E3 2016: the latest news from the biggest gaming event of the year – The Verge

Yo-kai Watch is making another push to take over America

2016-06-24T08:25:10-04:00

Last year, Japanese game developer Level-5 kicked off an ambitious plan to make a series about Japanese folklore creatures into a global phenomenon. Called Yo-kai Watch, the game debuted in Japan in 2013 and went on to become a massive success, selling millions of video games and raking in more than $1 billion in merchandise revenue. Two years after that, Level-5 took the franchise outside of its home country, releasing an onslaught of Yo-kai Watch into the world: an animated series aired on Disney XD; Nintendo published a game on the 3DS; and Hasbro released a huge collection of toys, from plush characters to a replica of the titular watch.

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How virtual reality gaming is blowing its big chance in 2016

2016-06-21T14:14:08-04:00

This year's E3, the gaming world's annual marquee show, was virtual reality's chance to shine. Two high-end headsets - the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive - are on sale already, although they serve only a small market. We're four months from the launch of PlayStation VR, which will open up the medium to potentially tens of millions of PlayStation 4 owners. And Oculus is supposedly releasing its Touch motion controllers by the end of the year, making the headset significantly more attractive. All three platforms are established enough that developers are starting to take notice, but they still desperately need games. There's never been a better time …

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Why The Witcher 3’s best diversion is getting its own spinoff

2016-06-20T13:31:45-04:00

Damien Monnier originally designed Gwent in secret. The competitive card game has long been a part of The Witcher's fiction - the RPG franchise is based on a series of Polish fantasy novels - and Monnier wanted to create a version of the game that would be playable as a side activity in the sprawling Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The problem was that he was already busy making the third installment of the video game.

So he created a prototype in his spare time, and then brought it to the CD Projekt Red office to show his colleagues. If someone enjoyed the game after playing a match, Monnier would try to recruit them to join his after-hours Gwent-ma …

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Only 3 percent of games shown at E3 keynotes featured female protagonists

2016-06-17T20:08:03-04:00

Of 59 new video games showcased at this year's E3, only 3 percent featured exclusively female protagonists, according to a survey compiled by gaming nonprofit Feminist Frequency. In other words, just two games - ReCore and Horizon Zero Dawn - have female leads, while 24 games had male protagonists. That's a significant drop from last year, in which 9 percent of games shown had female leads while 32 percent contained male main characters. A majority of the remaining titles, both this year and last, let players choose either gender while playing or the gender of the character is unspecified.

Feminist Frequency, founded by critic Anita Sarkees …

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Mysterious ancient civilizations are the hot new thing in gaming

2016-06-17T12:10:04-04:00

The biggest video games tend to fall into one of a few different genres: there are the huge fantasy epics, and the vast sci-fi universes. Over the past few years the medium has also become inundated with a deluge of post-apocalyptic titles showing a vision of the end of the world (usually with lots of zombies). But at E3 in Los Angeles this year, some of the most exciting titles on display have found a new playground to explore: worlds where once-great ancient civilizations leave behind destruction and mystery in their wake. Dilapidated ruins might just be the hottest thing in video games.

By far the biggest example of this is the new Legen …

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Mafia 3 looks like a beautiful, smart video game betrayed by generic gunplay

2016-06-17T11:00:03-04:00

The amount of money and craft invested into Mafia 3 is apparent as you approach the game's E3 booth space. A detailed recreation of the French Quarter in the 1960s, the venue contains a photo booth, fortune tellers, and a classic cinema, the latter of which screens marketing presentations.

For anyone who has tracked the series, it's a pleasant surprise to see the latest iteration receive such a decadent introduction to the world. The series has long struggled to find its footing. Mafia 3 will be the second game in 12 years of game development that spans at least two studios and two continents. But more so than its predecessor, Mafia 2, an a …

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In 2016, E3 is an amusement park

2016-06-17T10:30:02-04:00

E3 has transformed the Los Angeles Convention Center into an amusement park. Its attractions: the world's biggest unreleased games. As people who publish and promote video games find fewer reasons to participate in the annual video game conference, those that remain are transforming the space into a spectacle.

A queue for The Legend of Zelda, which wraps around a warehouse-sized enclosure, terminates at a grand arch. Here, visitors enter a colorful re-creation of the world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo's only big, playable games at this year's conference. A young game maker, attending E3 for his first time, explains t …

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Final Fantasy XV’s flying car looks absolutely ridiculous

2016-06-16T14:31:04-04:00

We've known for some time that driving will be a big part of Final Fantasy XV - it's a game about a road trip, after all. And back in March, Square Enix revealed that the sleek, black luxury car could actually transform into a flying craft. Now, at E3, the company has released a trailer that shows just how ridiculous the flying car is (it's called the Regalia TYPE-F, by the way). It's basically a combination of the Batmobile and a spaceship, with multiple configurations and some incredible transformation animations. It might even pass the chocobo as the preferred form of Final Fantasy transportation. You'll be able to take it for a spin your …

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Telltale’s Batman game puts the focus on Bruce Wayne

2016-06-16T14:15:25-04:00

Batman is one of the rare comic book characters with a pretty strong history in video games, especially with the more recent Arkham series of third-person action titles. But for Telltale Games' adaptation of the Caped Crusader, the studio behind series like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us is looking to go in a different direction. Instead of being full of action like most Batman games, Telltale's title will focus equally on narrative, and puts a big emphasis on playing as Bruce Wayne. "This idea that Batman is still Batman no matter what suit he's wearing - whether it's a Batsuit or a tuxedo - was really intriguing to us," says Tellta …

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Wilson’s Heart shows how VR could make adventure games for everyone

2016-06-16T11:18:26-04:00

Few people will actually play any Oculus Rift games, especially ones using its Touch motion controllers, for a long time. Writing a preview for one is like describing a visit to a small art gallery: hypothetically interesting, but holding little relevance for most people's lives. But even if you doubt you'll ever own a Rift, Wilson's Heart could be one of the best arguments for giving it a try.

Wilson's Heart is set in a strange hospital, apparently sometime in the '40s or '50s. The world is black and white, and its vibe is somewhere between Shutter Island, The Twilight Zone, and the early stages of '90s point-and-click horror game Sanitari …

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E3 2016: the latest news from the biggest gaming event of the year – The Verge

Yo-kai Watch is making another push to take over America

How virtual reality gaming is blowing its big chance in 2016

Why The Witcher 3’s best diversion ​is getting its own spinoff

Only 3 percent of games shown at E3 keynotes featured female protagonists

Mysterious ancient civilizations are the hot new thing in gaming

Mafia 3 looks like a beautiful, smart video game betrayed by generic gunplay

In 2016, E3 is an amusement park

Final Fantasy XV’s flying car looks absolutely ridiculous

Telltale’s Batman game puts the focus on Bruce Wayne

Wilson’s Heart shows how VR could make adventure games for everyone

Why The Witcher 3’s best diversion is getting its own spinoff