News
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Dead Rising 2, Super Street Fighter IV help lift publisher’s revenue 4.7 percent to $502 million, but Lost Planet 2 underperformance cuts into income.
Today, Capcom announced its financial results for the April-September reporting period, and as could be gleaned from recent headlines concerning the publisher, the results were mixed. For the six months, Capcom saw revenue rise to ¥40.7 billion ($502 million), a 4.7 percent increase over the same period a year ago. However, net profits saw a substantial slide, falling 39.9 percent to ¥1.78 billion ($22 million).
For the good, Capcom saw strong performances from a number of its releases during the period. Earlier today, the publisher announced that Blue Castle Games’ zombie-slaughtering action adventure game Dead Rising 2 had shipped 2 million units. (The studio is now known as Capcom Game Studio Vancouver, following Capcom’s acquisition of it in September.) According to financial statements released today, the game has sold 1.8 million units through September.
Capcom also continued to see production out of Super Street Fighter IV, which was released stateside in April. The revised and well-regarded fighter has sold 1.4 million units through September, a performance Capcom called strong. Other performance matching or besting titles released during the period were Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes and Monhan Nikki Pokapoka Airu Mura, both of which sold more than 500,000 units.
The bad can be summarized by Capcom’s announcement earlier this month that it would be trimming its outlook on the weakness of Lost Planet 2. Released to weak reviews in May, Lost Planet 2 sold 1.5 million units through September, a figure Capcom today called a “substantial underperformance.” Other reasons for the profit shortfall were Dead Rising 2’s delay from late August to late September and a “sharp appreciation” of the yen, the publisher said.
Capcom still expects to come out ahead by the end of its in-progress fiscal year. Through March 31, 2011, the publisher expects annual sales to have hit ¥91.0 billion ($1.12 billion), with profits projected to come in at ¥6.5 billion ($80 million).
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Capcom’s six-month revs up, profits down” was posted by Tom Magrino on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:23:40 -0700 -
EA responds to user feedback.
A comprehensive update hits the PC version of EA’s FPS Battlefield: Bad Company 2 tomorrow, the publisher has announced.
The patch takes into account requests posted in the ‘My biggest issues’ thread of the game’s official forum. Alas, “Girls don’t want to go out with me” isn’t addressed but a bunch of other important stuff is.
The full list posted below includes bug fixes, weapon tweaks and stat revamps.
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Highest capacity HDD-equipped console will sell for $350 a la carte starting today, $50 more than 160GB version, $50 less than 320GB Move bundle.
In August, Sony announced it was increasing the capacity of the PlayStation 3’s hard drive by releasing 160GB and 320GB models of the console. But while the former was available solo for the same $300 price point as the discontinued 120GB model, the latter was only available as party of a $400 bundle, which included the PlayStation Eye camera, Move controller, and minigame compilation Sports Champions.
Today, Sony announced that the 320GB PS3 will soon be available on its own for $350. Stand-alone units of the console (pictured) will begin shipping today and will arrive in stores in the near future.
The 320GB and 160GB models are just the latest in a long line of reconfigurations of the PlayStation 3, which debuted in 2006 with 60GB and 20GB of hard drive space. Since then, 40GB, 80GB, 120GB, and 250GB HDD-equipped versions have been released. Along the way, the console both lost and gained functionalities, with the backward compatibility of early models disappearing and the console recently receiving native Netflix playback.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“320GB PS3 soon to be sold solo” was posted by Tor Thorsen on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:28:18 -0700 -
Nintendo to help Capcom with marketing.
DS adventure Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective will launch on 14th January 2011, Nintendo and Capcom have confirmed.
The game, which sees you take control of the spirit of recently murdered Sissel as he attempts to track down his assailant, is the latest effort from Ace Attorney creator and all-round puzzle adventure guru Shu Takumi.
With the 3DS due on shelves in March it could be one of the last big releases for Nintendo’s handheld. Judging by the trailer below it looks like it could be a fitting send-off.
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Nintendo announces pre-Christmas stateside release for $30 limited edition pack that includes Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, Lost Levels.
This fall marks the 25th anniversary of Nintendo’s hugely popular Super Mario Bros. franchise. To celebrate, the company last week announced new Mario anniversary Wii and DS system bundles. Now, the company stated its plans to offer a new Mario software bundle.
Nintendo today announced that Super Mario All-Stars will release in North America on December 12. The $30 limited edition pack contains four classic Super Mario Bros. titles, as well as a commemorative art booklet and soundtrack CD. It is currently available in Japan.
The four titles included in the bundle are Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3. All four bundled titles feature “updated graphics” and “enhanced sound.”
The soundtrack CD, dubbed Super Mario History, is a collection of music and sound effects from the mustachioed-plumber’s virtual history. Specifically, the disc features music ranging from the original Super Mario Bros. to Super Mario Galaxy 2, which was released earlier this year. In addition, the soundtrack will contain the “first official release” of the “Super Mario Bros. Ground Theme,” the memorable tune from the original Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario All-Stars will also come with an art book. The 32-page Super Mario History book contains interviews, concept art, behind-the-scenes details on the history of Mario, and “never-before-seen design sketches.”
Those interested in learning more about the 25th anniversary of Mario can head to a commemorative website Nintendo recently launched, Mario.25.Nintendo.com.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Super Mario All-Stars hitting North America Dec. 12” was posted by Eddie Makuch on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:50:41 -0700 -
US gets firm November launch.
Sony’s collection of Blu-ray remastered Sly Raccoon PS2 games will be sold from 9th November over in America.
We’re afraid Europe is left waiting again; Sony had no date to give Eurogamer this afternoon.
The Sly Collection contains HD remasters of Sly Cooper and Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.
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Fiscal results for the past six months show decline in DS and Wii sales on last year.Nintendo has posted its financial report for the six-month period ending September 30. Net sales fell from 548 billion yen ($6.7 billion) in 2009, to 363.1 billion yen ($4.4 billion). Of this figure, overseas sales accounted for 81 per cent of sales.
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Japanese shmup Deathsmiles in 2011.
Shoot-’em-up fans rejoice – Cave’s work is finally coming to Europe. Rising Star will publish Xbox 360 game Deathsmiles here early next year.
A horizontal shooter, Deathsmiles is based around witches on broomsticks rather than spaceships. Pick a lady and begin, blasting hordes of enemies that come from both sides of the screen with rapid-fire spells. That means you’ll be shooting behind you as well as in front. Luckily, you’ll have a bit of help: each witch will have a familiar (pet) that flies along with them.
Deathsmiles was released three years ago in Japanese arcades. The translation to console meant a few extra bits and bobs, such as a couple of extra modes designed specially for a pad and telly. There’s also two-player co-op locally or online.
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CEO Brian Farrell says that this generation’s long lifecycle is beneficial to customers and creators. -
CEO Brian Farrell says that this generation’s long lifecycle is beneficial to customers and creators.