Dota 2: Fall Major Championship Set for Europe
Following The International, Valve's seasonal Dota 2 Major Championships will kick off in Europe later this year. Valve's Erik Johnson confirmed the Fall DMC location to IGN at The International 5. Johnson declined to provide a more specific venue or contry, as "some things may change."
The first International took place in Cologne, Germany, which is where Gamescom 2015 is taking place this week.
"We’re excited about the Majors because it’ll be a really healthy thing for the competitive scene," Johnson said. That said, Valve "will not be as involved as we are in The International." Valve already announced it would rely on external partners to manage much of the Dota Major Championships, but details on who and how remain to be seen.
Dota 2: The International 5’s Devastating First Day
The International Dota 2 Championships opened as an orchestra, complete with a choir, welcomed Valve’s Gabe Newell to the stage. Thousands cheered at the mere utterance of their favorite team’s name. Short films explored the personal lives of players, each of whom have a hint of hubris in their inspiring determination — nobody seems willing to settle for anything less than first place.
After one day at The International 5, many have guaranteed they will not reach that goal.
The Main Event opened with boisterous enthusiasm from thousands of attendees live at Key Arena in Seattle, WA, because the stakes were high from moment one. Four teams were eliminated at the end of TI5’s first day, forcing them to settle for just $50,000 of the total $18 million. Others succeeded with such stellar performances that their Championship prize — first place and more than $6 million — seems all but certain.
Australians Set to Pay up to 100 Percent More for Rock Band 4 Products
Australians will fork up to 100 percent more for Rock Band 4 products compared to consumers in the U.S.
Australian distributor of Mad Catz equipment, Home Entertainment Services, confirmed the pricing with Kotaku Australia today. Retail pricing differences between U.S. and Australia follows:
Local U.S. pricing
Rock Band 4 game — $59.99
Rock Band 4 Guitar Bundle — $129.99
Rock Band 4 Band-A-Box Bundle (includes guitar, drums and microphone) — $249.99
Supergirl: Jenna Dewan-Tatum Cast as Lucy Lane
CBS’ Supergirl has cast its Lucy Lane in the upcoming TV series.
Entertainment Weekly reports Jenna Dewan-Tatum (The Witches of East End, American Horror Story) will star in the recurring role, beginning with the third episode.
Jenna Dewan-Tatum (image via IMDB)
The character Lucy Lane first appeared way back in DC’s Silver Age Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen comic book series. She is the younger sister of Lois Lane, and had an on- and off-again romance with Jimmy Olsen.
Arrow’s Stephen Amell Headed to Monday Night RAW
For a few months now, stemming from a WWE RAW altercation back at the end of May, a feud has been brewing between Stardust and Arrow star/wrestling fan, Stephen Amell.
Would these two ever cross paths again? Well, Amell's tweet tonight answered that...
Ok @StardustWWE -- you asked for it. See you next Monday. #AmellGetsRaw pic.twitter.com/A9v9ReZHa5
— Stephen Amell (@amellywood) August 4, 2015
Dota 2’s Championship Team Eliminated From TI5
Newbee, the Champion team from 2014's International Tournament, was eliminated from The International 2015 today. The team fell in a best-of-one lower-bracket battle against MVP Phoenix, and were the first squad knocked out of TI5.
Newbee won The International 4 last year with brutal efficiency, conquering Vici Gaming in last year's Grand Finals. The prize pool total for The International 5 is in excess of $18 million, with the first-place team set to take home more than $6 million.
At The International 5, we went hands-on with the new Dota 2 Secret Shop Vive VR demo - check out our impressions. Starting at 9AM PT from now through August 18, you can watch The International 5 on IGN - and if you don't know how, check out IGN's guide to watching a Dota 2 match.
Retro Amiibo 3-Pack Coming to GameStop
An Amiibo 3-pack featuring retro Nintendo characters is coming to GameStop.
Nintendo World Report (via Amiibo News) reports GameStop will be holding a “pre-order event” on Saturday, August 8 for the 3-pack which includes R.O.B., Mr. Game & Watch, and Duck Hunt.
Confirmed. GameStop pre-orders for an exclusive amiibo 3 pack on Saturday. No pro membership required. More to come. pic.twitter.com/BPw73SpZjR
Inside Out Actor on Bing Bong Making Audiences Cry
Note: Some spoilers for Inside Out follow.
Anyone who’s seen Pixar's most recent film, Inside Out – and given its success, many have – know just what an impact Bing Bong made. The pink cotton candy/half cat/half elephant steals the show as we learn his history as the discarded imaginary friend of 11-year old Riley, while we travel through her mind… and see what his fate is.
The voice of Bing Bong, veteran character actor Richard Kind (Spin City, Gotham) was on hand at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today to promote his new Amazon series, Red Oaks, and spoke about the impact the film and Bing Bong has had.
Richard Kind voices Bing Bong (left) in Inside Out.
Hearthstone: Designing Tavern Brawl’s Interface
Hearthstone's Art Director Ben Thompson visited IGN's Sydney office recently, and while he was here he shared some concept art for Tavern Brawl, showing off some of the stages the team went through as they discussed the look and functionality of the new(ish) mode.
His comments are below each image...
Not a bad first pass.
Ben Thompson: This was
Derek Sakamoto, our user interface designer… We have a user interface in Hearthstone that is very realistic and very physical, it’s not a window through which you view the world, like WoW or a lot of other games, the user interface is the whole game, so because of that, Derek gets involved at a much earlier stage and throughout more of the process than maybe he would on another game.
Hannibal: Amazon Comments on Passing on Saving Series
After Hannibal was cancelled by NBC, many thought Amazon was the most viable candidate to save the series – especially because the service already had exclusive streaming rights to the show’s first three seasons in the US (which, Hannibal executive producer Bryan Fuller noted, effectively removed Netflix’s interest, since they wouldn't have all the seasons) and are expanding their own original series output.
However, ultimately, a deal with Amazon was not made, and Hannibal’s future remains up in the air, as the cast’s contracts have been let go and it seems like any continuation wouldn’t happen anytime soon.