Q4 2010
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Fallout: New Vegas vaporizing mutants on Oct 19 in US, Oct 22 in EU
What more do we need to say? We'll be heading back into the future '50s world of Fallout, sculpted by Obsidian, on October 19 in the US and October 22 in Europe. In case you hadn't already seen in the recently released E3 trailer, the Las Vegas ... er, New Vegas setting is positively packed to the gills with seedy characters. So it's a lot regular ol' Vegas then, but with more Geiger counters.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood stalks retail on November 16
Are you anxious to get back into the Animus and step in the shoes of everyone's favorite paisano assassin, Ezio Auditore da Firenze? Ubisoft has announced Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's release date: November 16. The news was slapped on the end of the game's E3 trailer, which emerged on YouTube earlier today. You can watch it past the break. Taking place years after the events of Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood tasks players with revitalizing Rome, circa 1503. Oh, and killing lots of dudes. It wouldn't be an Assassin's Creed game otherwise, right?
DC Universe Online enters this universe in November
At a recent press event in LA, Sony Online Entertainment revealed a November release window for PlayStation 3 and PC MMO DC Universe Online (the company declined to comment on the possible effects of bridging our universe with DC's). When we pressed for a more solid release date, an SOE rep kept mum, but reiterated that both PS3 and PC iterations of the title would arrive at retail simultaneously later this year. With a release window finalized -- falling right in line with Sony's promised timeframe, might we add -- Sony will assuredly trot out the title in a more open fashion come E3 (read: we'll see more than just Metropolis, we hope). As for The Agency? Apparently that PS3/PC MMO from SOE is still hiding in the shadows for now.
Glu assigned to next Call of Duty mobile release
Face it: despite your plans to shut yourself in with the next Call of Duty release this November, you can't possibly spend all of your time at home, can you? Don't answer that -- Glu Mobile already has: The mobile game publisher has announced its fourth Call of Duty game for mobile phones, set to be released later this year "in conjunction with" Call of Duty: Black Ops. See -- now you can leave the house this winter. Call of Duty's fourth mobile iteration will be released across a variety of carriers and app stores that support "feature phones" and smartphones. Glu Mobile prez Niccolo de Masi claims that the title "will serve as the ideal complement for Call of Duty fans and new players alike," while neglecting to provide any further details about the game. Us? We're just hoping the game comes with a pair of mittens to keep our trigger finger warm.
Ubisoft reports $76.2 million operating loss in fiscal year 2009-10
Ubisoft today released its financial earnings report to investors for fiscal year 2009-10 (ending March 31), reporting sales of €871 million ($1.1 billion) with an operating loss of €60 million ($76.2 million). CEO Yves Guillemot softened investor reaction by saying: "The global economic crisis had a pronounced impact on the video game industry in 2009, which contracted by nearly 10 percent year-on-year. Ubisoft's sales were hit particularly hard, falling 18 percent over the full year despite a stabilization in the second half of the year." Ubi's Q4 sales were up 1.9 percent year-over-year to €210 million ($266.7 million), outpacing internal guidance by €10 million ($12.7 million). The company says the inflated numbers are due partially to "a strong increase in sales of Just Dance," the "ongoing exceptional performance delivered by Assassin's Creed 2 which sold-in nearly 9 million units during the year," and higher-than-expected sales of both Red Steel 2 and Avatar. And Guillemot predicts a sunnier 2010-11. "We forecast a return to profitable growth in 2010-11 with positive cash flow generation, driven by a games line-up that is more closely tailored to growth segments based on strong franchises." He also notes his excitement for new technology driving increased sales, saying, "Lastly, the upcoming launches of new consoles, including Natal and Sony Move, should enable us to capitalize on the technology investments that we have undertaken in recent years and re-energize the casual games segment." Source -- Ubisoft FY2009-10 Sales & Earnings Report (warning: PDF link)
'EA Partners Game T.B.A.' headlines changes to EA release calendar for fiscal 2011
[Arrested Development; 20th Century Fox] Not much has changed in EA's game plan for fiscal 2011, which spans April 2010 – March 2011, since the publisher first posted a full release schedule last quarter. Notable changes include Medal of Honor's previously known "delay" from late summer to fall this year and confirmation that the "Shooter from Epic" listed back in February is in fact Bulletstorm, due in the first quarter of 2011. What's new to the release calendar is an "EA Partners Game TBA," for console and handheld/mobile platforms, scheduled for release between October and December this holiday season. The teased listing could be any one of the actually announced EA Partners games in the pipeline, including Rock Band 3 and Grasshopper Manufacture's mystery project, or it could be a truly unannounced title -- we'll see. Also newly penciled in for the fourth quarter of 2010 are the recently announced Monopoly Streets and a "TBA" EA Play game. It should be noted that EA's newly revised calendar omits downloadable console games, which were included on the previous iteration of the calendar. Those entries included a "DTC Game For Console Online" due out in the holiday quarter, as well as an "Action Title TBA" and "Hasbro Title TBA" previously scheduled for the first quarter of 2011. Two EA Partners downloadable releases, Shank and DeathSpank, are expected this summer. Source [PDF] - EA Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2010 Results
Call of Duty: Black Ops brings the Cold War to Wii Nov. 9
Trigger finger looking fat and out of shape, vegging out on the couch watching Golden Girls reruns? Well, it better shape up this fall, because even-year developer Treyarch's latest entry in the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, is coming to the Wii on November 9, Eurogamer reports. This will be Treyarch's fourth Call of Duty Wii title, after 2006's Call of Duty 3, 2008's Call of Duty: World at War, and 2009's Modern Warfare - Reflex, a Wii-ificiation of Infinity Ward's 2007 classic. The confirmation comes from an Activision rep who stated "Black Ops will be available on all four platforms, PS3, X360, PC and Wii, on 9th November" – pretty straightforward, eh? There wasn't any other news on the Wii version, so we contacted Activision directly which confirmed the Wii release but, sadly, couldn't offer much else in the way of details.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood announced and detailed by Ubisoft
Click to Colosseum-size This morning, Ubisoft officially announced Ezio's return to the Assassin's Creed franchise, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Though the game was outed and cursorily detailed in some placeholder box art last week, the official press release shared some specifics: the single-player campaign ("set in the living, breathing, unpredictable city of Rome") is expected to last 15 hours, and sees Ezio recruiting and training "promising young Assassins" for deployment across the historical capital. Rather than using money earned to bolster a villa, you'll fix up Rome itself, which will change Ezio's social standing, unlock missions and curry favor with various factions. The release promises collaboration with Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Caterina Sforza, and describes new "secret weapons." Ubi is throwing in poison darts, parachutes, hidden blades and guns, not to mention an "advanced flying machine" -- which is presumably useful in more than a single mission this time. Multiplayer -- developed by Ubisoft Annecy, who created the online component of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory -- is said to feature "multiple authentic character classes" (presumably the characters seen in the gallery below) each of whom will use "signature weapons and killing moves." We'll look for more details and a more specific release date than "Holiday 2010" at E3, perhaps on a giant advertisement emblazoned on the side of the convention center. %Gallery-92693%
Metro Conflict: Presto is latest UE3-powered free-to-play FPS from Korea's Redduck
If you're anything like us, you woke up this morning hoping for a brand-new, Unreal Engine 3-based, free-to-play shooter from South Korea to be announced. And alas, Alliance of Valiant Arms developer Reduck has satisfied just that need in announcing "Metro Conflict: Presto" by way of a joint press release with Epic Games Korea. We only note the collaborative nature of the press release because of the total lovefest that ensues around three paragraphs in. "Epic's Unreal Engine 3 was a big factor in our success with A.V.A. [and] we're looking forward to pushing ourselves even further with Metro Conflict: Presto," Do-Min, Ok, chief technology officer at Redduck, said of the deal. Epic Games Korea's Ray Park similarly offered, "We're thrilled that they're using Unreal Engine 3 again for Metro Conflict: Presto, and can't wait to see what they're able to do with it this time." And he'll see soon enough, as the free-to-play FPS is planned to go into open beta this December. But for now, we've got the dramatic teaser trailer for you just above.
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd coming to Japan in late 2010
When Capcom woke up this morning, it decided it would like to have roughly a bajillion more dollars by this time next year. It walked over to a secret panel in its foyer, slid it open and pressed a button inside, labeled "New Monster Hunter." A press release was instantaneously launched announcing Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, the next PSP-based entry in the franchise, due out in Japan in late 2010. The announcement heralds new monsters and areas to explore, an expanded "Felyne Comrade" system (we're pretty sure that's Russian for "cat friend") and improved co-op play. There's no word on plans for localization, but Capcom's been pretty diligent in unleashing the Monster Hunter series worldwide. You can get your first look at the outrageously large-sworded title in a trailer posted after the jump. [Thanks Krystian!]
EyePet to support PlayStation Move, hits North America holiday 2010
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/EyePet_supports_PlayStation_Move_US_release_this_holiday'; Sony announced during its GDC 2010 press conference that the upcoming US release of EyePet will feature support for its motion controller, PlayStation Move. The game will allow players to manipulate toys and also play games with their EyePets. Furthermore, it's even possible to create new toys. The promotional video during the event showed off a child using the Move to draw a car on some virtual paper, which then jumped off the page and became an object that players and the EyePet could then interact with. In addition, Sony announced that EyePet is slated for a North American release this holiday. There was no mention of what will happen to the European version of the game, which was released last year. Presumably, Move support will be added once the peripheral launches.
Rock Band 3 out this holiday season
Rather than, we don't know, a press release or any other professional method of disseminating a message (Twitter, perhaps?), Harmonix took to Facebook to tell friends and friends-of-friends that Rock Band 3 will be released "this holiday season." The announcement is brief and detail-free, but reveals that EA will distribute the game -- apparently having renewed its Rock Band distribution deal with Viacom. With Rock Band 3, the developer promises to "innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again, just as Harmonix did with the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and The Beatles: Rock Band." If previous comments by Dhani Harrison are to be believed, you may even learn something from playing RB3! [Thanks Helloimbob!]
Take-Two may delay major 2010 release; L.A. Noire, Mafia, Max Payne and Civ V named
Take-Two's financial results briefing today suggests that one of its upcoming titles could be subject to a delay. "L.A. Noire, Mafia II, Max Payne 3 and Sid Meier's Civilization V are all planned for release in the fourth fiscal quarter [August–October, 2010]," the announcement confirms, "however, the Company's fiscal year 2010 guidance reflects the potential movement of one of these titles into fiscal 2011 [beginning November 1, 2010]." If Take-Two is already adjusting its financial estimates based on one of these titles being delayed, it sounds like more than just potential. Folks have been waiting a long time for pretty much all of these games. Max Payne 3 was already moved from winter 2009 to "late 2010"; L.A. Noire has just been given a expected September date after an extraordinarily lengthy development time; and the very fact that Mafia II is said to release between August 1 and October 31 already represents a delay from its last known release window. That leaves Civilization V, which was just announced two weeks ago, and thus hasn't had time to be delayed yet. This could be its first, people!
Shinji Mikami's Vanquish headed to 360, PS3; 'Winter 2010' release worldwide
As listed in the most recent issue of Famitsu (and translated by Andriasang), Platinum Games' fourth effort for Sega, Vanquish, is headed to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this winter. The game's director, the acclaimed Shinji Mikami, spoke with the Japanese mag recently about how the game is taking shape. Apparently, Atsushi Inaba (ex-CEO of Clover Studios) will be serving as producer on what Mikami calls a "shooter that places importance on the good tempo and feeling of rhythm you get from playing an action game." The game's said to be set in a near future where US/Russian Cold War relations have resulted in a standoff. "There are lots of games where you shoot and kill people, so this time we wanted to try and see how we could convey the good feeling of shooting robots." Truer words, Mr. Mikami. Truer words. Allegedly the game is around 80 percent done at this point, with only "annoying" work left to be done -- Mikami's not a fan of enemy and ally AI development, it seems. Will we see Vanquish on North American shores this winter as well? We're not sure yet, but with the game "developed with overseas markets in its sights," we have to imagine Platinum Games would like its latest title to land in our trigger-happy hands as soon as possible.
Roundup: Wii and DS game release dates for 2010
Today's Nintendo Media Summit played host to a whirlwind dating game with quite a few players. If all the excitement got your heart thumping but left your head spinning, then you'll be relieved to find our list of matches -- each game paired with its release date (or release window ... or release season) -- posted just after the break. You're welcome!
Crysis 2, Sims 3 on consoles, NBA Jam due Holiday 2010
Thanks to today's EA earnings report (EArnings?) we're starting to get an idea of how the company's holiday season is going to shape up. This is all subject to change, of course, but as of right now it would appear you can look forward to Crysis 2, NBA Jam and EA Sports MMA sometime between October and December of 2010. Filling out the holiday quarter are some yet-to-be-formally-announced titles like The Sims 3 on consoles, a new Need For Speed game (perhaps the Criterion-developed one?) and a new Harry Potter game (likely tied to this November's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I). Want to come up with your own wild speculation? Peruse the list here.
Two EA Sports Active games due Holiday 2010
Just before today's sure to be thrilling investor's call, EA released a fact sheet to the folks gearing up for the hour-plus finance-a-thon -- a fact sheet that revealed two "TBA" EA Sports Active games set for release on consoles in the third quarter of the company's fiscal 2011 (October 1 through December 31, 2010, in human being time). We've yet to hear anything on a new EA Sports Active title for the Wii, though we did hear some rumblings at E3 last year that the franchise would be headed to Sony and Microsoft's respective motion-based outings. And considering the unannounced titles are set for release in line with the announced release of Microsoft's Project Natal, and perhaps just after the PlayStation Motion Controller, there's a good chance that these pending EA Sports Active releases are for those platforms -- maybe one for Natal and one PlayStation; or one for Natal and Playstation and one for Wii.
Video game release highlights for first half 2010
.nounderline a { text-decoration: none; } You know, we were having a heckuva time committing all the compelling first half retail releases of 2010 to memory, so then we thought, why not write them down? Bookmark this calendar to track your most anticipated games. Check back for updates -- and let us know what's on your radar in the comments section. (Time to crack open that piggy bank, eh?) Updated: May 14 January | February | March | April | May | June | Q3–Q4 | TBD
