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THQ Nordic says a new Saints Row game is 'deep in development'
THQ Nordic had plenty of updates about upcoming games from its sprawling empire in its latest earnings report. Perhaps the most notable is that its Volition studio is "deep in development" on a new Saints Row game. It didn't offer any information on when to expect the next entry in the popular series, but it'd be the first full title since Saints Row IV in 2013.
THQ Nordic is the Frankenstein monster of video games
THQ Nordic has built a successful business out of the dead and rotting leftovers from downtrodden video game studios. Since entering the publishing biz in 2011, its specialty has been acquiring the intellectual property rights for midtier and AAA games and breathing new life into them. THQ Nordic has resurrected and remastered franchises including Darksiders, Jagged Alliance, Red Faction, Desperados and MX vs. ATV, to name just a few. The studio's latest purchase has been lifeless for six years, but it's a big one. THQ Nordic announced this month that it acquired the rights to Kingdoms of Amalur, the vast fantasy franchise from Rhode Island developer 38 Studios, which went down in flames and infamy in 2012. Amalur is just the latest limb sewn onto THQ Nordic's undead monster, but it's a clear representation of the company's unique, and so far lucrative, approach to publishing.
Volition's newest project is 'Agents of Mayhem'
The Saints Row series has always been appropriately wacky and out there thanks to developer Volition, but shortly after Saints Row IV released, the company went a bit quiet. It's back now with a brand new game with a whole new attitude. It's called Agents of Mayhem, and it's an open-world adventure set within the Saints Row universe.
Saints Row IV loses 'alien narcotics' mission to gain approval in Australia
We knew the Australian Classification Board had fundamental objections to Saints Row IV. What we didn't know, however, was that these sticking points boiled down to just a single 20-minute side mission, in which the player gained superpowers by smoking "alien narcotics" with a character called Shaundi. That mission has now been exorcised, microwaved and buried in a sanitary disposal tank somewhere in the outback. According to Eurogamer, the only other change to the Australian version of Saints Row IV is the removal of a weapon called the Rectifier, which the censors were too anal to appreciate, but which will still be available to players as DLC. Meanwhile, we're taking bets on how long it'll be before the full, uncut title hits shelves Down Under as a premium box set.
Saints Row IV banned in Australia due to 'unjustified' evil
For every tearful accountant at Saints Row HQ, there must be a gleeful marketing person punching the air, playing mini golf and doing whatever else marketing people do when they're full of glee. Conflicted emotions aside, however, game publisher Deep Silver can now claim the notorious distinction of having its latest title, Saints Row IV, rejected outright by the Australian Classification Board (ACB). It's the first such refusal since the ACB implemented a new R18+ rating, which is meant to allow for adult themes within games but which evidently couldn't cope with Saints Row's peculiar depictions of sexual violence (which were "not justified by context") or its drug-themed reward system (which is "prohibited by the computer games guidelines"). According to The Guardian, this effectively means Saints Row IV is banned from sale in retail stores in Australia, but Joystiq has received word from Deep Silver saying it intends to create a "reworked" version of its open-world game specifically for that country. Meanwhile, the regular version has been given PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings elsewhere, and it looks to be on track for an August release date.
Volition: Saints Row, Red Faction Wii games a 'possibility'
When playing Saints Row or Red Faction, did you ever wish you could smash up buildings or conduct drive-by shootings with a porn star while waggling a Wiimote? Even if you answered "no" to that question, developer Volition says it may one day be possible. During the Red Faction: Guerrilla launch event in New York City last night (held at the red planet-themed tourist trap/night club known as Mars 2112), we asked senior associate producer Jeff Carroll if the THQ-owned studio ever considered making Wii versions of their popular franchises. "Though [THQ] may do Wii versions of [our games] in the future, Volition won't be doing them -- at least for the next year or so," Carroll said. "We actually talked about whether we were going to become a partial Wii developer," he explained. "Then we talked it over with THQ and they had enough studios that were going to be Wii-specific. But we really wanted to focus on the technological advances [in console development], especially for Red Faction Guerrilla." When asked if these Wii titles were in the works, he replied that he didn't know but that they were "within the realm of possibility." The real question is: Will Gary Busey be involved? For insanity's sake, we hope so.
Saints Row canceled due to lack of Sony support, Cell 'complicated'
With Saints Row 2 arriving on the PS3 soon, some of us are left wondering why a port of the original Saints Row was eventually canned without a detailed explanation. Producer Dan Sutton of Volition tells CVG a valiant attempt was made, since they were about 50% done when they concluded that "we just couldn't get our heads around Cell ... it's just really complicated." Eventually, they decided when the port of Saints Row was finished it would simply be too late to release.Well, what's so complicated about it? "Cell's really, really powerful. The problem is it's also a really different system, the way it uses multi-threading technology." came the reply. They also attribute the lack of Sony support in fixing bugs to the cancellation: "PlayStation-only bugs are so complicated and Sony didn't have the support to help us out during the Saints Row 1 development."But it appears things have changed for better this time around for Saints Row 2, as Volition hired a specialized PS3 team to deal with the hardware. And Sony is helping this time around, too. "I think now the support's there at least - we've had many conversations with Sony trying to get our heads around that ... but now we have that support and it's really exciting." Sounds good to us -- let's hope Sony continues to provide that level of assistance to every third-party developer.
Joystiq impressions: Saints Row 2 (360/PS3)
Never before has a videogame so accurately allowed characters to pantomime taking a dump on a slain enemy. Years from now, when every game has a dozen user-selectable taunts built into it, we'll all look back on August 26's Saints Row 2 as the game that started the virtual dumping trend. And as this article was posted, in the comparison between Saints Row 2 and GTA IV, only the former could claim the virtual, pantomimed dump. Your move, GTA IV. There's more to Saints Row 2, and the rest of it also caters to adolescent boys (or the adolescent boy in us all). You can play co-op with a friend online and just fly helicopters, drive boats, race cars and motorcycles, and otherwise play in the updated Stillwater setting. If you want to follow the story missions--purported to be "darker" than the original by developers--you can both drop in and out of a single-player game in a way that keeps track of each players progress, so you don't miss any content. But, who are we kidding? THQ had fans of Saints Row at "pantomimed dump." %Gallery-19838%
Saints Row 2 confirmed for PS3, Xbox 360
THQ has announced that its internal studio Volition is developing Saints Row 2 for release on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2008. The game will mark the series' first appearance on the PlayStation 3, after the previously planned port of the Xbox 360 original was canceled earlier this year, with funds from that project reportedly being channeled towards the development of Saints Row 2.According to THQ, the return to the open world of Stilwater will feature a number of improvements over the original, including both online co-op and competitive multiplayer gang banging, as well as a collection of new rides and customizable cribs, gangs, character gender, age, and voices. In addition, THQ marketing guru Scott Guthrie suggests that Saints Row 2's story is also getting a face lift, describing the narrative as "much darker and more sinister" than the first game.Released in 2006, the GTA-inspired original Saints Row was met with generally positive reviews, though admittedly it had little competition with which to contend when released. The real test will be next year, when the sequel shares shelf space with Rockstar's hotly anticipated GTA IV.
Destroy All Humans, Saint's Row sequels not coming this year
A brief note in publisher THQ's fiscal report (PDF file) indicates that a previously announced sequel to Saint's Row will not be marching until fiscal year 2009. In calendar terms, that means excess excess pimp-slapping won't be coming until at least April 1, 2008. Conspicuously absent from the entire report was a mention of a Destroy All Humans sequel. Though DAH3 was reportedly announced in a German magazine as coming out this calendar year to consoles, no mentions were made of the franchise for either FY 2008 or 2009. It is still listed as one of its key IPs, however. There's always a chance, however slim, that THQ could pull a surprise announcement at next week's Min-E3. Expected this fiscal year from THQ are Stuntman: Ignition, Frontlines: Fuel of War, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights and MX vs. ATV. Oh, and licensed titles, too.
X3F Achievements 101: Bots, Bosses and Babalities
X3F Achievements 101 is back, and on its regularly scheduled time slot of Sundays. Initial response to our first edition was rather positive, so we're glad you like the concept and hope you enjoy reading, and even participating in the column. Emails with Achievement tips also came in at a good pace, and I look forward to playing and trading with you. One particular email stood out, which came from Casey over at brains-N-brawn.com, and the steps he took to get Achievements in one of the most time consuming Arcade games, Bejeweled 2.
Saints Row 2 will be alive in 2008
During THQ's earnings report, the big whigs on hand announced that they'll be releasing a Saints Row sequel sometime next year. They went on to say that they've canceled plans for porting the original Saints Row to the PS3 and will be using all that team's resources for Saints Row 2. So, Saints Row will remain an Xbox 360 exclusive for the foreseeable future, if not forever.We also can't help but draw a connection between the cancellation of the PS3 port and the release of Grand Theft Auto IV later this year. The competition would not be good for a ported PS3 version of Saints Row, so they probably figured why waste the cash. Speaking of GTA IV, is anyone interested enough in the Saints Row franchise to buy it on top of GTA IV (or ignore a GTA purchase all together) or were all those Saints Row sales filling a GTA void at the time?[Thanks, xBlaCkPlaGuEx]
Saint's Row has been cancelled - also, Saint's Row 2 announced!
The PlayStation 3 port of Saint's Row has been officially cancelled after disappearing from the radar some time ago. THQ announced that all the resources dedicated to the port have been moved to Saint's Row 2, which will come out on the PlayStation 3 as well as the Xbox 360 in 2008. The original Saint's Row came out in 2006 on the Xbox 360 to positive reviews and has gone onto sell an impressive 1.4 million copies.The cancellation will surely upset some people, but I'd rather have a fully developed and polished sequel than a port of a 9 month old game myself. It will give THQ more time to familiarize themselves with the complex architecture of the PS3 and tweak the gameplay of the series. The game was pretty good, but had some technical and gameplay issues (jaw-droppingly dumb storyline aside) that I hope they fix in the sequel.
PS3 Saints Row pimp-slapped and capped, sequel in works
Life ain't easy in the ghetto. THQ announced today that they are canceling the PS3 version of Saints Row and diverting those funds into a sequel for Xbox 360 and PS3. The sequel is scheduled for a 2008 release. THQ CEO Brian Farrell told NextGen, "We've done great things for our brands by putting them in the right time frame ... The most important thing for the Saints Row franchise is to have a simultaneous shipment into a larger installed base next year. That's what we're looking for with Saints Row 2." Saints Row ended up becoming a sleeper hit with 1.4 million units shipped for Xbox 360. The game recently became a platinum hit for the console and costs $29.99. Saints Row surprisingly elevated the GTA-style sandbox game. In the wake of GTA IV's release later this year it'll be interesting to see if Saints Row II can top it in 2008. See also: Saints Row the musical
Saints Row and Lego Star Wars II are platinum
Both Saints Row and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy are officially turning into Xbox 360 Platinum Hits. As part of Xbox.com's May newsletter, Microsoft announced both titles were going to be retailing for the standard $29.99 Platinum Hits price. We know Saints Row will appeal to some gangster fans, but we can nearly guarantee that most fanboys will find Lego Star Wars II worth the $30 price tag. Congratulations Saints Row and Lego Star Wars II, you're part of the somewhat special Platinum Hits club and now it's time to cash out on that retirement fund.
Live top ten: Agency Ascension
Last week, we had 4 demos on the Xbox Live Activity top ten. This week, we only have one on the list. Gears of War and Rainbow Six: Vegas continue to hold their respective top two spots. Crackdown comes in strong taking third place, pushing Call of Duty 3 down a notch. The Crackdown demo holds its middle of the pack position, even after its retail counterpart has been released. Madden and Lost Planet continue to follow behind, while Oblivion moves up a spot. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 comes in ninth and Saints Row makes a return to the list at tenth. We've got a list ready for you after the break with the title's standings last week in brackets for those statistic hungry types.
THQ cooking up sequels
THQ CFO Ed Zinser talked about the future of their intellectual properties and announced sequels for new gen consoles. Saints Row, Destroy All Humans!, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, Stuntman and MX all saw enough success to warrant continuing their respective series. Ed also informed us that they would be released on an every-other-year type schedule. On top of all the aforementioned franchises, Zinser also stated that THQ has fresh intellectual properties that they plan on introducing this generation. Are you looking forward to seeing any of these sequels come to your 360?[Via QJ.net]
THQ announces six franchises to be worked on
THQ CEO Brian Farrell had a conference call recently and thanks to PS3Fanboy tapping all major developer's phone lines (not really... but that would yield some priceless news!), we've learned of six franchises THQ wishes to bring back for some previously unannounced sequels.Farrell belted the titles he wanted to bring back almost as if he had them written down on a napkin: "Saints Row, Stuntman, which will be released this year, Juiced, which is a sequel to the product we launched a couple years ago, Destroy All Humans, MX, and my favorite, Red Faction." This is awesome! With Saints Row on it's way to the PS3, we might see a sequel fairly close to our completion of the first, unless he was referring to the PS3 version of the original. And Red Faction? Heck yes. The first one was a lot of fun. Never played the second. This is good news from THQ! Which game are you guys looking forward to seeing again from this list?
Saints Row confirmed for PS3
THQ has confirmed rumors that Saints Row is headed to the PlayStation 3. Volition's port is expected to be released this spring and will include support for PlayStation Network, bringing Saints Row's enjoyable multiplayer modes to PS3. The publisher did not address the possibility of new content being added to the PS3 version. Saints Row debuted on Xbox 360 in late August, receiving generally positive reviews. [Thanks, The_Foo_Fighter]
Saints Row goes off-Broadway
Sure, Saints Row is full of thugged out gangsta' pimps, but it's full of something else, too: bugs. Cabel, a man known for his DS review videos, has put together something very special to commemorate these bugs. Along with a friend, he's put together a musical, Buggy Saints Row. Well, it's really more like three vignettes, but it's still funny. With songs like "Where's my F*cking Car," you really can't miss. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the softer side of Saints Row. Follow the "read" link for Cabel's thoughts and a higher quality video.[Via Joystiq]
