Ralph Baer, the Father of Video Games, dies at age 92

Posted on December 8, 2014 by John Scalzo

Ralph Baer stepped away from video game development more than 35 years ago, but he will always be known “The Father of Video Games” for his contributions to the earliest game consoles. Sadly, Baer passed away over the weekend at the age of 92.

Baer began tinkering with the possibility of playing games on a television set in the late 1960s while employed by Sanders Associates. By 1969 he completed work on a prototype that was nicknamed the “Brown Box” due to the brown tape added to the case to simulate a wood grain finish. In 1972, the “Brown Box” was released as the Magnavox Odyssey, the first game console designed for consumers. Baer designs served as the inspiration for Nolan Bushnell’s work with the Atari 2600 and Baer himself would help Magnavox produce the Odyssey 2 in 1978.

Baer has been honored many times for his work with video games. In 2006, President George W. Bush awarded him with the National Medal of Technology for his contributions to the “groundbreaking and pioneering creation, development, and commercialization of interactive video games.” And in 2008, the Game Developers Conference awarded him a long overdue Game Developers Choice Pioneer Award.

PBS profiled Baer as part of their Inventors digital series last year, which you can view above.

[Source: Gamasutra]

Posted in News, Retro |

Weekly Warp-Up: Game Awards 2014 + PlayStation Experience Recap

Posted on December 7, 2014 by John Scalzo

No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

It was like July in Christmas this weekend as the entire game industry (except for Microsoft, curiously enough) came out for the 2014 Game Awards and the first-ever PlayStation Experience. Both events were overflowing with new information and announcements galore. At the Game Awards alone we got new looks at Mario Maker, Human Element, The Legend of Zelda Wii U, Bloodborne, King’s Quest, Until Dawn, Tacoma, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and a few others. Oh yeah, and Dragon Age: Inquisition won “Game of the Year.”

Elsewhere around Warp Zoned, we used this week to discuss What We Played in November 2014 and the games we’re most looking forward to this month in The Games of December 2014. UK Correspondent Andrew Rainnie also pulled double duty by filing an interview with InnerSpace developer PolyKnight Games and the latest edition of Kickstart This! (focusing on Unsettled, Blood Star, and Waking the Glares).

An almost overwhelming amount of additional news can be found after the break.

Press Start to Continue →

Posted in News |

New Releases: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Final Fantasy XIII-2 for PC

Posted on December 7, 2014 by John Scalzo

laracroftandthetempleofosiris

Yup, the 2014 video game release calendar is definitely winding down. We got our first look at some of 2015’s most anticipated games during this weekend’s PlayStation Experience and the 2014 Game Awards, but only two games will see a retail release this week. And realistically, both of them skate by on a technicality.

First up, isometric multiplayer puzzler Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris will receive a boxed version this week for the PC and PS4. However, the box won’t contain a game disc. Instead, Square Enix has packed in a download code for the full game and access to the game’s Season Pass. Xbox One owners will be able to download Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris through the Xbox Games Store on Tuesday.

Also available this week is the PC launch of Final Fantasy XIII-2. But again, don’t expect to find a retail disc as the game will only be available through digital storefronts.

Posted in News, PC, PS4 | Tagged ,

Final Batman: Arkham Knight Ace Chemicals trailer includes Scarecrow missions tease

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Anthony Amato

In the third and final Batman: Arkham Knight “Ace Chemicals” trailer, we see Batman solving puzzles by remote-controlling the Batmobile, fighting a bunch of mercenaries, and saving Ace Chemicals employees. There’s also a quick tease of the big fight about to go down between the Batmobile and Arkham Knight’s helicopter.

Rocksteady Studios and WB Games talked about the trailer a bit on the PlayStation Blog, as well as revealing the Scarecrow Nightmare Pack, which will be exclusive to the PlayStation 4.

Batman: Arkham Knight will be released for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on June 2, 2015.

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

Shovel Knight will pledge fealty to PS3, PS4, Vita in 2015

Posted on December 6, 2014 by John Scalzo

Shovel Knight was one of this year’s best surprises and now the world’s weirdest knight is making the move to PlayStation platforms. At the PlayStation Experience today, Yacht Club Games announced that Shovel Knight will be released for the PS3, PS4, and Vita sometime in 2015.

With new platforms comes new features and the retro-inspired side-scrolling game will receive a variety of platform-specific features including back touchscreen implementation, Twitch TV integration, cross-save, and more. But all three PlayStation versions of the game will be home to Kratos, the God of War. Before he takes his new-generation bow in the just-announced God of War 4, Kratos will battle Shovel Knight as either the boss of his own castle or as one of the game’s Wandering Knights.

So… Shovel Knight on PlayStation platforms, can you dig it?

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

David Jaffe will bring the visually unique arena FPS Drawn to Death to PS4

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Nicole Kline

David Jaffe’s latest studio, The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency, unveiled their first game, Drawn to Death, during the PlayStation Experience today. Bartlet Jones teamed up with Sony San Diego for the game, and Jaffe said “it feels great to be back with my Sony family!!!” in his PlayStation Blog post.

Drawn to Death is an arena shooter that takes place completely inside the notebook of a “very creative” teenage kid. The lined drawings represent the “violent and bizarre landscape filled with all of the weird, amazing, passionate, and exciting fantasies that are swimming around in the head of our teenage artist.” And all of this chaotic intensity is definitely clear in the video above.

Jaffe said they want the game to play like “an old-school arena shooter” mixed with a “brawler/fighting game.” The plan is to launch with a four-player free-for-all deathmatch, mode giving players the chance to “master advanced environment movement, learn and exploit enemy tells, and form clever strategies that pay off in big victories.”

If you like what you see, you can sign up for the game’s early access period at the game’s official website. If you do it during PlayStation Experience, “you’ll get a super rare, super limited in game mystery item,” which is only available this weekend.

Drawn to Death will be coming to the PlayStation 4 sometime in the future, but not soon enough.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged ,

Sega will release Yakuza 5 for the PS3 in US/Europe in 2015

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Anthony Amato

Sega and Sony have teamed up to release Yakuza 5 digitally on the PlayStation 3 in the US and Europe. They made the announcement this afternoon at PlayStation Experience, but this news has been a long time coming for fans of the franchise. Starting today, Yakuza 4 and Yakuza: Dead Souls will also be available to download through the PlayStation Network, according to the Sega Blog.

Toshihiro Nagoshi, the game’s Executive Director and General Producer, said: “After receiving so many requests from fans of the series, we have decided to bring Yakuza 5 to the US and Europe. This title was enjoyed by over one million gamers in Japan. I’m looking forward to seeing how Yakuza 5 will be received by the gamers in the U.S. and Europe.”

Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama added: “Yakuza 5 is the largest and most definitive version of the Yakuza series. The game is filled with depictions of the Japanese way of life, culture, trends, social issues and dreams. You will play as 5 different main characters with a range of different ages, genders and professions and experience their challenges through a variety of character focused, in-depth stories. I hope you can immerse yourself in our rendition of modern time Japan.”

Yakuza 5 will be available digitally for the PlayStation 3 in 2015.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged ,

Here’s four minutes from MGS5: Phantom Pain’s “Metal Gear Online” multiplayer mode

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Four minutes of gameplay, but it’s a much longer video than that. The video above, which debuted last night during the Game Awards show, starts with Kiefer Sutherland (the voice of Solid Snake), then goes to Hideo Kojima (the creator of the franchise), and then finally to Tom Sekine, who introduces the first gameplay footage from the “Metal Gear Online” multiplayer mode for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The gameplay looks great, the stinger is hilarious, and I really enjoyed the pre-trailer talk, especially when Sutherland introduces Kojima as “my big boss.” Adorable.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is expected to be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One sometime next year.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged ,