Still yet to jump into Trion World’s Defiance? Well this weekend you have no excuse as it will be free to play!

From today, May 23 until Sunday, May 26 at 1pm PDT the game will be free to download and play on Steam. Also, if you happen to get hooked, you can purchase both the standard and Digital Deluxe Editions of the game at a 30 percent discount.

If that still isn’t enough for you, the game’s in-game currency, known as “Bits,” will be on sale throughout the weekend.

Amazon Germany has posted up a listing for Mirror’s Edge 2, which is a little odd considering there’s been no mention of it even existing by EA.

The listing has since been removed. It featured place holder box art and no release date–which is to be expected. Did the retailer accidentally jump the gun? Is EA planning to announce the game during its E3 press conference? I sure as hell hope so!

If you remember, retailer Tesco jumped the gun by listing Call of Duty: Ghosts before Activision had even announced it, and it’s happened to other games in the past, so keep your fingers crossed for now.

Via: Eurogamer

Bungie has released a new CG trailer for Destiny titled “Law of the Jungle” and has promised a full gameplay reveal for E3 next month.

“Crafted together with the award-winning visual effects studio Digital Domain, Law of the Jungle gives players a taste of Destiny’s action-packed adventures through a live-action and CG interpretation of the epic game universe,” the developer explains.

Destiny still has no official release date, but is currently scheduled to hit Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

EA has confirmed the official release date for FIFA 14 and also offered up details of four different editions of the game. So many choices!

The game will be available in Europe from September 27. Players who pre-order the standard edition of the game will receive four free gold Ultimate Team packs along with one of the following, depending on where you pre-order, The Adidas bundle, five online pro boosters, three new celebrations, or a collection of historic kits.

Pre-order the Limited Edition, exclusively at GAME, and you’ll net yourself one premium gold Ultimate Team pack per week for 24 weeks, a FIFA 14 collectible steel book with magnetic lenticular, and all of the previously mentioned pre-order bonuses for the standard edition.

The Ultimate Edition can be pre-ordered from anywhere and offers one gold Ultimate Team pack for 24 weeks along with all the bonuses from the standard edition. Finally there’s the Collector’s Edition, another GAME exclusive, which includes one gold Ultimate Team pack for 24 weeks, a special edition Adidas EA SPORTS glider ball, a FIFA 14 collectible steel book with magnetic lenticular, and again all the bonuses that come with the standard edition.

Square Enix has finally announced the official date of Final Fantasy XIV‘s re-launch known as A World Reborn.

The game will be available on PC and PlayStation 3 from August 27, with both standard and special edition versions available. A third beta phase for the game is set to begin on both platforms June 3.

“It has been a long road from the game’s inception to the beta, but thanks to your fervent support and invaluable feedback, the world of Eorzea will soon complete its journey of rebirth,” said producer and director Naoki Yoshida.

“We have endeavoured to make the game affordable so that adventurers will be able to experience the vibrant world of Eorzea. We have also prepared a collector’s edition version of the game, which includes a veritable assortment of premium items.”

Deep Silver has released a new, very short, trailer for Saints Row IV asking players to Hail to the Chief, oh, and it also features a man getting hit by a plane in mid-air.

Saints Row IV is set to release August 20 in North America and August 23 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. You can check out the trailer below.

EA has finally lifted the lid on its next generation entry into the Need for Speed franchise, titled Need for Speed: Rivals.

Rivals is being developed by new development studio Ghost in collaboration with Criterion and will be powered by DICE’s Frostbite 3 engine. The game is set to launch later this year for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Need for Speed: Rivals transports players to Redview County, an open-world environment which offers players the choice of being either a street racer or police officer. Players can customize their cars with custom license plates, paint, liveries, rims, and performance upgrades.

You can check out a debut teaser trailer for the game below.

EA’s Chief financial officer, Blake Jorgensen, has revealed that the publisher will continue to support the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for the next four years.

He revealed that the publisher will support current-gen consoles until 2017 in a keynote address at the Stifel 2013 Technology Conference in New York (via GameSpot). He added that several games are already in development for current-gen consoles, despite the next generation releasing later this year, such as Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, and the new Need for Speed.

This would extend the current-gen lifecycle to around 12 years.

Firaxis Games has released a new video for Civilization V‘s upcoming expansion, Brave New World, which focuses on policies and ideologies.

The expansion will introduce three new social policy trees to the game, autocracy, order, or freedom, these will either cause peace or discord depending on the choices you make.

Brave New World is set to release in North America on July 9 and in Europe on July 12.

Rockstar Games has officially unveiled the Collector’s and Special Editions of Grand Theft Auto V, which are available to pre-order from today. As an added bonus there’s also access to a flyable blimp for all pre-orders.

First up let’s deal with the flyable blimp which you’re obviously all excited about. Anyone who pre-orders any edition of Grand theft Auto V, including the Collector’s and Special, will be given access to the Atomic Blimp in-game vehicle (pictured above).

“High above the streets of Los Santos floats the Atomic Blimp, hawking Los Santos’ finest tire company (whose products are available in any LS Customs garage). Pre-order now to gain the ability to pilot the most iconic and leisurely aircraft in the Los Santos skies,” the developer writes.

Now onto the contents of the game’s Special Edition:

• Full retail copy of Grand Theft Auto V

• Collectible SteelBook with Exclusive Artwork
  This special SteelBook features double-sided, never-before-seen artwork of Michael, Trevor and Franklin. Custom color and metallic treatments bring out the detail of the artwork created exclusively for this SteelBook.

• Blueprint Map
  This exclusive, additional 21.5” x 26.75” map displays a blueprint view of Los Santos and Blaine County. Cryptic markings indicate locations for fast cash and other points of interest for the up-and-coming entrepreneur.

• Special Ability Boost
  Michael, Franklin and Trevor each have a unique special ability. With this boost, the special ability bar will generate 25% faster.

• Stunt Plane Trials
  Single player Stunt Plane Trials let you take on additional aerial challenges spread throughout Los Santos and Blaine County.

• Bonus Outfits, Tattoos and More
  Michael, Franklin and Trevor get bonus outfits in their wardrobes, character specific tattoos at tattoo parlors, and special deals from shopkeepers across Los Santos and Blaine County.

• Additional Weapons
  When visiting Ammunation stores in single player, merchants will have special weapons in their inventory available for free: the Pistol .50, Bullpup Shotgun and melee Hammer.

The Collector’s Edition of the game includes everything in the Special Edition plus:

• Grand Theft Auto V Security Deposit Bag with Logo Key
  Inspired by the heists in Grand Theft Auto V, this custom 10.75” x 8.5” money bag features a pop-up style lock and laser cut logo key to secure important items. The reverse side features a pressed Rockstar Games logo on the security mount with a framed ID window.

• Grand Theft Auto V New Era 9FIFTY™ Snapback Cap
  This exclusive New Era 9FIFTY™ cap features an embroidered Los Santos logo on the front, a stitched, black Rockstar Games logo on the wearer’s left side, a Grand Theft Auto ‘V’ logo applique on the opposite side, and snapback closure for an adjustable fit.

• Custom Characters for Grand Theft Auto Online
  Get classic Grand Theft Auto characters to use within the Grand Theft Auto Online Character Creation System.

• Unique Vehicles and Garage Property
  Players will instantly receive a garage to store custom vehicles. In single player, the garage will be stocked with the 1930’s style Hotknife hotrod and the CarbonRS sports bike. In Grand Theft Auto Online, players will get the high-end Khamelion electric car.

You can find links to pre-order each edition right here. The Special Edition will set you back $79.99 and the Collector’s Edition $149.99.

Codemasters has released another trailer for GRID 2, this one details the game’s IndyCar DLC pack which is available with all pre-orders of the game.

The DLC includes extra routes for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Circuit and a selection of IndyCar liveries such as the Dallara IndyCar and Indy 500 Pace Car skins. If you want more GRID 2 action then you can check out a video of a race taking place at the Yas Marina circuit right here.

GRID 2 is set to release May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Sony has announced that a collection of four PlayStation Network titles will be released at retail next month under the title Best of PlayStation Network Vol. 1.

The collection will hit store shelves on June 25, priced at $40. Best of PlayStation Network Vol. 1 is the first in a new series of “Best Of” releases, according to Sony, and includes When Vikings Attack, Sound Shapes, Tokyo Jungle and Fat Princess.

There was no word on when Vol. 2 will make an appearance or what games will be included.

The original Far Cry is set to get a HD makeover, according to a listing on the Brazilian Ratings Board website.

The board lists the game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but no release date was offered. The 2004 PC title was the first in the series and was developed by Crytek, whereas Far Cry 2 and 3 were developed by Ubisoft.

Would you be interested in a HD makeover for Far Cry? Let us know in the comments below.

Via: CVG

Rockstar has announced that its PlayStation 2 classic The Warriors will be heading to the PlayStation Store next week for just $9.99.

The brawler will be available to download from the PlayStation Network on May 28 as a PS2 Classic. The developer currently has 12 games from its back catalog available on the PlayStation Store and plans to make more available in the future.

Infinity Ward has released a video that it showcased at the Xbox One reveal featuring a comparison between the technology used in Call of Duty: Ghosts and that used in Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty: Ghosts has been built from the ground up using a new next generation Call of Duty engine and you can see the vast improvement that its made in the video below. For all the details on Ghosts you can check out this article here.

Ghosts is set to release November 5 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One after the consoles launch.

Update 4.0 for SimCity is set to go live later today, adding a few new features and re-enabling several that were disabled during the game’s troubled launch.

The update adds the SimCity Launch Park to the game, which is exclusive to early adopters, and introduces a new region called Edgewater Bay featuring seven city sites. Re-enabled features include dynamic market prices, leaderboards on certain servers, and region filtering.

The full patch notes are below:

• New: SimCity Launch Park, an exclusive new park just for our dedicated fans who were early adopters.
• New: Region: Edgewater Bay. Seven city sites in one cluster around a beautiful bay with one great work site.
• New: Your current server will now be shown in the options menu.
• New: More detailed rollover information on buildings telling player’s if their Sims received happiness from a park or from shopping. Previous to this fix, this information was generic.
• Re-Enabled Feature: Global Market prices now dynamically change during gameplay.
• Re-Enabled Feature: Leaderboards will be active on EU West 3, Pacific 1 and Pacific 2 at the release. We will enable them on additional servers throughout the day.
• Re-Enabled Feature: Region filters are now enabled on all SimCity servers. Players will be able to search for open games by Map Name, Sandbox Mode, and Abandoned Cities.
• Rain Clouds: Fixed an issue where some cities would not have rain clouds to replenish their water table. If you had a city with this issue, you will start seeing clouds again within a game day.
• Fire: Improved response time of fire trucks to fires. Improved the time it takes for a fire signal to reach a fire station.
• Mission updates: Tuned Metals HQ and Community College missions. These were appearing too early, making them difficult to complete. They now appear later in a city’s development.
• Solar Farm Great Work: Reduced fire risk at the Solar Farm Great work. Local fire engines were spending too much time at the Solar Farm.
• Messaging: Improved pre-requisite messaging for Trade Port, Casinos, Smelting Factory and Oil Refinery. It should be clearer on how to unlock these buildings.
• Graphics: Fix for flickering low wealth buildings on NVIDIA graphics cards.
• Education: Fix for an issue some cities experienced where commuting students did not return from a neighbor’s city. This was causing a problem where students would disappear from a city in some cases.
• Tuning: Sims will lose a small amount of happiness if they don’t have a place to shop. Cities without places to shop will see complaints and feel the effect of unhappy Sims. This will emphasize the importance of commercial zones.

EA is teasing a Need for Speed reveal for later today, will we finally get our first glimpse of the franchise’s first next generation entry?

Earlier this week the publisher released a screenshot of a Koenigsegg police cruiser with the words ”Have no rules, show no mercy.” Now the game’s Facebook page has been updated with a second image of a Ferrari with the following text, ”The Rivalry Begins. Learn More on May 23rd.”

Now the first thing that came into my head upon reading that sentence was Need for Speed: Underground Rivals which was released for the PSP in 2005. Could we see a new game set in that universe?

Diamond Select Toys has announced they’ll release a four-pack of Hulk Minimates that show Bruce Banner’s alter ego in four of his most famous (or infamous) incarnations.

Dubbed the Hulk through the Ages collection, the four-pack will include Joe Fixit (when he was a Vegas tough guy), The Maestro (an alternate future version), the self-explanatory Barbarian Hulk, and Composite Hulk (half red, half green).

DC Collectibles has announced a Batman: Arkham City action figure of Hugo Strange will be among the exclusives they’ll have available at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

The Hugo Strange toy is 6.75-inches tall, comes with a syringe, and will be available for $29.95.

Other exclusives at this year’s show include two based on interstitials shown on Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block. The first is an action figure of Superman in the style of Wallace & Gromit masterminds Aardman Animations. The figure stands 6.5-inches tall, and will sell for $24.95. The other is a three-fer of Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl in the style of the “Super Best Friends Forever” interstitials, which will be $49.95.

Finally, they’ll also offer a four-pack of Green Lantern’s BFFs Dex-Starr, Green Lantern Sinestro, Arkillo, and Black Hand, which will be $49.95.

Funko has announced they’ll release a series of stylized Walking Dead mystery figures on June 20.

The 2.5-inch tall toys will include both regular and blood-splattered versions of Daryl, Merle, and a multitude of zombies.

As with all of Funko’s mystery figures, these will only be sold in sealed boxes, with the odds of getting the last one you need to complete your collection varying from toy to toy. For example, in a case of twenty-four, there will be two regular Daryls, but the odds of getting his bloody doppelganger are one in a hundred forty-four.

NECA has announced they’ll release a series of HeroClix figures featuring Iron Maiden’s mascot, Eddie, next week.

The nine different figures are based on various versions of Eddie that have appeared on Iron Maiden albums and single covers, including Somewhere in Time, “The Trooper,” and Powerslave.

Each figure will retail for $2.99, though you can also buy a box of 24 with a display box for $71.99.

Diamond Select Toys has announced they’re releasing two toys based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as one from Star Trek VI.

First up is a 7-inch action figure of Captain Jean-Luc Picard that has him on a Borg ship, standing over the body of a dead Borg, while aiming a phaser at what we can only assume is another Borg.

Next, they’ve also got a replica of the Enterprise-E, which is the ship Picard commanded in the 1996 movie Star Trek: First Contact. As with all of their ship replicas, this one will light up and has sound effects that include Mssr. Picard barking orders. It will be available this summer.

Finally, this summer will also see a replica of the Excelsior as it appeared in the 1991 movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It also lights up, and will include quotes from its captain, Hikaru Sulu, which have been recorded by actor George Takei (though we doubt one of them will be, “Oh my,” unfortunately).

During yesterday’s Xbox Reveal, EA Sports unveiled FIFA 14, NBA Live 14, Madden 25, and UFC running on their new Ignite engine. The footage shown in the trailer, however, was pre-rendered.

“It was all pre-rendered,” EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson informed Polygon. “Listen, we’re not hiding behind that fact. This was an event that we’ve been planning for a number of months on a new platform. And what we wanted to do was use real game assets, so they’re all real game assets, straight out of our game teams, but we had to get it into a format that would be usable in this style of event.”

“What I’m really happy to say, though, is that our games right now are delivering on that, and in some cases more, and we’re going to show a lot more of that at E3 in a couple of weeks. And then by the time we get to launch, the sky’s the limit of where we get to.”

According to Wilson, though pre-rendered, the footage is absolutely representative of the games themselves. As always, Mr. Wilson, we’ll believe it when we see it.

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 both launch later this year.

Metro: Last Light is getting a few extra stops along the track courtesy of four DLC add-ons due to arrive this summer, publisher Deep Silver announced.

All four DLC packs can be purchased for $15 with a season pass, or, of course, individually.

First out the gate is the “Faction Pack,” which launches in June and—according to Deep Silver—adds “new, original single-player gameplay that expands on the Metro: Last Light universe and story.” So too does the second add-on, the “Chronicles Pack,” which is currently without a release window.

Deep Silver describes the third Last Light DLC, the “Tower Pack,” as something that presents “a unique solo challenge to Metro veterans.” The wave of Metro DLC concludes with the mysterious “Developer Pack,” something Deep Silver says will “give creative players some interesting tools with which to explore the world of Metro.”

Metro: Last Light launched on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 last week. Our own Ray Carsillo returned to the subterranean Russian railways in his review.

NHL 14 won’t see a release on the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, EA Sports informed IGN.

EA’s statement to IGN reads, “NHL 14 will not be available for Xbox One or PlayStation 4 this year. Our team is laser-focused on delivering the greatest hockey experience to-date on the Xbox 360 and PS3, grounded in the speed, skill, and aggression of the sport. We look forward to developing a best-in-class hockey experience for new platforms in the future.”

Yesterday’s Xbox Reveal confirmed other EA Sports titles—UFC, FIFA 14, Madden 25, and NBA Live 14—would be gracing the Xbox One and PS4 (though only Madden and FIFA have been confirmed for 360 and PS3 as well).

NHL 14 launches on Xbox 360 and PS3 September 10 in North America, September 13 in Europe.

Zenimax has released a brand new trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online which introduces the terrifying wamasu.

The wamasu are basically really big electric lizards and, according to the lore, have lightning for blood. Their attacks include tail strikes and shooting lightning beams. If you manage to overcome these beasts there’s a giant boss version of this creature waiting to smash your face in.

You can check out the video below.

Will Avatars still be around on the Xbox One? While Microsoft’s FAQ may seem to say one way, a Microsoft rep had another answer.

Near the end of the Xbox One new released posted to their website yesterday, Microsoft posted this particular footnote:

Some Xbox Live content and features available on Xbox 360, including avatar content and some apps, are not available with Xbox Live on Xbox One.

So, what does that mean? Some have taken that to mean that Avatars themselves would no longer be part of the Xbox experience, but my take from that line is that some of your purchased Avatar content won’t make the transition from the current Xbox platform to the next (possibly due to rights, incompatibility, or some other reason).

Why do I feel so confident about that? Because I had the chance yesterday to speak to Ben Kilgore, corporate vice president at Xbox, and Avatars were one of the questions I had for him. With no sign of them during the presentation, would the Rare-crafted virtual representations of gamers still have a home on Microsoft gaming platforms?

“Avatars are still around. Identity is a big thing for us. We believe on Xbox One, people will start to use more real images of themselves as well, but we still support Avatars.”

So, there you go. For any of you out there who hate Avatars, sorry—they aren’t going away. For people like me who love them, don’t fret over their fate.

Cryptozoic’s Kickstarter for its MMOTCG game HEX: Shards of Fate has surpassed the $1 million mark with 16 days still to go.

To celebrate this mark three new stretch goals have been revealed, Keep Defense, Playback support, and motion comic intros. Keep Defense allows players to set up decks to protect their virtual keep, players can then challenge these decks to win rewards. If you successfully defend you get a reward and if you defeat a keep you get one too, what’s even better is that the AI will control your decks if you’re not online.

Playback support allows players to capture moments of matches to keep and brag to friends about and the motion comic intro is pretty self explanatory.

HEX: Shards of Fate is currently sitting on $1,118,518 with 16 days left to run–it only needed $300,000 to be funded.

Warner Bros. has today confirmed that the Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition will be coming to PC this July containing all of the console version’s DLC.

The Komplete Edition contains the DLC characters Skarlet, Kenshi and Rain, and Freddy Krueger, 15 classic Mortal Kombat skins, plus three classic Fatalities for Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile. The PC versions supports the Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition Fight Stick and other controllers.

The PC version was ported by High Voltage Software and will be released digitally on July 3 with a retail release set for August 6.

Xbox One will come with a 500 GB hard drive which cannot be replaced by users, unlike the current Xbox 360 hard drives, Microsoft has confirmed. However, players can add additional storage to their console’s via third-party USB 3.0 devices.

Engadget reports that Xbox One’s hard drive is “non-user-serviceable,” but Microsoft’s senior director of product planning Albert Penello confirmed to the site that third-party USB 3.0 devices can be used for storing game files, saves, music, movies, and more.

You can check out all the details regarding Microsoft’s next generation console here.

EA has posted what appears to be Xbox One and PlayStation 4 box art designs for Battlefield 4, but whether these are final designs is unknown.

It’s quite possible that both images are just mock-ups and do not represent either console’s final box art design. Neither Microsoft or Sony has offered up any official box art for any of its next generation titles as of yet. Both consoles are due out holiday 2013.

You can check out both pieces of box art below.

As we all expected, Crytek has announced that its Kinect game Ryse will be an Xbox One exclusive.

An update on the developer’s website confirms the news alongside a countdown which ends during Microsoft’s E3 press conference. ”Exclusively for Xbox One,” reads the website. “Fight as a soldier. Lead as a general. Rise as a legend.”

The website also notes that the game features ”Controller-based gameplay enhanced by Kinect,” which is different to the Kinect exclusive gameplay that was suggested during the game’s E3 2011 reveal. Last month rumors suggested that Ryse will be a launch title for Xbox One alongside Forza 5.

Microsoft has released six screenshots of the recently announced Xbox One’s new look dashboard showcasing the new Trending feature, Pins, and more.

Trending allows you to see what your friends, or what the entire world, is watching, playing, or listening to at any given time–similar to how Twitter’s Trending feature works. The Pin feature, which is currently available on the Xbox 360 dashboard, makes a return, but is now more streamlined and useful.

Users will also be able to open and close content on the Xbox One dashboard via hand gestures. As revealed yesterday, simply hold your hands out and push them together to close an app/movie/song and then pull your hands back apart to re-open it with no delay.

The Xbox One is expected to launch this holiday season and you can get all the details on Microsoft’s new console right here.

Carbine has delivered on its promise of new WildStar information by releasing two new videos for the game detailing the various Path choices that players can make.

Paths are different to Classes and Races as they determine how you like to play MMOs. There are four choices available when you create a character, Warrior, Scientist, Explorer, and Settler. Warriors are people who like to kill things and can access special super hard boss fights and encounters which offer greater rewards. Scientists like to examine the world around them learning interesting bits of information, discovering hidden rooms, and more.

Next up is Explorers, this group can scale huge buildings/trees/mountains, set up time challenges, and discover secret caves and dungeons. Finally there are Settlers who basically create buildings for themselves and others to use such as buff stations, vendors, hidden quest givers, and much more.

You can check out all four of these paths in action in the videos below.

Electronic Arts has posted up a screenshot of a Koenigseggon on the official Need for Speed Facebook page, which appears to be teasing a reveal of the next Need for Speed game for next generation consoles.

The image comes with the caption ”Have no rules, show no mercy,” and the car has the words ”Police Pursuit” written across the side. EA is set to reveal the next generation of its Need for Speed franchise during its E3 press conference on June 10.

Prepare for battle as DICE has announced that Battlefield 3‘s delayed 96 hour double XP event will kick off tomorrow.

The event will begin tomorrow, May 23, and run until May 27. During this time all players can enjoy double XP on all platforms and in all game modes.

Don’t miss the upcoming BF3 double XP event — 96 hours worth of double XP starts tomorrow morning: bit.ly/147B8rw #BF3

— Battlefield (@Battlefield) May 22, 2013

Activision has released six screenshots for Call of Duty: Ghosts to go alongside the game’s official unveiling at Microsoft’s Xbox One reveal event.

At the event it was confirmed that the game will run on a new next generation engine, be set in a new universe, and feature a brand new cast of characters. Players will also be able to lean round corners and slide along the floor before opening fire.

The publisher also shed some light on the game’s multiplayer, stating that its maps will feature dynamic aspects such as flooding rooms, breakable doors, wildlife, and traps. Finally customization will be at its fullest, with players able to change their characters armor, clothes, and helmets.

For a full rundown on all the details and a look at the reveal trailer you can check out this post here. The screenshots below are taken from the Xbox One version of the game.

Microsoft has revealed that a historic Rare IP will be announced at next month’s E3 event for Microsoft’s new Xbox One console, but what could it be?

“Fans of Rare and Rare IP I think will be pleased with what we’re going to show at E3,” Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer told Polygon. “We had a limited amount of time today and a lot of story to tell. But Rare remains an incredibly important part of our development capability.

“That historic IP that they’ve built I think can play a real important role on Xbox One.”

The developer currently retains the rights to franchises such as Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Perfect Dark, and Killer Instinct. Microsoft recently renewed the trademark for one of these classic franchises, Killer Instinct, could this be the historic franchise being talked about? We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau has confirmed that the publisher will offer a first look at its Star Wars plans during its E3 press conference next month.

The press conference will include ”a first look at our plans for the Star Wars partnership with Disney,” Gibeau said on the company’s Beat blog. Earlier this month EA announced that it had signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Disney for the rights to produce Star Wars games. Studios such as BioWare, Visceral, and DICE will all work on games in the franchise, but the first is not expected until after April 2014.

EA’s E3 press conference is set to take place at 4pm Eastern Time on June 10.

Bungie has confirmed what most of us already knew, that Destiny will be releasing for Microsoft’s newly announced Xbox One console.

“Today, we’re happy to announce that we’ve added a fourth console to the list of Destiny platforms,” the developer said in a statement. ”Destiny will ship on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the recently announced Xbox One.

“We’re excited by the opportunity to reach more players than ever before, and we can’t wait to show you more of what we’ve been up to at this year’s E3.”

Destiny is just one of several games confirmed for the console. Others include Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Forza 5, Quantum Break, and FIFA 14.

Microsoft’s stance on pre-owned games and game ownership with Xbox One has been more than a little confusing, however it appears that pre-owned games are not dead, but there are some catches involved.

Microsoft’s Phil Harrison tried to explain away the confusion. Basically when you buy a game and install it to your hard drive it will be locked to your account, so as long as you’re signed in to your account you can play the game without restriction and anyone in your house can also play the game as long as they’re signed into your account.

“So, think about how you use a disc that you own of an Xbox 360 game,” he told Eurogamer. “If I buy the disc from a store, I use that disc in my machine, I can give that disc to my son and he can play it on his 360 in his room. We both can’t play at the same time, but the disc is the key to playing. I can go round to your house and give you that disc and you can play on that game as well.

“What we’re doing with the digital permissions that we have for Xbox One is no different to that. If I am playing on that disc, which is installed to the hard drive on my Xbox One, everybody in my household who has permission to use my Xbox One can use that piece of content. [So] I can give that piece of content to my son and he can play it on the same system.”

However, when you leave the house that’s when things get tricky. If you take your game round a friends you can play it as much as you want without a fee as long as you’re signed into your profile. If you want to play on your friends profile or leave the game with him then your friend will have to pay the list price of the game on Xbox Live to unlock the content.

“I can come to your house and I can put the disc into your machine and I can sign in as me and we can play the game,” Harrison explained. ”The bits are on your hard drive. At the end of the play session, when I take my disc home – or even if I leave it with you – if you want to continue to play that game [on your profile] then you have to pay for it. The bits are already on your hard drive, so it’s just a question of going to our [online] store and buying the game, and then it’s instantly available to play.

“The bits that are on the disc, I can give to anybody else, but if we both want to play it at the same time, we both have to own it. That’s no different to how discs operate today.”

This doesn’t mean that pre-owned games are dead though, Harrison also mentioned to Eurogamer that Microsoft has a system in place to allow users to trade in digital content at a retail store. Quite what this system entails is unknown at this time.

“We will have a system where you can take that digital content and trade a previously played game at a retail store,” he said. “We’re not announcing the details of that today, but we will have announced in due course.”

How do you feel about fees for friends and trading in digital content? Share your thoughts below.

Source: Eurogamer

Following Microsoft’s unveiling of the Xbox One yesterday Sony’s share price has risen by nine percent. Was it really that bad?

The company’s stock price has fallen by around 1.23 percent before the presentation, but then jumped two percent in after hours trading, GamesIndustry reported. The stock continued to rise and is now sitting at an increase of 9.25 percent.

The reaction to the Xbox One has been mixed, with some loving the look, new features, and games, however there are some who are upset about certain restrictions that Microsoft is imposing–such as the fee for pre-owned games.

Trion Worlds is set to introduce a new loyalty system when RIFT goes free-to-play offering players a chance to earn free items when they spend real-money or the game’s real-money substitute REX.

Players will receive loyalty points whenever they make purchases, subscribe to the game, or consume REX. Current and former subscribers will also be given some loyalty points based on how long they have been a member. These can be spent on exclusive costumes, new target icons, and dimensions.

RIFT is set to make the switch to free-to-play on June 12.

EA has confirmed the official release date for its highly anticipated next and current-gen shooter Battlefield 4, and also announced the China Rising DLC pre-order bonus.

The game will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC from October 29 in the U.S. and November 1 in Europe. The publisher was unable to offer up a specific release date for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions except for holiday 2013.

Players who pre-order the game will receive the China Rising digital expansion pack at no extra cost which includes four ”massive multiplayer maps, using all-new vehicles and high-tech military equipment.”

Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have announced that Thief will be heading to the recently announced Xbox One.

“The team at Eidos-Montreal is thrilled to confirm that Thief is coming to Xbox One. The next generation of home consoles allow us to create the best and the most immersive Thief game ever. The feedback we have received so far is simply amazing and we can’t wait to show more of Thief at E3 this year” said Stephane D’Astous, General Manager, Eidos-Montréal.

The game is currently scheduled to release for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2014.

As promised Activision and Infinity Ward has unveiled Call of Duty: Ghosts to the world. There’s much higher graphical fidelity, a dog, multiplayer character customization, and that’s just the beginning.

Activision’s Eric Hirshberg took to the stage at the Xbox One reveal to confirm that the game will run on a new next generation engine and be set in a new universe with new characters. Traffic and Syrianna writer Stephen Gaghan has penned the game’s story which sees the American military crippled. The Ghosts team is comprised of elite soldiers from several different groups who have adopted the most effective fighting styles from around the world.

Not only do you get some new characters, but for the first time in the franchise’s history you get a dog for an ally. He will protect the team from attackers and sniff out bombs, among other things. There are also a few tweaks to gameplay, players can now lean around corners to get a better view and can slide along the ground before firing.

Ghosts‘ multiplayer introduces dynamic maps which see certain areas flooding, destroy-able doors, traps, and wildlife. Players can customize their avatars fully, including their armor, clothing, and helmet. Finally the game will feature Kinect voice commands, co-op, and second screen functionality.

As with the Xbox 360 all Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC will be a timed exclusive on Xbox One.

While the specifics the arrangement remain unnamed, Microsoft announced they’ll be partnering up with the NFL to bring “exclusive, interactive content.”

The only noticeable element to this partnership is the seamless integration of Xbox Smartglass and the Xbox One by way of easily pulling up Fantasy Football league information during live NFL games without interrupting the game itself.

343 Industries’ general manager Bonnie Ross took to the stage at the Xbox One reveal event and announced that a live action Halo television series is heading to Xbox One.

The series currently has the name Halo: The Television Series–of course this may change in the future–and will be directed by the legend that is Steven Spielberg. No other details were offered about the series, but it appears that it will be a Xbox One TV exclusive for Xbox Live members.

Turn 10 Studios and Microsoft announced Forza Motorsport 5 for Xbox One, while Remedy Entertainment—the studio behind Alan Wake and Max Payne—revealed an original IP, Quantum Break.

Microsoft promised more details on Forza 5 during E3.

The teaser for Quantum Break was brief, but what we saw reminded us a great deal of television show Fringe, focusing on quantum disturbances as investigated by police.

These two games are among 15 exclusive titles coming to the Xbox One in its first year, 8 of which are described as “brand new franchises.”

EA has announced a new partnership with Microsoft and will be developing four sports games for Xbox One, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14 and UFC. If that wasn’t enough, all of these games will use a new engine known as EA Sports Ignite.

All four of these games will be available in the next 12 months and use a next generation engine which will change the face of sports games forever. The EA Sports Ignite Engine takes into account player emotions, motion, and intelligence. The engine also allows developers to generate 3D crowds, a genuine atmosphere, and new daily content for its games.

“Through years of investment and innovation, we have built technology across EA Sports to create a game engine that will deliver stunning accuracy, realism and experiences that we previously could only dream about,” said Andrew Wilson, executive vice president and head of EA Sports. “With EA Sports Ignite and the power of next generation consoles, our games will come alive—with more authenticity, more emotion, more connectivity, and more fun.”

“EA Sports Ignite will deliver the dynamic movements and biomechanics of the world’s best athletes. With 10 times more animation depth and detail than previous consoles, and thousands of new sport-specific animations to drive new locomotion systems, players now plant, pivot and cut, quickly change speeds, and shift momentum with the agility and explosiveness of superstar athletes,” the publisher explained.

The publisher also mentioned that FIFA 14 Ultimate Team will “only be on Xbox.”

Microsoft has revealed some of the technical specifications of the Xbox One.

• 500 GB HDD
• 3.0 USB
• 8GB of RAM
• Blu-ray Drive
• Dedicated serves
• Interplay between Kinect, controller, and Smartglass
• Game DVR with native editing and sharing tools for easy upload to the cloud

According to Microsoft, where 15,000 serves power the modern Xbox Live experience, 300,000 servers will power Xbox One’s, relying heavily on cloud-powered media storage.

The new Xbox Live will carry over your existing membership and progress (in short, you gets to keep them sweet, sweet cheevos).

The Xbox One’s controller (seen above) has been redesigned slightly, boasting a much tighter-looking D-pad (something the Xbox has needed for years), with the Xbox jewel pushed higher up and noticeably deeper concave analog sticks.

More on the Xbox Reveal as it continues.

Well the Xbox One is official, but what you really want to know about is its features right? So far we know about “Instant Switching” and “Snap Mode.”

First up is Instant Switching, this basically does exactly what it says on the tin. Thanks to this feature with just a single phrase you can instantly switch between games, TV, movies, music, and more. There’s a nanosecond wait and you’re away. It was pretty impressive to see especially seeing as it’s impossible on the current Xbox

There’s also gestures for closing programs and reopening them with no delay, simply grab the outside of the screen and push your hands together to close, and pull them back apart to re-open.

Next up is Snap Mode, this allows you to open up a second window at the side of your movie/music/game similar to Windows OS. Users can open up Internet Explorer, Favorites, and more all without interfering with whatever you are doing. Want to search the web while watching a film, no worries, simply use Snap Mode to open the browser and the film will continue to play.

Today, we can finally put to bed all the various Nextbox name rumors. Microsoft has revealed their next console will be called “Xbox One.”

Details are still emerging from Xbox Reveal, but what we know so far is that the Xbox One is cloud-powered and features a slightly redesigned Xbox controller. Microsoft’s goal is to crete an all-in-one home entertainment experience with their new console, championing how quickly it can shift from playing games to browsing the web to watching television, and how this is controlled through the voice-commands via the new Kinect.

More on the story as it develops.

Get all the latest Xbox One news below:

• ‘Instant Switching’ and ‘Snap Mode’ Announced for Xbox One
• Microsoft Details Xbox One Tech Specs, Features
• EA Announces FIFA, Madden, NBLA Live, and UFC for Xbox One, Use New EA Ignite Engine
• Forza Motorsport 5, Quantum Break Announced for Xbox One Among 15 Year-One Exclusives
• 343 Industries Announces Live Action Halo TV Series for Xbox One
• Microsoft and NFL Partnering Up to Create ‘Exclusive, Interactive Content’
• Call of Duty: Ghosts Officially Unveiled, Higher Polygon Counts, a Man’s Best Friend, Player Customization, and More
• Thief Announced for Xbox One

A new trailer for Media Molecule’s Tearaway has been released alongside a batch of screenshots.

Tearaway is a Vita exclusive starring ”adventurers from another dimension” who are trapped inside the handheld. The game is due to release October 22 in North America and October 23 in Europe.

Via: AllGamesBeta

Cryptic Studios has decided to offer an olive branch to Neverwinter players to apologize for the server rollbacks and exploit that occurred over the weekend.

Players lost seven hours worth of gameplay following a rollback to fix an economy exploit which allowed players to obtain billions of Astral Diamonds, one of the game’s currencies. To say sorry the developer is offering all players the Caturday Survivor’s Pack for free.

All characters created before 5am PDT on Sunday, May 19 will find this pack sitting in their mailbox. The pack contains a Stone of Health, a Dwarven Facemask, 5 teleport scrolls to the Protector’s Enclave, 2 Adventurer’s XP boosters, and a Cape of Catastrophe.

Capcom has released a launch trailer for Resident Evil: Revelations‘ HD makeover to celebrate the game’s release in the U.S.. It’s due out in Europe later this week.

If you fancy trying before you buy then you can download a demo right now on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U.

You can read Eric L. Patterson’s thoughts on the game in our review here.

Sony Japan Studio has officially announced that its mysterious title, codenamed Panopticon, is in fact called Freedom Wars and will be a PlayStation Vita exclusive.

A trailer was released for the game which appears to show a prison of some kind–or the world has become a prison, or it’s a metaphor, I have no idea–with each character having how long they have left on their sentence displayed above their heads. Sony lists the game’s genre as “Recovery Multiplayer Action,” so make of that what you will.

You can check out the trailer below.

Scarlet Blade‘s major selling point is that it offers a choice of only female characters to play as, well that and the ability to completely remove your character’s clothes. However, that is about to change in Taiwan–where the game is known as Queen’s Blade.

Due to the recent demand of players, the decision has been made to add a male character to the game. Whether this character will be added to the Western version is unknown at this time. You can check out the first trailer for this new character below.

Activision is giving Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 players a chance to vote on one of four new Personalization Packs which will be added to the game.

Every player gets one vote and the two with the highest will be added to the in-game store on May 29. Each pack comes with a weapon camo, three reticles, and a calling card. Voting is set to begin on May 23 via the game’s Message of the Day, so you’re going to have to play the game to vote.

The four choices are:

Source: One of Swords

Nintendo has released a new system update for the Wii U taking it up to version 3.0.1.

The update improves system stability and compatibility with certain software, according to the company. The platform holder offers the following advice before updating: ”Performing a system update may take an extended amount of time (for some users it could take an hour or more to download and install). Do not power off your console or remove the Wii U AC adapter during this time.”

A major update for the console is set to go live this summer which will increase its overall performance.

Codemasters really doesn’t want you to forget about GRID 2 as it has released yet another gameplay trailer for it, this time showing a race around the Yas Marina circuit.

If you haven’t had enough GRID 2 media then you can check out yesterday’s Elimination trailer here. GRID 2 is set to release May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Techland has released an official launch trailer for its downloadable Western shooter Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, whose main character has a fondness for shooting people in the face.

Gunslinger sees you battling some of the greatest names that the Wild West has to offer such as Butch Cassidy and Jesse James. The trailer showcases some of the abilities that you have at your disposal such as Sense of Death which allows you to dodge incoming bullets and Concentration mode that allows you to slow down time.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger will be available to download from Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC from May 22 for $14.99.

Civilization V‘s upcoming expansion, Brave New World, will introduce the Moroccan and Indonesian civilizations to the game as playable options, according to the game’s Facebook page.

Indonesia’s leader is Gajah Mada, who was the prime minister of the Majapahit Empire. Morocco is led by Ahmad al-Mansur, who was sultan of the Saadi dynasty. The expansion will also add eight new wonders, two new scenarios, nine playable civilizations, a new trade system, and the Culture victory path.

Brave New World is set to release July 9 in North America and July 12 in Europe for $29.99.

NCsoft and ArenaNet have announced that Guild Wars 2‘s latest content update “Last Stand at Southsun” will be going live on May 28, extending the game’s Living Story, adding custom PvP Arenas, adding Infusions, and much more.

“In the newest extension of the Living Story, the culprit behind the recent wildlife attacks on Southsun Cove has been revealed as the Sylvari renegade, Canach. In a confused attempt to free the new settlers from The Consortium, Canach has turned the creatures of the island into tools of destruction,” the developer explains.

A full list of features can be found below:

• New Improved World XP: ArenaNet has improved the award system for World XP in World vs. World, allowing players to gain rewards for a much wider range of activities in the Mists – everything from destroying siege weapons, repairing walls, escort missions and more.
• Greater Variety and More Rewards in WvW: Earn World XP for playing the way you want with WvW daily achievements. Each time players gain a new World rank, they’ll earn a bonus chest with WvW loot.
• New WvW Abilities and Matchup Changes: Choose to become even deadlier in The Mists with new abilities like Burning Oil Mastery or new ranks in Defense Against Guards. WvW matches allow players to face new opponents in new matchups and test their world’s skill against more foes.
• Custom PvP Arenas and Spectator Mode Beta: Based on feedback from beta players, ArenaNet has been able to fix bugs and further improve these new features. Now players can extend the time of their favorite custom arenas with added Custom Arena Time Tokens in the Gem Store.
• Introducing Infusions and Ascended Gear in WvW: ArenaNet has introduced the ability to purchase Ascended rings and amulets and to upgrade WvW abilities with six new Infusions that give players’ characters special WvW bonuses. Just speak to the new Laurel and Badge Merchants on each map.
• New Southsun Cove Rewards: Players can find their very own Mini Reef Rider – a loyal floating friend available only until June 11. Dedicated defenders of the Southsun settlers can also earn rare new limited-edition rewards from creatures and chests in Southsun Cove, and by playing Crab Toss.
• Exclusive Southsun Items: Players who help keep the peace during the Secret of Southsun can earn two exclusive new back items, the floral Fervid Censer and the writhing Sclerite Karka Shell.

EA has confirmed that a new Ultimate Fighting Championship game will be unveiled today, May 21, the same day as the Next Xbox reveal event. Coincidence?

The publisher posted teaser images on Facebook and Twitter along with the message: ”First news: May 21.” EA has already confirmed that FIFA 14 will be at the Next Xbox reveal so it stands a good chance, based on the timing, that this UFC game will also be there.

EA’s UFC title is currently in development at EA Canada, the team responsible for the Fight Night series. Microsoft’s Next Xbox reveal is set to begin at 10am Pacific Time today and titles such as Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and FIFA 14 will be on show.

Call of Duty: Ghosts will be officially unveiled at today’s Next Xbox reveal event, and Xbox Australia has released a video showing fans reacting to an early screening of the debut trailer running on next generation hardware.

Now this has to be the cheesiest and most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen, but I thought I’d share it in case any of you really wanted to see it. It’s basically just a bunch of guys whooping, cheering, and pulling shocked faces at a computer screen that we can’t see.

I highly doubt that I’ll react like any of these people when the debut trailer is shown later today, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Will you lose your mind at the trailer or stare blankly wondering what happened? Share your thoughts below.

Via: MP1st

Some new Battlefield 4 information is just on the horizon, according to the game’s official Twitter account. Could the Next Xbox reveal have something to do with it?

Big announcements are coming soon! Retweet to alert your friends!#BF4

— Battlefield (@Battlefield) May 20, 2013

This pretty much confirms that Battlefield 4 will play some part in the event later today. However, it won’t be the only EA game on show: the publisher has already confirmed that FIFA 14 and a new UFC title will be showcased at the event.

Previous rumors have suggested that EA has signed some kind of exclusivity deal with Microsoft for the Next Xbox. It’s expected that this will either involve exclusive DLC or timed exclusive content releases like Activision currently has with Call of Duty‘s DLC.

Microsoft’s Next Xbox reveal event will begin today, May 21 at 10am Pacific Time.

FIFA’s next-gen incarnation will be revealed during tomorrow’s Xbox event, according to an image on Facebook by EA Sports.

“See the next generation of FIFA,” reads the image posted to Facebook—complete with “#XboxReveal” hashtag.

EA revealed FIFA 14 mid-April, along with a handful of screenshots and a few details, so it’s safe to assume whatever’s being teased here is just the next-gen version of FIFA 14 and not the next installment altogether.

Microsoft’s Xbox event is being held tomorrow at their Redmond campus at 10 a.m. PT. The event will be live streamed over Xbox.com, Xbox Live, and Spike TV. And obviously we’ll be in attendance reporting live as the next iteration of Xbox is revealed.

Adorable versions of ManShep, Liara, Garrus, and Wrex are coming to LittleBigPlanet by way of a Mass Effect Costume Pack being released tomorrow.

The costume pack will be compatible with LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, and in addition to the aforementioned skins, also includes armor accessories and in-game stickers.

I’m guessing LittleBigPlanet is quite a hit in the U.K., since they’ve got a release date and price—May 22 for £4.79, while the North American release remains up in the air. Expect a similar price (’bout 5 bucks) and similar release window (soon).

World of Warcraft‘s 5.3 patch is set to go live later this week adding a new battleground, arena, four new scenarios, heroic scenarios, and a lot of class changes.

You can check out the long list of patch notes here and also catch a video of the new Tiger’s Peak arena (via MMO Champion) below.

Ubisoft has released a new trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, showcasing some gameplay footage from the game’s co-op campaign featuring Sam Fisher and his partner Isaac Briggs.

Blacklist‘s co-op campaign features four mission types spread across 14 maps and can be played either online or via local split-screen. The game is set to launch August 20 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U.

You can check out the trailer below.

Sony has released a new trailer for the PlayStation 4 teasing an official hardware unveiling at E3 2013.

The PlayStation 4 was revealed to the world back in February along with details regarding its specifications and information on various software currently in development. However, the company failed to offer us a look at the actual console. That wrong will be righted on June 10.

The video description reads: ”Watch our world exclusive teaser video and See it First at E3 June 10th 2013. Make sure you are the first to see it first. Sign up: http://eu.playstation.com/PS4.”

Sony’s E3 2013 press conference is set to begin at 6:00pm Pacific Time.

Warner has released a new set of screenshots for Batman: Arkham Origins confirming that The Joker and Anarky will feature in the upcoming prequel.

GamesRadar reports that The Joker will not be voiced by Mark Hamill, that honor will go to Troy Baker, who played BioShock Infinite‘s Booker DeWitt and the male hero in Saints Row: The Third. Also, despite Kevin Conroy seemingly confirming that he will voice Batman in Origins, GamesRadar reports that the role will be filled by Roger Craig Smith, the voice of Ezio from Assassin’s Creed.

Earlier today the publisher released a five minute gameplay trailer for the game which you can check out here.

Cryptic has been forced to roll back Neverwinter‘s servers seven hours following a major exploit over the weekend which allowed players to obtain billions in Astral Diamonds, one of the game’s main currencies.

The company took the servers down yesterday to investigate the issue and found that the only way to repair the damage was to roll back the servers, meaning that players lost all progress between 5:20am PDT and 12:20pm PDT.

“Rather than let the malicious efforts of a few unsavory players linger and continually impact the game’s economy and balance as we progress through these later stages of Open Beta, we have made the extremely difficult decision to rollback Neverwinter to a time shortly before the abuse and exploitation began,” the developer wrote on the game’s forum.

“This means that roughly seven hours of progress made between 5:20 AM and 12:20 PM Pacific Time will be lost to all players. For that, we do sincerely apologize.

“Rest assured, the issue has been corrected and we have taken appropriate action against all players who took advantage of the bug, including but not limited to enforcing permanent bans.”

Microsoft has filed a new trademark for something called “Forzavista,” which appears to be a vehicle viewing system for the next Forza title.

The trademark (via Siliconera) describes Forzavista as ”a feature of interactive video game software which allows players to obtain statistical information of internal and external features of a vehicle and to virtually navigate and operate those vehicles.”

It appears that this is similar to the “Auto Vista” system used in Forza 4 and will allow players to take a virtual tour around the game’s vehicles. A previous rumor suggested that Microsoft’s Next Xbox launch line-up will include a new Forza title. Could we see the first glimpse if it at tomorrow’s Next Xbox reveal or will we have to wait until E3?

Following a teaser trailer last week, Warner bros. has released four minutes of Batman: Arkham Origins goodness featuring the likes of Deathstroke, Deadshot, and Black Mask.

In the trailer below you can catch a full-length version of Batman’s fight with Deathstroke before Deadshot interrupts it with some smooth sniping. Finally we get a glimpse of Black Mask who has hired a group of assassins to take Batman out.

The trailer also confirms earlier news that Deathstroke will be a playable character in the game, but it still lacks any details such as how he will be used. Could it be a series of challenge rooms or is it similar to Catwoman in Arkham City where he will get his own campaign.

Batman: Arkham Origins is set to release October 25 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U.

Microsoft’s Next Xbox reveal event, scheduled for tomorrow, will only be part one of a two part plan, according to Microsoft’s interactive entertainment chief of staff Aaron Greenberg.

Tomorrow’s first stage will focus on the console itself and a second presentation is scheduled for E3 where the company will focus squarely on the new platform’s games. ”We have so much goodness that there’s no way we could have packed it all into one event,” Greenberg said while on Major Nelson’s latest podcast (via CVG).

“The best way I can describe it is, we’re really going to tell one story across two events. So we’re going to start on the 21 [of May] and really that’s about revealing the next Xbox platform and our vision for the future of games, the future of entertainment. We definitely have a lot of surprises planned.

“People are going to get a great inside look at the making of the new platform and the team that brought it to life. To be honest it’s really about the team, the people here. We’ve never done this before, so it’s really exciting to be able to do that.

“It’s a lot of laying the foundation, and then just a couple weeks later we go to E3, and E3 is all about the games. It’s going to be tons of exclusives [and] world premiers.”

The Next Xbox reveal is set to happen tomorrow, May 21 at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington.

Ouya has announced that its booth at E3 will be located outside the convention center and will be open to all members of the public, no credentials required.

The console will be playable from June 11 to June 13, directly across from the convention center’s South Hall. According to Ouya, the booth will ”provide everything [developers] need to put on a killer game demo.” It is “100 percent open to the public, no credentials required.”

Ouya is set to hit retail stores on June 25 following a slight delay to meet increased demand.

Carbine is teasing some new information for its highly anticipated MMO WildStar, could it be a class reveal, stress test details, or something else entirely?

A single image was posted by the developer with the phrase “Class Dismissed” and a date of May 22. Some fans believe that it’s a hint for a new class reveal and others think that Carbine will finally put a date on the promised stress test. What do you think?

We’ll have to wait until May 22 to find out.

A little something to look forward to: ow.ly/i/28qok

— Team WildStar (@Team_WildStar) May 17, 2013

Codemasters has released a new trailer for GRID 2 showcasing the game’s Eliminator game mode which takes place on the streets of Dubai. Eliminator sees drivers partake in a normal race, but with a catch, every 20 seconds the driver at the back of the pack is eliminated. Stay away from the back to win this event.

GRID 2 is set to release for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC next week in North America and Europe. You can check out some more footage of the game in action here.

Naughty Dog has released a new developer diary for The Last of Us focusing on the game’s resource management, exploration, crafting, and in-game choices.

The Last of Us is now ready to roll and will launch worldwide exclusively for PlayStation 3 on June 14. Sony is pretty sure that it has a hit on its hands and has registered domains for two followups.

You can check out the video below.

ArenaNet has announced that its eight-year-old MMO Guild Wars will no longer receive any new content following a switch to automated support. The developer said in a post on the game’s official website that it wants it to be “in a place where it’s able to take care of itself.”

“Over time, our focus has shifted to updates that not only help maintain Guild Wars but help the game maintain itself,” the post reads. “With this focus in mind, we’ll no longer be releasing any new content for the live game except in support of automation. Our goal is to get the game to a place where it can continue to run and be available to all of our fans. We have a lot of love for Guild Wars — it’s the game that made us what we are today — and we want to continue sharing it with everyone!”

ArenaNet promised that a small team will still be available for critical fixes or server crashes.

A pre-order image for Batman: Arkham Origins on Amazon has confirmed Deathstroke as a playable character via DLC.

In a teaser trailer released last week Batman and Deathstroke were seen going toe-to-toe in the snow, but how he will fit in as a playable character is unknown. Could he be part of some form of multiplayer, or will it be similar to Catwoman in Arkham City where he gets his own mini-campaign?

A full-length trailer for the game is set to go live later today.

A new teaser featuring work-in-progress footage has been released for Call of Duty: Ghosts ahead of the game’s full reveal at the Next Xbox event tomorrow.

The short clip was released via social media site Vine and shows several in-progress shots from what I’m presuming is the full reveal trailer.

Call of Duty: Ghosts is set to release November 5 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game is also in development for next generation consoles. Ghosts will be the first game to use a brand new next generation Call of Duty engine–which should be a nice change for fans.

Some new Gran Turismo 6 footage has appeared online offering an early conceptual look at some of the game’s cars and tracks.

Gran Turismo 6 will include seven new locations, once of which is Silverstone, and a total of 1,200 vehicles, which includes ever car from Gran Turismo 5. The game will also “bring new levels of authenticity to the ‘Real Driving simulator,’” according to Sony.

The game was officially revealed to the world last week for a holiday 2013 release on PlayStation 3, with a demo planned for July. Polyphony has stated that a PlayStation 4 release could be on the cards for next year, but so far the only confirmed platform is PlayStation 3.

Source: AllGamesBeta

After three weeks in the number one spot Dead Island: Riptide has finally been dethroned by 4A Game’s Metro: Last Light.

Dead Island: Riptide was knocked down into the number two spot, with FIFA 13, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 rounding out the top five.

You can check out the full chart below:

1. Metro: Last Light (Deep Silver)
2. Dead Island: Riptide (Deep Silver)
3. FIFA 13 (EA)
4. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity (Nintendo)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Activision)
6. Tomb Raider (Square Enix)
7. The Walking Dead (Telltale)
8. Injustice: Gods Among Us (Warner)
9. Assassin’s Creed 3 (Ubisoft)
10. BioShock Infinite (Take-Two)

Porting games from one platform to another makes sense. With the production costs that today’s developers face, why only get one chance to make money off of all the hard work and asset creation that went into a particular project? Give the first release a chance to hit the market, see what other platforms would make sense for the game, and port that puppy over!

The thing is, if you’re asking me which sorts of ports would make the most sense, going from the 3DS to HD-focused consoles is potentially one of the lowest possibilities that could be on my list. Putting aside the extra horizontal pixels it needs to produce its 3D effect, Nintendo’s current handheld is basically running games at a resolution of 400 x 240. Not only is that a far cry from what your HDTVs are having fed to them, but it’s even far lower than most smartphones these days.

And yet, that’s exactly what Capcom did when they decided to resurrect their early 3DS title Resident Evil: Revelations. Looking only at the game itself, I can’t blame them. Revelations was hailed as a fantastic release for the portable both in terms of gameplay and visuals, and as much as I love the 3DS, it didn’t seem logical for Capcom to keep the game exclusive to the system at this point.

In order to have Revelations make the jump, however, Capcom would need to give its visuals a serious makeover—and that’s exactly what they’ve done. While its graphics might not be up to par with the previously released Resident Evil 6, playing this version of Revelations gives few hints that it was once on a platform that was pushing one-fourth the resolution. The game’s stages and monsters dutifully set up that trademark Resident Evil atmosphere, but it’s the character models that really shine, with all of the playable protagonists—such as the beautiful-yet-tenacious Jill Valentine—looking simply fantastic. (I’ve seen some who say that Jill looks “off” in Revelations. Those people are wrong.)

One aspect Capcom didn’t muck around too much with was the game itself, and this was an area where I wasn’t sure how Revelations would turn out on consoles. Given the natural difference in how portables are played, Revelations was designed for shorter, more compartmentalized play sessions. Each chapter starts out with a recap of what happened previously, the next mission is mostly self-contained, characters and locations are mixed up to keep things fresh and interesting, and the whole experience ends on a cliffhanger.

How does all of this turn out when, instead, you’re sitting back on your comfy couch, ready for some more involved gaming? Far better than I would have imagined—to a point where I might actually prefer the game as it is now, instead of what it was originally intended to be. With how things are set up and the length of each episode, at times, I swore the game could instead have been called Resident Evil: The TV Drama. (I say that in a good way.)

That feeling—like I was delving into something different than everything that’s come before in the franchise—was what helped me look past those few aspects where I thought Revelations could have been better. This is far from a bad game; playing on a controller, using the “Shooter” control scheme, I had great fun taking down the various monstrosities that the game constantly threw my way. Still, the reality is that—given the limitations that were in place hardware-wise at the time of Revelation’s original development—gameplay and control options aren’t as deep or refined as other recent Resident Evil projects. The biggest example of this is the lack of any sort of proper run/dodge option, and without it, some enemy encounters end up being more frustrating than they should be.

At the end of the day, Revelations can’t escape its past—and Capcom didn’t go as far as they could have in making the transition as smooth as it should have been. However, the negatives that came along with the game don’t come close to overshadowing its positives. The core of Revelations is not only still as fun as it ever was, but maybe even more so now that it can be played with a proper controller and on a bigger display. As well, Raid mode—the included side missions where players see if they can survive an increasingly difficult set of challenges while upgrading their characters—is as engrossing as ever, especially with the new additional weapons, characters, and co-op options this revision brings.

If you didn’t get around to playing Resident Evil: Revelations the first time around, then this is the chance to finally see what you missed. While what Capcom produced here is, at times, very different from previous Resident Evil games, it also has a number of elements that should make old-school fans of the series happy—including those of you who hated Resident Evil 6. (While I still don’t understand your side of that argument, this time, I’ll at least respectfully agree to disagree.)

If, on the other hand, you’ve never once enjoyed a Resident Evil game before, who knows—this might finally be the one to change your mind.

Square Enix has released a brand new batch of screenshots for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn highlighting some of the possibilities that the game’s character creation tool offers.

Several options are available such as vibrant hair colors, long hair for females, tattoos, and much more. You can check out the screenshots below.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is set to release this summer for PlayStation 3 and PC, with a third beta test scheduled to begin June 3.

BioWare has announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic‘s reoccurring Gree event will be making a comeback next week.

The Gree starship Grey Secant will return to the planet Ilum on May 21 and will remain there until May 28, allowing players to earn reputation and purchase Gree related armor, mounts, and pets.

The game’s 2.1 patch, titled Customization, went live earlier this week, adding a new playable species, character re-customization options, and an armor dye system.

Metal Gear Solid fans rejoice as Konami has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection will be releasing this July in the U.S.

The collection will arrive on July 9, priced at $49.99, and includes Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 (includes the original MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2), Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Trophy Edition.

Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Peace Walker will be in their HD forms. The collection also includes two Ashley Wood digital graphic novels which have never been released outside of Japan before.

The Legacy Collection is a PlayStation 3 exclusive due to Metal Gear Solid 4 being too big to bring to Xbox 360, according to series creator Hideo Kojima.

Trion Worlds has posted the first screenshot of RIFT‘s free-to-play store which will go live alongside the MMO’s business model change.

The screenshot shows off a few items which will be available to purchase such as a 30-day Patron Pass, faction change scroll, character rename scroll, guild rename scroll. The developer also posted up a second picture featuring one of the game’s new female outfits which you can check out below.

RIFT will make the switch to free-to-play on June 12.

Microsoft is preparing a public beta of its next Xbox 360 dashboard update for release in June/July and it will feature several UI changes along with the beginning of the company’s move to phase out Microsoft Points, according to a new report.

Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans have told The Verge that the beta will begin either in June or July with a full release scheduled for August. The user interface will get a makeover with smaller Live tiles, similar to the planned Windows 8.1 changes, and the overall look will be tweaked thanks to the ability to choose from lighter or darker themes.

The Verge also reports that Microsoft is planning to transition Xbox 360 users over to its new gift card real-currency system that it will use for the Next Xbox with this update. The plan is to replace Microsoft Points with real world currency options and allow users to purchase gift cards similar to iTunes cards from retail stores.

Microsoft is set to reveal the Next Xbox at a special event on May 21. The new currency system will be announced at E3, according to recent rumors.

Kotobukiya has announced they will release an ARTFX statue of Deathstroke this November.

The 12-inch tall, 1/6 scale statue is based on the way the DC Comics character looks since the New 52 makeover, and comes with a display base.

But the coolest thing about it is that his mask is attached with magnets, so you can chose to display him with his face showing or covered.

The statue will retail for $119.99.

Gentle Giant has announced they’ll release a new Walking Dead mini bust and the newest addition to their line of Star Wars Kenner Jumbo Figures early next year.

The Walking Dead mini bust is of the zombie who had been chasing after Sophia. Each 1/6 scale bust is hand painted, individually numbered, and comes with a certificate of authenticity. It will retail for $75.00.

The Star Wars Kenner Jumbo Figure is of the bounty hunter Zuckuss from The Empire Strikes Back. Scanned from the original 3.75-inch tall action figure, this 12-inch tall version is full y articulated and comes with his trusty blaster. It also comes with a replica of the original packaging, albeit one that opens up so you can take Zuckuss out and play with him. It will retail for $80.00.

Both collectibles can be pre-ordered from Gentle Giant here.

Shout! Factory has announced they’ll release an 11-disc DVD & Blu-ray boxed called The Bruce Lee Legacy Collection on August 6th.

The collection will include The Big Boss, First of Fury, Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death on DVD and, for the first time, on Blu-ray.

It will also feature the documentaries I Am Bruce Lee, The Grandmaster and the Dragon: William Cheun and Bruce Lee, Bruce Lee: The Man, The Legend, as well as the updated version of that documentary, Bruce Lee: The Legend.

In addition, it also features numerous extras, including the original trailers and TV spots, new interviews, the previously unreleased original Mandarin audio and English dub audio tracks for Boss, a montage of Game outtakes, extensive still galleries, commentaries on the movies by Hong Kong film expert Mike Leeder, new interviews with famous fans and disciples, new English subtitles on Boss, Fist, and Way, and other extras yet to be announced.

There will even be extras for the documentary I Am Bruce Lee, including the original trailer and Lee’s Hollywood audition tape. The documentary comes housed in a deluxe book-style package that has 68 pages of previously unseen photos, archival materials, a new essay on Lee’s legacy, and, of course, much more.

The box will retail for $119.99, and is available for pre-order from both shoutfactory.com or some website called Amazon or something.

The core tenet of any great survival game is tension. Not cheap scares or unfair disadvantages, but rather a persistent sense of dread that keeps you on the edge of your seat, constantly looking over your shoulder, eyes darting from corner to corner. Creating that tension—and stretching it until it’s nerve-rackingly taut—is something Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us seems to do quite well.

With a month left before The Last of Us launches on PS3 worldwide, Naughty Dog and Sony gave the gaming press an opportunity to spend some hands-on time with their latest exclusive before its release. The demo they provided was short, consisting of only two excerpts from the game, but it offers a taste of what’s in store for protagonists Joel and Ellie.

The first part of the demo is set in Lincoln, Pennsylvania. About 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, it’s a town so small it doesn’t even have its own post office. If not for the haunting absence of townsfolk and its state of ruin, Lincoln would be an idyllic slice of rural life. As the demo opens, Joel and Ellie—and players—see some of the beauty that’s survived. Hopping a highway guardrail, they take a shortcut through a lush deciduous forest still vibrantly alive with flora and fauna. The Last of Us is set in a world in ruin, yes, but not in devastation.

That unassuming sense of serenity, of safety, is betrayed by the town itself, which has been barricaded with barbed wire and laced with traps. Because Lincoln is locked up tight, getting in requires a bit of creative thinking by way of environmental traversal through simple puzzle-solving.

Getting Joel and Ellie into Lincoln—where they hope to find Bill, an old acquaintance of Joel’s he believes can supply the two with a working vehicle—involves leveraging a plank of wood as a resource. It’s not a terribly complex puzzle (using the plank as a bridge linking the roofs of two buildings), but the solution isn’t immediately apparent. It took me a moment or two to figure out how to get the plank up where I needed it, and the solution—while obvious in hindsight—still felt rewarding.

Once inside Lincoln, it wasn’t long before I encountered my first Infected—hearing the creature well before spotting it in a nearby toolshed. The sounds made by the Infected are perhaps the biggest contributor to tension in The Last of Us. See, these once-humans are blind and emit a series of unsettling clicking sounds to navigate by sonar. Naturally, they’re aurally sensitive and easily alerted to Joel and Ellie’s presence by even the slightest scrape of their boots. It took me three attempts to successfully sneak past this particular Infected.

One-hit kills from Stage 3 Infected—Clickers, as they’re colloquially referred to—also ratchet up the tension. At the advice of the demo’s tutorial, I attempted to distract the Clicker by throwing a brick. It worked, but as soon as I made a run for it, the creature picked up on my footfalls and was quickly on top of me. Dead—try again. The next time, I took a makeshift melee weapon—a pipe with scissor blades duct-taped to one end—and bashed in the creature’s skull. That approach was more successful, but the ruckus drew the attention of another Clicker, who summarily dispatched me.

The third time was—as always—the charm. By tossing the brick again, I drew the Clicker away from the toolshed, hunkered down, and crept safely past it into an abandoned building. And while I managed to survive, a sense of threat lingered as the sounds of the Clicker carried in from the shattered windows and broken walls of the building. I was convinced it might find its way through the same door I got in through, and I’m inclined to think that had I rummaged through the remains of that building more noisily, I might have turned around at some point and suddenly found the creature feasting on my neck.

Deeper into Lincoln, another Infected encounter—this time Stage 1, the Runners. They’re less fungal than their Clicker cousins, but still rabid. Drawn to pounding coming from a door to an apartment, Joel—against Ellie’s protest—decides to poke around. Inside, I found the hastily abandoned remnants of the apartment’s former occupants—pictures of a family, the personal touches of home décor, ghostly fragments of pre-infection normalcy.

Entering the kitchen, I was blindsided by a Runner—presumably the husband of the household. And while Runners don’t instantly kill Joel, the whole experience was thoroughly unsettling—as was the way Joel callously shrugged off the attack and continued to ransack the house. Not so much in the fashion videogame characters typically tend to dismiss things like emotionally detached monsters, but because this is everyday life in Joel and Ellie’s broken world. It was a jarring, if not sobering, realization.

After weaving through more of Lincoln’s abandoned streets and alleyways, Joel finds himself on the receiving end of one of Bill’s traps, ensnared and dangling from his feet. And since his capture causes quite a stir, players must protect Ellie—immobile and strung upside down—while she tries to sever the counterbalance and free Joel. Armed only with Joel’s handgun, the controls during this sequence felt awkward. Perhaps this is intentional—an attempt to convey Joel’s compromised state. But it didn’t feel altogether tense—just frustrating, like fighting for decent control over the game. Had Ellie died, I wouldn’t have felt like it was on me. I would’ve faulted the game.

The Lincoln section of the demo wraps up with Ellie eventually freeing Joel and the two of them being rescued by Bill, who leads the way during a hair-raising flight from the remaining Infected. While the gunplay didn’t feel like a great fit, this moment certainly did, and it was a thoroughly satisfying endnote for the first part of the demo.

The second half of the demo takes place after Joel and Ellie have procured a truck from Bill, as they enter Pittsburgh. Much shorter than the Lincoln excerpt, the Pittsburgh portion illustrates another type of enemy found in The Last of Us—Hunters, uninfected human raiders. As Joe and Ellie are ambushed by a pack of Hunters and forced out of the truck, a firefight ensues. Again, I’m not sure if the shooting in The Last of Us just doesn’t feel satisfying, or if perhaps I want the game to rarely—if ever—devolve into excessive gun battles. The point is, I was considerably less interested fending off Hunters than I was avoiding detection by Infected. It’s not that it’s bad or incongruous to the atmosphere Naughty Dog is trying to cultivate in The Last of Us—it’s just rote and typical. Ammunition is far from plentiful, and once I ran out of bullets, I was left only with my bare hands to dispatch the remaining hunters. Dealing with intelligent, strategic human enemies definitely shakes things up from Infected encounters—as it should. But it’s certainly less satisfying.

Was I impressed by what I played? Certainly. The Last of Us is, expectedly, gorgeous. It has a lot going for it, but I’m not without reservations. I’m concerned there may be a disproportionate amount of bullet-swapping exchanges reminiscent of Uncharted, when the emphasis in The Last of Us should really be on balancing exploration with less-bombastic moments drenched in tension. There’s certainly a place for the Hunters and other still-human encounters, but they should take a backseat to Joel and Ellie’s efforts to survive. If The Last of Us proves two-thirds exploration and survival, relegating shootouts to only a third of the overall experience, then Naughty Dog will have—as far as I’m concerned—nailed it.

XL Games has released a new trailer for ArcheAge‘s upcoming Chinese beta phase, and after watching it you’ll really want Trion Worlds to hurry up and get the game released for the west.

It has everything, wing gliders, boat construction, housing, combat. I seriously can’t wait for this to get released over here so I can try it out.

You can check out the trailer below.

I grew up in the gaming era where, when you mentioned the name “Donkey Kong,” most folks didn’t think of rolling barrels down girders or Mario trying to save a damsel in a cage. No, we thought of Donkey Kong rocking out with his buddy Diddy, lounging around in the jungle, protecting his precious bananas from a bunch of fruit-deprived reptiles. While some around the office still swear by the arcade original, Donkey Kong Country is how many of us more fondly think of the big ape.

After Donkey Kong Country’s initial yearly success on the SNES (yes, the first three games came out in back-to-back-to-back years), the series had difficulty adjusting to the N64. And when DK finally made the jump in 1999, it was a mistake that still haunts many of us—particularly that awful “DK Rap.” (Which is, also, oddly beloved by certain individuals in the EGM offices.) Because of this shame, Nintendo relegated DK to the shadows for over a decade.

Thankfully, Nintendo franchise-saviors Retro stepped in to save the day. After their success with Metroid Prime, they were approached by Shigeru Miyamoto himself and asked to bring back DK. Retro obliged, dropping the hip-hop and returning the super-strong simian back to his platforming roots with Donkey Kong Country Returns, which released in 2010. Even Diddy came back—with a bit of a rocket-pack upgrade—along with the rest of the core gang: Cranky Kong, Rambi the Rhino, and Squawks the Parrot. Retro had done it again.

But now the bad news: Clearly, Nintendo feels that since Donkey Country Returns was such a huge success on the Wii, they can just cash in again by slapping some 3D on Retro’s gorgeous visuals and making the game portable.

It’s at this point of the review where, as EGM’s resident curmudgeon, I’ll try to channel my inner Cranky Kong. Just call me Cranky Carsillo. Sure, the core of the original remains intact, and, yes, this could possibly reach a new audience who didn’t play the original Wii version, but there’s absolutely no need for this game. Their big selling point this go-round? An Easy mode.

Back in my day, gamers didn’t need an Easy mode in our platformers—we simply learned the levels and got better. If you didn’t, you sucked and never got your 15-second ending and credit roll and lived with it, in shame. I’m sick and tired of Nintendo not only porting games over to their portable platform in a desperate attempt to produce titles, but then catering to people because the experiences are “too hard,” coddling a generation of soft gamers.

Sure, Donkey Kong Returns 3D features a handful of new stages, but the game doesn’t offer enough new content for those who played Retro’s offering in 2010 to come back to DK’s isle a second time—especially if you found the plethora of collectibles once already.

Essentially, developer Monster Games just slapped on a coat of 3D paint in order to hide the lack of new features. Donkey Kong Country Returns was a 2.5D platformer; this 3D look does very little for the overall visual experience because of the tricks of the eye Retro already tried the first time around. And don’t forget: We were lucky to get that extra half-dimension when I was a kid, and we were grateful for it! We would’ve walked barefoot in the snow for miles, uphill, for a full 3D experience back then.

OK, time to take off my cranky pants. At the end of the day, I’ll admit the great gameplay that made the first game such a hit returns here. It’s a throwback of a platformer if you play it the way it’s meant to be played—and if, for some reason, you missed Retro’s 2010 offering, this is a nice way to catch up. But if you played the original version a couple of years ago, there’s very little here to make it worth picking up again.

Nintendo has announced the official release date of New Super Mario Bros. U‘s upcoming Super Luigi U DLC and also revealed that it will be getting a standalone retail release.

The DLC will be available as a digital download on June 20 in both North America and Europe. However, a standalone retail version will be available to purchase from July 26 in Europe and August 25 in North America. You won’t need a copy of New Super Mario Bros. U to play the standalone version.

Nintendo also revealed that Nabbit, a little creature who chased you in the first game, will be added as a playable multiplayer character with Super Luigi U.

During today’s Nintendo Direct Broadcast, worldwide president Saturo Iwata announced that the next game in the Sonic series would be coming exclusively to Nintendo Wii U and 3DS.

A new partnership with Sega means that Sonic: Lost World will be a Nintendo exclusive. The title is described as an action platformer and more details will be released before E3.