Nintendo Details Miiverse

Today Nintendo President Satoru Iwata delivered another Nintendo Direct livestream, in which he detailed some of the Wii U’s functionality with a focus on Nitendo’s new online service, Miiverse.

When you first power-up the Wii U, you'll be taken to Warawara plaza where you'll make a Miiverse account. Each Wii U will be able to support up to ten different account, with each one containing unique save game data, browser bookmarks and other user-specific information.

Iwata also demonstrated how Miiverse will provide a helpful, informative community while playing specific games. Say you only get a silver medal on a level in New Super Mario Bros. Wii U. You can now turn to the Miiverse community for advice on how to claim gold next time. If you die several times, you'll be asked to talk about your frustration on Miiverse. You can choose to follow reliable or particularly help contributors, and there's even a function to hide spoilerific contributions. Iwata also said that Miiverse functionality can be integrated without additional work for developers.

Incidentally, Iwata also used the opportunity to don a pair of immaculate white gloves and unbox the Wii U himself, removing the console, holding the GamePad aloft, and (less exciting) unpacking various cables.

Nintendo's new console Wii U will be released in North America on November 18, Europe on November 30, and in Japan on December 8.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- Hearthfire Announced

Bethesda has revealed the next major downloadable content for Skyrim, called Hearthfire. Unlike the vampire-hunting focus of the last add-on, Dawnguard, Hearthfire doesn't seem to do much to enhance combat. Instead, with Hearthfire you'll be able to purchase a piece of land in Skyrim and build your own house.

Within the custom living space you'll be able build kitchens, greenhouses, libraries, alchemy labs and trophy rooms to show off your accomplishments. Outside it sounds like you'll be able to set up gardens, fish hatcheries and beehives to make resource collection a little more convenient. You can also hire a steward to help out with household tasks.

Hearthfire will also allow you to adopt children and take care of them while they live at your home. Bethesda has set the price of Hearthfire at 400 Microsoft Points and plans to release it on September 4 on Xbox Live.

Source : ign[dot]com

Moonrise Kingdom Explores BD, DVD

Grab your scout handbook -- it's time for an adventure! Universal Studios Home Entertainment will bring the Focus Features hit, Moonrise Kingdom, to Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand October 16, 2012.

The film, directed by Wes Anderson and featuring an all-star cast including Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Bill Murray (among many others), was a surprise success, grossing nearly $60 million worldwide (on a modest budget) -- no small feat considering the crowded summer filled with big budget action flicks.

Moonrise Kingdom will arrive on Blu-ray presented in 1080p, preserving the film's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Audio will be mixed in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The DVD will include an anamorphic widescreen presentation, with 5.1 Dolby Digital audio.

Take a look at the box art for the Blu-ray:

Bonus features for the Blu-ray and DVD will include the following:

• A Look Inside Moonrise Kingdom
• Welcome to The Island of New Penzance: Bob Balaban narrates a series of guided tours from the locations of Moonrise Kingdom featuring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, and Wes Anderson
• Set Tour With Bill Murray: Bill Murray personally takes viewers on a tour of the Moonrise Kingdom sets.

The Blu-ray will also include a DVD, Digital Copy and UltraViolet cloud streaming copy of the film, in addition to Universal's standard BD-exclusives, from BD-live to pocketBlu.

Suggested retail for this release is set at $34.98 for the Blu-ray Combo Pack, and $29.98 for the DVD. Amazon has the Blu-ray Combo Pack currently up for pre-order for $23.99, and $19.96 for the DVD.

Stay tuned for more news regarding this release. Also, be sure to check out our glowing theatrical review of the film, or scroll through some interviews with the cast and crew, like this one:

Holy Social Networks, readers! Now you can follow R.L. Shaffer on Twitter, Facebook or MyIGN for quotes, rants, reviews, news and more!

Source : ign[dot]com

Kotobukiya Explores the DC Universe

Though DC Comics still has its DC Collectibles branch, we're seeing a number of other collectibles companies increase their focus on characters like Batman and Superman. Kotobukiya is one such company to increase their DC output in recent months, particularly through their Bishoujo line of PVC statues. The company provided us with new pics and details about some of their upcoming DC products.

Justice League ArtFX Statues

Koto first introduced the ArtFX+ format as part of their Star Wars line, and the heroes of the Justice league are the next to make the jump. Compared to the regular ArtFX format, ArtFX+ statues are smaller (1:10 scale or about 7.5 inches tall) and more affordably priced. Koto will focus on the New 52 Justice League first, with statues based on Jim Lee's artwork and character designs.

Superman and Green lantern will be the first two characters out of the gate. Both statues were sculpted by artist Atelier Bamboo. Both will cost $39.99 and are expected to hit stores in January 2013. Koto also had an unpainted Wonder Woman prototype on display at SDCC, so we expect to at least see the core seven League members included in this line.

Huntress Bishoujo Statue

The Bishoujo line continues to be one of Koto's more popular series, expanding to include everything from Tekken to Mass Effect to Star Wars. The next DC-themed Bishoujo statue after Harley Quinn (which we previewed here) will be Huntress. Like the other DC Bishoujos, Huntress is based on her classic appearance rather than the New 52 look. This statue was sculpted by Masahiro Takashi and measures about 9.5 inches tall. She'll retail for $64.99 and is expected to ship in December 2012.

Justice League X Korejanai Mini Figures

Koto's newest DC line is a bit more unusual. The Justice league X Korejanai figures are inspired by the "Korejanai Robot" illustration style. These heavily stylized figurines have limited articulation but can actually transform into cars by adjusting the limbs.

Each figure is about 2.5 inches tall and will retail for $5.99. The first series includes both regular and metallic variants of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash. Series 1 is expected to hit stores in November 2012.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and various other IGN channels. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com