I dont know how I feel about this…..I was totally rooting for Zack and Wiki to be the new character, since I think their art style fits totally with what TvC was aiming for.  Frank West’s specials look fun, but his fighting style just seems weird.  To see what I mean, check out the link below to the Capcom-Unity site!

jgonzo > Blog > TGS 2009: Tatsunoko VS. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, It’s Frank West, Baby!.

What do you think?

YOU HIT THE TIP!

This movie still has my vote to be the first successful (critically and commercially) film based off a video game. When they initially announced the Prince of Persia film, I was hoping that would be the first one, but looking at it now, I highly doubt it. I’ve got confidence that Blizzard has enough pride in their work that they would not allow a sub-par product to ship.

The film will be produced jointly by Blizzard and Legendary Pictures (300, The Dark Knight, Watchmen), and distributed by Warner Bros. Per previous announcements made many years back, this movie will not lack in the budget department. Blizzard initially reported that the movie’s budget would exceed $100 million. With all the big names being tacked onto the movie thus far, I would not doubt it.

In terms of plot, Blizzard originally stated that it will not be one of the main plotlines from within Warcraft lore, although it may run concurrent to one of them. The main character will most likely also not be one of the well-known ones from the game. It’ll be interesting to see what Blizzard comes up with.

Hit the jump for a copy of the Variety.com article covering it and the official press release from Blizzard.

Sam Raimi has signed on to direct “Warcraft,” the live-action film adaptation of the fantasy videogame franchise “World of Warcraft.”

Legendary Pictures and vidgame publisher Blizzard Entertainment are mounting the film, and Warner Bros. will co-finance and distribute. The team boasts an impressive pedigree: In addition to the director of “Spider-Man,” the partners have added “The Dark Knight” producer Charles Roven to the creative mix.

The plan is for Raimi to supervise development of “Warcraft” and shoot the picture after he completes work on “Spider-Man 4,” which gets under way early next year for Columbia Pictures.

The movie will be financed under the Legendary Pictures’ co-production and co-financing deal with WB, in a manner similar to the Todd Phillips-directed “The Hangover” plus the Roven-produced “Batman Begins” and “Dark Knight.”

The “Warcraft” universe features an epic conflict between the Horde and the Alliance. The game has developed a global following since its launch in 1994 and shows no signs of slowing. Its most recent expansion, “Wrath of the Lich King,” sold more than 2.8 million copies in the first day of release and more than 4 million its first month.

“Warcraft” is “emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which our studio is best known,” said Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov. The deal revives a long-dormant pact made by Legendary and Blizzard for a film adaptation of the game (Daily Variety, May 8, 2006).

“At its core, ‘Warcraft’ is a fantastic, action-packed story,” Raimi said in a statement.

Raimi most recently directed “Drag Me to Hell.”

Roven and his Atlas producing partner Alex Gartner will produce with Legendary’s CEO Thomas Tull and chief creative officer Jon Jashni, Raimi and his producing partner, Joshua Donen. Rob Tapert will be executive producer, and Blizzard senior VP of creative development Chris Metzen will be co-producer.

Source: Variety.com

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – July 22, 2009 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and Legendary Pictures announced today that Sam Raimi has signed on to direct the eagerly-anticipated major motion picture based on Blizzard Entertainment®’s award-winning Warcraft® universe. Raimi has, in the course of his career, clearly demonstrated a genius for developing and adapting existing fictional universes for mainstream audiences while staying true to the spirit of the original content.
Raimi directed the Spider-Man trilogy, which has broken box-office records around the world and garnered five Academy Award® nominations. Known for his imaginative filmmaking style, richly drawn characters and offbeat humor, Raimi wrote and directed the cult classic, The Evil Dead and produced 30 Days Of Night. He most recently wrote and directed the supernatural thriller, Drag Me To Hell.

“At its core, Warcraft is a fantastic, action-packed story,” said Raimi. “I am thrilled to work with such a dynamite production team to bring this project to the big screen.”

Charles Roven’s producing talents were recently seen with last summer’s blockbuster The Dark Knight, which grossed in excess of $1 billion, was nominated for eight Academy Awards® and won two. His body of work also includes the widely acclaimed Batman Begins and the sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys. Roven, with Atlas producing partner Alex Gartner, will be producing with Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull, Legendary’s Chief Creative Officer Jon Jashni, Raimi and Raimi’s producing partner Joshua Donen. Raimi’s partner, Robert Tapert, will be an Executive Producer and Blizzard Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of Creative Development, Chris Metzen, a Co-Producer.

“Partnering with Sam Raimi exemplifies Legendary’s mandate of marrying the highest quality intellectual property to world-class filmmakers” said Legendary’s Tull. “Sam’s passion for ‘Warcraft’ is undeniable and we know that he will create an incredible film worthy of Blizzard’s phenomenal franchise. We look forward to collaborating with our partners at Warner Bros. and continuing our successful relationship with Chuck in bringing this rich new world to the screen.”

“Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have a shared vision for this film and we searched at length to find the very best director to bring that vision to life,” said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. “From our first conversation with Sam, we could tell he was the perfect choice. Sam knows how to simultaneously satisfy the enthusiasts and the mainstream audience that might be experiencing that content for the first time. We’re looking forward to working with him to achieve that here.”

“Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft has become a second home for millions of players and Sam’s experience and talent make him the perfect director for this remarkable and action-packed world,” said Atlas’ Roven. “Alex and I are proud to be working with Sam and re-teaming with our friends at Legendary and Warner Bros.”

The film will fall under Legendary Pictures’ co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. “Warcraft is emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which our studio is best known. We have enjoyed great success with our partners at Legendary, and this is an incredible opportunity for us to work with Sam on a project that is so eagerly anticipated by so many,” said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

Source: Blizzard.com

“So I hopped on a fucking DINOSAUR, traveled back to the present, and stomped the shit out of robot zombies. Did you just read that sentence? Did you really? I FUCKING TRAVELED THROUGH TIME AND JUMPED ON A DINOSAUR AND USED IT TO KILL MOTHERFUCKING ROBOT ZOMBIES. This game is unbelievable. Impossible. There’s nothing you can’t do. Holy fucking shit.”

Consider this an apology for not posting lately.  The last few weeks of work have been absolutely hellish.  I’ve got a sabbatical coming up in just two months (and PAX!), so I think I can hang on.

BARACK STRIKE!!!!

When the concept of downloading old games was first realized, there were three games I swore I would buy regardless of the cost.  Secret of Mana, which I have on the Virtual Console, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which will come out this summer and the greatest brawler of all time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, which I am still waiting on….

But not for long! Hit the jump for details and video!

Revealed at the Tribeca Film Festival was news that Ubisoft will be releasing a remake of the most amazing Ninja Turtle game for XBLA and possibly WiiWare.  The story was first broken on this TMNT news blog, but has since been covered by various gaming media outlets, such as Destructoid. (Destructoid – Cowabunga! Gameplay video of TMNT: Turtles in Time.)

Taken straight from the blog entry, here is some news about the game and what was playable:

• The game is set up and directly taken from TMNT Turtles in Time.
• Right now it’s only going to be for Xbox Live, but they’re working on bringing it to Wii (Virtual Console Wiiware?).
• It has the same music as the old game.
• Only the levels “Alleycat Blues” and “Skull and Crossbones” were playable.
• The only difference noticed was the bosses for the “Skull and Crossbones” are Tokka and Rahzar (unlike the original, which had Bebop and Rocksteady).
• For Alleycat Blues the boss is still Metalhead.
• The game is basically Turtles in Time with new graphics – Awesome!

Not only do we have this information, but there is also a first look at one of the levels in the game.  This game is still in early stages, but already, this looks like a winner.  Although I may have been happier with just a direct port of the game, old graphics and all, I’m super stoked to have the chance to play TMNT IV online with friends.

Cowabunga!!!!

Its been a while since the Gamestop and Capcom sponsored National Tournament was held last week, but the internet at my house is broken (along with my 360, but that’s another blog all together).  Luckily, I have a quick 45 minutes to blog during my office hours!

I was super stoked to go to this tournament, partly cause I love Capcom, and also because I love Street Fighter.  It was held at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in SF, which is a little off the beaten path.  I arrived a bit late, so when I got there, tons of people were already inside watching the Quarter-Finals take place.  It was held in the largest venue that I’ve seen for a gaming event so far, with lots of room for gaming kiosks and places to get free swag such as shirts and hats. Hit the jump to read more!

Anyway, due to my awesomeness, I was able to secure a media badge from my friends at Capcom (YAY!) and got into the VIP section, where I spent a lot of my time.  Up there, there were special gaming kiosks that allowed me to play without waiting in a huge line, free drinks and snacks such as grapes and small yummy desserts, and I had a good view of the action.

Speaking of the action, I was quite surprised not by the caliber of the fighters, but by the choices in characters.  The Semi-finals had E. Honda vs. Balrog, and Balrog vs. Rufus.  It made for very interesting matches (MC’d by Seth Killian himself, which ultimately pit Justin Wong (of epic Ken/Chun Li EVO video fame) as Rufus against Mike Ross as E. Honda.  Justin Wong played a very good Rufus and came out on top as the National Champion, winning a Street Fighter IV cabinet and the chance to fight the international champions, Poongko (Korea), Iyo (Japan), and the legendary Daigo.

The international fights were SO epic.  I only took a little video, but below you can see Iyo’s Dhalsim vs. Poongko’s Ryu.

The finals of the international tournament had Justin Wong go up against Daigo, and the matches were insane…but in the end, Daigo emerged victorious.  I was so hoping Seth Killian would take him on in the end, cause then I would have gone crazy!

Back in the media section, Justin Wong showed up..I was soooo close to asking him a couple of EXCLUSIVE questions, but he was being whisked away by people to the celebration table, where there were lots of really drunk people.  All I managed to get out was a “Congratulations man!” and a shoulder pat…which for me was kinda a big deal.  Justin Wong, although he lost in that epic match, is amazing.

Anyway, it was a great fun night which was made complete when I was hit on by two dudes driving a truck as I was walking away from the event.  Oh San Fran.

Enjoy the pictures!

Its a cryptic web address, that currently only has a countdown in front of the number 2.  What could the web address mean?

I’m going to TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE!!!!!

My pants are tight with anticipation.

Its something that I’ve been waiting for….my all time fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has been rumored to come to XBLA for a while.  And if the rumors are to be believed, this may be more true than we think.

On the Shoryuken boards, there is a list of screenshots that show MvC2 in on the XBLA blades. Link

Shopto.net had a listing for a special Mad Catz MvC2 fighting stick with a description that was QUICKLY taken down. Link

There is now a list of achievements online for MvC2! Link

All this is starting to build up and get me sweating with excitement for the inevitable announcement, which, when it happens, I will cry tears of joy.

They will taste great.

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http://twitter.com/EA/status/1528284459

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Makes me want to create a Twitter account and try for 1,000,000.