Most Anticipated Games of E3.

The 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo is just weeks away, and just like you, GameSpot’s editors can’t wait to see what’s on tap in the hallowed halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The expo will potentially reveal new games that use Microsoft’s and Sony’s new motion controllers, updates on the new Nintendo 3DS, and new information for upcoming games on all platforms, including PC, console, and handhelds. Read on to get our editors’ picks on some of the most promising games at the show, and join the conversation by leaving us a comment with your top picks. So let’s look at what the editor’s of Gamespot are looking forward too and what are the games they are waiting for…

Ricardo Torres.

Editor in Chief.

While there’s a lot to look forward to at this year’s E3 (as evidenced by the small novel I’ve written here), Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is probably my top pick. Yes, I’m sure that probably sounds nuts with all the hot stuff set to hit at the show, but I’ve got an old-school streak in me that loves fighting games, plus I’m still a comic nerd, so in this case, they had me at “hello.” But I also have some very fond memories of fantastic Mickey Mouse games from back in the day, such as Castle of Illusion, Mickey Mania on the Sega CD, and Capcom’s nice run of Mickey games, so I’m very excited to see the mouse get a proper makeover in Epic Mickey for the current crop of consoles. The fact that Warren Spector is involved is icing on the cake. The man is brilliant and has worked on games that I have spent countless hours getting lost in. If anyone could make Mickey the all-ages player he deserves to be in games, it’s Warren and his team, so I cannot wait to see what the results are.

Also, the Golden Sun games on the Game Boy Advance were easily among my favorite role-playing games on the platform. They were a modern take on the classic 16-bit RPGs I cut my teeth on, especially developer Camelot Software Planning’s Shining Force series. So when Golden Sun DS was announced at Nintendo’s E3 press conference last year, complete with some teaser footage, it wound up overshadowing the Metroid and Mario announcements for me. I’ve been patiently waiting for more on the game because I expect something awesome and epic. Oh yes, and I was also a big fan of the original Little Big Planet because of the possibilities the game opened up to aspiring game designers. As someone who still checks up on all the user-generated content that’s still being actively created, I’m eager to see how all the new tools Media Molecule is adding to the mix are going to work and what the story mode is going to be like in Little Big Planet 2.

Finally, I’m also looking forward to some updates on all the motion control hardware that was revealed last year. For instance, while I can’t single out a specific Natal game, outside of maybe Milo, as something I’m looking forward to at E3, I can say I’m very curious to see what Microsoft and other third-party studios are going to bring to the table. We haven’t seen much since last year on the upcoming peripheral, so I’m looking forward to hearing more about what’s going to be done with it. The tech is interesting, without a doubt, but, like all things, the proof is in what gets done with it, so I’m eager to see what will be on display. I’m also looking forward to the PlayStation Move for similar reasons–I can’t single out a specific Move title that’s my must-see at the show (because Sony has kept stuff under wraps since the motion controller’s debut at the Game Developers Conference), but I’m ready for the big guns that Sony and third parties are likely rolling out for it. We’ve had a taste of some of the stuff you’d expect from a controller like this, but I want to see some first- and third-party stuff that sells the hardware.

Andrew Park.

Managing Editor.

Which game am I most looking forward to seeing at E3? That’s easy. Civilization V. I’m a big fan of turn-based strategy, and I’ve enjoyed the entire Civilization series. Civ IV was a terrific strategy game that was super-addictive but perhaps not as welcoming for newer players.

Civ V will introduce some of the streamlined interface features from Firaxis’ console game Civilization Revolution, and more interestingly, it’ll shake up the basics of Civ gameplay with a hex-based map and some very different combat mechanics. I was skeptical at first after hearing about some of these changes, but after seeing the game at GDC, I’m a believer, and I can’t wait to see more at E3.

Brendan Sinclair.

News Editor.

For most E3s, I find myself looking forward to the things I don’t know about, rather than focusing on previously announced games. This year is a bit different. I can’t wait to check out Marvel vs. Capcom 3 .

The second installment in the series is perhaps my favorite fighting game of all time, and I had given up hope of a true sequel because of pesky licensing issues. Now all I want is a roster full of unconventional choices, with new characters added every week through downloadable content.

By: 20th Century Games.

UK Chart: Football Manager reigns as Number 1.

Sports Interactive’s annual juggernaut storms to top place; neither new Bond game shakes or stirs top 10.

Football Manager 2011, the latest iteration of Sega’s football management sim, debuted in first place in the UK sales chart for the week ending November 6, with FIFA 11 holding in second and Fable III dipping from first to third.

Neither of Activision’s just-released James Bond duo, GoldenEye 007 for the Wii and the multiformat 007 Blood Stone, landed in the top 10. Blood Stone, an action adventure game with driving segments, came in at number 18. GoldenEye, a shooter based on the classic 1997 Nintendo 64 game, fared better, entering the chart at 13.

Blood Stone’s muted reception comes after a relatively low-key marketing campaign, without the benefit of being a tie-in product for a high-profile movie; though it features Daniel Craig as 007, Blood Stone isn’t connected to any Bond film. By comparison, the tie-in game for 2008’s Quantum of Solace, released in late October 2008, entered the UK chart at number seven. GoldenEye, on the other hand, enjoys the recognition of being a “reimagining” of the well-loved N64 title.

Top 10 Entertainment Software (All Prices), Week Ending November 6, 2010
1. Football Manager 2011 (SEGA)
2. FIFA 11 (EA Sports)
3. Fable III (Microsoft)
4. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
5. Professor Layton and the Lost Future (Nintendo)
6. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo)
7. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks)
8. Medal of Honor (EA Games)
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (LucasArts)
10. The Sims 3 (EA Games)

Source : Gamespot

By : 20th CGN.

GTA V Set To Be Unveiled In 2012?

In a quarterly financial briefing, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had this to say about the upcoming 2013 fiscal year, which runs from April 1st 2012 to March 31st 2013.

“While it is still very early to discuss fiscal 2013, we have a very strong pipeline of titles in development and currently expect to achieve substantial earnings growth, including Non-GAAP earnings per share in excess of $2.00.”

— Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two

While it is still too early to tell if this means we will be seeing Grand Theft Auto V in 2012/early 2013, one thing is clear; Take-Two definitely has something big planned, as the last time Take-Two made such profits was in 2008, right after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

By : 20th CGN.

Prototype 2 – Exclusive First Hand Trailer [HD]

Title: Prototype 2
Release Date: TBA 2011
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Label: Activision
Genre: Action
Age Rating: M

By : 20th CGN.

X-Men Destiny – Exclusive New Trailer [HD]

Title: X-Men Destiny
Release Date: TBA 2011
Platforms: Xbox 360
Label: Activision
Genre: Action
Age Rating: T

By : 20th CGN.

 

Call of Duty: Black Ops day-$360M in One Day.

Treyarch’s latest first-person shooter tops Modern Warfare 2’s launch day total by $50 million in North America and UK alone to claim “biggest entertainment launch in history” title.

Last year, Activision touted the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as the biggest launch in entertainment history. The Infinity Ward-developed military shooter launched November 10, 2009, and racked up North American and UK sales of $310 million in its first 24 hours on sale.

That record stood for slightly less than a year, as Activision COO and CFO Thomas Tippl today announced at the BMO Capital Markets 18th Annual Digital Entertainment Conference that Call of Duty: Black Ops racked up day-one sales of $360 million at North American and UK retailers. Activision later revealed unit sales for the game, saying Black Ops sold through 5.6 million copies in those markets, compared to 4.7 million for Modern Warfare 2.

“I have every confidence that Tuesday’s sales are just the first milestone in what will be a tremendous year for Call of Duty and for our company,” Tippl told the conference.

While Black Ops has enjoyed a strong debut, its longer-term prospects have been the subject of speculation. Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson said the game wouldn’t be able to match Modern Warfare 2’s holiday quarter sales of 16 million copies, “due to competition, weaker marketing, and the Infinity Ward situation.” Activision fired Infinity Ward cofounders Jason West and Vince Zampella in March, prompting a wave of Infinity Ward developers to jump ship to West and Zampella’s newly formed Respawn Entertainment.

Set in the middle of the Cold War, Black Ops depicts a number of Cold War-era covert operations in countries like Russia, Vietnam, and Cuba. The game represents new territory for the series, which has previously focused on more familiar World War II and modern-day settings.

Source : Gamespot

By : 20th CGN.

Battlefield Play4Free firing up PC in 2011.

Electronic Arts dishes details on new free-to-play franchise entry; will contain maps from Battlefield 2, weapons from Bad Company 2; beta goes live Nov. 30; Battlefield Heroes recruits 6 million.

On the same day that Electronic Arts reported its mostly dismal second-quarter earnings, a company spokesperson teased the announcement of a new Battlefield series entry. A full reveal was promised for Friday, November 5, and now the publisher has made good on that pledge.

He’s screaming because he can’t believe the game is free.

Today EA officially announced Battlefield Play4Free, a new first-person shooter due for the PC in spring 2011. The title will be the publisher’s second free-to-play Battlefield-themed shooter, following the stylized Battlefield: Heroes. EA also noted that Heroes has registered more than 6 million users, which is twice the most recent recruitment tally the publisher announced in December 2009.

Battlefield Play4Free will be decidedly different from Heroes, in that it will sport realistic characters, weapons, maps, and environments. The title will feature 32-player multiplayer support and will contain maps from Battlefield 2 as well as weapons and classes from Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Players will have access to 16 vehicles in Play4Free, including the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, the F35 VTOL jet fighter, the Russian T-90 main battle tank, and the light strike vehicle. Further, players will earn in-game currency as they progress through the game. That money can then be spent on weapons and equipment. A teaser trailer (embedded below) shows off the game’s environments, weapons, and vehicles.

EA did not announce if Battlefield Play4Free will contain an in-game marketplace or any other details regarding how the publisher will monetize the shooter. A beta for the title will kick off on November 30. Players can sign up for the beta through the game’s registration page.

Source : IGN

By : 20th CGN.

Big in Japan Oct. 25-31: God Eater Burst.

Second helping of Namco Bandai multiplayer monster hunting game tops a quarter million sold in first week; latest release of Winning Eleven, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Fable II also make top 10.

North American game retailers are being assaulted with high-profile new releases these days, and they’re not alone. According to research firm Media Create, new releases accounted for five of the 10 best-selling games in Japan for the week of October 25-31. The week before, debuts took up six spots on the charts.

It seems Japanese gamers have a sweet tooth for divinity.

The biggest release of the week was God Eater Burst, the second installment in Namco Bandai’s multiplayer action series for the PSP. The four-player monster hunting formula paid off for the publisher again. Just eight months after the original God Eater sold more than 295,000 in its debut week, Burst arrived to sales of 263,150 copies. Konami’s latest installment in the Winning Eleven series (Pro Evolution Soccer in North America) was a close second, as the PlayStation 3 edition of the multiplatform soccer sim sold 215,257.

Nintendo was well represented with releases both new and old. The previous week’s chart topper, Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii, led the charge with a third place finish, followed by DS role-playing games Pokemon Black and White and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn in fourth and fifth, and Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii in sixth. Wii Party, the latest of the console maker’s “evergreen” hits to take up long-term residence on the sales charts, finished in 10th place.

Microsoft also scored a rare top 10 finish for the week. Lionhead’s latest, Fable III, sold 20,025 copies at launch, good enough for the Xbox 360-exclusive action adventure game to secure eighth place.

The hardware race was reshuffled a bit this week, as sales were up almost across the board. Only the aged DS Lite saw its unit sales slip, while its successor, the DSi, more than doubled its numbers week-over-week. The DSi’s 32,2137 units sold was good enough for second place, as the PSP continued its strong run in Japan with another 38,874 sold. The Sony portable’s UMD-less cousin, the PSP Go, saw the largest sales spike for the week in terms of percentage, as it more than tripled the previous week’s sub-1,000 performance to finish with 3,031 units sold. While not exactly a chart topper, it was still good enough to get the system out of the sales chart cellar and ahead of both the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox 360.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF OCTOBER 25-31, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. God Eater Burst / Namco Bandai / PSP / 263,150
2. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2011 / Konami / PS3 / 215,257
3. Super Mario All-Stars / Nintendo / Wii / 119,485
4. Pokemon Black and White / The Pokemon Company / DS / 68,686
5. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn / Nintendo / DS / 46,516
6. Kirby’s Epic Yarn / Nintendo / Wii / 25,257
7. Solatorobo: Sore kara Coda e / Namco Bandai / DS / 21,915
8. Fable III / Microsoft / 360 / 20,025
9. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 19,090
10. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 17,337

Hardware:
PSP – 38,874
DSi LL – 32,137
PS3 – 28,255
DSi – 23,614
Wii – 12,710
DS Lite – 3,375
PSP Go – 3,031
Xbox 360 – 2,669
PS2 – 1,400

Source : Gamespot

By : 20th CGN.

NCsoft Q3 sales slip 6%

Following stellar 2009, Aion creator sees revenues dip to $139 million while profit ticks up 1% to $42.6 million.

Throughout 2009, NCsoft routinely posted triple digit quarterly profit and revenue growth, due in large part to the success of its latest massively multiplayer online role-playing game Aion. And while the Korean publisher can’t say the same for its current in-progress fiscal year, the publisher certainly isn’t losing much ground, either.

Reporting on its July-September fiscal quarter this week, NCsoft said revenues came in at KRW155 billion ($139 million), down 6 percent from the same period a year ago. Likewise, profit was largely flat year-over-year, rising just 1 percent to KRW47.3 billion ($42.6 million).

The publisher attributed its sales slip to a decrease in performance out of its Lineage franchise. The publisher also said that it had increased its payroll, having ramped up headcount in its R&D department.

Aion continued to be NCsoft’s primary money maker. The angels-and-demons-themed fantasy MMORPG, which saw first release in Korea in 2008 before eventually debuting in the West in September 2009, accounted for 44 percent of the companies sales during the period, or KRW62.9 billion ($56.7 million).

Lineage and Lineage II contributed 28 percent and 20 percent, respectively, while City of Heroes/Villains, Guild Wars, and the rest provided the remaining 8 percent. The two Lineage series combined to achieve sales of nearly KRW69 billion ($62.2 million).

Source : Gamespot

By : 20th CGN.

Call of Duty: Black Ops could sell over 18 million.

Janco Partners’ Mike Hickey says Cold War-era shooter could generate $818 million; Sledgehammer pegged as Modern Warfare 2 developer; Tencent as COD Online partner in China.

For months, Call of Duty: Black Ops has been preordained as a best seller, with GameStop saying in October that it was poised to break preorder records. Now analysts are beginning to weigh in on the game’s potential, with one professional prognosticator saying the game could nearly match sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

In a note sent out to analysts this morning, Janco Partners’ Mike Hickey said he believes that Black Ops could sell over 18 million units, generating $818 million. That’s less dollar-wise than the $1 billion-plus generated by Modern Warfare 2 and 2 million units shy of the 20 million units the game had sold as of mid-June.

Hickey also had some predictions for two other Call of Duty products. He believes the first-person shooter confirmed for the latter half of 2011 yesterday will indeed be Modern Warfare 3. However, instead of Infinity Ward developing the game, as it was as of May, Hickey believes that the project has been passed over to newly founded studio Sledgehammer Games. The Redwood City, California, shop had been billed as working on an action adventure spin-off of the Call of Duty series, but a job listing revealed in May that it was working on a first-person shooter.

The analyst also had some thoughts on Call of Duty Online, the massively multiplayer project being developed in Asia. He believes the game will launch next year and has the potential to generate $100 million during its first year alone.

He explained, “We’re beginning to favor [Chinese Internet portal] Tencent as the eventual operator of COD online in China considering their relative expertise running an item based sales model, game genre expertise (Crossfire operator), the successful regulatory navigating of genre specific concerns and the apparent callous attitude from Blizzard developers on working with Activision franchises, which we believe eliminates Call of Duty code development cooperating for Battle.net integration.”

Source : Gamespot

By : 20th CGN.