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
SOCOM developer Zipper Interactive closing down
Zipper Interactive, the development team behind the SOCOM franchise, MAG, and the recent Vita release Unit 13, has announced their closure via Twitter:
After 17 years it’s time to head off into the sunset. A sincere thank you to all our fans for everything you’ve done for us. Farewell.
Zipper’s parent company, Sony Computer Entertainment, responded to the closure with a statement to Game Informer:
The closure is a result of a normal cycle of resource re-alignment within SCE WWS. Zipper has completed all work associated with its most recent project, Unit 13 for PlayStation Vita. Zipper titles MAG, SOCOM 4 and Unit 13 will continue to be supported, including the new Daily Challenges in Unit 13.
Best of luck to the former Zipper employees, a team as talented as they were will catch on somewhere, if they haven’t already.
Weekly Warp-Up: Look Back 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…
It’s all about looking backwards this week as the Warp Zoned staff took a gander at the last four weeks and took stock of what they’ve been playing in the latest edition of Warpback.
We weren’t the only ones looking back this week. Sega examined their most recent financial quarter and didn’t like what they saw. After failing to sell as many games as they’d hoped, the house of Sonic was forced to cut staff and cancel a few unnamed games.
Who else is looking back? Jump forward beyond the break to find out with the Weekly Warp-Up. (more…)
Posted in News
Google Maps goes 8-bit with Dragon Warrior world map filter
Have you ever wondered what the world would look like in 8-bits?
Now we can find out because Google has added an 8-bit “Quest” filter to Google Maps. Using the world map tiles from the four Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest games on the NES, the filter remaps streets, rivers, parks, mountains, and more in glorious 8-bit. And don’t forget to check out the Street View too!
This isn’t the first time Google has mined NES and Super NES nostalgia for a fun time. Previously, the search giant transformed their logo into a playable version of Pac-Man, added the Konami Code to Google Reader, and did a barrel roll with their search results.
UPDATE: The “Quest” filter is no longer accessible through Google Maps. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. The video walkthrough is all that’s left:
New Releases: Kinect Star Wars, Devil May Cry Collection, Xenoblade Chronicles, More
March is over and that means Spring is… well… Spring’s been here for a while now, I guess it’s just a tad more official with the turning of the calendar page.
That said, we’ve got a few new releases that’s sure to interest you including the Devil May Cry HD Collection (PS3, Xbox 360), which compiles Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening. It’s joined by the long-awaited Kinect Star Wars and it’s companion R2-D2 Xbox 360 Bundle. The GameStop-exclusive Xenoblade Chronicles will also be available this Friday, April 6. You may squeal now.
What else is new in stores this week? Hit the jump to find out. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Devil May Cry HD Collection, Kinect Star Wars, Xenoblade Chronicles
PAX East 2012: 2K offering fans a chance to play Borderlands 2, XCOM RTS, more
If you’re a Borderlands fan, and you happen to be in the Boston area next weekend, you might want to consider getting a day pass for PAX East.
2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that a co-op Borderlands 2 demo will be playable at their booth on the show floor. The demo will feature the “Caustic Caverns” map, and you can play as either the brand spankin’ new Gunzerker class or the new and improved Siren.
If that’s not enough Borderlands action for you, you can also check out Gearbox Software’s panel on Sunday, April 8th, where they will be talking about Borderlands 2 and all the other games they are currently working on.
Borderlands publisher 2K Games has plenty more planned for PAX 2012. Hit the jump for more details. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Borderlands 2, PAX East 2012, Spec Ops: The Line, XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Warpback: What We Played in March 2012
March certainly did come in like a lion and go out like a lamb! Heavy hitter Mass Effect 3 dominated a lot of our play lists in the beginning, while we went out on a softer note with the puzzles of Final Fantasy XIII-2. But it seems that most of us were just slogging through our backlogs, as we always seem to be when either we can’t afford the newer games or we just don’t care for them. Read on, friends, and find out what we played in the last month! (more…)
Sega loses $85 million; plans to lay off staff, cancel games
Tough times are ahead for Sega (and it’s parent company, Sega Sammy Holdings). During it’s most recent earnings report, the publisher confirmed that it expects to post an extraordinary financial loss “due to the challenging economic climate and significant changes in the home video game software market environment in the U.S. and Europe.”
What that means is that Sega isn’t selling as many games as they expected they would, so they’re about to lose a ton of money. In this case, the company estimates that the total loss will be close to $85 million (which is seven billion yen).
As you might have guessed, Sega’s solution to their money woes is to lay off staff (“create a smaller company positioned for sustained profitability,” according to Sega) and the cancellation of future projects that don’t come from “strong IPs.” Sega confirmed that future titles in the Sonic the Hedgehog, Football Manager, Total War and Aliens franchises are safe.
The publisher did not detail which games would be canceled, but the company is working on a slew of titles outside those properties including Anarchy Reigns, Jet Set Radio HD, Yakuza 5, Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, and possibly a Shenmue remake.
Posted in News
60 players faceoff in NHL 13 cover vote
It worked for one sport, so why not another?
EA Sports has caught cover vote fever and the only cure is another tournament… this time to determine the cover athlete of NHL 13. Like the Madden NFL 13 vote, two players from each team (for a total of 60) will compete in a play-in round. Because of the odd number of teams in each conference, EA will choose two losing players to advance as wild cards.
Voting for the play-in round begins today at covervote.NHL.com and continues through April 11 (coincidentally, the first day of the NHL playoffs). After the completion of the tournament, the NHL 13 cover athlete will be revealed at the 2012 NHL Awards on June 20. The game itself will follow with a PS3 and Xbox 360 release in September.
Since there’s no cover curse to go along with the NHL 13 cover, I’d assume players want to win this tournament. And just who’ll be competing? Hit the jump for the play-in round matchups. (more…)