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Despot disapproves of Jong-chol’s hobby.
Despite recent studies by the US Navy that suggest gaming can help make you the perfect soldier, it seems that if you’ve got designs on becoming a globally-feared North Korean despot, you’d best put the controller down.
According to a 2008 cable between the US consulate in Shanghai and the US State Department procured by Wikileaks and reported by Kotaku, North Korea’s ruling despot decided against grooming his youngest son for succession because he plays too many videogames.
The cable reads, “There is consensus among xxxxx that, at least for the moment, none of KJI’s three sons is likely to be tapped to succeed him.
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THQ ups Wii drawing tablet sales expectations to 1.3 million units through March, plans four to five new games for peripheral next year, considers licensing the hardware to other publishers.
While Nintendo is coping with a slowdown in system sales, one of its third-party partners has found itself facing the same problem the Wii did for years after its debut. Speaking at UBS’s 38th Annual Media and Communications Conference this week, THQ executive vice president and CFO Paul Pucino said that sales of the uDraw tablet for the Wii are currently “supply constrained.”
Pucino said the company was so encouraged by initial sales of its uDraw tablet that it raised expectations on the unit to 1.3 million sold through March, with half of those accounted for by the end of this year. Previously, the publisher had expected to sell only 1 million units through March.
The uDraw launched in North America on November 14 for $69.99. The tablet came packed in with the uDraw Studio art utility and was released alongside two compatible $30 titles: Pictionary and Dood’s Big Adventure. Pucino said that during THQ’s next fiscal year (beginning April 2011), the company plans to release four or five new titles, including one starring SpongeBob SquarePants.
However, gamers may wind up with more uDraw games than that. If the tablet turns out to be a big hit, Pucino said THQ might be able to license out the ability to make games for it. In addition to possible royalties, that would benefit THQ in boosting sales of the tablet itself, which Pucino called a piece of hardware that generates “software-type” profit margins.
For more on uDraw, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.
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“uDraw sales ‘supply constrained’” was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:05:13 -0800 -
Portable RPG detailed, trailered.
A portable spin-off of CD Projekt’s The Witcher RPG franchise is heading to the iPhone.
Developed by one2tribe and available “soon”, The Witcher: Versus will be published by Angry Birds/Cut the Rope crew Chillingo.
A port of a browser-based Flash game released in 2008, it’s a turn-based scrapper that sees you choosing attacks and defences from a menu before witnessing the encounter play out.
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Portable RPG detailed, trailered.
A portable spin-off of CD Projekt’s The Witcher RPG franchise is heading to the iPhone.
Developed by one2tribe and available “soon”, The Witcher: Versus will be published by Angry Birds/Cut the Rope crew Chillingo.
A port of a browser-based Flash game released in 2008, it’s a turn-based scrapper that sees you choosing attacks and defences from a menu before witnessing the encounter play out.
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Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg says music games aren’t what they once were; has “a ton of respect” for Harmonix, but won’t comment on possible purchase of Boston-based studio.
Earlier this week, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg defended the poor sales of Tony Hawk Shred, but noted how Mr. 900’s cultural relevance is still large. On Wednesday, Hirshberg offered a similar sentiment on another Activision property: Guitar Hero.
Hirshberg told IndustryGamers in a recent interview that Guitar Hero doesn’t have the mass appeal it once had. He also defended the property, saying there’s still great opportunity within the genre, so long as the product is innovative.
“It’s no secret that not just Guitar Hero, but also Rock Band, and the music category in general, do not have the same mass appeal today that they did a few years ago,” he said. “That said, I think that we would be foolish to not try and build on the strength of the Guitar Hero brand, because it’s a pretty strong brand with great recognition and great likeability, and there’s a lot to work with there. I think the road to rejuvenating that category goes through innovation.”
Hirshberg also spoke of Harmonix, the developer of the original Guitar Hero, whose future is now uncertain following Vicacom’s recent decision to offload the Boston-area developer. Activision isn’t saying if it’s the company to pick it up. That move would bring both major music game franchises under the same hood.
“I can’t comment on that, for obvious reasons. I can tell you I’ve got a ton of respect for Harmonix, and I agree with everything you’ve said about them,” he said. “They’re a hell of a developer and very innovative, and I’ve got nothing but love for them.”
The most recent entry in the Guitar Hero series, Warriors of Rock, was released in late September. It offered a new Quest mode narrated by Kiss frontman Gene Simmons and was favorably reviewed by critics but sold under 100,000 units in its first month of availability. For more on that title, check out GameSpot’s review of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Activision: Guitar Hero has lost some ‘mass appeal’ – Report” was posted by Eddie Makuch on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:43:03 -0800 -
FIFA Ultimate Team‘s $45m just the beginning.
EA has predicted that one fifth of its projected revenue for the current fiscal year will come from digital sales, according to CFO Eric Brown.
Brown made the revelation at UBS’s 38th Annual Media and Communications Conference in New York on Wednesday, reported by Gamespot. Digital business could bring in as much as $750 million if his projections prove correct.
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We will be featuring a full expose of Naughty Dog’s latest in our next issue.
Up front of a reveal at this weekend’s VGAs, Naughty Dog has released a teaser trailer for Nathan Drake’s latest adventure, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.
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Grubbins on Ice out now on Xbox 360.
There’s a brand new adventure for Costume Quest on Xbox 360 today. On PS3, however, the same Grubbins on Ice add-on won’t arrive until 22nd December.
For those with an Xbox 360, a new story can be unlocked for 400 Microsoft Points. This follows Lucy – the clumsy idiot – who gets pulled through a magical portal by really super nasty baddie called Araxia. You, as one of the twins Wren or Reynold, along with your friend Everett, must find and rescue her.
You’re getting more costumes. There’s a pirate suit with a zipline, an eyeball outfit that lets you zoom your view out, and a Yeti ensemble that can shield the entire party when you fight.
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Capcom’s new Monster Hunter title behind an increase of 400 per cent.
Japanese PSP sales grew by over 400 per cent in the week to December 5, a staggering rise mostly attributed to the release of Monster Hunter Freedom 3 for the system.
As we reported on Monday, the latest installment in Capcom’s franchise was typically well-received in Japan, with the publisher claiming to have sold two million units in the game’s first week on sale.
