Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- 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
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
GTA5 steals our hearts (and money) as the best-selling game of September 2013
Rockstar Games was on a quest for booty last month as Grand Theft Auto V was declared the best-selling game of the month by The NPD Group (via Joystiq). Not only did GTA5 sell a ridiculous amount of copies, but the title actually raised the fortunes of the entire video game industry. In September 2012, the game industry recorded $848 million in retail sales. Last month? $1.07 billion. Whoa.
The rest of the top ten includes a mixture of new releases and August holdovers. NBA 2K14 (#3), Diablo III (#4), FIFA 14 (#5), Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix (#6), and NHL 14 (#8) represent the new releases while Madden NFL 25 (#2), Disney Infinity (#7), and Saints Row IV (#10) all remained on the list from August. The retail version of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (at #9) was the only game with a pre-August release date to crack the top ten.
If you’d prefer your monthly NPD report in list format, we’ve got that too:
Bestselling Games in September 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Madden NFL 25 (Xbox 360, PS3)
3. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Diablo III (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
5. FIFA 14 (Xbox 360, PS3, Vita)
6. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix (PS3)
7. Disney Infinity (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
8. NHL 14 (Xbox 360, PS3)
9. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (Xbox 360)
10. Saints Row IV (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Diablo III, Disney Infinity, FIFA 14, Grand Theft Auto V, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix, Madden NFL 25, Minecraft, NBA 2K14, NHL 14, NPD, Saints Row IV
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls coming to PS4 and playable at BlizzCon 2013
Blizzard previously hinted that Diablo III: Reaper of Souls would make its way to consoles sooner rather than later, but today the publisher announced that the expansion is officially in development for the PS4.
In addition to the console confirmation, Blizzard announced Reaper of Souls (and the Crusader character class) will be playable on the BlizzCon 2013 show floor. More than 300 demo machines will be dedicated to the PC version of the game while a slightly smaller number will showcase the DualShock 4-controlled PS4 version.
It’s currently not known if Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will also be released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Blizzard also did not confirm if Reaper of Souls would get a simultaneous PC/PS4 launch or when the PS4 of Diablo III will be released.
BlizzCon 2013 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center on November 8 and 9. If you can’t make it to the show, Blizzard is selling Virtual Tickets to video footage on Battle.net of all the action.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Diablo III
6 Reasons I’m Not Looking Forward to Batman: Arkham Origins
Warner Bros. Games Montreal’s Batman: Arkham Origins hits stores next week, and despite wave after wave of screenshots and info on the villains of the project, it has not managed to raise my excitement above lukewarm. I’m a self-confessed Batman fan and I adored the previous two entries (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, despite the latter’s Day One DLC debacle), yet the prospect of purchasing the third entry has left me feeling numb
“But this is The Batman!” I hear my inner geek scream.
“So was Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin,” replies the pessimistic part of my brain.
In an attempt to reconcile these loyal feelings of fandom with my lackluster enthusiasm for the game, I decided to dissect exactly why Origins is not pushing my buttons. (more…)
Project Spark will be Free-To-Play for everyone on Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC
Creative gamers everywhere, rejoice! Community Manager Mike Lescault has announced on Reddit that Project Spark, Microsoft’s upcoming free-to-play video game in which you make other video games, will not require an Xbox Live Gold Subscription in order to take advantage of its game-creation goodness.
This comes as great news to those who only carry Live Free status, or, like myself, have family members on the same system without a Gold membership. A beta for Project Spark is set to hit the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows 8 is set to hit some time in January.
Posted in PC, Xbox 360
Tagged Project Spark
Kickstart This! The Opulent October Edition
October, the month where towns and shops put up Christmas decorations before people have even celebrated Halloween, when you remember that you have a heating system that has lain dormant all summer. And also the celebration of when I crawled out of the womb, a video game controller already in my hand (all birthday presents are welcome). But rather than spend your money on me, or hoarding it for a last minute Christmas Eve rush, instead why not channel the spirit of Tam o’ Shanter and dance with a strange devil in the midnight oil. And by this I mean give a nice game developer a Kickstarter donation.
There are five projects shaking their Starbuck-emblazoned begging cup at you, starting with the video game version of an old homeless man, ColecoVision. There is also Japanese Action RPG Reborn, Zombie RTS Undead Overload, the Lovecraftian 2D adventure game Mark of the Old Ones, and last but not least, the beautiful and unique Knite and the Ghost Lights.
Let’s go. (more…)
Big Brother banishes Watch Dogs to Spring 2014
Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs was one of this Fall’s most ambitious new games. Perhaps it was a bit too ambitious as the publisher has announced that the game will now be released in Spring 2014. The delay comes slightly over a month ahead of the game’s originally scheduled November 19 release date.
The development team issued the following statement to explain the delay:
Our ambition from the start with Watch_Dogs has been to deliver something that embodies what we wanted to see in the next-generation of gaming. It is with this in mind that we’ve made the tough decision to delay the release until Spring 2014.
We know a lot of you are probably wondering “why now?” We struggled with whether we would delay the game. But from the beginning, we have adopted the attitude that we will not compromise on quality. As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune every detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience.
“It needs more time polish everything up,” the reason for every delay ever. When it’s finally released in Spring 2014, Watch Dogs will be available for the PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game will launch alongside film next May
Activision and Beenox have announced a tie-in game that will branch off from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is scheduled to hit theaters on May 2, 2014. This time around, players will get to control Peter Parker for, what I believe, is the first time ever:
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, players once again assume the role of the iconic Super Hero in a unique side-story inspired by the feature film but set in its own continuity. Throughout his journey, Spider-Man will encounter a number of new foes as well as some old friends, as he confronts a new threat to his beloved city. The narrative will give Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s nerdy photojournalist persona, a greater role in the spotlight, as he investigates the complicated motivations and unique personalities behind the menagerie of Marvel menaces threatening Manhattan.
As Spidey, players will be able to free-roam through a greatly-enhanced Manhattan cityscape, one set to offer livelier, more engaging opportunities with which to put his sensational skills to use. Central to the expansive depth and detail being poured into The Amazing Spider-Man 2 video game is the new “Hero or Menace” system, which incentivizes Super Hero behavior by rewarding the web-slinger’s crime-fighting efforts, and adds consequences for letting criminality fester. Spider-Man’s personal brand of webswinging and up-close-and-personal combat will see a variety of new features as well.
This version of Peter Parker looks like a male model and dates Emma Stone, so I’m not sure we need the “nerdy photojournalist” schtick. The game, which is also titled The Amazing Spider-Man 2, will be released alongside the film and will be available in stores for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One sometime in late April or early May.
Frictional announces Soma for PC, PS4
Frictional Games found a worldwide audience and a loyal legion of fans after the release of their PC-exclusive horror title Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Now, the Swedish development team is back with a first look at their next project, a horrific sci-fi tale known as Soma.
The radio has gone silent on PATHOS-2. As isolation bears down on the staff of the remote research facility, strange things are happening.
Machines are taking on human traits and alien constructions have started to interfere with routine. The world around them is turning into a nightmare.
The only way out is to do something unimaginable.
If you’re a fan of body horror, Soma’s first trailer (embedded above) should be mandatory viewing. Thomas Grip, the Creative Director at Frictional Games, told the PlayStation Blog that thought and consciousness will play a big part in the finished product: “Personally, I find it the most profound questions that it is possible to ask. “How can the feeling of subjective experience arise from a chunk of flesh?” Exploring this further takes us to questions such as “Can machines be conscious?” and “Do we have free will?” It quickly gets very disturbing, and is ideal for a futuristic horror setting. It is the kind of sci-fi that we want to make.”
Soma is in the development for the PC and PS4 and it will be released sometime in 2015.