ASTRO Gaming, a leader in premium video gaming equipment, today revealed additional details surrounding the studio’s highly anticipated official Nintendo Switch™ A10 Headset. ASTRO Gaming confirmed the upcoming headset will feature The Legend of Zelda™: Breath of the Wild, celebrating a critically acclaimed title within one of the most iconic franchises in videogame history. ASTRO plans to reveal the new headset at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, June 12-14 (MR-307) with availability coming later this year.
“With our new wired headset for the Nintendo Switch, we celebrate the iconic gaming experience that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild delivers to a new generation of gamers,” said Cris “Soup” Lee, head of licensing & partnerships, ASTRO Gaming. “We worked closely with Nintendo to create a stylish, uncompromising audio experience, with a special new chat adapter designed specifically for the Nintendo Switch. With the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app, players can chat with their friends while playing compatible games at home or on the go.
ASTRO Gaming’s development of the new Legend of Zelda-themed Nintendo Switch headset stems from an exciting multi-year agreement with Nintendo announced in April. As part of the deal, ASTRO Gaming will develop a variety of special edition headsets, speaker tags and accessories celebrating some of the most iconic characters and franchises, including The Legend of Zelda™, Super Mario™ and more.
Aquaman is the Embodiment of “Fine”
REVIEW | The Punisher Season 2
Sub Cultured Heads to PAX South 2019!
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Sub Cultured is Heading to DakuCon 2018!
Prisma & The Masquerade Menace
Prisma & The Masquerade Menace is in the early stages of development, so early in fact that it’s not even on Kickstarter yet. That didn’t stop the developer from having a fully playable level from the demo at PAX South.
It’s got some rough edges, but it’s already rather polished. At its core, it’s a platformer game in which you take control of Ray, a girl who can switch between different colored dimensions to make objects appear or disappear. Each of these dimensions also gives her abilities like high jumping, fast running, and block destroying. Once you get used to switching between dimensions, it becomes much more like a Sonic game in which you feel compelled to go as fast as possible, switching dimensions quickly and trying to think on your feet.
Prisma is still in its early stages, but give their Kickstarter a look when it goes live later this month!
Sundered
Sundered is a game that leaps out at you from a sea of titles at a gaming convention. It’s art style has a way of pulling you in, making you want more.
Sundered is a Metroidvania style platformer/exploration game in which you take control of Eshe, a wanderer exploring seemingly endless, always changing caverns filled with eldritch horrors. The controls solid and responsive and the game’s difficulty is a little more than Super Metroid (we died 3 times in the demo), making it feel like a substantial single player experience. Details like the hand drawn art and pencil marks when the camera is really zoomed in all combine to make this a visual feast that also delivers on a tight experience.
Sundered is coming out to PS4 and PC in July but you can Kickstart it right now here!
RiME
In RiME, you play a boy exploring a strange island trying to work your way to a pillar in its center. Along the way, you’ll solve puzzles, meet a super cute fox, and try to figure out the mysteries of your surroundings and what could have happened to make it the way it is now.
RiME feels a lot like Zelda mixed with Journey in the best possible way. The art style is stark and gorgeous, varying dramatically for different areas in the game. The world is all laid out in a way that’s easy to understand visually, which is a good thing since the game features no dialog or text, so you’re relying on just trying things out and being observant to solve puzzles.
RiME is due out summer 2017 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
Want more PAX South 2017 coverage? All you had to do was ask!
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Arms, Splatoon 2, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
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REVIEW | Downward Spiral: Horus Station
It’s that time of year again, the leaves are changing color from brown to brown..er… Uh.. Well it’s fall in California, that means we are only a few days away from the last major CA con of the year. COMIKAZE! After a year full of Cons that require travel having the final one of the year be in my backyard is nice. Just a hop, skip, and a jump into downtown LA and we are ready to nerd out for an entire weekend. But hearing about my commute isn’t what you came here for. Let’s dive right in to what has me excited this weekend.
Special Guests!
You can check out the whole list of special guests for this years show right HERE. But the top of my list is Julie Newmar, Alfie Allen, Gwendoline Christie, and Jim Lee. Seriously guys, Julie FREAKING Newmar and Gwendoline Christie!!! It’s too much for my poor little nerd heart to handle.
The thirst is real.
Panels I am stoked for on Friday!
Room 404AB at 5pm
THE KAIJU KINGDOM LIVE PODCAST! – GODZILLA’S 60TH
ANNIVERSARY/GAMERA’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY – The King of Monsters and Friend to Children celebrate some major milestones this year. If you are a fan of Godzilla, Gamera, or Kaiju in general you should make some time to check out this panel.
303AB – 6pm
THE WRITER’S JOURNEY: BREAKING INTO COMIC BOOK AND HOLLYWOOD
SCRIPTWRITING – For the writer in every nerd, hopefully they’ll answer all the burning questions I have. Even if they don’t it looks like it will be an amazing panel with guests like Erika Alexander (Concrete Park) and Tony Puryear (Concrete Park, Eraser).
If neither of these panels get you excited Friday is surprisingly jam-packed for such a short day, you might want to check out the Geek Fashion show on the main stage at 6:30 or learn more about Steampunk in room 308AB at 6pm!
Even though Friday is a short day, but that only prepares us for the inSTANity (see what I did there) of Saturday and Sunday! Here are the panels I am way too excited about on Saturday.
We start the day off early at 9:00 AM with:
408AB – 9AM
NOSFERATU – A RESURRECTION OF THE LEGENDARY FILM STARRING DOUG
JONES! PLUS A SNEAK PEAK OF BEAMSCREEN.COM.
The official launch of Nosferatu starring Doug Jones as the monstrous Count
Orlok in a feature-length revisit of the classic masterpiece of horror. Plus
the debut of BeamScreen.com – a revolutionary, cloud-based studio that
incorporates artist’s talents worldwide into its feature quality productions.
Participants: Daamen Krall, David Fisher (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari),
Chris Duddy (True Lies, Terminator 2, Titanic, Robocop), Eban Schletter
(SpongeBob, Thrilling Adventure Hour, Drunk History), Doug Jones (Pan’s
Labyrinth, Hellboy I & II, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Buffy the
Vampire Slayer)
After a quick break for some souvenir hunting on the floor the Main STAGE of COMIKAZE is going to experience some justice.
HOT TOPIC MAIN STAGE – 10:30AM
SPOTLIGHT: ADAM WEST
TV’s most prolific Batman joins us to talk all things Batman, and help
celebrate Batman’s 75th Anniversary
NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa….BATAMAN
and while there are tons of things to fill Saturday with I would be remiss if I didn’t make sure I made it to my favorite podcast’s panel.
404AB – 12:30pm
THE THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR
The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a staged show in the style of old-time radio
performed live, monthly at Largo at the Coronet in Hollywood as well as on
the road. The show sells out monthly and features all of your favorite actors
from the worlds of TV, comedy, animation, film, theater, and improv.
Participants: Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Aaron Ginsburg, Paul F. Tompkins, Craig
Cackowski, Hal Lublin, Janet Varney, Autumn Reeser and more!
Paget Brewster and Paul F. Tompkins are perfect.
After a Saturday that is full of so many things to do, you may be asking yourself. “But what about Sunday Sam? What if we can’t go the first two days?” Well never fear dear reader of things written on websites! Sunday helps Comikaze go out with a bang, and here are the things you should check out!
303AB – 12pm
THE BOYS WHO BUILT BATMAN
Who really created Batman? Was it the Caped Crusader’s officially credited
creator, Bob Kane, or was it his secret collaborator, Bill Finger? What
influences first shaped the Batman mythos back in 1939, from his Detective
Comics #27 debut to the revelation of his tragic origin? Experts conduct
a forensic investigation into this question of historical, cultural, and ethical
importance.
Participants: Dr. Travis Langley, Alan Kistler, Jens Robinson
404AB – 1pm
NERDIST WRITERS PANEL: COMICS EDITION SPOTLIGHT ON ROB PRIOR
Be there as part of this LIVE taping of the show when we deep dive into
Rob’s artistic evolution from a young painter for Dungeons & Dragons to his
two-handed painting approach developed while working on Spawn, Evil Ernie
and Heavy Metal.
Participants: Heath Corson, Rob Prior, Adam Beechen
Stay in that same room for the next panel!!!!
404AB
SECRETS OF THE FLASH! – A GEEK HISTORY LESSON AND GAME SHOW ON
THE SCARLET SPEEDSTER
How much do you really know about the Flash, the star of the CW’s newest
superhero show? Watch a live recording of the Geek History Lesson Podcast
as they challenge comic book writer Sterling Gates (Kid Flash) and Geek &
Sundry’s 2 Broke Geeks to a Flash trivia contest where only the audience can win prizes!
Participants: Jason Inman, Ashley Victoria Robinson (The Red Shirt Diaries,
Co-Host of Geek History Lesson), Sterling Gates (Kid Flash, Supergirl and
Vibe), Omar Najam, Mia Resella (2 Broke Geeks on YouTube)
And that’s it. Those are the things I think you should take some time to check out this weekend at Comikaze. Have you had a chance to check out the schedule? What does your list look like?
Let us know in the comments!
Sam Smith
Staff Writer
sam@sub-cultured.com
Twitter: @samwasbornanerd
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
Viz Media Announces Free Streaming Anime!
Sub Cultured is Headed to Colorado Anime Fest!
Aniplex of America to Stream New Slice of Life Comedy, Slow Start, on Crunchyroll in January 2018
Nan Desu Kan 2016 – Recapping Rocky Mountain’s Biggest Anime Convention!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Misa Amane
Rooster Teeth has been a staple on the internet for quite some time. Like Strongbad Emails or the Awesome series on Newgrounds, Red vs Blue is probably a part of your internet puberty. Since then, Rooster Teeth has grown to produce a number of web series, its own anime, and its own convention.
Rooster Teeth Expo is your source for all things Rooster Teeth, internet content, and gaming in Austin. There’s no other convention in the central Texas area that caters to those interests, so how well did RTX 2014 fill the need?
Gaming
The con is only three years old, but in that time, it’s grown in vendors, attendance, and featured guests. Last year’s expo hall had a number of indie titles, but nothing mainstream or particularly noteworthy to try for the first time. This year, however, 343 Studios came by to show off the Master Chief Collection to the public for the first time and allowed con-goers to play Halo 2 multiplayer on the Xbox One, a strange experience in and of itself. The entire experience takes you back to Friday nights on Xbox Live in 2005. Y’know, if you could also be watching TV while you play and you didn’t have to worry about people trying to make you say “Xbox go home.”
The indie games on the floor were also really interesting this year and definitely an upgrade from previous shows. Capsule Force is a platformer versus game with an 80s-anime inspired art style that looks simple until you play it and you’re suddenly shouting because THAT’S MY PLATFORM WHERE DID YOU EVEN COME FROM. NO. GOD, GET OFF THERE. It’s awesome. Devolver Digital also showed off a few demos, mostly stuff we saw at PAX East, but this time Broforce got a versus mode and it was as awesome as you’d expect.
The games weren’t just limited to video games though as there was an entire booth dedicated to Superfight, the game that takes visual cues from Cards Against Humanity, and its core mechanics from conversation between your friends in which every sentence started with “No dude, dude. Who would win in a fight between…” It’s highly addictive and will make you laugh that ugly laugh you try not to do on dates.
So the gaming portion was pretty good. Still not many high profile games, but that’s not really the focus for RTX anyway. If you want to see more new releases, make the trek out to PAX or even Quake Con, but if you’re cool with some indie titles plus Halo, your need will be satiated here.
Internet
On to the internet stuff! If you’re interested in becoming a content creator, this convention has a surprising amount of panels to help you get started producing videos or podcasts for the net. And if you already have a web show and just want to know how to take it to the next level, there are panels for that too. Unsurprisingly, this convention hosts a number of people that have made the internet their income source through creativity, and they’re willing to share how they’ve done it with you. Plumbing their knowledge through panels is a great way to remotivate yourself to get back to the e-grindstone.
This year also saw the invitation of one of the biggest groups on YouTube – the
Game Grumps. All five main Grump members—Danny, Arin, Suzy, Barry, and Ross—were present for a huge Q&A panel. The questions ranged from such sweet platitudes as, “Can I give you these roses and a hug?” to the definitely creepy, “Where are you going for dinner tonight?” A few questions were also asked about content creation, how they keep it up, and whether they prefer to work in a group, but those questions were definitely overwhelmed by gift giving and wolfjob (don’t Google that if you don’t know what it is).
As a content creator, I really enjoyed RTX as a learning platform to ask questions to or get suggestions from a large variety of successful internet businesspeople. And as a content consumer, however, I wish they had grabbed a few more of my favorite YouTubers to make it feel a little more well-rounded. I love Game Grumps, but maybe also Rocket Jump would have been cool.
Rooster Teeth
I mean. It’s Rooster Teeth Expo. There’s Griffballs on sale, panels for RWBY, autograph sessions, episode premiers, retrospectives, trailers, Achievement Hunter. If there’s something on Rooster Teeth, it was at this con. Duh, it’s excellent if you’re a Rooster Teeth fan, just get down here.
Bonus Stuff (Food, Booze, etc.)
The Austin Convention Center is near a number of hotels and has a wide variety of food in the area at a large number of price points. Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, French, Greasy Street Pizza, you name it, the area has it. It’s also a few blocks away from the infamous Sixth Street, a strip of about four blocks of solid bars. There’s nothing better than a group of Halo buffs drunkyelling on a bar’s roof about the benefits of the Needler in combat.
The convention also hosts a few parties in the area where you can hobnob with some of your favorite content creators. All in all, the convention center, hotels, food, and extra-con entertainment are pretty top-notch.
Conclusion
RTX isn’t the best in the nation in any of the categories it caters to. You can find better gaming and internet conventions elsewhere, but not in Texas and certainly not for this price. The con also doesn’t really advertise it, but it’s a great resource for beginning YouTubers to get guidance from seasoned vets. So if you’re a fan of Rooster Teeth, wanting to kickstart your internet media presence or just really want to see some cool games in the Austin area, pop down to RTX for the weekend. You won’t be sorry.
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
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