Blizzard’s newest MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, is entering “technical alpha”—they’re going to start opening invites to “a very limited number of participants” soon. If you want to enter, opt in on your battle.net account

Yes, This Nazi-Killing Video Game Hero Was Of Jewish Descent

There’s been speculation for more than two decades that the hero of the iconic Wolfenstein first-person shooter games—B.J. Blazkowicz, the guy who you use to machine gun hordes of Nazis—was Jewish. But the game’s creators have long been coy about the character’s origins. Not so much anymore. It’s not clear if the next Wolfenstein game,…

​Here’s the Company Guide That You Get If You Work at Nintendo

You’ve seen the handbook from the people who run Steam. Now, here’s the company guide that employees at the House of Mario receive. It’s a damn pretty thing to look at, even if you can’t read Japanese. Nintendo fan blog Before Mario has images of the internal publication that gets handed out to people who’ve…

Amazon is offering a bonus $10 credit toward pre-orders on $20 or more of traded in games. Eligible titles to apply the promotion toward include Infamous: Second Son and Dark Souls II. [Amazon] This post is brought to you by the Commerce Team, a dedicated group of deal hunters and product enthusiasts. We operate independently…

Zynga Boosts Its Mobile Lineup With New FarmVille, Words With Friends

In a special note today to players thanking them for six years of support, Zynga chief operating officer Clive Downie revealed three new mobile titles soon to be released worldwide, including a FarmVille 2 game that’s completely different from its Facebook counterpart. Zynga first attempts at porting its ‘Ville series of web-based social titles to…

Sony’s Spring Fever Sale Discounts Towerfall, FEZ, Luftrausers

Sony’s Playstation Network Spring Fever promotion is back for 2014, discounting some big indie titles for Playstation Plus members. [Playstation Blog] 3/4-3/10 Awesomenauts Assemble | $8 | Normally $10 Master Reboot | $12 | Normally $15 3/11-3/17 TowerFall Ascension | $12 | Normally $15 Vessel | $8 | Normally $10 3/18-3/24 SteamWorld Dig | $8…

​Games Still Getting More Money Than Anything Else on Kickstarter

Kickstarter just let the world know that they’ve pulled in more than $1 billion dollars for thousands of crowdfunding projects since the company launched. And the category that raked in the most cash? Games, once again, to the tune of $215.75 million. That number includes campaigns for both digital and non-digital games. It’s telling to…

Fez is coming to all PlayStation platforms on March 25. Polytron’s indie hit is a cross-buy offering, meaning the copy you buy for PS3, PS4, or PS Vita is good on all the other devices, and save files may be shared among them.

Cortana has a Different Look on the Windows Phone

Cortana, the digital consigliere coming to Windows Phone 8.1, won’t be represented by the light blue apparition of a woman. Cortana will, appropriately enough, be a halo. It, uh, she? will be represented by a blue ring that animates whenever she’s speaking or thinking, says The Verge, citing sources inside Microsoft and providing some screenshots…

Jimmy Kimmel Presents Bitman Begins

Classic YouTube clips, turned into big-budget Hollywood movies? There comes a time when it’ll be sober fact. Until then, here’s Jimmy Kimmel and his dramatic adaptation of “Charlie Bit My Finger” (sadly, Bitman has nothing to do with bitcoins) with Chris Hemsworth, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Bitman Begins [Jimmy Kimmel Live, YouTube] To contact…

Kids Discover Rotary Phones, Everyone Else Feels Really Old

There was a time when we didn’t need games on our phones, because every phone came with a built-in game of roundabouts. Kids today have no idea what they missed, and don’t seem too impressed when they find out. For my children’s first birthdays, my sister got them a pair of those classic Fisher Price…

The 3DS XL Yoshi fans have been waiting for. Already announced for Europe, the limited edition Yoshi Edition 3DS XL will be available in North America on March 14 for $199.99, just in time for the release of Yoshi’s New Island, sold separately.

You Can Make $40 A Day Cosplaying in China

Cosplay is huge in China and Taiwan. It’s become an industry in itself, where young men and women get paid to dress up. However, as glorious as it is to get paid to for cosplay, one girl’s tale reveals that cosplayers in China may not be making as much money as one would think. In…

In Japan, Sony is ceasing aftercare service for the launch PlayStation 3 consoles: the 60GB CECH-A00 model, the 40GB CECH-B00 model, and the 40GB CECH-H00 series models. Also, Sony Japanwon’t be offering aftercare for PlayStation 1, the PlayStation 2 model SCPH-50000MB, and the 1000 and 2000 series for the PSP.

An Anthropological Study of DayZ

In DayZ, and other survival sandbox games, you don’t necessarily have to shoot anything that moves, still—unless you’re playing with friends— the chances of being killed on sight are really high. So here’s RE:roll with an in-depth, serious analysis of what might go on in someone’s head while playing DayZ DayZ: An Anthropological Study [YouTube]…