Monthly Archives: September 2017
Star Fox Characters Use Nintendo Legends’ Likenesses
Star Fox's eccentric cast of characters, including Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi, were designed after a few Nintendo legends.
During an interview on Nintendo.com, original Star Fox graphic designer Takaya Imamura revealed that the faces of the characters on Team Star Fox are actually based on staff members that worked on the game. For example, Fox was designed after Miyamoto while Falco is based on designer Tsuyoshi Watanabe, who worked on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Star Fox, and more.
"Fox has a fox-like face like Miyamoto," said Imamura. "Falco is Watanabe. At the time, we laughed over how his nose sticks out like a beak!"
20 Years Later, Final Fantasy 7 Continues to Shape My Life
You know how you have a few defining moments in your life you look back on that changed everything? A moment that you know if you had made a different decision, you would not be the same person you are now? One of mine was pressing “O” instead of “X”.
It was 1997 and my mom had bought my older brother and I a PlayStation for Christmas along with Crash Bandicoot (I had specifically asked for Croc: Legend of the Gobbos after a young, susceptible-to-ads me had seen a commercial) and Final Fantasy 7. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the first video game in our house, so Crash fit right in as we sped through the opening levels, hitting the “X” button to jump on the heads of passing crabs. Crash was colorful. He challenged our developing motor skills. He had attitude that as aspiring adolescents, we admired. What else could we even bother to play?
Game Scoop! 450: Destiny 2, Metroid, & More
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game talk show. It's our 450th episode, and we're celebrating by giving away $450 worth of PlayStation Store credit. Tune in to find out how you can win. We'll also chat about Destiny 2, Metroid, Mario + Rabbids, and a lot more. Watch the video above or download the podcast below.
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Magic: The Gathering Arena Aims to Recreate the Tabletop Experience
Magic: The Gathering’s new virtual, free-to-play card game, Magic: The Gathering Arena, isn’t a direct simulation of the physical card game in the way that Magic Online is – with every single card and every unique set of rules. Instead, Arena is trying to translate the actual experience of playing Magic – of bluffing and deliberating – all with another player sitting across from you, analyzing your every move. It’s taking the community appeal of in-person events like Friday Night Magic, and making them accessible to players 24/7.
Toys R Us Eyes Potential Bankruptcy Filing
Popular toy retailer Toys R Us is looking to potentially file for bankruptcy due to its massive debt.
MSNBC reports the company currently owes $5 billion, $400 million of which is due by next year. Toys R Us has hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis to help weigh restructuring options and deal with the debt, which can be anything from bankruptcy filing to possibly raising enough finances to cover the money owed.
"As we previously discussed on our first quarter earnings call, Toys R Us is evaluating a range of alternatives to address our 2018 debt maturities, which may include the possibility of obtaining additional financing," Toys R Us spokeswoman Amy von Walter said in a statement.
Destiny 2 Director Comments on Single-Use Shaders
Following the anger of players over Destiny 2's switch to one-time-use consumable shaders for armor, the game's director Luke Smith has clarified the alteration in the gameplay mechanic.
Smith explained in a series of tweets about Bungie's intent in making shaders single-use for the sequel, saying "Shaders are earned through gameplay: leveling, chests, engrams, vendors. We expect you’ll be flush w/ Shaders as you continue to play."
This expectation that users will amass enough shaders is also built into the gameplay arc of Destiny 2, as Smith said "When you reach level 20, Shaders will drop more often: vendor rewards, destination play and endgame activities.
Yakuza 6 Clan Creator Minigame Announced
Among the many things the Yakuza series is known for, its silly and surprisingly deep minigames rank pretty high.
According to Sega, the upcoming Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will include a new minigame called Clan Creator, which will let players form custom clans from a pool of their favorite Yakuza characters and battle them against their friends' clans.
Yakuza 6's Clan Creator plays like a top-down real-time strategy game, with AI-controlled fighters brawling with enemy clans on the streets. Players can spend experience points to train their clan "leaders," which not only include Yakuza characters like Kiryu, Daigo, Akiyama, and Date, but famous names from the Japanese pro wrestling scene. Each leader has their own special skills that let players heal or buff their AI-controlled fighters as brawls play out.
MoviePass Aims to Acquire 2.5 Million New Subscribers
Early reports suggested MoviePass, the theatrical subscription service that allows users to go to the movies daily, gained a huge boost from its new, low $9.95 per month price point. And now the company is projecting continued success — and millions more users — over the next 12 months.
Revealed as part of an SEC filing confirming the purchase of a majority stake in MoviePass by the company Helios and Matheson, MoviePass revealed that it projects to amass 2.5 million new subscribers in the next year. The company also intends on retaining 2.1 million of those subscribers in that same window. (These projects, the filing states, are determinate on the at least $10 million of additional funding H&M is expected to provide following the close of this deal.)
A Sequel to Stephen King’s IT Is in the Works
Though the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's IT hasn't quite hit theaters yet, New Line is already making plans for a sequel. Adhering to the structure of King's original novel, the plans are for the sequel to follow the same characters as adults.
In the book, King jumps back and forth between the main characters as kids and as adults, although in both eras they are trying to vanquish the evil clown Pennywise, who is played by Bill Skarsgard in this new adaptation. The latest adaptation of IT focuses on the childhood portion of the story, moving the story from the 1950s to the 1980s for a new generation of viewers. The plan for the sequel, which is being called Chapter Two, will set the action in the present with adults.