If you’ve been putting off buying that WiiU for the fabled price drop, it’s time to jump on board. Nintendo announced on their Facebook page this morning that they will be releasing a WiiU discount bundle on September 20. The Wind Waker HD bundle will include the system with a Zelda branded tablet controller in black, Wind Waker HD and the strategy guide. The WiiU Deluxe edition is also dropping to $299.99 on September 20th giving us late adopters a chance to buy in if the bundle sells out.

Photo : Nintendo’s Facebook

With Nintendo’s president admitting that WiiU sales have been abysmal it stands to reason that something needed to be done. With the WiiU still not turning a profit for the company you can see that they are really pushing to get some traction on the market. It is also noticeable that Wind Waker HD wasn’t slated until October and is being released early with this bundle, so picking up the console now gives you multiple benefits. We have said on multiple episodes of the Big Shiny Podcast! that a Zelda game is what is truly needed to move the console and this looks to be Nintendo’s all in push. There is plenty of money behind the company to keep them profitable, Pokemon alone can sustain their operations for 20 years. But it is time to stop viewing the WiiU as a “Dreamcast” and push it into the current gen. The price drop also comes right before the PS4, and Xbox One launches which can hopefully give them traction before the two giants hit market.

If you don’t believe that this holiday season is going to be a slug fest then you’re ignoring the signs. We have 2/3 major consoles launching within 2 weeks of each other. (I’m aware Microsoft hasn’t given us a date but we know it has to be before November 20, because once the “holiday” season starts we’re boned.) And then we have Nintendo bundling up and dropping the price to get competitive. This is a great year to be a gamer.

Thomas Winkley is the Gaming Editor for Big Shiny Robot! Find him on twitter: @thomaswinkley, or via email thomas@BigShinyRobot.com

Here’s one that doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Sony apparently released a download for Grand Theft Auto V so pre-order players could get a jump on the game when it releases September 17th. That part makes sense, it’s been a part of PC gaming for years. What doesn’t make sense to me is: 1) Why did it have plot spoiler information accessible; 2) Why did people downloading it start digging into the code to find this information? Sony has since pulled the download, meaning those prying into the code have ruined it for everyone else. Some of the information gleaned was the entire track listing for the game’s music. Which probably isn’t a big deal, but it’s an asset Rockstar still wanted under wraps. Sony apologized to Rockstar and any fans who have accidentally seen what can be considered spoilers. Certainly this was a mistake by Sony and they should be held accountable if any real damage has been caused. Personally, I’m setting my sights on the people who think they need to dig through the code for these things and release it. They’re violating terms of service and they’re disrespecting the creative process. Why? Obviously I’m not going to give the information away here, but if you want the track list and the spoiler assets I’m sure you can find it somewhere.

Blizzard announced the first Diablo III PC expansion at Gamescom last week. “Reaper of Souls” will introduce Malthael as the main antagonist. Additions to the core gameplay will include a new level cap (70), improved loot drops, loot customizing and adjustments to the paragon leveling system. When asked about a console release of the new content, they were not ready to announce anything officially, but there was strong indication it is happening. The delay will probably be similar to the delay seen between the main game’s PC and console releases.

PSN is holding an Indie Game Sale this week to coincide with PAX Prime. There are some good prices on some good games. Naturally, PS+ members get even better discounts, up to 75% off. The sale will begin with today’s store update.

• Game – Original Price / Sale Price / Plus Price
• Penny-Arcade Adventures On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness Ep 1 & 2 – $14.99 / $7.49 / $3.75
• Closure – $14.99 / $7.49 / $3.75
• Retro City Rampage (PS3 and PS Vita, Cross-Buy) – $14.99 / $4.99 / $3.74
• Dragon Fantasy Book I (PS3 and PS Vita, Cross-Buy) – $9.99 / $4.99 / $2.50
• Limbo (PS3 and PS Vita, Cross-Buy) – $14.99 / $7.49 / $5.99
• Tokyo Jungle – $14.99 / $7.49 / $3.75
• Zombie Tycoon II: Brainhov’s Revenge (PS3 and PS Vita, Cross-Buy) – $9.99 / $4.99 / $2.50
• Journey – $14.99 / $7.49 / $3.75
• Skullgirls – $14.99 / $7.49 / $3.75
• Retro/Grade – $9.99 / $4.99 / $2.50
• Dyad – $14.99 / $7.49 / $3.75

Gearbox Software has a Game of the Year edition of Borderlands 2 incoming. This looks like a typical GotY edition, including the game and all previously released DLC (Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt, Mr Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, Creature Slaughter Dome, Psycho Pack, the Mechromancer Pack, and the Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack). There are at least three more DLCs planned for the game (Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2, the Digistruct Peak Challenge, or TK Baha’s Bloody Harvest). It’s unclear for now if those will be included as well. The packaging reportedly advertises over $100 in free content. No date has been announced, but if the packaging art work is already leaked then it’s likely coming soon, probably just before Black Friday.

Sony’s confirmation of the PS4 releasing November 15th has put the scope on Microsoft. When will we see the XBox One release? I suspected they would try to beat Sony to market and an alleged internal Wal-Mart memo discussing the midnight release seems to confirm this. If this leaked memo is correct, the XBox One will be coming November 8th, beating Sony by just one week. Treat this as rumor for now and keep an eye on Big Shiny Robot! as we will report the confirmed release date as soon as it drops.

Speaking of XBox, the latest firmware update is out now and it has delivered on terminating Microsoft Points. The XBox Marketplace now operates in your local currency.

That’s it for this week’s early edition. Later this week is PAX Prime. So you can probably expect some news on indie games in Friday’s edition. Then again, PAX has grown more popular with AAA developers as well so we may see some news on that front as well.

Insomniac Games demonstrated gameplay for their new installment in the Ratchet and Clank Series. This demonstration gives more insight into the story and shows off some of the weapons available in-game. This is definitely similar to the earlier titles in the series. I cannot wait to get my hands on the holiday gun.

Rich is back from the dead covering the news that has released this week. He also streams Duck Tales, Dive Kick, and gives you the skinny on why Steam Green Light is so cool!

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Telltale Games has released a brand new trailer for LEGO Marvel Super Heroes at Gamescom 2013, and not only is it adorable as all hell, but epic to boot!

These LEGO videogames have become wildly popular, not just because of the “cute-factor” of seeing your favorite franshises “LEGO-ized”, but because they are actually quality, fun games to play for all ages. So the fact that the next one hitting the shelves is bringing all of these Marvel super heroes and super villains together in one game has me incredibly excited.

Though, they might want to reconsider the line from Captain America, “I’m going to spangle you until you see stars!” . . . just sounds . . . weird.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes will be available this Fall on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, WiiU, and Nintendo 3DS.

You can follow Arse-bot and all the pointless thoughts he puts out into the interwebs on Twitter @Arse_bot

Yesterday at Gamescom 2013, Microsoft revealed the list of launch titles for the Xbox One, which will be hitting shelves some time in November and set you back $499.99.

Here is the list of Xbox One Launch Titles:

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
• Battlefield 4
• Call of Duty: Ghosts
• Crimson Dragon
• Dead Rising 3
• FIFA ’14
• Fighter Within
• Forza Motorsport 5
• Just Dance ’14
• Killer Instinct
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
• Lococycle
• Madden NFL 25
• NBA 2k14
• NBA LIVE ’14
• Need for Speed: Rivals
• Peggle 2
• Powerstar Golf
• Ryse: Son of Rome
• Skylanders: Swap Force
• Watch Dogs
• Zoo Tycoon
• Zumba Fitness

We have talked about this before many times on the Big Shiny Podcast, and that is too often when a new console comes out there is a huge lack of great launch titles to accompany it. In my opinion, it’s looking like Microsoft is looking to not fall victim to that this time around with a strong list of launch titles. You have your first person shooters, sports games, fighting games, third-person adventure games, racing games, and even a Skylanders and LEGO game thrown in there for good measure.

It looks to me there will be plenty of quality gaming options for anyone picking up an Xbox One right out of the gate.

You can follow Arse-bot and all the pointless thoughts he puts out into the interwebs on Twitter @Arse_bot

Among the many announcements made today during Sony’s press conference at Gamescom, one of the really cool ones was the fact that Sony wants to make it easy and less expensive for gamers to play some hot, upcoming titles on both their current and next gen consoles.

While no price was given, Sony has said that people who purchase Watch_Dogs, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield IV or Assassin’s Creed 4 for the PS3 will be able to buy them digitally for the PS4 at a significantly reduced cost. Gamestop is running a similar promotion on these games for the Xbox One (trade in the 360 version and get the Xbox One game for $10), and while they haven’t extended that offer to the PS4 yet, I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar. I’m also guessing that the Sony will be matching that price with the digital offer.

Overall, this is a really smart move for them, as it will help bring in a ton of revenue on the initial release of these games on the current consoles for people who want these must-have games immediately upon launch while netting even more profit when they upgrade to the shinier and newer ones for next gen. And if the price point is indeed around $10, then most people will be more than happy to plunk down a few extra bucks for the upgrade.

IGN is reporting that Sony finally dropped the date for the Playstation 4. Hitting the United States on November 15 of this year and Europe on November 29. With 1 million pre-orders world wide it will be interesting to see the sales results hitting that month. November 15th is usually a Microsoft date with the original Xbox and Xbox Live launching that day in 2001. With both consoles launching in the same month it is bound to be a slug fest this holiday season. Which one are you snagging?

Thomas Winkley is the Gaming Editor for Big Shiny Robot! You can find him on twitter @thomaswinkley, or via email thomas@bigshinyrobot.com

At Gamescom today, Sony announced that their handheld, the PS Vita will be getting a price reduction. Starting tomorrow the device will be $199.99, during the same announcement they also mentioned that memory cards were going to see a “significant price reduction”. They also confirmed that Fez, and Borderlands 2 will be releasing on the system as well.

SEGA has confirmed September 3rd as the release date for the HD remake of Disney’s Castle of Illusion on PSN and XBLA (14.99 / 1200MSP). Older gamers may remember this classic platformer from the SEGA Genesis and GameGear; it stars Mickey Mouse in the quest to rescue Minnie from the evil witch, Mizrabel.

Payday 2 released last week and seems to be charting well. The next question is always “what about DLC?” According to Game Director David Goldfarb (Overkill Software), “Payday 2 – just like its predecessor Payday: The Heist – is a living thing. We have five DLCs planned together with 505 Games for the coming year.” The game will also be updated with free content, “just like the first game.”No word yet on when the packs are coming or for how much but I’d expect an update relatively soon.

Ubisoft has been discussing the officially unannounced Child of Light at GDC Europe. Far Cry 3‘s creative director, Patrick Plourde, is helming the the project and has described the game as a “playable painting.” Inspiration comes from classic JRPGs, specifically Final Fanstasy VI. Then again, that is arguably the best JRPG ever made, meaning every game made since has been inspired by it in some form.Other inspiration comes from artists Hayao Miyazaki, Yoshitaka Amano and John Bauer. Miyazaki has a strong following, but his involvement in Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch resulted in a mediocre-at-best title. So I’m intrigued but skeptical on this one. A full announcement of what they are calling a AAA indie title is expected in September, with the game releasing digitally this winter.

Artwork from Konami has confirmed a long-rumored HD release of Castlevania: Lords of the Sahdow- Mirror of Fate is coming to consoles. The official announcement will likely come at Gamescom, but the expectation is that this version will include the first Lords of Shadow, its DLC, and the formerly 3DS exclusive sequel, Mirror of Fate. Even without the announcement, it is already rumored for release at the end of October.

With the PS4 coming in a matter of months, Sony clearly believes there is still a market for a cheap version of the PS3. Released without fanfare, a 12 GB PS3 Super Slim (previously only available in a 500GB model) is now available for $200. To many this may seem an odd move, but I think it’s great. Plenty of families either haven’t hopped on to the current generation or did it only with the Wii and/or 360. With new consoles out (WiiU) or coming soon (PS4, XB1) they may not be ready to drop $500-600 for new hardware, accessories, and games. But a $200 PS3, with hundreds of cheap, used games is a hell of a bargain for Christmas. You can also expect many games to release cross-generation for the next year or so. The small hard drive doesn’t make this ideal for PS+ membership, but the back catalog of games is still plenty to keep you entertained.

Gamescom doesn’t officially start until tomorrow, but Microsoft has already presented a big chunk of announcements:

The XBox One has been confirmed to be bundled with FIFA 2014 in Europe. No word yet on whether the US version will have a game bundled.

The recent policy changes at Microsoft to encourage indie development has taken another step forward this week. Microsoft has announced Independent Developers @ Xbox. This program allows indie developers access to all of the Xbox One’s features, including cloud services, Kinect, SmartGlass, multiplayer, Achievements, Challenges, Game DVR, and Upload. Dev kits will also be much more accessible, as well as the possibility of turning any XB1 into a dev kit. According to Phil Spencer, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, “I am really looking forward to the diversity and creativity of games that will come to Xbox One through the ID@Xbox program. “We’ve worked with the community of developers to craft a platform that helps creators self-publish on Xbox One – irrespective of their size or location.” Interested in joining the ID@XBOX program? Applications are open now.

Microsoft has announced Fable Legends at Gamescom. This was expected as they had registered two domains, FableLegends.com and .net, just before the event began. The XBox One game will be an always-online prequel taking place in Albion 400 years before the first Fable. It will feature four player co-op and SmartGlass functionality. The series has always allowed your player character to be a rotten person, but this latest iteration takes it a step further, allowing you to play as the villain. That mode appears to be a more strategic version, allowing you to place enemies, traps, etc. in a top down perspective. It’s an interesting concept, I’m hoping it holds up in actual practice.

This is the “targeted” launch line-up for The XBox One. Obviously “targeted” is hedging their bets. It should also be noted that these are “launch window” and not necessarily release day titles.

• Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
• Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
• Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
• Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft)
• FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
• Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft)
• Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios)
• Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)
• Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios)
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive)
• Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios)
• Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
• NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)
• NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
• Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts)
• Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts)
• Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios)
• Ryse: Son of Rome (Crytek, Microsoft Studios)
• Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions, Activision)
• Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
• Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios)
• Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)

Sony’s press conference starts about two hours from when this column gets published. Stay tuned to Big Shiny Robot! for any major stories to come from that conference and check back on Friday for a similar recap. Actually, depending on what news drops, there may be a special edition of VGQH later today or tomorrow. Sony has been a step ahead of Microsoft on announcements for the next-gen consoles so I’m still expecting a release date being confirmed.