Warp Zoned Presents
Author: Mike Gutierrez
“PSN Pass” spotted on German Resistance 3 bundle
“PSN Pass Network features only available in countries that have PlayStation Store.” This disclaimer was spotted alongside the logo you see above for the mysterious “PSN Pass.” The picture was taken of a 320 GB PlayStation 3 Resistance 3 bundle in Germany. While Sony Computer Entertainment has yet to announce PSN Pass, many are suggesting that it will be similar to EA’s “Online Pass” or “Project Ten Dollar,” where every copy of a game comes with a code that can only be redeemed once in order to play online or access premium content for free. Given the Resistance series’ inclination towards ambitious multiplayer features, the third installment would seem the perfect game to introduce such a plan with.
Since I buy nearly all my games new, I usually have no problem with online pass programs by publishers. However, hopefully Insomniac won’t restrict the content on the disc like DICE, who released the maps for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in small increments over the first year of its release.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Resistance 3
Michael Pachter predicts Duke Nukem Forever sales to disappoint
Industry analyst Michael Pachter is shoring up his sales prediction for the highly anticipated Duke Nukem Forever, and it’s not good. Originally expected to sell roughly three million copies in its first quarter, The Pach is now tempering that expectation to 1.5 million. While that would be a respectable number for most games, it’s seen as quite underwhelming for a series with such a legendary place in gaming, not to mention over a decade of hype. The lukewarm critical reception seems to be responsible for a lot of the game’s troubles.
“We had previously expected Duke to be one of the year’s top sellers due to a high degree of hype and a dedicated fan base, and expected solid profit contribution as the bulk of development had been previously expensed,” said Pachter in a note to investors. “However, the game’s poor reviews (average Metacritic score of 49) likely had a negative impact on sales, causing us to lower our [first quarter] sell-in estimate to 1.5 million units from 3 million units.”
It isn’t all bad for Take Two, who bet on Duke, as L.A. Noire‘s success at retail has been well documented.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Duke Nukem Forever
Harmonix trademarks “Vidrhythm”
Never one to let Cloud Strife and Lightning steal its thunder, Harmonix has filed an “intent to use” application with the Patent & Trademark Office for “Vidrhythm.” While the company is working on Dance Central 2 and Rock Band DLC, it has confirmed that it is looking at other avenues and this could very well be one of them.
Plastic instruments may be dead, but the rhythm genre goes on. Unfortunately.
Posted in News
Resistance Dual Pack now available for PS3
We’ve heard about the PSP Dual Packs; now it appears PlayStation 3 games are getting the same treatment. Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2 are now available together in one Dual Pack for $39.99. While you could probably score both games for less than that, it’s worth noting that the DLC for both games is included as a bonus, as well as a Joseph Capelli SRPA skin for the upcoming Resistance 3 multiplayer.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Resistance 2, Resistance: Fall of Man
PlayStation 4 manufacturing rumored to begin this year
Sources in the Taiwanese component manufacturing industry claim that production for the PlayStation 4 is to begin by the end of this year, with a ship date sometime in 2012. Foxconn and Pegatron Technology, who already manufacture the PlayStation 3, are rumored to undertake this task as well, according to DigiTimes. The initial shipment will allegedly consist of 20 million units, which will have built-in Kinect-like recognition.
It’s important to keep in mind that these were the same two companies alleged to have the PS3 Slim contracts when that redesign was only a rumor. Sony dissed E3 to announce the system (and price cut) at GamesCom in 2009; I would not be surprised to see them do it again.
Game industry revenue to be $74 billion this year, $112 billion by 2015
Gartner has released a report forecasting $74 billion in revenue for the video game industry this year. This 10% rise from 2010 is largely credited to smart phones and tablets, which are expected to be a major driver of sales going forward. The report stated, “mobile games are the most downloaded application category across most application stores. For this reason, mobile gaming will continue to thrive as more consumers expand their use of new and innovative portable connected devices.”
With smart phone gaming and micro-transactions in traditionally subscription-based games, Gartner expects a compound annual growth rate of 27% through 2015, a year in which the industry will be pulling down $112 billion. If anything’s clear, it’s that video games are no longer a child’s hobby; this is big business.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy announced for 3DS, Cloud & Lightning confirmed in rhythm RPG
Square Enix announced Theatrhythm Final Fantasy in the latest Jump magazine, a Theater Rhythm Action game for the Nintendo 3DS. Andriasang reports the game will look a lot like your traditional RPG – with towns, dungeons, and a separate battle screen, but the gameplay takes the form of a rhythm game, tapping your stylus as you’re prompted to do so.
The premise appears to be Kingdom Hearts and Dissidia-esque, as characters from various Final Fantasy universes are pulled together to restore light to a crystal. Lightning, Cloud Strife, and an Onion Knight can all be seen fighting a Behemoth in the picture above, who does not look to be having a good time. The artwork is very similar to Kingdom Hearts Mobile. On the bright side, it appears music from the various Final Fantasy games will play a role in the title.
Other than a release date, only one question remains: why?
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Rockstar may dissolve relationship with Team Bondi
Things are not looking good for Team Bondi, the studio behind L.A. Noire, after allegations of cruel management and an investigation into such by the IGDA. Now, the Sydney, Australia-based company may need to look for a new publisher.
“Rockstar used to be very keen on making Team Bondi something like ‘Rockstar Sydney’ – the more they worked with Team Bondi management, the more they came to understand that this was a terrible idea,” an anonymous source told Industry Gamers. “I’ve heard a lot about Rockstar’s disdain for Team Bondi, and it has been made quite clear that they will not publish Team Bondi’s next game.”
Of course, it’s hard to question the management of a game that turned out so good, but the source claims, “Rockstar also pitched in with programmers, animators, artists, QA, etc. Part of the conflict between Team Bondi and Rockstar was due to Rockstar’s frustration with Team Bondi’s direction, and eventually Team Bondi’s management in turn resented Rockstar for taking lots of creative control.”
I seriously doubt Team Bondi will have a hard time searching for a new publisher given how well the game has sold. But hopefully the studio can adequately deal with a lot of the negative press it has received.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged L.A. Noire