News
26 CommentsEA is developing Wii U games, has bigger plans for PS4 and Xbox One, CFO says
By Dave Tach on May 21, 2013 05.21.13
Electronic Arts is developing games for the Wii U, but not as many as the company is developing for Sony and Microsoft's consoles, EA's chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen said today during the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media and Communications Conference.
Jorgensen's statement seems to contradict a statement last week from EA spokesman Jeff Brown, who said last week that the company has "no games in development for the Wii U currently."
When asked by a conference attendee which console manufacturer would lead the next generation, Jorgensen said that consumers, not publishers, would be the ones to decide.
"You know, I think Nintendo's business was more [an] extension of their last console," Jorgensen said today. "We are building titles for the Nintendo console, but not...
News
12 CommentsCall of Duty: Ghosts behind the scenes video details development of its world and mechanics
By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 21, 2013 05.21.13
Activision shared a behind the scenes video for Call of Duty: Ghosts during Microsoft's Xbox One unveiling event, detailing the development ideology behind the company's next-gen Call of Duty title.
The video above shares more details on the development of the game's plot and characters, as well as information on features new to the franchise such as dynamic maps and the ability to have a dog as a squad mate.
A teaser trailer for the game leaked earlier this morning prior to the Xbox One announcement, but has since been taken down. The full trailer from Microsoft's presentation is available here.
Call of Duty: Ghosts will launch on Nov. 5 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and Windows PC. The game will hit Xbox One at an unspecified date and will receive all downloadable content...
News
8 CommentsMinor Wii U system update now available
By Samit Sarkar on May 21, 2013 05.21.13
Nintendo recently released a minor system update for the Wii U to improve system stability and improve compatibility of certain software, according to the Nintendo website.
The 3.0.1 update comes less than a month after the 3.0 update Nintendo released in April. That patch addressed sluggish load times and added features like the ability to copy data between USB drives. Another significant update is due out this summer; it will focus on improving performance in general, according to Nintendo.
Deals
6 CommentsTarget Wii U sale discounts console, cuts prices for Assassin's Creed, Madden, FIFA and more
By Dave Tach on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Target is offering discounts on Wii U hardware and software in its online store, according to listings on the company's website.
The Wii U Basic console, which includes 8 GB of internal storage, is on sale for $239.99, a discount off 20 percent of its regular price of $299.99 and a savings of $60. A bundle that includes the Wii U Deluxe console, which includes 32 GB of storage, Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U is on sale for $390, a savings of $19.99 off the combined $409.99 retail price.
The retailer has also discounted several Wii U games, including:
Assassin's Creed 3 for $29.99 (regularly $49.99)
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two for $29.99 (regularly $59.99)
FIFA Soccer 13 for $29.99 (regularly $53.99)
Madden NFL 13 for $29.99 (regularly $39.99)
Nintendo Land...
News
2 CommentsResident Evil: Revelations DLC adds Rachel Ooze, Lady Hunk and weapon upgrades
By Michael McWhertor on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
The high-definition release of Resident Evil: Revelations will be expanded with three batches of downloadable content coming in June, one of which includes two characters, Rachel Ooze and Lady Hunk, playable in the game's Raid Mode.
The first batch of content will hit June 4 in the form of two DLC packs: Resistance Set and Enhancement Set. Each pack will be priced at 160 Microsoft Points/$1.99/€1.99 and contain six weapon upgrades.
The following week, Rachel Ooze and Lady Hunk — a female, shorts-wearing version of Umbrella Security Service Unit member Hunk, first playable in Resident Evil 2 — will be available for 240 Microsoft Points/$2.99/€2.99. Both will be playable in Revelations' Raid Mode. The still-human version of Rachel and original Hunk will be also be available in...
News
16 CommentsWatch Dogs pre-orders at Amazon, GameStop get exclusive missions
By Samit Sarkar on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Watch Dogs pre-order customers at Amazon and GameStop in the U.S. will receive their own exclusive single-player missions, publisher Ubisoft announced today.
Amazon pre-orders come with the Signature Shot Pack. The mission will task players with infiltrating the hideout of the Black Viceroys, a gang in Watch Dogs' near-future Chicago, and steal a package including the Biometric Assault Rifle — so they can imprint the gun with their hand and claim it — and a Black Viceroys outfit for protagonist Aiden Pearce.
Players who pre-order Watch Dogs at GameStop will get the Palace Pack. The mission within focuses on a police raid of a palace owned by an internet millionaire; it's up to Pearce to get in, wipe the guy's hard drives and get out before the cops show up. The Palace Pack also...
News
27 CommentsBatman: Arkham Origins cast features Roger Craig Smith as Batman, Troy Baker as Joker
By Samit Sarkar on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Batman: Arkham Origins stars noted voice actors Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as Joker, reports Joystiq.
Smith replaces longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy; it was initially reported that Conroy would not appear in Arkham Origins at all, but he said last week that he is involved with the franchise in some capacity.
Smith's credits include Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the Assassin's Creed games and Chris Redfield in the Resident Evil series. Baker most recently lent his voice to BioShock Infinite protagonist Booker DeWitt, and stars as Joel, the male lead in Naughty Dog's upcoming survival title The Last of Us. He also appeared in Batman: Arkham City as the actor behind Two-Face and Robin.
Batman: Arkham Origins, which is in development at WB Games Montreal, launches...
News
7 CommentsSniper Elite V2 tactical shooter coming to Wii U May 21
By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Rebellion Developments' World War 2 tactical shooter Sniper Elite V2 will be available for Wii U tomorrow at retail in North America, publisher 505 Games announced today.
Sniper Elite V2 sets players in Berlin during the second world war, tasking them with saving or sniping members of Adolf Hitler's V-2 rocket-building program. The title features the "X-Ray Kill Cam" present in other versions of the game, in which players can view the shots they take in slow-motion and view the full, graphic impact of their bullets on their enemies.
The Wii U version allows play completely on the GamePad controller without use of the TV, and grants players access to a handful of new features. Players can use the GamePad to track enemies, set traps, monitor explosives and their subsequent blast radius...
Video
9 CommentsSplinter Cell: Blacklist co-op trailer introduces CIA agent Isaac Briggs
By John Funk on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Sam Fisher may be a super spy, but this new trailer for Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Blacklist shows that even the best secret agents need a hand sometimes.
According to the trailer, Splinter Cell: Blacklist will ship with 14 different missions for co-op play across four mission types. This is at odds with what Polygon learned in our co-op preview, when we were told that Blacklist would have 16 co-op missions. In the co-op mode, players can either take charge of veteran Splinter Cell agent Sam Fisher or his CIA counterpart Isaac Briggs. Briggs and Fisher must watch each others' backs, and are shown assisting one another to get to areas they wouldn't be able to reach on their own.
According to the trailer, Splinter Cell: Blacklist supports couch co-op play with a split-screen mode. For...
Gallery
0 Comments7 images
Batman: Arkham Origins first screenshot gallery
By John Funk on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Screens and artwork for Batman: Arkham Origins.
News
51 CommentsBatman: Arkham Origins — the lessons learned from City and Asylum
By Tracey Lien on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Speaking to Polygon, Holmes said one of the things he learned as a game designer from playing Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City was about pacing, and the development team behind Origins has worked to bring those lessons over to its game.
"The pacing in [those games] is fantastic," Holmes said. "There's a certain rhythm that [Rocksteady] hit, where there's a fight, and there's a certain number of people in that fight, then once you're done fighting you navigate for a bit, you grapple and crawl through vents, you swing from gargoyle to gargoyle, and just when you get to a point where you think, 'Dammit, I'd really like a fight,' they bring it back.
"You always finish every single part of the game with a sense that you could have done a bit more, so when they bring it back, you're...
News
10 CommentsKevin Conroy is involved with Batman games, according to voice actor (update)
By Jenna Pitcher on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
The voice of Batman in Batman: Arkham City and Arkham Asylum, Kevin Conroy, is involved in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins, according to Conroy in a Q&A session at the Dallas Comic Con.
"Well, I can talk about it now," Conroy said when the panelist asked him if he could talk about what he has been working on. "We've been working for the past nine to ten months on the next Arkham. We all signed these contracts that we weren't allowed to talk about this, the studio likes to completely control the roll out of any product."
It wasn't made clear during the Q&A session in what capacity or role Conroy has in Origins.
Last month, NAG Magazine reported that Conroy will not be reprising his role in Origins because WB Games Montreal wanted a younger voice actor to fit with the vision of a...
News
11 CommentsNintendo Direct focused on Smash Bros., 3D Mario game, Mario Kart Wii U titles airing before the start of E3
By Jenna Pitcher on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Nintendo will host a Nintendo Direct broadcast "before the start of E3," to discuss new Smash Bros., 3D Mario game, Mario Kart and other Wii U titles, according to a tweet on the company's official Twitter account.
#IwataSays We will discuss new Smash Bros., 3D Mario game, Mario Kart and other Wii U titles in our #NintendoDirectNA before the start of E3
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 17, 2013
The company's most recent Nintendo Direct focused on the summer of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games. It revealed a partnership between Nintendo and Sega to bring the next three Sonic the Hedgehog games exclusively to Nintendo's Wii U and 3DS. It also announced three different control schemes for Pikmin 3 on the Wii U, and that New Super Luigi U will be released as...
News
55 CommentsDenis Dyack addresses backers and responds to allegations
By Jenna Pitcher on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
Silicon Knights and Precursor Games chief creative officer Denis Dyack has taken to YouTube to answer the concerns put forward by backers of its Shadow of the Eternals project and to respond to a Kotaku article published last year.
Precursor was formed by Dyack and a core group of former Silicon Knights employees. The company is raising funds to develop Shadow of the Eternals, a spiritual successor to Silicon Knights' Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, through its own website and a Kickstarter campaign.
Last year, the studio purchased property from Silicon Knights, such as desks, chairs, computers and art assets. Epic Games attorneys, upon hearing of the sale, then filed legal motions last year that Silicon Knights' computers were wiped clean before they were sold.
Polygon then r...
News
40 CommentsUbisoft confident in Nintendo Wii U's future
By Jenna Pitcher on May 19, 2013 05.19.13
Ubisoft believes its upcoming titles will attract more gamers to the Wii U and is confident that Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the console is successful, a Ubisoft spokesperson told GamesIndustry International.
"As with any new console, it takes some time to grow an established base," the spokesperson told GamesIndustry International. "Ubisoft has a varied and high-quality line-up for Wii U, with more big titles on the way including Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag and Splinter Cell Blacklist. We're confident that this will help in continuing to attract gamers to the Wii U system and that Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the Wii U is successful in the market."
Ubisoft executive director for EMEA territories Alain Corre called for a Wii U price...
News
21 CommentsBatman: Arkham Origins villain Deathstroke will be playable through DLC
By Megan Farokhmanesh on May 19, 2013 05.19.13
Deathstroke, the villain in Warner Bros. Montreal's upcoming game Batman: Arkham Origins, will be available as a playable character through downloadable content, according to a posting on Amazon.
The post is part of a pre-order offer, but does not give details on the extent of Deathstroke's playability. In Batman: Arkham City, players were able to take on the role of Catwoman through downloadable content. Batman: Arkham Origins was announced in April for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Wii U. The game takes place before series predecessors Arkham City and Arkham Asylum, where Batman is still young and "unrefined." Early reports suggest that the game will have multiplayer options.
Batman: Arkham Origins is currently scheduled for release Oct. 25.
