Premium edition to include "Back to Karkand" expansion according to leaked ad; content bundles updated weapons, vehicles, and maps from Battlefield 2.
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Mistwalker's latest Wii RPG and Sega's PSP strategy sequel take top two spots as new releases dominate Japanese sales charts.
If the Wii role-playing game The Last Story really is the final game from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, at least the revered developer gets to go out on top. Tracking firm Media Create has released its Japanese sales charts for the week of January 24-30, with The Last Story in the best-seller spot for its debut week.
The Last Story sold 114,722 copies in its first week on sale, leading a flood of new releases that claimed seven of the top 10 spots on the charts. Sega's PSP strategy RPG Valkyria Chronicles III was a relatively close second, selling 102,779 copies for the week. Other notable new releases in the top 10 included the latest Kenka Banchou title from Spike (fourth place with 58,977 sold) and the Japanese debut of BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins for the PS3 (sixth place with 42,854 sold).
As might be expected, the three titles that retained a spot in the top 10 were the three best sellers from the week prior. Former sales champ Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (Final Mix) slipped all the way to ninth place, selling 20,528, while the previous week's third place finisher, Donkey Kong Country, rounded out the top 10 with 19,214 sold. The January 17-23 runner-up, Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 3, showed the most staying power of the group, finishing the week in seventh place with 33,338 sold.
On the hardware front, the pecking order remained the same. Sony's PSP led the pack once again with 34,648 sold, followed by the PS3, which managed to move 25,149 new systems into Japanese gamers' homes. Although the Wii remained in third place, it did see a notable uptick in sales, with 19,448 sold compared to 14,547 the week prior.
JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF JANUARY 24-30, 2011
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. The Last Story / Nintendo / Wii / 114,722
2. Valkyria Chronicles 3 / Sega / PSP / 102,779
3. Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii wake ga Nai Portable / Namco Bandai / PSP / 88,493
4. Kenka Banchou 5: Otoko no Housoku / Spike / PSP / 58,977
5. Toaru Majutsu no Index / ASCII Media Works / PSP / 56,017
6. Dragon Age: Origins / Spike / PS3 / 42,854
7. Monster Hunter Portable 3 / Capcom / PSP / 33,338
8. Dream C Club Zero / D3 Publisher / Xbox 360 / 21,734
9. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (Final Mix) / Square Enix / PSP / 20,528
10. Donkey Kong Country Returns / Nintendo / Wii / 19,214
Hardware:
PSP - 34,648
PS3 - 25,149
Wii - 19,448
DSi LL - 11,891
DSi - 9,611
Xbox 360 - 3,513
PS2 - 1,938
DS Lite - 1,059
PSP Go - 280
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Vanquish sells 820,000 and Sonic Colors moves 1.85 million as publisher poised to post back-to-back full years in the black.
In 2010, Sega Sammy posted an annual net profit for the first time in four years. The company is in good shape to string two such campaigns together, as today the publisher reported rosy results for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2010.
Through the first three quarters of its fiscal year, Sega Sammy posted sales of ¥310.1 billion ($3.77 billion), up nearly 9 percent year-over-year. While the publisher's revenues were up modestly, its profits were through the roof, as net income more than doubled to ¥36.82 billion ($448 million).
While the pachinko purveyor's overall sales were up, the publisher's video-game-specific segment posted more mixed results. Revenues in the consumer business division--which includes Sega as well as toy lines like Bakugan and Zoobles--were down more than 19 percent to ¥66.9 billion ($814 million). Despite that slip, operating profits for the division still doubled to reach ¥2.8 billion ($34 million).
"In the home video game software industry, the demand was generally weak in the U.S. and European markets due to the headwind like sluggish personal consumption," the company told investors. "The group needs to adapt to changing business environment in which the market demand for new content geared to social networking services [and] smartphone is expanding."
To address that, the company said it is establishing "a full-scale development program" specifically for work on platforms like Facebook and mobile phones.
In releasing its numbers, Sega also posted sales data for a trio of its major titles. Sonic Colors was the publisher's best-selling new release, notching 1.85 million copies sold on the Wii and DS. The Platinum Games shooter Vanquish was next up, managing 820,000 sales between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions. The simulation Football Manager 2011 fared nearly as well, with 690,000 copies sold on the PC and PSP in Europe and the US alone.
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Namco Bandai-published mech beat-'em-up given midyear North American release window on 360, PS3.
Namco Bandai has gone on a game-announcement bender this week, confirming the impending releases of Dark Souls, Armored Core V, and Tales of Graces F, as well as indicating that new Power Rangers games are en route. Now, one more title can be added to that list, as the publisher today said that it would release Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the US this summer.
Like previous installments in the series, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 is a sci-fi take on Tecmo Koei's long-running Dynasty Warriors beat-'em-up franchise. Gundam fans will find more than 50 characters and 70 mobile suits that can be played and customized, all gleaned from the series' 30-year anime and manga history. These playable options include additions from the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and Mobile Suit Gundam UC series.
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 will also boast a handful of tweaks over previous installments in the series. Namely, the game includes three new feature systems--Partner Strike, Emergency Dash, and Recovery Gauge Systems--which the publisher claims will amp up its focus on tactics. The game also includes an online versus mode and a four-player cooperative campaign.
Released as Gundam Musou 3 in Japan last December, the game has already proven successful for Namco Bandai. As part of its nine-month earnings report this week, the publisher said the game has sold more than 430,000 units through December.
For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
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Namco Bandai's flagship racer series returning to consoles after five-year absence, coming to PC for first time ever; FlatOut studio Bugbear Entertainment tapped to develop.
The Ridge Racer franchise is about to get a jump start. Namco Bandai today announced Ridge Racer Unbounded, a new installment in the series for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC that will take the series "in [a] whole new direction," according to the publisher.
With the stated goal of shaking up the entire racing genre, Unbounded will take the circuit-racing franchise onto city streets with a new emphasis on havoc and destruction. To help accomplish that objective, Namco Bandai has enlisted Bugbear Entertainment to develop the game.
Bugbear's previous work includes the FlatOut series of demolition derby racers for Empire Interactive, which featured minigames requiring the player to crash such that the car's driver would be ejected through the front windshield and into targets, such as a set of giant bowling pins. The studio also developed the PSP edition of Sega Rally Revo in 2007.
Unbounded will be the first installment in the Ridge Racer series to appear on the PC, and the first to hit consoles since the 2006 release of Ridge Racer 7, a PS3 launch title. However, the series hasn't been completely dormant in the meantime. It debuted on the iPhone in 2009 with Ridge Racer Accelerated, and Ridge Racer 3DS is expected to launch alongside Nintendo's newest handheld next month.
For more on Bugbear's racing acumen, check out GameSpot's reviews of Sega Rally Revo and FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage.
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Bethesda confirms simultaneous multiplatform launches for upcoming content; PS3 and PC versions of Dead Money add-on set for February 22 release.
Bethesda Softworks is going all in with downloadable content for Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas. The publisher today announced that it has three more New Vegas add-on packs planned for release in the coming months. And unlike the game's first downloadable content, Dead Money, the three upcoming add-ons will launch simultaneously on the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360.
Dead Money debuted on the Xbox 360 in December and saw players kidnapped and compelled to recover the fabled treasure of the Sierra Madre casino with the help of a mute woman, a mutant with multiple personalities, and a suave ghoul. PS3 and PC players won't have to wait much longer to play through the episode, as Bethesda today also confirmed a February 22 launch for Dead Money on those platforms.
Bethesda didn't offer any details about the three forthcoming add-ons, but the publisher may have already tipped its hand on their titles. Bethesda recently applied for trademarks on the phrases Honest Hearts, Lonesome Road, and Old World Blues in connection with downloadable game software. The phrase "Lonesome Road" could be spotted in Fallout: New Vegas' in-game graffiti, while Fallout wiki The Vault discovered that "Honest Hearts" was first hinted at in Dead Money via a texture folder dubbed "nvgraffitihonesthearts."
For more on Dead Money, check out GameSpot's review of the Xbox 360 version of the add-on.
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DICE's latest entry in shooter series out this year; sports single-player (with co-op) and online multiplayer; lets gamers wage 64-player battles, pilot jets.
Yesterday, Battlefield fans received a slice of bad news from DICE, when the developer said it had officially canceled PC releases of Bad Company 2's Onslaught and Battlefield 1943. Today, fans of the shooter series scored a win, with DICE formally announcing Battlefield 3.
Battlefield 3 will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC during fall 2011. In addition to a standard version, the title will be available in a limited-edition iteration. DICE will share details on that version during the Game Developers Conference later this month.
DICE also shared some new information on the shooter, saying that Battlefield 3 will sport both a single-player campaign and an online component, which can be played with up to 64 players (for the PC version only). Further, Battlefield 3 will support co-op play for its campaign and will let gamers pilot jets and go prone.
Additionally, Battlefield 3 will run on DICE's updated Frostbite 2 engine. The original Frostbite engine debuted in 2008's Battlefield: Bad Company and was used in Battlefield 1943, Medal of Honor, and most recently Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and its Vietnam expansion.
According to a product listing for Battlefield 3 at Swedish retailer Webhallen, Battlefield 3 will thrust players into the boots of a US Marine, who will fight across the globe in cities like Paris, Tehran, and New York.
An official Battlefield 3 website is also now up and running with a selection of intel related to the new entry in the series.
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Off-road racing sequel hitting stores worldwide at the end of May.
The Dirt franchise has lifted Codemasters to the top tier of racing game developers, ably assisted by the well-reviewed Race Driver: Grid, helping the firm win the Formula One licence to bring the pinnacle of motorsports back to consoles after a long absence.
The long-standing Colin McRae franchise started life in 1998 and gained the Dirt moniker in 2007. Since then the franchise has gone from strength to strength as Dirt has moved from a serious rally sim into a more extreme motorsports festival. Codemasters today confirmed that gamers would be able to see if this trend is to continue on May 24, when Dirt 3 will be released worldwide on the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360.
Dirt 3 looks to continue the series' move away from pure rallying with the addition of the gymkhana discipline to the event list. This sits alongside traditional rallies, point-to-point races, rallycross events, and more primarily off-road activities in a range of vehicles.
The title was first shown off in a trailer that was released in conjunction with the X Games in August 2010. For more on the Dirt series, check out the GameSpot review of Dirt 2, the latest hands-on with Dirt 3, or the developer diary below.
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Rock Band publisher apparently closed down following sale of Harmonix to private equity group.
Last month, Viacom sold off Harmonix, the developer behind the hit rhythm game series Rock Band and Dance Central, to a private equity company. The move left MTV Games, publisher of the Rock Band series, without its biggest studio--or a game series to publish.
It is unsurprising, then, that today comes a report saying that MTV Games has closed its doors. According to an unconfirmed article on British industry site MCV, the label's international office in London was completely shuttered yesterday. A skeleton crew apparently remains on board in the publisher's New York offices to mop up outstanding financial issues.
The fate of MTV Games' other studio, a collaboration with prolific film producer Jerry Bruckheimer, remains unclear. That outfit formed in 2007 with the intention of being an "incubation studio" designed to conceive of games but not actually build them.
Multiple requests for comment sent to MTV staffers had not been responded to as of press time. If true, the closure marks the end of Viacom's four-and-a-half-year experiment with the gaming industry. It began in September 2006, when Viacom bought Harmonix for $175 million dollars plus a generous bonus structure. However, initial success gave way to unprofitability by 2009.
Soon, Viacom was seeking a refund for bonuses paid to Harmonix even before Rock Band 3 launched last October. By November, Viacom announced its intention to sell off the division, which it did in December for a reportedly tiny sum.
For more on Rock Band 3, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
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Capcom brings 10-level, Nero-focused adventure to Apple's portable hardware; game supports Retina display, Game Center functionality.
When Capcom first revealed that Devil May Cry 4 would be released on the Xbox 360 as well as the PlayStation 3, it prompted thousands of angry Sony fans to sign an online petition slamming what they viewed as a betrayal of the series' PlayStation-exclusive roots. That outrage has apparently died down somewhat, as Capcom today released Devil May Cry 4 Refrain for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch, with nary an online petition to be found.
Devil May Cry 4 Refrain casts players as Nero, who returns with his Devil Bringer demonic arm. The game will run players through 10 levels and eight boss fights, with action-centric gameplay retaining series hallmarks such as a combination of melee and gunplay attacks, an emphasis on stylish technique for combo attacks, and collectible red orbs redeemable for various upgrades. Gamers will be able to play using simple three-button controls, or a "normal" control scheme featuring a virtual joystick and five onscreen buttons.
As for features centered around the game's new platform, Devil May Cry 4 Refrain was designed with the iPhone 4's 960-by-640 resolution Retina display in mind and supports Apple's Game Center functionality. The game is currently available at an introductory price of $1.99.
For more on the game's source material, check out GameSpot's review of the original console edition of Devil May Cry 4.
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