Category: Gamespot

Nordic Games has announced it is rebranding itself as THQ Nordic, in a move that it says “represents a core approach of doing more than owning a highly competitive portfolio of [intellectual properties].”

In April 2015, Nordic Games acquired a number of THQ’s intellectual properties during a bankruptcy auction. These including the Darksiders, Red Faction, and MX vs. ATV franchises.

According to Lars Wingefors, chief executive of THQ Nordic, this was a defining moment for the company, and the IP it acquired will become a key part of the its future.

“One could say the most defining moment for our company happened in 2013, grabbing headlines like; ‘Who the f*** is Nordic Games?,’ ‘Darksiders Gets Bought By…Nordic Games?,’ and ‘Nordic Games explains who the f they are, plans for THQ assets’,” he said.

“While we take great pride in our Swedish roots and accomplished a great deal under the Nordic Games masthead, we decided it was time to incorporate the THQ name. Those key brands will continue to shape our business in a meaningful way going forward, and THQ Nordic represents a core approach of doing much more than owning a highly competitive portfolio of IP.

“We cherish them, and align them with the very best development resources to expand upon them with the level of experience that communities and established fan bases expect and deserve.”

According to Wingeforst, THQ Nordic has 23 games in development, 13 of which have not been announced publicly, but “are sure to be in the next months.”

“With this rebrand we are entering the next phase in our company’s evolution,” he continued. “As of now we have 23 game projects in development, 13 thereof have not yet been publicly announced but are sure to be in the next months. Needless to say, the majority of these projects are based on former THQ owned IPs and franchises.”

Nordic Games’ recently announced plans to re-release the first Darksiders title. The new Warmastered Edition will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, and PC. It will be available on October 25 for $20. The PC version includes 4K support and “additional video options.” There have previously been suggestions a proper sequel to Darksiders could be in development.

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Just a few months after Star Wars: The Force Awakens launched on Blu-ray and DVD in April, Disney has now announced plans to re-release the film on home video–and with new bonus features and in 3D.

The new version is called Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition. The four-disc collection includes the original theatrical release on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital HD. Bonus features included in this version include additional deleted scenes and new audio commentary from director JJ Abrams. It also comes with “behind-the-scenes conversations with cast and crew.”

Here’s a full rundown of what’s included with the new home video version, as written by Disney:

• Audio Commentary with J.J. Abrams – Enter the mind of visionary director J.J. Abrams as he reveals the creative and complex choices made while developing the first film in the new Star Wars trilogy.
• Foley: A Sonic Tale – Foley artists, consisting of old pros and new talent, unite to bring the world of Star Wars: The Force Awakens alive through the matching of sound to action.
• Sounds of the Resistance – Hear how the epic sound design of Star Wars: The Force Awakens moves the Star Wars legacy forward.
• Deleted Scenes – View never-before-shared scenes that didn’t make the film’s final cut.
• Dressing the Galaxy – Costume designer Michael Kaplan reveals how the costumes of the original Star Wars movies were re-envisioned for a new generation.
• The Scavenger and the Stormtrooper: A Conversation with Daisy Ridley and John Boyega – The two new stars share the thrill of working together on the adventure of a lifetime and becoming part of the Star Wars legacy.
• Inside the Armory – Take a fascinating tour through the design and creation of the weaponry in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The package also comes with “classic bonus features,” which is the bonus content from the initial April release. This included things like a making-of mini-documentary and some deleted scenes.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition launches in the US and Canada on November 15. You can see its global release schedule below. A price for the new package was not announced.

• Australia – Nov. 9
• Brazil – Nov. 16
• France – Oct. 31
• Germany – Nov. 24
• Holland – Oct. 31
• Italy – Nov. 2
• Spain – Nov. 2
• Sweden – Oct. 31
• United Kingdom – Oct. 31
• US and Canada – Nov. 15

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The newest cast member for the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming has been announced.

Orange Is the New Black‘s Michael Chernus will play the villain Phineas Mason the Tinkerer in the upcoming Sony/Marvel superhero movie, Deadline reports. Chernus, who also had parts in Captain Phillips and The Bourne Legacy, will act alongside another villain played by Michael Keaton.

Spider-Man: Homecoming will be the first standalone Spidey movie from Marvel Studios, following a co-production deal with Sony Pictures. It stars Tom Holland as Peter, alongside Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Bokeem Woodbine, Tony Revolori, and Tyne Daly.

Last month, a teaser screened at San Diego Comic-Con confirmed the movie’s main bad guy will be the Vulture. Although Michael Keaton is known to be playing a villanious role, it has not been announced if he will portray the Vulture.

A number of images have been released from the production over the past weeks, including Holland in costume, and on-set with co-star Zendaya. More recently, some images of Spider-Man’s web-shooters popped up.

Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters on July 7, 2017.

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Following the announcement yesterday that Quantum Break is coming to Steam, developer Remedy has now suggested the Windows Store version will not receive any new updates.

Remedy head of communications Thomas Puha shared the news on Twitter, writing in response to someone who said Quantum Break’s Windows Store version was not running as well as it could.

“Sorry to hear you are having problems,” Puha said. “It’s unlikely we release another Win10 patch.”

The suggestion here is that, if you want the best, most up-to-date version of Quantum Break, you’ll need to pick up the Steam version when it launches in September. However, Remedy has not said anything just yet about what kind of support Steam players can expect after launch.

Puha was also asked if Remedy planned to offer a free Steam key or a discount to Quantum Break fans who bought the game on the Windows Store and now want it on Steam. It sounds like that’s not going to happen, as Puha said, “We don’t make those business decisions. We make the game.”

This is just the latest unfortunate situation surrounding Quantum Break’s PC version. The original PC launch was something of a mess, with the game being broken for users of certain hardware and others finding it difficult to play with a stable frame rate. It also lacked support for things like G-Sync and FreeSync out of the gate.

Quantum Break arrives on Steam and at retail (in the form of a Timeless Collector’s Edition) for $40 on September 14. The Steam version doesn’t force you to use Windows 10, as it also supports Windows 7 and Windows 8. Players will also need a 64-bit version of their OS, but that’s pretty common today.

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Following its release on PlayStation 4 last month, Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s Descent expansion, which includes dragons and robots (more on that later), launches today for Xbox One and PC.

Descent features four new multiplayer maps, including Berserk, Cryogen, Rumble, and Empire (a remake of the Black Ops II map, Raid).

What might be the main draw, however, is the new Zombies chapter, Gorod Krovi. It takes place in a war-ravaged Stalingrad after the events of Zetsubou No Shima, the last DLC pack’s chapter, and features dragons and giant robots.

Xbox One and PC players had to wait due to a timed-exclusivity deal between Activision and Sony, which was announced a E3 last year. Descent is out now on Xbox One, priced at $15; it’s also available through the $50 Black Ops III season pass. PC players can expect the content at 10 AM PT today, according to CharlieIntel.

Descent is the third of four planned expansions for Black Ops III, following Awakening and Eclipse. The fourth expansion has not yet been announced.

The next Call of Duty game is November’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which is developed by Infinity Ward. Activision is also releasing a remastered version of the beloved Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

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Polyphony Digital has updated its website to include new sales figures for Gran Turismo, the Japanese developer’s marquee racing franchise. Among other things, we learn that the latest entry in the series, 2013’s Gran Turismo 6, has now sold more than 5 million copies (5,010,000 to be exact). Another standout figure is 76.8 million, which is the total number of Gran Turismo games sold to date.

These figures are accurate as of June 30. Prior to this, the figures were updated for March 31, when Gran Turismo 6 sales stood at 4.96 million (via NeoGAF); this means the game shifted some 50,000 copies in three months. This may sound like a small number, but note that it’s for a PlayStation 3 game released three years ago.

The sales chart also shows that Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec is the best-selling entry in the franchise, having shifted some 14.89 million copies. The worst-performer is Gran Turismo 4 Prologue, which has sold 1.4 million copies.

Below is a rundown of Gran Turismo franchise sales, on a worldwide basis. You can visit Polyphony’s website to see a breakdown by geographic region.

• Gran Turismo — 10.85 million
• Gran Turismo 2 — 9.37 million
• Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec — 14.89 million
• Gran Turismo Concept Series — 1.56 million
• Gran Turismo 4 Prologue — 1.4 million
• Gran Turismo 4 — 11.76 million
• Gran Turismo 5 Prologue — 5.35 million
• Gran Turismo PSP — 4.65 million
• Gran Turismo 5 — 11.95 million
• Gran Turismo 6 — 5.01 million
• Total: 76.79 million

The next Gran Turismo game is Gran Turismo Sport for PlayStation 4, which is scheduled to launch in November. Looking ahead, Polyphony boss Kazunori Yamauchi has told fans to expect Gran Turismo 7…eventually.

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The last time David Fincher took on a sequel the results weren’t exactly spectacular–1992’s Alien 3 was a critical failure, and first-time director Fincher’s battles with producers over the movie have become infamous. However, Fincher is now one of the highest profile filmmakers in Hollywood, and it has been reported that he is in talks to take on the sequel to 2013’s zombie hit World War Z.

As reported by Variety, Fincher has been approached by star and producer Brad Pitt to direct the sequel to the action horror movie. Pitt worked with Fincher on such acclaimed films as Seven, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and is heavily involved with the development of a second World War Z.

The site notes that following initial talks with Fincher, Pitt looked at other filmmakers before returning to the Gone Girl director. While it has yet to be confirmed if Fincher will take the film on, negotiations are apparently “much further down the road,” and a financial offer has been made.

While World War Z proved to be a financial success, it was marked by considerable production difficulties. The film ran massively over-budget and behind schedule, and the release was delayed by several months while extensive reshoots took place. Nevertheless, it ultimately made $540 million worldwide, making it the most successful zombie movie of all time.

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From James T. Kirk to Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek has a strong tradition of iconic starship captains as its lead character. However, it has been revealed that not only will the upcoming show Star Trek: Discovery focus on a lieutenant, the lead role will be female .

Showrunner Bryan Fuller discussed his decision to focus upon a lower-ranking crew member of the Starship Discovery at the Television Critics Association conference in LA. “The story that’s fascinating for me now is not from the captain’s perspective,” he said, via Polygon. “We’ve seen six series from the captain’s point of view and we wanted to do something different.”

Fuller went on to explain that one of the most important things for him when casting was diversity, hence the decision to have a female lead. “Star Trek started with a wonderful diversity in its cast,” he said. “Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, as Spock would say. We are absolutely continuing that tradition. We’ll probably have some more aliens than usual in our cast, too.”

The last show to feature a female lead was Star Trek: Voyager, which starred Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway.

Last week it was revealed that Star Trek: Discovery will be set before the events of the original ’60s series. Fuller was asked whether this meant that younger versions of some classic characters might make an appearance in the new show. “Maybe. It could happen,” he said. “It’s in the realm of possibilities.”

Star Trek: Discovery is to premiere in January 2017, with production beginning this fall in Toronto. Last month it was reported that Netflix had picked up the show for streaming outside of the US and Canada. It can be seen in 188 territories within 24 hours of every new episode premiering in the US.

American viewers will able to watch the first episode on the CBS network channel, with all subsequent episodes screening initially on the company’s All Access digital subscription service. In Canada, it will be broadcast on the streaming channel CraveTV.

Disclosure: CBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

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