lego-star-wars-3-the-clone-wars
Latest
NPD's top 25 includes at least eight 3DS games
No 3DS games sold enough in the US to place in the top ten last month, according to NPD data. But 3DS sales were happening just under the surface, with many 3DS games making it into the (undisclosed) top 25 games of February.The NPD told Joystiq that "some examples" of the 3DS titles that made the list include Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, FIFA Soccer, Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, Resident Evil: Revelations, and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games -- the last two on that list being February releases.That's ... a significant portion of the top 25. It's also evidence of a reasonably engaged 3DS install base, and therefore stiff competition for the PS Vita, which came out in February. The Vita's Uncharted: Golden Abyss placed somewhere in the top 20 (at least in retail; Vita games also have digital sales not charted by NPD).
Lego Star Wars sticking around for 10 more years
Lucasfilm has renewed its licensing deal with the Lego Group for 10 more years, meaning if you have a kid right now he can grow up with a guaranteed supply of Lego Star Wars video games and toys. If you don't have a kid any time soon, look at this as an opportunity to delay growing up for another decade.Lego is currently developing products based on Star Wars: The Old Republic, and will be following up its most recent Lego Star Wars video game, The Clone Wars, some time during the next 10 years, we'd guess. The Lego Star Wars series has sold more than 30 million units worldwide since its launch in 2005.
320GB hard drive coming to Xbox 360 S models for $130 this month
Finally, you can stop being jealous of your friends who waited until 2011 to buy a 360. The 320GB hard drive included in the Gears of War 3, Modern Warfare 3 and assorted other bundles will go on sale by itself later this month for $130. We know what you're thinking. "Joystiq, isn't that roughly 200 percent more than I'd typically pay for a hard drive that size?" That's true, dear reader, but Microsoft's got an ace up its sleeve: The hard drive comes with an Xbox Live download code for Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, a $20 value!* So now who's getting the great deal, huh? ... What's that? Still not you? You say a better pack-in would be a bottle of heinie lube? Well now that's just vulgar. *Note, that deal doesn't go for Japan, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and the UAE, because the Force is illegal there.
Increased game sales 'partly offset' Warner Bros' revenue decline
The precise impact of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on big daddy Time Warner's bottom line is pretty obscured. WBIE is a division within a division of the media behemoth, which didn't bother to include a line for "video games" in its first-quarter earnings report. Though the company did manage to share a few positive words about its game-making sub-division. Nestled somewhere underneath Time Warner's "Filmed Entertainment" umbrella (a.k.a. Warner Bros.), WBIE apparently performed admirably for a division that ultimately suffered declining revenues. Filmed Entertainment, which encompasses feature film, television, home video and "interactive game production and distribution" (that's video games!), saw its revenues slide 3 percent to $2.6 billion in the first three months of 2011, as compared to the prior-year first quarter. More noticeable was the division's 50 percent plunge to $155 million in "adjusted" operating income for the period. However, Time Warner noted in its report that "declines were partly offset" by "higher video games revenues," in addition to other factors relating to television. While it's impossible to parse out video game sales from what's dubbed "other content" in the earnings breakdown, this category did show the biggest year-over-year percentage growth of all content in the Filmed Entertainment division, even if its dollar-amount revenues were a fraction of theatrical and television products' hauls. Notably, Time Warner indicated that first-quarter game sales were "driven by Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars," which was developed by Traveller's Tales, part of WBIE subsidiary TT Games. The game is published by LucasArts. As for Time Warner's outlook on Filmed Entertainment for the rest of the year, CEO Jeff Bewkes said during the earnings call, "With our strong film slate, the momentum in our TV business and several promising games, we continue to expect Warner will post record profits this year." Would it have killed him to namedrop Mortal Kombat and the next Batman? Jeez.
Zumba keeps on dancing atop UK charts
Zumba Fitness, which recently launched on Wii, has been working out in the top spot on the UK sales charts for a second week. With Zumba Fitness on the lips (and working those hips) of the populace, the Xbox 360 version also saw a 14 percent sales increase. Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars and Crysis 2 dueled for second, but ultimately the multiplatform blockheads used The Force to push the billion-dollar nanosuit down into third. Chart-Track notes that the upcoming Easter holiday spurred plenty of retailer sales, which likely contributed to strong sales increases of Call of Duty: Black Ops (+62%, #9), Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (+112%, #11) and Red Dead Redemption (+458%, #13). Head past the break for the top ten.
Zumba Fitness overtakes Crysis 2 for top UK sales spot
Zumba Fitness and Crysis 2 both moved significantly less product last week in the UK. With only 500 copies separating the two the prior week, the 57 percent drop by Crysis 2 and the 47 percent decline by Zumba Fitness meant the latter took the lead. It seems that "winning" the sales chart last week was all about having the lowest decline in sales, as almost every game in the top six saw a 40-something percent drop (Chart-Track speculates it was the UK's warm weather). This led to Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars forcing itself to maintain third place, while Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters climbed up two spots into fourth and Shift 2: Unleashed decelerated into fifth. Tecmo-Koei's Dynasty Warriors 7 was the only new entry in the Top 40, button-mashing itself all the way up to tenth place. Observe the UK top ten after the break.
Crysis 2 holds back Zumba Fitness invasion on UK charts
Crysis 2 barely held off Zumba Fitness from taking the top spot on the UK sales chart last week, with only 500 copies separating the two, according to Chart-Track. The Zumba rise in the all-formats chart (up 3,148 percent) was triggered by the Wii version's launch on April 1 (no joke). Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars slipped one spot into third, while Shift 2: Unleashed debuted in fourth. Fellow racer Motorstorm: Apocalypse didn't have such a stellar premiere in position 17, perhaps due in part to some launch hiccups. Homefront lost a little ground last week, retreating back to fifth. Keeping THQ's heavily marketed first-person shooter company were two new chart entrants: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters and WWE All Stars, which premiered in sixth and seventh, respectively. Activate power mode and sprint past the break for the UK top ten.
3DS launch games: The best of the rest
With limited time, 3DS systems and eyes capable of processing 3D, we couldn't deliver full reviews for the full 3DS launch lineup. However, we've got the next best thing, a ton of impressions on some of our favorite releases we couldn't get enough quality time with for a full critique. Between the cheat sheet after the break and our bevy of full reviews, you should have all that you need to be a 3DSpecialist at your local electronics retailer. Happy hunting! ... And, umm, sorry about saying "3DSpecialist." It was a long weekend.
Crysis 2 and 3DS premieres shake up UK top ten
Crysis 2 and the Nintendo 3DS both disrupted the steady order of the UK all-formats charts last week, with Crytek's showcase shooter taking top spot in software. According to Chart-Track, the distribution of sales across formats for Crysis 2 gave 57 percent to Xbox 360, 29 percent to PS3 and 14 percent on PC -- of course, the company doesn't account for digital distribution, which would likely alter the PC figure. Other chart-topping debuts last week included Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars in second and The Sims: Medieval in seventh. The 3DS premiere helped launch Super Street Fighter 4 3D Edition, Pilotwings Resort and Rayman 3D into the overall top ten, with Capcom's portable fighter winding up in fourth as the most popular launch title for the system. The 3DS version of Lego Star Wars 3 was the fifth most successful title for 3DS, just below Super Monkey Ball 3D. Meanwhile, last week's chart-topper, Homefront, lost a little ground and fell back to third place. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
LEGO Star Wars 3 commercial puts the 'oops' in 'clone troops'
Traveller's Tales has managed to infuse its LEGO action games with some great humor over the years, and the trend looks to continue with LEGO Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars. The first promo spots for the game hit tomorrow, but you can get an early look at one trooper's supremely bad luck tonight.
PSA: Dragon Age 2, Lego Star Wars 3 demos available today
Like shady peddlers of exotic, habit-forming narcotics, the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store are offering users a free taste of two products before they launch at retail. Fans of gigantic RPGs, honorable knights and ancient dragons should turn their eyes towards the demo for -- what else? -- Dragon Age 2. Fans of gigantic AT-ATs, Jedi Knights and ancient Qui-Gons would be better suited for the Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars demo. (Note: Qui-Gon Jinn probably isn't in this game. We just needed the symmetry.) The demos are available now on XBLM, and will arrive on the PlayStation Store later today, following the weekly PSN update. The demo for Dragon Age 2 will also make its way to PC sometime today -- we'll let you know when it shows up.
Nintendo 3DS to launch with 18 games in North America, $40 each for most
The North American launch details for Nintendo 3DS have been finalized. In addition to Face Raiders and AR Games, both pre-installed on the hardware, the system will launch with three first-party games: Pilotwings Resort, Steel Diver, and nintendogs + cats. Each first-party game has a suggested retail price of $39.99. Thirteen third-party games will be available on March 27th, including Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Rayman 3D. Nintendo promises that thirty games will be available for the platform by E3 expo. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising and a new Mario Kart game will all be available before year's end. You'll find the complete launch lineup listed after the break.
Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars shows off big battles
Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars looks to be the most ambitious entry in the block-based space opera series yet -- at least, from a combat standpoint. This latest trailer promises big ground battles and even bigger space battles.
Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars delayed to March 22
Apparently, LucasArts needs just a little more time than it anticipated to adequately polish the lightsabers of Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars -- the game has been pushed from its initial February 15 release date to March 22. Or, as a character from Lego Star Wars 3 might pronounce it, "Uhhnnn, aaahhh! Eeeeeaaaahh!" No reason for the delay accompanied the announcement, but we're gonna make an educated guess that it has something to do with the ridiculous amount of resources the company poured into the game's Flash-based website. (Seriously, check that thing out! It's like a game in and of itself.)
Lego Star Wars 3 voice actors show off nonverbal talents
The quirky thing about Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars is that it features the actual voice cast from the television show, but limits them to nonverbal acting. Hngh!
3DS 'launch window' to include more than 30 games leading up to E3
Did you hear? It's got a built-in pedometer! The 3DS measures your steps as you walk -- right there in your pocket! Even better: You can pull the thing out whenever and snap all kinds of pics -- the thing's got three cameras! And get this: It also pipes out music, browses the internet and even plays games. True, you've already got a pile of old DS games (and now defunct DS devices) that you could be playing on your new pedometer, but more than 30 three-DEE titles are expected to be released during the 3DS "launch window" (which begins March 27 and promptly closes on June 7 with the start of E3). We've listed 24 of the apparent launch-window releases after the break (though Nintendo's being coy about exact dates), including Nintendo's own Nintendogs + cats and Pilotwings Resort, plus a hearty helping of third-party support; with notable newcomers, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (previously unannounced outside of Japan) and Crush 3D, a possible port of the 2007 PSP platforming puzzler from Sega. Don't look at the date ambiguity in dismay -- see it as an opportunity! Beginning in late March, you can walk to and from GameStop in anticipation of a new batch of games each Tuesday for ten whole weeks, and the 3DS will count your steps -- each and every one of them! And just imagine how many Street Passes you're going to rack up?
LEGO Star Wars 3 meets RTS in walkthrough video
It might seem tempting to write off LEGO Star Wars 3 as just another family-friendly action game. That said, you might feel something ... twitch when you see the command options in the latest video, right around the time the player builds a base and summons a cannon directly to the battlefield. A similar twitch may occur at the mention of PvP multiplayer modes. That twitch, friends, just might be desire. %Gallery-111597%
WRUP: Geeking out at the dentist
As I sat in the dentist's waiting room this afternoon, awaiting the inevitable moment when my name was called and I would find myself once again in the chair, I made an awkwardly audible nerdy squeal. Yuuuup, Star Wars cookie cutters at Williams Sonoma! Now, if only the cutters had paint-by-numbers indentations and pre-made frosting. What's everyone playing?
Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars deploys Feb. 15
LucasArts has announced that Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars, based on the popular animated series, will enter the retail galaxy on February 15 in North America (and Feb. 18 in the UK). Yes, another one of those Lego games -- but this one introduces a few novelties, including "scene swap," where players switch between teams in separate locations to complete multi-part objectives, and boss battles. The game will also feature some real-time strategy elements. Based on our look at the game, Lego Star Wars 3 could just be the most polished Lego game yet -- and it'll need to be to bring back the large following of the first two games. The Clone Wars series might be a solid extension of the Star Wars franchise, but it's nowhere near as well known as the films ... even the films we wish we could forget. %Gallery-95846%
Preview: Lego Star Wars 3
We don't think anyone would argue that the Lego brand isn't reaching a notorious level of oversaturation in the gaming space. Between the adaptations of classic film franchises, video game IPs, hell, even an MMO, it's beginning to seem that every other game that gets revealed nowadays somehow features snap-together protagonists. And yet. LucasArts and Traveller's Tales next entry in the successful Lego Star Wars series, the undisputed O.G. of Lego-based, family friendly action games, looks to be a fresh addition to the pack. Not due to sweeping gameplay innovations or a sea change in the way the developer has adapted the source material -- but rather, due to the thick layer of polish Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars has received since the series' last installment.
