Lost Planet 2 Message Board

#fineart We've got another Massive Black artist for you today, which is always a treat. Coro Kaufman is one of the studio's co-founders, and also servers as its art director. Needless to say, his stuff is great. More »

#cosplay I was only mildly impressed with this pair of cosplayers' efforts to recreate a scene from Capcom's Lost Planet 2, at least until the mini-gun started spinning. More »

#rumor Think you are excited about Sony's upcoming portable, the NGP? You're not alone. Game developers are apparently totally jazzed about it, too. And the NGP might not only change the way you play games, but the way video games are made. More »

Capcom's Jun Takeuchi took to the stage at today's PlayStation Meeting to show off Lost Planet 2 running on the NGP handheld -- as a demonstration only, as he said Capcom was not announcing new titles at tonight's event -- "but before long we will be able to announce new titles for NGP." According to Takeuchi, LP2 was running on MT Framework Mobile (which also powers Capcom's 3DS games) and this demo was put together in just two weeks.

"I'm sure you've seen the PS3 version," he told the audience, "and the quality is just as good" on NGP. Takeuchi said the NGP could handle the "full specification."

Next up, Sega's Toshihiro Nagoshi demonstrated assets from Yakuza: Of The End, to show that "everything can be transcribed [from PS3] onto NGP.

Capcom is gettin' by, as the publisher announced that sales were up 4.7 percent, with net profit down 39.9 percent, during the first half of fiscal year 2010, ending March 31, 2011. The publisher also announced that Jun Takeuchi can now add "Corporate Officer" to his already outrageous title of "Deputy Head of Consumer Games R&D Division and General Manager of R&D Production Department." Think that title sounds serious in English? Check it out in Japanese: 執 行 役 員CS開発副統括 兼 制作部長.

Net sales reached ¥40.7 billion ($501M) during the six-month period ending September 30, 2010, thanks to the release of Dead Rising 2 and continued sales of Super Street Fighter IV. The publisher also stated that Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Heroes and Monster Hunter spin-off Monhan Nikki Pokapoka Airu Mura shipped over 500 thousands units apiece. These titles helped push that 4.7% increase in sales over the same period last year. Overall, Capcom states sales were stagnant due to the late release of Dead Rising 2 and the "substantial underperformance" of Lost Planet 2.

Due to the sales issues, net profit for the first half was ¥1.7 billion ($22 million, down 39.9%). The company forecasts it'll end the fiscal year next March with sales of ¥91 billion ($1.1 billion) and a net income of ¥6.5 billion ($80 million).

Capcom has adjusted its earnings outlook for the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2011. Despite some promising sales numbers in Japan from Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes and the Japan-only Monster Hunter spinoff Monhan Nikki Pokapoka Airu Mura, the publisher is expecting 91 billion yen in net sales this year ($1.09 billion) instead of the previous estimate of 95 billion ($1.14 billion).

Contributing factors to the falling forecast include the rising yen vs. the dollar and euro, the one-month delay of Dead Rising 2, and continued fallout from underperformance of Lost Planet 2. On a happier note, this reduced forecast is still much better than the 66.84 billion yen Capcom pulled in last year.

"I think Japanese gaming is dead. When I say these things, I'm called a traitor. But I love Japan. I want to save it." Keiji Inafune still hovers over the Japanese video game industry, defibrillator paddles at the ready. According to an interview with the New York Times, the outspoken designer and Global Head of Production at Capcom saw little at this year's Tokyo Game Show to change his pessimistic outlook on Japan's creations.

"I look around T.G.S., and everyone's making awful games. Japan is at least five years behind," he said. "It's like we're still making games for the last generation of game consoles." And Inafune's ire isn't just aimed at competitors -- he cited Lost Planet 2 as a clear failure to connect with audiences everywhere. "Lost Planet 1 was designed for the Western market. But the guys who made Lost Planet 2 were misguided. They made it too Japanese. They made it like Monster Hunter."

The Monster Hunter franchise is far more popular in Japan than it is elsewhere, and modifying it could alienate its current customer base. Inafune is willing to compromise here: "We basically want to make games that will sell globally, but some games might sell only in Japan.That's O.K. - as long as we make a profit on it." Still, he warned that Capcom remained complacent in the ranks of worldwide competitors, who are already targeting bigger markets like China. "I'm always so shocked when I see global sales rankings," he said. "I think: Wow, Capcom's ranked so low. However you approach it, we're dead. Resident Evil sold 5 million copies. That's still no good."

Inafune is well aware of how harsh his comments appear among Japanese creators -- who are "always so ambiguous" -- and expects to be treated like a "lunatic." He'll either be in full control of Capcom and the Japanese industry within the next five years ... or be relegated to playing cards with Yu Suzuki in a basement somewhere.

Capcom has announced that its recent co-op monster hunting simulator -- or, to be more precise, its recent co-op monster hunting simulator titled Lost Planet 2 -- will arrive on the PC October 15. What's new for this version of the coolly received title? Well, it contains native support for NVIDIA 3D Vision and 3D Vision Surround graphics cards, meaning if you've collected the necessary gadgets, you'll be able to topple the towering Akrid and watch as they fall through your monitor, landing squarely in your half-eaten bowl of Cap'n Crunch. That's how 3D works, right?

Check out the rigorous system requirements after the jump, or, if reading's not your thing, download the Lost Planet 2 preview, and then watch to see if your computer bursts into flames.

Capcom's alien shooter available on October 15, 2010.

#codes Previously unlockable only by having older game saves on your console's hard drive, a generous Capcom has divulged the secret to unlocking Dead Rising's Frank West and Resident Evil's Albert Wesker to Lost Planet 2, game save-free. More »

#lostplanet2 Capcom took a big spinning bird kick, right in the profits, which were down 90.4 percent. Ouch! Part of the blame fell on Lost Planet 2. More »

Capcom financial results are not good.

Capcom's profits for the April-June quarter were down an astonishing 90.4%. A lack of AAA hits and the fact nobody bought Lost Planet 2 are being blamed. More »

#dlc Capcom is delivering more downloadable content to Lost Planet 2 next month, with a special Rush Arena mode featuring you and three friends against every boss in the game. More »

Some new blood in the weekly Japanese charts even as sales continue to be sluggish.

Looking for a wider range of environments to get your customizable Lost Planet 2 character knocked around in? According to a recent Capcom press release, two new maps for the game's competitive multiplayer component will go on sale on the PlayStation Store for $4.99 on June 1, and on Xbox Live Marketplace for 400 on June 2.

The map pack will include "Frozen Wasteland," a renovated version of a map from the original Lost Planet, and "Dockyard Battle," a 16-player arena modeled after the factory level from Episode 4 of the game's campaign. We were hoping for a multiplayer version of the railway cannon level, but ... well, that would lead to some awfully one-sided battles, wouldn't it?

More shooting action on the way.

Capcom has dropped a veritable swarm of Lost Planet 2 Avatar goodies onto Xbox live. Most of the gear is comprised of clothing from the various factions in the game -- but we all know that the stars of the show in Lost Planet 2 are the creepy, crawly Akrid.

Unfortunately, you can only snag one of the giant bugs via the Avatar Marketplace: Gordiant, otherwise known as "that giant salamander thing." As you can see, it's not quite as threatening in Avatar pet form. In fact, it's kind of adorable.

You can see Gordiant and the rest of the Lost Planet 2 Avatar collection here.

#roundup It's time to return to E.D.N. III, the beautiful land of giant, heat-giving insects that serves as the backdrop of Lost Planet 2! Before you pack your sunscreen and insect repellant, check out these travel advisories from the video game reviewers. More »

#screengrab ... Gordiant Approved! More »

Not content on simply golfing, the Helghast are making their way into yet another PlayStation game. Like its Xbox 360 counterpart, the PS3 version of Lost Planet 2 will feature its own console-exclusive characters. In addition to the PS3-only Monster Hunter characters, two Helghast skins will be made available as a free download via the PSN in June. As noted on the PlayStation.Blog, this will be the only game ever to include the Helghast, a Monster Hunter, Dead Rising's Frank West, and Resident Evil's Albert Wesker all in one place.

We wouldn't be surprised, though, if Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 manages to reunite all of these characters for a second time. Check out a trailer after the break.

#dlc With Resident Evil, Gears of War, Monster Hunter, and Dead Rising already represented in cameo form in Capcom's Lost Planet 2, where do we go from here? How about the ravaged surface of Killzone's Helghan? More »

That’s right, coming in June, PS3 owners will be able to download two skins of the Helghast characters from Killzone at no charge! These skins, in addition to the previously announced Monster Hunter skin which will be available later this month, are exclusive to PlayStation fans across the globe. From the “My Page” menu in Lost Planet 2, players can build and customize their own unique character for use in the online versus mode. Once a player completes the campaign mode, they can port their multiplayer characters to the co-op story action, including the in-game cut scenes. While there are numerous options for unlocking head, torso, arm, leg, and backpack pieces for your character, the character skins for Helghast, Monster Hunter, Dead Rising’s Frank West, and Resident Evil’s Albert Wesker must all be used as a single piece.

Lost Planet 2 launched on Tuesday, but the two Killzone Helghast scout skins will be available at the end of June and will be free of charge. Keep an eye out on the PlayStation.Blog and Capcom’s Unity blog for more specifics on timing and availability!

#review Lost Planet squared. That's what Capcom want us to call their latest dip into the universe of E.D.N. III, snow pirates and giant bugs. More »

Play games, help Music for Relief charity.

Capcom's epic action sequel gets left out of the refrigerator.

In Lost Planet 2, if you want to swap your grenades for the T-ENG Gun (a device that lets you transfer precious Thermal Energy to your injured teammates), you press Y and Left Trigger simultaneously. Be careful, though -- if you press Left Trigger a fraction of a second before you press Y, you'll chuck a grenade at your teammates, which they likely won't appreciate in their state of physical distress.

While far from the most important aspect of the game, this cumbersome button mapping is indicative of the whole Lost Planet 2 experience: It's a completely functional, interesting gameplay mechanic, but it's utterly hamstrung by a nonsensical design choice. Unfortunately, the game suffers from so many of these flabbergasting and terrible design choices, that even its strongest features can't stand up to much scrutiny.

Akrid you not.

We knew that the exclusive Lost Planet 2 pre-order bonus maps from GameStop would be publicly available eventually, but this is just silly. A sharp-eyed tipster has revealed that the Lost Planet 2 "Map Pack #1" is actually already available on Xbox Live Marketplace. That's particularly noteworthy considering the game's retail release is still a week away. We're guessing someone flipped the "release maps" lever a little too early, and chances are the map pack will soon vanish into the ether once more.

For what it's worth, the pack is currently priced at 400 ($5). We suppose you could be sneaky and buy it early, but if you really wanted the maps you've probably pre-ordered already, right?

[Thanks, Joey]

#clips The male pirates of Lost Planet 2 multiplayer are generally covered head-to-toe in protective body armor. The females? Not so much. Someone's going to lose an underboob. More »