Nintendo is hosting a US-based Media Summit in San Francisco 24 according to a IGN recount of the invite.
With Nintendo remaining understandably coy on details, there’s no telling what will be shown yet, but previously announced titles such as Metroid Other M and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are probable bets. Chances of the next Zelda making a appearance are slim, seeing as Nintendo is likely reserving a proper unveiling of it for E3. Still, we wouldn’t discount the possibility.
Liverpool-based Bizarre Creations, the minds behind Project Gotham Racing, are in pursuit of an experienced designer for a yet-to-be-announced title. The job notably involves working on a title that is associated with an “extremely high-profile major movie license.”
Furthermore, the qualifications call for experience with creating engaging game experiences – preferably in the realm of first and third-person shooters. While still not a direct confirmation, those two tidbits are rather revealing, considering that Bizarre has been previously rumored to be working on a licensed 007 effort. All bets are on Bond.
The job listing made no mention of what platforms the applicant will be responsible for working with, but knowing Activision, this will undoubtedly be a multiplatform affair.
There’s something so fascinating about taking the innards of home-sized consoles and squeezing them inside a form factor radically different from their designated purpose. Hailrazer’s latest — Kamikaze 64, a portable N64 build — is no exception. Decked in a sleek black exterior, the unit features all the trimmings you’d expect from a professional job, coupled with a myriad of outputs prime for hooking up external devices such as controllers or headphones. Complete with a TV-out port, it also comes with a three-way power switch that can toggle between the two internal rechargeable 4700mAh batteries and an electrical outlet source at will. To top it off, an expansion port has been conveniently fitted on the back, able to house a standard N64 memory card or rumble pack. Adding either attachment looks a tad silly, but it sure is nice to have the option.
Hailrazer says the project was a specialty order, built entirely at the request of a client, hence calling it Kamikaze 64. The total damage is unknown but a craftsmanship commission of this magnitude doesn’t come cheap, especially not one of this quality. Whatever it ended up costing, we’re sure the buyer is pleased. To see it running fan-favorites Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye 007 in action, hit up the video above.
Making predictions, even outlandish ones, is the name of the game for analysts. In a recent report, EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich surmises that Nintendo is due to announce a successor to its widely successful dual screen portable this year.
Divnich has no real evidence to back up this claim but does supply supporting conjecture, noting that “Nintendo’s success in the handheld market is their ability to remove opportunity gaps for competitors to enter.” In other words, he’s banking on Nintendo to surprise us all and announce the DS2 earlier than expected in an attempt to one up Sony and once again emerge as the first to market their next generation handheld.
Could it happen? Anything is possible, but this sounds a little far-fetched. It’d be a risky move for Nintendo, especially with DS momentum still as high as it is — over 3 million units were sold in the US alone last December. An early announcement could lead would-be purchasers towards holding off for what’s next. That said, we’d file this prediction under unlikely – but if he ends up being right, then well, hats off. If not, then we get to say we told you so.
The NPD Group today released its year-end sales report. No matter how you construe the numbers, 2009 bowed out with a strong showing for all console hardware manufactures. Hardware sales were up a staggering 16 percent in December of last year, with Nintendo notably shifting an excess of 3.8 million Wii and 3.3 million DS units. Those are record numbers for both platforms as far as monthly sales go. Software sales took a slight tumble, down 7 percent from December of 2008.
Despite marginal gains over last December, industry sales declined from a full year-over-year perspective, recording $19.66 billion in sales compared to 2008’s $21.4 billion. Clearly the weakened economy dampened potential growth, but if last month’s figures are any indication, the road ahead looks convincingly bright for 2010. Hit the jump for the complete breakdown of sales figures.
Oh, and it looks like Reggie won that little bet. New Super Mario Bros. sold more units than Modern Warfare 2 on both PS3 and Xbox 360 combined. Impressive. more »
As part of a revision to their 2009-10 outlook, Ubisoft confirmed that both Splinter Cell: Conviction and R.U.S.E. have been delayed into the company’s next fiscal year. Originally slated for February, Conviction is now due out in April 2010. While not exactly a huge setback, it’s still a significant bump, especially when considering how many times this title has been pushed back. Ubi gave no specific release window for R.U.S.E.
To compensate for the shift in release dates, Ubisoft is backpedaling on its sales targets for the 2009-10 fiscal year, setting their full year revenue forecast at €860 million – down from €1,040 million. Likewise, third quarter targets have been knocked down to €495 million from €540 million. Ubi cited lower-than-expected performance of Wii and DS titles in the casual sector as a contributing factor for making these adjustments.
Times have taken a troubling turn at Rockstar’s San Diego branch. According to Joystiq’s inside source at the studio, 2009 saw the firing of several key developers connected to the Midnight Club series, including vets Jay Panek and Mark Garone. Other people followed and quit, primarily due to being fed up with how the company handled Midnight Club: LA but also as a result of a lack of interest in working on Red Dead: Redemption.
With the core team essentially dissolved, the future of Midnight Club is an uncertainty. Poor management practices at Rockstar San Diego has led to a state of peril, with the wives of employees lamenting over inadequate working conditions coupled with unrealistic deadlines and long hours. The unethical neglect is beginning to take its toll on employee’s at the studio, with those affected prepped to take legal action if the situation does not improve within the “upcoming weeks.”
Considering the Midnight Club franchise is one of Rockstar’s top earners, there’s little doubt that parent company Take-Two is watching the developments surrounding this situation closely. Rockstar, for its part, has yet to issue an official comment in response to the allegations.
Sources: Rockstar San Diego not working on more Midnight Club games, future games in jeopardy [Joystiq]
Amid excessive partying and extended gaming marathons, we’d like to take a step back and wish everyone a safe and happy new year. For us here at eXophase.com, and the industry in general, it’s certainly been an exciting year. A year filled with surprises and the odd disappointment, of course, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We have many exciting updates in the pipeline for 2010, so keep an eye out. As always, the continued support from our readers is most appreciated.
Happy 2010! If you decide to make any resolutions for this new year’s, I’d suggest doing so while not drunk.
BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk is laying down the gauntlet, criticizing modern-day JRPGs for a lack of evolution. Speaking to Destructoid, he lamented that RPG developers in Japan are not moving forward, but instead are delivering the same product over and over again in a fresh coat of paint. In other words, Zeschuk feels the core mechanics are being neglected in favor of presentational aspects.
The fall of the JRPG in large part is due to a lack of evolution, a lack of progression. They kept delivering the same thing over and over. They make the dressing better, they look prettier, but it’s still the same experience.
An interesting view indeed. When you think about it, it’s hard not to agree. But the old adage of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” also rings true here. Do JRPG gamers really want change? Not sticking with the fundamentals is a big risk for companies and as we’ve seen in the past, sometimes it does not pay off. By the same token, it can pay off. Most developers like to stay on the safe side for obvious reasons.
BioWare co-founder: JRPGs suffer from ‘lack of evolution’ [Destructoid]
Coder HtheB released the newest version of his MSN Client for the Nintendo DS. Aparently, the older version used an MSN old protocol (MSNP9) which was disabled by Microsoft™, thus making it unable to login, giving the “Connection to notification server has died.” error. HtheB altered the homebrew to use the older protocol (MSNP8) which does not use avatars to make it work.
Changelog after the jump. more »
