Archive - 2016

Midsummer Scream Announces Hall of Shadows Dark Zone

LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2016 – One of the most exciting and unique components of Midsummer Scream – California’s premier Halloween, haunt and horror festival – will be its Hall of Shadows dark zone, featuring roaming monsters, entertainment, and 9 terrifying mini haunted attraction experiences.

Hall of Shadows will occupy more than one third of the Halloween festival’s 90,000 square-foot show floor this year, giving thousands of fans the opportunity to preview home and professional haunts each day, included with their admission to Midsummer Scream. In addition to the haunted attractions, those brave enough to venture into Hall of Shadows will experience a full-blown scare zone, Toxicity, high-energy performances by the Decayed Brigade slider team three times each day, and many terrifying monsters lurking in the fog, waiting to pounce!

FULL SCARE ZONE

Created by Larry Bones and his crew at Bone Yard Effects, Toxicity is an immersive experience set within the walls of a genetics lab that has suffered a toxic explosion that will leave guests screaming as they are attacked by twisted, mutated scientists from all sides. Bone Yard Effects creates the makeup applications and prosthetics each year for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.

THRILLING SLIDER SHOWS

Decayed-Brigade-Logo

Three times daily, the Decayed Brigade will perform and entertain guests within the Hall of Shadows as they showcase the art of sliding – a scare tactic that was created some 40 years ago by monsters roaming the streets of Ghost Town at Knott’s Scary Farm. These men and women push their bodies and the laws of gravity to the limit in high-energy demonstrations that leave fans cheering and astounded.

TERRIFYING HAUNTED ATTRACTION PREVIEW EXPERIENCES

Midsummer Scream is excited to present 9 stand-alone mini haunt experiences that allow fans to preview things to come this Halloween season. From home to pro haunts, guests may sample the handiwork of some of Southern California’s hottest haunted attractions throughout the weekend at no extra cost with paid admission to the festival.

Featured at Midsummer Scream 2016 are:

Fear Station: Escape the Windigo – The harvest moon has awoken the Windigo from its slumber, and the creature is hungry for blood. No one is safe from the beast as it hunts its prey in the darkness. Will you escape the season of the Windigo?

Dead Zone 805

Dead Zone 805 – Fight for survival as you enter the zombie-filled post-apocalyptic world where infection and violent gangs threaten you every step of the way!

Savage House – Every family has a secret… Enter the home of the Wytner clan, a family that has lived in the rural countryside, kidnapping tourists passing by for years. Witness the atrocities as they taunt and torture the unsuspecting victims that have ended up in their home.

Perdition Home – Houston, we have a problem! The notion that in outer space, no one can hear you scream simply isn’t true. Venturing into the depths of an ill-fated spacecraft, everyone will hear you cry for mercy when you face the horrors within.

The Fleshyard – Not every home is safe. Madness lingers beyond the threshold of a decrepit old cabin, concealing evil so vile that those who manage to escape will never be the same. The Fleshyard is a bad place. A very, very bad place…

Higgings Manor Teaase

Higgins Manor – You’ve wandered into the most feared place in the Old West: the Higgins & Co. Work Camp. Can you survive the rowdiest, most dangerousest, most horriblest clan of townsfolk this side of Deadwood? Why don’t y’all come take a gander and see fer yerselves?

Spooky Hollows – Follow the trail of a madman through the basin swampland, where he attempted and failed to achieve mortality. Through sick and twisted science experiments, he left a trail of wasted souls in his wake before falling victim to his own worst nightmares.

Scareventures Presents: Sea of Terror – To date, man has explored less than 5% of Earth’s oceans. Perhaps there’s a reason why… Take a terror trip into the depths where undersea creatures lie in wait as you attempt to escape your watery grave. If dead men tell no tales, then where do the stories come from?

Gorlesque Tease

Gorlesque: The Haunted Burlesque – Are you “perfect” enough to join the Weltschmerz Society? Come find out and experience a naughty taste of the frights, frills, and frolic that awaits you this Halloween in Los Angeles!

“Hall of Shadows is one aspect of Midsummer Scream that I am most excited about,” said Rick West, Creative Director of Midsummer Scream. “When I think of Halloween, I instantly think of haunted houses; stand-alone attractions as well as home haunts are the very essence of the season. It’s completely thrilling to bring nine very different haunt previews to our guests in an environment that is totally unique to our show. Midsummer Scream’s Hall of Shadows is the closest anyone is going to get to the spirit of Halloween during the summer, and our haunt partners are ready to bring the terror!”

Midsummer Scream features more than 150 vendors and exhibitors, education offerings, make-and-take workshops, world-class panel presentations, live entertainment and incredible experiences throughout the venue, black cat adoptions, and a Saturday night costume party featuring Oingo Boingo Dance Party.

Tickets are now on sale, with new information regarding Midsummer Scream updated frequently at MidsummerScream.org.

Fans may sign up on the site for email notifications and announcements, including discounts and other special offers.  Be sure to follow Midsummer Scream on social media as well – Twitter/Periscope: @MidsummerScream, Instagram: @MidsummerScream, and Facebook: facebook.com/midsummerscream.

Star Wars Rebels Season Two Blu-ray and DVD Release Date

BURBANK, California, June 17, 2016 –– Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Two delivers all 22 action-packed episodes of the hit CG animated series’ second season, plus exclusive, never-before-seen bonus material on DVD and even more exclusive footage on Blu-ray! Available August 30, this thrilling continuation of the Star Wars Rebels saga depicts the continued efforts of the crew of the starship Ghost to defeat the evil Empire.

Amid growing Imperial oppression on Lothal, the rebels are forced to seek out new allies throughout the galaxy and additional resources to sustain their fight against the Empire. With the help of Ahsoka Tano, the crew of the Ghost bands together with a secret rebel cell and ex-soldiers from the Clone Wars to join a fledgling alliance determined to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy.

As Ezra continues his journey to become a Jedi under Kanan’s guidance, the threat of the dark side looms large over the fate of the growing rebellion. Darth Vader himself will dispatch new Inquisitors to snuff any spark of resistance, setting the stage for a climactic showdown in which past lives will be revealed, terrible truths will be discovered, and the lives of our heroes will be changed forever.

Star Wars Rebels was created by Dave Filoni (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Sherlock Holmes), and Carrie Beck. The Lucasfilm Animation production is also executive-produced by Filoni and Kinberg.

Featuring the voices of Freddie Prinze Jr. (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) as Kanan, Vanessa Marshall (TV’s “Young Justice”) as Hera, Steve Blum (“The Boxtrolls”) as Zeb, Tiya Sircar (“The Internship”) as Sabine, Taylor Gray (TV’s “Bucket and Skinner’s Epic Adventures”) as Ezra, Ashley Eckstein (Her Universe apparel) as Ahsoka Tano, Dee Bradley Baker (“American Dad,” “Phineas and Ferb”) as Captain Rex and all the clones, David Oyelowo (“Selma” and “The Butler”) as Agent Kallus and Sarah Michelle Gellar (“The Crazy Ones,” “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”) as the Seventh Sister Inquisitor.

Bonus Features:

Blu-ray:

  • From Apprentice to Adversary: Vader vs. Ahsoka (Exclusive to Blu-ray) – Executive Producer Dave Filoni reflects on the climactic ending of the season, when Ahsoka Tano finally confronts Darth Vader in a long-awaited, fierce and epic lightsaber battle.
  • All DVD Bonus (see below)

DVD:

  • Connecting the Galaxy: Rebels Season Two – Uncover hidden references, easter eggs and connections to the Star Wars universe found throughout the season.
  • Rebel Recons – Blast off with 20 fun, fast-paced episode recons, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with cast and crew, and more!

Disc Specifications:

Release Date:              August 30, 2016

Format:                       Blu-ray (3-Disc) & DVD (4-Disc)

Rating:                         TVY7 FV; CE: PG; CF: G (Bonus Material Not Rated)

Run Time:                   Approximately 485 minutes (not including bonus)

Closed Captioned:      Yes

Aspect Ratio:              1:78 (Widescreen)

Audio:                         5.1 Dolby Digital

Languages/ Subtitles:   English, French, German & Spanish

Activision’s Skylanders Coming to Netflix

June 17, 2016 – Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced that “Skylanders Academy,” the first production by Activision Blizzard Studios-its newly-created television and film studio-will premiere in Fall 2016 on Netflix, the world’s leading internet television network.

“Over the last five years, millions of families around the world have welcomed Skylanders characters into their homes. Now, they’ll be able to watch their favorite characters come to life on Netflix,” said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. “We couldn’t have found a better home for ‘Skylanders Academy’ and look forward to sharing our extraordinary characters with Netflix audiences around the world.”

The series follows the heroic adventures of the Skylanders team, a group of heroes with unique elemental skills and personalities who travel the vast Skylands universe, protecting it from evil-doers and showing the next wave of Academy cadets how to do things the “Skylander way.” Created by Toys For Bob, the $3 billion Skylanders franchise has sold through more than 250 million toys since pioneering the toys-to-life category in 2011, and earlier this month Activision revealed Skylanders Imaginators, the latest innovation in the franchise.

“‘Skylanders Academy’ gives us the opportunity to approach narrative storytelling with the same level of quality and excellence that millions of Skylanders fans have come to expect from the game,” said Activision Blizzard Studios Co-President Stacey Sher. “We’re inspired by our fans’ excitement for these characters and have worked hard to bring these characters to life with stories our fans will love.”

Activision Blizzard launched its studio last year to create original content based on the company’s intellectual property, and “Skylanders Academy” is the first production by Sher and studio Co-President Nick van Dyk. The two-season Netflix partnership is another important step in Activision Blizzard’s strategy of enhancing its franchises and broadening their appeal.

Produced under the supervision of showrunner Eric Rogers (“Futurama”), “Skylanders Academy” features the voices of Justin Long (“Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Ask Me Anything”) as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale (“Phineas and Ferb,” “High School Musical”) as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks (“Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul”) as Eruptor and Norm MacDonald (“Saturday Night Live”) as Glumshanks. Additional voice talent includes The Diamond Minecart, Susan Sarandon, Daniel Wu, Parker Posey, James Hetfield, Catherine O’Hara, Bobcat Goldthwait, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jonny Rees, Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz.

Sher and van Dyk are joined by Sander Schwartz, the Emmy award-winning producer of animated hits including “The Batman,” “The Aquabats! Super Show!” and “Justice League: The New Frontier,” as the show’s executive producers. “Skylanders Academy” is animated by the internationally acclaimed TeamTO studio in France.

“Activision Blizzard Studios’ enviable mission is to work with our extraordinary portfolio of franchise intellectual property and bring it to broader audiences on new platforms,” said van Dyk. “We’re excited to reach this strategic partnership and for the future of ‘Skylanders Academy.'”

Space Run Galaxy Launch Trailer

June 17, 2016 – Developed by Passtech Games, Space Run Galaxy is now available on Steam! Space Run Galaxy is the sequel to 2014’s Space Run, the game from one-man studio Passtech, which attracted over hundreds of thousands of players thanks to its dynamic and original gameplay. Our previous Gameplay Trailer showed you the ropes of space running, today we let you move on to practice with our Launch Trailer. Strap on your seatbelt, recharge your shields and warm up your reactors, it’s going to be a bumpy intergalactic ride!

Set 20 years after the original game, Captain Buck Mann has now set up his very own intergalactic courier service. You’re a member of Mann’s team of space runners, racing to deliver precious goods from planet to planet! Reinforce your modular ships with armaments including laser turrets, missile launchers and energy shields, while leaving enough room for your cargo. Fly fast – the quicker you arrive at your destination, the better the rewards!

  • User-created contracts – Take on contracts from other players for better rewards and unlimited replayability
  • Intergalactic player market – Trade hard-earned goods with your fellow space runners to sell off extra supplies, or snap up a tidy bargain
  • New corporations offer riskier jobs – Carry the extra fragile cargo of XenoPrime, or risk transporting The Force’s highly dangerous weapon prototypes (which may even endanger your own ship!)
  • Fresh dangers await – Face off against brand new boss-type enemies, such as deadly pirate ships and huge space monsters…
  • Deep customization – Customize the shape, size, and color of any ships you acquire during your adventure. There’s no restriction for what ship you use in each mission, letting you get creative with every run!

Space Run Galaxy is now available on Steam for PC.

E3 2016 Attendance Facts and E3 2017 Dates Revealed

E3 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo

Los Angeles – June 16, 2016 The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today that more than 70,000 people participated in the week’s events, including 50,300 video game professionals, analysts, journalists, and enthusiasts attended this week’s trade show, and 20,000 fans attended E3 Live. The premier global video game event displayed more than 1,600 products from more than 250 exhibitors.

ESA also revealed that E3 will take place June 13-15, 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Gamers were the winners at E3 this year. The advancements in technology unveiled at E3 will redefine entertainment for the world,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, the trade association that represents the U.S. video game industry and owner of E3. “The innovation and creativity on display will propel our industry to new heights and expand opportunities for remarkable growth.”

E3 broke records for social media numbers across all channels, with more than seven million posts on Twitter alone. Instagram had more than 500,000 likes on E3-related posts this month. In addition, more than 42 million gamers watched E3 content on Twitch, the official streaming partner of E3. The Twitch viewership was the highest of any video game convention broadcast on the network.

Also announced during E3, a blue-ribbon panel of industry professionals and experts selected Savannah College of Art and Design as winner of the 2016 E3 College Game Competition with its winning video game, Brobot Beatdown.

E3 is the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games and related products. The show is owned by the ESA, the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies, publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet.

For more information, please visit www.E3Expo.com or follow E3 on Twitter: @E3.

Farming Simulator 17 – E3 Trailer

June 16, 2016 – The hit simulation from Giants Software has been a mainstay in the video game market for more than 3 years. The two previous versions of Farming Simulator have attracted almost 5 million players on consoles and PC worldwide. This huge community of players has been eagerly awaiting fresh news about Farming Simulator 17, which will launch simultaneously at the end of 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

The game is being showcased this year at E3 2016 to unveil its new features: a new environment, new vehicles, a new animal to breed, and new gameplay mechanics that increase the game’s richness and depth every year, but also to make it more accessible for both existing fans and new players.

The CGI trailer unveiled today reveals some of the new prestigious brands that join the farming frenzy in this installment, such as Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, and Valtra. With more than 60 brands and 200 vehicles faithfully reproduced, Farming Simulator 17 offers a complete simulation filled with a vast range of content.

Among the many new features to be announced in the coming months for Farming Simulator 17, we are happy to unveil that modding support – which is exceptionally popular on PC – is making its grand debut on consoles! With Farming Simulator 17, all the players will be able to download content created by the passionate community of Farming Simulator players, including vehicles, animals, scenery elements and much more, opening up the possibilities of an ever-evolving Farming Simulator 17 experience.

In the coming months even more new features of Farming Simulator 17 will be unveiled, so stay tuned!

Farming Simulator 17 will release at the end of 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

The Surge E3 2016 Trailer

June 16, 2016 – The Surge is the newest sci-fi Action RPG set in the near-future from developer Deck13. Slice and dismember your way deeper and deeper into CREO, an institution developed to save the world, but with disastrous consequences. The E3 Trailer introduces to a dystopian world based on a worst case scenario for Earth.

Fronted by Jonah Guttenberg, CREO sets out to reverse the detrimental atmospheric effects of global warming, firstly by repairing our damaged atmosphere, but as their ambitions grew and their plans began to fail, CREO set out to save itself…

Members of CREO’s workforce are fitted with expandable, powered exo-suits supplying the employee with both power and super-human strength. They are also able to attach new practical tool extensions to the exoskeleton.

Something in CREO went horribly wrong, and you as the player must use this exo-suit and a plethora of make-shift weapons and armor upgrades to survive. Slice and smash deeper and deeper into the mysterious mega-corporation to discover what happened, and how you can stop it.

In the E3 trailer, fight for the first time with our reluctant hero, discovering a few of the exo-suit modules that you can equip and upgrade. With a heavy emphasis on environmental storytelling and Deck13’s classic duel-style combat system expanded and enhanced with unique limb targeting mechanics, there are thousands of combinations of armor and make-shift weapons to dismantle, craft, and merge with your exo-suit.

Exploit the synergy of man and machine when The Surge releases in 2017 on consoles and PC.

Star Wars Battlefront – Bespin Launch Trailer

June 16, 2016 – Join Lando Calrissian and Dengar in the Cloud City of Bespin. DICE today revealed a new trailer that highlights some of the new content, features and updates that Star WarsTM BattlefrontTM Season Pass owners can enjoy. Starting June 21, Season Pass owners will have access to exclusive playable characters Lando and Dengar, new maps set on Bespin, weapons like the X-8 Night Sniper and EE-4, a new Cloud Car vehicle and an all new game mode called Sabotage.

ALL Star Wars Battlefront players will also receive a new Hutt Contract to unlock the powerful Ion Neutralizer.

Watch the new gameplay in action during a special Bespin Stream on Friday, June 17 at 10 a.m. PT on @EAStarWars or@StarWarsHQ.

Read more details on Bespin content, including items and characters, on EA Star Wars.

HyperX Partners with Alienware on FURY DDR4 XMP Memory Equipped PCs

Fountain Valley, CA – June 16, 2016 – HyperX®, a division of Kingston® Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced a partnership with the ultimate gaming system provider Alienware. HyperX will be the exclusive memory upgrade partner for their newly launched Alienware Aurora mid-tower desktop PCs. Designed to deliver maximum performance, Alienware Aurora offers gamers an ultra-wide variety of upgrade options including a stylish DRAM upgrade to HyperX FURY DDR4 XMP memory for higher performance and great looks.

HyperX FURY DDR4 memory features Intel® XMP-ready profiles optimized for Alienware Aurora and is 100-percent tested and guaranteed compatible. Users who upgrade to FURY memory will be able to choose between two XMP profiles with speeds up to 2400MHz for faster speeds and lower latencies. This provides a great option for gamers to increase their system performance from the factory default when equipped with a 6th Generation Intel® Core™ unlocked processor.

HyperX system memory powers over 30 professional eSports teams and is utilized in large scale global tournaments such as IEM, ESL One, DreamHack, among others. It is the memory of choice among enthusiasts, gamers and eSports professionals. This trust is due, in part, to HyperX memory, such as FURY DDR4 XMP, being backed by legendary support and reliability. This collective experience and pedigree of over a decade of designing memory for enthusiasts has made HyperX uniquely positioned to join together with Alienware to now unleash the ultimate gaming PC’s power.

“Everything we do at Alienware is tailored around making each gamer’s experience with our systems the best it can be. That means we need to prioritize performance to ensure gameplay and everyday-use runs as intended by our partners. Our partnership with HyperX is all about delivering powerful and reliable memory maximize gaming and everyday performance,” said Joe Olmsted, director of product management, Alienware.

“As the world’s largest gaming hardware brand, the collaboration of technologies between HyperX and Alienware into ultimate gaming machines means we can push the envelope together and further define enthusiast gaming,” said Lawrence Yang, global business manager, HyperX.

HyperX is the high-performance product division of Kingston Technology encompassing high-speed DDR4 and DDR3 memory, SSDs, USB Flash drives, headsets and mouse pads. Targeted at gamers, overclockers and enthusiasts, HyperX is known throughout the world for quality, performance and innovation. HyperX is committed to eSports as it sponsors over 30 teams globally and is the main sponsor of Intel Extreme Masters. HyperX can be found at many shows including Brasil Game Show, China Joy, DreamHack, ESL One and PAX.

For more information visit the HyperX home page.

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