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This week, THQ is in talks with a mystery sponsor about “financial alternatives” after its chief financial officer resigned, Treyarch removes the Nuketown map from public matches in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Fable creator Peter Molyneux turns to Kickstarter to fund a new “god game” project for his studio 22Cans.
You’ll also find reviews for Hitman: Absolution, Persona 4: Golden, Epic Mickey 2, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and the Wii U.
Pieces of Flair
- The GamesBeat ‘Naughty and Nice’ alternative holiday gift guide for your geek
- A soldier’s perspective on Call of Duty (interview)
- Christmas for ‘u’ and ‘i’: Kids want iPads, iPods, iPhones … and a Wii U
- Black Friday 2012 video game deals — updated regularly
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale unlock guide
- Wii games that never happened
- Snatched: 20 classic video game kidnappings (gallery)
- If Final Fantasy VII’s Aerith had a dating site profile
News
- The DeanBeat: How Gamesys is pioneering real-money gambling on Facebook in the U.K.
- Educational outreach program Pixel Academy looking for a place to call home
- Black Ops II gets an update on 360
- The future of mainstream machinima films: A panel discussion inside Second Life
- How yearning for arcade games like Ghost ‘N Golbins birthed Maldita Castilla
- Microsoft may be working on a ‘Xbox TV’ set-top box
- Molyneux and Curiosity developer return to the ‘god game’ with a new Kickstarter project
- 2K president: I have no doubt ‘that the Wii U will be successful’
- The Revert returns to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD in December
- Hulu Plus comes to the Wii U’s second screen
- THQ talking with mystery sponsor about ‘potential financing alternatives’ as CFO resigns
- GamesGrabr is a Pinterest-like social network for gamers
- Bayonetta locked down as GameStop preorder exclusive for Anarchy Reigns
- GamrRank engages gamers with fun challenges and deep social-networking hooks
- 5 things game developers need to know about mobile advertising in China
- PlayStation Mobile is now open to all developers; Sony wants to work with indies on Vita and more
- Graphics comparison: Grand Theft Auto V’s trailer re-created in GTA IV’s engine (video)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II ‘Nuketown 2025′ preorder map removed from public matches [update]
- Video game e-commerce: It’s about serving the fans
- A fiery debate on the regulation of social casino games
- Sony announces new Uncharted game for Vita — and it probably isn’t what you wanted
- Google Hangouts provider Vidyo powers video chat for Wii U (and sees a $1B opportunity in Nintendo)
Reviews
- Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two promises too much and ultimately disappoints (review)
- Threeview: Assassin’s Creed III reviewed by a critic, an analyst, and an academic
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale successfully brings the fight to Smash Bros. (review)
- Persona 4: Golden is secretly multiplayer, and you’ll love it (review)
- Hitman: Absolution aims high but misses the mark (review)
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed challenges Mario Kart for the gold (review)
- Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is the mouse’s greatest gaming adventure in years (review)
Wii U
- Gadget lovers and gamers: Here’s a look inside the Nintendo Wii U
- 7 Wii U games too insane to exist (we hope)
- The Wii U gets a YouTube app to bolster Nintendo’s living room ambitions
- Bricked Wii U owners will have to send their consoles to Nintendo for repair
- Your Wii U won’t connect to the Internet? Here’s the fix
- Nintendo Wii U reviews: It’s an intriguing Wii successor that will get better
- The Wii U launch title review roundup
- Wii U debug menu reveals something called ‘Yoshi’s Land Wii U’
- Why you should wait on a Wii U (review)