GAMES

This week, Majesco reported its earnings for its fiscal first quarter (which ended January 31). As you may have surmised from the recent news of its potential Nasdaq delisting, things aren’t precisely where Majesco would want them to be, financially. Its net profit for the quarter was $3.8 million, showing a year-over-year decline compared to Q1 2009’s $4.2 million profit.

However, the slightly smaller Q1 still seems big enough to make Majesco happy. “Majesco had a very solid first quarter driven by strong holiday sales of our Cooking Mama franchise,” CEO Jesse Sutton said, “which once again delivered impressive results, and Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.” Yes, that’s right, some of you bought something with the word “Squeakquel” on it.

“Our results were in-line with our internal expectations and we remain on track to deliver improved profitability for 2010,” he added. “We have made significant progress in fine tuning our strategy to meet the challenges of the current operating environment.” The latest announcement from Majesco, of course, is another extension of the Cooking Mama franchise, Crafting Mama.

Majesco reports drop in Q1 profits originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jason West and Vince Zampella alleging publisher trumped up HR charges, conducted “Orwellian” investigation in order to avoid paying royalties, giving them control over Modern Warfare franchise.

The basics of Jason West and Vince Zampella’s lawsuit against their former employer Activision were laid out in a press release from their legal representation this morning, but the announcement lacked some colorful details from the actual court filing. The developers’ attorneys have provided GameSpot with a copy of the suit, which paints a more fleshed out picture of Activision’s alleged misdeeds.

The legal spat between Activision and its former employees is almost as heated as the action in Modern Warfare 2.

“This lawsuit is solely and regrettably the result of the astonishing arrogance and unbridled greed of defendant Activision,” the suit begins, before getting to the accusations at the heart of the dispute. The developers are accusing Activision of launching a bogus investigation into the pair’s activities specifically for the purpose of firing them and evading contractual obligations, as well as royalty payments set to begin March 31.

In detailing the investigation that led to their exit from the company, West and Zampella claim that Activision refused to tell them what they were being investigated for, “insisting instead in Orwellian fashion that West and Zampella ‘already have a clear understanding of what they have or have not done.’” The publisher’s investigators are accused of using strongarm tactics, including a six-hour “interrogation” in a windowless conference room over the President’s Day weekend.

Additionally, West and Zampella said Activision representatives interviewed other Infinity Ward employees so doggedly it drove them to tears, and then told the pair they would be guilty of insubordination–grounds for termination–if they attempted to console the employees. The suit also claims that Activision insisted that West and Zampella turn over their personal computers, cell phones, and other such devices for review. When the pair cited their right to privacy, they were told that asserting that right would be considered insubordination.

Beyond the investigation and the way it was conducted, West and Zampella are also accusing Activision of trying to back out of a 2008 agreement with the developers. Under the terms of that deal, West and Zampella would extend their contracts until October of 2011 and deliver the finished version of Modern Warfare 2 by November 15, 2009.

In return, the publisher promised to give the pair creative control over any Call of Duty game set after the Vietnam era (including near-future and far-future versions) or using the Modern Warfare brand. West and Zampella also claim the agreement gave them the right to run Infinity Ward independently of Activision (while remaining a wholly owned subsidiary of the publisher), to develop a new intellectual property after finishing Modern Warfare 2, as well as increased compensation in the form of stock options and royalties for all Call of Duty games, as well as non-Call of Duty games that are built using Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare engine.

“Activision has adopted the corporate strategy of forcing Messrs. West and Zampella to sue for their pay–in the hopes of either getting away with not having to pay them anything, or maximizing its leverage to reduce that pay,” the suit alleges. “Such actions are not surprising, given that Activision is run by a CEO who has been publicly quoted as believing the best way to run a videogame studio is to engender a culture of ’skepticism, pessimism, and fear,’ and who prefers to pay his lawyers instead of his employees.”

West and Zampella are demanding $36 million in damages (as of the date of the filing), future royalties, legal fees, and a judicial determination of their rights to creative control of the Modern Warfare brand, as well as their rights over the Call of Duty brand, as stated in the 2008 agreement.

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Sure, $679 million may sound like a lot of money (it sure does to us!), but when you’re a company CEO reporting that number to investors and it’s 2.7 percent lower than last year’s equivalent time period ($697 million), it’s not quite as impressive. And that’s just what Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot had to do earlier today when the company reported its fiscal Q3 (October 1 through December 31) sales for 2009. Given the publisher’s French HQ, we’re not privy to the period’s revenue until later this year.

In discussing plans for the upcoming year, the company cited “at least seven franchise titles” being launched this year, calling out this morning’s (finally) officially-announced Ghost Recon: Future Soldier among others, leaving one (presumably unannounced) title unmentioned. The publisher then indicates “at least two new brands (R.U.S.E. has already been announced)” will see the light of day in 2010 — leaving one unannounced new brand. Getting murkier yet, it appears “at least 5 online games” will be heading to the information superhighway, though only three are mentioned (yep, you guessed it — that means two have yet to be revealed). With GDC, PAX East, and E3 not too far off (already?!), there’s still plenty of 2010 left for announcements.

Ubisoft reports fiscal Q3 sales of $679 million, hints at unannounced titles originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Developer BioWare has a busy 2011 ahead of them, with a new Dragon Age title, Star Wars: The Old Republic and, according to EA execs “something far-reaching coming from Mass Effect” in early 2011.

Electronic Arts COO John Schappert added that “something far-reaching” from the Mass Effect franchise to the list of upcoming titles due in the fourth quarter of the company’s 2011 fiscal year. That means something Mass Effect related arriving between January 1 and March 31 of next calendar year.

Could BioWare have Mass Effect 3 wrapped up by then? The developer’s project manager Casey Hudson noted that they “definitely want to make ‘Mass Effect 3′ a fairly short turnaround.” And, well, that would be fairly short.

BioWare could also have much more planned for owners of the recently released Mass Effect 2 or maybe even something for PlayStation 3 owners hungry for some Mass Effect. Whatever Mass Effect “something” EA has penciled in for next year, it won’t be the end for the franchise.

It looks like that entire game’s worth of removed content might be making it into Final Fantasy XIII after all. GameStop has posted the box art for the Xbox 360 version of the game and, more importantly, it has also posted the art for the back of the box. As you can see above, the box mentions that Final Fantasy XIII will support downloadable content after all, though there is no mention of what the DLC actually is. It’s worth noting that the content could be something as simple as Avatar outfits or accessories, though it would certainly make sense for Square Enix to supply its most well-known franchise with post-launch DLC.

The news comes after producer Yoshinori Kitase was rumored to have stated that no DLC had been planned for the game, though he noted it was still “possible.” Final Fantasy Union, however, notes that Kitase apparently confirmed DLC during a recent interview with the Dutch Official Playstation Magazine. The box art certainly seems to confirm that, though we’ve reached out to Square for clarification. As of this writing, GameStop has yet to post the art for the back of the PS3 version, so it’s unclear if both platforms will support said content.

[Via Final Fantasy Union]

Back of FFXIII box for 360 mentions DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Commander Shepard is back, and he’s pissed, but what is he pissed about? Surely it’s not our Mass Effect 2 Frankenreview.

There’s no way I could possibly bluff my way through this one. You know exactly what you’re going to see when you scroll down to the chart – a ton of yellow, and very little blue. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if you scroll down and find that several reviewers despised the game, calling it out for every little flaw they encountered? What if one reviewer stood up from his desk, steadied himself (one of his legs fell asleep), and loudly declared that he didn’t like this game one bit?

What if, indeed!

GamePro
It took me 28 hours to beat Mass Effect 2 on my first run through, and I think it’s safe to say that for more than 27 hours of that experience I was, for the most part, elated. Before I dig into what makes it such an enjoyable ride, I think it’s worth addressing the score right here at the beginning. The half-point lopped off the top is due, almost entirely, to the game’s climactic battle and my entirely subjective response to it. It’s difficult to address directly without spoiling an important part of the narrative, so forgive me if the following seems a little vague but the bottom line is that it’s just preposterous. Yes, I know this is science fiction, but the whole thing is absurd when you really think about it — for approximately 27 hours and 40 minutes the game builds beautifully towards something epic but the climax, the glorious denouement, is so inexplicably and almost comically absurd, I couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed. Part of the strength of the entire Mass Effect franchise is that there’s a credibility to its fiction.

CVG
These missions are, for the most part, unique, interesting and, most of all, fantastically written. Though cinematic wonder Heavy Rain looms near on the horizon, Mass Effect 2 is arguably the closest to an interactive movie we’ve ever come. BioWare’s awesome conversation system is as impressive as ever and the choices you’re presented with – and their consequences – are more apparent and liberally scattered than before. Should you execute surrendered hostage takers or stick to your promise to let them live? Does a murderer deserve to die or go to trial? You’ll be faced with both of these questions and more during the campaign and some are almost certain to have you pondering over your mouse or joypad.

Gamer Limit
shooter fans will no doubt feel right at home with Mass Effect 2’s combat system. Almost all of the RPG feel is gone, to the point where BioWare practically invented an entirely new genre: “Story-Driven Shooter”. The limited ability count works in your favor if you hate menus, given that there are three hot keys (left bumper, right bumper, and Y), basically every ability you’ll ever need is right on your controller without the need to access a radial dial. During a firefight, your enemies react more when you hit them in certain places, and even though you are limited by an ammo system, the action feels a lot more intense. The cover system is still a bit jerky, in the sense that you can’t snap to cover if you’re looking away from it, but that’s just about the only issue with Mass Effect 2’s combat.

Game Informer
The shift away from RPG-style customization may sound like a major setback, but the new format keeps the focus on the action. The combat scenarios deliver more excitement, not to mention a wider breadth of enemy types. Teammates no longer mindlessly shoot walls like they did in the first game. Rather than acting like flashbang victims, they demonstrate intelligence on the battlefield as they take cover, advance, and unload everything they can on the enemy.

TeamXbox
Finally, there’s the presentation, and I’ll start with the negatives: We experienced strange (though infrequent) bugs, ranging from bizarre collision issues to sound cut outs to occasions where the console hard-locked (which happened to each TeamXbox editor playing a retail disc). Other than these issues, the game looks terrific and performs well. The visual issues in Mass Effect are gone, as the frame rate rarely drops below 30 or so; when it did, it was during specific in-engine cutscenes. The presentation is dynamic and interesting, and the Interrupt system-which enables the player to perform a specific Paragon of Renegade action at key moments during a conversation or cutscene-works very well. Paragon players should be advised, though, that they may find it irresistible here or there to let a little Renegade through. This is, thankfully, not a problem, as the morality system isn’t all or nothing. Instead, it segued into the light or dark side as preferred. Then there’s the score, which is outstanding and distinctive, and helps to establish a dire or heroic tone at times.

Kotaku
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s a tired old adage, but one that fits Mass Effect 2 to a tee. The combat system has been overhauled to appeal to an entirely different type of gamer, and some of the role-playing elements have been streamlined to ease shooter fans into the experience. I understand BioWare’s reasoning for doing this, and I appreciate the fact that new fans will be drawn to a series that richly deserves their attention because of it. Perhaps the formulaic side quest structure is the developer’s way of reassuring the RPG fans who loved the original game that this is still, to some extent, the Mass Effect they know and love. Put the two together, and you have a game that should appeal to a much broader audience, while maintaining the degree of emotional engagement that brings the whole experience together.

Okay, I was totally bluffing. I should have started the chart at 90.

Now this is just demoralizing. According to a report in the rumors section of the Feb. 2010 issue of Game Informer (which doesn’t name its source) there won’t be “any game from the [Half-Life] franchise in 2010.” As if that weren’t crushing enough, the magazine says it’s not even sure there will be a Half-Life 2: Episode 3, postulating that the next Gordon Freeman adventure might be Half-Life 3 proper.

Alright, listen, Half-Life: You take as long as you need, but we know you’re holding Portal 2 in there somewhere. Just let GLaDOS go unharmed and you can develop until 2020 for all we care. Please, if not for us, think of the preteens waiting to record painful cover versions of “I’m Still Alive (Again)” on YouTube.

Game Informer: No Half-Life 2: Episode 3 for you in 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Namco Bandai prepares Joint Assault for takeoff with 40 licensed aircraft, four-player cooperative campaign mode.

Namco Bandai first brought its Ace Combat series of arcade-style dogfighting games to the PSP in 2006, with Ace Combat X: Skies of Destruction (see video below). While that game was well received by critics, the PSP has been a no-fly zone for the franchise since then.

Joint Assault will allow for four players to fight through the game’s campaign mode together.

That’s set to change, as Namco Bandai Games America today announced Ace Combat Joint Assault would debut on the PSP later this year. As has become expected for the series, Joint Assault will feature dozens of fully licensed aircraft in single-player campaign and eight-player versus modes.

In addition to the staple features, Namco Bandai is also adding a new cooperative campaign mode that supports up to four players. Under what Namco has dubbed the “Joint Assault Mission System,” players will split into teams, with the two squads taking to the skies on different maps. However, the play sessions will be linked, such that completing an objective on one map will impact battle conditions for players on the other map.

For more on the series’ portable pedigree, check out GameSpot’s review of Ace Combat X: Skies of Destruction.

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Apparently disgruntled game-developer spouse blasts severe quality of life infractions at studio; commenter claims racing franchise is no more.

Get the full article at GameSpot

Nintendo let the fan-made Legend of Zelda film “The Hero of Time,” stay up over the holidays, but its creators have now taken it down after the company asked for its removal.

The Hero of Time (that’s one of its trailers above) had been shown at film festivals, and on Dec. 22, had been hosted at DailyMotion. But earlier in the month, the film’s creators came to an agreement with Nintendo to stop distributing the movie by the end of the year. “In the spirit of the holiday season they were good enough to let us keep the movie up for you to watch and enjoy through the end of 2009,” the team wrote on their blog. “We understand Nintendo’s right to protect its characters and trademarks and understand how in order to keep their property unspoiled by fan’s interpretation of the franchise, Nintendo needs to protect itself – even from fan-works with good intentions.”

The creators say they have “a real sense of peace bringing the project to a close.” They indicated a new project is forthcoming, and “no, it’s not Majora’s Mask.”

Nintendo Pulls Zelda Fan Movie [Cubed3]