Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I could just skip out on playing the game for hours on end and just buy the best items in the game!” Well this week Blizzard makes your wishes come true with the Diablo III real money auction house!
Outside of video game economic news, there’s a nifty new gaming trivia site out there, as well as an equally nifty online 90’s gaming quiz. Oh, and something concerning the Left 4 Dead series
There might be a 3D remake of A Link to the Past for the 3DS
Or there might be a 3D remake of Majora’s Mask, we’re not sure. Or at least Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto isn’t sure. In a recent interview the creator of the Zelda series said it was still up in the air which game would get the 3D treatment. Personally, I’d like to see a remake of A Link to the Past because that game would look fantastic in 3D. Majora’s Mask is a great game, but seeing that in 3D will likely look like Ocarina of Time 3D did, and while that was a great remake and all, I want to see the completely reworked look of A Link to the Past. (Source: Machinima)
Test your nineties gaming skills in this amazing online quiz
I was linked here from Kotaku, and I was extremely surprised by this one. “Were you a Nineties Gamer?” is an online quiz that has you guessing the names of games based almost entirely on sounds and music from said games. If you’re stuck, you can spend some of your precious HP to unlock a hint like a screenshot of the game or a small piece of information to help you guess the title. I easily got 30 of the 90+ games, and with some thinking got about 20 more, but I was stumped for a good handful of them before I used hints. I think my high score was 72. Try and see what your high score is by playing the game here!
Real-Money Auction House in Diablo III is a go!
No longer content with just using in-game currencies to buy items for characters, Blizzard has now opened up the real-money auction house to gamers in Diablo III. Instead of using in-game gold to buy and sell items, players can choose to spend real American (or other currencies supported) cash to buy virtual goods. I’ve already seen plenty of Legendary items selling online for several hundred dollars (if they will actually SELL for that price is a whole other story). Blizzard is set to make the most out of this deal however, as the developers take $1 per every real-money transaction, as well as 15% of the selling price if you choose to get actual currency (this fee is waived if you opt to send this money to your Blizzard account, which you can subsequently use in the Auction House or on Blizzard goods like more games or WoW subscriptions). It’s all outlined nicely in this FAQ.
Kirby’s Dream Collection detailed for Japan
Kirby is turning 20 this year, and what better way to celebrate his birthday than with a Wii disc compiling some of his greatest adventures? This week it was revealed what games would be coming on the disc in Japan, and hopefully on the American release as well. They include :Kirby’s Dream Land (GB), Kirby’s Adventure (NES), Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (GB), Kirby Super Star (SNES), Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (SNES), and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shard (N64). The game is scheduled to come over to North America in September, and I will be more than happy to relive some of my greatest moments in games once again. (Source: Destructoid)
Creator of Mario wants to make a First-Person Shooter; doesn’t have time
Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) minds to ever create video games, wants to make a first-person shooter… but only if he had the time. The Nintendo game producer said this week that he wouldn’t mind making an FPS if he only had the time. Naturally this gets people thinking of Mario with guns, but that game already exists. It’s called Metroid. Since I think anything Miyamoto touches will turn out to be gold, I say let him do it. Really as long as he keeps making games, I’ll be happy. (Source: My Nintendo News)
Gaming Trivia site “Did You Know Gaming?” hits all the right notes
If you follow me on Twitter you’d know that Tumblr blog “Did You Know Gaming” is pretty damn awesome. The site posts daily (or every two days) brand new information and tidbits about a good variety of games. Some fun facts I’ve learned? There’s an Arwing straight out of Star Fox 64 in the code for Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And Professor Oak was possibly intended to be a final boss in the original Pokemon Red/Blue. This week, the site released its first video centering on the Pokemon franchise, and it’s very well done. As a gamer who just eats this kind of stuff up, I’m already addicted to checking my feeds and hoping there’s a new fact. Check out the site here.
MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic might go free-to-play
Though BioWare initially stayed away from free-to-play, they have seemed to changed their minds. Now the company is looking at eliminating the online-only title’s monthly charge to players, likely in an attempt to get more people to play. Don’t go crazy just yet you filthy nerfherders; BioWare isn’t entirely sold on the idea, they are just not ruling it out entirely. Perhaps this is what needs to be done to bring balance to the force (and by “Bring balance to the force” I mean get more people to play the game). (Source: Kotaku)
Turns out that Left 4 Dead prequel isn’t happening
Last week it was reported that Overkill, the studio behind 2011’s Payday: The Heist, was working with Valve to create a new game in the Left 4 Dead series that would explore the origins of zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately for gamers wanting to see just how Bill, Francis, Zoe, and Louis survived it all, Valve confirmed this week that there IS NOT a prequel game in development, and the previous video foreshadowing the so-called new game was just some developers having fun. Those wanting to see the characters flesh out more, check out the graphic novel The Sacrifice. (Source: Kotaku)
Laters,
Jsick
