Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 takes us back to the warehouse.
After teasers from the man himself and inadvertent leaks from catering chefs, Activision finally gave Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 a formal confirmation. The first sequel to the Pro Skater franchise in 14 years, THPS5 is returning to its roots of small-scale parks designed for hours of combo perfection. But all is not cheery in the world of the Tony Hawk fandom. Development is being headed up by Robomodo, the studio responsible for the abhorrent Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD (which failed to translate the classic physics to a new engine), as well as the infamous Tony Hawk: RIDE (which employed the use of a large plastic skateboard). Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 will hit later this year on PS4 & XBox ONE, with PS3 & 360 versions at a later date.
Oculus makes like a reluctant fiance and finally sets a date.
The Oculus Rift has been at the forefront of many gamers’ minds since its initial announcement in 2013. After a successful KickStarter, multiple revisions and a $2 billion dollar buyout by Facebook, Oculus has finally announced their first consumer-level headset. The Virtual Reality company has confirmed the Rift will hit store shelves in Q1 2016, meaning sometime between January and April. No price has been announced yet, but pre-orders will open later this year. The 2016 release means Oculus will not be the first VR headset to hit the US market, since HTC & Valve’s Vive is still set for a release this holiday.
EA & Nintendo report profits, stealthily give us newsy goodness.
It’s the end of the fiscal year (I know, I stayed up to watch the ball of tax returns drop at midnight), which means massive companies like EA & Nintendo are meeting with stockholders. Which means news tidbits are getting dropped that may otherwise go unnoticed. First, on the Nintendo side, is the reveal that Nintendo will be partnering with Universal Studios to produce theme park attractions based on their myriad of famous characters. No specific dates or locations were announced, but rest assured you’ll soon be able to pay a sunburnt teenager in a wig way too much money for a cold glass of Lon Lon Milk.
On Electronic Arts’ call, they confirmed release windows for one of their most anticipated titles and announced intention to make sequels in other franchises. Long-delayed parkour sequel Mirror’s Edge 2 is set for release next spring, alongside a new Plants vs. Zombies title. Fans of Titanfall can also start the wait for a sequel, set to launch sometime between April 2016, and March 2017.