Warp Zoned Presents
Author: Chris Urie
Microsoft to give refunds to gamers who can’t play Minecraft multiplayer
It’s often that we hear about a huge corporation messing it up for the little consumers like us, but in light of the recent Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition splitscreen debacle, it seems that the big, bad Microsoft is playing nice.
For those of you who don’t know, the splitscreen feature for Minecraft is only available if you have an HDTV. If you have a standard def set, you’re out of luck. The problem was that on XBLA, these requirements were never stated and many of the customers thought they were getting the whole game when, sadly, they weren’t able to enjoy one the best features of playing Minecraft on the Xbox 360. Thankfully, the requirements for splitscreen play have finally been added to the game’s Xbox.com listing and wronged customers are being sorted out in a well-oiled manner.
If you’re one of these disgruntled customers with a standard def set, you can contact Microsoft customer service and receive a refund if you purchased the game before the newly stated requirements went up over the weekend.
It could have been much worse. Microsoft could have told customers to build their own HDTV in Minecraft so that they could play split screen Minecraft in Minecraft. Then together you could each make your own HDTV’s to play Minecraft within Minecraft within Minecraft. Then even Christopher Nolan would be confused.
[Source: Kotaku]
This is a 30,000 domino tribute to Nintendo (and apparently Sonic)
Don’t worry if you haven’t fulfilled your daily quota of YouTube video game nonsense. Here at Warp Zoned, we have your back.
Take this video for example. It is a massive domino toppling with designs that pay tribute to Nintendo’s many great franchises and systems including Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, the N64, the GameCube, the Wii, the DS, and… Sonic!?
Just go with it.
Minecraft delivers a pickaxe blow to every XBLA sales record
Does it honestly surprise anyone anymore that Minecraft has done something amazing and awesome? In addition to being a refreshingly unique and enjoyable game that puts the player’s imagination front and center in their own cubically arranged world, it’s also become the fastest-selling game ever offered on the Xbox Live Arcade, both in terms of copies sold and money made.
That’s right, this little indie game has blitzed every XBLA sales record effortlessly to sit high on it’s laurels and reap the rewards. Which are more piles of cash for Markus “Notch” Persson to hurl at Tim Schafer and hopefully any other auteur to help get their arrestingly unique ideas out of their heads and onto consoles and PCs everywhere. Official figures weren’t released, but the Minecraft creator tweeted that more 400,000 had listed their names on the game’s leaderboard on Wednesday.
The previous holder of the 24-hour sales record was Trials Evolution, which was only able to call itself “the fastest-selling XBLA game ever” for three weeks.
Gambitious to offer game funding with shares and dividends
Kickstarter has breathed life into numerous video games from the smallest of retro art projects of love to ambitious undertakings that hope to redefine storytelling. There is no doubt that people have been successful using the platform… cough cough… Tim Schafer… COUGH! But what if masses of people were not just donating money in return for cool swag? What if you could invest some of your hard earned money into a project you believe in and potentially get a bit of cash in return?
That’s exactly what Dutch company Gambitious plans to do. Essentially, they are launching a video game “stock market” where individuals can purchase shares in a project and in return will be able to get some moolah in return if the game is a commercial hit. According to CEO Korstiaan Zandvliet, “A developer decides what percentage of the required funding people can buy. Someone who invests money in a project, becomes a shareholder and is entitled to dividends.”
Gambitious will launch this June, just in time for E3 2012. Initially, it’ll only be available to European investors, but Zandvliet plans to take the company global as soon as the appropriate legal hurdles are… well, hurdled.
It’ll be very interesting to see what happens with this budding funding platform. It may be just what small developers need to pad their budget and make the game the way they see it in their heads. At the very least, it might cut down on production delays since a developer wouldn’t want 50,000 investors posting angry messages on their Facebook wall.
[Source: GamesIndustry International]
Posted in News
Dirt Showdown drifts into stores on May 29
The crackling sound of spitfire coming from rally car exhaust pipes will be back on your console soon, because Codemasters has brought you a new edition of Dirt to play around in. Dirt Showdown will be hitting the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in Europe on May 24 and here in North America on May 29. If you want to try before you buy, a demo will be released on May 1.
As is usual, Dirt Showdown will feature tons of tire squealing crashes, flips, and the occasional explosion. But there will also be “Hoonigan Mode” which allows you to pull of some insane tricks and stunts in your rip roaring rally cars. The game also features demolition derbies and figure 8 racing which will of course make for some destructive fun when you have a couple friends over. You might be able to take out some pent up animosity on their jumped-up jalopy.
Showdown is the first game from the publisher’s new division, Codemasters Racing. Dirt Showdown will also feature the brand new RaceNet beta, which will connect players to their stats to see how many doors they’ve blown off of their rivals.
But, unlike Ken Block, you can just hit the reset button if you happen to smash head-on into a jersey barrier.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged DiRT Showdown
Three new trailers for DMC: Devil May Cry
Dante is back once again to banish some demons with his signature brand of gravity defying flippy-shooty-slashy-wahey! DMC: Devil May Cry looks like a spectacularly fresh entry into the series while still retaining the essence of what makes a Devil May Cry game. Which is to say, you can still make some demonic marionettes hover in the air with only your bullets for support.
What really stands out in DMC is the inspired art direction. The game looks gorgeous and will be a welcome break from anything remotely realistic. Bright colors amalgamate into a hyper-real world for you and Dante to explore.
And from the gameplay trailers you can find after the break, the rest of the game looks to be on par with the spectacular visuals. Don’t believe me? Have a peek below and see what you think. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged DMC: Devil May Cry
Industry analyst calls used game lockout rumors “so stupid as to be laughable”
Industry analyst Michael Pachter has some strong words to describe the rumors swirling around the used game compatibility of next-generation systems. The idea has been circling that the PlayStation 4/Orbis and Xbox 720 will feature a lockout system that would prevent players from playing used games. Whether it’s a simple online pass to pair a game with one console or going completely discless, there has been a lot of conjecture as to what will be happening with DRM in the future consoles.
Pachter provides a convincing argument that fear of competition will keep used games on the shelves and in your new next-gen console. He believes that if one of the consoles takes the chance on barring used games, the others will reap the reward by simply allowing them. It would be death for any new console to alienate such a huge base of gamers right out of the gate. Or, in other words, “so stupid as to be laughable.”
“Unless you believe in collusion – unless you believe that all the console manufacturers are going to get together and scheme to screw the consumer, and at least in the U.S. we have laws against that, so probably none of them would do that – then if one of them did that unilaterally (any one of those things), the others would say, “Hey wait a minute, we have a disc drive. Ours will play used games. Buy ours instead of there’s.”
“[It’s] not happening. Not even a prayer of that.”
Those words are music to the ears of every gamer on a budget. If everything happens like he says, used games will be here to stay and you won’t have to worry about your wallet being raided by your controller.
[Source: Game Informer]
Battlefield developer DICE is hiring for a next-gen game
Who wants to work in Stockholm?
DICE, the EA division of mad programmers that play with the Frostbite 2 engine and brought you titles such as Battlefield 3 and Mirror’s Edge, is looking for a senior software engineer to help them craft their next-gen titles. Next-gen as in PlayStation 4 (AKA Orbis), Xbox 720, and Wii U.
What do you need to work at DICE? Hit the jump to find out, complete with translations for those unfamiliar with video game employment vernacular. (more…)