Mario Maker may be delayed as Wii U reaches 9.2 million in sales

Posted on January 29, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Nintendo updated investors on the Wii U’s life-to-date sales performance yesterday and, as of December 31, 2014, 9.2 million Wii U consoles have been sold. This is well behind the sales curve of the Wii, which had sold close to 45 million consoles during this point in its life cycle.

In other bad news, it looks like Mario Maker, a game that lets players create their own Mario courses inspired by Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U, has been delayed. Originally pegged for a “1st Half of 2015” release, the game is now listed in Nintendo’s release calendar as “TBA 2015.”

However, it’s not all bad news. The company posted a 59.5 billion yen ($504 million) profit for their fiscal year to date and a number of games are selling really well including Pokemon: Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby (a lifetime total of 9.35 million copies sold), Super Smash Bros. For 3DS (6.19 million copies sold), Mario Kart 8 (4.77 million copies sold), and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U (3.39 million copies sold).

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged , , , ,

Get bonus XP in Evolve by playing Evolve: Hunters Quest, a mobile match-3 puzzler

Posted on January 29, 2015 by John Scalzo

Quick, grab your phone or tablet, because 2K Games has just released a free-to-play companion app to Evolve for mobile devices. But if you were looking for a little shooty shooty on the go, you might be disappointed. Evolve: Hunters Quest is actually a match-3 puzzler. Available through the iTunes App Store, the Google Play Store, and the Amazon Appstore, Evolve: Hunters Quest will offer 100 missions and the ability to earn Mastery Points which can be spent in the PC, PS4, and Xbox One edition of Evolve to level up your favorite characters:

Evolve: Hunters Quest is a match-3 puzzle combat game based on the Best of Show E3 award winner, Evolve. Use match 3 tokens of the same color to unleash devastating attacks on your enemies, and fill up energy bars to activate hunters’ special abilities. Earn Mastery Points to rank up your character in both the mobile and console games. Explore the planet of Shear in search of new wildlife and monsters. Discover and complete your collection of exotic wildlife in the Bestiary, and earn unique art for the Evolve console game. Enhance your Evolve skills by watching your multiplayer match replays from a strategic top-down view, and devouring intel in the Game Changer. Evolve: Hunters Quest lets you continue your Evolve experience from anywhere!

Evolve will be released on February 10.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Daily Scoop: January 28, 2015 – Last chance for Story Bundle

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Nicole Kline

Video Game V is running out of time over at Story Bundle, so pick it up while you can! I’m personally getting it for Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Bros. 2, but I want to read them all.

Speaking of all the things, you might want every deal in the Humble sale. TRI is $7.47, Skilltree Saga is $3.99, and early access to Armello is $19.99.

The Midweek Madness at Steam is Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season 2 for $6.24. Not caught up yet? Pick up season 1 for $6.24 while you’re at it. The Daily Deal is early access to Starbound. One copy will cost you $11.24, but four copies will be just $33.74. Scoop ’em up!

Check out the t-shirts of the day!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Xbox Store Today: Dying Light

Posted on January 28, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It looks like just one game was added to the Xbox Games Store today and it’s Techland’s Dying Light for the Xbox One. The makers of Dead Island and Dead Island Riptide are back with another zombie title, this time centering around a vast city teeming with the undead. And those undead get nastier when the sun goes down (apparently, even zombies get Seasonal Affective Disorder). Thankfully, the human survivors can perform some sweet parkour moves to avoid the flesh-eating hordes:

Dying Light ($59.99)
Dying Light is a first-person, action survival game set in a vast open world. Roam a city devastated by a mysterious epidemic, scavenging for supplies and crafting weapons to help defeat the hordes of flesh-hungry enemies the plague has created. At night, beware the Infected as they grow in strength and even more lethal nocturnal predators leave their nests to feed on their prey. Live to survive another day. Good Night, Good Luck.

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Insert Quarter: Remembering the Wacky Games Released in a Console’s Twilight

Posted on January 28, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.

Now that the PS4 and Xbox One have completed their first full year on the market, it’s clear that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are slowly sliding into their golden years. The two consoles have lived exceptionally long lives, but now it’s time to say goodbye. However, that also means it’s time to say hello to some of the weird and wacky games that always appear during a console’s last days.

In light of the pending release of Yakuza 5, The A.V. Club’s Anthony John Agnello took a look back at some of these titles and reminisced about such strange offerings as Mega Man & Bass for the Super NES, Under Defeat for the Dreamcast, and Persona 4 for the PS2. Because even though those shiny new consoles look like fun, the party you’re currently at can get very interesting at the end:

Fashionably late: The same rules for when to arrive and leave a party hold true for video game consoles as well. Never show up too early. Is it exciting to get there before everyone else, maybe wait in line for a midnight release, sharing some weird, high-end booze you brought? Sure, but you’ll just end up buzzed before everyone else and playing lame games like Knack. It’s far more important to leave late, though. You never want to leave before things get weird. Parties and game consoles don’t necessarily peak when the guests do.

The full article is available for your perusal at The A.V. Club.

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Ken Levine talks a little bit about his next game, a “sci-fi ish” “open worldish RPG”

Posted on January 28, 2015 by John Scalzo

irrationalgames-logoKen Levine, the creator of BioShock and BioShock Infinite, told the world about a year ago that he wanted to move away from AAA game development and onto something smaller. Yesterday, he finally opened up about the game, encouraging his Twitter followers to ask him anything and everything about it. Levine was still quiet about some subjects, but we know a lot more about the developer’s next game now than we did before:

1:25 PM: [W]ill it be first person or third? Current thinking is first.

1:26 PM: It’s a new universe, not set in any existing.

1:35 PM: We’re playing with something sci fi. Or sci-fi ish.

1:37 PM: [V]oice actors. But have to write them very differently so smaller chunks recombine in meaningful ways. Lots of headscratching.

1:49 PM: Still sticking to 3 act structure? [N]o don’t think that’s relevant in what we’re doing. [I] think more like chapters.

1:51 PM: A game with replayable narrative that can be added IN to like a [Civ] expansion pack, vs. say a Burial at Sea. [Responding to a question asking what he hoped to achieve in the long run.]

2:00 PM: [M]ovies that inspired this project? –Stylistically, yes. Been looking at formalism a la Kubrick and Wes Anderson.

2:00 PM: [N]ot really, because it’s add IN, not add on. Think [Civ] expansion packs. [Responding to a question asking if it’ll be episodic.]

2:04 PM: As of now, developing for [PC].

2:24 PM: High level of replayability. Or we have to substantially re-think.

2:46 PM: [I] think small open worldish (but not necessarily outdoors) [RPG] with quest structure coming from passion system. [Responding to a question about what the actual game will be like.]

So there you have it. Levine is working on some kind of chapter-based (but not episodic) RPG set in an original science-fictional world that will have a high level of replayability. Also, it’s not going to be revealed during this year’s E3 Expo because that’s not how he wants to show his game to fans for the first time.

Like I said, it’s not much, but it is something to chew on for now.

Posted in News |

PGA Tour 15 pushed back to Spring; Need For Speed, Star Wars: Battlefront on track for 2015

Posted on January 28, 2015 by John Scalzo

EA-logoElectronic Arts delivered their quarterly financial presentation yesterday and the company’s executives gave investors a quick peek into what they have planned for 2015.

Andrew Wilson, EA’s Chief Executive Officer, confirmed that a more detailed dive into the publisher’s 2015 schedule would happen at their next quarterly presentation, but he was able to share a few new announcements. First, Wilson revealed that the release of PGA Tour 15 has been officially delayed. Originally planned for an early 2015 launch, the PS4/Xbox One game (which won’t star Tiger Woods) will now make its way to stores in the Spring.

The CEO followed up that announcement with the happier news that the next Need For Speed game and Star Wars: Battlefront are still on track for late 2015/early 2016. Battlefront will be released during the “holiday quarter” (presumably to coincide with Star Wars: The Force Awakens) while Need For Speed will be released sometime in “Fiscal Year 2016” (which runs from April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016).

In addition to the titles mentioned by Wilson, EA has a massive number of semi-announced games in development including Mass Effect 4, Star Wars: Visceral, and Criterion’s Vehicle Game. While it’s unlikely that any of them will be released this year, we may learn more about them in future financial presentations and at this year’s E3 Expo.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged , ,

Dying Light, Grim Fandango Remastered, Life Is Strange Episode 1, more added to PS Store

Posted on January 28, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It’s all about the undead in this week’s PlayStation Store update:

  • Zombies figure prominently in Techland’s Dying Light for the PS4. The first-person survival game incorporates a day/night cycle and gives parkour moves to the player-controlled characters.
  • The afterlife of the undead is the focus of Grim Fandango Remastered, a PS4/Vita Cross-Buy re-release of the popular adventure game from Tim Tim Schafer. Only Manny Calavera, a travel agent at the Department of Death, could make Limbo this exciting.
  • The first episode of Dontnod’s Life Is Strange (available Friday on the PS3 and PS4) introduces us to Max, a woman who is able to bring people back to life thanks to her ability to rewind time.

Two decidedly un-undead games were also added to the Vita storefront this week. There’s the wacky RPG antics of HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 2: Sisters Generation and the dark puzzle-platforming of Nihilumbra.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break and a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog.

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Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita | Tagged , ,