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If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.
This week, Microsoft surprises many with the announcement that the former Windows head Julie Larson-Green takes over the Xbox division, Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto teases a new possible new franchise, and Activision returns to the Entertainment Software Association.
You’ll also find reviews for Shin Megami Tensei IV, NCAA 14, The Walking Dead: 400 Days, Civilization V: Brave New World, and Deus Ex: The Fall.
News:
- The DeanBeat: Microsoft goes crazy with its appointment of new gaming chief
- Did Microsoft lose the war of attention at E3? Think again
- Steam summer sale
- EA closes Phenomic studio
- Rovio teases new Angry Birds game with Star Wars image
- American McGee stretches on Kickstarter to bring back another kind of Oz (interview)
- Precursor Games to restart Shadow of Eternals Kickstarter on July 25
- Nintendo updates 3DS’s StreetPass with four new games
- Chinese move to gaming in the home, but don’t expect government to approve game consoles
- Activision veteran Robin Kaminsky joins Trion World’s board (exclusive)
- Dead Island publisher will distribute InXile’s crowdfunded Wasteland 2 to retail
- Nintendo creative director Shigeru Miyamoto teases a new franchise
- Zynga readies its real-money gambling apps for Facebook
- Valve formally launches its Dota 2 battle arena game
- Major League Gaming plans to develop ESPN-style shows
- Operation: Supply Drop sends $30K in video games to U.S. troops
- Blizzard taps NetEase to release freemium card game Hearthstone in China
- Blizzard is testing microtransactions in World of Warcraft
Mobile news:
- Peter Relan launches mobile and infrastructure startup incubator 9+
- Chartboost introduces service that helps developers optimize in-app purchases on mobile
- Plumbee launches mobile version of its Facebook slots game
- CrowdStar enlists real brands for its Covet Fashion mobile game
- Developer of Trayvon Martin revenge-fantasy game pulls app from Google Play, iTunes
- Hasbro’s new studio cannot make G.I. Joe, Transformers, or D&D games
- Grantoo’s branded game tournaments provide 6-times better mobile ad engagement (exclusive)
- Hasbro acquires majority stake in mobile developer Backflip Studios for $112M
- Pick up milk, walk the dog, and defeat enemies with new GlassBattle for Google Glass
- Some of the best iOS apps & games now free ahead of App Store’s fifth birthday
Trailer hoedown:
- Grand Theft Auto V gameplay trailer is here
- Rockstar used PlayStation 3 to capture GTA V gameplay footage
Bad news:
- Capcom cuts jobs as part of reorganization; senior vice president steps down
- Gree making cuts internationally after sales slip
- Analyst: Zynga ‘cannot afford to miss out on’ real-money gambling in New Jersey — and it might
- EA Sports wipes former Patriot Aaron Hernandez from its games following murder charges
- Activision majority stakeholder Vivendi wants to squeeze cash from the publisher
Microsoft:
- Microsoft: Hey small businesses, you need an Xbox One for businessy reasons
- Microsoft’s head of Windows takes over Xbox division
- Microsoft fixing ‘incorrect game pricing’ for the Xbox Live beta
- Gamers report Microsoft hiking prices for U.K., Indian Xbox Live Arcade games
All this funding:
Reviews:
- Deus Ex: The Fall is shockingly not dumbed down for iOS (review)
- This ain’t Pokémon: Shin Megami Tensei IV’s demonic dedication to the old school will kill you (review)
- NCAA Football 14′s tired playbook leaves it short of the end zone (review)
- Civilization V’s Brave New World expansion again fails to make an interesting strategy game (review)
- The Walking Dead: 400 Days is a successful but brief experiment in storytelling (review)
Previews:
Pieces of flair:
- Did Microsoft lose the war of attention at E3? Think again (exclusive)
- The 5 best games on Ouya (so far)
- Roswell UFO incident gets Google Doodle adventure game
- Even a 10-year-old can easily fly aircraft using a mouse in World of Warplanes
- At long last, Jason Jones admits tweaking firepower of Halo’s pistol