Celebrity Comedian Cameos in Deadpool Comic
As one of the few comic book characters who's actually aware he's in a comic, Deadpool has a habit of breaking the fourth wall. In Deadpool #40 this week, he even had a team-up with none other than comedian/actress Sarah Silverman. Silverman appeared alongside real-life comic creators Jason Aaron and Jason Latour as part of an activist group protesting the Roxxon Corporation.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon Release Date Revealed
The Etrian Odyssey/Mystery Dungeon mash-up, Etrian Mystery Dungeon, is coming to North America on April 7, Atlus USA announced yesterday.
The roguelike RPG blends character classes and skill trees from Etrian Odyssey with Mystery Dungeon's exploration. Atlus USA previously revealed the first person view of Etrian Odyssey will be replaced by a "fixed perspective," where players control a party of up to four characters.
In addition, pre-order and limited first-run copies of the game will come bundled with the game's soundtrack.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon will be available at retail and on the Nintendo eShop for $40 USD.
Minecraft The Simpsons Skins Revealed
The Simpsons content pack is coming to Minecraft for Xbox One and Xbox 360 in late February for $2 USD, Microsoft and Twentieth Century Fox announced today.
The downloadable pack includes Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, and nineteen additional characters from Springfield Elementary.
According to Xbox Wire, information on The Simpsons content pack for other platforms will come at a later date.
Minecraft, which recently broke twelve world records, is also getting a narrative-driven game from The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us developer Telltale Games.
1 in 10 Developers Are Making an eSport Game
According to the third annual Game Developers Conference game industry poll, 12 percent of developers said they're working on a game "considered" an eSport.
Their definition of an eSport is forgiving; it must be a "competitive, skill-based multiplayer game." Still, 79% of all surveyed developers said they believe in eSports as a long-term sustainable business.
One developer wrote, "Twitch is making broadcasting competitions very accessible, and high-profile events like Evo are getting more and more attention."
This also ties in perfectly with another GDC survey stat: a combined 50% of developers said they made most of their profits from direct, digital sales and microtransactions. Only 13% see a majority of their profits come from retail. This is a commonly-seen model in competitive games, where extra characters and their cosmetic items are purchased digitally.
Neverwinter Xbox One Closed Beta to Launch Soon
Perfect World Entertainment's free-to-play MMORPG Neverwinter will enter into closed beta on Xbox One starting February 5 - 8.
Containing all content currently available on the PC version, Neverwinter on Xbox One will host several other console-specific features, including optimized controls and friends list integration.
Set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons, Neverwinter allows players to explore and fight enemies in the titular city and surrounding countryside with their friends.
Registration for the upcoming closed beta is open now and can be done by visiting the official Neverwinter website. The completed Xbox One version is expected to launch as a free-to-play game for all Xbox Live Gold members in early 2015.
DC’s Arkham Knight Comic Continues in April
Arkham Knight is easily one of the most anticipated new games of 2015. DC will capitalizing on that hype with an Arkham Knight comic book. This digital-first series bridges the gap between Arkham City and Arkham Knight and explores the trials Batman faces leading up to next video game adventure.
Batman: Arkham Knight Prequel Comic Coming in 2015
DC will be releasing two print issues of Arkham Knight in April, as Batman faces a deadly new enemy and is forced to team up with Harley Quinn to save Commissioner Gordon. We have an exclusive reveal of the cover to Arkham Knight #3 and the solicitation text for both issues. Scroll down to find out more about these issues:
World of Warcraft May Soon Have a Free Veteran Edition
World of Warcraft may soon be adding a new free-to-play option, according to datamined files.
MMO-Champion has discovered files in Patch 6.1 making reference to something called a Veteran Edition of the MMO, which seems to be similar in some ways to the currently-available Trial Edition that allows players to hit level 20 without paying a penny.
Restrictions noted in the patch notes include a level and money cap, along with limits on how many whispers they can send and who to. They won't be able to sign guild charters or use the Looking For Group feature either.
But this is where it gets interesting. While we don't know for certain why Blizzard may be contemplating the addition of such a mode, speculation is rife that it could be paving the way for bigger changes regarding WoW's business model. The name of the edition coupled with the fact you can join a guild if you already have characters in it suggests this isn't created to lure new people in, but rather lapsed players who've left for pastures new... or could it be something more?
Toukiden: Kiwami Heads to PS4 and PS Vita this March
Toukiden: Kiwami is coming to PS4 and PS Vita on March 27, 2015 in Europe and March 31, 2015 in North America.
The expanded version, as showcased on the PS Blog, includes the original Toukiden: The Age of Demons and a brand new story, new weapons, new Oni, new Mitama – of which there are now over 100 – along with new Slayers, more moves, and twice as many stages.
The aforementioned new story mode aims to reveal the true origins of the Slayers and the Council of Elders. It's also set three months removed from the battle to prevent another Awakening. Joining the player on their travels will be newcomers Reki, Sōma, Horō and other unannounced characters.
Exclusive 12 Monkeys Clip: The Architects of the Plague
We've arrived at our fourth and final exclusive 12 Monkeys clip this week, bringing us the to close of the second act from Friday's premiere episode on Syfy - with a scene involving Cassandra (Amanda Schull) demanding answers from time traveler Cole (Nikita's Aaron Stanford).
If you need to check out the first three clips leading up to this scene, here you go.
WildStar Outlines Plans For 2015 and Next Update
WildStar developer Carbine Studios has unveiled its aspirations for the sci-fi MMO in 2015, promising to create a "more fun, less grindy" game.
A blog post from product director Mike Donatelli reveals how the developer hopes to revitalise the MMO after the original launch of the game was branded too inaccessible.
The three tenets the team is said to be focusing on include listening to all player feedback in pursuit of a more fun, less grindy, game and updates that aim to appeal to both current and potential players with "a multitude of play styles, durations, group sizes and levels."
In terms of how these aims will be realised, the first half of 2015 will apparently see Carbine add new solo and group content, including new shiphands, adventures and dungeons. Customisation systems are set for a revamp, along with an improved Elder game experience that offers "lots of opportunities" for new loot.