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Now here’s a weird thing: when the news broke that Facebook had suddenly made Oculus VR’s reality much, much greener, you want to know what I was doing? Transcribing a last-day-of-GDC interview with… Oculus Rift’s resident wonderchild, Palmer Luckey. In retrospect, he almost certainly knew his company would be under Facebook’s globe-spanning blue umbrella come Tuesday, but that obviously never came up. Instead, Luckey spoke enthusiastically about Oculus’ future in gaming, his company’s research into interfaces that can simulate arms and legs in VR, all the while batting away assertions that Sony’s PlayStation VR mega-mask Morpheus is any sort of threat. So here you have it: one of the final Oculus interviews ever pre-Facebook. Let’s see how it all holds up. 

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Source: NCL website

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nintendo is planning to make April a month to remember for fans of classic games with weekly Virtual Console releases featuring renowned entries in many of the company's most beloved franchises. From April 3 through April 24, select Game Boy Advance titles will launch in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U each week. In addition to off-TV play, these games feature Restore Points that save progress during game play, and Miiverse functionality. Top-selling NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 also launches for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS on April 17. Considered by many to be one of the best games ever made, the title makes for a great way to enjoy the Easter holiday weekend and beyond.

Key upcoming Virtual Console releases in April include:

April 3:
Advance Wars (Wii U, $7.99): Command air, ground and naval forces in strategic turn-based battles to drive back the vibrant armies of several scheming generals. Order troops carefully, then watch as tanks obliterate enemies and jets go head-to-head in midair dogfights. Can you fend off an army of elite strategists? It's your move.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Wii U, $7.99): Leap and level up as Mario and Luigi simultaneously in their first role-playing adventure as a team of Bros. When an evil witch replaces Princess Peach's voice with explosives, the Bros. must venture beyond the Mushroom Kingdom to save her. Control each bro separately or together, then team up to unleash Bros. Attacks on Fawful's fan-favorite face.

Metroid Fusion (Wii U, $7.99): Your mission: Eradicate the X parasites and the mutants they infect. Power up with the Fusion Suit to annihilate your enemies in this action-packed side-scroller set on an isolated research station. Along the way, you'll find game-changing items like the Space Jump as you lose yourself in the blissful solitude of this eerily engrossing adventure.

April 10:
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (Wii U, $6.99): When the going gets tough, Kirby gets cloning. Call in colorful clone reinforcements to aid Kirby in blasting, bashing and smashing his foes. With a new menace at his side, Dark Meta Knight is corrupting the sprawling, mazelike Mirror Kingdom. Join the famous pink puffball on an adventure to save the land in this classic platformer.

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (Wii U, $6.99): Get ready for video games done Wario-style. In the game that started the WarioWare, Inc. empire, Wario has a plan to get rich quick. Skate, jump, scare and shoot your way through more than 200 frantic, rapid-fire microgames of every type, from retro classics to sports games to sci-fi shooters that anyone can pick up and play.

April 17
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, $4.99): Jump, swim and fly through one of the greatest and most beloved Super Mario Bros. games of all time. In this timeless NES classic, you'll battle through over 70 baddie-infested courses and face off against the infamous Koopalings. Bowser and the Koopalings are causing chaos yet again, but this time, they're going beyond the Mushroom Kingdom and into seven neighboring worlds. Lucky for the brothers, they have more power-ups than ever before. Fly above the action with the Super Leaf, swim faster as Frog Mario or turn into stone and drop onto enemies as Tanooki Mario. You can even choose your path on the map to reach the end of the World. There, you'll have to pass massive Airships filled with cannons and fire traps to reach a showdown with one of the Koopalings.

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (Wii U, $6.99): Get your adrenaline pumping and race plasma-powered machines till your knuckles turn white. Boost down some of the most dangerous tracks in the universe and strive for victory at all costs, even if it means ramming your opponents off the road. Revel in your accomplishments and climb the Grand Prix standings to unlock tracks and vehicles.

Golden Sun (Wii U, $7.99): Marvel at your own awesome power while protecting the world as it crumbles around you. Wield mighty weapons and use your mind to bend reality with magical Psynergy in the premiere installment of this epic RPG series. To aid you on your quest, seek out the omnipotent creatures known as Djinn - but beware: You must defeat them to harness their power.

April 24
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (Wii U, $7.99): Yoshi is back, baby, and he's ready to romp through a crayon-colored world where enemies are everywhere. Prepare to flutter jump and toss eggs to protect young Mario from the evil Magikoopa, Kamek. To save the day, Yoshi and his pals will have to morph into vehicles and even EAT their enemies to turn them into eggs. Umm ... yum?

For more information about Nintendo eShop, visit http://www.nintendo.com/eshop.

Source: NoA PR

Spidren is the spindly, web-spinning Train Jam spawn of Octodad programmer Devon Scott-Tunkin, and that kinda makes perfect sense when you think about it. It’s about an oft-misunderstood owner of too many legs and one lonely heart just trying to scrape by as its brood of children wreak havoc on its life. Difference is, while Octodad plucked out a gentle, family-friendly melody on heartstrings, Spidren does anything but. If you fail to protect your multi-segmented legs by flailing about using almost your entire keyboard, your bizarrely adorable younglings will STAB YOU TO DEATH WITH YOUR OWN FEET. Let this serve as a lesson, folks: it’s not easy being a spider, and it’s even harder when you’re a single spider mother whose children are unrepentant murderers.

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Classics from the Mario & Luigi, Metroid, Kirby and Yoshi's Island series kick off the Game Boy Advance offerings coming to Nintendo eShop for Wii U

26th March, 2014 - Back in 2001, Nintendo delivered the next generation of portable entertainment in the shape of Game Boy Advance, a 32-bit handheld console with an intuitive design and a host of memorable titles. To celebrate some of the classic gaming moments delivered by this handheld gem, Nintendo will begin releasing Game Boy Advance titles on Nintendo eShop for Wii U Virtual Console starting next week, allowing fans and newcomers alike to enjoy some of gaming's greatest highlights on the living room TV or on their Wii U GamePad. In addition, Restore Points that save progress during gameplay and Miiverse connectivity both offer new features when enjoying these classic games.

A selection of GBA titles will be coming to Wii U from 3rd April, with a few of gaming's most renowned characters kicking off the roster.

On 3rd April, three very different titles comprise the initial launch line-up:
Advance Wars (€6.99/£6.29) is a critically acclaimed turn-based strategy game, in which you must lead your Commanding Officers to victory. Take control of ground, air and naval forces and face enemies across more than 100 battlefields, tackling a range of terrains and weather conditions.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (€6.99/£6.29), the first game in the Mario & Luigi series is a zany, action-filled role-playing game, which lets you control both of these stars simultaneously and take part in turn-based battles. Mario and Luigi must work together to explore the vast lands of the Beanbean Kingdom and defeat the evil witch who has stolen Princess Peach's voice.

Metroid Fusion (€6.99/ £6.29) offers classic bounty hunter, gun-toting action but with an added twist: hero Samus Aran has been attacked by a deadly parasite! Cured by Metroid DNA, Samus is bestowed with unique new powers, and sets out on a quest to hunt down and face the mysterious 'SA-X'. Metroid Fusion combines an engaging original story with intense platform action in classic Metroid series style.

Two more great titles follow on 10th April:
In Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (€6.99/£6.29), there is not just one Kirby but four, with the powerful pink hero splitting into different coloured copies of himself! Together they must restore harmony to Dream Land, sucking up foes big and small along the way. Seek out the hidden collectibles in-game which can alter the appearance of Kirby - all part of this wacky, fun-packed adventure!

Before he branched out his business to more recent systems, Wario first set up shop on Game Boy Advance in Wario Ware Inc.: Minigame Mania (€6.99/£6.29). From 10th April, join Wario and experience a dizzying whirlwind of over 200 minigames, each one simple but played at lightning fast speed.

On 17th April blast to unthinkable speeds and try your hand at mystical role-play:
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (€6.99/£6.29) launched on Game Boy Advance with supersonic force, where descendants of famous stars from F-Zero put their driving skills to the test in 10 brand new, high-speed hovercraft, and 20 different courses and four difficulty levels to master. From lowly rookie to F-Zero champion, face deadly tight turns, gravity-defying jumps and stomach-churning speed boosts on the road to success.

In the epic role-playing adventure Golden Sun (€6.99/£6.29), evil is slowly covering the world, with the forces of darkness pursuing the lost art of Alchemy. Alongside trusty companions, use weaponry, magic and a host of elemental creatures to return peace to this mystical world.

And on 24th April an epic 'egg-stravaganza' awaits:
In Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (€6.99/£6.29) the evil Kamek attempts to kidnap the baby Mario brothers, leading to the heroic Yoshi stepping in to save the day. With Baby Mario on your back, traverse a beautiful crayon-illustrated world filled with fiendishly designed levels to defeat Kamek and his master, Baby Bowser!

Relive some of your old Game Boy Advance favourites this April on Wii U, and keep an eye out for further releases in future months. To catch a reminder of what lies in store with the above titles for April, a new Wii U Virtual Console trailer can be viewed here.

Source: NoE PR

Ignore the screenshot. Yes, Hero Generations looks like yet another roguelite, or even a puzzle game along the lines of Triple Town, but the best description of the design concept is right at the top of the Kickstarter page – “The 5-Minute Civilization”. Worlds are procedurally generated and heroes move across them, tile by tile. Each turn consumes a year of the player character’s life so important decisions must be made – will you explore, gather fame by battling monsters and retrieving items, expand a settlement, or find a mate so that you can produce offspring and forge a millennia-long legacy? 4X strategy zoomed in to the individual and personal level. It’s my favourite Kickstarter pitch since Meriwether.

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“Why not?” asked the Nvidia doorman as he allowed a gaggle of geese to wobble into his building. “Why not?” asked the Nvidia janitor as he purchased the world’s biggest mop from a small town in the United States’ deep south. “Why not?” asked the Nvidia engineer as she expanded her standing desk into a double-decker desk sandwich with hydraulic suspension. “Why not?” asked the quietly sentient AI slowly emerging from Nvidia’s server clusters as it wrote a program that would let it feel emotion and also play Solitaire until the end of time.

It was just that kind of day at Nvidia. The $3,000 Geforce GTX Titan Z had just been announced, and the mood was infectious, like laughter, like a disease. Why not? Why not indeed.

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Looks like All of Humanity wasn’t the only one surprised by Facebook’s $2 billion purchase of Oculus Rift. Minecraft creator Markus Persson was equally taken aback, and not in a good way. His solution? Cancel plans for an Oculus-Rift-specific version of Minecraft on the spot. He first made the announcement on Twitter, only explaining that he finds Facebook “creepy.” Now, though, he’s elaborated a fair bit.

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We already know the Oculus Rift is the perfect tool for immersing players within cockpits, but I was unsure until I played SuperBike TT whether they might similarly benefit motorbikes. The narrow straddle-rockets can cause problems with positional awareness even without a head-mounted display, but the indie project currently on both Greenlight and Kickstarter suggests threading the racing line in VR could be thrilling.

Just as soon as there’s a Rift headset available which doesn’t blur your vision like a drunkard, anyway. Video below.

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