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
Buy Wii U Deluxe Set, get cash back from future eShop purchases
When Nintendo revealed the bundle details and release date for the Wii U back in September, they also confirmed that the Wii U Deluxe Set would come packaged with a special discount on Wii U eShop content. Today, they’ve announced a few more details for the promotion.
Officially known as the “Deluxe Digital Promotion,” it’s not really a discount program at all. Instead, it’s a rewards program. According to Nintendo, Wii U owners will receive a point for every 10 cents they spend on the Wii U eShop between November 18, 2012 and December 31, 2014. After they’ve accumulated 500 points, the points can be exchanged for a $5 eShop credit. So, for example, if you purchase New Super Mario Bros. U for $59.99, you’ll receive 599 points.
“From day one, we want Wii U owners to experience the full breadth of great downloadable games and content available for the console,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The Deluxe Digital Promotion is our way of encouraging Wii U Deluxe Set owners to explore the Nintendo eShop and discover how Wii U offers an incredible combination of fun, innovation, convenience and value.”
Sadly, those who purchase the Wii U Basic Set will be ineligible to join the “Deluxe Digital Promotion,” and Wii Shop, DSi Shop, and 3DS eShop purchases cannot be used to accumulate points. But you have to admit, this is still a pretty good deal.
Nintendo details more New Super Mario Bros. U features
With the launch of the Wii U less than three weeks away, Nintendo has pulled back the curtain on a few more features found in New Super Mario Bros. U.
Like the previous New Super Mario Bros. games, U will feature several bonus modes. Challenge Mode tasks players with completing a level (either by themselves or with a friend) while meeting a variety of objectives such as “clearing a course without touching a single coin or touching the ground.” Coin Battle is a multiplayer-only mode that, you guessed it, makes players compete to collect the most coins in a course.
Nintendo is also boasting that New Super Mario Bros. U will feature a world map “for the first time since 1991’s Super Mario World. Now, I don’t want to tell the biggest video game publisher in the world their business, but that is just wrong. What they meant to say is that every game side-scrolling Mario game since 1991’s Super Mario World has included a world map and U is no exception.
Finally, Nintendo is bringing back the rabbit chases from Super Mario 64. The rabbit now has a name, Nabbit, and he’s wearing a purple bodysuit, but catching him will net Mario a powerful P-Acorn, “which will allow them to fly continuously through an entire stage.”
Want to know more about all these new features? Hit the jump for a complete description, straight from Nintendo. New Super Mario Bros. U and the Wii U console will be available on November 18. (more…)
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged New Super Mario Bros. U
Rockstar announces Spring 2013 release for Grand Theft Auto V
Well that didn’t take long.
After two separate sources leaked the Spring 2013 release date for Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar has gone and made it official. As is usual with all things Rockstar, the publisher is touting this as the biggest and best Grand Theft Auto yet.
“Grand Theft Auto V builds on everything we’ve learned about open world game design,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “We can’t wait to share it with fans.”
You can pre-order Grand Theft Auto V for the PS3 or Xbox 360 beginning on Monday, November 5.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Grand Theft Auto V
Call of Duty voice actor confirms Modern Warfare 4
A writer for This Is Xbox was recently seated on an airplane next to Billy Murray. If you’re thinking he peppered the actor with Ghostbusters and Caddyshack quotes during the entire flight, think again. It’s not that Billy Murray.
Instead, this Billy Murray is the British actor who provides the voice for Captain Price in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series. During their airborne conversation, the actor revealed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is in the works at Infinity Ward. Whoops!
Quoth Murray: “[O]n Monday I am off to meet Infinity Ward about the next game, Modern Warfare 4. I’m doing work on the sequel to Modern Warfare 3, it carries straight on and I only ever appear in the Modern Warfare games…”
This is certainly nice to know, but let’s be realistic here, did anyone think Infinity Ward wasn’t already hard at work on Modern Warfare 4?
Posted in News
Dead Island: Riptide shambles into stores on April 23
Deep Silver announced today that Dead Island: Riptide will be released on April 23, 2012 (and on April 26 in the rest of the world). The publisher also took this opportunity to reveal the first details about the game’s pre-order incentives and the Special Edition package:
Pre-Order Edition: This version of Dead Island: Riptide will include an exclusive pack of weapon mods that allows even more, manifold ways to dispose of the ghastly zombie hordes on Palanai island.
Special Retailers Edition: In addition to the weapon mods this version will contain an alternate character skin not obtainable anywhere else! The Special Edition of Dead Island: Riptide will only be available at selected retail partners. Details about the retail partners per territory offering the Special Edition will be announced soon. The Special Retailers Edition will also feature an alternative packshot.
Dead Island: Riptide is in development at Techland (creators of the original Dead Island) for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Dead Island: Riptide
Spring 2013 release for Grand Theft Auto V confirmed by GAME
The Brighton location of British retailer GAME tweeted a picture of promotional materials for Grand Theft Auto V this morning, further confirming the game’s Spring 2013 launch window. The tweet has since disappeared but, as the saying goes, once something is on the Internet, it can never be deleted.
The image of the promotional box art, which was reposted by EGM, includes two never-before-seen GTA5 images: A police officer handcuffing a blonde starlet and a man with a gun standing in front of a four-wheeler.
So there you have it, Grand Theft Auto V is officially coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 in Spring 2013. You can start getting excited… now!
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Grand Theft Auto V
The Force is strong with the first Angry Birds Star Wars gameplay trailer
What do you get when you stuff a bird into a slingshot and give him a Lightsaber? Video game magic, that’s what.
Check out the first gameplay trailer for Angry Birds Star Wars above and watch as Bird Luke Skywalker uses his Lightsaber to slice through a bunch of Pig Stormtroopers on Tatooine. Bird Princess Leia is also on hand to lend a Force Push to a Pig AT-AT on Hoth.
Angry Birds Star Wars will be available to download for the iOS, Android, and PC on November 8.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Angry Birds Star Wars
Surprise! Robert Downey Jr. is the star of the CoD Black Ops II live-action trailer
Let’s see…
Appearance by Robert Downey Jr.? Check.
AC/DC’s “Back in Black” on the soundtrack? Check.
Tongue-in-cheek mayhem? Check.
Activision, and director Guy Ritchie, probably weren’t intentionally trying to link “Surprise,” the new live-action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, to Downey’s Iron Man/Avengers character, but they certainly got the tone right. And what tone is that? Why, pure awesomeness, of course. So be sure to check out “Surprise” above.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 13. A Wii U release will follow five days later on November 18.