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April NPD: Prototype 2 tops charts, industry-wide sales down 32 percent year-over-year
The results for April are in, and things are looking a little rough out there in consumer video-game electronics land. As a whole, the gaming industry (which for our purposes includes all hardware, software and accessories sales between April 1 and April 28, 2012) brought in $630.4 million, a 32 percent decrease over the same period last year, where its various machinations resulted in collective sales of $930.9 million.Breaking the industry down into its three major components, hardware sales accounted for $189.7 million (down 32 percent year over year), while software sales contributed $292.1 million to the cause – a 42 percent decrease year over year. Accessories, on the other hand, posted a 1 percent increase year-over-year at $148.6 million in 2012, as compared with $147.8 million in 2011.The average amount of money spent on hardware increased year-over-year, however, due in part to the 360 Star Wars Kinect Bundle, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier. Generally though, the period's lackluster performance is due to the month's release schedule: "Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions. I think it's a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we just saw a lot less this April as compared to last."The list of April's top 10 best-selling titles can be found after the break as per usual, with newcomers Prototype 2 and Kinect Star Wars leading the charge ahead of Modern Warfare 3, Mario Party 9 and Mass Effect 3.Update: According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, the Xbox 360 sold 236K units during April.
I suggest a new strategy, R2: Let them have a Kinect Star Wars demo
We can understand why you may be a bit hesitant to take our verdict on Kinect Star Wars as gospel. It's got Vader fights, rampaging rancors and is the closest physical manifestation of that one kid's dream journal we may ever get.Now you can discover how not good the game is yourself with a free playable demo – if you're a Gold subscriber and own a Kinect sensor, that is. We may all have The Force inside us, but you still have to purchase your own Kinect sensor.
Kinect Star Wars tops UK charts, millions of voices suddenly cried out...
Kinect Star Wars debuted at the top of the UK charts last week, proving one should never underestimate the power of the Sith. The game is the first Kinect-required title to top the charts. It's also the first Star Wars game to hit the top spot since Star Wars: The Force Unleashed back in 2008.EA occupied the following four spots, with FIFA Street, Mass Effect 3, FIFA 12 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. The publisher also had SSX and Battlefield 3 at seventh and ninth spots, respectively, meaning the publisher held six of the top ten spots.The only new entry in the top 40 this week was the Devil May Cry HD Collection, which debuted at number 18. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
Kinect Star Wars review: Needs Force feedback
Let's just get this out of the way: in its current state, the Kinect can't deliver a true lightsaber experience. The device's input lag combined with the hardware's finicky nature simply won't allow it. That's not to say that Kinect Star Wars isn't without its merits. There are a few decent ideas hidden in its sub-games, even some fun to be had, but the overall package is lacking.I suspect some Star Wars fans (or parents of Star Wars fans) will find its Force pull irresistible, but even the most dedicated Jedi is likely to find it underwhelming.%Gallery-146706%
$50 credit with Star Wars Xbox on Amazon
While Amazon isn't actually discounting the Star Wars Xbox bundle, it is willing to offer a few extra space credits on the side. Specifically, the Star Wars bundle is now eligible for a $50 Amazon credit. Lest you've forgotten, the bundle comes with a sweet R2-D2 Xbox, a white Kinect unit, a gold C-3PO controller with transforming D-pad and, naturally, a copy of Kinect Star Wars.Lest you've also also forgotten, we'll be giving one of these away at our live podcast at PAX East later this week. Be sure to come see it this Saturday at 3pm in the Manticore Theatre!
Joystiq goes hands-on with the Star Wars Xbox (and you can win it!)
Microsoft sent us one those fancy Star Wars Xbox Kinect bundles, so we thought it would be nice to give our readers a closer look. If the video leaves you drooling for the sweet R2-D2 console, C-3P0 controller and white Kinect, you should really make plans to come see Joystiq's live podcast at PAX East ... where we'll be giving it away!Be sure to come see us on April 7 at 3PM in the Manticore Theatre for your shot at this and some other goodies.
Microsoft reveals Xbox 360 lineup for PAX East 2012
We haven't figured out a way to travel into the future yet, and we're just as upset as you are about that. But the closest thing has to be playing games that aren't actually out yet, right? Microsoft is offering PAX East attendees a chance to do just that next weekend.Major Nelson posted the list of activities and upcoming Kinect and XBLA titles that will be playable at Microsoft's booth, including Trials Evolution, MineCraft: Xbox 360 Edition and Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. We hear one of our editors really liked that last one when he got a chance to play it earlier this month.Also of note is a playable build of Dust: An Elysian Tale, the winner of 2009's "Dream-Build-Play" competition. It's currently slated to launch on Xbox Live Arcade in 2012.
Not a Jedi trick: Kinect Star Wars and console bundle coming in April
After missing the exhaust port its planned holiday launch, Kinect Star Wars and the Star Wars Xbox 360 console bundle have settled on a new release date. The game and console bundle will now launch on April 3. The bundle features a console and Kinect unit in the style of everyone's favorite droid, R2-D2, a C-3PO styled controller and a copy of Kinect Star Wars. It will retail for $450.Alongside the news, Microsoft has also released some new screens of Kinect Star Wars. Said shots include images of the dance mode revealed by the ESRB, entitled "Galactic Dance Off." We considered writing something funny about it, but then we saw the above screen shot and the words just left.Finally, a handful of AMC theaters in the US and Canada will host special screenings of the "new" 3D version of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, during which moviegoers can try out Kinect Star Wars. Visit the official site for more details.%Gallery-146706%
Kinect: Star Wars trailer is cute in an awkward, bumbling kind of way
Imagine Obi Wan Kenobi not as Jedi master, but a guy working the cash register down at the Gas 'n Gulp. Rather than wielding an elegant weapon for a more civilized age and being a princess's only hope, he's closer to the idiot in the Kinect: Star Wars trailer above.
ESRB: Star Wars Kinect has 'dance tournaments' mini-games
A little known fact about the Padawan training program is that it includes an intense, three-month course on dance. Think about it: dueling with lightsabers is basically dance fighting. Right? That's why the ESRB rating for Kinect: Star Wars didn't really throw us. The promised "dance tournaments, podracing, and Jedi duels" sound like de rigueur, believe us. We've read extensively on the subject. Joking aside, there isn't really anything else we can say beyond this: the following is the final excerpt in the ESRB listing for Kinect: Star Wars. "In the dancing mini-game, some female characters perform suggestive moves (e.g., gyrating their hips/buttocks) and wear revealing outfits (partially exposed cleavage/buttocks). The words 'damn' and 'hell' can be heard in the dialogue." We imagine the "dialogue" in question goes something like this: "What in the damn hell has happened to Star Wars?"
Kinect Star Wars and inspired console bundle to miss holiday
Kinect Star Wars and the R2D2-styled Xbox 360 Kinect bundle will launch "beyond holiday 2011." Speaking to OXM, Microsoft and LucasArts moved the game's release date (along with that of the console bundle) to "ensure the full potential of this title is realized." Microsoft and LucasArts plan to communicate additional timing at a later date. We've contacted our network of Bothans to obtain new information as soon as possible.%Gallery-128885%
'Rancor Rampage' is latest Kinect Star Wars minigame reveal
"Rancor Rampage" is joining the bite-sized quests for Jedihood and Pod Racing glory in Kinect Star Wars. From what we saw at Gamescom, the mode plays exactly how it sounds: Players embody the Rancor, trashing houses on Tatooine and eating Jawas. How we long for actual Kinect Rampage now.
Star Wars R2-D2 Xbox 360 priced in UK
The Limited Edition Star Wars Xbox 360 console, priced at $449 in the States, has been given a suggested retail price of £349.99 in the UK (ouch, that's $570 US!). The standard 250GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle retails at £299.99. The rebellious console from a galaxy far, far away was revealed last week at San Diego Comic-Con. It includes a 320GB hard drive, a white Kinect, the R2-D2 inspired console, a C-3PO colored controller, Kinect Star Wars and Kinect Adventures. The console will also feature Star Wars sound effects for operations like powering up, ejecting discs, and setting coordinates for Dagobah. Xboxes can do that, right? %Gallery-128885%
Kinect Star Wars preview: Pod (racing) people
At the Comic-Con panel for Kinect Star Wars earlier this week (the same panel where that R2D2 Xbox was announced), Microsoft's head of Kinect Jorg Neumann told the story of how the game itself came about. Back in 2008, when Kinect was still called Project Natal, and basically consisted of just a camera in a back room at Microsoft, Neumann and his colleagues found an engineer playing with game prototypes on the system, and one of those was a lightsaber simulator. That alone convinced Neumann and his division that Star Wars needed to be on the interface in some format. And it turns out LucasArts didn't need much convincing either. Lead producer Craig Derrick described flying out to the Microsoft campus to see the proposal for the game, and saying among his own colleagues that all they planned to do was hold out their hand and see what happened. As soon as they pushed a hand out to the Kinect unit, said Derrick, "it knocked over a bunch of droids, and we were like, 'OK, we're in.'" We saw the game's Force-driven droid pushing and lightsaber waving at E3, but Microsoft and LucasArts introduced a new mode to the game this week: pod racing. Anakin Skywalker's motorsport of choice is in the game as well, and I got to take a pod out for a spin later on in the week at a Microsoft preview event. %Gallery-128889%
R2D2-style Xbox 360 Kinect bundle rolling out for Kinect Star Wars [update]
"Beep! Beep beeeeep boop whiiiirrr boop boop (fall over)!" Or, in English, Microsoft just revealed a new R2D2-styled Xbox 360 Kinect bundle at Comic-Con, in honor of Kinect Star Wars. The Xbox has a special R2D2 look and custom console sounds, and is bundled with a gold, C3P0-style controller (Oh, my!) and an all-white Kinect. It also includes Kinect Star Wars, Kinect Adventures, and a 320GB hard drive! The bundle will be out this fall. Pre-orders for the $449 bundle are expected to begin today. Update: Added official pics to the gallery, and moved our Comic-Con snapshot past the break! Update 2: According to Gavin Spicer of Xbox UK PR, the bundle is coming to the UK as well, though no details have been announced yet.%Gallery-128885%
Kinect Star Wars hands-on: Engadget and Joystiq get in touch with the Force
We've been waiting for nearly an entire year to carve up battle droids with a Kinect-controlled lightsaber, and we got the chance last night, donning virtual Jedi robes alongside our friends at Joystiq and calling upon our inner midi-chlorians in a series of brief co-op fights. The interactive demo of Kinect Star Wars version is a fairly scripted affair -- your light side avatars automatically dash from encounter to encounter with the occasional cutscene between, without any prompting from you, and when you get into a melee, the computer controls which enemies you face as well. Still, there are quite a few maneuvers available once combat begins in earnest. You can swing your right hand to swipe with the lightsaber, bring up your left for a powerful Force Push, jump to flip over hapless destroyer droids, step forward to dash directly at a foe, and tilt your body to dodge and flip. There's a bit of a delay between the time you gesture and the time the game recognizes your actions, but it generally seemed to follow our saber strokes, and a product manager tells us a lag fix is inbound. Long story short, we can't tell you quite yet if your 1:1 slicing fantasies will be fulfilled.
Galactic exclusive: Live-action Star Wars Kinect footage
Microsoft didn't allow direct filming of the games featured at its after-hours E3 preview event, though it did offer a fun keepsake to attendees who tried out Star Wars Kinect. We nabbed some exclusive footage that you won't find anywhere else. See it after the break. %Gallery-125589%
Kinect Star Wars trailer is exactly what you'd think
Remember when you used to play Star Wars with your friends in the schoolyard, pretending to choke people with your mind? Well Star Wars Kinect doesn't quite allow for that (at least that we've seen), but it does allow for some bit of arm waving verisimilitude. See how silly you'll look, just after the break.
'Kinect Star Wars' details Forced out into the open
Don't you want a Kinect game in which you use your hands to do that Jedi mind trick thing? Well ... we don't know if that's in Kinect Star Wars. But at least we know some of the other Star Warsy things you do with hand motion thanks to Entertainment Weekly, who just took the wraps off of the new Xbox 360 game (which was first announced during E3 last year). In several different gameplay modes, up to two players use gestures to lift objects with the Force, swing a lightsaber, drive a podracer, fly an X-Wing, and, according to the video on EW, defend themselves against the lasers that are flying out of the TV. The game also includes some unspecified "voice component," which we're going to pretend is an expansive C-3P0 minigame about saying "Oh my!" to things. In addition to these experiences, there's a "Jedi Destiny" mode, being shown at E3, which sounds more story-driven. You play one of a selection of new characters made for the game, through sequences set in movie environments from both trilogies.
Kinect Star Wars not due until holiday 2011
No matter how many times you call up LucasArts and suggest in your best Jedi voice, "You will release Kinect Star Wars soon," the game apparently won't be out until holiday 2011. Kinect evangelist and creative lead Kudo Tsunoda told the BBC as much in a recent interview, calling it and an upcoming Forza project the two Kinect-enabled games he's most excited for next year. "We have a Kinect Star Wars game coming out for next holiday," Tsunoda said. "I've seen a bunch of the game and it's super compelling." Presumably he's seen more than what we saw at E3 this year, clumsily demonstrated in this video. "Another one next year is Forza," he added, alluding to vague plans to integrate Kinect into the racing franchise, before boasting that it was "the best racing game of this generation of consoles." "Those are the two games I'm most excited about," Tsunoda concluded. As far as 2011's current Kinect prospects go, those would seem like safe picks, but we're wondering if developers aren't thinking outside the box enough -- just imagine if you were to somehow combine the two concepts ... perhaps mounting light sabers on high-end race cars? Now that would be something exciting enough to get us off the couch.
