Final Fantasy VII Remake Boosts Square Enix Stock
In the wake of the surprise announcement of a Final Fantasy VII remake at Sony's E3 2015 press conference, Square Enix's stock value has increased.
Bloomberg reports Square's stock jumped 2.9 percent to 2,956 yen at the close of Tokyo's trading, the highest it's been since 2008.
No gameplay was shown, but the trailer made Final Fantasy VII appear to be a complete overhaul of the original PlayStation game released in 1997. It will debut on PlayStation, although its release window has not yet been announced.
The Walking Dead and New Spinoff Both Set for Comic-Con
AMC have announced their San Diego Comic-Con panel schedule, revealing that not only will The Walking Dead once more be present, but the new spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead, will also be coming to SDCC. Also announced is a panel for Into the Badlands, AMC's upcoming martial arts series, which will be moderated by our own Roth Cornet!
All three shows are bringing nearly their entire casts, along with producers from the respective series. Here's how the panels break down...
The Walking Dead
- Panelists: Stars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Chandler Riggs, Michael Cudlitz, Lennie James and Sonequa Martin-Green, along with Executive Producer and Showrunner Scott M. Gimple, Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd, Executive Producer Robert Kirkman, Executive Producer, Director and Special Effects Make-up Supervisor Greg Nicotero and Executive Producer David Alpert.
Halo 5’s HoloLens Demo Is What I Want the Future to Be
This is an image captured from my HoloLens experience, which was a training pre-brief for Halo 5's Warzone mode.
Everyone said HoloLens was legit when it was first announced back in January. Including us. Needless to say, I was eagerly anticipating getting to try it for myself, and Microsoft's "Halo Experience" at E3 2015 gave me the opportunity to do just that. To be clear up front, this was a tech demo. It will not be a part of Halo 5 now or anytime soon. It was merely meant to show off the capabilities of HoloLens in a gaming environment.
E3 2015: Guitar Hero Live: The Music Game for Millennials?
Freestyle Games creative director Jamie Jackson is showing me Guitar Hero Live's ambitious Guitar Hero TV mode, in which scores of frequently added music is curated for you based on your song preferences throughout the rest of the game. He's demoing a Premium Show – in this case, a three-song live concert set from an actual Pantera concert – riffing along to show off the note highway in the series reboot, as this is my first time seeing it in action. He pauses the gameplay to show me some of the things you can do in the menus, right from inside the song.
"It's our always-on, 24-hour playable music network," he begins to explain.
But I notice that the song doesn't stop. The music video keeps playing in the background, it's just that the note highway is gone while we poke around in the interface. I ask if you can actually pause the song proper – you know, in case the phone rings or someone knocks on the door. No, I'm told. Not in a Premium Show. Apparently the show must go on with or without you. Which makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever, especially when you consider that Premium Shows are always more than one song long.
Student Wants Sandman Banned from College
A student at Crafton Hills College is vetting to get a handful of critically acclaimed comic books banned from her English course’s readling list – including Sandman, Y: The Last Man, Fun Home and Persepolis – due to “pornographic and violent” material in the works.
Enrolled in English 250 at Crafton Hills College, students taught by associate professor Ryan Bartlett are expected to explore “the study of the graphic novel as a viable medium of literature through readings, in-class discussion and analytical assignments.” Among the selected works are some of the most celebrated comic books in literature -- which also happen to contain instances of sex, violence, torture and obscenities.
The Legend of Zelda Is Still Coming to Wii U
Acclaimed Nintendo Game Designer Shigeru Miyamoto told IGN that The Legend of Zelda is still coming to Wii U.
Last March, Nintendo announced that Zelda Wii U wouldn't release in 2015. In April, the company revealed a new dedicated gaming platform called codename NX was in development during a press conference about its partnership to make smartphone games. These two events kicked off a wave of speculation as to whether or not Zelda would release on Nintendo's current home console.
Super Mario Maker Release Date Announced
Nintendo has confirmed Super Mario Maker will be available in North America on September 11.
During its Digital Event today, the company also revealed Amiibo set to work with the title, as well as a rebranding of the game.
Mario Maker was first revealed at E3 2014, and allows users to create their own Super Mario Bros.-style levels from a set of different items via the Wii U GamePad; an idea Miyamoto says was similar to the creative process for the first Super Mario Bros.
"When we were working on the original - first - NES Mario game 30 years ago, every level we had to first draw on paper before we put it into the game, and it was a big process. But with Mario Maker it's a game where you can design a level, and as you design it, you can jump in and play it, and try it out."
Super Mario Maker Amiibo Support Revealed
During today's Nintendo Digital Event, the Japanese company revealed some of the amiibo that will work with the title.
The figures shown in the video are Link, Marth, Isabelle, Yoshi, Luigi and Wii Fit Trainer. Also revealed is a Mystery Mushroom power-up, which allows you to transform into another character selectable using amiibo.
Mario Maker was first revealed at E3 2014, and allows users to create their own Super Mario Bros.-style levels from a set of different items via the Wii U GamePad; an idea Miyamoto says was similar to the creative process for the first Super Mario Bros.
"When we were working on the original - first - NES Mario game 30 years ago, every level we had to first draw on paper before we put it into the game, and it was a big process. But with Mario Maker it's a game where you can design a level, and as you design it, you can jump in and play it, and try it out."
8-Bit Mario Amiibos Announced, Will Work with Super Mario Maker
Nintendo revealed a pair of 8-bit Mario amiibos during its Digital Event at E3 2015. The figurines will come in two varieties -- one the traditional NES Super Mario Bros. brown and red, and one who comes in the current Mario colors of blue and red like the 3D World sprite.
If you tap the amiibo in while playing Super Mario Maker, it'll cause Mario to grow to the size of the screen, much like the effects of a Mega Mushroom.
Nintendo didn’t confirm whether they’ll be sold separately, or bundled together. Also, this news follows the leak of an image that revealed the existence of one of the 8-bit Mario amiibo.
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash Announced for Wii U
A new installment of sports video game Mario Tennis franchise is heading to the Wi U with the launch of Mario Tennis: Ultra Slam this holiday 2015, Nintendo announced during its E3 Digital Event today.
The first Mario Tennis launched on the Nintendo 64 in 2000 and re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2010. The seventh installment of the Mario Tennis series, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, launched on Wii U in 2012 and featured online multiplayer support.
Be sure to stay tuned IGN's E3 Hub for more on Nintendo and E3 news.
Jenna Pitcher is a freelance journalist writing for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter.