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Sega Posts $80.8 Million Quarterly Profit

GameSpaz — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:17:00 +0000

At the end of a week that saw both Nintendo and -- especially -- Capcom report big drops in profit for the first fiscal quarter of the year (ending June 30), Sega has now also reported their own numbers, and surprise-surprise, it's actually good news...kind of. Despite disappointing sales from two of their more high-profile releases, Sega still saw a profit of 7 billion yen ($80.8 million), although much of it was due to their pachinko business in Japan.

Sega reports that Alpha Protocol and Iron Man 2 both recorded sluggish sales, with the former selling 700,000 units globally and the latter only slightly better at 1.12 million units (via Industry Gamers). "While domestic sales were mostly firm, in the overseas markets, sales of new titles remained slow as affected by the adverse market condition," Sega said.

Despite this statement, though, Sega actually saw most of their game sales in the quarter coming from overseas, with 1.68 million units sold in North America, 1.33 million in Europe, and only 270,000 in Japan (for a worldwide total of 3.29 million units sold).

Ex-Infinity Ward Heads West and Zampella to Appear at QuakeCon

GameSpaz — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:35:00 +0000

The industry hasn't heard much about Call of Duty creators Jason West and Vince Zampella since their very public exit from Infinity Ward and Activision earlier this year, or at least not much that hasn't come by way of legal channels. But now id Soiftware has announced the duo will be making a public appearance at their QuakeCon 2010, sitting in on a panel that's set for August 13.

West and Zampella will join id's Tim Willits and Bethesda Softwork's Todd Howard for a panel titled "Building Blockbusters." West and Zempella obviously know a thing or two about that, considering their last game with Infinity Ward was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which quickly became the fastest-selling game of all time.

After leaving Activision, West and Zampella formed a new development studio called Respawn Entertainment. Don't necessarily expect them to have too much to announce about whatever Respawn's first project will be at this panel, but it'll still probably make for a very interesting discussion.

Operation Flashpoint: Red River Revealed, Coming in 2011

GameSpaz — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:32:00 +0000

Codemasters has revealed the next entry in their Operation Flashpoint series in the pages of the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine (via CVG). The game will be titled Operation Flashpoint: Red River, and it's set for release sometime in 2011.

Not much is actually revealed about the game yet, although OXM describes it as a "tighter, more focused game" than its predecessor, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, but also says it's "nevertheless still striving for a more realistic recreation of warfare."

We can only hope the description of Red River being "tighter" and "more focused" holds true, as we found Dragon Rising to have its "sublime" moments, but just not enough of them (check out our full review for more).

Insomniac to Announce New “PS3 Project” Sometime Before PAX

GameSpaz — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:22:00 +0000

Insomniac Games may have just recently gone multiplatform, but their next game will still be a PlayStation 3 exclusive -- and we'll know what it is sometime between now and September. In their latest newsletter, Insomniac revealed the game will be announced sometime before the Penny Arcade Expo takes place in Boston between September 3 and 5, where it will also be demoed for the first time before the public.

"We're bringing our new game to a very special Penny Arcade Expo panel on Saturday evening (September 4th), at 6:30pm in the Serpent Theatre," the newsletter reads. "G4TV's Adam Sessler will moderate a panel with key creative talent from Insomniac Games as we discuss (and demo!) our upcoming PlayStation 3 project."

In all likelihood, the game to be announced is Resistance 3, which has previously shown up on a "billboard" on a movie set (shown above) as well as on a Sony survey. And if an announcement does indeed come before PAX, look to Gamescom in August as a likely venue.

Weekend Deals: EA’s Summer Sale

GameSpaz — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:33:00 +0000

We've got a couple official stores in the spotlight this week, with EA kicking off the third week of their summer sale and Capcom offering a special deal on fightsticks. Dedicated fighting fans will definitely want to have a look at the latter.

Most of the other outlets have been static this week. Steam is offering 50 percent off on Just Cause 2 products, and Toys R Us is having a Buy 2 Get 1 50 Percent Off sale. The GameStop Power Saver sale is also ongoing.

Check out the complete list below!

Project: MyWorld Has Been in Development for Years, Technology Used in APB and Crackdown

GameSpaz — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:42:00 +0000

In their official announcement, Realtime Worlds described Project: MyWorld with the rhetorical question, "What would it look like if Nintendo built Google Earth?" With that in mind, we now have a better idea of what the project means to the studio thanks to a recent post on their official blog.

Design director Sean Dugan writes that Project: MyWorld "wasn't some crazy PR stunt launched yesterday." Instead, it seems that the project has been in the works from the earliest days of the studio, with some of the Project: MyWorld technology being used to develop APB and Crackdown.

"Realtime Worlds was founded with the dream of someday delivering on the promise that Project: MyWorld represents," Dugan says in the post, noting that Project: MyWorld has been a "top-secret skunkworks project for years."

Battlefield 3 Beta Invite to be Included with Medal of Honor Limited Edition

GameSpaz — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:40:00 +0000

The limited edition of the upcoming Medal of Honor reboot is picking up another extra. EA announced today that the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions will all contain invitations to the beta for Battlefield 3, which is currently under development by DICE.

Battlefield 3 was confirmed last year, but few details regarding the new shooter have been released. The most recent entry to the series is Battlefield Bad Company 2, which was released earlier this year.

Buying the limited edition of Medal Honor will afford access to the beta, which is slated to begin within twelve months of that game's release. Other extras include special pistols and shotguns, with the PS3 version also throwing in a remastered version of Medal of Honor Frontline.

Ubisoft Looking At 3-D For Most AAA Titles

GameSpaz — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:30:38 +0000

Ubisoft loves 3-D. They made the game counterpart to James Cameron's "Avatar" last year, and with a push for 3-D TV's and gaming already underway, they want to see more dimensions — not fewer — in the near future.

"We are working to offer the possibility of 3-D on most of our upcoming AAA titles, as we'd like to ensure that we are there for those consumers that begin putting new 3-D enabled televisions in their homes," Ubisoft managing director Rob Cooper told MCV, according to a report on VG247.

Cooper credited "Avatar" for Ubi's current perspective and indicated that he's been looking to it for inspiration.

"I do believe that 'Avatar' allowed us just a little bit of advantage in terms of experience with how this market will work," he explained.

Ubisoft's "Avatar" game and "Shaun White Skateboarding" lead their library of games in 3-D effects implementation right now. A total AAA approach would presumably bring "Assassin's Creed," "Splinter Cell," and a host of others in on the action, though.

What upcoming games would you like to see use 3-D? Do you have plans to get a 3-D-ready TV anytime soon? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

‘Halo: Reach’ To Reward Original PC ‘Halo’ Owners With Flair

GameSpaz — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:30:38 +0000

Despite getting their "Halo 2" Xbox Live support taken offline, longtime "Halo" and "Halo 2" players have seen a lot of love this year. First, those final "Halo 2" online players received "Halo: Reach" beta access. Now, Bungie has decided to bestow something special and shiny upon "Reach" players who have functional keys for "Halo: Combat Evolved" for PC.

"For starters, I pulled a list of keys that had actually been used as of a month or two ago, and we'll probably validate against that list," Bungie developer Roger Wolfson wrote in the Bungie forums (via Giant Bomb). "So people won't be able to just get the keygen now and claim the... reward. (i.e., people who didn't even bother to pirate the game It also means that buying one of the few remaining copies at retail won't help you anymore."

So no fakers. This offer is only going to be open to the real OG's of PC "Halo" — or least those who authenticated keys for their game prior to May 26, 2010. Everyone who did will have a chance to unlock "a small visual thing in-game."

The specific steps you'll have to take to grab that "thing" haven't been ironed out yet, but Wolfson promises some updates in the weeks to come as the "Reach" launch date on September 14 inches closer.

Do you still have your "Halo" PC key? What do you hope to see Bungie offer? Share your reactions in the comment section below.

‘Pokemon Black’ And ‘White’ – New Pokemon And Poke-Musical Performances Revealed

GameSpaz — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:30:15 +0000

The talent competitions in previous Pokémon games may have all just been warm-ups for full-scale musical productions, judging from some Japanese TV footage that contains new venues and actual Pokémon from "Pokémon Black" and "White." The scenes, which appeared on the show "Oha Suta," up the ante with costumes and props, as well as a spotlight during Poké-performances.

An evolved Minizumi called Miruhoggu, a deer named Shikijika and an unnamed stork appear in the video as well, according to the Japanese-literate analysis on Serebii.net. Additionally, it looks like the new team name has been confirmed to be "Plasma."

The only phrase I understood in the entire video was "Pokémon Musical," which must be the name of the new stage contest, so feel free to chime in if you pick up on any additional tidbits. The 3-D maps continue to be a huge step up from past core installments in the franchise, though the kids in the hexagons have reaffirmed my fear of rabid young Pokémon players and the near-limitless energy they tend to harbor.

Do you like the new Pokémon that have been added for "Black" and "White"? What's your take on "Pokémon Musical"? Share your reactions in the comment section below.