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Lionsgate announces upcoming Blu-ray titles
We've seen various slates of HD DVD / Blu-ray titles come out today, and heading up the rear of the release lists is none other than Lionsgate. While a Lionsgate film (The Descent) has caused quite a bit of fuss lately, the studio is hoping to create some positive PR noise by announcing that 40 BD titles should be hitting shelves with its name on it during this year, starting with Crank. It also highlighted the Golden Globe-winning TV series Weeds would be making its way to Blu-ray disc, as well as Ultimate Avengers I and II on the animation side. If you're anxious to get a few more Lionsgate productions in your collection, Employee of the Month is landing on January 16th, while the sure-to-be-successful Saw III hits on the 23rd. Overall, Lionsgate's 2007 list is far from spectacular, but it's got a bit of everything mixed in, including one of our personal favorites: Reservoir Dogs on February 6th. Click on through to see the first 21 titles to be released from Lionsgate on Blu-ray disc this year.
NIBRIS and Frontline to co-produce Sadness
In a move that totally shattered rumors of Majesco publishing Sadness for the Wii, NIBRIS and Frontline finally announced the publisher: both of them. That's right, earlier reports that the game had found a publisher were true, just not the one we thought. Aside from co-producing Sadness with NIBRIS, Frontline Studios developed the recently-released DS title Sudoku Mania and have worked with NIBRIS on other, smaller projects in the past. Interestingly enough, the announcement on Frontline Studios' webpage states that Sadness has a 16 month development cycle, giving us some kind of idea when we could be seeing the game at retail.
Crossbeam divulges more info on projects
In an interview with Nintendo of Europe, indie development house Crossbeam Studios revealed some more on their three Wii projects. While the entire interview can be found here, it is only accessible to VIP members. Instead, we'll paraphrase the pertinent information for you.In regards to Orb, this is the company's main project, followed by the other two proposed titles of Thorn and Darkness. Orb and Thorn are classified as adventure games, where Darkness is being classified as a more fear-based experience. See, the Earth has been overrun by forces of darkness and now mankind must make their last stand against these evil forces. The game will feature many branching paths to progress the story and lots of NPC interaction. In commenting on the whole fear-based experience, Crossbeam's Greg Nichols said:"Basically what I want you to feel when you turn off the game is that you're too afraid to turn the lights off. Think of when you were three years old, and the fear you had of basements, or the attic, or the dark. It's not the scare of the shock that I'm aiming for, what I want is the actual fear of the things that make you look over your shoulder. When I get afraid, my eyes start to water and a small tear comes out. I want that kind of fear to come out of the game."
Sensory Sweep Studios join the ranks
According to a job posting on their official site, independent development team Sensory Sweep Studios is looking for talent to aid in the development of an action title for the Wii. Looking for junior and senior game designers to help in level and character design for this title, Sensory Sweep's most recent releases include Need For Speed: Most Wanted and Tiger Woods PGA Tour on the DS.While we can't be all that enthused about this development considering the only major titles of note from the company were on a handheld, the more support for Nintendo's newest console the better. [Via Codename Revolution]
Retro folk discuss Metroid Prime 3 Corruption
Following the flood of news coming from last week's E3, Retro Studios' Game Director Marc Pacini and Senior Producer Bryan Walker, along with Production Group No. 3's Kensuke Tanabe, commented on some of the features that will be in the final build of Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. In addition to discussing the ability for the player to go into Hyper Mode at any time during the game and a larger role for Samus' ship (bombing runs!), the team also took heavy inspiration from past Metroid titles such as Super Metroid in an attempt to find the perfect balance between the old and the new.
