Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto V's release Tuesday dominated video game news this week.
Oct. 29-30, 2013
Redwood City, CA
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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, Rock Star makes over $1 billion on Grand Theft Auto V in the first three days after launch, Electronic Arts names former EA Sports head Andrew Wilson as new CEO, and former Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi, who is responsible for Nintendo moving into game development, passes away at 85 from pneumonia.
You’ll also find reviews for Grand Theft Auto V and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.
News:
The DeanBeat: A week full of revenge and reinvention
Valve teases three announcements for its Steam digital gaming service in the living room
GTA V tops $1B in revenues in three days
Wargaming delays World of Warplanes release
Become a futuristic despot or benevolent overlord in SimCity’s new expansion pack
Zombie-survival game State of Decay hits Steam Early Access tomorrow
Death of a video game pioneer: Former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi dies at age 85
Wii Sports Club brings original Wii Sports minigames to Wii U’s eShop
Real Deal Interactive enters the social casino game fray (exclusive)
UC Santa Cruz hires Brenda and John Romero to run gaming program
Discussing MirrorMoon EP: A mysterious and lonely tribute to space
The next-gen upgrade plan for Call of Duty: Ghosts is kinda complicated
Mega Man creator’s Mighty No. 9 officially coming to consoles
Valve’s Gabe Newell: Linux is ‘the future of gaming’ — possible Steam Box announcement ‘next week’
Digital game sales grow during the lull before the console launches
Announcements and reveals:
Microsoft COO: 40 percent of Xbox Live’s ‘audience’ are women
The brains behind Telltale’s The Walking Dead and Mark of the Ninja form new studio
Digital distribution service Uplay 4.0 coming to PC, next-gen consoles with Twitch integration
First for gamers: How Red Robot Labs is working to bring gamers together
Gaming startup’s HTML5 development platform brings triple-A games to browsers
Ouya amends its Free the Games developer matching fund
What EA’s choice of Andrew Wilson as CEO means for its future
EA Sports chief Andrew Wilson is Electronic Arts’ new CEO
Dota 2 in China: Perfect World launching closed beta next week
Blizzard to close the Diablo III auction house
Now this is podracing: Rovio reveals new Angry Birds Star Wars 2 gameplay
Peter Molyneux’s Godus beta available now on Steam Early Access
Zynga
CastleVille Legends is a free-to-play game for iOS devices.
Mobile news:
Did you see that? Kamcord brings in-app recording to Android
Amazon extends GameCircle achievements and game cloud saves to iOS
Zynga launches CastleVille Legends on iOS
Angry Birds Star Wars II forces itself on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8 devices today
Infinity Blade III launches on the Apple Store
Tapjoy improves monetization of mobile apps with actionable video ads
Flurry says its targeted ads increase user spending dramatically in mobile apps
Little fingers love big touchscreens: Kids favor tablets over smartphones for games
Pocket Gems teams with NFL, McDonald’s for NFL Runner mobile game
Developer TribePlay’s Dr. Panda children’s games reach 10M downloads
Tech:
Apple’s iPhone 5 touchscreen is 2.5 times faster than Android devices
Goo Technologies shows off cool-looking HTML5 casino app
Leap Motion and HP unveil world’s first laptop with Kinect-like 3-D gesture control
Nvidia launches its own Tegra Note tablet platform
Coming to a casino near you: Avatar slot machines with touchscreens, 3D graphics
Ruh-roh:
Kabam faces a gamer revolt in Dragons of Atlantis
Fox & Friends’ host Elisabeth Hasselbeck calls for registry of gamers
Trailer hoedown:
The big Tokyo Game Show trailer roundup: Gravity Rush 2, Deep Down, Metal Gear Solid V
The Evil Within gameplay trailer reveals beard stubble, rain, and a spooky mansion
Beyond: Two Souls TV spot features Ellen Page’s and Willem Dafoe’s digital faces
Nintendo releases ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’ remix music video for Pokémon
Grand Theft Auto V:
18 awesome selfies from Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V on PS3: Video analysis says don’t buy digital
Take-Two Interactive sees exciting chapters ahead after Grand Theft Auto V launch
Grand Theft Auto V bags a record $800 million in first-day sales
How Rockstar’s Dan Houser views the making of GTA V
Rockstar aims to dominate the living room with Grand Theft Auto V
Funny Or Die’s Grand Theft Auto V review knows why you really want the game (video)
Grand Theft Auto V: Tips, tricks, and cheat codes
Rockstar on Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox 360: Don’t install the second disc ‘for optimal performance’
All this funding:
Will Wright raises $5M for Syntertainment startup to blend reality and entertainment (exclusive)
Israel’s Overwolf raises $5.3M for user-generated game add-on tools
Acquisitions incorporated:
Iconicfuture expands library of branded virtual goods with Virtual Greats acquisition (exclusive)
Reviews:
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD makes a masterpiece even better (review)
While Grand Theft Auto V falls short of its potential, it’s still a trip worth taking (review)
Pieces of flair:
Outlast’s Mount Massive Asylum: Enriching the quality of life (with horror)
The 6 craziest Saints Row IV mods: Developer Volition picks its favorites