Monthly Archives: March 2009

Sony’s responded to last nights NPD results via ever-reliable SCEA senior VP of marketing, Peter Dille.

“In February, we had a tremendous kickstart to what promises to be another record year for the PlayStation brand with the launch of mega blockbuster hit Killzone 2, which ranked in the top five with only two days of sales in February and has been garnering extraordinary reviews, and a noteworthy 92 Metacritic score,” he said, apparently without taking a breath.

“We have no doubt this game will deliver a next gen experience and will be responsible for driving hardware sales throughout the year.”

He went on about what to expect for the console in the coming year.

“Expect an onslaught of unmatched entertainment offerings to hit across our platforms, such as genre-leading PS3 titles like MLB’09: The Show and inFamous, and new content via the PlayStation Network like movies and TV shows from NBC Universal, and an unprecedented line-up of third and first party exclusives to hit the PSP”, he said.

“We have no doubt 2009 will be another year of continued momentum and we remain confident in delivering the best entertainment experience to our consumers.”

Just for reference, PS3 sold 276K units, PSS 99K, and PS2 131K units in February.

Seems that the bandwith fee Sony charges for content downloads on PSN is throwing publishers off and reconsidering options.

Started on October 1, 2008, publishers are charged 16 cents per Gb of both free and paid content to help Sony cover bandwidth costs.

To give you perspective, a 1Gb demo downloaded by one million people through PSN would cost a publisher $160,000, on top of licensing fees and developing the release in the first place.

“It definitely makes us think about how we view the distribution of content related to our games when it is free for us to do it on the web, on Xbox Live, or any other way – including broadcast – than on Sony’s platform,” one publishing source told MTV.

“It’s a new thing we have to budget. It’s not cool. It sucks.”

The 16 cent fee covers 60 days of downloads for free content, and paid content keeps racking up fees until it’s removed from PSN.

Sony declined comment on it’s policy but spokesman Patrick Seybold said that quality and quantity will not be affected despite the fees.

“Of course we work closely with (publishers) to bring their amazing content to our growing audience, and we are focused on ensuring we, and our publishing partners, have a viable platform for digital distribution”, he said.

“We foresee no change in the high quality or quantity of demos and games available on PSN.”

More through the link.

The PC version of The Last Remnant hit European shores today, and there seems to be a bit of a snafu.

According to reports, the game cannot be played nor installed because of Steam, despite the fact it’s not even suppose to hit the Valve download service until April 9.

The game has to be activated by entering a code off the back of the manual. The activation process is through Steam, which is giving would-be players the following message:

“The Last Remnant has not been officially released, and cannot be unlocked at this time. Please check Steam news to find out the release time. Steam will notify you when the game becomes unlocked.”

Not a good start, especially considering The Last Remnant will be the first ever Square Enix game to land on Steam come next month.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

Media Molecule announced via a lovely press release this morning that LittleBigPlanet now has over 600,000 user-created levels.

That’s 35,373 levels created per week since release, bringing the grand total to 646,135.

There are 1,934,700 members in the game’s online community, apparently.

Wow.

Full thing below.

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Microsoft’s finally done its bragging about last night’s NPD release.

According to February’s results, Microsoft has a 53 percent year-over-year spike in Xbox 360 sales with the console selling 391,000 units.

The company’s said February’s 53 percent year-on-year sales spike was due to competitive pricing and available software. Rather obviously.

Metacritic scores show that 135 Xbox 360 games score 80 or higher, with PS3 games only generating higher scores on 94 titles, claimed the firm.

Third-party sales on Xbox 360 raked in $162 million in February with users owning 8.2 titles each, thus leading Microsoft to claim the “highest attach rate among current-gen consoles”. Last month, the 360 attach rate was 8.1.

Realtime Worlds will looking to employ 40 good men and women be at GDC next week. Current openings are listed here.

Apparently the contract package should appeal to those wanting a position to help pay the bills without the long-term commitment–and you would have to relocate to Scotland.

“In contrast to many other companies and sectors at the moment, our biggest challenge is in recruiting staff of the caliber, and in the quantities we need”, said Realtime’s John Duthie. “Already 25% of our workforce comes from outside the UK because we aren’t able to find everyone we need here.

“Many companies have laid off large numbers of talented staff in recent months and we see GDC as a great chance to tap into that talent pool. With the economy the way it is, many people don’t want to think about committing to a permanent move, so what we’re offering is a number of contract positions for folk to come to Scotland, help us to a successful launch of APB, and then reassess their options when the economy is hopefully in better shape.

“We can take care of work permits process, relocation, housing – all anyone’s got to do is get along to our recruitment stand at GDC to kick off the process.”

You would be working on All Points Bulletin and another, currently unannounced project. The jobs come with a money, a 12-month contract, Visa costs paid, return flights paid, free quality accommodation, free healthcare, paid overtime, and paid holiday.

Wow. Fancy a move to Scotland, anyone?

Press release below.

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Stereotypes still plague the gaming industry, and SCEE has said it feels that the new Change4Life ads help feed such negative reactions to gamers as a whole.

Speaking with MCV, UK managing director Ray Maguire explained his initial reaction to these adverts.

“I must admit that when I first saw the Change4Life ‘PlayStation’ ad I felt exactly the same way as everyone else”, he said. “How could this happen? How could the Department of Health and the charities, the ad agency, all get this so wrong?

“It was sloppy marketing to say the least and typical of what we have come to expect from certain quarters when it comes to our stereotype.”

Maguire said he thinks that marketing departments will do what ever they can to get their point across.

“Clearly, the ad targeted many people’s paranoia, the kind that is often amplified by media such as the Daily Mail,” he said.

“But anyone who knows anything about games, which is half the population these days, will have immediately dismissed the ad as irrelevant. The other half, who don’t play games, would have immediately accepted the stereotype.

“The industry has changed more in the past five years than in the previous 15, but the general public’s image of this industry has hardly changed at all.”

More of the interview through here.

During the International Anime Fair in Toykyo last week, Behemoth was on had to demo it’s “third game” to the masses. Which means more details on the nameless co-op platformer have popped up.

Apparently, it contains at least four mini-games. Details are as follows:

• It has a block painting game. As players run around the play-field, they turn any blocks they touch to their own color. The goal is to do this for more blocks than your rival. You don’t have to do anything to the blocks to change their color — just walk over them or bump into them from the side or below.

• One mode is a soccer game. Players attempt to knock a soccer ball into a goal. This is done by simply bumping into the ball or punching it.

• You can collect coins. There’s a giant goldfish floating about the stage. When struck, it releases gold. The goal is to collect as much of the gold as possible.

• Harvesting souls is another. In this mini game, when an enemy is defeated, his soul floats away. Collect an opponent’s soul, and you get big points. If you lose your soul, you can chase after it once you’ve respawned, assuming it hasn’t already been taken.

The demo was on Xbox 360. It’s being speculated that a PC version will be released as well, but not a PSN entry.

Behemoth has yet to announce which platforms the title will hit.

Thanks, IndieGames.

SCEA has announced the newest additions to PSP’s Greatest Hits library.

Beginning on April 5, expect these titles to reflect the new packaging and $19.99 price point:

• God of War” Chains of Olympus
• Medal of Honor Heroes 2
• Mortal Kombat: Unchained
• Patapon
• SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Tactical Strike
• Sonic Rivals 2
• SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)

Thanks, D’toid.

Blizzard has handed out three new Starcraft 2 screens, this time showing off proper UI.

All three were posted on the revamped Battle.net’s forums.

We have them below. Go nuts.

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GDC’s next week. It’s nice and all, and there’s heavyweight talent in the house, but are you going to see the big game guns? Will you see the megaton flash? Will the internet crack in fear? You may not, and it probably won’t. E3 in June will be a different matter, however.

We’re already hearing a ton of rumour about plans for the Sony and Microsoft E3 keynotes, as if everyone else “in the industry”. Not so much with Nintendo, though. You know how it is.

Let’s go through it all, using Top Gun quotes as an indicator of how likely each is to happen. Don’t look at us like that. We like Top Gun.

Key:

• Watch the mountains! – Goose says this to Maverick during flight training. What does it mean? It means this is comin’ at you, baby. Like a fucking freight-mountain. Don’t bet against it.

• That’s right, Ice Man: I am dangerous. – We’ve heard it, but don’t be surprised if it’s just talk. There’s a lot of it about, you know.
• Slider? You stink. – Seriously? It’s not happening.

What we’re hearing for the E3 keynotes:

• Trico announcement – Like, dur. Verdict – Watch the mountains!
• Slimline PS3 – Our source was sketchy on this, but there has been talk. It’s three years old and it’s the size of a house, we were told. But then, everyone thought Microsoft was going to do the same thing last year. Verdict – That’s right, Ice Man: I am dangerous.
• Blu-ray-less PS3 – Of course not. Verdict – Slider? You stink.
• Blizzard-Microsoft announcement – This could be fucking hot. We’ve seen it mentioned literally once online (thanks Blerk), but it could make for an absolutely incendiary 360 conference if it’s true. We stress the “if”. We can but dream – we’re talking in a news sense, before you start – but this is almost certainly bollocks. Verdict – Slider? You stink.
• PSP-4000 – Slide-screen and all. It’s happening, OK? Verdict – Watch the mountains!
• PS3 price cut – It may happen at the show, or it may be announced in the autumn, but it’s coming this year, Ringo. Scouts’ honour. PS3’s Q4 will be greatly “accelerated,” according to solid sources. Verdict – Watch the mountains!
• Pre-E3 PS3 price cut – Just because a shop-keeper says it’s happening doesn’t necessarily make it fucking so. Verdict – Slider? You stink.
• Forza 3 – We’re reliably informed it’s a Q4 biggie. Don’t be shocked when the wagons roll. This may get announced at a separate Microsoft event before E3, however. Verdict – Watch the mountains!
• Gran Turismo PSP – The other massive brand the Americans said would hit PSP this year? It’s got Kazunori stamped all over it. Verdict – Watch the mountains!
• Gran Turismo 5 – We’re not sure. It’s been mentioned to us in a “GT5 and GT PSP could both be out this year” way. Might. Might not. Verdict – That’s right, Ice Man: I am dangerous.
• Crackdown 1.5 – Unless we’re being spectacularly lied to by several people, you can bet on this appearing either before E3 or at the show. Verdict – Watch the mountains!

Is there more? Sure there is. But you know what happened to the kid who ate all the pie, right? Let’s get GDC out of the way first, eh?

Majesco’s Joe Sutton, Sean Velasco and Robb Alvey have told Joystiq that the core gamplay of the upcoming remake of A Boy and His Blob will remain the same as the original, but that it’s be completely revamped and reworked.

“Gameplay-wise, this game is a massive reworking of the entire A Boy and His Blob concept”, said Sean Velasco.

“The play control and game flow has all been thrown out and totally rethought. You can jump, aim your jellybean throws, select beans quickly, and interact in more meaningful ways with the blob. The previous game could be confusing and obtuse; this game has a smoother learning curve that ramps up to very fiendish puzzles, especially towards the end.

“Presentation-wise, the game has obviously undergone a complete overhaul too”, he added. “The hand-drawn animation and heartwarming look cause the player to become very invested in the characters. The soaring musical score also adds to the charm. While the gameplay is always the key to the fun, the presentation helps to elevate the entire experience.”

As far as releasing the original game on Wii’s Virtual Console?

“Putting NES games on the disc is a tricky situation. Stay tuned for more on what we have planned to honor the original game”, said Velasco.

Full interview through the link.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Patcher said today that while the February NPD looks good on paper, he expects “limited market reaction” to the figures.

While most publishers met or exceeded expectations – THQ not being one of them – Patcher said the figures would not effect stock buying options in a note today.

“We expect limited market reaction to the sales data”, he said. “While overall sales growth was quite respectable, Activision, Electronic Arts, THQ, Take-Two, and Ubisoft all delivered negative or flat sales compared to last year, with the month’s upside generated by solid performances from Nintendo, Sony and Capcom.

“Additionally, many publishers have adopted conservative views about the year, and we think that concerns about the economy are likely to limit share price appreciation.

“We think that this negativism could provide an opportunity, as solid hardware sales imply continued software sales strength well into 2009, and we continue to believe that the video game software sector remains highly recession-resistant”.

While he did admit that the strong software performance is “sustainable well into 2009″, he said software sales are likely to level out in August.

Blizzard has patched Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos (v1.23a), Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne (v1.23a).

Here are the changes to expect:

• Added a new banner ad system to Battle.net.
• Fixed an exploit where an altered custom map would be seen identical to the original custom map.
• Fixed an issue where some patches could not apply on Intel Macs.

You can get the updates from Actiontrip, here and here.

Xbox UK head Steve McGill’s told MCV that PGR4, Mass Effect and Halo 3 – the latest three games to be included in 360′s Classics range – are “perennial” titles. He may well be right.

“These latest three additions are some of the very biggest and best blockbuster games available on any platform,” he said.

“Classics as you’d expect don’t normally generate the kind of pre-orders you’d see on triple-A new releases, and are instead steady, valuable and evergreen titles that we know customers will perennially be interested in and will continue to engage with.”

The titles are now £20 a pop in the UK.

Cryptic’s confirmed it’s actively trying to poach City of Heroes players for the Champions Online beta, Massively reports.

It was rumoured on Wednesday the developer was using the City of Heroes forum to recruit for the test.

Said Cryptic’s Ivan Sulic in a forum post on the matter.

“So, we’re currently running the closed beta test for Champions Online and a few of our employees thought it might be a good idea to contact avid MMO notables and various guild leaders floating about to see if they wanted to test. I’m certain this wasn’t meant to be a malicious attack on a competing product, nor did anyone intend to steal players, violate user agreements, kill babies, or knife hardworking farmers in the back. We had invites to send and the folks who send them figured people who play MMOs most might want them most. If a line was crossed, it was totally inadvertent and no harm was intended.

That being said, we have just recently restructured the Community, PR, and Marketing departments (part of the reason I’m here), so we’ll make sure to stay straight as an arrow from here on. Shills, poaching, bullshotting… No chance, man. We make good games and we hope people will play them. Best anyone can do, right?”

Naughty rabbits.

IFIS (International Financial Information Service) has produced data on analysts and their predictions of Capcom’s share price in Japan, and the vast majority of them showed a large arrow going up.

In fact, out of the 20 firms listed, not a single one had a “sell” recommendation on Capcom stock, with the lowest rating out of the lot being “neutral.”

More on Joystiq. There’ a pretty graph there, too.

According to various reports, Blizzard’s started sending out StarCraft II beta invites to random users by email.

We can’t verify this as fact at the moment, but we’re asking Blizzard now.

The company launched the new Battle.net overnight, and you can tick a box saying you’re interested in betas in the sign-up process.

Should have confirmation on this soon, hopefully.

The game itself has no date.

2DBoy’s Kyle Gabler will deliver a speech at Nordic Game titled, “Developing your own game”.

It’s actually part of the show’s Career Expo bit, but it’ll be a good look at the thinking behind making World of Goo, if nothing else.

Nordic Game and it Career Expo will be held on May 19-20 in Malmö, Sweden.

Press release after the break.

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Reid Schneider, senior producer of Army of Two: The 40th Day, has told UK mag PSW that the team overstretched itself with the original game.

“If it’s not a core focus of the game, then it doesn’t really make sense to include it and with the first one, I think we got a little over-ambitious,” he said.

The sequel, releasing across three formats this winter, is to pull back a little compared to the first title.

“We’re trying to make something a little more grounded in reality,” Schneider added.

“You’re going to have waves of enemies and harder enemies to kill but the notion of boss fights… we did it a little bit in the first game but here we want to keep an air of credibility to the events.”

Thanks, OXM.