Headline RePLAY – 7.24.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Final Fantasy Versus XIII is not cancelled, Wheatley is sent into space (for real) and ex-EA COO predicts Nintendo becoming just a software company.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was not cancelled, Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada revealed via Twitter today, responding to cancellation rumors that arose last week.

Wada added that he’d just taken part in a periodic meeting for the title, even hinting that the cityscape could “make you lose your footing.”

|Source: Andriasang

There is an unauthorized stowaway on board a Japanese spacecraft now in Earth orbit on its way to the International Space Station (ISS): Portal 2’s Wheatley.  

Right now, the orb-shaped robot from Portal 2 is cruising on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s latest H-2 Transfer Vehicle, or the HTV-3, which launched last Friday, to resupply the ISS. Wheatley is in the form of a miniature two-dimensional picture thanks to an unnamed NASA worker.

“Thanks to an anonymous tech at NASA, Wheatley is actually going to actual space,” wrote Valve on its website.

Wheatley is in spaaaaaaaaaaaaceeeeeeeee!

|Source: Space

Ex-EA Chief Creative Officer Bing Gordon believes that Nintendo is on the road to becoming a software-only company because of the market “pressure” that handhelds are under.

“I think Nintendo’s already on track to become primarily a software company,” Gordon told GamesIndustry International. “We saw that with SEGA back in the day; SEGA made some missteps and became primarily a software company.”

Gordon noted that even though Nintendo has better creative talent and leadership than SEGA did, there is a lot of “pressure” in the handheld market for Nintendo due to the company’s direct competition with Apple.

“I think the handheld is going to be under a lot of pressure,” he said. “I can imagine a day when Nintendo wonders—and maybe it’s generational change—when Nintendo wonders if they ought to take some of their best games and make them apps.”

|Source: GamesIndustry International

Headline RePLAY – 2.24.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Sony explains why the west won’t be seeing the UMD Passport Program, a tree wins a Mass Effect 3 copy and news of a new Pokémon game!

Earlier this month Sony said the PS Vita UMD Passport Program, used to transfer PSP UMDs to the PS Vita, wasn’t coming to the west. Sony Senior V.P Shuhei Yoshida tells Wired the reason boils down to simple economics: demand and pricing.

“The system has been introduced in Japan, where there is a much larger demand for PSP games,” said Yoshida, also noting that new PSP titles are still being released and announced in Japan. “Lots of people who are interested in trying Vita are also interested in playing PSP games that they might purchase before Vita comes out, and will not necessarily choose the digital version.”

“The other point is that when you look at PSP titles sold digitally in the States or Europe, games are sold for a really reasonable price,” he said, citing Final Fantasy Tactics for $10. “That is a great price. There are many, many games that are sold at an affordable price.”

In comparison, Japanese gamers will have to pay a nominal fee of $5 and $10 in addition to possessing the UMD itself to receive a digital copy, which ultimately adds up to a higher cost, Yoshida explained.

Ultimately, the “combination of new titles available, or the lack of, and the price difference” attributed to Sony’s decision to why we won’t see a similar system here in the west.

*Source: Wired

10 copies of Mass Effect 3 were to fly straight into the stratosphere via weather balloons and descend back to Earth into the arms of waiting fans— except one apparently forgot the memo about landing to fans and instead ended up on a 150-foot tree in the San Francisco area.

At daybreak, there were 10 fans onsite attempting to get it down with a rope. When that failed an attempt was made using a baseball tied to a rope and when that was unsuccessful the group is now resorting to use a slingshot armed with marbles.

I cannot imagine this ending well.

*Source: Mass Effect Facebook

Are you excited about the next Pokémon game? Junichi Masuda, the director of Pokémon Black and White, sure is and ready to make “a very important announcement” as soon as this Sunday.

Masuda is making an appearance on TV TOKYO’s “Pokémon Smash!” for the big news. “And, for those of you who can’t watch television on live, I will announce the same information right after the show via Twitter,” he assured. “Everyone, I hope you all enjoy the show!”

Rumors suggest the new title is titled Pokémon Gray, but we’ll see if Masuda surprises us instead!

*Source: GameFreak

Headline RePLAY – 2.16.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Double Fine's update to supporters on the Kickstarter project, Mass Effect 3 is heading to the stars and dire rumors abound for the PS Vita.  

Last week, Double Fine announced an ambitious project to make a downloadable “Point-and-Click” adventure game, dubbed Double Fine Adventure, from donations alone via Kickstarter— and exceeded the requested $400,000 amount  to $1 million in less than 24-hours (almost $2 million now as of this post). It’s time for updates and Tim Schafer explains in a YouTube video to fans.

Schafer tells supporters that the project will be available on Windows, Mac, Linux, certain iOS devices and Android. There will be voice-acting in the English-version and in-game text will have a selection of English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Distribution-wise, backers will gain beta access through Steam and be offered a DRM-free version of the game once it’s released!

*Source: YouTube

Mass Effect 3 is heading into… spaaaacee!

Next week, EA is literally launching early copies of the game into space via weather balloons. The balloons will be released in New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, London and Paris.

Each Mass Effect 3 copy carries a GPS tracking device, which fans can track their descent to Earth at masseffect.com for a chance to obtain the game in advance!

*Source: USA Today

 

After enduring weekly reports of the PS Vita’s subpar sales since release, Sony now has to contend with news out of Japan’s Nikkei newspaper claiming that Japanese developers are jumping ship. An unnamed source from the Japanese gaming industry alleged, “Major Japanese companies are canceling all projects intended for the Vita and are changing development to the 3DS.”

Scott Rohde, Sony’s senior vice president of Worldwide Studios, spoke to Gamasutra and refuted the claim, “I did not see that quote, but you see extremist quotes like that all the time.” Rohde dismissed the allegations as “largely exaggerated.”

“I know many, many, many third party developers and publishers are working feverishly working on Vita titles,” said Rohde, “not just for now, but for the foreseeable future.”

“There’s always going to be the hot platform of the moment in our industry,” he noted. “There’s always going to be reason to talk about a story like that.”

*Source: Gamasutra