On the heels of the first teaser poster being released for Game of Thrones: Season 3, HBO aired a new teaser promo Sunday night.
Like the poster, this is the most tease-y of teasers - pretty much just giving you the date Game of Thrones returns, and a few bits of intriguing voice over dialogue, much like the earliest Season 2 ads. But hey, the campaign has begun, which means more is to come...
On the heels of winning two Emmys last month for its first season (among seventeen nominations), American Horror Story returns Wednesday night for a brand new story, American Horror Story: Asylum.
Completely unconnected storywise to the first season, Asylum does feature several returning cast members playing totally different roles, including Zachary Quinto, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Jessica Lange - the latter of whom won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her work in the first season. They are joined by several newcomers, including Chloe Sevigny (Big Love), James Cromwell (Babe, LA Confidential), Joseph Fiennes (FlashForward) and Adam Levine (yep, the Maroon 5 guy!), in the story of an asylum in 1964 where some very twisted things are occurring, involving both humans and... otherwise. It was also just announced that Ian McShane (Deadwood, Kings) will be appearing in two episodes.
American Horror Story amassed quite a following last year, even while some felt the show -- from Nip/Tuck and Glee's Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk -- was too over the top. With the new season and a completely new storyline here, we wondered, will you be checking it out? Let us know in our poll below!
American Horror Story: Asylum premieres Wednesday, October 17th at 10pm on FX.
Hot on the heels of Far Cry 3’s minimum specs earlier today, Ubisoft has revealed the minimum system requirements for Assassin’s Creed III. According to a post on Ubisoft’s customer support site, the following specs will be required to run Assassin’s Creed III properly:
Supported OS: Windows Vista (SP2) / Windows 7 (SP1) / Windows 8
Processor: 2.66 GHz Intel Core2 Duo E6700 or 3.00 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better recommended
RAM: 2 GB (4 GB recommended)
Video Card: 512 MB DirectX 9.0c-compliant with Shader Model 4.0 or higher (see supported list)*
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c-compliant (5.1 surround sound recommended)
DVD-ROM: Dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 17 GB
Peripherals Supported: Windows-compatible keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)
Multiplayer: 256 kbps or faster broadband connection
Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
AMD Radeon HD 3870 / 4000 / 5000 / 6000 / 7000 series or better
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT / 9 / 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 series or better
Ubisoft notes that “laptop versions of these cards may work, but are not supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game.”
Assassin’s Creed III will launch on consoles on October 30th, and the PC version will follow on November 23rd. Ubisoft recently confirmed that it will no longer use always-on DRM for its PC titles.
For more on Assassin’s Creed III, check out our hands-on impressions from earlier this week, plus what the game’s achievements tell us about the plot. For all the other details we know so far, look no further than our Assassin’s Creed III wiki guide.
Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.
On the heels of Revolution’s big debut this week, J.J. Abrams continues to be a busy guy when it comes to developing potential TV series and he has a formidable collaborator for his newest project – Alfonso Cuarón. The acclaimed filmmaker behind Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Cuarón will co-write and direct a currently untitled pilot for NBC, reveals Deadline, with Abrams executive producing. It is the first TV project for the Oscar-nominated Cuarón.
The story is described by Deadline as being about “a girl in possession of a great gift/powers — which will come into their own in seven years — and the man who is sprung from prison to protect her from those trying to hunt her down.”
Mark Friedman (Home of the Brave/The Forgotten) will co-write the pilot with Cuarón. and the two will executive produce along with Abrams and Bryan Burk.
Abrams and his Bad Robot production company also recently set up a new potential series at FOX from Fringe’s J.H. Wyman.
Well, it's here. The beast has arrived. With the premiere of the new season of Doctor Who last weekend, Fall TV is officially upon us - on the heels of shows like Grimm that went the extra step of debuting in August! So now it's time to get out a pad of paper, a sharpie, some duct tape, a protractor and some wood glue and map out your own person viewing/DVRing schedule. And we're here to help!
So please welcome back Dexter Morgan, Nucky Thompson, Carrie Matheson, Jax Teller, Olivia Dunham, John Reese, Amanda Clarke Emily Thorne, Jeff Winger, Leslie Knope, Liz Lemon, Sheldon Cooper, Barney Stinson, The Doctor, Schmidt, Cartman and, um, American Horror Story monster... guy. But if you know Fall TV, then you know that it's not just about the returning favorites. Oh no. There's an avalanche of new shows waiting to tumble down on top of your heads; like a nuclear sub drama from The Shield's Shawn Ryan, a post-global blackout adventure series from J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau, and new NBC comedies from folks like Glee/American Horror Story's Ryan Murphy and Jimmy Fallon.
There will be plenty of familiar faces too. Friends' Matthew Perry returns to NBC with Go On, Lost's Terry O'Quinn is back on ABC with 666 Park Avenue and The Office's Mindy Kaling's got her own new show on FOX called The Mindy Project. A few long-running shows will also come to an end as The Office returns for its 9th (!!!) and final season, FOX's Fringe wraps up its run with 13 exciting, Observer-filled episodes and Liz and Jack say goodbye on 30 Rock's 13-episode farewell.
So here's your rundown. Spotlight shows first, in order of premiere date. Then a full list at the end, on the last page of the feature. There's a system.
Network: BBC America
Airs: Saturdays at 9pm
Premiere: 9/8/12
Going into Season 7, the big question is just how Amy Pond and Rory Williams will depart the series. The fall run of the show is a short one, with just five episodes (the rest of Season 7 will air next year), culminating in Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill leaving Doctor Who behind. But will they get a happy ending?
Fans are also extra curious about this year’s Christmas special, which was said to introduce the Doctor’s new companion, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman. Of course this past weekend, the season premiere threw a curve ball at us in regards to that...
Network: Adult Swim
Airs: Sundays at Midnight
Premiere: 9/9/12
Season 6 of Robot Chicken kicks off with the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special, with Seth Green as Batman, Robin and Aquaman, Neil Patrick Harris as Two-Face, Alfred Molina as Lex Luthor, Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern, Megan Fox as Lois Lane, Breckin Meyer as Superman – in a parody of all things Justice League, Super Friends and more.
The remainder of Season 6 will feature a ton of ever-impressive guest voices, including Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Chalke, Kat Dennings, Sam Elliott, Ben Foster, Whoopi Goldberg, Lucas Grabeel, Megan Hilty, Gillian Jacobs, Robert Kirkman, Zachary Levi, J.B. Smoove, Liev Schreiber, Jon Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Stanly Tucci, Olivia Wilde, and Alex Winter.
Network: NBC
Airs: Tuesdays at 9pm
Premiere: 9/11/12
After airing a special preview of its pilot episode after their Olympics coverage a few weeks ago, NBC has high hopes for its new Matthew Perry comedy, Go On. Perry, after failing with ABC's Mr. Sunshine back in 2010, is back in semi-Chandler mode, playing a sportscaster who joins a support group to help him grieve for the recent death of his wife. Yes, the premise sounds a bit dark, but given that Perry's Ryan King finds himself surrounded by a multi-ethnic, multi-generational cast of kooky characters, it's clear that NBC's trying to pull from Community's Column A and create a show that has a chance of reaching a broader audience. Laura Benati, Julie White, Brett Gelman and John Cho also star.
Check out IGN's review of Go On's pilot episode here!
Network: NBC
Airs: Tuesdays at 9:30pm
Premiere: 9/11/12
From Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee and American Horror Story, and Ali Adler comes a new NBC comedy about a gay couple (Justin Bartha and Andrew Rannells) and the woman, Goldie (Georgia King), acting as the surrogate for their baby. Ellen Barkin is on hand to provide some Archie Bunker-inspired homophobia as Goldie's grandma while Real Housewives of Atlanta/Glee's NeNe Leaks provides enough sass to put grandma in her place. Murphy has found enormous success with risky, off-kilter TV, so will he reign supreme over the realm of half-hour comedies as well?
Check out IGN's review The New Normal's pilot episode here!
Network: FX
Airs: Tuesdays at 10pm
Premiere: 9/11/12
How will things go for Jax, now that he’s taken over as president of SAMCRO? We’re guessing it won't be smooth sailing…
Season 5 will bring two major new players in, including Harold Perrineau (Lost) as a new antagonist, Damon Pope, who's transitioned from being a drug kingpin to running a legitimate empire. Jimmy Smits also joins the cast, trading in his usual suit-wearing characters to play Latino gang leader Nero Padilla – someone described as becoming a “dangerous mentor” to Jax.
Network: FOX
Airs: Wednesdays at 8pm
Premiere: 9/12/12
Arriving with a ton of hype last year, Simon Cowell’s US version of his smash hit UK reality series did… fine, but notably wasn't nearly as big as American Idol. That being the case, the second season will see some major overhauls, with judges Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and host Steve Jones all gone. The new judges are Demi Lovato and Britney Spears and yes, Lovato’s young age is a bit of an eyebrow raiser, given her role as a judge and mentor. But that’s overshadowed by the media attention bringing Spears onto the show is achieving. Given Spears’ own troubles through the years, many are curious to see just how she handles this role on The X Factor – but are they curious enough to give the show a ratings boost?
Network: NBC
Airs: Wednesdays at 8:30pm
Premiere: 9/12/12
The brain child baby of Late Night's Jimmy Fallon, Guys with Kids features Jesse Bradford (Swimfan), Anthony Anderson (Law & Order) and Zach Cregger (Whitest Kids U' Know) as dads. Wait! I mean dudes with infants. No, wait. Sorry, we'll get it right some day. But if you're a fan of guys being dumb with not only their kids, but their spouses as well, then saddle up, put some silly sunglasses on your toddler and act like an idiot in front of your hot wife who you probably don't deserve.
Network: FOX
Airs: Thursdays at 9pm
Premiere: 9/13/12
It’s always a struggle for a TV series that begins in a high school setting to then transition into something else when the characters graduate. Glee is going about this dilemma in an interesting (and risky) manner, having had some of the characters graduate last season – but not all. Storylines will now apparently take place in New York, where Rachel and Kurt live, but also back at McKinley, with the characters who have not graduated, plus some new students. And there’s also some of the other graduates to deal with as well, who are living in various cities. All of which certainly sounds... crowded.
J.J. Abrams' global blackout, NBC's Thursday night comedies and Nucky Thompson's prohibition-era Atlantic City on page 2...
On the heels of the big news that Joss Whedon is co-writing, producing and possibly directing a S.H.I.E.L.D. TV pilot for ABC, Whedon spoke to Vulture a bit about the project, along with his new role with Marvel – a three-year contract tying him to them exclusively when it comes to TV and film, which not only includes writing and directing Avengers 2, but advising on all the Marvel Cinematic Universe projects.
Mid-summer, Whedon expressed some hesitation about returning for Avengers 2, saying he might want to do a self-generated project first. Explaining what made him not only sign on, but sign on in a big way, he remarked that it was the size of the role that drew him in. Said Whedon, “It was part of what made it attractive to me. I loved the idea of being a consigliere. Every writer loves the idea of being able to go in and fix a problem and then leave without obligation. It's fun! I also love these characters and the Marvel universe, and I grew up reading the books, and I've been going back and reading the old books and realizing that they shaped my storytelling way more than I give them credit for. Now I'm starting up a TV show, which is something I really wanted to do, but I thought it wasn't going to be a part of my life for the next several years. It's like a tapas menus of projects that excite me, in addition to the Avengers sequel, which I'm excited for because I'm incredibly excited about the next story that I'm going to tell. For me, it's a huge win.”
Whedon adds, “It is unbelievably daunting, especially because I don't want to lose sight of all the other things I have on my docket and in my heart. So, it's going to be an insane few years, but I feel ready for that. It's an unholy amount of productivity, but as long as I give it all I can, it's a good thing. What's great is that the deal with Marvel is nonspecific, so I will give all I can, but the moment I can't, I just walk away. The moment I say, ‘You know, I'd like to help more on this project, but I need this time for The Avengers,’ there's no obligation. It's not like, ‘You must spend this amount of time on this movie.’ It's as much as it needs to be.”
S.H.I.E.L.D.: What We Might See in Joss Whedon’s TV Series
When it comes to S.H.I.E.L.D., Whedon didn’t offer any specifics on the character and storyline. But Vulture -- referring to some of his infamous situations on previous TV series like Firefly and Dollhouse -- asked, “How does it feel to finally be working on a project that may very well get the biggest promotional push of any TV show ever and will most likely not air on a Friday?”
Whedon replied with a laugh, “You know, I can't guarantee that any of that will happen! But so far, it feels just fine. The important thing to me is that we know what the show is. We love what it is. It came together very organically, so when we went in to pitch [to Marvel], it wasn't like, We're trying to find this because you want a TV show, it was, Check this out. And that's a good way to walk in a room.”
That being said, Whedon remarked, “Good support is wonderful, but it's not a hill of beans, because they may give us all this support and then decide, ‘Eh. Yeah, it's Friday.’ They might give us all the support and then not do that, but then audiences might go, ‘Yeahhh … no.’ You just can't be sure. What I do know is that it's the show it should be, and we've got some really dope notions. It's going to work very well for people who either love the Marvel universe or for people who've never dipped a toe in the Marvel universe.”
You can read more of Whedon's conversation over at Vulture.
Hot on the heels of its release date announcement, a post on the Square-Enix blog has finally revealed how much RPG fans will have to pony up for Final Fantasy Dimensions when it launches next Friday on iOS and Android. The episodic RPG will be available for $2.99-$3.99 per episode, or $28.99 for the entire collection.
Square-Enix has always adhered to more traditional pricing on iOS, selling titles like Chaos Rings II at $18 and Final Fantasy III at $16. But Dimensions’ $28.99 asking price will make it the company’s most expensive iOS release yet.
Several new screenshots have also been released, showing off combat and some of the RPG's story details.
IGN will have more on Final Fantasy Dimensions next week. In the meantime gamers should catch up on our E3 impressions and videos.
Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. He has been reviewing mobile games since the dark days of Java flip phones. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
On the heels of Nintendo's $220 million quarterly loss, Sony released its consolidated financial results for its first fiscal quarter of the year, which ran from April 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012. Here is another version of the report.
The major takeaway is that the company as a whole lost another $312 million to add on top of its epic stock fall, debt downgrade, and a gigantic quarterly loss last year. It’s worth noting that a loss of $312 million is significantly lower than the $2.03 billion loss from Q3 of 2011, indicating that the company is on the upswing even if it’s still in the red.
The company notes that “the operating environment surrounding Sony in the first quarter continued to be difficult with the economy slowing in many areas of the world and the trend toward appreciation of the yen taking hold.” As Sony is also under a massive corporate restructure to streamline the company’s operations towards profitability, the company incurred “11.3 billion yen of restructuring charges included in the operating results,” inflating the loss. 11.3 billion yen is roughly equivalent to $14.5 million.
“Uncertain foreign exchange rates and trends in the global economy” have caused Sony to “downwardly [revise]” its fiscal year forecast moving forward.
Sony is a gigantic corporation, and the PlayStation brand is merely a segment of it (it’s the third biggest segment of the business by sales and operating revenue). But the PlayStation brand itself is also experiencing further financial difficulties. Sony notes that “Primarily due to the lowering of the annual unit sales forecast for portable hardware, sales are expected to be significantly lower than the May forecast… Sales are expected to be essentially flat and operating income is expected to decrease significantly year-on-year.”
Jumping further into the numbers, one finds a year-over-year sales fall. “Sales decreased 14.5% year-on-year (a 10% decrease on a constant currency basis) to 118.0 billion yen ($1.493 billion). This decrease was primarily due to lower sales of hardware and software of the PSP (PlayStation Portable) and PlayStation 3, partially offset by the contribution of the PlayStation Vita introduced from December 2011.”
Sony projects sales of PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 to amount to 16 million units globally during the entirety of its fiscal year. However, it has downgraded earlier estimates of 16 million PSPs and PlayStation Vitas sold during the fiscal year to 12 million. Its total software sales of 196.7 million units in 2011’s fiscal year is expected to be replicated in fiscal year 2012.
Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.
