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Report: Thief movie under way from Vertigo, Prime
A Thief film is in development from Vertigo and Prime Universe, Hollywood news site Tracking Board reports. Adrian Askarieh and Roy Lee, two of the people behind film adaptations of Deus Ex and Minecraft, are tagged to produce. There's no extra juice to the report, but we can imagine what a Thief movie would look like: Garrett, the brooding and highly trained medieval burglar, is on a mission to steal an expensive trinket from a castle overlooking a seedy village. After an hour of establishing his sad backstory, Garrett sneaks past the guards, kills a few (silently), and makes it to the grand ballroom that houses the shiny object. He approaches it, reaches out a steady hand, and then – a voice interrupts him. He turns, only to be immediately blinded by the regal beauty of the queen. His heart is forever stolen. Tagline: Who's the real thief? What. A. Twist. (Please, Askarieh and Lee, don't do anything like that. Not that you would, but ... please.) [Image: Square Enix]
Xbox Live discounts Child of Light, Thief this week
Microsoft's Deals with Gold discounts Thief by 40 percent ($35.99) on Xbox One this week. Additionally, both Xbox Live Gold and Silver members can enjoy discounts on Assassin's Creed 4 add-ons on both Xbox One and Xbox 360, getting the game's season pass, Blackbeard's Wrath, Guild of Rogues, Freedom Cry and Illustrious Pirates DLC for 30 percent off each. As for the Xbox 360-specific deals, Gold subscribers can pick up Child of Light at 33 percent off this week ($10.04) as well as Flashback and Cloudberry Kingdom for 67 percent off ($3.29 each). Four games are slashed by 75 percent this week: I Am Alive, From Dust and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger are $3.74 each while Freefall Racers is $2.49. Lastly, both Gold and Silver subscribers can pick up Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 at 67 percent off ($19.79) as well as its World Challenge DLC at half-off ($2.49). All deals are good through next Monday, July 7. [Image: Square Enix]
Square Enix revises forecasts, sales exceed expectations
Here's something you don't see much in the doom and gloom of financial season: Square Enix is revising its forecasts up because it's posted better sales than expected across the fiscal year. The Japanese publisher said several games recorded positive sales, such as Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, Thief and, yes, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. What a difference a year and 6 million sales overall makes. The company also cited cost reduction initiatives and exchange gains on the ever-weaker yen as factors contributing to a greater net profit than projected. Square Enix expects now to record a profit for the year ending March 31, 2014 of 6.6 billion yen ($64.9 million). That's up a whopping 88.6 percent from the company's minimum estimates, and a significant 10 percent up from max figures. We should learn more about Square Enix's finances when the company releases its annual report, but the picture looks rosier than this time last year. After deciding to reform its AAA business in the wake of weak sales on console, the publisher continues to be pleased with the progress of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. Registrations surpassed the 2 million mark following last month's PS4 launch, and in today's statement Square Enix called out the MMORPG's software sales as "strong." [Image: Square Enix]
Thief, Tomb Raider discounted on Xbox Live this week
Xbox Live serves up a series of steep discounts this week on retail-released Xbox One games, bringing price drops for the digital versions of Thief, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and other featured titles. Starting March 28 and extending through March 30, the Xbox One versions of Thief and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will be priced at $29.99 each. Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available for 33 percent off of its regular retail price ($39.99), while Ghosts' DLC-bundled Digital Hardened Edition is up for grabs at 20 percent off. Xbox Live Gold members can also pick up the Xbox 360 Games on Demand versions of all three games at a discount through March 31. Other sale-priced Xbox 360 games featured in this week's lineup include NBA 2K14, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, and 2K's BioShock series. [Image: Square Enix]
Thief developer Eidos Montreal lays off 27 employees
Thief developer Eidos Montreal laid off 27 employees today, the developer confirmed. The studio just launched its reboot of the the Thief series in late February, and opted to make cuts after turning its attention to future projects. "Yes it is true we've let 27 people go today, unfortunately it's something that every major studio has to do sometimes in order to ensure you have the right set up for current and future projects," Eidos Montreal said in a statement to IGN. "It's never a nice thing to do but we are genuinely trying to offer as much support as much as we can." The developer said it is "trying to re-locate as many people as possible into other roles here or at our other studios" in order to soften the blow to its employees. Additionally, it is looking to arrange a career day with other studios on Montreal. "We're very thankful for all their hard work and we sincerely wish them well," the developer added. Whether initial commercial reception for the developer's latest game has anything to do with its decision to carry on with fewer employees is unclear. We can say that while reviews for Thief varied considerably, we found the game to be worthy of four stars in our review. [Image: Eidos Montreal]
Thief yoinks top spot in this week's UK Charts
It's no daylight robbery: Thief is a deserving UK chart leader, especially since we're knee deep in the Q1 downpour of new releases. The Eidos Montreal game fended off plenty of competition to record the second highest sales for a No.1 game this year, and 75 percent of those were on PS4 and Xbox One. The new releases that fell short of the crown jewels include Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare in 4th, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 in 10th, and placing just outside the top ten is PS3 HD-em-up Tales of Symphonia: Chronicles in 13th. Konami may've been hoping to see the second Lords of Shadow place higher, but it's still the second biggest debut for the franchise (in Chart Track history), only topped by the first game.
Joystiq Streams: Running into walls in Thief on PS4 [UPDATE: It's over!]
The Thief series was legendary to console-only players at the beginning of the century. Looking Glass Studios' sneaky adventures were, like Half-Life and Deus Ex, harbingers of a complex and subtle gaming world that was only available on PCs. Thief's mystique has endured in the decade since the series went silent, and even now its blend of Victorian adventure and fear is seductive from the outside. That's why Joystiq Streams is diving into Thief on PlayStation 4 totally blind. Having never played before and with only limited knowledge of what's supposed to be happening, Anthony John Agnello will tackle Thief just as he did Don't Starve and Outlast on PS4. That is to say, fearfully and with extreme hubris. Alexander Sliwinski will be hanging in the chat, feeding your advice, well wishes, and mockery to Anthony as he goes. It's all happening at 4PM EST on the Joystiq Twitch channel. Come and join in the sneakery. [Image: Square-Enix]
'Stiq Tips: A Thief guide
You should probably understand right away that Thief is not an action game. You're not going to go in with swords a-blazin', hundreds of flasks of explosive liquid, and psychic powers, taking on an entire army at once. In fact, Thief actively encourages you not to fight, and in the game's challenge modes it detracts points for engaging in tussles. This is Thief, a tactical game that can actually get really tough compliments of its customizable difficulty system. Like, really, really tough.
Buy Thief at Newegg, get free Domino's (because, pizza)
Pizza is great. Everyone loves pizza, even thieves-for-hire. In fact, a well-known byproduct of being a kleptomaniac is an insatiable craving for carbohydrates. A Thief promotion at Newegg capitalizes on this by granting all who pick up a PC copy with a $10 coupon for Domino's Pizza. Enter the promo code SENTFPO during checkpoint for an additional ten percent off. Thankfully, Newegg has extended some sales love to Thief's other platforms too. Grabbing a copy of Thief on PS4, Xbox One, PS3 or Xbox 360 before March 3 nets a gift card good for $5. Thief, which launched this week, is a game our review said is "best when it sticks to the involving, slow-paced stealth that made its ancestor such a tense affair." Our review adds, "Thief succeeds when it's quiet, fingers reaching out and almost – almost – touching an irresistible spread of glittering prizes." [Image: Eidos Montreal]
PSN Tuesday: Thief, Pac-Man Museum, Lords of Shadow 2
The PlayStation Store updated today with new games across every platform, led by the launches of Thief and Basement Crawl on PS4. Thief joins another new release in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on PS3 this week. PS3 owners can pick up The Batman Bundle, which includes Batman: Arkham Origins and the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns animated film as well as the Tales of Symphonia Chronicles bundle that comprises both Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Rounding out this week's PS3 additions is Magus and Pac-Man Museum, the latter being a $20 pack of games spanning the yellow gobbler's series. Vita owners only get one new game this week: Mahjong 2 World Contest, as well as PSOne Classic Herc's Adventures, also available on PS3 and PSP. Though Vita owners can now download the Crackle app to watch movies and TV shows, the marquee media streaming addition this week is the WWE Network app on PS3 and PS4. [Image: Square Enix]
Metareview: Thief
Say "hello" to Thief, the first game of the year with review scores across the board. Ours trended toward the higher side calling it a game where the "balance isn't entirely successful." Game Informer (80/100): "Locked behind this old-school game design is a gem that stealth fans should eye up for their collection." Edge (70/100): "Fans who take the time to customise their settings ahead of their first playthrough will find a rewarding world here to pick clean. Nevertheless, it's still difficult to shake the feeling that, for all his dexterity, Garrett has stumbled in his attempt to gain access to a new generation. IGN (68/100): "Between the hit-or-miss missions is an extremely annoying city hub map and a weak story full of bland characters, and Garrett himself isn't as sure-footed as a master thief ought to be. Ignoring the story and cherrypicking the best side missions is the best way to approach it." Gamespot (60/100): "Each time I thought I might fall in love, the game doused my passions with a new annoyance. There was the bug that had me swimming in place on top of some boards I'd leapt to. (Thank goodness for reloadable checkpoints!)" Telegraph (40/100): "I had more fun making my way up to bed in the dark after playing Thief than I did at any point during its benighted trudge across The City." [Image: SquareEnix]
Thief Review: For the Hoard
Thief certainly lives up to its name, having borrowed and filed it down from 1998's eye-opening classic, Thief: The Dark Project. Eidos Montreal's take strays from pure stealth in its contemporary design, but earns success from one crucial perspective: that of a man who sees glittering objects everywhere. Though it's too dark to classify as comedy, Thief made me laugh at myself as I inhabited the role of Garrett, master thief and perpetual pincher of private items. Between the closeness of the game's first-person perspective and the oppressive gloom cast by its cobbled, medieval architecture, Thief effectively imparts the ideal mindset to match Garrett's quiet and crouched movements. That mindset, I learned while running from guards and stupidly stopping to unscrew a shiny plaque on the city's wall, is tinged with insanity and distraction. I just couldn't help myself.
Garrett channels his inner Bruce Willis in Thief launch trailer
"I've been a ghost all my life," Thief protagonist Bruce Willis Garrett says in this trailer for his soon-to-be-released game, in which he may or may not literally be a ghost. Where's Haley Joel Osment when you need him? Check out our video preview for more ghost-thief action.
Thief sneaks in 1080p on PS4, 900p on Xbox One
When Thief debuts on February 25, the PlayStation 4 incarnation of the stealth-action game will feature graphics at 1080p resolution, while its Xbox One counterpart will offer 900p imagery. This disparity was revealed by Square Enix in a recent chat with Eurogamer, though the publisher claims that the difference is not glaring. "You really need good eyes to see the difference," said Thief director Nicolas Cantin, before adding that the Xbox One game "is as good as the PS4 version." The big difference, Cantin claims, is found between the older generation of consoles and these newer machines. "We put more detail in, more special effects. But at the same time, we kept the same gameplay experience with the current-gen and the next-gen versions." Thief is only the most recent example of a big release offering higher resolution graphics on the PlayStation 4. Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes will reportedly run at 1080p on PlayStation 4 and at 720p on Xbox One, while the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Ghosts received a launch day patch to bump its graphics up to 1080p. [Image: Square Enix]
Watch Thief's first chapter play out in this footage
Eagerly anticipating your lockpicking, treasure-collecting stint in the Thief reboot? You can start plotting your routes through the game's first chapter while watching this early playthrough. If you're looking for a little more context, steal a glimpse of our video preview. [Image: Square-Enix]
Learn all about Thief in this pre-release primer
Thief is now complete and slated to hit retail shelves on February 25, but before Garrett dives into another kleptomaniacal adventure, publisher Square Enix hopes to bring everyone up to speed with this six-minute lesson on the perpetually gloomy world of Thief. [Image: Square Enix]
Joystiq Weekly: News, reviews and original content from January 27 - February 2
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" recap of the week's most happening ... happenings. Yes. We'll summarize the biggest news, freshest reviews and original content from each week every Sunday, just in case you missed it while tending to your weekday grind. We'll also segue into each section with a reaction gif to the top story, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Now that we've reached life's designated "timeout" known as the weekend, let's dive in to this week's biggest moments:
Thief Video Preview
What does your moral compass say about Thief, a game in which you covet all that glitters and pinch every penny like a delicious, mineral-heavy morsel before dropping it into your gaping pocket? In our new video preview we find there's still an illicit thrill in stealing professionally as master thief Garrett, who returns in this Eidos-Montreal reboot of 1996's Thief: The Dark Project. And let's be honest: having spent several games looting fresh corpses, eating curative sponge cakes straight from the garbage and gutting leopards for tacky ammo pouches, kleptomania just comes naturally to us all. Thief is coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on February 25. For more on the game's open world, read our last preview, "Stalking the City in Shadow."
Thief PC specs slip out
After a rollercoaster half-decade or so of development, Thief is barely a month away from our lives. If that scarcely sounds conceivable, the proof is in the presently procured parchment: Eidos Montreal posted the stealthy reboot's system specs. Square Enix once again turned to conversion specialist Nixxes for the PC port; the two have worked together on several projects over the last decade or so. As for the PC specs, the good news is you probably won't have to make off with a friend's uber-system to play it. For the full list of minimum and recommended specs, check past the break. Thief is also coming to Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360, and is due to finally reach all those platforms on February 25 in North America, and February 28 in Europe.
Thief VGX trailer introduces a character just in time to say goodbye
Thief's narrative arc involves a familiar set of circumstances: a girl falling to her presumed death and the protagonist's struggle to fight on after that loss. Plus, old men in even older robes. You may have seen this video when it premiered during the weekend's VGX live show, if you made it more than two minutes in.
