Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we’ve created an alternative gift guide, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are off to a strong start, and we reviewed Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1.
Happy reading and have a good weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinions
- The DeanBeat: Thankful for gaming’s bubble and those who warn about it
- No guns, no saving the world, no nonsense: Why Harvest Moon’s style is better when it’s indie
- The Wii U 2014 report card: Games trump innovation
- GamesBeat’s 2014 ‘Naughty and Nice’ alternative holiday gift guide
- 10 games that couldn’t kill World of Warcraft
- The Xbox One report card: Microsoft strikes back
- World of Warcraft’s Pepe the bird goes from lark to phenomenon
- Blizzard’s, players’ top 10 World of Warcraft quests offer adventure, nudity, and tears
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare by the (big) numbers
- Here’s how 8 of 2014’s biggest games look in LittleBigPlanet
- Glitched Super Smash Bros. for Wii U characters are terrifying
Above: Nintendo’s on a sales roll with Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for 3DS.
Image Credit: IGN
News
- Otoy takes 3D graphics and virtual reality app development into the cloud
- Xbox One Japan boss stands down as weekly sales drop to just 776
- $330 PlayStation 4, Xbox One shows up before Black Friday on eBay (Updated)
- Sony teases gamers with PlayStation Experience video
- Ubisoft stops selling Assassin’s Creed: Unity season pass — gives free game to anyone who bought it
- Twitch teams up with Teespring to help broadcast partners get into merchandising
- Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire sold 3 million copies in just three days
- Tencent agrees to publish Orcs Must Die Unchained MOBA in China
- Total War Attila receives pre-order incentives
- Trion Worlds releases its big Defiance Aftermath update as season 2 closes
- Elegant Star Wars Minecraft skins out now for a more civilized Xbox One and Xbox 360
- Ubisoft doesn’t want early reviews of The Crew because it can’t re-create online experience before launch
- Legendary Nintendo composer arranged a new Super Mario Bros. medley for ‘Dancing with the Stars’
- Sony will refund consumers over ‘deceiving’ PlayStation Vita ads
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the system’s fastest-selling game
- Studio head apologizes for woeful Halo: The Master Chief Collection launch: ‘We will make this right with our fans’
- Live Rounds will offer video chat for up to five players in PC online games
- Nintendo pulls 3DS game from eShop after hackers exploit it to run homebrew software
- GameStop exec voices concern over the dipping price of digital games
- Grand Theft Auto V breaks all-time software-sales record in the U.K.
- X-Men and The Lord of the Rings stars join Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break
- Cloud gaming could reach a turning point in 2015, analyst says
Mobile and social
- 5th Planet Games lays off staff as it transitions to mobile games
- King celebrates official launch of Candy Crush Soda Saga with antics in New York and London
- Vainglory featured in commercial with Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon … sort of
- JumpStart’s Penguins of Madagascar: Dibble Dash mobile launch signifies shift for ed-game studio
- South Korea’s Gamevil expands in mobile gaming as it acquires Waplesoft
- iPhone 6 drives huge downloads in October, but marketing costs finally fall slightly
- Apple, Bono, and Kim Kardashian team up with app developers for AIDS campaign
Above: Fury marks a crossover between Wargaming and Sony Pictures.
Image Credit: Wargaming
Previews and interviews
- Wargaming chief has built a World of Tanks empire — and he’s not done yet (interview)
- How India’s Reliance Games is using movies to become a global mobile game publisher (interview)
Reviews and impressions
- ‘Dimensions’ is more than just Geometry Wars 3’s subtitle
- We play Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions so you don’t have to (but you should)
- DayZ in 2015: The PlayStation 4 prototype, animal companions, and more
- Things are looking black for ‘Halo: Nightfall’
- Relive the intense Battle of the Bulge in Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault
- Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1 delivers a hilarious knockout blow without relying on the usual fighters (review)