GAMES

Square Enix’s long-awaited multiplatform role-playing game arrives in stores alongside Yakuza 3, Resident Evil 5 Gold, and Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising.

March Madness doesn’t tip off for another week, but the nickname for the NCAA basketball tournament is equally appropriate to describe the month’s barrage of big game releases. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 deployed to retailers last week, and next week sees a one-two punch of God of War III and Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight.

Retail tsunami incoming?

Those release lists bookend one that is no less impressive, as this week sees the US release for Final Fantasy XIII on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This will mark the first time a major installment in the long-running franchise will receive a multiplatform release at launch. (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time arrived on the DS and the Wii on the same day last March.) For more on the game, check out GameSpot’s review or scroll down to watch the video review.

Another Japanese import is set to arrive Stateside this week, as Sega’s PS3-exclusive Yakuza 3 bullies its way into stores. The open-world crime drama picks back up with former gangster Kiryu Kazuma, who had abandoned Tokyo’s underground to establish an orphanage in Okinawa at the end of the last game.

For PC gamers, THQ has the first stand-alone expansion to its Warhammer 40,000 real-time strategy game Dawn of War II. As its name implies, the Chaos Rising expansion will insert Chaos Space Marines into the far-flung futuristic conflict, adding new single-player and co-op campaigns for hardened veterans. The expansion will also be available bundled with the original game in the Dawn of War II Gold Edition.

That’s not the only double-dip in the wings this week, as a number of hits are finding themselves in new release sections for the second time this week. Capcom reloads with Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, which includes the 2009 survival horror hit and its various downloadable add-ons. The publisher will also be bringing retro revival Mega Man 10 to the PlayStation 3 as a downloadable title, a week and change after the Wii version’s debut, but still ahead of the scheduled Xbox Live Arcade launch later this month.

For further details on the week’s games, visit GameSpot’s New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and the Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later in the week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

MARCH 8, 2010
Max & the Magic Marker–WiiWare–TGC

MARCH 9, 2010
Final Fantasy XIII–360, PS3–Square Enix
Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition–360, PS3–Capcom
Yakuza 3–PS3–Sega
Foto Showdown–DSi–Konami
Racquet Sports–Wii–Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed 2–PC–Ubisoft
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger–PSP–Aksys Games
Sam and Max 2: Beyond Time and Space–Wii–Atari
Calling–Wii
The Daring Game for Girls–DS–Majesco

MARCH 10, 2010
Scrap Metal–360–Slick Entertainment

MARCH 11, 2010
Mega Man 10–PS3–Capcom
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising–PC–THQ
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Gold Edition–PC–THQ
Spectral Force Genesis–DS–Ignition

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Ubisoft’s long-awaited stealth actioner picks up $399 hardware, software, two-controller package, due early April in NA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand.

Gamers may have been skeptical early last month when Ubisoft attached an April 13 release date to its long-percolating return of Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell: Conviction, considering the sheer quantity of delays the game has seen. However, adding a little more security to the game’s debut next month, Microsoft today announced that the game’s launch will be accompanied by an Xbox 360 hardware bundle.

Splinter Cell is getting locked up in an Xbox 360 bundle.

The Splinter Cell: Conviction Special Edition Bundle will include a copy of Ubisoft’s stealth action adventure, as well as a 250GB-equipped black console and two black wireless controllers. The bundle will be available in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in “early April” for $399. Microsoft has not released the 250GB hard drive as a stand-alone purchase, saying in September that it has “no plans” to do so in the future.

However, beginning with November’s launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Microsoft has been keen on pairing some of the Xbox 360’s biggest releases with a 250GB console. Most recently, Microsoft announced a 250GB bundle for Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII, the only hardware-software combo package the one-time PlayStation 3-exclusive will receive outside Japan.

Conviction is set two years after Splinter Cell: Double Agent, which saw series hero Sam Fisher become a fugitive from the FBI, NSA, and an alphabet soup of other agencies. In the course of investigating his daughter’s death, the now-grizzled Fisher discovered that his former employer, the covert organization Third Echelon, has double-crossed him. Avoiding capture, he travels to Washington, DC, to uncover the conspiracy that led to his undeserved disgrace.

For more information, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage of Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

We might normally start a post on a regional game launch event (or events, in this case) by questioning if you live in or around the geographic location in question (San Francisco), but with a game like Final Fantasy XIII, we’re not entirely sure if that kinda thing matters — we hear that FF fans can be a bit … dedicated. That said, Square Enix is holding two separate parties celebrating the March 9 release of its next in the Final Fantasy series.

Both are limited to Square Enix Members, with the launch party on the evening of March 8 limited even further to just 50 Bronze (and up) Members while the day event is limited to “200 Members and their guests.” In order to snag yourself an invite, you’ve gotta have one of those snazzy Square Enix Member IDs and enter the sweepstakes right here before February 23. After you hurriedly enter the contest, come right back here and check out the 20 new screenshots of FFXIII that we’ve dropped into a gallery below. We command you.

Final Fantasy XIII gets two launch events in San Fran and a mess of new screens originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Publisher rides Final Fantasy XIII’s Japanese launch, Eidos acquisition to ballooning net income of $87 million on $1.51 billion revenues.

Square Enix continues to see its revenues inflate after subsuming UK publisher Eidos in April 2009. This week, the Japanese gaming publisher reported revenue of ¥135.4 billion ($1.51 billion) for the nine-month period ended December 31, up 30.9 percent from the same period in 2008. Profits also jumped during the first nine months of its fiscal year, rising 48.2 percent to ¥7.8 billion ($87 million).

Final Fantasy is bringing in the gil hand over fist.

Net sales for Square Enix’s games segment stood at ¥72.9 billion ($813 million) for the period, a 97 percent increase from the year-ago period. Operating income matched the pace of that growth, rising 99 percent to ¥18 billion ($200 million). Dragon Quest IX, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Final Fantasy XIII, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days led sales for the publisher during the period.

Square Enix did not provide unit-sales updates for any of the games launched during the period. However, as part of its first-half report in November, the publisher said that Arkham Asylum had sold 2.63 million units and Kingdom Hearts 385/2 had sold 1.22 million copies. The publisher also previously announced that Final Fantasy XIII had sold 1.7 million units upon its debut in Japan in December.

As for the remainder of its fiscal year, the publisher expects to publish the PC version of Gas Powered Games’ Supreme Commander 2 in North America on March 2, with the Xbox 360 version following on March 16. In between the arrival of those two, Square Enix will deploy its heavy hitter Final Fantasy XIII internationally on March 9, with Just Cause 2 coming for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on March 23.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

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.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hot off the release of Final Fantasy XIII, composer Masashi Hamauzu has … left Square Enix, according to a report on Square Enix Music Online. Hamauzu has been with the company since 1996, and composed the soundtracks for SaGa Frontier II, Musashi: Samurai Legend and others, while contributing to many others including Final Fantasies VII and X.

If true, Hamauzu will likely join the growing ranks of Japanese game industry figures to go freelance — with the most famous example in game music being Square’s own Nobuo Uematsu, who left in 2004 to form his own company. Previous to Hamauzu’s reported departure, Square Enix Music Online notes, Square Enix sound team members Kenichiro Fukui and Junya Nakano left the publisher. The site also suggests that more of Square’s composers will exit in the next few months.

[Via Siliconera]

Rumor: Final Fantasy XIII composer leaves Square Enix originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Well, we had it nice for a while. Bolstered by the release of a few high-profile RPGs and what we assumed to be a pervasive holiday spirit, the Japanese sales charts were absolutely booming throughout the month of December. Unfortunately, the prolonged hardware sales spike seems to be tapering off. That could be because big sellers like Final Fantasy XIII are experiencing some wicked post-launch sales depression. Or, it could just be a disappearance of the aforementioned spirit.

The only system spared from the brunt of the fallout was the PSP, which managed to get a small sales boost on the back of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, which sold nearly 450,000 units in its first week on store shelves, and was released alongside the special edition PSP seen above. Will it have more longevity than Square Enix’s other recent top seller? We may never know. (For like, seven more days.)

- PSP: 145,682 12,771 (9.61%)
- Wii: 76,772 87,083 (53.15%)
- PS3: 61,591 52,777 (46.15%)
- DSi: 50,178 42,283 (45.73%)
- DSi LL: 45,221 25,422 (35.99%)
- DS Lite: 10,067 7,321 (42.10%)
- Xbox 360: 5,461 1,417 (20.60%)
- PS2: 3,092 931 (23.14%)
- PSP Go: 2,841 1,062 (27.21%)

[Source: Media Create]

Read: The depressed archives

Japanese hardware sales, Jan. 4 – Jan. 10: Honeymoon’s over edition originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

This time you’re Lynch, and you’ve got online co-op

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days recently made the transition from rumored software to announced product, but details about the game have remained scarce, even on the game’s official site.

I found some, however, on an assets disc I recently received from Square Enix, and they present some good news for those who played the first game.

The 2010 game switches the lead in the series, putting players in control of “self-medicated psychopath” Lynch. The story, according to the fact sheet, begins with Lynch having found peace in Shanghai and attempting to “make a fat deal where the pay is beyond his wildest dreams and nothing is going to get in his way.”

The plot summary promises that Lynch will find Shanghai to be the “perfect playground for expat criminals such as [himself]; seduction and corruption highlight the contrasts of the city as players fight through the seedy underbelly of Shanghai – a juxtaposition of old-world and new-world ideals ripe with black market opportunities for Kane and Lynch to exploit and reap rewards from.”

The game will support online co-op, in contrast to the original’s inclusion only of offline co-op. Competitive online multiplayer will return.

The fact sheet is light on gameplay details, though it does note that players who are shot to the ground in the new game will be able to shoot from a prone position or crawl away, giving them a second chance in the fight.

The game is in development at series creators Io Interactive. It is announced for a Q2 2010 launch on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Square Enix are known for two things: Final Fantasy, and massive delays for games released in the West. The former isn’t going to be changing anytime soon, but the latter just might be!

In an interview with Ars Technica, Square boss Yoichi “Imperial Hot” Wada has said that in the future, post-FFXIII world, Square games will be much more timely when making the jump from Japan to the West.

“For the last three years, we have worked very hard to close the gap between Japanese release timing and North American and European release timing,” he said. “We tried to go for the global, simultaneous release [of FFXIII] but that was something that was inconceivable, in a sense. But we have been able to close that release window gap to three months. For us, it was a very big step forward.”

A flat world: Ars interviews Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada [Ars Technica]

Square Enix’s latest J-RPG headed to North America and Europe in early 2010, Leona Lewis’ “My Hands” named as theme song.

Japanese gamers have known since early September that they’d be able to wade into Square Enix’s highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIII on December 17. However, Square Enix has continued to string along North American and European gamers, saying only that the game would debut on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the West, hopefully, within three months of the game’s Japanese debut, sometime in spring 2010.

Lightning is about ready to strike.

Today, Square Enix ended the mystery, announcing that Final Fantasy XIII will be available in North America and Europe on March 9. The publisher also said today that “My Hands” from Leona Lewis‘ upcoming album Echo has been chosen as the game’s theme song.

Final Fantasy XIII was announced for the PlayStation 3 alone alongside Final Fantasy Versus XIII as part of the 2006 Electronic Enertainment Expo. However, Square Enix caused a stir at E3 2008 when it announced during Microsoft’s press conference that the J-RPG would arrive in tandem on the Xbox 360. All said, Square Enix expects Final Fantasy XIII to shift some 6 million units worldwide across the two platforms.

Set in the futuristic city of Cocoon, Final Fantasy XIII follows the plight of female protagonist Lightning, as well as myriad supporting characters. Though Square Enix has released limited information about the game’s plot, it will apparently see Lightning and her cohorts fighting against their “destiny” to destroy a separate locale known as “Pulse,” and the denizens of that place.

For more information, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage of Final Fantasy XIII.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot