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
- 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”
- 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: Retro
CoD: Infinite Warfare was the best-selling game of November 2016, but it sold less than Black Ops III
Ever since it was first announced, the public reaction to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has been less than kind. Fans furiously downvoted the debut trailer, while others pledged not to purchase something that strayed so far from the franchise’s roots. But it looks like not everyone felt that way.
According to the NPD Group’s latest report (via GamesIndustry.biz), Infinite Warfare was the best-selling game of November 2016. However, it performed much worse for retailers than the first-month sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops III last year.
Total game sales were down roughly 19% versus November 2015, but a few new releases put up big numbers including Pokemon Sun (#3), Pokemon Moon (#4), and Watch Dogs 2 (#8). And in hardware news, it was reported that Nintendo sold 196,000 NES Classic Edition consoles during its first month on sale.
The full Top 10 from November 2016 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, Madden NFL 17, NBA 2K17, NPD, Pokemon Sun/Moon, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, TitanFall 2, Watch Dogs 2
Nintendo sold 262,961 NES Classic Edition consoles in Japan last week
It’s no secret that Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition is currently quite difficult to find on store shelves. Naturally, the unfulfilled demand has sent people scrambling to eBay, where buyers are paying exorbitant amounts of money to obtain the nostalgia-fueled microconsole.
Nintendo has promised to replenish the retail stock as soon as they can, but in the meantime, a new report from Famitsu has given us an idea of just how many NES Classic Edition consoles are out there. According to the gaming magazine, Nintendo sold 262,961 consoles in Japan during its launch period of November 10th through the 13th. The microconsole is known as the Famicom Classic Edition in Japan, and features slightly different styling from its American and European counterparts.
While this report doesn’t provide worldwide sales numbers for the NES Classic Edition, we can use a little educated guesswork to get a rough estimate. Assuming a roughly equal shipment between all three territories, it’s likely that Nintendo has already sold more than 750,000 NES Classic Edition consoles. And if Nintendo shipped more consoles to North America and Europe, its possible that total worldwide sales for the NES Classic Edition have already topped one million consoles.
New Retail Releases: PlayStation 4 Pro, NES Classic Edition, Dishonored 2, More
Are you in the market for a new console this week… well good news, you’ve got three new options to choose from.
Sony is kicking things off with the launch of the PS4 Pro, their hyper-powered new PS4 that promises to deliver “resolutions up to 4K, HDR imaging technology, and faster, more stable frame rates.” For games to get the most out of the PS4 Pro, they’ll need a special “Enhancement” patch, and so far, the patches for 39 games will be ready this week, with more to come by the end of the year.
While Sony’s PS4 Pro is the biggest and beefiest new console launch this week, the smallest might possibly be even larger (metaphorically speaking). The NES Classic Edition shrinks Nintendo’s beloved NES console down into an HDMI-powered nostalgia machine that’s packed with 30 of the greatest games of all time. If you just want to relive your childhood, or maybe introduce a new generation of kids to games like Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy, then you should hunt down an NES Classic Edition this week.
Last, but not least, the Retro-Bit Generations will stuff more than 90 games into its retro-styled chassis including a huge number of 8-bit and 16-bit classics from Capcom, Data East, Jaleco, and Irem.
If you’re looking for new games, you’ll also find a handful of new titles on store shelves this week, including Dishonored 2 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players will be able to control both Corvo and Emily Kaldwin as they attempt to once again return Emily to her rightful place on the throne.
Finally this week, a pair of new PlayStation VR titles will be available for the PS4… Robinson: The Journey, an exploration adventure, and Eagle Flight, a flight simulation.
A complete look at this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
It’s In Your Blood: A History of Horror Games (Part Five)
The survival horror genre has traveled a long road since its infancy. What began with a frantic retreat from a pursuing dinosaur eventually gave way to ghosts, mutants, beasts, and countless hordes of zombies. Alas, the genre’s fiercest foes may have been those it relied on most: the developers overly reliant on sequels and spinoffs, and the gamers who would soon lose interest.
For those who’ve been following this series from the beginning, we’ve previously reached back to the birth of survival horror, charted its rise in popularity and a sudden onslaught of sequels, as well as its golden age. So now, join us for a look at survival horror’s last gasp in the spotlight… before it’s currently-ongoing resurrection, of course. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, PS2, Retro, Top Story
Tagged Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 4
It Came From 19XX: Silent Hill
Horror games have changed in recent years. As “walking simulators” like Layers of Fear and hide-and-seek tributes such as Outlast have risen in popularity, old-school survival horror titles have become increasingly scarce. So join us, zombies and ghouls, as we revisit one of horror gaming’s classics in time for Halloween. (more…)
The Super Mario Bros. “Any Percentage” tug-of-war continues with new record of 4:56.878
Like Michael Jordan returning to the basketball court after trying his hand at baseball, “Darbian” has returned to the realm of competitive Super Mario Bros. speedrunning. On Wednesday, “Darbian” completed the game in a time of just four minutes and 56.878 seconds to set a new “Any Percentage” world record for the beloved side-scroller.
No one really knows just how low the Super Mario Bros. speedrun record can go, so it’s possible that “Darbian” won’t remain the champion for long. Especially since the previous world record, a 4:57.194 run by “Kosmic,” stood for just two days.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
Someone beat the Super Mario Bros. “Any Percentage” speedrun record by a single frame
In April, “Darbian” lowered the World Record “Any Percentage” speedrun for Super Mario Bros. to just four minutes and 57.26 seconds. In the aftermath of his achievement, he retired from speedrunning, saying, “I have reached my potential in this category.”
But some records were made to be broken… and even the slimmest of margins can mean the difference between Silver and Gold.
On Thursday, “Kosmic” set an unbelievable new “Any Percentage” record for Super Mario Bros. of four minutes and 57.244 seconds. The minuscule difference between the two runs, just 0.016 seconds, is actually equivalent to a single frame of animation in the game. So how did he do it? “Kosmic” has a pretty extensive FAQ up on YouTube, and a desire to get his World Record down to four minutes and 56 seconds.
If you’re interested in watching him try, you can follow his Twitch Channel to see all his attempts.
UPDATE (10/4/16): Believe it or not, but Kosmic has already set a new Super Mario Bros. “Any Percentage” record. He posted to Twitter that his new best time is 4:57.194, an improvement of 0.05 seconds (or three frames) over his previous record-setting attempt.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
It’s In Your Blood: A History of Horror Games (Part Four)
We’ve all been scared at one time or another. While “normal” people may try to avoid it at all costs, the rest of us actively seek out that primitive, guttural thrill. Horror movies do this well enough, but why bother watching when you can participate? There’s nothing like a good survival horror game, from Dead Space to Alien: isolation — but diehard fear junkies know the genre began much earlier. If that’s news to you, it’s okay! Just sit down and quiet yourselves, boys and girls, because class is in session.
After looking back at the birth of survival horror, the rise in popularity, and a huge wave of sequels, today, we’ll cover the next chapter in the genre’s evolution — one some would even describe as the death of true survival horror video games. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, PS2, Retro, Top Story
Tagged Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Code Veronica