Monthly Archives: January 2016
Gone Home Nearly Had Robots and Cyberspace
The Fullbright Company's Steve Gaynor gave IGN an idea of his original vision for Gone Home, which featured a very, very different kind of exploration experience.
Gaynor dropped by on this week's Podcast Unlocked to discuss Gone Home's impending release on Xbox One. Early on, however, he and many of his coworkers came off of the Bioshock series, the co-founder wanted to "make something we know how to make."
In this case, that meant drawing inspiration from the same place that Bioshock had — the cyberpunk adventure System Shock.
"It still took place in like a house," Gaynor began "but it was a house of the future."
Preacher, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday Debuting at SXSW 2016
Preacher and Pee-wee's Big Holiday are set to premiere at SXSW in March along with a handful of other films.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are directing the debut episode of Preacher, which stars Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer. The comic book TV series will air in the middle of this year on AMC.
Meanwhile, Paul Reubens is finally donning the gray suit and red bowtie again in Pee-wee's Big Holiday, a Netflix original movie. The comedy film is planned to hit the streaming service in early March, so it's likely the flick will become available at the same time or shortly after SXSW.
Have a Look at What’s Inside the Oculus Rift Box
Oculus Rift will begin shipping to customers March 28, and those first boxes will contain the headset, sensor, Oculus remote and an Xbox One controller.
We had a chance to see exactly what will be included in the boxes going out for the Oculus Rift early adopters. We also saw the Oculus Touch controller, which won't be part of the first wave of Rifts to roll out to consumers.
The Oculus Touch controller has been delayed until the second half of 2016. The company said the delay is because it wants to improve "hand pose recognition" and work out some of the ergonomics in order to ensure the device is comfortable for users.
Check Out Sphero’s New Battle-Worn BB-8
It would have been hard to imagine a way to make Sphero's remote-controlled BB-8 toy any cooler, and yet, here we are.
The new Battle-Worn BB-8 is the same smartphone-app controlled robotic toy, but it now sports a variant look. Gone is the shiny, smooth exterior of a freshly maintained BB unit astromech droid. Instead, BB-8 looks like it's seen some things. Some terrible things.
And yet, it's still an adorable toy. Check it out.
The original Sphero BB-8 is getting a new controller, one that will work with the Battle-Worn version, as well. The new wrist mounted BB-8 "Force Band" allows you to control the toy without needing a smartphone. In fact, the band uses gestures to have BB-8 do your tiny, adorable bidding, where ever that may be.
The Official Story of the Stormtrooper Fans Call TR-8R
The official Star Wars website has put a name to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Stormtrooper-turned-meme known to most as TR-8R.
"His name is FN-2199," says a post on the site. "But his friends call him 'Nines.'”
Fans who have seen the film will recognize the character as the seemingly well-trained Stormtrooper who entered into melee combat with Finn after shouting the "Traitor!" to his former comrade (hence his nickname TR-8R). His combat skills and one spoken line have helped turn Nines into a minor online sensation, though until now he was only known by his fan-given moniker.
Gotham: Bruce to Find Out Who Killed His Parents Next Month
A lot of unanswered questions will finally be addressed when Gotham's second season returns in February, including the pivotal one of who killed Bruce Wayne's parents.
Some spoilers from Gotham Season 2 below.
TVGuide.com posted a preview that promises that David Mazouz's character will discover the identity of the person who murdered his parents. Additionally, fans can expect to see Penguin's ascension in Gotham to be challenged by Butch Gilzean and newcomer Dr. Hugo Strange (played by B.D.Wong).
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Could Still Happen
A sequel to Dragon's Dogma hasn't been ruled out by Capcom.
Speaking to PC Gamer, producer Minae Matsukawa stated that Dragon's Dogma 2 could still happen. "The Dragon’s Dogma development team members often talk about the possibility of a sequel," said Matsukawa. She added that a continuation really depends on fan feedback for the upcoming PC port of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, as that "will increase the chances that we can look into the possibility of continuing the series."
The original Dragon's Dogma released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in May 2012. An expanded version of the RPG was released a year later, titled Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen and is currently being ported to PC, which releases on January 15. Early last year, Dragon's Dogma Online, a free-to-play MMO was announced, but only for Eastern territories.
FUNimation to Debut New Anime Streaming Service
North American anime distributor FUNimation has partnered with Sony to produce their very own subscription-based streaming service.
Called FUNimationNow, the service will utilize Sony's Ven.ue platform to offer ad-free HD streaming of many different anime series, including Dragon Ball Z, Attack on Titan, FairyTail, and One Piece, among others.Visit the official website to learn more.
The service is expected to roll out beginning in February 2016, alongside a redesign for the apps available on iOS, Kindle, and Android, and completely new apps for Apple TV and Amazon Fire. The apps will feature airplay and cast functionality.
CES 2016: Oculus Creator Shares His Vision of Virtual Reality
The Oculus booth is situated in the middle of the CES show floor. It’s a gigantic black monolith with two levels, and a crowd of people gathered to try the finalized version of the Rift VR headset. With its $599 price just announced, everyone was curious about whether or not the Rift was worth it.
I met with Palmer Luckey, the creator of the Oculus, in a small room at the Oculus booth. Wearing a bright yellow Hawaiian shirt and his iconic flip-flops, Luckey gave me a warm greeting as he plugged his phone into a battery pack. We sat down and dove into what makes him tick and about the future of virtual reality.
This Video Game Controller Is a Real Car
At CES this week, we had a chance to sit behind the wheel of a very powerful sub-lime Dodge Challenger SRT and simulate taking it around the track.
Substituting a handheld controller for a real car is one way an object from the real world can work to compliment the advancements in video game technology. Sure, we didn't get to experience the raw power present under the hood of the modern muscle car, but the whole experience was made even more immersive by the inclusion of an actual car as a controller.
