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
Wii Mini (bundled with Mario Kart Wii) comes to US this month
If you live in the US and have been wondering what to get for the holiday season, or if you’ve always been curious to see why the Wii was the best-selling video game console of the seventh generation, then your chance has finally arrived.
Nintendo has announced that the Wii Mini, previously only available in Canada and the UK, will be arriving in the United States this month. The Wii Mini is a more compact and affordable version of the Wii that is perfect for families or friends who want a more economic experience. The console features an awesome black-and-red color scheme, and is set for a retail price of $99.99.
Unlike the Wii, the Wii Mini has no Internet capabilities (which means no online play, no Virtual Console, and no WiiWare), but it can play every disc-based game in the extensive Wii library. To get new players started, the Wii Mini comes bundled with Mario Kart Wii, so families and friends can take advantage of the game’s great local multiplayer instantly.
Posted in News
Tagged Mario Kart Wii, Wii
Just Dance 2014 adds Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”
Ubisoft has announced that the soundtrack to Just Dance 2014 will include two of this Summer’s biggest songs: Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” I’m sure that all the people who love these two songs will be thrilled. Oh, and insert your own “Miley’s foam finger” and/or “Robin Thicke is a sexist” joke here.
Just Dance 2014 will be available for the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on October 4. A PS4 version will follow on Noveber 15 and an Xbox One edition will be released on November 22.
Say hello to the villains of Lego Marvel Super Heroes in a new trailer
In honor of this year’s Gamescom expo, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released a new trailer for Lego Marvel Super Heroes. In addition to confirming the game will also appear on the PS4 and Xbox One this Fall, the developers at TT Games have given us our first look at some of the game’s many villains. They include (deep breath)…
Dr. Doom, Doctor Octopus, Magneto, Sandman, Arnim Zola, Green Goblin, Sabretooth, Abomination, Loki, Mystique, and Galactus. There’s also blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpses of the heroic Cyclops, Storm, and the Silver Surfer.
But unless I missed him, I’m still holding out for Lego Blade. Though I love that we’re getting Lego Punisher, even if he wasn’t in this trailer.
Bye bye to the Rock Band Store… “American Pie” released as last weekly update
After 281 weekly updates, Harmonix has released the final new addition to the Rock Band Music Store, Don Mclean’s “American Pie.” Like most Rock Band 3 tracks, the song has been priced at $1.99 on the PlayStation Network, 160 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and 200 Wii Points on the Wii Shop. As always, the song is also compatible with the instrument-less Rock Band Blitz.
We were singing, bye bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol’ boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing…
This’ll be the day that I die
To put an exclamation point on the five years (and over 4,000 songs) that went into building the Rock Band Music Store, Harmonix has created a short video, The Story of Rock Band, which you can view above.
Posted in News
Tagged PS3, Rock Band 3, Rock Band Blitz, Wii, Xbox 360
Pandora’s Tower finally comes to US in April 2013
When XSEED Games announced that they planned to bring Pandora’s Tower to North America, a “Spring” release date was all we had to go on. Today, the publisher has confirmed that the game (likely the final major release for the Wii) will be available in April.
In addition to a solid release window, XSEED has released a new trailer that lays out the game’s “dark fairytale” theme:
The trailer introduces players to Elena, an unassuming singer who succumbs to a wretched curse during a festival performance, Mavda, a mysterious merchant who reveals the fleshy cure to the curse, and Aeron, a young ex-soldier whose heart has forever been pledged to Elena. Aeron must now embark on a daunting journey to retrieve the flesh of twelve “masters” and free Elena of her curse.
With the release of Pandora’s Tower almost upon us, thanks must go out again to Operation Rainfall and their tireless work to secure a North American release for the game.
Posted in News
Tagged Pandora's Tower, Wii
Wii Mini coming to the UK in March
The Wii Mini, the Canada-exclusive Wii revision that was released this holiday season, is no longer exclusive. Today, Nintendo UK announced that the Wii Mini will be taking a trip over the pond when the console is released in the UK on March 22nd. Though no price was announced, it is safe to assume it will be around the $99 (£63.50) price mark of its Canadian counterpart.
The Wii Mini was released in Canada on December 7, 2012. It lacked GameCube compatibility, an SD card slot, Wi-Fi support, and most importantly only supports composite video output. In the press release, Nintendo did not state plans to release the Wii Mini in the United States, Asia, or the rest of Europe.
Nintendo Download: Wii Street U, Dig Dug, Rabbids Travel in Time 3D, more
Nintendo’s mapping service for the Wii U, Wii Street U, is now available on the Wii U eShop as a free download. But if you’re interested in the Google Maps-powered application, I suggest you get it quick, as it’ll be free only for a limited time.
3DS players will get a chance to download three games this week: the NES version of the arcade classic Dig Dug, the minigame collection Rabbids Travel in Time 3D, and the mythical pet-raising game Petz Fantasy 3D.
You can read all about these titles (as well as new additions to the DSiWare Shop and Wii Virtual Console) after the break. (more…)
Madden NFL 13 picks the Ravens as the winner of Super Bowl XLVII
The football Nostradamus that is EA Sports’ annual Simulation Bowl has made its pick for Super Bowl XLVII and it’s the Baltimore Ravens. Using a copy of Madden NFL 13 running on an Xbox 360, the simulated game features Ravens narrowly defeating the San Francisco 49ers 27 to 24.
The simulation started slowly with both teams only managing a field goal apiece after the first quarter. The 49ers shot ahead 10-3 in the second quarter with a Frank Gore touchdown, but a Torrey Smith catch and a Ray Rice run put the Ravens up 17-10 at halftime.
The simulation was knotted up again near end of regulation after Joe Flacco tossed a TD to Anquan Boldin and the 49ers answered with another Frank Gore run and a Colin Kaepernick to Vernon Davis throw. But the simulation ended thanks to a field goal from rookie kicker Justin Tucker and an Ed Reed interception to put the 49ers away for good.
Joe Flacco was named the MVP of the Super Bowl simulation for his 19 of 27 completion rate, 260 yards, and two touchdowns.
EA Sports and their Madden NFL Super Bowl Simulation correctly picked last year’s winner (the Giants over the Patriots) and is 7-2 since they first began picking winners in 2004. We’ll see if they move up to 8-2 this Sunday.