Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
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: Switch
Kingdom Hearts III, Resident Evil 2, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe unsurprisingly lead NPD’s list of best-selling games from January 2019
Kingdom Hearts fans were kept waiting more than a decade for the third game in the franchise, but Square Enix finally rewarded their patience with the launch of Kingdom Hearts III last month. As you might have guessed, fans purchased the game in droves, pushing it all the way to the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games from January 2019.
Two highly-anticipated re-releases, Resident Evil 2 (#2) and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (#3) were close behind, and Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (#7) and Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (#12) also cracked the top 20.
However, while several games had strong starts on the sales chart, the industry overall suffered a decline last month versus January 2018. All together, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that total sales (hardware, software, and accessories) were down 19% to $893 million.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from January 2019 after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, FIFA 19, Grand Theft Auto V, Kingdom Hearts III, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, NBA 2K19, NPD, Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 2, Spider-Man, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tales of Vesperia, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
New Retail Releases: Anthem, SteinsGate Elite, More
BioWare is back in the spotlight this week thanks to the launch of Anthem, their latest co-op sci-fi adventure. Anthem will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and players will take control of exosuit-wearing Freelancers in a fight against “a shadowy faction threatens all of humankind.”
Microsoft will also team up with BioWare to produce a 1 TB Xbox One S + Anthem Bundle.
Elsewhere on store shelves this week, Spike Chunsoft will expand the SteinsGate saga on the PS4 and Switch with SteinsGate Elite, a remastered re-release of the first game in the franchise. Players will be able to experience a more “immersive” version of the time-travelling adventure in SteinsGate Elite, which will also include “animated scenes from the anime.”
PS4 owners looking a different kind of turn-based RPG this week might want to look at Idea Factory’s Death End ReQuest. According to the developer, players will be able to change the game’s genre, and switch the action to a fighting game, a shooter, or even a slot machine.
Finally this week, Switch owners will be able to take their console of choice off-road in V-Rally 4, a new racer from BigBen Interactive.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at the newest additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Mortal Kombat 11 goes green as Jade is revealed as the next playable character by NetherRealm Studios
Jade is one of the Mortal Kombat franchise’s most popular characters, but she did not emerge from 2011’s Mortal Kombat unscathed. The Outworld spy was murdered by Sindel and eventually resurrected by Quan Chi as one of his “Revenants.” Though she still wields her bo staff, this is the version of Jade that’ll return in Mortal Kombat 11. A new trailer reintroducing Jade into the Mortal Kombat universe has been embedded above:
Now resurrected by an evil sorcerer, she serves the Netherrealm as an undead Revenant. Death hasn’t slowed Jade down, though. She still thrashes her enemies with her bo staff, razorrang, and patronizing put-downs.
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23.
Sony Santa Monica’s God of War wins “Game of the Year” at 2019 DICE Awards
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences announced the winners of the 2019 DICE Awards last night… and Sony Santa Monica’s God of War almost had a clean sweep.
The action-adventure game was competing in an astounding 11 categories, but even more astounding is that it claimed victory in nine of them, including “Game of the Year” and “Adventure Game of the Year.” God of War also picked up “Outstanding Achievements” in “Game Design,” “Game Direction,” “Original Music Composition” “Sound Design,” “Story,” and “Art Direction,” and Kratos himself won “Outstanding Achievement in Character.”
A few other games managed to snag some trophies (mostly in categories God of War wasn’t competing in), and that list included games such as Matt Makes Games’s Celeste (“Action Game of the Year” and “Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game”), Mountains’s Florence (“Portable Game of the Year”), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (“Fighting Game of the Year”). Not surprisingly, Fortnite won “Online Game of the Year.”
You can find the full list of winners at the 2019 DICE Awards after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Florence, Fortnite, Forza Horizon 4, God of War 4, Into the Breach, Mario Tennis Aces, Monster Hunter: World, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Unravel 2
Super Mario Maker 2 slides onto the Switch in June 2019
Because the Wii U was a bit of a flop, Nintendo has been filling out the Switch’s library with a steady stream of re-releases that fans may have missed the first time around. This strategy has given new life to underappreciated masterworks such as Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Hyrule Warriors, and many others.
But sometimes, the consolemaker goes the sequel route and takes the bones of a great game (Splatoon and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U instantly spring to mind) and creates a full-fledged sequel.
While many Switch owners were expecting to receive a Super Mario Maker re-release at some point this year, Nintendo swerved and announced Super Mario Maker 2 earlier today during their latest Nintendo Direct presentation. The sequel will add a number of new building tools (including slopes), and the Announcement Trailer promises that course creators will be able to unleash even more complicated levels on the world:
In this new game, a sequel to the original Wii U game, players can create the Super Mario courses of their dreams, with access to even more tools, items, and features, including the new ability to create slopes for the first time.
Super Mario Maker 2 will be released for the Switch this June.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Super Mario Maker 2
Nintendo will bring The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening to the Switch in 2019
Much like Link’s imprisonment on Koholint Island in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, the first sequel to A Link to the Past has been trapped on handheld devices for the last 25 years. But that all changes in 2019 as Nintendo has announced plans to bring Link’s Awakening to the Switch later this year.
Rebuilt with a 3D graphics engine by Nintendo (though retaining it’s traditional 2D perspective), the new Link’s Awakening pops with color as the Hero of Hyrule tries to wake the mysterious Wind Fish and escape the island:
Originally released for the Game Boy system more than 25 years ago, one of the most beloved games in the Legend of Zelda series returns. In this modern re-imagining, players once again return to the mysterious island of Koholint to guide Link on a perilous adventure.
An Announcement Trailer for the Switch debut of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has been embedded above, and it might just be the clearest signal yet that Nintendo is finally ready to move on from the 3DS.
Tetris 99 turns the puzzle game into a battle royale on the Switch… and it’s out now
Nintendo absolutely blew up the battle royale genre with today’s announcement of Tetris 99.
The consolemaker teamed up with The Tetris Company to create a massive 99-player version of the classic puzzle game, and it’s available to download now as a free-to-play title for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
Tetris 99 is rather bare bones at the moment, but Nintendo has plans to support the game down the road with a series of upcoming online events and other updates.
Celeste, God of War, Spider-Man, Red Dead 2, Smash Ultimate will compete for “Video Game of the Year” at 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards
The SXSW Gaming Advisory Board has sifted through all of 2018’s biggest games and announced the nominees for this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards.
As you might have expected, Sony Santa Monica’s God of War, Insomniac’s Spider-Man, and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 claimed the most nominations. Each of the three games will compete in a total of nine categories, and all three are in the running for “Video Game of the Year.” Matt Thorson’s brutal platformer, Celeste, and Nintendo’s crossover fighter, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, were also nominated for the big prize.
The public will get the chance to vote for the winners in all categories at this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards, and the final winner in each category will be determined by a weighted total between public and advisory board votes. Voting is open now at SXSW Gaming’s official website, and will close on Sunday, February 17 at midnight (Eastern Time).
The SXSW Gaming Awards will be given out on March 16 and you can find the full list of nominees in all categories after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Celeste, Detroit: Become Human, Fortnite, God of War 4, No Man's Sky, Octopath Traveler, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tabletop Games, Tetris Effect