Monthly Archives: March 2015
The Rock to Host SNL
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is returning to host Saturday Night Live.
This will be the fourth time hosting for Johnson, whose first SNL gig was back in 2000 when he was a full-time wrestler with WWE.
Per Deadline, Johnson will host the March 28th episode, six days before the opening Furious 7 (and one day before WrestleMania in Santa Clara, CA).
George Ezra will be the musical guest.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/Showrenity.
PS4 In-Game Video Chat Shown in PSN TV Show ‘Powers’
The PlayStation Network’s TV show Powers may have revealed a concept for the PS4’s in-game video chat.
A scene from Powers shows a male character playing a PlayStation 4. A screenshot from the scene, as seen below, shows a female character using the name Chaotic Chick in a video chat box on the same screen as Infamous: Second Son.
This is in no way confirmation of video chat functionality and how it will look on PS4. However, Sony hopes to have video chat on PS4 in Q2 2015 through an app called ooVoo, according to a CES 2015 interview with ooVoo Vice President Brian Liebler, which was posted on YouTube by user SamueltehG33k. Oovoo on the PS4 would function similarly to Microsoft’s Skype on Xbox One.
Harmonix Is Taking Your Rock Band 4 Song Requests
Harmonix wants to know the songs you want to play most in Rock Band 4, and the studio has set up a simple request page to let us nominate them.
By entering the artist and song name here Harmonix will be able to track and count the number of requests for any given track suggestion.
The studio notes that the request system is by no means a guarantee that a song will make it into the game but assures us the team “will read every request to get a better understanding of what the community most wants to see in Rock Band!”
Earlier this month Harmonix announced Rock Band 4 will be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this year. New instrument peripherals will be available but Harmonix is working to ensure the previous generation’s instruments are still supported. The song library you’ve built during previous iterations of Rock Band will also follow you to Rock Band 4 and there will be no import fee to do so.
Director Explains Why it’s Called Final Fantasy Type-0
IGN recently spoke with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD director Hajime Tabata and learned a few new facts about the upcoming western HD release.
While answering a question about the unique nature of Type-0's title, Tabata gave a little more insight as to why it was chosen.
“We incorporated the meaning of starting anew, from zero, in the title Type-0,” he said. "It was an expression of determination towards a series of its own, one that is both like and unlike Final Fantasy."
Originally called Final Fantasy Agito XIII, Tabata explains Type-0’s re-branding as separate from Final Fantasy XIII began to take effect around 2009.
Banshee: EP Greg Yaitanes Talks Shocking Season 3 Finale
Full spoilers for the Banshee: Season 3 finale follow...
So how are you guys feeling after that big Banshee season finale? Are you grieving for Gordon? Were you stoked to see Proctor get some retribution? And how about Bunker getting his tattoos seared off by his brother? I spoke to Banshee EP Greg Yaitanes about all the great and gory goings-on, what we might expect from Season 4, and the new Banshee Saga episode debuting online.
Star Citizen FPS Mode, Other Game Details Discussed at SXSW
During a panel at SXSW today, Star Citizen creator Chris Roberts gave details and background on the runaway crowdfunding success story.
Star Citizen recently passed $75 million USD in funding, which far exceeded what Roberts had initially set out to raise. The original plan was to crowdfund $2-4 million, with $10 million lined up from private investors. The original plan was to scale the game back to get it released with the planned funding, and as the game matured, Roberts said, it would be updated with more content.
He believes now that when all is said and done, the game will have spent roughly $100 million on development. The runaway success of the funding effort is "just going to make a better game."
Marvel Announces Star Wars: Shattered Empire
Marvel has revealed a new comic book called Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Shattered Empire. As that mouthful of a title suggests, the series is aimed at exploring the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
No specifics were revealed as far as story direction or creative team, though Marvel did debut this teaser image from artist Phil Noto:
A few details can be inferred from the title and teaser image. Shattered Empire looks to pick up where RotJ left off, with the Empire in disarray after the destruction of the second Death Star and the Rebel Alliance celebrating their hard-won victory on Endor. Presumably this series will focus on Luke, Han, Leia and the rest of the gang as they press their advantage and battle the fractured remnants of Palpatine's Empire.
Who Will Buy An Apple Watch?
Apple's "Spring Forward" event has come and gone -- and now we know about the company's plans for the Apple Watch (well, some of them), as well as the launch of a new MacBook and a price cut for the AppleTV. We jump on all of these topics...after a bit of lighthearted banter at the start.
Also, in case you're wondering just what image Justin was looking at of the world's tallest man... here it is.
The One Area Marvel Needs to Play Catch-up
Marvel Comics has had an unprecedented amount of success these past several years.
Save for a few months here and there, they’ve been the number one comic book seller in both units sold and dollars earned. They’ve got a great live-action TV show in Agents of SHIELD along with cartoons Ultimate Spider-Man and Hulk and the Agents of SMASH that satisfy a younger audience. Their Avengers movies are wildly successful, raking in billions of box office dollars and dominating pop culture like never before.
The company is doing well, yes, but there’s one area they have been lagging behind the competition: creator-owned comics.
In 1982, Marvel started their Epic Comics imprint as a place where their top-name creators could go to create comics based on their own ideas. There were some incredible titles like Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar and Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill’s Marshal Law, but it wasn’t long before sales dipped across the board and Marvel tried to save the line by adding characters like Elektra and Wolverine. Despite these efforts, the imprint folded, only to return for a brief stint in the 2000s.
Ghostbusters Director on Ruining Your Childhood
Ghostbusters reboot director Paul Feig has been talking about the online response to the film’s female cast, saying he was surprised by the negative backlash.
“The Internet is really funny -- I love it, but I hate it at the same time,” said the helmer while promoting his new comedy Spy at SXSW. “The first wave when you make an announcement like that is overwhelmingly positive. Everyone’s so happy and you’re like, ‘This is great.’ Then comes the second wave and you’re like, ‘Oh my God. Some of the most vile, misogynistic s— I’ve ever seen in my life.’”
Feig’s film will star Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones as a new group of female Ghostbusters.