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
- 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”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: Xbox One
Conan plays For Honor with Tom Brady, Dwight Freeney, and a severed head on a stick
As much as some people don’t want to admit it, Super Bowl Sunday is an American institution. The cultural behemoth has even birthed its own batch of spinoff traditions (Commercials! The Puppy Bowl! Clogged Pipes at Halftime!), but none is as enjoyable as Conan O’Brien’s annual trip to the Super Bowl for a football-themed episode of Clueless Gamer.
In “Clueless Gamer at the Super Bowl III,” Conan invited Erin Andrews to serve as the sideline reporter in an epic clash between New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Atlanta Falcons defensive end Dwight Freeney. The two athletes crossed swords in Ubisoft’s For Honor, and the button-mashing brawler was perfect for two guys who clearly don’t play a lot of games. Thankfully, Conan called up a few ringers and got Marshawn Lynch, Rob Gronkowski, and LeGarrette Blount to liven up the action.
So who won this battle of the titans? You’ll have to watch the video to find out, but I’m sure the similarities between For Honor’s “Knights Vs Vikings Vs Samurai” storyline and all the gladiator imagery from Any Given Sunday didn’t go unnoticed by Conan’s crew.
However, who wins the For Honor fight might be in for a disappointment because Conan’s Clueless Gamer has become something of a reverse-predictor of Super Bowl glory. In 2015, Lynch beat Gronkowski in Mortal Kombat X, but the Seahawks went home empty-handed from Super Bowl. A year later, Josh Norman of the Carolina Panthers out-Doomed Von Miller of the Denver Broncos, but it was Miller who won the MVP award and Super Bowl 50.
For Honor will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 14.
New Retail Releases: Nioh, Rainbow Six Siege Year 2 Gold Edition, WWE 2K17 for PC
Three new games fill out this week’s batch of new retail releases, though only one of them can reasonably be called “new.”
Nioh is a PS4 exclusive that transports its audience to a “fantastical and dark vision of 16th century Japan.” Developed by Team Ninja, players will battle skilled samurai, vile beasts, and demons which are threatening to tear the country apart during the Warring States period.
Also available this week is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege – Year 2 Gold Edition from Ubisoft. The PS4 and Xbox One re-release comprised of the original game and the Year 2 Pass, which includes access to all of the game’s upcoming Year 2 content. However, if you want to add the Year 1 Pass to the team-based shooter, you’ll need to purchase it separately.
Finally this week, 2K Games will bring WWE 2K17 to the PC for the first time. WWE 2K17 features an expanded MyCareer Mode, as well as the largest roster of wrestlers ever included in a WWE game.
That’s it for now, but we’ll back later this week with a look at the latest digital additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
The Video Game Canon – Madden NFL Football (Series)
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with an examination into the validity (or lack thereof) of the Madden Cover Curse. Here’s a teaser…
A gambler will tell you that they believe Lady Luck will reward them for respecting a streak, and a professional football player will tell you that he doesn’t believe in the Madden Curse. The former is a wishful thinker, and the latter is a liar.
The sports world is filled with superstitions. As a Little Leaguer growing up, I could show you what a “rally cap” was and explain the importance of never touching the baselines. I understood completely why retired Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland refused to change his underwear during a 12-game winning streak in 2011. I’ve even got strong opinions on what you say to a pitcher in the middle of a perfect game. The answer is you don’t say anything, because talking to him at all is bad luck.
For decades, the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx served as a well-known precursor to the Madden Curse. Those who believe in the Jinx are convinced that any player who appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated will experience some form of terrible luck, even though a handful of high-profile hits have obscured the long list of players who avoided the Jinx over the years. If the sheer number of cover subjects doesn’t dissuade you (more than 3,000 issues have been produced since the magazine’s launch in 1954), the illustrious career of Michael Jordan should. The basketball great has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times, and he’s had the kind of career that other athletes dream about… not counting his detour through Minor League Baseball and Space Jam.
But what of the Madden Curse? Although you’ll find a few executives at Electronic Arts who enjoy hyping up the current year’s game with talk of the Curse, most of them like to downplay it. In 2008, the then-President of EA Sports, Peter Moore, said, “I guess when you look back there’s a grain of truth to the Madden Curse.” At the time, he wasn’t wrong. Five of the last six offensive players on the cover succumbed to some horrible calamity. The publishing giant even considered producing a movie based on the Madden Curse in 2010, though that project seems to have fallen off the radar in the years since.
And that’s probably because the Madden Curse is as mythical as a wild turducken.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in 3DS, DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Madden NFL 11, Madden NFL 12, Madden NFL 13, Madden NFL 15, Madden NFL 16, Madden NFL 17, Madden NFL 25
Xbox Store Today: Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 – Road to Boruto, Knee Deep
A handful of new games have been added to the Xbox Games Store today… and one is a theatrical “swamp noir” and another is an anime-inspired fighting game.
Developed by Prologue Games, Knee Deep is a murder mystery set in the backwater Florida town of Cypress Knee, and it offers players a Telltale-like adventure game driven by dialogue choices and multiple quirky characters.
Also available this week is Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 – Road to Boruto, an expanded re-release of the fighting game that includes all of the downloadable content packs, as well as a brand new adventure focusing on Naruto’s son.
More information on both of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Knee Deep, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
Nominations now being accepted for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017
After inducting Grand Theft Auto III, The Legend of Zelda, The Oregon Trail, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders into video gaming’s inner circle last year, the World Video Game Hall of Fame is ready to begin accepting nominations for its Class of 2017.
Any game is eligible to be enshrined in the World Video Game Hall of Fame, and gamers of all stripes are encouraged to visit the Nominate A Game page to submit any title for nomination that fits the Selection Criteria:
- Icon Status: The game is widely recognized and remembered.
- Longevity: The game is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time.
- Geographical Reach: The game meets the above criteria across international boundaries.
- Influence: The game has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general. A game may be inducted on the basis of this criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.
All submissions for nominations must be made by March 6, and this year’s finalists will be announced on March 29.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017 will be selected by an internal committee on the advice of an international team of “journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.” This year’s inductees will be announced as part of a special ceremony that’ll be held at The Strong Museum in Rochester, NY on May 4.
Gigantic: Eternal Dawn update will add a new Hero to the game on February 23
Motiga has announced that the second major update for Gigantic will be available beginning February 23. The Eternal Dawn update will include access to a brand new Hero, as well as a Competitive Leaderboard, a variety of new Skins, and gameplay improvements:
New Hero: Zandora
A lance-wielding Eternal who has emerged from the Star City to walk among mortals, Zandora is a melee/support hybrid who uses auras to empower herself and allies on the battlefield. Owners of Gigantic’s Founders Pack will automatically unlock Zandora for free.Competitive Leaderboard
Check out where you stand amongst the greatest players of Gigantic and move up the ranks. The website leaderboard contains detailed info to assess your overall skill and give you breakdowns of the Heroes you play, and how you play them.Zandora Aurion Skin
Seeking help from the Eternals, House Aurion strikes back against her foes. Don the colors of House Aurion on the Eternal Knight Zandora, including two color variants.18 “Eternal Light” Weapon Skins
These new progression rewards for all 18 heroes encourage players to master each hero to earn or purchase a new weapon skin at level 10.
Gigantic’s Eternal Dawn update will also include a second batch of content that’ll be available in March. These weekly mini-updates will add a new Creature and several Skins to the game ahead of the next major update:
New Creature: Storm Drake (March 2)
A powerful addition to the drake family, the Storm Drake wreaks havoc on whole teams with chain lightning attacks that bounce from foe to foe.Beckett Aurion Skin (March 9)
Sport your support for House Aurion with a new skin on the adventuring shooter Beckett, including two color variants.Vadasi Aurion Skin (March 16)
Adorn the colors of House Aurion on the pilgrim and judge Vadasi, including two color variants.Voden Aurion Skin (March 23)
Inhabit the spirit of House Aurion on the trickster archer Voden, including two color variants.
Gigantic is a 5v5 free-to-play MOBA and it’s currently available as part of the Xbox Game Preview program for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.
Fallout Shelter will be released for Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs next week
Bethesda and Microsoft have announced that Fallout Shelter will be released for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs next week. The free-to-play Vault management sim will launch on February 7, and it’ll also be available as an Xbox Play Anywhere title so players will be able to share their progress in the game on their Xbox One and all Windows 10 devices.
Xbox One owners will be happy to know that Fallout Shelter has been adapted to work with a controller on the console, and it’s also packed with a new set of Achievements. Here’s what else the Xbox Wire had to say about the game:
Fallout Shelter thrusts players into the role of Overseer to build their own Vault, manage dwellers, and adventure through Fallout’s iconic wasteland. Since the game’s original launch in 2015, the game has continued to expand and add features, including Crafting, Scrapping, Pets, additional rooms, iconic Fallout 4 characters, and special Dweller customization options. The game’s constantly growing Quest system allows Overseers to send Dwellers out into the Wasteland to abandoned buildings, decrepit Vaults, and mysterious caves to uncover legendary loot and face off against enemies like Radscorpions, Ghouls, and powerful bosses.
Fallout Shelter is also currently available to download for the PC through Bethesda.net, and on iOS and Android devices.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Fallout Shelter
SAG-AFTRA voice actor union holds another rally in Los Angeles as strike continues
With the continuing strike between the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and a cabal of 11 video game companies locked in a stalemate, the union held a rally in Los Angeles to help support the striking voice actors.
The strike, which has been active since October 21, is an ongoing dispute about working conditions and salary for motion capture and voice artists when working on video games. However, there has been little movement in negotiations on the matter, according to SAG-AFTRA’s Chief Contracts Officer, Ray Rodriguez, who said the purpose of the rally was “to get people refocused that the strike is happening.”
In addition to demanding better safety conditions for its members, SAG-AFTRA is seeking additional bonus payments for actors that work on a game that sells well. The union has suggested an extra payment for games selling two million copies, with additional bonuses up to eight million copies sold.
However, lawyers for the 11 companies, which include Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Take Two Interactive, Insomniac Games, Warner Bros., and Disney, do not see room for compromise. Scott Witlin, their Chief Negotiator, released a statement saying, “We remain disappointed that SAG-AFTRA leadership remains focused on outmoded ideas about how compensation is structured rather than the real dollars and cents that the video game companies put on the table.”
The contingent of companies, who have seen their premises picketed over the last few months, have proposed an immediate 9% wage increase, instead of a 3% annual increase for the next three years, which is what SAG-AFTRA is asking for on top of the bonus. The video game companies are also offering additional payments, which could be as high as $950 per game, dependent on the length of time an actor works on a specific title.
SAG-AFTRA Interactive Negotiating Committee Chair Keythe Farley said, “I can’t believe we’re still fighting for this contract two years later. I thought we’d be done by lunch on day one. I figured we were all eager to update the substandard, 20-year-old contract that we’ve been operating under and start fresh with a modern, industry-standard agreement that protects, and fairly compensates, performers working on today’s video games. The one thing that keeps me going is our members’ dedication and commitment to a fair contract. It’s the same dedication they bring to their performances, so I guess it’s no surprise, really.”
The SAG-AFTRA rally, which began at SAG-AFTRA Plaza and stretched to the nearby La Brea Tar Pits, attracted 500 union members and was joined by the aptly named David Ryu, an LA City Councilman. He offered strong words of support for the crowd, saying video game companies “need to pay their fair share” and telling the SAG-AFTRA protesters “you should not give in.”