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Square Enix reports increased fiscal Q1 sales, lists upcoming games
Square Enix's net sales were up 11% year-over-year in its fiscal Q1 (which ended June 10), from ¥29.4 billion ($341.5 million) to ¥32.5 billion ($378.2 million). It's a phenomenon that president Yoichi Wada attributes to the million-plus copies sold of Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 in Japan, and continued sales of Final Fantasy XIII and Just Cause 2 in the west. Operating income jumped 814% in the same period, from ¥594 million ($6.9 million) in Q1 2009 to ¥5.43 billion ($63.14 million). That can be attributed to the fact that Square Enix didn't buy any major publishing companies this year. The earnings presentation for the quarter (PDF) lists the company's current publishing plans for the near future, including the surefire Wii hit Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory for Japan only, as well as the Parasite Eve sequel The 3rd Birthday with a "This Winter" date in Japan and a "TBD" date in North America and Europe. The slides also reveal that Square Enix will handle Japanese publishing duties for Call of Duty: Black Ops, like it did for Modern Warfare 2.
The 3rd Birthday trailer quantum leaps into action
We know our dream of playing a video game adaptation of the greatest television show ever will probably never be realized. Still, judging by this trailer for the spiritual successor to the Parasite Eve series, The 3rd Birthday might just be the closest we'll ever get to Quantum Leap: The Game.
Direct-feed: FF Agito & 3rd Birthday trailers
It's a Square Enix media explosion! A few days ago, trailers for PS3's Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII made their way into the loving arms of the internet. Now, it's the PSP's turn. Check out trailers for these two upcoming PSP-exclusive games: Final Fantasy Agito XIII and The 3rd Birthday, after the break.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, The 3rd Birthday TGS trailers leaked
That gorgeous girl above is Aya Brea, the star of the Parasite Eve series of games, in a concept drawing for the latest game in the franchise, The 3rd Birthday . According to Siliconera, the upcoming PSP exclusive (mobile phone version has been scrapped) will be developed by Hexadrive, who was responsible for Rez HD. What's more, we've got the leaked TGS trailers for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and The 3rd Birthday. The Birth by Sleep one is quite the long one, and it begins at about the 2:00 mark -- it includes both cut scenes and gameplay -- most of us haven't seen the game in action, so this is quite a treat. The trailer for The 3rd Birthday, is considerably less exciting, with no gameplay, but keep in mind this is the first trailer. Check them out after the jump.Source -- SiliconeraSource -- Youtube[Thanks, dsvw56!]
The 3rd Birthday gameplay and story details
When it was a cell phone game, no one knew what it was about. Then it became a PSP game, and still no one knew any details about it. Finally, the project director of The 3rd Birthday, Hajime Tabata, has revealed some facts about the third game in the Parasite Eve franchise. Square is cooperating with another development studio on the game, but he refuses to divulge which studio.Unlike its predecessors, The 3rd Birthday will be a "true third person shooter," but Tabata notes that it will not the same as Dirge (thank you!) of Cerberus: FFVII. Some sort of wireless gameplay may be implemented, but it was not specified whether it will be infrastructure or ad-hoc.The game's scenario and design are currently almost complete. Our curvy heroine Aya Brea will utilize an ability called overdrive that allows her to "cross time." This power lets her to fight and eliminate the Twisted, who are the new antagonists of the game. No release date is set, but it sounds like we'll see the game over in Japan some time next year.
PSP software support way down, recovery is likely
We knew software support for the PSP was relatively dire but this chart says it all. According to Siliconera, who've compiled a comprehensive analysis of publisher support, 2006 was the peak while 2007 saw a huge decline. The top six contributing publishers to the PSP's software library have all taken a considerable dip in scheduled titles, but Siliconera also points out that 2008 is actually starting to curve upward. Does that mean we're on the cusps of a healthy and steady recovery? Possibly, as games like Dissidia: Final Fantasy and LocoRoco 2 are on the way this year, and future titles like Resistance: Retribution and The 3rd Birthday are also on the way. The report is a very good read; we suggest you check out the whole thing at Siliconera for an in-depth look.
Parasite Eve follow-up moves onto PSP
It's been eight long years since we've last seen our favorite Mitochondria-battling cop, Aya Brea, in Square's survival horror/RPG hybrid series Parasite Eve. Well, that's not exactly true, we did catch a glimpse of her contemplating eating a bullet sandwich following the announcement that the long awaited next installment in the series would be released exclusively on mobile phones. Luckily, it seems Aya and RPG fans alike have dodged said bullet -- during their DKΣ3713 Private Party event, Square Enix announced that this new chapter in the series will now be making its way to the PSP. It's unclear whether a mobile version of the title is still in development.Not much is known about the game, titled The 3rd Birthday. A trailer at Squeenix's exclusive shindig didn't have any gameplay or details about the game, though it did show Aya in a wedding dress, aiming a pistol at a shadowy figure standing in the doorway of what we assume is her wedding chapel. A gunfight on your wedding day? Isn't it ironic... don't you think?
Aya of Parasite Eve celebrates 3rd Birthday on PSP
We were all a little disappointed to hear that a title like Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday was being made for mobile phones way back when it was first announced. The third game in one of the best and most original series Squaresoft ever made (well okay Parasite Eve 2 was admittedly horrible) should not have been brought to such a non-traditional gaming machine. And even though it has taken Square Enix a very long time to finally realize this, the company is actually waking up and doing something about it. News coming from the Square Enix party unveiled that the game will be heading to the PSP. It is currently unknown if the game is still in development for mobile phones or whether that's been scrapped in place of full-on PSP development. What is known, however, is that the title is scheduled for a 2009 release in Japan. A stateside release is still up in the air, but the fact that it's a PSP game now makes chances much better.
