Most Recent: News

John Scalzi teams up with Industrial Toys to make mobile games for core gamers

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Your hero and mine, John Scalzi, has revealed that he’s working on his first video game with mobile developer Industrial Toys.

Details are still scant, but Scalzi is the world-renowned author the Old Man’s War series, Fuzzy Nation, The God Engines, and the upcoming Redshirts. So naturally, he’s working on the storyline for this untitled game as well “other things.” The video game world is a natural fit for the author as he’s an unabashed fan of first person shooters and uses video game themes in a lot of his work (for example, The God Engines is built on a world that is just ripe for an RPG conversion).

Industrial Toys is a new team, but they’ve dropped a few hints on what their Scalzi collaboration could entail in the latest edition of their online newsletter. First of all, their motto appears to be “mobile games for core gamers,” so don’t expect any birds or words or fruit. There will also be guns. Hmm, I guess that’s it. Helpful bunch, ain’t they?

However, it was also revealed Scalzi won’t be done dabbling in this world after he creates it. Maybe that means a book, who knows? But this is from the above-mentioned newsletter:

Welcome Hugo-Award-winning science fiction author, John Scalzi. […] Cuz next, he’ll be turning his high-powered imagination on the storyline of our first game, and it won’t just manifest itself IN the game.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged

Daily Scoop: April 27, 2012 – Lady Day!

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Hooray, it’s Friday! And it’s a day to celebrate your geek ladies. Tonight is Girl Geek Dinners Philadelphia’s one year anniversary! To celebrate, we’re having a fun talk and then a happy hour. Also, I’ve been listening to Ladytron all day. Coincidence? I think not.

So, what deals are going on today? Well, there’s a lot of hubbub around Torchlight II – we found out yesterday that, depending on where you pre-order it from, you can either get access to the Neverwinter beta, or a free copy of the original Torchlight. Steam’s also got an additional bonus: order four copies and get them for $60 instead of $80. (In case you were wondering, yes, Ryan Littlefield and I have already partaken in this.) GameStop also has a few deals going on – though the page is advertised as “50% off,” there’s not really much there that is actually that cheap.

Amazon’s got the same old boring deals going on:

Only one shirt today, but it’s a good one… (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

See how many systems Nintendo has sold since they started selling systems

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has been in the video game business for a long time. Longer than Sony, Microsoft, Sega, Activision, Electronic Arts… nearly everybody actually. So it stands to reason that the company has sold a lot of systems and a lot of software. How much? Well, I’m glad you asked.

During their most recent quarterly financial briefing, Nintendo revealed lifetime-to-date sales figures for all of their consoles and handhelds. Some of the numbers may surprise you:

Hardware Sold

  • DS: 151.52 million units
  • Game Boy/Game Boy Color: 118.69 million units
  • Wii: 95.85 million units
  • Game Boy Advance: 81.51 million units
  • NES: 61.91 million units
  • Super NES: 49.1 million units
  • Nintendo 64: 32.93 million units
  • GameCube: 21.74 million units
  • 3DS: 17.13 million units

All Software Sold
(Includes Nintendo-Published and Third-Party Titles)

  • DS: 900.31 million units
  • Wii: 818.46 million units
  • Game Boy/Game Boy Color: 501.11 million units
  • NES: 500.01 million units
  • Super NES: 379.06 million units
  • Game Boy Advance: 377.52 million units
  • Nintendo 64: 224.97 million units
  • GameCube: 208.57 million units
  • 3DS: 45.42 million units

All sales data is based on worldwide totals and is accurate as of March 31, 2012. Italics indicates currently available system.

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Google does a “Zerg Rush” on your search results

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Those wacky Googlers are at it again.

First, they added the Konami Code to Google Reader. Then, they created a Google Doodle to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man and the thing turned out to be playable, which ended up costing the worldwide economy over $120 million in lost productivity. After that, they induced us all to “do a barrel roll,” even though most of the world had no idea what that meant (some thought it was a dig at Apple’s iOS, a competitor to Google’s Android platform). And just a few weeks ago they added a “Quest” filter to Google Maps that was clearly modeled after Dragon Warrior. But their latest trick tops all of these.

Go to the Google homepage, and search for “zerg rush.” And then watch as your search results are destroyed by an overwhelming swarm of red and yellow Os. Hovering over an O will bring up a targetting reticule to take the little buggers down, but the swarm will always win (and taunt you with a “GG” after it’s over).

Good show Google. Do something Mario-related next!

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Pre-order Torchlight II, receive original Torchlight or access to Neverwinter beta

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Torchlight II still doesn’t have an official release date. Developer Runic Games will only say that it’s coming in the Summer and that they’re shooting for June or July. But that hasn’t stopped Steam and Perfect World from offering plenty of pre-order loot to RPG-hungry gamers.

If you pre-order Torchlight II from Perfect World, you’ll receive access to the Neverwinter beta. However, Perfect World was quick to point out that the “exact date of access will vary.”

If you go the more conventional route and pre-order from Steam, you’ll receive a copy of Torchlight absolutely free. That’s right now! No waiting!

Both online shops have priced the game at $19.99, but if you buy a four-pack of copies from Steam (one copy for you and one copy for three of your friends), you’ll only pay $59.99, meaning that one copy was free. And you’ll also receive four copies of the original Torchlight on top of that.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Wii U launch date, price won’t be announced at E3 2012

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

During their most recent quarterly financial briefing, Nintendo reconfirmed that the Wii U will appear in its “final form” at this year’s E3 Expo. The publisher also revealed that the system’s launch lineup will be announced at the big show.

Nintendo itself has yet to announce any launch titles for the Wii U, but third party publishers such as Sega (Aliens: Colonial Marines), Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed III), THQ (Darksiders II), Tecmo Koei (Ninja Gaiden 3), and WB Games (Batman: Arkham City) all have games lineup up for the system’s launch.

However, those attending E3 (and all of us watching at home) won’t hear anything about when the Wii U will launch or how much it’ll cost during the show. Nintendo is saving that information and will announce them sometime after E3 but before the system’s “year-end sales season” release.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

3DS, Wii U retail games to be sold digitally… starting with New Super Mario Bros. 2

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

The 3DS eShop just got a whole lot cooler. Nintendo has announced that, beginning this August, the online store will offer downloadable versions of retail games. First on the list… New Super Mario Bros. 2.

Like current 3DS eShop downloads, downloadable retail games must be stored on an SD card and will only be playable on the handheld they were purchased on. If you’re one of those people who are still uneasy about using a credit card on the Internet, brick-and-mortar retailers will also sell download codes for 3DS digital downloads. Best of all, retailers can set the price for a download code just as they can for a cartridge game, so we might see some big sales for downloadable 3DS games.

Nintendo also announced that “Onitore,” the game more popularly known as Brain Age: Devil Training, will receive a US release and that it too will be available sometime this year as both a retail release and a digital download.

Finally, Nintendo confirmed that the same retail/digital download deal will apply to Wii U games when the system launch’s this Fall. So shoppers will be able to download any Nintendi-publisher Wii U title at the same time the game is released in stores.

Hey! Nintendo can finally say they’ve one-upped Sony and Microsoft in the online arena for something!

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged ,

The Walking Dead shambles onto XBLA today

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Telltale has announced that the first episode of their zombie-riffic adventure series, The Walking Dead, is now available to download from the Xbox Live Arcade. To celebrate, the company has released a new trailer, “Choice Matters,” to highlight that… well… choice matters in a world full of walking dead.

The first episode of The Walking Dead can be downloaded from the XBLA for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged