The Ultra Combo News Report 09.14.2009
Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 09.14.2009
Bethesda sues Interplay over Fallout, Uncharted 2 goes gold, Problems between Activision and Courtney Love over the use of Kurt Cobain, Halo Waypoint release date and much more!
My dear readers, I hope you enjoy this edition of The Ultra Combo News Report. I am in a lot of pain right now, but I still got this done in time (Hopefully!). It was been a pretty shitty week for me. First of all, some idiot scratched my car fender to fender with a key while I was taking a test at my Uni. My car is a 1994 Corolla, not new or great or anything, so I guess I pissed someone off or they confused my car with someone else's who pissed them off. Then two days later while coming back from the movies with my girlfriend (that was on Friday) a drunk chick ran a red light and nailed us right on the passenger side, which happened to be me. My girlfriend was driving her dad's car, an old, beaten up Oldsmobile clunker, and you know that shit takes a lot of punishment, so the other car (a Tercel) got the worse of it. Still, I ended up with a few cuts on my right arm and leg as part of the door was pushed into me and I banged up my head pretty hard against the dashboard. While I am writing this I have a headache and a lot of pain in my neck and lower back, but after a trip to the hospital I was found ok, just banged up. I have been involved in about 5 accidents since I started driving eight years ago and NONE of them have been my fault. Shit, I was even hit from behind while waiting on a McDonald's drive-thru window. I mean, who in their right mind takes the turn INTO a drive-thru window at excess speed? This crazy old lady in the SUV, that's who! But enough about accidents, lets get into this week's news!
Bethesda Sues Interplay Over Fallout
I am starting to feel like I should retire and let our resident expert Joe Roche take over the news section, with all the lawsuits I usually report. Well, now Bethesda is suing Interplay over a lot of stuff regarding the Fallout franchise, so let's break it up into parts.
PART 1: Bethesda is suing Interplay over the rights to develop a Fallout MMORPG. According to a deal reached between Bethesda and Interplay when Bethesda acquired the Fallout franchise, Interplay retained the rights to develop a Fallout MMORPG as long as they started development of the game within two years and managed to rise $30 million in funding for the game. Neither of the two things happened, with the expiration date happening on March of this year. It was also reported in June that Interplay had only $16,000 in cash assets and a debt of $2.54 million, obviously well short of the required $30 million. Bethesda also claims that 11 days after they told Interplay that the Fallout MMORPG license had been revoked, Interplay announced that they had reached a deal with Masthead to develop an MMORPG project.
PART 2: Bethesda is also suing Interplay for taking advantage of the popularity of Fallout 3 by re-releasing and repackaging old Fallout titles. Interplay packaged Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics under the names "Fallout Trilogy" and "Saga Trilogy". The packaging of any such product needed to be approved by Bethesda, who claims never to have approved such a thing. They also consider the use of the name "Fallout Trilogy" to be an attempt to mislead the consumer into thinking Fallout 3 was part of the bundle.
PART 3: The third part has to do with Interplay reaching deals to distribute Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics through online game distributors like GameTap and Steam without the consent of Bethesda, a violation of their licensing agreement.
There are no monetary compensation being sought, as Bethesda wants the court to declare that Interplay has no rights to the Fallout name, to stop Interplay from selling old Fallout products and to force Interplay to write a declaration stating that they have no rights over the Fallout name and trademark.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: Somebody really screwed up at Interplay. How could they expect to get away with this? I mean, yes, they created the early Fallout games, but they SOLD everything Fallout related to Bethesda. Now they are attempting to get away with selling the old games again and possibly making that MMORPG that they failed to make in time. However, I think this was a masterful move by Bethesda. They gave Interplay the rights to the Fallout MMORPG long before Fallout 3 was out and the big hit it became. I don't think a lot of people where buying Fallout 3 to be the big hit it became and thus, interest in such an MMORPG probably didn't pick up until Fallout 3 was already out, giving Interplay a lot less time to come up with the money and assets to put it together than the original 2 year span. Of course, I am just speculating here.
Problems Over Kurt Cobain Appearing in Guitar Hero 5
Well, that didn't take long. A few days after Guitar Hero 5 came out; Courtney Love is threatening to sue Activision over the use of Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5. On a Twitter post, Love claimed among other things to never have approved the use of Cobain's likenesses and that she finds the game to be hideous and that she hates the game. Activision responded by claiming that Love and the rest of the Cobain estate signed off on having Cobain appear in Guitar Hero 5. They even went as far as mentioning that Love was directly involved in creating the avatar's image, by providing photos and picking Cobain's look.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: Who to believe here? I go with Activision. First of all, they are a multimillion dollar company with a lot to lose to risk doing something like this. Secondly, if it was signed off by the Cobain Estate and Courtney Love, then there is nothing to sue about. You signed a contract; you took the money, now go away. The main issue seems to be the fact that Cobain's avatar can be unlocked for use with any song in the game, leading to his avatar performing uncharacteristic actions. Come on! This is a video game! What is the problem with that? Do you really believe Cobain would have had any issue with it? Of course, this is a hard thing to come to terms with because, sadly, he is not here to tell us how we feel. But I have a feeling such a thing was specified somewhere in the contract, therefore the fault lies with the lawyers and the people who revised the contract, not with Activision itself. Where is Joe Roche when you need him? Can someone point him to my report so he can comment with his expertise?
Wolfenstein Sales Really Low
According to the NPD Group, one of last month's high profile releases, Wolfenstein, has sold only 106,000 copies between the PS3, 360 and PC versions. Neither version made it to the Top 10 and this lead the game's developer, Raven Software to lay off 30 to 35 staff members. The 360 version sold around 59,000 units with the PS3 version barely clearing 30,000.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown:: Sad, but expected. August was a slow sales month all around and the fact that Wolfenstein is a pretty old, obscure franchise *In-spite of being one of the first first-person shooters* contributes to the lack of sales. I mean, even Madden had issues (see below) and Wolfenstein has been getting average reviews, which always hurt sales. I guess it also has to do with the large amount of FPS titles in the market, the fact that it includes Nazis and has to do with WWII (even on a fantastical, alternate version) which also makes it part of the played out WWII genre and finally, because players are saving up for the holiday season.
EA Thinks 2 Million Units of Madden is "Disappointing"
Yes, Madden sold over 1.9 million copies in August. John Riccitiello of EA calls this "disappointing". Madden 09 sold over 2 million units in their first month last year and because they failed to meet that mark (in a month of slow sales, nonetheless) they are "disappointed". The biggest hit was taken by the PS2 version, which sold 162,000 units, compared to the 424,500 they sold last year. The Wii version also took a huge hit, going from 115,800 to around 66,000 units sold this year. They also sold 75,000 less on the 360 and 22,000 less on the PS3.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: Well EA, sucks to be you! Just kidding. I mean, they sold a few copies less on the first month, big deal. They are likely to sell a lot more now that the NFL season has kicked off and the holiday season is around the corner. I can safely say that the drop of PS2 units sold means a lot of people are getting ready to upgrade, which means they might sell more PS3 and 360 copies than they did last year. I am not going to comment on Wii sales, because that's a niche market. Yes, sports on the Wii are an acquired taste and multi-console owners are likely to spend their money on a different version of Madden. I am almost positive traditional sports games on the Wii will be dead in the next two years. But honestly guys, I am sure anyone would like to have an "off" month like EA did: they still made a TON of money.
New Batman DLC Coming!
Two DLC packs are coming to Batman: Arkham Asylum and to everyone's surprise they are NOT the pre-order goodies sold with the game. One pack, "Insane Night" will be released on September 17 and another pack called "Prey in the Darkness" will follow on September 24. Both of these dates are for the PS3 version, there is no confirmed release date for the Xbox 360 at this time. The best news of all is that both packs will be FREE, but there are no details on exactly what are they.
[Credit: 1UP.com]
The Beatdown: Two free packs? Sign me up. My guess is that both are challenge rooms, which is Ok with me. I mean, they are FREE! How can you complain about that?
Uncharted 2 Goes Gold
Sony has confirmed via the official Playstation Blog that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has gone gold and is ready for the announced October 13 release date. Four Uncharted themed events will be held in theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle areas on October 5 and 6. Attendees will be able to play the game on the big screen, compete in multiplayer tournaments and have a chance to win a copy of the Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition pack. The pack includes the game, a replica of the game's dagger artifact, an art book and a collector's case signed by the developers.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: If you want a Fortune Hunter Edition, now you know where to go. If I lived anywhere close I would throw my hat into the tournament, considering that I did pretty well during the beta I played (the one that came with InFamous). I have a feeling Uncharted 2 is going to be special, the type of game people talk about for years to come, so I am going to be first in line come October 13 to get my copy. If anyone wants to win a Fortune Hunter Edition for me I will be very pleased!
Data East Compilation Coming to Wii
One of the few old-school arcade developers who have yet to release a compilation of their classics will finally get their due. The ESRB has rated a Majesco product titled "Data East Arcade Classics" for the Nintendo Wii. According to the ratings board summary, it features such classics as Caveman Ninja (also known as Joe & Mac), Burger Time and Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja, as well as Data East games published on the Neo-Geo like Magical Drop III and Street Slam.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: This makes me feel old. Am I the only one with fond memories of Bad Dudes and Burger Time? I played them after their peak, but I still loved them all, considering that arcades in Puerto Rico where limited back in the day and we got games months, if not years, after they where out in the USA. I hope this compilation also includes Karate Champ, because that game is bad-ass. I also have fond memories of Last Mission, another Data East classic.
Halo Waypoint Gets Release Date
According to a post on the official Halo Waypoint Twitter, November 5 will be the official release date for Halo Waypoint. The "Ultimate Halo Destination" will be the means of distribution for the Halo Legends anime series and gives you the option of following your "Halo Career" by tracking which Halo games you are playing and which achievements you have acquired, among other things.
[Credit: 1UP.com]
The Beatdown: I really like the idea for Halo Waypoint and I hope other developers follow suit and create this type of thing for other game series. A one stop place for all things related to that game and offering brand new content sounds like a great idea. I know Playstation Home has areas for specific games, but to me Home is still a chore to get around in. Something more streamlined that doesn't require extensive loading times would be a lot better. Yes, I envy you Xbox users and your cool Halo Waypoint!
The Quick Hits:
- The Madden Curse Strikes Again! Troy Polamalu, the co-cover athlete for this year's Madden suffered a knee injury during the first game of the season. The injury will sideline him for 3-6 weeks. How's the betting pool for Larry Fitzgerald missing the whole season with a freak injury?
- Who says Sega doesn't read the Ultra Combo News Report/The Good, The Bad and The Ugly? Sega has officially listened to my complaints and are ready to deliver a brand new High-Definition, 2D Sonic game in 2010. If this game turns out to be awesome, I take full credit for the idea and Sega better be ready to mail me a six-figure check. If the game sucks, I blame Mark.
- Toys R' Us is getting ready to buy used games. The promotion will begin next week and they will buy anything from Atari 2600 up to the newer generation of consoles. That means that if you want to sell your used games for .25 cents, you know where to go.
- Ten years after the Dreamcast came out and seven or so years after it died, a new racing game will be coming out for the system! Rush Rush Rally Racing will be coming out in Europe this October and will be region free, allowing it to be played on any Dreamcast console. Now I am eagerly awaiting the announcement of a new Atari 2600 game: E.T. The Extraterrestrial: Dug Out of the Nevada Desert Extreme Edition!
- It seems the PS3 price cut is working: Sony has stated that sales have jumped by 300% and the PS3 sold 151,000 systems in Japan this past week, compared to roughly 7,000 Xboxes. Granted, that is in Japan, but I expect US numbers to put the PS3 in the lead as well.
Finish Him! Due to popular vote, Orchid's ass wins again!
Until next week dear readers! I am in massive pain and I have taken enough pain killers to make Jeff Hardy proud, so I will retreat to my room and hibernate for a while. Good luck and good gaming!
