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
Atari US files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to become separate company
Try to follow along, if you dare. In 1984, the original corporate entity known as “Atari” became two separate companies: the home-based Atari Corporation and the arcade-based Atari Games (which owned all of Atari’s arcade properties). In 1998, Hasbro purchased Atari Corporation and renamed the company to Hasbro Interactive. Meanwhile, the next year, IESA purchased GT Interactive and renamed it Infogrames. IESA then purchased Hasbro Interactive in 2001 and changed the name again (this time to Infogrames Interactive). In 2003, IESA came to an agreement with Atari Games to allow Infogrames Interactive to become Atari Interactive, Infogrames to be known solely as Atari, and IESA itself to be rebranded as Atari SA. In 2008, Atari SA purchased Atari Games and there was finally one Atari to rule them all for the first since 1984.
Until today.
Today, Atari’s US companies (Atari, Atari Interactive, Humongous, and California US Holdings) have filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in a bid to form their own company, separate from Atari SA. After the bankruptcy filing, Atari expects to find a new buyer within 90-120 days. This new owner will control the Atari name and logo, as well as the rights to most (if not all) of the company’s major franchises including Pong, Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Battlezone and Tempest.
Atari is making this move as their recent mobile titles (including Atari’s Greatest Hits, Asteroids Gunner, Breakout Boost, and Outlaw) have all been very profitable while parent company Atari SA remains riddled with debt.
While the new Atari won’t be the same Atari that was founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in 1972 (and included Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as early employees), it’ll be interesting to see where the company goes from here.
Weekly Warp-Up: Bloody Torso Statue Edition
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
There’s very little actual news in the early part of the year. It’s all rumors and innuendo and announcements of announcements of announcements. And we’ve got plenty of those to talk about. But this week’s real top story is clearly the announcement of Dead Island: Riptide’s Zombie Bait Edition.
The game’s publisher, Deep Silver, announced the UK-only special edition with typical fanfare… Exclusive DLC! Special packaging! Concept art! A collectible statue! It would excite fans and leave everyone else alone, except this particular statue was an almost-lifesize bust of a female torso. Bust being the operative word here.
The public reacted. People who didn’t understand what the big deal was counter-reacted. Deep Silver apologized in that half-hearted way that faceless corporations tend to do (it was so half-hearted that no one is even sure if the Zombie Bait Edition will be released as scheduled). And yet, what strikes me is that no one would have cared if Deep Silver had just slapped a head on their statue. A statue of a woman in a bikini is not something I’d have in my house, but a statue of just the breasts of a brutally murdered woman is pretty offensive. I wonder if Deep Silver has realized that yet?
If you’re looking for more run-of-the-mill news and rumors, you can find them after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Ni No Kuni, The Sims 3: 70s 80s 90s Stuff
Two new games will be released in stores this week, but I have a feeling that one will be much more popular than the other.
This week’s biggest new release is definitely Level-5’s Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Level-5 is on quite the roll lately (after the success of the “Guild01” releases on the 3DS eShop) and their collaboration with Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli has had gamers in a frenzy for a long time. We’ll finally get to see what all the fuss is about soon.
Also available this week is the latest Sims 3 “Stuff Pack,” The Sims 3: 70s, 80s, and 90s Stuff. I predict a lot of bell bottoms, spandex, and flannel.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Microsoft Store bundling 1600 MS Points with some game pre-orders
Do you plan to pre-order some of this year’s biggest Xbox 360 titles? Then you might want to consider buying them from the Microsoft Store.
Pointing your browser at the New Xbox Products section of the store will produce a list of 11 Xbox 360 games available for pre-order. And if you purchase any of these titles between now and April 6, you’ll receive 1600 Microsoft Points ($20) for free. Sadly, there’s a limit of three per person.
So which games qualify for this promotion? Check ’em out…
- Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel
- BioShock Infinite
- Crysis 3
- Dead Space 3
- Gears of War: Judgment
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Lost Planet 3
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
- Tomb Raider
2013 Writers Guild Award for Videogame Writing nominees announced
The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for their 2013 Writers Guild Awards, and with them, the nominees for “Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing.”
To be eligible for consideration, this year’s nominees include games that were released between December 1, 2011 and November 30, 2012 on featured on-screen writing credits. This year, the Guild has continued their love affair with Ubisoft and the Uncharted series by bestowing nominations on Assassin’s Creed III, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Other nominated games for 2013 include Halo 4, 007 Legends, and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.
The 2013 Writers Guild Awards will take place on Sunday, February 17, 2013. A complete list of the nominated writers and editors can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged 007 Legends, Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, Epic Mickey 2, Halo 4, Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Sony has settled with “Kevin Butler” in trademark infringement lawsuit
Sony Computer Entertainment and actor Jerry Lambert, better known as Sony spokesman “Kevin Butler,” have come to an agreement in the trademark infringement lawsuit Sony filed against Lambert in October.
In the lawsuit, Sony alleged that Lambert appeared as “Kevin Butler” in a commercial for Bridgestone while promoting their “Buy Four Tires, Get a Wii” contest. In the commercial, Lambert’s character was dressed in a white lab coat, a big difference from the business attire usually worn by “Kevin Butler.” Sony also filed a lawsuit against Bridgestone for creating the commercial, which is still pending.
Under the terms of the settlement, Lambert admitted that his contract with Sony should have prevented him from appearing in the Bridgestone ad alongside a Wii system. He also agreed with Sony that his appearance in the commercial created confusion for viewers who strongly link him with the “Kevin Butler” character.
Lambert has also agreed not to appear in any video game-related ads for the next two years and, for the next two years after that, he will clear any video game-related ad appearances with Sony first.
[Source: MediaPost News]
Bethesda announces that all Skyrim DLC will be available on PS3 in February
After more than six months of delays, Bethesda has finally announced that all the downloadable content for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be available on the PlayStation Store in February.
Bethesda actually plans to go backwards with the PS3 DLC as Dragonborn will be available first, followed by Hearthfire, and then Dawnguard. As a mea culpa for the botched release schedule (Dawnguard was originally expected to come to the PS3 in July/August), all three add-ons will be priced at 50% off during their first week of availability.
And for all the PC gamers out there, you’ll be happy to know that Dragonborn will be available to download on February 5.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Rumor: Sony is ditching the DualShock design for the PS4
The infamous boomerang controller Sony debuted alongside the PlayStation 3 certainly would have been different than the company’s previous controllers, the Super NES-inspired DualShock and DualShock 2. Instead, that controller was tossed aside in favor of the similarly-designed SixAxis/DualShock 3. It’d be safe to assume Sony is planning something similar for the PlayStation 4/Orbis, but if a recent CVG report is to be believed, we may be in for something new.
According to CVG’s inside sources, Sony is heaviliy prototyping a variety of different designs for the PS4 including a controller with biometric grips and another with an LCD touchscreen (because Sony can’t launch a new system without ripping something off from Nintendo). Other rumors point to a more integrated PS4/Vita solution. It’s been said before, but perhaps Sony wants to make the Vita the PS4’s official controller.
Whatever happens, CVG reasons that it’s likely the DualShock 3 will be compatible with the PS4/Orbis.