Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- 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
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: Xbox One
New Releases: Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Resident Evil Origins, Life Is Strange, More
It’s been a few weeks, but welcome to the first roundup of new retail game releases for 2016!
We start off the year with Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, a new RPG for the 3DS from the Nintendo. After years of keeping them separate, the publisher has finally decided to merge their Mario & Luigi series of RPGs with the Paper Mario series of RPGs. I’m a bit surprised it took this long, but maybe Nintendo felt they needed more time to prepare the world for GIANT PAPERCRAFT BATTLES.
Also available this week is the Resident Evil Origins Collection for the PS4 and Xbox One. After redoing Resident Evil last year, Capcom turned their trained recreationists towards its prequel, Resident Evil 0, which had previously only been available on Nintendo platforms. The publisher packaged both games together for a retail release, but players can also acquire them as separate downloads through the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store (and Steam, for that matter).
Moving from remakes to re-releases, Dontnod has compiled their episodic game series, Life Is Strange, into a retail package for the PS4 and Xbox One. Players who missed out on Max Caulfield’s time-traveling adventures in Arcadia Bay will now be able to experience the complete story without waiting weeks between episodes. Also this week, PQube will re-release the Vita version of SteinsGate in a “Limited Edition” that includes a 2016 calendar.
Finally, get on the bus (and drive it) this week with Astragon’s Bus Simulator 16 for the PC.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Life Is Strange, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 0, SteinsGate
Xbox Store Today: Zheros, Oxenfree
A pair of new Xbox One games are now available to download through the Xbox Games Store, so let’s get right to it…
Zheros is a colorful beat ’em up from Rimlight Studios that asks players to join the Zheros Squad and defend the universe from crime. The intergalactic action title is also the newest member of Microsoft’s Games With Gold promotion, and Xbox One owners who have an Xbox Live Gold subscription will be able to download for free until February 15.
Also available this week is Oxenfree, a supernatural adventure from Night School Studio that Entertainment Weekly called a cross between Twin Peaks and Lost with dialogue reminiscent of a Joss Whedon production.
More information on both of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the best-selling game of 2015; CoD franchise sells more than 250 million copies since 2003
The numbers have been tabulated and the Call of Duty franchise once again reigns supreme over all other video games.
According to The NPD Group’s yearly report of retail releases, Call of Duty: Black Ops III was the best-selling game in 2015, besting EA’s Madden NFL 16 (#2) and Bethesda’s Fallout 4 (#3). The Call of Duty franchise also controlled the back end of the list with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare taking the #10 spot. Activision’s Scott Lowe added (by way of the Activision Games Blog) that the entire franchise has sold more than 250 million copies since the release of Call of Duty in 2003.
Believe it or not, games outside the Call of Duty franchise found success in 2015 as well, though most of them were released after July 1st including Star Wars: Battlefront (#4), NBA 2K16 (#6), and FIFA 16 (#9). The only game to break that trend (aside from a few 2014 stragglers like Advanced Warfare) was Mortal Kombat X (#8), which was released in April. The game-playing public may not always like it, but this does explain why publishers constantly strive to release their games in the back half of the year.
On the hardware side, console sales surged in 2015, as the PS4 and Xbox One continued to outpace the PS3 and Xbox 360. The PS4 was the overall winner in 2015, but NPD analyst Liam Callahan told GamesIndustry.biz that both platforms did well: “After 26 months of sales, the combined cumulative sales of Xbox One and PS4 exceeds the 26 month total of the PS3 and Xbox 360 by 47 percent,”
The NPD’s list of the top ten best-selling games for 2015 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, FIFA 16, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 16, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat X, NBA 2K16, NPD, Star Wars: Battlefront
CoD: Black Ops III does a repeat of November as the best-selling game of December 2015 too
While financial folks continue to claim that the Call of Duty franchise is in freefall, the latest game in the series still managed to top the sales charts in December. Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which also topped the list in November, beat out several other strong contenders for the public’s Christmas dollars including Star Wars: Battlefront (#2) and Fallout 4 (#3). There weren’t too many new releases available in December, but one, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (#7), managed to crack the top ten.
However, the the biggest surprise in the NPD Group’s December report might be that Minecraft: Story Mode landed at #9… even though the game disc available in stores only contains the first episode. Interestingly, it placed just behind the original Minecraft, which was firmly locked in at #8.
Even with a dearth of new releases, December 2015 was a good one from a financial perspective, which NPD analyst Liam Callahan shared with GamesIndustry.biz: “December 2015 was the best month on record for PS4 and Xbox One, and the second-best for the Wii U in terms of new physical software unit sales. This also meant that it was the best month of total eighth generation new physical software sales.”
The full top ten list for December 2015 can be found after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Gone Home, The Banner Saga, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, more
The Xbox Games Store is now home to a quintet of new titles that are sure to please players of all tastes.
First up is the Xbox One launch of Gone Home, Fulbright’s “genre-defining story exploration game.” After arriving home to an empty house, players will be able to explore the dark corners and repressed memories of Gone Home from the comfort of their couch. Also available this week is The Banner Saga, a Viking-themed RPG from Stoic. The hand-painted backgrounds of The Banner Saga have made it a favorite among fans of indie games, and now Xbox One owners can experience the same thing, yes, from the comfort of their couch. A third indie title, Rebel Galaxy, has also been released for the Xbox One this week. Developed by Double Damage, players will become space pirates in Rebel Galaxy and do battle with other “outlandish denizens at the edge of the known universe” if they hope to survive.
Sliding away from the indie scene for a moment, this week also marks the launch of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India for the Xbox One. The second side-scrolling spinoff to the Assassin’s Creed franchise will transport the action to India in the 19th century as players will be tasked with reclaiming an artifact that is very important to the Assassins and saving your lover.
Finally this week, Hyperdrive Massacre is a colorful car combat game where players will hop in their “Space Cadillac” to do battle with all the other space cowboys, gangsters of love, and guys named Maurice… Wah-Wah…
More information on all of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India, Gone Home, Rebel Galaxy, The Banner Saga
Nominees for the 2016 DICE Awards have been announced with Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Witcher 3 leading the way
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for the 2016 DICE Awards.
Square Enix’s Rise of the Tomb Raider and CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead all other games with eight nominations apiece, including “Game of the Year.” They’ll be competing for the AIAS’s highest honor against three other games: Bloodborne, Fallout 4, and Ori and the Blind Forest. All told, 53 different titles received at least one nomination.
“Looking at the nominees for the 19th Annual DICE Awards, I am especially impressed by the broad range of titles catering to gamers’ increasingly sophisticated and diverse tastes,” said Martin Rae, the President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. “It is always gratifying to watch our industry and its many artists and craftsmen grow and continue to challenge and thrill audiences.”
In addition to this year’s awards show, Satoru Iwata will be honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award and Hideo Kojima will be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
The ceremony for the 2016 DICE Awards will take place on Thursday, February 16, during this year’s DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit. 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 Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Forza Motorsport 6, Helldivers, Heroes of the Storm, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Mortal Kombat X, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Mario Maker, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Deep Silver confirms May 17 release date for Homefront: The Revolution
Confirming last week’s release date leak, Deep Silver has announced that Homefront: The Revolution will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 17. The publisher has also released “This Is Philadelphia,” a brand new trailer that shows what it’s like to live in the game’s Korean-occupied “Yellow Zone” (Wait, really?):
In the “This Is Philadelphia” trailer released today, citizens get their first chilling glimpse into the world of Occupied Philadelphia in the year 2029: The birthplace of American freedom has been split into three occupied zones, each zone varying in the level of KPA police activity with each unique zone forcing players to adapt new gameplay strategies in order to further the progress of The Revolution. The “This Is Philadelphia” trailer showcases the unforgiving Yellow Zone, distinct from the war-ravaged wastelands of the Red Zone, and the highly militarized Green Zones, the Yellow Zone is a densely populated environment offering a unique challenge and gameplay experience to would-be Freedom Fighters.
Xbox One owners who are interested in joining a Homefront: The Revolution closed beta this February can head over to Homefront-Game.com to register for a chance to receive a Beta Token from Deep Silver.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Homefront: The Revolution
Gameplay trailer for Mortal Kombat X: Kombat Pack 2 released
WB Games wants you to have a bloody good Tuesday as they’ve released the first gameplay for Mortal Kombat X‘s upcoming Kombat Pack 2 DLC. In development now at NetherRealm Studios, Kombat Pack 2 will add four new fighters to the game: Leatherface (from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), the Xenomorph (from Alien), Bo Rai Cho, and Tri-Borg (a composite character that fuses together Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke). The new characters are incredibly fast and the chainsaw-fu practiced by Leatherface (against Jason Voorhees, I might add) is incredible.
Players who purchase Kombat Pack 2 will also receive a fifth playable character, the mighty Goro, and a number of costumes that were previously exclusive to Mortal Kombat X pre-order customers:
- Goro – The feral, four-armed Shokan warrior will be available as a playable combatant.
- Brazil Pack – The Brazil Pack features three new character skins: Futbol Cage, Capoeira Liu Kang, and Gaucho Kung Lao.
- Kold War Pack – The Kold War Pack includes three new character skins: Motherland Sonya, Tundra Sub-Zero, and Revolution Kano.
- Kold War Scorpion – Kold War-themed Scorpion character skin.
- Apocalypse Pack (Never-Before-Released) – The Apocalypse Pack features three new character skins, reimagining characters Takeda, D’Vorah, and Erron Black with an apocalyptic theme.
NetherRealm will release Kombat Pack 2 sometime in 2016, though they’ve previously said that all four characters will be available in early 2016.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Mortal Kombat X