Archive for April 1st, 2008
April 1, 2008
Champagne corks may well be flying across the offices of Playlogic today after the company has reported its first-ever full year of profit.
Playlogic has published titles including Obscure II (Obscure: The Aftermath in the US), Infernal, Xyanide, and Ancient Wars: Sparta.
For the fiscal year that ended December 31, 2007, Playlogic is reporting net revenues of $10.1 million, and net profit of $700,000. In 2006, net revenues were $5 million, but the company lost $12.5 million. Net earnings per share for 2007 were 3 cents, compared to 2006, where they were a loss of 51 cents.
The company expects further growth in 2008, both in net revenues and net profit, and expects net earnings per share in the region of 7 to 12 cents. The company also stated it would be shifting its focus to console games instead of PC titles.
Playlogic CEO Willem Smit said that he believed the latest results were a “turning point” for the company, and thanked all the shareholders and investors who had put their trust in the company over the past six years.
April 1, 2008
The rights to make licensed games are often divided in unusual ways. Consider Take-Two Interactive’s third-party exclusivity on the Major League Baseball license, or the way Marvel Comics offers different publishers different deals based on whether they want to make a massively multiplayer online game, a fighting game, or a trading card game.
Now one of the more unusual cases of divided rights is no more. At one time, the MotoGP motorcycle racing circuit had a deal with Namco Bandai to produce games on Sony platforms, and a separate deal with THQ for the PC and Xbox line of systems. Capcom struck a deal to create MotoGP games on Sony’s systems last year, and today the publisher announced that it had picked up rights to the remainder of gaming platforms, including mobile phones. In addition to making Capcom the exclusive publisher of MotoGP games on all platforms, the five-year agreement also gives the company the rights to make peripherals based on the circuit.
MotoGP’s move away from THQ as a licensing partner isn’t entirely surprising. In 2006, THQ took a step back from the series and publicly said it was “evaluating the viability of the brand” after its next installment, a decision prompted in part by the purchase of series developer Climax Racing by Disney Interactive Studios (then Buena Vista Games). Sure enough, MotoGP 07 was the final game in the series released by THQ.
The first games to come out under the new licensing deal will be based on the 2008 MotoGP season, and will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC, and PlayStation 2. It will mark the series’ first appearances on the Wii and PS3. For a look at Capcom’s initial effort with the MotoGP license, check out If Its Games’s review of last year’s MotoGP 07 for the PS2.
April 1, 2008
For most publishers, Tuesday is for whatever reason the day of choice to release their pride and joy onto US retail shelves. However, with this Tuesday falling on the notoriously seedy April 1, it would appear the games industry is taking the week off in lieu of having their games regarded as a practical joke.
As it is the sole nondownloadable console release, Nippon Ichi’s Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis for the PlayStation 2 is arguably the biggest title on the week. A turn-based strategy/role-playing game, Mana Khemia is a slight departure from developer Gust’s Atelier Iris series of games, as much of the gameplay occurs on the campus of an alchemy school.
Adventure gamers have a number of new titles that retailers expect to be stocking in the PC section this week. Dreamcatcher will be releasing Riddle of Tomb, while Lighthouse is booting up its psychological thriller Overclocked. Retailers also expect to see Elephant Entertainment’s Women’s Murder Club on their shelves this week.
Strategy diehards have an equally stimulating week. With Majesco lining up Toy Shop on the Nintendo DS for the casual gaming crowd, cdv Software and Dreamcatcher will be catering to grognards with their respective Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory and Great War Nations: The Spartans on the PC.
Though Sony’s PlayStation Store will be devoid of new content for the next couple of weeks as it gears up for the planned PlayStation Network face-lift, Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Nintendo’s Virtual Console will receive their standard allotment of weekly additions. On the 360, Namco Bandai will be releasing the puzzler Mr. Driller Online for 800 Microsoft points ($10). The arcade-cum-Nintendo 64 racer Cruis’n USA will boost onto the Wii’s VC for 1,000 Wii points ($10), with Sega’s platforming caveman Wonder Boy following in its dust for 500 Wii points ($5).
This week’s new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information–actual dates may vary).
MARCH 31, 2008
Civil War Mysteries (PC)
Cruis’n USA (Wii VC)
Great War Nations: The Spartans (PC)
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (PS2)
Overclocked (PC)
Professor Brainium’s Games (DS)
Riddle of the Tomb (PC)
Wonder Boy (Wii VC)
APRIL 1, 2008
Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory (PC)
Toy Shop (DS)
APRIL 2, 2008
Mr. Driller Online (XBLA)
APRIL 3, 2008
Women’s Murder Club (PC)
APRIL 4, 2008
No releases have been announced.
April 1, 2008
The financial markets regarded Ubisoft with favor last week, with the French publisher’s stock spiking more than 10 percent on news that the company had secured in full Tom Clancy’s vast military-media empire. The deal gives Ubisoft the rights to continue creating games in Clancy’s universe royalty-free, as well as opens the company to new venues of expansion, including book publishing and film production. In addition to its standard array of Tom Clancy-branded tactical shooters, Ubisoft has thus far said it would be exploring the real-time strategy genre with EndWar and the space combat genre with an air combat game, and has even hinted at a massively multiplayer online installment in the franchise.
While the future remains rosy for the publisher, the past is making the present a delightful period for investors as well. Ubisoft said today that more than 2 million units of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 have been sold to retailers since it went on sale March 18, a number CEO Yves Guillemot called “better than expected.” Combined with continued strong sales of last year’s critically lionized action adventure Assassin’s Creed, the publisher today said it would once again be raising its fiscal 2008 full-year outlook.
With the publisher’s first revision coming in December and a subsequent upward assessment following in January, Ubisoft today said it expects its full-year haul to amount to €920 million (about $1.45 billion), up from previous projections of €875 million (about $1.38 billion). Operating income saw a similar boost and is now expected to amount to 14 percent of the publisher’s full-year revenues, up from 13 percent. Likewise, Ubisoft raised its estimates for the quarter ended March 31 to €210 million (about $331 million), up from €165 million (about $260 million).
In a statement, Guillemot commented on the earnings revisions, saying, “As expected, 2008 is off to be a record year for the video game market and our games have performed remarkably well in this context. Assassin’s Creed and our Games For Everyone brands continued their strong performance and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 had a better than expected start.”
April 1, 2008
There comes a time in many children’s lives when they realize that, yes, it would be cool to drive a fire truck. While gaming sims catering to aspiring public servants have been woefully lacking in the past, Ubisoft will soon be delivering a rescue vehicle catchall, taking place in the future no less.
The curvature of the buildings lets you know its futuristic.
Titled Emergency Heroes, the game presents an open-world environment where players seek out harrowing situations in one of 16 different rescue vehicles. Players will be able to hop in the souped-up rides of police officers, firefighters, or EMTs, and in Crazy Taxi fashion they can explore the futuristic city of San Alto looking for opportunities to ply their trade. Civil servants will also have the chance to pair up for two-player co-op gaming.
Developed by Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Barcelona, Emergency Heroes will arrive exclusively for the Nintendo Wii in May.
April 1, 2008
Final Fantasy XIII may be a PlayStation 3 exclusive, but the Square Enix role-playing franchise is by no means system-monogamous. Three spin-offs to the series have already been confirmed for Nintendo’s Wii: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, and Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon, and today the publisher finally nailed down a release date for one of those offerings.
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon will launch in North America on July 8 and carry a price of $39.99. In the game, series regular Cid and one of the ostrichlike Chocobo creatures must travel through a variety of dungeons to help a town full of amnesia-stricken people regain their memories.
The Final Fantasy Fables spin-off series began with last year’s Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales on the DS, while the Chocobo’s Dungeon subtitle harks back to a pair of prior spin-offs, the Chocobo’s Dungeon games on the original PlayStation.
Neither Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers nor Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King has a firm North American release date yet. My Life as a King was released last week in Japan as part of the launch lineup for Nintendo’s WiiWare downloadable game service. The North American launch lineup hasn’t yet been confirmed, but the service should go live in the region on May 12.
April 1, 2008
Two new classic games have been added to Wii Shop Channel. The games are: Cruis\’n USA(TM) (Nintendo 64, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000Wii Points) and Wonder Boy (Sega Master System, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone–Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points).
April 1, 2008
Online rental store Gamefly has a listing for \’Guinness Book of World Records\’ for Nintendo DS & Wii. The game is listed as a Strategy/Sim game with a release date of 10/30/08.
April 1, 2008
Below is a trailer for Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One.
April 1, 2008
Realtime Worlds is currently working on APB, a modern-day massively multiplayer online game from the mind of Grand Theft Auto creator Dave Jones. Eschewing the swords-and-sorcery or proton-blaster pistols of many popular MMOGs, Realtime Worlds’ latest lives in an urban environment, and promises to redefine the genre by sidelining repetitive quests and monster slaying, and emphasizing player personalization and customization options, along with ramped-up graphical fidelity.
To aid it in its goal, Realtime Worlds has secured $50 million of financing led by Maverick Capital, according to Tech Crunch. Realtime Worlds previously nabbed some $33 million in capital from CIM fund and NEA, and now has a total of $82.7 million in funding. Announced in 2005, APB is being published by Korean publishing house Webzen and is slated to arrive on the PC and Xbox 360 some time before the end of the year.
Founded in 2002, the company is based in Dundee in Scotland, where it is the largest independent game producer, and also has offices in Colorado and South Korea. Realtime Worlds won two BAFTA awards last year, for Best Use of Audio and Best Action and Adventure Game for Crackdown.
For more on APB, check out Dave Jones’ session from this year’s Game Developers Conference.
April 1, 2008
According to reports, a French retailer has listed GTA IV for DS on a release schedule. The document lists the game with a 15/06/2008 release date.
April 1, 2008
Red Octane have confirmed that the Guitar Hero: On Tour Guitar Grip will work on both the DS Lite and DS Original. The game is set for release in the US on June 29, 2008.
April 1, 2008
Al Gore’s darkest dreams have nothing on SunAge. This real-time strategy game from Vienna-based Vertex4 takes place in a future when Earth has been turned into a crispy fritter by a combination of global warming and centuries of war. But this forward-looking setting is hampered by the presence of dozens of crippling bugs and screwups, such as no multiplayer support on launch despite promises to the contrary. Add in a backward design that was last in vogue when people were still freaking out about what Y2K was going to do to airplanes, and you’ve got an RTS that couldn’t be more offensive if it came to your house and kicked your dog.
Generic troops. Generic terrain. Generic explosions. Er, what RTS from 1998 are we playing again?
SunAge was released in a spectacularly unstable state that included the gold standard of bugs: crashes that corrupted save files and sent you right back to square one. Other major flaws included the game’s refusal to start after installation, mission-breaking scripting errors, absurdly long saving and loading times, and the complete absence of the multiplayer modes plugged right on the back of the game box. A series of patches now up to version 1.08 have made the game much more stable and have added the MIA multiplayer, but there are still loads of major bugs. Troops regularly stop responding to commands and sometimes move off in a random direction after being selected with a single mouse click. Buildings occasionally can’t be placed, even in apparently clear areas. Mission objectives are regularly impossible to complete. Previously explored areas are lost in saves, so every time you load a game you’ve got to start peeling back the fog of war all over again. This game was obviously kicked out the door way too soon, which is awfully odd because it was apparently in development for about 11 years.
Even if we could venture to a fairy-tale land where SunAge is bug-free, the dull design wouldn’t win it many fans. This is an old-fashioned three-civilization RTS like Blizzard used to make, with the nice-guy human Federals, the evil mutant Raak-Zun, and the neutral robotic Sentinel factions being about as bland as minute rice. Aside from the mild innovation of making the Raak-Zun dependent on slaves, the three sides offer no surprises. This is deeply derivative RTS gaming, where you build bases, scrounge for resources, and grind out generic troops and tanks and aircraft for use in nonstop mindless battles.
And “mindless” really is the key word. Combat is a blend of the dumb and the obtuse. Head-on tank rushes are your main pastime, given the general absence of anything like terrain or a sensible rock-paper-scissors formula. The AI always attacks full-out, charging your troops no matter what, so all you can do is respond in kind. As in all the best old-time RTS games, this sort of mayhem is oddly satisfying. But it isn’t mixed up with even the slightest bit of tactical thinking, unless you’re figuring out how to navigate the often mazelike maps. So after a couple of missions, the gameplay becomes as monotonous and predictable as the ticking of a metronome.
Battles also feel clunky due to a bizarre design choice to take firing orders away from you. Instead of right-clicking on enemy troops to get the guns blazing as in almost every other RTS ever made, here you have to move your troops within range of the bad guys to make them open fire. Also, your troops don’t automatically follow enemies once battles have started, which turns many battles into irritating chase sequences where you have to run after enemies to keep them in firing range. It’s hard to understand what Vertex4 was trying to accomplish here. There aren’t any obvious pluses to making this drastic change to such a longstanding RTS convention, so this offbeat movement mechanism will only frustrate players.
Comic-book cutscenes are usually a treat, but not when the artwork is this shoddy.
Virtually all of SunAge’s frills are as ineptly handled as the core game design. While the music is stark and ominous, the visuals are absent any personality. Buildings and troops lean on a standard RTS style that’s about as distinctive as blades of grass. Cutscenes are even more amateurish, thanks to the worst comic art this side of early ’90s Marvel. Gameplay options are just about worthless beyond the three solo campaigns played from the perspective of each race. You can skirmish against the AI only by hosting a multiplayer game and choosing computer opponents, which doesn’t give you the option to save progress. And the actual multiplayer involves free-for-all and team games limited to just four players (which isn’t much of a problem, actually, since there are never more than a couple of people hanging out in the online lobby).
Trudging through a game like SunAge is painful at best. Retro-RTS gaming is a great idea if you’re into nostalgia, but the number of bugs and design miscues make this one an uncomfortable trip back in time.
April 1, 2008
Indonesian police are looking for a nine-year-old boy who ran away from home in Jakarta taking $10,000 in cash belonging to his father, after his mother grounded him for not doing his homework. The boy took the $10k and went to a local mall to buy a Playstation and a mobile phone, a security guard at the mall apparently changed $800 into Indonesian rupiah for him. \”I\’m just afraid that my son is being used by somebody else who knew that he had thousands of collars in his pocket. I want to know where he is,\” the boy\’s father said.
April 1, 2008
Sony have officially confirmed that the new Playstation Store interface will also be coming to North America in mid-April.
;)