GamesBeat weekly roundup: Square Enix creates its own Kickstarter service, Activision allowed to buy itself for $8.17B

This week, the Delaware supreme court will permit publisher Activision to buy parent company’s Vivendi’s stake in the biz for $8.17 billion, Grand Theft Auto V becomes the biggest digital release ever on the PlayStation 3 and already surpassed Grand Theft Auto IV’s lifetime sales in the U.K., and Japanese publisher Square Enix partners with Indiegogo to create its own Kickstarter-like service.

You’ll also find reviews for the adventure games Beyond: Two Souls and The Wolf Among Us Episode One: Faith as well as a preview for the action-adventure game Thief and the latest installment of our series on great tabletop games for video gamers.

News:

• The DeanBeat: If only more gamers reached the end of games
• How clans will connect Call of Duty: Ghosts players across platforms (except Wii U)
• Delaware Supreme Court will allow $8.17 billion Activision/Vivendi deal to proceed
• Xbox 360 to be the top-selling console this fall (exclusive)
• In BetAmerica’s The Twitter Game, you bet on which celebrity will tweet the most
• Movie-preview trivia game Trailerpop gets multiplayer mode
• IGT launches Monopoly-themed version of DoubleDown Casino
• Why the new XCOM is called ‘Enemy Within’ — and why it’s going to make you miserable
• Social site Dpadd hopes to be ‘just like Goodreads, but for video games’
• Sleeping Dogs developer working on sequel, Triad Wars
• Grand Theft Auto V is the PlayStation 3′s biggest digital release ever
• Xbox One reportedly automatically records Achievement-unlocking (updated)

Announcements and reveals:

• Valve announces Steam Dev Days to give studios access to Steam OS, Steam Machines, and Steam Controller
• Double Fine to show unannounced new game at its Day of the Devs party — you’re invited
• Star Wars: The Old Republic’s next expansion introduces 24-player dogfights in space
• Assassin’s Creed IV DLC Freedom Cry puts players in the shoes of a former slave
• Call of Duty: Ghosts will have dedicated servers on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and current gen
• Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition comes to PlayStation 4, not Xbox One or Wii U
• Borderlands 2 has some new loot: $100,000 of real cash

Mobile news:

• Fore app makes every golf round you play into a tournament with friends
• Dragon Realms is Gree’s next attempt to conquer the mobile RPG market
• Final Fantasy VI remake coming to smartphones, tablets
• Compete for the Guinness world record for best mobile gamer this fall
• Dragon Quest series coming to Android, iOS in Japan
• Trigger Happy’s Toon Hero app lets fans create their own Portal 2 animated cartoons (exclusive)
• How CoachGlass makes you a smarter Madden player
• GameSalad teams up with Amazon to deliver indie games on the Kindle Fire
• GDC Next and ADC follow games and apps into the future

Above: Master Luna’s abilities in Peggle 2 allow her to ghost through the less-important blue pegs.

Image Credit: PopCap

Trailer hoedown:

• PopCap shows off new Peggle 2 characters, art style, and animations (video)
• Dixie Kong stars in latest Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze trailer
• Watch the first 5 minutes of BioShock Infinite’s Burial at Sea expansion

Ruh-roh:

• Ubisoft: Wii U not getting Assassin’s Creed IV downloadable content
• Square Enix president says his company’s need for reform is ‘urgent’
• Rhode Island governor reportedly forced 38 Studios’ bankruptcy

GamesBeat 2013:

• GamesBeat speaker spotlight: Facebook’s Sean Ryan on evolving social games
• GamesBeat speaker spotlight: VCs Tim Chang and Bing Gordon to talk on gaming’s future

Above: Joker’s posse share their leader’s passion for clown make-up and accessories.

Image Credit: Splash Damage

All this funding:

• ColecoVision is back with a Kickstarter to bring its retro games to iOS
• Square Enix partners with Indiegogo to form its own Kickstarter-like service
• Batman: Arkham Origins developer gets $1.5 million from Quebec
• Golem Arcana Kickstarter looks to cast some digital magic on the tabletop experience

Tech:

• Bizarre console tales: Chinese site says Foxconn forcing students to make PS4s
• For just $20 more than a Nexus 7, you can get a tablet that is also a game console and smart TV
• AMD launches new Radeon graphics family for both the masses and gamers
• PlayStation 4 controller will work on PCs

Earnings:

• Grand Theft Auto V already beats Grand Theft Auto IV’s lifetime U.K. sales

Acquisitions incorporated:

• Game acquisitions accelerate in 2013 to $3.3B as Asia and mobile get hotter

Reviews:

• The Wolf Among Us Episode One: Faith is an impressive start to Telltale’s latest series (review)
• Beyond: Two Souls deepens our human connection to video game characters (review)

Previews:

• Thief: The secrets and challenges that lurk within the City’s walls (preview)

Above: The thief Garrett overlooks city.

Image Credit: Eidos Montreal

Interviews:

• Bryan Ekman’s mech is bigger than your mech (interview)
• How Eidos plans to bring the decade-old Thief to new gamers (interview)
• Ubisoft bills Rocksmith 2014 video game as the fastest way to learn the guitar (interview)
• Crytek overhauls Warface online shooter with female characters (interview)

Pieces of flair:

• Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls has a whopper of an ending
• 10 games to help you regain your humanity after playing GTA V
• Great tabletop games for video gamers: Boss Monster: The Dungeon-Building Card Game
• The 15 most significant new fighting-game characters from this generation
• Grand Theft Auto Online: 26 tips and tricks for success