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Namco Bandai reaches high 'calibur' profits of $99.7m
Swords and boobs helped propel Namco Bandai to $99.7 million in profit during the third quarter of its financial year. GameDaily reports that Soul Calibur IV has been the publisher's most successful title, selling 2.2m units this fiscal year, followed by Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit's 730k. Overall, the PS2 is the publisher's most successful platform for its software, followed by the Wii. Also, the PSP has been slightly kinder to the publisher than the DS.Namco Bandai's finances combine the company's video games, arcade machines and toy businesses. Despite a significant drop in revenue, it still plans to walk away with $143m in profit, when it closes the books for the year on March 31.
Another Star Wars character in Soul Calibur IV
Yay! More cross-property marketing maneuvers! Truthfully, we could stand Yoda and Vader in Soul Calibur IV. They are well known, iconic figures of their brand, and something could be said of their inclusion for the purpose of bringing fanboys from one thing to the other. Not this time. This time it's an entirely self-serving move that has roots in promoting the relatively unknown (to the the mainstream) The Force Unleashed.The newest announcement is that the main character from TFU, Vader's "Secret Apprentice", will be a playable character in both the 360 & PS3 versions of Soul Calibur IV. Y'know, we just might've actually bought the inevitable DLC that will be made available for this game, but this move just really leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Just so long as The Force Unleashed doesn't end up using Ivy to showcase its physics systems we'll remain sane. Given the way things are going, we fear for our sanity.
Returning Soul Calibur IV fighters: Rock, Talim, Yoshimitsu
"Hello, you've reached the Namco Bandai slash Bandai Namco offices. How can I help you?""Hi, we'd like to speak to the Soul Calibur IV designer, please.""Is this Joystiq? Again?""No. Yes. Sorry.""I told you to stop phoning. We are never, never, ever going to put Snuffleupagus into the game.""Not even as DLC?""Sir, do you have a legitimate request for him? He's quite busy with intensive mammary modeling.""Just one: Tell him it would rock if he would introduce Yoshi to Sue in the game.""Alright, by 'legitimate,' I meant something that would actually make sense.""TALIM it would ROCK if he could have YOSHI MEET SUE. In Soul Calibur IV.""Who are Yoshi and Sue?""No no, Yoshimitsu. It's sort of a pun, you see. There's also --""Let me stop you there, sir. Was there something, perhaps an unexplained supernatural force or the imminent threat of death, that prevented you from asking the question like a normal human being?""Oh, come on! Humor is Taki that opens the door to a healthy relationship. Yoda last one I should have to explain this to and ... what was that clicking sound? Hello? Are you still there?"[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Soul Calibur IV's Premium 'tournament kit' explained
Remember when we told you about all the goodies available in Soul Calibur IV's $79.99 "Premium Edition?" Surely you recall the self-explanatory collector's tin, the comic slash artbook and the "extra customization content." But what of the "tournament kit," that nebulous bonus which we, after several heartfelt attempts, simply could not explain to ourselves? Clearly sensing the many sleepless nights prompted by this enigma, Siliconera has revealed just how the tournament kit will, according to Namco Bandai, "give fans the opportunity to document the battle amongst friends." It's ... it's ... (highlight to read) a tournament bracket card!Oh.
Soul Calibur IV coming July 29 in regular and 'premium' editions
A tale eternally retold (and resold), the Soul Calibur franchise will be making its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 debut on July 29th in North America. In case you haven't been staying abreast with the fighting franchise's ample development, Soul Calibur IV sees the character roster expanding in an inverse proportion to the size of Ivy's clothes. At last count, the cast included an undead demon pirate, a Sith lord, an asthmatic S&M fetishist and a little green friend. Oh well, at least Spawn's not in this one.As excited as we are, purchasing the game won't be as easy as simply walking to the store shelf and stuffing it into our trench coats, like we normally do. It seems Namco Bandai has constructed a chicane of decisions for us all: Want to play as Darth Vader right away? Get the PlayStation 3 version. Perhaps you'd prefer Yoda instead? That's the Xbox 360 version. Would you like a comic book, a "tournament kit" and "extra customization content?" Oh, you want the $79.99 Premium Edition ... don't you?
SCIV scans: medieval cleavage galore
Hot on the heels of the revelation that Soul Calibur IV will feature online play, images pulled from the related EGM article are beginning to hit the internet. The images come to us courtesy of Xboxygen, and they are quite, ahem, revealing. We are of course referring to the amazingly supported female naughty bits (made even more amazing considering the game takes place in an age before the underwire bra). The image above also reveals a well-wrought thong (or a spectacularly painful wedgie). Ogling aside, the images certainly do look sharp. We also have to point out that one shot contains a dodo. Given that Soul Calibur IV looks to be the last in the series, the fact that it contains an extinct bird seems appropriate. Here's hoping the gameplay does a better job of evolving (ba dum bum, psh!).Hit the "read" link for more images.
Soul Calibur IV now burns online
This is the sort of thing we like to hear. In the latest issue of EGM, Namco has confirmed that Soul Calibur IV will feature online play. The news comes straight from the game's director, Katsutoshi Sasaki, who says that online play is part of all current-gen consoles and "with the current environment, we really couldn't make SC4 without online play." We would be remiss if we didn't point out that every iteration of Soul Calibur has appeared on a console capable of supporting online play, but we digress. In other news, players will be able to take their custom "create-a-character" avatars online, though Sasaki isn't sure whether or not players will be able to trade them. We shudder to imagine all the Takis and Ivys -- wearing nothing but flesh-tone underwear -- we'll be facing online.Now, if only we could get Sasaki-San to have a talk with SEGA about Virtua Fighter 5.[Via Joystiq]
