Huge Batman: TAS Batmobile Toy Coming
DC Collectibles has shown off a new series of figures based on Batman: The Animated Series, just ahead of this weekend's New York Toy Fair.
The collectibles include a two-foot-long Batmobile, with light-up headlights and room for two passengers. It's the largest Batmobile to date based on TAS. It's coming in October of 2015 for $100.
Billy Crystal, Bradley Cooper and More Join SNL 40
Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary special has been given an extra half-hour, and will now include some of this year's Oscar-nominess alongside an onslaught of SNL veterans.
Joining SNL 40 this Sunday are Oscar-nominated actors Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) and Edward Norton (Birdman), as well as artist Miley Cyrus (LOL) and several SNL alumni, including Billy Crystal (The Comedians), Kevin Nealon (Weeds), Ana Gasteyer (Mean Girls), Colin Quinn (Trainwreck), Joe Piscopo (Johnny Dangerously), Tim Meadows (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) and Will Forte (MacGruber).
What does this mean for MacGruber?
Will Smith’s “Most Painful Failure”
Even Will Smith makes mistakes. Smith has maintained relatively silent about the mediocre reaction to his 2013 sci-fi film After Earth... until now. The star has finally opened up about the fallout of After Earth's critical/financial failure, referring to it as the "most painful failure" in his career.
Speaking to Esquire, Smith was reminded of a quote from his TV aunt on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: “Don’t let success go to your head and success go to your heart.” The quote prompted Smith to recall the lesson he learned following After Earth's poor box office numbers.
JGL & Anne Hathaway Re-Team for Sidekicks
The Dark Knight Rises' Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway are re-teaming for a short film called Sidekicks, set to debut on Pivot's HitRECord on TV.
Gordon-Levitt is encouraging fans to submit their own artwork for Sidekicks, which will be added in post-production to create a truly collaborative superhero action flick. You can check out the requirements for submissions over on hitRECord's website -- where you can also take a look at the script by BriTANick's Nick Kocher and BJ McElhaney.
Sidekicks marks the latest episode of Gordon-Levitt's HitRECord on TV, which calls for aspiring young filmmakers and artists to collaborate on a specific theme per episode. Taking the theme of "the number 2," Sidekicks spotlights the right-hand-men to brash superheroes Brock Blaster (Gordon-Levitt) and Vivica Virus (Hathaway).
Helldivers Arrives Early March
Helldivers, the top-down shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios, is coming out on March 3rd in the US and March 4th in Europe for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita, with cross-play support.
We've reached out to Arrowhead for pricing details.
According to the Playstation blog post from Arrowhead co-founder Malin Hedström, the team will have more info in the coming weeks.
IGN previewed Helldivers at the PlayStation Experience event last December, saying, "You only think you know what the word 'cooperative' means until you play Helldivers."
Guild Wars 2 Writer Leaves to Work on Destiny
One of the lead story writers on Guild Wars 2 has left to work on Destiny.
According to his Twitter, today is John Ryan's last day at ArenaNet before he heads over to Bungie next week, where he'll start a new job as "editor/loremaster".
While it isn't completely confirmed what the role will entail, it seems likely Ryan will be expected to keep track of the wider lore of Destiny's universe, perhaps with a view to making sure future storylines transition smoothly into Destiny 2 and beyond.
We learned last week that Destiny has over 16 million registered players, and a "major content release" is on the way later this year, though we're not quite sure what it is. For more on Destiny, be sure to check out IGN's wiki for the shooter as well as our review of the first expansion, The Dark Below.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation Heads to PS Vita
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation is coming to PlayStation Vita this summer.
The game is a remake of Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory released in 2012 for PlayStation 3. The remake is said to feature an expanded story, new scenarios, and even more zany comedy.
“It’s time to Nep-Nep like it’s 1989,” reads the press release. “Neptune’s been sucked into an alternate dimension of Gamindustri! In order for her to escape from this late ‘80s world, Neptune will have to collect enough shares to open up the path to her own dimension. Sounds easy enough – except a nefarious alliance called the Seven Sages wants to rid Gamindustri of all CPUs, including Neptune!”
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation lets players have an impact on the virtual world, allowing them modify dungeon treasures and tweak enemy difficulty as they see fit.
Here’s Whats in the New Elder Scrolls Online Cash Shop
The Elder Scrolls Online new Crown Store will add the ability to buy health, magicka and stamina potions, along with ones that will increase the rate at which you accrue experience.
A new blog post offers a look at some of the items players will be able to purchase once the game introduces a cash shop as part of its transition away from a subscription model.
The main thrust of what will be offered are "customisation and convenience" items that shouldn't affect the core game. While unique mounts, vanity pets and costumes are the extent of the "customisation" portion, some concern has been raised the potions could create a pay-to-win scenario. Game director Matt Firor is keen to emphasise such worries are unfounded:
New Wario, Rosalina and Donkey Kong Amiibo Spotted
Nintendo today launched Mario Party 10's Japanese website, and hidden within are pictures of never before seen Amiibo.
The images from the site show new Amiibo designs for Wario, Rosalina and Donkey Kong, but it is currently unclear whether Nintendo will release them under the Super Mario Bros. Amiibo range, or a new Mario Party 10 range.
Given how quickly the last Rosalina Amiibo sold out, fans would be wise to pre-order these as soon as possible if they don't want to miss out.
Keep it locked to IGN to find out the release date for this new wave of Amiibo once we have it.
Tom Regan is our resident ginger freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter to call him Ed Sheeran, or check out his emo side in Tom's band Larkhill.
Naruto Wall Battles to Return in Next Ninja Storm
This week's issue of manga publication Shonen Jump has confirmed that wall battles will be making a return in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.
While wall battles made their debut in the original Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, they have been absent in every iteration since. As well as bringing back wall battles, the upcoming Naruto brawler will also allow players to run across cliffs - further opening up the battlefield.
This is the first Naruto game to be developed for current-gen systems, and promises to shake up the series' tried and tested combat while also featuring the largest roster in the franchise's history.
No western release date has been announced yet, but the game is set to be released in Japan on PS4, Xbox One and PC this year.