Monthly Archives: February 2016
Smite Pro League Offers $100K Prize Pool
Hi-Rez Studios continues to expand support for the pro level of Smite in the Oceanic region for season three of its eSports competition.
How much extra support? Try $100,000AUD in the prize pool this year for professional teams from Australia and New Zealand.
This $100K prize pool tops Hi-Rez's previous highest prize pool offering of $65,000AUD in 2015, of which Smite Oceania Pro League victors Avant Garde took home the lion's share.
"Since introducing the Smite Pro League to the Oceania region last season
, we've been very excited to see the growth in quality and competitiveness of the scene," said Hi-Rez Studios' eSports manager Adam Mierzejewski. "We think the Oceania scene will compete very strongly on the world stage in Season 3.
Kim Kardashian Game Made $100 Million in Its First 5 Months
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was a massive success. Niccolo de Masi—CEO of the game's publisher, Glu Mobile—spoke at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas on the game's impact.
Image via GameSpot
According to GamesSpot, the free-to-play game brought in over $100 million in its first five months, and a total of $200 million over Kim Kardashian: Hollywood's first year. That money came from in-game purchases using real-world money, buying items like personal jets, cars, or clothes.
Image Comics Expo Partners With Emerald City Comic-Con 2016
The official Image Comics Expo will not be taking place in the usual city of San Francisco.
Instead, Image Comics announced it has partnered with the organizers at ReedPOP to move the event and have it coincide with Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle.
The Image Expo will take place on April 6, one day before the official start of Emerald City Comic-Con. Held in Seattle's Showbox Market Theater, the Expo will be an all-day event with signings and a number of prominent creators. The current list of confirmed guest includes Jonathan Hickman (Secret Wars, East of West), Rick Remender (Black Science, Tokyo Ghost), and Leila del Duca (Shutter).
Deadpool Fans Start Petition to Erect Statue in Character’s Hometown
Canadian Deadpool fans are petitioning the country to erect a statue of the mercenary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the anti-heroes hometown. And it makes sense. As noted by ComicBook.com, Deadpool was filmed in Canada, produced by a Canadian, and, of course, starred a Canadian. Oh yeah, and its main character—Deadpool—is Canadian.
The petition is penned by user Luke Oliver, and has almost 2,000 supporters at the time of writing. He created the petition after seeing the film, where Deadpool announced he's from "Regina, Saskatchewan, the town that rhymes with fun."
Unfiltered Episode 4: Xbox Live Arcade Creator Greg Canessa
Former Xbox exec and XBLA creator Greg Canessa sits down for a 70-minute interview about how XBLA almost didn't happen, Bill Gates's favorite XBLA game, why Microsoft should bring XBLA back, and much more!
If you'd rather listen than watch, here's an audio-only download link.
Here are a couple of clips, first about how XBLA almost didn't happen:
And here's Canessa calling for Microsoft to bring XBLA back:
Catch up on every episode of IGN Unfiltered here.
Ubisoft Trained With Bolivia’s Army for Ghost Recon Research
Today at DICE, Ubisoft VP of Editorial Tommy Francois discussed the process of creating immersive open worlds, highlighting the importance of thorough, first-hand research.
While there's value in reading books and consulting other sources of information, there's no replacement for on-hand experience, Francois explained during his panel, titled "Creative Maturity Through Life Experiences – How to Build Engaging Open Worlds."
"When you create a world, I think it’s actually a trap to only read books," he said, noting "the most important thing" in the "fight for player immersion" is first-hand experience. "It needs to start with our own immersion," Francois added. "How do we do this? We go smell the grass. We have to get out from behind our computers."
Avengers Standoff: What Is Pleasant Hill?
Marvel kicked off their latest Avengers crossover today, and we finally know the source of the conflict in Avengers Standoff.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill#1
Before this issue, Marvel didn't reveal much about the Avengers Standoff conflict beyond the fact that it involves a seemingly innocent town named Pleasant Hill and a dark secret that pits the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. in conflict against one another. This issue offered readers their first introduction to Pleasant Hill, as seen through the eyes of a confused, amnesic young man named Jim. Jim found the town's residents to be extremely helpful and accommodating, except for when he attempted to leave.
Ant-Man Writer Confirms He’s Coming Back for Sequel
Writer Adam McKay says he'll be coming back to the Marvel universe to have a hand in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
The writer of the first Ant-Man told Nerdist that he's not sure just how involved he'll be, but he confirmed he has been talking with Marvel and is planning to be a part of the project.
"We’ve been talking to Marvel actually,” McKay said. “We just talked to them the other day, and it looks like I will be involved. I don’t know if it’s gonna be right from page one. But it looks like I will definitely be involved. There you go. There’s a little headline for the fanboys!"
McKay is known most for his comedies, from Anchorman to Talladega Nights, but he visited more serious subject matter with his most recent movie, The Big Short. It took an inside look at the recent housing market collapse. McKay said he learned from the experience that he loves "not being restrained by a genre."
Flexible Smartphone Lets Users Control Their Apps With Bending Gestures
Flexible smartphones are still a ways off, but a new prototype phone gives us our best look at what such devices could be capable of.
Created by a group of researchers from Queen's University's Human Media Lab, ReFlex is a prototype flexible smartphone that can be controlled simply by bending it. The device was made using a 720p LG Display Flexible OLED touch screen, an Android 4.4-powered board, and several bend sensors and haptic feedback motors.
Agents of SHIELD Promo Shows the Return of a Major Threat
ABC has released its first promo for Agents of SHIELD's midseason premiere, and it's brutal. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD returns to air on Tuesday, March 8, bringing with it "a danger unlike any the world has ever seen." Check out the video below.
The preview teases Inhumans and the highly anticipated Secret Warriors, the group showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen have been slowly building to for the first half of the season. Ward will also return—though not exactly Ward anymore—after a mysterious Inhuman inhabits his body.