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Saints Row's Johnny Gat signed up for Divekick: Addition Edition
In why-the-hell-not news, Johnny Gat of Saints Row fame is the newest combatant to join the ranks of Divekick: Addition Edition. The Steelport gangster first arrives in the two-button fighter's PS4 and Xbox One versions, before cruising "shortly after" onto PS3, Vita and Steam. There remains no word, dive or kick on a release date for PS4 and Xbox One. Iron Galaxy released the Addition Update for those original platforms last week, bringing a swathe of tweaks to the existing roster along with various other features including blind selection for ranked matches and d-pad input for the menus (yep, really). Finally, If you've got to get your Gat on ASAP, the good news is you can take him for a spin on the PAX East showfloor in Boston this weekend. [Image: Iron Galaxy]
Upcoming Saints Row duds let fans properly represent 3rd Street
Showing proper respect for the 'hood is about to get a lot easier thanks to an agreement between Saints Row developer Volition Inc. and gaming-centric clothier Insert Coin which allows the latter to release a line of garments emblazoned with Saints Row themes. Included in the preview images on Insert Coin's site are a Saints Flow t-shirt, a classy Johnny Gat polo shirt, a hoodie sporting Saints colors and, most crucially, leggings covered in the grinning, Cheshire smile of Professor Genki. Visit Insert Coin for a full view of what the company has planned. While there's no specific release date attached to these garments just yet, Insert Coin hopes to release the line at some point in "early 2014." Prices have also yet to be determined, but if the price tags attached to Insert Coin's line of men's tees are any indicator, expect this Saints Row merchandise to be relatively spendy.
Comedian Jay Mohr rejoins star-studded Saints Row cast
Former Blizzcon host Jay Mohr is again lending his voice to the Saints Row franchise, a series that also boasts Hollywood notables such as Neil Patrick Harris, Burt Reynolds, and in possibly the greatest cameo appearance ever, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Mohr broke the news on Twitter, stating simply, "About to do my voice over work for new Saints Row video game." Alongside this message Mohr posted a photograph of the recording studio he was using where a screen clearly shows several fan-favorite Saints Row characters. Unfortunately, Mohr's image offers no further hints at what the actor's involvement might be in the Saints Row universe. Saints Row 4 is a new enough game that this recent recording session may be related to an upcoming, as yet unannounced DLC addition for the game. On the other hand, the game is also old enough that developer Volition could have pulled Mohr in to record lines for Saints Row 5. While not necessarily a direct indicator of his role, Mohr previously voiced Dane Vogel, antagonist of Saints Row 2. Whatever the case, we likely won't know more any time soon. Mohr's become coy since his initial reveal, and neither Volition nor publisher Deep Silver will say anything further. Edit: This article has been altered to note that Jay Mohr previously appeared as a voice actor in the Saints Row series. [Image: Flickr]
The Daily Grind: Would you play a Saints Row MMO?
I finally finished up Saints Row IV the other day, and I'm already missing the game's silly and spectacular open-world shenanigans. I pretty much did everything you can do, too, so it's not like I can go back and try to get 101 percent completion or do much of anything besides wander aimlessly about and sample various mod community offerings. What I'm trying to say is that I wish SRIV had some sort of ongoing multiplayer component. And while I'm daydreaming, a persistent world would be swell too. While certain aspects of the game might not make for a smooth MMO transition, I'm thinking that most of it would, and in fact the series' combination of a modern setting -- lightly salted with sci-fi -- and its over-the-top irreverence would be a breath of fresh air in a fantasy-obsessed MMO landscape. What do you think, Massively readers and Saints Row fans? Would you play a SR MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Queue: Presidential material
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Saints Row IV's Inauguration Station (standalone character creator) released yesterday. That game's content isn't exactly safe for a site that attempts to be family friendly, but I vibrate with excitement nonetheless. Magruun asked: What is the difference between this Connected realm thing that was announced this week and the Virtual realms from a while back? to me they sound like the same thing.
Saints Row 4 elects for even more chaos
When Saints Row: The Third was still in development, we talked about it as "a dinner of doughnuts." The first mission in the game was just as stimulating and over-the-top as the last mission of your average Grand Theft Auto game. But if Saints Row 3 starts on the last mission of other sandbox games, then Saints Row 4 picks up even later than that: in the end credits. When Saints Row 4 begins, you are no less than the leader of the free world, and your first walk through the White House (complete with scantily dressed staffers and chained-up pet tigers) is like a congratulations for a job well done. You get to choose between making healthcare free or ending the deficit, you get re-introduced to a bunch of familiar faces from the series (who now all have cabinet-level positions in your administration), and the biggest prize of all is that you're on a first-name basis with your Vice President, Keith David (yes, the Keith David, brilliantly playing himself). Starting Saints Row 4 feels like you've just finished a long journey, and you've won the day once and for all. And that's when the aliens show up to kidnap your friends. You order the turrets raised from underneath the South Lawn, you get in a fistfight with the alien overlord, and – oh – you get superpowers.%Gallery-191107%
MMO Burnout: Yucking it up with Saints Row The Third
So how would you feel about running around in an open-world action title smacking enemies with a giant dildo? The answer to that question will go a long way toward determining whether or not you'll dig Saints Row The Third, which is, naturally, the third installment of Volition's sordid sandbox saga. If that question made you laugh, utter some version of "hell yeah," or type "Saints Row 3 dildo" into your Google image search box, you and SRTT will get along famously. If you shifted uncomfortably in your seat, grumbled about kids these days, or fired off a how-dare-you email in the general vicinity of the Massively tip box, well, you can probably skip the rest of this week's MMO Burnout.
Deep Silver confirms acquisition of Saints Row, Metro and Volition
Koch Media/Deep Silver officially announced today it has secured the intellectual property rights for two THQ franchises: Saints Row and Metro. It has also obtained Volition, the Chicago-based development studio responsible for Saints Row."These franchises hold a special place in the hearts and minds of anyone who loves exceptional video games," said Deep Silver COO Geoff Mulligan. "We're thrilled to usher in a new era for these franchises and are proud to welcome the visionaries and talented forces at Volition on board."Although Deep Silver doesn't mention the cost of these acquisitions, the Saints Row IP and Volition Studio sold for $22.3 million, according to documents obtained by Joystiq, while the rights to Metro 2033 and upcoming sequel Metro: Last Light sold for $5.9 million. Deep Silver will elaborate upon future plans for each franchise in the coming months.
Saints Row franchise ships 11 million units, SR: The Third expansion due in Sept.
As part of today's year-end financials, THQ announced that the Saints Row franchise has shipped 11 million units globally. Speaking specifically to the latest installment, Saints Row: The Third, the company revealed it has shipped over 4.25 million units and that "the game has generated the highest digital revenue of any console title in the company's history."That's not the conclusion of Saints Row for the year. Saints Row: The Third: Enter The Dominatrix is expected to launch this September. The game is a standalone product that does not require the third installment to play and started life as an April Fool's gag.
Australian indie: From ratings systems to a boom of small studios, how AU will survive
Australia has one of the most lenient video-game-rating systems in the world. No, really -- despite its reputation as an ultra-conservative, mature-rating hating government, "the reality is that many more games that are restricted to 17-year-olds in the U.S. or 18-year-olds in Europe are available without edit for 15-year-olds in Australia," said Chris Wright, former marketing head for THQ's two Australian studios, Blue Tongue and Studio Australia. "On balance, Australia is probably the most lenient country in the world for access to mature games." No, really -- Wright was the man who presented Saints Row to the Australian classification board and he prepared plenty of ratings submissions in the country, both as head of THQ Asia Pacific and its two Australian studios. He knows the system, meaning he knows what it has and what it doesn't, such as an R18+ rating. "I believe passionately that Australia needs an R18+ rating," Wright said. "But for me the R18+ rating is not about access to games, but parity with other entertainment forms and the acknowledgement of gaming as an adult pursuit. The R18+ rating will have a net effect of greater overall restrictions on access to games -- many games that would have previously been available to 15-year-olds will now only be available for 18-year-olds and above -- but will mean that a few games at the top end of the maturity scale are allowed to be released." Legislation in Australia recently approved the R18+ rating (though it may take a few years to be enacted) and its Law Reform Commission is attempting to revamp the country's video-game rating system to acknowledge its adult audience. But recently, Australia has had more than ratings to worry about.
THQ's Bilson outs Saints Row 4, says it'll be much 'wilder'
There's no doubt that the Saints Row franchise is a big deal for THQ -- especially now, since the publisher just killed one of its biggest -- and it looks like work on a fourth entry is already underway. THQ's Executive VP of Bean Spilling, Danny Bilson, dropped the news during a video interview with G4, saying that he thinks the next Saints Row game will be much wilder than the third. Dildo bats that shoot dildo bats full of tiny dildo confetti, anyone? Hit the jump for the video.
'Saints Row: Money Shot' rated, alleged screens posted
Over the weekend, a rating for something under the super classy title "Saints Row: Money Shot" appeared on the Australian Ratings Board database. All we know officially is that it's developed by THQ Digital Phoenix and earned an MA15 rating. Unofficially, however, we have some screenshots posted by MSXboxWorld, which look to us like grabs from a video. The screens reveal what looks like a Saints Row-themed light gun game or rail shooter. Achievements also posted on the site, worth 200 points, suggest that this is an XBLA game (or Saints Row: The Third DLC). There's even a description of the premise: "You are Cypher, a deadly assassin in the world of Saints Row, and you hunt the most elusive targets with the most sophisticated weaponry that Ultor has to offer." You can apparently control the movement of each bullet to weave its way to the intended target. Officially, the planned Saints Row XBLA/PSN/3DS game, Saints Row: Drive By, was cancelled. But, to engage in a bit of conjecture for a moment, the concept and appearance of this game seem tailor-made for 3D. Could the project have been resurrected? Or is this all just media for a cancelled game, with the Australian rating a vestige of its former development?
THQ: 'We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By'
THQ left very little room for interpretation today in regards to Saints Row: Drive By, the XBLA and PSN spinoff of its puerile open-world series. "We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By," a THQ rep told Joystiq, confirming reports of its cancellation. That likely means there won't be a 3DS Saints Row game either, since core games CEO Danny Bilson said that the planned 3DS project was the same as the XBLA game. Given the kind of weaponry we've seen in the latest Saints Row game -- weaponry we're not too keen to see in 3D -- we're at peace with the cancellation. THQ told Joystiq it had "no further comment at this time" regarding the 3DS title specifically.
Hour-long documentary goes behind the scenes at Volition
Game Informer's story on Saints Row: The Third started with just a few screenshots, but apparently the magazine had some extra video footage around, so it decided to turn it into a nearly one hour long documentary on the entire Volition studio, from its PC beginnings with Descent: Freespace, up into the big console series Red Faction and Saints Row. There's a lot of fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff here for old-school Volition fans, including a lot of thinking on why Volition has made the games it has, how the company has built up its growing legacy piece by piece, and even why some developers on the staff didn't want anything to do with Saints Row in the first place. The last 18 years of Volition's work makes for some excellent weekend watching.
Saints Row XBLA aiming to be 'more unique,' says THQ's Bilson
Not much is known about THQ's downloadable Saints Row title, save for the fact that it's in development for Xbox Live and is also likely to land on Nintendo's 3DS in some form. In a new interview with Shacknews, THQ's head of core games, Danny Bilson, alluded to some changes made to the title's direction and its dependence on a larger game. "That one is changed. It's changed," said Bilson. "It's going to be a different--we actually changed the design and are doing something more unique. This is just creative but we wound up feeling the game we were building was too much like a section of Saint's Row that you could play in Saint's Row." Bilson added that this Saints Row would feature an "original game mechanic" that would aid it in supporting the larger franchise. THQ's approach, then, seems to diverge from the one that spawned Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, a downloadable prequel to Capcom's zombie masher, Dead Rising 2. Capcom called its $5 teaser, composed of gameplay similar to that found in the retail follow-up, its "most dynamic sales weapon" ever, having sold over 500,000 units by the middle of September. Bilson, however, believes "you don't want to play something that you can play within the main experience." You might be inclined to agree, but only because there's another dynamic sales weapon pointing at your head.
Saints Row Double Pack bundles two games, many logos
If you're interested in picking up the Saints Row games (Saints Row and Saints Row 2), but haven't played any Saints Row yet, you stand to benefit from the Saints Row Double Pack, out on Xbox 360 on September 7. The Saints Row Double Pack features both Saints Row and Saints Row 2, ,on separate Saints Row discs, in one convenient Saints Row collection, at the budget price of $30. Like the God of War Collection, this is a great value not only in terms of games, but in logos. When you buy the Saints Row Double Pack, you're buying Saints Row logos in bulk. Saints Row.
THQ: Saint's Row for 3DS was already being made for Xbox Live Arcade
The Nintendo 3DS game list has a lot of predictable titles on it, but seeing Saint's Row on there was somewhat of a surprise. But it was a natural fit, as THQ VP Danny Bilson recently said. Not only was Nintendo enthusiastic about putting mature content on its new system, but "the interesting thing about the game is we were already making it. We were already making it as our Xbox Live game and in 3D also. It's designed for 3D already." Wait, an Xbox Live title? The Saint's Row 3 universe is full of surprises -- THQ is planning a whole fleet of games to launch together, and among those is a downloadable XBL game that will unlock content in the full game (and vice versa). The 3DS will share content as well -- "all of our extension properties," says Bilson, "all connect and unlock things in each other." Looks like the game's "new direction" is actually split a few different ways. All of these games are still due out sometime after March of next year.
THQ puts Devil's Third in 2012, announces UFC Trainer
While we were furiously running from appointment to appointment somewhere inside the LA Convention Center last week, THQ was busy holding an investor call -- and subsequently detailing a densely packed game release future. While we already heard from the publisher back in February that Darksiders and Saint's Row sequels would be arriving sometime in fiscal 2012 (between March 2011 and April 2012), it seems that Valhalla Games' debut effort Devil's Third will join the fold (as evidenced by the above image). Also of note, "UFC Trainer" was detailed in the financial call as a Kinect/Move/Wii exercise/training title set for release in Jan 2011 (as reported by GameSpot). It's aiming to contend with the likes of EA Sports Active and Wii Fit, albeit with a tougher slant. "We want this thing tuned to perfection without lag. And I'm not going to ship it until it's the coolest fighting thing in the world," THQ exec Danny Bilson said of UFC Trainer, explaining its absence from E3. He also reconfirmed that a sequel to Darksiders has been "greenlit" and is currently in production, though said nothing of the Devil's Third release window specifically (presumably for fear of being sliced to bits by Valhalla's ninjas).
Hot dog, check out these Saints Row 2 Avatar items
Look, we can sit here and tell you about the flashy pimp duds and other Saints Row 2 Avatar items available on Xbox Live Marketplace right now, but we just can't get beyond the inclusion of the pictured hot dog suit. Even at 400 ($5), we're tempted. Not only is it a great way to support one of the delicious staples of the American diet, but it also means you don't have to play Saints Row 2, go the Mall area and pick one up from the "Let's Pretend" store just to satiate your hot dog dress wear needs. Hooray for cutting corners with cash!
TERA adds veteran industry talent
En Masse Entertainment isn't messing around, judging by today's announcement regarding several game industry heavyweights joining forces with the publisher of the forthcoming TERA MMORPG. "We want En Masse Entertainment to serve as a magnet for creative talent. As we build toward the launch of TERA, we are adding veteran strength to all facets of the company to ensure a topnotch action MMO experience for our customers," said CEO Dr. Jae-Heon Yang. New TERA team members include Aaron LeMay, a veteran of major action franchises including Halo and Saint's Row. Also signing on are Matt Atwood, former Global Public Relations Lead at BioWare and responsible for overseeing both Dragon Age and Mass Effect. David Noonan, a former Dungeons and Dragons game designer and Aion writer also joins the TERA crew, as does Microsoft Xbox Live Operations Center veteran Markus Schweig. Head on over to the official TERA forums for the full press release.
