Monthly Archives: February 2017
Getting into Games: What Do AI Programmers Do?
It’s easy to forget how much work goes into making a videogame, particularly the AAA kind. We tend to associate games with one or two visionaries – the Miyamotos, the Levines, the Kojimas – while overlooking the dozens, sometimes hundreds, of men and women who strive daily to implement their vision.
In this multi-part feature, we shine a light on the forgotten, the overlooked – the unsung heroes. Drawing on the expertise of over a dozen experienced developers, we get an insider’s overview of five vital but seldom celebrated roles in game development. We find out what makes these roles so important, what it’s like to work in one, and what it takes, skills and knowledge-wise, to obtain one.
Power Rangers Assemble for New International Poster
A new international poster for the upcoming Power Rangers movie has been released.
The image, first shared on Twitter, promptly features all five of the rangers and their striking suits. You can also spot the line "Together We Are More" and the words "Go Go" with the iconic Power Rangers logo.
Power Rangers international movie poster.
Breaking Down That Dark & Bloody Samurai Jack Trailer
With the trailer for Samurai Jack: Season 5 giving us our first good look at Jack's last adventure (one we thought may never come), we combed over every shot to see what we could learn about this final season.
If you haven't already, check out the dark and bloody trailer:
And now dive into our slideshow gallery that analyzes everything from the addition of bloody violence to the lack of Jack's signature samurai sword and more.
What do you think of this grim trailer for Samurai Jack? Did you notice anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!
The final season of Samurai Jack, which will have a 10 episode run, debuts on March 11 at 11 pm ET.
Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.
Kojima on How he is Like an Indie Developer
When you play a Hideo Kojima game, there is no mistaking it for a game under any other hand. People say the 'auteur' in AAA games is a dead concept, yet Kojima manages to inject every part of his personal vision into the most risky projects. Despite the conflict with his previous publisher Konami - a no-go subject for this discussion - it's a remarkable feat.
It's something that occurs to me while Kojima is talking to me about indie games above a busy floor at RTX Sydney. "I think the games
create are interesting," said Kojima, "but also the fact that you get a sense of ... a very direct sense of who the creator is and what their sensibilities are. You know, the story, the game play, the different ideas that they come up with.
Disneyland’s Star Wars Land Opening in 2019
During its first quarter earnings call for 2017, Disney revealed the opening of its upcoming Star Wars Land, as well as the official opening date of its new Avatar-themed section of Animal Kingdom.
Star Wars Land, which will be part of Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios, will open in 2019, the company announced today. The largest single-themed expansion at Disneyland or Disney World ever, Star Wars Land will feature a previously unseen planet, a trading port, and will include an attraction that lets parkgoers control the Millennium Falcon in virtual reality.
Infinity War: Thanos, 3 GOTG Characters Filming This Week
Josh Brolin, who plays Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, has revealed which two additional Guardians of the Galaxy characters are set to appear in the third Avengers film.
As reported by Heroic Hollywood, Brolin posted an Instagram live video where he mentioned he'd been filming Infinity War with Chris Pratt, Benicio Del Toro, and Zoe Saldana.
It's already been teased that Gamora, Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians from their first film will make some sort of an appearance in the fight against Thanos. Now, it seems Del Toro's the Collector have also joined Infinity War's already large cast.
Worlds Collide in Big Bang Theory/LEGO Batman Promos
To tie into the upcoming release of The LEGO Batman Movie on February 10th, Warner Bros. Television’s The Big Bang Theory has undergone its own LEGO transformation with an exclusive custom opening and two on-air promo spots involving the series’ cast members and LEGO Batman himself.
These new promos show LEGO Batman invading Sheldon and Leonard's living room -- even taking Sheldon's favorite spot on the couch! -- while the new LEGO-ized opening credits sequence will air this week during the show's syndication run, in more than 200 syndicated markets nationwide.
The Big Bang Theory airs five nights a week in national syndication, and Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS.
Grand Theft Auto 5 Has Now Sold-In 75 Million Copies
In spite of having released in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V is still massively successful, at least when it comes to sales figures. The game has now sold-in 75 million copies.
Sold-in means copies sold to stores and not sold-through, which are copies bought by customers. Still, Grand Theft Auto V has sold 5 million more copies since November 2016 and 15 million more copies since last February.
Contrast that with sales of Mafia III, a game that was initially 2K's fastest-selling launch game. First releasing in November, Mafia III sold 4.5 million copies in its first week, but 2K parent company Take-Two announced lifetime sales have now reached 5 million, meaning only half a million copies have been sold since the first week.
Nintendo Says Switch Online Will Be ‘Key’ to Its Business
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has come forward to express the company's commitment to delivering a valuable online service with Nintendo Switch, saying online play will serve as a core component of its business.
"Online play with Switch is going to be something that's key to the business," Kimishima said in an interview with Time.
With regard to the subscription fee that will be required when the paid service launches this fall, Kimishima said there was a lot of discussion within the company before they settled on a price they felt was reasonable for consumers.
Nintendo Is Not Making a Successor to 3DS Yet
Less than a month before Switch’s launch, Nintendo has confirmed that it is not currently working on a successor to 3DS.
“We are not creating a successor to the 3DS right now. We are, however, still thinking of portable systems,” Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima told Time. “We are thinking of ways that we will be able to continue bringing portable gaming systems out, so yes, we are thinking of different ways to continue the portable gaming business," he said.
Kimishima has said in prior interviews that the Switch, then codenamed NX, is not the successor to the Wii U or the 3DS. Nintendo's next console, a console portable hybrid called the Switch, will launch on March 3. Check out IGN's Switch pre-order guide, if you're still trying to track down accessories or games.