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
Rock Band 4 will support older Rock Band and Guitar Hero instruments
When Harmonix announced Rock Band 4, they promised that it would be a “back to basics” experience that gamers with a closetful of plastic instruments would instantly recognize. Thankfully, the developer is making sure those instruments will work with their new rhythm game.
Speaking to Business Insider, Harmonix’s Daniel Sussman said that Rock Band 4 will support as many legacy instruments as possible: “We’re planning to support everything that we can: That includes all of the old Rock Band controllers, and all the old Guitar Hero controllers.”
Sussman further explained that Harmonix is doing this out of respect for the original investment players made in these instruments five years ago:
“Our position is really all about respect for our consumers and for the money that they have spent to get into the game space in the first place. They spend a fortune on games: on consoles, on hardware, and we’re sensitive to that. We play those games too. We buy all the same stuff. A world where you need to have three different guitars and two drum sets and all this stuff is…we don’t want to support that world.”
Guitar Hero Live will use a new six-button guitar controller that departs significantly in style from the instruments that came before. If possible, Sussman and his team plan to support it in Rock Band 4 too.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rock Band 4
Battlefield Hardline pulls off a heist to become best-selling game of March 2015
Hey, have you heard of this Bloodborne game? I hear its pretty popular and that Sony’s got a bonafide hit on their hands. It even sold more than a million copies. For all the acclaim Bloodborne has received and all the copies it surely has sold, the game was topped in last month’s NPD rankings by Battlefield Hardline. Developed by Visceral Games, Battlefield Hardline is a cops-and-robbers spin on the Battlefield series and it, not Bloodborne, managed to become the best-selling game of March 2015.
That said, nearly every game of note managed to crash the top ten last month including Mario Party 10 (#4), MLB 15: The Show (#6), Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (#9), and Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (#10). Nintendo’s Code Name: STEAM was the only other March release that seemed like it might have enough juice to reach the top ten, but it was pushed out by Grand Theft Auto V (#3), Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (#5), and other returning heavy hitters.
The NPD Group (via Game Informer) used this new release drought to explain why March 2015’s game sales were down 6% from the same month a year ago. NPD’s Liam Callahan was also quick to point out that March 2014 saw the release of two very well-received games in TitanFall and InFamous: Second Son. Callahan also confirmed that the PS4 outsold the Xbox One for another month.
March 2015’s top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Star Wars: Battlefront Stormtrooper teaser art points towards November 17 launch too
If Electronic Arts hadn’t already leaked the November 17 release date of Star Wars: Battlefront with their source code snafu, this might have been quite the scoop. Still, it’s pretty interesting that the Stormtrooper featured in the publisher’s recent teaser image is absolutely covered in 11s and 17s.
The most obvious “11” is the lighting shadow on the Stormtrooper’s shoulder pad. But there’s another “11” at the very top of his helmet and quite a number of other paired slashes that could be 11s if you stare at them long enough.
As for 17s, I found three, and there might be more. The most obvious is the pair of 17s found on the helmet, which I’ve circled in red. But there’s also a very well hidden “17” scored into his shoulder pad right next to the “11.”
Is it possible I’m seeing things? Absolutely. But DICE Community Manager Vincent Vukovic told fans on Twitter to “dig deeper” as the image was specifically created for this reveal. If you’re going to go to all that trouble, why not hide some cool stuff in there? You can find the unaltered image after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront will launch on November 17 as new images tease tomorrow’s trailer
EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront reveal will begin tomorrow at 1:30 PM (Eastern Time), but a sneak preview of the game’s official website has confirmed its November 17 release date. It’s since been deleted, but earlier today the site’s source code included a hidden bit of text that read: “The latest news and updates for Star Wars Battlefront. Available November 17, 2015 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.”
The site also includes a nice look at the Stormtrooper teaser image the publisher was slowly revealing through their Instagram account earlier this week.
Finally, a short teaser video for Star Wars: Battlefront was appended to the end of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer (pay attention to the leftmost box). It’s small and short, but it’s our first glimpse of the game in action.
If for some reason you have yet to watch the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer (you’re being held captive by a pasty dictator aboard his space station, for example), I’ve helpfully embedded it after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Star Wars: Battlefront
Madden NFL 16 will be released on August 25
We don’t know who will grace Madden NFL 16‘s cover yet, but we do when it’ll be released. EA Sports has announced, via the publisher’s “The Beat” blog, that the game will be released in its typical end-of-Summer spot on August 25. No platforms were confirmed, but a PS4/Xbox One launch is a surety and a PS3/Xbox 360 release seems likely.
EA also promised that more information on Madden NFL 16 will be unveiled in May.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Madden NFL 16
Project CARS will launch on May 6 with support for 12K monitors
After several delays, Slightly Mad Studios and Bandai Namco have announced Project CARS will definitely be released this May. PC gamers will be able to download it through Steam on May 6. If you plan on picking it up for a console, be advised that PS4 and Xbox One owners will have to wait until May 12. Finally, Project CARS will be released (for all platforms) in European countries on May 7 and a day later, May 8, throughout the UK.
To celebrate the good news, Slightly Mad has put the pedal to the metal on a brand new trailer, which has been embedded above. They’ve also updated the game’s Official FAQ with confirmation that the PC release will support 12K monitor (a 11520×2160 resolution).
How ridiculous is that? Very, actually, because 12K display technology don’t yet exist. The resolution is currently only available by jury-rigging three 4K monitors together and powering it with a PC that has four GeForce Titan graphics cards stuffed into it. The future is now and Slightly Mad is in the driver’s seat.
On a lower resolution note, a Wii U edition of Project CARS remains in development and Slightly Mad still plans to release it sometime before the end of the year.
Xbox Store Today: Mortal Kombat X
2011’s Mortal Kombat reboot brought the franchise back in a big way after years of neglect from the mainstream gaming community. With momentum on their side, NetherRealm Studios is finally ready to launch the next chapter in the series: Mortal Kombat X. Available to download now for the Xbox One through the Xbox Games Store, the game will take players 25 years into the future where they’ll meet new kombatants, perform new Fatalities, and compete in the all-new weekly Faction War. Say it with me… It Has Begun!
Xbox One Games
Mortal Kombat X ($59.99)
Experience the next generation of the #1 fighting franchise. Mortal Kombat X combines unparalleled, cinematic presentation with all new gameplay. For the first time, players can choose from multiple variations of each character impacting both strategy and fighting style.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Mortal Kombat X
NHL 15 predicts the Anaheim Ducks will hoist the Stanley Cup this year
EA Sports is playing Kreskin once again as they’ve plugged this year’s playoff contenders into NHL 15‘s simulation engine to predict the 2014-2015 Stanley Cup champion. As of right now, the publisher is prognosticating that the Anaheim Ducks will win in a seven-game series against the New York Rangers. And not only will the series go the full seven games, but it won’t be decided until late in the third period when the game-winning goal will be made by Anaheim’s Corey Perry. If this prediction comes true, it would be New York’s second straight loss in the Stanley Cup finals.
It should be noted that this prediction is at odds with EA’s full season prediction from October. Six months ago, the publisher said that the Los Angeles Kings would skate away with the Cup in a six-game victory over the Boston Bruins.
Will either prediction come true? I don’t know, but the NHL 14 playoff prediction missed the mark in wild fashion. According to the game, the Boston Bruins were supposed to emerge victorious over the San Jose Sharks. There’s just one problem. Two, actually. The Bruins were knocked out in the second round while the Sharks were sunk in the first. The full season simulation was no better. It predicted the St. Louis Blues would win the Stanley Cup over the Pittsburgh Penguins. As you might have guessed, neither advanced past the second round.
Think you can do better than NHL 15? EA Sports is encouraging fans to participate in the NHL’s Bracket Challenge to find out. I think there’s a real possibility I could build a better bracket by picking at random.