Monthly Archives: November 2016
Kojima Explains the Ups and Downs of the Creative Process
Hideo Kojima told a crowd at the Apple Ginza venue in Tokyo on Thursday night that despite any hardship, his passion for creating games is its own reward.
When asked by an audience member how he is able to go on as a solo creator after his acrimonious split with Konami and push towards realizing his vision in the face of adversity, Kojima replied, “It’s because I love doing it.”
“Sometimes it can be hard,” he admitted. “When I am feeling up against it, I sit down and watch the making of James Cameron’s film The Abyss, which was really tough. Or the documentary by Nicolas Winding Refn on his filmmaking ordeals. These give me courage. I take a slug of painkillers and I carry on."
Opinion: Darth Maul Is an Important Step for Marvel
Marvel announced their latest Star Wars mini-series, Darth Maul, earlier this week. On the surface, there's nothing particularly remarkable about the announcement. It's the latest in a long line of short, self-contained comics that focus on fan-favorite characters from the movies. But Darth Maul actually marks a significant change in Marvel's approach to the Star Wars franchise. Ideally, this new series will spark a larger effort to explore and flesh out the Star Wars timeline outside of the movies.
Darth Maul #1 cover by Rod Reis. (Marvel Comics)
Pokemon Stars Reportedly Coming to Nintendo Switch
A new mainline Pokemon game, codenamed Pokemon Stars, is reportedly in development for Nintendo Switch, and will release for the console sometime next year.
According to Eurogamer, several sources have told the outlet that Game Freak is "well into development" on a third version of Pokemon Sun and Moon that will feature the same map, locales and art style of the aforementioned 3DS games, but with improved visuals.
Pokemon Stars is reportedly being built with "separate, higher-resolution assets," one of which was first shown in the announcement teaser for Sun and Moon that released back in February. During the video's brief look at the studio, several shots of concept art are shown, as well as a high-definition model of Pikipek that will apparently be used in Pokemon Stars.
Ubisoft to Move Away From Heavily Scripted Games
Ubisoft will reportedly be incorporating less narrative in its upcoming games.
According to an interview with Le Monde (translation from GamesIndustry.biz), Ubisoft's chief creative officer Serge Hascoet said that each Ubisoft game should be an "anecdote factory."
While the games will still have a story, the more freedom the player has in series like Watch Dogs and Far Cry, the more unexpected things can happen. Hascoet wants players to express themselves, and then share these unexpected moments with their friends.
Rogue One Director Gareth Edwards Hints at Easter Egg
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards has teased one of the Easter eggs hidden in his upcoming film, revealing that it's a prop that Star Wars creator George Lucas liked.
In the latest issue of Total Film (via Games Radar) Edwards said there was "a helmet we loved but didn’t know where to put it; there wasn’t really an opportunity to use it." It wasn't until Lucas saw the helmet when touring the design department and said, "That's cool, I like that," that Edwards knew it needed to be in the film.
PlayStation Vue Subscribers Can Add Showtime for $1 a Month
PlayStation Vue subscribers can add HBO's Showtime for $1 a month.
According to reports on NeoGAF, PlayStation Vue is quietly offering the Showtime discount to subbers as a result of dropping Viacom.
"I just called Vue support and told them that I have heard that people have been getting Showtime for 12 dollars for the whole year due to this Viacom issue. I would like that as well," writes NeoFAFfer Scoobaspeaz.
Image source: Matt Clark
UK Deals: Dishonored 2 Competition, Amazon Pre-Black Friday Deals
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IGN have teamed up with Green Man Gaming and Turtle Beach to offer readers a chance to win a copy of Dishonored 2, but that's not all. One of you have the chance to win the Grand Prize, which not only includes a copy of Dishonored 2, but also a Mark of the Outsider Snapback Cap, Corvo's Mask T-Shirt, a Custom LevelUpWear Dishonored 2 Hoodie and a Turtle Beach PX24 Amplified Gaming Headset.
Pokemon Sun and Moon Livestream
IGN's resident Pokemon Masters, Kallie Plagge and Miranda Sanchez, will be giving a tour of the Alola region in Pokemon Sun on Friday, Nov 18 from 1PM - 3PM PT (4PM - 6PM ET / 9PM - 11PM BST / 6AM - 8AM AEST).
Tune in to IGN.com/live to be part of the action and get all of your burning Pokemon Sun and Moon questions answered by dropping a comment in the chat, or tweeting @ign with #ignplayslive!
In the meantime, check out Kallie's Pokemon Sun and Moon review right here.
You can see streams via:
Katamari Damacy’s Creator on His Joyous New AR Game
Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy creator Keita Takahashi has a new augmented reality (AR) app. Released on November 2nd, Woorld turns your room into Takahashi’s crazy world instantly.
IGN Japan's Daniel Robson recently spoke to him about this unique project.
IGN: Woorld is effectively a launch game for a new platform and related hardware. How did this project come about?
Keita Takahashi.
The 10 Worst Toys of 2016 Have Been Announced
Each year around the holidays, World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (WATCH) releases its list of the 10 most dangerous toys currently in stores.
There are many reasons why a toy can be flagged as dangerous, ranging from improper age recommendations, to ability to cause blunt force trauma.
Check out the slideshow to see all ten of 2016's worst toys as determined by WATCH.
If you're looking for safe, fun gifts to give this year, make sure to check out our Gift Guide for Nintendo lovers, or perhaps you want to get someone the perfect LEGO gift?