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
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- 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”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- 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)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: PS4
The Last Guardian is officially finished and will make its December 6 release date
It’s been quite a week for reveals, and video game fans got to witness the unveiling of Nintendo’s Nintendo console earlier this week, as well as the first trailer for Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. But a third bit of good news dropped last night, and it’s something a lot of gamers thought they might never see…
After being in the works for nearly ten years, development on The Last Guardian is officially complete.
Shuhei Yoshida, the President of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios, let the world know the game is done with a heartfelt message delivered through Twitter:
I've waited a very long time to say this… The Last Guardian has gone gold! I'm so excited for you all to finally experience it ˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖
— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) October 22, 2016
The Last Guardian was originally announced for the PS3 before development moved to the PS4 in 2015. With nothing left to stop it now, the game will be released exclusively for Sony’s console on December 6.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged The Last Guardian
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Review: Ghost Train to Paradise
Nearly six years after Bandai Namco produced the nearly-perfect Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, the spinoff series returned a few weeks ago with the inexplicably named Pac-Man Championship Edition 2. As the third entry in the Championship Edition series, fans expect to see gorgeous neon-lit mazes and high-speed Dot chomping, and Bandai Namco delivers. But the publisher also added a few new moves to Pac-Man’s repertoire for CE2… along with boss battles. (more…)
Voice actor strike reveals unannounced games like Lego Marvel 2, Brothers in Arms, more
SAG-AFTRA, a union representing voice actors and stunt performers, authorized a strike against game developers that began this morning. As part of the process, the union has published a list of projects that members are no longer allowed to work on, and it includes several unannounced games.
It wasn’t much of a shock to learn that EA Sports is already hard at work on Madden NFL 18 and NHL 18, but listings for Lego Marvel 2 and Brothers in Arms were a bit more surprising (though not unexpected). While WB Games has yet to make any noise about a new Lego Marvel game, Gearbox confirmed the existence of a fourth Brothers in Arms game last year.
A large number of mobile games also make up a large part of the list, as well as a few games that are denoted only by codenames. For example, Take-Two is working on something called “Alligator,” while EA is developing games under monikers as diverse as “Odin,” “Fearless,” “Scorpion,” and “Timbits.” We may never know what these codenames refer to (they may even belong to games that have already been released), but one of the union’s major demands is for developers to be more transparent during the hiring process and to use a game’s actual title when contracting with vocal/stunt performers.
Finally, several highly-anticipated 2017 titles will be affected by the strike including Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, Injustice 2, and Crash Bandicoot Remastered. So hopefully the two sides can reach an equitable agreement soon.
UPDATE: A representative from WB Games has informed us that the inclusion of “Lego Marvel 2” in the SAG-AFTRA strike list is actually a reference to Lego Avengers, which was released earlier this year. However, Lego Avengers was announced in January 2015, several weeks before the union’s deadline for projects that must be part of the picket line.
I’m not sure why it was included on the list (it’s possible the union goofed), but the official line from WB Games is that “Lego Marvel 2” is definitely not a reference to “Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2” or any other unannounced game. That said, I’d be very surprised if WB Games isn’t working on another Lego Marvel game, and we’ll likely hear more about “Lego Marvel 2” in the future.
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Brothers in Arms 4, Crash Bandicoot, Injustice 2, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, Madden NFL 18, NHL 18
Voice actors represented by SAG-AFTRA union go on strike against game developers
Negotiations between game developers and the voice actors and stunt performers represented by the SAG-AFTRA union began in February 2015, but after more than 18 months of discussions, the two sides appear no closer to an agreement. Because of the impasse, and to protest against a contract they believe is decades out of date, the members of the union went on strike this morning.
“SAG-AFTRA has gone to the negotiations table with serious concerns affecting voiceover and stunt performers,” said Ray Rodriguez, the Chief Contracts Officer for SAG-AFTRA. “It’s time for video game employers to take our concerns seriously and negotiate a modern contract based on actor safety, industry precedent and best practices.”
This strike won’t affect all developers, and currently only applies to games that went into production after February 17, 2015 at Activision, Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, Take-Two Interactive, and WB Games. However, the strike also extends to several independent vocal production studios that do a lot of contract work with the big publishers.
The game developers are offering an immediate 9% salary hike for all performers, and “additional compensation” depending on the number of recording sessions. However, the union’s demands for better working conditions went unmentioned in a statement from the Chief Negotiator for the game developers.
The SAG-AFTRA union plans to push the game developers for a better deal over the next few weeks, and their first order of business is encouraging all members to join a picket line in front of EA’s headquarters this Monday, October 24.
Sports! NBA 2K17, Madden 17, FIFA 17, NHL 17 are the best-selling games in September 2016
Football season is in full swing, and the NBA season is getting ready to tip-off this weekend, so it’s a great time to check out this year’s newest sports simulations. Gamers definitely agreed, as four sports titles were at the top of September 2016’s sales report from The NPD Group.
2K’s NBA 2K17 was #1, and it was followed by three from EA Sports: Madden NFL 17 (#2), FIFA 17 (#3), and NHL 17 (#4). Shooters dominated the rest of the list with BioShock: The Collection rounding out the Top 5, and Destiny: The Collection (#6), Overwatch (#8), and Call of Duty: Black Ops III (#10) all in the Top 10.
Believe it or not, Minecraft failed to find a place in the Top 10 for the first time in nearly a year. Perhaps this is why hardware, software, and accessory sales totaled $838.2 million last month, which is down from September 2015’s $1.09 billion tally. But the NPD is pinning the blame on the PS4 Slim and Xbox One S.
“Spending on software, hardware, and accessories declined by 23% compared to this time last year,” NPD Analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz. “The release of the PS4 Slim and the second month of the Xbox One S was not enough to stimulate total hardware spending and this month’s new software releases could not compete with last year’s stronger slate of new games.”
The full Top 10 from September 2016 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, FIFA 17, Forza Horizon 3, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 17, NBA 2K17, NHL 17, NPD, Overwatch
Rockstar unveils the first Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer
I understand that the big Nintendo Switch unveiling blew away everyone’s expectations, but don’t forget that Rockstar Games also unveiled the first Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer this morning. The trailer is incredibly beautiful, showing life in the old west in greater detail than ever before, but there’s not much new information to glean from its short running time.
Developed by the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America’s unforgiving heartland. The game’s vast and atmospheric world will also provide the foundation for a brand new online multiplayer experience.
Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One in Fall 2017.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Red Dead Redemption 2
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard on PlayStation VR Hands-On Preview: A Resident Evil 20th Anniversary Tour Report
Surprisingly enough, Capcom’s Resident Evil 20th Anniversary Tour rolled into Cleveland, Ohio to mark the halfway point of its trip around the country. Intended to promote the upcoming Resident Evil 7 while also driving extra business to local GameStop locations, the tour promised to be a good time for fans to come and hang out. But did it live up to those expectations? (more…)
Posted in Features, Previews, PS4, Top Story
Tagged Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
The apocalypse is delayed… THQ Nordic will release Darksiders: Warmastered Edition on November 22
THQ Nordic has announced the Darksiders: Warmastered Edition won’t be finished in time for its previously-announced October 25 release date. Instead, the remaster will now be released for the Wii U (eShop only), PS4, and Xbox One on November 22. PC players will also be able to pick it up on November 29, but Wii U owners looking to purchase a disc-based copy of Darksiders: Warmastered Edition will have to wait until “a later date” to find it on store shelves.
The Warmastered Edition of Darksiders will take the original apocalyptic action game and polish it up for today’s newest platforms using improved graphical rendering to present the action in 60FPS (30 FPS on the Wii U) with 1080p visuals, better shadow quality, doubled resolution on all textures, and new post-processing effects.
THQ Nordic is also working on a third entry in the Darksiders franchise, but it may be quite a while before we hear anything official about Darksiders III.