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Square Enix appoints new heads of NA and EU studios
Square Enix today announced changes in the management makeup of its North American and European studios. These announcements come after a fiscal year spent in the red, and layoffs in both North America and Europe as part of a "corporate restructuring." All North American and European studios underneath the Square Enix umbrella will now be overseen by Darrell Gallagher, the company's new Head of Studios. Prior to receiving his assuredly jeweled crown and gold-plated throne, Gallagher was Studio Head of Crystal Dynamics – a position which he will continue to fill for the time being, in conjunction with his new duties. Eidos Montreal will now be helmed by David Anfossi, former Deus Ex: Human Revolution executive producer. Meanwhile, Square Enix Montreal will be "built into a centre of excellence for game development on smart devices (primarily tablets)" under the guidance of Patrick Naud, according to the announcement.
Square Enix lays off staff in Europe
According to a statement given to UK press (including MCV and CVG) by Square Enix, the publisher is instituting an unspecified number of layoffs in Europe. "We do expect changes to the UK office, which will affect personnel," the publisher said. "We will update you when the time is right, but our priority right now is for the people within the business." We've reached out to Square Enix for more information.These cuts follow layoffs in Square Enix's North American division, during which the company warned of cuts coming in Europe and Japan. Square Enix is undergoing massive restructuring, due in part to the fact that its Western console games only sold excellently, and failed to meet the company's stratospheric expectations.
MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre consulting on Sleeping Dogs
Square Enix has enlisted the help of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre (aka GSP), who will now be contributing his expertise on punching/grappling dudes to Sleeping Dogs. While GSP is said to be working on "multiple elements" of the Hong Kongian crime thriller, we have an inkling that he'll be lending the majority of his vast, worldly knowledge to the game's combat systems. Actually, now that we've remembered how huge his bulging muscles are and how easily he could grind our puny frames into a fine mist, we suppose its entirely possible that GSP could be consulting on the game's art direction, or acting as a continuity editor for the script. In fact, forget we ever implied anything to the contrary.
Carmageddon site registered to Square Enix updated with countdown
If you're compiling a mental list of franchises which will be summoned from their respective graves at E3 2011, it might be a safe bet to tack Stainless Games' Carmageddon onto the list. The website Carmageddon.com -- a domain registered to Square Enix Europe, owner of the original game's co-publisher SCi -- was recently updated with an ever-popular countdown timer, as well as three Jolly Rogers. The countdown is scheduled to terminate at 5 a.m. on June 1, which seems like a weird time to announce much of anything -- assuming there's something to announce. Now, if it were us, we'd wait the extra week and announce it at the gigantic, well-publicized annual trade show. Unless, of course, this is a countdown-countdown; a maneuver that's also rapidly increasing in popularity.
Potential Hitman ARG suggests new announcement is coming in time for E3
Some subtle marketing suggests we'll be hearing about a new Hitman game soon. Well, okay, we have been hearing about it -- Hitman 5 isn't exactly a secret at this point, having been mentioned on IO Interactive resumes and namedropped by a voice actor. But things are heating up yet again, indicating a full-on reveal isn't far off. Some potential subtle marketing is the source of this latest uptick in attention, starting with an ad from Faircount Media Group in a catalog at the Sundance Film Festival depicting a box of Hitman Series brand doughnuts with a bardcode ending in "47." When a Hitman Forum user tracked down the agency responsible for the ad and emailed them, he received a response from an account saying "you are on the right track," along with a new image showing a pair of black gloves, what appears to be a game script, and another barcode ending in "47." Forum users claim some of the random numbers, when deciphered, point to E3. Add in the vague responses from an actual IO Interactive employee on the Hitman Forum boards (Nick@IO is his user name) and it would appear we've got the makings of an ARG -- that is, unless it's all just one big, very mean conspiracy.
Connect the dots: Possible Tomb Raider reveal in two weeks
Let's connect the dots, shall we? The current, November issue of Game Informer features the above two-page tease for its December issue stating, simply, "A survivor is born." An accompanying website at asurvivorisborn.com (and asurvivorisborn2012.com) mirrors the tease, though it's not clear who owns the domains. A NeoGAF poster pointed out that, at one point, the Google Analytics account number 6150945-XX matched that of kaneandlynch.com, minininjas.com and deusex.com -- all Eidos / Square Enix titles. If correct, it appears the current asurvivorisborn.com account number of 19668291-1 was changed after being spotted. The image of a crashed ocean liner recalls the leaked concept art and fact sheet spotted last year (the fact sheet description is still readable at Shacknews): "When a sudden storm destroys her research vessel, a young and inexperienced Lara Croft finds herself stranded on a mysterious and remote island hidden off the shores of Japan." The "survivor is born" tagline recalls the origin story description in the fact sheet: "This new Tomb Raider concept reboots the franchise by exploring the origin of Lara Croft's transformation into a hardened adventurer as you unravel the story behind the island's mysterious past." In a 346-page thread (!) on tombraiderforums.com concerning the potential of a December 6 reveal, forum admin Justin J. Farr wrote, cryptically, "I know something you lot don't." That could be the meaning of his middle initial "J" or it could be the identity of Game Informer's next cover ... It's not quite a smoking gun, but it's certainly possible that next month's GI reveal will be the Tomb Raider reboot we know Crystal Dynamics – specifically the "pillar team" – has been working on alongside its excellent downloadable installment, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. After the progress the team made on the Legends, Anniversary and Underworld trilogy, all eyes are on Crystal D to keep it up with its first Tomb Raider game under the new Square Enix masthead.
Kane & Lynch 2's greedy, bloody pre-order bonuses revealed
When it comes to extremely violent heists, more is better, which is -- wait, what are we saying? You guys shouldn't really be engaging in extremely violent heists. Largely because they're against the law, but also because it's kind of a mean thing to do. However, if you're planning on taking part in a virtual extremely violent heist via Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days' multiplayer modes, you can gain access to a few extra pieces of content by pre-ordering the title at various retailers. Check out a list of these bonuses and a video of them in action just past the break.
Lara Croft Avatar items and premium theme coming to Marketplace
If your anticipation for the co-op treasure-plundering action of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is so strong that you're seeking for outlets through which to give Crystal Dynamics money, here's your chance. A handful of Avatar items based on the XBLA title will arrive on the Xbox Live Marketplace July 29. The particulars and prices of these items have yet to be revealed, though a handful of images posted in the gallery below indicate costumes for Lara, her partner-in-raiding Totec, a Tomb Raider-themed T-shirt, a hideous matted wig and ... some kind of ... demon suit. The background featured in these images is actually available on the Marketplace today for 240 MSP, under the title "The Lava Tomb." It's perfect for those who think their menu navigation experience could use a bit more molten rock and ugly statuettes. %Gallery-98113%
Interview: Karl Stewart on Lara Croft and the new Crystal Dynamics
At Square Enix's pre-E3 event yesterday, we got a chance to talk with Karl Stewart, global brand director for Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics. We asked him about the reorganization inside the developer (which lead directly to the development of the already impressive Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light), its new approach to managing the Tomb Raider brand and how its new focus is affecting the way other Eidos studios work. We also got a taste of just how outside-the-box its new "experimental team" can go. Joystiq: This reorganization all happened after the Square Enix acquisition? Karl Stewart: We had actually been going through the shakeup at the studio prior to it, and really we had already presented that we knew we needed to make a drastic change for the studio and that continuing down the same path wasn't really going to cut it any longer. So Darrell Gallagher had taken over the studio at that time and he had some great ideas about how to sort of retool the studio, and it was around then that Square Enix came aboard, purchased us, so we presented our vision for it and they thought it was the right way to go. And as a result, we continued down that path. This was after the release of Underworld? Yeah, this was. Underworld had shipped, the DLC for 360 had already shipped and we just realized that when we started looking at our next game we knew that we needed to take a step back and build the next big title and it wasn't going to come year after year. That's been one of our frustrations: seeing the titles come out year after year after year, so we decided that was the end of that.
Square Enix announces FY2009 results, revenue up 42%
Square Enix was riding high on the sales chocobo in its latest fiscal year results (ending March 31, 2010), with ¥192 billion ($2.07 billion) in revenue, up an impressive 42 percent from last year -- especially in this global economy. Profit was up over 50 percent, adding ¥9.5 billion ($102.7 million) to the guild bank. The top-selling games during the fiscal year were Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Quest IX and The Batman's adventure in Arkham Asylum. Naturally, the company's games division brought in the big bucks with ¥109.9 billion ($1.18 billion) in sales, up 128 percent. Surprisingly, the mobile phone division, despite having high-profile games, including Final Fantasy I & II, saw revenues drop seven percent to ¥10.1 billion ($110 million), but operating income was up by eight percent to ¥4.6 billion ($49.7 million). Squeenix expects to have sales drop 17 percent this fiscal year to ¥160 billion ($1.73 billion), but profits to increase to ¥12 billion ($130 million).
Kane & Lynch comics to terrorize newsstands this August
Are the Kane & Lynch video games simply not enough to satiate your homicidal duo needs? Then draw pleasure in a new partnership between IO Interactive and DC Comics, which will spawn a limited comic run telling the origin stories of this reluctant duo produced by DC Wildstorm. The series will be written by Ian Edginton, who has been in the biz for over two decades, working on comics for Marvel, Dark Horse, Heavy Metal, Top Cow and, of course, DC. Chris Mitten will handle illustration duties, while Ben Templesmith will do the covers. The first issue releases this August, just in time for the game's August 24 launch. Why, isn't that quite the coincidence?
Kane & Lynch movie poster seen at Cannes
The Kane & Lynch movie project appears to be moving smoothly -- it's to the "poster" stage already. Proving beyond a doubt that the casting is a "done deal"(as tweeted by writer Kyle Ward), Empire spotted a Kane & Lynch movie poster with billing for both Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx at the Cannes Film Festival. This poster covers the entrance to the Majestic Hotel, making it look a bit more like the Tacky Hotel. According to Empire, the poster gives the film a 2011 date, but we don't see it. Perhaps it's behind that inconsiderately placed luggage cart. [Via Collider; thanks, Gimpygoat!]
Square Enix 'Extreme Edges' is new label for publisher's violent games in Japan
As Square Enix continues to expand globablly, it's starting to publish titles in Japan that aren't traditionally "Square Enix," like Modern Warfare 2 and games from its newly acquired Eidos subsidiary. According to Famitsu (via Andriasang), president Yoichi Wada has announced a new box label to be used by the publisher that will differentiate its "mature" Western games from its usual slate of more innocent fantasy products: "Square Enix Extreme Edges." Wait -- didn't Wada say he wanted Japanese gamers not to discriminate against Western games? The "Extreme Edges" label will be used for Western-made games bearing CERO "D" (17+) or "Z" (18+) ratings, though Square Enix has yet to publish any CERO Z titles. The Z rating is legally age-restricted, and games bearing it are often not displayed in stores. Square Enix, however, will release Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days in Japan on August 26; a game that at least seems "edgy" and "extreme" enough for the new label and probably worthy of the CERO Z rating, as well.
Second Just Cause 2 DLC pack coming May 25 [update]
The Just Cause 2 website has official news on the game's first two DLC packs. We'd already heard about the April 29 "Black Market Aerial Pack" (which will give you a new Jet Fighter to play with, along with a parachute addon to create a little more breeze), but less than a month later, May 29 [update: May 25] will bring the "Black Market Boom Pack," with a Quad Rocket Launcher, Cluster Bomb Launcher, and an Air Propulsion Gun, which fires jet blasts powerful enough to send both soldiers and vehicles flying. You don't really get bonus points for saying, "This... is my boom pack," after sending said enemies into the air, but we'll pretend that you do. Both packs will be $1.99 on PSN, or 160 ($2) from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Also on the official Just Cause 2 blog: you'll find YouTube videos of the game being played back at both slow- and fast-speed, showing off slow motion and time-lapse views of the impressive in-game world. We've put both of them after the break in case you want to give them a look.
Hands-on: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (single player)
There were a number of interesting features -- complex characters, a dark, mature story that explored the seedy lives of criminals -- in IO Interactive's original Kane & Lynch, provided you could look past the broken gameplay and the subsequent review scandal. While the franchise's name may be forever tarnished, that hasn't stopped IO from developing a sequel, one that expands upon the best aspects of the original. But does Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days fix the gameplay inherited from its predecessor? Sort of. As our previous impressions indicated, there's much to like about the game's presentation. Like Dead Men before it, Kane & Lynch is certainly not short on style. The "digital camera" effect makes this shooter look unlike any other game I've seen, offering the illusion of reality. Upon closer inspection, you can see the graphics tech is far from cutting-edge, but the clever filters and camera techniques make Dog Days feel far more authentic than the photo-realistic approach most other games attempt. %Gallery-91581%
Just Cause 2 and BioShock 2 getting DLC April 29
The latest Xbox Live Newsbeat update included release dates for two pieces of downloadable content that we didn't even know existed. We typically don't care for surprises, but we're willing to make an exception if it means we get more maps for the multiplayer component of BioShock 2 and more things to explode in Just Cause 2. On April 29, six new multiplayer maps will be added to BioShock 2 as part of the "Rapture Metro Map Pack." For 800 ($10), players get the new arenas, three new masks, a "Kill 'Em Kindly" Melee deathmatch mode, and three new Achievements. Just Cause 2 will receive the "Black Market Aerial Pack," a 160 ($2) booster which adds the chaingun-toting F-33 DragonFly Jet Fighter, a multi-lock missile launcher and a parachute thruster which extends your airtime whilst leisurely sailing across the Panauan landscape. How... unexpextedly soothing!
Just Cause 2 gets free 'pimped-up' ice cream truck DLC
Since it's universally accepted that Just Cause 2 is completely butt-crazy-gonzo, we weren't really surprised by today's release of a free, downloadable, "pimped-up" (according to the Xbox Live listing) ice cream truck for all platforms of the game. The "Chevalier Ice Breaker" features ultra low suspension (for those hairpin mountainous curves), front-mounted bull bars (for the ramming of things) and, presumably, more ice cream sandwiches than you could shake a Popsicle stick at. Xbox.com: Add Chevalier Ice Breaker to your Xbox 360 download queue Also available via PlayStation Store later today and for PC.
Extended Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days trailer welcomes you to Shanghai (again)
Usually, an extended edition features a lot of the stuff that had to be left on the cutting room floor. In the case of this Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days trailer, however, it means "the extra violent stuff we couldn't show the first time around." Seriously, don't hit that play button unless you want to watch two cops unload on a guy that's laying on the ground, practically defenseless -- save for his ability to fire off grunts and groans with every piercing bullet, that is. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days wreaks havoc on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on August 24.
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days trailer welcomes you to Shanghai
Watch as the always unlikable duo of Kane and Lynch (that's Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx to you People magazine types) get reunited on the streets of Shanghai and, before catching up over a couple cold ones, find themselves caught up in a shootout and chasing a naked person through the streets. This is just how these guys get acquainted after "a while" apart! Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days welcomes you to Shanghai on August 24.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer makes the rounds
And just like that, hours after its debut at the Game Developers Choice Awards, we've got the Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer for you to enjoy after the break. There's not a lot to see so, instead, let's talk about what we hear. Is that Christian Bale or just a Batman soundalike?
