Mass Effect 2 tops charts

Mass Effect 2 has held onto the UK All-Formats chart top spot for a second week. Publisher EA’s latest release, Dante’s Inferno, debuted in fourth. Ubisoft’s budget Wii title Just Dance held on at two, while Modern Warfare 2 is in third and FIFA 10 made up the top five. Wii Sports Resort, MAG, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus and Avatar rounded out the top 10.

Star Trek Online spent a first week in 11th, and further down THQ’s new racer MX vs ATV: Reflex entered at 18th.

New releases outside of the All-Formats Top 40 were Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers, which finished 11th and 17th on the Wii chart. Disgaea 2: Dark Days Hero finished 9th on the PSP list, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. sequel Call of Pripyat finished 4th on the PC chart.

Take-Two cutting staff by 20%

Reports are coming out that according to “senior industry sources” Take-Two plans to let go of 20% of its global workforce, or around 400 people. Cuts will come from both studio and publishing operations.

The latest cost-cutting move comes after the company sold its distribution arm, Jack of All Games, to Synnex. Not good news for anyone, and it remains to be seen whether this will impact any games releases.

Namco Bandai to cut over 600 jobs

By March 2010, Japan’s Namco Bandai estimated that net income was going to be ¥8.5 billion ($93 million) in the black. That figure has changed from profit to loss — a big loss at that. The company now estimates that it will be posting ¥31 billion ($342 million) loss this March.

To counteract these losses, Namco Bandai will undergo a restructuring. By the end of the 2010 fiscal year, Namco Bandai is planning to reduce its 7,000 person workforce by 630 staffers.

The decline in earnings is blamed on poor performance of key titles.

This Week’s New Releases (31 January – 7 February)

There’s two big releases this week, both of which look pretty damn interesting. First off is Dante’s Inferno, which is looking like EA’s attempt to take on God of War and the demo is still on my list to try out. Secondly; there’s Star Trek Online, which I think looks pretty good but unfortunately I don’t have a powerful enough PC to play it. I’m thinking about getting a new PC anyway, but it’s probably for the best that I don’t get sucked into an MMO when I have so many other games to play during my spare time.

Depending on your tastes you may be interested in what else is on offer this week, but personally I think there isn’t much else to get excited about. Take a look at the full list below anyway!

• Astro Boy: The Video Game (DS, PS2, PSP, Wii)
• Brain Cadets (Wii)
• Chicken Blaster (DS, Wii)
• Dante’s Inferno (PS3, X360)
• Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days (PSP)
• DJ Max Fever (PSP)
• Endless Ocean Blue World (Wii)
• Excitebike: World Rally (Wii)
• Farewell to dragons (PC)
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii)
• History Egypt – Engineering an Empire (DS, PC, PSP)
• Jig-a-Pix Love Is (DS)
• Karaoke Revolution (PS3)
• MX vs. ATV Reflex (DS, PS3, PSP, X360)
• Mystery Cookbook (PC)
• Natalie Brooks – The Secrets of Treasure House (PC)
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (PC)
• Star Trek Online (PC)
• Strikers 1945 Plus Portable (PSP)
• The Farm (PC)
• Titanic Mystery (DS, PC)
• The Sims 3: High-End Loft Stuff (PC)
• The Treasures of Mystery Island (PC)
• UK Truck Simulator (PC)

Nintendo “Turned Down” Chance at Project Natal Tech

CVG has learned that Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata was shown an early demo of what would become Project Natal, but he dismissed the technology as he didn’t believe it could be launched at a mass-market price.

An anonymous source revealed that 3DV Systems – the firm apparently behind the technology Project Natal utilises – showed the technology to a gathering of Nintendo execs in 2007. The company was later purchased by Microsoft, paving the way for Project Natal.

“Iwata-San only ever invests in something he can guarantee will work for a Nintendo audience,” the exec told CVG.

“3DV showed off a camera that detected motion in 3D, and had voice recognition – but Iwata-San was unconvinced he could sell it at a Nintendo price point. He also had some worries around latency during gameplay.

Microsoft has never confirmed that Project Natal uses technology gained from the purchase of 3DV, but this revelation means it’s highly likely that this is the case. The source insists upon this.

“Honestly – I’ve heard Iwata describe the prototype he saw at length, and it’s definitely Natal,” added CVG’s source.

Does Nintendo have any doubts?

“We remain unconvinced Natal will deliver on the more sophisticated elements of what Microsoft is promising at the price they’re aiming for.”

I guess not, but I suppose the bucket loads of money they’ve made from the Wii pretty much says it all.

It’s not the first time Nintendo has decided not to pursue a new form of technology for consoles, as they famously cancelled a deal to jointly develop a CD-Rom add on for the SNES with Sony and Phillips. This technology would later be developed into the Playstation, and that’s one major cash cow that Nintendo missed out on.

This Week’s New Releases (24-31 January)

There’s only one release I care about this week, and that’s Bioware’s sci-fi epic Mass Effect 2. I haven’t been this excited about a game since GTA IV (and, no, it wasn’t a letdown for me) and it’s kicking off what is sure to be a great year for gaming.

Since PS3 owners are missing out they have the 250 player FPS MAG to provide some satisfaction. You can’t really compare the two games because they’re completely different genres, but I’m not stupid enough to think that everyone likes an RPG like Mass Effect 2.

If you don’t fancy either then there’s always Forklift Truck Simulator (ha ha), which our very own Sky Taylor wrote about over on her new website. If you’re getting that over either of the aforementioned games though then I think you seriously need to get your head tested.

Here’s the full list of this week’s releases:

• BC Kings (PC)
• Dark Fall 3: Lost Souls (PC)
• Eco Shooter: Plant 530 (Wii)
• Exodus from the Earth (PC)
• Forklift Truck Simulator (PC)
• Garden Party World (PC)
• MAG (PS3)
• Mass Effect 2 (PC, X360)
• Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (PC)
• Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Wii)

This Week’s New Releases (17-24 January)

Normally I’d separate each platform into its own post, but since there’s so few releases this week I’m lumping them all in together.

So, what can you look forward to playing this week? Well, as mentioned there’s not an awful lot to choose from. The biggest release, and the only major release (unless you’re counting a port of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars to the iPhone), is Capcom’s Dark Void. If you’re up for some jetpack action then that’s the way to go, but if not then you could always become a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan.

Here’s the full list of this weeks releases:

• Altis Gates (PC)
• Chronos Twins (DS)
• Dark Void (PC, PS3, X360)
• Dungeon Bandits (PC)
• Fast Draw Showdown (Wii)
• Glory of Heracles (DS)
• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (iPhone)
• Max & the Magic Marker (Wii)
• Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero (Wii)
• Sexy Maid Service (iPhone)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tag Force 4 (PSP)

December 2009 NPDs

Yesterday, the NPD Group revealed its U.S. console retail numbers for December and for the full year of 2009. Year-end NPD results provide a key metric in judging the health and overall trending of the game industry.

Analysts have been aware for some months that the year 2009 was not keeping pace with the previous year, and this turned out to be true, down 8 percent to $19.66 billion.

Every market segment declined in 2009 — except for portable hardware, which rose 6 percent. Seven out of the ten best-selling games of the year were first-party Nintendo titles, and the number one game of the year was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

GameStop and several major publishers, like Electronic Arts, Take-Two and Ubisoft, all recently lowered their fiscal year forecasts on a weak market, and analysts awaited results of the industry’s performance in December to predict rebound potential in 2010.

But in slightly better news following a tough year, the video game industry saw December revenues up 4% to $5.53 billion — not only its best holiday yet, its best single sales month on record. Nearly all analysts had expected December to be flat, if not down.

However, video game software sales were still down 7% to $2.58 billion for the month. So, given the challenging climate that so many companies face, an overall boost is a ray of light for the year to come, even if game publishers did not feel the benefit.

Latest UK Charts (Week Ending 9 January 2010)

This week’s multiformat chart sees Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 holding on to the number one spot for its 9th consecutive week. So, in case you were wondering whether or not everyone on the planet already has a copy of the game then there’s your answer.

After skipping the next three (which are, let’s be honest, pretty predictable) we come to a new entry at 5, which is the excellent Bayonetta. Personally I believe the game should be higher, but it seems that the might of Activison and Nintendo won out this week.

The only other new entry is Darksiders at 8, which seemingly came from nowhere but is allegedly pretty good. I won’t be getting it or anything this week, as I’m holding out for Mass Effect 2 and desperately trying to clear my backlog before it arrives.

You can check out the full chart here. Why not also tell me what you’re planning on buying, if anything?

EA to close online servers

EA has released a service update with a list of online servers that will be shut down on February 2nd 2010, for good.

“Servers for the games listed below will be shut down on the indicated dates,” said EA. “You may continue to play the games online up until these dates, but certain community programs may begin to close down prior to the shutdown dates.”

• UEFA Champions League 07 PC and x360
• Facebreaker x360 and PS3
• Fantasy Football 09 x360 and PS3
• FIFA 07 PSP, PS2, PC
• Fight Night Round 3 PS2
• Madden 08 Wii
• Madden 08 PC
• Madden 09 Xbox1
• Madden 09 Wii and PSP
• March Madness 07 x360
• NBA 07 PSP, x360
• NBA 08 PS2, PSP, Wii
• NBA 09 Wii – Europe only
• NBA Street (2007) PS3 and x360
• NCAA Football 08 PS2
• NCAA Football 09 PS2
• NASCAR 08 PS2
• NASCAR 09 PS2
• NASCAR 09 PS3 and x360 – Europe Only
• NFL Tour PS3 and x360
• NHL 07 PSP and x360
• NHL 08 PC
• Tiger Woods 07 PC
• Madden 09 x360 and PS3
• Madden 07 Xbox 360

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