Wire service AFP reports that last night's deadline for Take-Two shareholders to agree to EA's takeover bid passed without a peep from either side. Take-Two commented earlier Friday saying that the issue "is in [EA's] court." EA would not comment on the situation.
In non-business news, the AFP could've probably used an editor on staff who plays video games while reporting this story. Forget the semi-understandable error that it called GTA IV, a game with one of the best retail launches of all time, Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City Stories. Focus more on the fact that the AFP in reporting about GTA IV says, "Players score points with acts such as carjacking and killing prostitutes or police officers." Looks like Rep. Lee Terry and the AFP are getting their info from the same source.
Mobile games developer Gameloft recently spoke with 1Up about its remake of the elementary school computer room classic, The Oregon Trail. Gameloft's VP of Production Julien Fournials says the game stays true to the core gameplay, but some of the micro-management is out to make it "more accessible to the casual player." Wow, we had no idea The Oregon Trail was a hardcore game?!
Fournials explains that buying specific items at the shop is out, along with other resource management, to keep players moving. New additions are mini-games, more decision making, events, alternate routes and being able to watch your party die off one by one. Yeah, but can we name the youngest kid after the elementary school bully (like we did back then) and starve him to death ... or better yet, have him die of cholera?
It's quite surprising that a new Super Smash Bros. doesn't come out twice a year, considering how much money Nintendo could make off the franchise (not that the company needs the cash). However, as the video above shows, eventually Smash Bros. would start scraping the bottom of the nostalgia barrel for characters.
Some forgettable characters are mentioned like Bayou Billy and the Noid ... actually, the Noid was awesome! Anyway, we actually wouldn't mind seeing one of the Battletoads in a Super Smash Bros. game. Can you think of any characters who'd be perfect for Super Smash Bros. Rejects? Dig deep into the recesses of your memory and check the periphery for games you barely remember.
The website which reported that three Rock Band tracks would be packaged with the South Park: Season 11 DVDs has now taken that bit of info back. TVShowsonDVD.com says that a Paramount representative informed them the information was incorrect, but that there will be other bonus materials in the release. South Park's eleventh season had the infamous "Guitar Queer-o" episode.
Considering South Park had an entire episode about Guitar Hero, it would have been a little weird if the DVDs came with Rock Band downloads. However things got mixed up, it's a little sad to see the info turn out false -- unless the "bonus materials" end up being Guitar Hero III tracks.
Joystiq has just confirmed with the Entertainment Software Association that LucasArts is no longer a member of the organization, but will still feature at E3. "Today, we can confirm that one of our members, LucasArts, has decided not to renew its membership. We value each member of our association, but respect the unique factors that led to LucasArts' decision," ESA Senior VP of Communications Rich Taylor said in a statement (copied in full after the break).
Recently, Activision and Vivendi also left the ESA. We're currently seeking a statement from LucasArts and will update.Update: LucasArts has sent us a statement as well (full text after the break) confirming it is no longer with the ESA, but supports the organization's mission in the industry. LucasArts also confirms it will still attend E3.
It's a good thing that Microsoft got its gloating in about selling 10 million units in the US, because the Wii will not only hit that number, but probably surpass it this month. Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel did the math and found that the Wii currently sits at about 9.5 million units in the US. If Nintendo's console sells another 700k units (like it has been) this month and the Xbox 360 sticks to its 200k level, the Wii will blow right past its competition's US install base.
It'll also be interesting to see the impact Wii Fit has on the numbers when it launches next week. Microsoft can take solace in knowing that it can always fall back on saying the Xbox 360 still has the "largest global install base of any current gen, high definition gaming console" ... right?
Hopefully, people have been brushing up on their non-English. This week's Rock Band Weekly brings us the songs packaged with the European release of Rock Band. We've known for a while these tracks were coming as DLC, and Harmonix has seen fit to do it the week of Rock Band's European release. Also, all DLC available in North America should be available in Europe beginning May 20.
"Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen (160 MS Points / $2)
"Countdown to Insanity" - H-BlockX (160 MS Points / $2)
"Perfekte Welle" - Juli (160 MS Points / $2)
"Manu Chao" - Les Wampas (160 MS Points / $2)
"Hysteria" - Muse (160 MS Points / $2)
"Rock N Roll Star" - Oasis (160 MS Points / $2)
"New Wave" - Pleymo (160 MS Points / $2)
"Monsoon" - Tokio Hotel (160 MS Points / $2)
Le sigh, videos for all of next week's tracks can be found after the break. The DLC will be available next Tuesday and Thursday for Xbox 360 and PS3 respectively.
There are a little over 12 hours to go before EA's $25.74 per share deadline for Take-Two ends at 11:59PM EDT. Analyst Michael Pachter told Forbes (via GamePolitics) that EA started off too high with its $26 a share offering and should have started around $22 back then. Meanwhile, analyst Colin Sebastian tells the San Francisco Chronicle he believes the deal is going to get "hammered out," possibly at a higher price.
As of this writing, Take-Two's stock is trading around $27 per share, but EA could be buying up all those shares with its billion dollar loan for all we know. Word on the street is that something could happen Monday, but the only certainty right now is tonight's deadline.
Konami's fiscal year ending March 31 enjoyed a good rotation around the sun with $175 million in profit, an increase of 13% over the prior year. GameDaily reports the publisher saw revenues of $2.8 billion, thanks to numerous titles in Japan, Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii in North America and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 in Europe.
The company gave guidance that it expects revenues of $3.15 billion this fiscal year; probably due to a game called Metal Gear something and continued strong sales of its numerous franchises. We're certainly curious to see how Rock Revolution -- and its drums o' doom -- will do this fall.
Although this information has been reported on in one form or another, here's the condensed list of Sony's first-party titles coming out for PSP and PS3 in the foreseeable future:
Dates, titles and everything else are subject to change without warning. If it's LittleBigPlanet though, you'll probably hear quite a bit of whining from us first.
Apparently, rumble does matter to a lot of Americans. According to SCEA, the feedback-giving DualShock 3 had $10.9 million in sales during the month of April, meaning that about 200,000 Americans were ready to put down $55 for some vibration from their PS3 controller.
As we learned from our initial impression of the DualShock 3: Yes, it's worth it. We do know that the Sixaxis is on its way out, but at this point only the MGS bundles come with the DS3. We're still waiting for the "official" changeover to occur with regular PS3 consoles.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim says he's "happy" the company never got into the handheld market, explaining the division has plenty on its plate with the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. He goes pretty deep into the issue, almost shutting down the idea of the Xboy entirely by expressing Microsoft is happy to let Sony and Nintendo fight it out.
Kim believes mobile is more important for MS and Windows Mobile is a really "compelling opportunity" for the company. He explains that it's a way for the company to get into the arena without having to worry about creating more hardware. Microsoft has certainly learned that making good hardware isn't easy and can be hazardous.
Well, PS3 owners don't really have much to look forward to this week from the PSN update, but those with a PSP can try out the new Secret Agent Clank demo. Maybe we spoke too soon, some people might be interested in the Rocketmen expansion or the Dragon Ball Z demo. Don't forget that new echochrome levels are now available, although it isn't technically part of the PSN update, it seems worth mentioning here. Find the full NA update after the break.
The European PSN update is happily posted in the town square over at PS3 Fanboy.
OK, don't get too excited just yet. Videogaming24/7 translated a piece from JeuxVideo*, which states that Ubisoft's Michel Ancel allegedly confirmed Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been in pre-production for the last year. Apparently, 10-12 people have been working on the project, but the Ubisoft suits aren't sure whether to move forward.
Beyond Good & Evil has become the stuff of industry folklore at this point. A great game that just released at the wrong time and suffered terribly at retail for it. Even if this sequel rumor is true, it would still be years away from seeing release (sad face), but at least we'd eventually get to hang with Jade, Pey'J and Segundo once again.
*Internet cookies for the person that can give us a proper translation of the French story.
Nintendo has been ordered to pay $21 million to Anascape Ltd. for infringing on a patent with its Gamecube and Wii Classic controllers. The AP reports Anascape Ltd., a "small East Texas gaming company," also sued Microsoft, but that was settled out of court. Nintendo says it will appeal the decision.
A representative for Nintendo stated that no infringement was found in any of the Wii's motion-sensing technology and it expects that on appeal the award to Anascape will be reduced "significantly." Remember kids, if you want to stick it to some big corporation in the future and cash in, just make patents for everything imaginable.
