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This video-game news round up is designed to help keep mums and dads up to date with the latest gaming developments. If you want to play a more active role in the gaming life of your family it's a great way to become more informed.

Headlines

Sega has announced a new Sonic game called Sonic Boom to be released alongside a new animated TV series, and a series of toys, of the same name.

Ubisoft is partnering with Sony Pictures to make a film based on the Rabbids, which have already appeared in a TV series and several games, as well as having merchandise of their own. While the TV series is animated, however, Ubisoft has mentioned Sony's experience making "hybrid live-action-and-animated blockbusters", so the movie may take a different format.

Flappy Bird, the latest mobile game craze that has been downloaded millions of times, is no longer available to download. The developer said on Twitter, "I cannot take this anymore." It doesn't seem to be anything to do with legal issues to do with the Mario-like assets in the game, as Nintendo has denied that they've made any complaint.

Pokemon Bank, a 3DS app that lets you store your Pokemon on the Internet and transfer them between games with the Poke Transporter, is now available in the UK on the Nintendo eShop. Until March 14th, you can also get a pass that lets you use the app for free for 30 days (it'll cost £4.49 a year after that). If you use the Pokemon Bank before the end of September, you'll also get a free Celeb.

As Andy reported in a video a few days ago, some Skylanders are having their prices cut. Whether this is because Swap Force is trying to catch up with Disney Infinity or because a new game will be announced at the New York Toy Fair next week, we don't know, but cheaper figurines are better news for all collectors.

Someone on the Skylanders forums has spotted preorders on Best Buy for "springtime" versions of several Skylanders that come in egg-shaped packaging: Trigger Happy, Punk Shock, and Fryno. They're due on April 6th, two weeks before Easter.

The Minecraft Skin Studio App for iOS and Android now supports the new 64x64 pixel skin format for Minecraft on PC and Mac.

New Releases for Friday 14th February

  • PEGI 3+ Barbie Dreamhouse Party (Wii U, Wii, 3DS, DS)
  • PEGI 7+ The LEGO Movie Videogame (all platforms), Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks! (3DS)
  • PEGI 12+ Toukiden: The Age of Demons (Vita)
  • PEGI 16+ Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita), Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, 360)
Avatar for Andrew Robertson
Andrew Robertson
Andy Robertson is the editor of AskAboutGames and has written for national press and broadcast about video games and families for over 15 years. He has just published the Taming Gaming book with its Family Video Game Database.