Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: 3DS
Overwatch climbs to the top of the NPD’s list of best-selling games for June 2016
June is typically a slow period for new game releases, but The NPD Group’s look at last month’s best-selling games proves just how slow it was. According to tracking firm, consumer spending on games was down 20% from last year, when Batman: Arkham Knight launched to strong reviews and even stronger sales.
To make matters worse, the only new release to crack the top ten were Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (#3) and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst (#5). But that means the path to the top of the list was clear for Overwatch, which rode a wave of support from fans to become June 2016’s best-selling game. Grand Theft Auto V (#2) and Doom (#4) rounded out the top five.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom in June, as NPD Analyst Liam Callahan told GamesIndustry.biz: “After 32 months since the launches of the PS4 and Xbox One, the combined cumulative hardware sales for these two consoles exceed the sales of [the PS3 and Xbox 360] by 40% at the same point in their lifecycles.”
However, the biggest news this month might be the new way that the NPD reports their monthly sales data. Provided a publisher supplies the numbers, the company has agreed to begin integrating digital sales into their monthly tally. Most publishers have already signed on, though Bethesda, Sony, and Mojang remain holdouts, and Blizzard has decided not to share sales data from Battle.net.
A complete look at last months top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Destiny, Doom (2016), Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Minecraft, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, NBA 2K16, NPD, Overwatch, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Nintendo Download: Pokemon Ranger, Buddy and Me, Wind-Up Knight 2, more
It’s time to recatch another classic Pokemon game as Nintendo has added Pokemon Ranger to the Wii U eShop this week. Originally released for the DS in 2006, Pokemon Ranger is an action RPG where players work as a… Pokemon Ranger… and attempt to preserve nature and protect Pokemon in the wild.
Also available to download on the Wii U eShop this week is Buddy and Me: Dream Edition, a side-scrolling platformer where players become a young boy and race through the forest with their “magical flying companion” named Buddy.
Over on the 3DS, a different kind of side-scroller asks players to take control of the Wind-Up Knight in Wind-Up Knight 2. Players who download Wind-Up Knight 2 will unload the springy Sir Sprint and help guide him as he “rockets through the kingdom dodging traps, pits and mythical creatures.”
More details about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Live-action Pokemon movie starring “Detective Pikachu” officially announced
Remember all those rumors about a “bidding war” between movie studios over a live-action Pokemon movie? Turns out, it really happened, and Legendary Entertainment has emerged as the winner.
We’ll probably never know if Pokemon Go‘s phenomenal success had any influence on their desire to create a Pokemon movie, but Legendary has announced plans to produce a live-action movie based on Great Detective Pikachu, a game where a (very talkative) Pikachu in a deerstalker cap helps a young boy solve crimes. Even stranger, Great Detective Pikachu is currently only available in Japan, and many Pokemon fans don’t even know it exists. However, after this announcement (which was first reported by Deadline), I have a feeling that’ll change very soon.
With Comic-Con just hours away, you’d think Legendary would have to more to say about their ambitions for the first live-action Pokemon film. Unfortunately, besides confirming that Universal will distribute the movie outside of Japan and that production might begin next year, we don’t know anything else about it.
If nothing else, I guess it’s time to revive that “Danny DeVito as Pikachu” petition.
Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, News
Tagged Detective Pikachu
Nintendo Download: Tumblestone, Monster Hunter Generations, four Virtual Console games, more
It’s another big week for the Nintendo eShop, especially if you’re a fan of nearly-forgotten platformers from the 90s.
However, this week’s spotlight title is most definitely Monster Hunter Generations, the latest game in the long-running series from Capcom. Set to be released for the 3DS tomorrow, Monster Hunter Generations is being touted as the “most customizable” game in the Monster Hunter franchise, offering players the chance to use “four unique Hunting Styles and special Hunter Arts abilities.”
Jumping over to Nintendo’s home console, Wii U owners will be able to download Tumblestone, a modern match-3 puzzler that also serves as an homage to the multiplayer puzzlers that were all the rage back in the 90s. And speaking of the 90s, a trio of new Virtual Console releases (Bonk’s Adventure, New Adventure Island, and R-Type) will let Wii U owners relive some of the less-remembered (but no less classic) corners of that decade.
Finally this week, we jump back to the 3DS for another Virtual Console classic from the 90s, Final Fight. Capcom’s brawler helped define the genre, and many still look to it as a highlight of the punching and kicking oeuvre.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Monster Hunter Generations, Tumblestone
Nintendo is bringing 15 games to Comic-Con 2016… but not Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I’ve got bad news for anyone hoping to try out The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con… Nintendo won’t have the highly-anticipated game available at their Play Nintendo Family Lounge at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina next door.
However, the consolemaker will have 15 other demos on hand, including five 3DS titles (Monster Hunter Generations, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Style Savvy: Fashion Forward, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, and Yo-Kai Watch 2) that won’t be released until later this year:
3DS
- Monster Hunter Generations (Available July 15)
- Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Available August 19)
- Style Savvy: Fashion Forward (Available August 19)
- Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (Available September 27)
- Yo-Kai Watch 2 (Available September 30)
- Yo-Kai Watch
- Yoshi’s New Island
- Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
- Kirby: Planet Robobot
- Mario Kart 7
- Pokemon Omega Ruby / Pokemon Alpha Sapphire
- New Super Mario Bros. 2
Wii U
- Splatoon
- Mario Kart 8
- Pokken Tournament
The Play Nintendo Family Lounge will also be home to tournaments, Pokemon meetups, a Yo-Kai Watch voice actor panel, and much more. The full list of events can be found after the break, and don’t forget that the Play Nintendo Family Lounge is free and open to the public from July 21 through July 24. (more…)
New Retail Releases: Ghostbusters, Song of the Deep, Monster Hunter Generations, More
I ain’t afraid of no monsters! And it’s a good thing too, because Capcom will launch the latest game in the Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Generations, for the 3DS this week. Players will be able to go on hundreds of quests as they hunt a new crop of monstrous bosses by themselves or in a group with up to three friends in co-op multiplayer mode.
Monsters of the ocean haunt Insomniac’s side-scrolling Song of the Deep, a new “MetroidVania” available this week for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. As the first game published by GameStop’s GameTrust label, Song of the Deep will introduce players to Merryn, a young girl who goes under the sea to rescue her missing father.
Ghosts and zombies are monsters too, and I’m not afraid of them either… Activision will release Ghostbusters, a tie-in to the upcoming movie starring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Capcom will re-release Resident Evil 5 for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Finally this week, Sega will launch 7th Dragon III: Code VFD, the first game in the RPG franchise to be released outside of Japan, for the 3DS.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Ghostbusters (2016), Monster Hunter Generations, Resident Evil 5, Song of the Deep
Nintendo Download: Legend of Mystical Ninja, Baseball Simulator 1000, Flying Dragon, more
Nintendo is mining its past for this week’s Nintendo eShop update.
Wii U owners are now able to download a pair of titles from the NES era… Baseball Simulator 1000 and Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll. Baseball Simulator 1000 was one of the games to add a dash of wackiness to America’s pastime with “Ultra Plays” that changed the sport in interesting ways (Disappearing pitches! Exploding balls!). And Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll is a side-scrolling brawler where players will use “six different types of fighting techniques” to save the world.
Over on the 3DS eShop, the well-liked Legend of the Mystical Ninja is now available to download if you own a New 3DS handheld. Originally released for the Super NES in 1992, it was the first game in the Goemon series to receive a North American launch.
You can learn more about all three games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Atlus will release Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse on September 20
Atlus has announced that Shin Megam Tensei IV: Apocalypse will be released for the 3DS on September 20. The publisher also released a brand new trailer focusing on the cast, and it’s been embedded above…
With Tokyo being ground zero for scheming gods and monstrous demons, only the strongest and craftiest can survive in the former metropolis turned literal hell on earth. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse has a varied cast of characters that players need to utilize properly in order to endure the harsh realities — mostly the very high possibility of death around every corner — of post-apocalyptic life.
Shin Megam Tensei IV: Apocalypse will overlap with the storyline from Shin Megam Tensei IV, and players will meet many of the same characters. But it’s also a unique adventure all its own, and includes many new features for players to discover…
- Divine Intrigue – Choose between peace or anarchy while being a pawn in the gods’ chess game.
- Combat Partners – Hunting demons is dangerous, so count on some backup! Alongside the standard three demons, players will be able to rely on one of seven partners to help win battles.
- Oodles of Demons – Be on your guard because Tokyo is infested with a series record 450+ demons to fight, fuse, or recruit.
- Revamped Demon Fusion – Demons will have affinities for certain skills, so players can better plan the outcome of fusions.
- Classic SMT Combat – Prospective Hunters will exploit weaknesses, boost attributes, and unlock skill bonuses with the returning Press Turn and Smirking systems.
Atlus will also release Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse in Europe, but a final release date will be announced at a later time.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse