All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#gt5 Gran Turismo 4 was meant to be out in 2004. Wasn't out until 2005. Gran Turismo 5 has been delayed twice now. Why, then, can't developers Polyphone Digital get a game out the door on time? More »

If you think we're going to explain that mess of scribbles above -- fuggedaboutit! What we have parsed from Square Enix's six-month financial report (April-September 2010) is a rather slight net income: ¥1.723 billion ($21.4 million). While any company would take pocket change over a loss, Square Enix profits are indeed down 36 percent from the same period last year, and software sales for the first half of this fiscal year have relied heavily on "contribution from highly profitable carryover sales of major titles released in March" -- in other words: Final Fantasy XIII picked up the slack.

And who were the slackers? Square Enix highlighted five "major titles" released during the period:

• Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (DS) - 1.28 million units sold (Japan-only)
• Final Fantasy XIV (PC) - 630K units sold (worldwide)
• Just Cause 2 (multiplatform) - 560K units sold (worldwide)*
• Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (multiplatform) - 1.12 million units sold (worldwide)
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP) - 510K units sold (worldwide)*
  
  *Title released in some regions prior to April 2010; sales only reflect those recorded in the six months ending September 30, 2010.

Finally, Square Enix heralded its recent partnership with Chinese online games publisher Shanda Games; a deal indicative of two of the company's three proclaimed growth strategies: globalization and becoming "network centric." As for the third? Square Enix's three-pronged attack also stresses "strengthening our own-IPs." So when's that next Final Fantasy coming out again?

[Image: Year-over-year comparison of monthly revenues from existing outlets; source: Square Enix]

#xbox360 DIY hardware champions adafruit industries want somebody to come up with a set of open soruce drivers for Microsoft's Kinect, so anyone can run the thing on all kinds of different computer systems. There's a reward. Of $2000. More »

#mobile Have we done this joke? We have? We have. Alas. Well, Kevin Durant can tell Dwight Howard that he did in fact star on the cover of this game, even if it's on the iPhone and not a console. More »

You don't have to tell Mark Wahlberg how to have a good time. The man is well versed in pleasant recreational activities, which made him the perfect candidate for a new program from Microsoft, who will donate Xbox 360 consoles and Kinect to the the Boys and Girls Club of America. "Thousands" of clubs across the country will receive the donation package, which includes the 4GB Xbox 360 S Kinect bundle and a copy of Kinect Sports.

"When I heard Xbox 360 wanted to give Kinect to Clubs across the country, I had to jump in and help," he said. Wahlberg is active in the Boys and Girls Club of America, having spent a majority of his youth at Clubs. The promotion is part of the Boys and Girls Club's initiative to promote exercise and healthy activity amongst youth. We've never been to a Boys and Girls Club, but we imagine they're largely open warehouse space, because Kinect kinda needs that to work.

#dlc "Escalation," the three-way battle among all the factions of MAG, is available now on the PlayStation Network and comes at a discount for those who bought the previous DLC installment, "Interdiction" before Oct. 28. More »

I also happen to have the best girlfriend. Mom B. puts up with a lot when it comes to dealing with me. I mean, GoNintendo is not just my job…it’s a full-time babysitting position. It definitely eats up a ton of my time, which makes the free-time that I get with Mom [...]

#xbox360 If the sight of bare printed circuit boards, tangles of wires and exposed chips makes you queasy, best look away from iFixit's new Kinect dissection. But if you want to know exactly whats inside that new hands-free controller, read on. More »

On a bit of a spending spree this week, Ubisoft today added Montreal-based Quazal Technologies to the family. Creator of multiplayer middleware and services, Quazal has worked with Ubisoft for a number of years, and its products power components in a range of the publisher's titles, including this month's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the last three Splinter Cell games and Far Cry 2.

"We're happy to be able to continue to express our creative vision via the projects we'll be working on with Ubisoft," Quazal co-founder Martin Lavoie said in a press announcement. Ubisoft has plenty to be happy about, too. While no representative stood up and said as much, executives were no doubt preparing to bathe in a fresh pool of licensing loot. Quazel tech is all up in plenty of other companies' games, after all.

#women Joking that women "love two things in life, queso dip and true crime," Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski told a podcast that he felt Heavy Rain missed out on bigger sales by not marketing itself more to the fairer sex. More »

#hulu The premium subscription-based version of streaming TV and movie service Hulu has been available only to PlayStation Plus members since its launch on the PS3 this summer. Next week, that will change. More »

Some of us at Joystiq have had Kinect units in our living rooms for a week or so now and, as you read in our review, Kinect can be especially sensitive about your interior decorating. Couch to close to the television? Just move it, the sensor advises. Massive coffee table right where you should be standing? Just slide it out of the way, it suggests. For some of us, this ad-hoc redecorating process is relatively painless.

For others (like this writer!) a massive, solid wood coffee table isn't moved so easily. Just amongst our own relatively small collection of sample data, it's obvious that no two living rooms are alike, so we collected some pictures and simple measurements to illustrate Kinect's not-entirely-unexpected weakness: coffee tables. Join us after the break.

“Our perspective is they are doing something different and that’s what Nintendo does. They’ve got their own view, Sony has their own view. Our hope is they do it well because we’re big advocates of 3D. We need consumers to have good 3D experiences. I actually haven’t seen much of their technology. I [...]

Transformers, Spiderman, and 'Hero' games also next year.

Transformers, Spiderman, and 'Hero' games also next year.

Transformers, Spiderman, and 'Hero' games also next year.

Want to see the new outfits for the Ghost of Sparta? We have them.

#atlus Atlus, publisher of uniquely Japanese fair like Persona and Demon's Souls, is looking to the Europe and the Crusades for their next potential breakout hit, The Cursed Crusade. It's coming to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC next summer. More »

Star Fox 2 1up’s feature on the ‘20 Biggest Things That Almost Happened In the Game Industry’ lists all sorts of interesting events that never really lead to anything. I love these kind of features, and there’s no shortage of Nintendo-related fun in there. Hit up the article and see what could have been. Feature [...]

Joystiq reader Rob kindly forwarded us an email from Microsoft Game Studios about a private beta for a game called Full House Poker, described as a way to "bet your way to fame as you compete against your friends and thousands of other players around the world in live Texas Heat poker game shows." The concept sounds extremely like 1 vs. 100 with a coating of poker paint, allowing players to pick up XP and other rewards (including "unique tells and avatar accessories") by playing poker in "regularly scheduled episodes."

Sounds fun! The email also stresses that the beta is "highly confidential" (whoops), and that it requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription in the US, Canada, or Mexico. Note that those restrictions are only on the beta, and might not be on the full game. But the email says the game will be rated T for teen, thanks to "simulated gambling." 1 vs. 100 is unfortunately gone forever, but it looks like Full House Poker might be Microsoft's second foray into episode-based massively multiplayer gaming.

You're tagged in for the next release of Konami's card battle franchise.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit wants you to believe Seacrest County is a "driver's paradise," but we feel this latest trailer ignores the best thing Seacrest has to offer: Señor Guapo's Bakery on Alameda boulevard. Seriously, don't visit just to drive around, go have the churro of your life.

#controversy Yesterday GameSpot set off a minibomb with an anecdote about Kinect not recognizing two dark-skinned users while lighter-skinned gamers had no problems. Consumer Reports has weighed in, saying this sounds like a claim about laptops from last year. More »