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Report: Rez developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi departs Q Entertainment
Tetsuya Mizuguchi, most famous for developing trippy shooters Child of Eden and Rez, has departed Q Entertainment, according to an unnamed employee who reportedly contacted CVG to relay the news. Though Mizuguchi founded Q Entertainment in 2003 after leaving Sega, CVG's anonymous source claims the developer departed the company at an unspecified point in 2013. The move remained a secret until now, though its not entirely clear why neither Q Entertainment nor Mizuguchi made this news available to the public. As for Mizuguchi's motivations, the source cites the acquisition of Q Entertainment by Japanese company Sanyo Chemical Industries. That may be the case, but Mizuguchi had long ago stepped away from having an active hand in the development of Q Entertainment's products. As we reported in 2012, Mizuguchi made a public decision to move into a spokesman role at the company, and had focused his development efforts on more academic pursuits. [Image: Ubisoft]
Rez and Child of Eden creator Mizuguchi steps away from game development
Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the man behind Rez, Lumines, and Child of Eden, isn't currently developing games at Q Entertainment. Company director Nobuhiko Shimizu told Eurogamer that Mizuguchi is taking on a "spokesperson" role, having become more involved with "academic work."Mizuguchi's game development career began at Sega in 1990. There he created Sega Rally, Space Channel 5, and Rez, before moving to Q Entertainment in 2003. At Q he designed Lumines, Ninety-Nine Nights, and most recently Child of Eden. While Mizuguchi didn't oversee Q Entertainment's latest game, Lumines Electric Symphony, he was heavily involved with its development.
Best of the Rest: Griffin's picks of 2011
LittleBigPlanet 2 How fitting that for my last contribution to Joystiq's Game of the Year list, I should learn the bitter sting of having my number one choice not breach the Top 10. LittleBigPlanet 2 improved upon the original -- already one of my favorite games of all time -- in every conceivable way, offering one of the most user-friendly, charming UGC systems in gaming history. There is nothing I've thought of that LBP2 wasn't able to create, and that includes a level about interstellar poultry abduction.
Best of the Rest: JC's picks of 2011
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective If you were interested in this game, but didn't buy it on DS because of faith that an iOS version would follow, I'm holding you personally responsible for the foundering sales of my favorite game of 2011. Live with that. This came out in January, and I still have yet to experience anything so fresh, so unique, as Shu Takumi's side-scrolling adventure/puzzle game. Its comically unpredictable (but predictably comical) storyline cascades toward a twist that shouldn't work, its gameplay turns everyday objects like ceiling fans and globes into methods of both traversal and interaction, as you observe and influence the lives of a cast of bizarre characters from within their phone lines, headphones and wrecking balls. I can't mention this game without mentioning its beyond perfect animation, which gave a jazzy flourish to every movement of every character. The act of serving chicken never seemed so stylish.
Grab a Kinect (with Child of Eden!) for $120 at Amazon (update: $100 through buy.com)
We were a bit discouraged when we checked Amazon's game deal of the day and saw that it was a paltry $10 discount on the PC version of Fable 3. But there are more exciting deals to be found this week (in addition to that great Halloween sale). One of the retailer's "Deals of the Week" knocks 20% off the retail price of Kinect, allowing you to get the sensor, Kinect Adventures, and a download of Child of Eden for $119.99. You can also get the previous bundle, without Child of Eden, for the same price, if you really think you or the lucky recipient of this gift is going to hate Child of Eden that much. Other week-long deals include Rift for $9, and (easy participant of the Halloween deal) FEAR 3 on PS3 or Xbox 360 for $28. Update: Dealzon pointed out that it's currently $107.24 at buy.com -- and, if you go through Buy's eBay site, it's $99.99.]
Ubisoft has no plans to offer downloadable Child of Eden, holding out hope it'll still catch on
Perhaps one of the saddest stories this year was the lack of commercial success for Child of Eden. The game was very well received critically -- our own review called it a "momentary masterpiece." And at a Kinect event being held at Ubisoft's San Francisco headquarters today, I once again cornered senior VP of sales and marketing, Tony Key, to talk about Miziguchi's latest. "Can you tell we like Kinect?" Tony joked at the outset of our interview. "Child of Eden went to retail, it got great reviews," he said, as I steered us back onto the subject at hand, "it's a great product, but we didn't sell as many copies as we hoped, obviously. And that's a shame, because the game is great and deserves recognition. I just think your more mainstream consumer -- a lot of the Kinect people are -- haven't quite figured out what that experience is, so we continue to get great reviews and not a lot of sales at retail, but Microsoft saw that as an opportunity, took it and put it in with Kinect." But that brings up an interesting question: the copy of Child of Eden included in the limited quantity Kinect bundle is a downloadable version, accessed via a code in the box. Could we see a downloadable version of Child of Eden offered via Xbox Live to all consumers? "Potentially," Tony said. "We don't use that model right now for any of our games -- we sell new retail games. It's not something we have in the plan at the moment, but if that model is coming, I don't see why Child of Eden couldn't fit in there." As for more Child of Eden games, don't hold your breath. While Tony says Ubisoft is "still holding out hope this game will find its audience," the potential for other games right now is hopeful at best. "We think the renewed interest generated from this new bundle could be a tipping point for Child of Eden to become a bigger brand for us. We would love to have that happen."
Child of Eden is $10 at Best Buy, and you'd best buy it [update: sold out!]
If you've been waiting for the most insane discount ever before buying Child of Eden, here you go. The Xbox 360 version is on sale for just $9.99. That's basically a rental price. If you're even a little bit interested in rail-shooting your way through surreal imagery to the "Heavenly" tunes of the Genki Rockets -- and you're not already picking it up in a Kinect bundle, for free -- you should just go ahead and pull the trigger (to the beat of your favorite electronic music). Just make a sandwich at home one night instead of ordering a pizza, and you've recouped the cost of that experiment! No harm done. Update: We hope you all got in on that deal, because Best Buy is out of stock now. It's ... possible the store will restock it at that price, but we're guessing that's not what will happen.
Kinect bundles include Child of Eden for a limited time
Considering buying a Kinect for the express purpose of entering the techno-organic wonderland of Child of Eden? Microsoft has just made that process about $50 easier, by bundling a download code for the game with specially marked Kinect sensors. According to Major Nelson, the new bundle will be priced identically to the current $150 Kinect package, will still include Kinect Adventures, and will be released in "limited quantities." You can get it in any region except Japan, because Child of Eden has yet to be released there. From a consumer perspective, this is a fantastic deal, allowing easy and cheap access to what is most certainly the best Kinect game. From Microsoft's perspective, it seems a bit weird to use a game that didn't exactly light up retail as an incentive. Maybe it realized that more people need to play this.
Child of Eden PS3 delayed a week, getting 3D support
We'll admit we initially felt a little bad for PS3 owners who have to wait yet another week for Child of Eden (it's been delayed from Sept. 20 to Sept. 27). But all that evaporated when we saw in an Ubisoft tweet that the game would feature not only Move controls but full 3D support. Not only will PS3 CoE players be controlling infinitely powerful galactic forces in a staggeringly beautiful tapestry of sights and sounds, but they'll be doing it in 3D! You know, we scoffed last time, but when Soulja Boy tells us that Child of Eden on the PS3 is for people that drink and get drunk or people who smoke and get high ... well, he'll be right.
Child of Eden purifying Japan this October on 360, PS3
Japan's deluge of rogue digital viruses is about to come an end: Ubisoft has announced that Child of Eden will arrive on Japanese shelves October 6. According to the official Japanese site, both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will be available for ¥6,279 ($80). Child of Eden has fared (very) poorly in North America thus far. It will be interesting to see how this title does in its home country.
Ubisoft Q1 sales down 36 percent from last year
The latest Ubisoft financial report for the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year is a tough pill to swallow for everyone who loved Q Entertainment's stunning rhythm-shooter, Child of Eden. The company's sales for the quarter reached €103 million, a decline of 36.3% from the €161 million reported during the same period during FY 2011. The quarter wasn't a total wash -- sales actually exceeded Ubisoft's expectations of €90 million thanks to strong back-catalog sales (thanks, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood!), successful digital titles like Outland and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, and the massive worldwide sales of Michael Jackson: The Experience. Still, in a perfect world, Ubisoft's financial report would just show the logo for Child of Eden, then a picture of Tetsuya Mizuguchi rolling around in an Olympic swimming pool filled with hundred-dollar bills.
Child of Eden dated, priced for PS3
Ubisoft's Child of Eden will flow through swirling colors and into retail reality on PS3 this September. IGN confirmed with Ubisoft that the game will retail for $49.99 in the States when it launches on September 20. It'll be out in Europe on September 23. Edge reports the Euro price has been cut by half for the PS3 version, which could also carry over to the Xbox 360 version by the time September rolls around. Child of Eden was criminally overlooked in June by US consumers, selling a mere 34,000 units in its debut month despite earning a coveted 5/5 review from video game kingmaker Joystiq.com.
Zelda sold well in June, Child of Eden and Shadows of the Damned did not
Three major Japanese-developed games came out in North America in June: one of which performed really well, the other two ... not so much. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D showed up at #5 on the software top ten chart yesterday. Nintendo subsequently announced that it sold "more than 283,000 units," making it the second best-selling game on a single platform, right behind Infamous 2. It's the first 3DS exclusive to chart on the top ten. Meanwhile, two games weirder than Zelda attracted far more exclusive audiences. Child of Eden, the NPD told Joystiq, sold approximately 34,000 units in its debut month, ranking at number 83. At the same time, Shadows of the Damned managed to sell 24,000 copies, combined, on PS3 and Xbox 360. Damn.
Child of Eden, other Ubi Kinect games for $30 at GameStop
If you let the recent $35 Child of Eden deal at Amazon pass you buy, you made what is, in retrospect, a shrewd move, because now you can get it for $30. The discount is part of a Kinect sale going on at GameStop through July 20, which brings four other Ubisoft Kinect games down to $30, including Your Shape and Michael Jackson: The Experience. If you're just shrugging your shoulders at this sale because you don't have a Kinect (and therefore your shoulder shrug doesn't register as an in-game movement), GameStop also has an offer for you: a $25 GameStop gift card with purchase of the sensor. Now, if only there were something you could put that $25 towards ... oh, wait! [Thanks, Steve.]
Child of Eden down to $35 at Amazon (you're running out of excuses!)
Our five-star review of Child of Eden praised just about everything the game had to offer, short of its diminutive length. "You can beat it in a single sitting (or, as the case may be, standing), with the game's five chapters clocking in at a scant 90 minutes," our own Griffin McElroy wrote. "It ends with a swell, and leaves you with a despondent, unanswered wish for more." While this Amazon deal won't deliver any more Child of Eden, it can help deliver some Child of Eden to those of you still positioned squarely on the fence. At $35, a 30% savings from its usual $50 asking price, Child of Eden may be a no-brainer for some of you; for others, nothing short of $20 will do. We're not judging you ... but you're cheap. [Thanks, Andrew.]
Child of Eden on PS3 will have 'really cool' extras
If you just paid attention to the marketing for Child of Eden, you'd think it was an Xbox 360 exclusive. But there's totally a PS3 version coming out in September. According to Q? Entertainment producer James Mielke, the delay had nothing to do with Microsoft moneyhats, and everything to do with the fact that Q? is making each version on its own, with a staff of about 30 people. "We're doing everything in-house, we're not farming anything out," he told the 8-4 Play podcast. Mielke didn't outright confirm any special features in the PS3 version, but said "it will definitely be worth the couple months that people have to wait for the PS3 version to get finished. People with PS3s, people with nice TVs, people with all kinds of control options... it's going to be really cool." The reference to fancy TVs suggests 3D support, and "control options" would suggest Move support -- something that Ubisoft has told us to expect.
Beat Ne-Yo at Child of Eden to help Japan
Hey, there's a headline we didn't expect to write today. Ubisoft's new Child of Eden promotion, "Project Hope," challenges players to exceed musician Ne-yo's high score in the "Evolution" level to boost Ubisoft's donation to Japanese earthquake relief. $100,000 is already pledged; for every score on that level's "Normal Kinect" leaderboard exceeding Ne-Yo's 306,800 between now and July 4, Ubisoft will add an additional dollar, up to a maximum of $20,000. While replaying this game over and over again for leaderboard position seems like a weird subversion of its happy, love-everyone vibe, it's hard to argue with a good cause. And it is a promotion that results in a lot of time spent playing Child of Eden, so that's nice.
Metareview: Child of Eden
Child of Eden delivers a compelling, "stirring" experience that'll leave you wanting more when it suddenly stops. Q Entertainment's mini masterpiece is praised for being "better with Kinect," receiving acclaim across the board for its use of Microsoft's motion tracking peripheral. If there's one criticism that pops up over and over again it's the game's length, but Child of Eden is apparently a grand introduction to the next generation of Kinect titles. Eurogamer (90/100): "If you want the full-body physical experience - feeling part of the music, sweeping your arms like a conductor in wide arcs that call the timpani section to action at your signal - then Kinect is the way to play Child of Eden. With the lights down low and the right ambiance and mind-set, it's a dance-like experience - but not in the orthodox video game understanding of Simon-says rhythm-action routines. " IGN (85/100): "It's rare for me to play a game and feel nothing but happiness, but that's what happened when I stepped in to save Eden. In a way, Child of Eden touched my soul. Yes, that sounds cheesy, but it's true. There's one downside -- even though it costs 50 bucks, Child of Eden can be beaten in only a few hours. While this is a fault, there are lots of unlockables and leaderboards to keep people's interest once the campaign is over. This is a game everyone should experience, especially with Kinect. " Gamespot (85/100): "Child of Eden is a bold artistic experiment that's also accessible and fun. It's easy to pick up and play, offers bursts of pure joy, and is even a pleasure to watch others play. It's over quickly, but the amount of unlockable content means it's something you can keep coming back to. " Game Informer (80/100): "A few unlockables give Child of Eden replay value, including an additional challenge mode level, art and video galleries, and decorations for Lumi's garden in the main menu screen. However the most valuable prize is new visual effects. Selecting a different cosmetic effect drastically changes the aesthetic of each archive, giving the levels a whole new feel. Though brief, Child of Eden offers one of the most unique Kinect experiences to date. It's unfortunate our time in Eden's gorgeous confines ends too soon." %Gallery-103243%
Child of Eden review: A momentary masterpiece
So, here's the thing about Child of Eden: It is quite short. That's a somewhat pedestrian complaint to leverage against a game -- and an extraordinarily pedestrian complaint to leverage in the very first sentence of a review -- but it needs to be said right up front to temper your expectations. You can beat it in a single sitting (or, as the case may be, standing), with the game's five chapters clocking in at a scant 90 minutes. It ends with a swell, and leaves you with a despondent, unanswered wish for more. It is also one of the most remarkable video games I've ever played. Not only does it represent the most complete realization of what the Kinect has to offer, it possesses the (perhaps childish) distinction of being, for lack of a better term, a "crying game." It will almost certainly conjure tears from its hardest players -- not because it is particularly sad or melancholic, but because it is stirring. %Gallery-103243%
Kongregate and Ubisoft want you to build a music game in honor of Child of Eden
Kongregate and Ubisoft just launched a new contest to promote Child of Eden, called "Project Eden: Experience the Music" -- but it's an even deeper "experience" than the title suggests, as you'll actually "experience" the development of a music game in order to enter. From now through June 21, Kongregate is accepting submissions of user-designed music games for entry into this contest. The top 25 games chosen by the voting community will then be judged by Child of Eden creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi ... and also Ricardo Torres from GameSpot. The winner gets $10,000 and, of course, the opportunity to spread their synaesthesia-inducing masterwork to everyone who checks out Kongregate.
