It’s still summer, but not near a major event like E3 or SDCC, so the news is a little thin this week. I spent a good part of the weekend finishing up my Bub Shepard (Paragon) play of Mass Effect 3. I can’t believe I’m still playing that game. For Bub, I took the synthesis ending. In my mind, I feel like this is the true ending to the game. I really enjoyed EDI’s voiceover narrative, and Steve Cortez’s ending sequences were heartwrenching. Steve was Bub’s lover. The painful scream Shepard lets out as Steve’s shuttle is shot down was awkwardly inserted, but very powerful. When Betch Shepard’s story ended, it was Garrus Vakarian that hung her name on the memorial wall. For Bub, it was his final lover, Steve Cortez. I never did get to see how Bub’s story would have concluded with Bioware’s original ending, but I’m definitely pleased with what I got. Anyway, enough editorializing about a four month old game, let’s talk news.
Despite a record setting revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, over $18 billion, Microsoft has actually reported their first quarterly loss, $492 million. It’s odd that the quarterly revenue is their highest ever, yet their profits show a net loss. A piece of the puzzle is likely their one-time “good will impairment charge” of $6.2 billion after the acquisition of aQuantive went bad. This isn’t specifically game news, as we’re talking the entire Microsoft company, not just the XBox unit, but it is relevant in that Microsoft makes the top-selling console in the United States for the last 18 months. They maintain that top spot, despite shipping only 1.1 million consoles last quarter, down from 1.7 million in the same quarter of 2011. Their Devices Division (which includes XBox) saw a 20% increase in revenue, rising by $292 million. Integration of Skype, as well as new WP7 releases, likely accounts for much of that growth.
Sticking with the financials a little longer (don’t worry, if it bores you just skip to the next paragraph), Markus “Notch” Persson announced via Twitter last week that Minecraft: XBox 360 Edition has passed the three million sold mark. Despite being one of the most expensive XBLA titles, at about $20, it’s also now one of the highest selling. It reportedly hit 400,000 sales in its first day and had over a million by the end of its first week. The game was launched May 9, 2012. A pack of additional skins was also released last week, surely adding a large chunk of change to the $60 million it’s already earned.
Are you one of the many fans upset that Dead Space 3 includes co-op and seems more action-based than horror? It’s understandable, but EA’s head of marketing, Laura Miele, makes a good case for it. Apparently their market research after the first two games showed a decent number of fans enjoyed it as is, but a much larger group wanted to play and found it too scary. Sure, it’s a burn to the hardcore fans that they’d tone it down for the having nightmares crowd, but EA won’t argue with money.However, according to Miele, “the horror of Dead Space is still all there. It’s still true to its roots and no less scary, but people felt far more comfortable playing it with someone else than they did doing it on their own.” She also made a very good point about scary experiences, they aren’t as enjoyable alone: “Personally, I would rather go to scary movie with my husband rather than sit at home with the lights out watching one on my own. We’re looking for that to reach out to consumers that perhaps were not open to Dead Space 1 and 2.” So maybe a co-op experience can be scary. It’s just going to be awkward when you’re friend laughs at you for still being terrified.
A memo to GameStop employees has been leaked that alludes to a Season Pass for “post-launch episodic content” for Assassin’s Creed III. The memo apparently encourages employees to upsell the game’s Season Pass during pre0orders to get the customer better value. I don’t see this leak being a major issue, considering we’d have found out about it from the employees themselves if they do their jobs as described. There were a few missions added on for Ezio’s series, but the real meat of the DLC has been in multiplayer. It looks like Ubisoft plans to support further chapters in single player this time around.
On a related note, Alex Hutchinson (creative lead for the series) mentioned the end of Desmond Miles’ story at a recent Ubisoft press conference. Specifically, Hutchinson stated that he thinks “Desmond needs to end.” Personally, I agree with him. Desmond’s story has been interesting, and it’s certainly what encouraged me to play Assassin’s Creed II after the repetitivess of the first game. But his story has begun to stagnate and it’s past time they move his character forward to some sort of conclusion. Recent entries into the franchise have made it clear that other stories could continue in the same universe without this central protagonist. I also really liked Hutchinson’s analogy “to think of it almost like Star Trek. Each game is a season… each big number is a sub-title. We’re not changing the universe, but we’re being given the reigns to the equivalent of The Next Generation. Yes, it’s the Star Trek universe, and that has certain immutable laws and there’s a base kind of tone to it, but within that you can do whatever you want.” So, if we consider Desmond’s three titles as the original series, I’m certainly excited to see what we’d get from a new assassin as a next generation. Actually, does it even need to be an Assassin. Abstergo has the Animus and we know it works on their employees. Could Assassin’s Creed IV begin the story of a Templar instead?
I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of Beck, or any kind of fan at all for that matter, but I know there is a loyal following. For those fans, you may want to check out Sound Shapes when it releases to PSN on August 7th ($14.99, 20% PS+ discount). In addition to the previously announced music from Deadmau5 and Jim Guthrie, three new tracks from Beck will also be included. “Cities,” “Touch the People,” and “Spiral Staircase” will each showcase a different facet of Beck’s creativity. You can also play around with the tracks using the the in-game editor. So, not only do you get new Beck music, but you can tweak it as you like. Nothing like a Beck/You track for the hardcore fans.
Time again for the announcement of server shutdowns. While online play has been a huge addition to this generation of consoles, it does have theflaw that the game you purchased won’t always have all of its features available. The latest run of casualties come directly Sony for a few first-party titles. MotorStorm: Arctic Edge and SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 for the PSP should come as no surprise. With the release of the Vita, any support for the older handheld is going to die quickly. Not that it ever had a ton of support anyway. Also losing its multiplayer component is MotorStorm: Pacific Rift for PS3. Releasing in 2008, it’s no surprise to see this one dropped as well. However, trophy whores/hunters should take notice. If you’re still behind on those 12 online trophies, you only have until September 30th to earn them. Beginning October 1st, any trophy for the game requiring online play will be completely unattainable.
Namco Bandai has an interesting take on pre-order incentives for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The intriguing collaboration of Studio Ghibli and Level-5 will have its incentives determined by “Ninostarter.” This is like a Kickstarter, but ignores the web-based service in favor of building incentives based on the number of copies order before August 31, 2012. While they haven’t revealed what the bonuses will be, Namco Bandai has said that more pre-orders means more bonuses. The game releases January 22, 2013.
Microsoft has announced the release date for Dance Central 3, October 16, 2012. Harmonix’s third entry in the Kinect-powered dancing game is planned for 40 new songs upon release, 11 of which were announced along with the release date. I’m not sure which is less surprising, LMFAO or the Village People.
- 2NE1 – “I Am The Best (Original Version)”
- Alice Deejay – “Better Off Alone”
- Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
- J.J. Fad – “Supersonic”
- Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low”
- LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It”
- Los Del Rio – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”
- Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”
- Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”
- Vicki Sue Robinson – “Turn The Beat Around”
- Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”
You may have been seeing a rumor in the last week or so (reportedly started by Kotaku) that Final Fantasy Versus XIII has been cancelled. I nearly included in Friday’s edition but decided it didn’t have enough traction or relevance to warrant a story. But, if you were worried about the game, relax. Square Enix has announced that the rumor is false and the game is still in development. Yoichi jokingly said the regular meeting the for the game had just ended and “If you saw the presentation of the city, it’d knock you off your feet.” The denial doesn’t change the fact that we haven’t seen anything from the game in ages, and it was announced at the same time as the main Final Fantasy XIII which released in March 2010. So it’s not cancelled, but I wouldn’t hold your breath for release either.
As I said at the start, a mediocre week. I really hope we don’t have to wait for Gamescom and TGS to finally start getting more news. It’s going to be a long summer if I’m left staring at the same old Assassin’s Creed III artwork and watching a GTA V teaser, especially since I’m still not convinced that one is coming this year.