All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Capcom has released its annual report for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, and there's a wealth of information for those willing to plumb it's 102-page depths. Net sales for Capcom's fiscal 2009 were ¥66.8 billion ($779 million), down from ¥91.8 billion ($1.07 billion) in 2008. The company saw net income of ¥2.16 billion ($25 million), its lowest since 2004 (when it saw a loss of over ¥9 billion). This marks a very sharp contrast to the previous year, when Capcom recorded net income of ¥8 billion ($93 million), its highest earnings since 2000.

Capcom cited the postponement of many major titles until the following fiscal year as the cause for the decline. Given those titles included the likes of Super Street Fighter 4, we'd say that's probably accurate.

Capcom isn't losing heart though, and goes on to detail its new strategy of "Single Content Multiple Usage." The company plans to leverage its video game segment (which accounts for 65.9 percent of its business) to promote products in other forms of media. As illustrated in the image above, Capcom has already done this with the Resident Evil franchise, creating books, movies and music that revolve around the brand. Capcom hopes this will reduce risk and attract "customers obtained from other business segments" to the video games these products are based on.

So, does watching Milla Jovovich kill movie zombies make you want to kill some virtual zombies?

#tgs Konami offered a single level's worth of its next great titillating side-scrolling shoot 'em up, Otomedius Excellent, at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Being a fan of Gradius-style gameplay and cleavage, we had to go hands on. More »

Konami and Harmonix have settled their dispute originating in a 2008 lawsuit launched by Konami, reports Bloomberg. According to a filing in federal court in Texas this week, the two parties agreed to dismiss "all claims and counterclaims" in the suit, which alleged that Harmonix's Rock Band infringed upon patents owned by Konami.

Additionally, a 2009 countersuit by parent company Viacom on behalf of Harmonix was dropped yesterday in a filing in federal court in Boston. The terms of the agreement between Konami and Harmonix were not disclosed -- but we do so badly hope they involved a rooftop, two ninjas and a mean jam session.

A lot happened at the Tokyo Game Show this week, like, alot-alot. Most of the big news came from Capcom and EA. Feel free to peruse, we'll be adding more over the weekend. So, what's everyone playing this weekend?

#tgs In a world... where humanity has been eradicated... one Pomeranian... wearing a pretty cute little sweater... will do anything to survive... the Tokyo Jungle. More »

We've got a new Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer fresh from TGS, but we can't understand a lick of what these people are saying. Thankfully, the language of kicking ass and looking good while doing it is universal.

#clips ! Armed with screenshots of Street Fighter 2 and Alpha, an iPad, and a copy of his HoloToy app, Kode80 created something wonderful. More »

When the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood beta launches October 4, who will you play? The corrupt doctor? The deceptive courtesan? The always terrifying jester (it's so much like a clown!)? Ubisoft revealed this morning that you'll be able to choose from nine different characters across two modes and three maps in the forthcoming PS3 pre-order exclusive beta.

The first mode, "Wanted," is the scenario we previewed in June -- you're tasked with assassinating one of the other players, assigned as your target, before you're eliminated by the player hunting you. The second, "Alliance," pits three teams of two players against each other in a similar fashion (instead of individual targets, you and a partner work to take down the other teams). Both modes can be played on the beta's two initial maps, Rome and Castel Gandolfo; though when the beta launches, only Wanted will be available. Alliance and a third map, Siena, will be unlocked by the community by as yet unspecified means.

Following a marketing trend of cashing in on our deep-seated nostalgia, the latest Goldeneye 007 trailer features a few characters from the series' original romp. There's familiar faces like Jaws, Oddjob, Scaramanga and Baron Samedi, who apparently didn't get our memo about the pants situation.

It seems that nearly every Koei game, in some shape or form, is related to Dynasty Warriors. Legends of Troy is no different, giving you control over a lone warrior slaughtering hundreds of generic enemies. While it's bound to fall victim to the curse of repetition, Warriors: Legends of Troy makes some significant advancements to Koei's familiar formula: improved visuals and deeper combat.

That said, the TGS demo I played wasn't polished enough to keep me captivated.

A rundown of the components powering Sony's motion controller.

#clips Hoops is the smack-talkingest of major team sports, so it follows that the marketing of its video games would also involve some good-natured lip. But also pay attention to the new post animations 2K Sports has added into NBA 2K11. More »

1UP reports that a second Vanquish demo will soon be dashing its way to consoles. The announcement was made by director Shinji Mikami and producer Atsushi Inaba during a stage show at TGS. The demo is set to offer a challenge mode, designed to provide a more challenging experience for skilled players. The new demo will arrive in Japan on September 22. We've contacted Sega to see if it will also see release outside of Japan.

Jack has been playing all week, and HR is pissed.

Jack has been playing all week, and HR is pissed.

#wellplayed What do baby pacifiers, an expert martial artist, and an industrial robot all have in common? Sony's motion-detecting PS3 add-on, the Playstation Move. More »

The challenges on display in this aptly titled "Challenges" trailer for Ubisoft's soon-to-be-released Shaun White Skateboarding start off pretty, well ... ordinary. Stringing tricks together for high scores isn't exactly new to the genre, but -- what's this? A long-grind balancing challenge where you control the direction of the ever-expanding rail? That's pretty different. And so are the corporate goons chasing you in that helicopter!

#salesget The battle for hearts and minds and portable gameplay time in Japan has been won by One Piece. The latest manga-based spin-off has kicked MonHun Nikki, the cuter version of Monster Hunter, from its top spot overseas. More »

EA’s Tokyo Game Show event was stuffed with more games than we could count, but when we saw the first playable build of Dead Space: Extraction running on the PS3 with PlayStation Move, Rey and I made a beeline for Visceral Games’ upcoming horror shooter, which is a prequel to the original Dead Space.

Playing Dead Space: Extraction on PlayStation Move makes for a fine demonstration of the motion controller’s precision and versatility. Aiming is quick and accurate with virtually no discernible lag: small, subtle movements of your wrists translate precisely on-screen, giving you the feeling of aiming with a computer mouse. One nice touch: twisting your wrist 90 degrees to the left or right will flip your Plasma Cutter’s firing plane from horizontal to vertical, which can help you find the ideal angle for snipping off arms, legs, tentacles, and other protrusions of the vile Necromorphs. There are other weapons, of course, including a Rivet Gun and a Force Gun, and the “wrist twist” will activate their alternate fire modes as well.

Using the PlayStation Move, you fire your current weapon with the T button (aka the trigger). Pressing the Move button activates a quick Telekinesis blast, which you can use to pick up ammo and items hidden throughout the environments — or use to hurl objects at the marauding Necromorphs. It’s your choice! Melee attacks are gesture based: you press and hold Circle, then rapidly slash back and forth to fend off nearby Necromorphs. Melee isn’t much use for inflicting damage, so think of it more as a way to dissuade nearby enemies.

The game also looked extra sharp running in HD, with moody lighting effects and a rock-solid framerate. This build of Dead Space: Extraction primarily showed off the Challenge mode, a survival-type arena where players can battle ever-toughening hordes of Necromorph grotesqueries. Dead Space fans already know that strategically dismembering the Necromorphs is a valuable tactic, and this is doubly true in the Challenge mode if you want to beat your partner’s score. Other details abound. Dead Space: Extraction will be compatible with the DualShock 3 controller (for you old-school types) and will also feature optional support for the PlayStation Move navigation controller, though it’s not required.

Dead Space: Extraction will ship on the Dead Space 2: Limited Edition Blu-ray disc on January 25th, and will be available separately as a PSN download. Once we land back in the States, we’ll by syncing up with the Visceral Games team to get a deeper look at Dead Space: Extraction on the PS3 — including some luscious new video. Stay tuned!

Now, you may not know this, but in Fallout: New Vegas, you don't play as somebody who's just emerged from a Vault. Shocking, we know -- instead, the game's story has a far more sinister and dark opening involving attempted homicide. Learn all about it in the dev diary just past the break.

#screens Multiplayer horse racing is one of the new modes of play in Red Dead Redemption's Liars and Cheats downloadable content extension, due next week. Four screens give us some clues as to what it's all about. Hint: It's got guns. More »

Get psyched for the new Final Fantasy. Your attack stat goes way up if you do.