Tagged: namco bandai

Dark Souls sells over a million copies in the West

020711_dark_souls_trailer_tAs part of Namco Bandai’s 2012 financial results, the publisher announced that it has sold over a million copies of Dark Souls in US and Europe. That’s 1.19 million on the PS3 and Xbox 360 to be exact. Sales in Japan aren’t included because it is published there by From Software in collaboration with SCEJ. The tally can only go higher with a pending release on PC later this year.

The company has also sold 1.07 million copies of Ace Combat Assault, 700,000 copies of Dragon Ball Ultimate Blast, and 690,000 copies of Soul Calibur 5.

East London gets a Soul Calibur makeover

A video of Shoreditch, London being given a Soul Calibur V-themed makeover was released today. Namco hired Jim Rockwell to create a graffiti mural in East London to celebrate the game’s release. The following time-lapse video shows off the entire process.

The game is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 tomorrow in the US and Friday in the UK.

Witcher 2 reviews rounded up, watch first 20 minutes

The Witcher 2 is finally out and reviews have started hitting the net. So, what’s it like? Amazing, according to reviewers. A highly improved sequel with high production values and intense graphics. What’s not to like? Below are a few reviews that have gone live. Expect more reviews in the coming days since most publications have only received their copies.

Also, if you’re still waiting for your digital download to finish or the game to arrive in your mailbox, you can watch the first twenty minutes after the jump.

Continue reading →

Namco: no plans for Enslaved sequel, still behind franchise

While Ninja Theory’s Enslaved was a hit with the critics, the game’s sales were disappointing. That hasn’t deterred Namco Bandai from supporting the game, though, as they are “still very much behind” the title.

This comes from the publisher’s UK marketing manager Lee Kirton, who, speaking in a recent podcast with Eurogamer, also stated that they currently have no plans for a sequel. He added that they’ve got plans to “keep pushing [Enslaved]… maybe to a market that hasn’t experienced it yet.”

Kirton also noted that the game’s disappointing sales comes from the fact that it was released at a wrong time. It has sold 730,000 units worldwide, according to Namco’s recent financials.

Ridge Racer gets PSN re-release

Get your racing cars ready, because Ridge Racer Type 4 is coming to town! The PS1 classic is hitting PlayStation Network next month for both PS3 and PSP.

It was originally released in 1999 to raving reviews. The game offers arcade-style drift racing that is synonymous with the series. The re-release features 48 cars, over 300 variations, eight tracks, two-player split-screen and enhanced graphics. No price was given.

A new Ridge Racer game is also in development for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. They are also making a Nintendo 3DS version.

Idolmaster 2 allows creepy men to turn young girls into idols

imgl04

The last five years has seen a ton of Idolmaster games unleashed on the masses, but it looks like the franchise has finally built up the courage to head to second base – Idolmaster 2 is making its way to Xbox 360 next year.

This time around, players will be charged with the task of turning three idols into national hits. Characters from past games will make their appearances. Not much else is known at the moment, but if you can digest bubblegum J-pop, then by all means head on over to the game’s official website for the first trailer.

Namco Bandai Acquiring D3

Gamesindustry.biz reports that Namco Bandai has upped its stake in publisher D3 to 95% and that it plans on acquiring the remainder of the company as well.

This includes D3’s development studio – Vicious Cycle – and the company’s US and European arms. Namco is doing this to bolster its position in western markets.

The site reports that D3’s operations will remain unchanged at the time and that development of its titles is ongoing and “will move forward as planned.”

BottleRocket Fires Back at Namco Bandai

Splatterhouse developer BottleRocket Entertainment was taken off the project by publisher Namco Bandai for “performance” reasons, according to the latter, but now the studio alleges that Namco was “inept” in its handling of the project.

BottleRocket has shot back, defending its performance record while accusing Namco of mismanagement.

"We too have to be careful of what we say since publishers have to worry about their ‘image’ and will sue small, independent studios who bark back at them too loudly," begins a BottleRocket statement issued to Gamasutra. It continues below:

Game development contracts are put in place to protect the publisher and their interests. Within these contracts are a series of defined game development objectives and goals called milestones. If a developer is under performing they tend to fail these milestones and have varying degrees of accountability placed upon them. Splatterhouse had been in development for over eighteen months and up to having the title taken away from us we had not missed any contractually defined milestones. So either there were no performance issues during that timeframe or Namco’s management of the title was inept.