This information comes from Ubisoft’s latest financial report…
Fourth-quarter sales were slightly higher than the guidance of around €200 million issued when Ubisoft released its sales figures for the third quarter of 2009-10. This performance reflects the combined impact of:
? The accounting restatement of around €8 million in marketing cooperation expenses. These costs were previously deducted directly from the top-line sales figure but are now included in SG&A expenses.
? A strong increase in sales of Just Dance®, which, in the total fiscal year, sold-in almost 3 million units. This performance was particularly impressive as the game was only available on a single platform – the Wii™.
? The ongoing exceptional performance delivered by Assassin’s Creed® II which sold-in nearly 9 million units during the year.
? The launch of Red Steel® 2 for the Wii™, which received very good reviews and whose performance was in line with recently revised forecasts.
? Sales of Avatar that outstripped the most recent forecasts, notably on Wii™.
During the first four months of calendar 2010, Ubisoft’s gained market shares corresponding to 9.9% in Europe (versus 8.5% one year earlier) and 6.8% in the United States (against 5.3%).
Sherlock Holmes And The Mystery Of Osborne House, The Investigation Continues in Images
No time to rest for the greatest of the detectives! Frogwares and Focus are pleased to present new exclusive images of Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House, the famous detective’s first original case on Nintendo DS™. Discover these images that showcase some of the colorful characters that you will meet, and see a few of the numerous brain-teasers that you will have to solve during this big adventure!
Especially designed for Nintendo’s handheld system, you play as the famous detective Sherlock Holmes in this brand new big adventure and you will have to shed some light on curious events. When Queen Victoria’s genealogical records are stolen, the Royal Family decides to put you in charge of the case and asks you to solve this strange mystery.
SAN FRANCISCO – May 18, 2010 – Today Ubisoft announced the release of Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands™ for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, the Wii™ system from Nintendo, the Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DS™ systems – all now available on store shelves. Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands™ expands the Prince of Persia universe with a new storyline, the introduction of new characters and epic new powers over nature and time. The game takes place between Prince of Persia® The Sands of Time and Prince of Persia Warrior Within™.
Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system, Wii, and the PSP system versions. The DS version is rated “E 10+” for Everyone aged 10 and up. The game carries an MRSP of $59.99 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system, $49.99 for Wii, $39.99 for PSP system, and $29.99 for Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi.
Hudson Soft
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??2010-025222 ??????????????? (Jaseiken Necromancer)
??2010-025223 ?????? (Power League)
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NBGI
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??2010-023747 ?????????? (Dressing up Collection)
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SQEX
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??2010-023679 ?????? (Warriors of Light and Darkness)
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Sega
??2010-022754 ???? (Tenma Taisen)
??2010-024291 ????? (Makaoden)
Temco
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Koei Temco
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Kadokawa Games
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Game Republic
??2010-025320 ????????? (Dragon Hunters)
Level-5
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Konami
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This information comes from GameFly editorial director Garnett Lee, who was speaking about Capcom outsourcing existing franchises to western developers on the latest Weekend Confirmed podcast…
“Boy, their E3 bombshell puts that to test. I’m not going to spill it because I don’t want to make anyone mad, but boy their E3 bombshell puts that to test.”
There are definitely several possibilities this game could be about. I just hope it ends up on a Nintendo platform!
Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects (US) – DSiWare
Bloody Good Time (EMEA) – PC/360/XLA
Dance on Broadway – Wii
Galaxy Racers (EMEA) – DS
Heroes of Might and Magic (China) – Web-based
Imagine Animal Doctor Care Center (US) – DS
Master All Classics (EMEA) – PS3 PSN
Master All Classics – (iPhone)
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – (360 XLA/PS3 PSN)
My Chinese Coach – (iPad)
Prince of Persia Clasic – (iPhone)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – (360/PS3/Wii/DSi/PSP/PC)
Pure Futbol – (360/PS3)
Silent Hunter (US) – iPhone
Splinter Cell Conviction (360/PC)
Sports Collection (EMEA) – DS
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction (360/PC)
Voodoo Dice (PS3 PSN/PSP PSN/360 XLA/WiiWare/PC)
Voodoo Dice (EMEA) – iPhone
nintendo3ds.com
nintendo3ds.fr
nintendo3ds.de
nintendo3ds.co.jp
nintendo3ds.net
nintendo3ds.org
nintendo3ds.info
nintendo3ds.mobi
nintendo3ds.in
nintendo3ds.us
nintendo3ds.co.uk
nintendo3ds.se
nintendo3ds.be
nintendo3ds.eu
nintendo3ds.pl
nintendo3ds.gr
nintendo3ds.nl
nintendo3ds.at
nintendo3ds.ca
nintendo3ds.es
nintendo3ds.ru
nintendo3ds.ch
Hmm…This is starting to sound fishy. By no means does this news confirm Nintendo will keep the 3DS name for their next handheld, but with the trademarks we posted last night, it looks more likely. At least we’ll know for sure in less than a month!
Thanks to Guillaume for the tip!
– Koichi Hayashida acted as the director, was his first large-scale project
– Yoshiaki Koizumi (directed the original) served as the producer
– Takeshi Hayakawa was the lead programmer again, Kenta Motokura was the the lead designer
– Right after the development of Galaxy 1, Miyamoto told the team they should make another game because the basic systems were already created; Iwata said this was similar to Majora’s Mask following Ocarina of Time
– The team wasn’t entirely eager to start the project; A “reflection meeting” was held about the original, Koizumi wanted people to focus on positive things at the meeting
– After the meeting, Koizumi suggested Mario Galaxy 1.5 to Miyamoto (using same sphere forms and adding new things here and there)
– Among the staff, Galaxy 2 was also called “Motto Super Mario Galaxy,” or “More Super Mario Galaxy” in addition to Galaxy 1.5
– At first, Hayashida and Motokura felt they wouldn’t have any ideas for the sequel because all of their ideas were used in the original
– Yoshi’s inclusion was decided early on; He was going to be in the original (see image above), but the developers believed there were many elements in the game already; Additionally, he would have only been in one level
– Hayashida felt more positive after Yoshi was decided on
– Yoshi’s ability to eat objects by pointing the Wiimote was also an early decision, though his pulling ability came later; Miyamoto believed it’d add charm to the game; It was originally going to be used in one area in Galaxy 2, but it was later decided that it would become a natural ability in all stages and Yoshi was then able to defeat enemies
– Many people’s ideas were combined to make Yoshi better; Some even believed Mario shouldn’t ride Yoshi
– Yoshi’s sounds were re-recorded by Kazumi Totaka, first time in ten years
– Starship Mario put in the game midway through development; Came from a design document made by Koizumi five years prior; He wanted a Mario face planet in the original
– “Switching” idea was more ambitious originally: Push a switch, world will change drastically; Was very difficult to implement as it would need to match up with everything else in the game; Developers knew it’d be difficult based on Majora’s Mask Three Day System
– Elements from “switching” are in the game with the red/blue panels, switches to slow the world, and blocks switching periodically
– Miyamoto was interested in having Mario go through holes and emerge on the other side of a world in Galaxy 1; Drill power-up came from the idea that it is necessary to fully take advantage of spheres; Two months of testing used to find out ways to make the drill interesting for gameplay
– Many developers, including visual/sound designers, had level ideas
– Tools were created so that staff could make their own levels without programmers; Could make their own stage, put enemies where they want, etc.
– Designer created the Rolling Pillar Stage in one week, which is used in the game (with some changes)
– Hayashida received daily level requests for 2.5 years; Iwata thinks this contributed to the amount of gameplay elements in Galaxy 2
Thanks to Thomas N for the tip!
