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Bakugan is bak ... ugan on DS with Battle Trainer
If you're like us, you were left with plenty of questions after Bakugan Battle Brawlers dropped on DS, questions like "Who bought that thing?", "What's a bakugan?" and "Shouldn't I do some research about it in case I have to write a post about a sequel getting announced?" We have an answer for that last question, friends, and it is "No." Bakugan Battle Brawlers is a new game coming to the DS, and here are some words you can read about it. We're pretty sure it's a game.
Activision reports $113m in profits for 2009; 2010 game plan is predictable
Today Activision Blizzard reported the financial results of its December quarter and the entire 2009 calendar year. For the year, Activision recorded a net income of $113 million, a modest turnaround from the $107 million in net losses for the company in 2008. Led by sales of Modern Warfare 2, all signs -- at least, this one -- pointed to an outstanding Q4 for the publisher. However, figures released today indicate that Activision actually posted a $286 million net loss during the period. "Despite these challenging times, in 2010 we remain focused on expanding operating margins by growing our high-margin digital/online revenues, directing our resources to the largest and most profitable opportunities and realizing operational efficiencies globally," CEO Bobby Kotick said. "In calendar year 2010, we expect our net earnings and operating margin growth will be driven by our product slate that includes Blizzard Entertainment's Starcraft II and the World of Warcraft expansion pack, Cataclysm, as well as a diversified lineup based on Activision Publishing's best-selling franchises including Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk, together with other well-known titles such as True Crime, Spider-Man and Bakugan." While few details were give about Activision's pending slate of sequels, spinoffs and possible reboots, Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing, did share a few words about the next True Crime game. "We'll be releasing a game in the $4 billion action genre, based on our True Crime franchise," Griffith said. "The game blends intense Hollywood-style driving with martial arts combat and shootouts to deliver an Asian cinema-inspired action thriller. This is a big open-world action game that looks especially strong." Griffith also confirmed that a new 007 game is still in the works for 2010. Additionally, Activision noted that two new IPs are in development for its 2010 lineup and assured that additional DLC will continue to be released for Guitar Hero 5 (and presumably Band Hero), as well as for DJ Hero. The next installments in both music game franchises, Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, are due in "the back half of the year," according Griffith. Activision also announced that it has ceased developing new Guitar Hero games for the PlayStation 2 platform. Aw, shucks.
Google Zeitgeist 2009 shows year's top game searches
We would never call you out on your love for whatever crappy thing it is that you love but, guys, you're using Google wrong. Its recent Zeitgeist 2009 report shows what the most popular gaming term searches of this year have been and the results are pretty surprising.At the top spot is Ghostbusters, which is fine by us -- it was a pretty big deal when it was announced and it sold a lot of copies, so naturally folks were interested. But, as we delve deeper into the top 10, the search terms become a bit more interesting. The next three terms -- "ufc" "saw" and "bakugan" -- really threw us for a loop. Saw? Really? Bakugan? What is that, a gun that uses evil Japanese spirits for ammo? Actually, that sounds pretty cool.Further into the list, we see that Batman: Arkham Asylum managed to put a batarang in the fifth spot, much lower than we'd like, but we can live with that -- however, coming in at the sixth spot is Twilight. Guys! Vampires. Do. Not. Sparkle. Seventh was FIFA 2010, followed by Modern Warfare in eighth. The ninth spot belonged to Transformers 2, which we must admit has one of this year's best performances by a human male, so that seems okay. Finally, Resident Evil 5 rounded out the list in last place.
GameStop's Black Friday bundles are delectable
First off, we just want to apologize in advance if this post is the catalyst that forces you to wake up at 3 a.m. on Friday morning. Sincerely, we're sorry. But we just thought you'd want to know that GameStop will be offering some mighty tasty console bundles from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving. For $300, you'll be able to pick up an Elite 360 with Pure, Lego Batman and your choice of Bakugan or Call of Duty 4, which is sort of like Sophie's Choice, if Sophie had to choose between eating delicious pie or a rusty folding chair. Those same three Benjamins will also net you a 120 GB PS3 Slim with LittleBigPlanet and the God of War collection. Now, keep in mind that our friend Cheapy D says you'll probably be just as well served getting Black Friday deals from an online retailer like Amazon. We know, we normally don't trust bald people either, but you don't have to wake up before the paperboy this way. We think the choice is pretty clear. .nounderline a { text-decoration: none; } Check out Joystiq's Black Friday Game Deals Hub or jump to a retailer guide below: Best Buy | GameStop | Kmart & Sears | Target | Toys"R"Us | Walmart For more Black Friday coverage, check out Black Friday Deals, Cyber Monday Sales, And other Black Friday 2009 stories today from Walletpop.com
The pre-order bonus of your dreams: A Bakugan pillowcase
Let the losers keep their night vision goggles and Batarangs, those of you pre-ordering Bakugan Battle Brawlers at Game Crazy are going to get the real premium: A pillowcase featuring BBB's lead character Dan. Just imagine how cool it's going to look this October as the neighborhood bully spirits it into the night, filled with your freshly collected Halloween candy. What's that? Still not convinced? Did we mention that the reverse side features Dan's guardian Bakugan Dragonoid? Seriously, check it out after the jump.
Bakugan: Battle Brawlers screens roll out for Wii and DS
You know you're old when there's a whole phenomenon sweeping the world that you've never heard about. Just like Tamagotchi, Pokémon and countless amounts of Pogs that have come before it, the latest collectible gaming craze aimed at the elementary school is Bakugan, where you do battle on cards with balls. That's right, balls. Apparently more than 55 million of these suckers have been sold already and it won Toy of the Year last year. Blink!Activision is readying a video game version for the Wii and DS later this year, and we've got some of the first screens from the ball-rolling battler. There's actually a neat little mechanic in the real version, featuring magnets that cause your ball to pop open into a little fighting creature or robot when you roll it over one of the cards. Check out the full gallery below and try to avoid making any ball-related jokes. We know, it's nigh impossible.%Gallery-51830%
Activision spinning Bakugan off into game series
Activision has announced plans to release games based on the Bakugan toy and cartoon line for Wii, DS, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS2 (something had to be non-PSP-related today!). The first game will be released this fall.The Bakugan toy line focuses on a game in which spring-loaded action figures pop out of a spherical shape when rolled onto metal game cards. We've never looked into it, but it sounds kind of awesome in theory! The press release says that the NOW Production-developed game, which apparently uses a similar game design across platforms, will feature "intense battles, the ability to create your own Brawler, cartoon quality graphics and multiplayer combat." Not too intense, we hope -- for the kids' sake.
