Team Ninja kicks off the four part Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z developer diary series detailing the conception, tools and madding plight of the twisted cyber ninja known only as Yaiba. In the premiere episode “Bloody Beginnings”, Team Ninja, Comcept and Spark Unlimited all share their thoughts on the collaboration between the three development teams. Commentary includes perspectives from Executive Producer, Yosuke Hayashi and Producer, Kohei Shibata (Team Ninja), Conceptor, Keiji Inafune and Producer Shinsaku Ohara (comcept), Lead Game Designer, Cory Davis and Lead Gameplay Engineer, George Mawle (Spark).
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will be available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC via Steam on March 4th.
Square Enix today announced that a playable demo for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is now available for download on Xbox 360 and available later today on PlayStation 3.
As a special bonus, players who download the PlayStation Network demo will automatically receive the Utsusemi Garb DLC, which includes the Heavenly Fan weapon and the Kaminari (meaning “Lightning” in Japanese) shield item. The DLC pack will download with the demo and will be unlocked in the full retail game on February 11th. The DLC pack will also be available to purchase for other customers later this year.
The demo puts players in control of Lightning as she traverses the chaos-infested Yusnaan palace of her old ally, Snow. Players will experience Lightning’s new customization options and the game’s completely overhauled battle system. For those who activate the Outerworld services and submit their battle scores of the final fight against Zaltys, the ‘Siegfried’ outfit will be unlocked in the full retail game.
Square Enix today announced an exclusive DLC partnership through Amazon for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Starting today, Amazon pre-order customers will receive free ‘Spira’s Summoner’ content for download, uniting two of Final Fantasy’s leading female characters by equipping Lightning with Yuna’s outfit, staff and victory pose from Final Fantasy X.
The ‘Spira’s Summoner’ DLC is available free exclusively via Amazon pre-order and will be available to purchase for other customers later this year. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be available on February 11th for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Capcom Vancouver released a new title update for Dead Rising 3 in addition to today’s launch of the game’s first DLC episode, ‘Operation Broken Eagle.’ The update introduces a host of improvements to single-player and co-op gameplay, including a variety of performance and stability upgrades, and fixes for issues related to achievements, UI updates, SmartGlass and more. Additionally, it adds a new impulse trigger feature that notifies players when they are running low on ammo.
Launching today, ‘Operation Broken Eagle’ is the first episode in the “Untold Stories of Los Perdidos” DLC series. This single-player episode puts you in control of Spec Ops Commander Adam Kane on a mission that challenges everything he believes and sets him out to capture the missing President of the United States. ‘Operation Broken Eagle’ will cost $9.99 USD and features a new mission, five new weapons, one new combo weapon, one new vehicle, a new clothing outfit, plus additional Gamerscore and the ability to carry experience points back to Dead Rising 3.
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition executive producer Scot Amos breaks down the next-gen tech behind Lara’s updated look.
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will be available on January 28th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The NPD Group has released its report for the month of December. While software sales were down 17% year over year for December, hardware sales were up 28% year over year. The PlayStation 4 remains the cumulative leader for next gen console sales in the U.S. since its launch, but the Xbox One was the number one selling console in the U.S., selling 908,000 units in December. Additionally, Xbox 360 sold 643,000 units in December, putting it in the number three spot overall, and lead for last generation hardware. The Nintendo 3DS was the best selling system of both December and 2013, while hardware sales of the Wii U were also positive with December 2013 marking its highest month for unit sales so far.
The top selling games of December were as follows:
1. Call of Duty: Ghosts
2. Battlefield 4
3. Just Dance 2014
4. Madden NFL 25
5. NBA 2K14
6. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
7. Grand Theft Auto V
8. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
9. FIFA 14
10. Skylanders SWAP Force
The top selling games of 2013 were as follows:
1. Grand Theft Auto V
2. Call of Duty: Ghosts
3. Madden NFL 25
4. Battlefield 4
5. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
6. NBA 2K14
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
8. Just Dance 2014
9. Minecraft
10. Disney Infinity
Activision announced today that Call of Duty and Skylanders continue to top U.S. NPD charts for 2013. Call of Duty: Ghosts was the #1 best-selling title overall in December, and the #1 best-selling next gen title of 2013 on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4; Call of Duty was the #1 franchise for the fifth year in a row in both software units and dollars, according to the NPD Group. Additionally, Skylanders SWAP Force was the #2 best-selling title overall in December; Skylanders was the #1 best-selling kids video game franchise of 2013 for the second consecutive year and the #1 video game franchise overall for the year, according to the NPD Group and including toys and accessories.
Disney Interactive has released the winners of the Disney Infinity “Pirates Adventure” Toy Box Challenge. Players were tasked with creating Toy Boxes utilizing many of the Pirates of the Caribbean items that are available. Check out the latest episode of the web series featuring the top global Toy Box of the week, “EpicPirateCombat,” where players will need to get to the “Dragon’s Den” to save the trapped Princess. The winning submissions are now available to download on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U.
2K and Bethesda Softworks today announced they have partnered to publish two bundles: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and BioShock Infinite, and Borderlands and Dishonored. Both bundles will be available on February 11th for $29.99. DLC is not included in either bundle.
Tecmo Koei announced today that the upcoming title Deception IV: Blood Ties will launch on March 25th for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
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