Author Archive
Japanese hardware sales, Apr. 2 - Apr. 8: Precedent Evil edition
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business
Having recovered from the crushing disappointment that was Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and its complete and utter failure to incorporate a deranged Mary Poppins (equipped with bionic limbs and a strong desire to open her primary weapon inside zombie orifices), a great number of gamers may find themselves in a ponderous mood. Why, just looking at Resident Evil 4, how can one not be compelled to ask, “What happened to this glorious, gore-ious franchise?”
What happened to slowly inching your way down a corridor, nearly paralyzed by the fear of how the next sudden camera angle might mangle your chances of survival? What happened to the constant interruptions provided by a vague health gauge that could only be accessed on another screen? Where did the dramatic exchanges between characters, so delightfully peppered with Jill sandwiches and Chris’ blood, run off to? What happened to having your head ripped apart by an off-screen opponent, or struggling to shoot a dog because your highly trained S.T.A.R.S. agent has no idea how to aim a gun? What happened to inserting the crystal tiara into the cobalt iguana statue in order to unlock the underwater opera house?
Thanks a lot, Capcom. Your recent meddling has completely ruined a wonderful franchise.
- DS Lite: 110,845 
30,948 (38.73%)
- Wii: 52,583 1,218 (2.37%)
- PSP: 31,503 
7,574 (19.38%)
- PS3: 14,520 2,369 (14.03%)
- PS2: 14,234 3,553 (19.98%)
- Xbox 360: 2,963 926 (23.81%)
- GBA SP: 833 224 (36.78%)
- Game Boy Micro: 512 76 (12.93%)
- Gamecube: 255 50 (24.39%)
- DS Phat: 90 25 (21.74%)
- GBA: 12 3 (33.33%)
[Source: Media Create]
See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts, Sense of humor
Continue reading Japanese hardware sales, Apr. 2 - Apr. 8: Precedent Evil edition
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Great Geiger! Bethesda buys Fallout IP
Filed under: RPGs, MMO, Business
According to an SEC report filed today, the revered Fallout franchise has been sold to Bethesda Softworks, currently in the midst of developing Fallout 3. Uncovered by Fallout fansite, No Mutants Allowed, the document states that the radioactive IP was purchased from Interplay for the princely sum of $5.75 million — roughly a mountain’s worth of post-apocalyptic bottle caps. Bethesda had been developing their Fallout sequel as licensee, not property owner.
This change of ownership sees original IP-holder, Interplay, becoming a licensee to Bethesda and paying the Elder Scrolls developer a 12% royalty on net sales derived from an upcoming (and still entirely nebulous) Fallout MMO. Interplay’s license requires them to begin development within two years of the date of agreement, secure a minimum of 10,000 subscribers and offer a product that complies with “the quality standards of Bethesda.”
Purchasing the Fallout IP outright certainly reflects positively on Bethesda’s dedication to the franchise — it’s their property they risk messing up now — and highlights plans well beyond “Morrowind with Mutants.” (Next, would someone be so kind as to rescue the Freespace IP from Interplay?)
[Via Gamasutra]
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You’ll say WoW: BlizzCon back on for 2007
Filed under: Culture, PC, RPGs, MMO
Blizzard promises the affair to be far from frigid, filled to the brim with discussion panels, developer signings, tournaments, live orchestral performances and more exciting activities to be announced (it says here)! It’s not free (a ticket will cost you $100), but can you really put a price on what’s sure to be a Murloc cosplay extravaganza?
[Via WoW Insider]
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NCSoft looking for apprentices in game testing
Filed under: Business
A GamesIndustry.biz report details a new endeavor by NCsoft to enrich its UK segment of the games industry with trained game testers. In conjunction with City College Brighton, PartnerTrans and Skillset, the Guild Wars publisher is launching an apprenticeship program in the field of quality assurance. The Trump-less program is not only trumpeted as a means of enhancing a vital part of gaming development, it also acts as an entry-point for those aiming for a spot in game development.
Four trainees have already enrolled, with three joining NCsoft’s Brighton-based QA department for year-long stints. They will be given regular training at City College, constant input from an “experienced practitioner” and, depending on the size of bugs encountered, a very large mallet. Perhaps other developers could gain some insight by adopting a similar program.
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First screens of Sam & Max season finale, ‘Bright Side of the Moon’
The penultimate episode, Reality 2.0, is already available on the official site.
Gallery: Sam & Max: Bright Side of the Moon
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Perrin Kaplan expects Wii shortages to ‘last for some time’
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Business
Well, so much for “supply flowing” this April. “There is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of working on what we are producing and the numbers continue to rise but the product is so very popular that we may see a supply / demand situation last for some time,” says Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo’s VP of marketing and corporate affairs. Further comments originating from a recent Game Theory Podcast basically amount to Nintendo doing the best they can against the ravenous and seemingly unstoppable Wii-wanting hordes.
Perrin provides assurances that Nintendo is aware of the problem (though she doesn’t directly label it as such) and politely asks fans to “to be patient and to know that we are working on this as fast as we can.” While the buzz and news generated by continued scarcity (see: this article) continues to be a valuable marketing asset, truly resolving production problems almost 6 months into a console’s lifetime will be greatly beneficial to both Nintendo and clamoring fans. In other words — come on!
[Via Wii Fanboy, Next-Generation]
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Ubisoft viral site hints at new Tom Clancy game
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
Nowadays, “viral” is more or less the term used to describe any website that is overly cryptic, edgy or, thanks to an abundance of Flash, somewhat annoying. Enter the recently erected, cryptic, edgy and somewhat annoying Ubisoft website, jsf28555833-80604722.com.
Upon visiting the page, you’ll be faced with all manner of military gibberish, false newscaster mutterings and a man who appears to be in a permanent state of discomfort. The Tom Clancy logo at the bottom provides the biggest clue, seeming to suggest that marketing for a new terrorist foiling sim is already in stealth swing. Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six are fair targets, but a glance at the infamous (and quite reliable) leaked list of Ubisoft games shows one of the few remaining titles to be Tom Clancy’s Firehawk for PS3 and Xbox 360.
Further intrepid internet investigation (read: Google search) highlights the website’s initial letters “jsf” — Joint Strike Fighter. Is Tom Clancy taking to the skies?
[Via Eurogamer]
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Gaze into the Mii-rror Universe
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii
Somewhere in the outer limits of the universe, wedged uncomfortably between a zone of unceasing twilight and a dimension where normal things don’t happen very often, lies the Mii-rror Universe. It is a peaceful place, populated by eerily silent cartoon doppelgängers, their mannerisms as polite as their heads are bulbous. For each entity in our world — real or imagined — there exists a Mii, happily wandering about, napping on its feet and enjoying the company of others.
We’ve been given glimpses of this Mii-rror Universe before, but none have been as clear as this one. Mii Plaza user, Atkafighter, provides an unobstructed view of the realm and of our own deranged, pop culture universe. Take a good look. One never knows when an omniscient glove might descend upon this fragile world, drag an inhabitant away by its hair and then stick the poor thing in an envelope marked for a destination unknown.
[Via Wii Fanboy]
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Virgin Radio network to cater for PS3, Wii
Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii
No doubt drawn to the rampant popularity of the Wii, the Virgin Radio network is launching a customized web application for use on Nintendo’s waggle wonder and the other console equipped with a web browser, the Sony PlayStation 3. The Dreamcast might feel a bit excluded, but its days of being part of a “home entertainment media centre” are long gone. The broadcaster, which claims to be the first UK network to offer such a service, wants nothing more than to be heard in your living room.
According to BBC News, Wii and PS3 users will be able to listen to radio broadcasts, watch videos and purchase concert tickets from the comfort of their uncomfortable and lumpy couches. Downloadable songs are also promised, though it’s unclear whether or not the feature applies to both consoles. In addition to central Virgin Radio, the accessible stations are Virgin Radio Classic Rock, the “soulful” Virgin Radio Groove and the awesome-to-the-max Virgin Radio Xtreme.
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John Romero: PC is about to make console its bitch
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Online, Business
With the disfigured ghost of an anti-climactic game and the remnants of a self-destructive marketing campaign chasing him for the rest of his life, it’s only fair that John Romero occasionally gets to look forward and into the future. In an interview with Adrenaline Vault, the Quake designer predicts that “cheap” multi-core processors will eventually steal hardcore gamers away from the “next-gen” consoles and bring them to the PC (or something “PC-like”), while the Wii’s simplicity will earn it a casual gamer audience.
“Next-gen console is big but its future isn’t too bright with the emergence of cheap PC multi-core processors and the big change the PC industry will go through during the next 5 years to accommodate the new multi-core-centric hardware designs,” says Romero. “My prediction is that the game console in the vein of the PS3 and XBOX 360 is going to either undergo a massive rethink or go away altogether.” While the next five years may indeed bring enough cheap multi-core processors to blot out the sun, we submit that the PS3 and Xbox 360’s intended audiences will happily play in the shade. By the time those PC parts are even considered to be cheap (try buying just a comparable multi-core chipset and a Direct X 10 graphics card for under $400 today), these consoles will likely be home to several franchises that hardcore gamers will be taxed to resist — and the next wave of consoles won’t be far off either.
Romero goes on to say that “The Wii has the perfect design for a console that doesn’t pretend to be a PC and is geared more toward casual gamers than hardcore gamers. The hardcore gamers are going to either be playing on their PCs or a new PC-like platform that sits in the living room but still serves the whole house over wifi, even the video signal.” A PC-like platform sitting in the living room? Now that sounds a little more likely — in fact, hasn’t this convergence already begun?
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Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 26 - Apr. 1: No more noir edition
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business
CASE FILE B-854, “THE ERA OF AN END”
I used to have everything under control. My business, my cases, my finances — my life. There was a time when I thought my decisions were sound, but like leaving your finest china at the end of a bowling alley, it’s the sound that lets you know you’ve made a bad decision and that you’ve turned your back far too quickly. Hindsight isn’t 20/20 when you’ve got bits of teacup sticking out of your retina.
It wasn’t until that last case that everything shattered into pieces.
ATTACHED EVIDENCE: SALES CHARTS FOR MAR. 26 - APR. 1
- DS Lite: 79,897 50,652 (38.80%)
- Wii: 51,365 24,206 (32.03%)
- PSP: 39,077 2,469 (5.94%)
- PS2: 17,787 826 (4.87%)
- PS3: 16,889 3,570 (17.45%)
- Xbox 360: 3,889 397 (11.37%)
- GBA SP: 609 2 (0.33%)
- Game Boy Micro: 588 177 (23.14%)
- Gamecube: 205 65 (24.07%)
- DS Phat: 115 20 (14.81%)
- GBA: 9 13 (59.09%)
[Source: Media Create]
Previously: “The Console Caper” and “A Matter of No Laughing”
See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Continue reading Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 26 - Apr. 1: No more noir edition
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Rumor: Every Extend Extra Extreme Extricated in August for $10
Filed under: Sony PSP, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Rhythm
In concluding a rather positive preview of rhythmically exploding retina melter, Every Extend Extra Extreme, IGN seems to casually pin down the game’s release window and pricing. Article author, Douglass C. Perry, writes that Q? Entertainment’s next Xbox Live Arcade game will be in one piece “and cost about $10, or 800 Microsoft points” when it arrives this summer, “probably August.”
When queried about this information, a Microsoft spokesperson couldn’t determine its exact origin, offering that “Microsoft hasn’t announced anything about the title at all, other than it exists.” Though it seems possible that Q? Entertainment simply informed IGN directly, prefacing the information with words like “about” and “probably” seems to indicate that nobody really knows for sure. Mizuguchi fans looking forward to the more Extreme version of Every Extend Extra will have to extend their patience just a bit more.
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Joystiq Podcast 004 - Or IV, if you prefer edition (feat. CheapyD)
Filed under: Podcasts
Another edition of the weekly Joystiq Podcast has arrived, surprisingly within a week of the last one! This fourth edition finds our Cheap Ass Gamer friend, CheapyD, taking a break from his CAGcast endeavors and joining us for what’s likely to be one of the longest hours in his life. Thank heavens he’s arrived to give us some pointers — the multimillion dollar production that is the Joystiq Podcast was starting to spiral dangerously out of control.
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Hosts: Christopher Grant and Ludwig Kietzmann
Music: “Ted E. Bear’s Mafia-Free Playland and Casino” from the Sam & Max Season 1 Soundtrack
Program:
0:00:40 - The Xbox 360 Elite! (”I’ve pre-ordered six or seven of them.”)
0:03:24 - Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer (”That’s why they need to put KITT in Grand Theft Auto.”)
0:14:27 - Roooock Baaand! (”People realize those aren’t real instruments, right?”)
0:21:29 - Guitar Hero effects pedal (”It’s something you step on, like the floor! The floor is free, why shouldn’t the pedal be free?”)
0:23:08 - Red Octane denies controller recall (”Seems like a pretty stupid computer.”)
0:26:12 - PSP price drop (”Lots of memory… if you live in 1998.”)
0:28:45 - Latest PSP firmware update (”I meant gaming heroin.”)
0:31:19 - Dude, get your own (”All I want for Christmas is a decent ad campaign.”)
0:32:52 - NiGHTS 2 confirmed — again (”I’ve never played NiGHTS.”)
0:34:04 - Time to reinvent Sonic, eh? (”I’ll just Google a random butt and send it to you.”)
0:38:11 - Resident Wiivil 4 (”Mii zombies?”)
0:41:13 - What’s up with the Wii? (”The basic rule is you can’t criticize the Wii.”)
0:51:12 - Continued Wii shortages (”^_^”)
0:54:18 - The deal with stacker machines (”It’s got mechanical pincers.”)
0:55:28 - MAKE IT STOP (”I’m gonna edit one of those out just to screw you over.”)
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Crime and punishment: Thieves make off with Sonic the Hedgehog
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, Adventure
Though the choices that lead one down a path of crime are rarely considered to be wise, the weekend actions of an unknown number of thieves seem to imply that one bad turn often leads to another. The Argus reports that UK police were called to “Currys” after £1,700 worth of PlayStation 3 games were discovered to have illegally departed the store, presumably tucked inside someone’s jacket, pants or some other article of clothing that would result in awkward movements.
Police expect the kleptomaniacs to cash in on current PS3 euphoria and either attempt to gain refunds elsewhere or sell the game to unsuspecting folks. Sadly, it looks like crime might not fully pay on this occasion, as the robbers’ loot included three copies of Splinter Cell: Double Agent, two copies of Ridge Racer 7, four copies of World Snooker Championship 2007 and, err… four copies of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Being unable to sell those to any normal human beings, said ne’er-do-wells will likely attempt to play the game and then promptly turn themselves in. You get what you pay for, lads.
[Via PSX Extreme]
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Forza 2 demo a reality, says Microsoft
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving
After popping up in a scanned page of Official Xbox Magazine, the Forza 2 demo has been given the official and unrelentingly green light by the Microsoft pit crew. The Redmond giant tells Eurogamer that further details regarding the demo, including its time of arrival on the Xbox Live Marketplace “will be confirmed in the coming weeks.”
As if sensing the impatience surrounding Forza 2’s May release, Microsoft also doled out another list of cars set to be featured in the final product. Though you might better judge them after the break, we feel confident in confirming them all to be fast, shiny and the sort of expensive that demands the use of words like “ludicrously,” “disgustingly,” “outrageously” and “quite.”
Continue reading Forza 2 demo a reality, says Microsoft
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Chart-Track: 82% drop in UK PS3 sales ‘doesn’t mean anything’
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Business
Move along, folks. There’s nothing to see here.
Reacting to yesterday’s “leak” of PlayStation 3 sales data, which indicated an 82% drop during the week following the UK launch, Chart-Track’s Dorian Bloch expresses that we really shouldn’t put much that weight in the information his company works so hard to track and calculate. “A figure of an 82% drop has leaked out but that alone means nothing,” he tells Next-Generation. “Given how much pent up demand there was for PS3 and given the sophistication of pre-order systems now, it really doesn’t mean anything.”
Really? Perhaps we read it all wrong then, because the information allowed us to derive some context and conclude that the PS3 had sold an estimated 54% of its available stock (excluding supplemental post-launch shipments) in its second week, down from the 75% in week one. Coupling that with the significant drop in sales indicates, at the very least, that PS3 supply is by far exceeding demand. Furthermore, we estimated that the PS3 had accordingly sold 29,700 systems for the week, a figure which may be compared to the average number of PS3s sold in the last 4 weeks in doubly populated Japan — approximately 29,552. All that from a single statistic that doesn’t mean anything!
Bloch makes a better point when he notes that comparing the PS3 launch to that of the Xbox 360 or the Wii is difficult, considering the shortages that entangled both competing systems during their arrivals. He goes on to say that, “Judging a console based on nine days on sale is just crazy. It doesn’t make any sense.” Though we suspect the “sellout = success” crowd may be acting unfairly towards the PS3, it certainly isn’t enough to warrant downplaying a very significant sales statistic.
What doesn’t make any sense? Try the fact that someone like Bloch feels compelled to do damage control while Sony remains tight-lipped.
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Area 51 being renovated at Hollywood’s Paramount Pictures
Filed under: Culture, First Person Shooters, Business
As far as game-to-film adaptations go, Midway’s Area 51 is almost certainly one of the easiest ones to pitch; the equivalent of a limp-wristed grandma flinging a roll of film at an executive producer sitting five inches away. Ticking nearly all of the boxes on Hollywood’s quality assurance list, namely “aliens,” “guns” and (this one is crucial) “aliens being killed by guns,” Area 51 seems like a natural property for Paramount Pictures to abduct and perform hideous experiments on.
Variety reports that comic book writer and artist, Grant Morrison, has been handed the task of adapting the 2005 first-person shooter (which was itself loosely based on the 90’s light gun game) into a piece of cinema. Morrison’s list of published works includes issues of Judge Dredd, New X-Men, Batman, JLA and Fantastic Four. If completed and released (Paramount has reportedly been sitting on the rights since 2004), Area 51 will mark his first produced film project. Hollywood monster guru, Stan Winston, is also attached as producer.
Hopefully, the production team will gather some inspiration from forthcoming Area 51 sequel, Blacksite, which is said to be more politically charged and thoughtful than the first. Then again, perhaps Hollywood should concentrate on getting the basics right first.
[Via FirstShowing.net]
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Live Anywhere nowhere to be found in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters
As the first game to support Live Anywhere, Shadowrun has erected a rickety bridge between the realms of the PC and the Xbox 360, allowing players to dash across and kill each other using their peripherals of choice. Perhaps it is in the interest of peace then, that id Software has ruled out the possibility of cross-platform multiplayer for their upcoming shooter, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.
“Console players will not play against PC players,” says id co-owner and creative director, Kevin Cloud, in an interview with GameZone. “Consoles require a certain [adaptation], and that wasn’t something that we wanted to take on.” While there’s no immediate framework to necessitate play between the PS3 and PC just yet, Live Anywhere promises to bring more convergence between Microsoft’s Vista and 360 platforms — but could the $50 Live entry fee for Xbox-PC multiplayer prove to be a turn-off for developers and gamers alike?
Gallery: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
[Via CVG]
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New Lost Planet maps slated for 6 April
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
The second multiplayer map pack for Capcom’s frigid Xbox 360 shooter, Lost Planet, has been scheduled to arrive on the Live Marketplace this Friday, April 6. The two maps contained therein are “Hive Complex,” a thankfully hygienic mine with bridges and tunnels scattered across a mountainside, and “Trial Point,” a modern office complex featuring “a photorealistic backdrop of a busy city center.” Capcom’s community website holds video footage of the maps, both of which look graphically splendid (if you’re into that sort of thing).
The asking price is 400 MS points, or 5 of your nigh incomprehensible American “bucks”.
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This Wednesday: Luxor 2 hits Xbox Live Arcade
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Puzzle
If the plummeting blocks don’t get you, the spinning balls almost certainly will. Forsaking the former and embracing shiny spherical substitutes, Luxor 2 has you saving Egypt by destroying the magical balls that threaten the pyramids at the end of their paths… it says here. Clearly, the epic plot isn’t the part that’s meant to occupy your mind — that would be the job of the 88 levels, four modes of play, multiple modes of difficulty and masses of ill-mannered marbles that constitute this casual Xbox Live Arcade release. For 800 points ($10), the amount of content available is unlikely to leave you feeling E-gypped.
Luxor 2, which can be enjoyed by young gamers and old Gizas alike, is set to arrive at 9AM GMT (2AM PST) on Wednesday, 4 April. The ankh-ticipation is killing us.
[Note: Joystiq apologizes for the appalling quality of puns in this post. The blogger responsible has been locked in a cage with a vicious, flesh-eating Toucan.]
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