“Are you ready to be exalted?!” I hope so. Warner Bros has debuted the fun, full-length theatrical trailer for Gregory Jacobs’ Magic Mike XXL, the sequel to Steven Soderbergh’s breakout 2012 summer hit Magic Mike, about male strippers from Florida. The whole gang is back: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash and Adam Rodriguez. Tatum actually co-wrote the script for this. The rest of the cast includes Amber Heard, Elizabeth Banks, Jada Pinkett Smith, Andie MacDowell and yes that was a glimpse of Donald Glover. Even if this isn’t your thing, you have to give it to WB – they’ve fully embraced the marketing on this one, and it works perfectly. The opening to this trailer is hilarious. Enjoy!›››
This post contains Batman: Arkham Knight spoilers.
Responding to criticisms about Batman: Arkham Knight’s $40 DLC pass, Warner Bros. and developer Rocksteady Studios on Sunday announced more details about the offering, including the fact that it would come with an extra mission that lets you play as Batgirl. But at the time, we didn’t know her exact identity. Now we do.
Arkham Knight director Sefton Hill explains on Twitter: “As a few of you have asked about the DLC, ‘who is Batgirl?’ I can confirm it is indeed Barbara Gordon.”
She is the daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon.
People who buy Arkham Knight’s DLC Pass can play as Batgirl in a prequel story expansion called “A Matter of Family.” In this content, you’ll visit an “entirely new location,” though further details are not available.
The first render of Batgirl as she’ll look in Arkham Knight is embedded in this post. Arkham Knight’s DLC Pass comes with six months worth of content, all of which you can read about here.
As part of Nintendo’s rosy earnings report today, the company also announced a new lifetime Wii U system sales figure and updated its list of best-selling games for the console.
In terms of software, Nintendo has a handful of games that have sold more than 1 million copies. Leading the pack is Mario Kart 8, which has eclipsed 5 million units sold since its release in May 2014.
The top-selling Wii U Nintendo games are listed below. All figures are accurate as of March 31, and include bundled copies and digital sales.
New details about DICE’s upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront shooter have emerged regarding the game’s weapon aiming system and vehicles.
First, DICE executive producer Patrick Bach tells OXM (via GamesRadar) that Battlefront will not have ironsights, a staple of the developer’s other major franchise, Battlefield. “There are no ironsights in Star Wars, on the ordinary blasters,” he said. “You have scopes on some rifles, but there are no ironsights.”
This matches up with previous Battlefront games, which had players firing from the hip instead of aiming down sights as they do in Battlefield and other contemporary shooter franchises.
Significant deviation from Battlefield in terms of weapon aiming was no accident. Bach explained that Battlefront, though it may carry some characteristics of other shooters, is being designed to feel “completely unique.”
“We’re not taking into account what we’ve done before, because I think that would be disrespectful to the fans, and to what we’re trying to achieve here,” he said. “A lot of the things you saw in the game have nothing to do with anything we’ve done before. Some features of course resemble [our other shooters], because we want to make the best possible shooter, but in general we’ve tried to do something completely unique.”
In other Battlefront news, DICE has confirmed on Twitter that AT-STs (“chicken walkers) will be playable.
Right on schedule, Nintendo’s Splatoon-themed Nintendo Direct video briefing will take place today at 7 AM PDT / 10 AM EDT. You can watch the entire event through the Twitch embed below.
Alongside Nintendo’s positive earnings report Thursday, the Japanese game giant announced a major partnership with Universal Parks & Resorts to bring the company’s IP to theme parks around the world.
Details are light at the moment, but Nintendo said in a statement that it plans to create “spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters, and worlds.”
These will include “major attractions” at Universal’s theme parks around the world, featuring Nintendo’s “most famous characters and games.” No characters or franchises were named outright, but Mario and Zelda would seem to be likely candidates.
In addition, Nintendo called its new partnership with Universal “significant,” noting that it should help extend the popularity of its IP beyond just games.
Don’t expect to visit a real-life Nintendo Land anytime soon, however, as Nintendo cautions that it’s currently working with Universal’s creative teams to develop “concepts” for theme park attractions.
Universal Parks & Resorts is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company also operates theme parks in California, Japan, and Singapore.
Nintendo isn’t the first major media partner for the theme park, as the company also operates the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at its Orlando park, as well as various rides and experiences based on The Simpsons, Despicable Me, Spider-Man, Transformers, and others.
Nintendo has announced it made a ¥41 billion ($350 million) profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, returning the company to an annual profit for the first time in four years.
According to its latest fiscal report, global sales of the Nintendo 3DS family, which includes the 2DS, reached 8.73 million units. The New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL were said to have “got off to a good start and continued to sell well.” Previous models, however, “did not grow as anticipated.”
Global sales of Wii U hardware reached 3.38 million units, while software was cited as 24.4 million units. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U had sales of 5.11 million units and 3.65 million units respectively.
Looking forward, Nintendo’s outlook for the fiscal year of 2016 involves maintaining the performance of currently available games that have strong sales potential. Additionally, it intends to continue releasing new games to expand its install base. Delivering more downloadable content for Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is one of the ways Nintendo is aiming to keep its more popular games active.
Specific details on the performance of Amiibos were not provided, but new waves of traditional figures as well as Amiibo cards and yarn-knitted Amiibo will be used to stimulate demand. An NFC reader and writer accessory for all Nintendo 3DS and 2DS will also be released.
Along with this, the company expects Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, a new Rhythm Tengoku, the new Fire Emblem, and “a number of key titles from third-party publishers” to contribute to attaining its projected operating profit of ¥50 billion (around $420 million) and net profit of ¥35 billion (around $290 million).
Resident Evil and Street Fighter publisher Capcom has announced that the company’s revenue was down 37.1 percent from the previous year.
During its latest fiscal year, which ended March 31, Capcom made ¥64.3 billion ($538.4 million). This figure represents Capcom’s lowest yearly revenue figure since 2004, when it generated ¥52.7 billion.
In its official financial review Capcom highlighted sales of Monster Hunter 4G and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as a key success.
On the digital front, Ultra Street Fighter 4’s sales were described as “solid”. Resident Evil Revelations 2, which only became available in February, was said to have made a “strong start.” Dead Rising 3 was also mentioned as a successful title, however, this game was released in Capcom’s previous fiscal year.
Digitally delivered content was spotlighted as a major focus during the fiscal year as Capcom attempts to diversify distribution channels. The company has indicated it will continue to dedicate itself to this strategy and expects it will “deliver a sustainable growth going forward.”
By its own admission, Capcom did not have many major titles released on mobile devices, but profitability in this department was improved thanks to an “overhaul of the profit structure.”
Elsewhere in the business, Capcom reported its operating income has increased 2.7 percent from the previous fiscal year, likely as a result of streamlining production costs and increasing general efficiency. Net income overall was ¥6.6 million, which is an increase of 92.1 percent from the previous year.
San Francisco-based social game studio Zynga on Wednesday announced an extensive cost-reduction plan that the company says should help it save around $100 million in the short-term.
As part of the process, the company revealed plans to lay off about 18 percent of its current global workforce.
A total of 364 people are losing their jobs. Zynga estimates that the layoffs will be completed by the end of its fiscal year and should result in about $45 million in annualized savings.
In addition, Zynga’s restructuring process includes “additional cost reduction measures, including lowering costs and eliminating spend on outside and centralized services.” This move, which should be completed by the third quarter of 2016, is expected to result in another $55 million in savings, the company said.
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, who stepped into the role just last month after former Xbox boss Don Mattrick left, released a statement on the changes.
“For our people, we need to create an empowered, entrepreneurial culture that fosters more creativity and innovation,” he said. “Over the years we’ve seen that tighter, more nimble teams can drive faster innovation and deliver more player value. As a result, today we announced a cost reduction program to focus, simplify and align us against our most promising opportunities.”
“This was a hard but necessary decision and I believe this plan puts us in the best long term position for success.”
The cost-saving plan was announced Wednesday as part of Zynga’s latest earnings report for the quarter ended March 31. It was tough quarter, as the FarmVille company posted another net loss. On a GAAP basis, Zynga lost $46.5 million, while the non-GAAP loss was $7 million. Meanwhile, Zynga monthly unique payers, daily active users, monthly active users, and monthly unique users all fell year-over-year.
However, total Zynga revenue rose 9 percent to $183 million during the quarter.
