Bayonetta moves 1.1m units in Sega fiscal Q3 2010 results
After surviving harrowing losses of ¥22.8 billion (nearly $254.8 million) during its fiscal year 2009, Sega Sammy Holdings (parent company to Sega, which you’ve probably sussed out) has managed to revive its faltering bottom line. According to the company’s latest financial report, Sega Sammy brought in a net income of ¥16.9 billion ($189.5 million) during the first nine months of its fiscal 2010 (April-December 2009).
This income came in spite of the fact that Sega’s total game sales had dropped 13 percent from the same 9-month period the previous fiscal year — however, thanks to the company’s massive restructuring last February, operating income skyrocketed to ¥28.8 billion (about $323 million), which more than softened the blow. The company’s highest-selling title was, alarmingly, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, with 5.6 million units sold (and probably counting). Bayonetta, which was only available in Japan (released October 29) during the period covered by the report, came in a distant second with 1.1 million units sold.
It looks like the company’s managed to recover from an extremely painful fiscal 2009 — but at what cost?
Bayonetta moves 1.1m units in Sega fiscal Q3 2010 results originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sony: PlayStation Arc is still just a “rumoured codename”
Despite THQ President and CEO Brian Farrell’s repeated references to the PS3’s forthcoming motion controller as Arc, the device is still moniker-free according to Sony. Farrell dropped the name during yesterday’s investors call, setting the gaming blogosphere a twitter, but SCEA’s Patrick Seybold has been quick to confirm that ‘PlayStation Arc’ is as yet still just a “rumoured codename.”
“No. We haven’t announced the name of our Motion Controller,” said Seybold when asked about the potential leak. “[Farrell] referred to it as a rumored code name.”
Arc. Gem. Wand. It doesn’t matter what name Sony settles on, it still looks like a “personal massager.”
Like a mean cousin, Upper Deck steals Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! cards
Konami announced yesterday that Upper Deck had been forced to settle with the company after allegedly printing hundreds of thousands of faked Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in China and bringing them stateside. On any other day, this news would just be kind of funny, but it’s elevated by attorney for Upper Deck Richard Howell who said “At this point, Upper Deck doesn’t have a lot of Life Points. We’re talking about behavior that, from a defense attorney’s standpoint, I can’t defend and I am not going to defend. I’m here defending a counterfeiter. And now I have to deal with that issue.”
That’s right: Life Points. Dude learned enough about Yu-Gi-Oh! to drop Yu-Gi-Oh! references. Man, that’s the kind of lawyer you want to have. … Unless, we guess, you’re Upper Deck, in which case, it seems like you probably could have chosen a guy that didn’t tell people how guilty you were.
Like a mean cousin, Upper Deck steals Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! cards originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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PopCap loses another $2.7m to MumboJumbo
[Image credit: bloomsberries]
Despite PopCap’s claim to appeal the original ruling of the lawsuit between it and MumboJumbo, a judge has awarded another $2.7 million to MumboJumbo citing “legal fees,” according to Develop. 193rd Civil District Court Judge Carl Ginsberg ruled earlier this week that PopCap would be burdened with the amount (which includes $525,000 in “post-verdict appeals”), making the total sum that MumboJumbo receives $7.3 million.
The case originally derived from an alleged breach of contract on PopCap’s part regarding the right to sell its own games in North America — in so many words, the lawsuit found that PopCap had illegally broken an agreement with MumboJumbo and sold/marketed said games in NA (those monsters!). That said, the agreement was for MumboJumbo to handle that sales/marketing, thus making PopCap in breach of contract in doing so. Sound confusing? It’s business, folks. We’re right there with you.
PopCap loses another $2.7m to MumboJumbo originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hands-on: Metro 2033
Still, play we did, and though we only got a chance to take in the first couple of levels, we’re getting a good (note: we didn’t say “great”) vibe from what we’d actually classify as “first-person post-apocalyptic survival-horror.”
Continue reading Hands-on: Metro 2033
Hands-on: Metro 2033 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Sims franchise celebrates 10th anniversary today
It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since we discovered how hilarious it was to lock a Sim in a doorless room with nothing but ovens to keep him company, but there it is: The Sims franchise has turned 10 years old today. The press release announcing the series’ first decade also reveals that the franchise has sold 125 million units lifetime-to-date, which is an impressive figure — especially when you consider EA is only reporting the PC franchise numbers. That figure doesn’t include console ports.
The Sims franchise has managed to generate $2.5 billion in revenue for EA. The latest iteration in the series, The Sims 3, was 2009′s top-selling PC game and has sold 4.5 million copies so far worldwide. While one could argue the latest game’s success is in large part due to the series’ ability to appeal to just about every type of gamer, we’d argue that the inclusion of Ludwig Kietzmann really helped push it over the top.
The Sims franchise celebrates 10th anniversary today originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Zeno Clash XBLA gets face smackin’ new trailer
Like we said, it’s all a little strange. Honestly though, if you can’t get pumped about virtually elbowing weird looking dudes in the face, there’s not much we can do for you.
Zeno Clash XBLA gets face smackin’ new trailer originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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