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Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we start our end-of-the-year coverage, talked to Blizzard about Hearthstone’s success, and try to help you find those elusive Nintendo Amiibos.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
End of the year retrospectives
- The DeanBeat: My favorite games of 2014, the in-between year
- The best of 2014: the top 10 original games
- Best of 2014: The indie games we adore
- We’re done arguing about 2014 — here’s what we want to play in 2015
- Best of 2014: Our favorite gaming videos
Pieces of flair and opinion
- Streaming games: Is a workable model in sight?
- Soccer star Lionel Messi is better than supermodel Kate Upton when it comes to advertising games
- How Google’s latest game gives a glimpse of our augmented-reality future
- How Sunset Overdrive’s music gives us the finger in the best way
- USC’s game students’ 2015 projects include demonic puberty, Bob Ross-like VR, and more
- Where to find every Amiibo: a guide to collecting Nintendo dolls
News
- Minecraft creator Notch moves on up — into the $70M megamansion that Jay-Z and Beyonce wanted
- Developer claims Spintires publisher is ending support for the game
- A Street Fighter first: Capcom ditches in-house engines for Unreal Engine 4
- GameAnalytics raises $5.5M and hires new CEO
- Two of gaming’s hottest brands combine: Telltale making an episodic Minecraft series
- Pandora launches its first native game console app — and it’s for Xbox One
- China’s game market soared to $18.5 billion in 2014
- Meet the Wraith: Evolve’s savage assassin
- Evolve open beta hits Xbox One next month, with smaller tests on PS4 and PC
- Here is what’s different in Minecraft: Xbox Edition’s latest update (hint — it involves mules)
- Court doesn’t dismiss Killzone: Shadow Fall resolution case
- Trashed E.T. Atari 2600 cartridge from New Mexico landfill lands in Smithsonian
- Anti-censorship group sees Apple’s, Steam’s control over expression in apps and games as ‘dangerous’
- Khan Academy’s learning tools appear in an unlikely place … the Xbox One
- Action role-playing game Lords of the Fallen is getting a sequel
- Google’s Niantic Labs embarks on a giant interactive transmedia project with controversial author James Frey
- The controversial and unsettling Hatred is on Steam Greenlight (update)
- Activision releases new expansion packs for Skylanders Trap Team
- Steam region-locks PC games to block cheap purchases as Russian ruble crashes
- Facebook engineering VP Cory Ondrejka departs after overseeing Oculus acquisition
- Mixamo sees fast growth for its Fuse 3D game character creation tools
- DayZ’s standalone version is a year old — developer Bohemia Interactive looks back with a video
- Green Man Gaming’s strike at Valve and Steam: First two studios sign to its Loaded publishing label
- World of Warcraft closes in on League of Legends’ most-played PC game spot on Raptr
- Humble Bundle has raised more than $50M for charity
- EverQuest Next’s NPCs have minds of their own (interview)
- Still can’t download the AE4 gun in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare? Activision finally found the problem
- Sega’s The Creative Assembly unveils 10-versus-10 multiplayer with Total War: Arena
- Paid game downloads surge while free-to-play accounts for one-third of all gaming time
- Curse Voice hits 1 million active users; moves to Mac, iOS, and Android
- Twitch to livestream an e-sports Game-a-thon at Coca-Cola’s headquarters
Mobile and social
- Vainglory brings its mobile multiplayer arena battler to Japan and Korea
- Cut the Rope maker ZeptoLab releases $5 mobile game My Om Nom
- Meep! Meep! Zynga launches its Looney Tunes Dash runner game
- CSI creator unveils ‘gamified narrative’ Mysteryopolis game-cartoon hybrid show
- Mobile gamemaker Ucool launches a TV ad blitz for Heroes Charge
- King rebounds with Candy Crush Soda Saga in App Annie’s November report
- Marvel is quietly building a shared game universe
- How to install Hearthstone on Android phones right now without root (update)
- User-generated stories are a huge hit with Pocket Gems’ Episode
- Apsalar pulls free mobile attribution analytics, shifts to all-paid model
- Forge of Empires developer InnoGames sees revenue increase thanks to U.S. and mobile
- Zynga will launch Empires & Allies mobile version with realistic art
- Playdots Inc. secures $10 million in funding round
- Sequel to hugely popular Blood Brothers role-playing game coming to mobile in 2015
- SGN teams up with NetEase to take Cookie Jam mobile game to China
- Get your tablets! Hearthstone is out now for Android
- League of Angels teams up with Facebook to find Western success
- Kim Kardashian vs. Lindsay Lohan: Two celebutantes enter, but only one can rule mobile gaming
- Kabam’s No. 2 exec explores the ins-and-outs of monetizing mobile games
- Todaself lets app developers launch and monitor ad campaigns with self-service platform
Previews and interviews
- Princesses invade Disney Infinity 2.0
- CES chief Gary Shapiro explains the coming chaos of the gigantic tech trade show (interview)
- EverQuest Next’s NPCs have minds of their own (interview)
- Hearthstone’s key to success: Blizzard lets team make its ‘dream card game’ (interview)
- Gaming’s future, as viewed by the $6 billion-dollar man (interview)
- 30 facts about No Man’s Sky: No DLC, no ship customization, no riding dinosaurs
- Hey, no pressure: This game developer has to please fans of Game of Thrones and Star Trek simultaneously (interview)
Reviews