Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Mobile
Disney shuts down all console development and cancels Disney Infinity franchise
Two months ago, the Disney Infinity franchise was put on hiatus by Disney Interactive. Yesterday, the Walt Disney Company announced the end of Disney Interactive with the cancellation of all console development and the closure of the entire division.
Speaking during the company’s quarterly financial report, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said, “During the quarter, we took a charge of $147 million in connection with the shutdown of our Infinity console games business. Going forward, our console games strategy will focus solely on licensing our great portfolio of content.”
This closure extends to developer Avalanche Software, and Disney Interactive General Manager John Blackburn thanked them for all their hard work on the publisher’s official website:
Our goal for Disney Infinity was to bring the best of Disney storytelling to life in homes around the world, and with your support we accomplished that. We hope you had as much fun playing the game as we had making it.
And as we turn to the next chapter in our story, I want to thank everyone who helped bring Disney Infinity to life, particularly Disney’s Glendale-based production and publishing teams, our external development partners, and of course the incredible Avalanche team for their tireless dedication to this project.
Avalanche will complete work on the remaining Disney Infinity content that is currently in development, including three figures from Alice: Through the Looking Glass (which will be available later this month) and a Finding Dory Play Set (coming in June).
With Disney’s console development future tied up in licensing deals, we should probably expect to hear about more third-party partnerships, like the one the company struck with EA to create Star Wars: Battlefront, soon.
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Disney Infinity, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, Disney Infinity: Star Wars
Handicapping the 2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists
We’re just a few days away from learning which games will be inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame this year. In 2015, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., Pong, Doom, World of Warcraft, and Pac-Man were selected as the inaugural class by the institution’s induction committee. The Hall’s Class of 2016 will be announced on Thursday, May 5, and five or six games are once again expected to rise above the other finalists.
But which of the 15 finalists will be honored this year? Using the Hall’s induction criteria as a guide, I can think we can determine the odds of which games will make it in and which will have to wait until next year. (more…)
The PAXpocalypse List: The Best of PAX East 2016
Believe it or not, we’re not living in a post-apocalyptic hellscape (depending on your political affiliation, insert your own Trump/Hillary joke here). But you’d never know it if all you had to go by was the 2016 PAX East show floor, which was overrun by dozens of titles that took place after the collapse of society… and a lot of them were pretty good.
But what if some disaster did befall the world and force PAX East attendees to forever wander the halls of the Boston Convention and Exhibition, feasting on whatever mac and cheese bowls or turkey legs they may find? That’s where Warp Zoned’s PAXpocalypse List comes in, because these are the games we’d keep playing if we could never venture outside again… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged 20XX, Catlateral Damage, Cuphead, Flinthook, Graceful Explosion Machine, Inversus, Just Shapes and Beats, PAX East 2016, Pit People, Refactor, Streamline, Tooth and Tail, Tumblestone, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
The Walking Dead Season 3 tease from Robert Kirkman reveals an older Clementine
Robert Kirkman is the creator of the Walking Dead comic book and the guiding hand behind the megafranchise’s expansion into television, novels, and video games. So Telltale Games recently gave him the chance to talk about his thoughts on The Walking Dead: Michonne, which came to a conclusion yesterday.
In the video, Kirkman praises the Telltale team for their fine work, and reveals that several of the game’s plot points came directly from his notes for Michonne’s absence in issue #126. The writer also couldn’t resist teasing The Walking Dead Season 3, and confirmed that fans of the series are in store for another time jump:
“Season 3 of the Telltale series is really exciting to me. The way that the timeline works, Season 3 will actually be getting pretty close to where we are in the comics concurrently,” said Kirkman. “We’ll be checking in on Clementine again, so we’ll be seeing her, seeing where she’s at and what’s going on with her which is going to be great. But also similar to the Michonne series there will probably be some more comic book elements that we’ll be working into it in some interesting ways. I don’t want to spoil too much…”
The first episode of The Walking Dead Season 3 will be released sometime this year.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, The Walking Dead: Michonne
Nintendo is working on Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem mobile games
Good news, everyone! Nintendo has announced that new Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem apps will soon be available for mobile platforms:
More #Nintendo apps are coming to smart devices, including Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing! pic.twitter.com/ZLsHirPltM
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 27, 2016
Best of all, it sounds like both will be full-fledged games, instead of communication apps like Miitomo:
For [Fire Emblem], while making it more accessible in comparison to the Fire Emblem games for Nintendo’s dedicated gaming systems, Nintendo aims to offer the great value of a role-playing strategy game. Nintendo will design [Animal Crossing] so that it will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems. By playing both Animal Crossing games, users will find increased enjoyment.
Both of these are pure game applications. Compared to Miitomo, they have more prominent game elements, and the game content will tie closely into Nintendo’s dedicated games business.
The currently untitled Animal Crossing Mobile and Fire Emblem Mobile should launch sometime this Fall.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Animal Crossing Mobile, Fire Emblem Mobile
Dear Diary: Friday at PAX East 2016 I Played…
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has opened the doors for PAX East once again. And once that overwhelming feeling went away, I managed to pay a visit to more than a few indie developers on Friday. So here’s a quick look at what I managed to play on the first day of PAX East 2016… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Deathstate, Graceful Explosion Machine, Inversus, PAX East 2016, Pit People, Refactor
The Walking Dead: Michonne’s final episode will be available on April 26
Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Michonne miniseries will come to an end next week with the launch of its final episode, “What We Deserve.” The developer has also released a new trailer recapping the second episode, “Give No Shelter.” Needless to say, it is filled to the brim with spoilers. But if you’re ready to continue Michonne’s story, the third episode will offer plenty of thrills and more tough choices:
In “What We Deserve,” feeling the weight of choices both recent and long ago, Michonne tries to protect an innocent family… but Norma and the vengeful Monroe crew are closing in. As reality shatters and the ghosts of the daughters she abandoned demand to be heard, your choices will determine who lives, who dies, and what redemption really means in a world gone to hell.
The Walking Dead: Michonne Episode 3 – “What We Deserve” will be available to download for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices (iOS and Android) on April 26.
Activision will release Ghostbusters (consoles, PC) + Ghostbusters: Slime City (mobile) in July
As expected, Activision is answering the “Who Ya Gonna Call?” call and will release a pair of Ghostbusters games alongside the new film in July.
Ghostbusters is an overhead shooter for 1-4 players, who will take control of four rookie Ghostbusters as they battle spooks and spirits in New York City after the events of the film. According to the Activision Games Blog, the four characters will each have their own play style and players can “level up their character’s gear and abilities by battling ghosts, completing objectives, or discovering hidden collectibles.” Ghostbusters will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on July 12.
Meanwhile, Ghostbusters: Slime City will be available for mobile devices (iOS and Android) and it “lets players collect powerful ghosts.” The rather vague description continues to say that players will also be able to “collect components to craft [their] own proton packs, upgrade [their] own headquarters, and complete jobs around the city for new weapons and rewards.” Ghostbusters: Slime City will be released sometime in July.
The Ghostbusters reboot will open in theaters on July 15.