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For a year that started with the likes of “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” and “Skyrim,” it’s been interesting thus far for video games.
Photo provided
A shot from the new game “Street Fighter X Tekken,” which came out this week. The game is a collaboration between two seperate franchises, “Street Fighter” and “Tekken.” It is the first of two games the collaboration effort plans to produce.
It’s a magical time of year. School is coming to a close, summer is starting to show its face and every day we get closer to E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, where we will get a glimpse of gaming’s future.
Let’s take a few steps back and look at some of the games from this semester.
Street Fighter X Tekken
Released: March 6
This game has seen a lot of change since I reviewed it back in March. One change that is pretty cool for anyone who hasn’t picked it up yet is the price drop. The game was $40 at Walmart last time I checked. Good call for anyone who waited.
As with any fighting game, give the community a few months, and there will be all kinds of game-changing tricks that, pardon the redundancy, completely change the game. “Street Fighter X Tekken” has seen a growth in tech and many of the characters who seemed over used at release don’t even see the light of day.
Capcom also has thrown in a handful of content updates, including new gems, costumes and colors for the color-edit mode — which was severely lacking at release.
With 12 new characters on the horizon, “Street Fighter X Tekken” only has gotten better with time, so check it out.
Sine Mora
Released: March 21
This is a horizontal shooter from the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network that I really enjoyed.
Being an offline game, it hasn’t really changed since its release. However, that doesn’t change the quality of the original game. It’s still a unique, time-based shooter with the amazing art style and Hungarian voice-overs.
Digital Reality didn’t pull any punches, and that is why I still recommend this game. Plus, even weeks after getting the game I can barely get anywhere on the hardest difficulty, so it’s a good challenge.
Skullgirls
Released: April 10
In my review, I praised this game for a lot of things and speculated if it would hold the interest of the Internet and not fizzle out after a week or so. Well, the end-of-the-semester verdict is in and it looks like “Skullgirls” is here to stay. The developers promised to continue working on the game, implementing new characters and features if they sold enough units initially. The game sold way beyond expectations, giving its community a steady stream of new content.
All sources are pointing to one conclusion: This game is going to get big.
Botanicula
Released: April 19
Let’s move away from the intense violence for a little bit of artistic violence. “Botanicula” is the release of the year.
On the surface, we have a beautiful adventure; at its core, we have an experience that’s thought provoking enough to make you draw new conclusions with every play through.
Beyond the game play, the music is amazing. The soundtrack has been accumulating plays at an alarming rate in my iTunes.
Like I said in my review of this game, buy it now.
E3/The future
Looking forward, we have E3 right around the corner starting June 5. The expo has seen a lot of changes recently, but it still delivers the same product: hype.
Almost all the biggest releases are announced around E3. With the new “Call of Duty” trailer release, we can rest assured the flood gates have opened.
The announcements that people get really excited about are the keynotes given by the Big 3: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
Because there’s no information on what will be announced, it’s time to speculate a little bit.
Many people speculate the next Xbox will be announced in response to the Nintendo’s new Wii U.
We’ll have to wait and see, but you can rest assured there will be some kind of teaser released the closer we get to the conference.
While most eyes are on E3, I’m waiting in anticipation for what some of my favorite publishers have in store for next year — fingers are crossed for a new “Shin Megami Tensei” release.
This summer is shaping up to be fun for gamers. A lot of current games are getting a new coat of paint in the form of new content, which makes doing nothing this summer even easier.
Be sure to watch for deals on Xbox Live Arcade, Steam and PlayStation Network. It has become a recurring thing to have those spread out throughout the summer.
Also, keep an eye on the humble bundles — that’s a newer thing in gaming culture too cool to die.
Have a great summer everyone, and don’t get too addicted to “Diablo 3.”
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Article source: http://www.oudaily.com/news/2012/may/10/video-game-review-spring-releases-keep-gamers-ente/
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You probably know already that Ducati has big plans for the future, including a series of updates on current range. Following the spy shots taken in Bologna, the Italian bike manufacturer has published the first photos with the 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 and we are here to show them to you.
Ducati isn’t bringing a lot of design improvements, but rather some new motor upgrades. The 2012 model features the new, “brilliantly engineered” Testastretta 11 engine plus it comes with a new chassis geometry and “enriched user-friendliness”.
As you can see from these pictures and from our previous spy shots, there are quite a few similarities with other models. It is easy to notice that the 5 bolt hub on the rear wheel is a copy-cat of the Ducati 848EVO (having 140hp, so the new Streetfighter will have 10-15 hp less) and the ‘new’ front end that looks a lot like the on Ducati Monster 1100 EVO which has a Marzocchi fork with Brembo radial Brembo calipers.
However, the Italian company says that their 2012 Streetfighter 848 has got smooth power delivery, revised ergonomics plus the Ducati Traction Control system which will helps enhance usability.
The new model will come in traditional Ducati red, yellow (for mid-range purists) or matte black, becoming available for ordering from November 2011 onwards.
Source: Ducati via Carsession
Tags: ducati street fighter 2012 , ducati streetfighter 2012 , ducaty , ducati 2012 , ducati , 2012 ducati street fighter , 2012 ducati streetfighter , american car show 2012 ducati , ducati 651 images
Article source: http://speedlux.com/2012-ducati-streetfighter-848-revealed-first-official-photos/
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Tony Abbott has released a radical plan to combat the asylum seeker crisis by proposing to send all boats, regardless of their seaworthiness, back to Indonesia.
Abbott in a prepared statement said, “I was inspired by Split Enz.”
“The band tell a story, entitled ‘Six Months on a Leaky Boat,’ of a man who survived a full half a year on a sinking vessel.”
“If we can replicate that achievement there shouldn’t be a problem.”
The UNCHR has hit back at the proposal saying it breeches international law.
A UN representative said, “We would expect Mr. Abbott to follow the long-held precedent of giving us the asylum seekers to wallow for decades in refugee camps without any chance of resettlement.”
“That is the law after all.”
Article source: http://www.homepagedaily.com/Pages/article12717-street-fighter-x-tekken-cinematic-trailer---episode-1.aspx
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Rated T for TEEN
by the ESRB
Two Fighters Enter, One Game Leaves
By: Tyler Lee
GiN Product Reviewer
Check out all of our past reviews.
It should go without saying that Street Fighter and Tekken are two of the top fighting franchises in video games. Putting the two together was a logical call for Capcom and Namco Bandai, and this collaboration is by no means a failure. Quite the contrary, Street Fighter X Tekken is both a deep and exciting fighting experience that fans of both series should enjoy. It blends well the two franchises vastly different fighting mechanics into a something different, yet familiar.
However, people more on the Tekken side of the fence as well as casual gamers and newcomers should be warned; SFxT, like its Street Fighter predecessors, is a technical fighter’s game that will please hardcore fans and veterans first.
Street Fighter X Tekken, first and foremost, does a fine job at what it was meant to: bring together the Street Fighter and Tekken series for a fun and playable game that can appeal mostly to both series’ faithful fans as well as draw in gamers who are new to both franchises. The huge roster of 38 playable characters to choose from, including favorites from both franchiseswill keep the fights plenty in number and the tag team combinations abundant, though gamers may have to wait on the DLC for some of their favorites.
As always, the ink-based art style is still fantastic to watch in motion on the Street Fighter characters and Tekken fans will be delighted to see it look just as pleasing on their characters.
Combined with the hefty roster, the assortment of modes to choose from, including a training mode that lets you fine tune your skills, be you newcomer or hardcore veteran, will give gamers plenty to try out.
The new Customization option will also keep fans busy as they learn the ins and outs of the new Gem System. Gems can give boosts to certain stats at all times, or give other advantages when certain conditions are met, such as bolstering your attack power after landing X amount of attacks, or harden your defense after blocking so many strikes. This simple option adds a deeper strategic element to fights, especially versus and online multiplayer modes where the lasting appeal will shine, though the Arcade Mode will add a fun bit of single player action to the mix, testing your skills by taking on the computer’s tag teams.
The gameplay is where SFxT shines, as is true with most good fighting games. Capcom did a fair job in opening this title up to casual gamers, introducing Boost Combos that allow all characters to carry out three attack combos with ease, as well as being able to pull off devastating double team moves with just a simple button combination. The option to make the button combos for special moves even easier will also please newcomers and less technically inclined fighters, allowing them to pull off all the dazzling and hard hitting signature moves with no problem. However, even with all these helpful mechanics in place, SFxT will still punish the inexperienced.
Fans of the Tekken series will notice that the Tekken fighters are more combo oriented, allowing for several set combinations to be used to pull off Tekken-like multi-strike assaults, while the Street Fighter characters retain their reliance on special attacks like the Hadoken in combination with shorter combos or single attacks to gain the advantage.
This will definitely make it easier for Tekken fans to jump in, but again, the Street Fighter engine dominates the majority of gameplay. However, the Tekken character’s lack of projectiles to spam doesn’t put them at a disadvantage. Quite the contrary, their speed and longer reaching attacks can move in on the opponent very quickly, opening them up for a devastating Tekken based bombardment.
Capcom is adamant that this game is for the newcomers as much as for the hardcore fans, but that just isn’t the case 100 percent of the time. Granted, Street Fighter X Tekken has upped the accessibility from its predecessors, but this is a Street Fighter fans game first. There is fun to be had by most, but the lasting appeal is for the veterans who will put in the time to master the fighting system.
Street Fighter X Tekken earns an impressive 4 GiN Gems overall. Not a knockout punch, but a very good fighting score.
Tyler Lee is happiest playing video games new and old. No matter the genre, he not only enjoys playing them, but writing about them as well. He can be reached via twitter @_SamuraiZero_ or through email here
: writer_trlee@yahoo.com.
Tyler Lee, Capcom, Capcom, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PS Vita
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Article source: http://www.gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=1711
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On-disc DLC didn’t slow Street Fighter X Tekken sales.
William Usher laments the success of CAPCOM’s Street Fighter X Tekken and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.
In spite of being widely scorned by core gamers and reviewers, Raccoon City sold 2 million units in March. Street Fighter X Tekken sold 1.4 million. The latter title included a number of unlockable characters on the disc, secured firmly behind a paywall.
“This news definitely can put a damper in the spirits of core gamers,” Usher writes, “because even though core gamers help move the industry, there are also tons of casuals who latch onto the popularity of established franchises and dump money into them because it’s the “cool thing to do”. Unfortunately, these kind of gamers are beyond the reach of websites like this, Forbes or VentureBeat where being informed about a purchase should come first before making a purchase.”
This is bad news not only for gamers, but for CAPCOM as well. How so?
Well, it might seem like good news for the company on its face, but when developers and publishers take an anti-consumer position by including on-disc DLC they break trust. This means that a lot of gamers who might normally be really excited about a title like Dragon’s Dogma (which looks terrific, by the way) will hold on to their wallets instead of purchasing the game. The penny-pinching on title could lead to lower sales on another title – even if no on-disc DLC comes with it.
What’s good for the gamer is good for the goose.
I write from a pro-consumer position because I’m pro-business.
Too often the dividing line is drawn between these two positions in a way that ignores actual consequences, action and reaction. Too often we think that being pro-business means we’re anti-consumer and vice versa. I disagree.
I want businesses to succeed, and I think the best way to do this in the long-term is to build trust between companies and their consumer base. In the gaming industry, overbearing DRM and DLC that is included solely to make money rather than to add value to a title, are great ways to shatter trust. They may lead to short-term profits, but they can just as easily alienate fans.
As William points out, casual gamers may not ever notice, and this may be what developers are counting on. If the majority of casual gamers still buy titles based on name recognition or because they’re simply unfamiliar with many industry practices, developers might have little reason to change their tune. And as with low-information voters, these gamers are going to be the hardest to reach. The question is, is that a sustainable model for developers to follow?
I don’t think it is. At some point the piper is going to be paid, one way or another. Your core audience and hardcore base of fans may be small compared to the casual gamer audience, but they’re the ones who occupy the online forums, who spread good or bad things by word of mouth on social media and elsewhere. They’re the ones who turn on other gamers to a title or franchise. In a sense, they’re like unpaid PR employees, and that’s a sword that cuts both ways.
I want companies to succeed and keep making great games. But to do that, they need to listen to their fans – especially their hardcore fans.
Maybe these fans can get out of line from time to time. Maybe at some point they need to walk away. The Mass Effect 3 ending controversy has bubbled on for some time, and fans are still planning their own PR stunts to keep the spotlight on the ending. I’m not sure if this is necessarily productive at this point, to be quite honest. But I don’t really begrudge them the effort either.
As I’ve noted before, all this really means is that gamers are a particularly passionate group of consumers. The industry is lucky to have consumers like these. Call them entitled, call them what you will, but that passion translates into dollars and those dollars keep the industry afloat.
So it is disappointing when games like Street Fighter X Tekken sell really well. It’s disappointing in the same way that it’s disappointing when terrible politicians keep getting elected, or terrible policies never come undone, because those passionate people at the fringes of the debate are drowned out by the much larger population of low-information voters or consumers. Government has no need to change when the bums keep getting elected.
Tinker, tailor, muckraker, agitator.
Building fan trust is the best way to secure long-term success
This is where the media steps in. I’m pretty libertarian when it comes to rules and regulations. But any society that chooses freedom – democracy, market capitalism, etc. – requires watchdogs. First among watchdogs is the press. Freedom of the press is vital to the health of the nation, but only if the press exercises that freedom. Whether you’re talking about politics or gaming, the same necessity exists. Journalists need to point out when consumers are getting a bad shake, or when citizens are being hoodwinked by their political leaders. Too often this doesn’t happen.
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,” Thomas Jefferson once wrote. And he has a point.
As America rolled toward war in Iraq, too often the mainstream media quivered on the sidelines or actively cheered or worse, simply regurgitated the official government line. This is no different than calling upset consumers “entitled” – as though we, as citizens, are not entitled to the truth. As though we should simply nod along with our government or our corporate leaders and never question anything.
Sometimes I and my Forbes Games colleagues are criticized around the internet for “pandering” to gamers. But I’m not writing from a pro-gamer/pro-consumer standpoint simply because I want to please an audience. I truly believe that those developers and publishers who take customer service seriously, and build great games that are worth the $60+ dollars gamers spend on them, will do better in the long run. I think the future lies with developers like CD Projekt RED and Valve.
This is also why I reject the notion of unbiased journalism. It’s always just a facade.
The entire pretense that journalists or media outlets are unbiased is just smoke and mirrors. I’m no fan of Fox News, and they hide behind “fair and balanced” for no apparent reason, but at least they have an obvious slant. The problem with Fox News is not that their opinions are conservative, but that their facts are so often sensationalized or botched. The problem is that too often they have no respect for the truth. But a healthy respect for the truth and a biased opinion are not mutually exclusive qualities. Quite the contrary.
Same goes in the gaming industry. As long as you’re digging for the truth, bias is a fine thing. A necessary thing really. A lot of people have praised this blog for its “unbiased” take on the gaming industry. But that’s not true any more than I am pandering to gamers. My writing is indeed biased, and I won’t pretend otherwise. But bias is not the same thing as sensationalism. I’m digging for the truth, or for what scraps of it I can find. I may be wrong at times, but that’s what I’m however awkwardly working toward.
When Thomas Paine was tried for sedition in Great Britain, his lawyer John Erskine argued in his defense that every man, “not intending to mislead, but seeking to enlighten others with what his own reason and conscience, however erroneously, have dictated to him as truth, may address himself to the universal reason of the whole nation.” The “liberty of opinion keeps governments themselves in due subjection to their duties,” Erskine argued. I would argue that this extends beyond government and into our free market economy; indeed, that free markets are as dependent upon a free press as a democratic government is, however much both states and corporations would prefer otherwise.
The media’s job is to keep everyone honest so that we don’t need the heavy hand of the state to come cracking down. The job of the media is to level the playing field when it comes to information asymmetry between consumers and corporations or citizens and governments. When it comes to the locked content on Street Fighter X Tekken, we failed to convey the problems with this to the wider gaming community. Sure, low-information consumers share a part of the blame. But there’s nothing we can do about that.
So we keep trucking on, and savvy consumers and voters must truck along with us.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/05/08/street-fighter-x-tekken-sells-1-4-million-copies-despite-on-disc-dlc/
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Deep Silver’s new RPG is the latest addition to the on-disc DLC parade.
“On-disc DLC” should be a fairly self-explanatory concept but for the benefit of the thick-headed kids in the back, it’s basically content that the publisher offers to gamers post-release and at an extra cost, but which is in fact already on the game disc. Capcom took a lot of grief for including locked-out content with the retail release of Street Fighter X Tekken, as did BioWare, which included everything but the voice files for Mass Effect 3 DLC From Ashes.
Now it’s Deep Silver’s turn, as our very own Dexter111 recently discovered that both the Treasure Isle and A Pirate’s Clothes launch-day DLC are actually included on the game disc. The only thing that appears to be missing is the spoken dialog, which is downloaded when the DLC is purchased. The extra content can even be activated, albeit without the voice files, by enabling the game’s “test mode” and then using three “spawn” commands.
The news that this day-one DLC is already included with the game hasn’t made a lot of gamers terribly happy, particularly those who were already annoyed by the very existence of the DLC in the first place. For critics who say that launch-day DLC is merely game content that’s cut out and held back for more money, the last-minute announcement of the DLC coupled with its barely-separate inclusion on the game disc must come off as a particularly egregious money grab.
Deep Silver has not yet commented on the matter.
Article source: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117132-Launch-Day-DLC-Found-on-Risen-2-Game-Disc
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Looks like I was right when I told you to hold on to your money.
Street Fighter X Tekken has had its share of problems, with poor balance and quality control, buggy netcode, a gimped 360 version, and a controversial deal between Sony and Capcom where twelve additional characters were locked away on-disc until the release of the upcoming PS Vita version. It looks like all of that has come to a head, resulting in the game not selling as much as Capcom predicted it would.
It’s not a huge margin, but it’s enough of a loss for Capcom to take note of: Street Fighter X Tekken was predicted to sell a cool 2 million units in its first six months of retail, but has fallen short of that mark at approximately 1.4 million. While it didn’t do quite as poorly as the honestly-pretty-good Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (which did 600,000 units total across both systems), Capcom is far less pleased with these numbers than the figures for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (PS3/360, 1.7mil) and Monster Hunter Tri G (3DS, 1.6mil).
The on-disc DLC thing I can understand: if Sony offered me a check with a dozen zeroes on it, I’d do whatever they asked. But when you ship a broken game… even the hardcore players are pretty miffed at Street Fighter X Tekken‘s touch-of-death shenanigans and infinite combos, and that’s at least part of why so much of the community is migrating to Skullgirls.
What do you think? What made Street Fighter X Tekken such a flop? Will sales pick up once the twelve extra characters are released? You can already buy the game new for $40, so will Capcom recoup these losses?
via Shoryuken
Article source: http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/05/07-1/street-fighter-x-tekken-misses-capcoms-predicted-sales-figures
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Sad, sad, sad news today dear gamers. Capcom isn’t quite rejoicing but core gamers certainly don’t have a reason to be happy, either. The results have been let loose regarding Capcom’s numbers and the poorly-reviewed Operation Raccoon City and the disc-locked content ridden Street Fighter X Tekken have sold extremely well.
Now, usually gamers should be happy that a game sells well because it means we get more of the same. However, this is not a good thing.
EuroGamer points out that Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City basically culminated in nearly 2 million units sold throughout March. The game was universally panned by any reviewer worth his salt and bad-mouthed by any gamer who unfortunately dumped $60 into the game.
While that’s bad news in itself, what’s worse is that Street Fighter X Tekken, a game that really needed to hit the bricks to get the point across that gamers do not and should not tolerate completed content stripped from the main game and re-sold from behind a pay-wall, actually managed to move 1.4 million SKUs. The pseudo-victory associated with the Better Business Bureau rating was just that…a pseudo-victory. Unfortunately, not enough people were made aware (mostly casual gamers) and bought the game on impulse instead of doing any research whatsoever.
This news definitely can put a damper in the spirits of core gamers because even though core gamers help move the industry, there are also tons of casuals who latch onto the popularity of established franchises and dump money into them because it’s the “cool thing to do”. Unfortunately, these kind of gamers are beyond the reach of websites like this, Forbes or VentureBeat where being informed about a purchase should come first before making a purchase.
The only good news out of this is that Capcom’s higher ups weren’t pleased with the fact that year-over-year net sales were down 16% compared to last year, and operating income fell 13% down to ¥12.3 billion.
Street Fighter X Tekken is due out this week for PC via Steam. Capcom has removed the “on-disc” DLC from the PC version of Street Fighter X Tekken to ensure that hackers won’t be able to access it until it becomes available for purchase later this year. And despite arriving two months after the release of the console version, Street Fighter X Tekken on PC will not have the pair-play feature nor will it be patched in. Thankfully, Namco’s Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will have local and online pair-play in scramble and tag-team modes, along with 50 plus characters right out of the box when it launches this fall.
Remember to spread the word: when Capcom’s disc-locked characters go on sale this fall with the release of Street Fighter X Tekken on the PS Vita, you and everyone you know must Hold The Wallet. Otherwise, instead of locking out 30% of the game’s content we’ll be paying $60 for 50% or worse yet, 75% of the game’s content locked behind a pay-wall.
Article source: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Gamers-Did-Hold-Wallet-Street-Fighter-X-Tekken-Sells-1-4-Million-42258.html
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