Warp Zoned Presents
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New Releases: Skylanders Swap Force, Valhalla Knights 3, Zumba World Party, More
Activision’s mega-popular Skylanders series returns to stores today with Skylanders Swap Force, its third new entry in three years. The game will be available for the 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360. Naturally, a new wave of toys will also be available at your local toy store.
If you’re looking for something a little less Skylanders-y, XSEED is bringing the prison-set action RPG Valhalla Knights 3 to the Vita this Tuesday. It’ll be joined on store shelves by Majesco’s Zumba Fitness World Party (Wii U) and two additional titles from Activision: obstacle course sequel Wipeout: Create & Crash (3DS, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360) and hunting sim Cabela’s African Adventures (PSS, Wii, Xbox 360).
I tell you, the pending launch of two next-generation systems is really messing with the annual Fall gaming rush.
New Releases: Beyond: Two Souls, Pokemon X/Y, Just Dance 2014, More
All you Pokemaniacs can rejoice, for it is time. Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, the first “main series” Pokemon games for the 3DS, will be released this week.
If you’d prefer something a little more out there (and you own a PS3), there’s Quantic Dream’s latest action/adventure game, Beyond: Two Souls. The supernatural Saga of Jodie (played by Ellen Page) and her doctor (played by Willem Dafoe) is sure to feature plenty of the developer’s signature weirdness and grandeur.
And if you want to go REALLY out there, NIS America will release Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness for the PS3. The latest game in the insane strategy RPG franchise is a direct sequel to the to the first game in the series, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, which should please its many fans.
This week’s last “new” releases is Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2014. The dancing franchise will boogie its way (again) onto the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 this week. PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game are set to be released in November.
Finally, a trio of re-releases should keep budget hunters happy as 2K Games/Gearbox will release Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition, Bethesda/Arkane will release Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition, and Capcom will release the Capcom Essentials collection (which contains Dead Rising 2, Devil May Cry 4, Mega Man 10, Resident Evil 6, and Super Street Fighter IV).
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Beyond: Two Souls, Borderlands 2, Disgaea Dimension 2, Dishonored, Just Dance 2014, Pokemon X/Y
Ubisoft has released Just Dance 2014’s full tracklist
Ubisoft has released the complete tracklist for Just Dance 2014 and it includes all the songs the kids are into these days like Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters,” Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime,” and The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”
OK, the kids today are probably more interested in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and Lady Gaga’s “Applause.” But points to Ubisoft for including a few tracks that people over 21 can appreciate.
You can dance the night away with Just Dance 2014 when it’s released for the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on October 8. A next-generation edition for the PS4 and Xbox One will follow in November.
And you can view the full 45-song soundtrack after the break. (more…)
New Releases: Grand Theft Auto V, The Wonderful 101, More
This week’s edition of “New Releases” will be considerably shorter than normal because of one game: Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V. Almost every other publisher is taking the week off to avoid the PS3 and Xbox 360 juggernaut. The theme of GTA5 is “The Almighty Dollar” and with almost no competition this week, Rockstar will be sure to rake in a lot of them.
But Nintendo has never been a company that cares about what other publishers are doing, so they’ve slotted The Wonderful 101 into the calendar as the week’s other big release. The Platinum Games-developed strategic superhero squad simulation is available in stores today for the Wii U.
The remaining new releases are made up of a smattering of budget titles including Hot Wheels: World’s Best Driver (3DS, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360), We Sing: 80s (Wii), Takedown: Red Sabre (PC), and a boxed copy of Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded (PC).
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Grand Theft Auto V, The Wonderful 101
New releases lead the way in August 2013 NPD report of best-selling games
The NPD Group has released their monthly report on the financial health of the video game industry and, good news, retail game sales in August 2013 increased 21% over the same period last year. The entire retail game industry (games, consoles, and accessories) raked in $521 million, an increase of 1% over August 2012. Though the report estimates this number accounts for only half of all video game spending in August when you factor in used games, rentals, digital sales, add-on content, subscriptions, mobile apps, and social network microtransactions that the NPD doesn’t track.
Most of the increase in game sales was due to a stronger than usual slate of August releases. In fact, only two games in the August top ten are holdovers from previous months (Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition at #5 and NCAA Football 14 at #7).
The remainder of the top ten is populated entirely by new titles: Madden NFL 25 (#1), Saints Row IV (#2), Disney Infinity (#3), Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist (#4), Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (#6), Payday 2 (#8), Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (#9), and Pikmin 3 (#10).
If you’d prefer the top ten in list format, you can find it right here:
Bestselling Games in August 2013
1. Madden NFL 25 (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Saints Row IV (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Disney Infinity (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, Wii U, 3DS )
4. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
5. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (Xbox 360)
6. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS)
7. NCAA Football 14 (Xbox 360, PS3)
8. Payday 2 (Xbox 360, PS3)
9. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PS3, PC)
10. Pikmin 3 (Wii U)
[Source: GameSpot]
Just Dance 2014 adds Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”
Ubisoft has announced that the soundtrack to Just Dance 2014 will include two of this Summer’s biggest songs: Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” I’m sure that all the people who love these two songs will be thrilled. Oh, and insert your own “Miley’s foam finger” and/or “Robin Thicke is a sexist” joke here.
Just Dance 2014 will be available for the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on October 4. A PS4 version will follow on Noveber 15 and an Xbox One edition will be released on November 22.
Say hello to the villains of Lego Marvel Super Heroes
In honor of this year’s Gamescom expo, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released a new trailer for Lego Marvel Super Heroes. In addition to confirming the game will also appear on the PS4 and Xbox One this Fall, the developers at TT Games have given us our first look at some of the game’s many villains. They include (deep breath)…
Dr. Doom, Doctor Octopus, Magneto, Sandman, Arnim Zola, Green Goblin, Sabretooth, Abomination, Loki, Mystique, and Galactus. There’s also blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpses of Cyclops, Storm, and the Silver Surfer.
Unless I missed him, I’m still holding out for Lego Blade. But I love that we’re getting Lego Punisher, even if he wasn’t in this trailer.
Disney Infinity cost $100 million to develop
Disney Infinity, Disney Interactive’s attempt to clone the success of Skylanders, is now available in stores. But you’ll never believe how much it cost to produce and just what effect is has had on Disney’s video game division.
The wall Street Journal recently published a behind-the-scenes look at Disney Infinity and, according to their sources, the game (and its associated toy line) cost more than $100 million to produce. Only Star Wars: The Old Republic can boast a higher production budget.
But this gargantuan project comes at a cost for Disney Interactive. Internal development within the company has ceased and all of their future projects (Fantasia: Music Evolved, Star Wars: Battlefront, the Visceral Studios Star Wars game, and Kingdom Hearts III) are co-productions with other publishers. According to The Wall Street Journal’s report, devotion to Disney Infinity also caused the axe to fall on several other titles including a tie-in game based on this Summer’s Iron Man 3 and an interanlly-developed Star Wars game.
But I think Robert Iger, Disney’s CEO, best summed up the importance of Disney Infinity’s launch: “If Infinity does well, it bodes very well for the bottom line of this unit. If it doesn’t do well, the opposite will be the case.”
Well said, Bob.