Kotaku

Watch Dogs Will Be Out This Holiday For 'All Home Consoles,' Leaked Poster Says [UPDATE] Watch Dogs, the impressive-looking game that stole the show at last year's E3, will be out this holiday for "all home consoles," according to leaked marketing materials received by Kotaku today.


Check the images below to see both the front and back of the marketing materials, which mention a quote from G4 about the game being a "truly next-gen adventure."


All home consoles. Truly next-gen adventure. Could publisher Ubisoft perhaps be hinting at something? As most people predicted last year when the French publisher showed Watch Dogs in action, this is indeed a next-gen game.


Ubisoft has already confirmed that the stunning open-world game—a cyberpunky adventure that involves a lot of computers—will be coming to PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Now it's become clear that it will also be on the next Xbox and PlayStation, which have not yet been announced but are expected this holiday season.


But will Watch Dogs also be out on Wii U? Ouya? Shield? "All home consoles" could mean a lot of things.


We've also recently heard that Watch Dogs was originally a Driver game. We've asked Ubisoft for comment both on that and the console situation, and we'll update should we hear back.


UPDATE: Ubisoft has responded, and while they won't comment on consoles or release dates, Ubisoft senior vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key said in a statement: "Ubisoft is pleased with the response for Watch Dogs from media and fans. The game is an original IP that has been created from the ground up at Ubisoft Montreal with inspiration from many titles and ideas the studio has worked on throughout the years."


Here's the poster:



Watch Dogs Will Be Out This Holiday For 'All Home Consoles,' Leaked Poster Says [UPDATE]
Watch Dogs Will Be Out This Holiday For 'All Home Consoles,' Leaked Poster Says [UPDATE]
Kotaku

When I was growing up, every holiday season was punctuated by a television airing of The Wizard of Oz. We'd gather around the television and watch Dorothy and friends learn a little something about themselves in the span of 101 minutes. The Wizard of Oz Facebook game has been around for four months, and we're just now getting to the Scarecrow.


It makes sense, I suppose. We can't simply ease on down the road—we've got a city to run.


It's fascinating to watch this classic film slowly unfold over the course of a social game. I wonder how long it will take them to get to Mrs. King?


Kotaku

If you're like me, you've wanted to actually see what the upcoming Star Trek tie-in plays and looks like. You have to put up with a lot of movie executive blather but there's a bunch of gameplay on display in this promo clip for the Digital Extremes-developed title.


It seems like players will be abe to pilot the Enterprise in addition to all the run-and-gun action. If they mix things up enough so that no one element overstays its welcome, this could turn out better than expected compared to other movie-based games.


Kotaku

What People Used To Say About The Game Boy3D without glasses? No thanks. I'll take my monochrome sprites and go and have some real fun.


The Game Boy was kind of a big deal. Revolutionary, even. Console-quality games on the go? Great Scott. Let's look at what people thought of that.



  • "Game Boy promises 'any game, anywhere.' It has a 2 1/2-inch LCD screen with surprisingly clear pictures, and runs on batteries or AC. Two Game Boys can be linked with a cable to provide two-player competition."
    Rocket in Your Pocket Hand-Held Games; The Toronto Star, December 3, 1989.

2 1/2 inches! Pocket Rocket indeed.


  • "'The software drives everything, and there is no question that the Atari (Lynx) product is superior to Game Boy,' said Larry Carlat, editor of Toy & Hobby World, a trade publication. 'But Nintendo is Nintendo and they have the marketing muscle. If something has the Nintendo name on it, it's virtually guaranteed to sell.'"
    Jube Shiver Jr.: Hardly Playing Games, Toys: It's Serious Business As Nintendo's Game Boy Goes Head To Head With Atari's Lynx (...); Los Angeles Times, November 20, 1989.

Atari does what Nintendon't! Shame it doesn't work out for them.


  • "The layout of the controls is also good. There's a cross-key joystick to manipulate the gamesters, as well as A/B buttons that enable two people to play one game."
    David Elrich: For Nintendo Fiend, Now It's Portable; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 21, 1989.

Co-op consists of shrieking at your partner when they don't hit A and drop your gamester down a pit.


  • "The name Game Boy not only carries echoes of Walkman, but also reminds us of the target audience for the product: game boys everywhere. But a name like this further reinforces the misguided notion that fun on a home computer is solely for adolescent males. When will we be ready for a Game Girl?"
    Dennis Lynch: Nintendo stars at the Electronics Show; Chicago Tribune, June 23, 1989.

Not for a while, mister Lynch.


  • "Game Boy is a hand-held, battery-operated video game. It includes Tetris, a puzzle game developed in the Soviet Union that challenges the player to manipulate lines and patterns, which will darken the screen when played correctly."
    Mary Evertz: OH BOY TOYS // Let the shopping begin, but be forewarned: This year's hot toys are selling fast; St. Petersburg Times, December 9, 1989.

Even the Rubik's Cube of Software goes portable. This may or may not be a Soviet plot to take over the world.


  • "To be honest, I am wondering what all the fuss is about. Pokemon is an enjoyable sojourn into the realm of RPG/strategy gaming, and the collectible idea is a nice touch, but by no means is it the best the game I have ever played—not even on the Gameboy (that honor goes to Tetris). RATING: * * * (3 stars)"
    David Canter: Pokemon by Nintendo; The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 27, 1998.

It's a passing fad.


  • "At KB Toys, spokesman John Reilly said Pokemon hasn't reached the level of a phenomenon a la Furby. But, he added, 'That's not to say Pokemon isn't hot.'"
    Chris Reidy: Watch out, Furby: 2 new Nintendo video games appear to be nearly as hot as this year's top holiday toy; The Boston Globe, December 12, 1998.

Oh. Guess Pokémon is cool after all. It's just not the Furby killer we've been waiting for.



So, portable gaming enthusiasts of Kotaku. Was the Game Boy your first? Have you caught 'em all, or did the Mew under the truck manage to elude you? Post your stories below.
Kotaku

This Week's iPad Charts: Hold Me Closer Tiny DentistI've only been doing these weekly charts since fall of last year, and this is the second time a free dental simulation game appeared on the free charts. At least this one features cartoon animals getting their mouths drilled full of holes. I can understand the appeal.


It was a week of great change on the iPad charts, thanks in no small part to the launch of EA Mobile's Presidents' Day Sale, launching FIFA 13, Monopoly and Tetris into the paid charts at the low price of $.99. Every time they have one of these $.99 sales I end up buying at least a couple games, even though I could probably just ask EA Mobile for a code. A bargain isn't a bargain if it's free. That doesn't make sense, but it does make me feel better.


Check out the new EA-centric entries on the paid charts, and then swing on down to the free charts to pull some teeth.



Top Paid iPad Games — 2/15/2013

Rank Game Last Week Change
1. Minecraft Pocket Edition 2 +1
2. Angry Birds Star Wars HD 3 +1
3. Rock Runners N/A N/A
4. Trainz Driver N/A N/A
5. FIFA Soccer 13 N/A N/A
6. Tetris for iPad N/A N/A
7. Fionna Fights - Adventure Time N/A N/A
8. Bad Piggies HD 6 -2
9. The Room 1 -8
10. Monopoly for iPad N/A N/A

Top Free iPad Games — 2/15/2013

Rank Game Last Week Change
1. Infinity Blade N/A N/A
2. 4 Pics 1 Word N/A N/A
3. Temple Run 2 2 -1
4. Tiny Dentist N/A N/A
5. Rule the Kingdom HD N/A N/A
6. Asphalt 7: Heat N/A N/A
7. Candy Crush Saga 7 0
8. What's the Word HD 4 -4
9. Galaxy on Fire 2 HD 1 -8
10. Cordy 2 5 -5
Kotaku

The developers at Simogo have made some of my favorite mobile games, the musical platformer Bumpy Road and rhythm stealth hybrid Beat Sneak Bandit. Those games were cute and easy to grasp. But their latest one Year Walk looks like a weird, first-person exploration head-trip. Thankfully they appear to know this and are offering up a compendium of all the bizarre creatures and symbols you'll be encountering in the game. Year Walk looks like it's going to be moody exploration into the nature of superstition. It comes out on February 21st.


BioShock™

The first installment of the Columbia: A Modern Day Icarus? video series reminded Luke, me and loads of other folks of the low-budget, off-putting documentaries and filmstrips that aired in the ‘70s and ‘80s. I used to have to watch those things in class, too, with some annoying homework assignment attached to them. Imagine if anything as disturbingly cool as the Songbird was ever shown in your classroom. All fart jokes and note-passing would cease. And a quiet terror would settle over the student body.


Kotaku

Here's Five Of The Best Attempts At Creating A PS4 LogoOn February 20, there's a good chance we'll not only get to see the PlayStation 4, but also get to see its branding. Stuff like the logo.


Unable to wait that long, Aussie company 99 Designs held a competition for users, asking them to come up with their own take. Being open to the general public, and not just professional designers, some of the submissions are woeful, but others look pretty good. Some could, were I posting this anonymously on a forum instead of here, convince you they're the real deal.


There are literally hundreds of entries, but I picked the ones here because they manage to do two things at once: stay faithful to the original, over-arching PlayStation family logo, while also providing something new and fresh, getting away from the simply "text outline" style that's been used since the PS2.


Create the logo for the PlayStation 4 [99 Designs]


Here's Five Of The Best Attempts At Creating A PS4 Logo Here's Five Of The Best Attempts At Creating A PS4 Logo Here's Five Of The Best Attempts At Creating A PS4 Logo Here's Five Of The Best Attempts At Creating A PS4 Logo Here's Five Of The Best Attempts At Creating A PS4 Logo


Kotaku

Perhaps the most creative game at this year's JAEPO arcade game expo was e Sports Ground. Utilizing a series of motion tracking cameras and projectors, the game transforms the floor into the game screen and your body into the controller.


In many ways, e Sports Ground is a retro game collection containing some of the most popular games from the very dawn of gaming—except that you are now "in the game," so to speak. You become the paddle in games like Pong and Arkanoid, for example. One co-op game is reminiscent of Asteroid with one player dodging incoming asteroids while the other acts as a shield against the asteroids.


To see e Sports Ground in action, check out the video above.


e Sports Ground was released on November 11, 2011. Representatives were unsure as the the possibility of an international release.


Kotaku

Are ya ready, troops? According to English Russia, one of the most popular marching songs in the country's military is the SpongeBob SquarePants theme. There's video proof, too, of numerous troops marching to and singing the song, showing that this is definitely a thing. A delightful thing.


[insert joke about how in Russia, SpongeBob SquarePants sings you]


SpongeBob Soviet Army [English Russia]


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