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Tecmo Koei now Koei Tecmo in West, Marvelous Inc. drops AQL
2014 is the year of corporate name reversals, it seems. After Namco Bandai became Bandai Namco, Tecmo Koei and MarvelousAQL have decided to get in on the act. Or, as we should say now, Koei Tecmo and Marvelous Inc. It might seem odd, but there is some sense to the moves. When Tecmo and Koei merged in 2009 the resultant company was called Koei Tecmo in Japan, while Western Branches were named Tecmo Koei. Tecmo was the bigger name in the West with the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series among others, so putting the Tecmo name first was a smart move. Five years on, the company wants to move forward under a common name globally, and now we have Koei Tecmo Europe and Koei Tecmo America.
Keiji Inafune on why you shouldn't tease unannounced projects
"I don't think I mentioned anything about PlayStation Vita," Keiji Inafune told me in an interview this morning. His answer -- an outright lie -- elicited laughs from myself and his translator, both of us having attended his state of the Japanese game industry panel yesterday at GDC 2012 -- where he teased a PlayStation Vita project."I can say that I got in trouble from Sony," he said. Uh oh! Unsurprisingly, Inafune wouldn't budge on any more details, only adding that, "You should be able to hear something more in detail soon." That's right, folks -- even important devs like Keiji Inafune can't just walk around saying whatever they want about unannounced projects all willy nilly.But don't fret, fans, as Inafune plans on launching his already announced Nintendo 3DS project, King of Pirates, worldwide. "For all my titles, I'm looking to do worldwide publishing. I can't say who is publishing because it could be Marvelous directly or maybe they're going to find another publisher in the US," he said. "But the plan is to do it worldwide."
Little King's Story Vita receives regal Japanese trailer
Little King's Story, one of the best games of 2009 that nearly nobody played, is coming soon to PS Vita. Hopefully this majestic strategy title with Pikmin-esque combat will find an audience on Sony's fancy new handheld.
Keiji Inafune reveals 'King of Pirates,' heading to 3DS in 2012
Ex-Capcom head of production, Keiji Inafune, has yet another pot on the stove. His company, Intercept, announced its next game last night: "King of Pirates" for the Nintendo 3DS, which brings Inafune back into console development (as previously hinted). The game is apparently set on a massive ocean, "where heroes fight for ambition, justice, and their lives," according to a note from Inafune. 4Gamer reports that the game is planned as a trilogy, and features some form of multiplayer. The teaser trailer, however, doesn't go very far in explaining what the game is actually about, though it seems to indicate some form of ship battle game -- the official website describes it as "pirate action adventure." The trailer does let slip some other information, however, such as who's publishing the game, namely Marvelous AQL, makers of the Harvest Moon series. Currently, King of Pirates is only slated for launch in Japan, though we'd be surprised if it didn't end up in other territories eventually. In fact, according to Inafune's own development philosophy, it's almost guaranteed to arrive elsewhere.%Gallery-135800%
Marvelous and AQ Interactive merging
Marvelous Entertainment, the developer of the Harvest Moon series and Japanese publisher of games like No More Heroes, Muramasa, and Deadly Premonition, is entering into a merger with AQ Interactive, the publisher of the Korg DS-10 games, Bullet Witch, Blue Dragon Plus, and the 3DS title Cubic Ninja. Also included in the merger is Liveware, a mobile games company that was originally part of Marvelous anyway. The new company will be called Marvelous AQL when the merger finalizes on October 1. AQ Interactive has been doing some merging on its own. Last year, it absorbed its subsidiary Cavia, developer of Nier and the Drakengard games, into itself. It later did the same with developers Artoon and Feelplus.
No More Heroes: Red Zone packs Move controls, new material in Japan [Update]
The weekly Famitsu leak has brought early word of another re-release of No More Heroes coming to Japan, called No More Heroes: Red Zone. This PS3-only version adds material not found in last year's Japanese PS3 release of No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise, including PlayStation Move compatibility, and five bosses from No More Heroes 2. It also restores the full CERO Z rating. The Japanese PS3 release was cut down to fit a more generally acceptable D rating. All of this material is included in Konami's upcoming Western release of Heroes' Paradise, but Red Zone also reportedly includes ten missions that were cut from the original Wii version. This could be exclusive content -- or it could just be a bonus that Konami hasn't told us about yet! We're asking the publisher now. Update: Konami told Joystiq that this is the same version we're getting in America.
Three minutes of Hero 30 Second
Hero 30 Second ditches all the gameplay varieties from its predecessor except for the Hero 30 mode -- so no controlling the Evil Lord this time. But that Hero mode is expanded, and playable in five different scenarios. The totally dramatic trailer after the break introduces them all.
Konami releasing No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise on PS3 in Europe, with Move support
Konami Europe has picked up the rights to No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise, the Feelplus-developed HD port of No More Heroes -- but seemingly just the PS3 version and not the Xbox 360 release. To make the news even more baffling, Konami is adding PlayStation Move support. That's right, the motion controls that were replaced in the game's transition from Wii to PS3 are back! Both previous No More Heroes games were published in Europe by Rising Star Games, which was first a subsidiary of -- and then a content partner with -- Japanese publisher Marvelous Interactive. We're following up with Konami's American branch to find out whether Travis Touchdown will appear in HD in North America. The European release is scheduled for 2011.
Marvelous profits in fiscal Q1 -- by cutting back on game releases
Marvelous Entertainment has, in the recent past, been reporting disappointing earnings. Well, not even "earnings." Losses. To combat those losses, the company reduced its slate for fiscal 2011, a strategy that appears to have worked. In its last fiscal quarter (which ended June 30), Marvelous's digital content division had ¥71 million ($829,000) in profit. The same quarter last year saw $1.5 million in losses! According to Siliconera's summary of the report, the boosted performance has more to do with reduced costs than game sales -- sales were actually down 55.4% year-over-year. Marvelous released just three games in the quarter, including No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise.
Marvelous plans new IP, 3DS Harvest Moon for next fiscal year
The reduction of new IP coming out of Marvelous Entertainment isn't as total as we'd heard. In a recent investor Q&A summarized by air-be and translated by Siliconera, the company revealed that it will have original IP in the next fiscal year, for "new hardware." The current fiscal year ends March 31, 2011. This hardware is likely to be something other than the 3DS. The company refers to that system explicitly when discussing its plans to release a Harvest Moon game on Nintendo's extradimensional handheld. That Harvest Moon game, by the way, also won't be ready until the next fiscal year, which means that you won't be planting crops deep into the ground -- with visible depth -- at the 3DS's launch.
Marvelous focuses on PSP development in fiscal 2011
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given the company's recent executive pay cuts and low sales figures, that Marvelous Entertainment is looking to cut costs in fiscal 2011 by reducing its lineup of games slightly. Siliconera points out a slide from the company's latest earnings report (Japanese PDF downloadable at the bottom of the window) that shows only ten releases for the period between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. That's down two from the previous year. The biggest move comes from the DS lineup, which is reduced from six games to just one. Also unsurprisingly, Marvelous is putting emphasis on PSP games. PSP development was the segment of Marvelous's game business that paid off in the last year, and the publisher is putting out more games there -- four -- than anywhere else in fiscal 2011. That includes the RPG Fate/Extra and the humiliating fighter Ikki Tousen: Xross Impact, as well as two currently unannounced games. The rest of Marvelous's lineup includes the already-released No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise on PS3 and 360, Harvest Moon: Twins' Village on DS, one unknown PS3 game, and two unknown Wii games. [Via Siliconera]
PSN Tuesday: Test drive Split/Second, ModNation Racers
PSN Tuesday's big draw this week is kickin' the tires on Split/Second, developed by the same folks that brought us the equally gorgeous Pure. For those interested in DLC, there's new stuff for BioShock 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum and, naturally, LittleBigPlanet. PSP owners can pick up Harvest Moon: Hero Of Leaf Valley and Worms: Battle Islands. Split/Second isn't the only racing game with a demo -- ModNation Racers is also available for a test drive. Check out the full update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Jikan de Fantasia lets you play as a more-than-Half-Minute Hero
It appears Jikan de Fantasia, a new RPG hitting PSP this summer in Japan, is taking some heavy inspiration from Half-Minute Hero. Makes sense, considering this new adventure is from Opus Studio, the same team responsible for Marvelous's quirky action RPG. Like its predecessor, Jikan de Fantasia blends hack 'n slash RPG gameplay with a time-bending twist. However, instead of condensing an RPG to thirty seconds, you can set the amount of time you want to spend. Have only five minutes on the subway? Have a thirty minute bus commute? You'll be able to set your own time limit, and the game will create an adventure that fits your schedule. According to Famitsu, Jikan de Fantasia deconstructs the core mechanics of an RPG, from leaving your hometown, meeting NPCs, and exploring dungeons to fighting a final boss, and reassembles them to create an experience that fits the time you want. For those that found the thirty second gameplay of Opus's last adventure a bit too manic, this experience should be far more compelling.
No More Heroes 2 set for May 28 in Europe
Okay, now we have an official European release date for No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Rising Star Games has finally announced what we hope is the final date: May 28. Rising Star didn't mention a reason for the delay, though at least you can take heart in the fact that none of the extra time was spent removing blood from the game. If you're feeling put off by the four-month wait -- or if you're having a flashback to the past of European game publishing, when everything came out half a year or more after the North American release -- at least you don't have it as bad as Japan. There, No More Heroes 2 still has no release date at all.
Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley coming stateside in April
Considering the extent to which Farmville has enraptured the hearts and minds of 95 percent of the Facebook-using populace, we're not surprised that Natsume has decided to bring yet another installment in the Harvest Moon franchise to the States. According to the publisher, American store shelves will play host to Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley for the PSP in April. The game will task you with staving off the expansion of The Funland Corporation's chain of amusement parks into your home town of Leaf Valley. You'll do so in the most logical manner imaginable: by repeatedly performing various agricultural chores. Yeah, that'll show 'em! Editor's Note: This announcement was posted earlier on Joystiq PlayStation. We apologize for the excessive publication of this news.
Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley coming to PSP this April
Natsume continues milking the Harvest Moon franchise, with a new game coming to the PSP later this year. Hero of Leaf Valley promises to be "the biggest PSP Harvest Moon adventure yet." This time around, players must farm their hearts out in order to save Leaf Valley from the evil Funland Corporation. Multiple endings are promised -- we hope one of them involves your vegetables combining to form a mech that destroys Funland Corp. (That might be unlikely, though.) Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley will be available in April for $29.99. %Gallery-84159%
Marvelous execs take pay cuts in the face of losses
Marvelous Interactive executives have taken a pay cut in response to a bad earnings forecast due to the publisher's low sales figures. Executives will take a 15-17 percent cut in pay, directors will be hit 25-43 percent, while the CEO will take a 77 percent reduction. What's unclear is if this is a sign that executives are taking responsibility for what happened, or if there simply isn't enough money in the coffers to pay them. [Via Siliconera]
Play a Half-Minute Hero demo for a few minutes next week
If the thought of buying before trying seems as alien as making a sandwich out of textbooks and old toilet paper tubes, then you'll want to keep reading: Rising Star has announced that a demo of Half-Minute Hero will hit the EU PSN next week. Dubbed "Hero Mode," the demo will allow players to select between three missions included in the final game. Half-Minute Hero features a series of quick challenges blending together a menagerie of genres, such as RPG, RTS and even shoot-em-ups. It's currently set to release in Europe on February 12. [Via Videogamer]
Half-Minute Hero finds time for Europe
If you've been following Joystiq, you should be familiar with Half-Minute Hero, the zany RPG in which the apocalypse threatens to arrive every thirty seconds. Rising Star Games is taking care of the European release of the game, which will be readied on February 12th, 2010. A press release describes Half-Minute Hero as a "love-letter to 8-bit classics," thanks to its retro inspired graphics. Disturbingly, Rising Star Games' Martin Defries says "it's a game which keeps on giving - but like an inexperienced teenager: 30 seconds at a time." We're not entirely sure what that's supposed to mean, but we would advise not keeping your kids around this guy.
Marvelous lost money on most of its Wii releases
Pretty much everyone can guess why No More Heroes is being released again -- Marvelous needs money. During a Q&A presentation (PDF link, Japanese) about its fiscal Q2 2010 earnings, Marvelous boldly revealed that three out of its four 2009 Wii releases lost money, though it didn't say which was the winner. Muramasa sold 47,000 units in Japan, the company said, not specifying American sales. Arc Rise Fantasia, which will be published Stateside by Ignition, sold 45,000 copies. Little King's Story sold 26,000 copies in Japan, 37,000 copies in North America, and 67,000 in Europe. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, which came out in September in North America, sold just 16,000 copies (Japanese sales, which started in October, are not mentioned). Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility on Wii somehow sold 57,000 units in 2009 despite being a 2007 release in Japan, a 2008 release in America, and not out until October in Europe and Australia. Because of lower development costs, Marvelous said, PSP software was more successful, with four out of five releases making money on similar sales numbers. Half-Minute Hero was Marvelous's overall best-performing title, at 70,000 copies sold. [Via Siliconera]
