Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Meet the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025: Quake, GoldenEye 007, Defender, and Tamagotchi
- The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”
- 2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More
- The Strong Museum of Play Acquires Prototypes and Development Documents from Volition’s 30-Year History
- Minecraft’s Volume Alpha Soundtrack Has Been Added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- It’s beginning to feel like gaming isn’t for everyone – Digital Trends (2025)
- 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive – The Verge (2025)
- The B-movies of Paul W.S. Anderson double as acts of devotion to his muse, Milla Jovovich – The AV Club (2025)
- Breakout, Ripoff, Genre: How Fiction Outgrows Originality – Uncanny Magazine (2025)
- ‘I Could Make “Fart Fart Boobie Fart: The Game” and Maybe It Would Eventually Get Taken Down’ – Devs Reveal Why the Consoles Are Drowning in ‘Eslop’ – IGN (2025)
Most Recent: PS3
Harmonix will release Amplitude for the PS3 in April
It took a little bit longer than expected, but Harmonix has announced that Amplitude should be available for the PS3 in April. The developer shared the good news with their fans today on Kickstarter:
First up, PS3 version: It’s done! We’re submitting it to Sony certification today. The certification and release process takes a couple weeks, but you’ll be able to get your Sixaxis controllers all up in Amplitude’s business in April. We’re hoping for early April, but I’ll let you know when we have a confirmed date locked down.
Amplitude was originally released for the PS4 back in January, and everyone who purchased that version will also receive access to the game on the PS3 through Sony’s Cross-Buy program.
Far Cry: Primal was the best-selling game of February 2016
It’s time to listen to the mastodon roar as Ubisoft’s Far Cry: Primal was declared the best-selling game of February 2016 by The NPD Group. Proving that players might be in the market for more titles that feature pre-modern warfare, Far Cry: Primal beat out Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which took the #2 slot.
Several other new releases broke into the top ten last month, including Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 at #4 and Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright at #9. But the most surprising result might be the less-than-stellar debut of Capcom’s Street Fighter V. Even after a big push from Sony, the much-hyped fighting game was only able to punch its way to #7.
Sales of new PS3 and Xbox 360 games continued to drop last month, and total retail spending on new games slipped 10% from February 2015. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD’s Liam Callahan said: “New physical software trends suffered due to a sharp decline in seventh generation consoles of 52% despite the 14% (or $28 million growth) in eighth generation software. Portable software also had a drop of 30% due to a poor comparison to the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, which coincided with the launch of the New 3DS.”
A complete look at last month’s top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, Far Cry: Primal, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Avengers, Minecraft, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, NBA 2K16, NPD, Street Fighter V
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture leads with 10 nominations at the 2016 BAFTA Games Awards
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) bestowed some absolutely rapturous acclaim on Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture yesterday. The game, which was developed by The Chinese Room and released exclusively for the PS4, was nominated in ten categories for this year’s BAFTA Games Awards.
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture will obviously be competing for “Best Game” at the 2016 BAFTAs, and also for “Best British Game,” “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Game Innovation,” “Music,” “Original Property,” and “Story.” Two nominations in the “Performer” category (one for Merle Dandridge and one for Oliver Dimsdale) round out its double digit list of accolades.
However, five other games (Fallout 4, Life Is Strange, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rocket League, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) are also up for “Best Game” and any one of them could easily steal the spotlight from Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
We’ll find out who takes the top prize on Thursday, April 7, when comedian Dara O’Briain returns to host the festivities, which will be televised via Twitch and BAFTA.org. The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
Telltale will unmask their Batman game at SXSW 2016
Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner is understandably excited about the developer’s upcoming Batman project, but we’ve yet to get a really good look at the game. That’ll all change next week at the 2016 SXSW Gaming Expo.
Bruner, along with Executive Producer TQ Jefferson, writer Pierre Shorette, and PR guru Job Stauffer, are taking a trip down to Austin to present “Batman: Telltale Unmasked,” a panel with comedian Greg Miller. The Telltale team will delve into what make’s The Batman (and Bruce Wayne) tick, and the reasons behind his neverending battle with Gotham City’s underworld:
Hear the first details on Telltale’s upcoming new series as Greg Miller interviews the award-winning developers to dive deeper into the complex life and mind of Bruce Wayne, the duality of his own identity, and the struggle of responsibility in saving a city overcome with corruption and villainy.
“Batman: Telltale Unmasked” will be held on Friday, March 18, at 4:30 PM in Ballroom C at the Austin Convention Center.
Hitman, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Kholat, more added to PlayStation Store
Assassins, terrorists, and a snowy void of death and despair highlight this week’s chipper PlayStation Store update.
Agent 47 goes back to work this week in IO Interactive’s brand new entry in the Hitman franchise. But the game, simply known as Hitman (PS4), will be delivered quite differently than your typical AAA title. Publisher Square Enix plans to release the game in chunks throughout the year and players will be able to kick back with the Intro Pack (a pair of missions, Contracts Mode, Escalation Mode, and other content) beginning March 11. New content for Hitman should arrive monthly.
Also available this week is Tom Clancy’s The Division (PS4), a multiplayer shooter in the Destiny vein that takes place in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on New York City. Players will search the city’s famous streets and avenues looking for the perpetrators of a smallpox outbreak, while also avoiding rioters and other players bent on causing havoc.
A trio of smaller titles that will surely appeal to players of all persuasions are also now available to download through the PlayStation Store. Kholat (PS4) is a first-person survival/exploration game where players will attempt to investigate the supernatural origins of the Dyatlov Pass Incident. PS4 owners are also be able to download Assault Android Cactus, a colorful twin-stick shooter starring an adorable squad of androids. Finally, Rise of the Kasai is a well-liked PS2 brawler that and the latest PS2-On-PS4 game from Sony.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Telltale’s CEO talks about the company’s Batman game and his dream projects
Telltale Games has been busy, busy, busy over the last few years. Since 2013, the developer has launched five different episodic titles (The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead Season 2, Tales From the Borderlands, Game of Thrones, and Minecraft: Story Mode), and they don’t seem to have any plans for slowing down. This year, Telltale will release the final episode for Mincraft: Story Mode, along with The Walking Dead: Michonne and maybe even Game of Thrones Season 2. They’ll also release the first episode of a brand new Batman series this year, possibly their biggest game ever.
Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner recently sat down with Kotaku Australia to discuss the company’s future, and he had a lot to say about the Caped Crusader:
“Our Batman series is looking fantastic. I think it might become one of the best things we’ve ever done. I can’t go into much detail, but the Batman team is amazing and they are really on top of it. It’s not like any other Batman game out there. This game really explores all aspects of Batman, not just the the ‘fighting in the suit’ side of him. There’s a lot of subplots to explore and some really amazing choices that have a big impact on the story being told. I really think it might be the peak of the mountain for us so far.”
Working on a Batman game is clearly a dream for Bruner, but the executive dreams big, and he has a number of other projects that he’d love to be working on:
“Personally, I’m on record saying how much I’d love to make a Telltale Star Wars game. I’ve made Star Wars action games in the 90s when I worked at LucasArts, but a Telltale Star Wars game would be a dream come true. And Bond. James Bond would be freaking awesome. And Fletch. And Chinatown. Oh, and The Shining.”
Until just this moment, I never knew how much I wanted a game based on The Shining. Batman: A Telltale Game Series will make its debut sometime in 2016.
Disney Infinity 4.0 won’t be released in 2016, but we will get four new Play Sets this year
With Assassin’s Creed already set to sit out 2016, another major franchise has announced plans to skip 2016. The Disney Interactive Blog has revealed the publisher won’t release Disney Infinity 4.0, opting instead to expand last year’s Disney Infinity: Star Wars (AKA Version 3.0) with four new Play Sets throughout the year.
On that note, the publisher launched the “Disney Infinity Next” webseries today to discuss the new adventures for characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars found in this year’s Play Sets. But also be on the lookout for new figures based on the upcoming Zootopia (Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde) and the classic Jungle Book (Baloo), which will be released this Spring.
The first Play Set we can expect to see in stores will be Marvel Battlegrounds, a four-player brawler that’ll introduce Ant-Man, Black Panther, and Vision to the Disney Infinity universe. Black Suit Spider-Man, previously a Vita-exclusive figure, will also be released individually alongside Marvel Battlegrounds.
A trailer for Marvel Battlegrounds can be found after the break. (more…)
Far Cry: Primal, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Hitman Go, more added to PS Store
It’s a big week for the PlayStation Store as more than a dozen new games have been added to the digital storefront.
Riding an elephant over the rest of this week’s new releases is Far Cry: Primal (PS4), Ubisoft’s prehistoric take on the first person shooter. Players will wield stone knives, spears, and bows, as they hunt wild animals and fend off attacks from other tribes. Oh, and in case you missed it the first time, they get to ride a rampaging elephant. Two other very different shooting games will also be released this week… We’ll get a chance to play EA’s colorful team-based competition, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (PS4), along with the strategic shooting of Square Enix’s Hitman Go: Definitive Edition (PS4 + PS Vita Cross-Buy).
Finally this week, Telltale is back with another adaptation of the Walking Dead universe for the PS4 and PS3. The first episode for The Walking Dead: Michonne is now available to download with future episodes planned for release in March and April.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)