Asura’s Wrath Points To A 2012 Release

After seeing this trailer at Captivate, the hotel was rattling with chat of ‘God Finger’, ‘Heavenly Point’ and ‘Space Cuticle’. The game was actually Asura’s Wrath and, with so many of the games on show such as Dragon’s Dogma suggesting a shift towards more Western influences with new Capcom games, it had a distinctly Japanese feel along similar lines to the likes of God Hand.

However, while there’s nothing new about an action game featuring gigantic Gods, there’s one series that PlayStation fans are particularly familiar with, so I asked director Seiji Shimoda how far the similarities run…

First of all I’m honored for Asura’s Wrath to be mentioned in the same breath as God of War – I have played it and it’s an incredible game. Superficially, there are some resemblances but we’re hoping that, as you see more of Asura’s Wrath, you’re going feel that it’s something completely different; that it doesn’t really compare with anything else in action gaming.

This fight shown today occurs at the beginning of the game and he is actually one of the weaker bosses. The boss fights aren’t all going to be on this scale… well, the scale may be grander but that’s not to say the bosses have to be bigger, if that makes sense; some will be quicker or simply better fighters. We’re striving to use bosses to heighten the drama of the story, not just use them as an action set-piece at the end of a level.

It’s not your typical action game where you start out with a small sword and work up to a huge weapon; it doesn’t have that style of progression. However there are various stages where Asura can power up – you have already seen here that he started out with two arms and then he has six, and there will be quite a few transformations along those lines. The character you see here is not all there is.

We’ve tried to make the camera feel part of the game, not just a lens to view it though, so that the action and the drama feel grander, if you will. So to take today’s example, we’ve placed the camera in a position that makes the boss seem huge. In the fighting sequences, you want the camera really close up so that each punch is at its most visceral. We keep going through this internal self-critique over camera placement and you’re going to see that it’s not there for the sake of being there, but it almost feels like another character.

That’s just about all we know about Asura’s Wrath right now, other than that it satisfies a common request from modern games fans – the option to choose between Japanese and English voiceover. It’s coming to PlayStation 3 in 2012.

Hands On with "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3"

Capcom came out to Comic-Con International in San Diego in full force this week, not only bringing some of their upcoming games ("Asura's Wrath" and "Street Fighter X Tekken" among them) but also making some announcements at their panel to keep the comic book and fighting communities salivating.

"Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3" brings back the 38 characters that rose a ruckus in the first game (released earlier this year), along with 12 additional characters, some tweaks that make the fighting action a little more justified and a new Spectator mode. The refined package will be available in November for a budget price of $39.99. Comic Book Resources stopped by Capcom's booth, which was constantly packed with fighting tournaments and a fan-dedicated shop, to check it out.

Out of the 12 new characters, only four were revealed thus far. On the Capcom side, Firebrand -- a fire-breathing demon from the "Ghosts 'n Goblins" series -- and Strider Hiryu, a favorite from "Marvel vs. Capcom 2," were showcased. Firebrand is a fast-moving monster who uses fireball attacks and swooping wing moves to literally get the jump on his enemies, while Strider incorporates large sword swipes, along with assistance from robotic drones and panthers, to thrash his opponents. Those of you familiar with his style from the previous game will get used to him here within a match or two.

As for the Marvel side, two interesting additions will keep fans happy. Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider, makes his fighting-game debut in "Ultimate," bringing with him all the fury and fire of hell. He arrives in traditional demonic Fonzie fashion, wearing a leather jacket and brandishing his trademark flaming chain. This chain proves useful for ground and air attacks, giving him a devastating range in which to deliver damage to his enemies. He also has some skillful close-up attacks should someone make the mistake of actually getting near him.

But perhaps what's most impressive are GR's super moves. Build up enough energy (level 1 or above) and he'll hop onto his motorcycle and run his opponent over, starting on the ground and then leaping into the air. Time it right and you'll get at least 12 hits -- a good chunk of the opponent's energy -- out of it. Go all the way to level 3, and he unleashes his true hellish Penance Stare power on his foe, yelling at them, "Look into my eyes!" The screen then shifts into a first-person perspective, and in a huge explosive flash of light, your opponent is pretty much toast. It's awesome stuff.

The other new Marvel addition is Hawkeye, who joins the game with bow in hand. He's a very nimble character, one who isn't afraid to get in there and dish out the same kind of punishment as his fellow Avengers, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk. He has some very impressive kick moves, but obviously he's best when shooting arrows -- and he does this in a number of ways. He can shoot straightforward shots, or he can launch arrows into the air to come down a second or two later, dishing out damage from above. As for his super attack, we only saw one, but it's a slick-looking sniper shot, where he charges his bow and lets his opponent have it with a strong golden blast.

The game controls are about the same when it comes to the in-game combat. You've got your three punch and kick buttons, which you can coordinate together to perform combos, both on the ground and in the air. There are some tweaks, as mentioned above, that make the fighting a little more balanced this time around. Some fans complained about how some characters were a little too powerful for their own good, namely Dark Phoenix. While CBR News didn't test her out specifically, Capcom assured that the final game would satisfy fighting fans.

As for the Spectator Mode, it's a cool mode where you can watch fights happen with other players. There are tournaments all over the world where fans can watch in amazement as true fighting masters (such as Justin Wong) devastate anyone that dares to face them. (A lot of Comic-Con tournaments over the weekend were like that.) This not only lets you observe what's happening, but perhaps learn a thing or two from it. Watching other people fight, we actually learned a few techniques with Magneto that we wouldn't mind trying out once post-Comic-Con.

Capcom couldn't officially speak about the other eight characters that will be included in "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3," but a rumored leaked list hit the Internet a few days ago. This list includes Vergil ("Devil May Cry"), Frank West ("Dead Rising"), Nemesis ("Resident Evil") and Phoenix Wright (the Ace Attorney himself!) from Capcom; and Dr. Strange, Nova, Iron Fist and Rocket Raccoon from Marvel's side. Capcom will unveil who's officially on the roster over the next few months, so we'll see what we'll see. Still, if this list is official, it'll be interesting to see how Dr. Strange fares against Phoenix Wright. Can't wait to see how the "Objection!" attacks look. Or "Take that!" for that matter.

Kudos to Capcom for not only letting us check out the game, but staying faithful to both its fighting and comic book fans. While "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3" may feel like an unnecessary add-on, there's actually enough substance here to justify its release. Plus the budget price isn't bad at all, especially considering what you're getting. Stock up on Band-Aids and get ready to brawl when the "Ultimate" fight comes your way this November, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Most Asian Stocks Decline on U.S. Debt-Deal Impasse; Nintendo, Sony Tumble

Asian stocks fell, dragging down the benchmark index for the week, after the U.S. Congress delayed a vote on a plan to raise its borrowing limit, increasing concern the country will default on its debt.

Nintendo Co., maker of the Wii game console, plunged 20 percent, the most in at least 20 years after slashing it profit outlook and discounting the price of one its main products. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dropped 1.5 percent in Taipei after the chipmaker said profit declined for the first time in almost two years. AIA Group Ltd., the third-largest Asia-based insurer by market value, advanced 2.5 percent after first half profit beat estimates.

“If a resolution in the U.S. is not reached, clearly the economy will suffer so that demand will wane significantly, and we’ll see pressure on Asian exporter earnings and shares,” said Chris Hall, who helps manage $4 billion of assets at Argo Investments Ltd. in Adelaide. “Earnings are mixed across the spectrum. There are still a lot of unknowns right now, and everyone’s incredibly cautious.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.5 percent to 136.92 as of 12:27 p.m. in Tokyo. About two shares fell for each that rose on the gauge. The measure is headed for a decline this week as forecasts for higher earnings at companies from Canon Inc. to Baidu Inc. were overshadowed by concern the U.S. may default on its debt if lawmakers can’t reach an agreement on raising the government’s borrowing limit by Aug. 2.
No Vote

For the month, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index is on course for a 1.4 percent advance, its first such gain in three months.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average dropped 0.7 percent today. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.5 percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.7 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1 percent.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.7 percent today, indicating U.S. stocks will open lower on Friday, after chief U.S. House of Representatives vote counter Kevin McCarthy said there will be no vote on Speaker John Boehner’s debt-limit plan on Thursday night in the U.S. The index slid 0.3 percent yesterday in New York.

“Its unbelievable, these guys are not just playing with financial markets but their own constituents’ jobs,” said Sydney-based Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which has almost $100 billion under management. “It’s certainly adding to stock-market nervousness. I think they will eventually get a deal that avoids massive spending cuts or default, but the risk is growing that they won’t.”
Nintendo Plunges

Asian shares also fell today as downgrades to the profit outlooks of major Japanese companies overshadowed the fact that more companies reported better-than-estimated first-quarter earnings than those that missed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Nintendo plunged 20 percent to 11,210 yen in Osaka, the biggest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. The game-maker said a lack of demand for its new 3-D handheld player led the company to slash the product’s price and earnings forecasts by 82 percent.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing slumped 1.5 percent to NT$71.90 after saying second-quarter net income fell 11 percent to NT$36 billion (1.3 billion), from NT$40.3 billion a year earlier.
AIA, Shinsei, Samsung

Among stocks that gained, AIA Group advanced 2.5 percent to HK$28.40 in Hong Kong after reporting net income climbed to $1.31 billion in the six months to May, from $1.06 billion a year earlier, beating the $1.09 billion average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Shinsei Bank Ltd., a Japanese lender, rose 6.7 percent to 95 yen after posting a 31 percent jump in net income. The stock was the second-biggest gainer on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

Samsung Electronics Co., the South Korean television maker, climbed 1 percent to 845,000 won after reporting second-quarter net income that beat analysts’ estimates.

Japan Tobacco Inc., the biggest support to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, gained 4.7 percent to 343,500 yen after saying profit may increase 11 percent this fiscal year on higher prices in overseas markets.

Of 161 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index that have reported net income since July 11, 76 have exceeded analysts’ estimates while 65 have fallen short, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Total earnings declined 18 percent, the data show.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell less than 0.1 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a gain of 3.4 percent by the S&P 500 and a drop of 3.2 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 13.5 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.1 times for the S&P 500 and 10.9 times for the Stoxx 600.

Sony loses money due to quake and PlayStation Network outage

Sony reported a $199 million loss in the first fiscal quarter ended June 30 because of problems including the Japan earthquake and the hacking of the PlayStation Network.

Like Nintendo last night, Sony also cut its profit forecast. Sony said it lost 15.5 billion yen ($199 million), compared with a profit of 25.7 billion a year earlier. The announcement shows how quickly things can change for dominant companies in industries with rapid changes and unforeseeable events.

The profit outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, was cut from 80 billion yen to 60 billion yen. Sales are now expected to be 7.2 trillion yen, instead of 7.5 trillion yen. Analysts expected a loss of 2.5 billion yen.

In the quarter, Sony’s movie division earned an operating profit of 132.1 billion yen, up 9 percent, thanks to films such as The Green Hornet, Battle: Los Angeles, and Just Go With It. But consumer products and services reported an 18 percent decline to 732.3 billion yen because of lower LCD TV and PC revenue. Music sales were down 0.6 percent.

The PlayStation business saw a slight profit, thanks to PlayStation 3 software sales. Sony sold 26.1 million games in the quarter, up 5.2 percent. But PS 3 sales fell by 25 percent, down to 1.8 million units sold, probably because of the six-week outage the company suffered after the PlayStation Network was hacked.

So while Sony’s president in charge of network entertainment Tim Schaaf, who oversees PSN, said the downtime was a “great experience,” it wasn’t such a good deal for the company’s bottom line.

The PS 2 sold 1.4 million units, down from a year ago, and the PlayStation Portable sales rose 50 percent to 1.8 million units.

One of the big products coming this fiscal year is the PlayStation Vita, a replacement for the PSP and Sony’s best hope for competing with the Nintendo 3DS and Apple’s mobile devices. Damage to Sony factories from the quake and tsunami amounted to 5.3 billion yen, most of it covered by insurance. But Sony said the recovery was progressing faster than expected. A strong yen also hurt Sony’s profits, as it made Japanese products more expensive overseas. Sony also said it will start selling its first tablet computer soon.

Sony said that user logins in North America on the PSN had been restored to the same level as before the attacks.

As for the game business, Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at M2 Research, said, “These numbers are very bad for Sony considering the competition and where we are in the cycle.”

PSP sales are up in Japan, but that is an anomaly, Pidgeon said.

“PS3 hardware numbers ought to be up, not down,” he said. “There is great software in the pipeline, but hardware price may need steep cuts or the new software won’t help. Xbox 360 is still selling strong and is capable of price elasticity.
Microsoft can cut prices and potentially murder Sony through the holiday into 2012. In fact, Microsoft ought to use this opportunity to improve positions worldwide.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's Full Roster Leaked

Capcom has kicked off their San Diego Comic-Con announcements by revealing details on the highly-anticipated update to Marvel vs. Capcom 3, their hit crossover fighting game. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will add 12 new fighters to the roster in eight new stages, as well as a host of balance and gameplay changes.

While Capcom itself only revealed four of the new 12 characters (Strider Hiryu​ and Firebrand on the Capcom side, Ghost Rider and Hawkeye on the Marvel side), intrepid fighting game fans in the NeoGAF forums stumbled across a whole host of hidden images on Capcom's Web server that appears to reveal the remaining eight characters: Vergil, Phoenix Wright, Nemesis, and Frank West for Capcom, and Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, Nova, and Iron Fist. Click on the images below to zoom in.

No Capcom representatives could be reached for comment.

Whoever is getting fired for this: We salute you. For more Marvel vs. Capcom 3 coverage, read our review of the Mad Catz MvC3 FightStick TE, and our early hands-on impressions of Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 was Originally Planned as DLC

According to an interview in Famitsu (translated by Andriasang), game producer Ryota Niitsuma claims Capcom was originally intending to release more DLC for the original Marvel vs Capcom 3, but that March's earthquake, tsunami and associated disasters in Japan caused the company to have to rethink its plans. The new content we'll be getting in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, set to retail around the $40 mark, is considerably more than was originally planned as DLC.

Niitsuma also explained how the twelve new characters in the game were selected: the Marvel additions were chosen by Marvel itself, while the Capcom challengers were selected from fan and staff favorites. You would have thought that might get Mega Man included in the lineup, but the Blue Bomber is something of a sore point for Capcom and its fans at the moment.

Niitsuma also revealed that Capcom would be following up Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom's release with further DLC, including arranged costumes for each new character and new modes of play.

Square Enix Wants FF XIII-2 To Address All the Problems With the Original

Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be more like the what has come before in the series, says its producer and director.

Final Fantasy developer Square Enix says that its goal with the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2 is to address all the criticisms that people had about its predecessor. Game director Motomu Toriyama says that XIII-2 will be much less linear, with much more of the exploration-based gameplay the series it known for.

Toriyama said that Square Enix had taken all the criticism very seriously, and had handled it completely and thoroughly. Producer Yoshinori Kitase said that all the returning elements from Final Fantasy XII had been revised or had new features added to them. There were also new gameplaye elements as well. As an example, Kitase said that XIII-2 had a lot more mini-games, as their absence was something that people have complained about in XIII. He explained that one of the concepts behind Final Fantasy was that it was a melting pot of different game styles, and said that the team had made idea one of its priorities in XIII-2's development.

It's always good to see developers taking criticism on board, especially if it results in better games. Hopefully Square Enix will be able to fix the pacing problems and other issues in Final Fantasy XIII and give fans of the series a game that they will really enjoy.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes out for PS3 and Xbox 360 in January.