Welcome to another weekly collection of GamesBeat’s stories, interviews, reviews, and more. This time, Sonic and his friends got a new makeover, the Dice Summit handed out honors and awards, World of Warcraft bounced back, and we talked to a blind, disabled, gay gaming journalist.
You can find all of that much more of coverage from the last week below.
From the Dice Summit
- The DeanBeat: The new golden age of gaming
- The Last of Us wins game of the year and sweeps awards show
- Grand Theft Auto game creators are inducted into the video game hall of fame
- The true Las Vegas confessions of game industry leaders
- The state of the art on video game design — the best comments from the Dice Summit so far
Above: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft for PC and Mac.
Image Credit: Blizzard
News
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
- Titanfall delayed — but only on Xbox 360
- World of Warcraft adds 200,000 subscribers after months of losses
- Call of Duty moving to 3-year development cycle: Modern Warfare 3 co-developer is making 2014 game
- Analysts expect Blizzard’s Hearthstone card game to make bank as Activision prepares its Destiny
- Sega’s revenues are up thanks to PC and digital gaming
- Call of Duty: Ghosts suffering framerate issues on Xbox One since latest update
- Call of Duty and Skylanders help Activision beat earnings expectations
- Echidna growth hormone: Sonic is a hipster and Knuckles is ripped in Sonic Boom
- 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is coming in April from EA Sports
- PlayStation 4 boosts bigger bottom line for Sony’s game division
- As Pro Evolution Soccer loses ground to FIFA, Konami drastically cuts guidance for its fiscal year
- Amazon acquires Xbox One’s Killer Instinct developer for its ‘innovative games’
- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn helps Square Enix return to profitability
- Oculus Rift has its first exclusive: PC starfighter game Eve Valkyrie
- Nintendo unveils a bunch of 3DS and Wii U eShop titles
- Pokémon Bank is out now in North America
- Nintendo considering ‘mergers and acquisitions’ doesn’t mean it’s planning anything major
- Xbox One getting two updates to add features and improve Party system
- Muzzy Lane unveils educational strategy game based on World War I
- Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two blasts its way to record earnings — and stock price falls
- Titanfall PC system requirements — you’re gonna need EA’s Origin
- Nintendo buys back 9.5M shares from the heirs of its former CEO for $1.1B
- Ubisoft says it is working to reinstate the ‘Watch Dogs’ trademark
- Grand Theft Auto V reaches 32.5 million copies shipped to retailers
- Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto Online off to strong start after first quarter
- Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two blasts its way to record earnings — and stock price falls
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Imperial Edition is selling 5X better than standard, according to deal site
- This is what’s different in tonight’s PlayStation 4 firmware update
- The father of EverQuest pitches his next-generation online fantasy game world
- Minecraft pulls in $300,000 a day as PC sales surpass 14 million copies
Above: Popeye might appeal to an older casino audience.
Image Credit: King Features
Mobile and social
- Zynga sticks with what works: Riches of Olympus is its next mobile slots game
- The secrets to monetizing Western mobile games in Japan
- 7,000 app developers in 127 countries say e-commerce is now the best mobile monetization strategy
- Unreal gets Kamcord support to help studios easily integrate video recording in mobile games
- Apportable raises $5M for native cross-platform iOS and Android games
- Leaders of the undead Zynga Dallas team start Boss Fight Entertainment (exclusive)
- Spinach-eating hero Popeye gets casino-slots game for mobile and social networks
- CashBet raises $1.7M for real-money online gambling in social/mobile games
Reviews
- The Wolf Among Us Episode 2: Smoke and Mirrors has a little more conversation, a lot less action (review)
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc takes a joyfully bizarre, sometimes tedious look at courtroom action (review)
- Loadout’s server troubles overshadow its addictive DIY gunplay (review)
Above: Henry Sterchi, Brad Rebh, and Rahul Sandil of Team Dakota, makers of Project Spark.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
Previews and interviews
- Healthy horror: Nevermind takes its biofeedback scares to Kickstarter — and could reduce your stress, too (interview)
- Blind, disabled, and gay: How one game journalist deals with barriers and prejudice (interview)
- Project Spark is Microsoft’s attempt to capture the magic of a Minecraft-like sandbox (interview)
Pieces of flair
- Essential Bravely Default tips for beginners
- Pokémon Bank: How to get the free Celebi
- 10 Ways Bethesda Can Spruce Up Fallout 4
- Tracking the unlikely rise of Flappy Bird to the top of the mobile charts in 100 countries
- USA Olympic Hockey trainees use special video game to sharpen their mental skills
- A look back: What Cing’s Nintendo adventure games can teach us about innovation
- We’re giving away two copies of this mystery tabletop game
- Playing the last PlayStation 2 game ever made
- 5 ways Nintendo can convince me to buy a Wii U
