Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Retro
The Video Game Canon’s 2020 Update is Here
The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-ranking of dozens of “Best Video Games of All Time” lists that began in 2017 with Version 1.0, and the ranking has been updated several times since then. Which game is #1? There’s only one way to find out…
The latest update to the Video Game Canon, Version 4.0, has arrived!
The Video Game Canon now includes a total of 1,232 games, which were pulled from 59 “Best Video Games of All Time” lists published between 1995 and 2020. Each game was ranked against the rest of the field using the C-Score, a formula that takes into account a game’s “Average Ranking” and the complementary percentage of its “Appearance Frequency” across all lists.
Finally, games released after December 31, 2016 were excluded from the ranking because of their newness.
Three brand new lists were added to Version 4.0 of the Video Game Canon, including “The 100 Best Video Games in History” from GQ Spain, a “Top 100 Video Games of All Time” ranking from Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, and a massive look back at “The Best Video Game the Year You Were Born” from Popular Mechanics. Alongside these new additions, updates to IGN‘s “Top 100 Video Games of All Time,” Popular Mechanics‘s “The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time,” and Slant Magazine‘s “The 100 Best Video Games of All Time” were also added to the calculation. Thanks to reader CriticalCid for providing research assistance with some of these new lists.
But even with all this new data, there was surprisingly very little movement near the top of the Video Game Canon, and the Top 3 was once again represented by Alexey Pajitnov’s Tetris (#1), Valve’s Half-Life 2, and Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 (#3). There was some slight shuffling in the rest of the Top 10, but no new titles were able to crack the highest tier. Nintendo’s classic quartet of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (#4), Super Mario 64 (#5), The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (#6), and Super Metroid (#10) all hung around, as did Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (#7), Irrational’s BioShock (#8), and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption (#9).
Things get more interesting as you move further down the Top 100, especially for the 2015 and 2016 releases that now qualify for inclusion in the Video Game Canon.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to learn more about this year’s update to the big list and to explore the rest of the Top 1000.
World Video Game Hall of Fame welcomes its Class of 2020: Minecraft, Bejeweled, Centipede, and King’s Quest
After selling more than 200 million copies over the last decade, it’s hard to remember a time when Minecraft wasn’t nearly synonymous with the entire medium of video games. And though it was only available in an unfinished form from 2009 to 2011, it seemed to emerge from Mojang’s offices as a fully-formed phenomenon even in its earliest days.
So as players continued to flock to its Lego-like world in droves, it was a bit of a shock when the game was denied entry into the World Video Game Hall of Fame three separate times. Shortlisted as a finalist in 2015, 2016, and 2018, the title was passed over again and again and again. But Minecraft’s creative sandbox become too big to ignore this year, and it has finally been enshrined among gaming’s greats.
In a stunning upset, three unlikely candidates also garnered enough support from the Hall of Fame’s Selection Advisory Committee to join the Class of 2020. A genre-defining match-3 puzzler from PopCap (Bejeweled), a classic coin-op from Atari (Centipede), and one of earliest adventure titles from Sierra (King’s Quest) won out over more popular titles such as NBA Jam, GoldenEye 007, and Guitar Hero.
While this year’s class might look a little surprising, historians working at the Hall of Fame’s parent organizations, the Strong Museum and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, helped put their importance into perspective. (more…)
Final Fantasy VII Remake is unsurprisingly the best-selling game of April 2020
The public has been anxiously awaiting the launch of Final Fantasy VII Remake ever since it was first announced all the way back in 2015. Well, it finally arrived on store shelves last month, and fans eagerly emptied their wallets to return to the world of Midgar.
According to The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella (via Twitter), Final Fantasy VII Remake was far and away the best-selling game in April 2020. The game’s exceptional sales also pushed it to become the biggest launch in Final Fantasy franchise history.
Strong sales across the board for software ($662 million), hardware ($420 million), and accessories ($384 million) were recorded by The NPD Group. Added together, the video game industry racked up revenues of $1.467 billion last month, a whopping 73% increase over April 2019. The total also surpassed April 2008’s previous record of $1.2 billion.
An expanded list of April 2020’s best-selling games (featuring Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Resident Evil 3, and many others) can be found after the break. (more…)
It’s raining Bells as Animal Crossing: New Horizons becomes the best-selling game of March 2020
Multiple states attempted to “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus pandemic throughout the month of March by shutting down non-essential businesses, and The NPD Group’s recent report (via Twitter) about the month’s best-selling games absolutely reflects this strange new world.
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons, without the benefit of digital sales (the consolemaker doesn’t supply them to NPD), was the best-selling game of March 2020. According to analyst Mat Piscatella (also via Twitter), it’s impressive debut has already set a new sales record for the franchise, and it trails only Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Brawl for best first month sales by a Nintendo-published title.
The game also helped sell a lot of people on the Switch, as Nintendo sold more Switch consoles in March of 2020 than they did when the system launched in March of 2017.
With gamers doing their part and staying home, the entire industry surged ahead alongside Tom Nook, Isabelle, K.K. Slider, and the rest of the Animal Crossing crew. Total game sales were up 34% over March 2019 ($739 million vs $550 million), while total hardware sales rose 63% ($461 million vs $282 million).
And Animal Crossing: New Horizons isn’t the only new release that’s popular with players right now. MLB The Show 20 (#3), Resident Evil 3 (#4), Doom Eternal (#6), and Persona 5 Royal (#7) all debuted in the Top Ten. Looking further down the list, new games such as Nioh 2 (#11), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (#15), and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered (#20) all snuck into the Top 20.
You can find a complete breakdown of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games from March 2020 after the break. (more…)
Viz Media will publish Super Mario Bros. Manga Mania compilation in Late 2020
Viz Media and Nintendo are teaming up to release the Super Mario-Kun manga series in the US for the first time.
Published in Japan’s CoroCoro Comics magazine since 1991, Super Mario-Kun will make its stateside debut as part of Super Mario Bros. Manga Mania, a 160-page compilation of “handpicked” story arcs from throughout its 30-year run:
Experience the zany world of Super Mario Bros. through manga!
Join Mario and pals in crazy adventures inspired by the hit video games! This collection of short stories showcases the fan-favorite characters of the Super Mario Bros. world in new, unconventional and hilarious ways. Handpicked from years of Mario comics in Japan, this compilation has never been available in English—until now!
Writing on Twitter, a spokesperson for Viz Media said that Super Mario Bros. Manga Mania would be available in Late 2020.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
God of War: Fallen God is an upcoming comic miniseries that fills in the story between GoW3 and GoW2018
Kratos spent decades wandering the world in between the events of 2010’s God of War III and 2018’s God of War. Rather than leave this story untold, Sony Santa Monica is teaming up with Dark Horse to give fans a glimpse at part of his travels in an upcoming comic miniseries.
Told over four issues, God of War: Fallen God will be written by Chris Roberson, with artwork from Tony Parker (artist), Dan Jackson (colorist), John Roshell (letterer), and Dave Rapoza (covers):
Can a man ever be free of his past? Can the tides of time ever wash away the bloody sands of sin? Or do transpired trespasses permanently and inescapably stain one’s soul?
God of War: Fallen God follows Kratos after conquering Zeus and thwarting Athena. Believing himself to be finally free of his bondage, he sets sail for the desert in an attempt to distance himself from his home and his shame only to find his rage and guilt follow close behind. Kratos rages against the one foe that has proven to be unconquerable—himself. But a war against oneself is unwinnable, and only invites madness.
The first issue of God of War: Fallen God will be available on June 24, with a collected edition sure to follow sometime after its conclusion.
Posted in Etcetera, News, PS3, PS4
Tagged God of War 4, God of War III
Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 have been announced
The finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 have been announced… and they’re on fire.
This year’s honorees include titles from every era of gaming, though the Star Power of Guitar Hero looms large over the competition. But that’s OK, because there’s a few other firestarters vying for a spot in this year’s class, including Midway’s NBA Jam, Mojang’s Minecraft, and Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Melee.
There’s also the groundbreaking GoldenEye 007, the unforgettable Nokia Snake, the edutaining Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and the addicting Bejeweled. Rounding out this year’s crop of finalists is Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and a trio of classics from the early 80s (Centipede, Frogger, and King’s Quest).
This isn’t the first opportunity to join the World Video Game Hall of Fame for some of these games, and fans will have the chance to make their voice heard by submitting a Player’s Choice Ballot. The public can vote once per day now through April 2nd, and the three games that receive the most votes will join the 29 other ballots submitted by members of the Hall of Fame’s International Selection Advisory Committee.
The Strong Museum’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the entity that oversees the World Video Game Hall of Fame, will announce the inductees from the Class of 2020 at a date to be determined in a special ceremony. For now, you can learn more about this year’s finalists after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, Retro, Switch, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Bejeweled, Centipede, GoldenEye 007, Guitar Hero, King's Quest, Minecraft, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, World Video Game Hall of Fame
No new releases were able to break into The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games from February 2020
Aside from Airship Syndicate’s Darksiders Genesis and Media Molecule’s Dreams, there were few new releases of note last month. And while both have garnered decent reviews, they’re also fairly niche titles, so it’s not too surprising that neither broke into The NPD Group’s list of best-selling titles from February 2020.
According to The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella (via Twitter), you had to reach all the way down to #33 to find the best-selling new release of the month, which was Sega’s The Yakuza Remastered Collection.
That means that a lot of games from 2019 (and January’s Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot) continued to find new homes during the month. Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare took the top spot in February, followed by 2K’s NBA 2K20 at #2 and Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V #3. A little further down the list, Nintendo’s Ring Fit Adventure had it’s best showing yet, peaking at #7 during the month.
You can find the full list of best-selling games from February 2020 after the break. (more…)