vampire-rain
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Rumor: Microsoft exclusivity deals funding PS3 development in Japan
What do Vampire Rain, Tales of Vesperia, Lost Planet, Eternal Sonata and Enchanted Arms all have in common? Aside from being developed in Japan, every one of them landed on the Xbox 360 "exclusively" first, only getting ported (sometimes with additional content) to the PlayStation 3 a year or so later. One Japanese developer claims the exclusivity agreements are being used in lieu of financial help from Sony for game development -- essentially saying that Japanese developers are using Microsoft's capital to develop temporarily exclusive 360 games with the intention of inexpensively porting the games to PS3 later on. "It was easier developing for the Xbox 360 ... if you sign an exclusive contract with Microsoft (you won't release it on other hardware for a year or similar), they will give you a lot of cash for development," read a Japanese developer's post (the original post has since been removed), translated by Sankaku Complex (site NSFW). "As a result, first you develop for the Xbox, reducing development costs. But the Xbox version won't sell [in Japan]. So they port it to the PS3 ... it's cheaper as you already have the game done." Though they didn't work on it, the developer claims to have seen this policy in practice with Tales of Vesperia. As Kotaku points out, it's quite possible that the dev did see such a practice on Vampire Rain, a game the mystery developer says they worked on.
AQ Interactive re-announces Vampire Rain for PS3
Vampire Rain: Altered Species is heading to the PS3. Players take the role of John Llyod, member of a special ops unit, in a suburban west coast city to fight the Nightwalkers, a race of superhuman vampires. For better or for worse, AQ Interactive has announced (again) that the game will be making its way to the PS3. "We are very excited to bring Vampire Rain: Altered Species to the PlayStation 3," said Artoon President Naoto ??shima in a recent press release. "The incredible power of the PS3, will allow us to give gamers a fully immersive experience. This will include: 5.1 channel audio, over 50 hours of gameplay, extra bonus levels, a lot of completely revamped animations, character interactions and much more." Vampire Rain: Altered Species promises both a single and multiplayer experience.Vampire Rain was originally released on Xbox 360, and stands as one of the worst games on the platform. IGN called the original Vampire Rain "an abomination of a videogame that doesn't even deserve a rental." Will the PS3 version fare any better? Unlikely.
Vampire Rain wants to Play and Win too
Another day and another Xbox.com sponsored Play and Win giveaway, but we aren't complaining. Next weekend from July 13th through the 15th you'll be able to participate in the Vampire Rain Play and Win contest to win an Xbox 360 Elite, HD DVD player, racing wheel and more. To enter, simply register your gamertag here and play Vampire Rain next weekend for entry into the giveaway. It's that simple. Now we're off to figure out what exactly makes Vampire Rain different than the standard rain we get in the Midwest.
Vampire Rain downpours July 3rd
Well, if you're a little pissy about not getting the demo in your area, at least you won't have to wait long for the retail to be released. Microsoft just sent out a release stating that Vampire Rain will be shipping July 3rd for $59.99. Not only that, but a Fan Site Kit can be downloaded at the www.vampirerain.com. So, does the idea of merging Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Sam Fisher from the Splinter Cell series interest you, or does it run a little dry?
Vampire Rain goes gold, hits stores on July 3rd
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 will soon be assaulted by moist plasma dependents in the form of Vampire Rain, which has gone gold and will commence its unrestrained display of sucking on July 3rd. Developed by Japan's Artoon (you'll see more of their work in Blue Dragon this August), the game has been summarized by internet pundits in much the same way it was originally pitched in a board meeting: Splinter Cell with vampires and, err, somewhat lower production values. Those hoping to judge the game for themselves and play the demo can call on any of their Xbox Live friends who happen to have accounts in Japan, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand or Singapore. The absence of a US demo at this stage seems a little suspicious, if only because international impressions indicate that Vampire Rain falls mainly on the plain side of things. That's not something you want people to know when you dangle a $60 game in front of them, now is it?[Via Microsoft press release]
Vampire Rain demo available in Canada & Mexico, not U.S.
The Vampire Rain demo was first released in Japan on Tuesday, and we suspected that it would become available in North America shortly thereafter. Well, we were right and today it is, but unfortunately for some (or rather, most), it's only available in two thirds of this continent. While being available in Mexico and Canada, as well as portions of Europe, Asia, and Australia, the demo is not on Marketplace in the US. Quite frankly this is quite odd, and we hope the rest of you get your hands on it sooner rather than later. We guess we can get you "exclusive" hands on impressions later today, if we aren't too busy.
