that delivered unprecedented performance with Xbox One X is deep into architecting the next Xbox consoles," he said on stage in Los Angeles on June 10, "where we will once again deliver on our commitment to set the benchmark for console gaming."

Spencer offered more information during an interview with Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann the same week.

"Everybody knows what's happening," Spencer said, referring to Sony and Microsoft making new consoles. "It's this kind of unsaid thing of like, 'Well, they shipped Xbox One X. They didn't lay off their whole hardware team. What do you think they're doing?'"

He said the announcement was a means of easing potential concerns of longtime console buyers.

"It's not tomorrow, but I didn't want people to think that we're walking away from that part of the brand and the business, because it's really important to us," Spencer said.

In terms of what that console (or consoles) will be, Spencer isn't offering any major details just yet.

2. Microsoft has two Xbox consoles in the works.

Of note, Spencer said "consoles" on stage — as in, Microsoft is apparently working on more than one future console.

Rumors point to Microsoft creating two new Xbox consoles that coexist within the same generation: a smaller, less expensive Xbox used primarily for streaming video games, and a larger, more traditional, more expensive Xbox that could power games locally (or stream them).

Notably, Microsoft doesn't offer a streaming service for video games — but one is in the works.

"Our cloud engineers are building a game-streaming network to unlock console-quality gaming on any device," Spencer said on stage in June. "Not only that, we are dedicated to perfecting your experience everywhere you want to play — on your Xbox, your PC, or your phone."

He was echoing previous sentiments, but it's the most definitive testament to Microsoft's plans for the future of gaming.

"There are 2 billion people who play video games on the planet today. We're not going to sell 2 billion consoles," Spencer told me in an interview following his presentation.

"Many of those people don't own a television. Many have never owned a PC. For many people on the planet, the phone is their compute device," he said. "It's really about reaching a customer wherever they are, on the devices that they have."

That said, logic dictates that the ability to stream "console-quality gaming on any device" depends on some pretty major upgrades to internet speeds around the world. It also faces hurdles like the uncertain future of net-neutrality laws and consumer internet data caps.

Microsoft's answer to those potential problems is the Azure cloud platform, an infrastructure that few other companies have.

"Fifty data centers in different parts of the planet? Billions of dollars of investment in building that out? It allows us to accelerate our growth in this space," Spencer told me.

3. The new Xbox consoles are rumored to launch in 2020.

It looks as if the two new Xbox consoles will arrive in 2020 — just in time for Kanye West's presidential run and the return of the XFL!

That's according to Sams, who reported in July that the low-powered, streaming-focused box was "further along in the development cycle than the traditional console that will also be released in 2020."

Microsoft has not provided an official release window for its next console, but 2020 is a reasonable assumption based on the past. Home video-game consoles tend to exist on a five- to 10-year life cycle, and 2020 is seven years out from the Xbox One's announcement and launch in 2013.

• Actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow spoke with Net-a-Porter about her diet and exercise routine.

• She said she exercised for two hours a day and usually skips breakfast and eats a low-carb lunch.

• I decided to tackle her habits for a week.

I tried to live like Gwyneth Paltrow for a week, and it didn't quite work out the way I'd planned.

Paltrow famously leads an intense life. In terms of exercise, she used to do an hour of cardio and an hour of weights six days of the week. Her lifestyle brand Goop also hawks all sorts of hardcore detoxes and cleanses.

But all that doesn't really reflect Paltrow's current reality. She recently told Net-a-Porter that she doesn't have the time or energy to tackle that grueling schedule anymore: "I'm getting old, my back hurts! It's depressing. Some days, the gym gives me this rush of energy and I feel amazing, but then my body's like 'f--- you.'"

She also doesn't stick to any Goop cleanses for a long amount of time. She told Net-a-Porter she passes on breakfast and eats a low-carb lunch "so my energy levels don't peak and valley through the day." Then, for dinner, she typically decides to "loosen the reins."

I decided to follow her diet as best I could, as well as take up her previous exercise routine. Here are the rules I was determined to follow for a week:

• Skip breakfast.

• Have a low-carb lunch.

• Put in an hour of cardio exercise.

• Go for an hour of weights-based exercise.

• Eat a dinner along the lines of her typical evening meal: "A glass of wine, maybe a baguette dripping in cheese, some fries."

I didn't prepare at all for this. I just jumped into it, sparking concerns among the people I know. "You're going to die," several coworkers told me when I described my plan. Family members predicted I would "seriously injure" myself and expressed concerns about my shambling running style.

All of this just bolstered my determination to rise to the occasion.

The experiment itself left me somewhat surprised. On the one hand, some of Paltrow's dietary habits were easier to tackle than I thought. On the other, I ended up pulling my shoulder.

Here's a look at what happened when I tried to live like Gwyneth Paltrow for a week:

WATCH: More of my experiment here

Before this Gwyneth Paltrow challenge, bagels were my go-to morning meal. I'd often grab one — poppy seed with cream cheese or butter — before heading into the office.

But, like some other celebrities, Paltrow skips breakfast altogether. So I had to kick the habit. Instead of stopping by the bagel shop, I'd just hop on the train and head to work.

Truth be told, this wasn't particularly challenging for me. Back in college, I rarely ate breakfast. It may or may not be the most important meal of the day, but I've never had a problem skipping it.

• Prominent Chinese actress Fan Bingbing disappeared for three months amid tax evasion allegations, and broke her silence earlier this week to confess and apologize.
• Roderic Wye, a former British diplomat in Beijing, said Fan's humbling was a powerful warning from China that "nobody can escape government scrutiny."
• He added that high-profile disappearances are "often a sign that someone has got into trouble" in Chinese politics.
• Fan's career can still be revived, he said.

Fan Bingbing, one of China's most famous actresses, mysteriously disappeared for three months after being accused of tax evasion. On Wednesday she broke her silence, offering a simpering apology to Beijing and swearing to change her ways.

Her fall from grace serves as a powerful warning shot from China to show that nobody can escape their scrutiny.

Tax authorities in China's Jiangsu province on Sunday found that the 37-year-old actress and her companies evaded 248 million yuan ($34 million/£28 million) in taxes, but gave no further details on the companies or this figure.

The state-run Xinhua News agency, a prominent mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, reported that tax authorities fined the star $129 million in unpaid tax and fines, citing government tax officials.

Almost straight afterward, they ran a separate story entitled: "Fan Bingbing's case is a warning to the literary and entertainment industries to follow the law."

"Nobody is too high" for the Chinese government

Roderic Wye, an associate fellow at Chatham House and former first secretary in the British Embassy in Beijing, said that Fan is being made an example of, to prove that the state can come for anybody.

China is grappling with tax evasion cases both within and beyond the entertainment industry, and Fan's disappearance and punishment shows Beijing's eagerness to crack down.

China's message is that "nobody is too high, nobody is above, nobody can escape government scrutiny," Wye told Business Insider.

He said that Fan's humbling is "partly a periodic [drive] to crack down on high-level earners, but more importantly it's part and parcel of the [national campaign] for a new, modest patriot serving the national cause, instead of private gain."

"That's one of the messages put across by the [Communist Party] and it helps to have a high-profile example like Fan Bingbing, who people know," he said.

Wye added that public disappearances such as Fan's was not unusual, especially in politics.

"It is often a sign that someone has got into trouble if they fail to appear in public doing their normal duties for a period of time in," the former diplomat said.

Will Fan's humbling work?

Wye said that Fan's case would likely scare other people in the entertainment industry into making sure they file their taxes properly, but said it was unlikely to tackle the problem entirely.

"High earners in the entertainment industry and [beyond], I suspect, would be looking to their tax returns and make sure they conduct themselves fully in accordance with China's message," Wye said, which says that "people should be properly respectful of the law and properly respectful of the new morality in China."

But he added: "Tax evasion happens all the time, and if China becomes richer and richer, and more and more money sloshes around the system, there will be more and more opportunities for people and businesses to divert it into non-government-approved channels.

"I think it is inevitable under those circumstances that there will be examples of tax evasion and examples of corruption in the government."

"I don't see this [Fan's punishment] as a revenue raising measure, but more of a political social measure to ensure conformity with a behavior of norms that the government wants people to follow," he added.

Fan's financial punishment was "determined by the people's will and hearts, and helps promote the healthy development of literature and art in the new era," the state news agency Xinhua reported earlier this week.

Such moralistic language is not uncommon in China, which relies on similar discourse to justify its policies and make sure nobody defies it.

The country ranks its citizens with a social credit system, which aims to reinforce the idea that "keeping trust is glorious and breaking trust is is disgraceful," according to a government document.

Fan is not the first prominent celebrity to be publicly humiliated and fined over tax evasion in China.

In 2002, actress Liu Xiaoqing was jailed for about a year and forced to pay 7.1 million yuan ($1 million/£790,000) after being charged with tax vasion, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported at the time.

She was accused of evading nearly 6.68 million yuan ($970,000/£750,000) in taxes from 1996 to 2001, Xinhua said.

After her imprisonment, Liu re-emerged in movies and TV shows in China, and even wrote a book about her time in jail, titled "Rise from the Ashes."

Fan's career could also be revived when her tax evasion nightmare is over. She could avoid criminal charges if she repays the money in time, Xinhua reported this week.

Australian vitamin brand Swisse, British diamond company De Beers, and French beauty company Guerlain stopped using Fan's face on their ad campaigns during her disappearance, the South China Morning Post reported.

"Maybe she will find work in Chinese films, and maybe international companies will still be willing to offer her jobs," Wye said. "I don't think it's necessarily the end of her career."

SEE ALSO: Fan Bingbing was reportedly detained in a luxury holiday resort before China fined her $129 million for tax evasion

SEE ALSO: Barging into your home, threatening your family, or making you disappear: Here's what China does to people who speak out against them

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NOW WATCH: Everything we know about Samsung’s foldable phone

New titles come and go on Netflix every week, but choosing what to stream can be a daunting task.

That's why, every week, Business Insider rounds up which of the newly arrived movies and TV shows on Netflix are actually worth watching.

This week's titles include Netflix's new horror series "The Haunting of Hill House" and Paul Greengrass' "22 July." 

New movies and TV shows coming this week:

"22 July" (Movie — coming Wednesday, October 10): Directed by the "Bourne" franchise's Paul Greengrass, "22 July" tells the gripping true story of a terrorist attack in Norway. Along with "Roma," it has launched Netflix into Oscars conversations.

"The Haunting of Hill House" (TV show — coming Friday, October 12): This Netflix original series is not only perfect for Halloween, it's a great show in its own right that mixes an emotional family drama with elements of horror.

"The Kindergarten Teacher" (Movie — coming Friday, October 12): Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as a teacher who takes too much of an interest in a student's talents. The drama won best director (Sara Colangelo) at the Sundance Film Festival and Netflix nabbed the rights soon after.

"Feminists: What Were They Thinking?" (Movie — Coming Friday, October 12): This documentary feature, which follows the evolution of feminism through personal accounts, feels like the right film for this time in America.

Titles leaving this week:

"Kubo and the Two Strings" (Movie — Leaving Monday, October 8): You still have Sunday to watch this acclaimed animated film before it departs on Monday — and before you see director Travis Knight's next film, "Bumblebee," later this year.

SEE ALSO: DC Universe's first original series — 'Titans' — is a dark reimagining of a classic superhero team that's bound to divide fans

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How actors fake fight in movies

In 2017 "Game of Thrones" set a world record during their season seven "Loot Train" scene. But Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon can't take all the credit. Stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam and his team set 20 stunt people on fire for a single shot. And 73 stunt performers were set on fire throughout the scene. But how do stunt people actually get set on fire? Doesn't it hurt? We talked with stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam to find out what it takes to safely set someone on fire. Following is a transcript of the video.

Rowley Irlam: Action!

Narrator: Last year, "Game of Thrones" set a world record for the most stunt people on fire in one shot. And it looks like it hurt. A lot. Can't Hollywood just use CGI? Each year, dozens of movies and TV shows feature scenes where stunt performers are set on fire. It turns out, this is often done with real fire, not visual effects. Fire and water are some of the hardest things to create in CGI. And stunt performers bring a unique take to each scene.

Rowley Irlam: What you still get from a person that you won't get from VFX is a human performance and their own take on something.

Narrator: That's stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam. He's worked on films like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." His latest project has been the last four seasons of "Game of Thrones." Sounds easy, right? Get a few stunt people, some fire, and your scene will look great! Turns out, even just a few seconds of fire requires a lot of work. You're not just setting people on fire, you have to set them on fire safely. The most extreme type of burn is one where the stunt person is fully engulfed in flame. But the biggest risk isn't burning their skin.

Rowley Irlam: You need to be holding your breath, so you don't breathe in any kind of flame.

Narrator: In order to keep stunt performers safe, Rowley and his team count out loud to let them know how much time is left.

Rowley Irlam: 11! 12! Out, out, out!

Narrator: They remain on fire for no more than 15 seconds.

Rowley Irlam: The danger is disorientation, or if you were to injure yourself or bang into something, you know. What you don't want to do is breathe in because of a shock of pain or injury.

Narrator: Stunt coordinators try to anticipate and eliminate anything that could go wrong or cause an injury. Everything is rehearsed multiple times, so everyone knows where to go and what to do.

Rowley Irlam: If you do enough of it, you become competent and confident. We run a very controlled set, you know, we make a plan, and we stick to the plan, and we execute the plan.

Narrator: In addition to lots of rehearsal, stunt performers wear a ton of protective gear. And their secret ingredient is a flame-retardant material called Zel Jel. For "Game of Thrones," stunt performers wear three layers of fireproof underwear, which is soaked in Zel Jel. Above that is a rain suit to prevent the gel from being absorbed by the other layers. Next is a fire suit and a thin cotton suit. Any exposed skin is also coated in Zel Jel. Finally, their costume goes on top.

Rowley Irlam: You are now ready to be set on fire.

Narrator: And Rowley Irlam is no stranger to setting people on fire. For season seven of "Game of Thrones," 20 stunt performers were set ablaze at a single time, and 73 were lit on fire throughout the course of the scene. Each performer has their own safety partner, who helps them get dressed and extinguishes their fire. For every four safety people, there is an additional safety person. That's more than 45 crew members for just one stunt. It took weeks of pre-production and multiple cameras to shoot. But the key to making that scene convincing wasn't the fire. It was the acting.

Rowley Irlam: What we wanted to do is find the humanity of the situation. These are the human moments when you feel their suffering.

Narrator: Crafting a scene that looks realistic while maintaining strict safety standards isn't easy.

Rowley Irlam: Well, the challenging thing is to make sure that you don't make a mistake. If we can get through stuff and make it look really, really exciting and dynamic and not hurt anybody, then we've won. When we were planning to do the 20-man burn, it was going to rain on Monday. And I was like, "Well, it's sunny now." And they were like, "Okay, what do you mean?" I said, "Well, let's do this afternoon then." And he was like, "But we can't!" And I was like, "Well, why?" And he went, "I don't know."

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• "Venom" broke the best opening weekend ever for a movie released in October with an estimated $80 million take, domestically.
• "A Star Is Born" also had an impressive opening, earning $42.6 million.

Look out Spider-Man — Sony has found a new Marvel character that can score it big box office coin.

Over the weekend, "Venom" defied the critics and outperformed industry projections by earning an estimated $80 million at the domestic box office.

Now, for comic book movie standards that's not a huge number, but for October openings it's huge. The "Venom" opening is the best ever for the month, easily passing 2013's "Gravity" ($55.78 million).

The dark comedic tone of the movie turned off most critics, as going into the weekend "Venom" had a 28% Rotten Tomatoes score (it's currently at 31%), but it turned out general audiences were totally into Tom Hardy's tater-tot-loving, lobster-tank-diving interpretation of the Eddie Brock character.

The movie, which has a $205 million global take, has an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and earned four out of five stars from audience exit polls, leading to a B+ Cinemascore.

Things looked good for Sony and the Symbiote on Thursday, when the movie earned an October record $10 million in Thursday previews. The movie then earned a strong $32.8 million on Friday followed by only a 17% drop of $27.2 million on Saturday.

But that's not the only title having a strong weekend.

Warner Bros.' major Oscar contender, "A Star Is Born," with Lady Gaga starring in the rags-to-riches role played by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland in the past, took in a strong $42.6 million (that counts special screenings earlier in the week). Bradley Cooper stars alongside Gaga and also directed the movie. The star power, combined with rave reviews from critics and the Oscar buzz, will fuel the box office for this release the rest of the year.

It will be interesting to see if "Venom" will have similar staying power, or if the unique comedic take on the character will lead to sour word-of-mouth going forward.

SEE ALSO: "Venom" is a darkly comedic Marvel movie you will either love or hate

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

Sony will release the PlayStation Classic, a mini version of its original video game console, on December 3rd. The console will come with 20 pre-selected games built-in and a pair of USB PlayStation controllers for $99. The PlayStation Classic follows the trend of the recently released Nintendo Classic and NEOGEO Mini, collecting some of the most memorable titles from past consoles and making them easily accessible for nostalgic fans.

The PlayStation Classic will employ new technology to make the console more compact and eliminate the need for CD-ROM discs and memory cards. But in some ways, the new design falls short of some of the features offered by the original PlayStation.

The PlayStation Classic won't use analog controls.

Despite the console's focus on 3D gaming, the original PlayStation controller only featured a four-way directional pad for movement. Two years after the PlayStation's 1995 launch, Sony introduced the Dual Analog controller which, as the name suggests, had two analog sticks to provide a full 360-degree range of motion.

Analog controls made games requiring frequent diagonal inputs, like "Metal Gear Solid" and "Tekken 3" easier to control and were popular enough to warrant re-releases of classic PlayStation games like "Resident Evil." The original Dual Analog also featured a flight stick mode for pilot simulation games like "Ace Combat 2" and "Colony Wars."

Considering that the dual analog design is now the standard for all video game console controllers, it's odd that Sony decided to choose the controller with less features and a shorter lifespan. Furthermore, considering the amount of 3D movement in PlayStation's most popular games, analog control would offer a clear improvement in gameplay.

No DualShock controller also means no rumble support for the games it was built for.

Within six months of releasing the Dual Analog controller, Sony introduced the DualShock, a controller line that has continued through to the PlayStation 4. The DualShock added rumble support to the Dual Analog controller with two vibrating motors. While vibrating controllers are now the standard, the DualShock's ability to provide feedback to players was considered novel at the time. Racing games like "Gran Turismo 2" and "Wipeout XL" felt just a bit more genuine with the controller rumbling along with the engine.

One of the console's most popular action games, "Ape Escape," actually required the use of the a DualShock controller, meaning it will likely be excluded from the final list of PlayStation Classic titles. Considering that dozens of PlayStation games featured rumble support it seems like a mistake to ignore the feature.

The PlayStation was a great CD player, but the PlayStation Classic has no music playback.

One of the more overlooked features of the original PlayStation was its ability to play CDs. The console was heralded by audiophiles as a cheap alternative to expensive front end CD players due to its high playback quality and RCA audio output. Certain PlayStation games would even let you swap out the disc for a music CD once the game had loaded, allowing you to listen to your own music while playing. 

The PlayStation Classic is too small to hold a disc, but does include USB slots that could allow for basic mp3 playback. Gaming will always be the focus for PlayStation, but the consoles have always been multi-featured entertainment systems. Seeing the PlayStation Classic include some functionality beyond the limited list of 20 games would be a big bonus.

"If it's in the game, it's in the game." 

For more than two decades, video game studio EA Sports seared this slogan, which plays in the opening credits of nearly every one of its games, into the hearts and mind of millions of fans. With each new season it seems more true; sports games reflect everything fans expect from their favorite sports, no matter how small the detail.

Unfortunately, that also includes advertisements.

Sports games have adopted the same penchant for aggressive advertising as their real-world counterparts. As the games have grown more complex, so have the ads. 

Here's how sports video games have become a vehicle for sponsors:

This social media-style replay from 'NBA Live 19' not-so-subtly features the Jordan Jumpman in the background.

In trying to build a product that feels identical to the real thing, sports video games have fully embraced the sponsorship culture of professional sports. Basketball games feel like the worst perpetrators.

Take-Two Interactive's "NBA 2K19" and EA's "NBA Live 19" each include extensive sponsorships from Nike and its Jordan brand. Both games feature Jordan and Nike clothing worn by the virtual players, and Jumpman logos are emblazoned across arenas and backgrounds.

As part of its career mode, "NBA Live 19" even has players compete in virtual versions of real-life Jordan-branded events, such as Quai 54, a Parisian streetball tournament.

You can't miss the Gatorade coolers during 60-second timeouts.

As in live sports, most of the ads in sports games are in the background. But it feels different seeing them in a video game. In a video-game context, it's difficult to ignore that the Gatorade-sponsored timeout happens to feature a pair of Gatorade coolers right behind your team, with the logos facing the camera.

Even during the story mode cut scenes in "NBA 2K19," I found myself distracted by the large brand logos on my character's clothes.

Jumpman even leaped into my in-game text messages.

If the games restricted the ads to just the same places you'd find them in actual sports events, they wouldn't be so annoying. But they don't.

The games also throw in lots of branded apparel, such as designer sneakers and clothing. So, regardless of how you choose to play, the ads are omnipresent.

Forget about the rest of the year — the biggest Xbox One game of 2018 just arrived: "Forza Horizon 4" is now available.

Like "Forza Horizon 3" before it, "Forza Horizon 4" sets a new standard in the racing genre. It's more attractive than the last game, it's got a better flow than the last game, and it's got the same excellent driving that "Horizon" fans have come to expect.

It is, in many ways, more of the same — but it's more of something really good.

Whether you're a fan of games like "Need for Speed," "Burnout," "Gran Turismo" or even "Mario Kart," there's something for you in "Forza Horizon 4." That's because it's not just the best racing game available — it's also the most accessible. Better still: It happens to be a great game, regardless of the whole "driving" bit.

Here's why:

SEE ALSO: Here are the 16 biggest video games launching this fall, from an all-new ‘Fallout’ to the hotly-anticipated ‘Red Dead Redemption 2'

1. "Forza Horizon 4" is intended for everybody.

Before creating a character, or buying cars, or even seeing the map, the very first thing you do in "Forza Horizon 4" is race. 

The game opens — as it has for the past several iterations — with a freewheeling race that has you leaping from vehicle to vehicle. The instructions are simple: Right trigger to accelerate, left trigger to brake, and left thumbstick to steer. 

The race is intentionally simplistic and bombastic — a bluster-filled intro to the anything goes mentality of the "Horizon" series. It continues to be a strong way to onboard new players. "Here!" it screams. "Jump in! Go!"

And go, you must.

That introduction transitions to the real game soon after, and the game's controls remain set in the default, easy-to-use setting. The game doesn't urge you to amp up the difficulty, or even tell you where the settings are to change said difficulty.

If you want to turn on manual transmissions, or turn off steering assists — or whatever else — you have to go find that stuff. The options are there in spades, but the game puts no pressure on the average player to ramp up the difficulty.

2. The game rewards exploration and silliness just as much as careful racing.

Like the "Burnout" and "Need for Speed" games, "Forza Horizon 4" encourages plenty of "arcade-style" car gameplay. By that I mean there are lots of things to do that might be considered mistakes in a more straight-laced racing game. 

If you take your car off-road, for instance, and do a bunch of crazy jumps, "Horizon 4" actually rewards you for it. If you stay on the road, and carefully weave around traffic, the game also rewards you for that. Perhaps you'd rather pursue the smashing of various billboards strewn around the game's massive landscape? "Horizon 4" is also happy to give you points for that.

There's a general sense of reward to pretty much every action (short of crashing) — a feeling that the game is encouraging whatever behavior you enjoy. It's welcoming! 

There's plenty of genuine structure (I'll get to that in a minute), but you're more than welcome to do your own thing. And, most importantly, doing your own thing will still allow you to make progress towards unlocking cars, leveling up, and generally getting to do more stuff. 

3. The spirit of "Forza Horizon 4" is irreverence.

"Forza Horizon" has never been a "serious" racing series in tone.

The "Horizon" franchise — a spinoff of the drearily serious "Forza Motorsport" simulation racing game franchise, also for the Xbox One and PC — is centered around the concept of a very silly music and car festival. It stars forgettable characters, and there's next to no "story" holding it together. I would argue that this is all intentional.

The game's creators clearly know how thin the story is — how serious does the story in a racing game need to be? — and have dug in more than ever with "Horizon 4." The slight framing of a "festival" has now transformed into a non-stop party, spanning all four seasons.

When do people work in the world of "Forza Horizon 4?" They do not work. They live for the festival. They die for the festival. There is only the festival.

Better still, there's a custom avatar that does silly dances before and after races. Occasionally, you'll find a place in the massive open world that is especially picturesque — and your character is able to get out and wildly gyrate in said environment. For what reason? I have no idea, but it's incredibly endearing and silly.

More than ever, "Horizon 4" is absurdly silly and it knows it. 

The company that makes "Grand Theft Auto" isn't known for pumping out games. You may recall that the latest "GTA" game came out in 2013 — that's the most recent release from Rockstar Games.

But a new game from Rockstar is just on the horizon: "Red Dead Redemption 2."

The relentlessly gorgeous "Red Dead Redemption 2" is just weeks away, with a scheduled launch on October 26 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

So, what's "Red Dead Redemption 2" all about? Is it basically "Grand Theft Horse"? Yes and no! Let's dive in.

SEE ALSO: I played 2018's most anticipated game, 'Red Dead Redemption 2' — here are the 12 most interesting things I learned

Unlike "GTA," the "Red Dead" series is set in the American frontier. That means campfires and starry skies.

It also means gunslingers and six-shooters and bandit masks. This isn't just a tale of America's Wild West, but a tale of cowboys, robbers, and the evolution of American society.

Rockstar characterizes the game's story as an "outlaw epic set across the vast and unforgiving American heartland."