San Diego Comic-Con
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SDCC 2010: Our interview with Guild Wars 2's Jeff Grubb
The hype for Guild Wars 2 seems to get bigger every week, so it was a natural choice for the Massively staff at Comic-Con to seek out some time with Guild Wars 2 designer and Ghosts of Ascalon author Jeff Grubb. If you're relatively new to the Guild Wars world, Jeff provides a nicely detailed overview of what's been happening with Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, and the first tie-in novel. If you're a firmly established citizen of Tyria, you'll enjoy the look back, and you'll certainly enjoy the hints he drops here and there for upcoming events and reveals. Follow along after the jump to see what Jeff had to say.
SDCC 2010: Massively's interview with Aion producer Lani Blazier
San Diego has been the place to be for the past few days, with developers bringing out all the latest and greatest to show off at Comic-Con 2010. We at Massively have been pretty busy, in part with Aion's web producer Lani Blazier. Aion's free expansion Assault on Balaurea is just over a month away, so Lani had plenty to talk about. She gave us a look at what we can expect with 2.0, and spent a bit of time answering our questions afterward. Follow along after the jump to see what she had to say.
SOE makes big plans for Comic-Con
Comic-Con is just a handful of days away, and Sony Online Entertainment has announced its lineup for the event. It's a hefty schedule, but there are several highlights for MMO fans. Saturday the 24th will feature a panel discussion including Jim Lee, Mark Hamill, Marv Wolfman, and members of the DC Universe Online dev team. They'll be going behind the scenes of DCUO, discussing the backstory and giving fans a first look at the game's intro cinematic. Those attending the panel will receive a DCUO VIP beta key. Saturday evening there is a fan event for attendees to meet Jim Lee and Marv Wolfman, have another chance at a DCUO beta key, and participate in a Q & A with the development team. Finally, the SOE block party is a free event on Saturday that welcomes fans into the SOE studios for music, food, tours, previews, prizes, and kids events. Shuttle buses will provide transportation to Comic-Con as part of the event. If you're attending Comic-Con, be sure to visit the SOE booth for the full schedule!
Gears of War 2 XP bonus driven by Twitter
Epic is planning an extra XP event for Gears of War 2 that will coincide with next week's San Diego Comic-Con, tied to producer Rod Fergusson's Twitter account -- and designed to promote it, of course. The more followers he gets, the more XP gamers can earn during the upcoming event. It's the second massive XP handout the game has received over the last few weeks, the previous being the title's big July 4 promotion event. It's no surprise: with the game's flagging community, online woes and stiff competition, Epic's needed to come up with something to get players back. [Thanks, Chris]
Rift: Planes of Telara and End of Nations get exclusive comics at Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con is traditionally not known for its game-related content. (The name is something of a dead giveaway.) But this year it's hosting quite a bit of MMO-related content, such as a large NCsoft presence covering Aion, City of Heroes, and Guild Wars 2. Add Rift: Planes of Telara and End of Nations to the mix, as both will be previewing a special comic mini-series with a limited-edition #0 issue at the convention. They've also provided some previews of the rough art for each series, included in the gallery below. Both series will be written by Ricardo Sanchez, with the interior art for Rift: Planes of Telara provided by Pop Mhan and the interior art for End of Nations by Yvel Guichet. Published under the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics, both limited series should be hitting store shelves in the fall, but attendees of SDCC will be getting a special preview. If you're attending, you may well want to pick up a copy, and even if you're not you can take a gander at the rough art in the gallery below. %Gallery-97523%
38 Studios' Project Mercury to debut at San Diego Comic-Con
It seems that 38 Studios' plan to detail its upcoming MMO in 2010 isn't happening just yet, but 38 Studios-owned Big Huge Games will apparently show off its EA Partners-published RPG – codenamed "Project Mercury" – at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. A listing among the legions of other presenters at Comic-Con was recently spotted by Big Download with the description, "World premiere of the first game from 38 Studios!" The listing goes on to say that folks in attendance will "be among the first in the world to see the video game debut from Curt Schilling's 38 Studios," more specifically adding that Todd McFarlane, executive creator of worlds R. A. Salvatore, lead designer Ken Rolston, and founder and chairman Curt Schilling will be debuting the game for folks. Further, Comic-Con's site claims the panel will unveil more than just the first trailer, but also the project's actual name. And hey, if that's not enough, apparently you'll get a "limited-edition poster" just for showing up. Huzzah! The panel takes place at 1:15PM on Thursday, July 22, but we wouldn't suggest you start lining up just yet.
City of Heroes announces Going Rogue release date and hands-on at SDCC
While dates have been thrown left and right for the upcoming expansion, City of Heroes players will be happy to know that the much-awaited expansion, Going Rogue, will officially release on August 17th, 2010. That leaves a little under two months until all of the promised features, including two more powersets, a new starting experience, the ability to switch sides, and the start of the new Incarnate system. Although it's a bit later than the previously-rumored date of July, players can still look forward to the fact that it's not so very far in the future. Can't wait that long? If you're going to the inimitable San Diego Comic Con this year, you're in luck, as the City of Heroes team will be granting lucky players a hands-on experience for the expansion. Not only that, but they'll be hosting a panel and the equally inimitable David Nakayama will be sketching select heroes and villains. Keep your eyes peeled for more news regarding Going Rogue as we approach release, and take a look at the official itinerary for the Paragon Studios team at SDCC.
ArenaNet announces first hands-on demo of Guild Wars 2
Convention season is well underway, but we've not seen a lot of ArenaNet on the convention floors this year. That's about to change, as ArenaNet has announced its plans for upcoming conventions -- as well as some extremely exciting news. Global Brand Director Chris Lye penned the latest blog post, and began by confirming that ArenaNet will not be at E3 this year. It's a great convention, but as he pointed out, it's "anti-fan," and ArenaNet is focusing on the fans at this point in time. So where will they be? You'll find ArenaNet at the San Diego Comic-Con, gamescom in Germany, and of course PAX Prime in Seattle. In the middle of all this, Chris dropped some extremely exciting news: "This is the big one folks! I'm happy to announce that we will unveil the first public hands-on demo of Guild Wars 2 at gamescom in Cologne, Germany! If you want to be the first in your guild to play GW2 (and you're in Europe), this is the show to attend." There will be hands-on demo stations at PAX in Seattle as well, so if you've been considering going to either of these, the first real look at Guild Wars 2 gameplay should be more than enough to tip the scales.
New Gears, BioShock 2 toys coming exclusively to Comic-Con
Worried you'd never get a collectible based on Gears of War comic character Jace Stratton, a gentleman who has yet to put any face time into an actual Gears of War game series? Well quit it, worrywort! (You're only hurting yourself.) NECA recently told Toy News International that it'll be bringing Stratton -- and several BioShock 2 figures -- to the upcoming 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International for sale in limited quantities. We'd love to tell you more about the BioShock 2 figures, but we're not trying to ruin the end of the game for those of you who might still be wary of spoilers. You can have a look for yourself right here. [Via Kotaku]
Horde-centric comic launching in 2010
So much for fears of audiences not relating to "non-human" heroes. After a successful run featuring the travails of tailored-for-badassness Alliance leader Varian Wrynn, Wildstorm studios announced during the San Diego Comic Con 2009 that the World of Warcraft comic will be splitting into two titles after Issue #25. The issue will conclude the current story arc and will trigger events that will lead to the spinoff of a Horde-centric World of Warcraft comic slated to launch in January, 2010.Although BlizzPlanet reports that there were little details beyond that - they point to an earlier interview they did with Walt Simonson who dodged the question about such a title - there'll likely be more information in the coming weeks. In particular, players and comic fans alike should prepare for significant announcements regarding this and other projects during BlizzCon. A title featuring the Horde should quell one of the biggest criticisms levied against the comic, and should be a refreshing change of pace.
Konami publishing Metalocalypse: Dethgame on PSN, XBLA
Confirming our suspicions of a forthcoming game based on Cartoon Network show Metalocalypse, Konami is this week announcing its intentions to publish Metalocalypse: Dethgame for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. The show's creator, Brendon Small, confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that he's been working with Konami to produce the upcoming downloadable title from developer Frozen Codebase. Rather than playing as Metalocalypse's lead characters, Small says you'll be controlling a "band of roadies" fighting in honor of the show's fictional band, Dethklok. Konami will allegedly be announcing the game later this week at the San Diego Comic Con.
DCUO's BFF competition is underway
DC Universe Online and SOE want to know who you would choose as your DCUO "BFF". BFF in this particular case can refer to either Best Friend Forever or Best Foe Forever, so there's room for those characters you love to hate too: The DCUO BFF Promotion lets eligible participants submit a video of up to 30 seconds to explain why they would like to virtually meet, fight and become BFFs with their chosen character in-game. There's a short movie on the front page of the DCUO official site encouraging folks to get into character for their entries, though it also warns that tight spandex might be taking things a step too far. Our take? If you can pull it off, go for it!Entries can be made through MySpace, or in person at the SOE booth at San Diego Comic-Con, with judging duty to be performed by the DCUO MySpace Friends. The two winners will score a "Lex Luthor in Power Armor" poster, signed by the DCUO dev team and Jim Lee. If this news has you getting ready to dust off your favorite superhero outfit and enter, make sure the submission is in before the competition closes on the 15th of August at 1:59AM PT.
Download free Monster Hunter Freedom Unite quests at Comic-Con
Capcom is issuing a call to all PSP-owning monster hunters, revealing that, if they bring their system and copy of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite to next week's San Diego Comic-Con, they'll be able to download eight free quests for the game. The company cautions those planning to do so that only six quests will fit on a memory stick (no file sizes are given), so you'd best bring a second MS Duo along just to be safe.Four of the eight quests are said to be geared toward beginner-level players; the other eight are intended for Monster Hunter vets. Capcom has remarked that these freebies will serve as a taste of what's to come from the game's upcoming DLC, which will hit the PS Store every Friday through the end of 2009. (DLC quests for the game first became available earlier this month.)
Lost Planet 2 playable, giant salamander plushies winnable at Comic-Con
Capcom is bringing playable Lost Planet 2 to San Diego Comic-Con. According to a post on Capcom Unity, the demo will allow four players to team up and (attempt to) take down one of the game's bosses, a giant salamander. Hey, that sounds like the same demo we played at E3!Thing is, we didn't get the chance to win a much cuter, giant plush version of the beast after slaying it. Comic-Con attendees will get one, though, by way of a raffle, the tickets to which will be handed out to everyone who plays the game. Up for grabs are an unknown number of 18" and 3-foot long cute-ifications of the boss monster. Capcom is also giving away one of the 3-footers via its blog for those who can't attend the big show. Details on that are in the original post.
Details of Blizzard presence at Comic Con
The schedule for the 2009 San Diego Comic Con is finally starting to emerge, and Blizzard has now confirmed details of its presence there.It looks like Blizzard is going to be running a panel on Thursday, July 23rd (the first officlal day of the con, which this year is July 23rd to 26th) with Chris Metzen and a host of people associated with Blizzard products from Upper Deck, Wildstorm, Tokyopop, and J!nx. Interestingly, Nick Carpenter, the creative director for Blizzard cinematics, is also going to be there, so it looks like this might be a particularly good opportunity to get information about Blizzard's lore and art direction, on top of the Warcraft comics, minis, and cards. I've included the full list of panel attendees behind the cut, and as of now the panel looks to be scheduled in Room 6BCF.If anyone's interested in what the Blizzard Comic Con panel was like last year and the nature of the questions answered, here's our 2008 write-up. Do we have any readers who are going to Comic Con this year?
Game publishers continue takeover of San Diego Comic-Con
Big Download reports that many game publishers, including 2K, Konami, NCSoft, Ubisoft, and more, will be exhibiting at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, continuing the trend of game content at the event. We're interested in seeing how the growing game publisher turnout will affect Comic-Con. The convention is already dominated by giant media companies, but, well, game publishers like Activision really like having giant, flashy showings at conventions. Seriously, Comic-Con, if you let these companies get comfortable, they will take over. Pretty soon, the Guitar Hero games will outnumber the furry cosplayers.To look at it from a more positive perspective, if you're going to Comic-Con, you're going to get to play some free video games. Also, we hope you got your tickets, because they're sold out. We've pulled every game publisher we could find in the exhibitors list, and listed them for you after the break. The Pokémon Company is on the list only because Nintendo wasn't, and there's a chance the Pokémon booth will have games and not just merchandise.
Grab your own Grifball Spartan at San Diego Comic Con
Click to kung fu-gripisize image If you're attending the San Diego Comic Con and are a fan of all things Halo 3, then you'll likely be excited to hear that Toys R Us and McFarlane Toys are teaming up to sell the exclusive figure you see above during the show. Only 6,000 of these Grifball bad boys (or girls, because you really don't know who's under that 200 billion-dollar suit of armor) are being sold at the show, and you can grab your own for $15. We suggest making this a priority stop, as the figure features a Bomb, Gravity Hammer, Recon armor, and Sword Hilt, with the latter two being pretty big deals in the world of spinning space rings, we hear. Also, 6,000 isn't a lot when you consider 126,000 people attended the show last year.San Diego Comic-Con goes down from July 23-26 at the San Diego Convention Center.%Gallery-49402%
Go behind the scenes with Stargate Worlds at Comic-Con
For all of you who have been patiently waiting to see some gameplay from Stargate Worlds, the folks from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment have set up a series of torrents, chock-full of love for you. With the help of the folks from SGWIrc, the Stargate Worlds crew's downloadable coverage boasts not just candid gameplay video like the one above (we love the "run away!" comment) but also pictures of other shenanigans going on at the event. Also, don't forget to head over to the Stargate Worlds blog to check out the convention from their perspective. We also have our people on the ground at Comic-Con, so be on the lookout for some more upcoming footage of Stargate Worlds, as well as all the other news coming out of San Diego! [Via GamingToday]
Spotted @ Comic-Con: Blue PSP
There's a new PSP color coming soon: Metallic Blue. And it'll be available in the upcoming Madden 09 Entertainment Pack, which includes the system, the game, a NFL documentary and a code to download beats off the PS Store. According to amazon.com, the system will be available on August 12th.Spencer from Siliconera snapped a few shots of the system in action over at San Diego Comic-Con for us (thanks!). Just like every other PSP, it has the uncanny ability to pick up fingerprints. Will you pick this baby up come August?%Gallery-23426%
Spotted @ Comic-Con: the PSP GPS peripheral
It's really real. Trust us.After making a debut at CES earlier this year, the GPS accessory disappeared off the face of the earth, with only vague promises that the device will be coming within the next nine months. We don't know what the hold up is, but IGN spotted a working unit at San Diego Comic-Con. Of note, they saw that the device can give different directions based on whether you're in a car, bike or simply on foot. Can Sony please just release this thing already?
