Monthly Archives: April 2016
Why Nintendo Is In Real Trouble
I love Nintendo.
But there’s no denying that the company is in real trouble. Although it’s only April, it is now looking increasingly likely that 2016 will be remembered as the worst year for Nintendo since it first shifted its focus to video games in the 1970s.
2016 itself may be a lost cause, but it’s clear Nintendo is positioning the year as a rebuilding period. “Let’s take a beat, take some deep breaths, and come out swinging in 2017” the company seems to be telling its most diehard fans (and likely its internal teams and investors).
Blizzard Had Help From Black Ops 3 Dev on Overwatch
Developer Blizzard Entertainment had a bit of help getting Overwatch's shooting just right. Being the studio's first first-person shooter, Blizzard called in Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 team for help.
Treyarch assisted in one particular area—aim assist. "If you're not familiar with the terminology, aim assist isn't 'auto aim,' it's just the game making it a bit easier to keep your crosshairs on the target," assistant game director Aaron Keller told GamesRadar.
Aim assist is frequently used in console shooters, Keller added, making it something the Black Ops team is "quite familiar with."
Witcher 3 Dev Banking on ‘Rockstar Model’
The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt is looking to secure its place as a top game studio with its next release, Cyberpunk 2077.
CEO Marcin Iwiński said the studio will never be "a 10 project studio," but will focus on "certain things" as it grows. "The Rockstar model is nice," Iwiński told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview.
Unlike with Rockstar, the studio is not interested in losing its independence by being tied to a major publisher. Instead, it wants to focus on its strength and "deliver
vision in terms of the creativity and the development, but also in terms of how
Horror Scribe Penning Dennis the Menace
The Boy scribe Stacey Menear has been tapped by Warner Bros. to pen the studio's upcoming Dennis the Menace film.
As Variety reports, little is known about the Gil Netter-produced film at this time and Warners has yet to make any announcements regarding a director or the cast.
Dennis the Menace
First introduced as a comic strip in 1951, Dennis the Menace went on to become the subject of multiple live-action adaptations, including several straight-to-DVD films. The character's sole big screen appearance came in the Nick Castle-directed 1993 film, Dennis the Menace.
SpaceX to Send Dragon Spacecrafts to Mars in 2018
SpaceX has announced its plans to send unmanned Dragon spacecrafts to Mars as soon as 2018.
The company revealed its intentions on Wednesday, saying these initial missions will inform them of Mars’ architecture, and will serve as the first test flight for the Dragon 2 spacecraft the company will use. The ship will utilize the recently tested SuperDraco propulsive landing system, which SpaceX says is a key component to the ship landing safely. This mission is the first step to getting humans to the red planet and, eventually, colonizing it.
More Doom Single-Player Details Revealed
Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton, the Creative Director and Executive Producer at id Software respectively, dove a bit deeper into the Doom single-player campaign in a live stream earlier today, showing off story details, weapon and armor upgrades, and more.
The levels shown off included a Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) research facility, a Lazarus facility, and a "fracture" of Hell called Titan's Realm. These levels spanned from early game missions to mid- and late-game areas, which gave Martin and Stratton the opportunity to show off Praetor Suit and arsenal upgrades.
According to Stratton, each gun has a base capability, but can be modded with the help of a supply drone, adding things like Charged Burst or Explosive Shot abilities.
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Netflix Orders Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later Season
Following up on last year's prequel to the cult comedy Wet Hot American Summer, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, Netflix has announced they have ordered the follow-up series, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.
Ten Years Later will focus on what happens to the counselors from the original 2001 movie, set in 1981, when they reunite a decade after (Hello, 1991!). Like First Day of Camp, Ten Years Later will be comprised of eight 30 minute episodes, and is set to premiere sometime in 2017.
Netflix's teaser video to go along with the announcement is a scene from the movie where the group decides to meet together again 10 years later. That scene got a payoff in the movie's post-credit sequence, so we'll see how that is incorporated, or not, into the new series.
The Greyjoys are Back in New Game of Thrones Photos
HBO has released the first photos for the second episode of Game of Thrones: Season 6, "Home."
The six new images show the return of Yara and Balon Greyjoy, more of Bran Stark and Meera Reed (though still no Hodor!) and some teases of what's going on in Meereen and Castle Black.
The "next on" Game of Thrones promo offered similar teases for the events of "Home," showing Bran using his powers at the Three-Eyed Raven's weirwood tree, Cersei facing off against Tommen's Kingsguard, Sansa and Brienne seemingly discussing where Arya ended up and Ramsay Bolton planning an attack on Castle Black. Watch it below:
The synopsis for "Home" reads: "Bran trains with the Three-Eyed Raven. In King’s Landing, Jaime advises Tommen. Tyrion demands good news, but has to make his own. At Castle Black, the Night’s Watch stands behind Thorne. Ramsay Bolton proposes a plan, and Balon Greyjoy entertains other proposals."
A Major Marvel Hero Returns in Avengers Standoff Finale
Marvel's Avengers Standoff crossover wrapped up this week, and the finale offered a glimpse of big changes to come for the Marvel Universe.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Avengers Standoff: Assasult on Pleasant Hill Omega #1!
The crossover wrapped up as a rejuvenated Steve Rogers led two teams of Avengers against Baron Zemo's uprising in the town of Pleasant Hill. However, as was hinted through Marvel's "A Long Awaited return" teaser last week, the biggest development in this chapter involved the return of a major cosmic hero: