With Digimon World: Next Order released in the West on the PlayStation 4, ironically almost an entire month before the planned Japanese release, Bandai Namco has chosen to celebrate the launch of the game with a brand new trailer.
This video, found below, gives us a look at the Extra Cross Evolution, also known as ExEvolution that allows players to fuse together certain Digimon when various conditions and “Order Points” are met. Another thing players will notice is that players will be able to use two DIgimon partners at any given time as they try to put a stop to the Brain Hack program that is sweeping through the world.
Istanbul, Turkey – February 2nd, 2017 – GIST 2017, the second edition of Turkey’s new B2B and B2C gaming expo, opens its doors today: For four days, industry representatives from all over the world meet up in Istanbul, engaging with the local Turkish, MENA region and global markets.
On Wednesday, February 1st, GIST DC took place, attracting approximately 250 industry representatives, listening to speakers such as Kate Edwards from IGDA (“Being ‘Indie’ in the Global Game Market”), Mathias Reichert from Deck 13 (“From Lord of the Fallen to The Surge – How we tried to make a better game with a smaller budget.”), Fasih Sayin from Crytek (“The Future of Interactive Storytelling in VR”), and many more, who shared their experiences in game design, art, marketing, and other areas of game development.
At Gaming Istanbul 2017, the global games industry exhibits their latest products: an Overwatch tournament is held by Blizzard Entertainment, while the Chinese industry giant Tencent is presenting their brand-new, action-packed MOBA Strike of Kings. German simulation specialist Aerosoft are showing their flight simultator XPlane 11, scheduled for release in March 2017. Aruba Events, organizer of developers’ conference Quo Vadis, Turkish Game Developers Association TOGED, Taiwan´s leading industrial organization TCA Taipei Computer Association as well as Iran Computer & Video Games Foundation will also exhibit at GIST 2017.
The Turkish distributor Aral provides stations for games by significant Publishers such as Microsoft Xbox, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Konami, Sega, Namco Bandai, Warner Bros Games, Square Enix, Capcom, and Codemasters. Turkcell, Turkey’s leading mobile phone service provider, will be supporting GIST Gaming Istanbul 2017.
Also at GIST 2017: areas dedicated to Indie Games, Cosplay, a Kids Park, and a market where fans can comb through games and merchandise. The Tournament Area beckons Gamers to test their skills in healthy competition. The best of the best in categories including Amateurs, Professionals, Ladies First, and Veterans 30+ will be awarded special prices provided by Hardware and Gaming companies. Professionals and Experts can visit seminars and network within the B2B area, while those interested in pursuing a career in the gaming industry can take a stroll around the Education Area.
From February 2nd – 5th, GIST Gaming Istanbul 2017, Turkey’s new B2B and B2C gaming expo, opens its doors in Istanbul’s ICC International Congress Center, covering over 10,000 m² of expo grounds directly in Istanbul’s city center.
GIST Gaming Istanbul and GIST|DC debuted in February 2016, attracted approx. 50,000 visitors, and are expecting strong growth for their 2017 iteration.
About Gaming Istanbul
Gaming Istanbul is designed to be “the gaming bridge of EuroAsia” inside a 10.000 m² space at Istanbul Congress Centre, attracting approx. 50,000 international visitors in 2016. Gaming Istanbul provides worldwide advertising & PR campaign support, as well as providing showcase & OTC sale opportunities for game studios, game producers, hardware manufacturers, game & game related products retailers and hardware retailers.
GIST 2017 takes place from February 2nd – 5th, 2017. GIST Developers Conference is scheduled to be held on February 1st, 2017.
About GL Events
GL Events has over 90 offices around the world, and specialises in providing events from exhibitions to fairs. GL Events has 40 event & exhibition centres in 24 countries with 300 registered fairs and 4000 events worldwide. With over 11 million visitors, GL Events fills an exhibition area of over 1 million m², and managing these large numbers is a dedicated international team of up to 4,107 professionals. GL Events made an annual income of 939.4 M €.
NIS America has released a new trailer for their upcoming adventure game A Rose in the Twilight and in this video the company shows a young girl with the “Curse of Thorns” that lies on her back. With her mysterious powers, she is able to control time by absorbing red, the color of blood. She meets a giant companion who aids her by carrying and throwing heavy objects, a necessity traveling through the colorless castle.
You can check out the full trailer showing her exploring the castle with her abilities below and keep an eye out for A Rose in the Twilight when it is released on the PS Vita and PC on April 11th in North America and April 14th in Europe.
At the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Opening Ceremony fans were delighted to hear about the release date for Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age but what they were really hoping for was some news regarding the remake of Final Fantasy VII. Unfortunately Square Enix didn’t really have much to show in that regard and instead decided to give fans a little something to look at in the form of a large piece of key art that you can view, and click on to see full-sized, below.
The company unfortunately didn’t have any other info to give fans about Final Fantasy VII Remake but at least now you can use the image as a fancy new background image as the wait continues.
With Koei Tecmo launching Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers onto the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita as a digital download through the PlayStation Store the company has released a brand new trailer to celebrate the launch as well as a handful of new screenshots and you can check all of that out below. For those who haven’t been following the game Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers is a brand-new tactics style title set in the legendary Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.
The story will unfold during the chaotic end days of the Han dynasty, a period in Chinese history when ancient China was overwhelmed by uprisings and internal strife within its imperial court. Renowned warrior Zhao Yun and his close friend Lei Bin unwittingly liberate a young girl, Lixia, from a mystical prison, and in their efforts to unravel the mystery behind her imprisonment, Zhao Yun and Lei Bin uncover a hidden, terrible fate. The two friends and the mysterious Lixia then find themselves entangled in a pivotal struggle for the salvation of the world, and take part in a battle that will echo throughout history.
Kiyoshi, Gakuto, Joe, Shingo and Andre are the first and only boys admitted into the now co-educational Hachimitsu Academy. Not before long, the boys decide to peek into the girls’ bathroom. Their plan is foiled by the powerful Underground Student Council and the boys are sentenced to one month in the school’s own prison. They spend that month trying to break out without getting caught and doing whatever they can to avoid being expelled.
Story
A prestigious all-girls school suddenly becomes co-educational for a completely arbitrary reason that is improperly explained. One or more boys enroll in it and wind up getting into trouble with one or more girls regardless of whether they are truly at fault or not. It is a contrived scenario that has been exploited before in anime and manga, although not as often as might be expected given the proliferation of the harem genre. What is immediately obvious about Prison School, however, is that it is not a standard anime comedy despite the initial premise. It fails to even meet the most basic criteria of the harem genre, except for there being 200 girls to every one boy enrolled at Hachimitsu Academy. Perverted antics ensue for much of this adaptation, with only hints of actual romance being present at all.
Kiyoshi, the main male ‘protagonist’, is not as bad as his friends are. None of them can truly be labelled as protagonists because they clearly have disgusting intentions and are meant to be disliked. It is more the case that the three main antagonists, Mari, Meiko and Hana of the Underground Student Council (USC), are such horribly sadistic characters that they manage to make the five boys’ ‘plight’ more engaging that it has any right to be. Their extreme violence against the boys is treated as slapstick comedy rather than abuses of power. Visual humour is, in fact, one thing that is done well in this series at times. Unfair or not, it can be entertaining seeing the boys take blow after blow and still be able to walk it off, no matter how much physical damage is caused. This entire series is one contrived moment after another, but when it works, it works well, even if there is no true protagonist.
A significant portion of this adaptation focuses on the boys, mainly Kiyoshi and Gakuto, attempting to break out of their prison. Toilet humour is occasionally used throughout the series, and these two boys will stop at nothing to help their escape attempt. Gakuto is willing to void his bowels in a classroom while surrounded by girls as a part of their plan, and Kiyoshi is only able to break out by pretending to use a toilet for three hours. The boys’ plans may be somewhat ingenious when put into action, but truly clever jokes are not to be found here. Despite being simple, the humour is presented at such a fast pace that there is little to be gained by faulting the series for jokes that are in poor taste. Contrarily, the break-out attempts are portrayed in such a life-or-death manner that they can almost be taken seriously. A plan that revolves around arm wrestling sounds stupid, but watching it and other unusual plans unfold in an increasingly bizarre manner is somewhat entertaining.
This adaptation, and presumably the original manga as well, begins to spiral out of control when more drama is introduced through the actions of the USC. Meiko is sexually masochistic to an increasingly unpleasant degree, but the most uncomfortable and disturbing elements of this series are those focused on the sexual torture and humiliation and psychological torture of its male and female characters. Hana is violent without remorse, but that does not mean she deserves to suffer humiliation and severe psychological trauma during painfully contrived scenes involving the ‘innocent’ Kiyoshi. When she tries to get back at him for something he didn’t mean to do, her attempts to make things even between them end up blowing up in her face. When she enacts her final revenge against him by stealing his first kiss, he fights back and traumatizes her even more.
Realism is not even remotely present at any point in this series, but the original author and the production team of this adaptation do Hana a serious disservice by failing to acknowledge that she is suffering from increasingly severe mental health issues, and treating her like an object to be repeatedly humiliated just makes things even worse. The antagonists are meant to be disliked, but when it comes to Hana, anyone with a sense of humanity would instead worry about her mental health. The USC gets even worse, too. When one of their own spies, Anzu, is suspected of aiding the enemy, Meiko subjects her to outright sexual torture and then essentially shrugs it off by saying that she might have been innocent all along. Anzu is shown to have been psychologically traumatized by this, but she is depicted after the credits to somehow be completely fine. Prison School is at its best when it focuses on the ridiculous plans that the boys devise, but it often makes logical jumps that simply cannot be accepted and avoids serious truths about mental health and the treatment of women that need to be discussed respectfully.
Visuals
There is now an anime that presents fan-service in a way that is wholly disgusting and repelling for a reason other than the usual problem of female sexualisation and objectification. It is gratuitous and unpleasant to look at, and becomes so bad towards the end that this series deserves to be reclassified as adults only. Copious amounts of blood and gore are shoved in the viewer’s face as well, often for comedic effect, but the visual humour is most effective when it consists only of the contorted faces that the boys make when they are in trouble. Their horrified reactions at various events are hilarious, and go a surprisingly long way in making this series watchable at all. Unfortunately, the sexual humiliation and torture completely undoes all of that and makes the second disc extremely difficult to sit through.
Audio
The English dub contains some changes to the script, but not to the point where any meanings are lost. There are swear words sprinkled throughout, but not as many as expected from FUNimation. The usage of them is actually effective, and it even enhances the script at times by increasing the impact of certain lines of dialogue. The voice acting is convincing, although Andre’s voice actor Sonny Strait could have spoken with a more normal-sounding voice. The series is slightly easier to handle as a result of the English dub, so it is recommended to watch this adaptation with the English audio track playing.
Extras
Included in this release are the textless opening animation and the textless ending animation. These animation sequences are fairly typical for modern anime, although the ending animation unfortunately depicts the female characters in sexualised poses that are entirely unpleasant to look at.
Overall
Prison School presents copious amounts of sexualised imagery in a way that is completely grotesque, uncomfortable to look at and often downright disturbing. For that reason, it cannot be recommended even to fans of ecchi anime. Instead, it may be enjoyed only by those who, for whatever reason, want to see just how depraved teenage boys can be in a context where they are outnumbered 200:1 by girls. It is not pleasant. It is not erotic. Yet, some of the plans that the boys come up with are oddly well-thought out despite the perverted intentions behind them. The horribly contorted faces that the boys make when something bad happens are weirdly amusing, and bad things are almost constantly occurring in every episode of this show. The dialogue can be okay, and the English dub makes it a little more accessible to western audiences. Prison School starts out being slightly entertaining, which it has no right to be, but it rapidly spirals into a disturbing exploration of teenage sexuality framed in what is undoubtedly one of the single most unrealistic, misogynistic and utterly depraved ways ever seen in anime. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Author’s note: The initial score given for this review was inaccurate and has been updated by the author to reflect Capsule Computers’ ongoing commitment to providing reliable reviews for its readers.
CI Games is sweetening the pot for those who pre-order their upcoming FPSSniper Ghost Warrior 3 on PC and PlayStation 4. Those who pre-order the game will get the Season Pass for free, a $29.99 USD value. The Season Pass includes the two single player expansions “The Escape of Lydia” and “The Sabotage” along with two multiplayer maps, an all-terrain vehicle, the McMillan TAC-338A Sniper Rifle, and a compound bow. Xbox One pre-orders will still get bonus content, but will miss out on the multiplayer maps, the ATV, and the TAC-338A.
Marek Tymiński, CEO of CI Games had this to say about the offer:
“We have a long-term investment in our community and believe that this Season Pass is a huge value to them. The content within the season pass has variety to it, and we’re committed to provide support and additional content throughout 2017 for our largest game to date. The major part of the edition will be the single player campaign ‘The Sabotage’. This is one we’re quite proud of where players will follow the story of the separatists and experience everything from the other side of the conflict making the story more being in the grey zone than black and white.”
CI Games has plans for more content drops and special events for Sniper Ghost Warrior 3in 2017 but has yet to elaborate further. Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 launches on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 4, 2017. Learn where to pre-order at the official site.
CI GAMES Reveals Exclusive Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Pre-Order Season Pass Edition on PlayStation®4 Computer System and PC
Sydney, Australia – February 2, 2017 – CI Games has announced a super special incentive for people who pre-order Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, containing a load of extras at no additional cost. Players can take advantage of this valuable season pass offering beginning today on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PC.
“We have a long-term investment in our community and believe that this season pass is a huge value to them,” said Marek Tymiński, CEO of CI Games. “The content within the season pass has variety to it, and we’re committed to provide support and additional content throughout 2017 for our largest game to date. The major part of the edition will be the single player campaign ‘The Sabotage’. This is one we’re quite proud of where players will follow the story of the separatists and experience everything from the other side of the conflict making the story more being in the grey zone than black and white.”
In addition to the highlighted extras below, CI Games plans to roll out exclusive content drops and special events that will enhance the game throughout 2017.
The season pass on PS4™ and PC includes the following:
Two major single-player expansions
The Escape of Lydia
The Sabotage
Two multiplayer maps
An exclusive all-terrain vehicle
Two exclusive weapons:
The McMillan TAC-338A Sniper Rifle
Compound Bow
The season pass is available for free for those who pre-order the game. Players can pre-order the game at their local retailers or at http://sniperghostwarrior3.com/pre-order/.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 launches on the PlayStation®4 system and Windows PC on April 4, 2017.
To learn more about CI Games and Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, visit:
As a leading interactive entertainment specialist across Australia and New Zealand, QVS is a privately owned independent software and accessories distributor that has operated in Australia for over 10 years providing quality, innovative interactive software titles and accessories. The company’s main objective is to provide its clients and customers with software products and accessories that deliver a highly satisfying entertainment experience. Boasting longstanding partnerships with globally renowned publisher, QVS’s portfolio features products from publishers such Avanquest, Big Ben, CI Games, Focus Home Interactive, Focus Multimedia, Koch Media, Koei Tecmo, NCsoft, Nero, Turtle Beach, plus many more. Visit www.qvsoftware.com.au.
About CI Games
CI Games is an international developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products with sales in more than 50 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, CI Games was established in 2002 and has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2007. CI Games’ global operations distinguish it as one of the most dynamic development companies in the industry, with development and distribution offices in Poland, United States, Germany & Canada. CI Games portfolio includes the best-selling Sniper: Ghost Warrior franchise with over 5 million copies sold worldwide. The company is currently working on a number of high-profile, multiplatform games including Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 and the action RPG Lords of the Fallen 2. For more information on CI Games please visit: www.cigames.com.
A NEW DIGITAL ADVENTURE IS WAITING FOR YOU IN DIGIMON WORLD: NEXT ORDER AVAILABLE NOW!
For the first time ever in the series, explore the Digital World with two Digimon partners!
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe is pleased to announce that DIGIMON WORLD: NEXT ORDER is now available for PlayStation®4. To celebrate this announcement, a launch trailer is now revealed!
DIGIMON WORLD: NEXT ORDER begins when players are sucked into the Digital World to discover it is under siege by Machinedramons. Rescued by two Digimon from impending doom, players must forge forward with their Digimon partners and journey through the Digital World to discover the origins of the Machinedramon scourge and find a way back to the real world.
Along the way, players will nurture and train their Digimon partners for battle as they progress through the game. DIGIMON WORLD: NEXT ORDER contains over 230 Digimon for players to meet, recruit, and interact with throughout their adventure. DIGIMON WORLD: NEXT ORDER will also give players the choice of playing as either a male or female protagonist and enable players to explore the Digital World with two Digimon partners for the first time in franchise history.
The key to finding a way back to the real world and stopping the Digital World from total destruction at the hands of Machinedramons will lie in building strong bonds and providing effective training for each Digimon. And the new evolution ExE-volution (ExE) will turn the fight to your advantage! 2 Digimon are able to merge and become a powerful Digimon, including the 12 new additional Digimon exclusively available in the PlayStation 4 version. This is really useful when you’re in danger! This special evolution can be used only once a day (in-game time), when a Digimon is knocked out, and a strong relationship with your Digimon partners is requested.
Activision Blizzard Further Accelerates Global Growth Strategy with Launch of New Consumer Products Division
Names Veteran Mattel and Disney Executive Tim Kilpin Division CEO and President
February 2, 2017 – Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) today announced the launch of a newly created Consumer Products division and the appointment of veteran Mattel and Disney executive Tim Kilpin as its CEO and president. The new division will further accelerate Activision Blizzard’s global growth strategy by leveraging its iconic content and creating new ways for audiences to connect with the Company’s franchises and characters.
“Inspiring play, competition, and community underpins everything we do, and giving audiences new ways to experience our franchises is core to this commitment,” said Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick. “Under Tim’s leadership, we will elevate our consumer product offerings to the same level of exceptional quality as our games and transform the ways audiences connect with the characters they love in their everyday lives.”
The launch of the new Consumer Products division is another strategic pillar in Activision Blizzard’s expansion of the platforms through which it offers its compelling franchises to audiences, including interactive content, television and film, competitive gaming and mobile.
“Activision Blizzard is a global entertainment powerhouse, and its combination of iconic franchises and massive audience reach offers incredible opportunities for retailers and partners,” said Kilpin. “I’m excited to lead this newly-formed division and join Activision Blizzard’s already incredibly talented consumer products team in delivering powerful new partnerships and even more touchpoints to audiences.”
In his new role, Kilpin will lead the development of innovative consumer products to expand and deepen audience engagement with Activision Blizzard’s iconic franchises through long-term retail partnerships, high-quality products and all new consumer experiences. Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment and King Digital’s talented consumer product teams will join Kilpin in the new division.
Most recently, Kilpin served as Mattel’s president and chief commercial officer, overseeing the company’s sales and marketing functions across all regions. Previously, he served as executive vice president for Mattel’s Boys and Girls Division, leading global brand strategy, marketing, product design and development, consumer products and content development for the company’s iconic brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Monster High. Prior to that, Kilpin was executive vice president of franchise management for The Walt Disney Company, where he oversaw global cross-category franchise plans for Disney Princess, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse and Pixar properties.
About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the S&P 500, is the world’s most successful standalone interactive entertainment company. We delight nearly 500 million monthly active users around the world through franchises including Activision’s Call of Duty®, Destiny and Skylanders®, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™, Diablo®, StarCraft®, and Heroes of the Storm®, and King’s Candy Crush™, Pet Rescue™ and Farm Heroes™. The company is one of the Fortune “100 Best Companies To Work For®”. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout the world, and its games are played in 196 countries. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activisionblizzard.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Blizzard’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the company’s Consumer Products division, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Blizzard’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10‑K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and the company does not assume any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
