It’s Friday morning at Celebration VI in Orlando, FL. This place is hot and humid but it’s full of amazing stuff to see and do, as always. I haven’t actually seen Star Wars 1313 yet. Unfortunately, I only see one more preview of it available in the schedule and I’ll likely be involved with a prior commitment. I’ve caught a little bit from other attendees and it mostly sounds like it’s the same footage seen at E3 and Gamescom, so I’m not going to miss much unless one of the panelists accidentally lets something slip. I’m going to keep today’s edition short and sweet as I’ve still got lots to do:
Zenimax, parent company of Bethesda, has filed a trademark for “Hearthfire.” No explanation of the name is forthcoming, leading many to speculate that this is actually the next planned DLC chapter for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It’s also possible that it’s related to the upcoming Elder Scrolls MMO. Hearthfire is the ninth month in the Tamriel calendar.
Eric Bossik, a voice actor you’d recognize from Silent Hill 4 has confirmed that he’s done some motion capture on Metal Gear Solid V. According to Bossick, he’s not playing Snake though he is an ally, he won’t be doing voicework, and the game will not release until summer 2013 at the earliest.
We’ve yet to see all of the titles originally announced in the Final Fantasy XIII universe, but Square Enix looks posed to announce another one. According to their official site:
The ‘Lightning Saga’ that started with the release of FINAL FANTASY XIII, has achieved a cumulative shipment of over 9.6 million units; and in May 2012 FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 was brought to conclusion with the add-on content entitled ‘Lightning’s Story: Requiem of the Goddess’.
Key members of the FINAL FANTASY XIII development team including the Producer, Director and Art Director, are in preparations to present new information about the direction of Lightning’s story.
This presentation will take place at an event in Tokyo to celebrate FINAL FANTASY 25th Anniversary, on 1st September 2012.
Still not on board with Kinect? Is it because you think it’s ridiculous or because it’s too expensive? If it’s the former, you’re right. However, if it’s the latter, the price was dropped to $110 this week in North America and other regions worldwide (though not in Europe, yet).
Interplay is resurrecting the long-defunct Black Isle Studios. This was the studio that originally brought you Fallout, Baldur’s Gate, and Planescape: Torment. According to Interplay, they’ll be forming a top notch team of talent to develop AAA RPGs based on some of their most popular IPs. Unfortunately, Chris Avellone and Brian Fargo are not in the loop for this announcement. Maybe Interplay is shopping for them, maybe not. But Black Isle won’t be the same without those two.
The third episode of Telltale’s The Walking Dead could be happening as early as next week. If not, it will still be very soon. According to a Telltale rep, “Episode Three: Long Road Ahead is in submission with our first party partners and we are anxiously awaiting a release date to be confirmed. We anticipate that this could be as soon as next week, and as soon as we have a confirmation on all platforms, we’ll be letting everyone know as soon as it happens.” By the way Sony, thanks for giving me the first two episodes free through PS+. Now I’m a junkie and will be buying the next three on day one. Give your marketing guy behind that one a bonus.
I just heard the roar as the doors opened for the main crowd. That means it’s back to work for the Celebration VI Bounty Hunt. Can anything still to come this weekend top seeing An Evening with Kevin Smith last night?