Iron Fist stars Finn Jones (Game of Thrones) as the highly skilled Daniel Rand, a martial arts master with supernatural abilities. It also stars David Wenham, Jessica Stroup, and Tom Pelphrey. In addition, Carrie-Anne Moss and Rosario Dawson are set to reprise their roles as Jeri Hogarth and Claire Temple from Jessica Jones and Daredevil.
In a recent interview with Collider, Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb explained how Iron Fist would differ from the studio's previous Netflix shows. "It was always our intent when we set out to tell each of the Netflix stories that they're part of a piece, but at the same token, you should be able to watch each of them individually," he said. "Daredevil is not like Jessica Jones, which is not like Luke [Cage], which should not be like Danny.
"We're dealing with a character who is younger than the rest of the cast and who also has a certain kind of optimism and hope about him that brings a certain thing to it. Don't make any mistake about it, this is Marvel's foray into martial arts films, and when he opens up a can of whoop-ass, people are going to be super-super excited by what's happening."
The events of Iron Fist will tie into The Defenders, the superhero team-up show that will also feature Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. The first season is expected in late 2017--click here to see official images.
In an interview with DualShockers, Tabata said Square Enix currently has no plans to bring the game to Nintendo Switch. He said the game might be able to run on the console, but acknowledged that the developer has not tested it.
"There are no plans for Switch at the moment, but overall, there is interest in the platform among the development team," Tabata said. "Incidentally, I think that Switch would be really cool if it could run Android apps on its portable screen…"
Netflix's hit original show Orange is the New Black will come back for Season 5 on June 9, the streaming network announced today.
The date was announced in a teaser, which ends with the character Dayanara Diaz (Dascha Polanco) pointing a gun at someone. Netflix captioned the video, "Things will never be the same."
We don't know much about Orange is the New Black's fifth season. But Taystee actress Danielle Brooks said in an interview with E! in January that the season has a "very detailed, very intense" story that takes place over just three days.
Having already worked together on a Superman virtual reality roller coaster, Six Flags is extending and expanding its relationship with Samsung to bring more virtual reality experiences to its theme parks. The amusement park giant today announced what it calls the world's first mixed-reality coaster.
The ride is called The New Revolution Galactic Attack and it's based on the classic Sega Saturn game Galactic Attack. Here is how Six Flags describes the ride, which makes use of Samsung's Gear VR headset:
"When riders board the coasters and don their Samsung Gear VR headsets, they will be introduced to the device's passthrough camera functionality, instantly making riders aware of their surroundings, by allowing them to see the 'real world,' including the person seated next to them--along with virtual content."
It continues: "As they get settled into the ride, a heads up display overlay on the passthrough camera view will show data like current status of weaponry, time codes, fuel cells, and a countdown clock."
When the ride gets to the top of the hill, a "massive, swirling wormhole" appears. When the ride goes down the hill, the mixed-reality element morphs into full virtual reality. The player virtually enters a spaceship cockpit and come under attack from aliens who are firing missiles. According to Six Flags, riders can make "key decisions" during the ride that affects their scoring, though no details were provided on how they can do that. Additionally, the ride has three different endings, encouraging people to ride again and again.
The New Revolution Galactic Attack ride will be at a pair of Six Flags locations: Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, CA) on The Revolution ride and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA) on the Kong ride.
Would you go on a ride like this? Let us know in the comments below!
Since 2014, Take This has provided "AFK Rooms" at a number of conventions to anyone who needs a safe, quiet space. For 2017, the mental health-focused nonprofit has raised $15K for its PAX East AFK Room through an Indiegogo campaign, but it's not stopping there--it's seeking funding for at least six other conventions this year.
AFK Rooms are break areas staffed with mental health professionals during busy conventions. Anyone and everyone is welcome, and they're especially helpful for con-goers who have anxiety, depression, or sensory sensitivities who can easily get overwhelmed by crowds and the stress of working a con. Visiting an AFK Room can mean avoiding an anxiety attack, for example, that would make attendance difficult or impossible.
AFK Rooms are also a critical, if not life-saving, resource for anyone who needs immediate professional help, since clinicians are available to answer questions and give advice. A big part of Take This' job when setting up a room is recruiting and preparing staff, many of whom have never been to a gaming event before.
This education goes both ways. In addition to supplying a space and finding health care professionals, Take This also trains convention staff to deal with mental health issues at a basic level, helping to ensure that as many people as possible receive proper attention in high-stress environments.
Take This is asking for around $15K (though in some cases more) to support travel and resource costs for each con. Meeting or exceeding its $200K goal would allow the organization to bring AFK Rooms to its usual seven major conventions, including E3 and PAX Aus, with the possibility of expanding to five new ones.
So far, only PAX East--which is in March--has been funded.
Take This' overall mission is to educate the gaming community about mental illness. For more information, you can visit its website.
Ahead of its release next month, Bandai Namco has released new gameplay footage of Dark Souls III's The Ringed City.
First announced last month, The Ringed City is Dark Souls III's final expansion. It introduces new areas, weapons, and enemies, among other things. You can get a taste for what to expect in the video above.
It jumps around to show off a few different locations and encounters, including a boss fight against a giant winged beast (seen in the announcement trailer) and a long drop through the side of a building (in an Inception-esque city). There's also a glimpse of new purple ghost enemies, and another that can shoot flames from a shield and set its weapon ablaze.
The Ringed City launches for all platforms on March 28. It costs $15 on its own or is included with the $25 season pass, which also provides access to the first expansion, Ashes of Ariandel.
In the meantime, a new patch launches today for Dark Souls III. Update 1.10 fixes various bugs, including an issue that allowed players to be invaded during boss fights. You can see all the fixes below and a schedule for the rollout on each platform here.
Dark Souls III Update 1.10 Patch Notes
Fixed issue where a player could invade another player during a boss battle.
Fixed issue where an enchantment could be applied to weapons which normally could not be enchanted.
Fixed issue where, when items are used while casting magic, display glitches could occasionally occur.
Fixed issue where it was possible to cancel immediately into a second magic spell after casting the first one.
Fixed issue where the first part of a skill action could be skipped.
Fixed issue where a single item could be used indefinitely.
Psychonauts developer Double Fine today announced a new preorder bonus for the upcoming PlayStation VR game, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin. Everyone who preorders the game gets the original Psychonauts for free, the developer announced on the PlayStation Blog.
The PS2-on-PS4 game normally goes for $10 and will unlock right after you preorder Rhombus of Ruin. That game is priced at $20, though PlayStation Plus members can get it for $18.
Rhombus of Ruin comes out on February 21. A standalone chapter in the Psychonauts series, the game's story bridges the gap between the original and the upcoming sequel. You play as Raz and, through PlayStation VR, can see the world from a first-person perspective.
A launch trailer was released today and can be seen above.
Ubisoft's For Honor and EA's Titanfall 2 were nominated for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial, but the John Lewis ad, Buster the Boxer, ended up winning. Dishonored 2 was nominated for Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project; the award went to Game of Thrones for its Battle of the Bastards fight scene.
Going back to Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog released a new update this week that fixes issues with the game's multiplayer and Survival mode. Here are the patch notes:
Multiplayer:
Fixed a bug where players would get stuck in ranked qualifiers
Survival:
Fixed a bug where some pistols were not doing the correct amount of damage
Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima is one of the most recognisable developers in the industry, but being a triple-A game director brings huge pressure, he says.
"A triple-A game is just like a large-budget Hollywood action movie," he told IGN. "Like an open-world game is like a large-budget action movie. When we have a movie of that scale, we were talking about $150 million or something, there's no room for failure. It must succeed … this is pressure that the directors receive from the outside."
He also stated how triple-A development makes it hard for game directors to inject their personality into their games, but that indie development can be better.
"I think the biggest difference is that for a lot of other large games, there's a subdivision of labour," he said. "Where I, myself, I do the game design, producing, promotion, writing, many different things. I do it all myself. So [in] that respect, it's kind of like being an indie developer.
"I think the games [indie devs] create are interesting," said Kojima. "You get a very direct sense of who the creator is and what their sensibilities are … the story, the gameplay, the different ideas that they come up with. You can see, basically, who the creator is. They're not hiding. Not hidden behind a layer of things. They're out there in the open."
Kojima went on to talk about why his name is featured so prominently throughout his games. For example, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain had, at one point, Kojima's name on the box, and almost every mission in the game had a credits sequence with Kojima's name listed.
"When I was a child, I watched movies by Alfred Hitchcock and John Carpenter. At the beginning of their movies, they would always have a subtitle on the screen that said, 'A movie by Alfred Hitchcock,' or, 'A movie by John Carpenter.' At the time, when I started to create games, no one did that. That's why I came up with the idea. Because when I saw that I wanted to see their movies. It was, like, a sign of the movie that I wanted to see, so I decided that I would do the same thing."
In splitting from Konami, Kojima left behind both Metal Gear and the now-canceled Silent Hills project. The director has previously spoken about leaving Konami and his memories of his time developing Metal Gear Solid whilst there. Read his thoughts in our in-depth interview here.
Asked by someone on Twitter if Fallout Shelter would come to PS4, Bethesda marketing executive Pete Hines said, "Dunno." He elaborated, saying Bethesda did not build the game specifically for Xbox, but instead as a Universal Windows Platform app, meaning it "supports a variety of [Windows] devices."
In another tweet, Hines said, "Universal Windows app does not include PS4 support."
Hines' comments don't rule out a PS4 version of Fallout Shelter, but it seems clear that if it ever happens, it's not going to be soon.
Fallout Shelter is a free game where you design and manage a Vault in the Fallout world. Since launch, it's expanded with new features and more characters, including those from Fallout 4. It's an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so downloading it on Xbox One provides access to the Windows 10 version for free.
[UPDATE] Pete Hines has now offered a little more insight on the Fallout 4 vs. Skyrim comparisons. He said on Twitter that he was comparing Fallout 4 and Skyrim over the same period of time and that Fallout has in fact sold more copies than Skyrim.
@rskovbo i'm comparing them over the same period of time. and yes.
Appearing on the Kinda Funny Gamecast, Bethesda marketing executive Pete Hines said, "Fallout 4 has gotta be the most successful game we've ever launched in our company's history. More than Skyrim, in terms of what we did."
It's not immediately clear what Hines means by "most successful."
Also during the interview, Hines responded to the critique that Fallout 4 did not do enough to set itself apart from its predecessors. He agreed that the game shares commonalities with Fallout 3, but said the nature of the beast with sequels is the balancing act between preserving the core formula and pushing things forward. Sony's Uncharted series feels the same, Hines said.
"If you played Uncharted 4 and that was your first game, I think you have a very different reaction to what that game is than if, like me, you played 1, 2, and 3," he explained. "Because Uncharted 4 is more of 1, 2, and 3."
Finally, Hines offered a high-level tease for what Fallout 4 and Skyrim developer Bethesda Game Studios is going to make next. "Whether it's Fallout or Elder Scrolls or whatever they're gonna do next, I think their mantra is always we really gotta step up our game," he said.
For the first time ever, E3 is opening its doors to the public. The Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the event every year, announced today that an allotment of 15,000 tickets will be made available for anyone to buy this coming Monday, February 13.
Priced at $250 (or $150 as part of an early bird discount available on February 13), tickets provide access to the show floor, panel discussions, and other events from Tuesday through Thursday of E3 week. The ESA will partnerwith games media veteran Geoff Keighley to provide attendees with access to special benefits associated with Keighley's own E3 programming, such as developer interviews and more. Full details on this and other elements of E3's new public plans will be announced in the coming weeks.
For years now, there have been calls to open E3 to the public. The ESA conducted an experiment of sorts for this in 2016 with its E3 Live event, which was free and open to the public. It was located outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center, the site of E3, and attendees could go hands-on with upcoming games and take part in other events. There was "incredible attendee enthusiasm" for this event, the ESA's senior VP of communications, Rich Taylor, tells GameSpot. So the next step was to invite fans to actually walk the halls of E3 and get closer to the action.
"The feedback we heard was clear--they wanted to play the games inside the convention center. In addition, exhibitors inside the convention center wanted to have access to the fans. So this year we're bringing the two together," Taylor said.
"It's a changing industry, and E3 has always evolved to meet industry needs and anticipate where we're heading together--as an event, as an industry, and as fans. The decision to open our doors to 15,000 fans was a strategic decision. It is thanks to our members and their vision and leadership that made this possible. We have a model that allows the business of the industry to continue for our business and media attendees and provides an opportunity for video games' biggest fans to experience the latest in innovative, immersive entertainment."
Every year, it seems, the question comes up, "Is E3 still relevant?" A number of companies pulled out of E3 2016, including Activision and EA. Certainly, the industry is changing, and gaming shows like E3, Gamescom, and PAX--which has always been open to the public--remain popular. Taylor says E3 faces "the relevancy question" every year because it's the year's juggernaut when it comes to gaming shows.
"I think there are those who always enjoy questioning those at the top of the leaderboard," he says. "E3 has a reputation around the world as the place where video game hardware and software launches happen. Last year, E3 generated more than 65 billion media impressions around the globe. That doesn't happen accidentally, and it's a testament to E3's strength, its connection to the fans, and the event's position in the industry."
Taylor says the ESA is always listening to feedback and welcomes the ongoing discussion.
"I think asking, 'How can we improve?' 'Where are video games headed?' 'How do we connect with fans?' are all healthy questions, and that helps ensure E3 stays current and meets exhibitors' needs," he said.
In addition to the standard passes, business passes will be available. These provide access to a business lounge and preferred entry to the convention center, among other things. The ESA anticipates that this will be appealing to lawyers, analysts, executives, and advertisers.
"I think asking, 'How can we improve?' 'Where are video games headed?' 'How do we connect with fans?' are all healthy questions, and that helps ensure E3 stays current and meets exhibitors' needs" -- Taylor
E3 is a constantly evolving show. It isn't known yet if E3 2018 will be open to the public, but Taylor says you should think about this year's event as a "commitment of where [the ESA is] heading and [its] desire to respond to exhibitors and consumers."
E3 2017 takes place June 13-15. More than 200 exhibitors are lined up to attend the event--"leading companies from around the world," Taylor says. Bear in mind that the list of exhibitors on E3's website is not final, as discussions with publishers remain ongoing.
E3 is staying in Los Angeles, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, through 2021.
Disclosure: GameSpot and the ESA are media partners for E3.
Blizzard has posted the newest Overwatch developer update video, in which game director Jeff Kaplan talks about some of the new features coming to the popular shooter.
First, a server browser is coming. It will list all the custom games that are available in your region (America, Europe, Asia), and you can then choose whichever one you want to join, provided it's set to public. There are a number of sorting and filtering options so you can seek out matches certain maps or search by which heroes are enabled or disabled.
Here is Kaplan's explanation for why Blizzard is adding a server browser.
"We recognized that the majority of our players like to play the game through quickplay and competitive. A lot of our players engage with the arcade as well. But there's a lot of times where players want to try different things and play the game in different ways," he said. "It's not really viable for us to put up a matchmaking system where we could feed everybody into everybody's different possible custom game. So for that reason, we need to give you a way to look at the different custom games that are out there and decide for yourself."
Kaplan also discussed some of the new features coming to Overwatch's custom games. First, you'll be able to gain XP and loot boxes in custom games. Additionally, the new mode capture the flag, which came to Overwatch in the Year of the Rooster event, is being added permanently.
Further, you can tweak very specific things like the cooldown for a character's special abilities. You can also make a David vs. Goliath-type mode where one character has extra health and fights against six others with lower health.
"Wherever your creativity takes you, we're trying to give you as many options as possible to play around and come up with fun, different ways to play Overwatch," Kaplan said, adding that Blizzard will constantly monitor feedback and may add new features over time.
Be sure to watch the full video above to hear directly from Kaplan about what's changing and why.
The Overwatch server browser and new custom game options will be available first on the game's public test server (which is available only on PC), before coming to PS4 and Xbox One later.
In other Overwatch news, Blizzard recently announced that the game has crossed 25 million registered users. We may learn more about how the game is performing from a business perspective this week when Activision Blizzard reports earnings on February 9.
Gad, Ridley, and Dench are all starring in the new movie Murder on the Orient Express. In his newest video, Ridley enters a trailer and immediately knows what's going on, telling him right away, "I'm not answering any of your Star Wars questions." But Gad says they're not his questions. The video pans to Dench, who is sitting by a table, wearing a Star Wars-esque robe.
She asks: "Have you been tested for midichlorians?"; "Is Snoke Palpatine?"; "Are you the last Jedi?"; and "What's the deal with Reylo?"; and finally, "Why don't you answer my damn questions?"
After a long pause, Ridley says, "Okay." Of course, the video cuts out right at this moment. We can only imagine what Gad will do for his next video.
The Last Jedi is an intriguing and mysterious title. It might be a reference to Luke Skywalker, who was referred to as the last Jedi in The Force Awakens' opening crawl. However, Jedi can also be plural. Check out GameSpot's breakdown here to find out what we think The Last Jedi could mean.
The Last Jedi arrives in theaters on December 15, 2017. It also stars John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Laura Dern, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. Carrie Fisher filmed her Leia scenes for the movie before she passed away in December.
In the genre dominated by Forza and Gran Turismo, Project Cars distinguishes itself by being progressive. It's multi-platform, all the game's content is unlocked from the start, and it's both crowdfunded and developed in conjunction with the community. Interested players can buy into the project and attend meetings, play weekly builds, and give feedback directly to developers in Slightly Mad Studios' no-nonsense forum. The team are as obsessed with involving the community in the development process as they are with capturing every minute detail in the vehicles. Now, Slightly Mad Studios are hoping that with its growing fan base, and by continuing the groundwork laid in the first game, Project Cars 2 will be an even stronger competitor to the long-standing rival simulators they admire. To help improve on the original, the game's co-directors Andy Tudor and Stephen Viljoen told GameSpot they took on board every ounce of criticism.
"We've got a great big database of all the reviews and stuff that came in [for Project Cars] along with who did the review, the links, and the number out of ten," Tudor explained. "But the most important column is the 'notes' column which says things like, 'They thought the gamepad handling was too hard' or 'They wished they were more cars' and that is a great to-do list right there."
Viljoen continues: "More often than not, what they say is what we knew. We know we didn't have all the cars everybody wanted. We knew the gamepad control wasn't all it needed to be, but we needed to release the game at some point. So yeah, it's certainly a confirmation of what we felt, but there's always something that somebody picks up on that we missed out on and we go, 'Good point. We need to fix that.'"
The most ambitious new addition in Project Cars 2 is a geographically-accurate and dynamic solar and weather system. In the demo we played, this meant that a few laps around the Fuji Speedway in Japan were different each time. Clouds gathered, rain poured down on the track, and pools of water would form in different locations, before gradually evaporating as the sun came out again. This was visually impressive to witness, but the introduction of this technology isn't purely aesthetic. "All of the racers and manufacturers we talk to tell us that the key thing in racing is what the environment does," Viljoen explained. "It is the unpredictability of the environment that feeds into what makes you win a race or lose it, what happens when you get your strategy wrong or when you get it right, how you approach a race weekend that spans a long period of time. There's so much affected by what the weather is going to do, what time of the year it is, and all these things."
For the hardcore audience, the unpredictability of these effects have much deeper implications than simply needing to adjust your braking distance on a wet track, and that's why the team wanted to leave static conditions behind. Vilijoen spoke about the effects the the weather would have on the temperature of the track, and the tire adjustments necessary for those who obsessed over those intricacies. "If you go to a spot in the middle of summer in Project Cars 2, the sun moves at the correct archway for that time of year," he explains. "Most of the track will be covered in sunlight, and [because] it's a warmer time of year you have higher ambient temperature, [and] the track surface itself is being affected by the sunlight calculations, so you have a temperature for that track and it changes during the course of a race."
"Now if you go there again in winter, the sun is at a lower angle, more parts of the track are going to be in shade and others are going to be in sunlight, so now you have this part of the track warmer than that part of the track because it's accurately calculated with the sun there. This is how it is in real life, obviously, and that makes a big difference in how real-world race drivers approach a race weekend. And because this is at the heart of Project Cars--we simulate the experience of being a race driver--it's a critical aspect of it. You don't just get on there and it's always the same, where you can get the lap times every time. That's not authentic." Vilijoen affirms.
The developers and I joked that with all the painstaking work going into replicating true-to-life dynamic environments, most people wouldn't even be able to appreciate the subtleties unless they implemented a low performance racing mode with cars that couldn't break the speed limit so easily. "Funny you should say something like that," Tudor remarks. "We can't talk about it just yet."
The other big, albeit less visibly dramatic change in Project Cars 2 is in how the game simulates tires. Not only how they're affected by the aforementioned weather conditions, but also the physics of how they come into contact with track surfaces. It's something the developer is determined to improve because of both feedback from the original Project Cars, and the sequel's inclusion of loose-surface racing with ice and dirt tracks.
Regarding the original simulations, Viljoen admitted: "There were areas that we knew needed improvement, and one of them was when you push the car beyond the limit. When you go over the edge, the way the slip curve of the tyre works made it a bit difficult for people to catch the car when it goes sideways. In Project Cars 2 we've added additional types of grip simulations, where we accurately simulate how it affects the handling of the car when the tire is moving across the track surface when it's not rolling. [Also] how the tarmac is ripping the tire itself, which effects, in a big way, that aspect of driving. So we got a full simulation of that implemented, and part of the fallout of that is that our cars are now far more controllable when they go over the limit: we have a far more progressive slip curve which determines how handleable you still are on the car when it is sideways."
One thing that isn't changing, despite some criticisms, is the team's approach in having every car and track available to players from the beginning. It's staunchly different to other titles in the racing genre, where earning currency for vehicle and track unlocks are typical to create a sense of progression. "We're not going to gate cars and tracks because that's the fun thing you actually play with," Tudor said. Vilijoen added: "If you want to step straight into Tier One, you can go for it. There are still things you can unlock, but that's bonus stuff, they're not core to the game. We're not saying, 'You're not allowed to play this.' We understand that there are some game designs where that fits, but largely that's a bit of a bygone era."
But there's an ulterior motive, too: Slightly Mad Studios wants Project Cars 2 to be an entry point into the world of motorsport, for any kind of player, but especially those who aren't as fanatical about it as their core audience. The model is a way to mimic the flexible careers of racecar drivers, and they hope it will organically teach people the language of the sport. "We want to encourage a way of thinking that's like a driver, as opposed to 'Oh, I can't wait to level up and unlock the next car.'" Tudor said. "It's about that way of thinking, the terminology, and what you go to the watercooler with the next day and talk about with your friend. You get a contract with a team, and then you've got a season of races, and you kinda work through there and you're thinking in your head, 'Oh I wish I could race for this team' or 'I'm going to sidestep my career and go from GT racing to Touring instead.' We want you to come out with that kind of vocabulary as opposed to, 'Oh, I unlocked something' or 'I did a huge drift the other day and got 500 points.'"
The other thing that Slightly Mad Studios isn't changing is its openness with the community and encouraging feedback on its forums, which is as important as feedback from real-world racecar drivers, it seems. The studio receives more requests than is practical, of course, and though Tudor and Vilijoen did lament a vocal minority of naysayers who get frustrated when they don't get their way, by-and-large the developer is hoping people appreciate its transparency and optimism, but understand the need for intervention.
"We honestly go into every single title full-bore," Viljoen said. "We constantly get to the end of a project and go, 'Okay guys, we overshot a little bit here. Let's pull this back.' But as the old saying goes, we'd rather aim for the moon and eat an eagle than aim for an eagle and eat a rock". Tudor laughed, "I've never heard that ever before."
"We aim high, and we accomplish most of it. It's important for us right from the outset that whatever we agree is going to be included in the game adds depth and not noise. Because it is so easy to just lose yourself in the details."
With all their technological improvements, I asked the directors what they hoped most to achieve in developing the sequel. Tudor reaffirmed: "More than anything I hope people can trust that the game that you eventually pick up has been made by people who listen to you, who are all as passionate as you are. I don't think we would make the game any other way."
Project Cars 2 is slated for a late 2017 release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Slightly Mad Studios has announced new details about its intensely detailed racing simulator, Project Cars 2.
Confirmed to launch on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in "late 2017," Project Cars 2 will include more than 170 licensed cars from "the most iconic brands." According to Slightly Mad, the game also features the largest track list ever seen on a console racing game, "full VR support," and the ability to play in a ridiculously large 12K resolution on PC only.
Rallycross and IndieCar vehicle types will be returning alongside some as yet unannounced new ones, which you'll be able to take online to race against friends, or compete in online championships.
A full 24-hour weather cycle will change atmospheric conditions as you race, making tracks wet or dry, and transitioning between day and night times. The press release makes much of the game's LiveTrack 3.0 system, which will dynamically vary road surface conditions, affecting vehicle performance, grip, and handling in real-time across tarmac, dirt, and even ice tracks.
Pokemon Go's first event of 2017 kicks off today to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Players will receive various bonuses by playing over the next week. Catching, hatching, and transferring Pokemon will net you twice as much candy as usual, while your buddy Pokemon will find candy in half the usual time.
Additionally, "adorable pink Pokemon" will show up more frequently. A comprehensive list of what fits this bill wasn't shared, but we know Porygon, Clefable, and Chansey are definitely on it. Meanwhile, while hatching eggs, you'll be more likely to obtain a Cleffa, Smoochum, or Igglybuff.
Finally, Lure Modules will be far more effective than usual, lasting for six hours--12 times as long as the usual 30 minutes they're active for.
All of this begins today, February 8, at 11 AM PST. The event runs until next Wednesday, February 15, at the same time.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fincher (Gone Girl, The Social Network, Seven) is "very creatively interested" in directing the movie, which will star Brad Pitt once more. THR states that Fincher would be looking to make the movie for less than the original's $190 million budget, and that Paramount already has a partner in place to reduce their financial risk with the film. However, studio boss Brad Grey is "not ready" to greenlight the film.
While the first World War Z proved to be a financial success, it was marked by considerable production difficulties. The film ran massively over-budget and behind schedule, and the release was delayed by several months while extensive reshoots took place. Nevertheless, it ultimately made $540 million worldwide, making it the most successful zombie movie of all time.
Recently, Injustice developer NetherRealm updated the game's website to say a new character would be revealed on February 7. That didn't happen. Now, NetheRealm has said this reveal will happen a week later, on February 13.
"Hello! The character reveal will happen next week on February 13," the developer wrote on Twitter. "We apologize for any confusion this has caused!"
Other confirmed playable characters for Injustice 2 so far include Batman, Blue Beetle, The Flash, Harley Quinn, Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Deadshot, Gorilla Grodd, Aquaman, Robin, and Atrocitus. NetherRealm's Ed Boon has said the game will feature obscure characters.
Sony San Diego has released a new video for MLB The Show 17 that shows off some of the new gameplay improvements and new/redone animations for this year's pro baseball game.
First, the video talks about how there will be a greater variety of hit-types this year. Based on how the ball spins when it comes off the bat, you might see curving or slicing grounders down the line, bloops, and topspin line drives. Overall, Sony says there are "hundreds of thousands" of new possibilities.
Another area of focus this year is making the AI feel more "human," so you might see an outfielder not run to the ball exactly how or when he should just like a real player would. Additionally, the video touches on the new catcher throwdown mechanic for base-stealing, while it also talks about how the catch and throw engine is better, featuring more animations for every situation.
In all, there are more than 350 new/redone batting stances and 300 new/redone pitching motions, while Sony used motion-capture cameras to capture more than 1,000 new gameplay animations.
Ahead of the game's launch next month, a new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has come online. Posted on the game's Japanese website, the two-minute trailer shows off some of the highly anticipated RPG's gorgeous environments and a number of action sequences.
In one segment, you can see Guardian creatures terrorizing a city and burning it to the ground. Take a look at the full trailer below, as posted by Gematsu.
Media giant Time Warner--which operates video game, TV, and movie units--today reported earnings for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016. Video game revenue was down year-over-year, but the company overall saw sales increase by 4 percent to $29.3 billion.
Time Warner's Warner Bros. division, which includes movies, TV, and games, saw flat revenue at $13 billion. The company's movie and TV revenues rose year-over-year, thanks to new releases like Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and Fantastic Beasts, but was offset by lower video game sales.
Operating income for the Warner Bros. division rose 22 percent to $1.7 billion. Warner Bros. noted that its big box office haul and the $90 million sale of Flixster was more than enough to offset the lower video game revenue.
Time Warner's HBO division saw its revenue rise 5 percent to $5.9 billion, helped by subscription revenue jumping 5 percent. Time Warner called out Game of Thrones, Veep, Last Week Tonight, and Westworld in its earnings report. It added that the sixth season of Game of Thrones averaged almost 26 million viewers, making it the most-watched series ever for HBO. Westworld averaged 13 million viewers to set a new first-season record.
You can read Time Warner's full earnings report here.
Time Warner is just the latest to report earnings in recent weeks. Check out the stories below to see how other companies are doing; Activision, Ubisoft, and Nvidia report earnings on February 9.
The action sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 is released this weekend, and there is already talk of a sequel. Now star Keanu Reeves has confirmed that he is interested in playing the role a third time.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Reeves explained that John Wick 3 would depend on the box office performance of Chapter 2. "I love the character and the world," he said. "Whether or not I get the chance to do another chapter is really up to the audience. If they enjoy what we did--and hopefully they do, fingers-crossed, I really dig it--but if they do enjoy it, then I'll have the chance to continue the story of the character and the world."
In October last year, director Chad Stahelski stated that he had started to think about a third film. "The studio has asked us to put our heads together and see if we can come up with something," he said. "Winston [the character played by Ian McShane] is a big part of the next one, so is Lance Reddick. We've got some ideas."
Stahelski also recently revealed that he was interesting in making a John Wick prequel TV show. "Lionsgate is very interested in doing a John Wick TV show, and that seems very appealing to us, to give those creative ideas to that entity," he said. "I think in TV you could really expand on what that is, and greater than we could in just a two-hour film."
John Wick: Chapter 2 also stars Common, Laurence Fishburne, Bridget Moynahan, and John Leguizamo. It hits theaters on February 10.
Many months before the film's release, Disney CEO Bob Iger has seen an early cut of Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Last Jedi. His verdict? It's going to be great. Speaking on an earnings call this week, Iger teased the highly anticipated sequel.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi, otherwise known as Episode VIII, will open in December and I just saw it last week," Iger said (via SeekingAlpha and Hannah Sampson). "It's a great next chapter in the iconic Skywalker family saga."
Following a delay, The Last Jedi arrives in theaters on December 15, 2017. It also stars John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Laura Dern, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. Carrie Fisher filmed her Leia scenes for the movie before she passed away in December.
Nintendo has released a video providing an overview of its next console, the Switch. The trailer offers a three-minute breakdown of all the features in the new hybrid device.
It starts by showing off the base unit and the tablet, before moving onto the Joy-Cons and showing how they attach to the tablet to offer a more robust gaming experience. There's also a showcase of the TV mode, handheld mode, and tabletop mode.
The video digs deeper into the hardware inside the Joy-Con, which offers "new HD rumble," allowing them to "reproduce sensations and experiences in entirely new ways." The controllers' motion control capabilities are also highlighted, with attention drawn to their gyroscopes and accelerometers, as well as the right Joy-Con's infrared sensor. The right controller also features NFC "read and write" tech, which allows the console to support Amiibo.
The left controller meanwhile, has a capture button, for saving screenshots--similar to the PS4's share button. Each controller also feature two standard triggers--R/L and ZR/ZL--as well as two bumpers for when you're holding only one Joy-Con: SR and SL.
The Switch launch lineup could continue to grow between now and release in March, but it's unlikely there will be as many launch titles as there were for Wii U, which had 23. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently spoke out to stress that launch is "not the be-all and the end-all."
A stylish new poster for the upcoming Kong: Skull Island was released last week, homaging the war classic Apocalypse Now. Now an even more impressive poster for the Japanese release has been revealed. It was tweeted by director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and is in the style of classic Japanese monster movies--check it out below:
In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Vogt-Roberts revealed that he had a simple rule for the monstrous inhabitants of Skull Island. "The first mandate for me was 'No dinosaurs,'" he said. "Jurassic World owns that as far as I'm concerned, and Peter Jackson's version did such a great job with that V-Rex fight."
The director went on to explain that his inspiration for the creatures was in fact Japanese animation. "[Hayao] Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke, and in a weird way Pokemon were odd reference points," he said. "Because I wanted these things to have a spirituality to them and an essence to them, and I wanted all of them to simultaneously be gorgeous and terrifying."
Kong: Skull Island is released on March 10, 2017. It stars Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, John C Reilly, Corey Hawkins, and John Goodman.
1-2-Switch, the compilation title for Nintendo Switch, has had more of its minigames revealed. The game's official Japanese website names a number of the activities, and apparently confirms the total number of minigames available in 1-2-Switch as 28.
Some of the titles include Sword Fight, Soda (which was teased in a recent Nintendo Switch ad), Wizard, Beach Flag, and possibly the weirdest of the bunch: Baby.
In Baby, you must cradle a screaming child to sleep. Except that child is a Nintendo Switch console. 2017 is weird.
The site has named 18 minigames so far, but appears to say there are 28 included in 1-2-Switch overall. That would leave 10 still to be revealed before the game's launch next month.
The Switch launch lineup could continue to grow between now and release in March, but it's unlikely there will be as many launch titles as there were for Wii U, which had 23. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently spoke out to stress that launch is "not the be-all and the end-all."
In a recent interview with Time, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima spoke about the company's mobile strategy, the Nintendo Switch, and what this next generation of console from the Japanese gaming giant will do differently this time around.
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima (Nintendo)
Nintendo has released three mobile games over the last twelve months, for the first time in history. Kimishima said Nintendo has three goals for its mobile business, the first is to get Nintendo IP and characters to more people thanks to the reach of mobile. "This is a great tool for us to push our IP to a large number of people," Kimishima said. "This is a great way to introduce them to our franchises and characters, and thereby bring them back to Nintendo's dedicated hardware as well as introduce them to Nintendo's expanded software library."
Next comes the money, "number two, we'd like mobile to be a pillar in and of itself--a business pillar that is profitable."
So, how has this strategy gone for Nintendo in the case of Super Mario Run? "We've had 78 million downloads. With regards to how many people have paid money, we're hoping for more than 10%, at this point we're somewhere north of half way there." Kimishima discussed the analysis of where the game is being downloaded, and what percentage of those people are paying the one-time USD$9.99 it costs to unlock the full game. "The game is being distributed in more than 150 countries, but it's the top 20 countries that account for more than 90% of the total revenue," he said. "If you look further at the people who are paying for the game within those 20 countries, we're not at 10%, but the number is rising."
Nintendo views its initial mobile releases--Miitomo, Super Mario Run, and this month's Fire Emblem Heroes--as experiments, testing the mobile market for different types of games and monetization models. Super Mario Run is a test of the once-off payment model, "I think we can see that this is a viable way to do business. I would also add that this is a new way of monetization and so not yet popular," said Himishima."As a result of these experiments with monetization styles, we're gaining what you might call confidence in our mobile business efforts."
Moving on to the Switch, Kimishima confirmed that the Switch does not support games designed for other systems at this stage, dashing any hope of a backwards-compatible library of Nintendo games any time soon. "Switch is not backward compatible with games designed for other systems, and is not currently compatible with controllers designed for other systems," he said. "Support for certain controllers may be considered for a future update. In some cases, games from past systems may be re-released for the Nintendo Switch system as either enhanced or original versions." What about the eShop? "We can confirm that it will be possible to purchase and play downloaded software at launch, but we are not sharing further details at this time."
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima (Nintendo)
When asked about how Nintendo's online subscription system--coming in at a mere USD$18 to $27 per year--might stack up to its competitors, Kimishima said "I think if you look at some of our competitors, you think that when I say 2,000 to 3,000 yen [USD$18 to $27] per year, that's a bit underpriced or cheap. But we are really dedicated to bringing our online business to the consumer at that price point. We feel it's a matter of getting our content to the consumer at a price point that will make them happy, and then we're willing to look at what else we can do going forward. This is just the starting point for us, so again, it's a battle of content. We think we have what we need to win the battle on that front, and we hope to provide more details about the service going forward."
SHIELD is now aware Agent Melinda May has been taken; Senator Nadeer has been working with the anti-Inhuman group, the Watchdogs; and Dr. Radcliffe has betrayed them to work under Nadeer's protection. Plans are in motion to find May, but the appearance of a new Inhuman is going to complicate things further.
Warning: Spoilers for Season 4, Episode 13 of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, "Boom," will be discussed below.
Senator Nadeer Gets An Unexpected Surprise
Terrance Shockley--member of the Watchdogs--visited Senator Nadeer at her office. He mentioned the Superior was questioning whether or not she had Inhuman blood in her since her brother went through Terrigenesis. Outraged, she ordered Shockley to leave, but he smashed a pure Terrigen Crystal on her desk, unleashing the gas that would put a potential Inhuman in a Terrigenesis cocoon. She's relieved to discover it has no affect on her. Unfortunately, one of the others in her office does go through the change with an explosive result. Senator Nadeer is killed in the blast.
The Superior's Plan Against The Inhumans Progresses
Despite Radcliffe warning the Superior not to read the Darkhold, he admitted he glanced through it. It informed him Radcliffe would give him the solution to defeating the Inhumans. It was Radcliffe that provided Shockely with the pure Terrigen Crystal to use in Nadeer's office.
The Superior gets another advantage over SHIELD with the use of that crystal. It was Shockley that underwent Terrigenesis in Nadeer's office. He gained the ability to explode and reform his body. Despite now being the thing he despised, Shockely pledged his continued loyalty to the Superior. He later faced off against Daisy, who used her powers to keep forcing him to explode. This gave Fitz and Simmons a chance to contain him while he was in his reforming state.
The Director Faces A Dilemma
With the revelation that Director Mace is not actually an Inhuman, Simmons was able to run some tests on him. The serum he used to temporarily give him superhuman strength was having a negative affect. Each time he used it, the risk of going into cardiac arrest increased. Mace began to get frustrated over what his role on the team was. He decided to risk using his powers against the Watchdogs to give Fitz and Simmons time to capture Shockley. This lead to him getting surrounded and captured. The Superior believes he now has the "Inhuman Director of SHIELD." If he finds out Mace isn't an Inhuman, who knows if they'll keep him alive.
Who Was Aida Modeled After?
Coulson and Mack tracked down a woman named Agnes Kittsworth in Spain. This was the woman Radcliffe used as a template for his Aida LMD. She told Coulson she didn't want anything to do with Radcliffe because he was a coward. She was suffering from a brain tumor and when Radcliffe couldn't cure her, he disappeared. She was shocked to discover a robot was made with her likeness, and Coulson convinced her to help track down Radcliffe by explaining someone he cared for, Agent May, was missing.
Unfortunately when she came face-to-face with Radcliffe once again, she decided to go with him when he said he could help her. He brought her into the Framework, the virtual landscape he created and is keeping May contained in. As her mind was downloaded into the Framework and she achieved peace, her body died.
Coulson Gets Some Encouragement
Coulson has realized how deep his feelings were for May. When Radcliffe told Agnes he had someone in the Framework, and she was thriving. That let him know May was still alive. This gave him a renewed vigor to continue his search.
May is shown muttering to herself while attached to the Framework.
Our Thoughts
The shocks continue in this latest episode. It was unexpected to see Senator Nadeer killed already. Even though SHIELD discovered her ties to the Watchdogs and the Superior, they didn't have any concrete proof to act on it. With her connections in the government, she could continue to cause problems for them. On top of that, seeing Shockley becoming the thing he despised was gratifying. He was quickly captured after discovering his deadly powers. Perhaps we'll see him escape later to shake things up some more.
Mace has been struggling to find his place on the team. It's now safe to say his intentions are truly noble. All doubt can be erased. Hopefully he'll survive getting captured.
An interesting minor moment was when an LMD sensor went off. Fitz was with a technician when another agent came in with Mace's upgraded armor when it alerted them. Fitz chided the technician to recalibrate it so it doesn't go off when "a metal coat hanger" is brought in, especially since Coulson has a prosthetic hand. What if Fitz or the other agent is yet another LMD Radcliffe sent in to infiltrate SHIELD? We'll have to wait and see.
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