It’s still a slow retail time but that hasn’t stopped the presses. Plenty of publishers and developers are hyping their imminent spring games, and plenty more are looking even further forward. Others are looking for a quick cash injection with DLC announcements for existing titles. This week’s early edition of VGQH has a little bit from all of them.
First up is a new character incoming for Saints’ Row: The Third. In addition to the Genkibowl VII package releasing today is CheapyD from Cheap Ass Gamer. He’ll be one of your regular homies you can call for help once you reach that point in the game. CheapyD will come with the Genkibowl VII DLC for $7. But this is Cheap Ass Gamer, so you can also pick him up for free by downloading the Genkibowl VII Viewer Pack instead.
The Starhawk beta has begun its expansion plans. Those invited to the private beta started playing back in November and December and can still play as long as their original files are still intact. PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to start the action as of today. Those who registered their online pass from Uncharted 3 and opted in for marketing emails should be getting an invitation with a download code to start playing on February 1st. Everyone else will be able to start playing on February 22nd when it becomes completely open.
While most publishers have started including Online Passes with new copies of games (some with benefits like early beta access as just mentioned), requiring second-hand players to pay $10 for online access, Namco Bandai has been pushing back against used game sales in a different way. Their plan is exclusive free content with “preorders,” though the access is basically just included in the first run packaging. The extra content is not necessary for play, but it’s a nice bonus for early adopters. Anyway, a similar plan is in effect for Ridge Racer: Unbounded. This free uprgade to the “limited edition” will include three additional cars and five branded paint jobs. That gets you The Immortal, Road Wolf, and Ghoster; and you’ll be able to customize them (or any other car) with paint jobs from Ace Combat, Galaga, Pac-Man, Tekken, and Soul Calibur. If you’re a racing fan, that’s eight more reasons to look forward to March 6th.
Now we go from good news to bad, especially if you’re looking forward to 2K’s XCOM reboot. We’ve known since November that the game was delayed delayed from March until the “next fiscal year.” Since retail fiscal years tend to end in the summer it was still expected the game would see a 2012 release date. Not happening. It’s now being pushed into the first half of 2013. Just to be clear, this is the first person shooter version of the “new” XCOM franchise. The other game in the series, a more traditional strategy version, is still planned for 2012, even though it was announced later.
There’ve been some interesting rumors floating about that THQ is cancelling their entire 2014 line-up. Why anyone would already be cancelling stuff that’s two years away doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Apparently it doesn’t make a lot of sense to THQ either as they are admantly denying the rumor. Rumors that they’ve also put themselves up for sale are unconfirmed at this time. While they have had, and may still be having, some financial trouble, they still have a very strong stable of franchises. Sales of WWE ’12 are up nearly 40% from last year’s version in the same time period, despite releasing on fewer consoles. Saint’s Row: The Third has also tripled sales of the second game in the same time. UFC Undisputed 3 and Darksiders 2 are both scheduled for the first half of 2012. While they are culling some of their kids titles to focus on a more core gaming experience (not a surprise considering the utter failure of the uDraw tablet), with all of those brands to leverage THQ probably isn’t going anywhere soon.
Getting back to the DLC front, Dead Island is getting a story expansion on January 31st. The “Ryder White” add-on puts you in the shoes of the game’s main antagonist, opening up a different perspective about the Banoi zombie outbreak. The story will expand on Ryder’s character as both loving husband and military leader. The $10 addition will include two extra blueprints for weapons and several hours of “twists and turns.”
While Capcom has been very open with news about Street Fighter x Tekken, Namco Bandai hasn’t been as forthcoming with their alternate version, Tekken x Street Fighter. Both games were announced in 2010 and Capcom’s is set for release March 6th on pretty much every console ever conceived. Meanwhile, the latest news on Namco Bandai’s crossover is Katsuhiro Harada’s response to a fan on Twitter, stating that he is “considering” bringing the game to Sony’s new handheld, PlayStation Vita. Which is all well and good, but have you considered when you were planning to do that?
Sony seems to be starting a New Year’s tradition on PSN. Last year they put 11 of their top games on sale to celebrate 2011. This time around it’s 12 for ’12. Starting today and running until January 23rd, 12 of last year’s top titles are 30% off. PlayStation Plus subscribers will get the games for 50% off. Here’s the breakdown:
- Regular $9.99, Sale $6.99, PS+ $4.89
- Cubixx HD
- Eufloria
- Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
- PixelJunk Sidescroller
- Rochard
- Sideway New York
- Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken – Reg. $11.99, Sale $8.39, PS+ $5.87
- Regular $14.99, Sale $10.49, PS+ $7.34
- BloodRayne: Betrayal
- Dungeon Defenders
- Okabu
- Street Fighter III Third Strike Online Edition
- PayDay: The Heist – Reg. $19.99, Sale $13.99, PS+ $9.79
Capcom’s expansion into Vancouver (formerly Blue Castle Games) seems to be growing. A pair of recent help wanted ads for Capcom Vancouver have teased a little bit about their future. One ad refers to the division as a “multi-project and multi-IP developer” with “two new AAA titles in the works.” The other ad says they are hiring for a third-party action-adventure game. The smart money is that one of those “two new AAA titles” is Dead Rising 3, as Vancouver has been the exclusive studio on that franchise since the second game released in 2010. The other title, according to the job description, is a third party action-adventure title in an “Unannounced New IP.”
Capcom’s not the only with job ads raising eyebrows. Rockstar‘s got one of their own. Their ad indicates Rockstar North (Edinburgh) needs an environment artist to work on an unannounced next-gen project. What might that be? While no consoles have been announced for GTA V, the game has and it looks to be coming to this generation. Could it be Red Dead Redemption 2? Or maybe the return to Bully that Dan Houser has said is imminent? Whatever happened to Agent? Could it be going next-gen?
But that’s not the only Rockstar news this week. Delays in the gaming community are common and it’s rare for one to take me by surprise. That said, my jaw dropped when Take Two announced Max Payne 3 has been pushed back from March 6th to May 15th. Is it just that they want to separate themselves from an already crowded month, especially the same date as Mass Effect 3? Possibly, but according to Strauss Zelnick, CEO, “This short delay will ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality, groundbreaking entertainment experience that is expected from our company.” So, final polish as usual, eh? Regardless of the reason, this has a much stronger impact on investors than on gamers. May is actually at the beginning of Take Two’s 2013 fiscal year, whereas releasing in March would have put it in FY2012. With this move Take Two will likely have a net loss on the books for FY2012. On the other hand, that’s a big jump start for their 2013. A start that should be well padded if GTA V releases this holiday season as rumored. It’s also important to note that Red Dead Redemption and LA Noire were May releases in 2010 and 2011, respectively. This could all be part of Take Two claiming the video game equivalent of the opening summer blockbuster.
So what have we covered so far this week? DLC? Check. New IPs? Check. Delays? Check. Sales? Check. Next-gen console rumors? Check. Betas? Check. Exclusives? Check. Rumors? Check. Seems like we’ve got it all covered. That should tide us over to Friday.