Play Nintendo - Announcing Nintendo @ E3 2014
Mr Reggie Fils-Aime Aka "The Reggienator".
Things looked very, very dark for Nintendo and the Wii-U. I mean, the Wii-U was doomed. And Nintendo was bleeding money like crazy. But then something happened. Something which no one could have predicted. I´m talking about the super big recovery on Nintendos behalf.
First they announced the Mario Kart 8 bundle (which most likely will save the Wii-U from a total failure). Then there were the video for Tomodachi Life (which made everyone talk about Nintendo). And just the other day, Nintendo unleashed THE coolest Nintendo video that i've have seen in a very long time.
Yes, i´m of course refering to the "Play Nintendo" video (the video further down the page). The very same video that revealed the Super Smash Brosinvitational tournament (that´s taking place during the E3 event this year).
So, bravo Nintendo.You turned the tables around completely to your advantage!
Watch Dogs launch 2014 - Release your inner hacker!
The long wait for Ubisoft´s hacker/action/adventure game "Watch Dogs". Will soon be over. Because there´s just one more month left until the game releases world wide to every format there is (except to the Wii-U). And i just found out today that the PS4 edition of Watchdogs will include 60 minutes of exclusive gameplay.
So i might actually buy Watch Dogs to PS4 instead of PC. But then again. The PC-version will probably have mods and such. Oh well, i got one more month to make up my mind about that matter. One thing's for sure though.
Watch Dogs will transform us all into superstar hackers. And speaking of hackers. You can actually become one right now. And that´s all thanks to the special smartphone option. So all you have to do, is to click through to landing page of the video (the one further down the page).
Then you can sign up and be a helping hacker to the game's main character IRL! Cool huh?
"All it takes is the swipe of a finger. We connect with friends. We buy the latest gadgets and gear. We find out what's happening in the world. But with that same simple swipe, we cast an increasingly expansive shadow. With each connection, we leave a digital trail that tracks our every move and milestone, our every like and dislike. And it's not just people. Today, all major cities are networked. Urban infrastructures are monitored and controlled by complex operating systems.
In Watch_Dogs, this system is called the Central Operating System (ctOS) - and it controls almost every piece of the city's technology and holds key information on all of the city's residents.
You play as Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker and former thug, whose criminal past led to a violent family tragedy. Now on the hunt for those who hurt your family, you'll be able to monitor and hack all who surround you by manipulating everything connected to the city's network. Access omnipresent security cameras, download personal information to locate a target, control traffic lights and public transportation to stop the enemy...and more.
Use the city of Chicago as your ultimate weapon and exact your own style of revenge."
New Call of Duty “ Blacksmith “ will be announced May
Sledgehammer Games will take on the role as the sole developer for COD Blacksmith.
The next Call of Duty codenamed “Blacksmith “ will be announced in May. This comes, as an astounding surprise. Activision, apparently has decided to skip E3 to announce the Immortal shooter, but will use the expo to reveal more details during their reveal of the game.
What remains unclear, is whether it will be Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, or the next game in the series. I do hope that they create a different name for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, as this can lead to a lot of confusion with Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare.
Through a leak, allegedly from an industry insider, and via a developer’s Lindkedin profile, it suggests it will be the latter.
Sledgehammer Games, who worked alongside Infinity Ward for the last Call of Duty Modern Warfare game, will be the sole developer behind Call of Duty “ “ Blacksmith " in 2014. This shows that Activision will continue with its rotation of three studios, who have helped to develop the Call of Duty series.
This will also include Call of Duty Black Ops developer Treyarch, as well. During a recent investor's call, Activision revealed the new three year development cycle for the three developers involved, which will see a new Call of Duty game launch each year.
Hopefully, this will not spell doom for the Call of Duty series, as saturating the industry with a successful franchise, can kill the enjoyment of it. Unfortunately in recent times too many games have been doing this. With E3 right around the corner we’ll hold onto our hopes, and see what develops. Stay tuned for more.
/Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground
What is going on at Naughty Dog?
What´s Naughty Dog up to? Quite a lot so it seems.
Michael Knowland, the Lead Character Artist for the cult classic The Last of Us to, has left Sony Studios. Via his profile on Linkedin, he seems to confirm that he departed the Sony first-party studio this month.
Having worked as a Lead Character Artist on the PlayStation 3-exclusive title The Last of Us for over two years, his profile confirms that he was not involved in the creation of the next Uncharted game, which is currently under development for the PS4.
If you have been following the trend, in March, it was confirmed that Amy Hennig had left the company to join Visceral Games, where she is hard at work on a new Star Wars title (hopefully, a new Star Wars Battlefront ).
At first it remained open ended as to why she left the Sony family, when she announced her departure, but it was later confirmed she left on amicable terms. Speculation led many to believe she received a lucrative offer from Visceral Games, due to her sudden departure, and employment.
Not long after, Justin Richmond, who has been working on the Uncharted series since, Uncharted Drake’s Fortune, decided to depart, and had taken a position at Riot Games.
Adding salt to the wounds Naughty Dog already has, Just last week, Nate Wells, who worked as Lead Artist on The Last of Us, announced that he had moved over to Giant Sparrow, the creator of the PlayStation Network title, The Unfinished Swan.
And last but not least, Todd Stashwick, who was attached to Uncharted 4 in a voice over role, revealed on April, 21st that his role had been recast. He has now joined Hennig on the new Star Wars title over at Visceral Games. This could be due to a number of factors, including Henning trying to bring him into the fold, or an abundance of freedom of creativity.
But we will find out more soon, especially with E3 right around the corner. And the Last of Us Grounded DLC coming out May 5, 2014, the future is uncertain.
/Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground
Nintendo is The Quality of life according to Satoru Iwata
Mr Satoru Iwata.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is under the spotlight at the moment, thanks to the growing concern of the company's shareholders, but he has revealed to Japanese site Diamond Online that he feels he is carrying out the will of the late Hiroshi Yamauchi by reassuring them that the firm is always focused on providing entertainment, and that it doesn't start and stop with video games.
What´s next for Nintendo?
Satoru Iwata had a lot to say as far as the past, present, and future of Nintendo is concerned. He is dead set on keeping Nintendo’s crown as the “King of Video Game Entertainment.” He made it abundantly clear, that Nintendo has never stepped away from what made their company great, family, friends, and unparalleled creativity. After all, isn’t that what made Nintendo so great when we were kids?
Satoru Iwata had this to say:
“Surely, a lot of people around the world must think Nintendo is a company that is just for video games, about us, and I believe that there are more and more of our own employees who've begun to think like that”. “Some employees that are in charge of making things, are often kept in positions where they have to think of how they can make the game in front of them more fun, so I don't think it can be helped if others outside of our company think like that”.
“So, even if the fact that our focus being video games won't be changing, I felt the need to take this occasion to say Nintendo is a company that can do whatever they want”. “This subject came to light when Yamauchi passed away, but I felt that our surroundings are greatly changing”. “We need to redefine what Nintendo must do, from this point on”. “However, I felt that saying Nintendo will do anything, was also the wrong idea for the company”.
“Yamauchi was one to always say Nintendo is a company for entertainment, and it shouldn't be for anything else, and he didn't necessarily think that ‘entertainment equaled video games”. “I've been wondering how to express Yamauchi’s feelings, and I've been thinking about it non-stop, even during the New Year’s holiday break”.
“Lately, the words quality of life have come up. Entertainment is there to improve people’s quality of life”.” After your basic needs, there’s entertainment. However, when it comes to improving people’s quality of life, I didn't know the difference between us and household appliance makers”.
“At the start of this year, I finally figured that improving people’s quality of life with fun, with emphasis to the ‘fun’ would be perfect for Nintendo. And that’s when I decided to use this as a focus during the financial results meeting in January and wrote the manuscript for the presentation”.
With Nintendo branching out into a lot of different fields such as: Healtcare, and DLC; it’s perfectly clear that they can do whatever they want. But to what resolution will we see with this kind of attitude from our family entertainment company? This is a very interesting speech presented by Satoru Iwata, and it makes us all open our minds, and toward the future of Nintendo.
/Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground
She Got Game - A female video game documentary
Yep, she got game. Or, to be exact. She got "games".
Not to be evil or ignorant now. But i honestly didn't know who "Cailleah Scott-Grimes" was (she´s a very lovely and talented lady though). Before i watched her Kickstarter video just now. Because Cailleah decided to make a Kickstarter campaign for her video game documentary "She Got Game".
And it went great! Because the orignal goal was to collect $10,000 CAD. Well, She Got Game collected over $12,000 CAD! So that means that the "She Got Game" documentary will happend after all. So i look forward seeing it =)
About She Got Game:
"Ditching the kitchen and grabbing the controller: Uncovering the challenges and misconceptions of women in gaming.
Whether they’re rocking it out on their home consoles or portable gaming devices, designing the next hit RPG or competing in the Major League Gaming Championship, women are building a gaming world of their own. And yet their interests and achievements are still often subject to slander and silly stereotypes. Fake geek gamer girl? Get real! We're ditching the kitchen. We're grabbing the controllers. We're here to listen to some real stories.
We want to know: How does gaming really fit into women's lives socially and professionally? What challenges do these women face every day? What are they doing to change the way video games are made and perceived?
Support She Got Game and join us in exploring the social labyrinth of gaming from a woman's perspective.
So what angle are we coming from? The best way to learn about our Kickstarter is to watch the She Got Game trailer above. This video explains who we are and what we hope to achieve with your help. As proud as we are of our video clip, it's just that... a promo. It's just a taste of what we plan to create. With proper funding this project has the potential to add a fresh, original voice to current perspectives on gaming.
The bigger the budget, the bigger the impact we can make. The promo gives a taste of what we've done and people we've talked to so far..."
