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
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: Wii U
The Last of Us, Tearaway, Gone Home lead this year’s GDC Awards
The nominees for the 2014 Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced and The Last of Us, Gone Home, and Tearaway lead the field with five nominations apiece.
The Last of Us and Gone Home will be competing for this year’s Game of the Year award alongside Grand Theft Auto V, Super Mario 3D World, and Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto V are also in the running for multiple awards as each has been nominated in two additional categories.
Other multi-category nominees this year include The Stanley Parable, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Device 6, and Papers, Please.
This year’s Game Developers Choice Awards will be handed out on Wednesday, March 19 at the San Francisco Moscone Center during the 2014 Game Developers Conference. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged GDC 2014, Gone Home, Grand Theft Auto V, Super Mario 3D World, Tearaway, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider
Nintendo Download: Chibi-Robo: Photo Finder, Gradius, Cocoto Magic Circus 2
Welcome to another week of Nintendo downloads. Today, the company has added a trio of games to the Nintendo eShop… There’s the real-world picture-taking quest, Chibi-Robo!: Photo Finder (3DS); the classic NES shooter, Gradius (Wii U); and a shooting gallery game, Cocoto Magic Circus 2 (Wii U).
More details on all three games can be found right here:
3DS eShop
Chibi-Robo!: Photo Finder – Become one of the world’s best tiny robot helpers by taking pictures of real-world objects using the Nintendo 3DS Camera to help open a new museum. Collect Happy Points by vacuuming, picking up trash and helping a cast of colorful characters. Collected Happy Points can be used to purchase in-game film that lets you photograph real-world objects and transport them into the game for the museum’s displays.
Wii U eShop
Gradius – In the classic game Gradius, pilot the Vic Viper through seven stages, while shooting, dodging and collecting various power-ups, including missiles, lasers and shields. The only way to end the war is to plunge deep through the enemy forces and destroy them from within.
Cocoto Magic Circus 2 – Knock out Cocoto’s enemies and save his friends!
Square Enix Montreal’s Hitman game has been canceled
Square Enix Montreal opened in 2011 and its first mission was to create a new game in the Hitman series for next-generation consoles. It looks like that mission is a failure as VideoGamer has surmised that the project has been terminated.
According to the LinkedIn profile of Senior Game Designer Richard Knight, the new Hitman game was to be a “re-imagining” of the character, going back to the roots of the first game, echoing what happened with the new Tomb Raider. However, the news does not mean the end for the bald and barcoded Agent 47. Square Enix Montreal is still in business and has shifted its focus to the mobile games market. And one of their mobile projects is an as-yet-untitled Hitman game that will soon be making its way to a smartphone/tablet near you.
As for a next-gen Hitman game, Square Enix has handed the reins back to IO Interactive, the company that created he franchise. The company plans to focus “resolutely on the future vision for the Hitman franchise” and is already “in pre-production on a new AAA Hitman project.” However, it’s unclear whether that title is the same one that Square Enix Monreal scrapped, or if it’s something completely different.
Golden Pixel Awards 2013: What We Loved, What We Hated, and What We’ll Never Forget
2013 was an amazing year in gaming. While we got loads of sequels, we also got some beautiful new IPs, and plenty of new hardware to enjoy it all.
Naughty Dog took a break from Uncharted and gave us The Last of Us, BattleBlock Theater reminded us why we love The Behemoth, and Ken Levine and his crew unleashed BioShock: Infinite on the gaming world. And let’s not forget all the amazing ports, including Diablo III (on consoles), Fez (on the PC), and Hotline Miami (on the PS3 and Vita). Yes, this year took our breath away, and cramped our thumbs like the good old days of the NES. We here at Warp Zoned have been gaming our little fingers off the last 12 months, and we’ve been even harder at work the last few weeks trying to decide what we loved and hated about gaming in 2013. After several days of deliberation, here’s what we came up with. And now it’s time for us to get back to gaming… 2014 is ready for us. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, Features, PC, PS3, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged BattleBlock Theater, Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians, BioShock Infinite, Dead Space 3, Diablo III, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Grand Theft Auto V, Legend of Dungeon, Ridiculous Fishing, Super Mario 3D World, Tearaway, The Last of Us, The Starship Damrey, The Wonderful 101, Tomb Raider, TowerFall, Typing of the Dead: Overkill
Nintendo Download: Mega Man X2, Bravely Default demo
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nintendo Download… which is strikingly similar to last week’s.
As you might remember, the Nintendo Network suffered several terrible outages in the wake of an apparently successful Christmas for Nintendo. So rather than flood the eShop with a ton of new games, Nintendo has decided to remind everyone that a bunch of great games were added to the online storefront last week including Dr. Luigi (Wii U), Super Punch-Out!! (Wii U), CastleStorm (Wii U), Mario Tennis (3DS), and several others. You can read all about last week’s eShop update here.
One new game did make its way onto the Wii U eShop, Mega Man X2. Capcom’s Super NES is joined by a 3DS demo of Bravely Default, Square Enix’s upcoming RPG.
Enjoy! (more…)
Mojang is too busy to work on Wii U version of Minecraft
Bringing Minecraft to the Wii U seems like the most natural thing in the world. Kids love it and the GamePad’s screen would be perfect for crafting. But according to Minecraft’s creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, the game’s Wii U absence is solely because developer Mojang doesn’t have time to work on it:
I agree a Wii U version would make sense, btw. The only reason for no current plans is we've got too much work already. I <3 Nintendo.
— Markus Persson (@notch) December 27, 2013
That’s a bummer for Wii U owners. But maybe Nintendo can offer to pay for development themselves? That way, everybody wins.
Nintendo eShop will go offline for maintenance today at 4 PM
Nintendo has announced (via their Facebook page) that the Nintendo eShop will go offline for maintenance today beginning at 4:00 PM (Eastern Time). The online storefront will reopen tomorrow at 4:00 AM (Eastern Time). Due to this maintenance period, today’s release of the Pokemon Bank app has been delayed. A new release date hasn’t been announced, but hopefully it’ll be available soon.
Here’s Nintendo’s full statement:
We sincerely apologize for the connection problems in the Nintendo eShop. We understand this is taking longer than expected, but we can assure you that providing a solution is our top priority. We are determined to make sure everyone can enjoy all that Wii U and Nintendo 3DS have to offer. In an effort to manage the high volume of traffic and ultimately improve your experience, we are temporarily taking the Nintendo eShop services offline between the hours of 4 PM – 4 AM ET. Thank you so much for your continued patience. We will keep you updated.
Nintendo Download: Dr. Luigi, Super Punch-Out!!, Pokemon Bank, more
UPDATE: Nintendo has delayed the release of Pokemon Bank due to the eShop’s continued connectivity problems.
ORIGINAL STORY: Nintendo’s online marketplace is currently experiencing technical difficulties due to all of the people who found Wii Us and 3DSs under the tree yesterday. But that hasn’t stopped The Big N from updating their eShops.
Tuesday, December 31 will close out the “Year of Luigi” in style as Nintendo plans to add Dr. Luigi to the Wii U eShop before the calendar turns. But if you’re looking for something to download today, might I suggest two Virtual Console release: Super Punch-Out!! (Wii U) and Mario Tennis (3DS).
And if you’re a big Pokemon player, you might want to keep an eye out for Pokemon Bank, which will be added to the 3DS eShop tomorrow, December 27. The app allows Pokemon X/Y players to store/manage their captured Pokemon online. A $4.99 annual subscription cost will accompany the Bank, but Nintendo is offering a free trial until January 31.
You can find more details on all of these games and the rest of today’s eShop offerings after the break. (more…)