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CrunchyRoll's first game is based on 'DanMachi'
Anime streaming network CrunchyRoll is making a video game based on the Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? series. The free-to-play Memoria Freese/Dan-Memo is available for both Android and iOS and will feature in-app purchases and an original storyline from the show's first season. Series creator Fujino Omori is handling writing duties, with Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Inori Minase, Saori Ōnishi and others lending their talents to the voice cast. And don't worry about dubs here: CrunchyRoll promises there will be Japanese voices with English subtitles.
Free-to-play Assassin's Creed Memories announced for iOS
Ubisoft revealed today that a new free-to-play entry in its Assassin's Creed series is coming soon to Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch in collaboration with mobile publishers GREE and PlayNext. Boasting gameplay that mixes "RPG, strategy and card battle elements," the upcoming Assassin's Creed Memories takes place across multiple eras featured in previous Assassin's Creed games, including Colonial America and Renaissance Italy. Memories offers detailed character customization mechanics, and features a single-player story mode in addition to a multiplayer component that supports up to 20 players per team. A release date for Assassin's Creed Memories is not yet known. [Image: Ubisoft]
Final Fantasy Artniks Dive says pick a card, any card
If Square-Enix has learned anything, it's that games where Cloud from Final Fantasy VII can somehow interact with Tidus from Final Fantasy X will always lure in a few players. Final Fantasy Artniks Dive, due out this summer on Japanese iOS and Android devices, is born out of this maxim. That it's also a mobile game about collecting cards and battling against friends also makes it a pretty sure thing for the publisher's bottom line. Final Fantasy Artniks Dive is the latest collaboration between Square-Enix and mobile game specialists GREE. It's also a sequel to Gree's Final Fantasy Artniks, which came out in 2012. Announced on Monday, Dive will expand on the card battling of its predecessor. In Artniks, players fought using cards based on the characters and even artwork from old Final Fantasy games like those aforementioned classics. Dive will introduce new art and characters to expand on that base. As of now, Final Fantasy Artniks Dive is only due out in Japan this summer. Square-Enix brings the majority of its mobile Final Fantasy games to the US, but while Artniks proved profitable for the company back in 2013, it remains a Japanese exclusive. [Images: Square-Enix]
Massively does Geek Week: Take a scenic tour of SWTOR
As MMO players, we know all about being geeks; we're the geekiest video gamers around! Join in the fun today as we celebrate Google's Geek Week with a series of MMO-flavored videos to introduce fellow geeks to our favorite games: Guild Wars 2, SWTOR, The Secret World, and more! Despite its struggles since launch, Star Wars: The Old Republic retains a mighty playerbase. In fact, its subscription numbers easily place it in the top five MMOs! No doubt many players stick with the game because of its incredible and iconic vistas and locations. So why not live vicariously through our SWTOR columnist and virtually visit some of those destinations in a humorous flythrough recorded especially for Geek Week? Visit the haunted halls of the Sith Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas, tour the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and explore the war-torn wastes of Ilum. But whatever you do, don't mention what happens on the Bounty Hunter's D5-Mantis starship. We're still trying to block that from our minds.
Star Ocean: Material Trader is social, card-based RPG
The next Star Ocean game, Star Ocean: Material Trader, will incorporate the series' universe of characters and items into a social-oriented, role-playing card game, according to Siliconera's translation of Gamer's report. Series Producer Yoshinori Yamagishi is working with Circle of Mana developer Hippos Lab, Square-Enix's smartphone division, to lead Material Trader's development. The game will reach iOS and Android devices this year. Players help the game's protagonist Tina by collecting "star shards," tackling quests, gathering experience and hoarding money. Hunting for materials and characters while exploring seems to be essential to boosting odds of success in the game. The series' trademark Item Creation mechanic also returns, allowing players to create and equip powerful accessories to their favorite cards. Those who register before it releases will get a special card of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time's Peppita Rossetti.
SWTOR's Gree event returns May 21
The Gree starship Grey Secant is returning to Star Wars: The Old Republic's planet Ilum. BioWare's website has updated with all the details on the event's return engagement, which starts May 21st and runs through the 28th. Players can earn reputation, rare armor, vehicles, and pets, and BioWare says that "this is a great time for players at level 45-plus to jump into the event before the event returns at level 55 in the future." More info is available via the Relics of the Gree event blog.
GREE lays off 30 from San Francisco offices
Japanese publisher GREE has laid off 30 members of its San Francisco office, according to a report from GamesIndustry International. Anil Dharni, COO of the mobile and social publisher, told GamesIndustry that GREE has recently aligned its US studio "to focus on creating the next generation of mobile social games. This shift in focus has been clearly demonstrated by the success and growth of our games." "As part of ensuring that we are operating as efficiently as possible, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our work force. The employees leaving today have made great contributions to our success and we wish them all the best," he added. We have contacted GREE for confirmation of the layoffs, and will update accordingly.
CyberConnect2 releases iPhone action game Shadow Escaper
CyberConnect2, developer of Naruto fighting games, Asura's Wrath, and more, has published its first smartphone game, downloadable for free. Shadow Escaper, reminiscent of a gothic Temple Run, is on iOS now, with an Android version coming. It stars a fugitive "Night Dweller" demon, whose flight away from attacking angels you control with taps and swipes.When day turns to night, your power is unlocked and you can turn around and face your attackers. Each cycle you survive improves your place on a leaderboard.As a cooperation with GREE, Shadow Escaper is naturally free-to-play. An in-game shop will exchange real currency for in-game currency whenever you'd like.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR reinvents the Ilum wheel
For about a year, Star Wars: The Old Republic fans have been waiting to see how the BioWare design team would reinvent Ilum. The first incarnation discouraged PvP by making the objectives give no PvP incentive. It was easier, faster, and more beneficial for players to just ignore enemy players. The second incarnation failed even harder. At the time, there was a major disparity between the two factions, so the larger faction would easily overpower the smaller faction. This did not actually encourage PvP either because the smaller faction just stopped showing up and only the larger faction benefited from the zone. At that point, BioWare decided to remove all objectives from the area and work on a revamp. Last Tuesday, players were introduced to the third incarnation of the Ilum PvP zone. This time around, the zone contains a mix of group-on-group PvP, world bosses, and of course, PvE fetch/kill quests. How does it stack up to the previous incarnations? How does the reputation grind and Gree event fit into this equation? Should former players return to the game to try out the changes?
SWTOR's Patch 1.7 gets a snazzy video
Star Wars: The Old Republic is getting hit with Patch 1.7 tomorrow. The patch is bringing with it the new Galactic Reputation system and a new event. The event, Relics of the Gree, will send players to unravel the mystery of the ancient Gree. After the patch goes live, players will be able to journey to the News Terminals located in Carrick Station or Vaiken Spacedock to kick off the new adventures. It's a limited-time event, so make sure to get in before February 26th to experience the event. Skip below the cut for a sneak peek at the Relics of the Gree. [Thanks to groovy netizen John for the tip!]
MMObility: Modern War almost gets it, but only almost
Modern War by Gree has some pretty neat things going for it. A lot of the gameplay is not really state-of-the-art, and most of it we've seen before in many social-style games, but it allows for some cool and relatively persistent play on your mobile device. It's hard to find MMOs in today's mobile market. A lot of the time I'll download a new one only to find out that it's not really an MMO at all. There are some really great titles in the mobile/smartphone market, but it takes work to find them. Modern War is a sneaky one. It's more of a pseudo-MMO but does a few cool things that more MMORTS titles should. It also works nicely on my Nexus 7 tablet, for the most part, except for a few odd problems that I'll cover in a minute. After I'm done, you might understand how mixed up the game feels as it's pretty close to becoming a good game.
SWTOR adding Gree event, galactic reputation system
Star Wars: The Old Republic may not be our only hope, but that doesn't mean it's not a viable date candidate. The dashing bachelor is sprucing up its resume with the addition of two new features to the game in the near future: a galactic reputation system and a recurring event starring the Gree. The Relics of the Gree event will take place sporadically on the endgame planet of Ilum. It's there that a giant Gree starship will be discovered, explored, and possibly conquered. BioWare says that players can "earn exclusive Gree technology" in the form of cool new gear. The galactic reputation system might be a powerful incentive to level up all over again. The system adds to the game a new rep grind, which can be leveled up by doing Gree, Voss, or military missions. Reputation points are shared across all characters and count toward the titles and rewards from reaching higher ranks.
GREE tweaks US operations, invests in MunkyFun
GREE is a very large Japanese social network similar to Facebook or Twitter that has been trying to secure some mindspace in the West by acquiring game developers and their large audiences. The company is making a heavy investment in MunkyFun, makers of My Horse and Bounty Bots, for $3 million. It's also switching up its US business to focus on its own titles. That includes "some redundancies," and GREE says its platform business will start transitioning back to Tokyo in the future. Probably the most high-profile acquisition GREE made on iOS was in the OpenFeint social network, and that system is being shut down this month, so it's not too surprising that the company is making some cutbacks. But this is the first sign we've seen that GREE might be changing its mind about trying to take over the West. These social networks have bought a lot of access to users, but haven't seen much growth, so they might have to come up with another tactic to connect up with the big audience of Westerners using iOS devices. Update: This post previously stated that GREE was acquiring MunkyFun, but the $3 million put in is just a minority investment, not a full acquistion. Show full PR text GREE Expands its U.S. Games Business With New Mobile Games Fund and Announcement of $3 million Investment in Hit Developer, MunkyFun San Francisco, CA December 06, 2012- GREE is today announcing that it's expanding its focus on 2nd party mobile game development with a new mobile investment fund managed by a new publishing and partnerships group. The fund's first venture is in mobile game developer, MunkyFun, maker of games such as My Horse and Bounty Bots. MunkyFun received a minority investment of $3 million from GREE. GREE, which recently announced the closure of mobile social gaming platform, OpenFeint, is focusing its US business primarily on its own titles and developer partner titles. As part of the company's internal US reorganization, a majority of the GREE games platform team will be transitioned to new departments with redundancies in some areas. The overall GREE Platform business will begin transitioning to its operations in Tokyo as a part of this change The US operation continues to build a strong portfolio of mobile games- including recently launched titles Monster Quest and MLB: Full Deck. The mobile investment fund is the latest in a series of commitments to first party and second party titles including full-out acquisitions of mobile game developers App Ant in September 2012 and Investment in IUGO Entertainment earlier this year.
'Fighters of Capcom' trademarked
Whoa, hey, listen -- put that knife down. Look, we know you just had a terrifying Capcom Fighting Jam flashback, but everything is going to be okay. We've got no idea whether Capcom's newly registered trademark for "Fighters of Capcom" has anything to do with a fighting game. It could just as easily be the western name for some GREE card battling thing for cell phones, specifically Capcom All Stars with Everyone, which launched in Japan late last month.It is video game related, we do know that much. The trademark's designation covers several variations on "Computer game software," as well as a few forms of "Electronic game programs for mobile phones and smart phones" and a mountain of other distinctions. We've reached out to Capcom for more information, so let's just both take a deep breath and drink this calming chamomile tea before someone gets knife murdered.
OpenFeint gaming service closing down December 14
App Store-connected social hub Openfeint isn't going to be around much longer, relinquishing iOS gaming leaderboards to Apple's own offering. Its owner, Gree, picked up the iOS and Android gaming platform back in April 2011 and is now trying to convince developers to bring their titles across to its main social gaming service. The switch-off will occur in mid-December, with "all OpenFeint network calls" being summarily terminated. Gree hopes to transfer willing game devs across to their primary hub in under a week.
OpenFeint shutting down December 14 in favor of GREE's service
OpenFeint, a mobile gaming platform that offers an online social hub and achievements system for iOS and Android games, will shut down on December 14. GREE, OpenFeint's parent company since April 2011, is offering options for developers to migrate existing OpenFeint-supported games to the GREE service. Some of the noteworthy OpenFeint-supported games include Tiny Wings, Fruit Ninja and Robot Unicorn Attack.According to OpenFeint's support page, "all OpenFeint network calls will be nonfunctional which may result in service disruptions to your game and a poor player experience" after the plug is pulled on the service in mid-December.Basic GREE platform integration is expected to take no longer than a week for some developers, and the list of changes between the services notes that "there is no asynchronous method associated with the unlocking of achievements for iOS games" on the GREE service.
Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops coming to smartphones, hits worldwide this year
Konami announced Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops, an upcoming smartphone game, at this morning's Metal Gear 25th Anniversary event. GREE chief operating officer Yoshikazu Tanaka unveiled the game's first trailer, showcasing its 3D graphics in the Unity engine, before announcing a worldwide release later this year.According to Andriasang, Social Ops revisits stories from previous MGS games, features a card-based battle system, and has Mother Base development options reminiscent of Peace Walker. Attendees at September's Tokyo Game Show should find out, as a playable build is scheduled to be there. In the meantime, Famitsu has a couple of screenshots to check out.[Image credit: @johntv]
Monster Hunter: Massive Hunting hits iOS/Android in Japan this year
Capcom's masssively successful (in Japan) Monster Hunter series is returning to the massively successful (in Japan) GREE platform this year, for an iOS/Android social game called Monster Hunter: Massive Hunting.Similar to Capcom's previous iOS Monster Hunter, you fight giant beasts using touch controls, including "tap and flick" gestures. Players can also pick up materials to make new equipment, and use a "friend hunting" system, which adds a currently undefined social element. Presumably it doesn't involve hunting and killing your real life friends.
GREE, Mad Catz, and NetDragon Websoft join ESA
The Entertainment Software Association's membership grew by three members this morning, as the ESA announced GREE, Mad Catz, and NetDragon Websoft to have joined its "membership roster." The ESA notes that this brings its membership up to 34 member companies, representing both publishers and developers.The addition of GREE and Mad Catz is no surprise – both companies have taken a more aggressive approach to game industry visibility in the past few years, and joining the ESA seems like a logical step. NetDragon Websoft, according to our brethren at Massively, is a Chinese MMO developer signed on to bring Ultima Online to China, Hong Kong, Macau, and India with Electronic Arts.Now that all three companies are card-carrying ESA members, perhaps a congrats are in order? We'll consider sending a fruit basket.
Assassin's Creed Utopia coming to mobile from GREE and Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation won't be the only way to get your assassination/conspiracy theory/fashionable hood fix on the go, as Ubisoft and GREE have announced Assassin's Creed Utopia for unknown mobile devices.The game, which is set to launch sometime later this year, will see players building their own "Assassin's Creed utopian colonial city," producer Andreane Meunier told Pocket Gamer. Unlike Liberation on the Vita, Utopia will not be directly linked to Assassin's Creed 3's continuity, though the game does take place in the early days of American colonization.GREE's trademark social inclinations will be present in some form or another, but Meunier insists Utopia won't abandon AC's "hardcore" roots.
