News: Sega Sammy swings to profit, game sales down
Sega Sammy has swung to a profit for the nine months ended December 31, with a net income of ¥16.9 billion (£120.8m / $189.5m), compared to a net loss of ¥10.8 billion (£77.4m / $121.3m) for the same period last year.
Net sales for the period were down 7.7 per cent, to ¥285.3 billion (£2.03bn / $3.1bn), and operating income ¥ 28.8 billion (£205.9m / $322.9m), up from a ¥2.7 billion (£19.6m / $30.8m) loss the prior year.
However, game sales in the Consumer Business for the nine months were down over 13 per cent to ¥83.1 billion (£592.5m / $929.8m), although the division swung to an operating profit of ¥1.4 billion (£10.1m / $15.8m), from a loss of ¥5.6 billion (£40.2m / $63.1m) for the same period last year.
<a href="http://www.industry.biz/articles/sega-sammy-swings-to-profit-game-sales-down”>
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News: British Columbia to get new game tax credits
British Columbia’s industry is set to benefit from a new tax credit program proposed this month in response to a drop-off in local employment and production.
Industry group the BC Interactive Task Force has been lobbying since last year for the program, which stands to reward the film, TV, animation and videogame industries in the province.
“The BC videogame industry sees the announcement as an important first step in creating a next-generation digital media hub and retaining our province’s preeminent position on the world videogame stage,” said Howard Donaldson, chair of the Interactive Task Force and VP of studio operations at Disney Interactive Studios. “We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the BC government as we finalise the details and implementation of this important new program.”
<a href="http://www.industry.biz/articles/new-digital-media-tax-credit-program-planned-for-bc”>
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Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
That’s right, Naruto and his group of ninja friends return again. And a first for the Ultimate Ninja series, this one takes place in the Shippuden timeline.
Play The Who’s Super Bowl Jam Right After They Do (Rock Band)
Kotaku – "Classic rockers The Who have put together a very special performance for the halftime show at Super Bowl XLIV, and Harmonix has put together a very special download of that performance, available for download as soon as the game ends."
New Releases (Week of 2/8/10) (Shiren the Wanderer)
Gaming Target writes:
"BioShock was one of the biggest surprises of 2007 and after a four-month delay, 2K is finally ready to retrun to Rapture with BioShock 2 this week. The PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 sequel comes from a new developer (2K Marin), but gives gamers the chance to play as the series’ iconic Big Daddy.
Also available this week is the next game from Dead Space-developers Visceral , Dante’s Inferno. The action-filled PS3 and Xbox 360 retelling of "The Divine Comedy" will debut with a fancy Super Bowl ad this Sunday before hitting stores on Tuesday. It will be joined by the PS3 version of Square Einx’s Star Ocean: The Last Hope International, a new action RPG for the Wii from Atlus in the form of Shiren the Wanderer and the latest Monkey Ball game from Sega, Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll for the Wii."
RPGs dominate Japanese sales charts, PS3 version of EoE/RoF manhandling 360 version (New Super Mario Bros Wii)
"With role-playing claiming the first two overall spots and six of the top ten, buying RPGs was obviously the hip thing to do in Japan this past week." – RPGLand
Eidos release ‘The Art of Tomb Raider’ collection (Tomb Raider: Anniversary)
The Lost Gamer writes: "Eidos have revealed today that they are set to release a new collection of artwork entitled ‘The Art of Tomb Raider’"
Play The Who’s Super Bowl halftime performance in Rock Band (Rock Band 2)
If you want to play a bunch of songs by The Who in Rock Band in a manner that satisfies your minute attention span, and do so soon, MTV and Harmonix just made an announcement that will delight you (however briefly). Alternately, you’re going to be thrilled if you want to capture some Super Bowl magic in your living room.
Difficulty for the sake of it is ‘insanity’ – Capcom UK (Monster Hunter Tri)
Monster Hunter Tri publisher says "there’s a place for hardcore skill, and there’s a place for progression and story." (VideoDaily)
Sonic Playable in Super Mario Galaxy 2? (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
UK magazine Ngamer has posted an interesting tweet on Twitter this afternoon, making a rather bold claim that not only comes right out of the left field and has left people all a bit dazed and confused here at Nintendo Life Towers.