Q2-2012
Latest
Max Payne 3 out on Xbox and PS3 May 15, PC May 29
Perhaps some specific release dates will reassure you that Max Payne 3 won't be delayed again. Be soothed by these calendar entries, straight out of Take-Two's latest earnings report: Max will dive and shoot and dilate time on Xbox and PS3 on May 15.The PC version will follow on May 29, which we suppose constitutes a safe little mini-delay within the announcement. To keep yourself occupied, have a browse around the new Max Payne 3 website.
Trials Evolution now on track for spring 2012 launch
Trials Evolution is creeping one wheelie flip closer to launch with today's announcement of a "spring 2012" launch window. More exciting than an ambiguous window of four months? The latest trailer which reveals said launch, which showcases the game's surprisingly malleable track editor.Beyond making crazy tracks to challenge your best friends (and worst enemies -- it is Trials, after all) through Xbox Live, players will be able to create crazy looking first-person shooters and Spy Hunter-esque top down fare. And while that's all plenty thrilling, we're most interested in having an unlimited supply of crazy racetracks to obsess over. Finally, a reason to never stop playing Trials!%Gallery-146251%
5th Cell's third-person ceiling shooter Hybrid arrives this summer
After pushing back its crazy shooter concept, Hybrid, to a 2012 launch window, Scrriblenauts dev 5th Cell is once more ready to talk about the forthcoming Xbox Live Arcade game. First things first: Hybrid is now scheduled for a summer 2012 launch window. Hooray!Moreover, 5th Cell is promising a variety of major updates as a result of the delay time. Said promises include locking the shooter's framerate at 60FPS, a redesigned look, and a new twist on the in-air movement. Take a look at the improvements with the latest media straight from 5th Cell, above and below.%Gallery-146069%
The Witcher 2 summons Xbox 360 port on April 17
It's taken Geralt a long time -- heck, we can't blame him. A horse-drawn carriage is pretty much the slowest method of transport ever, but come April 17 his long voyage to the Xbox 360 will have concluded. Warner Bros. has finally announced the official launch date for the highly lauded CD Projekt Red sequel today, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.Originally announced last summer, the title was originally planned to launch on Xbox 360 in 2011, but had to be pushed back to early 2012 before Warner Bros. signed on to publish. Recently, we were able to spend some time with the game and speak with the developers, so be sure to read up on our findings and start sharpening your silver swords -- you've only got about three months to get back into evil-vanquishing shape!
Deadlight coming to XBLA, care of Tequila Works
What is Deadlight? That's a good question. And other than telling you it's an Xbox Live Arcade game being published my Microsoft Studios and developed by Tequila Works, we wouldn't be able to do much in the way of answering said question. Well, that's not entirely true. Tequila Works' website also includes a blurb describing the game as an "original cinematic puzzle platformer." It stars a lone man named Randall Wayne who's stumbling around the American West Coast in 1986 after a pandemic has killed off the rest of the population. We've yet to see the game in action, but it sounds to be puzzle rather than combat-focused. The XBLA title is set to arrive sometime this coming summer, and we're certainly hoping to learn a bit more about it before then.
Mortal Kombat goes portable on Vita in 'spring 2012'
The folks at Mortal Kombat dev studio Netherrealm have had their hands on a PlayStation Vita dev unit in some form since way back in September 2010, so it stands to reason that the upcoming port of last year's Mortal Kombat to Vita will be packed with bells and whistles. Said port will arrive sometime after the Vita's North American launch this February, with publisher Warner Bros. Interactive pinning a "spring 2012" launch window to the portable fighter. Studio head Ed Boon promises both "original game content" and "new features" will arrive in MK's Vita iteration, though the announcement PR only teases the inclusion of "several" additions to be "revealed in the coming months." But if Netherrealm follows its usual marketing plan, all of those details will be leaked much, much sooner. The Vita iteration also include the PS3's exclusive character (God of War's main angry dude, Kratos) as well as all four DLC characters (one Mr. Freddy Krueger, Kenshi, Rain, Skarlet are all pictured on the box above). So it's kinda like that "Komplete Edition," just shrunken down.
Sega brings Kinect and Move to the London Olympics in June
Care to experience a video game version of the London 2012 Olympics, without all those ... hedgehogs? Sega has a product for you too. The publisher announced the release window for London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games, its "normal" Olympics tie-in. You can compete in the world sports arena in June 2012. This time, the PS3/Xbox 360 outing will support motion controls via the Move and Kinect for certain events, allowing you to play Kinect-based beach volleyball or shoot at your TV with Move-enhanced rapid fire pistol. Sega has also added global leaderboards, so you'll actually be competing with other players worldwide, just like some kind of massive sporting event.
Fatal Frame spinoff Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir chills 3DS in April
Nintendo of America skipped out on the Wii's Fatal Frame 4, but its 3DS sort-of sequel will be haunting our shores. This morning, Nintendo announced a North American release of Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir, dated for the super spooky Friday, April 13. In Spirit Camera, co-developed by Nintendo and Tecmo, players will use the 3DS as a virtual camera with which to help "Maya," a girl trapped in a creepy house. The game includes a 16-page "AR Book," which uses augmented reality to display movies and other special effects at certain points in the story. "In other moments," the announcement reads, "characters will emerge from the pages into the player's world via augmented reality in the form of evil spirits that attack from all directions." That's pretty scary for a paper insert!%Gallery-144890%
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier launch delayed to May 22 in NA, May 24 in EU; PC version totally exists
Tom Clancy's infamous ghosts are returning to consoles on May 22, 2012 in North America and May 24 in Europe, Ubisoft announced this morning. Despite having already given the game an early March launch date, it seems that the team is retreating back into the shadows for an extra two months. Ubisoft IP development director Adrian Lacey said that, while the game is "feature complete in our multiplayer, singleplayer, and four-player co-op campaign modes," it was pushed out of its original launch "in order to ensure that all these ingredients are pushed to the highest level and provide a truly unique shooter experience." We're just worried, by the time it eventually launches, the "future" part of the title won't apply anymore. Additionally, the promised January beta is also being delayed, with gamers now able to test the multiplayer modes at some point in April. And the PC version that turned into Ghost Recon Online? It turns out that was little more than a ruse, and a full PC version of Future Soldier will arrive "at a later date." Which is to say, "after May 22/24."
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes gliding through Gotham in summer 2012
After being outed by Lego's own advertising team in a series of toys, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is officially on its way to pretty much every gaming device out there, starting in summer 2012. Beyond the platform ubiquity, WB unveiled the game's main cast, which has Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman joining forces with Gotham's famous bat and bird.We're also told "notorious villains" like Lex Luthor and Joker will be a part of the game, providing a good serving of antagonism for the super hero quintet. Batman series staples such as the Batmobile and Batwing will also make appearances, albeit in Lego form. Developer TT Games is once again at the helm, no doubt infusing its silly sense of humor into Batman's typically grim career.
Atlus announces Gungnir, teases another 'G' game
Did you guess Atlus's mystery SRPG to be Gungnir for PSP? Congratulations! For your excellent guessing skills, you win ... the chance to purchase Gungnir on June 12! Atlus has officially unveiled the next game in Sting's "Dept. Heaven" series, an SRPG about a small resistance group who, in addition to fighting its rebellion, must protect a magical spear and a young woman who fell from the sky. The gameplay assigns predetermined numerical time intervals to all actions, allowing players to plot their movements precisely in terms of how long each will take. It's possible to accelerate combat actions using "tactical points." Atlus isn't done teasing yet. Immediately after announcing Gungnir, it sent another email teasing the upcoming announcement of another game whose title starts with G.%Gallery-142345%
Sorcery bewitching PlayStation 3 owners in spring 2012
Sorcery, a PlayStation Move game announced way back at E3 2010 and kept in relative silence since then, is set to launch this coming spring. SCEA hasn't offered a finer launch date beyond that. For those of you who might have forgotten about the title, Sorcery is a third-person, Move-centric title for the PS3 developed by California-based dev The Workshop. Players cast spells to take out enemies and solve puzzles via the PS3's motion peripheral, all the while controlling a player character on screen via Nav controller or DualShock 3. Still not clear? It's often referred to as, "That Move game that looked neat and then disappeared." Yeahhhhh, that one. Exactly.
Dirt Showdown ditches rally for arcade-style events
If you lamented Dirt 3's decorum and its increased focus on the rally discipline, Codemasters has a flashy alternative in Dirt Showdown, coming to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in May 2012. Gamespot has the first details on the spinoff, which eschews racing for a trio of arcade-style modes and a plethora of pyrotechnics. Dirt Showdown features "Hoonigan events," in which you perform driving stunts within compounds around the world (similar to Dirt 3's gymkhana challenges). You'll also find a crunchy ode to collisions in the demolition derby events, alongside some more straightforward (minus those devilish hairpin turns) racing modes. You won't find point-to-point style dashes through lush foliage and arid landscapes here -- though Gamespot notes they'll "return with a renewed focus on simulation in Dirt 4." The preview claims that Showdown has an answer to Need for Speed's Autolog, allowing racers to challenge and monitor each other's performance online. A "mission-based" mode provides the foundation for much of these social challenges. It seems the game's style and tone, compared to Dirt 3, is perhaps best captured in the "King of the Ring" gametype, which sees all participating cars racing to a central point and then disintegrating into a shiny cloud of wrecked bits. And to think, we used to be so impressed when those triangles came flying off the cars in PlayStation's Destruction Derby.
'Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD' to blend parts of first two Hawk titles in early 2012 on 'digital platforms'
We cornered skateboarding figurehead Tony Hawk on the red carpet at this year's Spike Video Game Awards to get the skinny on that big announcement he has planned for the show -- as it turns out, the announcement is ... a Tony Hawk game! "Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD" will apparently take "select" levels from the first two Tony Hawk titles, HD-ify them, and wrap it all up in a neat digital package for "digital platforms" sometime in the first half of 2012.Hawk told our man on the ground, Mike Schramm, that classic levels "School" and "Downhill" would make appearances, but didn't let on any more. The game will assuredly get a blowout tonight as the VGAs commence, so stay tuned! Or, uh, go watch old trailers of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2. Either/or.Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD will be the first entry in the series after an ambiguously worded shuttering of the franchise by publisher Activision late last year. Clearly the series isn't quite dead yet!Update: Tony says the game will apparently arrive sometime during the summer, and will be priced "under $20." Also, we saw a brief bit of gameplay, and it looks pretty!
Xenoblade Chronicles arrives in the US in 'April 2012' [update]
After this morning's accidental retail reveal of Xenoblade Chronicles coming to North America, Nintendo has made the game's launch official, pinning an "April 2012" release date to the much hyped Wii RPG. Nintendo teased the reveal earlier today with a new gallery of Xenoblade artwork that mysteriously popped up on Facebook, though at the time there was no news attached to said tease. Despite Nintendo not giving a date to the game, this morning's image indicated an April 3 launch. GameStop's website, however, reflects an April 2 date, post-official announce. We're just gonna go with "early April" for now. So, after this, now all the Operation Rainfall folks need to do is get those other two Wii RPGs to come out in the US, and we'll be all set! We'll get right back to helping with that just as soon as we get through Skyward Sword and Xenoblade Chronicles. In, like, 120 hours, give or take. Update: According to the official PR that Nintendo of America just sent out, the game will be sold exclusively through GameStop retail outlets and Nintendo.com's website for $49.99.
Spec Ops: The Line now arriving in 'Spring 2012'
After Spec Ops: The Line had its launch window unceremoniously realigned during publisher Take-Two Interactive's quarterly earnings call last May, the only thing we knew for sure about its eventual release was that it'd be some time after March 2012. As it turns out, the game's gearing up for a spring 2012 launch window (so, like, between March and summer of 2012, then), and there's even a new trailer to prove it. If the trailer doesn't quite do it for you, might we suggest checking out our brand new preview of next spring's shooter? It's light on devastating natural disasters, unlike the game.
Take-Two earns $107m in second fiscal quarter, thanks to L.A. Noire
Take-Two Interactive recently released its financial figures for the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, boasting "better-than-expected" net revenue of $107 million. That figure -- driven largely by L.A. Noire and MLB 2K11 sales -- pales in comparison to the company's $245 million in earnings from the same period last year. Of course, that period last year had Civilization 5, Mafia 2 and Red Dead Redemption on the docket, so there's that. Despite the surprise upswing, Take-Two didn't revise its expectations for the entire fiscal year, during which it hopes to earn around $1 billion in revenue. Though they didn't explicitly say so, we're assuming they've revised expectations for whichever quarter Grand Theft Auto V will launch in to "three bajillionty dollars."
THQ's sales 'exceeded expectations' in Q2, Space Marine sold 1.2 million
THQ has announced financial figures for the second quarter (July through September) of its 2012 fiscal year. Despite having a release schedule that any company would consider light, it managed to bring in net sales of $146 million. That's a pretty significant increase over the $77.1 million it brought in during the same period last year. Of course, its losses nearly doubled year-over-year as well. Easy come, easy go. The top performer was Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, which managed to sell 1.2 million units across all platforms during the quarter, a little under half of which were sold in North America. Brian Farrell, THQ's CEO, explained during a conference call that older catalog titles also sold well, specifically mentioning Saints Row 2. We guess people are eager to get back into the swing of (blowing up) things. Farrell added, "We are encouraged that our second quarter performance exceeded our expectations, particularly in a quarter with a light release schedule." We imagine he'll be pretty darn encouraged next quarter, which sees the release of the ridiculous Saints Row: The Third, and the somehow even more ridiculous WWE '12.
EA suffers Q2 loss, revenue propped up by FIFA and Madden
EA's net performance during its second fiscal quarter, ended September 30, 2011, was either good or bad, depending on which net you're referring to. EA reported a net loss of $340 million, but scored a significant goal in shipping "nearly" 8 million copies of FIFA 12 -- half of the 16 million shipped in the game's lifetime. Overall sales of the footie franchise improved 25 percent year-over-year. Madden NFL 12 was another standout performer during the quarter, shipping more than 3 million units. EA also pointed out continued strong performance of 2010's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (with shipments at 11 million so far). In a follow-up investor call last night, EA predicted similar fortunes from this quarter's Battlefield 3 launch, with store shipments already hitting 10 million. Though EA's bottom line certainly didn't improve for the quarter (net loss for Q2 2010 was $201 million), revenue was up overall to $715 million. The biggest increase was in net digital revenue -- the realm of add-ons and online passes -- which rose over 40 percent to $234 million compared to the same period last year. EA's next Q3 will provide a crucial look at the company's future, as it'll divulge Battlefield 3 sales and an early performance indication for BioWare's big-huge investment in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII getting help from Luminous Engine, Kingdom Hearts 3DS coming next spring
Despite Final Fantasy Versus XIII not appearing in any form at this year's Tokyo Game Show, project director Tetsuya Nomura shared some new details on it with Japanese magazine Famitsu. Apparently, the long-in-development Fabula Nova Crystallis game's lighting has been overhauled with some help from Square Enix' Luminous Engine, while Versus XIII's action is handled by another, unique engine. More excitingly, Nomura said that he recently ran through the game's entire world map, as well as its dungeons/side quests, and he's "impressed with how expansive everything is." He also spoke to his other project -- Kingdom Hearts 3DS, or "Dream Drop Distance" if you will -- pinning its release to next spring, at least in Japan. So, um, get your keyblades sharpened.
