Why Kojima Hopes to Keep His New Studio Small
Hideo Kojima hopes to create a more intimate studio environment for the new iteration of Kojima Productions.
Speaking to IGN at DICE in Las Vegas, Kojima explained that he wants the developers on his team to feel comfortable and have opportunities for growth.
“In order to create something that is really of quality, you need technology, but more than technology, you need people,” Kojima said via a translator. “You need talented people. I’ll create an environment where these people will develop their talents. By environment I mean the physical location of the place, the facilities, the kind of workplace environment that is developed there.”
MS Feared XBLA Would ‘Completely Destroy’ Consoles
Despite the fact that Xbox Live Arcade grew to become an incredibly-successful platform for Microsoft, it wasn't initially welcomed with open arms. In fact, there was an internal fear at the company during the early days of Xbox that XBLA would bring about the end of the console business.
XBLA creator Greg Canessa recently stopped by the IGN office to discuss the online platform, revealing that many at Microsoft "didn't understand" that Xbox Live Arcade offered different types of gaming experiences, and as such, wasn't a threat to the console industry.
"There was a legitimate fear that Xbox Live Arcade was going to cannibalize retail sales and completely destroy the console industry," Canessa said on the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered. "That was actually a quote I got from one of the internal folks."
Firewatch Patch ‘Significantly Improves’ Experience on PlayStation 4
Campo Santo has released patch 1.02 for Firewatch on PS4, which it says "significantly improves the experience across many aspects of the game."
The developer listed the most important parts of the update on its blog.
"Draw distance and shadow render distance have been improved, which should remove significant texture popping," and "many instances of unstable framerate have been improved."
Auto-saves will now occur less frequently, as they were causing some of the worst instances of framerate hitching.
Campo Santo also mentions that it is still working with Unity in order to improve the game by upgrading to an upcoming version of Unity's engine. Subtitle support for other languages is also planned to be added to the PS4 verison.
Loot Crate Partners With Crunchyroll for New Anime Merchandise
Crunchyroll is teaming up with Loot Crate to bolster the subscription box company's anime and manga product, Loot Anime.
In the announcement, Crunchyroll said the partnership will give Loot Anime subscribers access to merchandise from "the latest streaming content and licenses available from Crunchyroll" in addition to "exclusive access to Crunchyroll content."
The anime subscription box will keep its name and monthly price of $25 USD, but will feature Crunchyroll branding.
"The partnership has already begun — Loot Crate joined Crunchyroll at the anime convention Katsucon last weekend in Washington D.C., where they sold Loot Anime crates in the Crunchyroll booth," said Dallas Middaugh, Crunchyroll's Head of Brand and Community. "
Nisekoi’s Chitoge Comes to Super Mario Maker in Japan
Chitoge Kirisaki, a character from the popular manga/anime series Nisekoi, joins Super Mario Maker via a new character costume, which is now available in Japan.
In order to unlock the costume, players must complete one of the two new Event Courses, which, according to Nintendo News, are called "Nisekoi: Chitoge & Kosaki" and "Nisekoi: Tsugumi & Marika." The courses each have two different routes, all themed around a different Nisekoi character.
Super Mario Maker, which released last year to much critical acclaim, has sold over three million copies since launch and boasts over six million used-created courses.
Supergirl: First Photo of Silver Banshee
Back in December, CBS announced Italia Ricci (Chasing Life) would be joining Supergirl as Silver Banshee, and now, the first official photo of her in character has been unveiled.
Check out the terrifying alter-ego of Siobhan Smythe below, courtesy of ET.
Ricci as Silver Banshee in Supergirl
"We are so excited to be working with Italia. We've been a fan of her work for years and we cannot wait to see her take on this iconic comic book role," executive producer Andrew Kreisberg told ET.
See Game of Thrones’ Melisandre at a Baby Shower
Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten appeared as her character Melisandre in a hilarious baby shower skit on last night's episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers.
In the clip, a group of women gather together for Seth Meyers' baby shower, during which Melisandre offers some rather grim words of inspiration, saying: "Clutch your child close to your breast, woman. For the night is dark and full of terrors."
During the skit, Melisandre also sets a chair on fire and spouts off other priceless lines, like: "Pray that it’s a son so the Lord of Light can look down upon him with favor."
Game of Thrones: Season 6 debuts Sunday, April 24. Series creator George R.R. Martin is still at work on the series' next novel, Winds of Winter, which won't be finished before the show's return.
Is The Revenant Now the Oscar Favourite?
After cleaning up at the BAFTAs, is The Revenant about to do the same at the Oscars? Maybe. We also chat about the latest Batman v. Superman trailer and how it has finally got us excited about the movie.
So, put the kettle on, get out some biscuits and settle down with the friendliest podcast in town.
IGN UK Podcast #319: Is The Revenant Now the Oscar Favourite?
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Quantum Break Has Gone Gold
Creative director at Remedy Sam Lake has taken to Twitter to announced Quantum Break has gone gold.
This means development on the game has been completed. Quantum Break is due for release on Xbox One and PC on April 5.
Gone GOLD #QuantumBreak @remedygames pic.twitter.com/ClINo3dkv7
— Sam Lake (@SamLakeRMD) February 19, 2016
According to IGN's preview, Quantum Break is a "shooter with brains." It mixes time manipulation with combat and superpowers to create a "refreshingly different action game."
Ragnaros & Alexstrasza Look Glorious in Art Preview
With Dark Horse's new hardcover World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 releasing on March 15, we've summoned up a 21-page preview of the tome that will tell the history of Azeroth.
The book features stories and artwork about Azeroth's most iconic and powerful characters like Ragnaros the Firelord and Alexstrasza the Life-Binder. Look, you've probably raided Blackrock Mountain and downed Rags a dozen times, so you at least owe it to yourself to learn the ancient history of the guy.
Also, Dark Horse has made it so you can download these pages for yourself, DRM free, until the book hits on March 15. It will retail for