How to use this Page

Details are vague, but get ready for Nintendo-inspired features.

The post Nintendo Is Planning To Make Theatrical Animated Features appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The kiosks are torn down, the free shirts are all gone, and the YouTubers are in editing. Yep, another E3 is finally in the books. Now the hard part of waiting for the games on the show floor to find their way to our homes begins.  Now that the gauntlet of bouncing from appointment to appointment is done, you can read about all the games we got hands on time with.

The Games of Indiecade

Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst

Lego Marvel’s Avengers

Rock Band 4

Disney Infinity 3.0

Skylanders Superchargers

Mad Max

Who Won Media Monday?

For now I want everyone to take a peek at a slice of our week through the eyes of independent film maker Ricardo Ramirez.

Xbox Media Briefing and Fan Fest

The week in E3

All photos by Ricardo Ramirez

Thanks for the photos and that’s it for us from E3, read the E3 Wrap Up for a chance to win a prize pack from the show and we’ll do more at SDCC in a few weeks.

Since pioneering the “toys to life” genre in gaming, the Skylanders franchise has generated over $3 Billion and sold over 250 million action figures. It’s become a yearly franchise for the game’s publisher, Activision, and this year at E3 the franchised announced the next step in the game. This year it’s about giving fans of two different gaming worlds moments they can both enjoy this Fall in Skylanders Superchargers.

We were invited to a behind closed doors demo at the Activision booth featuring gameplay walkthrough with developer Vicarious Visions and a close look at how the Nintendo Skylanders characters work.

In Skylanders Superchargers, Kaos has unleashed The Darkness to take control of Skylands. Fortunately, a special team of Skylanders known as the SuperChargers has been assembled to pilot an incredible fleet of vehicles with the power to travel through the destruction – over land, sea, and air.

Our demo took us through the main part of the game as we saw how the new vehicles work with the game. Everything you love about the previous games is here. Children and their family’s will see the puzzle solving, platform, and quirkiness these characters are known for. The new vehicle toys can be activated at any time but they really come into play accessing and exploring new areas of the Skylands. For example one area will only let you explore it if you have a water vehicle while another can only be traversed with an plane.

The demo wasn’t so much about the game’s story, but what this new element of gameplay would add. Each vehicle, when put on the portal for the first time, would show a unique animation that introduces it as the magic happens. Every one of these new types of toys also has the ability to be “supercharged” when paired with its corresponding Skylander. When Spitfire gets put on the portal with the new Hotstreak car, the game visually shows the hot rod beef up with new features and attributes including increased attack power for tougher bosses.

What will really set Skylanders Superchargers apart for Nintendo fans are two big additions to the game. Bowser and Donkey Kong are coming to Skylanders through special new figures. As someone’s kids say, don’t get it twisted. These aren’t just Amiibos with cross functionality. They’re Skylanders first. Donkey Kong and Bowser each have unique attributes in Skylanders Superchargers and each will have their own vehicles inspired by games like Donkey Kong Country including supercharged abilities. When playing the game with Donkey Kong, players get to launch unique attacks such as throwing barrels or leaving a conga drum mine for enemies.  Turning over the Donkey Kong figure players can switch it from Skylander mode to Amiibo for use in supported Nintendo games such as Smash Bros.

Vicarious Visions have listened to players and consumers alike in making this new Skylanders game. If you don’t want to add every new Skylander toy to your  hundred figure plus collection, you don’t have to. Every toy from every game will work on Skylanders Superchargers in some capacity. If you previously invested in Trap Team, even those special toys have a function in Superchargers. The new Superchargers portal has a slot for Trap figures. Though you will not be capturing your enemies in the same way as Trap Team; the toys will unlock different power ups in the game for the character on the portal.

Every Skylander can jump into any vehicle and the team has cashed in on any small element they could tweak in the game. For instance when you pair a bulky Skylander in a smaller vehicle it looks adorably awkward on screen as the team intended. Even Nintendo characters can ride in anyone’s vehicle.

A new starter pack with portal and two characters will be available at launch, but any portal will work with the game. You can buy a digital version of the game by itself and use previously purchased portals. Though only the Trap Team portal will be able to use trap characters. Only the Nintendo characters will be available in a two pack of toy and car but that price hasn’t been announced.

It’s remarkable what this franchise has accomplished since it spawned from Spyro the Dragon. Activision and the developers that work on Skylanders haven’t settled and they don’t take the new competition in the market lightly. While the Nintendo characters are exclusive to the Nintendo versions of the game; it does raise the question of possible crossovers with characters from those other platforms in future games. We can’t wait. Year after year the franchise has managed to deliver something that feels new and Superchargers is going to continue that tradition when the game releases on September 20, 2015.

Find out more about Skylanders on the game’s official website here.

One last check of the recent comics x gaming news before E3 officially gets underway. Let’s Go!

Starbreeze Studios, the developer behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons announced its dive into the Virtual Reality hardware pool and promises the widest field of view available. StarVR boasts a 210 degree horizontal field of view and 5120×1440 resolution, thanks to dual 5.5-inch displays. The company took over the House of Blues in Hollywood last night with a star studded event to show off the new headset just before E3.

StarVR is set to compete against Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus, but it’s brining Overkill’s The Walking Dead and a literally a VR shotgun as part of its arsenal. Check out the presentation video:

No word of pricing or release window, but the Walking Dead game will be hands on demoed for attendees at E3 this week on the hardware.

Our Thought:

The VR market is quickly filling up before the first hardware even hits consumers Cheeto dusted fingers. With Oculus and Sony’s hardware set to launch next year, Starbreeze better be along quick if they hope to capitalize on early adopters. Is there an appeal for everyone out there to see what it’s like to get eaten by a zombie?

Published this September by Dark Horse Comics in partnership with Electronic Arts and DICE, creators of the Mirror’s Edge franchise, Mirror’s Edge: Exordium will grant fans special insight into the origin of Faith, the protagonist of the new Mirror’s Edge Catalyst video game. Written by Christofer Emgård, narrative director at DICE, with art by Mirror’s Edge in-house artists Emgård, Mattias Häggström, Robert Sammelin, Henrik Sahlström, and Erik Persson, ME: Exordium is a six issue limited series that aims to dive deep into the complex bouncing off buildings world of Mirror’s Edge.

“Set in a world as iconic as it is visually stunning, with one of the most compelling and unique protagonists in popular culture, Mirror’s Edge is tailor made for great comics,” said Dark Horse senior editor Dave Marshall. “It’s an awesome opportunity to be able to kick off our partnership with DICE with this series!”

Mirror’s Edge: Exordium #1
Christofer Emgård (W) Mattias Häggström, Robert Sammelin, Henrik Sahlström, Erik Persson (A)
Robert Sammelin (Cover)
$3.99, 32 pages
On sale September 9

Our Thought:

The first Mirror’s Edge game was a rare new idea from EA, a publisher not typically known for breaking away from sequels and sports. While not a blockbuster, the game did well enough to green light a sequel. GO US! A small miracle when you consider today’s landscape where we all complain about there not being anything new, yet refuse to support new IP. What has me a bit worried though is the creative team on the new book is all from video game developer DICE. While it might not necessarily be a bad thing, we’ll have to wait and see what the end result is. However, the reason Dark Horse has success both financially and artistically with The Last of Us: American Dreams is due to the creative partnership between Neil Druckmann and Faith Erin Hicks. Both are storytellers in different mediums, but they worked together to translate the vastly different languages of gaming and comics in order to create something that felt right in both worlds. I’ll remain optimistic for the time being since the book is at Dark Horse and now they’ve got the resume of quality adapted from video game books (Halo, Last of US, Witcher) which gives them license to try just about anything.

Today, Nintendo dropped big news for fans of the party brawling game Super Smash Bros. During a special video presentation focused on Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, the game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, unveiled a smashing amount of new content for the games, including two new playable characters: Ryu from the Street Fighter series and Roy from Fire Emblem. They both join Lucas from Mother 3 as new playable fighters, and are available for download now! This additional paid content lands alongside a major software update that launched today for both systems, which also includes three new stages and many new costumes for Mii Fighters, including outfits from classic fighting series Virtua Fighterand Tekken. With these new characters, stages and costumes, top fighting game franchises Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter and Tekken unite for the very first time.

Here’s the complete rundown of content straight from Nintendo:

• Ryu from Street Fighter^®: For the first time in Super Smash Bros. history, a character from the fighting game series Street Fighter^® joins the battle. Iconic character Ryu, whose look in the game is based on Street Fighter II^®, brings a new fighting style and feel to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Ryu’s traditional Light, Medium and Heavy attacks can be used depending on whether players tap, press or hold the buttons. Classic Street Fighter^®moves like Hadoken and Shoryuken can be activated with just a one-button press, but players who enter the original button combinations from the Street Fighter^® series will perform the same actions with higher damage. Ryu can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS for $5.99 each, or both game versions together for $6.99. Purchase includes the bonus Suzaku Castle stage from the Street Fighter^® series. This classic environment provides stable footing on the right side and a series of platforms on the left. It can also be played in Omega form, giving the stage a look and feel much like in the Street Fighter II^® original.

• Roy from Fire Emblem: A fan-favorite from his last appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo GameCube, Roy from the Fire Emblem franchise returns to the series more powerful than ever before. Unlike Marth, Roy’s sword is stronger closer to the hilt, so he works better in close range. Roy also now has a Final Smash move in the form of a devastating sword blow. Roy can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U for $3.99, or both game versions together for $4.99.

• Lucas from Mother 3: As previously announced, Lucas is also available to purchase as a new downloadable character. Originating in the Japan-only Game Boy Advance RPG Mother 3, Lucas primarily uses lightning attacks to smash his opponents. Lucas can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS for $3.99, or both game versions together for $4.99.

• New Mii Fighter costumes: Multiple video games and characters from the past and present are represented in a new set of Mii Fighter costumes now available through the new update. Two costumes from classic fighting game Virtua Fighter are based on the Akira and Jacky characters, with Akira even maintaining his blocky polygonal look from the original game. Tekken fighter Heihachi (and his amazing hair) serves as inspiration for one costume, with additional costumes based on Isabelle from Animal Crossing, MegaMan.EXE from Mega Man Battle Network, ZERO from Mega Man X, the Inkling Girl and Boy and the squid hat from Splatoon also available. All costumes – eight in total – can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii Ufor $6, or both game versions together for $9.20. Costumes can also be purchased individually for $0.75 in either Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, or both game versions together for $1.15 each.

• Dreamland stage: Based on the first Dreamland stage from the original Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64, this stage returns with a few tweaks. The Dreamland stage can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U for $1.99, or both game versions together for $2.99.

• Everything: Players who want every fighter, stage, outfit and accessory featured among today’s DLC releases can buy them all at once. The whole DLC pack can be purchased in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U for $21.96, or both game versions together for $29.16.

• Miiverse stage: Available now to download for free, this new stage for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U features Miiverse posts created by players all over the world. During matches while connected to the Internet, players will see Miiverse posts appear that cheer specific fighters on from the background. These messages will be pulled from individual Miiverse communities that just opened for each Super Smash Bros. character.

• Tourney mode: Scheduled to launch as part of a free update in August, two new Tourney modes are coming to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Community Tourneys let players compete for the highest points in a certain amount of time, while regular Tourneys have a specific set of rules and only happen at select times.

• YouTube replays: Coming exclusively to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U at a later date, this free new feature allows players to post replay videos of their matches on YouTube. To use this feature, players must possess a Google account. Please visit http://www.smashbros.com/us/ for additional details.

• Additional Super Smash Bros. amiibo: Mii Fighters are getting their own amiibo figures! When used in the game, the Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter and Mii Gunner amiibo characters can be configured with custom faces and players’ collected accessories and costumes. Four additional Super Smash Bros. characters are also getting amiibo: R.O.B., Duck Hunt, Mr. Game & Watch and Falco. These new amiibo will be available this September, except Falco who will be available this holiday season. Eventually, all playable characters in Super Smash Bros. will have corresponding amiibo figures, including Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy and Ryu.

• Bonus Trophies: After downloading the update, in-game bonus trophies based on Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter^®, Roy, Lucas and Splatoon will be available to unlock in play. Players can collect these trophies by completing All-Star mode in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.

Our Thought:

Yeah, $30 for all this content is a bit steep. On the other hand, Ryu in Smash Bros! Great job by Nintendo of not forcing gamers to buy this all in one bundle and making each piece available a la carte.

Tomorrow, everything begins. So get ready for a flood of news and happenings.

We’re just a month away from the super comic-con bowl of video games, E3. Soon the entire Los Angeles Convention Center will be filled with creative giants, CEOs, journalists, “models” tempting you with cheap sunglasses or free T-shirts, and those fortunate enough to get into the show.

This special late Sunday night edition of WTGB comes sponsored by my DayQuil binge followed up with NyQuil chasers to even me out and an apology for not being able to write wrap ups for Marvel’s Secret Wars. With E3 and a few other shows fast approaching, there’s just no time to do it justice after that fantastic second issue came out last week. I will be posting digital codes of all the May tie-in and spine series issues at the bottom of Game Beat, starting with this one. Enjoy!

For now let’s turn the focus to all the things we want to see at E3 2015. Which means I can officially confirm Comics Beat will be on the show floor and the press events covering all the comics related games and more… but mostly to collect free bags, shirts, and magazines to level out my coffee table with.

From indies to first party exclusives, E3 2015 will be about games, games, and more games. Being in the middle of a new hardware cycle, the focus for this E3 will be soely on the games coming to the consoles and PC.

Batman: Arkham Knight is the first big release post E3, having a full on playable version at the show is a bit of a no brainer, though I wouldn’t expect any new announcements concerning its content. The boys at Rocksteady are already doing an excellent job of teasing the public, they’ve even released a new Arkham Insider video showing off the “dual play” system.

Ever since Lego announced their toy based game, Dimensions; it’s been radio silent on the Lego Marvel Avengers game coming this Fall. While it won’t be part of anyone’s presentations, the game should be playable on the show floor and word of a hard release date seems like a good bet. I’m curious to see if it will still have all the open world goodness of Lego Marvel Super Heroes.

With the recent word of Telltale Games not releasing Season 3 of their Walking Dead game in 2015, the developer has been vocal about announcing something big to come soon for Walking Dead fans. Telltale usually like to keep things intimate and off the exhibit floor at E3, it stands to reason they’ll be showing a brand new Walking Dead one-shot game that doesn’t tie directly into Clementine’s story behind closed doors once again. Perhaps some art, a teaser; but whatever they show will most likely be their September release.

Then there’s the Secret Wars event going on at Marvel. We know there’s going to be a toy line coming to Toys R Us in conjunction with it . Word has been quiet on how the Marvel’s current buffet of mobile titles or a new game would play off the Battleworld. Remember Marvel Super Heroes, the fighting game on PS1?

It was more or less the Infinity Gauntlet game. While we probably won’t get anything close to that for Secret Wars, we’re sure to hear about at least some kind of add-on content for one of these games tying into Secret Wars.

As for the big three…

Per usual, Microsoft will start the round of June 15 press events. Xbox head, Phil Spencer, brought a strong showing in 2014 that translated to boosted sales for the Xbox One. He’s certain to follow the same game centric formula as last year. On the non-gaming front, we don’t expect them to waste valuable time going over all the services, however a demonstration of the Xbox One’s long talked about DVR functionality might be in order. Could we also see a redesigned version of the Xbox One? While the 360 went through some variants in its lifetime, it never happened as quickly as this one would, should it be part of Microsoft’s announcements for E3.

Where Halo 5: Guardians places in the Xbox presentation will be very telling in terms of aces up Microsoft’s sleeve. The game’s hard release date of October 27 is just a few months away. We’ve seen a ton of art and pieces of the story thanks to its viral “Hunt the Truth” campaign. If Xbox’s presentation opens with Halo, weather it’s campaign gameplay or multiplayer, it would indicate Microsoft will end with the official announcement of the new Gears of War game for Xbox One, maybe even alongside footage from the original GOW remake coming to the new console. With, Quantum Break delayed to 2016 and original unproven IPs set to be announced; closing their press event with a new installment of a proven franchise makes the most sense.

Sony PlayStation will close E3 Media Monday at the LA Sports Arena. We’re sure to hear a lot of bragging about the millions of units PS4 has sold to date during their presentation. As for what they’ll show and announce during their time in the media’s eye… Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is a given. Even though it’s been moved to 2016 and an extended preview was previously shown during PlayStation Experience in Vegas; Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann will be onstage to tell us something we don’t know about the game that will make the wait feel that much longer.

If Druckmann is indeed on stage, what better time than having the eyes of the world watching to bring out Sam Rami and show the first clip of The Last of Us movie. Sure it’s a long shot, but E3 has a history of huge surprises. Could we also get the Uncharted trilogy remastered for PS4? So far the PlayStation 4 has been all about porting Sony’s previous system classics to the new one with The Last of Us Remastered and the next up God of War remaster. PlayStation has a ton of things they need to update consumers on such as their VR Project Morpheous, backwards compatibility, and the other big game of PS Experience No Man’s Sky. They could have an out of the blue announcement, but with so much they’ve previously confirmed yet not put in our hands they simply don’t need one.

There’s also the PlayStation Originals which brought us the polarizing Brian Michael Bendis adaptation of his creator owned book, Powers. Because of the season 2 announcement, it stands to reason the debut series was a success on some level for Sony. Why else would they be willing to invest further money in more episodes. If it exceeded their expectations expect solid viewer numbers to be part of their humble brag and some art or still from season 2 to be included. One of the few surprises Sony could have waiting in the wings might be an expansion of PS Originals content, maybe other adaptations of popular comics. Personally, I’m rooting for Matt Fraction’s Sex Criminals mainly due to my wanting to see Chip Zdarsky awkwardly appear onstage during another big presentation.

Nintendo is actually the gray area of the show. Their Tuesday June 16 digital press conference has already dropped news ahead of itself. According to Nintendo, we won’t be seeing the delayed Legend of Zelda for Wii U. They are however bringing the Nintendo World Championships to the show from the –long long long– ago film The Wizard. Would there really be much of a point to having Fred Savage and the Power Glove appear during a press event that no one will physically be in attendance for? Mario Maker will also be available that week for the general public to try at select retailers during E3.

The Wii U and DS are likely to have announcements about new Pokemon, Metroid, and Animal Crossing but those would probably be leaked a bit before the show. Nintendo also has the slim possibility of being the only console company showing off hardware with their rumored new “NX” system in development. Currently no details are known about the system. Nintendo wouldn’t want to deter any future Wii U sales by even talking about new hardware that isn’t coming out this year so the possibility that we’ll see it at the show is highly unlikely.

What do you want to see during E3 2015? Who do you think will win this year’s E3? What size shirts do you all use?

Also here’s codes for digital copies of Secret Wars 1-2, Magneto, and Mighty Avengers. (First come first served) We’ll also be giving away physical copies of all the May Secret Wars books at the end of the Month thanks to my LCS and if you’re in the LA or Long Beach, CA areas go buy your Secret Wars at Pulp Fiction. All this month they’re selling every new Secret Wars issue (and tie-ins) 50% off. 

Marvel.com/redeem

Magneto 18- FMC1M3NNXDX8

Mighty Avengers 18 – FMDUEP80DYIR

SECRET WARS 1- FMCJG76UTQDV

SECRET WARS 2- FMD7GMLM7F4B

With Bethesda holding their first E3 press conference, it seems like a no brainer that an announcement for, the post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 4 was obvious, but could we now know more about what we’ll see from it? Batman: Arkham Knight is only just starting to reveal its secrets, and Nintendo gets into the theme park rides business. Let’s Go!

The German site PC Games reported a rumor from a trusted source that Bethesda Softworks will not only announce Fallout 4 at E3, but will also show off a 20-30 minute behind closed doors gameplay demo of it. Back in February, the developer announced its plans for a press conference before E3 and told everyone that no official word about Fallout 4 was ready.

Our thought:

They’re ready now. E3 is one the biggest announcement shows for gaming and they wouldn’t hold an event to not announce the game, so it’s a sure bet we’ll see at least a trailer for Fallout 4. When it comes to a demo at the show; there’s an excellent chance not all attendees at E3 will go hands on with it. The odds of Fallout having been developed to near completion for 2015 under our collective noses is slim, a release date of Fall 2016/Spring 2017 would be the likely target. Thus, Fallout 4 wouldn’t be ready for anything other than a guided tour video.

Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts today announced plans to bring the world of Nintendo to life at Universal theme parks – creating spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds. The agreement brings two icons of entertainment together and represents a significant partnership for Nintendo as it expands the reach and popularity of its characters and intellectual property.

More details will be announced in the future, as the Nintendo and Universal creative teams work to create specific concepts.

Our thought:

Mario Karts, Metroid 3d the Ride, Donkey Kong churro stands… yes! For years, movies such as Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, and most recently The Fast and The Furious have received the ride treatment. Even beloved comic book characters are the theme of attractions all over the country. It was only a matter of time before gaming made a big splash at tourist attractions. Though it seems odd to take a medium that’s meant to be enjoyed in-home and adapt it in such a way that will make gamers want to get outside and enjoy the big glowing thing in the sky. In the end, it’s a tremendous counter-programing start to Disney utilizing LucasFilm and Marvel properties in their parks.

Just when you think Rocksteady and WB couldn’t possibly tease gamers any more than they’ve already have for Batman: Arkham Knight… boom a new video drops.

As we already knew, the iconic voice of the caped crusader, Kevin Conroy would be in the game to finish Rocksteady’s epic trilogy. Now we get a look at the cast of talented actors brining their voices to a magnanimous group of characters in the game. Returning alongside Conroy are Tara Strong as Harley Quinn, Troy Baker as Two-Face and Nolan North as Penguin. If that weren’t enough, the newcomers of the group include Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul) as James Gordon, Ashley Greene (Twilight) as Barbara Gordon, Scott Porter ( Hart of Dixie) as Nightwing, and John Noble (Fringe) as Scarecrow.

Rocksteady also cleared up one area of confusion over twitter. Last week, more details were given about the inclusions in the game’s season pass option. The image of Batgirl along with details of her getting story content for the game were met with questions of who was under the mask. As we’ve seen in the trailers, Oracle appears in her wheelchair and the Batgirl in the image looks like the Barbra version of the character. Game director, Sefton Hill confirmed that Barbra Gordon was indeed Batgirl. Now more rumors are flying about what content being based on an iconic DC Comics story

Our thought:

This is one of the best voice casts that’s been assembled for a game, period. Hearing Noble talk about the Scarecrow is simply chilling. With all the surprises and twists the game is sure to deliver, it’s building up to be a game of the year contender even before its release.

Though it was about 95% certain the Batgirl in the image was Barbra Gordon, now the confirmation opens up new possibilities about what her part of the story will be. Could we learn what events confined her to the wheelchair? Will there be some sort of recovery story in the main game that leads to her DLC? Most seem to believe we’ll see a prequel set around events of “the Killing Joke”, but that would mean Troy Baker would once again voice the Joker as Mark Hamill had officially retired from voicing the character. Baker a superbly talented actor would be great as the Joker again and would simply place the Batgirl DLC events between Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum.

What a weekend it’s been. Between Avengers, “Fights of the century”, Free Comic Book Day, the Suicide Squad reveal, and the Batman: Arkham Knight DLC info; some of us didn’t even get a weekend. On the Monday night edition of WGB we’ll talk about some of the tidbits that slipped through the cracks in the last few days such as Star Wars Infinity, and The Last of Us. This week doesn’t show signs of slowing down either as we got a full trailer look at Jason’s appearance in Mortal Kombat X, plus a Legend of Zelda graphic novel hits stores this Wednesday. Let’s Go!

This past Thursday, a retail leak fueled speculation that the upcoming Disney Infinity 3.0 would feature Star Wars characters. The 3.0 set leaked by retailer Saturn shows a set that includes toys based on both Anakin Skywalker and Clone Wars star Ahsoka Tano. No word on when the new 3.0 Infinity game would launch or what systems it would be available for.

Our Thought:

The first Disney Infinity featured characters from classic Disney films while 2.0 brought Marvel characters into the toy box. It seems logical that the next phase of Infinity would feature Star Wars. With the slew of new comics and upcoming movies, every division of the Disney machine should have a way to pry open wallets all over the world. While no official announcements have been made, it seems a safe bet that the new Disney Infinity would follow their incumbents model of releasing on all the major platforms. Over the last year not only has Disney Infinity had to compete with the popular Skylanders game toy franchise, but Nintendo also made a splash in the market with their Amibos. Most recently, Lego announced they would also release their own version of this with Lego Dimensions. All this adds up to Disney Interactive needing to do something huge to gain a hold on market share, which means consumers could see the biggest Infinity line up yet. With gamings biggest week, E3, right around the corner you can expect the official word to come sooner rather than later.

The Last of Us: Left Behind, the single player downloadable add-on chapter to developer Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed PlayStation game, The Last of Us, was released more than a year ago. Since then the PS3 classic has seen a full 1080p remastered edition bundled for the PS4, now the DLC chapter comes standalone and will be available on both PS4 and PS3 starting May 12th for only $9.99. Left Behind is the story of Ellie and her best friend Riley as they sneak out to an abandoned mall to enjoy their last night together. It also touches on a key battle for Ellie not seen in the main story campaign that takes place right before you briefly play as her in the Winter.

Those who purchase the standalone version of Left Behind will also get a two hour trial of the factions multiplayer mode.

Our Thought:

Yes, most of you who’ve owned or currently own a PS3/4 have already played The Last of Us and most likely its DLC chapter. However, there are quite a few gamers out there who may have been caught in the next-gen transition that didn’t want to pay another $49.99 for the remastered edition just to play the DLC. This move seems to be geared toward that part of the audience. If you haven’t played either of the games, you’re missing out on one this generations best stories. Left Behind especially makes a bold stand for diversity with its characters not only as female protagonists, but as voices for young teens who might be struggling with their own identities.

If you want to go even deeper into the world of TLOU, then check out the Dark Horse Comics published companion series, The Last of Us: American Dreams. The book was written by the game’s mastermind himself, Neil Druckmann in collaboration with the incredible Faith Erin Hicks. You can find it in shops and online.

We’ve known for months now that Mortal Kombat X‘s Kombat Pack downloadable content would include the Predator and horror film icon Jason Vorhees. Now more has been revealed about Jason’s appearance including all three of his style variations players can choose before the fight.

• Slasher: The character goes classic white mask and uses the machete to slash the sternums of his opponents. Lots of bloodshed.
• Relentless: This variation changes his mask chrome and uses barehanded attacks. The quirk about this mode is that it also comes with the ability to flip an opponents block buttons and teleportation.
• Unstopabble: Just as the name would suggest. Jason is able to regenerate health and power up his attacks.

Players who purchased the Kombat Pack will be able to download the character starting tomorrow. If you don’t own the Kombat pack you’ll have to wait until May 12 to purchase the Jason pack for $8 which also includes the “horror pack” skins for Melina, Ermac, and Reptile.

Our Thought: 

MKX has been a great time for gamers. I’ve yet to complete the classic towers with every character. Now the addition of the movie franchise characters we were teased gives me more reason to dive back into combat. Monday’s Netherrealm live stream (archived here) also teased what we’ll see when the Predator comes to the game. Some out there might think having these licensed characters might be cheeky, but they don’t have any real barring on the MKX story. They’re just there for a cheap pop and there’s sure to be more incoming fighters from previous Mortal Kombat games, maybe even a DC Villain.

Mortal Kombat X is available now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC with Ps3 and Xbox 360 versions to launch this Summer.

Monday also marked “May the fourth be with you” a holiday for lovers of Star Wars. To celebrate EA and DICE posted a look at the planet Sullust in the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront game. The game’s developer, DICE, traveled to Iceland to base an unexplored planet in the legendary sci-fi series’ mythos. In their chronicles which you can view on the game’s site, fans will see the developers travel to locations used in the original film for planets such as Endor.

Our Thought:

For anyone who looked at the game’s trailer during Star Wars celebration and said it’s nothing special, take in to account just how much detail DICE is stretching to put into this game. Star Wars: Battlefront is poised to become the new standard by which all future Star Wars games will be measured. You know, as long as they don’t include the prequels.

Star Wars: Battlefront will come to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 17, 2015.

Before we get to this Wednesday’s new comic releases. I wanted to mention that The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past graphic novel will be in stores. Originally published as a 12-issue comic in Nintendo Power magazine, this reprinting captures the original story by Shotaro Ishinomori as it was told back in the 90’s.

Our Thought:

We’ve read it and it’s a must have for any Zelda fans. When I first read the Shotaro Ishinomori story in Nintendo Power, I couldn’t appreciate just how spot on this tale nails some of my favorite characters of the game. It pays tribute to Zelda’s core themes of adventure and good versus evil, plus it’s pretty damn gorgeous.

Gaming comics in stores 5/6/15

Check out the Chun-Li Artist Series Card I made for Fangamer: Also, don’t forget to take a peek at the other cards, they all turned out awesome!  goo.gl/0aUSNm

After playing some street fighter at an arcade recently, I just had to recreate this guy! I love Dhalsim! 

Originally a Valentine, but finished a little late. Yay for MegaMan!

Retromania — 3D pixel (voxel) art tribute to the 8-bit gaming era.
Available as a high-quality art print.

More images: MetinSeven.com.

Stop motion animator Dillon Markey explains how he transformed the long-forgotten 1980s Power Glove Nintendo controller into an essential—and aesthetically splendid—tool for animating in stop motion.

From the Toy Box, Ltd Gallery 

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be participating in Ltd Art Gallery Seattle’s show “From the Toy Box”. It’s my first piece in a gallery and I was lucky enough for Ltd to choose my illustration for the poster representing some really, really, REALLY awesome talent! I’m so honoured to be in this show amongst these fantastic artists. You can see the event here:http://www.facebook.com/events/769836919741028 and if you’re in Seattle and happen to go, I’d love to hear about it!

As part of the Tokyo International Film Festival's animation focus this year, they will host the 3D premiere of "PIKMIN Short Movies" produced by videogame legend Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Nintendo's Mario, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda.

Author Blake J. Harris surrounded by Sega and Nintendo.

By: Nick Eskey

Once upon a time, Nintendo resurrected what remained of the home console market, and thus ruled the gaming world. Almost 95% of the market belonged to them. People didn’t play videogames, they played “Nintendo.” But then, a competitor slowly loomed in sight. Sega’s star was on the rise, threatening the hold that Nintendo held over the industry. And a war was on. It wasn’t fought on any battlefield with guns, but in the retail market.

Blake J. Harris lived in the time where Nintendo and Sega’s war was at its peak. In his adulthood, Blake realized that there wasn’t anything officially written with a deep level of research regarding that time. So he took it upon himself to take three years to write what he later entitled “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and The Battle that Defined a Generation.” But aside from himself, Blake also collected a few others who actually “fought” in the battle: Bill White and Perrin Kaplan on behalf of Nintendo of America, and Tom Kalinske and Al Nilsen on behalf of Sega of America.

During the high sales of the NES, Sega wanted to create a mascot of their own. Nintendo had Mario after all. Al Nelson was presented with two possible candidates: Something that as Al put it looked a lot like “an egg shaped, weeble-wobble character,” and a spike-haired hedgehog that dated a human girl. “I chose the lesser of two evils.”

Around the same time, president of Sega Japan approached Tom Kalinske and asked him to help place his company in a prime position in the market. Tom had worked with Flinstones Vitamins and Matel (on their franchises such as Barbie, He-man, and Matchbox). The president of Sega had heard of Tom when he was with Matel, and sought him out after he left the company. Tom Kalinske suggested to the board that they take out Altered Beast (the game that originally was bundled with it) and replace it with Sonic. He also wanted a lowered price for the system, aggressive marketing that called out Nintendo, and more games made for adults. The Japanese executives didn’t agree with him, but the president had brought him on to help Sega, so he allowed the moves.

It was Bill White of Nintendo who had to steer the marketing when Sega had started to exert itself. He first came in 1987 when Nintendo was attempting to resurrect the collapsed home console market. Bill tried hard to advertise the titles themselves, which he knew would “drive the hardware.” He also helped to sell the movie rights to Mario, which lead to the box office flop “Mario Bros. 2000.” “I was told to not get anything less than $100,000,” said White. “But at the end of the day, it really was about using it in hopes of further driving the brand.”

When Sega started to gain ground on what use to be Nintendo territory, Perrin Kaplan was brought in as someone who was outside of the industry. “I was a fresh face,” she said. “And I definitely didn’t play games.”

When Tom’s aggressive marketing started, they boasted about their faster processes, and poked fun at how slow Nintendo’s hardware’s was in comparison. The aggressive marketing was paying off. “It was an exciting time where we felt we could get a piece of the pie,” said Al Nelson. Bill White pushed for the Super Nintendo which was in the works to get released sooner. “Our competitor was 16 bit… I felt we needed to match it, but the executives felt that the NES still had legs. That there were still homes that it could still find itself in.” So instead, Bill pushed for large marketing campaigns. They did the Nintendo Championships that toured the malls, “so people could play the game.” Bill continued to use the games as a big focus.

Sega took to another tactic and marketed their system more to teenagers. “Nintendo marketed more for kids,” said Tom Kalinske. “We decided to be unique… We were on college campuses and concerts… it was very grass roots.”

Eventually, Sega had claimed a good slice of what use to be Nintendo’s. This became a wakeup call to Nintendo. “Nintendo was poked, made fun of. And when awakened, it went back to what it was best at.”

Today, we all know how the wars ultimately ended. But for the time, it created competition, and forced videogames into new directions that are still felt today. So even though Sega is no longer in the console industry where Nintendo still is, the war they fought definitely shaped the generation we live in now.

For more on battle between the two, go and pick up Blake J. Harris’ book, “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and The Battle that Defined a Generation.”

I have always wondered where everything fit. Some series, I can guess where it goes in the timeline, but there were others that were just too random for me to tell.  I never could take the time to organize and play all the games to put it together like this.Read More

The line between animation and video games has long been blurred. There was the Saturday Supercade on CBS in the mid-80s, where Frogger, Q-Bert and Donkey Kong starred in short segments. A handful of years later, Fox ran the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and NBC had Captain N: The Game Master. All of these shows were relatively short-lived marketing methods of pushing Nintendo further into homes and the minds of children. But lately, the animation and video game industries have united under the banner of nostalgia, appealing to adults whose childhoods were spent chasing down the aproned token keeper in the local arcade.

This nostalgic trip is partly due to a major shift in demographics. Generation X and Y, the first to experience video game-filled childhoods, have grown up, and many of them now have young children of their own. It explains the broad appeal of Wreck-It Ralph—a father who spent countless hours feeding quarters to a PacMan arcade game was just as likely to be entertained by the film as his child. In fact, Disney succeeded in creating faux arcade games that felt so real, adult audience members were convinced to the point of feeling nostalgic. Fix It Felix Jr., the game in which Ralph was the villain, felt ripped from your childhood arcade.

You could assume this nostalgia trend would’ve peaked with Wreck-It Ralph, but it shows no signs of slowing. Ratchet & Clank, the series of Playstation games initially released in 2002, is finally receiving the animated film adaptation that its fans have craved. Rainmaker Entertainment and Blockade Entertainment plan to produce the film for a theatrical release in 2015. Fortunately, the fan base has grown right along the game. Says one commenter on The Nerdist : “The twelve year old in me (currently 23) just stood up and yelled, ‘Finally!’”

Then there’s game developer WayForward, set to release a remastered version of DuckTales, Capcom’s hit that originally sold nearly 3 million copies on NES and Game Boy. It was and is exceedingly popular, with gamers still raving about the game’s tight handling. Among 8-bit musicians, who derive their tunes from the sounds of Nintendo, the DuckTales soundtrack is a unanimous favorite. Some even say that the Nintendo game eclipses all other aspects of the DuckTales franchise, including the animated series.

What’s most incredible about this project from WayForward is its unabashed pandering to a nostalgic audience. WayForward’s remastering remains true to the original, with whole levels of the game completely duplicated, save for enhanced background graphics. According to an article on the Verge, Disney even went so far as to provide original art assets and the voice actors from the DuckTales animated series, including 90-year-old Alan Young as Scrooge. “We’re really trying to make it play as identical to the original as possible,” says WayForward’s Austin Ivansmith. “We thought, well if the original developers could make this again today, what would they do?”

There is no doubt that DuckTales was a major keystone of early video game history—I even revisit my own copy once every few years. Young parents who grew up playing DuckTales on NES will leap at the chance to reintroduce the game to their kids on the contemporary consoles of today. These sorts of modern reinterpretations can certainly yield some fresh, artistic perspective. But the relationship between the animation and video game industries is becoming more blatantly based on the desire for financial sure-bets. And if we know anything about Hollywood, where movies based on boardgames are greenlit, audiences will continue to be encouraged to wallow in childhood nostalgia.

Screenprint/Monoprint  (by Michael Wood)

Hey fellow SFGers!

I am SUPER thrilled to be a part of this fantastic show in Paris! If any of you are in the area (lucky!) be sure to check it out! If not, then at least check out the works online : D

Thursday, September 15 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm

LA FLAQ GALLERY
36 rue Quincampoix ( 75004 )
Paris, France

Facebook Event Invite
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=260287763981520

www.daisychurch.com

Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We’ve culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to... Read the rest of this post

The Fantastic Mr. Star Fox - CollegeHumor video

I had to Google Star Fox to even get the reference here, but even being clueless as to what was being parodied, I found this to be a funny pitch-perfect send-up of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox.

I was once an addict. Shocking, I know, but before you go calling Dr. Drew and booking a 20/20 interview, let me provide some clarification. My addiction was a common one for young’ns and agoraphobes and the pasty-skinned of this world . I was obsessed with video games. Many of my pre-teen and teenage years were spent slaughtering goblins and dunking over Larry Bird. Time, money and opportunities to chat up girls were wasted. And what do I have to show for it? An unhealthy knowledge of Kid Icarus and some undying regrets that involve never finishing Metal Gear. All things considered, not so bad. At least I’m not on a street corner, holding some cardboard, and talking about my “radio voice.”

Once an addict, always an addict, they say, but I’m going to dispute that. I set down the video game controller when I went to college, and aside from a few poor showings at Mortal Kombat and NHL Hockey, I didn’t pick it up again. It was an activity I associated with my whelps. College meant I was sophisticated, and did sophisticated things. Like drink Gatorade cocktails and run through campus in nothing but my skivvies.

After college, video games occupied the same place in my mind as amusement parks. Sure, I know they could be fun and they had gotten a lot bigger and better than they were when I was a kid, but I wasn’t about to spend my day riding The Great American Scream Machine and then writing fan fiction about it. I laid off the stuff completely for nearly 10 years.

Then my wife bought me a Wii for my birthday. I’m not sure why. It’s not like I was always comparing her to the masked love of my adolescence, Samus Aran. Perhaps I was talking in my sleep, mumbling, “look out about for Koopa…Paratroopa,” or “up up, down down, left right, left right…” In any case, she tracked a Wii down for me, in the days when they were kinda hard to get. And I was pleasantly surprised.

We had some friends over for a night Wii Sports, and it was just like a commercial. We were laughing and high-fiving as we plowed down bowling pins and beat the stuffing out of each other. The snacks were diverse and plentiful. Good times. And in the following weeks, I played a little bit on the weekends, perfecting my short game and my hook. It was fun, but I was definitely a recreational user.

Then I was reintroduced to Zelda. Just so you know, one of my greatest accomplishments was being the first kid in my 6th grade class to win the original Legend of Zelda. And I did it without the aid of hints and magazines. For a brief time, I was like some guru on a hill. Kids would come to me in the cafeteria with desperate queries and I would answer them in riddles.

“How do I defeat the Digdogger?”

“Well son. I ask you this. Do you have music in your heart?”

As games went, Zelda was bona fide – a top shelf, genuine issue classic. It’s hero, Link, was the sort of icon that Funyon-eaters and children in Kyoto tattooed on their necks. And years later, as I putted around the online Wii store, I realized I had missed out on almost all of Link’s other adventures during my hiatus from the gaming world. And my hands began to shake. I got cotton mouth. I downloaded 2 Comments on The Missing Link, last added: 3/12/2011