Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets 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
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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
Team Sonic Racing needs a slight tune up… May 21, 2019 release date announced by Sega
Sega and Sumo Digital are temporarily tapping the brakes on Team Sonic Racing. The game, which was previously slated to launch this Winter, will now be released on May 21, 2019.
According to Sega, this delay is happening because they want to give the developer time to help Team Sonic Racing become “the best game it can be”:
Hey guys! To make Team Sonic Racing the best game it can be, we’re giving the team extra time to work on it. Our new release date is May 21, 2019.
We know delays are no fun, but quality matters most. Thanks for your patience – we’ve got more to show you for TSR very soon!
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) October 25, 2018
Team Sonic Racing is currently in development for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
My Hero One’s Justice, Lego Harry Potter Collection, Mutant Football League, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
It’s another packed week for the Nintendo eShop, and the newest update for the online storefront even includes a few Halloween-themed surprises.
But first, Bandai Namco will bring My Hero One’s Justice to the Switch on October 26. The fighting game is based on the popular My Hero Academia anime and it allows players to “battle through iconic moments” in Quirk-to-Quirk battles.
Also set to launch for the Switch this week is Lego Harry Potter Collection, a two-game compilation that brings together Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 in a new remastered package on October 30.
Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition will also be available to download for the Switch on October 30, and players can dig in to the strategic options available in the brand new Dynasty Mode, or they can tackle the action on the gridiron with the “deep strategy and deadly humor” the game is known for.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle, Gal Metal, OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes, Steven Universe: Save the Light, and more) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch
Tagged Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Mutant Football League
Battle Princess Madelyn will officially launch sometime this Fall
Casual Bit Games has announced that Battle Princess Madelyn has completed development and is now awaiting certification from the three consolemakers. That also means that the game is currently on track for a Fall 2018 launch on the PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Wii U, and Vita.
Heavily inspired by Super Ghouls N Ghosts and Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, Battle Princess Madelyn was built using design ideas from Creative Director Christopher Obritsch’s daughter, and he’s thrilled with how the final product came together:
From its initial concept days, right through the successful Kickstarter campaign which reached over $212,665 CAD, until its imminent release, Battle Princess Madelyn has developed and grown from inspiration from feedback from my daughter, who inspired the original idea, gamers and ideals from the very best of classic retro games fused with modern presentation complete with gameplay and fun. I believe all our goals have been achieved with much much more added ingredients, features and elements that will have gamers engaged in a game that has been crafted with real planning, dedication and, a lot of love.
A new trailer for Battle Princess Madelyn has been embedded above, and an exact release date will be announced “very shortly.”
Spider-Man swings into view as the best-selling game from September 2018 (and the biggest PlayStation-exclusive launch ever)
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, sells much better than 2K can… Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man!
Insomniac’s Spider-Man was already swinging pretty high prior to its September 7th launch, but according to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz) the superhero game is also the best-selling game of last month and the biggest PlayStation-exclusive launch ever. Oh, and it also performed 37% better than “the combined launch month sales for all other Spider-Man games released since 1995.”
Wow.
Spider-Man trounced the competition in September, beating out a ton of new releases in the top ten including NBA 2K19 (#2), Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (#3), FIFA 19 (#4), Shadow of the Tomb Raider (#5), Forza Horizon 4 (#7), Super Mario Party (#9), and NHL 19 (#10).
Below the top ten, several popular titles continued to prove their resiliency. Grand Theft Auto V (#13), Mario Kart 8 (#14), and Minecraft (#20) have all been hanging around the top of the charts for the last four years, and their new-generation re-releases have likely cemented their spot among the best-sellers for another four.
But you can find the full list of last month’s best-selling games after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Crash Bandicoot, Destiny 2, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, FIFA 19, Forza Horizon 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, NBA 2K19, NHL 19, NPD, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Spider-Man, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Party, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege, WWE 2K19
Epic delays free-to-play version of Fortnite: Save the World into 2019
Fortnite was a very different game when it was first released in July 2017. Originally, the game was developed as a team-based shooter where players would battle zombies and rescue survivors (not unlike Left 4 Dead) while also crafting and building weapons and defensive fortifications.
That all changed when Epic Games launch the Fortnite: Battle Royale expansion. Very quickly, the 100-player free-for-all was all anyone was talking about, and the main game (which was retroactively retitled as Fortnite: Save the World) was moved to the back burner.
But Epic always planned to offer a free-to-play version of Fortnite’s Save the World mode, and it was expected to launch before the end of this year. However, the developer has now confirmed (via their official website) that it won’t be available sometime in 2019:
We decided to move the free-to-play launch of Save the World out of this year. We’re working on a broad set of features, reworks, and backend system scaling we believe are needed to go free-to-play. Save the World has grown consistently since our launch in July 2017 and Fortnite overall has experienced unprecedented growth. Scaling up for the legions of player heroes who will be joining the fight is key to providing an excellent experience. This applies to all of our players, old and new, so we’re taking the time to get this right.
To make amends for this delay, Epic also announced that players will be able to pick up Fortnite: Save the World for 50% off beginning this week when they buy one of the game’s four Founder’s Packs.
New Retail Releases: Red Dead Redemption 2, Just Dance 2019, More
After almost a decade of waiting, it’s finally time to hop on your horse and ride along the dusty trails and gleaming train tracks of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. The Wild West prequel will be available in stores for the PS4 and Xbox One later this week, and while you might think that most game publishers would avoid going head-to-head with the highly-anticipated new entry in the famed franchise… you’d be wrong.
Well, sort of.
Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2019 serves as a perfect bit of counterprogramming to Rockstar’s cowboy epic, and the latest addition to the series will be available on the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, as well as the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
But the rest of this week’s new retail releases are mostly a smattering of smaller games from smaller publishers. Nickelodeon Kart Racers will let fans drive for the finish line as their Nickelodeon characters. A different kind of driving skill is required for Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds Edition. And Bandai Namco will launch My Hero One’s Justice, the first game based on the My Hero Academia anime. All three games will be available for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
A complete look at this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Nickelodeon Kart Racers, Red Dead Redemption 2
Bot Gaiden Is A Side-Scrolling Platformer With Style: An Interview With Doug Pohl of SwordSwipe Studios
MetroidVanias rose to fame in the 80s and 90s thanks to the popularity of the Metroid and Castlevania franchises, but the genre went dormant in the 2000s as developers pushed pixels aside for polygons and aspired to create sprawling 3D worlds. After being rediscovered and remixed by the indie community, the MetroidVania is finally having its moment here in 2018.
But what if you’re looking for something else from a side-scroller? What if you want the fast action and self-contained levels that characterized the Ninja Gaiden and Contra franchises? Enter SwordSwipe Studios, and their upcoming game, Bot Gaiden.
The gameplay style and artistic inspirations for Bot Gaiden came to us straight from the 80s, but unlike most side-scrollers now on the market, SwordSwipe’s platformer doesn’t look like it came from the 80s. We sat down with Doug Pohl, one of the developer’s co-founders, to find out exactly how he’s bringing back the fast action and precision platforming of those classics in a new package. (more…)
The Game Console is a new book that’ll look at the “grisly innards” of your favorite consoles
No Starch Press has announced that they will publish The Game Console, a new book that promises to depict “A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox,” on November 6.
Authored by Evan Amos, and featuring an extensive collection of full-color photos and notes about 86 different consoles, The Game Console might just be the most complete catalog of game consoles ever published:
The Game Console is a tour through the evolution of video game hardware, with gorgeous full-color photos of 86 consoles and their grisly innards. You’ll start your journey with legendary consoles like the Magnavox Odyssey, Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Commodore 64. The visual nostalgia trip continues with systems from the 1990s and 2000s, ending with modern consoles like the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.
Throughout the book, you’ll also discover many consoles you never knew existed, and get a rare peek at the hardware inside some of history’s most iconic video game systems.
You can find a few preview images from The Game Console at No Starch’s official website, and they do look absolutely amazing.