GameStop-exclusive Vita version of Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes is out tomorrow

Posted on May 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

disneyinfinitymarvelsuperheroes-vitaExcelsior!

Sony Computer Entertainment and Disney Interactive have announced Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes will be released for the Vita tomorrow. Available exclusively at GameStop, the Vita version of Marvel Super Heroes features a never-before-seen Black Suit Spider-Man figure and a wireless Base that connects via Bluetooth. The package, which is priced at $59.99, will also include two Marvel Super Heroes Toy Box Game Discs, a Web Code Card, and a USB Recharging Cable.

Naturally, the Black Suit Spider-Man figure is also compatible with all other editions of Disney Infinity and Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes as well.

Even more Disney Infinity games will be coming your way soon as the third game in the series, Disney Infinity: Star Wars, was officially announced earlier this week.

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Xbox Store Today: Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition, Ultratron, Slice Zombies

Posted on May 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It’s Friday, so that means its time for Microsoft to add a handful of new titles to the Xbox Games Store. Today’s update includes a trio of new Xbox One games:

  • Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor – Game of the Year Edition is a re-release of one of 2014’s biggest games, now available in a complete edition with all the previously-released downloadable content.
  • Ultratron is a brightly-colored twin-stick shooter that features a “humanoid battle droid” avenging humanity’s extinction by turning on the other killer bots.
  • Finally, Slice Zombies For Kinect asks the question… what if the zombies from Plants vs Zombies were in a Fruit Ninja game? Seriously, these zombies look just like the ones from Plants vs Zombies.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break.

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Nintendo will host a Splatoon open beta tonight and tomorrow

Posted on May 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

Nintendo’s newest Splatoon commercial is so sugary sweet that I wouldn’t be surprised if it sends a few viewers into shock. But the whole thing is also so aggressively adorable that you can’t help but giggle in appreciation. Splatoon is being positioned as the anti-Call of Duty and Nintendo is clearly having a ball with how ridiculous it is.

If you wanted to test out Splatoon before its May 29 launch, you’re in luck. Nintendo has announced plans to hold an open beta test (excuse me, a “Global Testfire”) for Splatoon tomorrow. Players can download the demo version now and join one or all of the three demo tests scheduled for tonight and tomorrow:

  • Friday, May 8: 11:00 PM – 12:00 AM (Eastern Time)
  • Saturday, May 9: 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM (Eastern Time)
  • Saturday, May 9: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Nintendo also announced that Splatoon will receive a variety of post-launch content all Summer long including new Turf War stages, weapons, battle modes, and gear. These updates will be supplemented by community events known as Splatfests. During a Splatfest, Splatoon players will join a side (For example, do you prefer cats or dogs?) and then blast the other side in online matchups. The first Splatfest will be held on June 20.

Once again, Splatoon will be available in stores exclusively for the Wii U on May 29.

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Batman: Arkham Knight adds Ashley Greene, Jonathan Banks, John Noble, more to cast

Posted on May 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

WB Games has released an extended trailer highlighting the voice cast of Batman: Arkham Knight… and I suggest you watch it right now if you’ve ever wanted to hear John Noble cackle about driving the Batmobile. Yes, first things first, WB Games has finally confirmed that Noble will be voicing The Scarecrow. The Fringe and Sleepy Hollow star will be joined by a battery of new players including Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad) as Commissioner Gordon, Ashley Greene (Twilight) as Barbara Gordon/Oracle, and Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights) as Dick Grayson/Nightwing. And everyone’s favorite Batman, Kevin Conroy, takes over the beginning the trailer with some quality bat-monologuing.

Tara Strong (Harley Quinn), Troy Baker (Two-Face), and Nolan North (The Penguin) will also lend their voices to the game, though they don’t appear in the trailer. Batman: Arkham Knight will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 23.

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Nintendo Download: SMT Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker, Mega Man & Bass, more

Posted on May 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It’s games we’ve seen before and games that look like games we’ve seen before on today’s Nintendo Download.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker is a 3DS remake of the handheld RPG, which was originally released for the DS in 2012. The remake will include a brand new scenario, “Triangulum Arc,” as well as enhanced graphics and new downloadable content.

Also available this week is Mega Man & Bass, the first offering from Capcom as part of their Mega May promotion. Originally released only in Japan for the Super NES, Mega Man & Bass is the ninth entry in the original series. It came to America for the first time in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance, and now that version is available to download through the Wii U eShop.

Finally this week, High Strangeness is available on the Wii U eShop. High Strangeness was the first game project to ever reach its funding goal on Kickstarter and is also billed as the world’s first “12-bit” title. The action RPG is “a deftly blended hybrid of 8 and 16-bit games,” that also includes a talking cat.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break.

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Nintendo posts first yearly profit in four years as Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros. 4, Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire sell a bundle

Posted on May 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The champagne is surely flowing in the Nintendo office today as the consolemaker has posted a yearly profit for the first time since 2011. After tabulating sales of almost ¥550 billion (about $4.6 billion), Nintendo announced an operating income of ¥24.77 billion (about $207 million) during their most recent fiscal year (April 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015).

It’s quite a turnaround for the company, and it’s all due to an influx of big-selling titles on the 3DS and Wii U. Leading the way was Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U. Nintendo’s ridiculously popular fighting game sold 6.75 million copies on the 3DS and 3.65 million on the Wii U for a grand total of 10.4 million copies. Another connected pair of games almost reached eight figures this past year, but Pokemon: Omega Ruby and Pokemon: Alpha Sapphire will have to settle for a 9.94 million tally instead.

Mario Kart 8 was next on the sales charts, producing sales in excess of 5.11 million copies sold. And speaking of the Mario Kart franchise, Mario Kart 7 sold 2 million copies during the fiscal year, which pushes its lifetime sales past 11.7 million copies. Sticking with the 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D also performed well in the last 12 months, selling more than 2 million copies.

Finally, Nintendo also shared hardware sales figures for both the Wii U and 3DS. Nintendo’s home console has sold 9.54 million systems since its 2012 launch while the 3DS has chipped in 52 million in sales for the handheld’s entire family.

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Project Giant Robot, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, Yoshi’s Woolly World move closer to release

Posted on May 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Nintendo shuffled around a few games in an update to their 2015 release calendar yesterday, but all three feel closer than they did a week ago. And one game in particular is now much closer to launching.

Project Giant Robot, one of Shigeru Miyamoto’s “GamePad Experiments,” has been given a “First Half 2015” release window by Nintendo. That means the giant robot battler will be released for the Wii U sometime in the next eight weeks. Not bad for a game that we still know very little about.

Speaking of games we know very little about, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem has been given a “Winter 2015” launch date for Japan. The RPG mashup’s American and European launch is still listed as “To Be Determined,” but it should cross the Pacific shortly afterwards.

Finally, Yoshi’s Woolly World still has a “Fall 2015” release date for North America, even though its been penciled in for a June 28 launch in Europe. Hopefully, that means Fall will turn into Summer and we get Yoshi’s Woolly World on this side of Atlantic sooner rather than later.

The remainder of Nintendo’s release calendar looks just like it did last time as Star Fox Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Fatal Frame 5, Project Guard, and Devil’s Third are all still on track for a release sometime in 2015.

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Nintendo and Universal Studios team up to create Nintendo theme park attractions

Posted on May 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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“The Happiest Place on Earth” might be Disneyland, but Nintendo and Universal Studios have announced they are working together to create the Smashiest Place on Earth.

In a joint statement, the two entertainment companies revealed they will join forces to design a variety of Nintendo-themed attractions for Universal’s amusement parks. According to the consolemaker, the attractions will be “spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds.”

This agreement likely came about as part of Nintendo’s recent push to license their vast array of characters to other companies. Announced last year, the initiative also spurred Nintendo’s recent move into mobile game development with DeNA. The Universal Studios deal is still in the very early stages, so it’s unknown which Nintendo characters or games will get the theme park treatment, but I’m holding out for “Ms. Aran’s Wild Ride” myself.

Universal’s last major addition, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” went from announcement to opening in about three years. So hopefully we’ll all be able to romp through a real world Mushroom Kingdom sometime in 2018.

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