Tron Legacy Director Enters Oblivion

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Joseph Kosinski has sold his Oblivion project to Disney. The director of Tron Legacy has made the story about a civilization that lives above an irradiated planet, where a simple repairman finds a woman in an escape pod that transforms his life.

Kosinski is set up to direct, while Radical principal Barry Levine will produce along with Kosinski and Radical’s Jesse Berger will act as executive producer. The worry at Disney was that the director would take the project elsewhere, so they signed him to a deal said to be in the seven figures for Oblivion.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Harry Potter: Spells Made Free

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Warner Bros. Today announced that they are making Harry Potter: Spells available for free on the App Store. The App allows users to disarm other players using spells.

While the base app is free, additions will cost an extra $0.99. The first spell pack is available right now, which includes Avada Kedavra (instantly defeats your opponent), Morsmordre (summons the Dark Mark) and Reparo (repairs broken objects).

Iwata Talks New Hardware

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The successor to the Wii is widely thought to be in development at Nintendo, though no concrete details have emerged.  Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has confirmed that they’re working on something, but was coy about when any such announcement would be made.

“Naturally, we are developing new products all the time. Whenever asked, our answer is yes, (we are making new products.) Our development departments are dedicated to developing new products. Once we release a product, we will soon move to the development of the next,” Iwata answered.” Since the launch of the original Nintendo DS, the company has introduced you to several new models, but we have to anticipate the life span of the Nintendo DS series will eventually come to an end someday. We have been studying and developing the next product for that day.”

“In this context, Nintendo 3DS has been under development for the six years (since the release of the original Nintendo DS.) Speaking of other products, we are of course studying and developing the next console to Wii, he added. However, there is a big difference between studying a product and announcing what it is and when we will release it.”

“A great idea will promptly be copied unless protected through patents. At the same time, it is really important for our business to positively surprise people. Will you be surprised by our completed product if we told you how it is surprising three years in advance Therefore, we basically disclose information on our products as late as possible,” he described. “We believe this is the best approach for the entertainment products we are developing. Again, we are planning the next products for Nintendo’s continuous growth, but we cannot tell you what, when and how we will release it here.”

Source: Nintendo.co.jp

Japanese Ad Protests JRPGs

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Voices of complaint about JRPGs and their unchanging formula have become more and more vocal here in the West. It appears the static nature of JRPGs isn’t lost on the Japanese either, given this “protest” ad for Fallout: New Vegas showing placards that say the below:

– “I think it would be good if the hero had missions that weren’t only about destroying evil.”
– “The player is weak, the enemy is weak. That’s way too convenient.”
– “When did games become something you watch ”
– “Because the story doesn’t change, what’s the point of playing it again ”
– “Games nowadays are focusing way too much on photorealism.”
– “What’s a game that’s moving in accordance to the scenario It’s the same as living on rails.”
– “Levelling up is time for motivation down!”
– “The stage has been set. After that, you’re free to do whatever!”

Source: Kotaku

Backbreaker Lite Sponsored By KFC

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NaturalMotion has announced that they are launching a free version of Backbreaker Lite. For the next month, those playing the game will have access to paid-version options, like leaderboards and Facebook integration, all for KFC in-game branding, and the addition of the chicken dance in the endzone.

“We are glad to be able to provide users with additional free content and functionality, thanks to our sponsorship relationship with 4INFO’s Butter Solutions and KFC,” said Torsten Reil, CEO of NaturalMotion. “Brand sponsorships of successful iPhone apps offer incredible reach, creating new opportunities for content providers, brands, and audiences alike.”

The complete Backbreaker Football is available for $.99 on the App Store and Android.

World Of Warcraft Dwarfs StarCraft II

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Recently, Blizzard bragged that StarCraft II had sold over 1.5 million copies in 48 hours, making it the fastest selling strategy game of all time. However, the game isn’t the most successful in the company’s history… not even close.

See, World of Warcraft‘s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, sold 2.4 million copies on its first day of release. This was a record launch for a PC title, only broken by the second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, whose 24 hour sales mark stands at 2.8 million.

So with that said, it seems likely that the third World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm, will not only beat StarCraft handily for speed, but may set the all time PC retail game sales mark.

Uncharted Movie Lost Without Director

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David. O. Russell, director of Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster, was reportedly in talks to direct the Uncharted movie. However, now it seems that negotiations with the studio and producers have fallen through, and now Russell has decided against joining the project.

The producers (which include Dark Knight vet Charles Roven) and the studio are looking to start the project over from scratch, which nixes the idea to fast track the movie for a 2011 release. They might cast a male and female lead before a director this time.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Stan Lee Talks Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

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Stan Lee is well known as Mr. Marvel for his role in creating many of the seminal characters featured in Marvel Comics over the years. Here, he talks about how excited he is for Activision’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, and also about digital comics and his guest appearance in Thor.

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