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Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we previewed anticipated games like Batman: Arkham Knight and Mad Max, reviewed recent releases like Splatoon, and revealed information about our next event, GamesBeat 2015.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: The flap about FIFA’s new female soccer players shows progress and setbacks
- Don’t see the ‘3’ in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s logo? There’s a good reason for that
- How to make Magicka 2’s local co-op work on the PlayStation 4
- Watch us play Splatoon and discuss its review
- Our virtual and augmented future: a deep look at the next generation of interactivity
- Introducing GamesBeat 2015: Playing the Game of Thrones
- Screentendo can turn almost anything on your computer into a Mario level
- This Witcher 3 bug demonstrates the perils of visiting a brothel — we call it fantasy syphilis
- Here’s how to use your PlayStation 3 fighting stick on the PlayStation 4
- Free-to-play Heroes of the Storm won’t leave you stressing about spending money
- USC students’ games are ready for graduation
- These Witcher III gifs celebrate bad luck, glitches, and extreme sports
News
- Next Nintendo Direct is coming just a couple of weeks before E3
- Here are the crazy times that Amiibo fans can get Lucina, Robin, and more on Amazon tomorrow
- Pillars of Eternity returns to Kickstarter to fund a card game
- GameStop stock up 5% after its Q1 earnings beat expectations
- Nvidia launches its Shield set-top box for Android TV — with optional 500GB hard drive
- Google’s Chromecast turns your TV into a game board, race track, or dance floor — without a console
- EA exec Peter Moore blasts fans who spread hate on women soccer players in FIFA 16
- Xbox One controller getting a headphone port in June
- South Korean gaming giant NCSoft expands into key Western PC and mobile markets
- A female first: EA adds women’s national teams to FIFA 16 soccer game
- Sony clarifies Vita ‘legacy platform’ statement: ‘Our portable business will be continued’
- Twitch won’t let users stream AO-rated games
- PlayStation Vita is a ‘legacy platform,’ according to Sony (update)
- Oculus chief: You’ll be able to get the Rift, with a PC, for under $1,500
- PlayStation boss: ‘Our first-party lineup is a little sparse this year’
- Borderlands 2 and Pre-Sequel triple legendary item drop rate permanently
- Loot Interactive prepares for its post-PlayStation Home future: going indie, with 3 games debuting at E3
- Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is the next PlayStation Plus freebie … in Japan
- Fantasy esports site Vulcun increases its 2015 prize pool to $10M
- Former Battlefield devs go indie, bring peace to space with a hybrid platformer
- Facebook’s Oculus buys computer vision startup to help the Rift understand the world
- Former BioShock and Dead Space developers Kickstart a hide-and-seek survival-horror game: Perception
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s next DLC pack Supremacy hits Xbox Live on June 2
- Until Dawn gives the PlayStation 4 a frightening release in August
- Evolve gets a new, free, and faster-paced Arena Mode
- Resident Evil 0 remaster heading to consoles and PC next year
- Street Fighter V playable at CEO tournament in Orlando
- Kinect educational game five times as effective as its mobile version
Mobile and social
- Movie-game house Reliance Games promotes COO Amit Khanduja as its new CEO
- Sierra brings Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions to mobile
- Clone mobile game Clash of Kings hits No. 2 on Google Play in Russia
- Game of Thrones: Ascent’s Fire & Blood expansion comes to Android
- Tiggly helps preschoolers build words by mashing letter toys with iPad games
- Might and Magic creator founds new studio and raises $4.5M in funding
- Zynga launches FarmVille: Harvest Swap to reap match-3 profits
- Scopely teams up with Ireland’s Digit Game Studios to grab bigger slice of $30B mobile game market
- Keas gamifies personal health with new online hub
- Why Liam Neeson was a wise investment for Clash of Clans developer Supercell
- Succeeding in China — where 91% of the 34K mobile games released since October have failed
- Remedy veteran starts new Finnish game startup
Previews and interviews
- Batman: Arkham Knight makes Gotham feel more like a city and less like a playground
- Why EA added women’s soccer teams to the upcoming FIFA 16
- Why we had to wait four years for Batman: Arkham Knight
- Pixar’s Inside Out brings cooperative puzzle-platforming to Disney Infinity
- How Not a Hero put you on the mayoral campaign of a … time-traveling alien bunny
- The road to Mad Max game was long and twisted for Avalanche Studios
- Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic — ‘Begun, The Clones Wars have’ in Disney Infinity 3.0
- Mad Max video game reveals a desert full of danger (hands-on preview)
Reviews and impressions
- Game of Thrones: Episode 4 — Sons of Winter is better than the HBO show
- Magicka 2 fizzles with repetitive and frustrating gameplay
- Getting our hands dirty with the Nvidia Shield Android TV set-top box
- Splatoon’s single-player surprisingly one-ups its inventive multiplayer
- Life Is Strange Episode 3 drags its feet on its way to a great ending