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)
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New Super Luigi U coming to Wii U eShop on June 20 and store shelves on August 25
New Super Luigi U began life as a downloadable expansion to New Super Mario Bros. U when it was announced back in February. The DLC was all set to transform 82 courses from NSMBU into new levels that played to Luigi’s strengths. The downloadable version is still in development (and will still require a copy of NSMBU), but Nintendo announced this morning (during their latest Nintendo Direct presentation) that New Super Luigi U will also be released as a standalone game.
New Super Luigi U will be added to the Wii U eShop on June 20 and Nintendo has priced the expansion at $19.99. But, if you’d prefer to wait for the disc-based standalone version, it’ll be available in stores on August 25 with a $29.99 price.
Both versions will include Nabbit as a new kind of playable character. The crazy rabbit can’t power up, but he also won’t take damage when he touches enemies. Interesting.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged New Super Luigi U, New Super Mario Bros. U
Sonic: Lost World announced as Wii U and 3DS exclusive
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata used this morning’s Nintendo Direct presentation to announce final release dates for a ton of upcoming Wii U and 3DS games. But Iwata also revealed a handful of new games, including the next Sonic the Hedgehog title, which will be released exclusively on Nintendeo platforms.
Right now, all we about Sonic: Lost World is that it’s “a new action-adventure platforming game” in the long-running series and that more information will be revealed just before the start of this year’s E3 Expo. The game is actually the first piece of a new partnership between Sega and Nintendo that will see the next three games in the Sonic series released exclusively on Nintendo platforms.
“The onetime rivalry between Mario and Sonic has grown into a friendship that has never been closer,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “These announcements in conjunction with Sega demonstrate the commitment we have to bringing great games to the Wii U platform, and set the stage for our upcoming announcements at E3.”
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged E3 2013, Sonic: Lost World
Injustice: Gods Among Us is the best-selling game of April 2013
According to The NPD Group’s accounting of the best-selling games from April 2013, NetherRealm Studios’ Injustice: Gods Among Us delivered a superhero-sized punch to the competition last month. The Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U fighter zoomed into the top spot, ahead of another April release, Deep Silver’s Dead Island: Riptide. Other new releases were mostly shut out of the top ten, but Defiance, an MMO shooter based on the Syfy show of the same name, managed to make it to the fifth spot.
Bioshock Infinite continues to sell strong, rounding out the top three, and a pair of 3DS-exclusive games scared up spots in the top ten: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (#6) and Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (#9).
The full top ten list for April 2013 can be found right here:
1. Injustice: Gods Among Us (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
2. Dead Island: Riptide (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Bioshock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
5. Defiance (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
6. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
7. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
8. Skylanders Giants (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, Wii U)
9. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (3DS)
10. MLB 13: The Show (PS3, Vita)
Watch this new CoD: Black Ops II “Mob of the Dead” trailer, DLC available today on PC, PS3
As promised, Call of Duty: Black Ops II‘s Uprising Map Pack is now available for the PC and PS3. The pack has been priced at $14.99, but owners of the DLC Season Pass can get it for free. The Uprising Map Pack includes a cinematic new Zombies scenario, “Mob of the Dead,” as well as four new multiplayer maps:
- “Magma” is a modern Japanese village with volcanic eruptions carving multiple paths throughout the town.
- “Encore” takes place in the aftermath of a deserted London music festival and leaves numerous opportunities for run-and-gun, close quarters combat.
- “Vertigo” is a futuristic high rise in India housing a high-tech lab featuring dizzying vistas and multi-tiered pathways.
- “Studio” is a Hollywood movie back lot with a variety of cinematic themes that range from Sci-Fi to the Old West. It’s also a contemporary remake of “Firing Range,” a fan-favorite multiplayer map from Call of Duty: Black Ops.
You can check out a brand new and never-before-seen “Mob of the Dead” trailer above.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Scribblenauts Unmasked officially announced
WB Games and developer 5th Cell are moving forward with that DC Comics/Scribblenauts crossover. Officially announced yesterday, Scribblenauts Unmasked is in development for the 3DS, PC, and Wii U.
The debut trailer embedded above is definitely the best way to get your first taste of Scribblenauts Unmasked. Maxwell has teamed up with DC’s greatest heroes, including multiple iterations of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and many others (including “Super Doomsday,” a heroic take on Superman’s greatest foe) to battle villains like The Joker, Lex Luthor and the real Doomsday.
“Fans of both DC Comics and Scribblenauts can really let their imaginations run wild with the Super Hero Creator in Scribblenauts Unmasked,” said Jeremiah Slaczka, CEO and Creative Director of 5th Cell. “Players will be challenged to craft new and never-before-seen characters such as Wonder Joker or Bane Lantern and use them to solve puzzles or share them with friends.”
Scribblenauts Unmasked will be available this Fall.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, Wii U
Tagged Scribblenauts Unmasked
Nintendo Download: Super Metroid, Super Mario Bros. 2, Starship Damrey, more
Nintendo has pushed a rather hefty update onto the eShop this week, but it mostly consists of games you’ve played before.
Leading the way are this week’s Wii U Virtual Console releases: Super Metroid, Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts. If you act fast, you can also get two of the three on the cheap. Super Metroid is on sale for $0.30 for a limited time and Super Mario Bros. 2 is half off if you also buy Super Mario World.
The 3DS Virtual Console received a pair of new games today as well. Handheld gamers can now download the Mega Man V, originally released on the NES, or Harvest Moon, which was originally released on the Game Boy Color. A new game even made it onto the Wii’s Virtual Console, SNK’s The King of Fighters ’99.
If you’re looking for new titles, the 3DS eShop received two big ones today: The Starship Damrey, an action-adventure from Level-5’s “Guild02” collection, and Swords & Soldiers 3D, a 3DS update to the popular strategy game. Other new games available today include Bowling Bonanza 3D (3DS eShop), Dress To Play: Magic Bubbles! (3DS eShop), and California Super Sports (DSiWare).
While not part of today’s update, this week’s Nintendo Download also includes Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes and Resident Evil Revelations, two Wii U ports that will added to the Wii U eShop on Tuesday, 21.
Polyphony Digital likely working on PS4 version of Gran Turismo 6
For everyone disappointed that Gran Turismo 6 isn’t coming to the PS4, cheer up, it probably will eventually.
Speaking to IGN, Polyphony Digital President Kazunori Yamauchi said, “We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now.”
However, a PS4 version of the game is is likely a little ways down the road as Yamauchi also said, “I thought the best scenario would be to have the game come out, then to have new scenarios, new DLC and other updates. Once the players have thoroughly played out the system, if the PlayStation 4 version came out naturally, as part of that process, I think that would be the best scenario.”
So GT6 this Fall… then new scenarios… then other DLC… then we all have to get sick of GT6… and then finally we’ll get a chance to buy it all over again on the PS4.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Gran Turismo 6, Gran Turismo 7
Batman: Arkham Origins teaser promises full trailer on May 20
This Batman: Arkham Origins teaser trailer is 41 seconds long. If you’re pressed for time, allow me to summarize it for you…
0:00-0:10: The first ten seconds are devoted to Warner Bros. and DC Comics logos.
0:10-0:21: The next 11 seconds includes snippets of a battle between Batman and the villainous Deathstroke.
0:21-0:29: The Batman: Arkham Origins logo fades in and fades out for eight seconds.
0:29-0:35: This is followed by a six second shot of the game’s October 25 release date and logos for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, and PC platforms.
0:35-0:41: The final six seconds are given to a message promoting the release of the game’s full trailer on Monday, May 20.
I didn’t want to watch a real Batman: Arkham Origins trailer today anyway.