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Hotel Dusk sequel and ... Face Training announced for DS in Europe
[GAME Watch] In a press release announcing its European lineup for the next three months, Nintendo made sure to include a couple of surprises. Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, the DS sequel to Hotel Dusk (developed by the now-bankrupt CING), will bring the first game's unique style of sketchy noir to Europe on September 17. One week later on September 24, Nintendo of Europe is resurrecting an extremely odd title from Japan: Face Training: Facial exercises to strengthen and relax from Fumiko Inudo, a game about facial exercises designed to keep your face youthful and expressive. The original Japanese version shipped with a camera that attached to the DS through the GBA slot. The European version is for DSi and DSi XL only, and uses those systems' built-in cameras, along with an included stand. The other major new release in Nintendo's European lineup is Art Academy: Learn painting and drawing techniques with step-by-step training, out on August 8. This is a full DS game based on a series of DSiWare art education apps. More DS and Wii releases can be found in the full schedule.
Little King's Story, Hotel Dusk developer Cing files for bankruptcy
Well, this is about as far from how we wanted to start out the week as humanly possible -- a Japanese news site called Data-Max reports that Cing, developer of precious gems such as Hotel Dusk and Little King's Story, has filed for bankruptcy, suffering liabilities of 256 million yen. It really sucks when a developer has to take such desperate measures to deal with its economic hardships, but it double-sucks when one of said developer's games -- in this case, Hotel Dusk sequel Last Window -- is still due for an American localization. Here's hoping Cing can recover from what's proven to be one of the most painfully slow sales seasons for the company to date. [Via NeoGAF]
Nintendo trademarks Last Window (Hotel Dusk 2) in Europe
Cing's sequel to Hotel Dusk is destined for a PAL release, a recent trademark shows. This may cause one to believe Last Window could eventually find its way to North America and we'd certainly entertain the notion -- at least it should be importable. Admittedly, Nintendo actively promoted Cing's first game and a lot of DS enthusiasts in the U.S. seemed to enjoy it, so we can see it happening. But without so much as a mention during the recent Nintendo Media Summit, we're not gonna hold our breath just yet. Let's at least agree to wait until E3, OK? Source - OHIM online European trademark database [Via Siliconera]
Play Again for the first time on March 30
Here's some refreshing news: Tecmo announced the release date for a handheld game whose existence isn't totally humiliating: the supernatural murder mystery Again for DS. The publisher gave a specific day to its former March release date: March 30. In addition to the date, Tecmo provided some more evidence of Again's gameplay in the form of a trailer. Fans of Rorschach tests, full-motion video and, particularly, totally intense headache pantomime would do well to have a look. Seriously, this trailer contains the most intense fake headache we've seen in the game. %Gallery-77901%
Hands-on: Again
CING's Again (once known as Again: Eye of Providence) is just the latest in a surprising bumper crop of DS mystery adventure games, joining peers like the Phoenix Wright series, Jake Hunter, Miami Law, and the developer's own Hotel Dusk. The Tecmo-published Again brings a couple of unique quirks to the genre, while not straying too far from the sort of "visual novel" gameplay we've come to expect from these titles. Again stars a pair of FBI investigators, Jonathan "J" Weaver and Kate Hathaway, as they investigate an apparent serial killer. The murders they are looking into happen to share characteristics with an unsolved serial killer case from 19 years ago, with which J was also involved -- as seen in subtle clues like the note written to J telling him that what happened 19 years ago is going to happen again. Most law enforcement officials would probably call an agent's personal involvement in a case a conflict of interest -- CING would call it drama. %Gallery-79767%
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2009: Little King's Story
It seems like everyone who played Little King's Story fell in love with it. Unfortunately, almost nobody played it. It may have been too weird to attract a mass market, or too cute-looking to get the attention of people usually interested in strategy games. That cuteness, however, is what producer Yoshiro Kimura used to present some rather dark themes in a way that seems totally innocuous on the surface. Little King's Story almost forces the player to become attached to each individual unit -- every unit in your employ has a name, and is assigned to its job by you, the king. In addition, your soldiers will frequently fall in love, marry, and give birth to children. And when just one of your soldiers -- or chefs, or miners, or farmers, etc. -- dies, the whole town wears black in mourning, and many of the citizens attend the funeral service at the church. At first, you follow the "advice" of the experienced vet who recommends invading all the neighboring kingdoms. But, as you play the game and come to know your subjects, you realize that the other kings are more childish than malevolent, and the indigenous creatures are basically defending their own territory, and you begin to wonder just why you're sending all your townspeople, who were "Carefree Adults" before you met them, to their death in these missions. You feel guilty even as you're enjoying the gameplay. That dichotomy is the essence of Little King's Story. It's cute, but it's dark. The story is simple, but it inspires questions. It's one of the best games of the year, but nobody bought it. << Back | Comment | 9. Everybody loves donuts >>
New trailers, screens for Hotel Dusk's sequel, Last Window
There's a bounty of new media from CING's Hotel Dusk sequel, Last Window, to check out. Screens and a pair of new trailers await anxious looky-loos and should provide Hotel Dusk fans with a comfortable familiarity -- Last Window pretty much looks like a Hotel Dusk sequel. You can peep the two trailers over at Nintendo of Japan's site, while you'll have to hit up Game Watch for the new screens. Just remember to pace yourself. We wouldn't want you overdoing it like the dude above this chunk of text. Source - Last Window trailers [Via GoNintendo] Source - Screens at Game Watch
See this Again media for the first time
Tecmo just sent over a bunch of new media for CING's upcoming DS CSI-er, Again. Created by the Hotel Dusk dev house, Again follows supernatural FBI agent Jonathan Weaver -- a man looking for answers to his family's death. He does this through his uncanny ability to look at past crimes while examining those same locations in the present. It's kind of like that black light they use on hotel rooms in news exposes, except there's less chance of seeing something that will scar you for the rest of your life because this is a DS game. Aside from a healthy amount of new screens to examine, we've also got two new videos showing off puzzles surrounding a clock and a shower curtain, the latter of which shows you how Jonathan uses his special ability. You can check out the first video above, but you'll need to see your way past the break for the other. %Gallery-79767%
Marvelous lost money on most of its Wii releases
Pretty much everyone can guess why No More Heroes is being released again -- Marvelous needs money. During a Q&A presentation (PDF link, Japanese) about its fiscal Q2 2010 earnings, Marvelous boldly revealed that three out of its four 2009 Wii releases lost money, though it didn't say which was the winner. Muramasa sold 47,000 units in Japan, the company said, not specifying American sales. Arc Rise Fantasia, which will be published Stateside by Ignition, sold 45,000 copies. Little King's Story sold 26,000 copies in Japan, 37,000 copies in North America, and 67,000 in Europe. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, which came out in September in North America, sold just 16,000 copies (Japanese sales, which started in October, are not mentioned). Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility on Wii somehow sold 57,000 units in 2009 despite being a 2007 release in Japan, a 2008 release in America, and not out until October in Europe and Australia. Because of lower development costs, Marvelous said, PSP software was more successful, with four out of five releases making money on similar sales numbers. Half-Minute Hero was Marvelous's overall best-performing title, at 70,000 copies sold. [Via Siliconera]
Again and Monster Rancher DS also headed to Europe
Tecmo has just announced a spring release date for Monster Rancher DS and Again ... again. But in Europe this time! Last week, Tecmo announced March release dates for the Cing-developed adventure game and monster training game. Tecmo Koei Europe has followed suit, though with a less specific spring release window. Monster Rancher DS, of course, is a game about creating and training monsters -- in this game, monsters are generated either by speaking into the microphone or drawing. Again is an adventure game about an FBI agent who investigates crime scenes in both the past and the present. %Gallery-77902% %Gallery-77901%
Rumor: Hotel Dusk sequel coming to DS in Japan early next year
The blog Sinobi seems to have found some retail listings for two new Nintendo games due in the first quarter of 2010 in Japan. Last Window: Mayonaka no Yakusoku (Last Window: Midnight Promise) is a sequel to CING's DS adventure game, Hotel Dusk, set in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It will apparently be out in Japan on January 14! Zangeki no Reginleiv is the Wii action game revealed in October 2008 as "Dynamic Zan" and not heard from again until just now. It's being developed by Earth Defense Force creator Sandlot, and will include online combat for up to four players when it's released on February 11. All of these details are unverified, but the fact that Sinobi had the images above for both games (which may come from a retailer catalog) add some credence to the rumor. [Via NeoGAF]
TGS 2009: Interview: Little King's Story's Yoshiro Kimura
Yoshiro Kimura is the creator of Little King's Story, likely the only game in history to be the inspiration for a giveaway of one hundred hamburgers, one hundred bananas, and one hundred coupons for a visit to a spa -- all simultaneously. We spoke to Kimura during Tokyo Game Show about the secrets of the Wii game, about that rather strange contest, and about a can't-miss concept for a game about an old man drinking on a bench.
XSEED employee rewarded with adorable Little King's Story bento
Click to see full bento box. Warning: may cause incredible jealousy and/or hunger. Making a video game is no easy task. XSEED's Christine Nakashima had been working long hours on the Wii game, Little King's Story. Thankfully, someone noticed her effort! Her sister stayed up late one evening, making a Japanese-style "bento" box for Christine, featuring various characters from the game. Perhaps we have a bias for looking at adorable things ... and then eating them, because this looks far more appetizing than Little King Story's other food promotion.
First vestiges of a Trace Memory sequel discussed
Another Code R, the Wii sequel to Trace Memory, isn't out in North America yet (and nobody's mentioned anything about it ever coming out), but the gears are turning at Cing regarding storyline elements for a sequel. Cing's Rika Suzuki told Cubed3 that the character "Matt" still has a story that has yet to be finished, and that the character has "a grand future ahead of him from which to use as source material."Suzuki also said that all of this story would be "expressed through the world of Another Code, including how his friendship develops with Ashley and more on the story of his father, Michael." While that could mean spinoff novels or something, the likeliest explanation is more video games![Via GoNintendo]
Little Burger King's promotion for Little King's Story
Marvelous is taking an extra step in Japan to market the upcoming release of Little King's Story, and it's one that makes a lot of sense: the company is partnering with Burger King to promote the strategy game. Burger King restaurants in Japan are displaying the poster depicted to the right, and will also have LKS placemats. According to Andriasang, Burger King's mail magazine will also include Little King's Story information. In addition, a small army of Burger King employees, led by a real little king, will lead an assault on a nearby McDonalds in an attempt to take down Ronald. We may have made that up. It's pretty amazing that Little King's Story is a big enough game to get this kind of promotion, which is reserved in the US for huge franchises. Either that, or Burger King is a small enough operation.
Marvelous planning a 'Super Little King's Story'
Little King's Story creator Yoshiro Kimura had previously said that he's interested in making a sequel to his strategy title. Now, speaking to Siliconera, Kimura explained that he is in the early stages of working on just such a thing. "We are planning to make a sequel to Little King's Story, like Super Little King's Story," Kimura said, "but we're still in the process idea phase." At the moment, Marvelous is looking for funding for the sequel, as well as "partners" to help make it. The first game was developed by Cing and Town Factory, along with some high-profile freelancers. While we don't want anyone involved with the first game excluded from this potential sequel, we can understand the appeal of having a single team make a game, if that's Kimura's intent. %Gallery-24964%
Marvelous' Wada: Game industry needs originality, Marvelous needs more recognition
Last month, Marvelous president Yasuhiro Wada posted a note on the publisher's site, in which he said he had "teary eyes" over disappointing sales of Marvelous' Wii products, including No More Heroes, Rune Factory Frontier, and Muramasa. He discussed his sentiment in an interview with Edge Online, saying that he is frustrated with the lack of originality in games and hopes to counter this with the Marvelous catalog. "I think this is why gamers are leaving video games," Wada told Edge of the reliance on existing IP. "I believe that variety is the only way to bring more people into gaming." Wada also said that the Xbox 360, despite Microsoft's "great job in bringing that many JRPGs on its console," is a lost cause in Japan, though there is hope for the next generation. As for why Marvelous games aren't selling, Wada puts some of the blame on lack of company recognition. "Marvelous has just reached the point its games are getting noticed and getting good reviews," he said. "But we are not a major name yet. The Marvelous brand is still associated to some not so good titles we made in the past." He compared the publisher to others like Nintendo, Capcom, and Square Enix. "Even if you don't fully understand what a title is about, because it's branded Nintendo, Capcom or Square Enix, you feel like ok to buy and try it." He said that the company needs to try to reach the roughly million-strong "gamer market" on Wii. A market that might enjoy, say, Little King's Story.
Review: Little King's Story (Wii)
When I started Cing/Town Factory's Little King's Story, I expected to find a cute, very charming little strategy game whose flaws prevented it from greatness, like most games this heavy on the quirkiness factor. I was blindsided by how much fun I continued to have through hours of play. It's rare for a game to be this cute and odd, but also this good. I found this game utterly magical, and I hate strategy games. %Gallery-24964%
Little King's Story sequel could have multiplayer
Yoshio Kimura, producer on Little King's Story, originally planned to include multiplayer in the strategy title, according to an interview with 411mania. "This game used to have a 2-player mode," he explained, "but we couldn't make the QA and debug in time, so we had to take it out. And this is one of the things that I really wanted to have." If setting competing armies of townspeople against one another, or collaborating to expand your shared kingdom, sounds great to you (like it does to us), you know how you can make your voice heard. "But if Little King's Story does well and a lot of people get to play it and if I have a chance to make a sequel, that's definitely something I want to implement." Aside from gameplay-focused matters, Kimura had a lot to say in this interview. Check it out for discussion of the character designs and how, uh, a talking squirrel inspired him to create the game. %Gallery-24969% [Via GoNintendo]
Rising Star taking Little King's Story on the road
Rising Star Games, Marvelous's European publishing partner, has high expectations for Little King's Story. The company plans a large marketing campaign in Europe for the adorable sim/RTS -- the region in which LKS will debut. Rising Star's Yen Hau sees the game as appealing to "'potentially anyone who owns a Wii." In addition to print and online advertising, Rising Star plans a "road show," about which few details are known other than that it will continue through May, when it will finish at the London MCM Expo. After the break, Rising Star's Tyrone Walcott provides the most detailed rundown of the gameplay we've seen yet, with plenty of accompanying video. %Gallery-24969%
