New release slate championed by Nintendo’s new handheld and software for it; EA Sports’ latest golf game, Shift 2: Unleashed, WWE All Stars, Dynasty Warriors 7 also out.
It’s a bustling week at retail this week, but one product screams louder than the rest.
Today, Nintendo released the 3DS, its latest portable in the DS family. The system is already available in Japan and the United Kingdom, and sells for $250 in North America. Gamers can choose from two color options: cosmic black or aqua blue.
Hitting the green this week is Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters. The game is the first in the series to include the famed Augusta National golf course, home of the exclusive Masters tournament. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will feature 16 courses, with Sony’s system also receiving a Collector’s Edition of the game, which includes an extra five courses at a $10 premium over the standard edition. As in previous years, the Wii edition offers the most holes in one game, with Augusta National and 23 additional courses to play. PGA Tour 12 will also let players relive memorable shots from the Masters’ storied history, including Woods’ four Green Jacket wins at the tournament.
Racing fans have two new options this week: Shift 2 Unleashed: Need for Speed and NASCAR 2011: The Game. As for EA’s game, Slightly Mad Studios developed Shift 2, and the game will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Within the package, gamers will find a number of different modes, including 40 single-type race events, where the playing field is leveled and gamers compete in the same make of car.
Gamers looking for a new NASCAR game can grab NASCAR 2011: The Game this Tuesday. The game will be a fully licensed NASCAR entry with over 22 real-world tracks. It will also support up to 16 players and have an experience system, which will unlock cars, decals, and sponsors in career mode.
WBIE’s ring-powered superhero swooping onto 3DS, PS3, 360 in 3D shortly before film debut; 2D Wii, DS installments also en route.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment succeeded not at all in keeping Green Lantern’s identity a secret, after the film tie-in’s cover was blown a full year before the publisher officially announced the game. Now, WBIE has told audiences exactly when they can see what developer Double Helix has been up to these past couple of years.
Today, WBIE said that gamers can expect Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters to arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, and 3DS on June 7. That date falls a week and a half prior to the Ryan Reynolds-led film’s June 17 box office bow.
Green Lantern signifies a significant 3D push for WBIE. The game will be the first title from the publisher created for the 3DS, Nintendo’s glasses-free 3D-enabled handheld that launches in the US on March 27. That version, along with the regular DS installment, is in development at Griptonite Games.
The Double Helix-developed Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will also be released with glasses- and 3D HDTV-required stereoscopic 3D support. According to its publisher, Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is inspired by the film and sees gamers taking control of the emerald superhero as he and his mentor, Sinestro, take on the Manhunters as part of a bid to “restore intergalactic order.”
Codemasters’ sequel hitting the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this fall; UK release set for September 23; 3DS and NGP versions announced, not dated.
Just last week, Codemasters’ racing game F1 2010 took home the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ top award for a sports game, beating out juggernauts FIFA 11 and Gran Turismo 5. Now, the developer–on the heels of the strong debut of the original–has announced and dated the next game in the series.
F1 2011 will arrive in North America for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 20. In the UK, the game will ship on September 23.
Additionally, Codemasters sent word that versions of the game for Nintendo’s 3DS and Sony’s Next Generation Portable (NGP) are in development and will sport features unique to the systems.
Like its predecessor, F1 2011 will include every circuit, team, and driver from the forthcoming 2011 FIA Formula One Championship, including Sebastian Vettel, current World Champion.
Additionally, F1 2011 will premiere the 2011 Formula One Grand Prix of India, raced at Delhi’s Jaypee International Race Circuit, as well as the German track Nurburgring.
The somewhat vague and foreboding “grim darkness of the future” got a bit more specific today, as THQ nailed down an August release window for its upcoming third-person action game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. Previously, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC game had been set for a general summer launch.
The game casts players as Captain Titus of the Ultramarine chapter of the Space Marines, one of humanity’s last hopes in an intergalactic war against the sinister Orks. Players are charged with defending an Imperial Forge World from the Orkish invasion, a task made more complicated when the forces of Chaos make their presence known.
While the Warhammer 40,000 universe has featured in multiple PC titles, Space Marine marks the franchise’s first outing on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. THQ has a crew of developers well acquainted with the universe handling the game, as Space Marine is being created by the publisher’s in-house studio Relic Entertainment, whose previous works include Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II and Company of Heroes.
New release slate championed by Crytek’s multiplatform shooter, TT Games’ latest block game, and Square Enix’s fighting game; The Sims Medieval, Ghostbusters: SOS, Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell Trilogies, and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood PC also out.
Next Sunday Nintendo will release its new portable, the 3DS. But this week’s focus is placed on aliens, building blocks, and fighting.
Leading the week is Crytek’s Crysis 2 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the platform that birthed the series, the PC. The shooter sees players fend off an alien threat once again, aided by a nanosuit that grants the user superhuman abilities ranging from speed boosts to active camouflage.
The sequel features two major distinctions from its predecessor. The original Crysis featured lush tropical environments, but Crysis 2 takes place in the urban jungle of New York City. And, as said, the game will see release on consoles in addition to the PC.
Gamers looking to grab the latest Traveller’s Tales Lego game this week can pick up Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. The game will introduce new battle modes, including close-encounter combat techniques and the ability to build customized bases and fortresses. Gamers can take the side of either a Jedi or a Separatist, each of which comes with its own special abilities.
On-the-go gamers looking for a new title to play can pick up Square Enix’s Dissidia 012 Duodecim this week for the PSP. The game features multiple roster additions, including Final Fantasy IV’s lance-wielding dragoon Kain. A number of familiar faces will also be returning, including Sephiroth, Tifa, Onion Knight, Cecil, Golbez, Zidane, and Terra.
While the action is still primarily one-on-one, Square Enix is implementing a new assist feature that will let players summon backup allies in battle. Dissidia 012 Duodecim will also include new game modes, items, and costumes, as well as the ability to play through a storyline focused on the character Chaos.
The Sims franchise continues to grow this week. The Sims Studio unleashes The Sims Medieval on Tuesday for the PC/Mac. Announced in early August, The Sims Medieval is a stand-alone Sims spin-off from the creators of The Sims 3 and other series entries.
The title, the first in a series, will have players create heroes, venture on quests, build and control a kingdom, and play every “hero sim” character in the game. Additionally, The Sims Medieval gives players the chance to control people from all walks of life, including kings, queens, knights, wizards, blacksmiths, and bards.
On the download front, Atari will release Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime this week on the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. The top-down game set in New York City will be a cooperative adventure title playable online or offline with up to four players. It will drop players into the boots of the Ghostbuster team’s newest recruit and task them with working cooperatively to take down “gigantic bosses.” Also, gamers will have a range of weaponry at their disposal, including the proton stream, the plasma inductor, and the fermion shock.
Inception, The Dark Knight, and Modern Warfare 2 composer lending hand to soundtrack for Crytek shooter due out next week.
Next week, Crytek and Electronic Arts will launch the much hyped Crysis 2. The sequel will land on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as the PC, but going multiplatform won’t be the game’s only distinguishing characteristic.
EA has announced that noted Hollywood and video game composer Hans Zimmer collaborated with Borislav Slavov and Tilman Sillescu in creating the soundtrack for Crysis 2, which is due out next week.
Zimmer’s previous composing credits include Hollywood hits Inception and The Dark Knight, as well as Activision’s blockbuster first-person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Zimmer’s game work will continue, as the composer has been attached to Activision’s upcoming Skylanders Spyro Adventures.
Crysis 2 sees players fend off an alien threat once again, aided by a nanosuit that grants the user superhuman abilities ranging from speed boosts to active camouflage.
While the original Crysis featured lush tropical environments, Crysis 2 takes place in the urban jungle of New York City.
THQ responds to investor concern by announcing “robust” North American sales tally; online multiplayer server capacity increased.
Yesterday, the reviews came in for THQ’s newest first-person shooter Homefront, and while the game’s Metacritic average was technically positive, it wasn’t positive enough to appease investors. Fearing the lukewarm critical response presaged a commercial failure, investors were bearish on THQ, resulting in a 21 percent crash in the publisher’s stock price yesterday, slipping an additional 1.28 percent today to $4.63 a share.
After market close today, THQ moved to assuage investors’ panic, making a rare announcement of first-day sales for Homefront. According to the publisher, Homefront sold approximately 375,000 units in North America within 24 hours of release. European and Asia Pacific sales figures were not included in the tally, as the game has not yet seen full release worldwide.
Calling this sales figure “robust,” THQ also said that it would be increasing server capacity to accommodate demand for Homefront’s multiplayer. As with a handful of other THQ titles, those who purchase new copies of Homefront gain full access to the game’s online multiplayer component.
Secondhand users have access to every map and can spend as much time as they wish in Homefront’s multiplayer modes. However, they won’t be able to advance their characters any further than level five–out of a possible 75–unless they purchase an online pass for $10.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ubisoft will unleash Rocksmith for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii this September.
The game will come with 45 songs from bands like the Rolling Stones, the Animals, David Bowie, and Nirvana. According to the report, Rocksmith will sport songs not available in Rock Band or Guitar Hero games.
Rocksmith was developed with realism in mind, according to The Reporter. In the game, players will strum along on actual strings. Ubisoft is betting that the game can avoid the fate of Guitar Hero because its players won’t soon grow tired of learning how to play an actual guitar.
The game will come with an input jack that is compatible with “most electric guitars” for play on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but not the Wii.
Online play temporarily halted for Metal Gear Online, Final Fantasy XI and XIV; Japanese debut of MotorStorm 3, Yakuza: Of the End bumped; Disaster Report 4 canned.
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Many game publishers have opted to err on the side of caution following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that caused massive destruction in Northern Japan last week. With that portion of the country reeling from devastation, game makers that include Square Enix, Konami, Sony, Sega, Capcom, and Irem have announced game cancellations, delays, or service outages inside and outside of Japan.
Final Fantasy XIV players will receive a free month of play.
As the earthquake has impacted Japan’s energy production, Square Enix said that beginning yesterday, it has taken its massively multiplayer online role-playing games Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, as well as PlayOnline, offline for at least a week. The publisher apologized for the service disruption on its official forums and said that subscribers to these services would not be billed for the month of April.
Konami announced a similar move for Metal Gear Online. Through its Facebook page, the publisher said that MGS Online was being shut down until further notice so as to conserve energy in Japan. The publisher said that gamers can keep abreast of when the game will be brought back online through its official website.
As for game updates for Japan alone, Andria Sang reports that Irem outright canceled Disaster Report 4, which was due for release on the PlayStation 3 this spring. Though the developer reportedly offered no explanation for the cancellation, it likely stemmed from the game’s premise, which was to escape a city that had been wrecked by an earthquake.
Wedbush’s Michael Pachter says under one-fifth of PS3 sales included Sony’s motion-controller–while two-thirds of Xbox 360 sales included its camera-based system.
Yesterday, the NPD Group released its sales figures for the month of February. Though the research group no longer releases hardware sales numbers, Microsoft was all too happy to announce the Xbox 360 had sold 535,000 units during the month. Sony did not release sales figures, but, in a note to investors, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter revealed the company’s console sold 403,000 units–51,000 units less than Nintendo’s Wii.
Kinect is outselling the Move 5-to-1 in bundle form, says Michael Pachter.
While enlightening, the console sales aren’t the whole story. According to Pachter, over two-thirds of all Xbox 360 sales–or at least 358,000 units–were bundled with its Kinect motion-sensing system.
By contrast, the analyst says under one-fifth–or less than 80,000 units–of PlayStation 3 sales were bundled with the Move controller, meaning Kinect outsold it by a ratio of nearly five-to-one. Pachter did not mention standalone accessory sales.
However, since the Move system incorporates the PlayStation Eye–which has been available since 2007–it is unclear how many complete Move systems have been purchased.
