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All Articles: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wins “Game of the Year” at 2018 DICE Awards
Nintendo was definitely the big winner at last night’s DICE Awards presentation. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded 11 victories to the consolemaker, including “Game of the Year” for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Link’s newest adventure also received accolades for “Adventure Game of the Year,” “Game Design,” “Game Direction.”
Studio MDHR’s Cuphead received several awards for its outstanding sound and visual at the 2018 DICE Awards, including “Original Music Composition,” “Animation,” and “Art Direction.”
Developers for several other games strode to the stage to collect multiple awards during last night’s ceremony. That list includes Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn (“Story” and “Technical Achievement”), PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (“Action Game of the Year” and “Online Gameplay”), Nintendo’s Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together (“Family Game of the Year” and the “D.I.C.E. Sprite Award”), and Oculus’s Lone Echo/Echo Arena (“Immersive Reality Technical Achievement” and “Immersive Reality Game of the Year”).
Congratulations to everyone who won big at the 2018 DICE Awards. A complete list of all the winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Monster Hunter: World is king of the jungle… and the bestselling game of January 2018
The Monster Hunter franchise is an absolute phenomenon in Japan, and Capcom has been trying to replicate its success in North America since since Monster Hunter was released for the PS2 in 2004.
It might have taken more than a decade, but it looks like the series finally broke through with Monster Hunter: World, which was the best-selling game of January 2018. According to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz), Capcom’s unique Action RPG helped push the industry to its best performance in January since 2011.
However, Capcom wasn’t the only publisher to post a monster-sized debut in January. Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball Fighter Z fought its way to the #2 slot, beating out some of 2017’s biggest titles, including Call of Duty: WWII (#3) and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (#5).
All told, video game fans purchased more than $517 million in software, as well as $278 million in hardware. Microsoft’s Xbox One, Nintendo’s Switch, and Sony’s PS4 were neck-and-neck-and-neck, and total hardware sales crossed one million units during the month.
You can find the NPD’s recounting of January 2018’s top ten best-selling titles after the break. (more…)
Horizon, PUBG, Nier: Automata, Zelda: BOTW, Super Mario Odyssey will compete for “Game of the Year” at 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards
The nominees for the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards have been announced, and for once, there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut favorite in any of the categories.
Six games are currently leading the pack after receiving a total of six nominations apiece. Horizon: Zero Dawn, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Nier: Automata, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild all pulled off the double hat trick, and each game also secured a nomination for “Video Game of the Year.” Cuphead and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice were shut out of the “Video Game of the Year” category, but both games also managed to earn six total nominations.
Rounding out the “Video Game of the Year” field is Super Mario Odyssey, which earned five total nominations.
As in years past, fans are invited to vote for their favorites at IGN.com. The winners in each category will ultimately be decided by a 50/50 vote between the public and the SXSW Gaming Advisory Board.
The 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards will be held on Saturday, March 17, and the full list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo Switch has officially outsold the Wii U after ten months on the market
It’s official. After launching in March and being available to consumers for just under ten months, the Nintendo Switch has officially surpassed the Wii U in total sales. According to Nintendo’s internal tracking, they’ve sold 14.86 million Switch consoles as of December 31. This milestone easily leapfrogs the Wii U, which sold just 13.56 million consoles before it was discontinued in January 2017.
Nintendo also shared some software sales figures for the Switch’s first year, and leading the way is Super Mario Odyssey with 9.07 million copies sold. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is second place with 7.33 million copies sold, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was close behind with 6.7 million copies sold on the Switch.
Other million-sellers for the Switch include Splatoon 2 (4.91 million), 1-2-Switch (1.88 million), Arms (1.61 million), and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (1.06 million).
Nintendo will announce full-year sales figures for the Switch in April, and it’ll be interesting to see what these numbers look like then.
Posted in News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged 1-2-Switch, Arms, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Call of Duty: WWII was the best-selling game for all of 2017
Call of Duty: WWII earned a spot at the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games for both November and December, and now the tracking firm has confirmed that Activision’s shooter was also the best-selling game for all of 2017.
It looks like Activision had a pretty good year, especially with Destiny 2 checking in at the #3 spot, but Nintendo was the publisher with the biggest presence on the NPD’s Top 10. The consolemaker can claim three games in the Top 10 including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Super Mario Odyssey (#9), and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#10).
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, The NPD Group also confirmed an uptick for the industry as a whole. Gamers spent $14.59 billion on their favorite hobby in 2017, an increase of 11% over 2016.
Sony’s PS4 was the best-selling console of the year, but the Switch and Xbox One have also benefited from brisk sales:
“Combined sales of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One continue on a record-setting pace,” [NPD Gaming Analyst Mat] Piscatella said. “Over the first 50 months in market for each console, the combined hardware installed base of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One now exceeds that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by 18 percent, and that of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox by 4 percent.”
The NPD’s Top 10 best-selling games for 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: WWII repeats as the best-selling game of December 2017
Activision’s Call of Duty: WWII has reenlisted for a second tour of duty as the best-selling game of the month. According to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz), the shooter was the best-selling game in December 2017, besting Star Wars: Battlefront II (#2) and Super Mario Odyssey (#3).
The holiday season dominated last month’s list, as several games that were tailor-made for gift-giving ranked high in the Top 20 including NBA 2K18 (#4), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#5), Madden NFL 18 (#6), and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#9). But perhaps most surprisingly, the Xbox One debut of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds landed at #7 after just a few weeks on sale (PC sales weren’t included in the NPD Group’s calculations).
You can find The NPD Group’s complete list for the Top 20 best-selling games from December 2017 after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed Origins, Call of Duty: WWII, Destiny 2, FIFA 18, Grand Theft Auto V, Just Dance 2018, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, Madden NFL 18, Mario Kart 8, NBA 2K18, Need For Speed Payback, NPD, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Pokemon Sun/Moon, Splatoon 2, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Sims 4, Xenoblade Chronicles 2
2018 DICE Awards nominees announced and Horizon: Zero Dawn leads the way with ten
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for this year’s DICE Awards, and Horizon: Zero Dawn leads the pack with ten.
The action-adventure game from Guerrilla will compete for “Game of the Year,” as well as… deep breath… “Adventure Game of the Year,” “Outstanding Achievement in Character” (for Aloy), “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction,” “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition,” “Outstanding Achievement in Story,” “Outstanding Technical Achievement,” “Outstanding Achievement in Animation,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.”
Whew.
Other games nominated for “Game of the Year” include Studio MDHR’s Cuphead, PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The 2018 DICE Awards will be handed out in a ceremony at the conclusion of this year’s DICE Summit on February 22. A complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Cuphead, Horizon: Zero Dawn, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Warp Zoned’s 2017 Golden Pixel Awards: A New Beginning for Video Games
When we looked over the gaming landscape at the beginning of 2017, we opined that game publishers had done their best to wipe the slate clean throughout all of 2016. Many of gaming’s most mysterious projects were finally released, Nintendo closed the door on the Wii U, the VR revolution was in full swing, and upgraded versions of the PS4 and Xbox One were on the horizon.
In these first few days of 2018, I think it’s safe to say the last 12 months definitely fulfilled that promise. Nintendo’s Switch roared out of the gate in March and the consolemaker filled the calendar with big titles on “Day One” and throughout the rest of the year. Night in the Woods, Persona 5, and Golf Story told new kinds of stories that gamers had never seen before. Cuphead delivered a decidedly retro side-scroller packaged within a unique visual playground packaged. And someone even managed to create a fun Friday the 13th game.
It was quite a year, and you can find more of our favorites from 2017 after the break. (more…)
Posted in Etcetera, Features, PC, PS4, Switch, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Crash Bandicoot, Cuphead, Friday the 13th, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Injustice 2, Mario Kart 8, Night in the Woods, Persona 5, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 2