News
2 CommentsNamco Bandai year-end revenue increases despite missing Tekken target
By Emily Gera on May 10, 2013 05.10.13
Publisher Namco Bandai has announced the financial results for the end of its fiscal year, stating that the company saw an increase in earnings throughout numerous sectors despite missing sales targets for both Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Tales of Xillia 2. According to the publisher, worldwide net sales increased by 7.3 percent to 487 billion yen (roughly $4.9 billion) — a comparative boost from last year's earnings of 434 billion yen. The company's net income for the year ending March 31, 2013 saw a 67.8 percent rise over last year, increasing from 19.3 billion yen to 32.4 billion yen (roughly $327 million). However, Namco Bandai notes it failed to meet shipping targets for a number of its titles. The company planned to ship 1.7 million units of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 but hit...
Deals
21 CommentsMicrosoft discounting over 60 Xbox 360 games in the Xbox Live Ultimate Game Sale
By Dave Tach on Feb 22, 2013 02.22.13
Microsoft will kick off its Xbox Live Ultimate Game Sale next Tuesday, Feb. 26, offering discounts of up to 80 percent on over 60 Xbox 360 Games on Demand, according to a post on Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb's blog. The sale will last through Monday, March 4. Major Nelson will reveal each day's deals, which are available to both Xbox Live Gold and Silver members, through his Twitter account. Games set to be discounted include: Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed 2 Batman: Arkham Asylum Batman: Arkham City BioShock Borderlands Borderlands 2 Call of Juarez Call of Duty 2 Call of Duty 3 Call of Duty: Black Ops Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 C...
News
7 CommentsTekken Tag Tournament 2 sold 1.3M copies worldwide in 9 months
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Feb 05, 2013 02.05.13
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was Namco Bandai's top selling game for the first nine months of its 2013 fiscal year, selling 1,350,000 units from April 1 to Dec. 31, 2012, according to recently released financial highlights. The company's second highest selling game, Soul Calibur 5, counted in at almost half with 870,000, followed by Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations with 660,000. Bringing up the rear were the company's Japan-exclusive games, including Tales of Xillia 2 (500K), Run for Money (450K) and Taiko: Drum Master 3DS (410K). Namco Bandai is reporting a gross profit of just over $138 million for its third quarter, a 112.4 percent increase from last year's $123 million. The company has increased its end-of-the-year net profit forecast by 6.5 percent, resulting in about $264...
Japan Review Check: Wii U launch edition
By Kevin Gifford on Dec 05, 2012 12.05.12
The Wii U finally launches on Nintendo's home turf of Japan Dec. 8, and this week's issue of Famitsu magazine reviews the entire launch lineup. All except for Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U. Why the omission? Who knows — Nintendo occasionally refuses to give advance copies of their big-name titles to the Japanese media for review, for reasons that are clear only to them. Still, the rest of the lineup is reviewed scored. Here are some of the juicier highlights: - Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (9/9/8/9, 35 points out of 40): "The biggest selling point is being able to enjoy the hunt in full-on HD, and I have to admit, the larger monsters really have a presence now. The interface and sound packages have also been improved, and the Wii U GamePad controls work well and make...
Deals
0 CommentsBest Buy Cyber Monday deals: Nintendo 3DS, Mists of Pandaria, more
By Samit Sarkar on Nov 26, 2012 11.26.12
Best Buy's Cyber Monday deals feature discounts on Nintendo 3DS hardware and software, as well as the Mists of Pandaria expansion to World of Warcraft. The big-box retailer is also offering an online-only deal on select games: buy one, get one 50 percent off. Here are a few highlights out of over 50 items on sale today: $19.99: World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Star Fox 64 3D, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D $23.99: Dance Central 3 $29.99: Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360/PS3) $20 off Nintendo 3DS ($149.99) or 3DS XL ($179.99) buy one, get one 50 percent off over 50 games including Halo 3: ODST, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Red Dead Redemption, Dead Space 2, Fallout: New Vegas, The Beatles: Rock...
News
0 CommentsTekken Tag Tournament 2 coming to Europe's PSN and Xbox Live Nov. 21
By Tracey Lien on Nov 15, 2012 11.15.12
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will be available for download in Europe on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live on Nov. 21, and the Wii U download will be available during the console's launch window. The game arrived on PSN and XBLA on North America this week and received three new characters – Dr. Boskonovitch, Violet and Unknown. The European version of the game will include the three characters, with Kunimitsu, Angel, Ancient Ogre and Michelle Chang unlocked for players who did did not receive them as pre-order items. The Wii U version of the game will be available shortly after the console's launch from the Nintendo eShop.
Feature
16 CommentsHow Wii U and Nintendo changed Tekken
By Ray Barnholt on Nov 14, 2012 11.14.12
Cos, play Cos, play If you played fighting games in 2003, you almost certainly noticed Namco's "guest characters" in SoulCalibur 2 — and on GameCube, that meant Legend of Zelda hero Link swung his sword with the SoulCalibur cast. This relatively simple bonus turned the GameCube version into the game's most popular port. In subsequent years, Mario characters appeared in EA's NBA Street Vol. 3 and SSX On Tour, making for something of a trend. Until recently, though, those moments were isolated to the GameCube generation. And now on Wii U, history only sort of repeats itself. In the Wii U version of Scribblenauts Unlimited, players can generate Mario and Zelda characters to help solve puzzles. And in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag 2, Mario and Link aren't playable...
News
2 CommentsTekken Tag Tournament 2 adds three more characters on Nov. 13
By Michael McWhertor on Nov 12, 2012 11.12.12
Fighting game Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will get a trio of new characters beginning Tuesday, Nov. 13 in North America with the addition of Dr. Boskonovitch, Violent and Unknown. The three characters will be released for free as part of the final timed roster update. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 players know Unknown as the challenging final boss of the game's arcade mode, Violet as the star of the game's Fight Lab mode and Dr. Boskonovitch as the frail unlockable fighter previously playable in Tekken 3. Namco Bandai's Rich Bantegui describes the three returning fighters as "absolute beasts in the ring with new move sets" on the PlayStation Blog. In addition to Violent, Unknown and Dr. B, all players will get access to Ancient Ogre, Angel, Michelle Chang and Kunimitsu. Those characters have...
News
3 CommentsNamco Bandai revenue rises 15 percent in past six months
By Emily Gera on Nov 02, 2012 11.02.12
Namco Bandai has had a 15 percent increase in revenue within the last six months, compared to the same period one year ago, it was revealed in the publisher's latest financial earnings statement. In the six month period ending March 31, the publisher reported net sales of 222,610 million Yen and a net income of 17,320 million Yen. This is an increase of 116 percent compared to the same period last year. Since launching in September, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 has sold 840,000 units. Soul Calibur V sold 680,000 units in this same period, bumping its lifetime sales to 1,380,000 units. In addition, Naruto Ulimate Ninja Storm sold 550,000 units, bringing its lifetime sales to 1,010,000 units. Namco Bandai predicts net sales of 455,000 million Yen for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013.
News
8 CommentsWii U is launching in Japan with Hori arcade stick
By Tracey Lien on Oct 31, 2012 10.31.12
The Wii U in Japan is getting its own Hori fighting game and arcade stick when it releases in December, according to a report on Siliconera. The Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition arcade stick will come wrapped in a Tekken skin and plug into the Wii U console in the same was as the Classic Controller Pro. The arcade stick will release on the same day in Japan as the Wii U on Dec. 8 at 7,980 yen ($100). There is currently no word on whether the arcade stick will be making its way to North America or Europe.
