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Enslaved: Premium Edition takes a Trip to Steam, out now
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West completed its journey to PC, meaning the game is out now on Steam in a new Premium Edition. Priced $20, it includes the Pigsy's Perfect 10 DLC and three character skins including one simply titled "Sexy Trip" [insert debauched holiday destination joke here]. The Premium Edition also came to PSN this week. Ninja Theory's vivacious re-imagining of Monkey charmed us back in 2010, with our review praising the fantastical adventure for being a "a fine reminder that if you have talented people and a little respect for your audience, great storytelling in games can be not only possible but profound."
PSN Tuesday: Halloween sale, Rocksmith 2014 and free Hotline Miami for PS Plus
In addition to the new PlayStation 4 titles up for pre-order, this week's injection of PlayStation Store content brings Rocksmith 2014 Edition, while Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director's Cut and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Premium Edition remind us what gaming was like many, many (read: two-ish) years ago. PlayStation Plus subscribers get a free copy of Hotline Miami added to their collection, and further discounts on games included in Sony's ongoing Sale of the Dead, which lasts until November 4. Spooky-ooky games marked down by the sale include The Walking Dead, The Last of Us, Resident Evil 4 HD, Dead Rising 2: Off The Record, Dead Island Riptide and a bunch of other festively appropriate software.
Enslaved undertakes Odyssey to the PC later this month
Namco Bandai is bringing Enslaved: Odyssey to the West to PC for the first time, releasing a new "premium edition" of the game later this month. A representative for the publisher told Polygon the re-release is also coming to PS3. It's unclear what makes this edition of Ninja Theory's fantasy adventure a premium one, although we'd wager it features the Pigsy's Perfect 10 DLC. We're also unsure if it's coming via retail and/or downloadable channels, although the game appeared in Steam's database earlier this year. We've reached out to Namco for more info. It has to be said, it's somewhat surprising to see Enslaved get a re-release three years on. Despite being a hit with critics including many of the Joystiq staff, it didn't set the world alight with its sales, shifting 450,000 copies in three months after a rather lo-fi promotional campaign. In that regard, maybe a sudden re-release isn't that much of a surprise.
Ninja Theory: Enslaved performance prevented team expansion
Every year, critics and fans provide the word-of-mouth support to several games that barely subsist on a whisper of marketing. "Enslaved should have done better," says Tameem Antoniades, head of the game's developer, Ninja Theory. "Right now we should have been doing a sequel and perfecting that sequel and doing what franchises do, which is get better over time." The comments come from a new issue of Edge (via CVG), and go on to show that the studio's longterm plans were altered by Enslaved's so-so sales. Antoniades reveals that Ninja Theory meant to expand to two teams, but have now remained a "smaller shop" to focus entirely on the Devil May Cry reboot for Capcom. Though team members had "mentally prepared" themselves for this outcome, Antoniades said in October of last year, it's clear that the game's success had been embedded in the studio's plans for growth. (At least Enslaved wasn't a racing game.) Since Devil May Cry is a firmly established brand, Ninja Theory's expressive characters may yet find themselves in a hit -- and perhaps even a finely tuned action game.
Namco: Enslaved was launched at the wrong time
Hindsight being 20/20, Namco Bandai's execs had some choice things to say about Ninja Theory's Enslaved, a game that was hailed by many critics but failed to garner commercial success. President Makoto Iwai told Siliconera that despite the poor sales figures, he's proud of the publisher's ability to get it off the ground. "Results are everything for a business unit, so we have to face it. But, we are proud of ourselves for being able to launch that game," he said. But the most telling comments came from VP of marketing, Carlson Choi, who pegged it all on poor timing. "It launched in the midst of a busy holiday season." He went on to say that while the game "had the quality needed to address gamers," it ultimately came down to "getting into the market at the right time." When it launched on October 5, Enslaved had some tough competition in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Def Jam Rapstar, NBA Jam and NBA 2K11 that week alone -- the following weeks would see the launch of several big hitters, including Medal of Honor, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and, of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops. As for the prospect of an Enslaved sequel, Choi isn't ruling it out. "I can assure you, a title like Enslaved, and every title we've worked on in the past, we're going to re-examine them and say what is the potential for the game?" Namco showed interest in a sequel back in October, but that was before the sales figures came in.
Enslaved underperforms with 460,000 sold worldwide
Well, it seems as though Namco Bandai's strategy of half-heartedly promoting the excellent Enslaved has worked just as planned, with the game selling 460,000 units across the globe in the three months following its release. It was originally predicted to move a million units, though that was revised to 800K by Namco in November. We know it's sad, but we can hope for a silver lining (and some corporate foresight) in the dark cloud on which Monkey finds himself. Dead Space sold under a half-million in the month after its release, and now you can't swing a cat without hitting a disembodied necromorph limb. Here's hoping Monkey finds the same sort success later in life -- and if not in a sequel, perhaps in another game like it. Developer Ninja Theory is now hard at work on DMC, a reboot of Capcom's Devil May Cry series.
Best of the Rest: James' picks of 2010
Halo: Reach Was it just me or did Reach seem to have the quietest launch of any $200 million seller in history? Franchise fatigue has definitely set in for Halo, but it didn't stop Bungie from delivering its masterpiece. What this game lacks in variation, it makes up for in refinement of one of the all-time great first-person shooters. Reach may be lagging behind Call of Duty -- both Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 -- in the Xbox Live numbers game, but its campaign is so much more epic. The Covenant are classic video game bad guys, and no one does enemy AI like Bungie. No one.
Best of the Rest: Mike's picks of 2010
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Ninja Theory put a heck of a game together here, with some incredible art direction and animation, level design, and the best adventurous duo since Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher. The world traversed by Monkey and Trip is colorfully portrayed and brilliantly built, the gameplay is perfectly formulated to support the characters and the story, and while I admit the game's early levels outdo the somewhat abrupt ending, this was the best original IP I played in 2010.
Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks for 2010
Metro 2033 I'm just going to tell myself that my esteemed Joystiq colleagues didn't play this moody, flawed FPS, because I hate the idea that I'm the only one with whom it resonated. With a single trek through a post-apocalyptic Russian underground, Ukrainian developer 4A became one of the developers I'd follow anywhere. It's got problems, specifically with a pretty lackluster combat system, but there's also nothing else like it.
Save on Castlevania, Naruto and more in Amazon's year-end sale
If you thought Amazon would stop holding ridiculous sales because the holiday season is winding down, you are a fool. A hypothetical fool. Amazon's year-end sale (which technically started on Dec. 24) is as good as any offer the retailer had for Black Friday or the pre-Christmas shopping season! The PS3 version of Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is over half off at $25.99, as is the PS3 limited edition of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow at $39.99. Enslaved is just $19.99 on either system, and Atlus hits Demon's Souls and 3D Dot Game Heroes can be picked up for just $16.99 and $14.99 respectively. FlingSmash on Wii is $39.99, which at that price is essentially a free game with a regular-price Wii Remote Plus. Amazon is also offering a 75% discount on a large selection of downloadable PC games, and an even larger selection of casual PC games for $2 each.
Namco moving development to Japan in light of 'lacking' overseas developer performance
According to a Bloomberg report, Namco Bandai plans to shift the bulk of its game development back to Japan after a rocky year for its titles developed overseas. Company president Shukuo Ishikawa told Bloomberg, "We found the quality and development speed of titles made for us by the overseas studios to be lacking." He added that overseas studios will still be able to "propose and develop games" but that Namco's Japanese operation will "control the process more closely." After letting the likes of Clash of the Titans, Splatterhouse and Dead to Rights: Retribution out the door, we can appreciate Ishikawa's sentiments. That said, the company's sales projections may have been a little ... optimistic in the first place. Our completely unexperienced advice for Namco: Take the money spent on everything other than Enslaved and spend it on marketing Enslaved 2. Also, please make Enslaved 2.
12 Days of Joyswag: Enslaved Collector's Edition resin statue and game
To celebrate the holidays, we're kicking off twelve straight days of giveaways from now through Christmas day. And while we say it's to celebrate, really ... we're simply getting rid of some of the larger packages around the ol' office. Which gets us to our first prize: A limited edition (look, only 250 made!) resin statue for Ninja Theory's under-appreciated Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Since you can't put statues into game systems (not easily, at least), we're coupling it with a copy of the game on the winner's platform of choice (PS3 or Xbox 360) and some additional merch. %Gallery-110574%
Enslaved dev diary explores Pigsy's fascination with 'The Perfect 10'
If there's anything this developer diary for the upcoming Enslaved DLC, "Pigsy's Perfect 10," has taught us, it's don't judge a book by its cover. The guy just wants a friend and he'll do what it takes to earn one -- er, build one, in this case.
Pig out on these new screens of Enslaved's Pigsy DLC
Enslaved's sharp-shooting porktagonist, Pigsy, is looking for love -- in all the wrong places, evidently. Instead, these new shots from Ninja Theory's upcoming DLC, "Pigsy's Perfect 10," suggest that the portly fellow finds a lot of angry mechs bent on roasting his rump.
Bad sign, good deal: Enslaved for $25 on Amazon
For those who haven't bought Enslaved: This morning, you have a great opportunity to get on at the bottom floor of this exciting new IP, thanks to a killer deal on Amazon that'll net you the first game in the series for just $25. Hurry, and make sure you're prepared for the next step in this exciting franchise! For those who own Enslaved: OK, we're not going to lie to you. This isn't a good sign. We know what we told those other guys, but we have no idea if there's going to be another Enslaved. It certainly doesn't look good, does it? But if we're going to get the sequel we so richly deserve, we'll have to convince others that there's still hope, and that might require us saying some things we're not strictly proud of. If you don't have the stomach for it, we assume you can find the door.
Enslaved underperforms for Namco, Naruto exceeds expectations
Namco Bandai may have suffered less terrible losses in the first half of its fiscal year compared to last, but several of the publisher's major titles aren't expected to hit sales goals. Andriasang has a list of comparing the company's hopes for its software to the harsh reality, with Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Cosmic Destruction and Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja: Storm 2 being the overachievers. Ben 10 is expected to have 800K sales -- 100K over forecast -- and Naruto may move a million copies, 300K more than planned. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is expected to sell about 800K units, which is still good, but the publisher expected it to sell a million. Other titles expected to underperform, according to the company, will be the as-yet unreleased Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom with 300K units (-700K below) and Splatterhouse at 350K (-650K below). Enslaved deserves better so, with some luck, hopefully Monkey and crew will have a longer tail than Namco expects.
Report: Namco Bandai laying off 90 in States
VentureBeat reports that Namco Bandai of America is letting 90 employees go. The layoffs are allegedly due to the recent reorganization of the company's mobile and online divisions, in which it squished the two into one. The company is also shifting, according to VentureBeat, a "considerable amount" of game development from San Jose, California, back to Japan. Namco Bandai's VP of marketing, Carlson Choi, states that the details about the future of game development at the company are being "sorted out now," and that the publisher is "partnering with external development studios." Its goal is to move into "digital games" -- an unintuitive term that means digitally distributed games instead of $60 boxed products.
Enslaved DLC trailer explores Pigsy's motives
If it wasn't clear why everyone says Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has great voice acting, the latest trailer for its upcoming DLC, starring the game's playable sidekick Pigsy, shows it off at its best. Head past the break to see for yourself.
Enslaved DLC adds 3D, has Pigsy looking for love
The critically well-received action adventure Enslaved's first piece of premium DLC will include "Pigsy's Perfect 10," a playable side-story, and add TriOviz 3D support to the game. Namco Bandai announced today that the $10 (800 Microsoft Points) DLC will be available "later this year" on PlayStation Network and Xbox 360. Pigsy, the zaftig companion of svelte Enslaved characters Monkey and Trip, will encounter an adventure focused on "stealth and sharp-shooting." As long as there are no long stairways or narrow columns, we figure he'll be just fine. The quest will involve Pigsy assembling parts to create the "perfect woman." The DLC will add 3D to both the new side story and the original game. So, be sure to save up your dirty clothes, because once Monkey's in 3D you'll be able to do your laundry on those washboard abs.
Enslaved PS3 title update adding 5.1 surround sound for optical output
Shortly after Enslaved's launch we were informed that the game was only outputting stereo for those using optical audio output for surround sound on PS3. We were told by Namco today that it is currently working on a title update to support 5.1 sound output. A Namco rep tells Joystiq, "[The update] will be ready around the same time as the paid DLC, which will be available within the next couple of months. Details on that DLC will be announced soon." So, good news: patch incoming. Bad news: gonna take a while to fix. The game does currently support 5.1 surround via HDMI (provided you have the appropriate receiver).
