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Namco: Enslaved was launched at the wrong time
Hindsight being 20/20, Namco Bandai's execs had some choice things to say about Ninja Theory's Enslaved, a game that was hailed by many critics but failed to garner commercial success. President Makoto Iwai told Siliconera that despite the poor sales figures, he's proud of the publisher's ability to get it off the ground. "Results are everything for a business unit, so we have to face it. But, we are proud of ourselves for being able to launch that game," he said. But the most telling comments came from VP of marketing, Carlson Choi, who pegged it all on poor timing. "It launched in the midst of a busy holiday season." He went on to say that while the game "had the quality needed to address gamers," it ultimately came down to "getting into the market at the right time." When it launched on October 5, Enslaved had some tough competition in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Def Jam Rapstar, NBA Jam and NBA 2K11 that week alone -- the following weeks would see the launch of several big hitters, including Medal of Honor, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and, of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops. As for the prospect of an Enslaved sequel, Choi isn't ruling it out. "I can assure you, a title like Enslaved, and every title we've worked on in the past, we're going to re-examine them and say what is the potential for the game?" Namco showed interest in a sequel back in October, but that was before the sales figures came in.
Smash Court Tennis 3 goes PSP; includes Game Sharing
Namco Bandai just announced Smash Court Tennis 3 for the PSP. It'll feature 16 tennis stars, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin. "We are thrilled to announce that the next iteration of our popular Smash Court Tennis series is set to appear on the PSP system," said Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and COO of Namco Bandai Games. "With the franchise's signature gameplay and new enhancements, Smash Court Tennis 3 is the perfect on-the-go package that's made for a jet-setting tennis pro."Virtua Tennis will be the game to beat for Namco's next. However, there's one feature that I'm particularly psyched about: the ability to compete against other PSP owners with a single UMD through Game Sharing. It's a horribly under-utilized system: being able to play tennis against any other PSP owner should offer a great deal of potential. [Update : New screenshots can be found at WorthPlaying.]
