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Video Games Live announces Canadian tour

If Scott Pilgrim vs. the World taught us anything, it's that Canadians really dig video games – so much so that they are imbued with super powers. Seemingly aware of the Great White North's vengeful, all-powerful gaming fans, Video Games Live has announced several new stops in Canada. This October and November, the orchestral game music tour will visit Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.

Ticket sales begin on Friday, April 27. The Video Games Live Twitch.tv channel will be streaming a press conference on April 25 at 9pm ET to announce specific pre-sale dates and take setlist requests from fans. Check out the VGL website for more information and the complete list of dates.

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Now Playing: April 16-22, 2012

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Perfect your stunt skills this week with Trials Evolution...

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

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Nicalis remaking 1,000 Spikes for Wii U and 3DS eShop

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One of our favorite Xbox Live Indie games is headed to the 3DS and the Wii U. More specifically, Nicalis will be bringing a remake of the ridiculously punishing Aban Hawkins & the 1,000 Spikes in time for the Wii U launch, reports RevoGamers. Cheekily titled Aban Hawkins & the 1,001 Spikes, the game will feature a new 4-player multiplayer, new graphics and sound.

The original was a lot of fun, and the quick, brutal platforming action should certainly be right at home on the 3DS. Aban Hawkins & the 1,001 Spikes is scheduled to arrive on the eShop this year.

Nintendo showing Wii U Mario game at E3

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In an article about the Louvre's 3DS integration, Spanish newspaper El Mundo said that Miyamoto revealed plans to show a new Super Mario game for Wii U at E3. However, without a direct quote, it seemed likely that he had been talking about the Wii U and the (confirmed) 3DS Super Mario game, and the two had become conflated. The other, less likely option, is that Miyamoto had let slip the existence of an unannounced game, which is out of character for anyone at Nintendo.

However, that's exactly what happened. Eurogamer received confirmation from Nintendo. "In a recent interview, Mr. Miyamoto confirmed that a new Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii U system will be shown at this year's E3 Expo," the Nintendo representative told the site. "We'll have more to announce about our plans for the E3 Expo at a later date."

During the last E3, Nintendo showed a Wii U game (above) based on New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It's possible that demo may have evolved into this new game, or it could be something totally different. All we know at this point is that it's a "Super Mario Bros. game."

FIFA Street fights back to top of UK charts

FIFA Street returned to the top of the charts when sales were tallied in the UK last week, scoring its fourth number-one finish. Chart-Track notes the title has now matched the rank history of the original FIFA Street, which also owned the hard charting streets for four weeks back in 2005.

It was a pretty quiet week in the battle for rankings otherwise, with the entirety of the top ten playing musical chairs. Last week's chart-topper, Kinect Star Wars, was not the game more people were looking for, and slipped down to fourth.

The only new release last week to break the top 40 was Pandora's Tower from Nintendo, which debuted in spot 38. Check out the UK top ten after the break.

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Play some card games with the cast of Zelda

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Some days are sad, some days are happy, and some are just packed full of Zelda for some reason. Today is one of those days and we're not complaining -- Fangamer is selling a pack of Zelda-themed playing cards designed by DeviantArt user Nelde, and they are utterly gorgeous.

The face cards feature famous Zelda characters, including Zelda, Link, Dark Link, Mikau, Darmani and more. The suits have been updated as well, to rupees, swords, heart bits and triforces. Fangamer warns that the decks won't ship until May, but the good people of Zelda Universe say they already received their orders, so go ahead and take a chance on love. Or Zelda cards.

Or both. It's just that kind of day.

Game Iberia's 291 stores sold to UK buyer's 'sister company'

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Game has effectively checked itself before it wrecked itself, first selling its UK operations and now selling its stores in Spain and Portugal, MCV reports. OpCaptia, the same investment company behind the UK deal, established Cherrilux Investments for the Iberian transaction and bought all 290 stores across Spain and Portugal.

Cherrilux is a "sister company" to Baker Acquisitions, which bought the UK branch, and both businesses will most likely run independently but share revenue, MCV says. The sale saves 1,000 jobs, and Cherrilux "has no plans to close stores at Game Iberia and will continue to run the business as a going concern while evaluating the possible sale of the business."

Rock Band Weekly: P!nk

Image Next week's Rock Band DLC features four tracks from pop-rock artist P!nk. "Get the Party Started" comes off her Missundaztood album, while the other three songs are from her Grammy-nominated Funhouse album. Also, "Please Don't Leave Me" takes on quite a different tone when sung by a guy instead of ... Continue Reading

EA seeking studio partner for Need for Speed movie

EA already has a script for a Need for Speed movie, courtesy of sibling writing duo George and John Gatins, known for their work on Hugh Jackman vehicle, Real Steel. And apparently Paramount, Warner Bros. and Sony are interested in plunking down the millions it'd cost to get Need for Speed on the starting line.

Variety says that Paramount is the current leading potential financier, but EA is still open to other bidders. If EA ends up securing funds for the Need for Speed film, we wonder which game the movie would be based on? The most recent franchise entry, Need for Speed: The Run? How about Need for Speed: Undercover? It already has Maggie Q in it and we're pretty sure she was in a movie once.

Watch Assassin's Creed 3's main man stalk a deer

Image Your prey in Assassin's Creed 3 extends beyond that of mortal man. No, you won't be fighting ghosts, you silly goose – bears, deers, and a smattering of other Northeastern US fauna populate the lands of AC3, offering yet another avenue for your assassination arts. Oh, and yes, this is another ... Continue Reading

Miyamoto interested in revisiting A Link to the Past

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If you had the power to do anything with The Legend of Zelda franchise, what would you do? Remake Oracle of Ages/Seasons? Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto wouldn't mind coming back to A Link to the Past.

Miyamoto said he'd be "interested in creating something new maybe based on, or starting from, A Link To The Past" in an interview with Edge. "I think it's important to bring some really new software." It shouldn't come as a surprise, since he's already said he wants to see a remake on 3DS, but there's a big hurdle in his way. With his work on an original game ongoing the impending Wii U launch, time must be a very precious commodity at Nintendo nowadays.

"To be very honest and open, it really depends on the directors that have time at the moment as well," he said. "Some directors, I can give them the title and I know they will do something great with it. Other directors I'm not so 100 percent confident [in], so they're the ones I'd rather take a more remake approach to the title. It really depends on that as well."

It seems if Miyamoto is confident in a director, he'll give them free reign to produce whatever their vision is. A remake, on the other hand, is considered more appropriate for less experienced directors – no offense to Grezzo, who did most of the work on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

March NPD: Mass Effect 3 tops sales, year-over-year decline continues

The sales figures for March have arrived, and despite several major, AAA releases, software and hardware sales were still down compared to March of 2011, continuing the year-over-year declines seen in both January and February.

Total industry sales during March brought in $1.10 billion, 25 percent less than the same period in 2011. Breaking that total down further, hardware sales accounted for $323.5 million (down 35 percent) while non-PC software sales contributed $553.1 million (down 25 percent) and accessories chipped in $222.5 million (down eight percent).

March marked the Xbox 360's thirteenth consecutive month of accounting for over 40 percent of total console sales, selling 371,000 units. It was also the console's fifteenth month as best selling console, and eighth month as best selling overall hardware platform.

Predictably, Mass Effect 3 topped sales charts for the period, selling twice as well as Mass Effect 2 did during its January launch in 2010. [Update: It sold 943K on Xbox 360 alone, according to Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg.] BioWare's podium-finish was accompanied by two comparatively less expected releases, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and MLB 12: The Show. As per usual, head on past the break for the list of March's top ten best selling titles.

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Nintendo not attending Gamescom 2012


Nintendo Germany will not be attending the Gamescom convention in Cologne this summer, reports VG247. Instead of attending the massive event, Nintendo will be hosting "a number of sampling events throughout Germany" allowing fans to try out the Wii, 3DS and, of course, the upcoming Wii U.

Nintendo's absence is notable for a couple of reasons. First, the company always attends the convention. Second, skipping the largest games convention on the planet seems like a strange choice, especially given that Nintendo is releasing a brand new console later this year. Gamescom 2011 drew in 275,000 attendees from around the globe. That's a lot of hearts and minds that could be swayed with a little hands-on Wii U time. To put that in perspective, see the video above? That was Gamescom 2011. Now imagine all those people not playing a Wii U.

Nintendo's statement regarding the matter – which sheds no light on the company's reasoning – can be found after the break.

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Xenoblade Chronicles available on GameFly

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Xenoblade Chronicles is available for rent on Gamefly, a reader informs Joystiq. We checked and, sure enough, it's there. "But it's supposed to be exclusive to the Nintendo Store and GameStop!" you say. To that ... well, we don't really have a snappy retort because we're just as flummoxed as everyone else. Whatever the cause, it seems being able to rent the game has created an exception.

Regardless, if you don't feel like paying a premium to try out the excellent RPG, and you happen to have a GameFly account, give it a rent. As of this writing, Xenoblade Chronicles is listed as "available now."

[Thanks, Matthew!]

Molyneux: Microsoft was a 'creative padded cell;' 22 Cans will see his 'best' game ever

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Peter Molyneux, creator of Fable and famously parodied developer, left Microsoft and Lionhead Studios last month to establish 22 Cans, a brand new development house. 22 Cans marks Molyneux's fifth studio founding, but there's something different about this one, he told Develop:

"I believe it has all led me to this point. I believe the greatest game I've ever made is still ahead of me."

Molyneux is adamant that he is building something special with 22 Cans, in both the structure of the company and the games it will produce. So far he has co-founder and former Lionhead programmer Dimitri Mavrikakis, data miner Paul Knight and IT director Tim Rance on board, but Molyneux is looking to have 22 people total from various industries, including architects, veterans, fresh faces and people who know nothing about the video game world.

These people will help Molyneux make his "best" game ever; a game he couldn't create while at Microsoft. "I was in a creative padded cell," Molyneux said. "Microsoft was so safe. Microsoft was so nice. You're so supported. Everything I did couldn't hurt me, both creatively and physically. The danger was long gone. I had this huge desire to make something truly special, and I felt like I was being suffocated creatively a little bit."

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Nielsen: Assassin's Creed 3, Halo 4 most anticipated console titles this year

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You guys are so predictable, except when you're being unpredictable. This year gamers are most excited to play Halo 4 (which still doesn't have a release date) on Xbox 360, Assassin's Creed 3 on PS3 and Madden NFL 13 on Wii, Nielsen reports from a recent study.

What baffles us is how low BioShock: Infinite rates (9th on 360 and 8th on PS3) and how eager PS3 owners are to play Prototype 2 -- it ranks 7th for PS3 gamers and doesn't even hit the top 10 on Xbox 360. We won't even discuss what business Battleship thinks it has being in 3rd place for Wii gamers.

Nielsen aggregated the scores based on eight "key customer metrics," such as "awareness" and "purchase interest." We are now certainly "aware" that we can't guess the general consumer's mindset, when all we hear about is how they have no "interest" to "purchase" another game ever again, but mainstream, full-price titles crowd the most-anticipated list. Check out the complete list here.

GameStop to warn California consumers of online fees for used games

GameStop has settled a suit, requiring the company to post signs in California stores warning consumers if certain games have additional fees for online content in a secondary sale. The company will also reimburse "consumers who purchased qualifying used games" with a $10 check and a $5 coupon if they are a PowerUp Rewards members and a $5 check and a $10 coupon if they aren't.

"The in-store and online warnings are an important benefit under the settlement as well, because if GameStop discloses the truth to consumers, it is unlikely that they will be able to continue selling used copies of certain games for only $5 less than the price of a new copy," said Mark Pifko, attorney for firm Baron and Budd and counsel in the lawsuit. "In fact, we already know that not long after the lawsuit was filed, GameStop lowered prices for used copies of many of the game titles identified in the lawsuit."

The firm has set up a Facebook page for affected consumers. We've contacted GameStop for comment.

Kinect Star Wars tops UK charts, millions of voices suddenly cried out...

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Kinect Star Wars debuted at the top of the UK charts last week, proving one should never underestimate the power of the Sith. The game is the first Kinect-required title to top the charts. It's also the first Star Wars game to hit the top spot since Star Wars: The Force Unleashed back in 2008.

EA occupied the following four spots, with FIFA Street, Mass Effect 3, FIFA 12 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. The publisher also had SSX and Battlefield 3 at seventh and ninth spots, respectively, meaning the publisher held six of the top ten spots.

The only new entry in the top 40 this week was the Devil May Cry HD Collection, which debuted at number 18. Check out the UK top ten after the break.

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Activision v. Infinity Ward court date delayed

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Former Activision employees and Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella are taking Activision to court on May 29, after a few years of legal back-and-forth negotiations and counter-suits from Activision. The date was initially set for May 7, but was pushed back at Activision's request.

West and Zampella claim Activision owes them $125 million in unpaid royalties, and they seek the rights to the Modern Warfare brand.

Activision's counter-suit is free to move forward as well, where Activision is asking for $400 million from EA, claiming EA stole its employees and that West and Zampella were consorting secretly with the competitor while still Activision employees.

Zampella and West were fired from Activision in 2010 on the grounds of these supposed secret meetings. They soon after founded Respawn Entertainment and now have 40 former Infinity Ward employees in their ranks.

Skylanders weather report: Warnado warning, chance of Camo and Wham Shell high

The Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure roster has been expanded, with Warnado, Camo and Wham-Shell available for purchase right now. Hit up the gallery below for some screens or get over to your local brick-and-mortar if you're looking to bolster your ranks.

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