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The Week in Review news piece summarizes and highlights the most important gaming related news and rumors over the past week. This weekly article will keep you plugged in and in-tune. According to research firm Media Control GfK International, video games, for the first time, have surpassed in-home movie sales. The research company released its 2008 review and 2009 predictions concerning the sector, and the results showed that game software sales grew 20% in 2008, to $32 billion, compared to combined DVD/Blu-ray sales, which fell 6%, to $29 billion. GfK attributes growth in game sales to the broad appeal of the Nintendo Wii. According to a report in Nikkei Business Publication, the Koei and Tecmo merger has finally been approved at a shareholders meeting. As such, the companies will begin doing business together on April 1, the beginning of their fiscal year. NPD has confirmed that Guitar Hero: World Tour has far outsold Rock Band 2 in the United States. GH: World Tour sold 3.4 million units in ’08, while Rock Band 2 sold a bit more than half that amount at 1.7 million. A mysterious URL (http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/f/finalfantasy4/) appears to prove that Final Fantasy IV will make its way to the Xbox LIVE Arcade service. Pair this evidence along with last week’s official Microsoft presser concerning the future Square Enix ports to XBLA, which detailed the release of Yosumin and Crystal Defenders, and it looks like this rumor is likely. According to Hollywood Reporter, “ Warner Bros. and producer Dan Lin are in early development on a reboot of the Tomb Raider” films. Though no actors, directors, or screenwriters have been announced, it is promised that the series will “revamp the character [Lara Croft] and her mission and bear little resemblance to the original pictures. It will reimagine the origins of the character, her love interest, and the main villain.” The annual Leipzig Games Convention is closing its doors , while GamesCom of Cologne has proven to be the successor to Leipzig’s GC. Organizers of the event have “canceled the general video games expo, citing increased competition on the German trade fair market and announcing an online, games-focused show in its stead.” EA has announced on Friday that gamers can now look forward to Need for Speed branching out into new genres, and then concentrating on specific game mechanics to provide “customized experiences.” The three new games on the immediate horizon are: Need for Speed SHIFT – a simulation racer for PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and PSP; Need for Speed NITRO – an arcade racer for Wii and DS; and Need for Speed World Online – a PC-exclusive, free-to-play MMO that will have players racing in a massive world. All games are scheduled for a 2009 release. On the rumor front, in an interview with Famitsu Xbox 360, Bethesda Softworks supposedly has made it clear they are presently working on “a ‘surprising’ new game involving another developer’s franchise.” No details have been given as to the game’s content, but we are excited by the prospect of another masterful reboot of an existing yet forgotten IP. Similarly, according to comments made by Capcom’s Keiji Inafune in Famitsu Xbox 360, both Dead Rising and Lost Planet will be getting multiplatform sequels. However, Inafune’s loose lips could not be officially backed up by Capcom, which stated that “Both Dead Rising and Lost Planet 2 were extremely sucessful games… at this time we have no official statement on Inafune’s comments in Famitsu.” Thanks so much everyone and we will see you next week! |