Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Author: John Scalzo
Madden NFL 17 rumbles its way to the end zone as the best-selling game of August 2016
A trio of new releases stood atop the NPD Group’s recounting of the best-selling games of August 2016, but Madden NFL 17 unsurprisingly took the top spot.
EA’s juggernaut is almost always unstoppable during the calendar’s eighth month, but it was equally unsurprising to see No Man’s Sky and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided take up residence at #2 and #3, respectively.
NPD analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz: “The release of strong new titles such as Madden NFL 17, No Man’s Sky and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided bolstered console software dollar sales by 8%.”
The remainder of this month’s best-sellers included the usual mix of big titles from 2015 and 2016, with some Grand Theft Auto V (#4) and Minecraft (#9) tossed in for flavor.
A full look at August 2016’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Shigeru Miyamoto shows us his favorite ways to play Super Mario Run in new trailer
When Shigeru Miyamoto stepped onto the stage during last week’s Apple Week, he joked that Super Mario Run could easily be played one-handed, freeing up your other hand to hold onto a subway handle or, more importantly, a tasty hamburger.
Naturally, Nintendo went ahead and actually made a video of Miyamoto playing Super Mario Run while riding a subway, eating a hamburger, and performing other activities…
Watch as Mr. Miyamoto reveals his favorite ways to play #SuperMarioRun on the go! pic.twitter.com/MboONwsdsw
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 12, 2016
Never change, Mr. Miyamoto. Super Mario Run will be available to download for the iPhone and iPad this December, with an Android launch planned for 2017.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Super Mario Run
Axiom Verge will be available for the Xbox One on September 30
Developer Thomas Happ will reach the end of his victory lap around the game industry when Axiom Verge is released for the Xbox One on September 30. After launching for the PS4 in March 2015, the “MetroidVania” made its way to new platforms like clockwork, ultimately landing on the PC, Vita, and Wii U before its next scheduled stop.
In a post on the game’s official website, Happ reveled in the irony that the Xbox One is the last platform to receive Axiom Verge, as the game began life as an Xbox Live Arcade/Xbox Live Indie Games title:
There’s a certain irony that Xbox One is the last console to get Axiom Verge. When I started development almost 7 years ago, Xbox 360 (in particular, the Xbox Live Indie Games service) was my target platform. Like many indie developers, I vastly underestimated the scope of what the game would eventually become and the time needed to achieve my full vision, and by the time I was ready to launch, the development framework I was using (XNA) was no longer compatible with Xbox’s latest system.
Axiom Verge will be priced at $19.99 on the Xbox One, but fans who purchase it by October 10 will receive a 10% discount.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Axiom Verge
Nintendo Download: Dragon Quest 7, Noitu Love Devolution, WarioWare Smooth Moves, more
Copies of Dragon Warrior VII were rather hard to come by when the game was originally released for the PlayStation in 2001. But 15 years later, Nintendo and Square Enix are fixing that with the 3DS launch of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, which will be available to download from the 3DS eShop beginning tomorrow. The massive RPG has been “completely rebuilt from the ground up” for the handheld, so even experienced players may want to play it again.
Also new this week is Noitu Love: Devolution, the latest game in Nintendo’s Nindies Summer Jam promotion. Available to download for the Wii U and 3DS, Noitu Love is a side-scrolling platformer that asks players to save the city from an evil robot army lead by professor Darnacus Damnation.
Finally this week, WarioWare: Smooth Moves makes it Wii U debut as a downloadable title on the eShop. Originally released for the Wii back in 2007, WarioWare is packed with 200 insane minigames that ask players to “swing, spin, and squat” their way to victory.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
Get your first look at Telltale’s Batman: Episode 2 – Children of Arkham right here
Telltale’s five-part Batman tale will continue next week in Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 2: Children of Arkham. Today, the developer unveiled a brand new trailer that seems to be pushing Gotham City even further towards insanity:
With Gotham City’s first family mired in corruption, and an old friend now a dangerous adversary, the life of the Dark Knight is turned upside down. What was Thomas Wayne entangled in, and why was he killed? Determined to learn the truth about his father, Bruce sets out to question those involved in Gotham’s criminal past. But which mask will he wear – The billionaire, or the bat? Huge decisions will forever change the Batman and the lives of those around him, as he meets the Children of Arkham.
Who are the Children of Gotham? Is that really The Penguin behind that bird mask? And could that pale, lanky fellow be The Joker? We’ll all get to find out together on September 20, when Children of Arkham launches for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The second episode in Batman: The Telltale Series will also be available at a later date for the PS3, Xbox 360, and mobile devices.
Final Fantasy XV’s TGS 2016 trailer reveals a bit more about the game’s story
Square Enix is pushing Final Fantasy XV hard as a story of brotherhood and legacy, and both of these themes are present in a brand new Tokyo Game Show trailer, which was released late last night. Focusing heavily on the game’s story, the new trailer also spends quite a bit of time on the game’s characters, including Cid the Mechanic, Luna the Oracle, and the villainous Ardyn Izunia.
After more than a decade in development, Final Fantasy XV will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on November 29.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy XV, TGS 2016
Capcom updates Resident Evil 7 demo on PS4 for everyone; New trailer evokes Texas Chain Saw Massacre
We’ve got cannibals! Capcom released a brand new trailer for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard this morning in conjunction with the Tokyo Game Show, and it owes more than a little bit to Tobe Hooper’s terrifying Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Viewers will be introduced to the mysterious Baker family, as well as several scenes showcasing the game’s “visceral combat.”
Capcom also announced plans to update the “Beginning Hour” demo, and best of all, it’ll no longer be exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers. Starting today, all PS4 owners will be able to download the “Beginning Hour” demo.
Finally, the Capcom-Unity blog has revealed new information about Resident Evil 7’s Season Pass and Digital Deluxe Edition. Previously, the publisher planned to release two additional Story Chapters as part of the Season Pass. But now, that number will increase to three, and so will the price of the Season Pass (from $20 to $30). More than a dozen new screenshots can also be found at the blog.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on January 24, 2017.
Xbox Store Today: ReCore, Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, The Witness, more
It’s a big day for the Xbox Games Store, as Xbox One owners will be able to choose from more than a dozen new releases this week, as well as the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere program.
ReCore is a third-person action game for the Xbox One from Armature Studio and Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune. Players will take control of Joule Adams, one of the last remaining humans on Far Eden. As she struggles for survival, she’ll have to fight back against evil robotic foes and create her own army of friendly automatons. As the first Xbox Play Anywhere title, players who purchase it for the Xbox One will also receive access to the game on Windows 10 as well.
Most of this week’s new releases deal with “Survival” in some way or another, but The Witness is in a class of its own. Players wake up on “a strange island full of puzzles” and must work out the solutions if they want to continue in the Xbox One title. A simpler survival story can be found in Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, an Xbox One game that pits the famous Pac-Man against the Ghosts once again.
Frank West’s fight isn’t with any kind of spook or specter, but the living dead. And he’ll need all the help he can get as Capcom will re-release Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2, and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record on the Xbox One this week. The remastered games will feature improved graphics, and you can even grab all three of them at a discount with the Dead Rising Triple Pack.
2K Games and Irrational Games will also re-release a loosely connected trilogy for the Xbox One this week with the launch of BioShock: The Collection. Containing BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite, Xbox One owners will be able to play through visually-enhanced version of the games and listen to developer’s commentary from Ken Levine and others.
And are you ready for some sports? New hockey (NHL 17), racing (NASCAR Heat: Evolution), and soccer games (Pro Evolution Soccer 2017) are available to download for the Xbox One today. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 was also released for the Xbox 360.
Finally this week, Telltale Games will launch new entries in two of their episodic series. Xbox 360 owners will be able to play as both Batman and Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 1: Realm of Shadows, while Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners will be able to experience the finale of Minecraft: Story Mode in Episode 8: A Journey’s End?
More information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)