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
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- 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)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
Most Recent: News
Valve will launch Steam Machines in November or pre-order to get one in October
The time has come, Valve has announced a release date and pricing for its Steam Machines line of living room PCs. According to Valve, Steam Machines from Alienware and Syber are currently available to pre-order, with “limited quantities” scheduled to ship out to customers on October 16. Steam Machines hardware will be available on store shelves beginning on November 10.
The Steam Controller and the Steam Link streaming set-top box will also be released on November 10, with “limited quantities” available on October 16. The Steam Machines hardware line starts at $449 with the Controller and the Link box both retailing for $49.
Valve’s Steam Machines will be powered by SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system that uses “Big Picture Mode,” Steam’s television-friendly display mode. SteamOS is compatible with “over a thousand” games on the Steam storefront, though more than 4,000 games (at least) are currently listed for sale through Steam, meaning less than 25% of all available games are currently compatible with Steam Machines. That said, any Steam game can be streamed to any Steam Machines-connected television.
More information on the Steam Machines pre-order campaign can be found on the Steam website.
Battleborn is coming to E3 2015… here’s a new trailer
Honestly, I’m not sure I could explain the differences between Overwatch, BattleCry, and Bloodborn if I had a gun to my head. Overwatch is Blizzard and BattleCry is Bethesda, but they’re both hero-based arena shooters that’ll be available late this year or early next year. As is Gearbox’s Battleborn, which is the game depicted in the trailer above.
Battleborn asks players to step into the stores of 25 “vastly different” heroes and stop a megalomaniac from destroying “the last star” in a story campaign that can be played solo or with up to five players (or two if you’re playing splitscreen):
The universe teeters on the brink of extinction and only the most powerful Battleborn can stop it. This band of badasses will slice swords through enemies, fire massive machine guns, sling powerful spells and much more! Rendain and his evil army must not be allowed to destroy the last star. Do you and your friends have what it takes to save it?
Besides the main storyline, Battleborn also includes a 5v5 competitive multiplayer mode with three different game types: “Incursion,” “Devastation,” and “Meltdown.” I have no idea what any of those are.
Perhaps we’ll all find out together in a few weeks as Gearbox plans to bring Battleborn to the 2015 E3 Expo. Hopefully, we’ll learn a little more about the PC, PS4, and Xbox One game ahead of its Winter release, which is a vague placeholder that could stand in for late 2015 or early 2016.
Nintendo Download: Adventures of Pip, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven, Pac-Attack, more
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another Nintendo Download. Here’s a look at some of the titles you can find on the Nintendo eShop beginning today:
- Adventures of Pip is a side-scrolling platformer for the Wii U that pumps pixels into its main character to help him overcome challenges.
- Pac-Attack is a “fun and quirky” for the Wii U’s Virtual Console that originally appeared on the Super NES.
- Cube Life: Island Survival is a game that looks ridiculously similar to Minecraft and its available now for the Wii U.
- Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven is a Japanese RPG for the 3DS that bases its attack system on bowling over your opponents.
More information on all of these games (and a few more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Cube Life: Island Survival
Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection coming to PS4 this October with Uncharted 4 beta access
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End won’t be released until next year, but Sony is hoping that gamers will want to replay Nathan Drake’s many adventures on the PS4 this Fall in Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. Scheduled for release on October 9, The Nathan Drake Collection will bring Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception together in a single package.
The compilation will be developed by Bluepoint Games, who previously worked on the God of War Collection and The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection for Sony. For The Nathan Drake Collection, the developer will sharpen the graphics to 1080p/60FPS levels and add in better lighting, textures, and models. Bluepoint will add other improvements to all three games including a Photo Mode and new Trophies.
Players who pre-order Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection will receive a pack of “iconic” Nathan Drake character skins and a pair of in-game guns: the Golden AK-47 and the Golden 92FS. Pre-purchasing a digital download through the PlayStation Store will add a PS4 Dynamic Theme to your goodie bag.
On top of that, everyone who purchases Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection will also receive access to the Uncharted 4 multiplayer beta. Sony plans to reveal more details about the beta, including when it’ll take place, at a later date.
World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 is Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Pong, Doom, WoW, Pac-Man
The World Video Game Hall of Fame, which is administered by the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and The Strong in Rochester, New York, has announced its inaugural list of inductees. Drum roll, please.
The 2015 Class of the World Video Game Hall of Fame includes…
- Doom, id Software’s pioneering first person shooter.
- Pac-Man, the dot-eating, ghost-chasing hero of every 80s arcade.
- Pong, one of video gaming’s earliest arcade hits.
- Super Mario Bros., the side-scroller that put the NES on the map and made Mario a household name.
- Tetris, the falling block puzzler that’s surely invaded your dreams at least once.
- World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s MMO made the genre what it is today and is still going strong after a decade.
While all of the games are at least ten years old, it’s amazing how important they still are to video gaming’s current climate. Bethesda will pull the curtain back on the next game in the Doom series at this year’s E3 Expo. Pac-Man recently celebrated his 35th anniversary and will star in a new mobile game this Summer. Super Mario Bros. is also celebrating a big anniversary this year and will influence this September’s Mario Maker. The Tetris Company, and Alexey Pajitnov, continues to license new version of Tetris and the latest, Tetris Ultimate, was released last year. Finally, Blizzard released World of Warcraft’s fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor, in November and a sixth is already in the works.
These six games represent gaming at its greatest and are excellent choices for the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. As part of their selection, the inductees will be on permanent view (and in playable form) at The Strong’s “eGameRevolution” exhibit.
Nine other finalists were considered for inclusion by the international committee including Angry Birds, FIFA International Soccer, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, The Oregon Trail, Pokemon Red/Blue, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until all of them are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. But if you want to campaign for your favorite game, nominees for the Class of 2016 are currently being accept at the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s website.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Retro, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Doom (1993), Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, World of Warcraft, World Video Game Hall of Fame
EA’s NHL 15 playoff prediction gets both teams wrong
The Stanley Cup Finals began last night, and neither team from the NHL 15 playoff prediction is playing for the most famous trophy in sports. In EA’s simulation, the Anaheim Ducks faced off against the New York Rangers, with the Ducks eventually winning it all in seven games.
Unfortunately, the action on the ice didn’t play along, though EA Sports should get a little credit for being close. In reality, both the Ducks and the Rangers battled through most of the playoffs and were only eliminated once they reached the Conference Finals. Regardless of how close the NHL 15 prediction was, the real Stanley Cup Finals will be decided in a seven-game series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks. And after last night’s 2-1 victory, the Blackhawks currently enjoy a 1-0 lead in the series.
For fans that are already thinking about next year, EA Sports will release two NHL games this September. NHL 16 will appear on the PS4 and Xbox One while NHL: Legacy Edition, a roster update to NHL 15, will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
“What’s next for Gears of War” will debut at E3 2015 as Black Tusk Studios changes its name to The Coalition
Black Tusk Studios is no more. From this day forward, the studio will be known as The Coalition (an allusion to the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) from Gears of War lore). The name change is designed to better convey The Coalition’s dedication to the Gears of War franchise, much like the public links the Halo series with 343 Industries and Turn 10 with the Forza franchise. The Studio Head of The Coalition, Rod Fergusson, further explained the reasons behind the name change in the video above. He also introduced the developer’s new logo.
And speaking of the Gears of War franchise, over on the Xbox Wire, Microsoft has promised that “what’s next for Gears of War” will be revealed on Monday, June 15 during their E3 2015 “Xbox Daily” show at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time). We don’t know if they’ll be announcing the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition or Gears of War 4, but fans of the franchise are surely excited all the same.
The Coalition is actually the second name change for the former “AAAA” developer. Before it took on the Black Tusk moniker in 2012, the studio was known as Microsoft Vancouver. They’ve yet to release a game under any name, but it’s only a matter of time now.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2015, Gears of War, Gears of War 4
Xbox Store Today: Sparkle Unleashed
Just a single new release has been added to the Xbox Games Store today and its Sparkle Unleashed, an orb-matching puzzler that is very similar to PopCap’s Zuma. The Xbox One game was developed by 10tons, and more information about it can be found right here:
Xbox One Games
Sparkle Unleashed ($7.99)
A secluded world of mystery has succumbed to an ominous darkness. You must travel through the fallen lands, light magical braziers and banish the darkness once and for all. The full version of this match-three marble shooter includes 108 levels, survival mode and multiple difficulty settings.