madworld
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Anarchy Reigns trailer (re)introduces Leo
Fans of MadWorld may have some questions about the inclusion of Leo in Anarchy Reigns, but Sega isn't talking. Initially thought to be dead, it seems Leo survived and was rebuilt as a cyborg, with some sweet, Guyver-like arm-blades.
A series of unfortunate demises: classic arcade game deaths compiled into a tender tribute video
Whatever your flavor of old school gaming, whether you were a future-loving RoboCop killer or a skeleton-slaying Golden Axe swinger, there's a little slice of nostalgia here for you. The guys from BoingBoing have lovingly compiled some of the most memorable death scenes from the games of yore into a video tribute, and they've been nice enough to leave out the names of all the games featured. There's no Pokémon action in there, but still, can you guess 'em all?
See the madman of MadWorld in Anarchy Reigns
And now, here's the Anarchy Reigns character video you've been waiting to see: the one that introduces a character you already know. After the break, get reacquainted with MadWorld's chainsaw wielding slab of a protagonist, Jack. He's in color now!
MadWorld director joins Shinji Mikami's Tango studio
Even as work progresses on Shinji Mikami's Vanquish for Platinum Games, Mikami's own studio, Tango, is growing toward Mikami's stated goal of around 100 staffers. Platinum's Hideki Kamiya revealed via Twitter that Shigenori Nishikawa, who directed MadWorld for Platinum and did design work on Resident Evil 4 and Dino Crisis 2 and 3 at Capcom, has left Platinum for Tango. Nishikawa was one of the founders of Platinum. Nishikawa will join former Grasshopper Manufacture sound director Masafumi Takada and art directors Ryosuke Kaiba and Naoki Katakai at Tango. The new studio has yet to announce any projects. [Via Develop]
Sega: MadWorld on Wii a 'mismatch;' Platinum Games needs power of 360, PS3
Apparently, the lack of commercial success for MadWorld wasn't due to the game being bad or anything -- it was just that it was on Wii. Sega's Mike Hayes told CVG that the game was a "mismatch with the Wii audience," citing that Sega underestimated the amount of Wii owners who also own other consoles. To him, most gamers looking to experience a Mature-rated game are going to do so on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC ... not the Wii. Hayes was still proud of Platinum's attempt to strike bloody gold on Nintendo's console, but thinks the developer needs the power of the Xbox 360 and PS3 to "realize what they actually want to do." He points to Bayonetta as an example of this, calling it a "very high-quality standard." And by "very high-quality standard," we think Hayes meant "in Bayonetta, you can suplex a damn dragon." [Via Industry Gamers]
MadWorld for an insanely low $10
Look, we don't like giving out ultimatums here; people are free to do what they want and we wouldn't dare dream of interfering. But we feel like we just can't go on if you don't own a copy of Platinum Games' MadWorld -- or have at least played it -- at this point in time. So, we'd like to point out this sale over at Newegg. The game will only set you back a double sawbuck ($10) and even has free shipping -- there's really no excuse for you to refuse our request. Fine, you don't even have to play it. Just give it to a friend and hang out while they enjoy the over-the-top carnage and hilarious commentating duo of Greg Proops and John Di Maggio. Relationships are give and take, so work with us here, guys! [Via Cheap College Gamers]
MadWorld director 'definitely' interested in doing a sequel
Platinum Games' Shigenori Nishikawa, the director on MadWorld for the Wii, has told Official Nintendo Magazine that he wouldn't mind taking a second crack at the violent Wii game. "I think MadWorld was very well received and was acknowledged for its innovative graphical style and gameplay," Nishikawa said in Friday's upcoming issue. "We would definitely be interested in making a sequel in the future." Of course, you might have a tough time believing that Sega would also be on board. The company has said it would probably not be interested in more mature Wii games, which means Platinum Games would have to shop around for a new publisher first. Psst, we may know a publisher that isn't afraid to put out unique, mature games on the Wii.
Sega 'probably not' making more hardcore Wii games
Sega gave it the old college try in 2009, reaching out to "mature" gamers with the likes of MadWorld, The Conduit and House of the Dead: Overkill. But after none of those made much of an NPDent, it would seem the publisher may be abandoning the practice. While speaking on the performance of those games during the 4 Guys 1UP podcast, Sega of America studio director Constantine Hantzopoulos said, "That begets the question, you know, are we gonna do more mature titles for the Wii and it's like ... probably not." Hantzopoulos then pointed to the poor performance of Dead Space: Extraction on the Wii, saying he had been using it as a litmus test for the potential of mature titles on the platform. In other news, Sega has apparently decided on "be a little more arrogant" as its New Year's resolution.
Best of the Rest: Dave's Picks of 2009
Resident Evil 5 I've long been a fan of the Resident Evil series, and while the campaign here has problems and should never be played solo, the Mercenaries mode is what kept me coming back. Those action-packed levels spent trying to survive while running low on ammo and health were some of my most chaotic, yet highly enjoyable, experiences of 2009.
MadWorld headed to Japan, not being published by Sega
Even though Sega was kinda proud of MadWorld's initial sales performance, the company has decided it won't handle publishing duties for a Japanese version of the game. Famitsu reports that the game will be available in Japan sometime this Winter courtesy of Spike, a company well-versed in violent video games. Hopefully it won't get a crash course in lackluster sales. [Via Go Nintendo]%Gallery-22964%
Some stuff is too violent even for MadWorld
We're sure we don't have to tell you how violent MadWorld is. But, what you may not know is that some of the over-the-top violence originally conceptualized was a bit too violent for the game disc that's not been spinning in your Wii for the last few months. Past the break, you'll find a deleted finishing move, one we must warn you is one of the most violent things you will ever see. We know the majority of MadWorld is tongue-in-cheek, but this is like tongue-in-meat-grinder-while-being-stabbed kind of gruesome. Don't say we didn't warn you! [Via Sega Nerds]
Sega: Giving up on hardcore Wii games would be 'arrogant'
Sega's Mike Hayes assured Wired that the company still plans to make "core" games for the Wii, despite the relative lack of success of MadWorld. For one thing, its other games are doing well, in his opinion. "We actually regard The Conduit as a success," he said. "We shipped 300,000 units, sold through half of those and now it's at the point where it's selling consistently at a time when Wii sales are generally depressed in the marketplace."Despite somewhat disappointing sales Stateside, Hayes also told Wired that The House of the Dead: Overkill "did really well in Europe." As for MadWorld, Hayes doesn't think one game's failure is enough to close up shop on the Wii. "The thing that we're saying is, Sega would be extremely arrogant to have a title that didn't do as well as we thought on a platform and then say, Those kind of games don't sell on that platform.'"Quite a change from the Blast Processing / "Genesis Does What Nintendon't" days when Sega was extremely, demonstrably, arrogant.
Nintendo's Kaigler: Hardcore Wii game sales could go long tail ... maybe
If there's one thing that Nintendo VP of corporate affairs Denise Kaigler knows, it's first-party game sales. In a recent Wired interview, she happily expounded on the "long tail" that Nintendo first-party games tend to enjoy (we're looking at you, anything with Mario in the title), though couldn't say as much for third-party sales on Wii -- especially those of the "hardcore" variety. When asked about slow sales of critically acclaimed titles MadWorld and The Conduit, Kaigler said that both games could follow the non-traditional Nintendo sales trend (the aforementioned "long tail"), but her comments seemed rooted in speculation. "You know, I don't know ... it could be titles have the same type of sales curve that a lot of Nintendo titles have -- titles [that] don't follow that traditional sales curve where they launch big and then that's it." She said that Nintendo remains "hopeful" that the titles will move more units in the future, calling them both "deep experiences," though we're not sure those kind words will help soothe Sega's assuredly dented coffers.
Street Fighter IV, FEAR 2, MadWorld, more for $20 at GameStop
Sometimes it's better not to ask questions, which is the approach we're taking with GameStop's sale on several solid titles for $20 new -- and not GameStop's definition of "new," but actually new. The sale started today, for both online and stores, and goes until August 2. Highlights include: Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360 and PS3) FEAR 2: Project Origin (Xbox 360 and PS3) Silent Hill Homecoming (Xbox 360) MadWorld (Wii) Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Wii) The full list and more nitpicking details about the sale can be found over at CAG. Although many of the titles make sense as part of the sale (Lair), the big question is: Why Street Fighter IV? Is Capcom planning to announce a Turbo Hyper Fighting Alpha Remix Championship Beefcake Easy-Bake Snuggie Edition?Update: We were curious to know if Capcom was invoved with the price drop. A company rep informed us, "We don't have input into these sales, they're entirely generated by Gamestop."
Hey, MadWorld is $20 on Amazon
If you act fast, you'll be able to grab Amazon's Deal of the Day, MadWorld on the Wii for $20. It's actually a very important moment in our ongoing love affair with you, the reader. Because if you're not willing to drop two sawbucks on what's easily one of the best action games for the Wii (not to mention its most black and white one) then we're not sure this relationship is going anywhere.Don't cry, we can still be friends.[Thanks, Gary!]
Sega considering more mature Wii titles, says Overkill was 'profitable'
We loved the mother[expletive deleted] [expletive deleted] out of Sega's recent mature pair of Wii titles, House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld -- unfortunately, the same can't be said for the game purchasing population of the world. The two games' sales were far from stellar, but Sega isn't ready to give up on developing family unfriendly titles for Nintendo's home console.In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Sega MD of European development, Gary Dunn, explained that the company's outlook on its two grown-up outings is far from grim -- he even claimed that "House of the Dead: Overkill was a profitable title." He went on to explain, "Whilst MadWorld commercially didn't sell what we were expecting I wouldn't say it's game over for mature Wii titles from Sega." Hopefully the company's persistence will be rewarded, if only to ensure a few dozen sequels to Overkill. (Overkill 2: Superfluous Murder, Overkill 3: The Overkillinest, etc.)
MadWorld soundtrack seeing physical, digital release June 30
Platinum Games' ultra-violent Wii debut, MadWorld, has a great soundtrack; it's just hard to hear with all the obscenities being dropped by commentators Greg Proops and John DiMaggio. Soon those who didn't pre-order the game will be able to land a pristine, vulgarity-free version of the soundtrack on CD or via digital distribution. Platinum Games has announced on its official blog that the album will be available to order in both forms on June 30. It'll run $15.99 from Sumthing.com and include 20 tracks, none of which are "Mad World" by Tears for Fears or the Gary Jules cover featured in Donnie Darko.[Via GoNintendo]
MadWorld, HotD: Overkill now $30 on Amazon
Sega's MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill are currently being sold at $20 off at Amazon. It doesn't appear to be a flat-out price drop for the two games, which have sold ... well, that's up for interpretation. We've also noticed that MadWorld is currently $30 in-store at GameStop.Remember: Purchasing these titles will get more M-rated games on Wii and further research into splicing wings on pigs.Source - Amazon-MadWorld Price Drop [GoNintendo]Source - MadWorld, Overkill $30 on Amazon [CAG]
Sega swag up for grabs this Friday (includes MadWorld, NiGHTS stuff)
Prepare thy selves, Twitter fiends, as @SEGA is giving away goodies as part of its #FreeStuffFriday. The items up for the taking are: MadWorld Wii decal set, soundtrack CD and poster signed by the PlatinumGames team. OutRun Online Arcade t-shirt (size large) and free game code. Bleach Kon plushie and Nintendo DS stylus. Nights: Journey of Dreams soundtrack CD sampler, wristband and a SEGA sweet. Football Manager "Gameplay > Polygons" t-shirt (size large) and a SEGA lip balm. A grow-your-own venus fly trap plant and a SEGA lip balm. To win the items, Twitter users need to follow @SEGA, which will follow them in return. During Friday, the account will announce the package, along with a "special code phrase." The first follower to direct-message the phrase will win the pack. Sounds simple enough ... unless the "fail whale" shows up.
MadWorld places relationship between online hype and actual sales in doubt
Analytics firm OTX Research seems to already be making a name for itself after announcing intentions last month to track game sales. Speaking at the LA Games Conference, OTX's Nick Williams explained the surprisingly weak connection between strong online awareness of a game versus actual, hard sales numbers, citing Sega's recently released MadWorld as a striking example. Noting the game's top position among IGN.com's games with the "highest level of unique interest," MadWorld came in at a paltry number 41 using OTX's "GamePlan" metric, a system that measures "1,000 gamers on a weekly basis, tracking 400 games at any given time." This translates to a bleak eight percent of Wii owners having even heard of the title, much less purchasing it (that's .32 percent according to April's MadWorld sales data compared with the 20 million Wii owners in the US currently). Hmm, we wonder what that data would look like for Grand Theft Auto's recent foray onto Nintendo's massively popular handheld! It took an awful lot of numbers right there to explain an idea we've all quietly agreed upon for so long now -- hype and marketing in the "hardcore" gaming world doesn't necessarily equal copies moving at retail. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be over here playing BlazBlue.
