Year in Review - Q2
The quarter started with two new major hardware announcements: The PlayStation 2's new $100 price point and the Western launch of the DSi. However, the biggest news came in June at the reinvigorated Electronic Entertainment Expo. After two years of a scaled-down, insider-only format, the event returned to the large-scale spectacle that had attracted the world's attention from 2006 and before.
Natal brought Microsoft more than one kind of Kudo.
As was the case even during the "Min-E3" years, the big three console makers held press events to show off their latest wares. Microsoft was first out of the gate, with an event that trotted out the two surviving members of the Fab Four to promote The Beatles: Rock Band on the Xbox 360. That was followed by the rapid-fire unveiling of Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Halo: Reach, the overhauled Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Metal Gear Solid Rising--the first game from the franchise for the 360.
While each of those announcements would normally be top-story material, all were overshadowed when Microsoft unveiled its motion-sensing technology, Project Natal. As had been rumored, the camera-based system could sense movement in three directions to such a degree that it required no controller. Former Fight Night developer Kudo Tsunoda was brought out to show off the new tech with a dodgeball-like demo and a version of Burnout that could sense players' hands and feet as though they were driving an actual car. Microsoft also claimed that the device could recognize players' voices and faces--and even their emotions. As proof, the company played a pretaped demo from Fable creator Peter Molyneux in which an artificial boy, Milo, engaged in an entire conversation with a developer.
Nintendo was next up, giving what was considered the weakest presentation of the big three. It almost immediately announced New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a four-person, 3D sequel to the NES's seminal side-scroller. Next up was Wii Fit Plus, a customizable rerelease of the then-15-million-unit-selling fitness game with six new activities and 15 new minigames. (Including one based on…math?) Also unveiled were Golden Sun DS, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, and--in a smaller Q&A session with Shigeru Miyamoto--a new Wii Zelda game, due in 2010.
The Wii Vitality Sensor puts a Wii polygraph into the realm of possibility.
In terms of hardware, Nintendo brought out the Wii MotionPlus and its pack-in game, Wii Sports Resort, to show off how the add-on soups up the Wii Remote. Then it was on to the most bizarre item of the Kentia Hall-less E3 2009, the Wii Vitality Sensor. Worn on your finger, the add-on, which is still in the prototype phase, is designed to "visualize the invisible," according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. The executive said the product would help people relax by having them play games with their metabolism, but he offered no examples.
Last but definitely not least was Sony Computer Entertainment, which used its press briefing to "announce" the $250 PSP Go--three days after it was exposed by leaked video footage. As had been rumored, the handheld would forgo the UMD format Sony created exclusively for the PSP and become the first digital download-only dedicated gaming device.
Sony also used the event to unveil its own, unnamed motion-sensing system. Unlike Natal, Sony's tech uses light-emitting diodes mounted on special controllers in conjunction with the PS3's existing camera, the PlayStation Eye. A brief demo by Sony research guru Richard Marks showed how players could use real-world motion to swordfight, shoot arrows, paint, and crack a whip in-game. Games that use the system are already in development, and the add-on is expected to launch in spring 2010.
No, that's not a flyer from a 1990s rave.
With its hardware ducks in a row, Sony then touted an ambitious slate of PlayStation 3 exclusives, including MAG, Heavy Rain, God of War III, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, and Uncharted 2--which would sell more than 1 million units by year's end. The PSP was not forgotten, with Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Resident Evil: Portable. Sony was also packing a double shot of software surprises in the form of two previously unknown PS3 console exclusives: Rockstar Games' espionage action game Agent and Square Enix's new massively multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV. (The latter title will also be out on the PC.) It even got old-school by rereleasing the original PlayStation classic Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation Network in the middle of the expo.
E3 also saw Electronic Arts announce that it would be publishing APB, the new massively multiplayer online game from GTA creator David Jones. And Konami revealed that Hideo Kojima would oversee development of an all-new Castlevania game, Lords of Shadow, at Spanish studio Mercury Steam. The convention ended on a high note, with its organizers announcing that the 41,000 people in attendance and the rapt media attention had ensured there would be an E3 2010.
Sims creator Will Wright quit EA to form a think tank called Stupid Fun Club. Seriously, he did.
Unfortunately, not all news in the second quarter was good. Sims creator Will Wright left his longtime home at EA's Maxis studio, and the newly installed Atari president stepped down after his company reported a $319 million loss. In the US, the game market shrank all three months, with the NPD Group also reporting that presumed hit Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars had sold under 90,000 units--a major disappointment. Interplay revealed that its long-planned Fallout MMORPG deal with Bethesda was being terminated, and Konami abruptly dumped the provocative Iraq war shooter Six Days in Fallujah. Finally, Activision waited until the last day of E3 to file suit to block the release of former Vivendi Games title Brutal Legend.
Best of 2009: Q2 Timeline
April:
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Will Wright leaves EA, founds Stupid Fun Club
Sims and Spore designer leaves longtime home to establish "entertainment think tank" bankrolled by Electronic Arts.
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Bethesda terminating Fallout MMORPG deal - Interplay
SEC filing reveals that the Fallout 3 maker and IP holder is ending fallen publisher's massively multiplayer licensing agreement due to "failure to commence full-scale development."
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Chinatown Wars sells under 90,000 units in March
Raw sales numbers shows startlingly small DS debut for Grand Theft Auto series, but Take-Two and analysts confident of game's long-term success.
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NPD: Resident Evil 5 infects 1.5 million, March game sales sink 17%
Capcom's PS3/360 zombie apocalypse a big hit despite US game-industry nosedive; Halo Wars and Pokemon score, GTA: Chinatown Wars doesn't break top 10.
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RUMOR: UMD-less PSP2 due by early November?
Pulled podcast may have revealed that Sony will soon announce a new portable with a sliding front--and no optical disc drive.
May:
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Guitar Hero tops $2 billion, Activision Blizzard earns $981 million in Q1
Rhythm franchise only third series to top lifetime-sales milestone; COD4 sales hit 13 million; World Tour, Lich King top multiplatform, PC charts for quarter; MMORPG revenues more than $100 million per month.
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Thief 4 officially uncloaked
Eidos Montreal crafting the cutpurse Garrett's new adventure; release date, platforms, gameplay details still under wraps.
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NPD: US April sales slide 17%, DS tops 1 million
Second monthly double-digit decline trims US game sales to $1.03 billion; Wii Fit, Pokemon Platinum, Mario Kart Wii, Wii Play, Mario Kart DS, and New Super Mario all finish in top 10.
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3D Realms still in business, $20M Duke Nukem Forever bill revealed
Texas studio issues statement confirming elimination of game's team, but asserting its existence continues despite having had to shoulder massive development costs solo.
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RUMOR: Call of Duty: Cold Warfare next up for Treyarch?
Studio reportedly seeking "Vietnam War-era tunes, as well as Cuban, African, and Soviet Union music," pointing guerrilla warfare hot spots of '60s and '70s.
June:
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Motion-sensing camera, 360 MGS debut at Microsoft E3 event
E3 2009: Expo kicks off with news on Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2, Forza 3, Lionhead's new virtual friend, and more; Kojima announces all-new project will debut on 360.
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New Metroid, Mario Galaxy, Wii Vitality Sensor headline Nintendo E3 event
E3 2009: The Big N returns to the LACC, showing off New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus, Mario and Luigi RPG: Bowser's Inside Story, Golden Sun DS, more.
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PS3 motion controller revealed, God of War III due in March
E3 2009: Final Fantasy XIV due in 2010, Gran Turismo PSP and $249.99 PSP Go coming Oct. 1, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Team Ico's The Last Guardian, and Rockstar's PS3 exclusive Agent unmasked--full event live blog inside.
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E3 '09 tops 41,000, E3 '10 already booked
E3 2009: ESA declares trade show's return to large-scale format a success, will be back at the Los Angeles Convention Center June 15-17 next year.
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RUMOR: PS3 Slim, price cut due this fall, Xbox 360 Elite replacing Pro in September?
Reliable mole tells Ars Technica that Sony will introduce rumored model for $300--the same price Microsoft will allegedly slap onto its 120GB console.
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