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Prepare yourself… to not be shocked in the slightest… Zelda: Breath of the Wild won “Game of the Year” at 2018 GDC Awards
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild continues its sweep of this year’s “Game of the Year” awards, as it won the top honor at last night’s Game Developers Choice Awards. Developers for the adventure game also strode on stage to collect awards for “Best Audio” and “Best Design” during the ceremony.
The unique visual stylings of Jason Roberts’s Gorogoa were honored with the “Innovation Award,” and the puzzle game’s portability were also honored as “Best Mobile/Handheld Game.” Studio MDHR also carried home multiple trophies during last night’s GDC Awards ceremony for Cuphead, including “Best Debut” and “Best Visual Art,”
“Every year sees countless amazing games worthy of recognition, but this year in particular has seen some of the strongest titles to arrive this generation. The GDCAs give us an opportunity to reflect on and honor the games that provided us with endless joy,” said Katie Stern, the General Manager of the Game Developers Conference. “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild helped us rediscover a childlike sense of adventure and discovery. Titles like Gorogoa and What Remains of Edith Finch offered us distinct creative visions that can only be experienced in games, and games like Cuphead and Horizon: Zero Dawn crafted worlds we could lose ourselves in. Congratulations to all of tonight’s nominees and winners and thank you for your creativity and dedication.”
A replay of the 2018 GDC Awards ceremony can be viewed at the Twitch channel for the Game Developers Conference. And a complete list of the winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Cuphead, GDC 2018, Gorogoa, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, Night in the Woods, Superhot, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
A Way Out, Ni No Kuni II, Attack On Titan 2, more coming to PS Store this week
It’s time for another PlayStation Store update, and this week, a decent-sized handful of highly-anticipated new games will be available to download from the digital storefront…
Leading the way this week is A Way Out, a co-op prison break for the PS4 from Electronic Arts and Hazelight. A Way Out was directed by Josef Fares, the same developer who shepherded the creation of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons in 2013.
A pair of sequels will also be available to download for the PS4 this week. Bandai Namco will once again team with animators from Studio Ghibli for Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. And Koei Tecmo will return to the world of Attack On Titan with Attack On Titan 2.
Finally this week, MLB Advanced Media will step up to the plate with RBI Baseball 18 for the PS4, and Ubisoft will give 2014’s Assassin’s Creed: Rogue a second chance on the PS4 with a Remastered re-release.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged A Way Out, Assassin's Creed: Rogue, Attack On Titan 2, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, RBI Baseball 18
Atari’s “Ataribox” microconsole will be known as the Atari VCS
Yesterday, Atari confirmed that its “Ataribox” microconsole will officially be known as the Atari VCS. The name is meant to stir up fond memories of Atari’s first console, the Atari 2600 Video Computer System, but even with its name out in the wild, the microconsole is still shrouded in mystery.
We know the Atari VCS will come packed with classic Atari games, but the company is also planning to make newer games available for the microconsole through an Internet connection. These games are said to be “designed for today’s living room,” but as of now, we have no idea what the Atari VCS’s game lineup (retro or modern) will actually look like.
That said, Atari did give us a sneak peek at the VCS’s wood-paneled console design, as well as prototypes for its Classic Joystick and Modern Controller:
Inspired by the iconic silhouette of the original Atari 2600 Video Computer System, the new Atari VCS has already generated considerable excitement within the gaming community. Its skillful blend of modern lines and reverential details, combined with contemporary content technology and new innovation, has evoked positive reactions from Atari fans both new and old. The Atari VCS will of course serve up lots of classic content, but it is so much more than a “retro-box.” It is a completely new Atari connected device designed for today’s living room.
The Atari VCS will be available for hands-on testing (by appointment only) during this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, so hopefully we’ll learn more about it soon.
New Retail Releases: Sea of Thieves, Ni No Kuni II, Detective Pikachu, More
Game publishers love to launch highly-anticipated new games just before the end of a financial quarter, so we’ve got a bounty of new games to choose from in this week’s New Retail Releases report.
Leading the way is Sea of Thieves, a multiplayer pirate simulation for the Xbox One from Microsoft and Rare. But if you’d rather explore a different kind of world, Bandai Namco and Level-5 will bring Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, an RPG sequel created in conjunction with animators from Studio Ghibli, to the PS4. Even players who are still attached to their 3DS handhelds will have new options this week with Nintendo’s launch of Detective Pikachu.
Several multiplatform titles will also make their way onto store shelves this week including Hazelight’s co-op prison break sim, A Way Out (PS4, Xbox One); MLB Advanced Media’s retro-styled baseball game, RBI Baseball 18 (PS4, Xbox One); and Koei Tecmo’s second adaptation of the Attack On Titan anime, Attack On Titan 2 (PS4, Switch, Xbox One).
Finally this week, THQ Nordic will bring back Titan Quest in an upgraded new re-release for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Badland Games will make Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition available on retail shelves for the PS4 and Vita.
That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report, but we’ll be back in a few days with a look at all the upcoming additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged A Way Out, Attack On Titan 2, Detective Pikachu, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, RBI Baseball 18, Sea of Thieves
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is “Video Game of the Year” at 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home another trophy last night when the “open-air” adventure was named “Video Game of the Year” at the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards. The Nintendo Switch launch title also scooped up awards for “Excellence in Design” and “Excellence in Gameplay”
PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds also picked up three awards last night (“Esports Game of the Year,” “Trending Game of the Year,” and “Excellence in Multiplayer”), and a handful of other games (Cuphead, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata) were two-time winners.
You can find the complete list of winners from the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards at Video Game Canon.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Cuphead, Fire Emblem Mobile, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, Night in the Woods, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, What Remains of Edith Finch
UK-developed Hellblade leads the way at 2018 BAFTA Games Awards with 9 nominations
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was developed in the United Kingdom at Ninja Theory, and this hometown advantage helped it lead the way with nine nominations at the 2018 BAFTA Games Awards.
With so many nominations, it’s no surprise that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is up for “Best Game,” and it’ll be competing against Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey, and Giant Sparrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch.
The BAFTA Games Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 12, and hosting duties will once again be handled by comedian Dara O’Briain. If you weren’t able to score a ticket to the big show, you’ll still be able to livestream the entire ceremony through BAFTA.org and several other streaming platforms.
The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, Tesla Vs Lovecraft, Surviving Mars, more coming to PS Store this week
Sony added another big batch of new games to the PlayStation Store, and fans of the PS3’s heyday should be on the lookout for two big re-releases.
But first, NIS America and Goichi “Suda51” Suda will bring The 25th Ward: The Silver Case to the PS4 in an updated edition. Originally released for mobile phones, and only in Japan, the game’s PS4 debut is also the first time it’ll be available in North America.
Nikola Tesla famously feuded with Thomas Edison, but the inventor will tangle with a very different foe in Tesla Vs Lovecraft. Developed by 10Tons, the PS4 game is a top-down twin-stick shooter that asks players to jump in a mech and do battle with the “inhuman minions” from H.P. Lovecraft’s stories.
Also this week, Paradox Interactive and Haemimont Games will bring Surviving Mars to the PS4. The city-building simulation transports the action to the Red Planet and asks players to build a colony habitable for human life.
Finally this week, two PS3 classics will be enhanced for a PS4 re-release. Electronic Arts will bring back the wide-open racing of Burnout Paradise Remastered, and Capcom will package together the first three games from the Devil May Cry franchise for a Devil May Cry HD Collection.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Burnout Paradise, Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Video Game Hall of Fame will publish A History of Video Games In 64 Objects book in May
The curators from the World Video Game Hall of Fame will offer a peak behind the curtain at some of the historical artifacts found in their collection with A History of Video Games In 64 Objects, an upcoming book from Dey Street Books (a Random House imprint):
Inspired by the groundbreaking A History of the World in 100 Objects, this book draws on the unique collections of The Strong museum in Rochester, New York, to chronicle the evolution of video games, from Pong to first-person shooters, told through the stories of dozens of objects essential to the field’s creation and development.
Drawing on the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s unmatched collection of video game artifacts, this fascinating history offers an expansive look at the development of one of the most popular and influential activities of the modern world: video gaming.
Essays and photographs will provide further insight into how each object contributed to gaming’s history, as well as “the greater culture.”
A History of Video Games In 64 Objects will be available on May 29, and you can get a sneak peek at its Introduction chapter at Unbound Worlds. And don’t forget about the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s 2018 induction ceremony, which will take place a few weeks earlier on May 3.
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, Retro
Tagged World Video Game Hall of Fame