GAMES

According to Gamasutra, a recently released report from the NPD Group claims online gaming increased by 10 percent in 2009. Furthermore, the number of games purchased via digital distribution increased by 20 percent in the same period, marking a 19 percent increase over the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of gamers that play online decreased by 2 percent. The overall increase in online gaming was the result of gamers playing online longer — an average of eight hours per week, up from 7.3 the previous year.

Breaking it down by platform, the PC sees the most use overall with 85 percent of PC owners playing online. Among gaming consoles, the Xbox takes the online cake, with 43 percent playing it online. The PS3 and Wii both tie at 30 percent, though it’s worth noting that PS3 online use is up 10 percent over the previous year.

The question has to be asked: What are all those Wii owners playing? There can’t be that many copies of Mario Kart Wii out there. Oh, wait …

NPD: Online gaming up 10 percent in US originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“We’re doing something different this time,” Chris Taylor, of Supreme Commander developer Gas Powered Games, said about the development of the company’s new game, Kings and Castles. He’s not really talking about the game — it’s another real-time strategy game, being developed for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 — but rather of the development process.

The developer plans to be as open as it can while working on the game, promising frequent updates on Facebook and Twitter (from Taylor’s account, @DeathBot9), as well as on the game’s website. “Synergy will be leveraged, and paradigms will be established,” Taylor said in the press release. “More importantly, buzzwords will be utilized.” From the tone so far, you might expect the updates to be on the silly side.

The first effort in this initiative: a video blog in which Taylor does stuff on a farm for some reason. See it after the break.

Continue reading Gas Powered Games announces ‘Kings and Castles,’ antics ensue

Gas Powered Games announces ‘Kings and Castles,’ antics ensue originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Headline says it all: Sony’s made Fl0w, the acclaimed indie hit adapted by thatgamecompany for the PS3 in 2007, free for today only over the PlayStation Network, so run go get it.

The offer’s good in the North American PlayStation Store (if the deal’s active in other regions, let us know in the comments.) The download clocks in at 125 MB. You can queue it up for your PS3 at the link below.

fl0w [PlayStation.com]

Electronics giant back in black after months in red; PS3’s sales jump by 2 million during holidays, but PSP and PS2 sales slump; annual game-software sales estimate cut by 40 million units.

After months of losses, Sony is back in the black. Following a massive restructuring which saw 16,000 jobs eliminated, the electronics giant today reported ¥79.2 billion ($871.2 million) in net income from October to December 2009. The 660.6 percent increase in profits came in spite of overall revenues rising just 3.9 percent to ¥2.24 trillion ($24.6 billion) during the quarter.

The PS3 Silm has boosted console sales for Sony.

Sony’s Networked Products and Services division, which subsumed Sony Computer Entertainment last year, also saw its fortunes improve from October to December 2009. For the quarter, it reported ¥19.4 billion ($213.4 million) in operating profit, up from a ¥5.9 billion ($65 million) operating loss during the same period the year prior. Overall operating revenue rose just 1.9 percent to ¥606.1 billion ($6.7 billion).

One big reason for Networked Products and Services’ upward swing was a nearly 50 percent increase in sales of the PlayStation 3. The 120GB console’s lower price point–now just $300 in the US and £250 in the UK–helped worldwide three-month sales jump by 2 million units from 4.5 million to 6.5 million units. The company also said the PS3’s increased sales were coupled with “an improvement in the cost of PS3 hardware” afforded by its new slimline design, introduced late last August. International life-to-date sales of the console through the end of 2009 totaled 33.5 million.

PSP sales are declining even after the PSP Go’s launch.

Higher PS3 sales and lower PS3 costs helped offset the flagging fortunes of Sony’s other two platforms. Despite the introduction of the heavily hyped, UMD-free PSP Go last October, overall PSP sales fell from 4.5 million to 4.2 million units during the last quarter of 2009. The aging PlayStation 2, now well into its ninth year, saw three-month sales slip from 2.5 million to 2.1 million units year over year.

Though analysts estimate that Sony still loses around $36 per PS3, the company does make money from first-party game software sales and third-party game software licensing fees. On that front, the Oct.-Dec. quarter saw 47.6 million PS3 games sold, 15 million PSP games sold, and 11.2 PS2 games sold.

As a result of improved game sales, VAIO PC profitability, and increased income from its financial services, disc manufacturing, music, and film divisions, Sony has cut its predicted annual loss in half. However, the company still expects a shortfall of ¥30 billion ($330.5 million) for its 2009 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2010.

In terms of game hardware, Sony now expects to sell 13 million PS3s during its current fiscal year, in line with a forecast it issued in October. However, the company drastically reduced its estimated 12-month PSP sales from 15 million to just 10 million. It revised PS2 estimates up, though, from 5 million to 7 million for the fiscal year.

Finally, Sony also took a hatchet to its October estimates of overall annual PlayStation family software sales, lowering it from 240 million units to just 200 million units. First-party games published by SCE during the period include October’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the just-released MAG, and the upcoming God of War III, due out mid-March.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

On December 17, role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII went on sale for the PS3 in Japan. It was priced at ¥9,240 (US$102). Want to sell back your copy?

In a little over a month and a half, the used game is fetching ¥1,500 (US$17) from major Japanese game retailer GEO. By comparison, used games Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 on the PS3 commands ¥4,800, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 merits ¥4,500 and Musou OROCHI Z is priced at ¥3,100.

The lower end of the scale looks like this: Uncharted is worth ¥1,500, NBA Live 10 is ¥2,000, Grand Theft Auto IV is ¥2,500 and Dragon Ball Z Raging Burst is ¥1,500.

Remember, these are buy-back prices. The games will then be sold at higher prices. What’s more, the prices do not reflect the quality of the games, but rather, the supply and demand. Most likely, low buy-back prices means that many players, who have probably already finished the title, are selling back the game.

In Japan, renting games is not wide spread and permitted in the same way it is in the West. Instead, players buy games and keep the disc, booklet and case in pristine condition so they can sell back to the titles to shops like GEO.

PS3?FF13?????????1500???? [??????????]

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft
RE: Gadgets

Guess there are loads of gadgets in Japan, but haven’t really had the time to think about them. Exhausted and drained. Emotional week, looking forward to the weekend.

What you missed last night
Introducing “Vanquish”, A New Game From The Creator Of Resident Evil
“Entirely New” Pokemon Series Coming This Year
Final Fantasy Creator Working On Wii Game
Where Is Metal Gear Arcade?
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Announced for PS3 and PC

A BBFC classification for a “Game of the Year” edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum has popped up online, causing quite a stir here at Joystiq HQ. While we all agree that Batman was “a game of the year,” the listing offers no clues as to what would be included in a GOTY package. So, allow us to activate detective mode:

First, there are the two DLC packs for the game to consider: the “Insane Night” Map Pack (free for everyone) and “Prey In The Darkness,” available on PS3 in the US and on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe. Also, those who pre-ordered the original release from GameStop received access to the challenge map “Dem Bones,” while those that snagged the fancy Collector’s Edition got their own unique challenge map in “Crime Alley” — both could certainly be included in a special edition re-release. Considering all the DLC out there (but c’mon, we want more Rocksteady!), there’s a valid GOTY edition in the making here. And how about a batarang upgrade, too? (That cheap plastic one just didn’t cut it.)

We’ve turned on our ’stiq signal in the hopes of attracting Warner Bros., Eidos and Rocksteady for clarification. We’ll let you know just as soon as they show up on our rooftop.

[Thanks, C.A.]

Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY edition outed by BBFC listing originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter doesn’t think the announcement of Netflix streaming on Wii is that big of a deal in growing the rental service’s customer base. Pachter’s perspective is that “fewer than 20 percent” of the US’s 26 million Wii owners are connected to the internet, which is a necessary component to stream movies through the service. In comparison, he believes over 75 percent of Xbox 360 and PS3 users are caught up in the internets.

IndustryGamers reports that Pachter expects “some traction” from the Wii announcement, but that it won’t “jump start Netflix activations.” He believes the Nintendo console’s installed base will “embrace the Netflix service only gradually.” With so many consumer electronics receiving the Netflix streaming service, Pachter does believe it’ll “allow Netflix to maintain its prior pace of subscriber additions as new customer additions from the Xbox 360 installed base begin to slow.”

Pachter: Netflix on Wii won’t matter as much as on other consoles originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nonplussed by the PS3’s Gran Turismo in 3D and sort of blown away by Super Stardust HD 3D, I was split on 3D gaming when it came time to check out Capcom’s upcoming Dark Void.

Where Gran Turismo’s 3D seemed to add very little to the experience, giving you a slight sense of depth but little more while driving, and Super Stardust HD blew me away with its attention to 3D detail, Dark Void was somewhere in the middle.

Flying through through the canyons of one level in 3D added a nice bit of perspective to the segment, but it was the firefights where the 3D best delivered. The images popped with the sort of crisp, in-your-face graphics that you’d want from a fast-paced title. Instead of using the tech to make the interface, like life and the weapon selected, float above the screen, the 3D helped give the world more depth.

One thing I would have liked to see were things shooting out at me as I played, the sort of effects that in a movie make you want to duck. Instead it was more about lending the structures, enemies and your character more visual substance.

The bigger issue is that the tech still feels like a gimmick applied last-minute to a game. As a big fan of first-person and third-person shooters, a game like Dark Void represents the sort of title I’d hope would use 3D to enhance the experience and not just the visuals.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was an impressive example of how adding Nvidia’s 3D Vision to a game can give it a bit more sizzle. But it didn’t do enhance the experience enough to outweigh the discomfort of having to wear glasses and deal with possible, for me inevitable, headaches from lengthy gameplay sessions.