Monthly Archives: July 2015
Video Game Industry Pays Tribute to Satoru Iwata
The video game industry is streaming in tributes for Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata after news of his passing at age 55.
The products and leadership of Iwata’s long tenure at Nintendo, beginning in the 1980s as a programmer, has touched and inspired many video game developers and icons in the industry.
We have collected some of the messages flowing in paying respect to Iwata from the industry legend’s colleagues, those he inspired, competitors and developers.
Batman: Arkham Knight’s Batgirl DLC Delayed on PC Until Further Notice
The upcoming Batgirl DLC set to be released this week for Batman: Arkham Knight will be delayed on the troubled PC version of the game until the main game is fixed, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment revealed on the game’s Steam page.
“Our continued focus on getting the right PC fixes in place for the main game has had an impact on the development of all DLC content for the PC version of the game,” Gary Lake-Schaal, the VP of Game Technology at WBIE, writes. “This means that the Batman: Arkham Knight – Batgirl: A Matter of Family DLC will not be available on July 14 for those who are currently playing the PC version of the game. We apologize for the delay and only want to make sure that any content that we offer is up to the standards that PC players expect.“
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata Has Passed Away
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has passed away at age 55.
"Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth", reads a statement from the publisher.
Iwata had spent the last couple of years battling the growth discovered on his bile duct, which resulted in his absence at last year's E3.
Supernatural Will Embrace the Darkness in Season 11
Season 10 of Supernatural featured the Winchesters dealing with their own problems. Dean was a demon and then had to wrestle with the effects of the Mark of Cain, and Sam went down a dark path of his own to try to save his brother. Season 11 is changing the tone. Executive producer Jeremy Carver, writer Andrew Dabb, and cast members Jared Padalecki (Sam), Jensen Ackles (Dean), Misha Collins (Castiel), and Mark Sheppard (Crowley) made their annual appearance in Comic-Con's Hall H and discussed the road ahead with moderators Rob Benedict (Chuck Shurley) and Richard Speight, Jr. (the Trickster).
The upcoming season will bring the brothers back together to fight against the Darkness. Carver said, "Last year -- we're really proud of last season. We had a lot of intensely personal character stories and this year we're going back to more of an epic feel with a Big Bad and a real sort of quest for the brothers to unite on." He continued, "It's like a pre-biblical story... I feel like the brothers are going to be really, really united in their need to take this thing down."
Heroes Reborn Extended Trailer Drops
Five years ago the fourth and final season of Heroes came to an end, and fans assumed they'd seen the last of the show that redefined the superhero TV landscape. Who knew, half a decade later, that executive producer Tim Kring and co. would be back at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015 to present the next chapter of Heroes, Heroes Reborn?
For those hesitant about more Heroes after the less-than-well-received latter seasons of the show, Kring kicked off the panel by saying, "We've had a long rest, a good sleep, and we're ready to save the world again," which was met with hearty applause from the crowd.
From there, Kring screened a new extended trailer for Heroes Reborn (see above) before moderator Greg Grunberg (who also plays returning hero Matt Parkman) introduced the rest of the cast: Jack Coleman, Zachary Levi, Robbie Kay, Kiki Sukezane, Ryan Guzman, Gatlin Green, Henry Zebrowski, Judith Shekoni, Danika Yarosh, and Rya Kihlstedt.
Minions March to Top Spot at Box Office
Minions has knocked Jurassic World out of number-one position at the box office, opening with the second highest-grossing weekend in history for an animated film. All told, Minions brought in over $115 million domestically over the weekend.
On Friday alone, the film brought in $46.2 million, making it the largest opening in animated film history, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
Overseas, Minions earned an additional $280.5 million, driving Minions to an astounding global cumulative total of $395.7 million. Jurassic World dropped down just one spot to number 2, making $18.1 million and bringing that film's lifetime domestic total to $590 million.
New Street Fighter Comic Series Announced
UDON Entertainment has announced a new comic series starring characters from the past 30 years of Street Fighter.
Called Street Fighter Unlimited, the series will be written by Super Street Fighter's Ken Siu-chong with art by Joe Ng and Edwin Huang. The series will also feature four-page bonus stories written and drawn by rotating creators in every new issue.
This monthly comic series combines characters spanning all of the Street Fighter video games, pitting them against the evil organizations Shadaloo and the Secret Society.
Street Fighter Unlimited #1 will release in December 2015 and will continue throughout 2016. In the months leading up to Street Fighter V's release, UDON Entertainment also claims other new Street Fighter series will be announced.
Spider-Man and Deadpool Team Up for New Comic
A new comic teaming up the witty likes of Spider-Man and Deadpool has been announced by Marvel.
Written by Joe Kelly with art by Ed McGuinnes, this team up series is not the first time Spidey and the Merc with a Mouth have interacted with each other in the comics, but it may be the first time they team up in the post-Secret Wars Marvel Universe.
Comics Beat reports no other details regarding the title, release window, or plot details are available at this time.
It's not the first crossover Marvel has announced during SDCC, however. The current writers of the Star Wars comics will also be working together to cross Darth Vader over with the current Star Wars series, in which the Sith Lord has to defend himself from the Rebel Alliance while stranded.
Scream Queens is “Halloween Meets Heathers”
San Diego Comic-Con played host to a creepy double-feature of horror on Sunday, as the cast of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan's upcoming series Scream Queens (Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Skyler Samuels and Keke Palmer) came face to face with the stars of Murphy and Falchuk's American Horror Story: Freak Show and upcoming American Horror Story: Hotel (Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Matt Bomer).
Talking about Scream Queens, Murphy said he came up with the idea around the time AHS: Coven was shooting and wanted to do something a little lighter, more "network-oriented," and something that embraced the comedy aspects of horror -- "Halloween meets Heathers," as Murphy pitched it. "So from that came Scream Queens," he said.
Batman ’66 to Cross Over with The Avengers
Before Marvel's Avengers, there was...The Avengers.
Specifically, John Steed and Emma Peel, two characters from the classic British spy television show The Avengers. During San Diego Comic-Con 2015, Newsarama reports DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Dan Didio revealed plans to unite Batman and The Avengers in a crossover event in the Batman '66 comic series.
Much like Batman himself, The Avengers worked together to fight crime, investigate supernatural occurrences, and solve mysteries on the show. The Batman '66 comics are based on the Batman television show starring Adam West and preserve its same campy feel. No release date or creative team has been announced.