Monthly Archives: March 2015
Final Fantasy Creator Reveals Which Entry In The Series Makes Him The Most Proud
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the mega-popular Final Fantasy franchise. We asked him which Final Fantasy game he is the most proud of. His answer? Final Fantasy I.
"There was no guarantee that this game would make it," he explained. "There were a lot of worries, a lot of unstable factors going into this project. The original team only consisted of four people. Even in the end when we wrapped up the project, there was probably about ten of us."
Sakaguchi mentioned he had to wear a lot of different hats during the development process, but he didn't mind since he had a good rapport with his small team. "With such a small number of people that you can rely on, the relationship that we were able to build...was that much deeper and that much stronger."
Cap 2, Interstellar Lead Saturn Film Nominees
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films unveiled the nominees today for their 41st Annual Saturn Awards, which are designed to honor and recognize films often overlooked by mainstream awards. Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Christopher Nolan's Interstellar lead this year's race with 11 and 10 nominations, respectively.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy landed 9 noms, followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Into The Woods, and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Maleficent, Dracula Untold, and The Babadook also earned nominations. The winners of the 41st Annual Saturn Awards will be presented June 25.
Valve Announces Steam Controller Launch Window, Price
Valve's Steam controller will be available in the U.S. this November, along with the newly announced Steam Link service.
Following a previous delay, Valve announced the controller's November launch window at GDC today. The controller is priced at $50 USD, and will release alongside Valve's Steam Link service, which is also slated for a $50 release. The controller's worldwide pricing will be announced closer to November, Valve said.
For more news from GDC this week in San Francisco, stay tuned to IGN.
Valve Announces Steam Link for In-Home Game Streaming
During GDC 2015, Valve announced new release dates and products set for later this year. Among them, Steam Link will apparently allow you to stream content from any PC, Mac, Steam Machine, or Linux-based computer on the same home network.
According to Valve, the Steam Link device will offer "low latency" streaming of Steam games in 1080p resolution at 60 Hz. The device will retail for $50 USD this November, and launch alongside the Steam Controller (which also carries a $50 USD price tag). Global pricing for Steam Link has yet to be announced.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Adds Master Prestige Ranks
Sledgehammer Games has added more prestige ranks to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, each with their own elite rewards.
There are 15 new Master Prestige ranks, as well as the following Grand Master rank, which grants players the titular set of purple armor. The update is live on Xbox One and Xbox 360 now, according to Sledgehammer, and will be sometime next week for PlayStation 4 and PS3, pending a game update.
The chart below details the elite loot weapons players can unlock at each new Master Prestige level:
Sarah Michelle Gellar Joins Star Wars Rebels
Sarah Michelle Geller is joining the voice cast of Star Wars Rebels in a recurring role for Season 2.
Just hours after the season one finale aired, news broke that Gellar would join the animated series for its second season in a mysterious new role.
"We’re thrilled to have Sarah Michelle Gellar on board for season two," said supervising director Dave Filoni. "She is a true 'Star Wars Rebels' fan and her passion undoubtedly comes through in the voice recording sessions."
Superman Villain Joins the Cast of Supergirl
Supergirl casting continues to pour in as The Wrap reports that Jeremy Jordan (The Last Five Years, Smash) has been cast as Winslow "Winn" Schott, a "tech genius and superstar IT whiz" who works with Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl. Fans may recognize Schott as the genius-inventor called Toyman, a villain known for using toys in his nefarious plans.
Jeremy Jordan
Dragon Age Writer David Gaider Moving on to New BioWare Project
BioWare Senior Writer David Gaider will no longer be working on the Dragon Age series.
Gaider, who wrote characters, dialogue, quests, and narrative for all three Dragon Age games, will be moving on to a new project at BioWare.
"I have decided
leave Dragon Age and move onto a new, upcoming BioWare project (which I can't discuss)," Gaider wrote on Twitter. "While it's hard to leave Dragon Age behind, 10 years is a long time to work on any one project. I decided it was time for something new."
Before Dragon Age, Gaider worked on several other BioWare games, including Baldur's Gate 2, Knights of the Old Republic, and Neverwinter Nights. Gaider has also penned three novels taking place in the Dragon Age universe.
That ’70s Show Actor Cast in Minority Report
Wilmer Valderrama (From Dusk Till Dawn, That '70s Show) has joined the cast of FOX's Minority Report pilot.
Deadline reports that Valderrama will play a new police detective named Will Blake in the small-screen sequel to Spielberg's 2002 movie of the same name.
Wilmer Valderrama in From Dusk Till Dawn
Samsung Gear VR Store Now Selling Paid Apps
If you've spent any time perusing the games and other experience available for Samsung's Gear VR headset, you've probably longed for some more robust experiences. According to Engadget, that day has finally arrived as full games are now for sale on the Oculus VR Store.
Previously, the apps available for Gear VR were mostly relegated to free demos and previews of games marked "coming soon," but thanks to this latest move by Samsung and Oculus, there are at least nine compatible games for sale on the store as of this writing. The prices on those games vary from as lows as $3 USD, to as much as $10 USD (for the puzzle game Darknet). Currently, these paid apps are only available in the US, but more regions will follow soon.