To celebrate Titanfall 2‘s launch, the CEO of developer Respawn Entertainment took his team to Hawaii. Writing on Instagram, Vince Zampella said, “Took the team to Maui to celebrate launching an amazing game!” They are apparently at the Four Seasons luxury resort–which looks totally incredible.
Publisher EA has not announced any sales numbers for Titanfall 2. CFO Blake Jorgensen said this week that that EA is taking a long-term approach to the franchise, so first-day and first-week sales are not keeping him up at night, apparently.
“We remind people we’re building a franchise with Titanfall, so it’s not about the first day of sales or the first week of sales, it’s about the long run,” he said. “We’ll do a lot of things with Titanfall to continue to build engagement. We’re going to give away a substantial amount of free extra digital content going into next year. And really build the franchise around people and engaging with the title. Because everyone who has played it just loves it.”
The Minecraft movie is still more than two years away, but some casting news has emerged. It has been reported that Steve Carell is in talks to star in the big screen version of the hugely popular game.
According to Variety, Carell is in discussions with Warner to join the film’s ensemble cast. Although the studio declined to comment on the story, Variety did note that the studio was “getting close” to signing the star. Carell is best known for his comedic roles in the likes of The Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, as well as his Oscar-nominated dramatic turn in Foxcatcher.
In an interview with Collider earlier this year, producer Roy Lee explained that game developers Mojang were heavily involved with the film’s pre-production. “They know everything [that] is going to be in the movie, and that can give us insight into future updates,” he said. “We can put things into the movie around the same time they relaunch newer versions of the game, and at the same time, potentially taking ideas from the movie and putting them into the game.
“So I don’t know exactly what things are going into the game, but they know exactly what’s going into the movie.”
Lee also hinted at the direction that they were going with the film’s story, and gave an indication of its target audience. “Minecraft would be part of a multiverse that humans can enter, that has the feel of a live-action version of a Minecraft experience,” he said. “[We’re going for] the same target audience as Jurassic World.”
Microsoft’s upcoming Project Scorpio system has been described as the “most powerful console ever made.” As such, it’s going to cost more than the Xbox One S (which starts at $300), but its exact price point remains a mystery. In an interview with Levelup.com, Spencer discussed Scorpio’s price at a high level, saying the system is targeted at people who want a high-end experience.
“Scorpio will be a premium console. It will cost more than S, obviously, that’s how we are building it,” he said (via Gamepur). “We have not announced the pricing yet, but I want to make sure that the investment we are putting into the product of Scorpio meets the demands of the higher-end consumer and that will be a higher price.”
Also in the interview, Spencer pointed out that Project Scorpio is not a replacement for the Xbox One. It will live alongside that system, with games and accessories for Xbox One also supporting Project Scorpio. This is all part of Microsoft’s attempt to build an ecosystem that, not unlike the PC market, allows people to buy a console that meets their pricing and performance needs.
“There is not one product that our customers come in and buy,” he said. “Some people come in and buy the 500 GB Xbox One S. Many people now are now buying our original Xbox One consoles that are a really good price. There is no one product that you look at and say, ‘This is the product that defines how you are doing in that market.’”
“It is really the breadth of all the products you have at all the price points,” he added. “For us, when we think about Scorpio, it’s for a higher-end customer who demands the most they can get out of a console, and we built a console to meet that demand.”
Spencer’s comments about Project Scorpio’s price are apparently in response to analyst Michael Pachter telling Gamingbolt that it would be “suicide” for the console to cost more than $400.
A movie based on Naughty Dog’s acclaimed post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us was announced in 2014. At one time, it seemed hopeful that the movie would be made, as Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann (who wrote the game and is working on the movie) said there was a table read. Additionally, Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams has said she’s interested in playing Ellie, one of the leads. However, Druckmann said earlier this year that the movie is stuck in “development hell” and that appears to still be the case.
Speaking to IGN, producer Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) said Druckmann took the rights to The Last of Us directly to Sony instead of Raimi’s Ghost House pictures. This has complicated matters, apparently.
“With this one he went to Sony–who I have a very good relationship with–but they have their own plans for it and I think Neil’s plan for it,” he said. “I’m not trying to be political; Neil’s plan for it is not the same as Sony’s. And because my company doesn’t have the rights, I actually can’t help him too much. Even though I’m one of the producers on it the way he set it up, he sold his rights to Sony, Sony hired me as a producer by chance, and I can’t get the rights free for him so I’m not in the driver’s seat and I can’t tell you what Sony and Neil together will decide on. If they do move forward I’d love to help them again.”
Raimi also confirmed that he remains attached to the Last of Us movie, but acknowledged that he’s “not too sure what that means.”
“Right now it’s just sitting there,” he said about the film. “They don’t want to move forward, and it’s not my place to say why, and Neil, I think, is in a slight disagreement with them about how things should go so there’s a standstill. And I don’t have the power to move it.”
The Last of Us is not the only Naughty Dog game being made into a movie, as an Uncharted film is also in the works. Recently, Sony announced that the movie is being “fast-tracked,” and that Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy has come aboard to direct it.
No new entries in The Last of Us or Uncharted game franchises have been announced.
The next major video game movie is Assassin’s Creed, which stars Michael Fassbender. The movie opens on December 21–watch the newest trailer here.
The free play period officially started for PS4 players at 12:01 AM ET today, while PC and Mac players on Steam can jump in starting at 1 PM ET. Bethesda said details about a free play weekend for Xbox One will be revealed “soon.” The Elder Scrolls Online does not require PlayStation Plus, but Xbox One players must have an Xbox Live Gold membership to play the MMO.
Here is a breakdown of what’s included in the upcoming free play weekend, as written by Bethesda:
Access to the full The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited base game
500 Crowns to spend in the Crown Store on fun costumes, unique pets, helpful scrolls, and more
Any characters created, Crown Packs purchased, or Crown Store items bought, as well as any progress made during the free play weekend, will carry over if the player purchases the game
The free play weekend wraps up on November 20.
To celebrate the game’s free weekend, Bethesda is discounting Crowns and all versions of the game, through November 28. Go to the game’s website to learn more.
A video game voice actor strike began on October 21–and it does not appear an end is coming soon. The union that represents some voice actors, SAG-AFTRA, has asked its members to picket Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games this week at its Burbank, California office. The two-hour picket is slated for Thursday, November 17, beginning at 11:30 AM PT.
There have already been pickets at Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. In a statement to media, SAG-AFTRA said these pickets have been “successful.” In the case of EA, more than 300 SAG-AFTRA and allied union members attended.
Following almost two years of unsuccessful negotiations between SAG-AFTA and the video game industry, a strike began on October 21.
As for the non-struck games, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Destiny, and Dishonored 2 are on the list. Interestingly, something called Call of Duty: Stronghold & Lethal Combat and Warner Bros. games codenamed “Metallica,” “Sabbath,” and “Kraken” are mentioned. A Guardians of the Galaxy game is also mentioned on the list–it’s believed that this is Telltale’s unannounced Marvel game.
Bear in mind that many of the names featured on the lists are codenames. Also, without knowing any dates, it’s possible these games already came out.
As for the negotiations, SAG-AFTRA says that its package of proposals is “not loaded with any crazy demands.” Several prominent voice actors have spoken out in support of the strike, including Roger Craig Smith (Batman, Assassin’s Creed), Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect, Guild Wars), and actor Wil Wheaton. According to Deadline, only about 25 percent of video games use union voice actors. This is the first strike in the history of video game performers.
The gaming industry refuses to offer residual payment bonuses and other profit-sharing opportunities, according to the union. Specifically, SAG-AFTRA asked that its performers receive an additional “full-scale payment” for every 500,000 units sold, for a maximum of four secondary payments if a game sells 2 million copies, Deadline reported. Additionally, the union claims that the industry has denied a proposal that would reduce the recording time for “vocally stressful” sessions to two hours to help prevent an actor from damaging their voice. For its part, the industry came back to the bargaining table with an offer for helping to ease the stress of voice recording.
According to the video game publishers, it offered a 9 percent wage hike as part of the negotiations. Additionally, it offered additional compensation of up to $950 per game based on the number of voice acting sessions an actor did on a particular game.
With the wage hike, this package could apparently lead to a 23 percent increase in pay for some actors, the publishers said. As it stands, video game voice actors represented by SAG-AFTRA are paid at least $100/hour, plus benefits, though working hours are not “normal” by the conventional standard.
According to SAG-AFTRA, the union would also like to see the gaming industry loosen up on some of its secrecy rules. As it stands, an actor sometimes does not even know the game he or she is auditioning for, which it argues is not fair.
“We negotiated with them for 19 months in good faith,” Freeman said. “It’s the longest negotiation SAG-AFTRA has ever done. It was the last thing we wanted to do, but they left us with no choice.”
Asked what the ideal outcome of the strike would be, Freeman said he wants to see voice actors be ensured safety, respect, “a tiny bit of shared prosperity,” and that they and their contributions are treated as something valuable. “Because right now they treat us like we don’t matter,” he said.
You can read the full interview here; we’ll report back with more details on the strike in the days and weeks ahead.
A variety of posters and a trailer for the Power Rangers reboot movie have been released over the past few months, but more recently its mechanical stars have been revealed via Bandai’s upcoming toyline. Earlier this month, we got an idea of what the Megazord would look like, and now the full Zord line-up has been unveiled. Check out the images in the gallery below, via fansite Power Rangers Now:
In the classic TV show, the Zords are colossal mechanical or bio-mechanical robots. When the Rangers’ monstrous enemies grow to incredible sizes, the only way they can fight them is by summoning and piloting these enormous war machines.
The first trailer for Power Rangers was released in October, and it suggests that the film is going for a more serious tone than the series. Neither the Ranger suits or Zords made much of an appearance in this that teaser, but Elizabeth Banks’ evil Rita Repulsa was featured heavily.
Power Rangers opens in theaters on March 24, 2017, directed by Dean Israelite. It stars Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, and Bryan Cranston.
Power Rangers first appeared on screens in 1993’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. The show mixed new American scenes with footage taken from the Japanese show Super Sentai. To date there have been 23 TV series and two earlier movies.
SNK’s Neo Geo is famous with gamers the world over, which is surprising when you consider that in terms of pure units sold, it barely registers on the scale. The SNES and Mega Drive – the Neo Geo’s contemporary rivals – outsold it by a considerable margin, yet the system still managed to attract a loyal fanbase which delighted in the fact that the system was almost unobtainable; this sense of being a member of an elite club was all part of its intrinsic allure.
It is said that all roads lead to Rome. If you’ve ever visited the city, it’s easy to see why mainland Europeans might’ve wanted an easy route there. No other European capital sports such a wealth of historical curiosities. From its incredible feats of human engineering in The Pantheon and The Colosseum, to some of the world’s best loved pieces of art in The Vatican Museums, there is definitely something for everyone in Italy’s capital. So naturally, I’m looking for Retro Games.
The retro gaming community is a wonderful place. Filled with plenty of like-minded individuals all focused on the love of pixels and a nostalgic past, it’s a great feeling being part of the second life we all lead through gaming. Having said that though, I’ve noticed a big increase in the number of fellow collectors claiming they are more than addicted to the hobby we know and love as retro gaming. On the surface this sounds a ridiculous claim, however, when you listen to their justification you’ll sit up and take notice. One YouTube user recently stated that retro game collecting has had a largely detrimental effect on his life. His fear of missing a bargain, an unquenchable desire to enlargen his collection and a compulsion to continually buy games to showcase on his YouTube channel, all leading to upset and frustration.