If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.
This week, Polytron founder Phil Fish cancels Fez II after a massive fight on Twitter, Nintendo sells 5 million copies of Animal Crossing: New Leaf world wide, and GamesBeat writer Mike Minotti compares DOTA 2, League of Legends, and Heroes of Newerth.
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News:
- The DeanBeat: Casual Connect reveals a scary and hopeful gaming business
- Microsoft’s ‘red rings of death’ to be ‘very unlikely’ with the Xbox One
- Xbox One is always running matchmaking in the background
- Microsoft increases Xbox One’s GPU clock speed as it finalizes console hardware
- Our next slate of GamesBeat 2013 speakers
- Former EA CEO Riccitiello on the big chance to create lasting value in gaming (full transcript)
- Blizzard CEO: Titan ‘unlikely’ a ‘subscription-based MMORPG’
- Ouya gets its first MMORPG: Gameloft’s Order & Chaos Online
- Major League Gaming introduces Pro Points player-ranking system
- Electronic Arts teams up with Tokyo’s G-cluster to provide games over the cloud (exclusive)
- Capcom’s next-gen dungeon-crawler Deep Down is online-only
- TowerFall developer promises single-player campaign for ‘massive’ PC release
- RealNetworks’ Rob Glaser rolls the dice on sweepstakes contest in social casino game
- Activision plans to debut Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer Aug. 14
- Game publisher tells developers why they don’t need publishers
- Irrational Games is taking players back to Rapture in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea expansion
- Our next slate of GamesBeat 2013 speakers
- Nintendo offering 3 rare Shiny Pokémon at U.S. GameStop stores
- Cowen report shows Call of Duty: Ghosts leads preorder sales heading into fall
- Phil Fish cancels Fez II and announces his industry exit
Above: Capcom’s latest Breath of Fire for mobile devices and web browsers.
Mobile news:
- Mobile giant DeNA opens a new chapter in tablet games with The Drowning
- Capcom announces Breath of Fire 6 exclusively for mobile devices and browsers
- Street Fighter X All Capcom is the publisher’s latest mobile game
- South Korea’s Kakao has become the ‘new El Dorado’ of mobile games
- App Annie releases mobile apps to deliver analytics on the go
- Sprint will adopt PlayPhone’s mobile-social games portal
- Take-Two: XCOM proves a premium price can work on iOS
- PlayHaven’s latest tool helps studios push marketing notifications to your phone
- Zynga’s hold slips as Facebook launches mobile games publishing initiative
- Arkadium reports strong growth for its Windows 8 mobile and PC games
All this funding:
- SnowFury Studios reveals gigantic MMORPG for mobile; asking for $500K on Kickstarter
- Finland’s Grand Cru raises $11M in financing as it shows off its first game: Supernauts
- Mobile gaming startup Kiwi raises $9M from Sequoia
- Canadian gaming incubator offers $150K ‘loan’ program to help studios launch
Microsoft:
- Xbox One is always running matchmaking in the background
- Microsoft’s ‘red rings of death’ to be very unlikely with the Xbox One
- Microsoft bumps Xbox One’s GPU clock speed from 800 MHz to 853 MHz
- Earn loot by reporting trolls in Xbox Live’s new community programs
Acquisitions incorporated:
- Asia and tech titans keep game acquisitions alive in 2013
- RealNetworks buys Slingo for $15.6M as it doubles down on social casino games
- Westward bound: Asia’s Nexon takes a stake in game maker Rumble Entertainment
Earnings:
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- Activision beats earnings expectations despite bleeding World of Warcraft subscribers
- Nintendo sells 5 million copies of Animal Crossing: New Leaf worldwide
- Nintendo swings back to net profit, but it sold only 160K Wii U consoles in past quarter
- Take-Two raises full-year guidance after strong quarter
- Google trumpets early success of Play game services on Android
Tech:
Trailer hoedown:
Bad news:
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Reviews:
- Dragon’s Crown’s action outpunches its controversial art (review)
- Joyful exploration and intense fights make Pikmin 3 the best Wii U game yet (review)
- Nvidia Shield is a game geek’s dream device (hands-on review)
Previews:
- Total War: Rome II has mind-boggling, epic combat (hands-on preview)
- Playing good vs. playing evil in Batman: Arkham Origins’ asymmetrical multiplayer
- Skylanders: Swap Force has lots of variety … and repetition (hands-on preview)
Interviews:
- How Oculus VR faced tragedy amid virtual reality’s great moment (interview part two)
- How Oculus VR resuscitated virtual reality for games (interview part 1)
- EA’s top geek Scott Cronce steers us through gaming’s future technology (interview)
- Sportvision wants to let you virtually hit a real Major League pitch (interview)
Pieces of flair:
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- How to register your digital copy of Fire Emblem: Awakening after linking your Club Nintendo account (eShop)
- The disasters and deal killers that can happen when selling your game company
- 11 fresh Grand Theft Auto V screenshots reveal planes, boats, and automobiles
- Comparing MOBAs: Dota 2 vs. League of Legends vs. Heroes of Newerth