GameStop has ended online and in-store pre-orders for Fire Emblem: Awakening. Hopefully those of you who were interested the game already reserved the title. As some of you know, GameStop will be providing a Limited Edition art book with all pre-orders.
You may remember that GameCenter CX did a special episode with Satoru Iwata late last year. That segment featured Balloon Fight. Now GameCenter has returned with a new episode focusing on the same game – this time with the Wii U VC release.
Practically all of THQ’s major assets and studios have been picked up by other companies. The likes of Volition and Relic have new homes, but no one has acquired Vigil Games.
But hey… maybe Platinum Games could purchase the studio.
Platinum Games Atsushi Inaba tweeted today:
“In THQ studio and IP selling off auction, Darksiders is unsold? [We] wanna buy it…on the cheap…”
Could something actually come from this? Seeing Darksiders in the hands of Platinum Games would be both strange and possibly amazing.
This week’s Japanese software sales are as follows:
01./00. [PS3] DmC: Devil May Cry
02./01. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf #
03./00. [PSP] Digimon Adventure
04./02. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 #
05./03. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Best Price!)
06./06. [3DS] Inazuma Eleven Go 2: Chrono Stone – Neppuu / Raimei
07./04. [3DS] Tousouchuu: Shijou Saikyou no Hunter-Tachi Kara Nigekire!
08./05. [3DS] Paper Mario: Sticker Star
09./08. [WIU] New Super Mario Bros. U
10./07. [PS3] Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 #
11./09. [WIU] Nintendo Land
12./10. [3DS] Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb
13./12. [PSP] One Piece: Romance Dawn – Bouken no Yoake #
14./14. [3DS] Mario Kart 7
15./13. [PS3] Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Dubbed Edition
16./11. [PS3] Yakuza 5 #
17./15. [3DS] Magician’s Quest: Magical Town
18./17. [3DS] Pokèmon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity
19./26. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition #
20./19. [NDS] Pokèmon Black 2 / White 2
UK will be receiving LEGO City: Undercover on March 28. The news was shared during today’s European Nintendo Direct.
A March 18 launch had been previously confirmed for North America.
Rumor has it that SEGA will be announcing a new Sonic the Hedgehog title in February, with a release planned for mid to late 2013. Sonic Stadium suggests that a teaser could be sent out during “Hedgehog Day” on February 2, a day normally used to tease fans about the Blue Blur’s future. A full reveal could then take place later in the month.
Sonic Stadium posted a number of different details about the unconfirmed project. For a summary of the report, read on below.
– Name not final
– Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC, “next-gen” console versions
– PC/Vita versions will be identical aside from visual differences
– 3DS game will be like Sonic Rush
– Console version will feature switches between full 3D movement and 2D side-scrolling sections
– Multiple routes
– Each route in a stage will lead to one of two or three exits at the end that will each take you to a different stage
– You will always end up at the same final stage
– Final stage count hasn’t been decided, but devs will add at least 20 different ones, not including boss battles
– Begin the game with Sonic and unlock other characters by completing stages
– Doesn’t mean 20+ characters will be playable
– Each character has his/her own skills to help them progress in stages easier where others will have more difficulty or simply cannot ala Sonic 3 & Knuckles and the Sonic Advance series
– Ex: Sonic and Shadow can’t make it up a wall, but Tails can easily fly up there or Knuckles can climb, allowing them access to an exit Sonic and Shadow can’t reach
– Stages can be replayed with any character of your choice
– 3DS version “similar in idea, but smaller in scope”
– Developers are trying to fit all of the characters into the game, but it will feature far fewer stages
– There will still be many paths through stages, but it looks like every stage will only ever branch off into 2 stages
– SEGA has its best developers working on the games
– Game has been in the works since before Sonic Generations
– Out this fall/autumn or winter at the latest
Another fallout from THQ’s recent auction is the transfer of the WWE licence. IGN reports that it is now in the hands of Take-Two Interactive.
One thing to note: the rights were apparently sold outside THQ’s formal auction process. Exact details behind the negotiation are currently unknown.
THQ has sold off a number of its studios and assets to a variety of different companies.
Relic is now in the hands of SEGA. Volition and Metro are going to Koch Media. Crytek now owns Homefront, while Take-Two purchased Evolve. Finally, Ubisoft has agreed to acquire Montreal and South Park.
There’s one big studio missing here: Vigil, the team behind the Darksiders titles. Vigil and some of THQ’s other IPs are not included in the sale agreement, but they’ll still be included in the Chapter 11 case. The company hopes to find new buyers for these assets.
A lengthy letter from THQ chief executive officer Brian Farrel and president Jason Rubin can be found below.
