Now that director James Wan has Furious 7 under his belt as a huge blockbuster success, he’s one of the most sought after directors working right now. Wan is reportedly wanted to direct Aquaman for DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, but there’s a chance that Universal could bring him back for Furious 8 as well. Now there’s one more project that wants Wan behind the camera as THR reports Sony wants the filmmaker to direct Robotech, their big screen adaptation of the revered anime. The studio picked up the property back in March with the intention of moving quickly toward a future global franchise. ›››
The big screen adaptation of the anime Ghost in the Shell is definitely happening, and Scarlett Johansson was previously confirmed to take the lead role. Back in January, the film had been set for release on April 14th, 2017, but now Disney has decided to bump the film up a couple weeks to March 31st, 2017, likely to get out of the way of Furious 8, which was recently given that release date. For those who don’t know, Ghost in the Shell will see Johansson as a female member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime. We’ll certainly be looking forward to how this anime adaptation from Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders turns out. ›››
We’ve already seen a couple good glimpses of Ben Affleck suited up as Batman thanks to that black and white photo of him standing next to the new Batmobile that debuted last year. The teaser trailer for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice also featured Affleck in Batman’s metal suit as he prepares to fight Superman in the rain, and the poster gave us a headshot, albeit with Batman’s face obscured by a shredded Superman logo. But now we finally have a good look at Affleck in the cape and cowl in the form of the photo used for that aforementioned poster, but without the Superman logo. And there’s one in color too. ›››
“Me and my brother, we’re gonna rule London.” Hot on the heels of the intense trailer for the crime drama Black Mass starring Johnny Depp, it looks like Tom Hardy has a great crime thriller of his own on the way too. Legend sees the star of Inception and Mad Max: Fury Road pulling double duty as twin brothers Reggie and Ron Kray, two of London’s most notorious gangsters from the 1960s. It’s only a teaser trailer, so it mostly just sets the stage for the story, but there’s a good indication that this could be a fantastic crime thriller with a tour de force from Hardy on display. Keep an eye out for Taron Egerton in there too. Watch! ›››
Right around the time that Kingsman: The Secret Service was heading to theaters, director Matthew Vaughn was already talking about ideas for the sequel. However, the film had not yet proven to be a box office success. Thankfully, audiences turned out to see the fun spy adventure and just this past weekend, the film crossed $400 million worldwide. And The Wrap reports that was enough for Fox to officially start developing a sequel to the film that starred Colin Firth and newcomer Taron Egerton. However, at this time, it’s not clear if Vaughn will be back in the director’s chair since he has a lot on his plate for the future. ›››
“Your story has no ending.” Sadly, Vin Diesel can’t be fast and furious all the time, and sometimes he has to make other movies. They range from solid sci-fi adventures like Riddick to awful comedies like The Pacifier and an instant favorite like Guardians of the Galaxy. And now we’ll see how a fantasy featuring Diesel in the lead fares with The Last Witch Hunter. The first trailer for the film from The Crazies director Breck Eisner has just arrived and it’s not entirely clear what the film is about yet, but Diesel is certainly in bad ass mode again, and with a sword. There’s also a J.J. Abrams worthy amount of lens flares. ›››
Jagex’s new multiplayer FPS Block N Load, an intriguing-looking 5v5 game that combines elements of Minecraft and Team Fortress 2, is now available for PC on Steam. The game was previously available by way of a beta, but today, April 30, marks its official release
Block N Load normally sells for $20, but to celebrate the game’s official release, Jagex is offering it to everyone for free this weekend only as part of a Steam Free Weekend promotion. This offer, along with another discount that should make the game $15 for its launch week, does not appear to have gone live just yet. But keep checking the game’s Steam page to see when it does.
Six Block N Load characters are available out of the gate, each of which have different skills and attributes. Check out the Block N Load launch trailer above to see these unique characters in action.
Block N Load’s maps are anything but static, as players can use the game’s building tools to shape the world around them. Jagex says this means no two matches will ever be the same. For lots more on Block N Load, check out GameSpot’s in-depth hands-on preview in the video below.
“We’ve tried to do something different with Block N Load. We wanted to make a game where building is as important as bullets, smarts are as important as skills, and players could contribute to their team in their way,” Block N Load vice president David Solari said in a statement. “We can’t wait to see the creativity and invention of those that play Block N Load now that it’s live. Today’s launch is only the beginning. We have a player-first mentality, and look forward to an exciting journey with the players as the game evolves.”
Microsoft has already teased that its E3 showing this year will be anything but traditional. Now, the company has confirmed that it’s bringing its VR/AR headset technology HoloLens to the show.
Writing on the new HoloLens website, Microsoft said: “Holographic computing promises whole new ways for us to create, collaborate, work, and play. We look forward to showing and telling you more at E3, the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games and related products.”
Microsoft didn’t say if HoloLens would make an appearance during Microsoft’s E3 briefing itself or if the headset would be usable at the company’s booth on the show floor. But both scenarios seems likely.
E3 2015 runs June 16-18 in Los Angeles, though Microsoft’s briefing is expected to take place on Monday, June 15. GameSpot will be reporting live from the show all week long.
Microsoft has also launched a new YouTube channel for HoloLens, featuring a handful of videos about the futuristic technology, one of which is embedded above.
Nintendo has announced the next Nintendo Direct video briefing.
Scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 7, at 7 AM PDT, this livestream event will focus on the company’s upcoming family-friendly Wii U shooter Splatoon.
On-hand during the event to talk about the game will be Nintendo’s “expert team of scientists at the Squid Research Lab” (not a real lab).
Nintendo didn’t provide any specifics about what it will show or announce during the event, saying only that viewers can expect all manner of “squid-tastic action.” One thing you can bet on is Nintendo developers making a lot of squid puns.
You’ll be able to watch the livestream right here on GameSpot.
Nearly 15 million PS4s have sold around the world since April 2014
Sony’s games division has recorded $404 million operating profit during the twelve months following April 2014.
The upbeat financial results were in part due to strong PlayStation 4 sales, which reached 14.8 million units worldwide during the twelve-month period. Sony expects these numbers will accelerate upwards, predicting 16 million more PS4 units sold in the twelve months from April 2015.
However, its portable division, which includes the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV, continued to slide. Sales fell to 3.3 million for the financial year, down from 4.1 million the year prior. PlayStation 3 hardware and software sales also continued to decline.
Sony noted that the strong overall performance for its PlayStation division was also due to a “significant” increase in network revenue, as well as robust game software sales.
Encompassing all its business performances, from photography to phones, the wider Sony corporation announced a $576 million profit, a figure up 159 percent year-on-year.
This year’s earnings mark Sony’s biggest annual operating profit in the past seven years, a dour period for the company, in which it had to revise its income projections downwards on fifteen separate occasions.
More promising news for investors came from Sony’s FY15/16 projections, with the company expecting its profits to quadruple over the next twelve months.
