Join independent journalists and industry decision-makers at GamesBeat NEXT, returning to San Francisco November 2–3. The event brings together 500 executives, founders, investors and tech leaders shaping the $200 billion interactive economy for candid discussions on gaming, entertainment, technology and AI, plus executive networking and opportunities to build partnerships and close major deals.
Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we talk about our favorite Star Wars games, Super Mario Run makes a lot of money, and we listen to the beautiful voice of Waluigi sing a Christmas carol.
Enjoy, and have a happy holiday!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: My favorite games of 2016
- Steam Store is down as the winter sale goes live
- 10 great and cheap Steam Winter Sale games
- Worldwide game industry hits $91 billion in revenues in 2016, with mobile the clear leader
- Why Nintendo should ignore Super Mario Run’s poor reviews
- Is Nintendo’s Switch too underpowered to compete? GamesBeat Decides
- Watch Dogs 2 excoriates Silicon Valley’s tech companies and warns about election fraud
- Gaming’s best Christmas carol comes from … Waluigi?
News
- Atlus forms new Studio Zero and tasks Persona director on a fantasy role-playing game
- Retro Sinclair ZX Spectrum handheld console to ship in February after series of delays
- After nearly 3 years of struggle, Kixeye launches its spectacular War Commander: Rogue Assault
- Jaunt lets you watch VR movies on the PlayStation VR
- Warcraft troll Zul’jin joins the Heroes of the Storm roster
- Minecraft’s holiday update is live for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles
- Talent agency startup aims to represent esports pros and Twitch and YouTube stars
- NES Classics are back in stock at GameStop stores
- League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Pokémon Go rule November digital game charts
- Game developer Brianna Wu plans to run for Congress in 2018
- Star Wars: The Old Republic celebrates its 5th anniversary
- Overwatch reveals cover-star Tracer as its first queer character
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC arrives first on PlayStation 4 on January 31
- The Asheron’s Call MMO universe from the ’90s will finally go offline in January
- At 10, Roblox surpasses 30 million monthly users and 300 million hours of engagement
- Crytek shuts down 5 game studios after a weak 2016
- Telltale’s The Walking Dead launches its third season with a two-part premier
- Game academy names scholarship winners for WomenIn program
- China’s Yeahmobi raises $100 million to expand mobile ad network
- Xbox One Elite Controller gets new, exclusive accessories from Scuf Gaming
- More NES Classics are coming to Best Buy just in time for Christmas
- Dishonored 2’s free update gives you a reason to play it again
- Minecraft’s Ender Dragon finally comes to Windows 10 and Pocket Editions
- Where’s Palmer Luckey? Oculus will reveal his new role soon
- Nintendo Switch patent shows off a VR-style headset
- Sweden’s Stillfront Group buys Dubai-based Babil Games for up to $17 million
Mobile and social
- PokéScout has mapped every Pokémon Go gym in the world
- Passengers movie gets its official mobile mystery game
- Pokémon Go launches on Apple Watch — and now I want an Apple Watch
- RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic combines the series’ first landmark games for iOS and Android
- Glu acquires QuizUp studio Plain Vanilla for $1.2 million
- Nintendo: Super Mario Run had 40 million downloads in 4 days
- Gardenscapes by Russia’s Playrix is Facebook’s game of the year
- Worldwide game industry hits $91 billion in revenues in 2016, with mobile the clear leader
- Netmarble acquires Kabam’s top studio in Vancouver, will launch Transformers in Q2
- More NES Classics are coming to Best Buy just in time for Christmas
- ODG partners with China Mobile’s Migu to take augmented reality to Chinese consumers