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Square Enix notes 'weak sales of big console titles' Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution
Square Enix announced a massive restructuring today, which included the dismissal of president Yoichi Wada, but we really hope the company takes a long look in the mirror about its sales projections. Buried within the briefing of the consolidated results forecast, the company had a slide expressing the "weak sales" of three of its games. These allegedly anemic sales involve three games that will have sold millions of units by the end of the company's fiscal year on March 31. It seriously raises the question: how broken is Square Enix's business if Tomb Raider's expected 3.4 million units sold (not including digital distribution) is considered "weak?" "Despite the high critical acclaim, [the games listed] failed to meet each target," the briefing notes. "In particular, North America sales force was ineffective, ending up with 2/3 of number of units sold in Europe." Oddly – beyond this being a clear sign Square Enix North America is being thrown under the bus – this is the second time we've had to scratch our heads about Eidos/Square Enix sales projections. In 2009, the company was disappointed by the sales of Tomb Raider: Underworld, which launched in November and sold 1.5 million copies by the end of 2008. Soon after the publisher did a round of layoffs at Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics.
Xbox spring sale on March 26 discounts Walking Dead, Skyrim DLC, Assassin's Creed 3
Starting on March 26, Microsoft will host the Xbox spring sale, which will see discounts across Games on Demand and DLC.Highlights include cheap downloads of The Walking Dead episodes ( first one's free) and discounts on Skyrim DLC. LA Noire and Max Payne 3 downloads and corresponding DLC will also be half-off. Meanwhile, Hitman: Absolution will be knocked down to $20, with Assassin's Creed 3 following to $40.Have a look at the full list of discounts on Major Nelson's blog before it kicks in next week.
GameFly PC sale: cheap Mass Effect Trilogy, Hitman Absolution, more
GameFly is running a special on select Windows PC downloads, offering up Hitman: Absolution for $12.49, Max Payne 3 for $14.99, Deus Ex: Human Revolution for $4.99, Mass Effect Trilogy for $24.99, Anno 2070 for $17.49 and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City for $12.49.Late last year, GameFly introduced its standalone PC client, a digital storefront to purchase and rent PC games for subscribers and non-subscribers alike. Subscribers gain access to the Unlimited PC Play section, where they can persistently sample from hundreds of PC games.
Black Ops 2 makes it five weeks atop UK charts, Agent 47 sneaks into second
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has matched Lego Batman 2's 2012 streak of five weeks in the top spot of Chart-Track's UK sales rankings. Black Ops 2 sales were actually up 14 percent last week, so it'll likely make that sixth week from a vantage point, unless FIFA 13 rallies. FIFA games typically get a boost right at Christmas week and after New Year's.The rest of the UK top ten relatively remained in their same spots as last week, with the exception of Hitman: Absolution, which moved up four spots and into second place. Agent 47 had price promotions in the region to thank for his sudden ascension. The UK top ten can be found after the break.
Halo 4 and Hitman: Absolution on sale on Amazon today
Halo 4 is on sale for $39.99 on Amazon today, and comes with $10 in Amazon Instant Video credit. What was that you said? You have more money to spend? Well you're in luck, because a PC download of Hitman: Absolution is on sale for $29.99 on Amazon as well, with Xbox 360 and PS3 versions at $39.99.Halo 4's Crimson Map Pack arrives December 10. For those without a calendar, that's tomorrow, which makes today's sale rather convenient. %Gallery-172273%
Hitman Facebook promo killed; must have had 'small tits'
If you logged online early enough today, you could have sent death threats to your friends on Facebook, courtesy of Square Enix and Agent 47 with the "Hire Hitman" app. Not only were these death threats, but they were full-on hits, with the targeted Facebook friend going through a process that flashed pictures from their profiles in front of their eyes before they were killed. To top it off, the hits were identified by awkwardly specific reasons such as "her ginger hair, her muffin top, her hairy legs," or "her small tits."Yes, this was a real thing you could do this morning. Square Enix since removed the app, not long after launching it and just after Rock, Paper, Shotgun wrote about it. We can't imagine why, though Square sent over a statement that cleared it up nicely:"Earlier today we launched an app based around Hitman: Absolution that allowed you to place virtual hits on your Facebook friends. Those hits would only be viewable by the recipient and could only be sent to people who were confirmed friends. We were wide of the mark with the app and following feedback from the community we decided the best thing to do was remove it completely and quickly. This we've now done. We're sorry for any offence caused by this."This attempt at crude viral marketing is reminiscent of other hackneyed ads, such as Resident Evil 6's human butcher, Resident Evil 5's real-world severed-limb hunt, the brass knuckles EA sent us and quickly requested back for Godfather 2, or The Walking Dead FPS' necklace of human ears. Rockstar similarly caved under pressure with Bully in the UK, changing the name to Canis Canem Edit after a maelstrom of hyperbolic public attention labeled the game a "Columbine simulator."If you want to experience the Hire Hitman app – too bad, because it's gone. Take This Lollipop, however, is still live on Facebook and uses the same premise, though it doesn't allow users to engage in name-calling, bigotry, death threats or misogyny.
Hitman: Absolution crash-fixing console patch targeted for next week
Square Enix aims to patch Hitman: Absolution on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime next week. The update is intended to fix crashing issues with the console versions, reported in notable numbers on official forums. They arose soon after the game's November 20 release, but a fix hasn't yet been provided. If the crash occurs while the game's autosaving, save files can become corrupted and result in hours of lost progress.Square Enix community and social media head Phil Elliott apologized for the ongoing issue on the game's official forums, noting "the lack of information [made available] is less than optimal." Elliott said the patch has to be internally tested before being approved by Microsoft and Sony, and as such Square Enix can't confirm an exact release date.Meanwhile, PC players can sneak, dress up, and mulch in the knowledge that their version received its first patch last week. Among other fixes, the patch addresses problems with transferring unlocks over from Hitman: Sniper Challenge.
Hitman: Absolution's Deus Ex DLC in action
Hitman: Absolution's Deus Ex: Human Revolution DLC garb, which launched a couple weeks back with the game, has a newly released trailer featuring the futuristic fashion Agent 47 can wear on his latest contract.
Hitman: Absolution XBLM avatar items are squeaky-clean
You're about to assassinate a highly trained group of killing professionals and maybe a ninja or two. You have your guns, ammo, a fresh suit and quiet shoes – but you need one more thing to complete an outfit of inconspicuous stealth. A rubber-duck hat.A new line of avatar items based on the Hitman: Absolution universe are available now on XBLM, including the aforementioned rubber-duck hat, branded shirts, a Blake Dexter suit and a chipmunk costume, all running 80 to 320 MS Points. If you ever have an assassination assignment at a county fair, consider this your avatar set.Check out the entire lineup of new items here.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 tops in UK, Hitman: Absolution debuts in second
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 maintained its top spot on the UK charts, despite a sales drop of 81 percent. However, when you're the fourth largest game launch of all time in the UK, you've likely got a decent buffer. Chart-Track also noted sales are actually up 15 percent from last year's Call of Duty installment, Modern Warfare 3, during its second week.Hitman: Absolution debuted respectably in second. Comparing premiere weeks, Absolution outsold Hitman: Blood Money, Agent 47's previous adventure from back in 2006, by almost threefold.Other new entries further down the chart are Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale at 34, 35 and 38, respectively. Punch past the break for the UK top ten.
Hitman Absolution easter egg delivers ice cream at high speeds
This video shows off an easter egg in Hitman: Absolution, in which the ice cream truck Agent 47 drives at the beginning of the game comes back with a vengeance.Courtesy of GameFront, the embedded video explains the steps it takes to find the easter egg, which occurs in the game's "End of the Road" mission. Obviously, that means the video also contains some plot spoilers, so viewer discretion is advised.
Hitman: Absolution DLC has Agent 47 inspired by Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Agent 47 is a fashionista (one doesn't accidentally wear $10,000 custom suits), so it should come as no surprise that he's also fashion forward and into Adam Jensen of Deus Ex: Human Revolution's garb. Today, Hitman: Absolution's launch day, both Adam Jensen's armor and pistol are available as downloadable content in Mr. 47's latest outing on Xbox 360, Steam and, likely, later today on PS3, following the PSN update.The Deus Ex: Human Revolution DLC suit provides "better protection from firearms with advanced armor," while Jensen's pistol can be equipped with a silencer for Agent 47. There are also a series of pre-order bonus costumes available for a buck apiece, or bundled for $6. Agent 47 isn't the only Square Enix protagonist getting in on the dress-up and raiding closets, Sleeping Dogs' Wei Shen also got in on that action.
Metareview: Hitman: Absolution
Agent 47 is back on the job in Hitman: Absolution, which we said in our review "abandoned some of the ideals of the original games in the series, but it delivers with its own formula." Let's see if others thought this was a hit, man. IGN (90/100): "Like Dishonored before it, it's actually a true pleasure to play a game that lets you tackle it from multiple angles. After several years of increasingly totalitarian games where you're very much following a pre-determined path, it's nice to have a game that doesn't just encourage improvisation; it requires it." Polygon (85/100): "Hitman: Absolution is a faster, more streamlined game than its predecessors, but that only makes it different, not bad. The dark humor has been toned down, but still peeks through. The same anti-hero menace and professional purpose remains. And more importantly, the core purpose and gameplay that's always driven the Hitman series is still there. It's not as cerebral as Hitman: Blood Money." Eurogamer (70/100): "Reloading some of its best levels, turning off the hints and watching and waiting, it's much easier to remember what it is that makes Agent 47 so special. Hitman is a series to treasure for those moments, even if Absolution isn't its finest hour. Hopefully it won't be another six years before IO Interactive gets another shot at showing us why." Edge (70/100): "Contracts redeems Absolution, but it doesn't absolve it. The game has taken a unique formula and diluted it, allowing the fashionable trappings of other stealth titles to intrude upon a series that has always confidently eschewed convention." Videogamer (50/100): "Occasionally you'll witness flashes of brilliance, glimpses that suggest IO could yet salvage something from this wreckage for its next Hitman game. And then you finish a stage with a tedious quick-time event, snapping the neck of a morbidly obese Danny Trejo-alike in a wrestling match watched by hundreds - astonishingly earning yourself a Silent Assassin rating in the process - and you shake your head sadly and wonder how it all went so badly wrong."
Hitman Absolution review: Murder by Numbers
Somewhere within the A.I.-powered mind of a target is a kindling of what tomorrow brings; a spark filled with aspirations that will soon come to fruition. Goals to achieve, a life to live. That is, until a bald, bar-coded assassin ends those thoughts by slipping a thin fiber wire around his neck. Or pushing him off a building. Or poisoning his morning latte. Stabbing him. Shooting him. Ending him.Hitman's infamous good/bad guy Agent 47 blends into the background, planning how he will extinguish that spark as a target unknowingly lives the last moments of its life. It's these moments, deciding precisely how to eliminate a target, that imbue Hitman: Absolution with its own special brand of sadistic magic.%Gallery-167638%
Hitman: Absolution launch trailer won't be silenced
Agent 47 comes a-knockin' next week and, well, for starters ... don't open that door. He's not there for a chat. Along with the above launch trailer, feel free to check out our hour-long stream of the game for a better sense of Hitman: Absolution from a safe distance.
Hitman: Absolution 'Contracts' mode won't require online pass in North America
When Hitman: Absolution launches on November 20 in North America, players will be free to access the game's asynchronous online 'Contracts' mode without the need of an online pass. In regions outside of North America, however, the 'Contracts' mode will require a code included in retail boxes of the game.Where things get a little confusing is that the online pass for "Contracts" will be available for free in all regions outside of North America, with the pass available for download from each platform's respective digital marketplace at no charge – even if you're in a region that requires the included code."We'd actually planned to have this mode accessible via a code in the game's box, but we really want to make it available to anybody that plays the game – so we want to take a new approach," the official Hitman Tumblr blog notes.If you're in North America, the mode is just there. "If you're elsewhere, you can redeem the code inside the box, or you can simply select the 'Buy Contracts Pass' option. From there, head to the store where 'Contracts' will be free to access."When Ubisoft launched Driver: San Francisco it too altered the plan for its Online Pass, making it available as a free download after printing issues gave users invalid codes. Square Enix, on the other hand, has decided to forgo the pass to ensure all users can access the mode.
Conan cleans up Hitman: Absolution
Conan O'Brien is barely even interested in games, but Hitman: Absolution seems to tick his boxes. Maybe it's the mulching, or having a barcode on the back of his bald head, or just the emphasis on eco-friendly body-storage.
JoyStream: Hitman Absolution with IO Interactive's Tore Blystad and Sven Liebold [Watch the recap!]
Update: The stream is now finished; however, you can watch the recap after the break.Hitman: Absolution from developer IO Interactive brings "The Original Assassin" out from the cold and back to The Agency. Today, Joystiq will explore the PC version of Hitman: Absolution with IO Interactive's Tore Blystad and Sven Liebold and see if Agent 47's time away from gamers have left his tradecraft sharp or in need of a tune up.Right now, from 2pm through 3pm Eastern (11-12pm PT), we'll be streaming Hitman: Absolution single-player along with multiple challenges in the game's new "Contracts" mode. Feel free to lob some questions at us and IO Interactive by following Joystiq on Twitch, or you can drop your questions right into the comments section of this very post.You can watch the stream on the Joystiq Twitch page, or in an embed after the break. Follow our Twitch page for future streams and giveaways.Note that the first level of the game, featured during this stream, includes spoilers to Hitman: Absolution.%Gallery-167638%
Hitman: Absolution pre-launch trailer wraps it up in a nice suit
There have been a lot of trailers for Hitman: Absolution. From the sound of this latest one, this is the end of those... well, you know, until the launch trailer for November 20. And then the inevitable post-launch DLC trailer. Then the game of the year trailer sometime next year...
Hitman: Absolution video describes a 'living, breathing world'
This video for Hitman: Absolution describes the game's universe and the stories contained within as a "living, breathing world." The IO Interactive game is set to launch November 20 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
