Sony and Microsoft have always been fierce rivals in the video game market. In the conversations of gamers you can often hear such a phrase as the “war of consoles”. Each next generation of game consoles has a winner. But recently, companies have begun to cooperate in the field of cloud gaming and artificial intelligence. This news came as a surprise to the whole community.
Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO of Sony Corporation (left), along with Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO
The companies intend to jointly develop cloud solutions based on Microsoft Azure and look for possible options for using the database platform for Sony streaming and gaming services as part of the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties. In addition, the parties intend to work together on the development of semiconductors and AI, used to create “smart” photomatix and other products.
Thus, Sony became a Microsoft client, acquiring the power of their Azure cloud system for their gaming services. Most likely, Sony wants to improve the quality of the PlayStation Now, which allows you to run PS4 games through the cloud on other devices.
Despite all the excitement around the launch of PlayStation Now, it’s not so convenient to use
Up to this point, Sony did not show much interest in streaming services – users did not expect such a change of course from the Japanese company. It seems that Sony has pushed the xCloud initiative from Microsoft and the announcement of Google Stadia from Google to the decision to develop cloud gaming. Nevertheless, they decided to turn to Microsoft for help, instead of developing a platform from scratch. Most likely, these actions are connected with the desire of Sony not to lose focus on the development and quality of games. On the contrary, Microsoft in the past few years has focused on creating services and package offers, rather than on building up a library of exclusive games.
It seems that this unexpected agreement, contrary to all contradictions, satisfies the interests of both parties. It is possible that we will soon be able to see more from this collaboration, and how xCloud and Sony services will compete with Stadia from Google.
The holiday began a month earlier for fans of Nintendo products and Mario fans. While the rest are waiting for June and E3, Nintendo has pleased its users with an online presentation of a new game in the Super Mario Maker series.
For the first time, Big N decided to show Super Mario Maker 2 during the presentation of Nintendo Direct in February. But since then, the new official information about the game has not appeared. Even small pieces of the puzzle, which were shown in the short first trailer, were enough to interest the fans. Hour and a half trailer analysis – proof of this.
Nevertheless, there were still a lot of questions. For example, how can it work online? Or: how will the search for levels be arranged? Nintendo answered all these and other questions.
WHAT’S NEW?
First, the creators confirmed the topic based on Super Mario 3D World, the design of blocks, objects and opponents, associated with hero. Secondly, they showed a lot of new types of surfaces and environments, and a new opportunity to change the day and night. For example, in SMM2, it will finally be possible to create slopes that were not in the previous game, and also to regulate the water level.
Another significant innovation was the ability to customize the direction and speed of scrolling the screen. For example, now levels can move not only from left to right, but also in other directions. In addition, the requirements for the passage of levels can also be customized, not limited to only “run to the end.”
In addition, the construction can now be done together on one console, this feature was not available in the previous game.
ONLINE
Now the level search system will also work differently. Players will receive a set of filters and tags to simplify the search. However, if you don’t really want to search, you can choose “Endless Challenge” – an automatic selection of endlessly changing levels, which continues until the player plays a certain number of times.
One of the most serious innovations of SMM2 is the ability to play against others or with other players, creating competitive communities.
Super Mario Maker 2 can be played with friends.
On sale Super Mario Maker 2 will appear on June 28. In addition to the publication of the game, a limited annual subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online service will be available. Creators will give a stylus as a gift for pre-ordering the game.
In addition, during the presentation Nintendo announced the release of vouchers for the purchase of games at a discount. They can also be used to purchase Super Mario Maker 2 and other company games.
The first Super Mario Maker was released in September 2015 for the Wii U and was praised by critics, fans, and became popular on YouTube and Twitch. The game was a kit of levels, based on the Super Mario games and allowed to create, share and play them.
Since the announcement of Nintendo Switch in the network there is information that the console will receive support for virtual reality . The idea seemed crazy, but now it is known that VR will appear on the Nintendo console. Well, almost reliably…
Do it yourself!
New information about «VR from Nintendo» appeared like a bolt from the blue. Nintendo of America in his Twitter-account announced a new set of a series of cardboard designers Lego — Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. The set will give you the opportunity to assemble from cardboard VR-accessories for Nintendo Switch, as well as provide players with related games.
Two new Labo VR kits: Starter (left) and Full (right)
The method of implementing Nintendo picked up from Google Cardboard, which is also a cardboard mask with lenses. In this case, the Nintendo Switch is used as the screen, the image of which is divided for each eye, creating the illusion of immersion and volume.
This time there are several options for buying cardboard peripherals: «Starter kit» with glasses and «Blaster» for $39 (~2800 rubles.) with the possibility of separate purchase of other accessories and «Full set», which also contains «Camera», «Elephant», «Bird» and «air pedal» for $79 (~5600 rubles).
If you do not want to buy everything at once, it is possible to purchase only interesting Toy-Cons
Not my VR
However, the announcement of the cartons from Nintendo was ambiguous. Many age-old fans of “big N” were not very happy that beyond the designers of Labo, focused on children, VR will not apply.
One of the problems associated with Labo products is the lack of tangible depth of built-in games, and Toy-Con themselves are no more than interactive toys.
Labo to me is one of Nintendo's few big fails over the last 3 or 4 years. I've literally not touched it once since we built a few things one Saturday morning and the kids never spoke of it again.
But there is still hope for a bright future. For example, some of the previous designers received support in the «serious» games of the company. In particular, it is worth noting the «Motorcycle», which can be used to control the Mario Kart 8: Deluxe.
Promotional art collaborations Nintendo Land and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe
For the first time rumors about Nintendo’s entry into the virtual reality market appeared with the discovery of the company’s patent, vaguely reminiscent of VR-glasses.
This interesting patent has been discovered for the first time in 2016. He gave rise to further speculation about the VR Switch on the Nintendo.
It is also worth noting that this is not the first attempt of «big N» to enter the VR market. Back in 1995, the company released the Virtual Boy console, which is a helmet similar to modern «head displays». The experiment was not successful: after prolonged use, the helmet could cause headaches and pain in the eyes, and the project itself is still considered one of the biggest failures of the company.
Along with spring, thaw and sunny weather in March, begins the gaming season. Usually, spring is not as fruitful for big games as autumn or Christmas holidays, but here is the list of the most exciting releases of March.
Dead or Alive 6 — 1st of March
Dead or Alive 6, the newest part of a popular Japanese fighting game, opens up the first month of spring.
Overall, there are 26 characters in Dead or Alive 6. there will be more content available in DLC.
This time, the creators decided to shift slightly the vector of the game by dressing up immodest heroins (however, the chest physiology stayed the same) and making the game more accessible and appealing for new players. Besides, there will be a full customization of characters, which can be seen in Soul Calibur VI, Tekken 7, and other modern Japanese fighting games. In addition, the game has extremely realistic visuals of clothes and faces of characters, which there are 26.
If you miss these quality Japanese fisticuffs — and Tekken 7 and Soul Calibur VI already drive you crazy — you definitely should check out Dead or Alive 6.
The Occupation — 5th of March
Also in the first week of March will be released a new project by an independent British company White Paper Games — The Occupation.
The Occupation – one of the most interesting quests of the last years.
The setting is Great Britain in the 1980s, where happened a disastrous terrorist attack that has taken lives of 26 people. In the role of a journalist, the player will have to understand what happened and prevent a looming political scandal. To finish the game, the player has 4 real hours, which means that it can be ended without any player’s interactions, so solving all mysteries of the narrative is not easy.
For those who love fascinating stories and intrigues, The Occupation will be a perfect match.
Devil May Cry V — 8th of March
This year’s international women’s day will bring joy to fans of the Devil May Cry series, slash action shooter games.
The main characters of DMC 5 (from right to left): Dante, Nero and V
After 11 years, if not taking into account a remake in 2013, the Devil May Cry series returns with the complete sequelae — Devil May Cry V. The player still needs to exterminate hordes of demons in the roles of Dante, Nero, and mysterious V saving Red Grave City from awful hell-creatures. Everything the series is popular for stayed the same — powerful combos, considerable arsenal, and pinch of magic will not leave indifferent both veterans of the series and beginners.
There is no point of saying anything else — you have to see it for yourself. In case you are not ready to purchase the game, there is a demo version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 — 15th of March
In the middle of March will be released a project that can possibly become one of the best games for the next couple of years — Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, a loot shooter by UbiSoft.
Explicitly recreated ruined Washington is one of the main features of The Division
This time, as an agent of The Division the player will visit Washington, specially recreated on a one-to-one scale. Like in the first part, the main activity will be helping citizens, neutralizing local gangs, recapturing their territory and, of course, the production of new weapons and armor in industrial volumes. There is also a PvP mode in the form of Dark Zones.
This time, as an agent of the «Division» the player will visit Washington, specially recreated on a one-to-one scale. Like in the first part, the main activity will be helping citizens, neutralizing local gangs, recapturing their territory and, of course, the production of new weapons and armor in industrial volumes. There is also a PvP mode in the form of Dark Zones.
You can play the game either by yourself or in the company of three friends, so whether you look for a game for a couple of evenings or even months, you will definitely enjoy Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.
The Sinking City — 21st of March
A week later, the world will see a new project by Ukranian Frogwares, which is famous for its games about Sherlock Holmes. This time, they were inspired by works of Howard Lovecraft.
You cannot miss The Sinking City if you are a Lovecraft fan
The game’s setting is a fictional American town called Oakmont in in the 1920s. Our protagonist is an investigator Charles W. Reed who decided to visit Oakmont, which turned into a half-flooded wasteland with a couple of people that did not leave the town after the flood. What has happened in this town? What does Reed has to do with it? Carefully exploring the city and communicating with witnesses, the player will find answers to these and many other questions.
For those who was not impressed by the recent Call of Cthulhu and those who love mysteries and puzzles, The Sinking City is mandatory for familiarization.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — 22nd of March
A day later, on the store shelves will appear the most sadistic project of the month or even of the year — a new game by From Software, the authors of Dark Souls and Bloodbourne.
In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice even prosthesis can be used as a deadly weapon
Instead of Gothic of the middle ages you will experience Japan in late 1500s, a Sengoku period. Under the control of the player is the warrior Sekiro, who seeks revenge on the Ashina clan for the loss of his master and a hand, which he now replaces with the mechanical prosthesis. With the help of his new mechanical limb, Sekiro will be able to use the hook and other useful fixtures which can be switched in a moment. As for the combat system, it will be based on blocks and parrying.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice promises the same furious action and brand-name complexity of From Software. If you want to tickle your nerves the game will intrigue you as well.
Yoshi’s Crafted World — 29th of March
At the very end of the month will be released Youshi’s Crafted World — infinitely cute 2.5D platformer about the dragon Yoshi by Nintendo.
Yoshi’s Crafted World is definitely one of the cutest projects of this year
The new adventure of Yoshi is created in a handmade aesthetics. The dragon will have to work his way through DIY obstacles made of paper, fabric and other everyday materials in an unusual appearance. The main feature of the game is a reverse mode which turns the world around enabling to look behind the facade of homemade obstacles. The game can be played by two players as well.
Youshi’s Crafted World is a mandatory purchase for everyone who misses classic platformers, but looks for something fresh, and also for those who likes relaxing and colorful games. If you are not sure about buying you can try the demo version.
The information about new games in the main Pokémon series appeared last year, but so far fans of pocket monsters could only guess what’s going to come next. Now the new «Pokémon RPG 2019» has more details. What is interesting in the latest projects of the iconic franchise?
Sword and Shield
First of all, the «Pokémon RPG 2019» finally possessed a name. During the February video presentation Pokémon Direct, names of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games were revealed, they will be the eighth generation in the series.
As well as in previous generations, Sword and Shield will be separate games, and despite the similar story, the single setting and game mechanics are going to differ in the set of included pokemons. However, there is no need to buy every game at once: in order to catch them all, the owners of various versions are able to exchange their pocket monsters.
Brave New World
New generation — new region. This time, the game will take place in the region of Galar, which is going to be one of the biggest settings in the series with the great number of different zones. The Galar’s theme reminds of the undecided in its time period UK, which was the subject of rumors long before the game’s presentation.
The full map of the region of Galar
On the official map of the region posted on the teaser site of the game there are rural, urban and industrial zones, as well as various climatic biomes.
Railways and trains can also be noticed on the map. Apparently, they will serve as a means for rapid travelling in the region.
They’re not Pikachu!
In addition to the names and setting, three new initial pokémon were shown: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble, which relate to grass, fire, and water types respectively. It is with one of them that players will begin their journey as a pokémon coach.
Initial pokemons of Sword/Shield Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble
In Sword and Shield the series will return to the system of Gyms and and icons instead of tests from the previous generation, Sun and Moon. it means that the main purpose of the games is again gaining the title of Champion, the best trainer of pokemon.
Some information about «Pokémon RPG 2019» appeared in the middle of 2018 for the first time. It was when The Pokémon Company announced the development of new games. The franchise itself was created by Satoshi Tajiri, a Japanese video game designer, in 1996, while the game’s production was managed by Game Freak studio. In addition to games, the franchise includes manga, anime, collectible card game and several full-length cartoons.
In may 2019, the big screens will also see the first feature film in the series — POKÉMON Detective Pikachu with Ryan Reynolds as Detective Pikachu. Pokémon Sword/Shield themselves will be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch in the end of 2019.
From the launching of a paid online service for Nintendo Switch, a lot of console’s fans complained about a shortage of games in a starting packet: Nintendo Switch Online still offers exclusively 8-bit NES games. However, the situation can change very soon.
Dataminor with a nickname Kapu announced his discovery in one of his Twitts. After an investigation of the latest update of the NES app, he found 22 hidden games for another retro console – SNES. Presumably, these games will soon become a part of a new paid service for Nintendo and will be officially announced at the next video presentation of the company.
A list of games that Kapu has found
Moreover, Kapu with a group of other dataminers found out that the app contains not one, but 4 emulators at once: Kacikachi, Canoe, Hiyoko and Count. At the moment, there is information about only two of them – Kacikachi and Canoe, which are used in NES Classic and SNES Classic consoles. The presence of several emulators in the program code also suggests possibility of library extension for Nintendo Switch Online, where other games from old versions of the console might appear as well.
Prior to this, in the interview for The Hollywood Reporter Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, announced that the company will keep producing NES Classic and SNES Classic consoles, which at the moment are almost the only legal tools for company’s classic games. If the rumor about the appearance of new games in Nintendo paid service’s library gets confirmed, it is likely this service will become a new platform for classic projects of the big N.
From the ancient times people strive for expressing themselves via art, inventing more and more tools for this. Literature, fine arts, statuary, architecture, music, photography, cinema – all of these are media created in a result of technological progress and a drive for sharing new ideas.
Video games is a form of creativity as well, however, they are not construed as a real art yet. Although, a couple of examples can make people doubt in this statement.
Journey
Speaking of aesthetic qualities and audiovisual sequence of video games, we should look a little closer at Journey by thatgamecompany.
An exciting and meditative adventure is a common description for Journey
Journey tells us a story about a nameless figure in a vast desert, traveling towards a mountain in the distance where he expects to find something that he needs for some reason. The game lacks any kind of speech or dialogue what creates space for personal interpretation of the story. The game never tells anything directly, but the surrounding world gradually reveals the veil of secrecy around the place and our main character. All of these creates a unique magic atmosphere of journey where adventures await at every turn.
At the same time a meditative and exciting game Journey has conquered the hearts of most people and earned the recognition of critics.
Cuphead
Another example of a video game as an audiovisual piece of art is Cupheadby Studio MDHR Corp.
Even a promo cover sends us to the 1930s
A visual style of Max Fleischer’s animation of the 1930s, hand-drawn characters and backgrounds, and an unpretentious story about a cupheaded boy attach the feeling of an interactive cartoon to this game.
Cuphead is a synthesis of old-school creative techniques and up-to-date technologies. The game has been fully appreciated by players as well as by critics.
Stanley Parable
Not all of the games can boast a vivid and memorable visual image like previous ones. But the main distinctive feature of Stanley Parable game is its story, or, to be more precise, the absence of it.
The main screen of Stanley Parable
This game can be colloquially called a walking simulator. At first sight, the game is pretty obvious: nothing interesting is happening and the character can only wander around and interact with a short amount of objects. Nevertheless, this kind of games can be very surprising when it comes to a unique way of storytelling.
Stanley Parable’s main character is clearly Stanley, an ordinary office worker who does not have anything to do but pushing the buttons on his monitor. However, one day all his colleagues disappear and the flox of commands on his screen stops.
During the course of the game, speechless Stanley is being guided by a storyteller who voices over all character’s moves and gives him hints of what to do next. The player can either listen to the invisible narrator or disobey his suggestions, on which the guide will immediately react. The game encourages the players initiative to make their own decisions, giving them a control over situations and total freedom. To be completely honest, the reality is that every single step is already planned by creators of the game, but it only means the games plays chicken with people pretty well.
This is the Adventure Line at the beginning of the game. Although, you don’t have to follow it
Stanley Parable is hardly a first experiment with an interactive form of narrative, but it is one of the most successful and highly rated ones in this peculiar genre.
Papers, Please
Even the most seemingly boring professions turn inside out in video games. For instance, the Papers, Please game tells the story of a typical border crossing immigration officer.
Even by looking at logo of the game, we can find a lot of common features
The main character is an immigration officer in the fictional dystopian country of Arstotzka. His motivation is pretty simple: the more people he checks the higher his salary is. Every day the government introduces new rules and changes the list of necessary documents for which you have to closely monitor. If you make too many mistakes during checking you will get a fine.
Very soon there is going to be too many documents that it will be impossible not to miss something
Looking through the documents, the player gradually finds out more and more about Arstotzka and the surrounding world. Although, the work at border crossing post is not that easy as it might seem at first. One character forgets his or her documents at home, or has an important operation, but does not have a necessary pass, another might have all required documents, but he is a suspect in following people he wants to kill. These and many other moral dilemmas give Papers, Please a new depth.
What can be more lame that checking documents the whole day? But this dark, Kafkaian game immerses players into the story and does not let go until the very end.
There should be mentioned much more fascinating projects which go beyond these usual “shooters” and “puzzles”. But, as with any work of art, you better play these games once instead of hearing about them a hundred times.
Stan Lee, the legend created Marvel Comics, has passed away at the age of 95. The artist, writer, producer, actor, and neither more nor less than “a person who made comics cool” – that is how the millions will remember Stan Lee. People will love his worlds and heroes as much as they loved him. However, there are characters which were not as popular as Spider-Man and X-Men.
Stripperella
One of the most famous not-popular characters is Strippella – a stripper named Erotica Jones who is also a secret agent.
The DVD cover of Strippella
Besides the enhanced reflexes and senses, superhuman strength, and an astonishing intelligence, Erotica can boast “sexy” martial arts and the arsenal of high-technological devices of questionable usefulness.
In 2003, debuted the eponymous TV-series where the main character was played by Pamela Anderson who gave Strippella her appearance and voice. These superhero series created for adults were rather comic making fun of genre cliches and conditionalities.
Despite the overall success of the series, it was closed down after 13 episodes because of the dispute between Stan Lee and Pamela Anderson. Another reason for this cancellation was that the ex-stripper Janet Clover claimed that Stan Lee stole her idea of this character when she discussed it during a lap dance.
Lightspeed
The next superhero on our list is another secret agent Daniel Light, also known as Lightspeed.
The box-art of Lightspeed
Daniel Light is a government agent who has the ability of super-speed, but this superpower puts him under a risk of getting fatal metabolic damage. Lightspeed gained his powers after surviving a building collapse triggered by the half-man, half-snake terrorist, called Python.
The movie about Lightspeed was released in 2006, and, to put it mildly, it hardly got any responses. Neither the Stan Lee’s status nor Jason Connery starring as Daniel Light helped the motion picture to stand out.
Mosaic
The next superhero appearing under the Stan Lee Presents banner is Mosaic, also known as Maggie Nelson, aspiring young actress, who gained chameleon-like powers after some supernatural circumstances.
The box-art of Mosaic
Maggie was exposed to an electrical storm and a magic rune which her father, an Interpol agent, had planned to study. After getting under this ancient spell, she possessed the ability to change her appearance, to merge with the environment, and to speak the language of an ancient race Chameliel, the owners of the magic rune. Using her new powers, Maggie investigates series of murders with Chameliel’s involvement and the origin of ancient artifacts.
The eponymous cartoon film was released in January 2007. This time the audience’s reaction was way better than in case of Lightspeed movie.
The Condor
After less than four months, another animated film with an original superhero The Condor saw the light. This movie tells the story of Tony Valdez, a professional skateboarder by day and an avenger in mask by night.
The box-art of The Condor
During a dangerous zombie attack, caused by nano-technologies invented by Valdez family, Tony gets severely injured and loses both of his parents. However, his friend Sammi returns him the mobility with similar nano-technology. The action has its side effect which gives Tony superhuman abilities. After gaining his capability to walk, The Condor starts the investigation of his family’s murder, hoping to revenge the killer.
The Condor film was accepted better than Lightspeed, but comparably worse the Mosaic one. Overall, the audience took the film relatively well.
Chakra The Invincible
One of the most interesting characters is Chakra – an Indian superhero created in collaboration with Graphic India studio.
The cover of the third issue of Chakra: The Invincible
Raju Rai, Chakra The Invincible, is an ordinary boy from Mumbai conducting a research on chakra energy with the scientist Dr. Singh. Together they develop a technological suit that weaponizes all the Chakras in the body. Raju can fly, emit the energy beams and has superpowers. Using his superhuman abilities, he protects Mumbai from different scourges and dangerous villains.
Chakra The Invincible is one of the most successful Stan Lee’s original projects. The story turned into three animation films which were released in English and Hindi, series of comics, video games and toys.
Karakuridouji Ultimo
You would not expect the Stan Lee’s authorship behind the next story referring to Karakuridouji Ultimo. This character was created by Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei, a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of Shaman King.
The cover of the first issue of Karakuridouji Ultimo
This manga is about two robots, Ultimo and Vice, created in feudal Japan by Dr. Dunstan to be “perfect good” and “perfect evil”. Ultimo possesses the ability to transform into animal-like shapes, such as lions and cranes, and to manipulate time and space.
The pilot of Karakuridouji Ultimo was published in 2008, and it was positively met by the audience intrigued by a new shift in Stan Lee’s works.
Heroman
Another product of collaboration with Japanese manga artists is Heroman created by Stan Lee and Tamon Ohta.
A frame from Heroman. To the left – Joey, to the right – Heroman
Heroman, to be more precise, is actually two characters in one. On one hand, it is orphaned American boy Joey, from another — a robot Heroman which Joey fixed himself. Together they resist the alien attack caused by Joey’s school teacher.
Originally, Heroman was a broken toy that Joey repaired, but could not make work. However, a strange bolt of lightning brought Heroman to life, turned it into a giant robot, and gave Joey a special gauntlet. With its help, Joey could control Heroman.
For the first time Heroman was released as a manga in 2009 and has been publishing until 2012. Then, in 2010, the Bones studio produced an anime adaptation consisted of 26 episodes
The director of the recent adaptation of Stephen King’s novel «It», Andrés Muschietti, has outlined a new project for himself. Muschietti will take up the film adaptation of the manga and anime «Attack on Titan» by Hajime Isayama. The information appeared on the portals Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Production of the tape will take Warner Bros. which has recently successfully signed a deal with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Presumably, Muschietti will begin to work on «Attack on Titan» after the sequel «It».
David Heyman («Harry Potter», «Fantastic Beasts»), Masi Oka («Mega Man») and Andres’ sister Barbara Muschietti («It» and «Mama») will be the producers. Apparently, the project is in the very early stages of production-there are no scriptwriters or confirmed cast yet.
Notably, this is not the first attempt to bring «Attack on Titan» to the big screen. In 2015, the world saw a film adaptation of the anime by the Japanese studio Toho, directed by Shinji Higuchi. The film was based on the original script and was divided into two parts. The first part, «Cruel World», despite high expectations was negatively received by critics and audiences alike.
Hollywood has turned its attention to anime and manga more than once. In the last year two full-length movies based on «Death Note» and «Ghost in the Shell» were made in the U.S., both were received rather coolly by the public. The adaptation of the manga «My Hero Academia» is already in development. It is likely that «Attack on Titan» could suffer the same fate as its predecessors.
Unlike «Academia» which has a good chance of reaching the top due to its superhero setting and the casualness of the story, «Attack on Titan» has always been known for its brutality and cruelty. It’s possible that the trademark human-eating scenes of the titans may prevent the film from appealing to a more mainstream audience.
Cruelty is an inherent attribute of «Attack on Titan»
The events of «Attack on Titan» unfold in a world inhabited by titans – humanoid creatures of enormous size, from which humanity hides in cities behind high stone walls. The usual pattern of life crumbles after one of the previously unknown titans makes a breach in the wall. Now humanity is forced to survive and fight back, and at the cutting edge of the attack is the city’s elite Intelligence Squad.
The original manga was written by Hajime Isayama and has become one of the best-selling series in the shōnen genre since its launch in 2009, with over 76 million copies sold worldwide. In 2013, the first season of the anime adaptation was released, which currently has 3 seasons.
Legendary Entertainment announced the production of a live-action film adaptation of the popular manga My Hero Academia. For the first time, this information appeared on informational websitesNerdist and The Hollywood Reporter.
From the side of Legendary Entertainment, the film will be produced by Alex Garcia (Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla (2014), Krampus) and Jay Ashenfelter (Pacific Rim Uprising, Winners TV-series), and from Shueisha, manga’s owner & publisher, side – by Ryosuke Yoritomi. The Toho company will be managing the project’s distribution in Japan. The information about directors, cast, and release dates is not revealed yet.
A frame from My Hero Academia
Considering the popularity of the original manga and its anime adaptation, this production of an action film based on the same story seems to be a sensible move. Over a couple of years, Hollywood had tried to remake the most popular Japanese mangas and anime-adaptations into real blockbusters, however, these attempts crucially failed. For instance, the most recent film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell with Scarlett Johansson turned out to be a complete disaster. This film got a lot of negative reviews and ended up costing the producers around $60 million.
Legendary Entertainment takes a huge risk by deciding to produce a feature film adaptation of My Hero Academia. Although, taking into account the original theme and overall success of superhero films, this risk can be justified.
My Hero Academia is about an alternative world where 80% of population has developed powers, known as quirks, and superheroes are executive fighters against crime. Unfortunately, Izuku Midoriya, the main character, was born without any quirk, but he has a big dream of becoming a professional superhero.
Kohei Horikoshi created the original manga My Hero Academia in 2014. It was published by Sueisha in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Now the series has 17 million copies worldwide, and it became the fourth popular manga in 2017. The anime-adaptation appeared on big screens for the first time in 2016, the third season of which was finished in September 2018. The full-length movie My Hero Academia: Two Heroes premiered earlier in August 2018.
