Hasta La Gadget!

Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City are widely considered to be two of the best superhero games ever created, with each launching to critical acclaim and wild commercial success. Naturally Warner Bros will want to keep its Batman gravy train rolling, and today we’re hearing about 15 new Arkham-related domains the publisher has on file. Does this mean a new Arkham game is on the way? Almost certainly.

Of course, you’ll want to take any rumors with a grain of salt until we get official confirmation from the company, but after the success of the first two titles, the idea that Warner Bros would just let the series linger seems silly. The domains were uncovered by Fusible, and were apparently filed by MarkMonitor, a brand protection company Warner has turned to in the past in an attempt to keep secrets from getting out. There are 15 domains in all, with each one using the word “Arkham” in one way, shape, or form.

The list includes domains such as arkhamuniverse.com, dcarkhamverse.com, batmanarkhambegins.com, and batmanarkhamstories.com. At the moment, none of the 15 domains actually lead to any kind of website, so it’s pretty clear that Warner is just sitting on these for the time being. If these are for an upcoming video game, it seems that “Arkham Universe” would be the mostly likely name, though with a list of 15 potential titles, Warner definitely has plenty of options.

Then again, these may not be for a video game at all. With Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy now finished, Warner may look to the successful Arkham series of games as the inspiration for a new Batman movie. While a new Arkham game seems much more likely, it would be foolish to rule out anything when we’re talking about money. Stay tuned.

Warner Bros registers 15 Batman Arkham domains is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Warner Bros. may have doubled its 28-day embargo on new releases for kiosk operators (even if they side-step it), but endangered bricks-and-mortar rental stores could be treated to the exact opposite. A rumor coming from Home Media Magazine’s unnamed sources suggests the WB is going to ditch the embargo for these locations altogether, starting on October 30th. We have no idea why this break would be offered to the relic stores, although we doubt they care if it gets a few more bodies through the door. Warner Bros. has a recent habit of quiet implementation, but just to be sure, we’ve reached out for confirmation and will update you if-and-when we hear more.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Warner Bros. to ditch 28-day release delay for rental stores? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All told, we can’t deny Peter Jackson’s caused some madness since announcing the scheme to shoot his upcoming Hobbit film at a high frame-rate, rather than sticking with the more common 24 fps, Hollywood-style method. Regardless, rumor now has it Warner Bros. is supposedly planning a “limited release” of the 48 fps version because, according to Variety, the studio “wants to protect the format” by choosing to go the select-viewing route — that said, WB’s allegedly hoping to “expand the HFR release for the second and third installments.” Still, nothing’s set in stone just yet, so we’d hold off on throwing any temper tantrums (or celebrating, depending on which side you’re on) until we hear something official from Warner.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

Peter Jackson’s 48 fps version of The Hobbit said to be a ‘limited release’ only originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wondering how Rocksteady is going to follow-up on the near-perfect Batman: Arkham City? According to sources speaking to Variety, we aren’t headed for another sequel, but instead a prequel that will feature Batman’s Justice League team mates. Yes, you heard right – apparently ol’ Bats won’t be alone in his next video game outing, as he’ll have the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman around to give him a hand.

According the rumor, the next Batman game from Rocksteady is set during the silver age of comics (which began in the mid-1950s, ending around 1970) and will focus on the Caped Crusader’s first encounter with the Joker. The game also covers the formation of the Justice League of America, which suggests that characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern will appear in some capacity.

A game that focuses on the early days of the Justice League would definitely be one to pay attention to, especially if it’s coming from Rocksteady. Though this is merely a rumor at this point in time, it definitely isn’t outside the realm of possibility, considering Rocksteady has said in the past that it would like to branch out and make video games about different superheroes.

Here’s hoping that Warner Brothers gets the ball rolling on such a project, if only because Superman is in dire need of being associated with something that’s actually good.

[via Variety]

Justice League prequel planned as follow-up to Batman: Arkham City is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.