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)
Most Recent: PC
Red Ash anime funded on Kickstarter as game falls well short
As expected, Comcept’s Kickstarter campaign for Red Ash: The Indelible Legend has failed to reach its goal. The project’s $519,999 total fell quite short of the developer’s $800,000 target. The campaign was poorly run from the start, banking on nostalgia for Mega Man Legends, Kenji Inafune’s name recognition, and the success of Mighty No. 9‘s campaign. That’s game recent which was stealth delay probably didn’t help.
However, Comcept also had a second Kickstarter campaign related to Red Ash in the works at the same time. Red Ash: Magicicada is an anime short film produced by Studio 4°C, and unlike the game’s campaign, the anime has been fully funded, surpassing its $150,000 goal. The production company is proud of Magicicada and call it “a fast-paced, entertaining film in which unique characters explore various stages.” The anime won’t be released until 2017, to coincide with the release of the Red Ash video game.
Red Ash, the game, will continue development with Chinese publisher Fuze holding the purse strings. However, coupled with the announcement of the Might No. 9 delay days before the end of Red Ash’s Kickstarter deadline, and Comcept announcing they secured a publisher well into funding, they’re going to have to do a lot to win back consumer trust.
Star Wars: Battlefront has captured the most nominations at 2015 Gamescom Awards
Germany’s Digital Gaming Culture Foundation (Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur) has announced the nominees for this year’s Gamescom Awards… and Star Wars: Battlefront has Force Pushed its way to the top of the pack. DICE’s shooter sequel was able to collection four nominations including “Best Console Game – PlayStation 4,” “Best PC Game,” “Best Action Game,” and “Best Online Multiplayer Game.”
Battlefront was able to move slightly ahead of the pack, as a small handful of games received three nominations apiece. Final Fantasy XV, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Super Mario Maker, Skylanders SuperChargers, and Guitar Hero Live are all up for three awards.
Even if you’re not one of the jury members for the Gamescom Awards, you can have an influence on the results. The general public can vote for any game on display at the expo for a Most Wanted Consumer Award using the Gamescom app.
The winners of this year’s Gamescom Awards will be announced on August 7. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Dark Souls III, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Motorsport 6, Gamescom 2015, Guitar Hero Live, Lego Dimensions, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, Skylanders SuperChargers, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Mario Maker, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Unravel
Behind-the-scenes article paints Konami executives as Orwellian dictators
UPDATE: Nikkei has released an official English translation of the article.
Nikkei, a Japanese financial newspaper, recently published an article that delves into the struggles and horrible working conditions of employees at Konami. Basically, it is not pretty, and if anything, Hideo Kojima’s rumored departure can only be seen as a good thing.
The article is entirely in Japanese, and the website requires a subscription to fully access it, but volunteer translators have been working on the article and released some highlights this morning through NeoGAF. Additional translations are available at GamesIndustry.biz and Kotaku.
A number of anonymous employees spoke to Nikkei about life at Konami, describing a prison-like environment. Employees who are deemed “useless” are either sent to the assembly line to work on pachinko machines, or are reassigned to become security officers. Some are even forced to clean up the gym located in Konami’s headquarters. And this punishment isn’t just limited to low-level workers, producers and other prominent creators have also had this type of grunt work hoisted on them.
Lunch breaks are said to be regulated via time cards, and any employee who runs late is “outed” from the company. Konami’s employees are also said to be under heavy surveillance at all times. Even Solid Snake himself couldn’t dodge all the security cameras and punch clocks that line the company’s halls.
All these measures allegedly stem from the success Konami had with a mobile game known as Dragon Collection, which has made far more money and was much cheaper to develop than any console game the company produced in years. This news is certainly in line with Konami’s recent attitude, which has led to the cancellation of the majority of their console projects, including Silent Hills.
Nikkei’s report also states that, as of April 2015, Konami had spent $80 million on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Coupled with the publisher’s desire to move towards mobile games, this astronomical budget likely had something to do with Konami’s rift with Kojima.
Konami has already stated they plan on continuing with the Metal Gear series, as well as Pro Evolution Soccer, but beyond that, much of the company’s plans remain a mystery.
Vega claws his way into Street Fighter V and is playable at Gamescom 2015
Vega’s vain and dandyish style are on full display in his debut trailer, as Capcom has confirmed the character has officially joined the ranks of Street Fighter V‘s roster. Announced as part of the publisher’s pre-Gamescom activities, Capcom has even given “The Spanish Ninja” a no-claw fight style for the first in the franchise’s history:
Vega brings with him a brand new set of tricks, as well as a new appearance. Still possessing his trademark speed and quickness, he now has access to two distinct fighting modes: claw or no-claw. With the no-claw style giving him access to command grabs as well as new attack properties, players will need to toggle between both styles to pull off that winning KO at the end of the fight. Vega’s powerful V-Trigger is the Bloody Kiss, which sees him throw a rose at high velocity towards his opponent, before he charges at full speed right behind it, delivering a series of brutal attacks. This Spanish matador is definitely a fighter to keep your eye on, if you can.
Vega will be part of Street Fighter V’s playable Gamescom demo, which is available at Sony’s booth (C-020) in Hall 7. We’ll all get a chance to play the game when its released for the PC and PS4 in Spring 2016.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Gamescom 2015, Street Fighter V
The Long Dark’s “Deep Forest” update changes everything
The Long Dark, Hinterland’s open world survival game (you know, the one without zombies), has received a lot of updates since it’s successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013. Along the way, it’s become a great example of Early Access done right. The developer is at it again with the newest update, “Deep Forest,” which provides a lot of changes to the game on the PC and Xbox One. Though these changes are designed to make the game easier, which could make hardcore survivalists unhappy.
The changes are designed to make the game easier to understand, and make it easier to survive it’s harsh world by making it more realistic. For example, there’s now a wind shield icon to indicate when you’re shielded from the wind, and there are new modes that allow you to instantly counteract freezing via campfires. You can now break down furniture and even curtains to use as fuel for a fire. The developer also made a few little tweaks to the game such as an updated sprinting animation and enhanced graphical settings.
You can check out the full changelist at Hinterland’s official website. It’s mostly small changes that fans have been complaining about, small changes that usually add up over time that make a game much better.
Now if only Hinterland would give us an update on the highly touted story mode that hasn’t been mentioned since 2013…
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged The Long Dark
Kickstart This! Soul Keepers, XO, The Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods
It’s been a hair over three years since we published the first edition of Kickstart This! here at Warp Zoned. In anticipation of the July 30th anniversary, we got in contact with many of the developers behind the campaigns we highlighted in these last three years. We figured now was a good time to find out what happened to the successful developers and if the failed campaigns were able evolve into something else (or were simply never meant to be). So look out for a wide array of features and articles coming in August.
But before that birthday bash, let us turn our attentions to three fantastic new games vying for your cash. This time we have haunting action RPG Soul Keepers, space RTS XO, and lastly, the quirky Toronto-based The Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods.
Let’s keep those hipsters at bay! Um, that will make more sense later (more…)
GameStop: Comcept or Deep Silver told us Mighty No. 9 will not be released in 2015
Last week, we told you that most retailers had removed Mighty No. 9‘s previously-announced release date of September 15, 2015 from their online storefronts. Today, GameStop revealed to Game Informer that their corporate policy states this type of release date change is only made at the request of the developer or publisher. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that Mighty No. 9 will be released for any of its planned platforms (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One) by the end of the year. Mighty No. 9 is also in development for the 3DS and Vita, but its tentative “late 2015” release date has probably been erased as well.
Game Informer attempted to contact both Deep Silver and Comcept for comment, but the publication was unsuccessful. Publisher Deep Silver refused to comment, while developer Comcept didn’t reply to the request at all.
While it’s just speculation on my part (and Game Informer’s, for that matter), I believe Comcept is staying quiet about Mighty No. 9’s delay because the crowdfunding campaign for their next game, Red Ash: The Indelible Legend, is currently in its final hours. With just under three days to go, the game has only secured funding for 60% of its $800,000 target, and a delay to their high profile spiritual successor to the Mega Man franchise can only hurt the public’s confidence in the developer.
At this pace, it probably won’t reach its goal, but Comcept recently signed a publishing agreement with Fuze and will complete the game regardless.
Electronic Arts CEO reiterates that next Battlefield game will launch in Fall 2016
Electronic Arts delivered their quarterly financial report today, and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson had a bit to say about the next Battlefield game.
Wilson, who never referred to the game as “Battlefield 5,” and instead only used “a new Battlefield experience” in his remarks, stated once again that it would be released in Fall 2016. This same game was previously mentioned in EA’s October 2014 financial report, and while its possible that it’s some kind of spinoff, that seems unlikely. Especially since developers at DICE confirmed the existence of the game to The New York Times all the way back in 2013.
But speaking of financial figures, Electronic Arts had a pretty good quarter. Executives from the company confirmed that EA recorded $693 million in sales this past Spring, which was well above their expected revenue of $640 million.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1