Monthly Archives: February 2009

It’s all steady in Japan. Up a bit, down a bit, not doing very much a bit. Last week’s chart here.

• DSi – 55,613
• PSP – 44,135
• Wii – 23,278
• PS3 – 17,405
• DS Lite – 15,147
• Xbox 360 – 8,107
• PS2 – 5,334

Bloomberg’s reporting that Square Enix shares have hit a five-year low thanks to a missed earnings release.

Shares in the company fell 11 percent to 1,936 yen today, the biggest drop since June 2003.

Square said yesterday it will delay reporting its third-quarter results to February 12 from February 6.

There’s still no word on when multiplayer FPS The Punisher: No Mercy will be released, but while you’re waiting for the PSN game take look at some new screens depicting Frank Castle’s idea of revenge.

It looks rather painful.

Once the game goes live you will also be able to play as Barracuda, Bushwacker, Jigsaw and Silver Sable.

Capcom’s put out yet more screens of Resident Evil 5, this time revisiting some water sections from the game along with that monster crocodile. See them on Gamespot.

There’s other stuff there too, but we only really care about the crocodile, to be honest. Take a look. Games out in March.

The market reacted badly to THQ’s news of a near-$200 million Q3 loss yesterday, sending its shared down 18 percent to $3.40.

The stock actually hit $2.45 at one point, its lowest level since October 1997.

THQ confirmed the loss earlier this week, as well as the need to drop 600 staff in an effort to cut costs.

More here.

Following a report earlier this week in the Sydney Morning Herald that appeared to suggest that MMOs would be banned from sale in Australia unless they were classified by the OFLC, Blizzard’s released a statement saying all fine and dandy in the land of Australian WoW.

Up to this point, MMOs haven’t been rated in Australia as they’re online-only.

“Blizzard Entertainment and its affiliates work very closely with the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia to ensure that we are in full compliance with Australian law as it relates to the distribution and operation of our games, including World of Warcraft. We’d like to reassure all of our players that World of Warcraft is currently, and has always been, distributed and operated legally in Australia.”

In addition, Kotaku’s posted a lengthy article on the subject that can be summed up thus: “You can still buy MMOs in Australia.”

So, if you were panicking, don’t. Apparently this is a case of the Sydney Morning Herald putting two and two together to make five. Phew.

Speaking in an investor call following the release of Nintendo’s latest financials, president Satoru Iwata admitted that Wii Music hasn’t done quite as well as he’d hoped.

“I agree that Wii Music, as of now, has not achieved its true potential,” he said.

His comments have come to light thanks to a new English translation of the call, to be found in its mammoth entirety here.

Iwata added that Wii and DS have both had their super-hits, but that Nintendo can’t get it right every time.

“I shudder at the thought of what if Nintendo DS had not had Brain Training or Nintendogs, and if Wii had not had Wii Sports and Wii Fit,” he said.

“For each of these products, we create them hoping for a winner, but it is impossible to hit a bulls eye every time.”

Wii Music sales haven’t exactly set the world on fire since it released last autumn.

EA’s released Warhammer Online in Russia, as confirmed by this press release.

“‘WAR is Everywhere’, and now that WAR has launched in Russia, that statement rings even more true than before,” said Mythic boss Mark Jacobs.

“We encourage gamers throughout Russia to take up the cause, and fight alongside their friends on the front lines of the definitive RvR experience!”

The release should hopefully bolster what appears to be a dwindling userbase for the MMO.

Looks like everyone’s favorite psycho, Jigsaw, is back from the videogame graveyard thanks to a quick rescue by Konami, says Variety.

A Konami deal with Lionsgate Films will see the Saw game released this fall when Saw 6 comes out in theaters, reports the site.

The title was seemingly destined for death when Brash when out of business last November.

This just goes to show that you can’t keep a a good sicko down.

Sega recently filed two software trademarks in the U.S. and Europe called Ringedge, Ringwide and a third, which is a mysterious logo with rings.

Both Ringedge and Ringwide have been trademarked for “stand alone video game machines, and arcade game machines with built-in screens” according to Siliconera.

Maybe this means we will start seeing more coin-operated machines at our local grocery stores again. Maybe.

More through the link.

Following news today that Blizzard won’t be attending E3 this summer, the company has told VG247 that working on its games is preferable to having a presence at the show.

“[Regarding] E3, our current focus is on the ongoing development of Diablo III, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft,” said Blizzard US PR boss Bob Colayco.

“We are already planning to participate in a number of shows this year and look forward to sharing the latest news on our games at these events.”

News that Blizzard had once again opted out of ESA’s show raised instant speculation that the company was holding out for an as-of-yet unannounced BlizzCon event. Colayco wouldn’t be drawn.

“BlizzCon 2008 was our most successful ever, with exciting news on all of our games, and the most attendees we’ve ever had at any BlizzCon,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to doing more events in the future, but have not announced a ‘BlizzCon 2009′ at this time.

With the public harboring such high expectations for Diablo III and StarCraft II, who could blame Blzzard for wanting to devote all resources to making great games?

Certainly not the fans.

E3 2009 takes place at the LA Convention Center from June 2-4.

Despite seeing a drop in Warhammer Online subscribers from 750,000 to 300,000 since release, Mythic’s Jeff Hickman has claimed the firm is thrilled with its game’s userbase.

“We are super proud of our subscription numbers,” Hickman said in a Eurogamer live interview today.

“We expected a hit from our competitors’ launch, and the economy is tough right now,” he added.

“But our subs are growing, especially as we see people return from ‘That Other Game’.”

WAR launched last September.

GamesTM magazine recently reported that Rare was closing down their handheld division, apparently. As it turns out, that’s not the case at all.

Over on the Rareware Central forums, a post from a Rare staffer tells a different tale:

“The handheld team wasn’t “closed down” quite as you put it – you’ll be pleased to hear that we still have all the talent on-site (even if they’re not all in the same barn) and they’re all hard at work on new projects. What I can confirm is that none of these projects are for handhelds, so it’d be true to say that at present, we’re currently not developing any handheld games…

Might we return to that field in the future? Well, we’re certainly not ruling that out. However, to the best of my knowledge there’s nothing in the pipe at the moment.”

There ya go then. More through the link.

Capcom has sent Kotaku a list of upcoming Street Fighter IV DLC, which includes a free Championship Mode pack and a list of costume packs which you can purchase for $4 each.

To be made available post launch, the Championship Mode Expansion Pack features two new points systems, an enhanced tournament matching system and a replay mode.

Details:

• New Points System – Two new points systems to measure your skill (Championship and Tournament Points)
• Enhanced Tournament Matching System – Skill level matching system offers improved tournament match making for beginners and mid-level players. Competitors earn Grade Points (GP) to earn entry into more advanced tournaments.
• Replay Mode – Record, upload, and download top matches to share with the Street Fighter IV community. Players can analyze top tiered fighters matches, leave voter feedback for others, and share their own triumphant victories.

Costume packs are listed by release date below will cost $4 each for both PS3 and Xbox 360 (320 Microsoft Points):

• 2/17 – Brawler Pack DLC Pack will include alternate costumes for: Zangeif, E.Honda, Rufus, El Furete, and Abel.
• 2/24 – Femme Fatale Pack will include alternate costumes for: Chun-Li, Cammy, Sakura, Rose, and C.Viper.
• 3/03 – Shoruken Pack will include alternate costumes for: Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Gouken, and Dan.
• 3/10 – Shadowloo Pack will include alternate costumes for: Seth, M.Bison, Sagat, Balrog, and Vega.
• 3/17 – Classic Pack will include alternate costumes for: Guile, Dhalsim, Fei-Long, Blanka, and Gen.

So much for the days when stuff like this was unlockable.

GfK-Chart Track’s confirmed that DS is about to cross the 9 million sales mark in Britain.

“We’re approaching nine million total DS units sold in the UK,” director Dorian Bloch told MCV.

“It was at 8.8 million at the end of ‘08, so should pass that number by the end of ’09.

“That’s a hell of a lot of DS handhelds already in the market, and there are quite a few publishers successfully exploiting those numbers, especially Ubisoft. We predict that the DSi launch will stimulate more growth.”

There’s no specific date for the release of DSi in Europe as yet.

John Enricco, a lighting artist at Ready At Dawn, has updated his LinkedIn profile to say the company’s now working on an original title for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

The developer coded PSP games Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus.

It also worked on the Wii port of Okami.

Ready at Dawn’s site says the firm’s putting two games together at the moment.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Bionic Commando fans — your patience has finally paid off.

Circle the month of May on your calenders, because that’s when Capcom’s revamped classic is set for release according to CVG.

There’s no exact date for the PC, PS3 and 360 game as yet, but it’s doubtful you’ll be waiting too long.

More through the link.

Big Download broke the news a few days ago that Digital Extremes was porting Dark Sector to PC for the Russian market. Today the site received word that it’s coming to North America as well.

An official announcement is expected sometime next week.

In the meantime we have put a call into D3 Publisher of America to confirm or deny this, so keep checking back with us.

Konami’s announced increases in both revenue and profit in the nine months ending December 31, bringing light relief to some disastrous financials in recent weeks.

From the report:

We hereby announce that our consolidated net revenues and consolidated operating income for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 were ¥234,011 million (105.1 percent of the same period in the previous year) and ¥34,712 million (125.7 percent of the same period of the previous year), respectively, and we marked increases both in revenues and income.

Income before income taxes and net income were ¥31,703 million (115.7 percent of the same period of the previous year) and ¥17,826 million (117.3 percent of the same period of the previous year), respectively.

Good for you, Konami. Thanks, Kotaku.

Blizzard PR boss Bob Colayco’s confirmed that the firm won’t make it to E3 this year.

“Blizzard Entertainment will not be attending or participating in E3 2009,” he told Edge today.

The last time Blizzard attended E3 was in 2007. It’s Blizzcon or bust, apparently.

Activision will be attending the show, however.