Most Recent: Articles

Retro and Monolith Soft hiring… What does Nintendo have planned?

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Andrew Rainnie

nintendologo

Two of Nintendo’s shining subsidiaries, Retro Studios and Monolith Soft, have both been busy advertising to fill several positions this week.

First up, Xenoblade Chronicles developer Monolith Soft (translated by Siliconera) is urgently seeking a Game Planner, Town Planner, and Battle Algorithm Planner. The advert also called for people with experience in A.I. programming, as well as seeking battle animation designers. These roles are presumably for the Wii U title X, which seems to be related to the Xenoblade world. However, that game has a tentative release date sometime this year, so if the posts are for that project, it may mean that Monolith Soft is gearing up for crunch time or, more worryingly, that the RPG will be delayed. However, if you like your glass half full, it could mean that Monolith has something other than X in the works.

More recently, Zach Works, a recruiter for Nintendo, tweeted about a hiring spree at Retro’s Austin based offices.

While the company is still tweaking Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, that game is due out on February 21, so any hiring now would have to be for a completely new project. Could it be that Retro is returning to the Metroid series? Or will the company be moving on to another franchise in Nintendo’s massive library?

Two words: Star Fox.

We can but dream.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged ,

2014 Writers Guild Awards nominees announced

Posted on January 10, 2014 by John Scalzo

wgaThe Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Award. The award, which honors “Outstanding Achievement in Writing for Videogames,” will be given out on Saturday, February 1 during the 2014 Writers Guild Awards ceremony.

This year, the writers behind Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, and Lost Planet 3 will all battle it out for the award. A full list of every nominated writer can be found right here:

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft)
Story by Darby McDevitt, Mustapha Mahrach, Jean Guesdon
Lead Scriptwriter: Darby McDevitt
Scriptwriter: Jill Murray
AI Scriptwriter: Nicholas Grimwood
Scriptwriter Singapore: Mark Llabres Hill

Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Interactive)
Narrative Director: Dooma Wendschuh; Writer & Senior Narrative Designer: Ryan Galletta
Writer: Corey May

God of War: Ascension (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Written by Marianne Krawczyk
Additional Writing: Ariel Lawrence

The Last of Us (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Written by Neil Druckmann

Lost Planet 3 (Capcom)
Head Writer: Richard Gaubert
Writers: Orion Walker, Matt Sophos

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , ,

3DS Release Dates: Yoshi’s New Island (3/14), Disney’s Magical World (4/11)

Posted on January 10, 2014 by John Scalzo

nintendologo

Whatever your opinion of the Wii U is, it’s impossible to ignore the great year the 3DS had. According to Nintendo, more than 16 million 3DS games were sold in stores and through the eShop in 2013. Also, more than 11.5 million 3DS (and 2DS) handhelds have been sold in the US since the system launched.

So what does Nintendo have planned for 2014? Well…

Yoshi’s New Island will be released on March 14. The game is being produced by Takashi Tezuka, who was the Creative Director of the first game in series, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. In the game, players can expect to see “Yoshi [reunited] with Baby Mario in a gorgeous landscape to help him to safety.” The game will also include “flutter jumps, ground pounds and egg throws, along with some new actions that use the unique features of [the] 3DS.”

The never-before-announced Disney Magical World will also be available this year. On April 11, players will be able to take control “dozens of Disney characters in a variety of Disney-themed worlds.” They can also “customize their characters with hundreds of Disney-themed outfits and accessories, all while managing a cafe, planting crops and collecting Disney character cards.”

And, of course, Bravely Default is still on track for a February 7 launch and Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy has been penciled in for a February 28 release.

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged

The Last of Us, Tearaway, Gone Home lead this year’s GDC Awards

Posted on January 9, 2014 by John Scalzo

gdcawardsThe nominees for the 2014 Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced and The Last of Us, Gone Home, and Tearaway lead the field with five nominations apiece.

The Last of Us and Gone Home will be competing for this year’s Game of the Year award alongside Grand Theft Auto V, Super Mario 3D World, and Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto V are also in the running for multiple awards as each has been nominated in two additional categories.

Other multi-category nominees this year include The Stanley Parable, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Device 6, and Papers, Please.

This year’s Game Developers Choice Awards will be handed out on Wednesday, March 19 at the San Francisco Moscone Center during the 2014 Game Developers Conference. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , ,

2014 Independent Games Festival finalists announced

Posted on January 9, 2014 by John Scalzo

independentgamesfestival-header

The Independent Games Festival announced the finalists for their 16th annual awards yesterday. This year, six titles will vie for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize including The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe), Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment), Jazzpunk (Necrophone Games), Papers, Please (Lucas Pope), Device 6 (Simogo), and Dominique Pamplemousse in “It’s All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!” (Deirdra Kiai Productions).

The Festival jury found a lot to like about all six of those games as they show up again and again throughout the full list of finalists. You can find the complete list of finalists after the break, including the selections for the Nuovo Award, which honors “Abstract and Unconventional Game Development.”

The IGF Awards will be held on Wednesday, March 19 at the San Francisco Moscone Convention Center, directly preceding the disbursement of this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards during the 2014 Game Developers Conference. (more…)

Posted in Mobile, News, PC | Tagged ,

WWE Network will be available through PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, mobile devices next month

Posted on January 9, 2014 by John Scalzo

Whatcha gonna do when the WWE Network runs wild on you?

That’s the question Vince McMahon asked today at CES when he revealed the WWE Network, a streaming subscription service for original and classic WWE content.

So what can wrasslin’ fans expect to find on the WWE Network? For $9.99 per month (with a six month commitment), they’ll receive live access to all 12 WWE Pay-Per-View events (including WrestleMania XXX, Summer Slam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble). In addition to the live events, on-demand streaming of Raw and SmackDown replays will be available as well as original shows such as Countdown, WrestleMania Rewind, and Legends House. More details on these shows can be found at the WWE Network official site.

The WWE Network will be available through the WWE app on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Roku, and mobile devices beginning February 24. Users will also be able to access WWE Network content through the WWE website as well. WWE Network support for the Xbox One and selected Smart TVs will be available this Summer.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One |

Who Will Play Agent 47 in the New Hitman Film? The Frontrunner and 4 Alternate Picks

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Andrew Rainnie

hitman-agent47-movie-header

With the sad passing of actor Paul Walker in November 2013, many were curious how Universal would handle his character’s disappearance from Fast & Furious 7. After a brief hiatus, it looks as though a combination of methods will allow the character to retire gracefully, in memory of the actor. However, the future of the gargantuan car chase franchise overshadowed the fact that Walker was due to don the suit and red tie of Agent 47 to play the assassin in a rebooted film version of IO Interactive’s Hitman. As the world moves on, as it must, we thought we’d have a look at which actor would be best to take on the title character. (more…)

Posted in Etcetera, Features, Top Story |

Daily Scoop: January 9, 2014 – Frozenbyte Humble Bundle

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Anyone else out there using Raptr? I’m trying to get the hang of it, but it’s frustrating that it doesn’t work the same with every system. I can register my 3DS, but it doesn’t show what games I’m playing. It spams about PC games connected to my Steam account, but barely knows when I play games on the PSN. What’s the deal? I need the whole world to know the embarrassing number of hours I spend gaming. Get on it, Raptr.

A new week, a new Humble Weekly Bundle! This time, it’s Frozenbyte, with Shadowgrounds, Trine, and Jack Claw Prototype. Pay more than $6 to get Shadowground Survivor and Trine 2 Complete Story. And, as always, soundtracks are included.

There’s also a new bundle over at Indie Royale as well. Pay whatever the current minimum is for A Valley Without Wind, A Valley Without Wind 2, Cognition Episode 1: The Hangman, Cognition Episode 2: The Wise Monkey, Dungeon Hearts, Pid, Richard & Alice, and Waveform. Pay $6 or more for a bonus album!

Finally, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is another Midweek Madness deal at Steam for $7.49. The deal lasts until tomorrow.

Just one t-shirt today! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |