Monthly Archives: June 2015
Play Mario Maker at Best Buy Next Week
Approximately 100 Best Buy stores will have Mario Maker on hand two days next week, giving players an early opportunity to try out Nintendo's upcoming Wii U game.
June 17 from 4 to 9 p.m., and June 20 from noon to 5 p.m. you'll be able to play the demo, building your own 2D Mario levels. Anyone who plays Mario Maker at Best Buy will receive a 30th anniversary Super Mario Bros. button -- with the caveat that supplies are limited.
Best Buy is also offering a limited edition seven-button Mario Maker set when you pre-order two qualifying Wii U or 3DS titles. However, you must be a My Best Buy member to qualify.
You can click here to find the list of Best Buys that will have the Mario Maker demo next week. Mario Maker is expected to release later this year.
Google Acquires New Virtual Reality Technology
Google has acquired new virtual reality technology that will reportedly make the audio experience more synchronous with what users are seeing, Trinity College Dublin announced today.
Google Ireland recruited a team of four graduate engineers to continue research and application on "Thrive," a VR audio system that enables more realistic audio design in virtual reality settings. The ongoing research, which is funded by Irish commercialization funds and state grants, started several years ago in an effort to bolster virtual reality's staying power.
Google is one of numerous companies funding research, applications and development in the VR space. Just today, Oculus VR, the company behind the ubiquitous Oculus Rift headset, held a press conference ahead of its E3 presentations next week, announcing new content and several partnerships. Sony has a new studio dedicated to its Project Morpheus headset, and Valve's Vive VR has garnered praise from a handful of hands-on experiences so far.
More Oculus Rift Hardware Details Revealed
More information on the hardware of the Oculus Rift VR set was revealed during this morning's Oculus VR conference.
The Oculus Rift comes with both the headset, an external sensor, and – newly announced this morning – a wireless Xbox One controller and adapter.
Several pieces of the Rift headset are removable and replaceable as well. The "facial interface" is designed to accommodate users wearing glasses, and a built-in dial can be used to adjust the distance of the two lenses. The headphones are also removable and replaceable.
Ant-Man Gets Avenged in New Posters and TV Spot
As the movie's July release edges closer, Marvel Studios and Disney are firming up their marketing push for Ant-Man by reminding people that he belongs in the same universe as The Avengers -- you know, those characters and movies you love and have made into billion-dollar blockbusters.
Marvel.com posted the following three new posters and a TV spot today for Ant-Man that directly mention three of the Avengers' biggest and most bankable characters: Iron Man, Captain America and Thor:
Scream: The TV Series – Meet the Horror Movie Expert
With MTV's Scream -- inspired by the Kevin Williamson/Wes Craven film series -- set to slaughter a bunch of unsuspecting teens starting June 30th, IGN's got an exclusive look at the show's resident horror movie fan, Noah Foster - played by John Karna (Modern Family, The Neighbors).
Check out the following clip featuring Noah explaining a few of the tropes of high school movies and how they directly connect to slasher films - and then check out his official character bio, as we see how Noah looks to fill the knowing, film-savvy role as the Randy character Jamie Kennedy famously portrayed in the first three Scream films.
Noah Foster is a prodigy, a boy genius who worships at the altar of all things nerd. When he’s not working his after school job at the local comic shop, or hacking the servers at CERN just for s***s and giggles, he’s obsessing over video games, anime, and above all else, horror movies. But he doesn’t stop there, Noah has been fascinated with true-crime documentaries and serial killer lore ever since he was a kid, giving him insight and perspective on the events happening in Lakewood...maybe even a little too much?
Wrestling Legend Dusty Rhodes Passes Away
Some sad news coming out of the world of pro-wrestling today as it was announced that the iconic Dusty Rhodes - real name Virgil Runnels - has passed away. He was 69.
Rhodes was a WWE Hall of Famer, a former three-time NWA Champion, and the father of Dustin and Cody Runnels, who now wrestle in the WWE as Goldust and Stardust respectively.
Dusty, with sons Cody and Dustin.
WWE.com broke the tragic news, noting Rhodes' immense talent for impassioned promos and captivating interviews. Within the industry itself, Rhodes was a famous booker and creative mind whose imagination and storytelling helped shaped everything from the old Mid-Atlantic territory to today's NXT product on the WWE Network.
The Steam Monster Summer Sale Starts Today
That sound you heard was the annual shout of glee from Steam users around the world. The Steam Summer Sale has begun, and it brings with it a new batch of discounts every day for the next few days.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Darkest Dungeon, Hotline Miami 2, Valkyria Chronicles, Grand Theft Auto V, and others are all currently on sale for discounts ranging from 25-83 percent off their normal selling price. These will be available for the next 24 hours, after which the sales will change.
Transistor Is Now Available on iOS
Supergiant Games has brought the team's action-RPG Transistor to iPhone and iPad devices.
Transistor is now available on the App Store, costing $10 USD. The sci-fi action-RPG — which has a 1.8GB download size — features a new touch interface for iPad and iPhone, but players can also use classic controls with optional gamepad support.
Previously released on PlayStation 4 and PC, Transistor is the sophomore release from Bastion creator Supergiant. The console and PC versions of Transistor have sold over 600,000 copies.
Final Fantasy, Rock Band Devs Among Oculus Partners
Square Enix and Harmonix are among the publishers working with Oculus VR and its Oculus Rift tech.
Oculus announced a clutch of intriguing partnerships at its pre-E3 press conference today, including Square Enix, Harmonix, Ready at Dawn, Climax Studios, Gunfire Games, CCP, and Insomniac Games. Check out the full list in the screengrab below.
A Harmonix spokesperson told IGN, “We’re incredibly excited to be an Oculus Developer. Harmonix loves exploring new technology and seeing how we can use that technology to let people interact with music in meaningful ways. We've done it as early as working with the PlayStation Eye camera on PS2, later with Kinect on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One. VR is incredibly exciting and there are a lot of new opportunities that we're still exploring; we'll have more to share once we're ready.”
Ex-Vigil Devs Announce Oculus Rift Game Called Chronos
David Adams, CEO and founder of Gunfire Games, took the stage at today's Oculus Rift conference to detail Chronos, a third-person "atmospheric RPG" coming to PC and Oculus Rift.
Chronos was announced earlier this year by Gunfire, a studio composed of several ex-Vigil (Darksiders II) developers.
Now we know it follows one character's quest to make it through an ancient labyrinth that only opens once a year.
Each time the hero fails, he must return a year later. The game takes place across the course of his life as he explores the labyrinth's "old ruins, vast caverns, and ancient tombs," aging as he goes.
The character's age will affect gameplay. In the beginning, the hero will be strong and young, but as he becomes an old man, he'll need to rely more heavily on his wit, familiarity with the labyrinth, and magic.