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.

Nintendo details 3DS launch lineup for Japan

Posted on January 8, 2011 by John Scalzo

Nintendo is holding a special “Nintendo World” 3DS event in Tokyo right now and the handheld’s launch is starting to become a little bit clearer. First, the hardware maker revealed that the 3DS’ battery will last between 3-8 hours. According to Nerd Reactor, playing a 3DS game on the dim backlight setting will give you 3-5 hours of playtime, on average. Swapping in a regular DS cartridge will allow players to reach the upper end of the playtime limit, with the 3DS’ battery lasting between 5-8 hours. These are just averages and turning the backlight off (or cranking it up to high) will obviously alter the battery life. It might be a good idea to keep a lamp handy… at least until the 3DS Lite arrives (you know Nintendo is working on one).

Now then, on to the good stuff. In addition to revealing the battery life, Nintendo used the event to announce the 3DS’ Japanese launch lineup. The American launch lineup will be revealed at a similar event in New York on January 19th, but here’s what the people of Japan will be able to play on the 3DS on February 26 (thanks Kotaku):

  • Battle of the Giants: Dinosaurs 3D
  • Nintendogs & Cats
  • Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle
  • Puzzle Bobble 3D (US Title: Bust-A-Move 3D)
  • Ridge Racer 3D
  • Samurai Warriors: Chronicle
  • Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition
  • Winning Eleven Soccer 3D (US Title: Pro Evolution Soccer 3D)
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God of War III, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood lead 2011 WGA nominations

Posted on January 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

The Writers Guild of America yesterday announced the nominees for the 2011 Writers Guild Award in Videogame Writing (but it’s a shame that no one at the WGA knows that “video game” is two words).

This year’s nominees cover some familiar territory as three of the six nominees are sequels to previous nominees: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (the original Force Unleashed actually won in 2009). But don’t count out the three newcomers, including God of War III, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Singularity.

The winner will be announced at a bicoastal ceremony (one in New York and one in LA) on Saturday, February 5. Congratulations to all the nominated writers, which you can find after the jump. (more…)

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Haggar, Phoenix join Marvel vs Capcom 3

Posted on January 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

Capcom has announced that the world’s toughest mayor and a fiery mutant who’s out of this world have stepped up to the challenge in Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. I refer, of course, to Mike Haggar of Final Fight fame and X-Men Jean Grey in her Phoenix form.

We’ve got gameplay trailers for both characters after the jump and you can find a ton of new screenshots at Capcom-Unity. (more…)

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Michael Jackson: The Experience moonwalks onto PS3, Xbox 360 on April 12

Posted on January 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

Michael Jackson: The Experience was a big hit for Ubisoft this holiday season. How big? The game sold two million copies across the Wii, DS and PSP in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But Ubisoft was quick to point out that those numbers don’t include Japan, “which has one of the largest and most passionate concentrations of Michael Jackson fans anywhere.”

The publisher also revealed that the King of Pop will be moonwalking his way onto the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this April. The Kinect and Move-enabled Michael Jackson game will be released on April 12 in the US and April 14 in Europe. It will include several bonus tracks not found on the Wii version including “Blood on the Dance Floor” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.”

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is very excited about the upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Michael Jackson: “As the leader in the dance game genre, our teams have worked enthusiastically to build an experience that recreates the magic worlds of Michael Jackson’s videos and performances. We’re looking forward to bringing Michael Jackson The Experience to Kinect for Xbox 360 and PlayStation Move so an even bigger audience can enjoy playing the game with their friends and family too.”

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Torchlight, Beyond Good & Evil, Hard Corps included in XBLA House Party 2011

Posted on January 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

Last year’s Xbox Live House Party brought Perfect Dark, Scrap Metal and the Xbox Live Game Room to the Arcade. Microsoft is attempting to top it in 2011 with the Diablo-like RPG Torchlight, an HD remake of Beyond Good & Evil, Konami’s Contra sequel Hard Corps: Uprising, the XBLA/Windows Phone 7 poker show Full House Poker and PopCap’s addictive Bejeweled Blitz Live.

The House Party begins on February 16 with Hard Corps: Uprising, Konami’s latest reimagining of the Contra series and a direct sequel to 1994’s Contra: Hard Corps. It will be followed by a new game every week until the party ends on March 16.

More details on all of this year’s party guests can be found after the jump. (more…)

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CES 2011: 8 million Kinect units sold; Avatar Kinect, Windows Phone 7 games announced

Posted on January 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer used the company’s keynote last night to unveil some new toys for the Kinect owner.

Avatar Kinect is a virtual chat room with Avatars, powered by Kinect, that brings “[facial] recognition, body tracking [and] even facial expressions” to your living room. As you can see from the screenshot above, Kinect-owning Xbox 360 players will be able to circle the lawn chairs and have an awesome conservation in a trailer park. OK, those Avatars are tailgating, but they’re still in a parking lot surrounded by RVs.

Ballmer also threw out some numbers during this bull session and revealed that 8 million Kinect sensors were sold this holiday season. And if these users weren’t on Xbox Live before, they are now, as Ballmer announced the online service’s total user population recently surpassed 30 million users (out of 50 million Xbox 360 systems sold worldwide).

Ballmer closed out the game portion of Microsoft’s CES discussion with a Windows Phone 7 presentation. You can check out the video below for a closer look at Microsoft’s de facto handheld system after the jump. (more…)

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Ubisoft teases Beyond Good & Evil HD

Posted on January 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Beyond Good & Evil HD will be coming to a digital download service near you (PSN and XBLA to be exact) sometime this year. But Ubisoft has yet to narrow the remake’s release date down beyond that. However, they did release a short teaser trailer for the game today, which you can see above.

Now, if we could just get a straight answer out of Ubisoft about Beyond Good & Evil 2…

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Ilomilo Review: A Puzzler Fit For a Fairy Tale

Posted on January 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Officially added to the Xbox Live Arcade today, Ilomilo has actually been available since November via a “super secret access code” provided by developer Southend Interactive. This backdoor launch strategy has netted Ilomilo plenty of buzz among the gaming community for its adorable presentation and interesting puzzle design. And now that it’s available to everyone, Ilomilo should give the rest of the Xbox Live community something to talk about. (more…)

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