Nintendo promises to ‘discuss’ new Smash Bros., 3D Mario, and Mario Kart before E3

The Japanese publisher is preparing to rely on its core titles to prop up the struggling Wii U.

Batman: Arkham Origins’ senior producer on how — and when — to move the needle (interview)

Batman: Arkham Origins senior producer Ben Mattes and his team inherited one of the top-rated game franchises of all time. All they had to do was figure out where they could leave their own stamp on the winning Arkham formula ... and what they had to leave alone.

Batman: Arkham Origins hits the repeat button hard (preview)

Batman: Arkham Origins rewinds the Arkhamverse to early in the Dark Knight's career while carbon-copying the gameplay from its predecessors. It's a combination that might just work.

How Smooth McGroove quit his day job to record a capella versions of classic gaming tunes (interview)

Smooth McGroove is the one-man a cappella group that loves video game music.

Civilization V’s Brave New World expansion feels like a culture club (hands-on preview)

The upcoming expansion adds a great deal to the cultural game. But is it too easy to win this way?

EA appoints New York Times digital-product expert to its board

New York Times vice president of digital product Denise Warren joins the publisher's board of directors.

EA’s ulterior motive behind killing the Online Pass

Electronic Arts ended the unpopular Online Pass program aimed at cashing in on the used-games market, but the reason may have more to do with Sony and Microsoft's new consoles than customer dissatisfaction.

Amazon taking Madden NFL 25: Annivesary Edition preorders — bundled with NFL Sunday Ticket

EA's $100 special edition of Madden can save you a ton on DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket football package.

GamesBeat weekly roundup: Google’s game service, EA axes online passes, and a look at The Last of Us

If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.

The DeanBeat: Maxthon offers an alternative browser that won’t crash while running multiple games

Maxthon features smart memory management that means you can log into five accounts at once.