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- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Warp Zoned Archives
Most Recent: 3DS
A tale of two platforms – Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns coming to DS, 3DS
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Actually, these are just some pretty good times, because Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns, the next chapter in Natsume’s legendary RPG/farm-sim series, will be releasing simultaneously on the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS this Summer. The story centers on, yep, two villages who have grown apart since a vehement dispute over who has the best cooking. Players can choose start in the crop-oriented, Eastern flair of Konohana or the animal-loving European-style town of Bluebell. Who wants to take bets on if you marry someone from the other town?
Commenting on the dual platform, Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume, stated “We wanted to ensure that all of our loyal Harvest Moon fans would have a chance to play this game,” presumably because of all the returned 3DS units following the horrible diseases it causes (sarcasm). “No matter which version they pick up, they’re sure to love the great new cast of characters, the fun festivals, and the exciting new gameplay mechanics.”
If only the Second Europan War in Valkyria Chronicles started over cooking. I’m sure there’d be a lot less ethnic cleansing.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News
Tagged Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns
Daily Scoop: April 7, 2011 – Nicole needs an Xbox 360
I’ve made a really important decision regarding my birthday, which was a month ago tomorrow. Which…will be a month ago tomorrow? Whatever. It’s not like I went to school for English, people. Anyway, I’ve quit drinking, and every time we have a birthday gathering, people want to buy me shots, so instead, I’m going to put out a small fishbowl with a sign that says something along the lines of “Nicole’s Xbox 360 fund.” Instead of dumping shots down my throat/tempting me with Irish Car Bombs, you can just drop a dollar in the fishbowl. How awesome is that? You’ll get to be an important part of my video game curriculum! Congratulations.
Speaking of the Xbox 360, today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is the Xbox 360 Sharkoon X-Tatic SX Stereo Gaming Headset by… Sharkoon. Shocking, I know. It’s $39.99 today down from $59.99, and is “sophisticated in design and technology” to give you “the crucial sound advantage for epic gaming sessions.” Wow! That just sounds…yes. Good.
Nothing in the daily t-shirt realm today, but I found this shirt that is ridiculously incredible and fully functional as an AR card today at Level Up Studios. Watch this amazing video:
O_o.
Posted in 3DS, Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, Xbox 360
British tabloid conducts study as part of 3DS smear campaign
Don’t you just love how the guy to the left is holding a 3DS in the picture? As if his brain has been so disrupted from playing Steel Diver, that he has no idea a doctor is even examining him? I think that’s what British tabloid The Sun is going for.
Their latest article claiming that the 3DS has been causing widespread disorientation and sickness conducted a study where the participant played the handheld for two hours taking the recommended ten minute break every half hour. The doctor found that the subject was experiencing a headache, nausea, and high blood pressure. I assume that when you combine all three of those things you get the stupefying look in the above picture.
I haven’t had an extended session with the 3DS yet, and while it can be a little weird to adapt to, I don’t feel like it’ll cause any major problems. Anyone else experience issues playing on it?
Capcom celebrates 15 years of Resident Evil with five games
Capcom is resurrecting a ton of games for the 15th anniversary of the Resident Evil series. Not only that, but the publisher is injecting some new blood into the series with a pair of original games. And they want to get that blood pumping with the new trailer above that showcases all of these titles.
First up there’s Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, a multiplayer 3DS game based on the “Mercenaries” mode found in previous games in the series. And speaking of previous games in the series, the trailer also includes another look at the PSN/XBLA HD versions of Resident Evil: Code Veronica X and Resident Evil 4.
Capcom plans to bring out the new stuff later in the year including the return of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine in Resident Evil: Revelations (also for the 3DS). And capping the celebration is a return to the RE2/RE3 era in the brand new Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (which is coming to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360).
That is a lot of Resident Evil and this is a pretty neat trailer.
Nintendo 3DS breaks day-one sales records for Nintendo handhelds
Yesterday, we reported that retailers had plenty of Nintendo 3DS units in their inventory, but that it probably didn’t mean poor sales. That seems confirmed today, as Nintendo has gloriously proclaimed, “US day-one sales numbers for Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo handheld system in our history,” promising to release some solid numbers along with next month’s NPD report. The 3DS had already sold like wildfire in Japan, where the entire intial shipment sold out within a day.
I honestly can’t tell if this is an accomplishment or not. I don’t remember the original DS being a hit until the Lite version came out alongside New Super Mario Bros. And before that, truth be told, gamers really didn’t care about sales numbers all that much.
3DS stocked aplenty at retailers
Gamer interest in Nintendo’s 3DS has been off the charts and no one was overly surprised when the entire initial shipment in Japan sold out. Indeed, Nintendo may have had another case of the Wii on their hands, which has been scarcely available at many times over the last few years.
That won’t be the case in North America, as retailers are reporting they have plenty of units to sell to consumers. GameStop, Target, and Toys R Us reported to GameSpot that they’ve been able to meet pre-orders and have plenty of units to go around. This doesn’t necessarily mean the system isn’t selling well, instead a Toys R Us representative pointed towards “a very strong partnership with Nintendo” that has allowed them to meet demand.
What about the games? Super Street Fighter IV, Pilotwings Resort, and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars have been cited as the top selling titles so far. I know Senior Editor Nicole Kline got her 3DS and Podcast Producer Ryan Littlefield is about to get his, so hopefully we’ll have some impressions from launch titles incoming.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Pilotwings Resort, Street Fighter IV
F1 2011 races to stores in September; coming to 3DS, NGP
Fans of the Formula 1 breed of motor sport can rest easy knowing that F1 2011 has narrowed its release date down to this September. Developed by Codemasters Birmingham, this comprehensive sim features every racer, team, and circuit from the 2011 Fia Formula One World Championship. The game is currently slated for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, but Codemasters also confirmed the game is in development for the Nintendo 3DS and Sony’s Next Generation Portable (NGP/PSP2). These versions may be more than gimped ports, as each will “take advantage of the new platforms’ unique capabilities.” No official date for the handhelds has been confirmed.
You can get a chance to preview the game early by uploading a video on YouTube asking a question for the development team. Tubers submitting the best questions, as judged by the team, will be invited out to Birmingham in May to check out the game and be taped for a developer diary. Sounds like a pretty great opportunity.
Weinstein Company gets into the game business
Famous film brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein have announced that their company, the creatively named The Weinstein Company, has started a video game division. The equally creatively named TWC Games will tap into the back catalog of The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films to develop and publish video games for mobile, social, and console platforms. Among the Weinstein/Dimension films that could get the game treatment are Scream, Hellraiser, Halloween and Children of the Corn.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if TWC Games teamed up with Freddy and Jason rightsholder Warner Bros. to create the ultimate slasher movie fighting game of Ghostface vs Pinhead vs Michael Myers vs “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” vs Freddy Kruegger vs Jason Voorhees? Considering the fact that Warner Bros. also owns Mortal Kombat maker NetherRealm Studios, it’s practically fate.
TWC Games will be working with Beefy Media, who has worked with Capcom in the past on a ton of projects, to bring their video game dreams to fruition. The consulting company will work with TWC Games to “foster relationships with publishers and create high quality games.”
Bob Weinstein, The Weinstein Company’s co-chairman, is thrilled about the announcement: “The video game marketplace is changing at such a rapid rate. With all of the digital platforms, there are so many opportunities to broaden our audience with compelling, high quality, cost-efficient, video game entertainment.”
Seriously, someone needs to convince Bob and Harvey to make that monster crossover happen.








