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Investors plug $6 million into Majesco
Majesco Entertainment completed an investment round that resulted in $6 million in funding, the Cooking Mama publisher announced today. $1 million of the funds were issued to the company with the rest stashed in escrow until certain, as-yet-unknown conditions are met by Majesco. The company also appointed two people to its boards of directors to replace two that stepped down, one of whom is Jesse Sutton, who will remain Majesco's CEO after resigning from the company's board. SEC filings in November admitted that Majesco "suffered losses that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." It reported a 27.2 percent drop year-over-year in net revenue in September, as well as net losses of $2.7 million. As a result, Majesco laid off several staff in October to reduce fixed costs. The company also noted last month that it is "currently not developing any significant new games for release in fiscal 2015," which ends on October 31, 2015. [Image: Majesco]
Majesco doubting 'ability to continue' following layoffs
Majesco has fallen on hard times, as the Cooking Mama publisher "implemented a reduction of our workforce to reduce our fixed costs," according to recent SEC filings. The company's layoffs came at the very end of October, just after its independent label Midnight City launched Costume Quest 2 on PS3 and PS4. The publisher reported a net loss of $2.7 million in September for the quarter ending July 31 as well as a net revenue of $2.9 million, a 27.2 percent drop year-over year. When pointing to the earnings report in a November 6 filing, Majesco said it "suffered losses that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." Likewise, Majesco is "currently not developing any significant new games for release in fiscal 2015," a period that ends on October 31, 2015. The three games slated to launch during that time are Hello Kitty and Sanrio Friends 3D Racing for 3DS, Gone Home's console port courtesy of Midnight City and Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms for PC, which is currently available in early access form on Steam. [Image: Majesco]
Just you and your Shadow Warrior on consoles this September
Bandai Namco confirmed it's bringing Shadow Warrior to PS4 and Xbox One in Europe on September 26. Majesco's not yet announced a US date beyond "late September," but GameStop's listing of September 23 tallies with the typical three-day gap between regions. Described as a "bold re-imagining" of 3D Realms' 1997 shooter, the new Shadow Warrior hit PC around the same time last year. It retained a few Lo Wang jokes but toned down the stereotyping, delivering a more modern mix of first-person shooting and swordfighting.
WayForward considering 'small and crazy' games before possible Boy and His Blob sequel
In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, WayForward's Sean Velasco said that he'd be up for making a sequel to the developer's Wii update of A Boy and His Blob. While it's not official confirmation of such a project in the works, the fact that Velasco thinks that "Another A Boy And His Blob game would also be amazing as the first one was such a great experience" is a positive sign for those interested in the continued adventures of a kid and his jelly-bean-crazed monster. In the meantime, however, Velasco is looking to "make a few small and crazy titles next. Maybe some downloadable games?" WayForward has Shantae: Risky's Revenge on the way to DSiWare, and has expressed interest in more downloadable games in the past. %Gallery-46747%
European Nintendo downloads: Starship Patrol, A Boy and His Blob, Eat! Fat! FIGHT!
Today's European Wii/DSi Shop update includes one of the most cringeworthy localizations in memory. Tecmo's Tsuppari Oozumo Wii Heya, the latest in its long-lived sumo wrestling series, appears in Europe today as ... Eat! Fat! FIGHT! Sure, it's more lighthearted and less a strict simulation of sumo, but Eat! Fat! FIGHT? Really? A Boy and His Blob and Street Fighter II' (the PC Engine version) arrive on Virtual Console today, and DSiWare has yet another original Q-Games title: Starship Patrol, a futuristic-looking tower defense game in space! Eat! Fat! FIGHT! (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Moki Moki (WiiWare, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) A Boy and His Blob (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Street Fighter II': Champion Edition (Turbografx-16, 1-2 players, 700 Wii Points) A Little Bit of... Magic Made Fun: Psychic Camera (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Castle of Magic (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Littlest Pet Shop (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points) myNotebook: Green (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Starship Patrol (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
VC in Brief: Super Mario Kart (SNES), A Boy and His Blob (NES)
This week's Virtual Console update is delicious on two different fronts. For one, it's delicious in that we wish we could have some of those jelly beans the Blob in A Boy and His Blob is snacking on -- well, except for the ketchup ones. Even we don't like those! Secondly, it's delicious because ... uh, we may not have thought that far ahead, But, hey, Super Mario Kart! Have you been adequately distracted from our mental lapse? Check out the video above! Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.
Review: A Boy and His Blob
A Boy and His Blob tells the story of an extra-terrestrial, amorphous lifeform and his young handler as they combat an evil emperor, hellbent on doing what all evil emperors want to do: kill most and rule over what's left. The only thing standing in this extreme evildoer's way is the boy's willingness to feed the Blob different jellybeans, which cause him -- it? -- to transform into different shapes, thereby overcoming the game's many obstacles. After playing the game for a bit, it became clear that I was going to have to give up my need to solve the game's puzzles unsupervised. See, A Boy and His Blob thought that I would be far better off if it held my hand. %Gallery-46747% [Note: This review also comes with this "complimentary" video. Enjoy!]
A Boy and His Boy-Shaped Blob in a new trailer
WayForward has done something fairly magical with its gorgeous remake of A Boy and His Blob -- it's made the game look appealing even to someone who has played the NES game recently enough to remember the abject frustration, untinged by nostalgia. In fact, we think this game is lovely enough to attract players who don't even know there was another game. This 'launch' trailer (though the game isn't out until October) includes some animated story sequences, the use of which shouldn't be much of a surprise in a hand-drawn game. It also includes a quick look at some delightful jellybean-granted Blob abilities, like a mech and some kind of "boy" shape.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: A director and his boy and his blob
This week, WayForward's Sean Velasco offers Nintendo Channel viewers a look at the delightful-looking A Boy and His Blob, describing the colorful sidescrolling adventure as "a sincere game in a cynical time." We suppose that the level of interest the game inspires could be related to your own cynicism. In short, if the look of this game does nothing for you, you're either too cynical or you've spent too much time playing the NES game. FInd the video, as well as the list of DS demos and other new videos, after the break. [Via GoNintendo]
Preorder A Boy and His Blob, get a blob
Now here's a novel idea: Preorder A Boy and His Blob at GameStop and receive ... a blob. Well, at least something that looks like the blob from the game's title. In actuality, it's one of those foam rubber stress-relief balls. Only shaped like a the blob -- and far more cute. Note that -- thankfully -- the bonus is just the blob and does not include a boy, foam rubber or otherwise. Girls who preorder the game also get the blob, but are able to claim they're "a girl and her blob," which would probably make a good title for the sequel. A Boy and His Blob is out on October 13 and looks gorgeous.
A Boy and His Blob's new screenshots warm our hearts
We'll be honest -- the upcoming re-imagining of A Boy and His Blob for Nintendo Wii makes our hearts go aflutter. The newest screens, grabbed by Aussie-Nintendo, do little more than entice us while we patiently wait for the game's release date. When is that again? Oh, right, we have no idea. We do, however, have two videos from back in March to compare with today's screens, which we're pleased to say look just as good as the videos did back then. And just look at that adorable picture with the game's main character taking a snooze! Sorry, sorry, we'll be over here being total creeps. You enjoy the new screens below. %Gallery-69237% [Via GoNintendo]
E3 2009 highlights: The Nintendo roundup
Nintendo E3 2009 checklist: Mario? *check* Zelda? *check* Metroid? *check* Are we missing something? Head past the break to find out!
Interview: WayForward's Voldi Way talks blobs, Shantae, and street cred
Voldi Way, president of WayForward -- or "Tyrannical Overlord" of the company, if his business card is to be believed -- gave us one of the company's first interviews as a "publisher," having recently self-published downloadable games on DS (Mighty Flip Champs) and WiiWare (LIT). During this E3 interview, Way told us that the company has at least three new unannounced projects, two of which are coming this year on Wii, and one also headed for PC. He also addressed the purported Aliens vs. Predator DS game and discussed the company's licensed game strategy, about which we may have accidentally given him a complex.
Impressions: a boy and his blob (Wii)
WayForward's a boy and his blob is at the same time an excellent recreation of the original game and an experience all its own. Much like the original game, our titular boy feeds his pet blob many varieties of jelly beans, however a new art style and host of new blob forms give this game a feel all its own. If there were any doubts regarding this title as both a conduit to relive the plesant days of the original's release, while simultaneously offering a fresh, new take on the game, then let them be squashed now. %Gallery-46747%
Joystiq interview: Majesco, WayForward spill the jelly beans on A Boy and His Blob
Every child wants a pet, be it a dog, cat, goldfish, or in the case of industry luminary David Crane's 1989 slice of Americana, A Boy an His Blob, a space alien with a hankering for sweets. Unlike E.T., however, Crane's extra terrestrial's fixation wasn't Reese's Pieces, but jelly beans of nearly every flavor imaginable, both delicious and gross. Not even Jelly Belly has a ketchup flavor in its confectionery arsenal, not that that's any reason to boast. Now twenty years on A Boy and His Blob is set to make its return. We recently caught up with Majesco exec Joe Sutton as well as WayForward director Sean Velasco -- and managed to even talk producer Robb Alvey down off a roller coaster to join the conversation -- to discover just what flavor of adventure we can expect out of the jelly bean-munching amoeba's hop onto the Wii. %Gallery-46747%
A Boy and His Blob dev working on new IP
WayForward is exposing more of its ... way forward. Having just been revealed as the developer of the amazing-looking a boy and his blob remake for Wii, the maker of such games as Contra 4 and LIT is working on yet another new title based on an original IP, according to N-Europe. The news come via the company's official newsletter, which teases an original character named Atla (pictured), a scepter-wielding heroine who's the "champion of truth, justice and athletic shorts." There's also info on ... oh, wait, that was it. Anyway, we're not going out on a limb in speculating Atla -- seen in full here -- will don her athletic shorts on a Nintendo platform. Whether it's DS, WiiWare or a full-on Wii retail release, we're anxious to know more about this talented dev's next effort.
Video: A Boy and His Blob in action
Another gush of a boy and his blob assets has been released, this time in the form of gameplay footage. After serving up a few screenshots that had us swooning for more, two direct-feed videos are available from IGN. If the style and polish of the screenshots blew your top off, tape down a shirt and check out this impressive (and beautiful) gameplay footage. You can check out a boy (and his blob) navigating through the world -- using tactics we still recall from our childhood -- after the break. [via NintendoEverything] %Gallery-46747%
A Boy and His Blob: surprisingly sharp graphics for an amorphous character
We knew from the Nintendo Power preview that WayForward's new version of A Boy and His Blob (officially called a boy and his blob -- lower case -- for some reason) was pretty. But after looking at these direct-feed shots in full resolution, we are upgrading our estimation from "pretty" to "an absolute dream." Nobody can say anything bad about the Wii's graphical capabilities ever again. Well, they can and will, but they will be even more wrong than before. This game looks amazing. Even more screens at IGN show that a boy and his blob will feature widescreen capabilities. We'd be quite thrilled with the new game even in ugly polygons, though of course we prefer these incredibly beautiful sprites! %Gallery-46747%
A Boy and His Blob detailed in latest Nintendo Power
Remember earlier today when we revealed the first image of A Boy and His Blob from Nintendo Power's exclusive story? Well, we lied a little bit when we said that the pixelated image you saw then wasn't going to be revealed until March 5. No folks, we got the full details (well, the first full page of details at least) early from our good buddies at Nintendo Power, and are happy to report that A Boy and His Blob looks to recreate all the enjoyment you had with the original. Jellybean-related gameplay and the game's story are back for a second run in the Majesco-published, WayForward-developed Wii game and it's set to hit retailers this Fall, according to the NP piece. WayForward, known for recent WiiWare horror/puzzler LIT and technologically impressive Shantae for Game Boy Color, will be hand-drawing all the (yes, 2D) visuals. It's also adding to the original's defensive and puzzle-solving jellybeanery with beans that turn your blob into various offensive items (some examples given are anvil dropping and ground removing). If you want more details (and an interview with the game's director) you'll just have to wait until you get your grubby little mitts on the April issue of Nintendo Power.
A Boy and His Blob bouncing to Wii on a tangerine trampoline
We've suddenly been hit with a jellybean craving, thanks to Nintendo Power's reveal of a Boy and His Blob "reinvention" for Wii. The magazine teases an upcoming Wii preview with a pixelated image of the article, to be revealed March 5. The table of contents, however, features the unobscured Boy and His Blob artwork seen here. We can only hope that this Wii reimagining of the classic David Crane-designed puzzle-adventure will fare better than the heartbreakingly cancelled DS game. The single piece of art is already more promising than the admittedly garish look of the DS game, at least. [Via GoNintendo]
