This Week in Games, February 8, 2008.
Transcript below:
Microsoft claims that the Xbox 360 is going to have the ultimate experience for Grand Theft Auto 4. Microsoft Game Studio boss Shane Kim says that from a content standpoint, the Xbox 360 "already owns GTA4," and Microsoft now wants to make sure that they own GTA4 from a launch and platform perspective.
"If you look back to the role of GTA III and what that played in terms of PS2's development ... it was huge in Europe. That's a great opportunity for us. We need to take advantage of it" Kim said.
April 29th is D-Day for the highly anticipated Rockstar sequel, which will see a simultaneous release on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Why is Microsoft focusing on "owning" the Grant Theft Auto experience? "Even though we've managed to do a good job in terms of getting the game day and date," Kim says, "people still, if you let things roll, will associate Grand Theft Auto as a PlayStation franchise. Which means we have to work really hard to make people understand that" it's not just a Playstation game, but can be experienced on the Xbox as well.
If GTA 4 is plagued with 22 minutes of install time on the Playstation 3, Microsoft may very well "own" the GTA franchise this console generation.
Sega-Sammy Holdings is going to lay off 400 employees as part of cost cutting measures following their continued company losses. The company has already closed 110 unprofitable amusement arcades and cut salary and bonuses for managerial staff.
The company revealed losses of almost JPY 15.77 billion, compared to a profit of JPY 49.38 billion a year earlier.
Activision has confirmed sequels of its most popular franchises. Beginning in 2008, Activision anticipates two Guitar Hero titles being released in the first fiscal quarter, with a third one later in the year. Activision also said it would be pushing the franchise harder in Europe where it faced a supply issue in the region.
The company also confirmed a sequel to the popular Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and that comes as no surprise as the game has sold well over 7 million units worldwide.
Also, following stiff competition from EA's Skate title, Activision promises an overhaul of the Tony Hawk brand, with executives promising innovation in the wake of consumer research.
Finally, Activision also announced that it is preparing a new Spider-Man and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance title, as well as a tie-in to the Jack Black movie "Kung-Fu Panda" and a sequel to Madagascar.
Stop the presses: Duke Nukem Forever finally has a solid release date ... well, not really. The website for the Dallas Business Journal claimed that Duke Nukem Forever was confirmed for a 2008 release on the PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3.
But ... no, wait, 3D Realms didn't actually confirm anything. George Broussard stated that "while we have internal targets, dates and goals, like every developer, we are not ready to share them." So, what's the official release date for Duke Nukem Forever? The same thing it has been for the past 11 years: "when it's done" said Broussard.
It's been 11 years now since we first heard about Duke Nukem Forever. Can we as an industry please move on already?
Speaking of moving on, here are the upcoming video game releases for the week of Feb 10, 2008. Check out the list here (thanks to GameSpot).