Q-Entertainment
Latest
Ninety-Nine Nights 2 demo hacks, slashes XBLM
A quick note for all the "Games that are like Dynasty Warriors" fans: a demo for Ninety-Nine Nights 2 is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo offers up two missions from the game. One sees players hacking and slashing their way through massive hordes of enemies. The other mission also sees players hacking and slashing through massive hordes of enemies, only said horde of enemies is led by a gigantic beastie (as seen above). Two further notes: Check the equipment available to you -- particularly the fire resistance accessory, which helps a lot with the aforementioned beastie. Don't get too invested in the demo, because it doesn't let you actually kill the beastie. Xbox.com: Add the Ninety-Nine Nights 2 demo to your Xbox 360 download queue
Konami publishing Ninety-Nine Nights II this spring in North America
Konami, which picked up the publishing rights for the Xbox 360-exclusive N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights in Japan, has announced that it'll also publish the feelplus-developed sequel in North America. In fact, the North American release is slated for the same spring 2010 window as the Japanese version. N3II features five different storylines telling the three sides -- humans, elves and goblins -- of a "free for all" battle. Prepare your thumbs, because that sounds like a lot of button-mashing! But you know, if all those storylines can maintain the kind of epic narration featured in this new trailer, N3II is guaranteed to be a multi-million seller. Wouldn't you agree? %Gallery-85843%
Q Entertainment 'researching' PSN port of Rez HD
Very few games have been able to match the impact of the original Rez ... well, with the exception of Rez HD on Xbox Live Arcade; unsurprisingly, revamped visuals made for an even more psychedelic experience. Q Entertainment recently tweeted about a possible PSN port of the game, asking how much a PS3 version should cost. $15 seems to be the figure Q is working with, noting that "it would not be a huge profit" and "we're not big enough to do things for fun." Q Entertainment hasn't committed to making the port yet, stating "this is no indication that it's happening, but we're researching if its feasible." Already, there have been some complaints from PlayStation loyalists who reject the notion of paying full price for a two year delayed port. We're confident that you, Joystiq reader, will be able to help Q figure out exactly what to do: %Poll-40730% [Thanks, kassatsu! Via PSN Stores]
Japan gets Ninety-Nine Nights 2 in Spring 2010
Konami has updated the Japanese website for Ninety-Nine Nights II -- or N3II if you insist on confusing people all the time -- with a release window of Spring 2010. There isn't much more info to be gleaned from the site, although it does note two-player support. One other tidbit that should help us all sleep through at least one night: The game will apparently ship on a single DVD, so you won't have to worry about swapping discs before mowing down the next horde of baddies. There's still no confirmation of a release outside of Japan, though the game was rated by Australia's OFLC in December. [Via Siliconera] %Gallery-71570%
Best of the Rest: Andrew's Picks of 2009
Flower This year had a number of terrific downloadable games (this list is a testament to that), however no game -- retail or digital -- connected with me like Flower. Jenova Chen's flOw was an interesting experiment, but Flower is an actual game. In fact, Flower is one of the few experiences I can think of that show the true potential of games as a unique storytelling medium. No other non-interactive art form will ever be able to replicate what thatgamecompany has managed to create.
OFLC suggests Western release for Ninety-Nine Nights 2
Konami appears to be daring enough to localize Ninety-Nine Nights 2 -- which, we suppose, isn't too much of a surprise since it showed the courage to publish the sequel to the mediocre action title in the first place. While Konami hasn't said anything official, an OFLC rating has appeared for N32, outing at least a tentative plan to publish the game in Australia. Speculation: Konami's not going to localize the game just for Australia. Whether the announcement is good news or not depends on your faith in Feelplus (for whom this is the first action game) to deliver a better Dynasty Warriors-type game than Phantagram did. %Gallery-71570%
Q? Entertainment connecting lovers with Q?'pid's Finger Puzzle
Is your relationship going through a rough patch, fueled by soul-crushing trust issues and mutual acrimony? Has your love begun to languish, leading you to wonder whether your significant other is really all that significant? Are you looking for stopgap measures to keep the fires of love burning? Don't shell out cash for counseling -- there's an app for that. Rather, there will be soon -- Lumines developer Q? Entertainment recently revealed a bizarre iPhone project titled Q?'pid's Finger Puzzle, which tasks a couple with tracing lines to clear up fuzzy "titillating images." Following a level, the couple is given a compatibility report which offers relationship advice such as "look into your partner's heart and drink in their vapors." Yeesh. Thanks for the helpful tip, Buffalo Bill.
Lumines coming to iPhone, console versions getting price cut
According to a recent dispatch from Q Entertainment producer (and former EGM editor-in-chief) James Mielke, a huge marketing push for Lumines is set to kick off in September. As part of this bold movement, both Lumines Live and Lumines Supernova are set to have their prices cut in the near future -- but arguably more exciting is the news that the trance-inducing puzzler will be making its way to the iPhone sometime in September or early October.Though an exact release date and price have yet to be announced, Mielke did confirm that the game would hit the App Store with brand new skins and music. Awesome -- nothing makes early morning commutes go by faster than a good case of rhythmic synesthesia.
Mizuguchi, Suda 51 weigh in on E3's new motion controllers
In this week's Famitsu, three major Japanese developers discussed this year's E3 and how they feel about the various motion technology displayed. Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51, Q Entertainment's Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Level-5's Akihiro Hino all somewhat agree on what they see as the future of gaming. "Hardware-wise, it was all about Project Natal," Mr. Suda said, as translated by 1UP, noting his excitement on the possibility of creating a game specifically based around its technology."It's not a shift from 2D to 3D or in the number of polygons, but it's games trying to open up an entirely new door," Mizuguchi agreed, continuing, "I thought it would take longer, but it's happening faster than I expected." Ironically, when the trio chose the most exciting games at E3, the list quickly filled with Western-developed games, from Splinter Cell: Conviction and Assassin's Creed 2 to The Beatles: Rock Band. Could they resist the ubiquitous Final Fantasy name drop? No, no they could not. "The visual quality was so impressive that I doubted it was even a game," Hino said of AC2, adding, "Final Fantasy XIII is the same way." Impressed/interested by the motion technology but still loving AAA-franchise sequels? Sounds like the whole game industry right now.
Ubisoft kind of announces something with Tetsuya Mizuguchi
In one of the weirdest moments of a very ... strange Ubisoft conference, the company announced that it was working on a project with Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi. No word on what that project is or when it's coming out, just that there is one, called "Codename Eden" for now.And instead of bringing Mizuguchi up on stage and having him talk about his project, they just pointed him out in the audience. It was weird. Of course, this came right after the company's massive No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle presentation, which consisted entirely of the game logo and a few words about Suda 51.
Q Entertainment files trademark for 'Guardian Hearts'
Japanese developer Q Entertainment has mostly stayed out of the limelight since releasing Lumines Supernova for the PSN last year, though a recent trademark filing may hint at the developer's plans for the future. The relatively young company just filed its sixth trademark ever, reserving the title Guardian Hearts for future use in a video game.We usually remind our readers that not every trademark a developer files ends up turning into a game, but in Q Entertainment's case, they actually do. We've contacted Q to find out whether this might be the moniker of a forthcoming project, and whether the actual game will be as RPG-ish as the aforementioned appellation.
Meteos Wars 'Galaxy Pack' DLC falls from the sky
Q Entertainment sends word that fresh Meteos Wars DLC is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Entitled the Galaxy Pack, the new DLC contains nine new planets for the game, including two planets that are entirely new to the Meteos series. Should you deem such content worthy, it will run you 350.%Gallery-48559%
Joystiq Review: Peggle Dual Shot
PopCap's Peggle has earned a reputation as The Casual Game It's Okay For Game Journalists To Enjoy. It's almost the perfect casual game, or even the perfect arcade game -- its mechanics can be explained in seconds, and it is possible to have a satisfying play session only a few minutes long, though repea t play is necessary to train in the skills required to succeed in the higher levels and excel in the main game. Really, the only thing that could make Peggle any better is if you could play it anywhere, during any spare time you find. Peggle Dual Shot on the DS, then, needed only to be a competent port of the original to be worth pretty much everyone's time. I'm happy to report that Peggle DS is Peggle, on the DS.
Define 'classic': Lumines Supernova Classic Pack missing old faves
What defines a classic? In the case of yesterday's Classic Pack release for Lumines Supernova, it seems that truly classic skins from the original PSP game, such as "Shake Ya Body," "Lights" and (perhaps saddest of all) "Shinin'" have been omitted. In fact, it contains no songs by Japanese artist Mondo Grosso, who contributed to Lumines and Lumines II.We've contacted Q Entertainment regarding the omissions, in an attempt to get to the bottom of why these songs, in particular, were left out.
Lumines Supernova 'Classic' pack coming to PSN Feb. 12
Lumines Supernova may have only just released in Europe last week, but those who've had it for a while -- we're looking at you, North America and Asia -- will be receiving some new downloadable content for the PSN game this Thursday. The"Classic Skins Pack" will offer 20 skins from the original PSP version of Lumines at a price of $4.99. We've asked Q Entertainment for a list of the skins, if only to confirm the presence of "Shinin'" and yell at / praise the company accordingly. With the release of this DLC pack, the regular LittleBigPlanet update, rhythm game add-ons and ThatGameCompany's zen-em-up, Flower, the 12th is looking to be quite expensive. Judging by Sony's "Spring Fever" lineup, these bulky updates will continue in the upcoming weeks. %Gallery-44489%
Peggle DS is the ultimate version, says PopCap
Everyone is joining the "ultimate edition" bandwagon. We've heard the term recently used by EA, and now we're hearing it from PopCap's vice president of video game platforms, Greg Canessa. In an interview with Pocket Gamer, Canessa calls Peggle: Dual Shot for the Nintendo DS the "ultimate adaptation of Peggle," and boasts that the DS version has the most content/levels out of any other edition. Apparently, it's "truly tailored to and optimized for the device and the audience." It's not surprising to hear companies push late multiplatform releases as being the "ultimate." After all, there needs to be an incentive for gamers to pick up something which they could've gotten elsewhere before. In the case of portable Peggle, it's already available on iPods and mobile phones. Those still looking to score the ultimate hit, however, can look forward to March 3.
Lumines Supernova hitting Euro PSN on Feb. 5
Block-dropping synaesthesia news now, with Q Entertainment confirming the European PSN debut of Lumines Supernova. Launching this Thursday, February 5th, Supernova enhances the puzzle game's blend of beats 'n' bricks with new modes (including "Dig Down"), 40 psychedelic skins, a make-your-own-medley Sequencer and, of course, Trophies. Unfortunately, the 14.99 Euro asking price does not net you the US PlayStation Store's free, 20-skin "Holiday Pack." We've queried Q about the add-on's European fate -- and why it's always 4AM when we stop stacking squares.
Meteos Wars 'Planet Pack' DLC drops on XBLM
If you've already blown through the myriad planets available in Q Entertainment's XBLA puzzler, Meteos Wars, good on you. It's good for you that the developer has released nine add-on levels today via the Live Marketplace, for the sum of 350 ($4.37). Two of the planets are described as "entirely new to the series." "Wait," you say. "Aren't all of the stages new?" Nope -- not since the game was originally released on Nintendo DS, which is where these two "new" planets originated. And that concludes today's astronomy-economy lesson, class.
Visit more planets in Meteos Wars with new DLC
Unfortunately it slipped under our radar but yesterday brought brand new content for Meteos Wars on the XBLA. The Planet Pack DLC includes nine planets new to the Arcade version, two of which are new to the series all together, while the remaining seven appear to be from the Nintendo DS version of the game, Siliconera theorizes. If you're looking to add a little spice to your regular diet of Meteos Wars this DLC is available now for 350 ($4.36).
Lumines Supernova priced and dated
Q Entertainment is bringing us an early Christmas present -- they have just announced that Lumines Supernova will be released on Tuesday, December 23rd and priced at $14.99. The game will feature two brand new modes: Dig Down Mode, where you attempt to reach the bottom of a playfield already filled with blocks, and Sequencer Mode, which allows you to create your own music utilizing different sounds and loops. Another highlight, of course, is the LittleBigPlanet skin that will be included in the Challenge Mode. Finally, Trophies will be supported at launch -- check out the list right here.[UPDATE] Sadly, Europeans will have a little longer to wait. They won't be getting the title until "early 2009."[Via press release]%Gallery-31085%
