Headline RePLAY – 8.2.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Persona 4 Arena reaches top tier in Japan, World of Warcraft continues to bleed subscribers and ArenaNet sees the end of subscription gaming.  

Knocking out popular contenders like Street Fighter IV and Tekken 6, Atlus/Arc System Works’ Persona 4 Arena soars to being the bestselling fighting game in Japan. Ever.

According to Beast Note, the console version of Persona 4 Arena moved over 138,000 units in four days since its release. In comparison, Capcom’s Street Fighter IV only sold 86,000 during its first week and Tekken 6 sold 103,000.

Interestingly, the only fighting games that beat Persona 4 Arena in the sales charts were the non-conventional Dissidia and Dissidia Duodecim titles by Square-Enix, which sold 490,000 and 286,000 units respectively.  

|Source: Beast Note via SRK

The slide of World of Warcraft subscribers continues down to 9.1 million, the latest Activision-Blizzard earnings call revealed, resulting in a loss of 1.1 million subscriptions.

Activision-Blizzard noted that most of the losses were from the East, and due to users moving to Diablo 3 or waiting until the next expansion releases. The “East” includes China, Taiwan and Korea regions.

In a span of a year and a half, the MMORPG behemoth has lost around 2.9 million subscribers.

|Source: MMO-Champion

In an era of “World of Warcraft clones” and subscription models, the original Guild Wars went against the grain and adopted a “pay to own” model, which was almost unheard of at the time. With the advent of the free-to-play renaissance, Guild Wars 2 is once more embracing a subscription-less model.

Are MMO subscription models a thing of the past?

“For all we know there is a type of game out there that will continue to benefit from a subscription model, I’ve just not heard of it,” ArenaNet global brand manager Chris Lye told Polygon. “I think any developer who is looking to do an online game and wants to retain a long tail of an online community that they’re going to continue to work with has to seriously consider is subscription the best model or has that been ridden to death?

“A lot of players are telling us ‘we don’t want to be locked into a subscription, we want an a la carte model of what we spend our money on.’”

Lye concedes that while World of Warcraft is an exception to the new rule, he asserts that even Blizzard and BioWare are closely watching the paradigm shift, especially in the light of layoffs and subscription drops.

A subscription-less model is not without disadvantages, as Lye expects the Guild Wars 2 community to be “significantly” larger than its predecessor, which consequently might be harder to police.

“Does the business model incline the community toward a certain negativity? In the case of Guild Wars 2 that’s definitely been a concern of our community team,” Lye said. “Small games with small communities are easier to control and generally they’re better behaved. And the more blockbuster your title goes, you’re more likely to bring in a lot of people you can’t always control and can’t always moderate.

“There’s a relationship between the size of communities. Does free to play naturally blow the size of your community out the door? It’s definitely a concern.”

“It’s definitely something we pay attention to,” he said. “But without having the experience of having our live community under our belt I’m hesitant to make any broad statements about that because I want to see how it goes. I can acknowledge we do expect the Guild Wars 2 community to be significantly larger than the Guild Wars community and we will make sure it stays a healthy and helpful community to anyone new to the game.”

|Source: The Verge

Headline RePLAY – 7.25.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The 3DS is no longer selling at a loss, the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria release date and Nintendo developers had to attend Mario Cram School.

After the significant 3DS price cut last August, Nintendo announced today that it is no longer selling the 3DS at a loss, which means it is no longer selling the handheld at less than the manufacturing price.

Unlike Sony and Microsoft, who sell their new consoles at a loss initially, Nintendo resist such tactics, favoring to balanced production costs to sustain a profit margin on its systems.

The 3DS currently stands at 19 million lifetime sales.

|Source: CVG

The next chapter of World of Warcraft continues on September 25, complete with pandas, monks and Pokémon pet battles.

Mists of Pandaria will be released in the expected standard copy and Collectors Edition, but in a first for Blizzard, a Digital Deluxe Edition will also be available, which includes all the exclusive in-game items found in the CE.

|Source: Blizzard

In order to develop two New Super Mario Bros. games on the Wii U and 3DS simultaneously, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that developers had to attend “Mario Cram School.”

Designed by Takashi Tezuka, Mario Cram School taught course design and fundamental elements of 2D Mario games to departments other than the Software Development Department of the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division (EAD), which traditionally designed the classic side-scrolling Super Mario titles.  

“Participants got a firm grasp of the basic ingredients of what makes 2D Super Mario enjoyable and experienced actually making stages,” said EAD’s Yusuke Amano, “so we were able to begin this project with a solid foundation.”

“In addition,” added Iwata, “forming such a team made it possible to achieve what we never had before—making two New Super Mario Bros. games at once!”  

|Source: Nintendo

Headline RePLAY – 5.9.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: World of Warcraft subscriptions hold steady, BioShock Infinite gets delayed and Angry Birds hits another major milestone.  

It looks like Blizzard’s efforts to stem the decline in World of Warcraft subscriptions is working: the MMO is holding steady at 10.2 million subscribers as of the end of March 2012.

In February 2012 it was revealed that World of Warcraft subscriptions dropped another 100,000 players, lowering the total to 10.2 million. Since then Blizzard has engaged in multiple initiatives to retain and attract back old players.

|Source: PR Newswire

Originally planned for an October 2012 release, BioShock Infinite has been delayed to February 26, 2013.

“When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing,” Irrational Games Creative Director Ken Levine explained. “Since then, we’ve uncovered opportunities to make Infinite something even more extraordinary. Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need to deliver the best Infinite possible, we’ve decided to move the game’s release to February.

“What does this mean for you? It means a bit more waiting, but more importantly, it means an even better BioShock Infinite. The great can be made greater, and we owe it to both ourselves and to you, our fans, to take this opportunity.”

Levine adds that fans can still expect to see Infinite at events like E3 and Gamescom this year.

|Source: Take-Two Interactive

In a double-whammy reveal, Rovio is celebrating the fact that Angry Birds has hit 1 billion downloads and hinted at a new Casey’s Contraptions title—even though the Finnish studio hasn’t acquired Snappy Touch or Mystery Coconut, the developers of the game.

The 1 billion download figure covers both free and paid downloads of Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Space.

Casey’s Contraptions is a Rube Goldberg-style puzzler for the iPad, which was released by Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut last year.

|Source: Gamasutra

Headline RePLAY – 3.23.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Survival-horror is a hard sell, Square-Enix teases a mystery title and Blizzard has mapped out multiple World of Warcraft expansions post-Mists of Pandaria.

Survival-horror Resident Evil just doesn’t sell as it used to, says Resident Evil: Revelations producer Masachika Kawata.

“Especially for the North American market, I think the series needs to head in that [action-oriented] direction,” Kawata told Gamasutra in an interview. “[Resident Evil’s primary games] need to be an extension of the changes made in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5.”

“Looking at the marketing data [for survival horror games]… the market is small, compared to the number of units Call of Duty and all those action games sell,” Kawata elaborated. “‘A ‘survival horror’ Resident Evil doesn’t seem like it’d be able to sell those kind of numbers.”

Despite that, Kawata points out that there are opportunities for Capcom to explore survival-horror gameplay outside the series. “So we have our numbered series, and we can say we have a more adventure-oriented version, like a Revelations-style game. And we also have Operation Raccoon City, which is a third-person shooter.

“So I think that by extending the market in this sense, we can still have the numbered titles keep their identity about what Resident Evil is supposed to be, but still expand and hit other markets as well.”

*Source: Gamasutra

A “secret” Square-Enix title that is slated for release this summer has been revealed in the form of a trailer.

The trailer features illustrations by Castlevania veteran Masaki Hirooka and Square-Enix artist Yusuke Naora. The art on the trailer includes fantastical creatures, fantasy-themed characters and what looks like a battle.

According to Andriasang, a number of Final Fantasy-themed keywords are scattered across the trailer like crystal and summons (i.e. Odin and Diablos).

*Source: Andriasang

World of Warcraft’s latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria, is not even released yet and Blizzard is already working on its next expansion and has plans for multiple ones after that!

“I got the pitch from Chris Metzen of what they plan for 6.0 and I’m pretty geeked up about it. They already know what they're going to be doing for multiple expansions ahead,” Blizzard COO Paul Sams told CVG, confirming the MMO’s fifth entry.

“They have an idea - a general framework,” said Sams. “They’re these lore creators. They’re the ones who drive what the world looks like today and what it’ll be like tomorrow and beyond.”

*Source: CVG

Headline RePLAY – 3.20.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Blizzard acknowledged that Star Wars: The Old Republic impacted World of Warcraft’s subscription numbers, World of Warcraft may go mobile and Capcom is on the hunt for Street Fighter X Tekken hackers.  

In a rather candid discussion with Eurogamer, Senior World of Warcraft Producer John Lagrave acknowledged that Star Wars: The Old Republic impacted the MMO’s subscription numbers.

“Of course people are trying Star Wars—our development team are trying Star Wars!” Lagrave told Eurogamer. “I’m one of the few people who’s still playing it actually, but yeah we’ve seen a dip in subs. It certainly has to at least be attributable to The Old Republic, but it’s also attributable to people who want to wait and get Mists of Pandaria, so it’s not surprising.

Lagrave dismissed any ideas for World of Warcraft to switch from a subscription business model to free-to-play. However, the senior producer is open to extending the level cap for the free trial, which currently stands at level 20.  

While Blizzard has not released any new subscription numbers since The Old Republic’s launch in late December 2011, the company has begun an aggressive campaign to re-enlist former subscribers in the form of a buffed up Scroll of Resurrection program.

*Source: Eurogamer

The full World of Warcraft experience may be coming to an iPhone or mobile devices near you. Already there are some parts of Blizzard’s behemoth MMO on mobile devices like access to character sheets, the Auction House and guilds via the World of Warcraft Armory app.

Except it’s easier said than done, Senior World of Warcraft Producer John Lagrave conceded.

“Here’s your platform [iPhone], you’ve got to put an interface, what do you do? So yes we have [looked into mobile] and we always are,” Lagrave told Eurogamer. “Maybe we’ll stumble on the great way to put WoW on the phone - maybe we won’t, but we're certainly looking into it.

“We won’t do it until we think it's decent,” the senior producer continued. “But it’s interesting and the world is evolving towards that little handheld device—I’d have fun on it, that’s absolutely the case. It would be foolish for any game developer to not be looking at that and we’re not - we don’t think—we’re foolish!”

“When we have an epiphany, everyone will know,” said Lagrave. “But for now, no epiphany!”

*Source: Eurogamer

All forum user Razum wanted was to sit down and play Street Fighter X Tekken online, which was promptly ruined when he encountered Blanka—a DLC character that wasn’t even supposed to be available yet. Apparently, hackers were unlocking DLC characters and using them in online bouts. Capcom is vowing to track down and ban the hackers.

“Yes, we’re seeing news of this. Quite ballsy for folks to be taking hacked Xbox 360s on Live where they are detectable,” confirmed Christian Svensson, Capcom’s senior VP of strategic planning and business development.  

“In any event, we already have opened channels of communication with MS on these issues Friday night,” reported Svensson. “If you can capture screens or video of this in action (as some have already) we're working on bans for boxes and accounts with MS for haxxors.”

When the thread devolved to mockery at Capcom, Svensson closed the thread and resolutely said, “We’ll catch them ourselves.”

*Source: Capcom-Unity

Headline RePLAY – 3.6.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Blizzard buffs World of Warcraft’s Scroll of Resurrection program, Marvel discontinues their relationship with SEGA and Mass Effect 3 receives massive negative user reviews on Metacritic.  

 

In a bid to reverse subscriber bleeding in World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s Scroll of Resurrection program, which allows current players to bring back a friend to Azeroth, is about to receive a huge buff. It includes a variety of benefits that greatly reduces the barrier of reentry for returning players:

• A single character leveled up to 80. 
• A free upgrade to the Cataclysm expansion. 
• A free character realm transfer and faction change.  
• 7 free days of game time. 
• A limited edition mount: Spectral Gryphon for Alliance, Spectral Wind Rider for Horde.

The one real caveat is that only accounts that were inactive since March, 4 2012 are eligible.

Previously, the Scroll of Resurrection provided a triple experience boost, free levels up to 60 and an exclusive mount.

*Source: Blizzard

Movies, comic books and videogames never really worked well together: movies or comics based on videogames are train wrecks and the reverse is rife with poor gameplay that causes the gnashing of teeth. So, it might be a blessing that Marvel is done with SEGA for the time being.

“There are no current plans for additional Marvel games to be published by SEGA,” said Marvel’s TQ Jefferson.

SEGA was recently responsible for Captain America: Super Soldier videogame based on the 2011 movie in addition to Thor, Iron Man 1 & 2, The Incredible Hulk.

*Source: Hollywood Reporter

It’s hard to tell if the massive influx of Mass Effect 3 negative reviews by Metacritic users a day after the title’s release is genuine or the act of an organized mob. The negative reviews are present on all platforms the game can be played on.

According to Kotaku many of the users reviewed no other games and created accounts just to downgrade Mass Effect 3. The user score for each version of Mass Effect 3 is “generally unfavorable”— much lower than its critical reception by the press.

Metacritic editor-in-chief Marc Doyle told Kotaku that they removed user reviews that were in violation of their terms of use and will continue to be on the lookout.

*Source: Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 2.9.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: World of Warcraft subscriber numbers take another hit, Diablo III finally gets a release window and Double Fine makes videogame history.

Another Activision Blizzard investor call, another subscription drop for World of Warcraft. It was revealed that World of Warcraft’s subscribers numbers decreased by another 100,000 players, dropping the total to 10.2 million players from September 2011 to December 2011.

World of Warcraft subscriber numbers have been in decline ever since mid-2011: In May 2011 the MMO fell to 11.4 million subscribers and then down to 10.3 million in September.

*Source: WoW Insider

In the same investor call, Activision Blizzard has confirmed it’s targeting Diablo III for Q2 2012 release; the timeframe narrows Diablo III’s launch from April to June.

Recently, Diablo III has been undergoing changes to its mechanics and systems since the beta.

“After receiving feedback from the community and our internal teams, we've implemented changes to the game which we believe will greatly improve the game experience and ensure that the final release will live up to our high expectations,” said Activision Blizzard.

*Source: CVG

In the course of 24-hours, Double Fine’s ambitious project to make a downloadable “Point-and-Click” graphic adventure game by donations alone on Kickstarter exceeded its $400,000 goal and reached $1 million!

While the project itself is unprecedented, the amount and speed of contributions donated can only be described as extraordinary.

All the money raised will go straight to the game: improvements in the game and documentary, delivery to more platforms, translated into more languages, more music and voiceovers, an original soundtrack for the documentary, and whatever else!

For more details or to make a donation, check out the source link below!  

*Source: Kickstarter