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Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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- 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
Space Pioneer could be flying onto Wii U too
After a slew of doom and gloom articles, Nintendo’s Wii U may be finally finding its feet. During a recent investor’s meeting Nintendo announced that the Wii U is nearing the six million mark in sales, while both The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD and Super Mario 3D World have sold over one million copies each. And while the announcement that Mario Kart 8 would be revving its engines put fans into overdrive, another game was tentatively announced for the console.
Ambitious spacefaring project Space Pioneer, which featured in the most recent edition of Kickstart This!, will be released for the Wii U should the game reach its initial goal of $150,000. At the time of this writing, the Kickstarter campaign had reached just under $20,000, with 39 days to achieve the remained 87%.
Space Pioneer is being developed by Space Enigma Studios, and seeks to be an entertaining, as well as educational, experience, with a number of real world astronauts, architects, and scientists of various fields helping the studio realise a universe for players to explore and colonise. As well as the exploration, there will also be plot threaded throughout the narrative, driven by a mystery regarding some ancient artefacts. Given the talent involved, this could be the next Mass Effect.
Posted in News, PC, Wii U
Tagged Space Pioneer
Microsoft wants to give you $100 towards an Xbox One… if you trade in your PS3
It is now an open secret that the gap between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is growing from a small crevice to a Grand Canyon. And Sony may soon to leave its competitor eating dust when its new console hits Japanese stores next month. In response, Microsoft has resorted to what some may see as desperate measures. They have started sending out emails offering PlayStation 3 owners $100 towards the cost of an Xbox One if they trade in their console at their local Microsoft Store by March 2.
Perhaps to make the offer look less self-serving, the $100 credit can also be obtained if you trade in an Xbox 360 S or Xbox 360 E system as well.
The move is very peculiar, especially as the cost of the new PlayStation 4 is almost $100 less than the Xbox One. Fans looking to upgrade to either next-gen console would be able to trade in their old ones at the likes of GameStop, without having to take part in Microsoft’s deal. The ill-conceived plan seems to indicate that the company is all too aware that it risks being left in second, possibly even third place, in the next-generation race.
The big question is, what will Microsoft do with all the PlayStation 3 consoles it receives?
Discless, 1TB, and White Xbox One consoles rumored
Microsoft has some big plans for the Xbox One in 2014… but I’m not sure anyone expected the rumors that flew out of Big Redmond today. According to The Verge, Microsoft plans to launch at least three new versions of their next-generation console this year.
First up, a TitanFall-themed Xbox One console will be released sometime this year, presumably in the Spring to tie into the game’s March launch. And speaking of March, an Xbox One update will be available that month that is expected to fix a variety of the system’s social functions.
More new system designs will follow in the Fall including a white version of the console in October (which is said to launch alongside Insomniac’s cartoonish shooter, Sunset Overdrive) and a massive 1TB version in November.
Finally, Microsoft’s biggest Xbox One move may not make into stores, but it is incredibly interesting. One of Verge’s sources has confirmed that Microsoft is testing a version of the Xbox One without a disc drive. There’s a very strong possibility the discless console will never be released to the public, but if it is, it will go a long way towards fulfilling the all-digital future that Microsoft promised us when the Xbox One was first revealed ahead of E3 2013.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Sunset Overdrive, TitanFall
Daily Scoop: January 30, 2014 – Headache edition
Some days, you wake up and you just want to party all day. Other days, you wake up with a massive headache and can’t quite shake it, no matter what you do. Sadly, today is one of those days. I’ve been home all day trying to fight it, and it’s finally starting to break. I can even look at a computer screen now, which is an improvement over this morning.
There are some great deals happening right now. If you’re not familiar with Insert Coin Clothing, then their Epic Sale is the best way for you to get acclimated with them. They have some of the best video game-themed clothing and accessories on the entire Internet, and I strongly encourage you to check them out!
Other than that, there isn’t much else going on. Steam’s latest weekend deal is all about Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, which has tons of great sales. The Humble Store has a few great new sales happening – you can get The Floor is Jelly for $8.99, Octodad: Dadliest Catch for $11.99, or rymdkapsel for $7.19.
As always, I’ve got a few good shirts for you: (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
LocoCycle wheelies onto XBLA and PC on February 14
The reviews were unkind to Twisted Pixel’s LocoCycle when it launched for the Xbox One in November. But perhaps time, and a jump to the Xbox Live Arcade and PC, will encourage gamers to revisit the story of a sentient battle motorcycle named I.R.I.S., her Mexican mechanic, and the evil government agents that are after both of them. I guess we’ll find out for sure when LocoCycle is released on the XBLA and Steam platforms on February 14.
To celebrate this news, Twisted Pixel has decided to give away a custom Xbox 360 console that refer to as “Knight Ridery.” Full details (and a picture of one of the coolest 360s I’ve ever seen) about the contest are available at PlayXBLA Blog, but it looks like you’ll have to purchase LocoCycle sometime between February 14 and February 28 to enter.
To that end, Twisted Pixel has also announced that LocoCycle will be priced at $9.99 on the Xbox Live Arcade and Steam.
Nintendo Download: Zelda: Link to the Past, Mario Bros., Wii Fit U, more
Another pair of classic titles are now available to download thanks to this week’s Nintendo Download. The Wii U eShop is now home to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past while the 3DS eShop has been invaded by the crabs from the original and non-super Mario Bros.
If you’re looking for something original, a trio of new games have also been added to the 3DS eShop…
- Castle Clout 3D is a physics-based smasher that’s reminiscent of Angry Birds.
- Arc Style: Solitaire is a solitaire compilation from the people who make the Guilty Gear series of fighting games.
- Touch Battle Tank 3D 2 is an overhead shooter featuring… you guessed it… tanks.
Finally, tomorrow is the last day to download the free 30-day trial of Wii Fit U. Beginning February 1, the exercise program will revert to its regular $29.99 price on the Wii U eShop.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo’s Plan: Mario Kart 8 in May, DS games on Wii U, more third party development deals
In an investor’s briefing over night, Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata outlined the company’s plan to come back from an incredibly poor performance in 2013. Nintendo plans on improving the Wii U, nailing down a launch window for one of their biggest 2014 releases, and pushing their business into other areas. However, I don’t know if the Big N is heading in quite the right direction.
First off – and most importantly for those who already own a Wii U – Mario Kart 8 is finding its way to shelves this May. That’s not just a Japanese release date either; that is worldwide. This newest entry in the series introduces anti-gravity courses, allowing races to move to the walls and ceilings.
In other Wii U news, DS titles are coming to the system’s Virtual Console service. Iwata said that the firm had “overcome technical hurdles” to allow the portable games to work on the big screen. “The dual-screen Nintendo DS, one of which is a touch screen, has a very strong software lineup, and so we plan to add the Virtual Console titles from Nintendo DS software to the future Virtual Console lineup for Wii U,” confirmed the boss. No titles or launch dates have been offered up so far. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t Nintendo also bring DS titles to 3DS and not the other way around. Anyway…
The Wii U is going to get a “Quick Start” menu this Summer. Iwata stated that the 20-30 second boot time for the Wii U impairs the system’s simplicity of use. To solve this – because system firmware updates have not in the past – another firmware update will patch in a new, faster start-up menu that will enable instant game access.
The new boot-up sequence, which is featured in a video on Nintendo’s site, will immediately display a simple menu of recently played icons on the GamePad screen. Tap the game you wish to play, then select your Mii, and the system bypasses the slow main menu and directly loads the game.
Nintendo wasn’t done yet. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8
Capcom will release Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for 3DS in early 2015
Capcom has announced that they will bring Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate to the 3DS in early 2015. MH4 Ultimate is an enhanced and expanded re-release of Monster Hunter 4, which was released in Japan in September. The Japanese version of Ultimate, which is known as Monster Hunter 4G, will be released in its home country this Fall.
To help get western fans excited for MH4 Ultimate, Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto has created the above video and revealed a few details about the game. With MH4 Ultimate, Capcom wants to “evolve the series in a new direction” by including more vertical movement and “more multiplayer options than ever before.” In a first for the series, those options will include local wireless play and online muliplayer.
Capcom has promised more details about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate will be revealed soon.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate