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5 CommentsXseed rebranded as Marvelous USA, Inc following acquisition of Atlus Online
By Jenna Pitcher on May 07, 2013 05.07.13
Following its acquisition of Atlus Online from Index Digital Media, Inc this year, video game publisher Xseed Games JKS announced today that it has rebranded itself Marvelous USA. Based in Torrance, California, Marvelous USA comprises of the Xseed Games team. Under Ken Berry's management, the team will continue directly manage Xseed Games for future and planned Xseed Games titles for Windows PC, console and handheld platforms. The Irvine, California-based Marvelous Online will look after mobile and online social games, and Tatsuya Nishioka will be the division's senior director. There are a total of 40 staff across the two offices, both of which will be overseen by president and CEO Shinichi Suzuki. "Marvelous USA unifies our US operations under the global Marvelous brand while...
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17 CommentsSuda 51: sexuality in games shouldn't be so taboo, is an 'undercurrent' in Killer is Dead
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Apr 16, 2013 04.16.13
Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Suda 51 thinks sexuality may not deserve such taboo treatment in video games, and that a sexual undercurrent effectively expresses "a certain element" in his upcoming title Killer is Dead, he told Eurogamer. Suda noted that sexuality and related elements are treated differently in Japan than they are in Western cultures, whereas in the latter they tend to be more subdued. "I don't really use [sex] as something full frontal, but sexuality is a good way to express a certain element in the game," he said. "Maybe sexuality in games shouldn't be as big a taboo, but at the same time I live in a country where sexuality is pretty crazy." Killer is Dead's "Gigolo mode," where protagonist Mondo can complete various side missions revolving around interactions with a...
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15 CommentsKiller is Dead's episodic structure explained
By Matt Leone on Mar 28, 2013 03.28.13
At a hotel near the Game Developers Conference earlier this week, XSEED and Grasshopper Manufacture showed a boss fight from their upcoming action title Killer is Dead, and revealed new details on the game's episodic structure. Killer is Dead is the latest stylized action game from Grasshopper, serving as what an XSEED fact sheet calls a "spiritual successor" to the assassin-focused Killer 7 and No More Heroes, with a "high contrast shader" art style designed as an evolution of what Grasshopper was able to do with the visuals in No More Heroes. The gameplay this time around centers on main character Mondo Zappa, who carries a sword in his right hand and a bionic left arm (which he uses to shoot from a distance and perform contextual up-close maneuvers). The game takes place in an...
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2 CommentsSuda51: Grasshopper Manufacture joined GungHo because it doesn't want to be an "outsourced developer"
By Tracey Lien on Jan 31, 2013 01.31.13
Grasshopper Manufacture boss Goichi "Suda51" Suda sold his studio to publisher GungHo Online Entertainment because he wants the studio to be an in-house developer, according to an interview with 4Gamer (in Japanese). GungHo announced earlier this week that it bought Grasshopper, the developer behind games like Lollipop Chainsaw, No More Heroes and the upcoming Killer Is Dead. Both Grasshopper and GungHo confirmed yesterday that all projects that are currently in development will continue as usual and will not be affected by the studio acquisition. When asked why he chose to sell the studio, Suda said that up until now Grasshopper Manufacture has mostly worked with big clients and many of the difficulties it has encountered has resulted from its role as an "outsourced developer." He...
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3 CommentsXseed localizing Killer is Dead, Rune Factory 4 and more for North America in 2013
By Dave Tach on Jan 31, 2013 01.31.13
Xseed Games is localizing a series of action and role-playing games set for North American release in 2013, according to a press release from the publisher. The titles include Killer is Dead, from Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda51, which is slated for a summer 2013 release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Earlier this month, Xseed registered domains related to Killer is Dead but stopped short of confirming publication in a statement to Polygon. Xseed will also release Neverland Co.'s Rune Factory 4 on Nintendo 3DS this summer, confirming speculation that developed last November following a Facebook post. Today's announcement also confirms part of a previous report that the company would publish Marvelous AQL's Valhalla Knights 3 on Playstation Vita in fall 2013. Nihon Falcom's Ys:...
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3 CommentsKiller is Dead coming to North America and Europe this summer
By Emily Gera on Jan 31, 2013 01.31.13
Killer is Dead, the upcoming title in development from Lollipop Chainsaw's Grasshopper Manufacture and SUDA51, will receive a global release thanks to a partnership between publishers Kadokawa Games, Deep Silver and Xseed Games. Xseed is now slated to bring the futuristic action game to North America, while publisher Deep Silver heads distribution of the game in Europe and Australia. Grasshopper Manufacture was recently acquired by GungHo Online Entertainment; However, the company stated the development of Grasshopper's titles would not be affected by this acquisition. In Killer is Dead, players will take on the role of an executioner called Mondo Zappa, whose weapons of choice are a Japanese sword held in one hand, coupled with interchangeable weapons in his left, artificial arm. The...
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6 CommentsGrasshopper Manufacture's current games in development will not be affected by GungHo acquisition
By Tracey Lien on Jan 30, 2013 01.30.13
GungHo Online Entertainment's recent acquisition of Lollipop Chainsaw and Killer Is Dead developer Grasshopper Manufacture will not affect any games that are already in development, the publisher announced today. GungHo is the publisher of games like Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Odyssey and Dokuro. The company announced yesterday that it bought Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio behind the No More Heroes series, Shadows of the Damned, Lollipop Chainsaw and the recently announced Killer Is Dead. Today it confirmed that Grasshopper Manufacture will continue to operate under studio boss Goichi Suda and all titles already in development at the studio before the acquisition will not be affected by the deal. President and CEO of GungHo Online Entertainment, Kazuki Morishita (pictured above,...
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4 CommentsRagnarok publisher buys Grasshopper Manufacture
By Tracey Lien on Jan 30, 2013 01.30.13
Ragnarok Online and Dragon Saga publisher GungHo Group bought Lollipop Chainsaw and Killer is Dead developer Grasshopper Manufacture, it was announced today. Publishing a statement on its website (in Japanese), company GungHo Group said it is merging the planning and development power of Grasshopper Manufacture with the power of managing online games cultivated by both companies to produce high quality content. We have reached out to GungHo group for comment on how the acquisition will affect Grasshopper's current and future projects. An extensive interview (in Japanese) conducted by 4Gamer with Grasshopper Manufacture's Goichi Suda and GungHo's Morishita Hee can be read here. We will update this story as more information is available. Update: Comments from Goichi "Suda51" Suda...
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12 CommentsYakuza guys riding on tigers: Killer is Dead in detail, according to Suda51
By Kevin Gifford on Jan 23, 2013 01.23.13
Killer is Dead — the latest from Goichi Suda and his team at Grasshopper Manufacture — doesn't stray far from the Suda51 mold. Like the first trailer revealed, it's at once gory, hardcore, avant-garde, and silly — really silly. "One thing we got to do with this game," Suda told Famitsu magazine in this week's issue, "is you fighting against a yakuza guy riding a tiger. You're in Kyoto, among all these old-style buildings, and [hero] Mondo is on this motorbike fighting against a yakuza on a tiger! And the game's packed with these sorts of situations, the kind you won't see in any other game. That Kyoto battle got concepted out surprisingly early on, too; I guess we felt like overseas gamers ought to see what Kyoto looks like." "Silly" is perhaps a good way to describe a lot of...
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3 CommentsXseed Games registers Killer is Dead domains
By Dave Tach on Jan 22, 2013 01.22.13
Xseed Games, the North American publisher of Japanese games like Pandora's Tower and Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, has registered domains related to Killer is Dead, the upcoming game from Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, according to a report on Kotaku. Registration information for killerisdead-game.com obtained from Network Solutions and Estibot reveals that Xseed's one-year registration period began on Jan. 14, 2013. Xseed also registered two possibly related domains the same day: killandlove.com and loveandkill.com. Reached for comment, a representative from Xseed told Polygon: "Xseed Games cannot confirm that they are publishing Killer is Dead in North America." In Japan, the game will be published by Kadokawa Games. Goichi "Suda51" Suda, known for games like No More Heroes, B...
