Q3-2012
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Swift Stitch collects shinies on iOS this week via Nicalis
Continuing its partnerships with interesting indies (Studio Pixel, Nifflas, etc.), developer and publisher Nicalis is bringing Sophie Houlden's vector-style racing/puzzle/maze game Swift Stitch to iOS on July 5.It's difficult to explain the mechanics – hold a button to turn, hit certain barriers to flip horizontal or vertical direction – so instead allow us to direct you to this browser-based demo. The simple one-button controls seem perfectly matched to touchscreen devices, though maybe our brains aren't perfectly matched to the game, as our frequent and sudden meetings with walls would suggest.The iOS version will be free to download, with ten levels available in the initial version. The full game is available as an in-app purchase for .99, or $1.99 after launch week.%Gallery-159610%
Rainbow Moon random battling onto US PSN on July 10
Rainbow Moon's funky-looking self is heading to the US PlayStation Network on July 10, SideQuest Studios CEO Marcus Pukropski says. For us normal folk, the game'll run $14.99, whereas PlayStation Plus subs get the game at a 20 percent discount ($11.99)."But what in the hell is Rainbow Moon?," you wonder? Good question! Luckily the handy video above is here to tell you just that (spoilers: it's an RPG from the Soldner-X folks).
SimCity Social, a Facebook game you may actually care about, launches today
In writing this post informing you that SimCity Social is now live (in "open beta") on Facebook, I may or may not have played SimCity Social for 25 minutes without realizing it. And then I discovered full screen mode, which makes it look even more like SimCity.What I'm trying to tell you is that the game is live. And that I want to go play more of it. Because it's SimCity. You should probably check it out too, right here.Perhaps you'd like to know more before proceeding? We've got that covered too!
PSA: Skyrim's 'Dawnguard' DLC arrives tomorrow 'for English territories,' mid-July elsewhere
Your chance to become a vampire lord and block out Skyrim's sun forever becomes (virtual) reality tomorrow with the launch of Skyrim's first major expansion, "Dawnguard." Of course, if you can't speak English (how are you reading this?!) but can speak French, Italian, German, or Spanish, it won't be available for another few weeks. If you speak something else ... well, you might be skunked. But again, you're probably not reading this if that's the case. Also, you smell like feet. Take that, person who can't understand what we're saying!
'Journey: Collector's Edition' gets 'exclusive minigames,' all three soundtracks on Aug. 28 for $30
Journey Collector's Edition's contents got a lot clearer this morning, as thatgamecompany revealed the box art and more details on its website. The collection comprises all three thatgamecompany PSN games – Flow, Flower, and Journey – and also includes a one-month PS Plus membership, "exclusive mini games," creator commentary audio tracks, soundtracks for all three games, and a variety of other bonuses (the full list is below the break).The re-release launches on August 28 for $30 in North America ("info for additional territories to be announced soon"), and the minigames are described as "three exclusive mini-games born out of a thatgamecompany tradition: the 24hr Game Jam." The three games, "Gravediggers," "Nostril Shot," and "Duke War!!," were each created by TGC "start to finish in 24 hours," and their release with this collection marks the first time the trio can be played (except for those who played the games while visiting TGC).There's also reversible cover art on the box – TGC's first physical release – which excites us greatly. Remember that sweet Ico/Shadow of the Colossus reversible cover art? That was pretty much the best. We're hoping this woos us even more.
Marvel Pinball 3D saves the eShop June 28
For those of you who choose to "Make Mine Marvel!" even when it comes to pinball simulations, Zen Studios will release Zen Pinball 3D on the 3DS eShop this Thursday, June 28, for $7.99 or €7.The pinball sim puts four superhero-themed tables all up in your face, including Iron Man, Blade, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four – all tables that have been featured in the console Marvel Pinball game. None of the tables follow the journey of a newly created superhero with the power to control a giant silver ball with his mind, which seems like a missed opportunity.%Gallery-157170%
Kirby's Dream Collection expectorated into North America Sept. 16
Kirby's Dream Collection will dreamily collect several classic Kirby games starting September 16 in North America. The Wii set includes emulated versions of Kirby's Dream Land 1, 2, and 3, Kirby's Adventure, Kirby Super Star, and Kirby 64.Unlike the Super Mario All-Stars special edition, which was just an SNES ROM on a disc, this also comes with exclusive new material, like challenge stages in the Kirby's Return to Dream Land engine and a virtual museum/timeline. The collection also includes a soundtrack and a booklet.
New 3DS coming to US August 19 for $199.99
The newly announced "3DS LL" will be released in North America on August 19 as the "Nintendo 3DS XL." It'll cost $199.99 and come in either red or blue, with a 4GB SD card. The release date is concurrent with New Super Mario Bros. 2.The 3DS XL has a 4.88 inch upper screen, for a 90 percent larger viewing area than the 3.5-inch top screen of the current 3DS model. The bottom screen is also larger, at 4.18 inches.The Japanese and European versions will ship without AC adapters as a money-saving measure (really!), as they are compatible with existing 3DS and DSi XL power adapters. It is currently unannounced whether the North American version will include a power cord, though we can't believe that's a question now.%Gallery-158890%
Rainbow Moon waxes into Europe July 4, other regions later in July
Developer Sidequest Studios and publisher Eastasiasoft are following the Soldner-X shooter series with the PS3 downloadable role-playing game, Rainbow Moon. It's about a man cursed and transported to the title location, which is also host to a dimensional gate out of which monsters are continually escaping.Rainbow Moon will pass through a dimensional gate of its own on July 4, landing on the PlayStation Store in Europe, Eastasiasoft announced today. North America and Southeast Asia will follow, sometime in July, for $14.99.%Gallery-158468%
New Super Mario Bros. 2 headed to 3DS on August 19
Mario's getting "new" yet again on Nintendo's 3DS this summer. EVP of sales and marketing Scott Moffitt took to Nintendo's E3 press conference stage this morning to unveil an August 19 launch date for New Super Mario Bros. 2. He also showed a bunch of gameplay that ... well, looks pretty nice.
Sound Shapes coming to PS3, both versions out August 7
After a long Sound Shapes-filled commute, you can go home and play more Sound Shapes. Developer Queasy Games just announced that it'll be released day-and-date with the Vita version.So ... when is that date? August 7, for $14.99. Best of all, if you buy it on one system, you'll get it on both. User-generated content can be shared between versions. You'll be able to see the PS3 version on Sony's livestream at about 5:30PT, and you can see the Vita version (played by composer Jim Guthrie) up here.
Vita getting cat videos ... er, YouTube by the end of June
Tired of rewatching that UMD copy of Spider-Man 2 over and over? Well, Sony's ... oh, what's that? Oh, right, Vita, not PSP! Let's try this again.Tired of replaying that copy of Lumines over and over? Well, Sony's got a whole mess of video content heading to your PlayStation Vita in the coming weeks, via wildly popular internet video service YouTube. According to SCEA director of handheld consoles product planning and platform software innovation Don Mesa (breath), YouTube will arrive on the Vita in app form by "the end of June."It's unclear if the service's offerings will be any different on Vita compared to on a computer, or if it'll allow uploading directly from the Vita (not to mention using video shot with the Vita itself). Hopefully next week's big show will help clear that up.
Sports Champions 2 takes a victory lap on PS Move this fall
You probably ended up with a copy of Sports Champions if you purchased a PlayStation Move, either because it was bundled or because you're required to own at least one sports minigame collection per motion controller (it's the law).Today, Sony revealed a followup to its obligatory sports game, due this fall. Sports Champions 2 includes skiing, boxing, tennis, golf, bowling, and "a fully updated Archery experience." Sony also promises tweaks like simpler calibration, more opportunities to customize your avatar, and multiple user profiles.The new "Party Play" mode lets users set playlists of matches, then compete for score. "You can create your own match playlist, see photos and voices from each player during the game, and draw something humiliating (or nice!) on the hapless loser," says producer Jeremy Ray. He probably means in the game. You always had the option of drawing on your friends.
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is Insomniac's next PSN game, arriving this fall
Ratchet & Clank are heading once more into the space breach, this time waging a "Full Frontal Assault" against space crabs with gatling guns, it seems. Insomniac head (and general nice dude) Ted Price took to the US PlayStation Blog this afternoon to announce "Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault" for PlayStation Network, alongside plans to launch the game "this holiday season."Aside from the artwork you see above and the logo we've dropped in the gallery below, Price offered few details on the game. He said it'll be a "fun-sized" R&C title (like Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty before it), and that the game will return to "the series' classic feel, camera, controls, and weapons, while innovating and giving you a whole new way to play." What that means is another question altogether. Price also said that the game will feature online co-op, but kept details similarly slim.%Gallery-156436%
Darksiders 2 rides into retail August 14
"We look forward to launching Darksiders [2] beginning on August 14 in North America," announced THQ CEO Brian Farrell during an investor conference call today. Farrell said that the delay from the previous June date was a "demonstration of our commitment to quality" – and that, after discussions with retailers, the publisher determined that "mid-August is a more favorable release window."Pre-orders for Darksiders 2 are more than five times what they were for the first game at the equivalent point before release, Farrell noted. THQ is accompanying this release with double the marketing spend of the first game as well – it needs a hit game, and badly.
Dragon Quest X goes online in Japan August 2
Dragon Quest X, the Wii continuation of Square Enix's real flagship series – and the one that is an MMO this time – will launch in Japan on August 2, Square Enix announced today. The base retail price for the actual disc and stuff is ¥6,980 ($86); this includes 20 days of free play. A limited edition will include a USB memory stick for an extra ¥2,000. A Wii U version is still on the way, but all details are "undecided."Of course, there are also the fees to contend with. For ¥1,000 ($12.35), you can get a 30-day voucher allowing you to play with up to three characters; 60 days runs ¥1,950 ($24), and 90 days costs ¥2,900 ($36). Wii Points can also be used to buy DQX time, in equivalent denominations.
Benjamin Rivers' 'Home' arrives June 1, pre-orders start today
Home, the pixel-art horror/adventure game that first caught our frightened little eyes last October will be available for the PC on June 1, in your choice of "Regular" and "Old-School Collector's" editions.Home's Regular Edition rings up at $2.00 and entitles you to a DRM-free download of the game, whereas the Old-School Collector's Edition has been created specifically for "players who love classic packaging and think physical media is more than just a delivery method." At $20.00 (plus shipping and handling), the Collector's Edition includes a "classic-style" manual, "exclusive game-universe artifacts," a town map plus "mapping tools to help you find your way" and "maybe some other delicious secrets."Pre-orders go live today, and everyone that pre-orders either version will receive a set of wallpapers as a bonus tchotchke. Take a look at the Collector's Edition and some shiny new screenshots in the gallery below, if you dare.%Gallery-153906%
Kingdom Hearts 3D closes the Dream Drop Distance in Europe July 20
One of the announcements from Europe's Nintendo Direct presentation this weekend was the release date for Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], whose punctuation we had to look up just now. Today, Square Enix issued its own announcement, which doesn't require watching a video.The 3DS Disney/Square crossover game will arrive in PAL territories on July 20, ahead of the July 31 release date in North America. You'll all be keyblade masters, having earned the respect and high fives of King Mickey, by the time the game shows up domestically.
Microsoft Q3 results: 1.4 million 360s sold, Entertainment division revenue down year-over-year
Despite being the number one best-selling console in America for fifteen months running, the 360's success wasn't enough to prevent Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division from being the only section of the company to post a year-over-year decline in revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2012.The Entertainment and Devices Division, which includes Microsoft's gaming businesses and the Windows Phone platform, finished the period ending on March 31, 2012 with $1.62 billion in revenue – a 16 percent drop over the same period in fiscal 2011. During Q3 2012, Microsoft sold 1.4 million 360s, a 48 percent drop year-over-year.When the entirety of fiscal 2012 is taken into account, however, the Entertainment and Devices Division is actually up as far as revenue is concerned: $7.84 billion so far in fiscal 2012 as compared to $7.42 billion by this time in fiscal 2011. The devision's operation income, on the other hand, is down year-over-year, posting at $627 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2012, compared to $1.24 billion for this time last year.Otherwise, Microsoft's Q3 performance was strong across all fronts: Overall quarterly revenue rang up at $17.41 billion, a six percent increase over Q3 2011, with a business-wide operating income of $6.37 billion, a 12 percent year-over-year increase.
Microsoft announces Q3 2012 earnings: $17.41 billion in revenue, $6.37 billion income
Microsoft has announced its earnings for the third quarter of its fiscal year this afternoon, and it's reporting some record numbers that beat expectations: a six percent increase year-over-year to $17.41 billion in revenue and a 12 percent increase to $6.37 billion in operating income. Breaking things down by division, that includes $4.57 billion in revenue from Server & Tools, $5.81 billion from the Business Division (which includes Office), $4.62 billion from Windows and Windows Live, and $707 million from Online Services -- all increases from between four to 14 percent. The one division seeing a big drop is Entertainment & Devices, which dipped a hefty 16 percent year-over-year to $1.62 billion in revenue -- something Microsoft blames on a "soft gaming console market," though it is happy to note that the Xbox 360 remains the top console in the US for the 15th consecutive month. Notably absent is any mention of Windows Phone, though perhaps we'll hear more about it on the company's earnings call in just under an hour. Update: Microsoft didn't exactly have a ton of new info to share on the Windows Phone front on its earnings call, noting only that it remains pleased with its Nokia partnership and the launch of the Lumia 900 on AT&T, and that it is "working to bring Windows Phone to more people."
