Tag Archives: Resident Evil
Video game sales sink 25% in March
Not even an intergalactic epic was powerful enough to rescue the video games industry from its sales slump.
March numbers were down 25% compared to the same time last year, raking in $1.1 billion, according to data from NPD Group. It’s the fifth straight month the industry has finished a month on the decline.
“While it was a disappointing month, and first quarter, for new physical retail sales of video games hardware, software and accessories, it wasn’t entirely unexpected given guidance we’ve seen from several sources,” says NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement.
Hardware experienced the biggest dip, falling 35% compared to March 2011. The Xbox 360 marked eight straight months as the top-selling device, ending last month with 371,000 consoles sold.
Neither Nintendo nor Sony released sales numbers. With Sony’s PlayStation Vita handheld wrapping up two months of availability, the company would only say
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Review: New Resident Evil a failed ‘Operation’
It’s hard to ruin a video game experience where killing zombies is top priority. As countless titles have proven, riddling the undead with bullets is as enjoyable a pasttime as baseball and apple pie.
One of the kings of survival horror has been Capcom franchise Resident Evil, known for its methodical pace and emphasis on resource management.
So it’s surprising to see a game with that title on the label struggle so badly at making zombie slaying fun. Unfortunately, such is the case with Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.
Starting with the 2005 classic Resident Evil 4, the series of late has morphed into a combination of survival horror and third-person shooting with a tight camera angle just behind the lead character’s soldier. It’s also carefully paced, as zombies plod through environments while players frantically reload weapons and find that precise shot that takes stubborn enemies
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/zdt9WvXcQPQ/1
Weekend Game Hunting: Birdwatching edition
Usually, big video game launches are reserved for the AAA, packaged retail game for a PC or home console.
But, as a group of flustered and feathered creatures has shown, mobile games like Angry Birds Space can debut with a bang (or in this case, a really large catapult). That’s what happens when your games have been downloaded more than 700 million times. Let’s hope more mobile games get big enough to pull off launch events like this in the future.
Before diving in to my weekend game lineup, some housekeeping:
– If you enjoy chatting about video games with fellow readers, stop by the Game Hunters forum. There are some great threads on Mass Effect 3 and adding warning labels to games.
– We are also on Twitter. Readers can follow Game Hunters, as well as myself and
Launch Pad: Zombies, ninjas and ‘Angry Birds’
Talk about variety. This week, players will have the opportunity to slay zombie hordes, hack and slash enemies as a ninja and launch birds into zero gravity.
Here’s a look at the video games making their debuts this week:
Retail games available March 20
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Details: The traditional third-person horror title becomes a squad-based shooter, at least this time. Players step into the shoes of Umbrella Corporation secret service agents as they try to eliminate evidence of a viral outbreak in Raccoon City. The game also features online multiplayer, where players group together to battle other squads — as well as throngs of zombies.
Ninja Gaiden III
Publisher: Tecmo Koei
Platform(s): PS3, Xbox 360
Details: Expect lots of blood and gore in the “hack-and-slash” action title starring ninja Ryu Hayabusa. PS3 owners get the bonus
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/4He_pmfVSpw/1
Weekend Game Hunting: March madness edition
Starting today, video games are being memorialized as works of art.
The Smithsonian launches its exhibit titled The Art of Video Games in Washington, D.C., which includes 80 games from Pac-Man to Uncharted. For more details, check out our story on the video games as art debate.
If you’re in the area, I urge you to check it out as either a dedicated video game fan or even someone who wants to learn more about the medium’s history.
Meanwhile, I’m spending this weekend on the industry’s present and future (and college basketball, of course). Here’s my weekend lineup:
Mass Effect 3. Going to experiment with some of the cooperative multiplayer matches. For those who missed it, there is a great discussion on the ending of the BioWare space saga. I can understand the disappointment many readers experienced, especially when you consider the series, and everything
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/W8vwwzEDFAA/1
