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: Vita
Sony will host PlayStation Experience 2015 in San Francisco this December
Sony packed the inaugural PlayStation Experience with a ton of announcements and gave attendees of the two-day convention a chance to play dozens of upcoming PS3, PS4, and Vita games for the first time. While many assumed the event would be a one-time thing to celebrate the platform’s 20th anniversary, Sony has other plans. Earlier this week, the consolemaker announced that PlayStation Experience 2015 will be held in San Francisco on December 5 and December 6.
The convention will be held at the Moscone West, a tri-level exhibition hall that’s about a mile from the Bay Bridge. So it’s safe to assume that a huge number of titles will once again be on display this year.
While Sony isn’t ready to talk about which game will be on display, they have begun selling tickets to the event at the official PlayStation Experience website. Two-day passes have been priced at $75 (discounted to $60 if you buy before September 20) while single-day passes are $45 (Saturday) and $40 (Sunday). A “Capcom Cup VIP Package Add-On” is also available for $75 if you’d like front row seats for the finale of the Capcom Pro Tour.
More information about this year’s PlayStation Experience can be found at the PlayStation Blog.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged PlayStation Experience 2015
New Releases: LBX Little Battlers Experience, Dungeon Travelers 2, Madden 16 Bundle, More
Just three new releases will be available on store shelves this week before we ask if you’re ready for some football.
This week’s biggest new game is also, in many ways, its smallest. LBX: Little Battlers Experience was developed by Level-5 and will be published by Nintendo for the 3DS. Based on the popular manga and anime series also created by Level-5, LBX: Little Battlers Experience follows a group of kids who create tiny palm-sized robots that do battle in slightly less-tiny arenas.
Also available this week is Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal, a turn-based RPG for the Vita from Atlus. Taking place entirely in a first-person view, players will delve deep into a series of dungeons to battle “monster girls.” Meanwhile, Helldivers: Super Earth Ultimate Edition is a disc-based release of the popular PS4 twin-stick shooter. The “Super Earth Ultimate Edition” will include download codes for the PS3 and Vita versions of the game as well as all 11 expansion packs, the Bonus Weapons pack, and other extra content.
Finally, the Xbox One-exclusive Madden NFL 16 1TB System Bundle will give brand new Xbox One owners the chance to play EA’s yearly football simulation a week earlier than everybody else and a year-long subscription to EA Access. I suppose current Xbox One owners could also partake in this deal, but they’d have to purchase a second Xbox One system to do it…
Actually, I think Microsoft would be completely OK with that.
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Helldivers, Madden NFL 16
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Charts… Lego Jurassic World is best-selling game of July ’15
July is not typically a very strong month for new game releases, and only a single new title was able to crack the NPD Group’s recounting of the ten best-selling games of the month. But it was Lego Jurassic World, a June release, that sits at the top of the sales food chain this month.
Debuting at #3 in the NPD’s June report, Lego Jurassic World likely got a boost from the tremendous box office support for the film. After nearly nine weeks in theaters, the film has earned more than $636 million. Only Titanic ($658 million) and Avatar ($760 million) have made more money at the domestic box office.
While it’s unlikely that Lego Jurassic World will reach those heights, the game is another hit for WB Games, which had yet another big month in July. Batman: Arkham Knight (#2) and Mortal Kombat X (#8) once again both landed in the top ten.
The only new release to break into the top ten last month was EA’s Rory McIlroy PGA Tour. Before McIlroy, Tiger Woods had been PGA Tour’s pitchman for more than 15 years. As great as Tiger used to be, it looks like EA doesn’t need him to sell their golf game.
Finally this month, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that overall sales of all game-related items (hardware, software, and accessories) is roughly even with July 2014. Both July 2014 and July 2015 produced around $184 million in total sales.
The complete top ten for July 2015 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, FIFA 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Jurassic World, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat X, NPD, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, The Elder Scrolls Online
Energy Hook is now available through Steam Early Access
Do you ever wish Spider-Man had a jetpack and competed in a futuristic sport based entirely around webswinging? Jamie Fristrom of Happion Labs has had that dream, and he’s using it as the basis of his next game, Energy Hook. However, Fristrom has a little more experience with this idea than most, as he was the original designer behind the webswinging mechanic in 2004’s Spider-Man 2.
After a variety of delays, we won’t have to wait much longer to play it as the developer announced that Energy Hook will be available through Steam Early Access beginning today.
Happion Labs expects to keep Energy Hook in Early Access for about four months and is also developing a version of the game for the PS4 and Vita. Presumably, we’ll learn more about Energy Hook’s full version (and its console launch) at a later date.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Vita
Tagged Energy Hook
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Gauntlet, Toy Soldiers: War Chest, more added to PS Store
Sony’s annual PSN Play promotion comes to the end this week with the release of Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, a game from The Chinese Room that depicts “very British apocalypse.” But there are plenty of other new releases available this week as well, including…
- Gauntlet: Slayer Edition brings an updated version of Arrowhead’s franchise reboot (and all its co-op monster-slaying) to the PS4 for the first time.
- Toy Soldiers: War Chest (PS4) is the third game in Signal’s strategic toy-battling franchise and the first to include armies based on G.I. Joe, He-Man: The Masters of the Universe, and Assassin’s Creed II.
- Goat Simulator, and its unique brand of open world insanity, makes its way to the PS4 and PS3 for the first time.
- Starbreeze’s Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons also makes the jump to the PS4 this week.
- Finally, the PS4 ports of Prototype and Prototype 2 are now available separately.
More information on all of these titles (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Gauntlet, Goat Simulator, Prototype, Prototype 2, Toy Soldiers: War Chest
Indie Megabooth announces massive PAX Prime 2015 presence
It’s that time gain! Those beautiful, brilliant minds behind the Indie Megabooth have announced the PAX Prime 2015 lineup, and it certainly IS mega! I see a lot of personal favorites in there, including Armello, Death Road to Canada, Hyper Light Drifter, Mushroom 11, Cinelinx: A Card Game For People Who Love Movies, Pleasant Dreams, Skiptrace, and two games I can’t keep my hands off of: Monikers and Mini Metro! And let’s not forget that this might be your best chance to check out Funomena’s Wattam!
If you’re in Seattle the last weekend in August for PAX Prime, trust me: you do not want to miss the Indie Megabooth. These are traditionally some of the best games on the show floor, and I don’t just say that because my own game (Resistor) has been part of the Tabletop Area. OK, maybe that might sway my opinion a little. But the team behind the IMB carefully curates some of the most amazing games, not just for your enjoyment, but as an installation of the best and brightest developers in indie gaming right now.
Enough of my gushing. Watch the trailer and hit the jump for the full list of developers and games (more than 70 in all)! (more…)
New Releases: Toy Soldiers: War Chest, XBlaze Lost: Memories
If history is any guide, we’ll see a big uptick in new releases towards the end of August. However, since we’re still in the middle of the month, only four new games will be available on store shelves this week…
Toy Soldiers: War Chest is the third Toy Soldiers game from developer Signal Studios and the first to be published by Ubisoft. The special “Hall of Fame Edition” of the strategy game will feature four fictional toy armies doing battle with iconic characters from He-Man: Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and Assassin’s Creed II. Toy Soldiers: War Chest will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Also available this week is XBlaze Lost: Memories, which will be released for the PS3 and Vita. Published by Aksys, XBlaze Lost was developed by Arc System Works and is the second prequel to the BlazBlue series of fighting games. Not only that, but the publisher and developer consider XBlaze Lost the first “RPG-style visual novel.” So I guess that’s something.
Finally, a pair of children’s games, Garfield Kart and Paddington: Adventures in London, will be released for the 3DS.
Several other new releases will be available this week through the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, Steam, and Xbox Games Store.
Comcept confirms Mighty No. 9 delay and pencils in new release date of “Early 2016”
Comcept has announced Mighty No. 9 will miss its originally scheduled September 15 release date, confirming two previous reports (1, 2) that the game had been delayed. Offering an apology in an update to the game’s Kickstarter page, the developer said that Mighty No. 9 will now be released in “Q1 2016.”
Comcept’s representatives also elaborated on the reasons behind the delay:
Of course, it is important to explain why exactly the game is being delayed. As we have communicated in the updates to our backers, all of the core content for the game is developed and in a complete state. However, there are still bugs and issues pertaining to the online features that are included in the game. These bugs and issues have a direct affect on enjoyment of the game, so a decision was made to work these issues out before release.
Currently, [C]omcept and their partners are working at full capacity to resolve these issues and fix any remaining bugs.
Due to the change in release date, Kickstarter backers should expect to receive another platform survey closer to the final release date. Currently in development for the 3DS, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, Comcept has said they will announce a “solid” release date for Mighty No. 9 when they can.