Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: News
Team Fortress 2 goes free to play
Valve has been at the forefront when it comes to experimental pricing in the digital age of game consumption. They’ve also taken bold steps towards the “games as services” model. Now that ideal becomes more of a reality.
Team Fortress 2, one of the iconic Valve franchises, has now gone free to play. Robin Walker, who worked on the game way back when it was just a Quake mod, sat down with Develop to discuss the reasons for the move. Getting more people on Steam is one, as is learning more about consumer habits. But Walker also cites the fact that in multiplayer games, the more people actually playing it creates more value for each consumer.
Anyone yet to try out Team Fortress 2 should do so promptly, and be sure to read the full interview with Robin Walker.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Team Fortress 2
Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U is “several years” away
One of the highlights of Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference was the announcement of a new Super Smash Bros. game for the 3DS and Wii U. It was also revealed that the games will be developed by Kid Icarus: Uprising mastermind Masahiro Sakurai. But Sakurai recently informed Famitsu (and translated by 1UP) that gamers shouldn’t expect them anytime soon.
“Right now, we’re devoting all our manpower to working on Kid Icarus. We’ve got no plans whatsoever — we’ve got two new games out in the open when there’s no extra time to work with them at all. It makes me cringe, and I’m not sure it’s the smartest thing to make gamers wait for several years, but the early announcement was made chiefly in order to attract new team members.”
So the next Smash Bros. is “several years” away? Ouch. Let’s hope Sakurai and his team at Project Sora can find the right people to fit in with the group as they work on the fourth Smash Bros. game.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Daily Scoop: June 24, 2011 – Friday deals!
We’ve got a lot of deals for you today! First up is a great one at Amazon – their Deal of the Day in video games, which is Batman: Arkham Asylum: Game of the Year Edition. Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions are just $19.99 today. If you don’t already own this game, you must pick it up! It’s excellent, and will help prepare you for the October 18 release date of Batman: Arkham City.
Amazon’s also got loads of bonus offers up right now, including $25 promotional credit for buying a Nintendo 3DS, Kinect Sensor with Kinect Adventures, and the PlayStation Move Starter Bundle. Whew. That’s a lot of promotional credit!
I love today’s Ript shirt, aptly titled “Give Me A Hand:”
Can you figure out who all of these hands belong to?!?!
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Ms. Splosion Man blasts onto XBLA on July 13
The funniest guys making video games today, Twisted Pixel, has announced that Ms. Splosion Man will be available to download from the Xbox Live Arcade on July 13. More than a mere sequel to 2009’s Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel promises a ton of enhancements to their already explosive game:
Boasting improvements to nearly every aspect of its gameplay, Ms. Splosion Man is a true successor to her illustrious forebearer. Players can look forward to a host of new gameplay mechanics, varying environments posing new unique challenges, totally revamped network support, epic boss battles, original music, and plenty of the humor and charm that people have come to expect from Twisted Pixel. Tons of unlockables throughout the game give players a complete behind-the-scenes look at the game’s creation.
In case that weren’t enough, the developer also promises players will have access to 50 single-player levels, 50 multiplayer levels and “a bunch of surprises to come.”
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Ms. Splosion Man
Steven Stamkos skates onto NHL 12 cover
After holding a massive multi-week tournament to decide the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete, EA Sports has used the 2011 NHL Awards to announce the spokesman for NHL 12.
EA has chosen Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, as this year’s cover athlete. The 21-year old was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award (Stamkos lost to Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks) and he sounds very excited about his selection:
“I’ve grown up playing EA Sports NHL video games so it’s an honor to be chosen for the cover this year,” said Stamkos. “I love how authentic the game is and thought it was great when I scored a one-knee, one-timer goal as myself in NHL 12!”
NHL 12 will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 this September.
“War is coming” in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 game trailer
If you thought the first Deathly Hallows game was just a cover-based shooter with Daniel Radcliffe stepping in for Marcus Fenix, check out the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 above. Besides watching Harry and Ron mow down dozens of people, you can also see Harry blindfiring from behind cover at a Dementor. Delta Squad Voldemort doesn’t stand a chance.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was developed by EA Bright Light and it’ll be released for the DS, PC, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 on July 12.
L.A. Noire coming to PC; 4 million copies sold on PS3, Xbox 360
Media trends come in waves and with zombies shambling off into the sunset and vampires returning to their coffins, maybe its time for the heyday of the 1940s gumshoe because Rockstar is reporting that L.A. Noire has sold 4 million copies worldwide on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
This tremendous debut is obviously swell news for the publisher and developer Team Bondi, but PC gamers will also be making whoopee this Fall when the game comes to the PC as well. Developed by Rockstar Leeds, the PC version will include customizable control options and 3D graphics support.
“L.A. Noire is a new type of game that makes players see through a detective’s eyes in 1940s Los Angeles,” said Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games. “Its unique blend of story, action and crime solving will be perfect to play on PC.”
And let us clue you in, L.A. Noire is no jalopy, it’s one of the best games of the year.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged L.A. Noire
Sonic Generations demo on PSN, XBLM now
Sega’s latest stab at bringing Sonic the Hedgehog into the 21st century, Sonic Generations, will be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 this Fall (a 3DS version is planned as well). But if you want to step into the blue blur’s sneakers a might early, Sega has you covered.
Starting today, Sega has added a demo of Sonic Generations to the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network. The XBLM version is available to download right now (for Gold members only) while PS3 owners will have to wait until later today to download it. You better too, for some ridiculous reason, the demo will expire 20 days from now.
The Sonic Generations demo includes the 2D version (playable with Classic Sonic) of the Green Hill Zone level. It looks like Sega is keeping the 3D recreation of the classic Sonic stage under wraps for now.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Sonic Generations