In an amazing show of demand for Dark Horse’s newest hallmark in video game art book history, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia soared to the top of the Nielsen BookScan charts last week, making it the #1 book in America.

In addition, the book has reached #1 on the Wall Street Journal and New York Times Bestseller list.  Dark Horse is also announcing a record print run approaching 400,000 copies, with the number continuing to grow as The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia dominates sales in the UK, China, Italy, Spain, and Canada.

This handsome hardcover contains never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the games, and much more! Starting with an insightful introduction by the legendary producer and video-game designer of Donkey Kong, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto, this book is crammed full of information about the storied history of Link’s adventures from the creators themselves. As a bonus, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia includes an exclusive comic by the foremost creator of The Legend of Zelda manga—Akira Himekawa.

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia is a must-have for any Legend of Zelda fan.

Praise for The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia

“Perfect for Zelda fans and appealing to gaming historians, Zelda: Hyrule Historia is a shelf worthy piece of non-fiction about a great fiction.”—Newsarama

“With the full gamut of chronology on full display and a nearly ridiculous amount of history and artwork to sift through, this collection is huge and exhausting. It’s also well worth it, as this guide is the only one in its existence that could gather so many facts about such a beloved series and make it as terrific looking as it is.”—EGM Now / Digital Noob

“Hyrule Historia fulfills on its premise: a history of Hyrule, the wonderful, legendary world we’ve been falling in love with again and again since 1987. If you’re looking for the latest collector’s piece to celebrate your love for the franchise, look no further: Hyrule Historia is it.”—IGN

Look for this highly sought-after release at your local comic shop or bookstore today. Order online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Things From Another World.

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Redmond, U.S.A. — “The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Tour” is coming soon to even more locations across the United States and Canada. Based on one of the most popular and beloved video game series of all time, the tour features live orchestral performances of theme music from Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda franchise. The newly announced dates include:

• Sept. 15: Toronto; Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
• Sept. 22: Minneapolis; Orpheum Theatre
• Oct. 12: Dallas; AT&T Performing Arts Center
• Oct. 18: Boston; Wang Theatre
• Oct. 25: Chicago; The Chicago Theatre
• Nov. 3: San Antonio; The Majestic Theatre
• Nov. 6: Calgary, Alberta; Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
• Nov. 28: New York; The Theater at Madison Square Garden
• Dec. 8: West Palm Beach, Fla.; Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
• Dec. 9: Miami; Adrienne Arsht Center
• Dec.14: San Jose, Calif.; San Jose Civic

In celebration of the tour, the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza in New York will host a special event on Friday, Sept. 14, from 6-9 p.m. From 6-6:45 p.m., ocarina expert David “Docjazz” Ramos will lead an interactive workshop, introducing fans and newcomers to the history of the instrument. From 7-8 p.m., an intimate mini-concert will be performed, featuring a small musical ensemble. From 8- 9 p.m., attendees can interact with David Ramos and the concert musicians.

Event attendees can also take photos with Link cosplay model Li Kovacs and purchase official “Symphony of the Goddesses” merchandise. The first consumers to enter the event will receive a special concert pack that includes a T-shirt, poster and an ocarina to use during the ocarina workshop.

The name “Symphony of the Goddesses” refers not only to the concert program but also to the new four-movement symphony recounting the classic storylines from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The concert also will highlight orchestral renditions of music from other series games, including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening andThe Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The full orchestra will be conducted by Eímear Noone with arrangements by music director Chad Seiter.

“We are thrilled to bring this unprecedented and exhilarating tour to fans across the U.S. and Canada,” notes Jason Michael Paul, CEO of Jason Michael Paul Productions, which is producing the concert tour. “From children to adults who have followed The Legend of Zelda for decades, the fan base for this concert is growing exponentially, and we are ready to deliver an unforgettable experience.”

Fans can view a complete tour schedule with ticketing information and also sign up for a regularly updated digital newsletter at http://zelda-symphony.com.

Club Nintendo also is offering a discount to the shows—users just need to register at the Club Nintendo site and enjoy an exclusive 15 percent discount by logging into their accounts at http://club.nintendo.com and clicking on the “Symphony of the Goddesses” logo banner. Exclusive concert packs also are available at GameStop locations.

Since first appearing in 1986, The Legend of Zelda game series has sold more than 69 million units worldwide. The latest entries in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii console, have both sold more than 1 million copies in North America since launching last year.

Additionally, on Jan. 29, 2013, Nintendo and Dark Horse Books will release Hyrule Historia, a hardback book chronicling the history of The Legend of Zelda series.

Featuring never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the game and insights from developers that have worked on the series, the book is currently available for pre-order via select retailers (deposit may be required for pre-order).

For more information about the concerts, visit http://zelda-symphony.com.

The article Tour Dates Out for “The Legend of Zelda” appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Hosted by the star of NBC’s “Chuck” and avid gamer Zachary Levi, executive produced by Emmy Award winner Mark Burnett, and featuring cutting edge in-show augmented reality and world premiere footage from hotly anticipated releases, Spike TV’s ninth annual “Video Game Awards” proved to be a night to remember.

Industry giants gathered as the network celebrated the outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the world of gaming over the past year. Internationally, the ”VGAs” were seen in over 100 countries and territories around the world.

A host of the most influential members of the gaming industry, as well as stars from the worlds of sports, television, music, and movies gathered at the biggest night in video games and watched Bethesda Studios release “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” receive the highest honor a game can receive when it took home the coveted Vector Monkey after being named Game of the Year.

“The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” also won Best RPG and garnered Studio of the Year honors for Bethesda Game Studios. Other multiple award winners included “Portal 2,” which won in five prominent categories, including Best PC Game and Best Multiplayer, and “Batman: Arkham City,” which won four Vector Monkeys, including awards for Character of the Year for the Joker, Best Xbox 360 Game, and Best Action Adventure Game.

“The Legend of Zelda” creator Shigeru Miyamoto made a surprise appearance to accept the first ever Video Game Hall of Fame Award on the groundbreaking franchise’s behalf. “We always push ourselves,” said Miyamoto, “and we’re grateful you notice.”

Additional honors included the second ever Gamer God Award, which was bestowed upon Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of the “World of Warcraft,” “Starcraft,” and “Diablo” series.  Original founders Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce were all on hand to accept the prestigious award.

The “VGAs” debuted never-before-seen world premieres of the most anticipated games of 2012 and beyond, including Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us,” the surprise reveals of “Command & Conquer: Generals 2,” “Alan Wake American Nightmare,” Epic Games’ “Fortnite,” “Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance,” “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Patriots,” “Transformers: Fall of Cybertron,” “BioShock Infinite,” and the winner for Most Anticipated Game “Mass Effect 3.”

This year’s show included presenters and appearances by major stars from all over the entertainment world, including Charlie Sheen, Brooklyn Decker, Seth Green, Felicia Day, LL Cool J, Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Tony Hawk, will.i.am, Anders Holm, game designers Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games, and Hideo Kojima of Konami.

The show also featured a performance by Grammy Award winning rock duo, The Black Keys, and Grammy Award nominated dance music innovator deadmau5, who helped transform the show with his visual representation of sound into a real life video game experience.

Additionally, NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was on hand to announce the results of the vote for Digital Cover Athlete of the forthcoming “NFL Blitz” from EA Sports, with Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens selected by fans who cast their ballot at vga.spike.com during the show.

A full list of winners is included below:

GAME OF THE YEAR
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Bethesda Game Studios

CHARACTER OF THE YEAR
The Joker – Batman:  Arkham City

VIDEO GAME HALL OF FAME AWARD
“The Legend of Zelda”

GAMER GOD AWARD
Blizzard Entertainment

BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham City

BEST PS3 GAME
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST Wii GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST PC GAME
Portal 2

BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME
Super Mario 3D Land

BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Batman: Arkham City

BEST RPG
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

BEST MULTI-PLAYER
Portal 2

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Fight Night Champion

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
NBA 2K12

BEST DRIVING GAME
Forza Motorsport 4

BEST FIGHTING GAME
Mortal Kombat

BEST MOTION GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME
Minecraft

BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME
Batman: Arkham City

BEST SONG IN A GAME
“Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Bastion

BEST GRAPHICS
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Bastion

BEST DLC
Portal 2 Peer Review

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Mass Effect 3

GAMETRAILERS.COM TRAILER OF THE YEAR
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer

EA SPORTS NFL BLITZ DIGITAL COVER ATHLETE
Ray Rice

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