Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., Amazon showed off a Fire TV made for gaming, and The Witness finally got a release date.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
The DeanBeat: Wandering around the desert with Mad Max
Other Nintendo series that need the Super Mario Maker treatment
This Super Mario Maker stage puts David Cage on blast — and is better than Heavy Rain
Resolution Games CEO and ex-Candy Crush dev Tommy Palm hits GamesBeat 2015’s stage
5 questions I have after beating Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
We’re giving away a copy of Super Mario Maker and a classic Mario Amiibo on Facebook
Industry pundit Michael Pachter confirmed as GamesBeat speaker
Raising the dead: 5 techniques for bringing back inactive players
Using creativity to make both meaning and money
China doesn’t want your games
SGN uses celebrity Ken Jeong of The Hangover in a funny Cookie Jam ad
Under new president, this is still Satoru Iwata’s Nintendo — and it’s at a crossroads
Searching for ‘Super Mario Bros.’ on Google reveals new Easter egg
Read+Watch+Listen: Bonus material for Until Dawn fans
Super Mario Bros. is 30 years old today and deserves our thanks
Forget the remote: These controllers should work with the Apple TV
Disney Infinity 3.0: a Toy Box guide for new players
Above: The new crew.
Image Credit: Atlus
News
Rocket League gets more DLC in October
Star Fox Zero delayed to Q1 2016
Virtual reality startup Jaunt reportedly raised $50M-plus funding round
343 Industries describes the requisitions system for Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer
New Nintendo patent reveals scroll wheel shoulder buttons
Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented-reality headset is still half a decade away [update]
Esports should grow into a $765M business by 2018 as millions tune in for Dota 2, Counter-Strike
Activision says Destiny: The Taken King sets record for day one PlayStation 4 downloads
The Witness — Jonathan Blow’s followup to Braid — finally gets a release date
Amazon announces gaming-focused Fire TV
Persona 5 delayed to summer 2016
Amazon updates Fire TV with Alexa and 4K video, Fire TV stick with voice remote; launches Fire TV Gaming Edition
All post-launch Rainbow Six: Siege maps will be free to download
World of Warships leaves its beta drydock and officially launches
Valiant Hearts creator cooks up Lost in Harmony for his next game
Grand Theft Auto V’s latest PC patch seems to have fixed the framerate stuttering bugs
IndieCade Festival 2015 reveals its award nominees
Major League Gaming announces Smash Bros. Melee and Wii U tournaments for its October event
Telltale’s Minecraft: Story Mode releases first episode on October 13
World of Tanks is heading to PlayStation 4 — beta test coming by end of year
Apple TV games must use the remote — no controller-only games allowed
Hilarious Madden glitch has Arizona and Carolina trying to recover a fumble for 10 minutes
Shinra expands its cloud gaming to include Verizon fiber customers in Texas
BBC launches Doctor Who Game Maker to help teach principles of game design
Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps is Capcom’s new team-based shooter for PlayStation 4 and PC
Sony renames Project Morpheus as PlayStation VR
Sony cuts price for the PlayStation 4 in Japan
Sony launches PlayStation Now game streaming in Japan
Square Enix shows off World of Final Fantasy
Bandai Namco shows off One Piece: Burning Blood
Sony shows off Gravity Daze 2 for the PS4 at Tokyo Game Show
Sony kicks off TGS with new PS Vita colors and Bloodborne expansion
Esports tournament site Battlefy reveals what games excite its growing community
Nintendo’s new president predicted the Wii U would fail
Elite Chess League makes a game that a billion people know into an esport
Super Mario Maker debuts at No. 2 in the U.K., behind Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Nintendo names Tatsumi Kimishima chief exec following Satoru Iwata’s passing in July
From VentureBeat
Gaming is in its golden age, and big and small players alike are maneuvering like kings and queens in A Game of Thrones. Register now for our GamesBeat 2015 event, Oct. 12-Oct.13, where we’ll explore strategies in the new world of gaming.
Mobile and social
Downton Abbey now has its own mobile game
HonorBound developer JuiceBox thinks it knows how to get us playing mobile role-playing games
Award-winning South Korean RPG Blade: Sword of Elysion hits iOS in the U.S.
Even Star Trek has a match-3 puzzle game now
How big-budget ad campaigns have changed mobile gaming
Osmo Numbers teaches kids to be more creative with math
Razer’s $2,400 ultra-HD gaming laptop is even better with Windows 10
Spacetime Studios’ Call of Champions joins the mobile MOBA fray on iOS
Golden Tee is coming out of the bars and teeing off on mobile
Tencent reportedly in talks with Sequoia-backed game streaming service Douyu TV
8 ways that iOS 9 improves gaming on iPhone and iPad
Litesprite uses mobile games to treat chronic stress problems
Mobilepocalypse: Why mobile-user acquisition costs could double in the next 12 months
Vungle Premium is a programmatic private market for brands seeking mobile audiences
GrowMobile offers free trial for new mobile app engagement platform
Bandura Games aims to create world peace through mobile games
Zynga buys Rising Tide startup, bringing back one of its former casino game execs
Mariah Carey commercial debuts for Game of War: Fire Age
Alien vs. Predator is coming to Facebook thanks to Plarium and Fox
Above: The cover is beautiful.
Image Credit: Kevin Merriman (TheGreyNinja)
Previews and interviews
How Thad David went from being a video game-worthy badass to a video game developer
Kingdom lets you be the king or queen of your own little domain
Star Stable succeeds with online horse game by ignoring good advice
The beautiful Dark Souls print that almost never happened (interview)
How OverClocked ReMix makes a Final Fantasy IX album worthy of the role-playing classic
Reviews and impressions
Anki Overdrive is a kick — and this racing set shows how video games have changed toys
Forza Motorsport 6 is the new king of console racing sims
Getting Total War combat right is tough, but Warhammer: Total War is on the right track
Mad Max, Jurassic World, and more: Grading this summer’s movie-based games
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is stealth perfection that’s light on story
Nyko’s PlayStation 4 Type Pad works well even with my fat thumbs
Tearaway Unfolded proves that bigger isn’t always better