Each week we search and gather up the coolest comic book art you won’t see in actual comics. The reason you won’t is because professional artists often draw sketches for fun or commissions and post them on their websites, blogs, and Tumblrs. Some artists even arrange commissions through their sites so be sure to check them out. This is a way to see the artists working on one book draw characters from other comics or publishers.
Phil Noto posted a Westworld sketch on his Tumblr recently.
Joel Gomez also posted a Westworld sketch a little while back on his Tumblr along with an Assassin’s Creed drawing.
Todd Nauck posted Wonder Woman and a punk rock Spider-Gwen on his Tumblr.
Now, the movie’s casting director has set the record straight. According to Amy Hubbard, Jackson did in fact want Bowie to play Gandalf. However, Hubbard said Bowie did not audition for the role that ultimately went to Ian McKellan. Bowie was simply too busy–he never auditioned.
“He was unavailable,” Hubbard told Huffington Post. “It was a very quick conversation with the legendary Chris Andrews at CAA. I do believe that [David Bowie] went over and played for everybody at the Millennium party. That would’ve been New Year’s Eve in the year 1999, which was when the films were being shot. He went over and entertained everybody, but he never auditioned. That’s for sure.”
“We approached him,” she added. “I’m pretty sure it was Peter Jackson’s idea in the first few weeks that we got going. It was one that he’d always wondered about, and we rang Chris, and [Bowie] was far too busy.”
Even though Bowie did not appear in The Lord of the Rings, it’s exciting to think about Bowie playing a role in the film series. It’s kind of like how Nicolas Cage turned down an offer to play Aragorn.
“The focus of the first game was to nail the core multiplayer experience of what DICE does great,” he said. “That was the strategy of that title. And now as we expand in the universe we have better sense of what characters are coming into play, what stories we can tell, what stories are maybe being told in a film versus a game, that’s where we’ve really ramped up the interaction with the [Lucasfilm Story Group] to bring those games to market.
“We heard the fans loud and clear that the multiplayer was great, but it wasn’t enough” – McCully
“We heard the fans loud and clear that the multiplayer was great, but it wasn’t enough and they wanted that complete package. So the team has been very focused on delivering that single-player element.”
Also during the podcast, McCully confirmed that EA has no plans to revive the stalled Star Wars game, Star Wars 1313. Although that game may never come out, he teased that “kernels of ideas” from it might show up in different Star Wars experiences in the future.
McCully also spoke generally about EA’s approach to making Star Wars games, saying part of what makes some games great is their nonlinear nature.
“You need player agency. Gaming is not linear,” he said. “You need to give the player some choice and have them tell their own stories. That’s different from a linear story that’s presented in film or TV. A character that you’re helping to define.”
EA has heard the feedback that fans are more interested in new stories instead of re-tellings of well-established ones.
“You don’t necessarily want to re-tell the story of this character and make a movie game that traces the steps of Luke Skywalker,” he said. “I know Luke Skyuwalker’s story; I want a new story about another character or a character that I control.”
Finally, McCully was asked if EA wants to expand its roster of Star Wars games into new genres. He said EA has plans to do this, though specifics are being saved for later.
“I think there’s more that we can do,” he said. “There’s more than you’re going to see from EA over the years to fulfill that entire fantasy of Star Wars that isn’t just a blaster experience or an X-Wing experience. It’s more than the sum of its parts.”
The newest Star Wars movie, Rogue One, officially opens today, December 16. The rollout began with midnight showings–and those were massively popular, it seems.
As Deadline mentions, Rogue One‘s $30 million Thursday opening don’t come from Disney, but are instead estimates from exhibitors. We’ll update this post if Disney puts out official numbers today.
For at least the second time this week, Capcom has released a new TV spot for Resident Evil 7. The newest video, posted to the Japanese Resident Evil YouTube channel (Resident Evil is known as Biohazard in Japan), takes viewers inside the creepy house of horrors that is the Baker home. As you’ll see, there are all manner of nightmares dwelling within. The trailer’s use of the “Aunt Rhody” song hammers home the creepiness of it all even more. Check it out (via DualShockers):
As mentioned, this isn’t the first new Resident Evil 7 trailer that came out this week. Another one showed off more of the Baker house and the terrors that dwell within it–watch it here.
Resident Evil 7 launches on January 24, 2017 for all platforms. That’s just a few days before the new movie, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, comes out in theaters on January 27. You can watch the latest Final Chapter trailer here.
With 2016 coming to a close and no new Destiny expansions announced, fans of the series may be looking forward to Destiny 2, or whatever it ends up being called, which comes out in 2017.
“We’ll get back to business as usual once the eggnog leaves our blood,” Bungie said, referencing holiday festivities. “Until we talk again, work will continue at Bungie. It always does. Destiny is never finished. We have playtests of new content to share with each other.”
“Thanks for playing our games, Guardians. We’ll have more to show you next year. But that’s a conversation for another time. For now, let it snow.”
Bungie added that, while many of its developers will be out of the office to enjoy the holidays with friends and family, a live operations team is always on-hand to tackle any Destiny issues that may come up. “Of course, there is always a Bungie squad in the building to ensure the game can flow,” it said.
As part of its November report, the NPD Group announced this week that Nintendo sold around 196,000 NES Classic Edition consoles in the US during the month. The figure likely would have been higher had the system not sold out almost immediately following its launch on November 11.
“In its debut month, the NES Classic Edition sold 196,000 units, leading the retro console segment,” NPD analyst Sam Naji said.
For its part, Nintendo executive Reggie Fils-Aime recently responded to the shortages, and claimed retailers are getting new shipments all the time. Demand was “certainly greater” than Nintendo anticipated, the executive said.
For more on what to expect on the Classic Edition–whenever you might be able to get your hands on one–read our full review.
Following the release of Super Mario Run on December 15, Nintendo’s shares dropped by five percent, knocking around $1.1 billion off the company’s market value. By the time the market closed in Tokyo, share value recovered slightly and it ended the day with an overall decline of around four percent.
This is despite the fact that Super Mario Run reached the No.1 spot on Apple’s free games chart in many major markets within hours of its release and, according to some analysts, is predicted to reach around 30 million downloads and bring in $60 million in its first month.
Serkan Toto, a noted video game analyst, previously predicted that Super Mario Run would reach 1 billion downloads “easily,” making it one of the most popular smartphone games in history.
Although it is unclear why investors have responded negatively to the title, it has been speculated that the game’s premium price tag may be a factor. Although the game is free to download, this version is limited to three short levels. In order to unlock the full game players must pay $10/£8. Even then, the game is quite brief.
Super Mario Run is also only available on iOS platforms. Although Nintendo has indicated that it will launch for Android devices in 2017, a specific release date has not been announced.
Another element of Super Mario Run that has been contentious is its need to always be connected to the internet. This restricts when and where the game can be played, which is somewhat antithetical to the nature of mobile games.
Shares for DeNA, the company Nintendo has partnered with for its mobile titles, also fell after the launch of Super Mario Run. At the end of trading share value had dropped by around six percent.
As of yet, Super Mario Run is not available in China, which is one of the largest mobile game markets in the world.
In GameSpot’s Super Mario Run review critic Peter Brown awarded the game a 7/10, saying it is “on the easy side and bereft of a long-lasting platforming adventure” but also “the sort of game that you’ll be happy to have in your pocket.”
He continued: “It’s easy to fault Run for various reasons, but it’s hard to totally lose appreciation for how well it’s brought the series’ core gameplay to smartphones. Simple controls be damned, Run offers great platforming and that distinct Mario charm that Nintendo’s perfected over the years.”
Super Mario Run is out now on iOS, and as people sink more time into the game, reviews have begun to surface for Mario’s mobile debut.
Super Mario Run is Nintendo’s second ever mobile game overall after Miitomo—Pokemon Go was in fact published by The Pokemon Company. Some were sceptical of the Italian plumber coming to smartphones, but it seems critics are impressed, to some degree at least. Below we’ve rounded up some critics’ opinions, but you can get more information in GameSpot’s full Super Mario Run review, or on our sister site Metacritic.
Unfortunately, Super Mario Run is iOS-only for now, with an Android release scheduled for 2017. The base version of the game is free to download, but the full edition costs $9.99 / £7.99 to unlock.
Game: Super Mario Run
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: iOS (out now), Android (2017)
Price: Free to download, $9.99 / £7.99 to unlock all
GameSpot — 7/10
“It’s easy to fault Run for various reasons, but it’s hard to totally lose appreciation for how well it’s brought the series’ core gameplay to smartphones. Simple controls be damned, Run offers great platforming and that distinct Mario charm that Nintendo’s perfected over the years. It’s a shame to find that it’s on the easy side and bereft of a long-lasting platforming adventure, but it’s the sort of game that you’ll be happy to have in your pocket. Even if you don’t play it to unlock every character and special course, finishing the game once will inspire you to dust off New Super Mario Bros. and revisit Run’s quality roots on other platforms–a testament to the series’ refined DNA than lives on in Run.” — Peter Brown [Full review]
IGN — 8.0/10
“Super Mario Run is an elegantly designed platformer with strong hooks that kept me coming back. Once I wrapped up the main campaign, the addictive, replayable stages urged me to perfect my coin runs. Kingdom Builder and Toad Rally provided further motivation to keep dashing for the finish line, so I could invest the spoils in my own Mushroom Kingdom. While this isn’t the best-looking Super Mario game by a long shot, it successfully distills the core fun and charm of the Mario franchise into a smart, one-handed experience.” — Jose Otero [Full review]
GamesRadar — 4/5
“Super Mario Run is exactly what you might expect from a mobile Mario: a distillation of the classic Super Mario World platforming, glossed up with the newer generation graphics, and miniaturised for handheld devices. By sidestepping into the mobile gaming genre, though, Nintendo has also picked up on a few of its flaws and setbacks.” — Kate Gray [Full review]
Polygon — 7/10
“Super Mario Run is an enjoyable but imperfect adaptation of the Mario games for touchscreen devices. Nintendo’s unmatched craft in creating platformers is evident during the best moments of Super Mario Run, but the experience is sometimes hamstrung by the game’s limited control. The all-too-brief World Tour is its strongest pillar, but I wish there were more to the game beyond playing the same levels again and again. Mario may finally have a home on a much bigger platform than Nintendo’s own hardware, but his best adventures remain elsewhere.” — Michael McWhertor [Full review]
Pocket Gamer — 9/10
“Super Mario Run is not, as some feared, a simple cash-grab or an advert for the 3DS. This is a proper Mario game, with the feel, the fluidity, the imagination, and the depth of a fully-fledged Nintendo release. It is a game where the designers thought carefully about how to translate the bouncy thrills of Mario to a platform without buttons or a d-pad and came up with something special: a deceptively simple game that serves as a full-bodied celebration of Mario’s genre-defining jump.” — Mark Brown [Full review]
Kimmel joked about the figure,”I think it’s illegal to pay nothing.” As for whether he should have disclosed the figure in the first place, he said, “Nobody told me not to. I consider this their fault.” Kimmel went on to say that $15,000, to his knowledge, is the typical payment every year.
Kimmel hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, which is also the network that has aired the Oscars since 1976. According to The Hollywood Reporter, when the Academy and ABC inked a contract extension through 2028, there was an implicit understanding that Kimmel would get the hosting gig.
This won’t be Kimmel’s first time hosting an awards show, as he also did that job for this year’s Emmys. Only nine people in history have ever hosted both shows, and Kimmel will be the first to do so for the same season.
