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: Wii U
Marvel is working on a batch of “developer-focused” and “quality-focused” console games
Marvel has arguably revolutionized the modern film industry with the introducion of their layered and multifilm-spanning Cinematic Universe. Their superhero movies have consistently performed at the top of the box office charts for years, but they’ve mostly put their video game projects on the back burner. At least, until now.
During this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, Producer Mike Jones confirmed that Marvel is working on several console games, which will be announced in the coming months.
“We are very much focused on what our console strategy will be for the future. Obviously console games take a lot longer to incubate, so that will be a slower process for us,” he said in response to a question from a fan. He went on to say, “We are very much taking a controlled, less-is-more, quality-focused, developer-focused strategy, but it is very top of mind, and we’ll have a lot more announcements probably next year.”
While this is great news, this announcement opens up a lot of questions. Which heroes (or villains) will be getting their own games? And will the games be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or will they stand on their own? Last year, Marvel executives revealed they were creating a “Marvel Gaming Universe,” so we know the games will sync up in some way.
You may also recall that Telltale Games announced an episodic series based on a Marvel property a few months ago. Could this be the start of Marvel’s big gaming push? Only time will tell.
[Source: Polygon]
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2015, Guardians of the Galaxy
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata dies at age 55
It’s a sad day today, as Nintendo has announced the death of President and CEO Satoru Iwata due to a bile duct growth. He was 55 years old.
“Nintendo Co. Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth,” was the company’s only statement to the public. In the hours since the news was released, Nintendo of America posted the following message to Twitter and Facebook: “In remembrance of Mr. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo will not be posting on our social media channels today.”
Iwata had been with Nintendo since the 1980s, starting out as a programmer at HAL Laboratory (where he worked on Balloon Fight and EarthBound, among others), before reaching the level of CEO in 2002. The executive also had a close relationship with Nintendo’s devoted fans. He regularly made appearances at industry events, hosted Nintendo’s monthly Nintendo Direct videos, and conducted Iwata Asks, a regular interview series in which he would talk to the developers of Nintendo’s games. Iwata had been battling this illness for several years, missing last year’s E3 Expo due to a surgery. But he made his final public appearance as part of this year’s Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 just last month.
Above all, Iwata was a principled man in an industry that’s dead set on nothing but making money and treating customers like cattle. When Nintendo failed to reach its financial projections in 2013, Iwata voluntarily cut his salary in half for the next five months.
There is no word yet who will be named Nintendo’s next President and CEO, though it will be extraordinarily difficult to replace a man like Iwata.
Doctor Who travels through time and space to appear in this new Lego Dimensions trailer
And before all you Whovians get worked up about that headline, I’m aware that he refers to himself only as “The Doctor.”
Anyway, WB Games and TT Games released a new trailer for Lego Dimensions yesterday and it is ridiculously epic. Peter Capaldi (The Doctor), Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald), and Michelle Gomez (Missy) will all join the game’s stellar voice cast. Besides Daleks and Cybermen, The Doctor will also have adventures like this:
In a new trailer giving the first look at the Doctor Who gameplay, worlds collide in ways only possible in Lego Dimensions, such as the TARDIS popping up in Gotham City and Hill Valley, the Doctor battling alongside Homer Simpson in Aperture Science, riding a haunted mine car with Scooby and Shaggy, or fighting alongside Kai and Cragger in a Ninjago battle arena.
I’m sure that scenario went over like gangbusters with the Comic-Con crowd. TT Games is going all out for the Doctor Who portion of the game and actually plans to include all 12 incarnations of the character in the game:
When the 12th Doctor is defeated in the level, he returns as the 1st Doctor and then regenerates back up to the 12th Doctor again. The interior of the TARDIS will reflect the corresponding Doctor the player embodies or can be manually selected. Theres even a jukebox inside where players can choose among different versions of the Doctor Who theme music.
Lego Dimensions will be released on September 27 for the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Players will also be able to pick up a pair of additional Doctor Who sets on the same day including the “Doctor Who Level Pack,” which features an unlockable Doctor Who level in the game, a minifigure of the 12th Doctor, and Lego models of the TARDIS and K-9. A “Doctor Who Fun Pack” with a Cyberman minifigure and Dalek model will also be available.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2015, Lego Dimensions
Splatoon’s second Splatfest (Roller Coasters vs Water Slides) is next week
The first North American Splatfest for Splatoon players was held last week on the 4th of July. Owing to their superior popularity, Team Dog emerged victorious over Team Cat, even though Team Cat squeaked out a few more victories. It’s an odd way to keep score, but Nintendo is nothing if not odd.
Case in point, the second North American Splatfest will take place a week from tomorrow. Beginning on Friday, July 17 at midnight (Eastern Time), the Splatfest will pit Roller Coaster lovers against Water Slide aficionados for 24 hours on Saturday:
Roller Coasters vs. Water Slides?! The next Americas Splatfest will be from 7/17 at 9:00 PM PT – 7/18 at 9:00 PM PT. pic.twitter.com/9ubd6Rvsb1
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 9, 2015
In the more immediate future, Nintendo will add another map to Splatoon tonight at 10:00 PM (Eastern Time). Moray Towers is a multi-level structure with plenty of tight corners. Can you fly, squiddie?
Nintendo Download: Mario Tennis and more
Grab your rackets… Mario Tennis is now available to download from the Wii U eShop. Developed by Camelot, the Nintendo 64 classic featured the debut of Waluigi, Luigi’s evil doppelganger.
The rest of this week’s Nintendo Download includes a ton of micro-sized Wii U games…
- Santa Factory is a Christmas-in-July side-scrolling platformer.
- Neon Battle looks like Pong in a circular playing field.
- Land It Rocket lets you control a side-scrolling rocket that needs to avoid missiles and other obstacles.
- Keytari: 8-Bit Music Maker turns your Wii U GamePad into a keytar.
- Don’t Crash is an overhead racing game.
- Dare Up Adrenaline is a wingsuit simulator.
- Asteroid Quarry asks players to mine the asteroids instead of avoiding them.
More information on all of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Disney Infinity: Star Wars will be released on August 30
Disney Interactive has announced that Disney Infinity: Star Wars (AKA Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition) will be released on August 30 for the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices. If you recall, that is very close to a leaked release date that was uncovered earlier this year. A number of other Disney Infinity figures and accessories will also be available by the end of next month:
- Star Wars “Twilight of the Republic” Play Set (includes Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano figures)
- Star Wars Figures (Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Power Disc Pack
- Star Wars Rebels figures (Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, and Zeb Orrelios)
- Star Wars Saga Starter Pack
- Inside Out Play Set (includes Joy and Anger figures)
- Inside Out Figures (Sadness, Disgust and Fear)
- Disney Figures (Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Mulan, Olaf, Sam Flynn, and Quorra)
- Tomorrowland Power Disc Pack
The publisher also revealed that anyone who pre-orders Disney Infinity: Star Wars will receive free access to the Toy Box Takeover expansion (which is regularly priced at $19.99). More details on Toy Boy Takeover, and the Toy Box Speedway expansion, can be found after the break. (more…)
Collect jelly beans in The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure this November
I was never a fan of Peanuts when I was a kid, mostly because the majority of it was written well before my time, though I did enjoy the holiday specials. But I have to admit, I’m not a fan of the newfangled CGI look the film has adopted. That said, I am a fan of the companion game, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, based on the reveal trailer.
In The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, Snoopy explores the fantastical worlds of his imagination to track down Charlie Brown and his friends in an intricate game of hide-and-seek. As he follows their trails, Snoopy will acquire new costumes (based on his many alter egos) that provide unique abilities for overcoming obstacles and reaching new levels, including flight stages that let him take off as the Flying Ace. From the jungle to Paris to the moon itself, each environment is painted gorgeously in the same visual style as The Peanuts Movie to bring to life every colorful detail of Snoopy’s wild daydreams. The game also includes voice talent from the film.
The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure reminds me of old school platformers, though maybe I’m just nostalgic to see a 2D platformer get a physical release. Since they’re directly basing it on the movie, and it’s staring everyone’s favorite cheeky fictional dog, there’s a good chance this might even be a good game. The art style has an almost clay look to it, and you’ll have plenty of abilities to unlock, along with help from a potential second player as Woodstock (he can also be computer-controlled assistant if you’re by yourself). And the whole point of the game is to collect jelly beans! How old school is something as trivial as that? Well, I’m excited at least.
The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure will be available on November 3 for the 3DS, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. If you’re attending this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, a playable demo of the game will be available at the Peanuts booth (#1637).
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2015, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure
Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2015
The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con kicks off tomorrow (with a Preview Night tonight), and Activision has announced the Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut during the show.
The Skylanders SuperChargers Dark Edition will include special variant figures with a “Dark” twist. Priced at $99.99, players who opt for the Dark Edition on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, or Xbox One will receive figures figures (Dark Spitfire, Dark Hot Streak, Dark Super Shot Stealth Elf, Dark Sea Shadow), a two-sided collector’s poster, and the Kaos Trophy (which unlocks exclusive Kaos content).
But if you’re an Amiibo hunter, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for the Wii U’s Dark Edition. Also priced at $99.99, it’ll also include the Dark Spitfire and Dark Hot Streak figures, but the other two will be replaced by Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Barrel Blaster. And that’s not all… the Dark Edition for the Wii-exclusive Skylanders SuperChargers Racing will come packed with Dark Hammer Slam Bowser and Dark Clown Cruiser. Because of a Skylanders/Amiibo switch in the base, both Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Hammer Slam Bowser are considered official Amiibo figures by Nintendo.
Gamers who will be attending this week’s San Diego Comic-Con will get a chance to test out the Dark Edition characters on a Skylanders SuperChargers demo station at Activision’s booth (#121), the Xbox Lounge at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, or at the Nintendo Game Lounge at the Marriott Marquis and Marina. Everyone else will have to make do with scoping out a few Dark Edition screenshots at the Activision Games Blog.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2015, Skylanders SuperChargers, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing