Page 3385 – Capsule Computers

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July 6, 2015

“Gimme a Hell Yeah”: 2K Announces Stone Cold Steve Austin®

as WWE® 2K16 Cover Superstar

WWE Hall of Famer, film and television personality, producer and podcasting innovator set to inject Texas-sized attitude in flagship WWE video game franchise
Sydney, Australia – July 6, 2015 – 2K today announced WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin® as the cover Superstar for WWE® 2K16, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE franchise. After setting the WWE Universe on fire during one of WWE’s most celebrated time periods – the “Attitude Era” – to his wealth of television, film and podcasting accomplishments, Austin has amassed worldwide admiration through his unequivocal presence both in and out of the WWE ring. WWE 2K16 is currently in development for Xbox One and Xbox 360, as well as the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems. The game is scheduled for release on October 29, 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with 2K to support the WWE 2K franchise, and now I’m absolutely honored to serve as the WWE 2K16 cover Superstar,” said Stone Cold Steve Austin. “No disrespect to the previous and extremely deserving WWE 2K cover Superstars – Dwayne ‘The Rock®’ Johnson and John Cena® – but it’s about time the franchise raised some hell with yours truly on the cover. I look forward to injecting a dose of ‘Texas Rattlesnake’ into this year’s game and overall campaign.”

Austin is regarded by many as one of the most popular WWE Superstars to ever enter a WWE ring, holding 21 championships throughout his career and being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. His relentless work ethic has also made him a significant mainstream fixture and pop-culture icon as an actor, producer and host in television, film and podcasting. Austin hosted the return of WWE’s reality competition series Tough Enough on USA Network in 2011, and since 2012 has hosted four seasons of Redneck Island on CMT. He also serves as the host of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, which is currently in production for its third season on CMT. His film credits include appearances in several feature films, including The Longest Yard, The Condemned and The Expendables, while his no-holds-barred weekly podcast, The Steve Austin Show, regularly appears on the Top Podcasts list within the Sports & Recreation category on iTunes. He also hosts the Stone Cold Podcast, Live!, a monthly interview series on the award-winning WWE Network, where he has interviewed several special guests including Vince McMahon, Triple H and Paul Heyman. In addition, Austin is a brand ambassador for Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA.

“Stone Cold Steve Austin’s iconic style, unmistakable personality and worldwide reverence from the WWE Universe make him the ideal fit for WWE 2K16,” said Chris Snyder, Vice President of Marketing at 2K. “Not only will Austin grace the video game’s cover, but he’s involved in shaping its creative direction. Through his numerous contributions, inclusion on the largest roster in franchise history and the game’s to-be-announced features, WWE 2K16 is certain to put everyone on notice.”

Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K16 is not yet rated in Australia and New Zealand. WWE 2K16 is currently scheduled for release on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4™ and PS3™ on October 27, 2015 in North America and October 29, 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.

For more information on WWE 2K16 and 2K, visit wwe.2k.com, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #WWE2K16 and #RaiseSomeHell or subscribe on YouTube.

2K is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

About WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 35 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all 12 live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 170 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: WWE Network; major distribution agreements; our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including, without limitation, claims relating to CTE; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our revolving credit facility; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercising control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares which are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the relatively small public “float” of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made, are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them, and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements.

About Take-Two Interactive Software

Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops and publishes products through its two wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K. Our products are designed for console systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, and are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at http://www.take2games.com.

About 2K

Founded in 2005, 2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, which are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment. The 2K label has some of the most talented development studios in the world today, including Firaxis Games, Visual Concepts, 2K Marin, 2K Czech, 2K Australia, Cat Daddy Games and 2K China. 2K’s stable of high quality titles includes the critically acclaimed BioShock®, Borderlands™ and XCOM® franchises, the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization series, the popular WWE 2K franchise and NBA 2K, the #1 rated and #1 selling basketball franchise***. 2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). For more information, please visit www.2K.com.

*According to 2008 – 2015 Metacritic.com and The NPD Group estimates of U.S. retail video game sales through May 2015.

“PlayStation” and “PS3” are registered trademarks. “PS4” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and may be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “seeks,” “will,” or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for the Company’s future business and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may vary materially from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties including: our dependence on key management and product development personnel, our dependence on our Grand Theft Auto products and our ability to develop other hit titles, the timely release and significant market acceptance of our games, the ability to maintain acceptable pricing levels on our games, our ability to raise capital if needed and risks associated with international operations. Other important factors and information are contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, including the risks summarized in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and the Company’s other periodic filings with the SEC, which can be accessed at www.take2games.com. All forward-looking statements are qualified by these cautionary statements and apply only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

‘Redemption: Eternal Quest’ Soon Available On PC Combines Classic RPG with Advanced Resource Management

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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July 6, 2015

0

‘Redemption: Eternal Quest’ Soon Available On PC Combines Classic RPG with Advanced Resource Management

Cast Your Vote In Support For Unique Roster- & Resource-Management RPG

Sacramento, CA, July 6^th 2015: Redemption: Eternal Quest by indie games developer SimProse Studios offers an exciting gameplay experience to RPG and simulation fans of all ages and experience levels and is available via STEAM™ Greenlight today. Your task is to select and manage a party of adventurers with the objective of completing thrilling quests and to collect rare treasure and precious relics.

YouTube™ video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-QY0aIgHqM

Redemption: Eternal Quest combines roster- and resource-management with classic RPG elements to create a unique randomly generated player scenario for each turn and every game session. Explore deserted ruins and enter dark dungeons on your quest for loot, and collect chests full of treasure, while fulfilling dangerous quests and engaging in card-based combat. You must manage your guild, heal your warriors, mentor your party, and watch them grow into legendary heroes. Prestige from discoveries will drive your party to even greater heights, and will help to prepare them for additional adventures.

Redemption: Eternal Quest features a polished interface, orchestral music and comes with 200+ special minion cards, each differing in combat strength ranges. With its thousands of possible events and treasures, and a full aging, morale, hidden potential curve and injury/disease engine, can you successfully guide your party through difficult quests, while signing your warriors to pacts and negotiating the best deals for them and yourself?

Redemption: Eternal Quest has cool customizable options via its intuitive UI, including optional permadeath, duration of the game and options on how many quests to complete.

Check it out today and cast your vote of support to get the game on STEAM.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=471942448

Journalists interested in further information, additional assets or a review copy are welcome to contact GAME PROMOTER™ by sending an email to [email protected]. Members of the press are encouraged to visit the following Hotlinks for updates to this and other great games by this developer:

More Details

Developer Website	www.simprosestudios.com
Facebook	www.facebook.com/simprosestudios
Twitter	www.twitter.com/SimProseStudios
YouTube™ Channel	www.youtube.com/channel/UClsUWukzoaxbWFgh9MCTzDA

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood Volume 2 Review

K. Roberts

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July 6, 2015

0

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood Volume 2 Review

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood Volume 2
Author: Hirohiko Araki
Artist: Hirohiko Araki
Publisher: Viz Media / Madman Entertainment
Release Date: June 10, 2015
Price: $19.99 USD – Available Here / $28.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

Last time on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, Dio Brando was revealed for the person he really is. Jonathan Joestar is not going to let him get away with his actions. Unfortunately, although JoJo is strong, his opponent has superhuman strength. The first volume features well-written psychological elements, a lot of blood and gore, a realistic representation of Britain during the late parts of the Victorian era and engaging characters and motivations. With such a fantastic start to the series, does this volume maintain the same standard of quality, or perhaps even outdo the first volume?

Story

The police officers put several bullets into Dio’s body. JoJo realises that his father has been stabbed with a knife. On his deathbed, Lord Joestar gives JoJo his mother’s ring. A lot happens in just the first chapter of this volume, and there is a whole lot more to come. One of the officers reveals that he had the chance to put Dio’s father in prison for the theft of the ring, but Lord Joestar did not file any charges against Mr. Brando. Lord Joestar generously confirmed Mr. Brando’s false claim that he gave him the ring during the accident several years ago. The person from the bar that accompanied Mr. Brando that time confirmed that Mr. Brando stole the ring, but Lord Joestar felt sympathy towards Mr. Brando due to their both being born into poverty. He did not want to allow him to be sent to an island prison. In fact, he even adopted Dio knowing that Mr. Brando was a criminal. The officer recounting all of this knows that Lord Joestar would not have adopted Dio if his father had been sent to prison. Unfortunately, as is the case in novels set in the Victorian era that were also written during said era, hindsight is no remedy to a fatal situation. Lord Joestar finally dies after acknowledging that he was too hard on JoJo.

Dio Brando is not actually dead; he has become a vampire-zombie hybrid after putting on the ancient mask. What ensues is a violent bloodbath that results in the death of many police officers. They also come back to life. Refusing to give in, JoJo takes on the responsibility to defeat Dio himself, despite the protestations of Speedwagon. Even after JoJo sustains several serious injuries from the unnaturally powerful Dio, his resolve to kill Dio leads him to go to extreme lengths to win the fight. Risking his body and life, he sacrifices everything and emerges victorious.

JoJo is now recovering in a hospital that was run by Erina’s father. As it happens, the nurse restoring JoJo back to health is none other than Erina herself. Even after several years have passed, he still cares about Erina. That fact unfortunately makes him decide to leave her behind without telling her anything when he embarks on his mission with his new ally, Will Anthonio Zeppeli. Baron Zeppeli takes on JoJo as his student and teaches him many useful techniques that will be necessary to defeat their enemies, so the time spent watching JoJo recover is a brief diversion.

Phantom Blood‘s setting provides the opportunity for Hirohiko Araki to portray historical figures and adapt them for his own purposes. Araki takes this opportunity and adapts the character of Jack the Ripper. He not only portrays what history recorded but also adds new elements to his life. Jack the Ripper here becomes a part of Dio’s growing army, as do the merchant from London that was seen in the first volume and a couple of non-existent historical figures. These new characters, Tarakus and the Dark Knight Blueford, are interesting and powerful new enemies. The person the two protected when they were alive, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, is a real historical figure, and the historical details about her are accurate. People may actually learn something from reading this volume, making this volume even better that it already is.

Artwork

Hirohiko Araki’s artwork is at the same high level of quality as it was in the first volume. The characters continue to be highly detailed, as well as extremely muscular in the cases of JoJo and Dio, and the designs of the new characters are unique. Baron Zeppeli’s design is rather unusual for a shounen manga, but not in a bad way. Backgrounds and outfits are still highly detailed, helping to give the sense of a real, complete world. The translation is also great. The grammatical and punctuation errors that were present in the first volume are not present here, helping to make Viz’s hardcover edition worth the price. One chapter in this volume is partially presented with an orange tint, and the use of colouring helps to add some depth to the story. In particular, it gives Erina’s expression when she is first reintroduced a more life-like appearance, one that a simple black-and-white drawing might not have done as effectively.

The violence and blood in this volume will undoubtedly be repelling to some readers. Dio is not violent towards girls or animals in this volume, at least, but faces can be seen melting frequently throughout the volume. For those who enjoy gruesome and bloody content, this volume is sure to please.

Extra Content

As with the first volume, two pages of extras are featured at the end of the book. The first features a black-and-white copy of the illustration of Baron Zeppeli from the front cover, along with what little details are currently known about him. The second page presents Hirohiko Araki discussing the character of Will Anthonio Zeppeli, explaining such things as how he came up with the idea for the character’s name.

Overall

This volume rises above the bar of quality that Hirohiko Araki set with the first volume. With an engaging plot, interesting new characters, excellent artwork, the brief return of Erina, the presentation of both real and fictional historical figures and the unrelenting blood and gore, this volume is even more engaging than the first one is. The next volume brings with it the end of the Phantom Blood arc, and based on the way things are going, it is sure to pack at least as much of a punch as this one does.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Kill la Kill Volume Five Review

K. Roberts

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July 6, 2015

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Kill la Kill Volume Five
Studio: Trigger
Publisher: Madman
Format: DVD (reviewed) / Blu-ray
Release Date: June 10, 2015
Price: $29.95 AUD (DVD) – Available Here / $34.95 AUD (Blu-ray) – Available Here

Overview

The majority of the episodes included in the previous volume of Kill la Kill took the series to new extremes. Those episodes featured extremely disturbing scenes that unapologetically featured and glorified incest and sexual abuse. The levels of violence were higher than ever before, Now, the final volume of episodes has been released. With five episodes and one OVA, does Trigger manage to end this series in a memorable way?

Story

Ryuko has learned about her origins. Being someone that is neither human nor clothing, she is struggling to come to terms with who she is and who she was. Due to this change, Ryuko refuses to listen to the words of anyone who tries to help her, even her hyperactive and ‘crazy’ friend Mako Mankanshoku and her Kamui Senketsu. Ryuko then decides to leave everyone behind and go off on her own. Bent solely on getting revenge on her evil mother Ragyo Kiryuin, she walks right into a trap by heading to Honnouji Academy. Nudist Beach has to focus their efforts on rescuing Satsuki after discovering that she is being held captive by Ragyo.

Ragyo forces Ryuko to wear the Kamui Junketsu and brainwashes her to give her false memories. Believing that Ragyo was a good mother and was always there for her, Ryuko joins her new ‘allies’ Ragyo and Nui and finds a new goal in killing her sister Satsuki. Now that Ryuko is more powerful than ever before, Nudist Beach must now work together as a team in order to execute Satsuki’s secret plan to strip Junketsu off of Ryuko. Even Mako helps out under the careful direction of Satsuki, and the team follows every step of the plan perfectly. Through their actions, it is shown just what can be achieved when people work together. Eventually, Ryuko recovers from being brainwashed and takes Junketsu off despite the enormous strain that doing so will put on her body. Remembering that Nui Harime is her enemy, she formulates and executes a plan to deal Nui a crippling blow. Nudist Beach now has a moment’s reprieve. Everyone joins together to share a meal together, but the conflict between the two sisters Ryuko and Satsuki has not yet been resolved.

Through the Elite Four’s devotion to Satsuki, Ryuko realises that she needs to carefully consider who her real friends and allies are and who her real enemies are. No matter how crazy her friends may be, they are still her friends and they are the ones who genuinely care about her and love her. She has acknowledged this truth and come to terms with who she is, so she is now ready to join Satsuki and fight Ragyo.

After four volumes, Kill la Kill finally manages to make meaningful points not only about clothing, but also about adolescence, friendship and teamwork as well. Its “you wanna get naked?” comments, as well-timed as they may be, are not helping to make any point about clothing. What does help make a point is the extreme lengths to which the employees of Revocs go to serve the Life Fibers. The term ‘fashion-slave’ has been around for a while, and but rarely has this term been explored to such extremes. Revocs’ employees offer themselves up to the clothing in order to help it completely take over Earth and wipe out humanity. This can be compared to the lengths in which some people go to for fashion, although Kill la Kill does not make even a single point about how the media is one of the major reasons why women feel the need to wear clothing that is unnecessarily revealing and often ill-fitting to the point of being physically uncomfortable to wear. On a final note, Trigger does not make it clear whether or not Mako has any romantic feelings for Ryuko. It is possible that, somewhere in that hyperactive brain of hers, there exists some deeper feelings for Ryuko. Trigger evidently has no intention of making everything clear to the viewers. To paraphrase Ryuko, nonsense is how they roll, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Visuals

The visuals are as high-octane and crazy as ever. The animation continues to frequently shift from being fluid to purposely limited, even combining the two alternatives in the same frames as if to draw even more attention to how crazy the series is. There is a lot of full nudity in this volume, but genitals and female nipples are not drawn, with the exception of Mako’s younger brother. The reason why Aikuro’s nipples emanate a bright purple light remains unexplained. There is also a lot of blood and gore in this volume, with copious amounts of blood frequently spurting from various characters. This is something to consider if you have not yet started watching this series, but for those of you who have been following the series so far, this may not be a problem at all.

Audio

Hiroyuki Sawano’s music is used effectively throughout these episodes. As fantastic as always, it is used at the right times, as is musical silence. The voice acting is excellent, but the one thing that continually brings the English dub down is the incorrect pronunciation of the names of most characters, especially Mako Mankanshoku’s name. In some cases, English voice actors are better suited to their roles than the original Japanese seiyuu are. This can be found with Ryuko, Satsuki, Aikuro and Senketsu’s voice actors for example. The English dub script has clearly been adapted from the translation, but it is effective overall. Ragyo makes one good point, though, which is that Ryuko does not speak like a normal 17-year-old.

Extras

This volume features a few on-disc extras, the majority of which are not listed on the back cover of this release. The 30-second web version previews are again listed as being included on this disc despite not actually being present. The previews in the extras menu are the same 15-second previews that appear at the end of each episode. The extras that are included are the textless animation sequence for the second opening and ending songs, the textless ending animation sequence from episode 24, the OVA episode 25 and a recap of the story narrated by Aikuro Mikisugi. The latter is in Japanese with English subtitles only and does not feature any new animation, but it is entertaining.

Overall

The final four episodes and the OVA episode of Kill la Kill end the series on a relatively high note. Through the very well-executed combination of comedy and drama, these episodes provide a random and crazy yet highly entertaining experience. The comic relief hits all the right notes and is used at all the right times in this volume. There is another problematic scene glorifying incest in an episode featured in this volume, but Trigger does not take things to the uncomfortable extremes that they previously have. The scenes depicting the series’ traditionally high levels of blood and gore are frequent yet never gratuitous, owing to how utterly ridiculous they are and to the fact that the enemies are often the ones sustaining the attacks. If the evil depicted in the episodes included in volume four does not bother you, then consider picking up this volume along with the rest of the series and joining Ryuko on her quest to avenge her father’s death. If you have already collected the first four volumes, then get this volume and complete your collection. Kill la Kill is one of the most unique anime series to be produced in recent years.

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.

MangaGamer Announces New Titles, Partnership

Brandon Postal

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July 5, 2015

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MangaGamer Announces New Titles, Partnership

MangaGamer has had a few noticeable announcements as of late, promoted at various conventions. Tonight at Anime Expo, following on the heels of their announcements at Anime Boston, they made several new releases known at their panel.

Firstly though, they updated the crowd on the status of a number of PC projects in the works. Of particular note is a planned release date of September 2015 for their upcoming title The Menagerie. And in addition to the announcement of Free Friends, MangaGamer also plans to release Free Friends 2 sometime this winter. Additionally they announced two other nukige, Sweet Sweat in Summer, with a planned July date. The other title is Kuroino, planned to release this winter as well.

Progress has been made on a number of their upcoming story titles as well. Tsubibara Chapter 1 has already reached $96,000 in funding, and per the panel will likely be fully funded after Anime Expo. MangaGamer also updated the crowd on their plans to release the mystery game Myth. An otome title is scheduled for release Winter 2015, Ozmafia, which is now 50% translated. Bokuter has also reached 50% completion in it’s translation, though a release date was not stated.

Kara no Shojo 2 has been completed and is now in the editing stage. Likewise, Gahkthun of Gold is complete and planned to release at the end of this year. Euphoria, which they warned is a much harder H-title, is complete, with the demo to release soon and the full release this Fall/Winter.

The House of Fata Morgana is at 60% translation status, and MangaGamer is aiming for a steam release. Finally, the last update was on Di Capo III, which is still in progress, but with no planned release date.

If all this wasn’t enough, MangaGamer announced four new titles at Anime Expo. The first was a new yuri title, A Kiss for the Petals: Remember How We Met. This title is a continuation of the series, and offers a new spin on the franchise. Next was the announcement of Himawari, which was accompanied by a trailer.

MangaGamer then brought out Ryukishi07 (Ryukishi Nana) for the announcement of a remake of the hugely popular Umineko no Naku Koro Ni. This includes not only a redone translation based of edits from the fan translations, but new art. Additionally, this version will be uncut upon it’s release.

Finally, blowing away the crowd, MangaGamer announced that they are starting a partnership with AliceSoft, the longtime famous visual novel publisher. MangaGamer will be working to bring out Beat Blade Haruka, which will host a huge number of H-scenes. MangaGamer hopes this to be the first of many titles from AliceSoft.

It was a great panel, and be sure to watch for more news from MangaGamer about their upcoming titles.

Minecraft: Story Mode Debut Trailer Released

Travis Bruno

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July 5, 2015

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Minecraft: Story Mode Debut Trailer Released

Back in December Telltale Games announced that they were working on Minecraft: Story Mode and while fans at the time of both properties had no idea what to expect, well this debut trailer for the game is pretty much what people were thinking the game would be like.

Revealed at Minecon today, this five episode episodic game follows the story of Jesse (voiced by Patton Oswalt) and his group of friends who “revere the legendary Order of the Stone; four adventurers who slayed an Ender Dragon.” This Order is the best at what they do with, being a Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect. Then one time at EnderCon, Jesse and the gang find that something is very wrong and when terror is unleashed they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion.

Currently Minecraft: Story Mode will be released sometime later this year on PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and compatible iOS and Android-based devices.

Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment’s Anime Expo 2015 Announcement Recap

K. Roberts

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July 4, 2015

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Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment’s Anime Expo 2015 Announcement Recap

Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment made several announcements at their panel at Anime Expo 2015. Here is the full recap of those announcements.

Nozomi Entertainment announced their acquisition of Tamayura: Hitotose, Umi Monogatari, Big Windup! season two, Pita-Ten and A Town Where You Live.

Tamayura: Hitotose follows “a young girl who takes up her late father’s old camera, determined to capture memories that will bring joy and happiness to others for a lifetime.” The series aired in Japan in Autumn 2011. 12 episodes, a special OVA episode 5.5 and four OVAs were produced. The OVAs were produced by Hal Film Maker. It was directed by Junichi Sato.

Umi Monogatari (Sea Story) was also directed by Junichi Sato and was also animated by Hal Film Maker. It “tells the story of two girls who live in the sea whose lives are forever changed when a mysterious ring falls into their underwater home.” It originally aired in Japan in summer 2009.

Big Windup! (also known as Ookiku Furikabutte ~Natsu no Taikai-hen~) season two “picks up where the original Big Windup! left off with pitching prodigy Ren Mihashi and his teammates participating in the High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in hopes in playing the finals at the Hanshin Koshien Stadium.” The 13-episode series was directed by Tsutomu Mizushima and was animated by A-1 Pictures. It aired in Japan in spring 2010.

Pita-Ten follows “the adventures of a boy who lost his mother that encounters a young angel-in-training.” The 26-episode series was directed by Toshifumi Kawase and Yuzo Sato and was animated by Madhouse. It originally aired in Japan in 2002.

A Town Where You Live “tells the story of a boy who moves to Tokyo to be closer to his girlfriend, only to find that his long-distance relationship is more complex than he thought.” The 12-episode series was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and was animated by Gonzo.

Tamayura: Hitotose and Umi Monogatari will be released on DVD in the autumn of 2015 with Japanese audio, English subtitles and on-screen translations. Big Windup! season two, Pita-Ten and A Town Where You Live will be released on DVD in 2016 with Japanese audio, English subtitles and on-screen translations.

Nozomi Entertainment also announced their first-ever Blu-ray release, Revolutionary Girl Utena. The 39-episode series, directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, will be released in high-definition in North America next year.

Right Stuf and Sunrise announced the DVD and Blu-ray release original Mobile Suit Gundam series. The series was directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino. The first 21 episodes will be released in autumn 2015, featuring Japanese audio, English audio (the Ocean dub), English subtitles and on-screen translations. They also announced their plans to release the sequel series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Mobile Suit Victory Gundam and After War Gundam X. They will release the Turn A Gundam Movie Collection in the near future.

Funstock.co.uk Announces the Blaze Tab Retro Gaming Tablet

K. Roberts

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July 4, 2015

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Funstock.co.uk Announces the Blaze Tab Retro Gaming Tablet

Funstock.co.uk, a popular destination for retro gaming in Europe, has announced the BLAZE®TAB. It is a brand new gaming tablet aimed specifically at retro gamers.

The tablet features a quad core processor and a dedicated graphics processor. It can play all retro games made for consoles including but not limited to the ZX Spectrium, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 2600, Famicom, Super Famicom, NES, SNES, GameBoy, GameBoy Colour, GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, Sega Master System, Sega MegaDrive, Sega Dreamcast, MAME, Final Burn Alpha, Colecovision, MSX, NeoGeo, NeoGeo Pocket, PSP and the original PlayStation. People can play their games and media on their TV with HDMI out cable.

The BLAZE®TAB can also access the Google Play store, allowing owners to connect to their favourite social media platforms via the device. It is scheduled for release in Q3 2015, and can be pre-ordered here. It will retail for £99.99.

The Pilot’s Love Song Premium Edition Release Announced for September 22nd

Travis Bruno

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July 4, 2015

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The Pilot’s Love Song Premium Edition Release Announced for September 22nd

Early last year NIS America announced that they had acquired the rights to The Pilot’s Love Song shortly after the series began airing in Japan. Now during their Anime Expo panel the company announced that they are planning on releasing The Pilot’s Love Song Premium Edition in North America on September 22nd.

The Pilot’s Love Song Premium Edition is currently available for pre-order from NIS America‘s online store where it is priced at $51.99. As for the release, the thirteen episode series will be presented on two Blu-ray discs featuring the original Japanese voice track with English subtitles and this premium release comes with a hardcover slipcase and a 64 page hardcover art book.

Zero Escape Volume 3 Announced for 3DS and PS Vita

Travis Bruno

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July 4, 2015

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Zero Escape Volume 3 Announced for 3DS and PS Vita

Today during their panel at Anime Expo Aksys Games had news for fans that have often been seen asking for the continuation of a certain series. The company, and Zero Escape series director Kotaro Uchikoshi, announced Zero Escape Volume 3 for release on the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita.

Currently the team is aiming to have Zero Escape Volume 3 released with both English and Japanese voice work sometime in Summer 2016. Being the third game in the series, the title will feature familiar faces, multiple endings, and puzzle solving that will “be vital to your survival.”

Thankfully with nearly a year until the game is slated to come out, those wanting to get into the series have plenty of time to go back and play the previous games 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Virtue’s Last Reward.