Majesco-Entertainment
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Investors plug $6 million into Majesco
Majesco Entertainment completed an investment round that resulted in $6 million in funding, the Cooking Mama publisher announced today. $1 million of the funds were issued to the company with the rest stashed in escrow until certain, as-yet-unknown conditions are met by Majesco. The company also appointed two people to its boards of directors to replace two that stepped down, one of whom is Jesse Sutton, who will remain Majesco's CEO after resigning from the company's board. SEC filings in November admitted that Majesco "suffered losses that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." It reported a 27.2 percent drop year-over-year in net revenue in September, as well as net losses of $2.7 million. As a result, Majesco laid off several staff in October to reduce fixed costs. The company also noted last month that it is "currently not developing any significant new games for release in fiscal 2015," which ends on October 31, 2015. [Image: Majesco]
Majesco doubting 'ability to continue' following layoffs
Majesco has fallen on hard times, as the Cooking Mama publisher "implemented a reduction of our workforce to reduce our fixed costs," according to recent SEC filings. The company's layoffs came at the very end of October, just after its independent label Midnight City launched Costume Quest 2 on PS3 and PS4. The publisher reported a net loss of $2.7 million in September for the quarter ending July 31 as well as a net revenue of $2.9 million, a 27.2 percent drop year-over year. When pointing to the earnings report in a November 6 filing, Majesco said it "suffered losses that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." Likewise, Majesco is "currently not developing any significant new games for release in fiscal 2015," a period that ends on October 31, 2015. The three games slated to launch during that time are Hello Kitty and Sanrio Friends 3D Racing for 3DS, Gone Home's console port courtesy of Midnight City and Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms for PC, which is currently available in early access form on Steam. [Image: Majesco]
Costume Quest 2 drags Sackboy to PS4, PS3 next week
Double Fine's dress-up RPG Costume Quest 2 will launch on PS3 and PS4 next Tuesday, October 28, publisher Midnight City announced. The PlayStation versions of the game will also receive an exclusive Sackboy costume modeled after the hero of Media Molecule's popular platforming brand, LittleBigPlanet. The Sackboy costume will be available for free to PS4 and PS3 players as part of an update to the game. To unlock it, quest-goers must find four pieces of the costume tucked away in the game. While there's no set release date for the Sackboy update, it is expected to go live "in the coming weeks." Costume Quest 2 is already available to PC, Mac and Linux players via Steam for $14.99. No launch date has been announced for the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Wii U versions as of yet. [Image: Midnight City]
Just you and your Shadow Warrior on consoles this September
Bandai Namco confirmed it's bringing Shadow Warrior to PS4 and Xbox One in Europe on September 26. Majesco's not yet announced a US date beyond "late September," but GameStop's listing of September 23 tallies with the typical three-day gap between regions. Described as a "bold re-imagining" of 3D Realms' 1997 shooter, the new Shadow Warrior hit PC around the same time last year. It retained a few Lo Wang jokes but toned down the stereotyping, delivering a more modern mix of first-person shooting and swordfighting.
Cooking Mama 5 gets served on 3DS this September
Cookiing Mama 5: Bon Appetit will launch in North America this September. The 3DS game first took to digital kitchens in Japan this past November, bringing with it over 60 recipes for appetizers, drinks, main courses and desserts. The game includes six modes, one of which is a new "Cooking Dojo," and features more than 30 extra activities around players' houses and burger shops. Players will also have the option to customize Mama's outfit and kitchen with decorations obtained through the console's SpotPass feature. Majesco noted in its announcement that the Cooking Mama series has sold more than 13 million copies globally. The first game debuted on Nintendo DS in 2006. Cooking Mama 5 will arrive three years after the previous one for 3DS, Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic, which launched in November 2011. The upcoming game also features a four-player local multiplayer mode that uses the console's download play feature, allowing three friends to participate in a cook-off with one player that owns a copy of the game. [Image: Majesco]
Bloodrayne Betrayal coming to PC next week, Japanese tease was port
Last week's tease by Arc System Works for something BloodRayne related was simply a razz for the Japanese localization of BloodRayne: Betrayal. The "BRCS" from the teaser site stood for BloodRayne: Crimson Slayer, which will be the game's name for the region. The solid action game from WayForward will be available in Japan on May 1 on PS3. In the west, BloodRayne: Betrayal will be available on Steam for PC on April 30 with full controller support. In our review we said Bloodrayne Betrayal has "style, substance and butter-smooth combat."
Zumba Fitness World Party delayed to November
Hey, y'all made this a multi-million unit selling franchise, so we don't wanna hear no guff that we're writing about a Zumba game. In short, Zumba World Party, originally scheduled for this month, will now launch in November. In North America, the game is scheduled for Xbox 360, Wii and Wii U for November 5. The Xbox One version will launch with the console on November 22. For Europe, November 22 is when it'll launch for Xbox 360, Wii and Wii U. An Xbox One version is still on the dance card, but no release date has been confirmed. Publisher Majesco could really, really use a holiday hit here. The company's stock continues to trade under $1 and it halted quantitative guidance in March. The company currently has a deadline of February 2014 to keep its stock above $1 for ten days or face Nasdaq delisting. It could always do a reverse stock split like THQ to retain compliance. Boy, that's an awkward example. Update: Incorporated North America details.
Girl Fight hits XBLA this month
Girl Fight will finally fill the void of games featuring scantily-clad women beating each other up when it comes to Xbox Live Arcade on September 25. Majesco first announced the 3D fighter with a to-the-point press release back in February 2012. Developed by Kung Fu Factory, Girl Fight features local and online multiplayer for two combatants, and online leaderboards, too. It's also coming to PSN sometime this fall.
Majesco creates Midnight City label to handle indie games
Majesco Entertainment (Cooking Mama, Zumba) has created an indie publishing label called Midnight City. The division is headed by former IGN Editor-in-Chief Casey Lynch and Doug Kennedy, former president and CEO of public relations firm Reverb Communications. The pair had previously worked together (before Lynch took the IGN gig) at Reverb Publishing, a division of the PR firm that helped streamline and support the publishing process for indies on various digital distribution platforms. "Over the years we have seen tons of really great games coming from smaller independent studios and our vision at Midnight City is to offer these games and development teams a wide range of services and support," said Lynch. "We're here to help with everything from first-party relations, QA, promotion and community building and to put a spotlight on the titles while freeing the development teams to focus 100 percent of their energy on building the best games possible." Midnight City has announced an initial lineup of ten games, which the company will show off at this weekend's PAX Prime in Seattle.
Nano Assault EX hitting European eShop on March 7
Nano Assault EX will be available on the 3DS eShop in Europe and Australia on March 7, Shin'en Games announced on Twitter last week.According to the game's official site, Nano Assault EX is based on the original retail version of Nano Assault, and includes Circle Pad Pro support, online rankings and a new survivor mode. The game has been approved for the US eShop and is awaiting final approval for Japan; no official release date has been announced for either region.
Double Dragon Neon review: Rock me, Amadeus
Developer WayForward Technologies has been able to carve out a niche for itself in the gaming industry through its careful reboots of select series. A Boy and His Blob, Contra 4, BloodRayne: Betrayal and now Double Dragon Neon show the developer's knack for paying respect to the source material, while simultaneously updating it with interesting new gameplay mechanics and systems.Double Dragon Neon is yet another jewel in WayForward's crown, unmistakably a Double Dragon game but with just the right amount of new flavor to make it something distinct, all wrapped in a brilliant '80s motif. Neon, for those who don't know, was so bad to the bone in the '80s.%Gallery-152707%
Get your punching fists ready with the latest Double Dragon Neon gameplay
Double Dragon Neon is coming, y'all. Who's gonna stop the Lee brothers as they punch and kick everyone on their neverending path to destroy Abobo Corp.? No one, that's who! Okay, we just made up like, all of that story stuff. But still!
Majesco remains profitable in second quarter, Zumba Fitness sales surpass 7 million units
Majesco Entertainment had revenues of $30.4 million in the second quarter ending April 30, 2012, with $2.7 in profit. These numbers aren't staggering by any stretch of the imagination for a video game publisher, but for a company that was threatened with stock delisting (twice), it's been a relatively stable year."While the overall retail environment for interactive entertainment remains challenging in both North America and Europe, we are pleased to announce that in the second quarter, sales of Zumba Fitness remained solid, and Majesco delivered another profitable quarter. Zumba Fitness has now sold over 7 million units worldwide, and is the second best selling fitness game of all time," said Majesco CEO Jesse Sutton. "We are very excited for the upcoming holiday season, during which we will launch both Zumba Fitness Core, as well as the much-anticipated, highly innovative Kinect title, NBA Baller Beats. Lastly, we are about to ramp up our social/mobile efforts with the launches of Mini Putt Park on Facebook, as well as at least four exciting new mobile games coming to iOS over the next few months."Zumba Fitness' sales have been giving Majesco the drive it needs to maintain its modest condition. Much like Cooking Mama before it, the company needs to find another hit franchise before the Zumba gravy train runs out.
NBA Baller Beats adds a real basketball to your Kinect arsenal, we attempt to go hands-on (video)
Forget what your mum told you. Soon, you'll be bouncing a real basketball in your living room in order to strengthen your ball handling skills via your Xbox 360's Kinect. Majesco has developed NBA Baller Beats, a gaming title that will ship with the requisite ball so that you don't have to go searching out in the garage to get started. Don't get too excited, though -- the package won't include any sort of hardwood court-esque add-on for the feel of taking Kobe to the hole at the Staples Center. However, the soundtrack that drives your dribbles and cross-overs (and determines level of difficulty) should be just enough to embarrass you at some point. Think about this way: it's like Guitar Hero for sports fans. Well, we won't stall any longer. Head on past the break to catch a glimpse of a tech editor's best shot at a quick demo of the software here at E3 2012.
NBA Baller Beats: Make Space to Jam in your living room
You're gonna need all of Majesco's Mamas to help clean up after destroying your living room with the publisher's latest Kinect game, NBA Baller Beats. What in the world is NBA Baller Beats, pray tell? Why it's, "a fun, high energy and first-of-its kind participative basketball video game launching this fall exclusively on Kinect for the Xbox 360," of course! Yes, you read that right: it's a Kinect game played with an actual basketball in your living room.It looks like Majesco is going all out for this one, with a tracklist featuring the likes of "Kanye West, Run DMC, Gorillaz, Them Crooked Vultures, Common, Tiesto and more." No word is given on Majesco partnering with any insurance companies alongside the game's launch this fall, but we expect to hear more on that at E3.Update: USA Today's exclusive on the game describes it as more of a rhythm/music game than a dribbling coach. "Players bounce the ball to the beat of the music; your visual cue is a line of basketballs that flows on a musical trail," it reads.You'll also need to perform specific moves along the way. "An icon prepares you for an upcoming basketball move you need to perform, also in time with the music. That may be a crossover from one hand to the other, a dribble between the legs, a pass fake or shot fake." Color us intrigued! We're still terrified for our living rooms, of course.
Majesco revenues stay fit in quarter due to Zumba Fitness
Majesco only smells one thing when it takes a whiff of Zumba Fitness lady's pits: Sweet, sweet cash! The publisher reported net revenues of $66.2 million for the first quarter ending January 31, up 37 percent from the $48.5 million in the same period a year ago. Profit for the quarter was $7.7 million, up from $6.8 million a year ago."Zumba Fitness 2 for the Nintendo Wii got off to a great start, and we are equally excited about Zumba Fitness Rush, which was just released in February, exclusive to the Kinect platform," said CEO Jesse Sutton. "We were also pleased with the performance of several other titles from this past holiday season including Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic on the 3DS, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked on Kinect, Wii and DS."Yes, yes, be "pleased" about the rest, but look at all the Zumba money! In January the company announced the Zumba Fitness franchise had sold over 6 million units, with Zumba Fitness 2 surpassing a million in sales. The series continues to be a staple on the UK charts.
Nano Assault trailer is not for the germaphobic
Next month's 3DS shooter, Nano Assault, doesn't need Clorox disinfectant wipes to kill germs. It's far more efficient to get miniaturized for innerspace incursion and blast every cell that dares glance crazy-eyes in the joint.
The Hidden media reminds us that we're not alone
You must be so content in your quiet, oblivious state of ignorant obliviousness. You probably think that you're all alone right now, don't you? You've carved out a tiny bit of solitude from the hurried, bustling activity of the modern world, just long enough to read a website about video-games, when little do you realize that you're sitting on a ghost right this very second. See, human beings are constantly surrounded by the tormented souls of our loved ones, as these new screens and trailer for The Hidden are so quick to remind us. Now, it's possible that these are actually squishy cartoon ghosts, rather than the eternally damned apparitions of our tortured ancestors, but we can never really be sure.%Gallery-137137%
Majesco earns slight profit in quarter thanks to Zumba Fitness
Majesco sweated its way to a profit of $1.9 million for the third quarter ending July 31, 2011, with company execs thanking their lucky stars for the Zumba Fitness phenomenon. The company had revenues of $19.5 million, up 61% from the same time last year. The real sign of Zumba Fitness' magic is that for the nine months ended July 31, Majesco had revenues of $100.2 million, up 92 percent (nearly double), from the same period the prior year. "Despite what is normally a seasonally weak time for our business, Majesco experienced another strong quarter. Driven by strength in Europe this past quarter, Zumba Fitness has now sold over 3 million units worldwide," CEO Jesse Sutton said. "The growth of the Zumba phenomenon overall has us very excited about Zumba Fitness 2." Yeah, we bet it does.
BloodRayne: Betrayal launching in the last week of August
Time is fluid, as we're reminded again by the announcement of Bloodrayne: Betrayal's late August launch. Originally expected for "early August," the game now has August 30 and 31 launch dates for PSN and XBLA, respectively. Developer WayForward has reimagined BloodRayne for the better, as we and the company recently detailed on The Joystiq Show. From what we've seen so far, this is a BloodRayne that doesn't suck.%Gallery-125881%
