If you're a fan of the Kizumonogatari anime series, you may get the chance to immerse yourself in the world of the films soon. Sony and several other partners have announced Kizumonogatari VR for PS4's PlayStation VR. Get a look at the teaser trailer above.
The VR experience will use projection mapping and promises a video experience that transports the viewer into the world of Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade, a powerful vampire and one of the series' central characters (check her out below).
Kizumonogatari VR is being made to celebrate the release of the series' three films on DVD and Blu-ray in July.
If you're in Japan, you can apply to try out Kizumonogatari VR early. There will be an advance viewing party on May 20, and you can follow this link to apply (the deadline is May 10). For the rest of us, we'll have to wait for more information on any potential release outside Japan.
If you're curious about the series, check out the trailer for Kizmonogatari's third film below, which was shown in theaters in the U.S. last month.
To use PlayStation VR, you'll need a PlayStation 4 and the VR headset. Check out our review of PlayStation VR here for everything you need to know about Sony's virtual reality experience.
Capcom has announced new details regarding the next beta test for Street Fighter V's revamped Capcom Fighters Network, which begins next week.
The beta runs from May 11-14 on both PC and PS4. You don't need to own Street Fighter V in order to take part--this will be open to everyone on both platforms, with cross-play enabled so that you can square off against players regardless of the system they're playing on. More importantly, the next Season 2 DLC character will be playable, and the latest balance changes have been implemented.
This is the second beta test for the new CFN, which comes as part of Capcom's effort to overhaul Street Fighter V's online component. The first test came in April and "allowed [Capcom] to make further adjustments to optimize the new CFN," it said recently.
However, when Capcom decided to conduct another beta, it meant delaying the new DLC character and balance updates, which were slated to be released by the end of April. Because they require the new CFN infrastructure, they're being held back until the new version goes live. Capcom hasn't announced how soon all of this may arrive after this next beta.
Capcom did, however, share a list of changes that you can expect to see during the beta. You can check that out below.
Rage Quit Penalty System
Back in December, we implemented an update to the Rage Quit System which displayed a special Player Profile Icon for the worst offenders and the most honorable players. These icons are working correctly now and matchmaking logic now takes into account your online behavior and frequent disconnectors will be matched with similar opponents.
Ranked and Casual Match Loading Times
We understand many players were not happy with the load times when entering online matches. There will now be a shorter transition when going into a Ranked or Casual Match.
Battle Lounge Country Flags
Country flags should now properly load in Battle Lounges, allowing players to locate competition in their region.
Matchmaking Improvements
It should now take less time to find an opponent in online matches. We've also added logic which avoids frequently being matched with the same opponent repeatedly.
Fighter Profile Stats
More detailed stats will be tracked and presented on your Fighter Profile.
Country / League Based Rankings
Players will now be able to filter leaderboards based on Country or League.
Friend Management System
In addition to adding a player to your Favorites, you can now add Friends and follow them on CFN. You can now also Blacklist players.
Interactive Timeline
On the CFN home menu, a live feed of your Friends' activities is presented on an interactive Timeline. Using the Timeline, you can immediately add a recent match to your Replay List, view a Fighter Profile, manage your Friends, and adjust Timeline display settings.
In-Game Announcer Voice
The in-game announcer will give you stats on both you and your opponent using data pulled from the server.
Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5 was intended to be a direct sequel to the classic Aliens, that would bring stars Sigourney Weaver and Michael Beihn back to the series. But ever since Ridley Scott's sequel to Prometheuswas given the title Alien: Covenant, there has been doubt about Alien 5 ever being made. Scott has now said it is very unlikely to happen.
In an interview with the French magazine Allocine to promote Covenant, Scott was asked about Alien 5. "I don't think it will ever see the light of day," Scott said (via ScreenRant). "There was never a script. Just an idea that evolved from a dozen or so pages. I had to participate as producer, but it didn't go farther because Fox decided it didn't want to do it. As far I was concerned, I had already done Prometheus and I was working on Covenant."
"We're doing other things until we can get going on that," she said."[But] I'd be really surprised if we didn't do it, because it's such a great script, and we love working together. So, it's just going to take a little bit longer to get out to you, but it'll be worth the wait."
Alien: Covenant hits theaters on May 19, 2017. Last week a special prologue to the film was released online--check it out here.
Combining digital and physical copies, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 459,000 copies on its launch day in the US last week, Nintendo announced today. The company claims that makes it the "fastest-selling game" in the franchise's history.
That record was previously held by Mario Kart Wii, which sold 433,900 units on launch day back in 2008, according to Nintendo.
A press release notes that the attach rate for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is 45 percent, which would mean US Switch sales are around 1.02 million units. The company says worldwide sales of the system have reached more than 2.7 million, and we learned today that it even made the costly move of shipping some consoles by air to meet demand.
The strong performance by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is particularly impressive considering it is merely an enhanced port of a Wii U game, rather than an original game.
This bundle includes the standard 500 GB system. Shipping starts at $6 unless you're a Newegg Premier member. To see the discount, add the system to your cart and enter the promo code at checkout.
$250 is about as low as we've generally seen the PS4 (or Xbox One) drop to, although the specific bundle items vary from deal to deal. Sony and Microsoft were both aggressive late last year and earlier this year with limited-time price drops that saw their respective systems come down to $250, but official promotions have been quiet since.
Back in March, Logan director director James Mangold revealed that he was planning a black-and-white version of the smash hit Wolverine movie, and that it would appear on the Blu-ray release. Mangold has now tweeted that it will also receive a special theatrical showing later this month. Check his tweet out below:
Suggestion. Hard core B&W loving LOGAN fans should not make any plans on the evening of May 16th.
Mangold went on to confirm that it could only be seen in US theaters on the night of May 16 only.
The director also explained that the movie has been entirely regraded to achieve the new look. "To make a great B&W version of a film, the whole thing's gotta be regraded and timed, shot by shot," he said.
"I think it surprised everyone," he told Deadline. "There is a kind of a running assumption that black-and-white is a turn-off for most people. It caused such an extreme reaction, and so much appreciation for these pictures, and then people immediately wondering if the film itself was going to be in black and white.
"We are giving it a whirl--I think it will be a very handsome black-and-white version of the picture."
Logan was released in March and has to date earned $607 million worldwide. This makes it the third biggest X-Men movie to date, behind Deadpool and X-Men:Days of Future Past. The movie hits home entertainment platforms on May 23.
Resident Evil CG movie Vendetta will be in theaters for one day in June, but you won't have to wait long before you're also able to watch it at home.
Vendetta's digital release is scheduled for June 20, only one day after its theatrical showing, Sony Pictures announced today. It will then arrive on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Blu-ray a few weeks later, on July 18.
The 4K release is a three-disc combo pack featuring 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray versions. The 4K version features HDR and Dolby Atmos support, and Best Buy will have an exclusive steelbook version available. Both it and the standard Blu-ray edition come with a bonus disc consisting of behind-the-scenes footage from last year's Tokyo Game Show and with two featurettes.
Here's how Sony describes them: "Fans will assemble with the BSAA Operatives team to receive the intelligence briefing to defeat a deadly threat in BSAA Mission Briefing: Combat Arias, while director Takanori Tsujimoto and his creative team lead fans in a conversation on the film's design aesthetic and what it took to evolve the story in Designing The World of Vendetta."
You can get the full rundown on the bonus features included with each of the different versions at the bottom of this post.
Vendetta is the third entry in the Resident Evil CG movie series. It's set in New York City and features series mainstays such as Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, and Rebecca Chambers. Its theater showing takes place on June 19, with tickets available through Fathom Events.
Resident Evil: Vendetta Bonus Materials
4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack and 2-disc Blu-ray
Three featurettes:
The Creature
Motion Capture Set Tour with Dante Carver
CGI to Reality: Designing Vendetta
Still gallery (30 sketches/designs)
Filmmaker audio commentary (in Japanese) with Director Takanori Tsujimoto, Executive Producer Takashi Shimizu and Writer Makoto Fukami
Bonus disc with three featurettes:
BSAA Mission Briefing: Combat Arias
Designing The World of Vendetta
2016 Tokyo Game Show Footage
Digital
Three featurettes:
The Creature
Walk-around on set (motion-capture) with Dante Carver
CGI to Reality: Designing Vendetta
Still gallery (30 sketches/designs)
Filmmaker audio commentary (in Japanese) with Director Takanori Tsujimoto, Executive Producer Takashi Shimizu and Writer Makoto Fukami
DVD
Still gallery (30 sketches/designs)
Filmmaker Audio Commentary (in Japanese) with Director Takanori Tsujimoto, Executive Producer Takashi Shimizu and Writer Makoto Fukami
In advance of the Switch's release, Nintendo reassured fans that it would do its best to meet demand by shipping 2 million units worldwide by the end of March. It ended up shipping quite a few more than that, thanks in part to a bold move we now know it made.
Rather than relying quite so heavily on sea freight, Nintendo also shipped an unspecified number of consoles by air, the Wall Street Journal reports. A company spokesperson said, "We carried some of the Switches by plane in March to serve our customers more promptly." The company has since gone back to shipping systems by sea.
That's an expensive move and one that is, as the report notes, fairly unusual. Ace Research Institute analyst Hideki Yasuda told the WSJ, "Air is a big profit-squeezer because it could cost additional 5,000 yen per unit," which translates to about $45/£35.
Nintendo didn't say where these systems were shipped, though experts cited by the WSJ suggest the US and Europe were likely destinations, as you'd expect.
As noted above, Nintendo delivered more systems in March than previously expected. A total of 2.74 million Switch consoles were shipped by March 31, Nintendo announced as part of its recent earnings report. It said it will ship an additional 10 million Switch units during the current fiscal year, which runs through March 2018.
Battle Arena Melbourne (BAM) is Australia's largest fighting game major, and in 2017 will return for its 9th outing from May 12-14 at the Melbourne Convention Centre. The tournament features Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and Super Smash Bros. as main events.
If you're looking forward to the console release of Tekken 7, you'll have an opportunity to get hands-on with the final build of the game during the week. Entry to the Tekken 7 casual play area will be free for all attendees over the weekend. Entry into the "New Challengers" Tekken 7 tournament on the evening of May 12 will also be free.
BAM's Street Fighter V tournament boasts a $20,000 AUD cash prize pool, and will also act as a Global Premier Event for the 2017 Capcom Pro Tour. Winners of the Street Fighter V tournament will be awarded a large amount of points toward their place on the Capcom Pro Tour Global Leaderboards. International Street Fighter players confirmed for the event include Japan's Daigo Umehara (The Beast), Korea's Lee Seon-woo (Infiltration), and Singapore's Kun Xian Ho (aka Xian).
Additionally, Telltale's The Walking Dead: Season Two continues to be free on Xbox One until May 15. You can see the complete Games With Gold lineup for May 2017 below.
In other Xbox Live news, there will be a fresh set of weekly deals coming online soon. We'll report back with more details on the specific deals as they're announced.
Last year, Nintendo announced a collaboration with clothing company Uniqlo that challenged the community to come up with a t-shirt design themed around the Mario company. The winner and runner-ups have now been revealed.
The grand prize-winning shirt is Mario-themed, featuring a minimalistic 8-bit version of the portly plumber on the front and a simple "M" on the back, at the bottom. The men's and women's versions will sell for 1,500 yen in Japan, with a child's size available for 990 yen.
The second prize went to a Splatoon-themed shirt, while the third-place design is themed around Zelda and features an ornate front and back. They are all really cool, so it must have been tough to decide a winner among the numerous entries that no doubt came in.
WWE's Payback gives stars a chance at a little revenge after what happened at Wrestlemania. The Raw brand-exclusive event comes to PPV and the WWE Network today, and all but one of Raw's titles are on the line.
Payback takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. There are eight matches on the card, one of which will take place on the Kickoff Show.
Big Cass & Enzo Amore vs. Gallows & Anderson (Kickoff Match)
Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries (For the Cruiserweight Championship)
The Hardy Boyz (c) vs. Cesaro & Shemus (For the Raw Tag Team Championship)
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Chris Jericho (For the United States Championship)
Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss (For the Raw Women's Championship)
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt (House of Horrors Match)
The Kickoff Show starts on the WWE Network at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT today, April 30. It's followed by the Payback event itself at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT on the WWE Network.
In case you're not caught up, don't worry; we put the final results in spoiler blocks.
Kickoff Show
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Gallows & Anderson
Enzo pins Gallows at 6:33.
Payback Maincard
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Chris Jericho
(For the United States Championship)
Jericho submits Owens at 14:02.
Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries
(For the Cruiserweight Championship)
Aries wins by DQ--but Neville retains the title--at 11:16.
Patrice Desilets, who created the massively successful Assassin's Creed franchise at Ubisoft before eventually leaving the company amid a lawsuit, has shed some new light on his exit.
Speaking to Gameology, Desilets talked about why it was difficult for him to be in a major company, explaining that he had to come up with "political" lies to tell to media during interviews.
"My biggest struggle with being in an organization is that I was the guy at the end or in the middle also… I was the guy doing interviews like what we're doing right now and I had to come up with political lying and I would receive comments and decisions made by other people and not me because it's all about compromising when you're in a big organization somehow," he said. "And as my role, the creative director, it's tough to live by the decisions of others when being in front of the camera or Skype and I said I'm not a really good liar so I can't do it anymore.
"And then I also realized that when you do a really big franchise, you also make money for other people and they don't really care about you (Laugh). So I said, enough! if I do another Assassin's Creed at least it would be for me and my guys and also for Quebec and for my people in Montreal."
Desilets said it took him "a while" to come to the decision to leave Ubisoft.
"My girlfriend told me I was not happy anymore at Ubisoft. She made me realize that, so I said OK. Now it's been seven years since I left Ubisoft," he said.
Desilets now heads up a studio called Panache. The team currently numbers 24 staffers, but the idea is to grow to 30 by the end of the year. He doesn't expect the team to grow much more than that.
By comparison, Desilets said 800 people worked on Assassin's Creed II. One of the benefits of working on a smaller team is that everyone knows each other, which probably could not be said for the teams that worked on the big Assassin's Creed games when Desilets worked at Ubisoft.
Also in the interview, Desilets said Panache will eventually make the mysterious game 1666: Amsterdam, which he re-gained the rights to amid his lawsuit against Ubisoft.
"That's my game about the devil in us that we are all good guys but sometimes we're not and how come sometimes we're not?" he said. "And it's an international subject matter also and in our culture the devil symbol is there so I want to attack that and eventually we're going to make it here at Panache."
The full interview touches on a number of other interesting subjects--you can read it here.
In 2010, Desilets left Ubisoft to establish THQ Montreal, but became a Ubisoft employee again in 2012 when the company bought the studio. His new path at Ubisoft didn't last very long. In May 2013, just months into his new role, Desilets claimed he was fired by Ubisoft, and went on to sue the company, attempting to reclaim the rights to 1666 in the process.
The next game from Desilets and Panache is Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, which is a third-person adventure game set 10 million years ago. It was originally going to be released episodically, but that is no longer the case.
GameStop received a new allocation of Nintendo Switch units last week for the launch of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but if you didn't act quickly, you might not have gotten one. Merchandising director Eric Bright told Forbes in a new interview that the console is exceeding the company's expectations.
"We knew it would be a high-demand product, but our Switch allocations are selling out not in days, but in hours...the demand is so high that consumers have to react quickly to be able to get their hands on them," Bright said.
GameStop did not provide any specifics on Switch unit sales or what its expectations were to begin with. Whatever the case, it's no surprise that system is off to a hot start, as Nintendo said the hybrid system is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo's history.
"Right now we're not seeing sales going down at all, and I would expect that to continue for quite some time," Bright said.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's release likely had led to an uptick in Switch hardware sales, considering the Mario Kart series is massively popular and Nintendo has been promoting the game significantly.
Overwatch's latest seasonal event, Uprising, is coming to an end.
The Uprising event wraps on on May 1 in the US and May 2 in Australia, meaning now is your last chance to check out the co-op Brawl where you fight against waves of enemies.
Uprising has been running in Overwatch across Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC since early April. No future seasonal events have been announced, but you can bet they will happen.
If you follow Metal Gear designer Hideo Kojima on Twitter, you are well aware that he loves movies. And he's friends with Hollywood directors like Guillermo del Toro, Nicolas Winding-Refn, and Kyle Cooper. But would Kojima, one of the biggest names in games, ever make a movie himself?
Speaking at the Tribeca Games Festival this weekend, Kojima said it's not likely to happen soon, or possibly ever. "I love movies, so definitely one day, I would love to," he said. "But right now, it's impossible. At least until I finish Death Stranding, it's impossible."
Elaborating further, Kojima said one of his concerns about making a movie comes from his love of the medium.
"I love films too much that maybe if I start making a movie I would never finish it," he said. "People tell me, 'Kojima, you're too demanding of movies. You always find something that you will want to fix and you will never finish a movie.'"
Asked if he would like to adapt one of his video game works for the big screen or branch out with an entirely new idea, he said the latter. (There is a Metal Gear Solid movie already in the works). Kojima went on to say that if he were to make a movie, it could take the form of a big-budget blockbuster or a small indie film with two characters in a room.
Overall, Kojima said he has "many ideas in my head" for a movie, though he did not share specifics on any of them.
We still don't know for sure, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer has weighed in to say the Fable franchise overall "has a lot of places it could go." He said there is "nothing to announce right now," which suggests Microsoft does indeed have a plan to bring the series back.
@dragen_Light Nothing to announce right now but I do think the IP has a lot of places it could go.
Spencer's comments came in response to someone who asked if there would ever be a Fable 4.
The last entry in the numbered series was Fable III, which came out in 2010 for Xbox 360. Fable Heroes and Fable: The Journey came out later, with Fable Legends in development as an online-focused multiplayer game before its cancellation.
During an appearance at the Tribeca Games Festival this weekend, Hideo Kojima shared an update on how his mysterious and anticipated game Death Stranding is coming along. He also talked about the decision to have the character The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus plays appear naked in the first trailer for the game.
He didn't get into specifics about Death Stranding, but confirmed that his team at Kojima Productions is currently working with its engine, Decima, on tests for the game. This suggests that the game is still quite early in the development process, though it apparently could come out in 2018.
"We are continuously doing different tests for game systems, for characters, for environments," he said through a translator. "We are continually testing these aspects. So far, it's going pretty well."
As an example, Kojima said the team is working on a test environment set in New York, though that is not where the game is set, he stressed. The team created a restaurant setting and they're working on figuring out who the character played by Reedus meets there, the table they sit at, the dialogue between them, and even the menu they look at.
Altogether, Kojima's team is now trying to combine different elements of Death Stranding to see how they come together, he said.
Also during the talk, Kojima briefly discussed Reedus being naked in the Death Stranding reveal trailer. "[Having Norman Reedus naked in the Death Stranding reveal trailer] is something I very specifically had in mind--I wanted people to see first a naked Norman," Kojima said. "And then from there, you will be able to see him in different costumes, in different hairstyles, different equipment--and that's as much as I should say today."
In addition to Reedus, Death Stranding will feature Hannibal actor Mads Mikkelsen and film director Guillermo del Toro.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opened in 37 international markets last week ahead of its premiere this Friday in the United States. According to Deadline, the Marvel movie pulled in $101.2 million from international markets, which is 57 percent bigger than the original Guardians of the Galaxy.
The number stands to grow even bigger soon, as a number of international markets, including the UK, have Monday off for May Day.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's biggest international market was the UK, where it made $15.5 million; Australia was No. 2, with $11.6 million.
"I'm returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," he said, noting how much he loves the characters. He added that he believes "they have more adventures to go on and things to learn about themselves and the wonderful and sometimes terrifying universe we all inhabit. And, like in both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, we will work on creating the story that goes beyond what you expect."
The opening couch gag for Sunday night's episode of The Simpsons was a parody of the The Big Bang Theory. If you missed it or want to watch again, the video is now on YouTube. It's special in that it celebrates the 30th anniversary of the show's debut as a short that premiered on April 19, 1987 as part of the Tracey Ullman Show (via EW).
The gag riffs on the Barenaked Ladies song from The Big BangTheory,as memorable scenes from across the animated show's 30-year run play. Mr. Plow, Bart (trying to) sell his soul, "alcohol and night swimming" are all represented, among other memorable moments. The new, Simpsons-styled lyrics are also a nice touch.
According to EW, there will be a "special surprise" about The Simpsons coming later tonight in the US. We'll report back with more details as they become available.
The Big Bang Theory airs on CBS, whose parent company--CBS Corp.--also owns GameSpot.
After another weekend, The Fate of the Furious is No. 1 yet again. Estimates for the April 28-30 weekend have come in, via Entertainment Weekly, with the eighth installment in the action-racing series bringing in $19.4 million at the US box office and a further $68.4 million from international markets.
Worldwide, the film has now passed $1.1 billion after just three weeks. It becomes Universal's fourth highest-grossing movie in history, following Jurassic World ($1.67 billion), Furious 7 ($1.52 billion), and Minions ($1.16 billion).
The Fate of the Furious has proven to be a far bigger hit internationally than in the US. Stateside, it's made $192.7 million, compared to $867.6 million from international markets.
Another notable takeaway from this weekend's US box office figures was The Circle. The tech industry movie, which features Hollywood stars like Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, and John Boyega, pulled in a disappointing $9.3 million to finish fourth.
The full US Box Office April 28-30 weekend estimates are below, as rounded up by EW.
You can see the full rundown for April 2017's free PS Plus games below. You need to have an active subscription to PS Plus to continue playing the games.
May's freebies (see them all here) arrive on May 2, so you have basically another full day to pick up April's titles before they return to their normal prices.
Oculus VR, the company behind the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, has confirmed that it will not officially attend E3 this year. A representative confirmed this to VentureBeat.
It's the first time since 2014 that Oculus will not have a booth on the E3 show floor. The company's structure on the show floor reportedly almost doubled in size every year since then, so attendees may note its absence.
Oculus did not say why it's bowing out of E3 this year. Last year, Oculus had a new product to push--the Touch controllers and launch titles--but this year there is no new hardware on the horizon.
Though Oculus won't have a booth on the show floor this year, the headset itself will almost surely be represented from partner developers. And what's more, it wouldn't be surprising to see some Oculus developers and executives at the show to meet with developers.
The Oculus representative told VentureBeat that it will have more games and other announcements to make later this year.
This is just the latest loss for E3 in terms of the loss of a high-profile company from the show floor. Last year, EA and Activision, two of the biggest publishers in all of gaming, elected not to return to the show.
This year, EA is holding its own event--EA Play--in Hollywood, while E3 itself takes place in downtown Los Angeles. As for Activision, it has confirmed that multiplayer footage for Call of Duty: WW2 will be at E3, presumably shown during Sony's press conference, given the relationship the two companies have.
E3 2017 officially runs June 13-17, though the show kicks off with EA's briefing on Saturday, June 10. Unlike every year prior, this year's event is open to the public.
Today is the last day for Xbox Live Gold subscribers to claim two different games. On Xbox One, Ryse: Son of Rome will return to its regular price tomorrow, while the same is true for Xbox 360 game Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The latter is also playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.
Another of April's freebies that's now available, The Walking Dead: Season Two, will remain free for the first half of May. You can grab all of the current free games through the links at the bottom of this post.
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