Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Mobile
SteelSeries Nimbus adds a console-style controller to All-New Apple TV this October
The voice-controlled Siri Remote was the centerpiece of Apple’s “All-New Apple TV” unveiling on Wednesday, and the hardware giant neglected to mention anything about MFi Controller support even though the microconsole is certainly capable of handling console-style games. Thankfully, we now know the box will include MFi Controller support as a proper controller designed specifically for the All-New Apple TV is on the way from SteelSeries.
Looking very similar to a melding of the Xbox One Controller and the Wii U Pro Controller, the SteelSeries Nimbus includes four face buttons, two shoulder buttons, two trigger buttons, two analog sticks, a D-Pad, and a centralized Menu Button. The Nimbus is powered by a rechargeable battery (with a Lightning connector) that’ll offer more than 40 hours of playing time.
“Nimbus is the result of a lengthy and rigorous R&D effort,” said Craig Olson, President of SteelSeries Worldwide Mobile. “Our engineers and designers have worked tirelessly to create a wireless gaming controller worthy of the new Apple TV. Nimbus will allow consumers around the world to play amazing games on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and Mac with an unprecedented level of performance.”
The SteelSeries Nimbus has been priced at $49.99 and will be available across the globe beginning in late October.
Pokemon Go will let you catch Pokemon in the real world on mobile devices in 2016
The Pokemon Company has released several Pokemon games on mobile devices in the recent past. But today’s announcement of Pokemon Go marks the first time that Nintendo is involved in the creation of a mobile Pokemon game… which is fitting as it might be the biggest one yet.
Pokemon Go will be available for iDevices (through the iOS App Store) and Android devices (through Google Play) beginning in 2016. Similar to a digital version of geocaching, Pokemon Go will use GPS positioning to give players directions to Pokemon they can find “in the wild,” along with other players they can trade with or battle.
Development on Pokemon Go is being lead by Niantic, a team that is actually very familiar with the intersection of mobile gaming and augmented reality. They’re probably best known for Ingress, a mobile game that uses the backdrop an alien invasion to bring players together out in the world.
Pokemon Go will be a free-to-play title, but The Pokemon Company and Nintendo will also sell an optional bauble known as the Pokemon Go Plus that can act as the player’s Pokeball. After linking with the game, it will flash and beep when Pokemon are nearby and players can use the device to catch ’em all with the press of a button. And in addition to the involvement of Niantic and Nintendo, Junichi Masuda, Game Director of the Pokemon franchise at Game Freak, will also assist in the development of Pokemon Go to ensure that it’s the best Pokemon experience possible.
“Pokemon Go is a wonderful combination of Niantic’s real world gaming platform and one of the most beloved franchises in popular culture,” said John Hanke, CEO of Niantic. “Our partnership with The Pokemon Company and Nintendo is an exciting step forward in real-world gaming and using technology to help players discover the world and people around them.”
I have a feeling this super effective team just might be able to create a game that’ll become very popular with the convention crowd.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Pokemon Go
Apple will release the gaming-capable All-New Apple TV in late October
Even though a tidal wave of Android-powered microconsoles have been released over the years, Apple was content to let the Apple TV stream pictures and video. That all changes this Fall with the release of the “All-New Apple TV,” which will be available in late October in 32GB ($149) and 64GB ($199) models.
The All-New Apple TV will be powered by tvOS, a new operating system that’ll let developers create games and apps specifically designed for a bigger screen. Every All-New Apple TV will come packaged with Siri Remote, a remote that includes a glass touch surface that will handle “both small, accurate movements as well as big, sweeping ones.” Users will be able to speak to the Siri Remote for searching and motion controls (including a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope) will also be included in the controller’s bag of tricks.
While the All-New Apple TV will make use of iOS gaming technologies like Metal and Game Center, Apple was mum on the microconsole’s compatibility with MFi Game Controllers. However, the All-New Apple TV’s powerful A8 chip means that, from a technical standpoint, it should certainly be able to handle console-quality games. And it’s definitely getting those games as Apple TV versions of Rayman Adventures, Disney Infinity: Star Wars, Shadowmatic, Crossy Road, and Guitar Hero Live were all announced during today’s event.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Disney Infinity: Star Wars, Guitar Hero Live
Guitar Hero Live goes to 110 as Activision adds ten more songs to the game
After a few weeks of radio silence, Activision announced today that ten more songs will be added to Guitar Hero Live‘s gargantuan setlist. Once again, the selections run the gamut from radio friendly pop (Passenger’s “Let Her Go”) to indie favorites (Haim, Wavves) to the hard stuff (Lamb of God’s “Ghost Walking”). If you’re looking for all ten new tracks, they can be found right here:
- 36 Crazyfists – “Also Am I”
- Gerard Way – “No Shows”
- Haim – “The Wire”
- Lamb of God – “Ghost Walking”
- Orianthi – “According to You”
- Passenger – “Let Her Go”
- Pearl Jam – “Sirens”
- Surfer Blood – “Demon Dance”
- Tonight Alive – “The Ocean”
- Wavves – “Demon to Lean On”
Guitar Hero Live will be released for the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile platforms on October 20.
Video Game Release Calendar Changelog: September 2015 Update
Don’t Forget! This is just a changelog of recently announced release dates. Warp Zoned’s complete Video Game Release Calendar includes every title we could find that’s scheduled for release in 2015, 2016, 2017, or beyond.
We have officially turned the calendar over to September and that means the Fall gaming rush is right around the corner. Thankfully, that means a number of publishers have nailed down final release dates for many of their major releases. Nintendo has been especially busy filling in their monthly planner, announcing release dates for Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (October 22), The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (October 23), Yo-Kai Watch (November 6), Star Fox Zero (November 20), and Devil’s Third (December 11).
Looking beyond the end of the year, 2016’s Winter/Spring period is also filling up fast including a launch date for Lego Avengers in January (January 26) and a bevy of titles in February (XCOM 2 on February 5, Battleborn on February 9, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on February 23). A few weeks later, Nathan Drake makes his PS4 debut in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on March 18. Microsoft has also staked a Spring claim with the release of Quantum Break on April 5.
Finally, we circle back around to Nintendo with the announcement of an official launch window (“Spring 2016”) for the Wii U version of Pokken Tournament. We all knew it was happening, so I’m not sure what took them so long.
Even more new release dates from this edition of the Video Game Release Calendar Changelog can be found after the break. (more…)
Pulling Back the Curtain: The Importance of the Double Fine Adventure Documentary
Recently, 2 Player Productions wrapped production on Double Fine Adventure, a documentary series that followed the development of Broken Age. It was revolutionary in the gaming scene, being the only documentary to ever follow a studio developing a game from its conceptualization through its release and aftermath. Before it, the average game player had only ever seen brief snippets of development from single-person games or small indie teams. Double Fine was the first developer to pull back that curtain on game development, a feat arguably more important than its rocketing of Kickstarter into the mainstream, and unquestionably having a bigger impact on the industry and the community than Broken Age itself. If we’re being honest, Double Fine completely mismanaged their Kickstarter funds, and Broken Age isn’t great. But by “showing how the sausage gets made,” as studio founder Tim Schafer put it, Double Fine made their campaign more than worth it, and left a long-lasting contribution to the industry.
Until DFA came out, game development was a mystical secret that no one outside the industry could begin to comprehend. So much of it was mysterious that many who wanted to be in the industry viewed it with rose-tinted glasses: a dream job where they could play all day. All we knew about game development beforehand were the two extremes. There were the developers that talked in interviews about how great it was, coming to work and hanging out with cool people, getting to create great games that everybody loves. We also read the headlines about developers losing their jobs, and studios being shut down. That or it was about developers going mad in “crunch time” having to work 80 hour weeks. In fact, Double Fine gives us a good example with the Tim Schafter episode of G4’s Icons, when he took us briefly behind the scenes of production on Psychonauts.
We never knew what it was really like, not until Double Fine showed us. (more…)
Minecraft: Story Mode will be playable at PAX Prime 2015
The 2015 PAX Prime expo begins in just a few hours, and if you’re in Seattle waiting to get in, you might be pleased to learn that Telltale Games will have a playable demo of Minecraft: Story Mode at their booth (#3117) this year. According to the developer, this is the first time the game will be playable by anyone outside their office, so this is quite the opportunity for PAX Prime attendees.
A lucky few will also have the chance to acquire an expo-exclusive Minecraft: Story Mode t-shirt. And actually, there will be four different shirt designs, one for each day. Telltale has also said there’s a chance some could collect all four:
[F]rom Saturday onward we’ll have a limited number of the day’s t-shirts reserved each morning for people who visit us wearing one of the previous day’s designs. No need to play the beta again, just wear the shirt! So if you play on the first day and are quick getting to our booth each morning thereafter, you might just manage to collect all four designs.
Minecraft: Story Mode will follow Jesse (Patton Oswalt) and his friends as they attempt to revive the Order of the Stone and save the world from an Ender Dragon. The first episode (of five) is expected to premiere this Fall on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Minecraft: Story Mode, PAX Prime 2015
Square Enix is bringing playable demos of Just Cause 3, Final Fantasy XV, Dragon Quest Heroes, more to PAX Prime 2015
Square Enix has big plans for PAX Prime 2015 including half a dozen panels and playable demos of seven games.
A playable demo of Just Cause 3 will make its North American debut at the Square Enix booth (#3646), where it will share floor space with demos for Final Fantasy XV (Episode Duscae 2.0), Final Fantasy Explorers, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Dragon Qest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, Lara Croft Go, and Life Is Strange.
The publisher also plans to set up a “pop-up barber shop” in their booth to give fans of the Hitman franchise the chance to share Agent 47’s signature look. For every head they shave, Square Enix will donate $47 to the GameChanger Charity, which supports children with cancer. The shavee will even receive a Steam code for Hitman: Absolution. Though anyone who wants to donate their own money (and keep their hair) can do so at 47vsCancer.org.
Finally, Square Enix’s series of panels will fly in developers from all over the world to talk about Hitman, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Just Cause 3, and more. The publisher even plans to host a “Final Fantasy XV Active Time Report Live” panel with Director Hajime Tabata.
The PAX Prime expo will be held from August 28-31 in Seattle, Washington. More details about all of Square Enix’s panels and playable demos can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Hitman: Absolution, PAX Prime 2015