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
CoD Ghosts and Xbox One are December 2013’s best-selling game and console
The NPD Group has delivered their monthly report on the state of the retail game market and December 2013 was another blockbuster month. According to Joystiq, consumers spent $3.28 billion on video game products last month, an increase of two percent over December 2012. And thanks to new consoles, hardware sales were way up, totalling $1.37 billion (versus $1.07 billion last year).
And speaking of next-generation consoles, NPD is reporting that the Xbox One can lay claim to the US sales crown for December. Though Sony still holds a slight edge in total worldwide sales.
As for the games, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 pulled off a repeat atop the retail sales chart. They were followed by the usual assortment of holiday season bestsellers and you can find last month’s complete top ten after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14, Grand Theft Auto V, Just Dance 2014, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, NPD, Skylanders Swap Force
The Last of Us leads 2014 DICE Awards with 13 nominations
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced the nominees for this year’s DICE Awards. This year, The Last of Us leads all games with 13 nominations, including “Game of the Year.” It will compete against four other games for the honor: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, BioShock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
Each of this year’s “Game of the Year” nominees has a chance to collect multiple awards as Grand Theft Auto V (seven), BioShock Infinite (six), and Assassin’s Creed IV (five), and A Link Between Worlds (three) were all nominated in multiple categories. With five nominations, Tearaway is also up a huge number of awards. All told, 61 games received nominations in 24 categories this year.
The 2014 DICE Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 6 during the close of this year’s DICE Summit. A complete list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, BioShock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
CoD: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 march to the top of November 2013’s best-selling games chart
With the PS4 and Xbox One now available in stores across the country, the NPD Group is ready to talk about the financial health of the video game industry with their most recent monthly report. Total sales of $2.7 billion fueled the game industry in November, an increase of seven percent over November 2012’s sales numbers. The next-generation had a lot to do with the inflated number, as hardware sales were listed at $1.3 billion for the month, a 58% increase year-over-year.
But what about the games? Well, new releases Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag marched to the top three spots. Below that is a trio of non-November releases (Madden NFL 25, Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K14) and below that is a trio of family-friendly titles (Skylanders Swap Force, Just Dance 2014, Disney Infinity). FIFA 14 rounded out the top ten.
The top ten brought with it an interesting comparison between the two next-generation consoles and there seemed to be no clear-cut winner. According to Joystiq, the PS4 versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed IV, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, and FIFA 14 outsold their Xbox One counterparts. But the Xbox One can claim sales superiority with Skylanders Swap Force and Just Dance 2014 among multiplatform releases.
Finally, it was a bad month to be a platform-exclusive game as major releases like Super Mario 3D World, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Forza Motorsport 5, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds failed to crack the top ten.
You can find the complete chart of November 2013’s best-sellng games after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Disney Infinity, FIFA 14, Grand Theft Auto V, Just Dance 2014, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, NPD, Skylanders Swap Force
Cyber Monday Game Deals 2013: Amazon
Black Friday may be over, but Amazon always saves the best deals for Cyber Monday. And this year is no exception. I suggest swinging over to Amazon’s Cyber Monday Deals page and checking out some of the great all-day deals they’ve got going on (including The Last of Us for $35, Call of Duty: Ghosts for $45, Grand Theft Auto V for $40, and Batman: Arkham Origins for $40) as well as this interesting schedule of Limited Time Deals:
8:10 AM (Eastern)
- Skylanders Giants – Portal Owner Pack (3DS)
9:10 AM (Eastern)
- Rage (PC)
- Family Party 30 Great Games: Obstacle Arcade (Wii U)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Legendary Edition (PC)
10:10 AM (Eastern)
- Resident Evil 6 Archives (Xbox 360)
- Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Xbox 360)
11:10 AM (Eastern)
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Vita)
- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii)
12:10 PM (Eastern)
- Eve Online: The Second Decade (PC)
5:10 PM (Eastern)
- Dead Space 3 (PS3/Xbox 360)
- Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device (PC)
- The Secret World (PC)
- NCAA Football 13 (PS3/Xbox 360)
7:10 PM (Eastern)
- Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (PS3)
- Brave (PS3)
8:10 PM (Eastern)
- Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure – Starter Pack (Wii)
- Skylanders Giants Triple Pack
9:10 PM (Eastern)
- TriMount (PS3/Xbox 360/Wii)
3:00 AM (Eastern)
- Moshi Monsters: Moshings Theme Park (3DS)
I admit, the Limited Time Deals are less than stellar (though Amazon has promised to add more throughout the day), but the all-day deals feature some of the best prices you’ll see on some of the biggest games of 2013 this holiday season.
New Releases: Xbox One, Super Mario 3D World, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, More
Are you ready for “Part Two” of this year’s next-generation console extravaganza? After months of hype, Microsoft is ready to deliver the Xbox One to store shelves this week. If you haven’t already ordered one, it’s unlikely you’ll find the system in stores, but it’s always worth a shot. However, there will be plenty of Xbox One game available, including:
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
- Angry Birds Star Wars
- Battlefield 4
- Call of Duty: Ghosts
- Dead Rising 3
- FIFA 14
- Fighter Within
- Forza Motorsport 5
- Just Dance 2014
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes
- Madden NFL 25
- NBA 2K14
- NBA Live 14
- Need For Speed: Rivals
- Ryse: Son of Rome
- Skylanders Swap Force
- Zumba Fitness: World Party
If you’re not quite ready to hop on the Xbox One bandwagon, there are plenty of brand new current-generation games out this week including:
- Mario’s most recent Wii U adventure… Super Mario 3D World
- Link’s latest 3DS quest… The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
- A tropical Mario Party… Mario Party: Island Tour
- Media Molecule’s origami Vita platformer… Tearaway
- The further adventures of Jake and Finn… Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW!
- And finally, the return of Zoo Tycoon (now for the Xbox 360).
The complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Grand Theft Auto V is October 2013’s best-selling game
Once again, Grand Theft Auto V reigns supreme. The latest entry in Rockstar’s blockbuster franchise remains atop the NPD Group’s monthly tabulations of the best-selling games at retail.
It’s important to note that GTA5 didn’t pull off this repeat performance against a group of lightweights. The remaining spots in the top ten, all nine of them, were claimed by new releases. You can check out the rest of the top ten right here and, if you gambled that Pokemon X would sell more copies than Pokemon Y, it’s time to collect:
Bestselling Games in October 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Pokemon X (3DS)
3. Pokemon Y (3DS)
4. Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
5. Batman: Arkham Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
6. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
7. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Skylanders Swap Force (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
9. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PC)
10. WWE 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3)
According to Joystiq, GTA5 wasn’t the only big winner last month. The entire industry had a very profitable four weeks as last month’s software sales were higher than the same period from 2012, making October 2013 the third month in a row to see year-over-year sales gains.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, Battlefield 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, NBA 2K14, NPD, Pokemon X/Y, Skylanders Swap Force, WWE 2K14
Nintendo Download: Mario & Sonic Olympics 2014, Adventure Time 2, more
Ready for another big batch of additions to Nintendo’s download services? Great, here we go…
- Tomorrow, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will be added to the Wii U eShop. The latest Olympics-themed character crossover will feature 24 events, including the brand new Snowboard Slopestyle.
- On Tuesday, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW!, the second game starring everyone’s favorite post-apocalyptic adventurers, will be released for the 3DS and Wii U.
- Also on Tuesday, Zumba Fitness: World Party brings the exercise craze back to the Wii U.
- But if you’re looking for something today, do check out the NES classic River City Ransom on the 3DS’ Virtual Console.
There’s more information on all of these games (and many more) after the break. (more…)
The AAA Game: Where It’s Been, Where It’s Going, and Did It Kill the Mid-Tier Game?
An edited and updated version of this article is now available at Video Game Canon.
With a new generation of consoles almost upon us, there is the worry that the spiraling budgets and massive teams required to create AAA games is hurting the industry. But for all the hand-wringing about how the AAA game is detrimental to mid-size developers, no one can seem to agree on what exactly a AAA game is or when the AAA designation was even first used. In attempting to solve this etymological mystery, I found that the AAA designation shares much in common with Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s obscenity test from a 1964 case: “I know it when I see it.” But I also found out that “Will the AAA game survive?” is probably the wrong question to ask. (more…)