Damage Control

It was only 24 hours ago when Nintendo confirmed there would be a worldwide Nintendo Direct for the Wii U summer lineup -- though the always-lovable Nintendo of America announced they would feature some 3DS games too. The initial announcement of one happening a few weeks before E3 got some excited, but that quickly diminished when we heard it was only for the summer lineup, and little more. It was later confirmed that a future Nintendo Direct around E3 would feature titles beyond that release period, so everyone was expecting warmed-over news for this one. It was the rare occasion of most adjusting their expectations accordingly.

 

(And many of them were probably still disappointed with this.)

 

The Direct started off nice with the announcement of Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (whew!), coming in time for next year’s Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This is the first game in the series to have the benefit of being in HD on Wii U, and features activities like skiing, figure skating, and curling. Depending on the activity, you’ll use the Wii U Gamepad or the Wii Remote for controls. They didn’t give a release date, but expect it to arrive around the time the Olympics take place, which is during February 2014. Let’s just hope they have the framerate issues visible during the presentation fixed by then.

 

Additionally, you might have recently seen news that a game called Sonic: Lost World was trademarked. It was announced that it’s coming exclusively to Wii U and 3DS. They didn’t have the game here to show, but it’s the kind of title they might need for the holiday season. This and the aforementioned Olympics game are part of an exclusive partnership with Nintendo for three exclusive Sonic games, coming only to Nintendo platforms. The third game will be revealed eventually.

 

While us westerners were watching this, Yakuza 1 & 2 HD were announced for Wii U during the Japanese direct. Yes, this is the same collection that released for PS3 last November, though this one will have off-TV play. It’s far from a big announcement, but it’s worth noting that this is the first time the Yakuza franchise has left Sony systems.

 

Remember when Game Gear games were releasing at a steady pace on the 3DS eShop Virtual Console? Well, Nintendo wants to go back to that by offering a bunch more in the near future. There were no dates to share, though.

 

Fair warning: those were the only new announcements, so you’ll want to lower your expectations for the rest.

 

Everything else was about upcoming games releasing this summer for 3DS and Wii U. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages & Seasons hit the eShop on May 30th for $5.99 each. But there’s a twist: if you buy them before June 20th, you can get them for $4.99 each. That’s $2 of savings! (Possibly negated by sales tax, depending on where you live.) Also, did you know Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move was now available on the eShop, and that Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is coming in a week? These were your reminders, but they had nothing new to share on either title. The same goes for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, though Nintendo’s Treehouse is providing videos on the company’s Youtube Channel about the localization process.

 

As for Wii U games: Game & Wario is coming on June 23rd, and is packed with mini-games for the low, low price of $39.99. The HD version of Resident Evil: Revelations also arrives next week for Wii U (and everything else), in case you forgot.

 

New Super Luigi U is coming soon, containing redesigned levels from their New Super Mario Bros. U counterparts. Since Mario won’t be in attendance here, Nabbit, a character introduced in NSMBU, will make his playable debut. If you were someone who thought they’d introduce a female character, then you’re going to be disappointed; please enjoy the fifth male playable character for the franchise. The game will release as DLC for NSMBU on June 20th for $19.99 in America, but it will also be available in a standalone package on August 20th for $29.99.

 

It’s been a long wait, but Nintendo finally announced a release date for Platinum Games’ The Wonderful 101. It’s hitting Japan, Europe, and America on August 24th, August 25th, and…September 15th, respectively. You might ask why America has to wait three weeks for no ostensible reason, but the answer to that is “Nintendo of America.” Not to mention the American date is only two days before Grand Theft Auto V. Someone is not good at scheduling.

 

The last game Nintendo had to present was Pikmin 3, which is releasing soon. What followed was a lengthy presentation on what the game presents, including the announcement of three new characters named Alph, Brittany and Charlie. All of them are capable of recruiting Pikmin, and tasks in each level will be divided between them. The game will also have multiple control options for your comfort -- unless you’d like to use the Wii U Pro Controller, that is.

 

The Direct closed with NoA Chief Operating Office Reggie Fils-Aime reminding people that E3 is coming up. He announced that the company has partnered with Best Buy to bring exclusive demos to Wii U kiosks in multiple stores around the nation. This would have been a huge announcement around a decade ago, but these days it’s the kind of thing that makes many shrug their shoulders. It’s not a bad decision, because they want to sell the system to people who don’t own the console yet. But they should have gone the extra mile and offered those demos for people who own the system to download from the comfort of their own home, too. This doesn’t have to be an either-or scenario.

 

There wasn’t much of a point to this Nintendo Direct; it was the “Hi, we’re still here!” installment. They knew this, and they told us that by announcing another Nintendo Direct in the future in tandem with this one. So look forward to that in the coming weeks.

What would be the first image that came to your mind if you heard a Japanese developer was making a so-called “Galapagos RPG?” No one would know what that meant upon first reading it, but it’s a new brand being established by otaku-oriented RPG developer Compile Heart. And those of you familiar with geographic locations might think it’s about an RPG based around the Galapagos Islands, but no, it has nothing to do with that. (And honestly, that sounds far more interesting than most titles in Compile Heart’s catalog.) We’re talking about a developer known for the Hyperdimension Neptunia and Mugen Souls games. The brand itself refers to RPGs tailored specifically towards Japanese tastes. The “Galapagos RPG” phrase itself refers to development isolated from any influences from the west. That’s enough to get some people panicking.

 

Then what would you think upon hearing that classic Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano is on board for the project? And then what would you think upon hearing the Earthbound Papas are on board for the soundtrack? That’s a band led by, wouldn’t you know it, classic Final Fantasy music composer Nobuo Uematsu. The band also consists of other music composers, including Yoshitaka Hirota, of the late Shadow Hearts franchise (unless you count pachinko games as living, which I don’t). This news either filled you with happiness or dread.

 

And then there's the game itself.

 

That doesn’t look like anything Amano would be associated with.

 

The earlier news was a little deceptive. The character designs are actually being done by Tsunako, who provided designs for the Neptunia titles and Cross Edge. The game itself doesn’t even have any of Amano’s traditional aesthetics, so it appears he’s just providing some illustrations for the game on the side, and giving the main artist some advice. He mentioned to Kotaku in October that he wanted to be involved a project with cute girls, so he got his wish. It’s possible he was already involved with this game at that point, considering how far in development it looks -- though it’s not like these games take long to make.

 

The story is about characters who come upon special weapons called “Furies,” the last remains of an ancient war between gods and goddesses. Those who wield them are called “Fencers,” like our young, strapping protagonist, Fang. Shortly after becoming a Fencer himself, he rescues a female Fencer named Tiara -- that’s the girl in the screen shot above. There was also another heroine named Alyn introduced, who also looks like the kind of character you’d find in a Neptunia-like game. There’s another lady with black hair included in some old Famitsu scans, but she hasn’t been introduced yet. Looks like our protagonist will stumble upon his own harem, and subsequently engage in wacky hijinks. Exciting stuff!

 

In keeping with the style, the battle system is an enhanced version of the one seen in Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory. It’s reliant on combos and magic, like many other RPGs, but there’s also an element where characters can power up their “Fury” to unleash special attacks. There aren’t many details on all the intricacies of the battle system, as the “System” section on the official website is still greyed out.

 

Yeah, none of these features really explain why this game needs to be part of some new, special branding, because it looks and sounds like other games Compile Heart has released -- especially in the last few years. Unless they have something more to reveal about that, which is unlikely, it’s probably just marketing jargon. Fairy Fencer F releases sometime this year in Japan, only on PS3. You can see all of the characters I talked about, along with more screens, on the official website. As for a localization: don’t be surprised if NIS America is already eyeing this game.

The HD version of Resident Evil: Revelations is making its way out on consoles (including Wii U!) and PC next week worldwide. Now was as good of a time as ever to provide a demo through digital channels. While anyone who’s experienced the 3DS version for a good amount of time will check it out to see how the graphics have been blown up for the HD version, you’ll also want to know that the content is taken from a different section than the downloadable one on that system. It’s actually similar to the demo that came with Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D.

 

This demo still takes place on a ship, and happens earlier in the game than the 3DS version. Both Jill and Parker have arrived on a ship looking for Chris and Jessica, but stumble upon something else entirely. While the backdrops have greatly benefitted from getting an HD makeover, the character models look incredibly rough -- especially during cutscenes. They really stand out compared to the creatures you encounter, who have been given a huge graphical facelift. The game looks nice and clean, but don’t expect something that looks as good as Resident Evil 5 or 6, despite the fact that Capcom is charging almost as much as they cost at launch.

 

Funnily enough, the Mercenaries demo was widely regarded as worse than the downloadable one. Why they chose this section for the HD version’s demo is a mystery; and after playing through it, I can see why most don’t think much of it. It has Jill running through a number of empty environments filled with the same kinds of enemies, giving it a boring and repetitive feeling. It, according to them, is an inaccurate representation of the final version. They might have chosen this section because the 3DS downloadable demo had an admittedly gimmicky touch screen-required section, but that wasn’t anything they couldn’t mimic on the control pad.

 

The controls have been modified a little. This version provides modern third-person shooter-like controls without the need of a bulky attachment, and adds the ability to strafe while aiming, similar to RE6. This should make some more intense fights easier to deal with. If you don’t like that, then there’s a “Classic” controls mode available so you can play it like Resident Evil 4 or 5. What’s not here, for some silly reason, is a classic aiming mode that allows the player to use a laser pointer for aiming assistance instead of a crosshair. This was a curious decision, considering the 3DS version offered it, and how RE6 offered both options.

 

And it was when playing the RE6 demos that many of us compared aiming with a laser and crosshair, and the former was far more accurate. The final game was the same way, to the point that no one recommended using the crosshair option. But for some reason, that’s the only option here. And this, along with the problems about the section they used I went into above, makes me wonder if they actually listened to previous impressions from fans. And if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s a noticeable dead zone that makes aiming precisely much more difficult than it should be. Couple that with some enemies that are bigger bullet sponges than in previous games, and it could make even the smallest encounters frustrating. Thankfully, there are plenty of herbs in the demo to heal yourself if you make a mistake, but that may not always be the case in the full game.

 

Hopefully Capcom patches more options in for aiming, but really, the option to choose should have been in there in the first place. It seemed like the company was improving after their string of bad decisions in the last few years, but here we have more pieces of evidence that they haven’t. (And making Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies an eShop-only game might be another.) They can’t keep this up for much longer, or something is going to give.

I hope you guys will forgive the month-late Flashback 14th column.  Then again, I don't think I have too many fans, so I've probably not disappointed very many of you.  In fact, there was probably celebration in the streets when I missed posting one of these last month.  "I think he's finally given up this time, he hasn't written a column or review since April 1st!  We're finally rid of the jerk!"  Well, I'll make it up to you/torture you further by posting another on the 28th.


Every now and then a game company realizes that they're hemorrhaging fans and they create something that seems to do nothing but speed up the process.  About a year ago, Final Fantasy XIII-2 was released and I don't think even hardcore fanboys are defending the series now.  And then coming this autumn will be Lightning Returns, the latest entry in a decade of over-marketing for what was once one of the best brands in video gaming. 

It was 2003 when the cavalcade of Final Fantasy spin-offs and sequels started and while spin-off games had existed in the past, they were never pushed with the kid of fervour that started when Squaresoft chose to publish, within the span of a year: direct sequel Final Fantasy X-2, spin-off Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, semi-sequel Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and the Final Fantasy XI expansion pack Rise of the Zilart.  In the decade since then, the series has gotten even more sequel-happy.  The entire Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was a series of sequels and prequels released in relatively quick succession, and while it's good that we got to visit The Planet (or "Gaia" as it's later been called) again, the only decent entry of the bunch was the prequel Crisis Core, which covered events that we could pretty much infer from the original game.  Then came the Final Fantasy XII RTS sequel Revenant Wings, marketed as a chapter in the arbitrarily rebranded "Ivalice Alliance," as well as the Final Fantasy IV episodic sequel and forays into mobile gaming, like with All The Bravest.  When last year, Final Fantasy XIII-2 was released, it illustrated perfectly the two biggest problems that gamers have with the current state of the Final Fantasy brand.

It's NHL playoff time in the real world. To celebrate, I'm reviewing a hockey video game each week until Lord Stanley's Cup is awarded. Our first stop this season? The NES, of course. Haven't you read any of my work?

Coming in 1988 1991 (oops), Wayne Gretzky Hockey had three years to improve on not only the NES hockey formula, but also it's own formula from it's prior release as a computer game. TL;DR: It didn't.

Wayne Gretzky Hockey was a hot license, but a cold port. A number of features were stripped away in the transition to the NES, and the graphics took a bit of a hit as well. Given it's focus on simulation-style hockey — a style nonexistant on consoles to this point — it's hard to justify this game with these cuts.

The menu system is cumbersome, and uses odd controls. The A button cycles through choices, the select button changes categories and only the start button advances.

The game only presents 10 teams to choose from. While it managed to not select any of the teams that no longer exist today, having fewer than half the league represented made for a poor showing. Even worse, Origional Six members Detroit and New York didn't make the cut!

While the teams are made up of real-life players on real-life rosters, there's no way to determine who is who while playing until one of them scores a goal or gets dragged off by the referee.

And speaking of reffing, real-life penalties do make an appearance here. The very first match I ever played in this game had me down to 3-on-3 hockey before a minute had ticked away in the first period.

A nice touch is mostly-authentic referee motions shown on the jumbotron to announce penalties, though I've yet to see anything but tripping and hooking called when you aren't mashing the A button to manhandle another player.

That being said, you don't have much control over what you or your teammates are doing to get a penalty. Oftentimes, it's as simple as bumping into some other guy on the ice.

The computer has full control over all your teammates. They will move in and out of the zone, make passes and even take shots with no input from you. You can use the B button to call for a pass, but you had best be in an open lane; anything close to contact with another player will divert the puck from its path.

Can you tell which blue-wearing team is the Bruins and which is the Maple Leafs? This game might have come out in 1991, but it has the color palette of a NES game from 1985. Man, they could have at least made the Bruins black if it couldn't muster the space for yellow sprites.

Unlike Ice Hockey, the rink and the players (not to mention the net) are more-or-less to scale. However, with the view so far away, you'll need pixel-perfect precision to avoid offsides on the rush or skating past the puck instead of touching it for icing calls.

While even in its crippled form, Wayne Gretzky Hockey does posses stronger simulation elements than its 1988 rivals Ice Hockey and Konami's Blades of Steel, that competitive advantage isn't strong enough to help. Its dull colors, tiny graphics and loose controls doesn't light the fire in my belly. This one ain't so great.

Ever since Ace Attorney 5 was officially announced for 3DS in Japan, which was a little before Tokyo Game Show in September 2012, it was confirmed by Capcom’s western offices for a release in America and Europe. But the uncertainty manifested when there was no press release or trailer to come with it, despite Japanese websites being inundated with videos and screens. And you can’t blame anyone for being unsure, given how Capcom has been lately -- especially with damage controlling precisely why Ace Attorney Investigations 2 didn’t make it outside Japan. We even got to the point where it received a release date in Japan, for July 25th.

 

But now that saga has come to a close: Capcom officially confirmed the game today, which will be called Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney -- Dual Destinies. The name could be a reference to the ability to play both Phoenix and Apollo, though it could easily be for something else they want to keep secret for now. The game itself is coming sooner than many expected, too: it’s releasing in both western territories this fall.

 

The trailer and screenshots provide a taste of some localization changes being made for the western version. Phoenix and Apollo’s assistant (and prospective partner) will be known as Athena Cykes, who is an Associate Attorney. Her special power is being called the “Mood Matrix,” which gives her the ability to detect the emotional state of a witness. You’ve probably seen these in previously-released Japanese screen shots, visualized by having four possible facial expressions on the touch screen. Additionally, Winston Payne’s little brother will be fittingly called Gaspen Payne; and like his brother, he’ll be prosecutor in the first case.

 

And with one saga ending, another one begins: the PR also states that it’s coming only as an eShop title. Naturally, this has quite a few fans upset for varying reasons. You have a subset of people who don’t mind having digital games, but would much rather purchase their games physically. There’s a stronger feeling of ownership with having a physical copy, and though we’re in a market that’s moving towards digital goods, you’ll still find plenty that would rather own a tangible product. But these same people are glad that we’re getting the game at all, and will likely buy this game upon release. It’s better for the game not to go the way of AAI2.

 

But then you have a subset that would rather stick to their guns and not purchase the game at all, because they’d rather not invest any money into Nintendo’s digital initiatives. This is a valid viewpoint to take, since for some godforsaken reason, Nintendo’s systems still don’t have dedicated accounts. With digital systems like Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and iOS, you have a dedicated system where you can easily move digital purchases from one system to the other. Nintendo systems, though, tie games to the actual device. That makes it difficult for a person to retrieve a game if their system is lost or stolen.

 

You have to wonder why Capcom is taking the digital-only route, though. Kotaku asked them, and responded with the kind of B.S. response that only Capcom is capable of delivering. They’re likely doing it because they want to be as low-risk as possible with this release, to prevent them from spending money on making a retail packaging, manufacturing and distribution. It’s also likely because 3DS hardware and software sales aren’t anywhere near as good in the west as they are in Japan. This plan could work out for them, but it could backfire if enough fans are unsatisfied with the release format, or if their expectations are unrealistic.

 

It’s also possible this decision was influenced by Capcom’s recent, dire financial report. Constantly missing sales expectations for physical goods and stuffing distribution channels is bound to piss of some retailers.

 

It’s not the most optimal release situation, but it’s better than not getting the game at all. It doesn’t seem like we’ll have much of a choice in the future.

If you played video games during the 90s, you were well aware of the Tomb Raider franchise. Here we had a series that went well and beyond most others by being a phenomenon for gaming. And both developer Core Studios and publisher Eidos Interactive knew this, which is why they made a new game every year. This was, sadly, a fantastic way to make the public sick of the series, and led to sizable drops in both sales and quality. You couldn’t find many that could tell you what happened at the end of The Last Revelation and Chronicles at the time.

 

This same audience wanted to give the franchise another go in a new generation with Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. It sure seemed like it would restore balance to the franchise ostensibly; but it wasn’t until playing it that we realized it was the most haphazardly assembled installments in the series. The game sold well, but it took its toll on the franchise; and that sadly included future installments developed by Crystal Dynamics, which were far more deserving of the sales. And those who gave the franchise another shot on PS2 certainly didn’t on current generation consoles with Tomb Raider: Underworld.

 

Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Interactive -- who was purchased by Square Enix during its development -- felt they had no choice but to reboot the franchise with Tomb Raider, which released this year after a lengthy development time. Though it seemed (and, in a way, still seems) like a prequel to the previous games, considering it stars a young and inexperienced Lara Croft, it actually disregards the previously-established canon and starts a new one. It’s a Lara Croft who has to venture through a hell-on-earth scenario, one that will make her stronger by the end.

 

Though everything seemed fantastic on the surface, longtime fans and those who enjoy 3D action/adventure games (a genre the original Tomb Raider helped popularize on consoles) weren’t happy with some of the changes. The new Tomb Raider focused more on action and set-pieces than its predecessors, in what appeared to be an attempt to make it more like Uncharted -- a series of games (incorrectly) accused of being a Tomb Raider clones before the first game took off, ironically. Those who were hoping for the new title that would retain the heavy exploration and platforming elements were feeling left out. And when they realized there weren’t any other franchises that focused on those missing elements, that isolation turned to frustration.

 

There were also some awkward moments thanks to the game’s developers talking too much, and phrasing things awkwardly. The talk about protecting Lara Croft was one of last year’s biggest PR disasters.

 

Despite some not liking the direction it took, others found a game that was mechanically sound, one that accomplished what it set out to do. Even some who were highly skeptical of it ended up enjoying the final product. It received a plethora of critical appraise, and quickly became one of the best-selling titles in the series. It’s hopefully proof that the Tomb Raider franchise his here to stay, and that Crystal Dynamics will have some job security while they expound upon the story and gameplay features this title established in a sequel. Perhaps they could also implement some of the ideas from the multiple scrapped versions of this game.

 

You may notice some uncertainty in the last paragraph, despite its success. That’s because despite its sales setting records, it still didn’t meet Square Enix’s hilariously-lofty expectations. According to their financial sheet, they were hoping for it to sell 5-6 million copies between America and Europe by the end of March -- in less than a month. That’s way too much to ask for any game, especially a reboot of a franchise on consoles that are on their way out. Despite that, it’s tough to imagine them not green lighting a sequel, since, well, what else do they have? Besides, someone in the company probably realizes that whoever set those expectations was a loon. Or is that expecting too much?

 

Origin stories are almost always interesting, regardless of whether people end up liking them or not. But the direction the storytellers take after this installment will also be worth paying attention to. Let’s just hope the game doesn’t take as long to make this time, though.

To call Capcom’s last year “interesting” would be an understatement. After underwhelming sales of Street Fighter x Tekken, a game they were expecting to ship 2 million of, hopes were high for their software sales in the past fiscal year. (And don’t worry, they blamed everyone but themselves for the game’s failure to take off.) They had a plethora of potential hits, especially Resident Evil 6. It was a game whose predecessor, Resident Evil 5, sold 6.1 million worldwide, with no intention of stopping. And given all the elements they were jamming into the game, whose four campaigns were planned to include something for everyone, there was no way it wouldn’t sell big. And that’s why they were expecting to sell 7 million copies worldwide.

 

As for the ever-popular DmC: Devil May Cry, Capcom was expecting 2 million from the title. This was noteworthy because it was less than Devil May Cry 4’s total sales, even at the time. They were also expecting Dragon’s Dogma and Lost Planet 3 to hit 1.5 million and 1.4 million, respectively -- though the latter was delayed into this fiscal year.

 

7 million was a lofty goal for RE6 to hit, and they revised it down to 6 million after the game released in early October. It received a very mixed critical reception, which showed in sales in the following months. This forced them to lower their expectations again, to 5 million. In the end, they couldn’t even hit that, despite coming close. They revealed it was only able to sell 4.9 million. Surprisingly enough, they were mostly honest about the reasons why it didn’t sell. Capcom said the game sold well upon release, but sales eventually “plateaued.” The latter happened around the time opinions about how underwhelming some felt the game was spread around, causing curious onlookers to avoid it until it hits the bargain bin. Of course, they didn’t get into that.

 

But some bizarre damage control reared its head when the company was discussing DmC and Dragon’s Dogma’s sales. They claimed DmC “enjoyed stable popularity in overseas markets and posted solid sales.” While the game reviewed well, and most who played it enjoyed it, the game definitely didn’t sell to expectations. And they’re well aware of this fact, considering they lowered their expectations from the aforementioned 2 million to 1.2 million a few months ago. And it didn’t even make that, and sold 1.1 million worldwide. The latter title, they claimed, “became a greater-than-expected hit product in the domestic market, which has high profitability, and became an unprecedented million seller in the recent years as an original title.” That’s not entirely dishonest, but it’s a clever way of avoiding the discussion about how it wasn’t a strong seller in the west. And given how it had four years of development time, it’s tough to imagine whether it made its development budget back.

 

It’s possible this could be empty damage control from a company doing their best to make their financial status look good, but they must think some of their investors are really gullible.

 

Meanwhile, they’ve set some expectations for upcoming releases as well. They’re planning for Monster Hunter 4 (which is currently only set for Japan) to sell 2.8 million, while expecting the HD version of Resident Evil: Revelations and Lost Planet 3 to sell 1.2 million each. Those goals are far more realistic than their earlier expectations -- possibly conservative in MH4’s case. Revelations should be able to make that with some advertising, given how it didn’t find much of an audience on 3DS. Of course, quite a few of them are also (justifiably) gawking at the notion of paying $50 for a 1+ year port of a handheld game. LP3 will have the biggest problem hitting that; and if Spark Unlimited’s track record strikes again here, reviews could easily help it miss that target. The sales track of all three of these titles will be interesting to watch, and they don’t sell to expectations, I’ll have a follow-up article to write.

 

Also, did you Remember Me? As in, did you notice that the upcoming Remember Me, which they’re publishing, was left off the list? When a company of Capcom’s size tends to leave expectations for a certain title off a financial sheet, it means they’re expecting it to sell less than one million copies. They’d be out of their mind to expect that out of, say, Ace Attorney 5, but it’s tough to imagine Remember Me making its budget back at selling less than a million worldwide. Hopefully developer Dontnod Entertainment wasn’t hoping for this to be the start of a lengthy relationship.

 

So here’s hoping this financial year will be the start of Capcom getting back on track, in terms of their output quality and treating their fans with respect.

Former Assassin’s Creed creative director Patrice Desilets has been trying to escape Ubisoft for a while, and managed to do it in 2010 -- almost precisely three years ago. He left for a then-bustling THQ, who’d recently established a development subsidiary in Montreal. It seemed like he would be OK there, but fans noticed the drop in quality in the AC games developed without his oversight. Revelations introduced us to new elements to spice up the annual formula, but we weren’t happy about them being haphazardly implemented. And the less said about Assassin’s Creed III’s problems, the better -- though it’s tough not to mention how much of a glitchfest it was upon launch.

 

It was during this time when mass hysteria began to set in, due to THQs financial predicament. We’re part of a western gaming industry that’s moving towards nothing but AAA and low budget digital titles for the core gaming audience, one that’s almost-completely eliminated B-tier titles from the market. That’s bad, especially when those were the kind of games THQ (andmany other publishers) had plenty of experience with. They tried to go for the AAA market, and found themselves ruined financially. All of their individual studios were sold off or shuttered, but one that generated a sizable amount of attention was THQ Montreal being purchased by…Ubisoft. It was then that we learned about two games the studio was working on: 1666 and Underdog. Desilets had been trying to escape, only to end up right back where he was…

 

…but only for a short while. News came out Tuesday that Desilets left Ubisoft again, which gave onlookers the signal that he really didn’t want to be there anymore. But that report was inaccurate. Desilets himself later clarified on his recently-activated Twitter account that Ubi was the one that actually fired him, and he was escorted out the building before he could get his stuff. It sounds like he raised quite a fuss while he was there, which makes you wonder why.

The game "1666" was speculated to be based on the great fire that happened in London that year. We'll see if it ever materializes.

Following this, a rumor came out that both of the games THQ Montreal was working on have been cancelled (check the Game Informer link above), and that Desilets is trying to get the rights to those games. The more cynical among us (which includes me, I’m sorry to say) think that Ubisoft is merely going to use the studio to support other development teams, including making it yet another Assassin’s Creed developer. It’s not tough to imagine Desilets gawking and objecting to that idea, leading to his termination.

 

In a way, that’s kind of a shame. As mentioned before, anyone who played Revelations and III could feel the drop in quality, so having Desilets back could have put the franchise back on track. Ubisoft probably realized this too, and wanted this to happen. At the same time, that’s a pretty selfish request, especially if he doesn’t want to do that anymore. And if he really doesn’t want to do it, then his lack of enthusiasm will show in the final product. That’s not good for anyone, and apparently Ubisoft felt he wasn’t good for the company anymore.

 

And he wasn’t the only one. It would be a surprise if other staff didn’t object to Ubisoft’s decisions, and Desilets mentioned that former colleague Jean-François Boivin also got the boot. And like Desilets, prior to working at THQ Montreal, he worked at Ubisoft as production manager on the first two AC titles.

 

Really, this is a terrible series of developments. Here we thought those new IPs the studio was working on would be saved, and that Ubisoft would simply add them to their software repertoire -- even if they would have inevitably exploited them through annual sequels if they were successful. Now, we pretty much know they’re just going to use them for their existing properties.

 

And Ubisoft isn’t the only one doing this. Both EA and Activision have publically revealed they’ll be heavily banking on established franchises for next generation consoles. Everyone who said game budgets rising would lead to less creativity and fewer risks was right, as predicted. Hopefully other developers deliver on the digital front, and on other platforms, or we could be in for a dreary time.

 

Meanwhile, hopefully Desilets lands on his feet somewhere else, and that he can obtain the rights for the two properties he was working on -- even though it seems unlikely.

We’re currently living in the age of downloadable content, meaning you’ll find plenty of fighting game fans (both hardcore and casual) saying the notion of updated releases is outdated. Street Fighter IV managed to revive the fighting game scene in the west a little over four years ago to much celebration, but some thought Capcom was going to flush it right back down the toilet again with Super Street Fighter IV. And that’s despite the excuse that SFIV wasn’t built to receive DLC, meaning that content had to be released on another disc. Of course, this got much worse with titles like Blazblue: Continuum Shift Extend, which forced everyone to buy a $40 disc despite not having much more content than the previous version, and especially the more-popular Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which came too soon after the original.

 

Of course, Capcom’s solution to this ended up being jamming nearly $100 worth of DLC on the retail disc for Street Fighter x Tekken, which made some of us wish we never complained. And given how the game turned out, it needed an enhanced version more than any of the aforementioned enhanced versions.

 

The notion of releasing an enhanced iteration of a fighting game at retail is very Japanese-centric. Japan is still a retail-focused country, but standards have changed outside that market. It’s possible some companies will have to rethink how they plan to update their fighters, especially as it becomes tougher to compete for shelf space in certain stores.

 

But they’re not doing that just yet. Take Tecmo Koei and developer Team Ninja for instance. They just released an enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden 3, Razor’s Edge, whose content wasn’t available for owners of the existing game. Now they’re doing it for another one of their titles. Though it was mentioned that a new version of Dead or Alive 5 was coming at a tournament in Japan last weekend, the publisher officially announced that Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is on its way for PS3 and 360. The enhanced version of the game is planned for release in all territories this fall.

 

The company hasn’t announced all of the changes that will be made to the game, but the ones we’ve seen thus far are typical for a new version. Momiji from the Ninja Gaiden games will be joining the cast, whose techniques in the first (short) trailer look like a combination of Kasumi and (expectedly) Ryu Hayabusa’s -- along with some flair of her own. The same trailer also teases Leon at the end, so expect gameplay footage of him. There’s a new stage that should look familiar for anyone who’s played Ninja Gaiden 2 -- especially the Sigma iteration. It wouldn’t be farfetched to expect more balance changes, but whether this version will include the mountain of costume DLC is unknown. And given how much money the publisher is undoubtedly making off it, I’m going to guess that it won’t. In fact, they haven’t finished releasing DLC for the existing version.

 

(The trailer was originally uploaded to the official Tecmo Koei channel, but was subsequently set to private. Thankfully, others were able to grab and upload it on their channels.)

 

 Additionally, this version will have all the enhancements the Vita version, Dead or Alive 5 Plus, received. Also, Lei Fang has an outfit that gives her pigtails again; you know, if you’re concerned about that.

 

Not bad so far, but you’re going to have plenty of people saying these characters should have been in the original game, or could have simply been DLC. And they’re not wrong, unless they have much bigger things planned for this version they’re keeping secret for now. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Ein or some former boss characters made it in, but some new characters would be nice too. The original DoA5 was light on them, giving us only Mila and Rig. Hopefully there’s much more, or the fans that feel dejected at the moment are going to be more upset; provided they care at all.