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NintendoWare Weekly: Jam City Rollergirls, 1942, Black Tiger
Today's Wii Shop update brings the official sports game of a sport without much official game representation: roller derby. Jam City Rollergirls carries the Women's Flat Track Derby Association license, so if you happen to follow the sport, you'll recognize the teams and players. Also available: two more Virtual Console Arcade games by Capcom, which is dangerously close to making us forget how moribund the Virtual Console has become. DSiWare is home to the first non-PSN release from MonkeyPaw Games, and it's ... a poker game! That company is defying expectations left and right.%Gallery-114973%
Capcom launches free-to-play iPhone arcade app
The Capcom Arcade iPhone arcade app, containing emulated versions of Street Fighter II, Commando, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and 1942, launched today, offering a Game Room-style structure for its offerings. You can purchase "tokens" to play each of the games for $.99, or you can pay three bucks for unlimited access. That much was announced when the game was first revealed last month. However, what we didn't know at the time is that you get three free plays per day. Even if you don't feel like paying anything for the app, you can still play the games. Free seems like an okay price for touch-controlled arcade games.
Capcom Arcade Classics confirmed for North American release in 2011
Nintendo's small collection of Virtual Console Arcade titles is about to get ... slightly less small. Capcom has this poster in their New York Comic-Con booth confirming the addition of six new arcade games to the North American Wii Shop in 2011.
Three Capcom arcade games confirmed for Virtual Console in Japan
Capcom continues to support the Virtual Console long after most companies have abandoned the service, announcing three upcoming Virtual Console Arcade releases for Japan. Black Tiger (an early candidate for Final Fight: Double Impact inclusion), Ghosts 'n Goblins (which is already available on Virtual Console in its NES form) and 1942 will be released in Japan in the near future. Though no announcements have been made about these titles' releases outside of Japan, recent Australian ratings show that Capcom is likely planning to launch some of its other Virtual Console Arcade games in additional territories. [Image credit: The Arcade Flyers Archive]
Capcom Arcade to bring retro thrills and clever pricing to your iPhone
Capcom has announced that in early November an App Store near you will be graced with Capcom Arcade, featuring at launch arcade classics Street Fighter II, 1942, Commando, and Ghouls 'n' Ghosts. IGN has a positive writeup of a preview it played, saying that the touch-based controls worked fine but it was disappointed by the lack of online play or leaderboards. Capcom is promising these features in updates down the line, as well as an additional game every month. Personally I find Ghouls 'n' Ghosts horrendously difficult with a proper joystick, let alone a touch interface. Still though, our own Mike Schramm was impressed by iPhone version of Street Fighter 4, and the games will offer the option of adjusted (read: easier) difficulty levels for iPhone play to reduce the number of expensive devices thrown against walls because of the first boss in GnG. Anyway, touch screen controls aren't the clever bit. The clever bit is how you'll be paying for this slice of retro goodness. The app itself will be free, and come with a few tokens you can use to play the games a few times for free. If you run out, you can buy more tokens, or just wait because you'll get a few free ones each day. Eventually Capcom hopes you'll tire of the drip-feeding and pay out for unlimited play of one or more of the games, although exactly how much you'll be paying for this privilege it isn't letting on yet.
Capcom's titles go on sale for 99 cents
Good news everyone! Capcom's putting some of its iPhone titles on sale this weekend, so head on over to the App Store to pick up Resident Evil 4, 1942: First Strike, Mega Man II, Dark Void Zero, or a few of Capcom's other licensed games for just a penny short of a buck. Not all of the titles are on sale, so no luck with Street Fighter IV or Phoenix Wright, but there are some good options in there anyway. I'm especially excited for Mega Man II, since that was such a favorite of mine as a kid. It turns out that being patient on the App Store can save you a lot of money, and even bigger developers are learning that going cheap, if only for a limited time, can significantly raise apps in the rankings.
PSN Thursday: Capcom's bundles of fun
Sure, there's a new episode of Qore this week (which takes a long look at Uncharted 2), but there's something calling us to the Capcom "super pack." A bundle of eight games for $50: some great, some good ... a couple "meh." Normally we wouldn't consider buying a couple of the titles individually, but something about them being lumped together seems to diminish that feeling -- it's weird marketing voodoo. PSP's Patapon is also available at $15, which is three dollars less than picking up a used copy down at the pawn shop. Check out the rest of the update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Get your 1942: Joint Strike T-shirts!
With 1942: Joint Strike now available on Xbox Live Arcade, it's time to show your gaming spirit with snazzy new T-shirts! Featuring Street Fighter's Cammy pulling off her best pin-up girl pose, the shirts are available for $26 (plus shipping) from Meatbun.us. Why Cammy, you ask? Both Street Fighter and 1942 were created by Yoshiki Okamoto, of course! What we want to know is where Meatbun found triplets to pose in the shirt's three available colors. Check out a close up image of the shirt's artwork after the break.
1942: Joint Strike E3 shirts now available for purchase
The 1942: Joint Strike shirts from E3, featuring Street Fighter's Cammy doing her best bomber nose art impression, are available now from Meatbun.com. The shirt will cost $26, plus shipping, and is available worldwide in the three colors seen above. A close-up of the shirt's image can be found after the break. Fun fact: Yoshiki Okamoto created both 1942 and the Street Fighter series, so the shirt's image with Cammy isn't an entirely random cross-promotion. [Thanks Jared, Via John D's blog]
1942 out tomorrow in the US; 'a couple of weeks' in Europe
Capcom continues their bombardment of the PSN this week with another downloadable title straight from the annals of time. Literally. 1942: Joint Strike will be included in tomorrow's American PSN update and will be available for the low price of $9.99. Imagine that; an entire year for less than ten dollars.Europeans will, sadly, have "a couple of weeks" to wait before they can get their hands on the remake of Capcom's classic top-down shooter. Unless you have a 360, that is. It seems SCEE's PSN department still needs a bit of straightening out. Sure, they're aiming for simultaneous worldwide releases, but we hope it won't take another year before we actually see some results in that department. The estimated price? £6.99. Don't get us started.%Gallery-21210%
This Wednesday: Go! Go! Break Steady and 1942 jointly strike XBLA
Capcom continues its retro revival on XBLA this Wednesday with the release of 1942: Joint Strike. Developed by Backbone Entertainment (Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 and the upcoming Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix), the game is a classic two-player, top-down shooter set against the backdrop of an alternate WWII where laser cannons and building-sized tanks are commonplace. It's landing at 800 MS points ($10). Go! Go! Break Steady is a rhythm puzzle game set against the backdrop of an alternate WWII– er, actually it's a breakdancing themed puzzler from indie dev Little Boy Games. We first checked out this XNA-to-XBLA success story at GDC '08. You can pop and/or lock to your heart's content for 800 MS points ($10). If you don't care for the trial game, you can always use the $10 to support your local youth center, which was likely saved by breakdancers in the '80s. %Gallery-18258% %Gallery-16353%
Sorry, no trophies for 1942 or Bionic Commando [Update]
The upcoming 1942 and Bionic Commando PSN games are not going to support trophies, according to a statement by Capcom PR Manager Tim Ng. Many speculated after a recent PlayStation.Blog post that the upcoming downloadable Bionic Commando title would support PS3's Achievement-esque Trophy system. Considering how popular they are for Super Stardust HD, we really hoped Capcom would've been able to add these shiny accomplishments into their games. Perhaps they'll reconsider for future titles down the line.Update: Trophies may be patched into Bionic Commando: Rearmed at some point. However, this isn't guaranteed. According to John Diamonon from Capcom: "Medals are the equivalent to achievements. Basically doing the same things in either version will open up these medals. We are currently reviewing how much work it would take to retro tag save/clear data for trophy support. Certainly though, if it does not require a huge amount of programming time (I.e. money) then we will probably move forward with it." [Source][Photo Source]
1942: Joint Strike arrives on PSN 7/24
Click for high-resolution image. It only seems like yesterday that Capcom released another shooter onto the PSN. Well, their assault on digital downloads isn't over yet. 1942: Joint Strike will be available on PSN later this month -- the 24th, to be precise.Joint Strike continues the gameplay found in the original 194X series of arcade games from the 80s. Gamers should know exactly what to expect: tons of fast-paced vertical rails sooting. Developed by Backbone Entertainment, Joint Strike will feature two-player online cooperative play and a new score created by Norihiko Hibino. That guy? He's just famous for making music for this "Metal Gear" thing.New screens have been uploaded to our gallery. Check 'em out:%Gallery-21210%
1942: Joint Strike set to deploy 7/23 to XBLA, 7/24 to PSN
Capcom's World War II shoot-em-up 1942: Joint Strike is set to launch the week after E3, July 23 for Xbox Live Arcade and the day after for PlayStation Network. It will cost 800 MS points (US $10), according to a press release. The game is yet another HD remake for Capcom, after giving similar treatment to Super Puzzle Fighter II and Super Super Street Fighter II. Developer Backbone Entertainment went the extra mile, however, in creating new backdrops, levels and enemies. The game features a new score by frequent Metal Gear Solid contributor Norihiko Hibino. What hasn't changed? It's still a shoot-em-up, so for better or worse, you know exactly what to expect. %Gallery-18258%
Capcom Digital Day XBLA blowout!
With the risk of sounding mean, Japanese companies rarely pay attention to their audience. At one point Sony execs refused to believe in social gaming and Nintendo thought online play was a fad but thankfully that mentality is changing. One company inparticular is attempting to reach out to gamers, in this age of social media, and that company is Capcom. Recent announcements make us think that Capcom's latest mission statement is to focus on community feedback. With polling consumers for the price-point of Bionic Commando: Rearmed and allowing gamers to beta test the hottly anticipated Street Fighter II HD Remix (SSFIITHDR that is), Capcom's focus is pointed at what their fans want and think. It's a refreshing approach and gamers are taking notice. Today we noticed the insane amount of footage that came out of Capcom's recent event, Capcom Digital Day. At the event Capcom showcased the upcoming pseudo-expansion Lost Planet Colonies and their upcoming library of XBLA releases. While Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix were all known quantities, Capcom also showed of the HD remake of the classic top-down shooter 1942 which was recently announced. Jump in for a breakdown of each of the XBLA games and a ton of video starting with the title Street Fighter fans will be clawing all over, for the beta that is, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.
Capcom Digital Day Roundup
Joystiq's Senior California Correspondent Zack Stern spent a day with Capcom while the East Coast Joystiq Division (ECJD™) sat silently and watched. If you haven't been paying attention today, here's what you missed: News Lost Planet Colonies confirmed for $30, online not backwards-compatible We Love Golf American release to include online play Mega Man Star Force 2 coming in June Meet the new Street Fighter: El Fuerte XBLA size limit no longer a problem for SF2HD Impressions Joystiq hands-on: Plunder (XBLA/PSN/PC) Joystiq hands-on: Street Fighter II HD (XBLA/PSN) Joystiq hands-on: Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 (XBLA/PSN) Joystiq impressions: 1942: Joint Strike (XBLA/PSN) %Gallery-18313%
Joystiq gets hands-on with Capcom's upcoming PSN titles
Capcom recently hosted a Gamer's Day for its upcoming digital distribution titles, all coming to PSN. Joystiq had a chance to get some hands-on time with the following titles: 1942: Joint Strike Plunder Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 It's great to see Capcom supporting downloadable tiltes as heavily as it is. Let's just hope their upcoming efforts are a bit more inspired than Rocketmen: Axis of Evil! Gallery: 1942: Joint Strike (XBLA/PSN) Gallery: Plunder (PSN/XBLA/PC) Gallery: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Gallery: Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
Joystiq impressions: 1942: Joint Strike (XBLA/PSN)
Capcom and Backbone Entertainment are shipping 1942: Joint Strike for XBLA and PSN this Summer. The HD remake -- hmm, part of a bona fide trend -- takes inspiration from 1942 and the other 194X games. But the top-down WWII shooter strives to be its own title, with unique levels, enemies, and updated weapons. I recently checked out an alpha version of the game on a 360. The graphics looked sharp, with light sepia effects evoking a news-reel quality at times. Other times, colors popped against high-definition backgrounds. While the 3D world exists in a top-down angle, tall buildings leaned with the perspective, adding another visual hook to the shooter. %Gallery-18258%
GameTap Thursday: Gumboy rolls into town
This week GameTap serves up a little bit of whimsy and some decent puzzle action. Granted, this week's addition of D.N.A. to the service can't hold a candle to the crackpipe of Peggle, but it's still a good casual fix. GameTap also serves up indie title Gumboy Crazy Adventures. Somewhere between Kirby and LocoRoco lies Gumboy, check it out for something a little different. D.N.A. (Windows) - Combine proteins to keep your casual game addiction in check. Drop Team (Windows) - Boy was it tough finding info on this game we'd never heard of. Even Metacritic only has two disparate reviews. Gumboy Crazy Adventures (Windows) - Familiar to those who've played LocoRoco, but if you like your acid trips a little less cheery its worth checking out. After the break we have GameTap's list of free games, this week 1942 gets added to the lineup -- but make sure to first play 1941, the plots lead into each other.
