Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
- “Animal Crossing” and Undertale” Lead the Way for New Book Series About Games at University of Chicago Press
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- 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)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
All Articles: Wii U
Atari founder is baffled by Wii U, says console era is over
I think Nolan Bushnell needs a Chuck E Cheese pizza and a good long nap. During a recent chat with The New York Times, the Atari founder took a few swipes at Nintendo’s latest console, the Wii U, and console gaming in general.
Bushnell told the newspaper, “I actually am baffled by [the Wii U]. I don’t think it’s going to be a big success.”
But he saved his harshest criticisms for the console industry in general saying, “These things will continue to sputter along, but I really don’t think they’ll be of major import ever again. It feels like the end of an era to me.”
A part of me wonders if Mr. Bushnell is aware that console gaming is still a $20 billion a year industry? But at least he’s more informed than the author of the article. After leaving the Atari founder, he spends several thousand words on a eulogy for Nintendo because of the popularity of phone/tablet apps.
Sigh.
Nintendo Download: Wii U Roundup, Zelda II, Crashmo, more
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Nintendo is dishing out a ton of new eShop content thanks to their first Wii U games update as well as a handful of 3DS, DSi, and Wii games.
This week, Wii U owners got the chance to download five eShop titles including the dreamy Chasing Aurora, the white-hot Little Inferno, the high-defintion remake Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition, the twin-stick shooter Nano Assault Neo, and the puzzle platformer Trine 2: Director’s Cut. Almost two dozen Wii U retail games were also added to the eShop including New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU, Scribblenauts Unlimited, and more.
3DS owners have their own batch of games to be thankful including another puzzle platformer (Crashmo) and the underappreciated Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Hit the break for more details on all of these games as well as this week’s new DSi and Wii downloads. (more…)
Rumor: Rocksteady readying Silver Age-styled Batman: Arkham Asylum prequel
Maybe the joke’s on us, but Variety is reporting that Rocksteady is planning to follow-up Batman: Arkham City with a prequel based on The Dark Knight’s Silver Age showdowns with The Joker.
One question, though. Who would voice The Clown Prince of Crime now that Mark Hamill has said he’s finished playing The Joker?
That wasn’t answered in the Variety report, but their tipster did reveal a bit more about the game. First, it’s said to be “highly stylized” and will feature cameo appearances from some of Batman’s fellow Justice League of America members. The game is also quite early in development and will launch in 2014 (or possibly later) for next generation systems.
You know, next week’s Comic-Con convention would be the perfect time to announce a new Batman game…
Griffin, Durant, Rose score a spot on the NBA 2K13 cover
With the lockout a thing of the past, 2K Sports has decided to not go with a retired legend for the cover of NBA 2K13.
Instead, the publisher has tapped three of the best players currently playing the game: Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. All three were suitably humbled to be selected for the cover. And why not, they were preteens when NBA 2K was released!
“Being crowned as one of the NBA 2K13 cover athletes is a huge honor and something I always dreamt about,” said Durant. “It’s definitely humbling to grace the cover after the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.”
“There’s so much young talent around the NBA, so it’s very exciting to be chosen for NBA 2K’s ‘New Dynasty’ alongside Kevin and Derrick,” added Griffin. “The NBA 2K series has always been my first choice when I want to get a game in.”
“It’s a dream come true to be one of the cover athletes for NBA 2K13,” commented Rose. “I’ve worked closely with 2K Sports since NBA 2K10, and I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan as the latest Chicago Bull to be featured on the cover.”
NBA 2K13 will be released for the PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 on October 2. A Wii U version will also be available before the end of the year.
NBA 2K13 slams it home on October 2; tips off at Wii U launch too
It’s bad luck to change anything in the middle of a hot streak. Your favorite headband, your driving route to the court, even your underwear. It all has to stay the same. Every athlete knows this.
It looks like the people at 2K Sports are a superstitious bunch as well. Just as they’ve done every year since 2007, the publisher plans to release NBA 2K13 for the PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 during the first week of October (October 2 to be exact). A Wii U version is also in development and will ship during the “holiday season.”
NBA 2K13 is, as always, in development at Visual Concepts. This year, the developer plans to include a new downloadable NBA All-Star content package with every pre-order of the game. Buying early on the PS3 and Xbox 360 will net fans a trio of star-studded bonuses:
[The NBA All-Star] add-on content will be set in Houston, the site of the 2013 NBA All-Star Game and will allow fans to stage their own NBA All-Star Game, including three NBA All-Star events – the Foot Locker Three Point Shootout, BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, and the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest featuring all-new intuitive, pick-up-and-play controls.
Gamers can pit the NBA’s current superstars against classic players in both the Foot Locker Three Point Shootout and Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Rosters for both the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge and 2013 NBA All-Star Game will feature the 2012 All-Stars, with dynamic updates to the 2013 rosters once the participants are announced.
“The NBA All-Star package is our way saying ‘thank you’ to fans for their ongoing love of the NBA 2K series,” said Jason Argent, Vice President of Marketing for 2K Sports. “This content provides a ton of depth and value to our fans, and it’s just the beginning of a lot of big news about NBA 2K13.”
Wii U might support multiple tablet controllers
With the rise of online multiplayer gaming, sometimes I wonder about the loss of the days where four people could sit in a room and get some game on together. When Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference revealed that the Wii U would support only one controller per console, I thought this was the beginning of the end of single console multiplayer, and it made me sad.
But Nintendo says that they are working on it. A source that chose to remain anonymous told Develop that Nintendo is working to bypass the coding restrictions the system had in order to allow two controllers to work on the same system. But the source also said that we aren’t going to be having four controllers on the system like the old days any time soon. Apparently, it’s just outside of the systems capabilities to have more than two tablet controllers. The Wii U will suport four Wii Remotes in addition to the tablet controller for multiplayer.
Either way, Nintendo said last month that the Wii U would be shown in it’s final form at E3 2012, so our speculations will become reality by next year.
Wii U to be fully unveiled at E3 2012
It should come as much of a surprise, but Nintendo doesn’t plan to launch the Wii U next Spring. Instead, the company has announced they’ll officially unveil the Wii U’s “final format” at E3 2012.
Nintendo is also taking the “yawn heard ’round the world” that was the 3DS launch to heart. Company President Satoru Iwata told investors at a recent financial briefing: “As we learned a bitter lesson with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, we are trying to take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch.”
The Wii U’s launch is still scheduled to place during Nintendo’s next fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2013.
Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2, Future Legend of Rhythm Alien announced
Gaijin Games has announced a sequel to Bit.Trip Runner, which they’re calling Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2, Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. Wow, that’s quite a mouthful! The video above shows some of their brainstorming about the sequel, and includes some colorful language, as well as a turkey suit. And, of course, Commander Video is back.
According to the press release, the sequel will bring “at least 10 new abilities, HD visuals, support for Achievements/Trophies/leaderboards, unlockable costumes and ‘LOTS more to be revealed later.'” This sounds pretty exciting, especially because this sequel is coming to the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in 2012. No news yet on whether or not it will be coming to the Wii U.
For more information, concept art, and other details, check out the Runner 2 official website.
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Tagged Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360