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
Sony to begin PlayStation Now streaming subscription service on January 13
Sony launched their PlayStation Now game streaming service last year on the PS4 with more than 100 PS3 games. However, each game was available to rent on a per-title basis and the prices were a little bit, well, insane. Fans of the service asked for a subscription option and it looks like Sony is finally ready to deliver.
Beginning January 13, PlayStation Now subscriptions will be available in two tiers: one-month ($19.99) and three-month ($44.99 or $15 per month). Sony will also offer a free seven-day trial in case you’re still skeptical of this whole game streaming thing.
Just like last Summer’s launch, Sony will once again offer more than 100 games through the PlayStation Now service. A few are highlighted in the trailer (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, BioShock Infinite, Batman: Arkham City, NBA 2K14, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, Spelunky, The Last of Us, XCOM: Enemy Within, and God of War: Ascension) and a more complete list can be found at the PlayStation Blog.
The expanded list includes some of the PS3’s biggest hitters including Saints Row IV, Final Fantasy XIII, The Walking Dead, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Earth Defense Force 2025, Killzone 3, InFamous, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and many more.
Nintendo: Mario Maker may lead to more Maker games but no new Mario game in 2015
Bill Trinen, the Director of Product Marketing at Nintendo of America, recently sat down with the Reno Gazette-Journal to discuss the company’s plans for 2015 and their commitment to retro-styled gaming. During the course of the conversation, Trinen revealed that development on Mario Maker is going well and reveals that other Nintendo franchises could receive the Maker treatment if it sells enough copies:
Mr. (Takashi) Tezuka is working hard on Mario Maker and the game is progressing really nicely. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun seeing what people are able to do with the game when it comes out. During E3, we had everyone from moms and kids to longtime Nintendo fans and newer folks who just got into gaming lately just having tons of fun with the way they’re able to create stages. Depending on how people react, we’ll see if the teams take a similar approach with other franchises.
The marketer also confirmed that Mario Maker is the only Mario game we’ll get in 2015 as Nintendo won’t have the next game in the series ready this year:
We don’t always put out a new version of an existing series on an annual basis, there’s always a big gap. You see that with Super Smash Bros., which has been seven years since it last came out. With Pikmin 3, you saw a big gap as well. Mario games release more frequently but we don’t have a new Mario game this year so it’s not an annual event.
I can just imagine how great a “Legend of Zelda Maker” could be, so I sincerely hope that Trinen isn’t toying with us. Make it happen, Nintendo!
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Weekly Warp-Up: Welcome to 2015 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…
Should old acquaintance be forgot and blah blah blah… Welcome to 2015, ladies and gentlemen! If you’re a video game fan, you’ll probably want to take a nap for the next four weeks as there is very little on the calendar for January. But a few things still happened this week, such as our review of The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack, the first Mario Kart 8 expansion. We also compiled our very first edition of Insert Quarterly, a quarterly look at some of the best game writing ’round the Internet.
And finally, our Fall 2014 Video Game Fantasy League has come to an end and Mike Ryan, one of Warp Zoned’s dedicated Staff Writers, is the winner. Congratulations, Mike!
The rest of the news from the rest of the week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
Insert Quarterly: The Best Game Writing of Fall 2014
Have you been following along with our first batch of Insert Quarter selections? Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet. Whether its an in-depth analysis of a major issue facing the video game industry or just a fun read that’s perfect for a coffee break, you’ll find it in Insert Quarter.
Here’s some of the game writing that we loved the most over the last three months. (more…)
Posted in Features, Insert Quarter, Top Story
Sony has at least 15 PS4 exclusives planned for 2015
Yesterday, Sony wished gamers everywhere a Happy New Year by uploading a new video to their YouTube Channel promoting 15 PlayStation 4 exclusives that will be released this year. This “15 For ’15” includes some of the biggest AAA projects (Bloodborne, The Order: 1886, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End) as well as a few independent efforts (Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, The Tomorrow Children, Rime). Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky also makes an appearance and, if I’m not mistake, I think this is the first time we’ve been told that it’ll be out in 2015.
Here’s the complete list of titles featured in Sony’s “15 For ’15”:
- Alienation
- Bloodborne (March 24, 2015)
- Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
- Fat Princess Adventures
- Hollowpoint
- No Man’s Sky
- The Order: 1886 (February 20, 2015)
- Rime
- Tearaway Unfolded
- The Tomorrow Children
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Until Dawn
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
- Volume
- The Witness
If you look closely, you’ll notice that this is definitely not a complete list of the games Sony plans to release for the PS4 in 2015. Just off the top of my head, it’s missing the Ratchet & Clank remake/reboot, The Talos Principle, N++, There Came An Echo, and several others. And who knows what this year’s E3 Expo will bring.
Bottom line, it’s going to be a busy year for PlayStation players.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged No Man's Sky
Square Enix is “making preparations” for Secret of Mana’s 25th anniversary
The Secret of Mana series has received short shrift from Square Enix over the years. While dozens of Final Fantasy games have been released (or re-released) in the last decade, the Mana series has only received a pair of mobile games since 2007. And even then, both games are only available in Japan.
But the Mana series might be making a comeback very soon.
Speaking to 4Gamer (and translated by Siliconera), Rise of Mana Producer Masaru Oyamada has revealed that the publisher is “making preparations” for the franchise’s upcoming 25th anniversary:
“With 2016 being Mana‘s 25th, anniversary, I believe it will be a year of making all kinds of preparations for it,” said Oyamada when asked to comment about 2015. “We’re working our best so we can offer something to everyone that has been waiting in anticipation.”
Obviously, no one yet knows what Square Enix is preparing. But maybe the publisher will finally release the Super NES title Seiken Densetsu 3 (also known as Secret of Mana 2) in North America for the first time. I can dream, can’t I?
Posted in News
Tagged Secret of Mana
Nintendo Download: Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Bionic Commando: Elite Forces
Nintendo takes no holiday off! While much of the world is resting after a night of New Year’s Eve festivities, Nintendo has updated their eShop storefront like they do every Thursday. Though it should be noted that only a pair of new titles are available today… and both are Virtual Console re-releases. But first, if you haven’t purchased Shovel Knight yet, now’s the time. The game, which is available for both the Wii U and 3DS, is on sale for $9.99 (a 33% discount off the regular price).
Now, about those new releases. Available on the Wii U eShop, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire was originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003 and I think the title says it all… it’s a pinball game with a Pokemon twist. Over on the 3DS eShop, Capcom has released Bionic Commando: Elite Forces, the Game Boy Color sequel to the classic NES side-scroller. More information about both titles can be found right here:
Wii U eShop Games
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire – Much more than a regular pinball game, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire combines fast flipper action with a unique way to catch your favorite Pokemon. Control the flippers to shoot the Poke Ball at targets on one of two PlayFields. Play on either the Ruby or Sapphire Field to rack up as many points as possible. The game lets players catch more than 200 Pokemon and features characters from the Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire games.
3DS eShop Games
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces – You are the perfect combination of man and machine – a Bionic Commando equipped with a Bionic Claw that will be extremely handy when infiltrating the danger zone. Blast through enemy lines as you grapple, swing and scale more than 20 levels of forests, deserts, mountains and futuristic cities. You are the last hope in saving your homeland from utter destruction. Suit up, soldier!
Inafune confirms that development on Mighty No. 9 is almost done in this New Year’s video
Keiji Inafune has posted a short “New Year’s” video to update fans of Mighty No. 9 on the game’s progress. According to the Mega Man creator, full development on Mighty No. 9 is almost complete and the only step left is porting the game to all the platforms it’ll be available on this Spring. But that’s a pretty important step as Inafune and his team at Comcept (and co-developer Inti Creates) plan to bring Mighty No. 9 to a boatload of platforms including the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, 3DS, and Vita.