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: Articles
Get a closer look at the Xbox One controller with Major Nelson
Microsoft’s Major Nelson continues his “unboxing” of the Xbox One console with an “insider’s look” at the next generation consoles’ controller. He’s joined by Zulfi Alam, the General Manager of the Xbox Accessories Group, to get a developer’s eye view of the new D-Pad, the triggers, the face buttons, the force feedback motors, the “screwless” design, and the controller’s new wireless/wired design.
It’s definitely worth a watch, if only for the ridiculous green light that makes Major Nelson resemble The Joker.
Daily Scoop: August 12, 2013 – Busy weekend!
Hey everyone, and welcome back to the work week! How did your weekend go? Mine was absolutely fantastic! I logged a lot of hours in video games (Dragon’s Crown and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch), finished a movie (Equilibrium), finished one book and started another (The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Orange is the New Black), and watched Breaking Bad. It was amazing! Oh, and I played some Shadowrun, and a bunch of board games, too. Whew! It was busy!
There aren’t really a lot of deals going on today! Amazon is having some back-to-school deals (yikes, already?), including Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for $14.93, Lego Lord of the Rings for $16.23, Lego Legends of Chima: Laval’s Journey for $20.94, and Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy for $19.99. Scoop ’em up!
Just two shirts for you today! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop
WWE 2K14 adds 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode
Whatcha gonna do when WrestleMania runs wild on you? That’s the question 2K Sports is asking today as they’ve announced the new 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode for WWE 2K14. The 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode is a “nostalgic journey [that] takes players through more than 45 [WrestleMania] matches” including Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (WrestleMania III), The Rock vs. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania X8), and The Rock vs. John Cena (WrestleMania XXVIII).
“For nearly three decades, WWE has inspired millions worldwide through the historic, cultural and undeniable phenomenon that is WrestleMania,” said Chris Snyder, Senior Director of Marketing at 2K. “Through the 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode in WWE 2K14, players can now relive their favorite nostalgic and recent WrestleMania moments – from an incredible roster to authentic presentation and match play – in a unique and engaging way.”
The 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode will attempt to recreate each of these classic matches with authentic presentation elements including period-specific ring designs, wrestler entrances and ring attires, and on-screen graphics.
The complete roster of wrestlers that will be included in the 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode will be livestreamed on 2K’s Twitch.TV channel this Saturday, August 17, at 12:30 PM (Pacific Time).
Cory Barlog returns to Sony Santa Monica to work on something “freaking huge”
Cory Barlog’s walkabout is over. The Director of God of War II has announced (via the PlayStation Blog) that he has returned to Sony Santa Monica and has begun work on something that’s “freaking huge.”
What am I working on, you ask? Good question. Sadly, I cannot tell you…yet. But I can say that it is freaking huge, and it will live up to the standards that I helped establish here at SMS. We’re putting together a team as I type this, an Ocean’s 11 kind of thing. We are searching the world high and low for the best of the BEST to come and be on the ground floor of this endeavor.
Barlog has kept busy since he left Sony Santa Monica in 2007. First, he hooked up with film director George Miller and began developing a game based on the Mad Max films. Then, after leaving Miller’s employ, Barlog joined Crystal Dynamics and directed the cinematic cutscenes for this year’s Tomb Raider reboot.
Sony Santa Monica is currently working with Ready At Dawn on The Order: 1886, a steampunk action game for the PS4. We’ll have to wait and see if Barlog’s return points towards a God of War IV announcement or something else entirely.
Posted in News
Tagged God of War 4
Saints Row IV’s “Million Dollar Pack” includes the game and an insane amount of goodies
For gamers of a certain age, some of Deep Silver’s antics are probably beginning to resemble the late 90s/early 2000s heyday of Acclaim. Before going under in 2004, the defunct publisher offered cash to any family willing to name their unborn baby “Turok.” They also offered to pay the funeral expenses of anyone willing to be buried underneath a Shadow Man 2 headstone. Deep Silver’s “Million Dollar Pack” (AKA the “Super Dangerous Wad Wad Edition”) for Saints Row IV doesn’t reach those depths, but some of goodies included with the game are absurdly insane.
The Saints Row IV “Million Dollar Pack” will be sold through GAME, a UK video game retailer, and is available to purchase for, yes, one million dollars. The bundle gets you a copy of the game and some additional bonuses:
- Full-Size Replica Dub Step Gun
- Hostage Rescue Experience
- Virgin Galactic Space Flight
- Plastic Surgery
- Spy Training Day
- Access to a Personal Shopper
- A “Capsule Wardrobe”
- A Week in the Top Royal Suite at the Burj-Al-Arab in Dubai
- A Week at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C.
- First Class Flights to Dubai and Washington, D.C.
- Lamborghini Gallardo
- Toyota Prius + One Year of Insurance
- A One Year Membership in a “Supercars” Club
Only one copy of the “Million Dollar Pack” is available in the entire world, so if you’re interested, you’d better hurry. And I’m sure, if you ask nicely, Deep Silver will switch out the UK version of the game for the US one.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Saints Row IV
Weekly Warp-Up: World of Tomorrow 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…
Welcome to the…
[Dramatic Pause]…
World of Tomorrow!
This week, executives, developers, and community managers just couldn’t stop talking about games that are a very long ways away. For example:
- Id Software was rather forthcoming about why Doom 4 is taking so long.
- Namco Bandai assured us that Tekken X Street Fighter is still in development.
- Ubisoft discussed the end of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
- Capcom confirmed that Street Fighter V is at least five years away.
- Deep Silver is sure that they’ll release Dead Island 3 someday.
- And finally, Microsoft’s Major Nelson “unboxed” an Xbox One system that is still several months away.
A little closer to the present, we talked with Dakko Dakko’s Dan Croucher and Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails, his company’s Wii U eShop-exclusive game.
More news from the World of Today can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Payday 2, DuckTales Remastered, More
The brothers Mario are venturing back into the RPG world with today’s release of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team for the 3DS.
Tuesday will see the release of a few titles on the complete opposite end of the gaming spectrum including the multiplayer heistfest Payday 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) and the latest strategy game in the Europa Universalis series, Europa Universalis IV (PC).
The rest of this week’s new releases all star anthropomorphized animals…
- There’s the PC version of WayForward’s DuckTales Remastered. Downloadable console versions will also be available this week and special retail editions will be available next week.
- There’s the Wii and Wii U port of Angry Birds Trilogy.
- And there’s Phineas and Ferb: Quest For Cool Stuff, which will be available for the 3DS, DS, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
I guess, technically, Phineas and Ferb aren’t animals. But they sure are weird looking.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Angry Birds Trilogy, DuckTales Remastered, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Payday 2
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition sells 8 million copies as MS details Title Update 12
First things first, Microsoft has announced (via their PlayXBLA blog) that Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has sold over eight million copies. If you recall, the game crossed the seven million barrier just a month ago.
The publisher also released a list of changes, additions, and fixes coming to Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition in the next Title Update. Title Update 12 doesn’t currently have a release date, but it will add a trio of new mobs (Ocelot/Cat, Iron Golem, Baby Villager) and several new items to the game. A new “Tutorial World” will also be added to the game in the next Title Update.
The full list of changes, additions, and fixes can be found after the break. (more…)