Join the Leaders Making Gaming’s Next Big Deals. GamesBeat NEXT brings 500+ executives, CEOs, founders, and investors to San Francisco, November 2–3, to shape the future of gaming, entertainment, and AI. Connect with industry leaders, forge strategic partnerships, and close deals that move business forward. Be in the room. Get your ticket.
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)