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
Rumor: Whore of the Orient development is on hold
Staff from Team Bondi, the development team behind LA Noire, have once again suffered layoffs. And, according to unconfirmed reports, the development of their upcoming open world title, Whore of the Orient, has been put on hold.
After the release of LA Noire, Team Bondi went into administration, and the studio suffered a huge number of layoffs. The remaining staff members were hired by KMM (the production company behind Happy Feet), and started development on Whore of the Orient, a detective thriller set in the 1930s.
Whore of the Orient was announced in 2011, and Brendan McNamara (studio boss at Team Bondi), went on record and said the game was “one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century.” It was rumored that Warner Bros. was on board as publisher, but a KMM spokesman said they’re still in the process of finding a publisher. Rockstar Games was responsible for publishing LA Noire, but relationships were torn between the two teams shortly after its release.
In light of these unconfirmed lay-offs, it seems production has stopped on the title, but the studio apparently still remains open. Obviously, we hope this isn’t true and production of Whore of the Orient continues soon.
[Source: MCV Pacific]
Posted in News
Tagged Whore of the Orient
Secret Ponchos Interview: Dueling With Yousuf Mapara and Jose Lopez
One of the games we were most excited to see at PAX East 2013 was Secret Ponchos, the intense twin-stick arena fighter set in the world of a Spaghetti Western. Contributor Anthony Amato, Senior Editor Nicole Kline, and Editor-In-Chief John Scalzo met up with President and Creative Director Yousuf Mapara and Art Director Jose Lopez and had a fantastic conversation with them while trying out the game. Nicole got her butt kicked by an eight-year-old, but that didn’t mar our first impression of the game, which was: we want more as soon as possible. Read on for the full interview we conducted with the incredibly talented guys at Switchblade Monkeys. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2013, Secret Ponchos
BioShock Infinite is exceptional atop the March 2013 list of bestselling games
Good news everyone! The NPD Group (via Game Informer) has released their report on the best-selling games of March 2013 and they’ve confirmed that total game sales saw a 2% increase over March 2012. That’s the first year-over-year increase since November 2011. So good job game-buying public!
BioShock Infinite was the top-selling game of the month, just ahead of Square Enix’s Tomb Raider reboot. New games dominated the list as eight of the top ten titles were released in March. Only Call of Duty: Black Ops II and NBA 2K13 managed to fight through the new release wave to earn a spot in the top ten.
Here’s the complete list of the top ten best-selling games in March 2013:
1. BioShock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
2. Tomb Raider (Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox 360)
4. God of War: Ascension (PS3)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
6. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
7. MLB 13: The Show (PS3, Vita)
8. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
9. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
10. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)
Wii U Release Dates: Pikmin 3, Game & Wario
They missed the Wii U’s “launch window,” but Pikmin 3 and Game & Wario finally have release dates, courtesy of yesterday’s Nintendo Direct presentation.
Game & Wario will be available in stores and on the Wii U eShop on June 23, just in time for Summer vacation. The first trailer for the minigame collection can be viewed above.
Pikmin 3, which was originally in production for the Wii, will finally make its way onto store shelves (and the Wii U eShop) on August 4.
With new release dates for Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Shin Megami Tensei IV also announced yesterday, it’s shaping up to be the Summer of Nintendo.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Game & Wario, Pikmin 3
Shinji Mikami’s Zwei is Bethesda’s mystery project, which will be unveiled tomorrow
Bethesda has dropped another bizarre video onto Vine (which you can find after the break) with the promise of more information to come tomorrow on IGN. But IGN plays by their own rules and let the cat out of the bag early, revealing that the mystery game is actually Shinji Mikami’s Zwei.
According to IGN, they will reveal the official title of Tango Gameworks’ first game, as well as a teaser trailer for the title, at 8 AM (Eastern Time).
As the creator of Resident Evil, Mikami is no stranger to horrific imagery and the three mini-teasers Bethesda has revealed so far (the first two can be seen here) definitely ping the creep-o-meter. I can’t wait to get a look at the full game. (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged The Evil Within
Secret Ponchos Hands-On Preview: These Outlaws Will Steal Your Heart (Literally)
Secret Ponchos is a top-down, twin stick arena shooter stylized as a Spaghetti Western – characters, locations, music, and all. Developer Switchblade Monkeys has taken their love of those old Italian movies and married it to twitch-reaction arena mechanics, creating a game that took PAX East 2013 by storm. After seeing the trailer, it was on the top of my list of must-play games that weekend, and I was not disappointed by my experience. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2013, Secret Ponchos
Amazing new print details controller evolution
Ever wonder what it would be like to see every controller ever made in one lovely evolutionary wall print? Well wonder no more, because now it’s a thing you can actually purchase. The Evolution of Video Game Controllers is a wonderful 27″ x 39″ print that will set you back $29. You can pre-order it now and it will ship on Monday, April 22.
From the write-up:
“The complete family tree of video game control schemes–including handhelds, joysticks, paddles, gamepads, and one notable glove–this chart shows how gaming input has evolved from simple knobs to directional pads to touch screens. Including every console ever, this sprawling print features 179 species and 12 genera over seven decades of gaming.”
I’m about to move into a new apartment, and I think I just found the first item I’m buying for it. Who wouldn’t want the Wu-Tang controller forever immortalized on their wall?
Posted in News
Daily Scoop: April 18, 2013 – Portal shirt mashups rule the day
Ever have a day where you didn’t feel like getting out of bed, other than to turn on your console, grab a controller, and take your ice cream out of the freezer to eat for breakfast? That’s pretty much every day for me lately – I just want to sit around and play games. But alas! Things need to get done, as they say. And so here I am, to let you know what sales and t-shirts are available for you today!
Let’s start with the new deals over at GameStop. They’re offering 50% off of “hundreds” of used games – looks like the total is actually 294, which technically is hundreds. You will likely find something you want in that tempting list. There are lots of PC downloads on sale – Borderlands 2 is $29.99, Crysis 3 is $39.99, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is $29.99, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn is $9.99, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown is $29.99. Plenty of physical games are on sale as well – Army of Two The Devil’s Cartel is $39.99, the Battlefield 3 premium edition is $39.99, FIFA Soccer 13 is $39.99, Halo 4 is $39.99, Need for Speed: Most Wanted is $49.99, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is $49.99, and The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is $39.99. Whew. That’s a lot of sales!
And now, t-shirts! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News