Monthly Archives: May 2015
Final Fantasy 14’s Heavensward Takes the MMO to New Heights
It’s been a little under two years since the failed MMO Final Fantasy XIV was closed down before being relaunched as A Realm Reborn, and what a two years they’ve been. Under the watchful eye of director Naoki Yoshida, Final Fantasy XIV has gone from being an unsightly blemish on the books of Square Enix to one of the most profitable parts of its portfolio, currently bringing in over 4 million paying subscribers and set to imminently receive its first expansion. From what I’ve been able to experience of Heavensward, this is a trend that’s set to continue.
Mortal Kombat X on PS3 and Xbox 360 Delayed Again?
A new report claims Mortal Kombat X on last-gen consoles has been delayed yet again.
According to Kotaku, Gamestop employees have been telling customers that the game has been pushed back to the tail-end of the year, with the retailer's website also shifting from a release date in June to a placeholder one at the end of the year.
If true, this will mark the second delay for the gruesome fighter on PS3 and Xbox 360 after being delayed from April to a rather nebulous "summer". IGN has reached out to Warner Bros. for comment and will update this story should we hear back.
‘WTF’, ‘Emoji’ and ‘Clickbait’ Added to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
"Emoji", "NSFW", "clickbait", "photobomb", "net neutrality" and "WTF" have been added to the Merriam-Webster's unabridged dictionary.
These new entries, as reported by CNN, are just a selection of the 1,700 words added in the latest edition, with 3,200 examples of how to use these terms in context.
There’s a Secret Message Hidden In Perception’s Kickstarter
There's a secret message hidden within the Kickstarter page for new horror game Perception.
The Deep End Games -- a new studio composed almost entirely of developers who worked on Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, including Bill Gardner, The Deep End's founder -- revealed its new horror game yesterday.
The Kickstarter page details the usual information about the storyline, funding aspirations and the team itself, but near the end of the page, tucked into the stretch goals section of the campaign, lies text written in Braille.
CD Projekt Red Won’t Talk About Cyberpunk 2077 Until 2017
Polish developer CD Projekt Red has revealed it will be focusing on The Witcher 3 for the next couple of years, before speaking about Cyberpunk 2077.
Speaking to Reuters, studio chief executive Adam Kicinski explained that while the company sold over 1.5 million copies of The Witcher 3 before release, compared with 1 million and 1.7 million total annual sales of the first and second games, respectively, there's a firm belief Cyberpunk 2077 can do even better.
"Sales of the third part will be many times higher than with our earlier games. Preorders indicate this," he said. "We broke into the mainstream. It is such a moment in our firm's history that after some years people will look differently at CD Projekt before and after this release.
Screentendo Lets Players Create Mario Levels From Images
Screentendo, a desktop application, will turn a selection of your computer screen into a playable Super Mario Bros. level.
Aaron Randall, a software developer from London, recently showcased what his Mac app can do with Mario bouncing around a Google logo made of brick blocks.
Launching Screentendo opens a semi-transparent window which can be moved and resized. Clicking inside the window causes the app to take a screen capture, and then, Super Mario-fy it with brick blocks, clouds, and, of course, Mario.
Randall created Screentendo using Cocoa and Sprite Kit. He’s made the source code available on Github, but OSx and CocoaPods are needed to use it, which can downloaded here. This is not compatible with Windows platforms.
Batman: Arkham Knight Gets Yet Another Pre-Order Bonus
Warner Bros. has revealed another pre-order bonus for the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight.
The Gotham's Future pre-order bonus was spotted on Steam and comes with two skins - Batman Beyond from the animated series, and Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns.
While it's currently unclear if this is a Steam exclusive or we'll see it on consoles, it's the latest move in a fairly controversial run with regards to Arkham Knight's DLCs and bonuses. Alongside the previously revealed Harley Quinn pre-order bonus, an expensive Season Pass and the option to play as Batgirl, it looks like it's going to be pretty difficult to pick up the definitive version of the game for a reasonable price. At least until the inevitable Game of the Year edition is released.
The Witcher 3 Getting More Free DLC This Week
CD Projekt Red has announced the contents of the third and fourth free DLC bundles coming to The Witcher 3 later this week.
The first two of a planned 16 such offerings arrived last week, and included the Temerian Armor Set available from a merchant in White Orchard and an extensive array of additional beards and hairstyles for Geralt.
Now, CDPR has revealed a new Witcher contract will be available later this week, called "Missing Miners". In it, you'll have to discover why miners from a small village near Skellige are disappearing. The other piece of DLC we'll see this week is a new look for Yennefer.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Gets Wii U Stretch Goal
Koji Igarashi's new game Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be coming to Wii U should the campaign raise over $3 milllion.
The upcoming "Igavania"-style game, (a phrase used to refer to titles such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Harmony of Despair) is already confirmed for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
To make sure the creation of a Wii U version doesn't affect development on the previous editions, IGA and Inti Creates will remain focused on the original versions, with the Wii U port handled by Armature Studio. Armature is made up of devs who've previously worked on the Metroid Prime franchise and have a long history of successful remasters.
New Dragon Ball Z Movie Coming to North American Theaters
Dragon Ball Z is coming to North American theaters for a limited time this summer.
The latest in the long-running series, titled Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, opens on August 4 and will run through August 12. Fans can sign up on the official Dragon Ball Z website to be alerted when tickets will go on sale.
Resurrection F follows up on last year’s Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and debuts a newer form for the classic villain Frieza, who has returned to take revenge on his nemeses Goku and Vegeta.