Samsung Introduces Milk VR App To Watch Growing Collection Of 360-Degree Videos

BY

With the accessibility of low-cost mobile phone viewers like the Samsung Gear VR, 360-degree video content is on the rise, using the “in the round” format to immerse viewers into their experiences. So it make sense that Samsung would partner to introduce the Milk VR mobile app on Google Play, capable of displaying full 360-degree videos with Gear VR headsets. But those that haven’t picked up a VR viewer won’t be left out. They’ll be able to use the app with their Galaxy smartphone as a portal.

“The Samsung Milk VR mobile app allows you to discover, search, download, and play 360 video content on your Samsung phone anytime and anywhere,” the description reads.

There are some videos that require Gear VR because they have touch pad controls, but for the most part, the library is accessible across a number of devices, promising bold new video viewing experiences.

Several partners are already on board with the program, including Mountain Dew, the NBA, 20th Century Fox, WWE and Skybound Entertainment. A Samsung spokesperson confirmed that the library of videos has already reached more than 700, with expansion likely to continue into the thousands by year’s end.

“The new companion app virtually eliminates the download waiting period when ‘in goggles’, allowing content to be downloaded in advance,” said a Samsung spokesperson, speaking with Variety about the convenience of having video on demand.

This is a big move for Samsung, as the company already faces fierce competition from the likes of Facebook, which is already ramping up its own division of 360-degree compatible videos. Even Google is expected to be a heavy competitor in the field, with its promotion of the low-tech Cardboard viewers using YouTube 360 videos.

The only catch is that the app will only work with newer Galaxy phones like the S7 and S7 Edge, and not older models or competing Android devices. Expect Samsung to continue its push into the format over the course of the year.

How Technology And Entertainment Collide At The Tribeca Film Festival

BY

The Tribeca Film Festival kicks off tomorrow in New York City, and this year promises to showcase an incredible collection of independent films, red carpet premieres, and other entertainment. However, one exhibition that is almost certain to steal the show will be the Experimental Storytelling showcase, which will include a Virtual Arcade in addition to exhibits like the fourth annual Storyscapes, and both will heavily feature VR. In keeping with the theme of entertainment and technology, USA Network is bringing the underground hacking conference, DEF CON, back to the Tribeca Film Festival in an event called, “Hacked by DEF CON and Mr. Robot,” which is bound to go far in promoting the TV show.

Loren Hammonds, programmer and live events producer at Tribeca Film Festival, speaks to [a]listdaily about the Experimental Storytelling showcase and how virtual reality might impact the future of entertainment.

Loren HammondsWhat is the virtual reality showcase all about and how did it become part of the Tribeca Film Festival?

We’ve been supporting creators of virtual reality through our Tribeca Film Institute initiatives since 2011. We first presented VR as an official part of the festival in 2012. As our Storyscapes platform gained recognition and more creators began to work in VR, it became apparent that this would be a logical extension of Tribeca’s mission to celebrate storytelling in all of its forms.

There is virtual reality work that can be experienced every day at the Festival Hub at Spring Studios—in Storyscapes, presented by AT&T (April 14-17) and the Virtual Arcade, presented by AT&T (April 18-23) as well as at TFI Interactive, an all-day immersive event (April 16).

What are some of the big exhibits attendees can look forward to?

We’re so excited by our programming this year. We’ve got some exceptional mobile pieces, like INVASION! from Baobab Studios. It’s a fun project from the creator of Madagascar, which we think will be a highlight. This will also be the first opportunity for a lot of our audience to experience tethered VR. One project that I’m sure people will be talking about is Penrose Studios’ Allumette, a beautiful piece based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl. They have truly created a world to explore with this piece, and it’s remarkable.

How do exhibits like the Virtual Arcade and programs like Hacked by DEF CON and Mr. Robot fit into how the Tribeca Film Festival has grown and evolved over the years?

The Virtual Arcade is a perfectly natural evolution of our Festival, as is Hacked. We’re focusing on the collision of technology and storytelling. The team behind Mr. Robot wants to support our partners at DEF CON to reveal the reality of the hacking that’s portrayed in their show. With the Virtual Arcade, we’re seeing many different types of creators using a new medium to tell stories in both narrative and documentary. It’s very exciting as the platform evolves.

What kind of impact is virtual reality technology making on entertainment?

It’s allowing some traditional filmmakers a brand new way to share their stories. It’s also empowering an entirely new group of creators to build the language of VR for audiences.

How long do you think it will be before virtual and augmented reality technology becomes more widely used?

Not long at all. Headsets are now readily available to consumers, and the early adopters are making way for a wider audience. There will still need to be a great deal of content created to truly make a giant dent in the public consciousness, but I believe it’s coming soon.

Virtual reality can sometimes blur the lines between cinema and video games. Do you think there will be even less of a distinction in the future?

It depends. Some people are using VR in a fashion that could be considered gaming due to the interactivity. That may increase, but I think there will be many different styles that emerge from VR advancements in the coming years. We’re already seeing fully immersive environments that could be considered interactive, with no nod to gaming at all.

‘KOI’ To Be First Chinese-Developed PS4 Title For Western Territories

BY

A brightly-colored little fish is about to swim the divide between Eastern and Western video game markets. KOI, an exploration puzzle game developed by Dotoyou and published by Oasis Games Ltd, will be the first-ever Chinese developed title to be published on PlayStation 4 for Western territories. The Chinese gaming market focuses primarily on PC and mobile platforms due to a nationwide ban on video game consoles that was finally lifted in 2014—but strict censorship is still in effect. Heavy restrictions can either hinder or inspire, and it appears that Dotoyou chose the latter.

Dotoyou is a small, independent game developer in Tianjin, China comprised of 12 members. When he founded the company, CEO Julien Li took a hard look at the trends in his local industry and decided to take a different approach when creating video games.

“In a way we unify the way we make games, actually a very simple rule,” Li explains on the company blog, “every game we develop should be completely different from the previous one. The last couple of years the popularity of mobile games here in China soared, the number of games and apps produced grew explosively. But we found something problematic with this, a lot of developers would base their decision about what kind of game to create on what is popular at a particular moment, or simply on what makes the most money. This seems like a recipe for success, but in reality, huge development teams and smaller ones such as ours, they have to face very different challenges. And so us simply copying them would lead nowhere.”

“So, we took a deep breath and started thinking about the way we wanted to go, creatively,” he continued, “And we came to a simple conclusion: it has to be unique, the game’s design must be unique, the technology behind it special, the gameplay innovative, new. KOI game was created with these ideas always in the back of our minds.”

KOI_20160114064852

Originally released for mobile devices in over 100 countries, KOI has been well-received among audiences—earning a first place award for the Modian Web PlayStation Developer Competition. By becoming the first partner of Sony Computer Entertainment Shanghai, Dotoyou is taking that first leap into the world of PlayStation 4—debuting their game at the 2016 Game Developers Conference (GDC) and making it available for purchase next week.

Set against a colorful backdrop and soundtrack by Chinese artist, Zeta, KOI challenges players to guide a small fish on a quest to return light to the darkened, polluted waters. The most striking feature of this game is perhaps, the visuals. “I have a background on advertisement and a strong connection towards the camera,” explained DAQ, Dotoyou’s lead designer on the game’s blog. “Which helps me create games as a medium for feelings, igniting an emotional reaction in gamers.”

KOI will be available April 19 on PlayStation 4 for $9.99 and $7.99 exclusively for PlayStation Plus members via the PlayStation Store.

Wargaming CEO Believes ESports Is Following Soccer’s Path To Global Popularity

BY

Wargaming didn’t design World of Tanks to be an eSport—that’s something that came over time. In fact, over the past three seasons of professional World of Tanks gameplay, just about everything has been tweaked and tweaked again. The ultimate goal is to make the game fun to watch over livestreams on Twitch and ESL, as well as in person in large sports arenas.

The third annual World of Tanks Grand Finals once again took place in Warsaw, Poland, but the venue has grown in size each time. This year, Torwar Hall sold out close to 8,000 fans, who packed the seats to watch the 12 best teams in the world compete over two days in seven-on-seven combat.

Next year, Wargaming will test 15-on-15 eSports gameplay, which is how gamers normally play. The game was streamlining to seven-on-seven for eSports, but if all goes well at next year’s Grand Finals showcase, the league could open the doors for full-on 15-on-15 year-round competition in 2017.

Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi talked to [a]listdaily about the evolving landscape of eSports, and how the company has continually evolved its game to improve the sports aspect.

victorkislyi2How have you seen World of Tanks expand as an eSport over the last few years?

We just started three years ago. This is our third Grand Finals and obviously, you can see everything is bigger and better than the year before. We have a bigger venue and more people attended. We’ve already seen an obvious increase in viewership online, which is very important, and we did a lot of things to make these things better. We changed the rules of the game. Now, you play on the top-ten-tier tanks, and the games will be getting faster through some tweaking of the rules.

World of Tanks has always been popular in Russia and Eastern Europe, but this year we saw some solid competition from the North American teams. How have you seen North America rise?

As in any sport, you have to train, you have to spend time, and you have to be passionate to be victorious. The best World of Tanks teams included Brazil, two teams from China, and two teams from America. But all of the predictions last year, that NaVi would win, did not come true. That’s why I love sports, and that’s why I love watching the World of Tanks Grand Finals. I don’t know who will win.

How do you look at what’s being done by other popular eSports companies and apply that to what you’re doing with World of Tanks?

I’m very, very happy to see how eSports is rising, not only with World of Tanks, but with other companies. A couple of months ago, I went to Berlin for the final game of League of Legends. Oh, my God. They rented out Mercedes Benz Arena. It was full of people, and millions of people were watching online. It was like the Super Bowl. ESports is a new type of media. It’s democratic, it’s for the people, it’s grassroots, and it’s accessible. Anyone can be a member of an eSports team. Anyone can stand up on the stage and get a portion of the $300,000 prize pool. ESports is moving forward, it’s moving fast, and we are a part of it. That’s why we are very excited.

Since Wargaming doesn’t make money from eSports, what are the benefits from a business perspective in hosting these leagues?

Let’s keep in mind that this is fairly new. If we don’t talk about StarCraft in Korea, which is a very exotic and old thing, eSports has only been around for six years, and many things have not yet been invented. Ourselves, Riot Games, and some other companies—we’re inventing the rules of the game, of this ecosystem, as we speak. So in the next year, there will be something more exciting from us and from Riot Games. And yes, the key word here is ecosystem. We don’t directly monetize admissions. We don’t sell tickets.

In this ecosystem, everybody puts something on the table and everybody gains something. Game developers like ourselves make the game and service the game. These eSports players who are training 24/7 to perform with the best of the best show their skills on the stage. Of course, the viewers who see these matches online learn how to play, and they start having dreams about one day becoming as good as those guys who are on the stage.

How have you seen sponsors connect with your league?

There are sponsors like Intel, Razer, PayPal and SanDisc who are here because they see the potential. They see this young, active audience that plays games, buys computer appliances, buys mobile phones and uses [online] payment methods. This audience has income. So eSports is a new advertising ecosystem.

grandfinals2016_

How do you work with ESL on this event?

ESL helps us with logistics. There are a lot of logistics in a huge building to make it happen. And most importantly, the whole streaming has to be seamless, so ESL is helping us on that.

How do you see eSports growing over the coming years?

Everybody knows Manchester United or Barcelona (in soccer) and some more people will know eSports clubs like Fnatic and NaVi. ESports clubs are the rising stars of entertainment, and sports in general. We’re following in the steps of European football with FIFA. It’s going to like a little bit of us and ESL together.

World of Warships made its debut at the Grand Finals. What potential do you see for that game as an eSport in the future?

ESports cannot be nominated by decree. I cannot say, ‘Hey, I want World of Warships to be an eSport.’ You have to listen to the players. So that’s why we have the first match between two professional teams on the big screen on the stage, and we’ll see how it goes. We will look at the online viewership. We will analyze it and read the comments. We will see how people react. At the end of the day, this has to be a show, and then we’ll take it from there.

But I’m going to tell you something. We’ve done an interview before on the deck of U.S.S. Iowa. It’s the biggest war machine so far, and they’re dangerously beautiful. They have big guns. and they shoot big rounds. As we say in Russia, ‘A big ship deserves big torpedoes.’ There’s a lot of action in World of Warships. We hope that World of Warships will become an eSport, and we’ll do everything possible for that to happen. But right now there’s no 100 percent guarantee. There’s a lot of work to do.

victorkislyi

Virtual reality was on display at the Grand Finals. What role do you see that technology playing in eSports down the line?

Virtual reality is hot. Everybody has been talking about it since Facebook bought Oculus VR. It’s not yet there in number of installs for it to be viable for the free-to-play games market, but it’s getting there. I’m very happy to see how fast the progress is happening. VR will be in every living room, bedroom, or in every pocket, very soon.

VR won’t necessarily be pushed by gaming in the beginning. I think it’s going to be more travel experiences, like the Grand Canyon or walking through the Louvre while sitting in your living room.

And then gaming will push this forward. Facebook obviously has a plan for that. So when those avenues push virtual reality to become a commodity in your pocket and in your living room, virtual reality games will be ready.

What we are doing right now is closely watching virtual reality, talking to anyone who will send us their dev kits, and doing some experiments. Viewership mode is one of those experiments. You can put on a mobile headset and view the broadcast with a sense of presence. You rotate your head and you’re flying in between fighting tanks. That’s actually very cool.

Plus, Wargaming is also doing some virtual reality experimental projects with 360-degree video. Mostly, it’s tours inside the tank, tours inside the battleship and we are also remaking World War II battles where you are present. There’s one tank battle where you’re on a tank and you see soldiers running alongside of you. You’re there, and you’re present in 3D. Virtual reality is something that you can talk about all you want, but the best thing to do is just put on a headset and see it for yourself.

Whether it’s virtual reality or eSports, you’re able to directly connect with fans. Where does that leave a show like E3 in this day and age?

By definition, E3 is an industry event, which historically was mostly oriented on retail. That’s where developers came with their project to show to publishers, and publishers interacted with distributors and retail chains like GameStop and Walmart. That’s how it was designed. Today, the world of gaming is online, it’s free-to-play, and it’s mobile. [At E3] there’s no retail, and there are no fans. Players are not allowed. It’s only boring people like you and me. So why are we throwing millions of dollars to show off big booths? This does not make our players happy anymore. We’d rather concentrate on what matters for our more than 100 million registered users: making better updates for World of Tanks, coming up with new free-to-play online games, pushing mobile, and pushing virtual reality. Historically, we don’t need any retail at all.

 

‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’ Adds Magically Inspired Fashion From ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’

BY

With millions of players worldwide, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is perhaps Glu Mobile’s most successful game to date. In it, players take the role of a Hollywood up-and-comer who rises in popularity with Kim as a mentor. The free-to-play mobile game recently got a huge magical upgrade in a cross-promotion with the upcoming movie, The Huntsman: Winter’s War. The film is a prequel to 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman, and involves a conflict between Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and her sister Freya (Emily Blunt), who both wield powerful magic as they battle for control of the land.

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood players will be able to capture some of the magic for themselves with all-new fashion and accessories inspired by the movie, including a mirrored crown. Furthermore, players can embark on a quest to attend a VIP screening of the movie.

Facebook_huntsman_promo_NONAME

[a]listdaily speaks to Niccolo de Masi, Glu’s chairman and CEO, to talk about how the cross-promotion and how Hollywood fashion brings extra power to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

How did the cross promotion between The Huntsman: Winter’s War and Kim Kardashian: Hollywood come together?

Glu has close ties in Hollywood. Kim is a fan of movies and The Huntsman: Winter’s War is critically acclaimed and projected to be one of the biggest films of the year! That caliber of success made it a natural fit for a partnership within Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

What makes Winter’s War the ideal inspiration for Kim Kardashian: Hollywood content?

The ornate costumes and accessories featured in the film make The Huntsman: Winter’s War a great integration for Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. The game’s audience is well-versed in the latest entertainment and pop culture news. Fashion is a big part of the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood experience. Players can personally style the virtual Winter’s War clothing items as they like, allowing for user engagement with the film at a deep level.

In what ways does Winter’s War content enhance the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood experience?

In addition to costumes and accessories from the film incorporated into the game, players are given the opportunity to attend the VIP premiere of the film via a quest within the game. This kind of content integration amplifies the player experience by merging the real-world desire to attend an event like this with the digital world of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

Can we expect more movie crossovers like this with Universal Studios in the future?

There is nothing new announced in regards to additional film integrations in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. We’re focused on the success of this partnership with Universal Studios, The Huntsman: Winter’s War film. We’ve received a positive response from players thus far. They’re enjoying the interaction with the content, which is building a tremendous amount of excitement for the film which debuts in theaters April 22nd.

Warner Bros. And MTV Movie Awards Team Up For Big Reveals

BY

Yesterday evening, MTV aired its annual Movie Awards show, featuring hosts Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and comedian Kevin Hart as they performed skits and handed out awards to actors and filmmakers alike. The show was a big hit on social media, but not just because of the awards content.

The event served as an ideal venue for Warner Bros. to debut two new trailers for its upcoming film slate, including the latest in its line of DC Comics-licensed films and a spin-off from the Harry Potter franchise.

The first film trailer, Suicide Squad, is a DC Comics film that follows the recently released Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It focuses on a group of supervillains forced to do good as they are sent in to battle the evil Joker (Jared Leto). The film is written and directed by David Ayer, and features actors Will Smith and Margot Robbie. It’s set to debut in theaters on August 5th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWvzhfI4SuM

The film is doing very well on social media, with some people predicting that it’ll do better business than Batman v Superman. That’s a tall order, considering how the superhero throwdown already racked up around $785 million worldwide.

https://twitter.com/kellysue/status/719599571697934336

The second film trailer that made its debut during the show is Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, which is a spin-off from the popular Harry Potter franchise. Starring Eddie Redmayne and Colin Ferrell, it focuses on a peculiar writer named Newt Scamander and his magical travels. The film, directed by Potter veteran David Yates, is set to debut in theaters on November 18th.

This fresh take on the Harry Potter franchise takes place about seventy years before the main series, so it doesn’t feature any characters from the original films. Nevertheless, Fantastic Beasts is ready to do big business for Warner Bros., and also has a huge amount of social buzz.

https://twitter.com/chrisrankin/status/719599823318605825

The studio also debuted a behind-the-scenes look at a forthcoming 2017 film, Kong: Skull Island, which features an all-star cast that includes Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and recent Academy Award-winner Brie Larson. The film is set to release on March 10th.

It was a great night for Warner Bros., but it wasn’t the only studio getting into the Movie Awards action. Marvel Studios also found an opportunity to debut a new clip from its upcoming Captain America: Civil War, which hits theaters on May 6th. It, too, has generated a ton of buzz across Twitter and Facebook, with users choosing sides between Iron Man and Captain America.

Deep Silver’s Building Up A New ‘Homefront’

BY

This spring season is already seeing a lot of big titles set to arrive, but one that’s sure to be a hit with shooter fans is Deep Silver’s Homefront: The Revolution. It’s a fast-paced action game that takes place in an alternate world where Korea became a world power and took occupancy of the U.S. Its cooperative multiplayer components, combined with a moody atmosphere and solid controls, should make it a big hit.

The publisher, Deep Silver, has already pushed some elaborate promotional campaigns into action. One involved a special 6-hour Twitch event that took place last week, where a number of streaming superstars (like Angry Joe, Amie Lynn, and DansGaming) worked together in the game’s cooperative play. This event was hosted by Adam Sessler, and special behind-the-scenes content was livestreamed through Periscope. The other introduces a fictitious technology company called APeX, which is this new world’s Apple, but also develops military gear helps the Korean army come to power.

[a]listdaily had a chance to chat with senior manager of marketing and communications, Will Powers, about these promotions, as well as the challenges of building an all-new Homefront game from the ground up.

Will-320x320Does Homefront: The Revolution pick up where the original game left off years ago?

It’s important to distinguish that Homefront: The Revolution is not Homefront 2. When the IP was acquired, we did an entire narrative reboot of the franchise, and the only thing that remained at its core was that North Korea had occupied the United States. For the purposes of Homefront: The Revolution, the events that took place in THQ’s Homefront never happened.

What challenges did the development team face when it came to establishing a new storyline?

Because the development team was building this world from the ground up, it was less of a challenge and more of a breath of fresh air. They had the liberating sense of being able to take the story in whatever direction they wanted without the confines of playing into someone else’s fiction. The results are an incredibly rich and deep lore for this universe dating back to the 1950s.

What new gameplay features are Dambuster Studios implementing into this Homefront? Will it have a huge online multiplayer emphasis?

The gameplay, and just general expansiveness of the world, will be on a completely different level than the original Homefront. For example, as THQ’s game was a 5-hour linear FPS, and we’re touting a 30+ hour open-world, narrative-driven single-player campaign. In addition to the rich fiction established in the single player, we’ll also launch with a cooperative multiplayer mode (Resistance Mode) where up to four players will take part in bespoke hit-and-run strike scenarios. The developers have also committed to a year’s worth of free multiplayer support, which equates to doubling the amount of multiplayer content available to players. And, as I said… all for free!

Looks like this past week’s livestream for Homefront: The Revolution was a complete success. How did the team at Deep Silver put it together, and how did you select the streamers?

This event has been my baby, but actually really only came together in the past month. Obviously, we recognize that Twitch is an essential medium for communicating directly to our fans, and we did so by getting the highest quality product and talent in front of them for a 6-hour showcase. “Homefront LIVE” rocketed Deep Silver’s Twitch channel from 20,000 lifetime views to just shy of 1,000,000 in one stream! The focus, when it came to casting talent, was all about personalities, but not just individual ones. We needed ones that could play well with each other. That, of course, is because the event was made to show off the cooperative multiplayer mode. So if these streamers didn’t have chemistry with each other, then it was all for naught. Long story, short–amazing people and personalities like Angry Joe, Rooster Teeth, Adam Sessler, and Wes The Editor made this event what it was.

What is APeX, and how did you come up with a fake company promotion?

What sets Homefront as an IP apart from other shooters in the space is the premise and the fiction of the universe. There is something horrifying about the thought of being an oppressed population within your own country, and the game doubles down on these fears by making the city and the world feel “familiar yet alien.” APeX is the company that has allowed North Korea to establish itself as a world superpower in our fiction, so it only makes sense that we put this company and this lore front and center in our marketing campaign.

Is it true your team actually sent a number of phones to members of the press and social media to hype APeX?

Short answer. Yes. Working phones were shipped out to select press, tech and gaming, with no indication that they were tied to Homefront: The Revolution. On the phone was one video file which would send them down a breadcrumb trail to realize that this all circles back to the game. Hilariously though, the return address was Pyongyang, DPRK, so a lot of people were really intrigued.

What has the feedback been from the recent multiplayer beta? Does your team feel it has the potential for eSports?

I feel like eSports might be a bit of a far cry from what we’re offering here since we’re focused on cooperative multiplayer. Despite that, people have been loving what they’ve played, and in the recent event we did with Twitch, Homefront LIVE, the game’s co-op proved to be thrilling and exciting with the competitive twist we put on it for the purposes of hosting a live tournament. I guess we’ll have to just wait and see how the market responds.

Homefront: The Revolution arrives on May 17th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

How ‘Dark Souls III’ Promotion Got Players To Embrace The Pain

BY

The Dark Souls series is famous for its exceptional difficulty, matched only by its spectacular graphics that feature giant, fearsome creatures. Releasing on April 12th in the U.S., Dark Souls III marks the conclusion of a trilogy that’s marked by a lot of pain and frustration, which is exactly what fans love about the series.

The road to promoting the finale has been epic to match the game’s scope. Here are some of the biggest highlights to come out from the past year.

Blood Runs Free At E3

Dark Souls III made its official debut at E3 2015 with a thundering cinematic trailer that teased some of the sprawling ruins and gigantic creatures players could look forward to (the giant that rises is the Lord of Cinder). Although the trailer was relatively short, it did manage to stir a tremendous amount of excitement, especially when fans learned from the press release that it would be the “final episode” of the series. As the conclusion of a trilogy, the game would no doubt be bigger and more difficult than ever imagined before. No wonder fans were so eager for its release.

Although trailers are great, nothing makes an impression quite like a fountain of blood. The Bandai Namco E3 booth featured a massive Dark Souls III statue, with blackened blood flowing up from an impaled creature.

Bandai Namco kept the buzz going a few months later at Gamescom, where a new trailer showcased some of the painfully difficult gameplay. Media was also given hands-on demonstrations of the game. Not only did this provide a deeper look into the world of Dark Souls III, but it instilled a sense of confidence among fans that the game was on track to release the following year.

Illuminating The Darkness

Dark Souls III hosted a number of contests to help promote the game for both new and returning players. One of the most prominent is the Story Trailer Contest, where the community was challenged to create a video detailing their interpretations of the rather abstruse plot from the first two games. The grand prize winner, received $10,000 while the runner-up got an impressive life-sized statue of the Red Knight that puts both the 15.75-inch statue in the $490 Prestige Edition (an Amazon exclusive) and 10-inch figure from the $136 Collector’s Edition to shame. Third place winners had to make do with the considerably smaller, but still impressive, Lord of Cinder statue that’s included in the Prestige Edition.

As Dark Souls III came closer to release, Bandai Namco hosted a new sweepstakes that even promoted its promotions. Contestants were asked to complete a list of tasks such as commenting on videos, including the winner from the Story Trailer Contest; leaving a Dark Souls-style message on the official Facebook page for newcomers to enjoy; submit pictures of themselves doing a “Praise the Sun” pose; submitting pictures of themselves drinking an Estus (a gold health potion); and finally—convincing a friend to play Dark Souls and providing photo evidence of the momentous event. The company chose 12 winners at random, and two of them received a Collector’s Edition while the other ten got Season Pass redemption codes.

Dark Souls Goes Mobile

Some would consider a Dark Souls mobile game a dream come true, so that’s exactly what Bandai Namco and GameStop provided fans. Slashy Souls, a 2D free-to-play 16-bit side-scrolling adventure game inspired by Dark Souls III, released on March 1st. In addition to the sheer joy of being repeatedly beaten down by powerful enemies and traps from your mobile device, players could share their in-game scores and win prizes. Not only did the mobile game provide an interactive way to promote Dark Souls III, it drove awareness for GameStop’s exclusive collectible bonfire keychain, given to those that pre-ordered the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbEVFnQh_XM&feature=youtu.be

A New Vision Of Horror

It’s very fitting that the director of horror movies like Hostel and Cabin Fever would turn out to be a Dark Souls fan. Eli Roth produced an animated short inspired by Dark Souls titled, The Witches, which released on YouTube on March 30th. It features an original story set in the world of Dark Souls, where a knight finds himself in a deadly situation when he comes across a trio of witches.

When Dark Souls Goes Retro

It turns out the Eli Roth trailer was just the start of fake Dark Souls movie franchise. On April 1st, Bandai Namco released a trailer for Dark Souls III – The Movie, coming soon on VHS. It was an amusing April Fools’ Day joke, complete with ’70s and ’80- era style and VHS-like skips, saturated color, and video noise. It was the perfect start to the month leading up the game’s release in the U.S. on April 12th.

IGN’s ‘ESports Today’ Brings Competitive Gaming To SiriusXM Radio

BY

IGN is expanding their global outreach with”ESports Today,” a new daily talk show about the world of competitive video games.

It will debut on April 11 and air live every weekday evening. The new show will be hosted by Kevin Knocke, known for hosting segments on IGN, the media publisher specializing in video games and entertainment, as well as eSports commentary and video content for Blizzard Entertainment.

“Kevin has covered eSports for over half a decade and is the perfect host for the job,” Fran Mirabella II, IGN’s vice president of video gushed in the press release. “He’s passionate to speak out on the big issues for the community, and has all the right connections. It’s going to be an awesome resource for fans.”

Knocke is excited about new outreach efforts, telling [a]listdaily: “IGN ESports Today on SiriusXM not only gives us a brand new platform for IGN to reach new fans, but also a platform to try in eSports what is wildly successful in sports media: live radio coverage. This partnership gives us the ability to speak at length about the real issues in eSports, invite the biggest personalities to talk directly with fans, and update everyone around the globe about breaking eSports news in real time.”

Marquee competitions to be covered include those for League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Street Fighter V, Call of Duty and more. In addition to related news coverage and commentary, listeners will be able to call in for advice.

“We’re going to have pro players and coaches on to answer questions from our listeners,” Knocke said. “So this is a cool, unique way for people to interact live with players and ask the experts directly on how to improve their game.”

SiriusXM subscribers can tune into “ESports Today” beginning Monday (7 to 8 p.m. ET) on the Bleacher Report Radio channel. SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio is available to subscribers nationwide on satellite radios (channel 83) and the SiriusXM app.

Russian Neuro-Interface Games Will Hold Players Emotionally Accountable

BY

While brainwave-controlled wearables have been on the market for a number of years, the practical applications have focused primarily on health, fitness and accessibility. Neuromatix, a Russian game developer, has created a new system that hopes to introduce more feeling into an otherwise separated gameplay experience. Using a neuro-interface headpiece, this system would analyze the user’s emotions (with data such as brain waves and skin temperature) then reflect that directly onto their in-game character. Reminding players of how their actions affect others, Neuromatix director, Vladimir Statut hopes the result to be a sort of emotional accountability.

“Currently, there are no emotions in video-games,” Statut told Sputnik in an interview this week.  “A person can commit a murder [in a video-game] and he wouldn’t receive an adequate emotional impact. Without emotions in virtual environments, people can then have the lack of emotions in real life.”

These emotionally-fueled, thought-controlled games will be playable sometime in 2017 on Russian social media platform, Vkontake.

With the advancement of hyper-realistic video game graphics, whether a link exists between game violence and real-life outbursts remains an ongoing debate. The Neuromatix system, in order to achieve the desired affect of empathy, would rely on the individual’s current emotional state and how they naturally react to say, hurting someone’s feelings. Empathy, the human ability to identify and feel another person’s emotions, would be required to impact the player’s experience under these conditions. Barring certain mental and personality disorders, Neuromatix is relying on what they perceive to be “normal” reactions to a video game event. However, anyone having played online multiplayer has encountered those who thrive on emotional havoc—known as trolls—and it could be said that such an interface would make the horrified look on your character’s face even more satisfying.

If the goal of the Neuromatix system is to evoke an emotional response artificially—for example, to make a player feel guilty after committing an in-game murder—or more realistically, create a positive response to an advertisement—the technology will have to advance a bit further. Experts say it could be possible in the future, however. We spoke with Tan Le, co-founder and CEO of Emotiv—an innovator in the field of brain wave wearable technology—to see how soon we can expect this kind of ’emotional implant.’

“It is certainly possible to detect a player’s emotions and then reflect those emotions into their in game character,” Tan Le told [a]listdaily. “However, to simulate emotions a person will require a form of deep brain stimulation and it’s not well understood how that might be achieved at this time. But it is likely to be possible.”

 

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at Neuromatix. (Source: Neuromatix)
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was in attendance for the Neuromatix presentation. (Source: Neuromatix)

According to the NeuroNet expert group, the global market of neurotechnologies will reach $1 trillion by 2035; making the trillions of neurons in our brains prime marketing real estate. Neuromatix specifically analyzes a user’s emotions, and learns accordingly. For example, the headset could gather data on whether a user enjoyed a video or found educational materials too complicated. The Russian military, meanwhile, has expressed interest in the application of brain-controlled drones and other advancements on the battlefield. In the medical field, a neurological link between patient and artificial limb or organs could change lives.

In the meantime, neuro-interface technology is already being used across the world to study and improve athletic performance, achieve mental relaxation and provide entertainment, such as flying a toy drone or moving cat ears on a headset. While the practical applications seem endless now, the list of thought-powered possibilities will continue to grow in humanity’s endless pursuit of scientific—and marketing—knowledge.