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.
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- 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
- 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