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ESA members asked individually about SOPA, some respond
Rock, Paper, Shotgun collaborated in obtaining responses. The Entertainment Software Association's support of the "Stop Online Piracy Act" has led us to ask every member of the video game industry's lobbying and political group to publicly declare its stance on the bill. The ESA's continued support means every member, by proxy, is a supporter of the bill. Some companies have pulled their logos from supporting SOPA documentation to dodge ire, while others are hiding behind rhetoric, as you'll see below. Joystiq contacted every member of the ESA and requested a declarative statement on SOPA. After the break we've listed the responses we've received, along with others we found. We continue to seek clarity on this issue from every member of the ESA. This will become the page we update as we receive responses and clear declarative statements, so feel free to bookmark. (Joystiq does not support SOPA, nor does our parent company.)
Dead Island ships three million worldwide
Despite a fair share of problems, Dead Island has apparently done quite well for Deep Silver after debuting in September and snagging a top spot in the NPD charts. Last we heard, Dead Island shipped one million units to retail in North America in its first week and was expected to ship two million units worldwide by week's end. Aubrey Norris, Deep Silver's manager of marketing and PR, has revealed to Game Informer that Dead Island has shipped three million units worldwide. "Dead Island has sold very, very well over the holiday season and we are thrilled that it has sustained a robust level of sell-through since launch in September," she said. Norris didn't divulge any sell-through numbers -- a much better indicator of the game's overall success.
Risen 2: Dark Waters launching cannons in late April
It's awfully difficult to tell a pirate to be on time for anything, let alone the release of a video game in which they're the featured players. Case in point: When we heard the original 2012 launch window of Piranha Bytes' buccaneering RPG Risen 2: Dark Waters, we asked very politely that it show up in the first month of the aforementioned year. It is not so, according to a recent press release from publisher Deep Silver, which dates the game for April 24 in the U.S., and April 27 in Europe. That gives us four whole months to come up with clever, piratical puns to make in our review of the title. So far, all we've got is "Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Fun," but that's going to be entirely dependent on the game actually being a bottle of fun.
Catherine has a date in Europe: Feb. 10, 2012
Catherine's publisher in Europe, Deep Silver, is hoping for a lucrative intersection between Valentine's Day, nightmarish puzzle scenarios, and indecisive bachelors. The creepy, curious blend of block shoving and relationship anxiety will arrive in PAL territories on February 10th, the Friday closest to that saccharine holiday for sentimental sweethearts. (NO, we're not bitter. If you called every now and then you'd realize that.) Catherine will be available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in a standard edition for £44.99, and less cheaply (£54.99) in the "Stray Sheep Edition." That's the pizza box that comes with a "seductive" poster, a pair of coasters and the "RAVE" shirt that you should never, ever wear.
Catherine to get 'Stray Sheep' edition in Europe
After waiting months to get their hands on Atlus's bizarre Catherine, it looks like Europeans will get a little something extra for their trouble. Publisher Deep Silver will release a special "Stray Sheep Edition" of the game for its European launch next year. Like North America's "Love Is Over" edition, the Stray Sheep edition comes packaged in a pizza box, though the rest of the contents differ significantly (no boxers, for one). Inside the box, the set includes coasters from the in-game bar, Stray Sheep, an exclusive and "seductive" Catherine poster and a T-shirt designed after that of protagonist Vincent. The Stray Sheep edition will be available for £54.99 when Catherine launches in Europe this coming February.
Catherine tempting Europe in February
Catherine, the game that can be described feebly as a romantic nightmare puzzle sim type thing, is heading to Europe in February 2012. Deep Silver is taking care of Atlus' curious cargo over there, and announced the release window today alongside a double-sided cover for first-edition copies. The flip cover shows Catherine, a mysterious and illicit temptation for the protagonist. Reverse it and you'll find Katherine, his long-term girlfriend that's making a move toward marriage. "This way consumers will get the opportunity to select their personal preference," Deep Silver says, "as to which of the women in his life the game's main character, Vincent, should choose." If your game cases are proudly displayed in the living room, we suggest you go with the K-lady.
Dead Island adds 'Bloodbath Arena' DLC on Nov. 22
While "Bloodbath Arena" remains an effective caption for the gruesome state of Dead Island, it's also a specific add-on coming to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 22. The DLC was delayed for a short stint after developer Techland decided to spend more time polishing the main game -- a process which was still ongoing with the release of last week's major console patch. Bloodbath Arena is free to customers who pre-ordered the Special Edition game, and costs $10 or 800 MS Points for everyone else. It offers four new arenas for single-player or co-op play, and challenges participants to execute and outlive multiple waves of zombies. So, it's a survival mode in which you face off against a constantly replenished force of snarling enemies. You could call it "Mob Mode" or something like "Enough Enemies to Warrant a Collective Noun Mode."
Dead Island console patch rolling out, raising level cap
Dead Island's harsh treatment of necrotic former vacationers isn't without limit -- which is why you'll be happy to learn that the game's level cap is being raised to 60 with a new patch rolling out to consoles today. In addition to stability and interface adjustments, developer Techland promises the patch will add several features to the tropical death-trap: weapon crates now contain "improved rewards," kicking now expends stamina (realism!) and Purna can now lug around 50 percent more ammo (realism?). Enemy levels can also be adjusted for different co-op players independently, in case you get stuck with that idiot who always goes back for the dog. You'll find the full list of adjustments after the break. Boy, it must be nice to have access to a break once in a while. The fierce hostility aimed at pale, shambling and barely communicative humanoids on an island resort is exactly why we never feel comfortable taking a holiday.
Dead Island 'Bloodbath Arena' DLC attacks in mid-November
Dead Island's first bite of DLC, delayed so that developer Techland could focus on more pressing issues following launch, will arrive in mid-November. Game Informer received the latest release window, reiterating that the DLC will be free to those who pre-ordered Dead Island at GameStop and $10 for all other meatbags. The "Bloodbath Arena" DLC, a wave-based survival mode, adds four new areas and some weapons, and allows players to transfer XP into the core game.%Gallery-129666%
World of Tanks retail box coming to Europe in November
World of Tanks boxed editions landed in American brick-and-mortar stores last month, and a new press release indicates that European retailers are about to join the party. Deep Silver has secured the publishing rights to Wargaming.net's World War II-based action MMO, and the company will be bringing the game to the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Benelux, and Nordic countries in short order. The package features the game itself plus bonus content in the form of in-game currency, premium account access, and a premium German tank. The World of Tanks box will cost £7.99 and is scheduled for a November 15th release. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Dead Island 'Bloodbath Arena' DLC launch held up by work on main game
We don't take kindly to publishers making us into liars here at Joystiq, so you can imagine how we feel about Dead Island dev Techland announcing a delay in the release of its upcoming Bloodbath Arena DLC after originally pinning a "late September" window on it. Spittin' mad, you might say. As it turns out, rather than Bloodbath Arena ... erm ... flowing to the game by the end of this month (that's today) as originally planned, it's been moved to an undetermined date. Techland tries weaseling out of responsibility for its blatant disrespect of our Serious Journalistic Integrity™ by blaming, "Further polishing of the main game," as the reason for said delay. "We know that fans are eagerly waiting for it and apologise for any inconvenience," the post additionally notes, taunting us further. Apparently a "release update" will come next week, but after all we've been through this morning, who can we even trust anymore?!
Dead Island patch out on Xbox 360; PS3 and PC update coming later
The various and sundry niggling issues that plagued Dead Island upon its highly anticipated launch appear to be on Techland's hit list -- the game recently received another patch on the Xbox 360. According to the game's official Twitter account, updates include "improvements to matchmaking, AI, quest and escort fixes, visual glitch fixes and a ton more." We encountered most of those issues during our time with the game, so we're pleased as punch to hear they've been remedied. If you're rocking the PC or PS3 version of the game, don't get too blinded by jealousy. The Dead Island account also tweeted that PS3 and PC updates are on the way.
Dead Island ships 1 million to NA retail in first week, 2 million worldwide expected by week's end
Dead Island publisher Deep Silver must be stoked, having gone from relative obscurity to successful worldwide game publisher in the span of just one week. It seems that the company's latest release -- the much ballyhoo'd Dead Island -- has already shipped 1 million units to retail in the US, and the publisher expects to have moved 2 million units to retail worldwide by the end of its second week on shelves (that's this Sunday, folks). "The critical 'first week' of game sales has been an enormous sales success for Deep Silver," company COO Geoff Mulligan said in a press release. "We're working quickly with our distribution partner in North America, Square Enix, to restock shelves as quickly as we can." With any luck, Square and Deep Silver can fill those restocking orders before the masses of shambling consumers arrive at retail for a taste of the zombie-filled action game.
Dead Island's first DLC, Bloodbath Arena, to make a splash later this month
Dead Island has stumbled into its first week, releasing an unplayable version on Steam, needing a massive day-one patch, leaving a sexist slur in a line of code and, of course, there's our own review. But all hope is not lost -- DLC is on the way. The Bloodbath Arena DLC pack will add four new maps with unrelenting waves of zombies to the game, due for release later this month. Bloodbath Arena was first announced as a free pre-order bonus, and will sell for $10 on all other copies. All XP and cash earned in the DLC maps will carry over to the main campaign, because it looks like Dead Island players will need all the help they can get.
You won't find the 'Feminist Wh*re' skill in the final version of Dead Island
When Dead Island arrived on Steam in North America, it wasn't exactly what the game's developer and publisher intended on releasing. Rather, it was a pre-release dev build, meaning many folks encountered bugs or were unable to play the game altogether. Moreover, some PC users have been able to do rather ... interesting things with the early build, and one even spotted a somewhat disturbing skill name that didn't end up in the final game: "Feminist Wh*re". One of Dead Island's playable characters, Purna, was apparently allotted a skill at one point that was dubbed "Feminist Whore", though it only shows up in the source code (in the "default_player_setup" file). It's possible that the skill eventually ended up as "Gender Wars," though that's just us taking an educated guess. Publisher Deep Silver, issued this response: "These unfortunate actions were of one individual at developer company Techland and do not in any way represent the views of publishing company Deep Silver." Further, developer Techland stated: "It obviously violates professional and ethical standards at Techland and should never have happened. We're investigating this right now and we'll issue a statement later. For now, I can only express my sincerest apologies for this incident and assure you that whoever acted so irresponsibly did not represent the views and opinions of Techland. I'm equally sure that aside from the author of that unfortunate line of code, everyone at the office is as disturbed by this as you are." [Thanks, Spencer.]
Dead Island day-one patch detailed; Steam version to be replaced
Techland's Dead Island is supplemented today by a day-one patch, which will fix a huge list of issues with the game, ranging from trivial to catastrophic. The list after the break, transcribed from a note included with our review copy of the game, does not organize the fixes by priority; "Fixed many issues causing game instability" is toward the middle of the list, under "Volume of pickup's engine has been increased." One thing the patch does not fix: the version of the game available on Steam is actually a pre-release development build, including obvious glitches (like the ability to walk through walls) and some undefined variables. "We deeply regret that an incorrect version of Dead Island was inadvertently made available to players on Steam launch in North America," publisher Deep Silver said in a statement to Joystiq. "We are very sorry for any issues you may have experienced while playing the game - the correct, patched version will be made available to North American players ASAP." Other territories will receive the correct, patched version on Friday.
Dead Island review: In need of brains
Dead Island is probably the most realistic depiction of the inevitable and oncoming zombie apocalypse in video game history. It's typified by desperation, sacrifice, frustration, terror and an overbearing sense of hopelessness. But there's a catch. Though the zombie apocalypse may occasionally be grimly satisfying or fleetingly triumphant when you survive another night, there's one thing it almost certainly won't be. Fun. %Gallery-129666%
Dead Island launch trailer brings the piano back
Liberal applications of slow motion and soft music put this zombie murder right back where it should be -- in the fine arts department.
Risen 2: Dark Waters trailer has all the pirate magic you crave
Pirates, from what we understand, were a pretty uninviting crew. Can you imagine what might have transpired had these rotten swashbucklers also possessed the ability to be wizards? You don't have to imagine: This trailer for Risen 2: Dark Waters does all the imagining for you.
Dead Island co-op trailer kills zombies with teamwork (also: knives)
There seems to be only one rule when it comes to successfully escaping the dead island of, err, Dead Island: Leave no man behind. Unless, of course, that man has already been turned to the ranks of the shambling dead. Then you leave them behind with something sharp in their brain.
