Tag: Videogames

Tomb Raider Delayed to 2013

The highly anticipated Tomb Raider has been delayed to 2013. Being developed by Crystal Dynamics and set to be published by Square Enix, the game was a fantastic surprise at E3 2011 and on my most-wanted list for 2012. Sadly for everyone amped for the game, the wait will be a wee bit longer. In a statement to the series’ fans, Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher wrote:

Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game. In order to do this, we have decided to move the game’s release date by a few months, from Fall 2012 to the first quarter of 2013.

The good news is that the delay is only a few months. Hopefully the developers will make a game that was worth the wait. With the customary onslaught of games in Q4, I don’t mind waiting a bit longer. How about you? How do you feel about Tomb Raider being delayed until 2013?

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Square Enix Returns to Profitability in Fiscal 2012

Square Enix has released its financial report for its fiscal 2012 ending March 31. After being in the red in 2011, the company has returned to profitability in 2012. The games Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution were specifically cited as reasons for success in the report. My personal theory is that millions of gamers bought the Serah-in-a-bikini DLC for XIII-2, which was just pure profit.

What’s more interesting (for people that aren’t down with Serah in a bikini) is that Square Enix strategy of blending East and West is shaping up to be a successful one. The company will always sell millions of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games. Rounding out its JRPG offerings are Western titles like Deus Ex and Tomb Raider (delayed to 2013, btw).

As a longtime fan of Square Enix JRPGs, it’s still a bit weird for me to think of the company as the publisher of Deus Ex, Hitman, and Tomb Raider. A few months ago, I jokingly asked Square Enix’s PR director, “When did Square Enix become a white company?!?” Despite the strangeness for me as a fanboy gamer, it’s a smart business strategy and it has been fun watching the company’s evolution.

Any thoughts on Square Enix’s financial results? Do you think the company’s melange of Eastern and Western games will lead to sustained success?

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

After several relatively slow weeks, the ides of May takes the gaming world by storm. Blizzard’s Diablo III leads the way; millions of gamers have been waiting for this one for years and it’s almost here! Also high on many a gamers wish list is Rockstar’s Max Payne 3. With the show’s second season kicking all sorts of ass, Atlus should enjoy brisk sales of Game of Thrones. While I still have problems accepting that the movie actually exists, the companion videogame Battleship has me thinking about the impossibility of Rihanna and Turtle from Entourage joining the Navy. One of the oldest driving-game series makes a return in Test Drive: Ferrari Legends. Lastly, Mario Tennis Open has caused many of my friend to figure out where the hell they put their Nintendo 3DS systems.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Coffee Talk #478: The Sony PlayStation Mascot Is…

On Friday, my industry pal Michael and I were talking about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Obviously the game it’s most compared to is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. The characters in Sony’s upcoming game simply don’t have the history of the characters in Nintendo’s games. That isn’t to say that the Sony characters…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Intelligentsia’s Panama El Machete, Jim Lampley’s The Fight Game on HBO, or Charlize Theron as Snow White, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

On Friday, my industry pal Michael and I were talking about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Obviously the game it’s most compared to is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. The characters in Sony’s upcoming game simply don’t have the history of the characters in Nintendo’s games. That isn’t to say that the Sony characters are bad or inferior; they just haven’t been around long enough to invoke the feelings of nostalgia that the Super Smash Bros. games conjure.

The conversation moved onto discussing Sony’s mascots. Nintendo has a host to choose from, like Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Samus, etc. Millions of people automatically think of the Microsoft Xbox when Master Chief is mentioned. As for Sony…there are several candidates, but which ones stand out to you? Some great characters have been revealed for PlayStation All-Stars, but most of them are relatively new. Even the game’s oldest ones — Parappa the Rapper and Sweet Tooth — aren’t exactly mascot material.

In the original PlayStation days, there was an effort to make Crash Bandicoot the Sony PlayStation mascot. That was dropped when the character went to Unviersal Interactive. A generation of mascot making was lost as Crash and Spyro made way for Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank. They were joined by great characters like Sly Cooper, Cole MacGrath, Kratos, etc.

Sony Defense Force members will say that the company simply has a lot of great games to choose from and that Microsoft put too many eggs in its Halo basket. Microsoft fanboys will argue that Sony has done a poor job at establishing its mascots. What say you? Are you a Kratos worshipper? Is Sackboy your man? In your mind, who are the best Sony PlayStation mascots?

Street Fighter Bobble Budds Are Completely Adorable!

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Street Fighter, Capcom and Multiverse Studio have teamed up for Street Fighter Bobble Budd toys. The initial run includes four of the renowned world warriors: Blanka, Chun-Li, Ryu, and Sagat. While you know them to be fierce and menacing combatants in the videogames, they’re completely adorable in Bobble Budd form. Check out the image gallery below if you need more convincing.

The Street Fighter Bobble Budds are available from the Capcom Store for $10.95 each and as a complete set from SOTA toys for $47.96. Any of you interested in picking up these toys? Which Street Fighter Bobble Budd looks best to you? Perhaps it’s because I miss Thailand, but Sagat totally cracks me up.

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Intel Video Superstars Expands to Include Game Trailers

Intel has expanded its Video Superstars contest to include videogame trailers and short films. Previously, the contest allowed creators of music videos to compete for prizes. Adding videogame trailers to the mix gives independent developers a chance to shine. Fans of music, movies, and games are encouraged to check out the smorgasbord of content and vote. From what I understand, there will be some special surprises for those that participate. Stay tuned for news on those incentives.

Voting begins on May 24, 2012. There will be separate “best of” categories, including Action/Adventure/Shooter, RPG/MMO/Strategy, Casual/Puzzle, and Sports. According to the press release:

Video Game Trailer submissions begin May 7, 2012 and run through June 29. The first phase of fan voting begins May 24, and runs through June 29. Following the initial submission period, 10 semifinalists from each sub-category will compete for the top five slots within the Game Trailer category. A panel of judges will review the top 5 category finalists and winners will be announced in late July.

Please check out Video Superstars when you have a chance and let me know what you think (please!)

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What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Unfortunately, I can’t let you know what I’m playing this weekend. It’s a secret Xbox 360 game for a secret project. I will tell you that it’s cool and a reboot of a classic franchise. Any guesses?!? If you guess correctly then…I still can’t tell you what the game is, but you’ll get magic/secret points for being awesome.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Play as Stan Lee in The Amazing Spider-Man

Activision has revealed some sweet pre-order bonuses for The Amazing Spider-Man. If you pre-order the game from GameStop then you get a mode called “The Rhino Challenge”. Here’s the description from the press release: “Take control of the massive, genetically engineered villain Rhino and rampage around Manhattan in an exclusive gameplay challenge of pure destruction! As Rhino, players will be able to unleash his formidable powers to destroy anything and everything that gets in his way in a timed event full of speed, combo streaks, and of course, a ton of things to break!”

The super-cool bonus comes from buying the game through Amazon. You get to play as legendary creator Stan Lee! Here’s the official description: “Players will take on the role of Stan ‘The Man’ Lee in his own special mission across Manhattan, borrowing abilities from his old pal Spider-Man as they help Stan collect pages of his latest script in a spectacular race around Manhattan. Stan’s mission is punctuated with his witty banter that fans have come to know and love, and a special surprise waits for them at the end of the mission — after all, it is Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary this year!”

Both pre-order bonuses are for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game only.

As a proper comic-book nerd, of course I’m psyched about the Amazon bonus. The Rhino Challenge sounds like fun and all, but playing as the beloved and legendary Stan Lee sounds completely awesome. In fact, I think every game should let you play as Stan Lee. I guarantee that the reviews would better.

Any of you psyched for either of the pre-order bonuses for The Amazing Spider-Man?

Papo & Yo Dev Diary is Utterly Charming

At E3 2011, several of my videogame-industry pals told me to check out Papo & Yo for PlayStation 3. It’s a unique and visually interesting game inspired by a father-son relationship in South America. It’s hard to convey the game’s charming feel, but this developer diary does a great job at it. Check it out and let me know what you think (please!). If you like, I can spend three hours of E3 2012 playing the game and talking to people about it. Like Captain Planet says, “The power is yours!”

Coffee Talk #476: Making Games Without Coding

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Floyd Mayweather’s surprisingly exciting victory over Miguel Cotto, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2012 inductions, or remembering MCA, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Do you ever dream about making your own games? Perhaps you have a sweet game in your head, but can’t get it on screen because of a lack of coding skills? Here are two visual programming tools that can help you make games without knowing how to code. First up is GameSalad Creator. This robust editor allows you to make games for Android, HTML 5, iOS, and more. It offers an almost shockingly diverse amount of options, including a robust behaviors editor. GameSalad Creator is free, with a more powerful Pro version available for $299.

A simpler and more focused visual programming tool is Codea for iPad. This $9.99 editor allows you to make games for the iPad on the iPad. It offers a mix of drag-and-drop and straight code editing. To give you an idea of what Codea can do, TwoLivesLeft has published Cargo-Bot. While it’s not as diverse or as powerful as GameSalad Creator, Codea offers a surprising amount of power considering its price and platform.

Don’t expect either of these editors to let you make the next Skyrim or Gears of War. These tools are meant for people that don’t know how to code or don’t like to code. With that in mind, of course the options are relatively limited. That said, they do offer numerous and powerful ways to unleash your inner game designer.

Are any of you interested in making games this way? Do products like GameSalad Creator and Codea interest you?