Nintendo's upcoming high-definition update to classic role-playing game to include "more challenging" option, according to Amazon.

It appears Nintendo's upcoming HD update of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker will include more than new visuals.

An Amazon listing for the game (via IGN) includes mention of a "more challenging" difficulty option, said to offer greater replayability.

Nintendo has not announced a new difficulty mode for Wind Waker HD. The company told GameSpot, "We have nothing to announce at this time."

Wind Waker HD will launch in October on Wii U with GamePad support. In addition, an all-new Zelda game for Wii U, said to "rethink conventions" of the series, is in development.

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Strauss Zelnick says company has a "healthy respect" for competition and is constantly keeping tabs on what its competitors are up to.

Publisher Take-Two Interactive has seen continued success from its stable of industry-leading franchises like Grand Theft Auto and BioShock, but the company has not been blinded by its accomplishments, according to CEO Strauss Zelnick. He explained in a recent earnings call that to be blinded by hubris would be the company's downfall.

"We have a healthy respect for our competition. We don't take anything for granted," Zelnick said. "We're fond of saying that we think arrogance is the enemy of continued success. We're always looking over our shoulders, and not because we're worried about someone eating our lunch, but because we're worried about making sure that we always provide the best experience to consumers."

Take-Two's portfolio of franchises include mutli-million sellers like Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, NBA 2K, Borderlands, Civilization, and BioShock, among others. These games make Take-Two the "standard bearer of what is the very best in interactive entertainment," Zelnick said.

If Take-Two is to continue to hold its position as an industry leader, it must monitor what its competition is up to and listen to consumer feedback, Zelnick said.

"To do that, we have to be mindful of what our competitors are doing and what our consumers want and always give them what they want and then some’and to do so at a fair price," Zelnick said. "So, we have the highest weighted [review score] average on Metacritic ratings in the business. And yes, we know we can always do more. We're very self-critical; we're always trying to push the envelope. So, are we worried about our competition? Yes. But what do we focus on? We focus on our own knitting and making sure what we do is the very best."

Take-Two's next major release in Grand Theft Auto V, which releases worldwide September 17 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game is expected to be a major contributor to the company's bottom line.

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Mojang will release 7500 tickets to this year's annual Minecraft convention, but tickets will be sold in three batches throughout the week.

The first batch of tickets for annual Minecraft gathering Minecon will go on sale today, Mojang has announced.

Minecon 2013 will take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on November 2 and 3.

7500 tickets will be sold in three batches of 2500, after tickets to the show last year sold out in less than two hours.

The first batch of tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 16:00 PT/19:00 ET. The second batch will follow on Friday at 07:00 PT/10:00 ET, followed by the final batch on Saturday at 12:00 PT/15:00 ET.

In the UK, that's midnight on Thursday, 15:00 on Friday, and 20:00 on Saturday.

Tickets are $150 each, with a maximum of six per order, though those under 3 years old are allowed to attend for free. They can be purchased from the Minecon website.

"When you book your tickets you can also book hotels at our special Minecon rates," added Mojang. "We have a variety of hotels available with different prices and different distances from the Convention Center."

The developer adds that more information about this year's convention will be made available in the coming weeks. "There will of course be panels from Mojang and many community members, an awesome tradeshow where you can check out cool products and services revolving around Minecraft, and of course lots of Minecraft merchandise for sale."

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Sony confirms those who missed out on the closed beta can take part in open trial beginning late next month.

Sony today announced that a multiplayer open beta for PlayStation Vita game Killzone: Mercenary will take place in late August.

The company also announced today that sign-ups for the Killzone: Mercenary closed beta, which opened earlier this month, are now closed. The beta will begin today for those chosen to participate.

Killzone: Mercenary launches September 10 and uses the same engine as Killzone 3.

The single-player campaign to Killzone: Mercenary will feature nine missions that are reportedly each close to an hour long, and the game will include an eight-player multiplayer mode spread across six maps and three gametypes.

For more on Killzone: Mercenary, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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Design director says upcoming open-world shooter has taken inspiration from Far Cry and Borderlands and gone steps further.

Bungie Studios has opened up about what Destiny will do better than other open-world franchises Far Cry and Borderlands. Speaking with Edge, design director Joe Staten said gamers will find "familiar" elements in Destiny, but that the game will advance these systems and features to new levels.

"We are absolutely doing things that would be familiar if you've played any kind of open-world game," Staten said. "I mean’ Far Cry, even. We would be idiots if we didn't look at an awesome game like Borderlands and ask, 'What are they doing well and how can we try to hit that same ball?' I have never played a game where I have such a great attachment to my gun as I do in Borderlands."

Staten explained that Destiny's social features, like when players come across groups of other people in the in-game world, is unparalleled in online shooters today.

"When we look at a game like that, we look at the things they're doing well and also at opportunities they might have missed that we can capitalize on," Staten said. "You can party up with a group of people and then go around with that group, but never in Borderlands are you going to collide with a group of other people doing it too. We don’t do that just once or twice in the game, we do that all the time, everywhere."

"You see other people on the horizon, hear gunfire over a hill, and see space magic flying behind some trees, and you know’ there are other people out here, that [changes everything]," Staten added. "Borderlands right now is: 'I'm going to walk into that space and we’re going to clear them out and keep going.' And frankly that's not just Borderlands, that’s any co-op shooter."

Destiny launches in 2014 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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Asymmetrical 3 vs. 3 vs. 2 Invisible Predator Online mode developed by Brink studio Splash Damage; won't be available on Wii U.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced the multiplayer mode for Batman: Arkham Origins, revealing it is in development at Brink and Enemy Territory developer Splash Damage, and won't be available on Wii U.

The online mode--Invisible Predator Online--will be supported on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions. No mention was made of why the Wii U had been passed over for the game mode, and a Warner Bros. representative declined to comment.

The asymmetrical 3 vs. 3 vs. 2 mode meshes traditional Arkham gameplay with third-person shooter mechanics, according to Warner Bros.

The game mode supports eight players divided into three groups: three thugs from Joker's gang taking on three members of Bane's group, while Batman and Robin attempt to take out members of both criminal groups.

GameSpot recently went hands-on with the Invisible Predator Online mode for Batman: Arkham Origins. For more, check out GameSpot's impressions.

Batman: Arkham Origins launches October 25 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC. It features an expanded Gotham City and is set years before the events of the original games. The game is in development at WB Games Montreal, not Rocksteady Studios.

A portable version, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, is in development at Armature Studio for PlayStation Vita and 3DS. The game launches alongside the console versions on October 25.

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Former EA CEO John Riccitiello says mobile publishers need to think about producing better games, rather than prettier games.

Former EA CEO John Riccitiello has said pushing for console-quality graphics on mobile devices can be a "road to ruin" for publishers that don't work out how those games can provide new gameplay experiences.

Speaking at an event hosted by Casual Connect (via Polygon), Riccitiello said "investing in better graphics without figuring out what differentiating gameplay you're going to have--without thinking of how gameplay rewards players--is a road to ruin."

"Prettier games cost more to make. Better games satisfy consumers," he added.

Riccitiello referenced to the late 90s to illustrate his point, speaking about how the push for 3D graphics in most strategy games caused costs to skyrocket but didn't increase sales."Revenue remained the same because they weren't innovating."

Other genres, such as action adventure games, succeeded because the experience would have been impossible without the 3D graphics, he said.

Returning the discussion to furthering games development on increasingly powerful mobile devices, Riccitiello said to think about optimizing gameplay rather than focus on graphics. "If you're looking at more powerful CPUs and GPUs, think more about how that creates the opportunity to build an experience you've not seen before--a different kind of gameplay," Riccitiello said. "What gameplay wasn't possible before that can be fundamentally optimized?"

Few publishers who have games which chart in the best-selling mobile charts manage to recreate the success, added Riccitello. "You can either hope to be lucky twice, or you can figure out an answer that I think is vitally important for the health of the mobile business," he added.

"Developers need to build brands. Games that don't build a brand will not be around in a decade. Will Clash of Clans be with us in 25 years? Madden turns 25 this year. Will Candy Crush be around next year and still be doing a few million a day?"

Riccitiello resigned from EA in March, after six years at the company. The publisher has yet to announce his successor.

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