Low Winter Sun: AMC Brings a British Crime Drama to Detroit

AMC’s newest drama series, Low Winter Sun is about a cop, Frank Agnew (played by Mark Strong) who commits a crime with his colleague, Joe (Lennie James) – only for the two to then be tasked with investigating that crime, in the process attempting to make sure no one finds out they are in fact the criminals being hunted.

Low Winter Sun is a remake of a British miniseries that starred… Mark Strong. Making this a rare circumstance of an actor reprising his role in a remake, complete with a location and accent change (the original was set in Edinburgh, the remake in Detroit).

Speaking about the unusual situation today at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, Strong remarked, “You don’t get that opportunity as an actor. To resurrect him 8 years later and move him from Edinburgh to Detroit was too fascinating.” That being said, given the different locations, “the cop culture is very different," adding, “Frank, he now belongs to Detroit!” Strong has a busy film career, but said ultimately, “I just couldn’t let anyone else play my part! It’s as simple as that. I’d created the guy and I wanted to take him further."

The two British actors were asked about their experiences shooting in Detroit. Strong said he was struck by people’s perceptions of the city, and being warned, “It’s an awful place and there’s nothing there for you.” But Strong said he found, “The opposite is true. It has everything!” Strong said he had discovered that Detroit had “Mansions and apocalyptic wastelands and everything in-between,” adding, “The more people told me it’s a place I didn’t want to be, the more intrigued I was” and that he felt Detroit was “a fantastic backdrop for the show.”

James said Detroit was “a little nuts. It’s the most dangerous, most exciting, most fascinating, most interesting first world city I’ve been in in my life.” He noted that on the show “ We might start with the grim and the dark, but we go to all the different areas of Detroit.”

The original Low Winter Sun was only three hours long, but the US version’s first season will be ten hours. Strong noted that executive producer Chris Mundy has created a whole new group of characters and that the first three hours interweaves elements from the original and these new additions – “and then we’re off into new territories.” Mundy said that this excited him, because once they used the original as a starting point, “It could be whatever we wanted it to be” moving forward.

This is the third AMC project in recent years Lennie James has been involved in, after The Prisoner and The Walking Dead. James said he likes how AMC approaches a simple story in a new way. He noted that in Low Winter Sun, “This isn’t a whodunit, because in the first five minutes, we know who done it. We’re not trying to solve a case, we’re trying to un-solve it.”

Asked if the way Season 1 ends allows for a Season 2, Mundy replied, with a laugh, "There sure as hell better be! Yes, there absolutely is! But it was vey important for me and the writers that this season ends.” He said there would be hints at where Season 2 could go, but stressed, “No relationship will be the same going forward.” He added that the approach was, “This is our album and next year we’ll work on our difficult second album.”

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The Breaking Bad Team Says Good-Bye

Following his trip through the floors of Comic-Con disguised in a Walter White mask, Bryan Cranston and the Breaking Bad team took the stage at this summer's TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour.

Creator/Executive producer Vince Gilligan was joined by Cranston, Aaron Paul (Jesse), Anna Gunn (Skyler), Betsy Brandt (Marie), RJ Mitte (Walt Jr.) and Bob Odenkirk (Saul) to talk about saying good-bye to this beloved, critically acclaimed and - in some ways - historic series. Dead Norris (Hank) is currently shooting Under the Dome and scheduling conflicts likely made it impossible for him to attend the event.

The panel opened with a trailer that recapped the events of the series over the past five seasons, reminding us of the tremendous journey that Walter White, his family, and what has become his partner in crime and "son," Jesse have taken.

Changes in the Characters:

Jesse was famously meant to die at the conclusion of Season 1, but when asked if there was another character who has changed or evolved in a different way than he had initially envisioned, Gilligan said that of course all of the actors have added depth and breadth and complexity to their characters, but called out Dean Norris as a example of a change he had not foreseen.

"Logistically Hank served a limited function initially...He was everything Walter White was not, he even seemed to be loved by Walt's own son Walt Jr. more than Walt himself in that first episode. He was a bit of a mechanical construct, but you get to know Dean and he is man who is complex, who is much more than a "hail fellow well met." You can talk to him about literature, poetry - he went to Harvard. He is an interesting and deep fellow and by knowing him, it enriched my ability to write him."

"TV is a rich, organic, living, thing," said Gilligan, and essentially, if you let the people in front and behind the cameras shine, wonderful things will happen.

The End:

Gilligan was asked if he'd had a different end in mind initially, and if so what it was. "'I'm not being factitious," he responded, "I can't remember what the original intention was for Walt. I knew that we were going to take Mr.Chips and turn him into Scarface, but that leaves a lot of wiggle room. I couldn't see that far ahead, I couldn't see the forest for the tress."

"It was in broad strokes the idea of taking serialized TV and changing the character, and that hadn't been done," Cranston added. "I was aghast by that. I wanted the role, I really, really wanted the role. Coming in it was easier, when we read good scripts it lights-up the imagination. But we never discussed where it was going to end up and as it went on I never asked. The twists and turns of my character were so sharp that it wouldn't help me to know. I took the ride with the audience. And that remained till the end, about five or six days before we shot Aaron and I read the last script together, and that will be a part of a documentary on the show."

Said documentary was done by Stu Richardson, who Paul calls "British Stu," who was hired by Sony to shoot BTS supplemental material for the shows Blu-rays. For the "big ultimate end it all box set he has really outdone himself a two-hour documentary about the show, which is going to be available on Blu-ray and DVD," Gilligan said. The doc will apparently feature material beginning with the show's inception and leading all the way through to the bittersweet end.

Is This Mr. Chips?

One journalist contended that White was never really Mr. Chips and was actually, in part, always a Scarface in the making.

"It's probably not the most accurate way to describe him," Gilligan said. "Mr. Chips was much more beloved. I think he was a good teacher. He, when we saw him initially, seemed to be using visual aids, was enthusiastic and trying to impart enthusiasm, but unfortunately he was not connecting with his students. Part of that early on may have been me ladling on reasons to sympathize with him. If I was doing it now I might hit that a little less hard - that the students weren't paying attention to him. I was talking earlier and there is a good argument in the question of whether or not Walt's road to hell changed him or revealed things that were already in him. I now subscribe to latter part of that argument. It's like does stardom turn people into a creep or reveal who they really are?"

Cranston, for his part, felt that Walter White was a great teacher. "I embraced moments he could show his teaching acumen. That was his true passion besides his family. The only thing he excelled at, but there comes a time in a teacher's life that the overwhelming impact of apathy that faces them beats them down. That's where we met him. He could have been Mr. Chips twenty-years ago but now not. His emotions were calloused over by the depression, and the news of his illness allowed a volcano of emotions to erupt. When he did he wasn't prepared - and the emotions just spewed everywhere - and it got messy."

Sympathy for the Devil

One big question that came up at this panel, as it did at Comic-Con, is why the audience seems to have so much sympathy for Jesse and so little for Skyler - when really they are both complacent in Walter's crimes.

"I find it odd," Paul said. "Jesse is a drug dealer, and murderer, but for some reason you care for him and want to protect him. With Skyler, when I watch I feel for her so much, she just wants to protect family. But I guess you're rooting for bad guy, so she becomes bad guy."

"We talked about it early on because were confused about it," Gunn added. "My feeling was that people got so behind Walt and they really sided with him, so the person who stood in the way became the bad guy. Most consistently that was Skyler - Gus came in and out and other characters came in and out - but she was the one who consistently said, 'You cant just do these things and not have consequences.' She became a villain to those who were rooting for him. And also, by design, you couldn't know as much about her as you knew about Walt. If you were to sympathize with her instead of Walt it would have thrown off the balance in the show."

Is There Good Left In Them?

One of the questions the show asks is how much good or bad is in these people, "With Jesse, how the season ended he's just emptied out," Paul said. "He just wants out of the business, he wants to stay away from Walt. Walt's true colors were revealed and he's terrified of this man and wants nothing to do with him. So, he just wants to try and stay out."

"Walt has a large resevoir of good," Cranston joked. "And he speads his joy liberally in the final 8 episodes. I think the fans will be satisfied with the ending where we hug it out." In all serisousness, he said, "In looking into this character I belive everyone is capable of good or bad. All humans are given a spectrum of emotions - the best of you can come out or the worst - given the right set of circumstances any one of us can become dangerous."

In The Writer's Room:

Gilligan does not Google Breaking Bad, and he makes this choice out of a sense of self-protection. "I found that the best way forward, and what held us in good stead, was to keep writers room as a sequestered jury room. We would sit around telling a story to ourselves. I was nervous coming to an end to this thing - how do you satisfy everyone? But I found that the more you listen to people, the more fractured your thinking becomes. We had to satisfy ourselves and I'm proud of the ending and I can't wait for everyone to see it. I hope I am not wrong to think most folks will dig the ending."

Saul Spin-Off:

On the oft-discussed Saul Goodman spin-off, Gilligan said, "It is my fervent wish that there will be a Saul Goodman spin-off. I'm not speaking for any company when I say I really hope it happens. It's for powers bigger than me to see if it can come to fruition."

"I love everything that Vince just said," Odenkirk said. "I'd love to do it do it in a second because if Vince wrote it it's going to be awesome. But also, the spin-off is having been on this show and everything good that has come from me being a part of it."

Backstory:

The panel was asked to provide a piece of backstory for their characters that had not been revealed in the show. Here are a couple of the highlights:

-- Odenkirkk said, "I think Saul's from Chicago. People from Chicago love to go to Southwest to escape the weather and they also perceive the people west of Chicago as being easy to manipulate.

-- Mitte used some of his own experience growing-up with cerebral palsy.

-- Brandt said that she thought about how Marie and Hank really wanted to have kids and they couldn't. "I would think about it every time I had a scene with Walt and Skyler's kids," the actress recalls. She would also talk to Gunn about what they assumed was a fractured childhood.

-- Gunn added that she also didn't believe that Marie and Skyler had a happy childhood. "They are like war buddies. I think Skyler had to be the mother figure, so my feeling about that was that Skyler learned to take care of things and deal with problems and put head down and get through things. She learned at young age at home."

-- Paul said that for Jesse, the character was revealed more and more as the show went on. But he was on a constant search for guidance even though he didn't want to admit it, like a father figure, and he found that in Walt. Because his parents gave up on his years ago. That also inspired his desire to want to protect kids. He wants to protect them because he didn't get that from his parents.

-- Cranston joked that it all turned for Walt on July, 4 1978 when he entered a Nathans hot-dog eating competition, where he ate 38 hot-dogs and considered becoming a professional eater versus a chemist.

The second half of Season 5 of Breaking Bad premieres on Sunday, August 11 at 9PM.

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Ben Foster in Talks to Play Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong's life story was built for a biopic even before his doping scandal and fall from grace -- are we sure there hasn't been a Lifetime movie done about him already? -- but now it only figures that there are four such films planned.

Stephen Frears (The Queen) is making one of those films, and X-Men's Angel, Ben Foster, is now in final talks to play Armstrong. The film will probably start production in the fall.

Elsewhere, Sony Pictures Classics will release the documentary The Armstrong Lie, while Warner Bros. has an untitled project from Side Effects scripter Scott Z. Burns and director Jay Roach (Game Change). That film, according to Deadline, involves "the life rights of Tyler Hamilton, the Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and Armstrong teammate on the US Postal Service Team who was menaced by Armstrong after he took to 60 Minutes to break the code of silence."

And not to be outdone, Paramount and Bad Robot's J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk also have a film in the works about Armstrong based on the book "Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong." (That's the one that Bradley Cooper was rumored to be involved with earlier this year.) It's like the Volcano/Dante's Peak of disgraced athletes!

Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.

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The Return of the Rising Sun

Japan, despite housing a game development industry that single-handedly reinvigorated console gaming with the introduction of the NES and then blasted it into the mainstream with the original PlayStation, has fallen on hard times. While many of the developers responsible for some of the franchises that define gaming – including Mario, Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Castlevania, Street Fighter, and Metal Gear Solid – are Japanese, it’s difficult to deny that the HD era has proven to be an agonizingly difficult transition for the Land of the Rising Sun.

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The reasons for the shift from consoles to portables are varied and diverse...

During the last several years, we saw a large number of Japanese developers quickly return to the relative safety of the tablet, smartphone, and dedicated handheld markets after dabbling in HD development, and we saw the output of other developers – like Sony’s Team ICO – dry up completely as they struggled for years with crafting tools to adequately and efficiently handle the creation of HD content. The reasons for the shift from consoles to portables are varied and diverse – ranging from inadequate staffing and the resistance to licensing existing middleware tools, to the top-down, creator-focused team structure that tends to be more common overseas – but the results were the same: an entire generation of gaming built around safe, marketable AAA Western franchises on consoles with many smaller Japanese games being forcefully pushed to the side.

Fortunately, if the current crop of software is any indication, Japan is looking to come back to the West in a big way. The country once responsible for crafting experiences to keep console gaming fresh and new might just be able to pull it off one more time.

Potent Portables

It wasn’t always this way. While the introduction of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 created an opportunity for a wide variety of titles from Japan like Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 5, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Valkyria Chronicles, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and Metal Gear Solid 4, many did not generate the economic splash that was necessary given the challenges of new technology and increased development costs. Because of this, many of Japan’s best-known development studios and publishers became notorious for spending the last few years firmly entrenched in the vibrant portable market overseas, developing titles that oftentimes failed to reach Western shores (including Final Fantasy: Type 0 and Monster Hunter Portable 3rd).

This matter was purely economic. The explosion of Japanese sales experienced by both the PSP and original DS – courtesy of major phenomena like Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest – kept plenty of companies raking in the yen without a need to expand beyond the reliable Japanese user base, and oftentimes localizing titles on platforms without a significant install base in the West was deemed too risky. Some franchises, such as the aforementioned Valkyria Chronicles, segued their sequels to PSP for sales reasons, much to the chagrin of Western fans, lessening (or, in some cases, even negating) these titles’ chances of localization for worldwide release.

“

This matter was purely economic.

The dearth of third-party franchises on HD consoles over the past few years wasn't lost on gamers or developers on either side of the Pacific. Veteran developer Keiji Inafune has gone on record numerous times concerning the state of the Japanese gaming industry, and while he admits that Japanese developers are certainly becoming “aware of the problem”, he feels there is still a lot more progress to be made before his confidence in the market returns.

Fortunately, though, it’s not all bad news. If the games on display at recent industry events such as E3 are any indication, the trend is finally beginning to change. Starting later this summer and heading well into next year, North America and Europe will be flooded with a veritable tsunami of high-quality Japanese console titles spanning many genres, many of which are shaping up to be refreshing, alternative experiences to the typical AAA action blockbusters launching this fall.

Tales of Localizations

This year has been very, very good to fans of a certain neglected Namco Bandai franchise. Fans begged, pleaded, and clamored for the domestic releases of the series’ many titles following 2008’s Tales of Vesperia through social media and organized campaigns, but for years received nothing but radio silence from Namco Bandai in return. Following the support fans showed for the domestic release of Tales of Graces f last year and the surprising sales success of Ni no Kuni earlier this year, however, Namco moved forward with announcing localizations for not one, not two, but three different entries in the Tales franchise for the PS3.

“

This year has been very, very good to fans of a certain neglected Namco Bandai franchise.

First up for the West is the 15th Anniversary installment of the franchise, Tales of Xillia, which will be hitting North American shores on August 6th. With a slightly more mature look and story, a graphical upgrade, and a brand new battle system focusing on linking party members together for cooperative attacks, this Tale is shaping up to be one to remember. This will be followed in 2014 by its sequel, Tales of Xillia 2, and a bundled HD re-release of the fan-favorite Tales of Symphonia and psuedo-sequel Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. With so many titles on the horizon, the next few months look to be busy ones indeed for Tales fans.

Fighting It Out

Fighting fans won’t be left out of the fun, either. The niche fighting series BlazBlue is also getting a brand new update in the form of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, which sports seven new characters, a fresh set of stages, and loads of the character balancing and tweaking that developer Arc System Works is well-known for. While the game has been playable in Japanese arcades for some time, the home version will be landing on PS3 early next year with exclusive content not included in the original arcade release.

BlazBlue isn’t the only fighter getting an update over the next few months. At this month’s EVO 2013 World Finals tournament, Capcom stunned the crowd as it blew the lid off a brand new title in the Street Fighter series. The new title, christened Ultra Street Fighter IV, is scheduled to launch early next year on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC with five new characters, six new stages, multiple balancing tweaks for each character, and loads of new modes in tow. According to Matt Dahlgren and Peter “Combofiend” Rosas of Capcom, fan feedback was the major driving force behind the creation of this brand new entry in the Street Fighter saga. World warriors, be excited!

Reinventing the Classics

One of the companies hit hardest by the HD transition is none other than Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix. While the company did foresee difficulties with the added cost and complexity of HD development at the start of the generation – even licensing Unreal Engine 3 in an attempt to solve the problem – egregious English to Japanese translation errors in engine documentation and numerous support issues made the middleware transition exceptionally painful for the company. These difficulties motivated Square Enix to begin development on its own internal middleware tailored to its development pipeline: the White Engine.

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If it wasn’t for the acquisition of Eidos... [Square Enix] may not have survived at all.

Unfortunately, development of the White Engine was anything but smooth, churning through far more time and resources than originally anticipated. With development costs skyrocketing and few major game releases to boost the bottom line, the disastrous launch of the original half-baked Final Fantasy XIV MMO in 2010 was enough to bring the entire company to its knees. If it wasn’t for the acquisition of Eidos and the subsequent output of critically-acclaimed, Western-centric titles like Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Japanese gaming giant may not have survived at all.

Fortunately, this year seems to mark a major turnaround for the company’s internal studio output, beginning with the launch of a much-improved version of Final Fantasy XIV in August on PS3 and PC and continuing into the fall with the North American releases of both Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix and Final Fantasy X|X2 HD Remaster on PS3 (with the latter also coming to Vita).

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix launched earlier this year in Japan to solid reviews. In addition to reworked and enhanced versions of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts re: Chain of Memories, the collection is also set to include hours of new voiced dialogue retelling the story of 358/2 Days. While new information regarding release timing for Final Fantasy X|X2 HD Remaster has been difficult to come by, the collection will contain international content that will be available for the first time in North America.

The largest story coming out of Square Enix, though, is most certainly the announcement of Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III for next-generation consoles, two eagerly-anticipated games we still know precious little about.

The Rest of the Bunch

Are you hungry for something a little goofier? Always a late-generation darling, NIS America has you covered. The company continues to support the PS3 with a barrage of uniquely charming (yet divisive) entries in the JRPG, strategy RPG, and roguelike genres. This year’s batch includes not only the recently released (and widely panned) JRPG Time and Eternity, but also a full-fledged sequel to the original Disgaea titled Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness and a brand new roguelike in the form of The Guided Fate Paradox. NIS is also bringing two Japanese Vita games -- DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Demon Gaze -- to the west in 2014.

SEGA also recently surprised Western fans of Japanese pop sensation Hatsune Miku with an announcement of a localized release for Hatsune Miku Project Diva F, a challenging, arcade-based rhythm game featuring many of the most popular vocaloid tunes.

Into the Future

Many of the titles so far discussed are being built for current-gen consoles, meaning that some third-party Japanese studios may not be quite ready to throw all of their weight behind the two brand new, unproven platforms launching later this year. With Xbox One not even scheduled to release in Japan until 2014, perhaps it isn’t all that surprising many publishers in the East (as well as the West) are choosing instead to largely hedge their bets on existing current-gen install bases.

Is this wise? With software sales declining quarter over quarter, are these brand new current-gen games and HD remixes destined for an immediate one-way trip to the bargain bin? That’s a difficult question to answer, but as proven by recent releases like The Last of Us, there’s still room for good software to be successful on current-gen platforms.

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For the first time in a long time, there are tons of reasons to be excited about Japanese gaming.

While some would argue that developers and publishers should drop the PS3 and Xbox 360 like a bad habit the second the PS4 and Xbox One hit the market this fall, a healthy current-gen console market will most certainly make for a smoother transition into next-gen for casual gamers.

Also, for those few teams in Japan still cutting their teeth on HD console development, the long tail of current-gen coupled with direct sale opportunities through marketplaces like PlayStation Network will give them plenty of time to hone their skills while preparing to develop for the next generation. While many gamers are certainly ready, willing, and able to dive into next-generation content right now, there are plenty of people that will be seeking fulfilling experiences on current-gen hardware both this year and in the future.

For the first time in a long time, there are tons of reasons to be excited about Japanese gaming. Whether a fan of action, strategy, fighting, or RPG, Japanese studios will be delivering something for everyone during the holiday season and into next spring. Despite early challenges with hardware and truckloads of Japan-only portable releases, Japan’s developers are finally returning to console gaming en masse. With the enthusiasm I’ve seen from developers about the direction the market is headed, things are only looking up from here. With tons of current-gen titles being prepped for market and brand new next-gen experiences waiting in the wings, Japan is looking to fire on all cylinders this year and beyond.

Welcome back, Japan. We’ve missed you.

Michael Migliacio is a software engineer by day, freelance gaming journalist by night, and Japanese gaming enthusiast 24/7. When he's not covering the eSports scene as a Staff Writer for Evil Geniuses, he can be found on IGN as angstygaijin or on Twitter @angstygaijin.

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AMC Orders Two New Series: Revolutionary War Spy Drama Halt & Catch Fire and 1980s Computer-Centric Turn

As we go into the final episodes of Breaking Bad, and with Mad Men set to end next year, AMC announced at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour that they’ve picked up two new projects to series. Both are period pieces, though set in very different eras and worlds.

Turn is set during the Revolutionary War, centering on a group of young spies who were integral to the war, and comes from Craig Silverstein, who is wrapping up work on Nikita, which he created for The CW.

The other project, Halt & Catch Fire, is set in the early 1980s and is about the rise of the personal computer industry. Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies, The Hobbit and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy) is among the stars.

“The simultaneous greenlights today are the first in network history and underscore AMC’s growth and commitment to original scripted programming,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming, production and digital content. “Each of these projects takes the audience into a unique world through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be working with such exceptional talent on these series and can’t wait to bring them to viewers.”

Below are the official network descriptions for both series:

Set in the early 1980s, “Halt & Catch Fire” dramatizes the personal computing boom through the eyes of a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their personal and professional partnerships are challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie. From AMC Studios, “Halt & Catch Fire” is created by Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers from a pilot directed by Juan Campanella (The Secret In Their Eyes). Jonathan Lisco has joined the series as showrunner and Mark Johnson (“Breaking Bad,” “Rectify,” Diner, Rain Man) and Melissa Bernstein (“Breaking Bad” and “Rectify”) from Gran Via Productions also serve as executive producers. The series stars Lee Pace (Lincoln, “Pushing Daisies”) as Joe McMillan, Scoot McNairy (Argo) as Gordan Clark, Mackenzie Rio Davis (Smashed) as Cameron Howe, Kerry Bishe (Argo, Red State) as Donna Clark, Toby Huss (Cowboys & Aliens) as John Bosworth and David Wilson Barnes (The Bourne Legacy, “You Don’t Know Jack”) as Dave Butler.

Based on the book “Washington’s Spies,” written by Alexander Rose, “Turn” is set in the summer of 1778 and tells the story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence. “Turn,” also from AMC Studios, was developed and written by Craig Silverstein (“Nikita”) who also serves as series showrunner. The pilot was directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes). Barry Josephson (“Bones,” Enchanted) from Josephson Entertainment is executive producer. The series stars Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, King Kong, The Adventures of Tintin) as Abraham Woodhull, Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) as Judge Richard Woodhull, Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises) as Major Hewlett, Daniel Henshall (The Snowtown Murders) as Caleb, Seth Numrich (“The Good Wife”) as Ben Talmadge, Angus MacFadyen (Braveheart) as Robert Rogers, JJ Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Major John Andre, Meegan Warner as Mary Woodhull and Heather Lind (“Boardwalk Empire”) as Anna Strong.

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Stanley Kubrick Hated The Wizard of Oz

Everyone loves The Wizard of Oz, right? The classic 1939 fantasy musical starring Judy Garland based on L. Frank Baum's novel has been a lasting part of pop culture for decades, but one of cinema's greatest directors is said to have loathed the film: The Shining and Doctor Strangelove's Stanley Kubrick, who would have been 85-years-old today.

As Indiewire points out, "according to his daughter, Katharina, 'he hated The Wizard of Oz.'" No particular reason is cited in the story for Kubrick's disdain for the movie.

And yet Kubrick loved White Men Can't Jump. Click here for the movies you'll likely be surprised to find out the late Full Metal Jacket and 2001 helmer did enjoy.

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The Clone Wars: Season 5 Blu-ray, Complete Series Coming This Fall

Announced earlier today at Star Wars Celebration Europe, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season 5 will release on October 15, 2013 on Blu-ray (2-disc) and DVD (3-disc). The collection includes all 20 episodes, two as director's cuts never seen on TV, with more than three hours of extras including cast and crew interviews, deleted/alternate scenes and featurettes.

But that's not all. In addition to the Season 5 release, StarWars.com unveiled Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Seasons 1-5 Collector's Edition, also available on October 15, 2013 on Blu-ray (14-disc) and DVD (19-disc). Featuring brand new collectible packaging, this box set comes with all 108 episodes from the series, as well as an exclusive 54-page Art of The Clone Wars booklet that showcases concept art from all five seasons, with many images never before published.

Sadly, the Collector's Edition does not appear to include the "bonus content" episodes yet to be released from the uncompleted Season 6; fans will have to keep waiting for a release announcement of that material.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season 5 will retail for $59.97 on Blu-ray, $49.98 on DVD. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Seasons 1-5 Collector's Edition, meanwhile, will sell for $149.99 on Blu-ray, $119.98 on DVD.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

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Black Sails Renewed for Season 2 While Starz Gives an Update on Steven De Knight's Incursion

Starz has renewed their new pirate series Black Sails for Season 2. If you're thinking, "Wait, did I miss this show?", the answer is no. Black Sails doesn't even debut until January, making it's oh-so early renewal especially notable. Executive produced by Michael Bay, Black Sails had a pilot screening at Comic-Con last week, which Starz' CEO, Chris Albrecht, said was very well received today, while making the announcement at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour.

Albrecht was also asked about the status of Incursion, the sci-fi series being developed by Steven De Knight, who gave Starz Spartacus.

Albrecht revealed that an entire first season is being written and nearly finished and “There’s been a lot of pre-production that’s been done. “

However, he added, “We’ve realized just how challenging this is just from a production standpoint. The description of ‘Band of Brothers meets Halo’ is really apt and comes with all the necessary command of resources that would need to be applied against it.”

Albrecht stressed Incursion is “Very much alive,” but added, “It is in a slow pause just because we can’t go forward on a pilot that would not be affordable. We need to do a lot more work in the pilot phase.” Albrecht added they loved working with De Knight and, “Look forward to a long, successful partnership.”

Here's what De Knight told us about Incursion at last year's Comic-Con:

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20th Century Fox Movie Theme Park in the Works

Want a theme park with Alien and Predator attractions? Good, because you're going to get one. Oh, but it will be in Malaysia.

20th Century Fox announced today that they're getting into the theme park business with a 25+ acre development in Malaysia that will feature attractions based on Fox films such as Alien, Predator, Life of Pi, Rio, Ice Age, and Night at the Museum. Additional film build outs are to be announced, but it should be noted that the Fox release Avatar already has a theme park attraction in the works through Disney.

In the meantime, enjoy those rides where you're trapped on a boat with a tiger or are hunted through the jungle by an invisible killer from space.

The park is said to include "media based rides, thrill rides, dark rides, children’s rides and water rides," as well as "The Dream Parade, an animatronics parade based on all characters and titles represented thorughout the theme park."

There will be 25 movie-based rides in all with the park set to open in 2016. And the price tag for building this park? A mere $158 million via investor Resorts World Genting, which is still less than most summer movie blockbusters cost to produce.

It would seem unlikely that Fox's X-Men could get a theme park attraction given that Disney now owns the Marvel character library (perhaps it could as long as everything is based off the look and elements of the X-Men movies?) so what other Fox movies would you like to see turned into attractions? I vote for Planet of the Apes.

Via StreetInsider.com.

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Google Planning Android-Based Set-Top Box with Camera

Google just announced its streaming content dongle, ChromeCast, earlier this week. But according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the tech giant showed off a different TV device to select people during the Consumer Electronics Show back in January. The sources claim Google is the latest company to consider entering the hotly contested television service market, and the alleged set-top box appears to use some type of motion controls.

The CES presentation was supposedly led by former Android executive Andy Rubin, with Google showing off an Android-powered box capable of showing television content in addition to taking advantage of Google+ hangouts. The set-top box featured an on-board camera and motion sensor.

Earlier this year, Google pulled the plug on the Nexus Q, a failed attempt to compete with the Apple TV and Roku media hubs. Pre-orders were refunded, and the strange looking, orb-shaped device disappeared altogether. There's no indication if this new set-top box is some type of redesigned, second attempt at a similar product. According to one source, the new device is capable of streaming YouTube, playing video content from Google Play, and running Android apps--including video games.

Of course, since this demonstration happened back in January, there's a possibility this set-top box was scrapped entirely in favor of ChromeCast. But the bigger question is whether or not Google is going to make a play at brokering deals with television networks and cable providers. Seemingly every tech company is reportedly working on such an arrangement (and not making much in the way of progress).

Matt Clark is a freelance writer covering the world of videogames, tech, and popular culture. Follow him on Twitter @ClarkMatt and MyIGN at Matt_Clark.

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Batman Annual #2 Preview

It's hard to believe it's been over a year since that Mr. Freeze Batman Annual in 2012, but here we are! This time around, Scott Snyder, new writer Marguerite Bennett, and artist Wes Craig offer up a Zero Year tie-in that goes back in time to explore the earliest days of the Dark Knight.

Batman Annual #2 clocks in at 48 pages for $4.99 and goes on sale Wednesday.

Joey is a Senior Editor at IGN and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He often wonders whatever happened to Billy's RadBug.

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New Borderlands Skins Headed to Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition

Gearbox has announced five new Borderlands skins headed to Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition.

Shown off on Gearbox’s official site, Skin Pack 5 will include new skins based on Roland, Axton, Handsome Jack, Maya and Salvador and will launch on Wednesday, July 31 for 160 Microsoft Points ($2).

Skin Pack 5 follows the previous Borderlands skin pack, which launched in March and included Mordecai, Lilith, Brick and Claptrap.

Find more about Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition’s skins in our Minecraft skins.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

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Why World of Warcraft's Loss is WildStar's Gain

This morning, Activision Blizzard announced that its immensely popular MMO World of Warcraft had lost 600,000 subscribers in three months, bringing the number of people playing the game to its lowest figure since 2007. A cursory glance at our (vastly improved) comments reveals what you may expect; for the vast majority of people, this is the death knell of the subscription MMO. At long last Goliath has been brought to his knees, and it’s only a matter of time before he collapses completely.

Personally, I’m not sure this is the case. World of Warcraft remains the most successful MMO in existence and Blizzard is already rolling with the punches when it comes to figuring out how to make up the difference in lost revenue. As for the genre itself? Well, it’s never looked healthier. A whole host of next-gen titles, from Ubisoft’s The Division to Bungie’s Destiny, look set to heavily incorporate MMO aspects, even if they shy away from standing up and being counted as MMOs. But in the more immediate future, there’s one title that looks set to make a play for many of those who’ve fallen out of love with Azeroth.

Enter WildStar. It’s no secret that Carbine’s upcoming MMO shares a lot of traits with the World of Warcraft of our rose-tinted rememberance, like 40-man raids, a comfortably familiar cartoonish aesthetic and a safe respect for the holy trinity of tank, healer and damage dealer. When I recently sat down with MMO veteran and executive producer Jeremy Gaffney, he spoke to me at length about why he’s confident that MMOs still have great things ahead of them, and why the continuing decline in Warcraft’s subscriber numbers is nothing more than anecdotal evidence of a genre in trouble.

“

There’s something like 10 million people who have played WoW in the past, and in the Western market there’s 2 or 3 million that are currently playing it. The genre is far from dead just based on that one game alone.

“I think it has everything necessary to be succeeding right now and I think it’s not succeeding right now," he says of WoW. "The reason I say that is this: you look at the games that have come out in the last three years, and there’s a high amount of interest. Even some games that I would argue were kinda incomplete coming out the door sold a million, a million and a half boxes. Some have sold three and a half million boxes, but they’ve had a hard time with retention. What this means is that interest in the genre is high – people want to play another MMO.

“Every month WoW churns out somewhere between 5% and 7% of their subscribers and they reacquire or acquire another 4% to 8%. So that’s why the numbers have been sort of steady or occasionally a bit of decline for a while. What that means is that the market is seeded with people who’ve played MMOs before. There’s something like 10 million people who have played WoW in the past, and in the Western market there’s 2 or 3 million that are currently playing it. The genre is far from dead just based on that one game alone.”

So are WildStar's skin-deep similarities to WoW an attempt to secure victory over the likes of Final Fantasy XIV and The Elder Scrolls Online by coaxing in Blizzard’s nostalgia-addled cast-offs? According to Gaffney, this isn’t the plan at all. In fact, it’s Carbine’s attempt to insure that the genre is moved forward while having a healthy respect for its heritage.

“We’re not trying to copy vanilla WoW, but I do think there are elements in a newly launched title that are a lot different than they ought to be in an 'everybody’s got max level characters, all about convenience' game,” he asserts. “We’re not trying to be crafty in terms of trying to hit all the disillusioned people from the past on that one. But, there’s an arc that games take; the things that you want to do in a game that’s brand fresh and new are very different from those in a game that’s ten years old. Some of that is exploration; there aren’t many aspects of exploration in a game that you’ve been playing for a long, long time, but there are in a new one. So maybe it makes sense to go find all the dungeon entrances for the first time and have to explore the world to find them all before you get into the ease of a straight-up group finder situation.

“

If our game has a good engine of taking casual players and converting them into hardcore players over time, then we win. So if you can do that arc well, and you know WoW did a very decent job of that arc back in the day, then I think you can win.

“Over time, what happens is you round off the rough edges and you add in convenience. But some babies get left in the bath water with that convenience – sometimes it shaves off actual fun gameplay. So in a vanilla game that’s launching for the first time, you want more of those rough edges and exploration. Over time, you carve it out and make it easier. I think there are a lot of people who want a challenging experience actually and I think that does get sacrificed at the altar of convenience.”

As he rightly surmises, the idea of pitching a new MMO at disenfranchised-WoW players is unlikely to end well. Most recovering MMO addicts (myself included) have a certain degree of resentment towards the genre that stole so many of our formative gaming hours, so are understandably cautious about buying into the hype and picking up the next one. But this is exactly the market that so many of the recent sub-turned-F2P titles have unsuccessfully tried to mine; what WildStar is keen to do, therefore, is be welcoming to genre-newcomers and train them about what makes an MMO done right so special.

“One thing we want to do is make sure levelling is fun and easy, but then the Elder Game is fricking hard,” he shares. “It’s for the elite and not every person should be able to do it. If our game has a good engine of taking casual players and converting them into hardcore players over time, then we win. So if you can do that arc well, and you know WoW did a very decent job of that arc back in the day, then I think you can win.

“Our trick for that is to add telegraphs to combat. Raid bosses in many other games will mark a circle on the ground to show where bad things will happen, and you have to move before it’s cast. Well, we introduce that at level three, then we just build on it. People will argue that telegraphs are easy-mode or we’re showing too much. No! It gives you a language, a visual language that you can use to make your combat all the more complex. Once you’ve established that, then you can have things like knockbacks and huge walls of fire you need to avoid. And it’s communication; if you’re communicating on the ground with what spell you want to cast, it unlocks a wealth of combos for me.

“Normally that’s high-level sh** in past games, but because we made it visually easy to understand, people new to the genre will get it fast and people who are familiar with the genre will now have a load of building blocks to build on really quickly.”

“

It’s kinda about listening. It’s kinda tough to screw it up if you listen to what people want.

The name of the game here, once again, is retention. Getting people through the door is easy enough, but if you can train them to feel empowered through your MMO then you’ve got that much more of a chance of succeeding in the long-run. But to keep people playing your game, you need more than just a great design philosophy, you need content. Lots of it, regularly updated. Too many developers underestimate the locust-like potential of freshly-formed MMO communities in the weeks after a game’s launch. Has Carbine learnt from others’ mistakes?

“We don’t just have our first month, but something like our first year laid out in terms of schedule,” Gaffney admits. “But some of that’s reserved for what the players want. We may even let them vote on it too. Do you want a new raid, a new dungeon, or a new solo area? Because it’s kinda about listening. It’s kinda tough to screw it up if you listen to what people want, and you run the data to make sure what they say they want is actually what they’re doing in the game as well!”

It’s been a trying time for many of us MMO fans lately, and this morning’s news can certainly be viewed as the herald of doom and gloom. Personally, though, I think this is an opportunity for the genre to pick itself and move forwards, and it seems that Carbine shares this view. With the pricing model for WildStar still not announced, it’s clear the team isn’t about to squander this moment.

One thing’s for certain though; there are a lot of lost MMO souls out there, still actively looking for a place to call home. With a whole host of options on the horizon, it’s entirely possible that there’ll be something for even the most niche of tastes before too long. As Winston Churchill once said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Fingers crossed.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor and longtime MMO player. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Breaking Bad Final Episodes UK Air Date Confirmed

The final eight episodes of Breaking Bad will hit Netflix in the UK the day after they air in the States, the web-streaming company confirmed today. Starting on Monday, August 12th, a new episode will drop each week just hours after it has aired on AMC Stateside, welcome news for Breaking Bad fans over here.

No UK broadcaster has heavily supported the hit show in the past with most viewers relying on Netflix (or other nefarious means) for their Heisenberg fix. This instant syndication solution could prove to be a big hit amongst networks keen to stem the tide of piracy seen for shows such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead that suffer staggered international air dates.

"Netflix has been instrumental in making Breaking Bad the success that it is," says series creator Vince Gilligan in a quote on The Verge. "I am delighted that fans [in the UK] will be able to enjoy the end of Breaking Bad on Netflix so soon after it airs in the US."

So are we Vince, so are we.

Tom is IGN's UK Social Media Editor and resident meth-head. Wait... what? You can stay abreast of his current pet peeves by following him on IGN and Twitter.

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Grid 2 Getting Demolition Derby Mode For Free

Demolition Derby mode is set to make a return to the Grid franchise, Codemasters has announced.

In a new blog post, the developer revealed that the returning game mode from the original Grid would be available to download for all Grid 2 owners at no extra charge.

The decision to reintroduce the mode was apparently "100% driven by feedback from the community", though no exact release window has been confirmed.

The upcoming community patch, set to resolve many of the most common complaints from fans of the game, was also detailed. Check out what changes are on the way in the official post.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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The Architects: Video Gaming's Auteurs

As games have become more sophisticated, so too has their analysis, and there is a wealth discussion on the notion of game designers as 'auteurs' - a word more traditionally used in reference to film directors who are considered to have a unique and identifiable style to their work.

However, unlike in film criticism, which has had several decades to refine the tenets of what makes an auteur, the use of the term in gaming is malleable, since games are so inherently different to films. Games are often defined by their development studios rather than individual directors, the product of many pairs of hands rather than one; companies such as Insomniac and Valve have an identifiable style, but the flat organisation of their staff on display in their credits lacks the authorial stamp of the film director.

Some of the greatest game auteurs as we know them may share more in common with architects or installation artists than film directors. They express creativity through the spaces they create, and the interactions therein. Directors such as David Cage are sometimes referred to as auteurs, but that has a lot to do with their extreme deference to the conventions of cinema. Creatives such as Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann and Amy Hennig, meanwhile, are excellent writers, but have yet to establish a thematic consistency in their world-building.

If you ask me, the best game designers are those who allow for the maximum degree of player interpretation in assessing their work while managing to maintain a consistent tone and atmosphere in their output. Play a game made by one of these creators, and you know it’s come from them. As interactive experiences games are almost unique in this regard. Here are five designers who best testify to this design philosophy: five of gaming’s best architects.

Hidetaka Miyazaki

Handholding, that death knell for the hardcore, is not a concept with which Miyazaki  seems familiar - his games plunge the player into an environment that leaves only a meagre trail of breadcrumbs to follow. Although his first directorial efforts include two entries in the austere mech series Armored Core, it is the Souls series for which he is most known.

Inspired by the Western fantasy fiction he enjoyed growing up, Miyazaki's Souls games offer a uniquely Eastern perspective on the conventions of the genre. He drew particular inspiration from the Fighting Fantasy series, a collection of choose-your-own-adventure stories, many of which were written by Eidos president Ian Livingstone. He has cited his lack of English command while reading these books as an inspiration for the storytelling in the Souls series, which forces the player to use their imagination to fill in the blanks in a similar manner.

His games are also notable for their sparing use of music and lack of cut scenes, environmental hazards which encourage careful traversal (narrow pathways over high drops are a favourite), and areas of almost complete darkness. He also has a penchant for obfuscating game mechanics that encourage player experimentation.

Keita Takahashi

Keita Takahashi designs playgrounds. That isn't a metaphor for his games, he literally does design playgrounds for children, but this facet of his creative output shows in his games too, which are charming enough to bring the big kid out of the most hardened of hearts. "In Japan, people who play games are called 'users.' I think games should be played. Perhaps it's minute, but that bothered me. We just throw around the term users and that bothers me," he claimed at GDC in 2009.

He is most famous for PS2 cult classics Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari, as well as PS3 oddity Noby Noby Boy. This triptych of rainbow-bright Japanese cheer encapsulates both Takahashi’s pop art leanings and gameplay philosophy. Both Katamari and Noby Noby Boy feature playable characters that affect their environment the larger they become; Katamari’s Prince rolls a ball around the environment sweeping up objects in a snowball effect, while Noby Noby Boy’s listless caterpillar chap causes increasing chaos to his township as he stretches out his wibbly body.

Takahashi's games also tend to feature whimsical stories that share a sense of celestial purpose belying their cutesy visuals, as the Prince tries to rebuild the night sky his father destroyed and Noby’s BOY endeavours to reach the outer limits of our solar system. Takahashi also likes to touch on environmental themes in his games; the Prince's ever-distending ball of 'stuff' is an alleged commentary on the waste and materialism of modern society.

Fumito Ueda

It seems that any of the far-too-many forum threads pertaining to the 'are games art?' question is incomplete without mention of Fumito Ueda. In an Edge interview from 2008, Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro boldly claimed "There are only two games I consider masterpieces: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus."

The sparsity of Ueda’s output - two games since 2001, and his third, The Last Guardian, in apparent developmental limbo - has fueled the Ueda mythos, lending him a status akin to the games industry's answer to Terrence Malick. His softly-lit worlds suggest a deep history and mythology, but provide only basic details, allowing the player to fill in the blanks.

In Ico, we know that the titular hero is cast out from his tribe in the beginning for his horns, but we aren't told why this is such an offence. In Shadow of the Colossus, we know the protagonist Wander is fighting to bring a girl named Mono back to life, but we don't know how or why she died. The lack of back story and dialogue lends his games the quality of a folk tale. He is talented at creating stories which manage to feel both epic and personal at the same time, on account of using his environments to dwarf his small cast of characters.

Éric Chahi

His work has been cited as an influence by several designers, including Hideo Kojima and Fumito Ueda; No More Heroes' Goichi Suda meanwhile, counts him as his favourite video game designer of all time. Indie darlings such as Limbo, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP and Kentucky Route Zero all owe him an aesthetic debt.

Chahi has directed only three games in over twenty years; the massively influential cinematic platformer Another World in 1991, its much-maligned spiritual successor Heart of Darkness in 1998, and the excellent god sim From Dust in 2011. His games tend to expose the player's vulnerability through certain design choices, particularly the cruelty of nature; both Another World and Heart of Darkness feature heroes who are presented as rather weak physically, and almost anything in the game can kill them in one hit.

Another World sets the tone in its very first moments by forcing the player to run away from danger almost immediately. In From Dust, the villagers also lose their lives very easily, which feels like a comment on the futility of the player's attempt to fight the awesome forces of nature. In Another World it is an apparent act of god that forces tampering physicist Lester Chaykin into his terrible situation in the first place.

Chahi is also notable for his naturalistic use of sound, an influence that can be heard in Team Ico's work. In Another World and Heart of Darkness, the patter of the heroes' footsteps is punctuated by the howl of the wind or murmurs of fauna, while in From Dust we are treated to a symphony of crashing waves, shifting sands and the occasional haunting sound of a villager's pipe.

Jeff Minter

Minter represents a decidedly British eccentricity largely lost in modern gaming, and is perhaps the ultimate garage codie. His psychedelic visual style, playfully surreal spins on existing genres, the sheer volume of his output and his obsession with llamas are all among his early hallmarks, while his later work would mark him out as a pioneer of the synaesthesia genre.

His early work tends to consist of bizarre spins on established shoot-'em-up and platform concepts, including Gridrunner, Attack of the Mutant Camels and Hover Bovver, which captures the heady excitement and danger of cutting the grass with a neighbour's lawn mower (he later produced a sequel, Grand Theft Flymo).

In the 1990s, he gained attention for his interpretation of 80s arcade classic Tempest, with Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar and Tempest 3000 on the Nuon, and more recently has found a home with PC and XBLA. While his more recent releases still contain traces of his off-kilter comedic style,  they have become increasingly psychedelic, peaking with the eye-watering shooter Space Giraffe in 2007 on XBLA, which saw a slightly neutered PC release the following year.

These aren't gaming's only recognisable creators. Who else would you call a gaming auteur, and what are the common qualities that distinguish their work? Join the discussion below.

Ewen Hosie really likes the word freelancer, as it makes him sound like a starfaring sci-fi hero. He hails from Parts Unknown, and by Parts Unknown we mean Scotland. He is known to skulk around on Twitter.

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World of Warcraft Down to 7.7 Million Subscribers

Activision Blizzard has announced World of Warcraft currently has 7.7 million subscribers, down from 8.3 million last quarter.

This represents a loss of 600,000 subscribers in three months, and brings the number of people paying to play the game to its lowest figure since before the launch of the first expansion, The Burning Crusade, back in 2007.

It marks a continued decline in the number of people playing the most successful MMORPG in the world; World of Warcraft had as many as 10 million subscribers when the most recent expansion, Mists of Pandaria, released last September and had more than 12 million at its peak in 2010.

The company appears to be taking steps to mitigate the loss in earnings caused by the cancelling of subscriptions; earlier this month it was confirmed an in-game store would be coming to the title, with Eastern regions being offered additional items like experience-boosters.

Quite what this means for the future of the genre is unclear. We've been asking for some time if we should be paying to play MMOs, considering the number that have jettisoned their sub fees of late. While it seems Warcraft is unlikely to convert to free-to-play any time soon, it'll be interesting to see what effect this has on the likes of upcoming MMOs WildStar and The Elder Scrolls Online, both of which have yet to announce business models.

This latest subscriber loss means there are more former-MMO players than ever before floating around looking for a new title to latch onto. Have you played World of Warcraft before and, if so, what features would you want in a new MMO to coax you back in? Or are you just suffering from extreme genre-fatigue? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor and former World of Warcraft player. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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IGN UK Podcast #195: Comic-Con Round-Up

Forget what we said last week - this is our last podcast in the old office. And it's a belter, featuring Stu, Dan and Chris talking about all the major announcements at Comic-Con, most notably the Batman v Superman movie that will be hitting our screens in 2015.

If that weren't enough, the team also talks:

• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Putting a Shrek in it
• The Avengers 2
• World of Warcraft
• Catching Fire
• Our Desert Island Games (kind of)
• Breaking Bad
• The IGN comments section

And more! Download right now for your listening pleasure, and join us next week from what we promise will be a brand new location. With soundproofing!

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The Inbetweeners 2 Movie Happening Again?

It looks like a sequel to The Inbetweeners Movie is happening after all, as actor Simon Bird has confirmed a script is in the works.

Speaking to What's On TV (via Digital Spy) ahead of his new comedy Chickens airing, Bird revealed that a second film would be made but it could be some time before it hits screens.

"Yes we are doing another movie, but writing it takes a lot longer than people assume," he said. "When the last movie was such a success, people think you can just go ahead and do another just like it straight away. But the writers have to have time to work on the script and come up with ideas.

"I also think us actors wanted just a little bit of a break."

Since the first Inbetweeners Movie released in 2011, there's been a number of conflicting reports about whether a sequel would happen. Back in September that year, the writers of the series refuted claims of a follow-up set four years later on the eve of Neil's wedding; in May last year, James Buckley - who plays Jay in the show - said a fourth series wouldn't happen, and nor would a second film.

A couple of months ago, however, reports began to surface that a second adventure had been given the green light, with events set in Australia. What do you reckon? Would you like to see the boys back in action and, if so, do any of the above plots appeal? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Torchlight 2 Sells Over 2 Million Copies

Runic Games has announced Torchlight 2 has sold over 2 million copies.

The game released back in September 2012, though the milestone was passed last week during the Steam sale.

Runic CEO Max Schaefer said, "We are overwhelmed by the reception for Torchlight 2. To hit this milestone is a testament not only to our dedicated development team, but also to the greatest, most positive gaming community I’ve ever seen.

“I’d just like to say a big thank you to all the players who offered their suggestions on what we could improve, and who stuck with us and supported us during development. It wouldn’t have been possible without you, and we’re humbled and grateful at your response."

Since releasing in 2009, the original Torchlight has sold over a million copies, meaning the franchise has lifetime sales of over 3 million.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Author Neil Gaiman Announces Debut Game

Author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman's wide body of work includes a long list of novels and children’s books,  plus a host of comics, screenplays, and teleplays. He’s about to add a videogame to his resume.

Wayward Manor is poised to be Gaiman’s first game, which he’s developing in conjunction with The Odd Gentlemen (The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom).

“For quite a while there’s been a story that I’ve wanted to tell; something inspired by the kinds of films I loved when I was a kid,” explains Gaiman in a video published on the game’s new website. “Things like Arsenic and Old Lace, Blithe Spirit, The Man Who Came to Dinner.”

“But I kept running into the same problem: it didn’t really feel like a novel. It felt like something that you would have to experience yourself.”

Wayward Manor is described as a puzzle/adventure game hybrid; you’ll play as a disgruntled ghost trying to uproot your home’s new, living owners. It’s headed to PC, Mac, and tablets.

Pre-orders are available on the game's official site, along with several tiers of merchandise and rewards. You can even secure an invite to an exclusive dinner with Gaiman himself.

For $10,000.

 Luke is Games Editor at IGN AU. You can find him on IGN here or on Twitter @MrLukeReilly, or chat with him and the rest of the Australian team by joining the IGN Australia Facebook community.

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