Microsoft trademarks 'Forza Hub'
The Rumor: Microsoft has trademarked 'Forza Hub', which of course means that something utterly magical is in store for Forza players. The trademark apparently caters to "providing interactive, multiplayer game services for video games", which is legal jargon for "all kinds of exciting things about cars and stuff". Probably.
Our Take: If you close your eyes and get those imagination juices flowing, you could picture some sort of central social point for all things Forza, like car designs, race stats, leaderboards, shared replays, car profiles and other such online wizardry. In truth, it could amount to nothing at all. The world is cruel like that.
New Spyro and Crash Bandicoot games canned
The Rumor: Junkie Monkeys (the site, not a group of addict primates) recently dug up a load of concept art from a man who claims to have been working new Spyro and Crash Bandicoot games last year. The images show models of Crash and his antagonist Dr. Cortex, along with proposed levels. Alas, both projects have since been canned, according to the same source.
Our Take: If true, even if both games have been binned, it could at least indicate that Activision is making some small effort to revive the long dormant franchises. We still get all teary-eyed when reminiscing over the glory days of PS1-era Crash Bandicoot, so here's hoping the publisher will try again with more success next time around.
Leprechaun: Origins director to helm Dead Rising movie
The Rumor: Zach Lipovsky, the director of Leprechaun: Origins, is said to have signed up for the director's chair once more to point and shout at the people making the 90-minute Dead Rising feature film. That's according to The Wrap, which reports that Lipovsky is set to join Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and writer Tim Carter (Mortal Kombat: Legacy) on the production crew.
Our Take: We're just excited to see how this will turn out. With Capcom's other zombie-filled game, Resident Evil, being one of few game franchises to have spawned a decent movie franchise, it'll be interesting to see if the firm can pull it off again--but this time with less demented AI child devils and a tad more (intended) comedy.
Warner tipped to take over Xbox Entertainment Studios
The Rumor: Warner Bros. is reportedly in talks with Microsoft over acquiring its Xbox Entertainment Studios division. Microsoft said in July that it was in the process of closing the studio, ditching almost all of its in-development projects. But if the claims of an anonymous source speaking to the Hollywood Reporter turn out true, Warner would take on a number of these projects, along with execs at the studio. The firm may also apparently merge the studio with Machinima, in which it also owns a stake.
Our Take: Microsoft only formed the Xbox Entertainment Studio in February last year with the intention of producing "interactive content for Xbox and other devices". It was an intriguing proposition and it's disappointing to see it fall apart so soon. We hope Warner does rescue the operation and whatever interesting projects it may have up its sleeve.
Nintendo to deliver major remake for Wii U in 2015
The Rumor: Nintendo is apparently planning to release a major remake for Wii U in 2015. That's according to an online informant known as 'Nico.A', who has apparently gained notoriety for previously accurately leaking Nintendo information including the Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire remakes and Devil's Third. No further information was offered.
Our Take: Nintendo saw success with the re-release of Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker on Wii U, which could serve as encouragement to bring more GameCube or Wii classics to its first HD-capable console. If we could vote, we'd pick Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX or Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader.
Major PS4 announcement coming at Tokyo Game Show
The Rumor: Sony will apparently announce a major new PS4 game at the Tokyo Game Show in September. This is according to Hirokazu Hamamura, the former editor-in-chief of respected Japanese publication Famitsu, who claims to have 'heard' the news on the grapevine.
Our Take: SCE Worldwide boss Shuhei Yoshida has already admitted that the firm had to hold back on some of its PS4 announcements because, he said, it had too much to fit into its Gamescom press conference. PS4 games will be a priority for TGS, Yoshida went on to say, especially considering the PS4's struggle to gain sales momentum in Sony's home country. We hear the cries for The Last Guardian already.
Valve 'soft launches' Source 2 engine
The Rumor: A group of modders believe that Valve has quietly launched an early version of its anticipated Source 2 engine--the in-development follow-up to the engine that powered Half Life 2. People with the technical know-how have snooped around inside the code of the recently released Workshop Tools for Dota 2, and claim to have discovered code of a significantly different architecture and vastly updated processes. There's a load of techno mumbo-jumbo, but what it all amounts to, according to one modder, is evidence that this is the first public release for Source 2 engine.
Our Take: It's all very techie and complicated, but even if true, it really won't mean a thing for most gamers until Valve actually announces--dare we even suggest it--a certain first-person shooter starring a man named Gordon.
New 1TB PS4 consoles allegedly on the way
The Rumor: A new report, citing an unnamed 'retailer source', claims that a new PS4 containing double the hard drive space of current models is on its way this Fall. The evidence, according to the report, is a new "leaked" PS4 model number, 'CUH-1001X'. The current PS4 model number is 'CUH-1001A'. Apparently the 'A' in that number references the hard drive, and the 'X' in the new model number suggests there will be a different hard drive in these new machines.
Our Take: The PS4 could certainly do with a 1TB (1000GB) hard drive, given the size of some PS4 games (as much as 50GB) and the increasing prominence of digital downloads these days. But without any real evidence of the information it claims, we remain skeptical of this particular rumor for the time being. It doesn't explain exactly how it learned that the last character in the model number relates to the hard drive, or how it arrived at the conclusion that said new hard drive will be 1TB in size.
New Watch Dogs missions set in Camden, New Jersey
The Rumor: Watch Dogs will apparently venture outside of Chicago for the first time this fall with new a DLC expansion that takes the action to Camden, New Jersey. That's the speculation sparked by a teaser from the official Watch Dogs Twitter feed, which posted the above picture along with the message: "Our data indicates surveillance has become more prominent in high-crime areas_".
Our Take: The message in the image is a true statistic for Camden, a small town just southeast of Philadelphia known for its alarmingly high homicide rates, poverty and general urban decay. This would seem a likely setting for a vigilante mission, but for now we can only speculate. Ubisoft was only prepared to confirm that the teaser relates to DLC "out this fall".
SOE preparing for 'Corpse Run' announcement?
The Rumor: DC Universe Online and Planetside 2 developer Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) could be working on a new game titleed 'Corpse Run'. So suggests a recently-spotted trademark filing from the studio. The filing relates to "entertainment services, namely, providing an online video game for others via the internet", it reads. There's otherwise no further information.
Our Take: The obvious thing to speculate is that, given the name, the filing could be related to SOE's DayZ-like zombie survival game H1Z1--perhaps it's had a change of heart on that bizarre title and has decided to go with something a little more conventional. Perhaps it's looking to take ownership of the phrase 'Corpse Run', used in MMO circles in reference to the act of seeking out your own corpse after death typically to recover lost items, weapons and loot. Or it could be a new game entirely. At this point there's very little to go on.
