Author: John Scalzo

John Scalzo is Warp Zoned's Editor-In-Chief and resident retro gaming expert. You can email him at john AT warpzoned DOT com.

Namco bringing Tales of Graces F to America on March 13

Posted on December 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Tales of Graces F for the PS3 has been available in Japan since 2010. Tales fans have waited patiently for a localized release, and now, Namco Bandai has finally announced it’ll be available in America on March 13, 2012.

You can check out the trailer above and you can also start praying to the JRPG gods that Tales of Xillia won’t take so long to make it to America.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

3DS sells more in first 8 months than DS did in first year

Posted on December 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

I think Black Friday needs a new name. And after their sales success in November, I think Nintendo agrees with me. Long live Green (as in money) Friday!

The Big N sold over two million consoles and handhelds last month, of which almost 800,000 were 3DS systems. Since it’s launch in late March, nearly 2.5 million 3DS systems have been sold. That total pushes it past the DS, which sold 2.37 million systems in its first year. Pretty impressive for a “failed” launch.

Several other sales milestones were set during the month of Nintenovember…

  • Super Mario 3D Land: 625,000 copies sold, making it the fastest-selling portable Super Mario title in U.S. history.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: 600,000 copies sold in its first week.
  • Wii System: 520,000 consoles sold on Black Friday, a new record for the five-year old console.

That’s right, it still prints money. Along with the rest of Nintendo’s 2011 lineup.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii | Tagged ,

New Releases: Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights, More

Posted on December 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Welcome to a very abbreviated edition of the new release report.

This week sees the release of Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights, a Professor Layton-like puzzler from Konami for the 3DS.

Also available this week is I Heart Geeks for the DS and a quartet of PC budget releases: Fritz Chess 11: Grandmaster Edition, Vampires vs Zombies, Mahjongg 4 Deluxe, and The Number Devil.

It’s a slow week to be sure, but things will definitely pick up next week with the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC |

Obvious News Alert! Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim top November NPD list

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their report of the best-selling games in November 2011 and in a stunning upset, the number one spot went to… Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

OK, a stunning upset that is not. And the rest of the top ten wasn’t any more surprising as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim breathed fire on the number two spot and Battlefield 3 was redeployed to the front as the third best-selling game in November.

The industry’s biggest month was able to supply even more new releases for the list as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (#4), Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (#7), Saints Row: The Third (#8), and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (#9) all earned a spot on the top ten.

In fact, November 2011 turned out to be one of the biggest months for game sales ever. Anita Frazier, a spokesperson for The NPD Group, said, “This November marks the best November on record for sales of new physical content.”

Here’s the full top ten:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
5. Just Dance 3 (Wii, Xbox 360)
6. Madden NFL 12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
7. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
8. Saints Row: The Third (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
10. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Posted in News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Bastion gets Stranger’s Dream DLC next week

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

With five nominations, Bastion is in line for a very big night at this weekend’s Spike TV Video Game Awards. But whether or not it wins any of the awards it’s up for, developer Supergiant Games plans to expand the popular action RPG next week.

The Stranger’s Dream will be available to download from Steam (for free) and the Xbox Live Arcade (for $1) on December 14. The DLC will add a new, fully narrated Who Knows Where sequence to the game along with a Score Attack Mode (which unlocks all Spirits and Idols) and a No-Sweat Mode for those who want to enjoy Bastion’s story and the dulcet tones of narrator Logan Cunningham.

Players who want to tackle The Stranger’s Dream and Score Attack Mode will have to have completed the main game, but they’ll be rewarded for their efforts with a new monster arena that delves deeper into Rucks’ backstory as well as the history of Caelondia. And what does the voice of Rucks have to say about that?

“Exciting Bastion-times are afoot.” Indeed they are.

Posted in News, PC, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Rumor: Dead Rising 3 takes place in a California border town, doesn’t star Frank West

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

Over the last few days, Capcom has been hinting that Frank West is getting ready to take “a vacation to paradise.” But now, Siliconera has published a rumor report that says Dead Rising 3 will take place in a small California border town with a small town mechanic in the main character’s role. But… but… Frank West has covered wars you know, not repaired cars for show!

Yes, as sad as it may sound, Siliconera believes that the next Dead Rising game will star Rick, a small town auto mechanic who apparently takes his fashion cues from Bruce Campbell circa Army of Darkness (to be fair, so do I). Rick’s goal is to escape the zombie-infested (and roadblocked) city of Los Perdidos, California in a plane before somebody nukes the town from orbit (isn’t that the plot of Resident Evil 3?). Owing to its border town setting, the plot of Dead Rising 3 will also focus heavily on the plight of “illegals” escaping Los Perdidos. But in this case, the illegals are infected citizens that are just trying to survive.

After the reaction Capcom received for depicting African zombies being mowed down by white ubermensch Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5, I wonder why anyone at Capcom would think that was a good idea.

Posted in News | Tagged

Tony Hawk might be announcing the next Tony Hawk game at Spike TV VGAs

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision has already announced plans to reveal one game, The Amazing Spider-Man, at this year’s Spike TV Video Game Awards, but it looks like they may have another announcement in the wings.

Tony Hawk (who is actually 43!) took to Twitter to reveal he has a big announcement coming this Saturday… the same day as the Spike TV Video Game Awards. Here’s what The Birdman had to say about his big news:

I’ll be announcing the upcoming release of something new on Sat; the same day as the Spike Video Game Awards. Coincidence? I think not.

The last game in the Tony Hawk series was Tony Hawk: Shred, released by Activision in 2010. I’d say this is confirmation that a new one will be available in 2012.

Posted in News | Tagged

Capcom teasing a vacation in paradise for Dead Rising’s Frank West

Posted on December 8, 2011 by John Scalzo

Capcom has been using the Dead Rising Facebook page to tease Frank West’s upcoming “vacation”/next appearance in a game:

It’s been a blast these few months, but your man Frank’s off on a new adventure, causing havoc and covering wars in the rest of the world. Plane ticket’s booked so wish me luck old friends, maybe we’ll cross paths again soon… – Frank West

I’m getting packing for my new adventure – camera, notebook and baseball bat. What else would i need for a break in paradise? – Frank

Paradise? Is the world’s most famous photographer invading the Dead Island in a zombie crossover of epic proportions? Or is this just Capcom being Capcom? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon.

Posted in News |