Sony Unveils Tokyo Game Show Lineup
Sony has pulled back the curtain on its games lineup for this year's Tokyo Game Show.
A total of 19 games are confirmed to be playable, including Street Fighter V, Star Wars Battlefront, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, and Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness.
The PlayStation manufacturer is also bringing a handful of Vita titles to the show, as well as Project Morpheus, which will feature several tech demos for expo attendees.
Additionally, Sony shared a digitally-rendered sneak peek at its booth, which you can check out below, courtesy of DualShockers.
Google May Unveil Two New Nexus Phones Soon
Google is reportedly set to announce two new Nexus smartphones at an event in San Francisco on September 29th.
News of Google's plans comes from an unnamed source speaking to CNET, who says that the two phones will be built by LG and Huawei. Both phones will run on Android Marshmallow, which is version 6.0 of the operating system.
The LG Nexus is rumored to have a 5.2-inch screen, while the Huawei Nexus, a first for the company, is said to have a 5.7-inch screen. Both devices are expected to have a fingerprint sensor on the back.
Most of this information is based on rumor and speculation, but we're sure to find out more during Google's event later this month.
Wattam: The Next Wonderfully Insane Game From the Creator of Katamari
Sometimes I get worried about the future of video games. When I walk through the halls of a place like E3 or PAX, I tend to get bombarded with spectacle. Blaring music, flashing lights, and gigantic statues flood the senses. Everywhere I turn, people are trying to hand me flyers, post cards, and lanyards. Explosions, murder, sequels, and remakes fill the air.
Don’t get me wrong – there are a lot of sequels and remakes filled with explosions and murder that I’m absolutely stoked to play, and I have no doubt that they are going to devour my free-time throughout the rest of 2015. But like I said, sometimes I get worried about the future. Sometimes I ask myself, “Is this it?”
I think that very question is why I appreciated my brief time with Wattam so damn much. Developer Funomena’s debut, Wattam is the brain-child of Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi and Robin Hunicke, who produced Journey over at Thatgamecompany before leaving to found this new studio. The crudest, simplest way to describe Wattam is Viva Pinata through the lens of Katamari Damacy.
Thor 3, Captain Marvel May Shoot in Australia
Both Thor: Ragnarok and Captain Marvel may film in Australia, following Disney's positive experience shooting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on the Gold Coast, which wrapped production just last month.
"The big bosses were very pleased throughout the year it took to shoot out here and now they’re looking at bringing out one of the Marvel films," an unnamed technical specialist told Yahoo! News.
"It was a great experience for the studio who were able to familiarize themselves with the set-up at Village Roadshow (studios) and the crews here. They were also able to work across a lot of different locations which has saved them scouting for the Marvel movie."
Job Simulator’s Convenience Store Level Is the Best Kind of Weird
Owlchemy Games' Job Simulator is one of my favorite games to play using HTC Vive -- and the weird, hilarious, Kwik-E-Mart-esque convenience store job is exactly why. The original kitchen demo had me making soups and sandwiches and microwaving butcher knives as I explored the possibilities of a tiny kitchen. The convenience store job is a bit more in-depth, at least in terms of quirky opportunity.
Another ‘Totally Awesome Hulk’ Candidate? Come On Already, Marvel!
Today Marvel released a new teaser for their upcoming series Totally Awesome Hulk, one that continues to play up the mystery of this new hero's identity. Once again, the new Hulk's head and left hand are obscured, but he appears to be wearing a ninja mask of some sort:
Art by Frank Cho
The mask immediately brings to mind Iron Fist. Is Hulk's fist obscured because he's busy charging up his ki? With Kaare Andrews' maxi-series Iron Fist: The Living Weapon recently wrapping up, could this series be the start of a radically different status quo for Danny Rand?
Oscars: 2016 Academy Awards Will Have 2 Hosts
The 2016 Academy Awards will feature a pair of hosts for the first time in five years.
Speaking to EW, Oscar producer David Hill confirmed there won't be just one single person hosting next year's awards show. "There will be multiple hosts for sure – there will be two," he said. "Two is better than one."
There's no word on who the two hosts will be, as Hill declined to reveal the selection. That said, rumors suggest comedic duos like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, or Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell may be in the running.
The last time the Oscars had two hosts was back in 2011, where Anne Hathaway and James Franco served up an infamous performance that most would deem less than stellar.
Kenneth Branagh May Direct Artemis Fowl Movie
Thor director Kenneth Branagh looks like he is set to direct the Artemis Fowl movie.
According to The Tracking Board, Walt Disney Pictures and The Weinstein Company have chosen Branagh to direct the book adaptation. Variety reports that Conor McPherson is in talks to write it, but a deal has not yet been made.
Artemis Fowl is a novel from 2001 by Eoin Colfer, focusing on a 12-year-old criminal genius and his plan to exploit the magical fairy people.
Commercial-Free Hulu is Here
Commercial-free Hulu has become a reality, with the streaming service announcing they are offering a new pricing plan for those who wish to bypass ads, effective immediately. The commercial-free version of Hulu costs $11.99 a month.
Hulu chief executive Mike Hopkins told the New York Times, “You can split people into two categories: ad avoiders and ad acceptors. There are clearly people who just are not going to buy Hulu because there are ads. We think we can bring them back into the fold with new content and this new choice.”
While complaints about the ads on Hulu are not new, Hopkins tells the Times they did notice an uptick of people bringing it up this summer, when they added the entire library of Seinfeld to their service.
NBC/The Flash Producer Developing Brides of Dracula Series
NBC has a pilot production commitment for a new show called Brides.
According to Deadline, writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and The Flash executive producer Greg Berlanti will be working on the Warner Bros. / Berlanti Prods. project, with Sarah Schechter also on board as an executive producer.
Brides is a "sexy reimagining of Dracula as a family drama with a trio of strong, diverse female leads." It follows the story of what would happen if Van Helsing had not killed Dracula's three brides, and they were now living in modern day New York City.