While it’s hard to find fault with this fun downloadable title, more than a few people have criticized its length. The developer is going to fix that.

While there’s already a multiplayer aspect to Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (Lantern Run mode), the developer is soon going to introduce a mode that more closely mimics the core game.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Joe Olson (Fuelcell Games CEO) revealed, simply, that a new multiplayer aspect is on the way. Although of course, he doesn’t provide any real details, instead saying, “I can’t talk too much about it as we’re still in the earlier stage.”

Don’t expect a sequel anytime soon either. He clarifies, “We’re just going to see how this one does. But we’re always looking for something new to do so if there is a sequel it might be the third or the fourth game [we make].”

Personally, I champion short games, especially downloadable ones, that I can actually beat in a sitting or two. With a busy schedule, and way too much to do, I don’t get the satisfaction of actually completing a game very often. But Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet provided something I could finish and still feel like I accomplished something. I’m looking forward to the eventual DLC to extend that further, but it’ll just be icing on the cake.

Insomniac Games indicates via Twitter that while they probably could make a Spyro game based on the original series’ style, it won’t happen as long Activision’s holding the IP rights.

Have you really enjoyed any Spyro the Dragon game since the original PlayStation titles?

OK, the three of you can leave the room now.

For everyone else who thinks that Spyro just hasn’t been the same since Insomniac Games dropped the rights to Universal Interactive Studios/Vivendi Games — who in turn gave the rights to Activision when the companies merged — well, you’re not going to see the series you once loved for quite a while.

While Insomniac Games have moved on to greener pastures with the Ratchet & Clank series and Resistance, it would be neat to see the present-day team revisit their old franchise. According to a recent Twitter post from the group, Activision’s rights to the IP prevent them from doing anything. Bummer.

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[Source: Twitter]

Square Enix has turned in their quarterly financial report card and despite a promising future release calendar, things currently aren’t looking too great.

Square Enix had a bad Q1 financial quarter, but will upcoming games like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Dead Island, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 turn things around?

Square Enix has been making lots of company and IP purchases lately, but without a major game on shelves in the early part of 2011, their profits and revenue took a significant dive.

GamesIndustry.Biz and Gamasutra have the nitty gritty:

The company posted overall revenue of ¥24,529 million ($312.4m), down from ¥32,540 million in the same quarterin 2010, and net profit of ¥690 million ($87.7m), a 61.9 percent drop from last year’s figure of ¥1,575 million.

In the digital division, which inlcudes the group’s game business, revenue was down 29.1 per cent year-on-year to ¥11,793 million ($150.2m). Operating income declined by 51.9 percent to ¥2,834 million ($36.1m).

“In a quarter without major title releases, our group’s sales and profit were lower compared to the previous fiscal year,” said CEO Yoichi Wada. “At the same time, however, we are making solid progress toward our targets for the full fiscal year ending March 2012.”

While at a glance, it seems like business as usual, it’ll be interesting to see how Square Enix’s fortunes look over the next two years. Although the publisher/developer is likely hedging their bets on Final Fantasy XIII-2, the company is smartly backing other non-traditional projects like Deus Ex, Dead Island, and the Tomb Raider reboot. In Japan, Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy Versus XIII could perform well, too.

Here’s to Christmas and 2012.

[Source: Gamasutra and GamesIndustry.Biz]

Square Enix has turned in their quarterly financial report card and despite a promising future release calendar, things currently aren’t looking too great.

Square Enix had a bad Q1 financial quarter, but will upcoming games like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Dead Island, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 turn things around?

Square Enix has been making lots of company and IP purchases lately, but without a major game on shelves in the early part of 2011, their profits and revenue took a significant dive.

GamesIndustry.Biz and Gamasutra have the nitty gritty:

The company posted overall revenue of ¥24,529 million ($312.4m), down from ¥32,540 million in the same quarterin 2010, and net profit of ¥690 million ($87.7m), a 61.9 percent drop from last year’s figure of ¥1,575 million.

In the digital division, which inlcudes the group’s game business, revenue was down 29.1 per cent year-on-year to ¥11,793 million ($150.2m). Operating income declined by 51.9 percent to ¥2,834 million ($36.1m).

“In a quarter without major title releases, our group’s sales and profit were lower compared to the previous fiscal year,” said CEO Yoichi Wada. “At the same time, however, we are making solid progress toward our targets for the full fiscal year ending March 2012.”

While at a glance, it seems like business as usual, it’ll be interesting to see how Square Enix’s fortunes look over the next two years. Although the publisher/developer is likely hedging their bets on Final Fantasy XIII-2, the company is smartly backing other non-traditional projects like Deus Ex, Dead Island, and the Tomb Raider reboot. In Japan, Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy Versus XIII could perform well, too.

Here’s to Christmas and 2012.

[Source: Gamasutra and GamesIndustry.Biz]

Square Enix has turned in their quarterly financial report card and despite a promising future release calendar, things currently aren’t looking too great.

Square Enix had a bad Q1 financial quarter, but will upcoming games like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Dead Island, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 turn things around?

Square Enix has been making lots of company and IP purchases lately, but without a major game on shelves in the early part of 2011, their profits and revenue took a significant dive.

GamesIndustry.Biz and Gamasutra have the nitty gritty:

The company posted overall revenue of ¥24,529 million ($312.4m), down from ¥32,540 million in the same quarterin 2010, and net profit of ¥690 million ($87.7m), a 61.9 percent drop from last year’s figure of ¥1,575 million.

In the digital division, which inlcudes the group’s game business, revenue was down 29.1 per cent year-on-year to ¥11,793 million ($150.2m). Operating income declined by 51.9 percent to ¥2,834 million ($36.1m).

“In a quarter without major title releases, our group’s sales and profit were lower compared to the previous fiscal year,” said CEO Yoichi Wada. “At the same time, however, we are making solid progress toward our targets for the full fiscal year ending March 2012.”

While at a glance, it seems like business as usual, it’ll be interesting to see how Square Enix’s fortunes look over the next two years. Although the publisher/developer is likely hedging their bets on Final Fantasy XIII-2, the company is smartly backing other non-traditional projects like Deus Ex, Dead Island, and the Tomb Raider reboot. In Japan, Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy Versus XIII could perform well, too.

Here’s to Christmas and 2012.

[Source: Gamasutra and GamesIndustry.Biz]

One dedicated fan of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim refused to miss the one QuakeCon 2011 demo she’s been pining to see — even as she reportedly went into labor in the middle of it.

Do you have any idea how much labor pains hurt? Well, many of us don’t, but I’ve heard that it’s more painful that having your legs torn off. Either way, it’s not exactly something that you can “walk off.”

Even so, that’s exactly what one pregnant gamer did — Game Informer has an amazing story about one couple who stayed through an entire presentation of Skyrim while one of them went into labor. Chaz and Stevi are their names, and they just might be the most reckless, determined Skyrim fans in the world. Luckily, the two eventually left for a local hospital, to safely deliver their little girl, Atari Lynn.

From the full story:

Will the first of the Dragonborn be crawling among us soon? Will we soon hear tiny dragon shouts squealing from a hospital delivery room? It’s possible, because a pair of engaged diehard gamers sat through the entirety of a QuakeCon 2011 presentation for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as the pregnant woman went into labor.

Game Informer’s Andrew Reiner was approached by the couple while waiting to take part in the Games That Inspired Us panel at QuakeCon 2011. He reports that the two are self-proclaimed Game Informer fans, and wanted to let him know they weren’t going to miss that demo for anything.

Whatever the case, we at Game Informer tip our hats to Chaz and Stevi’s dedication. Not even impending birth could keep the couple from missing out on an exclusive glimpse into the world of Tamriel. The duo (soon to be trio) is currently en route to a hospital, and we wish them the best of luck in delivering their little girl, Atari Lynn. Yep. Atari. We couldn’t make this stuff up.

[Source: Game Informer]

Special guest Thierry Nguyen joins Kat, Jason and Tom Price to talk Diablo III, and McKinley drops by to discuss the recently-released Bastion!

Apologies for the unexpected hiatus last week, but I was ill and quite unable to host a podcast. I’m back though, and there’s plenty to discuss!

First up is Bastion, which has proven to be a pleasant little surprise on Xbox Live Arcade. McKinley returns to explain why he believes it’s one of the best games of the year so far, while also showing off his impression of the game’s signature narrator.

In the second segment, special guest Thierry Nguyen of 1UP fame drops by to talk Diablo III with Kat, Jason and Tom Price. What’s the deal with the online auction house? Is the fact that it’s online only a deal breaker? Our answers might surprise. The RPG Pillars series also continues this week with a discussion of the classic originals.

So lots of action RPGs this week; next week we’ll be jumping over quickly to MMORPGs. And, of course, the release of Deus Ex Human Revolution is looming as well.

In the meantime, check out the episode summary below!

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Episode Breakdown: Download it now!

• 0:00 | Theme & Introduction

• 0:30 | Bastion w/ Kat & McKinley
• 18:10 | Musical Interlude: The Siege (Diablo II)
• 18:40 | Diablo III w/ Kat, Jason, Tom Price and Thierry Nguyen
• 48:00 | Musical Interlude: Ice (Diablo II)
• 48:30 | RPG Pillars: Diablo I & II w/ Kat, Jason, Tom and Thierry
• 01:14:30 | Musical Interlude: Dungeon (Diablo)
• 01:15:00 | Outtro & Next Episode

Bidding for a high-quality replica of Adam Jensen’s arm keeps rising. Read the full story to see how they made it.

Square Enix’s charity auction is performing pretty well. While there are a number of high-quality, unique items available, the prototype of Adam Jensen’s augmented arm has already reached $5,000. The piece is valued at $15,000, so we expect the price to climb significantly higher before bidding ends, but it’s still an impressive show of early generosity.

You can watch the team creating the work of art in the video above. The auction closes on Wed. Aug. 17, so you still have a little time to get in on some of the bids.

Gamescom may be just around the corner, but you’ll have to wait until mid-September for official word from Sony on the Vita’s release.

Despite rumors that the PlayStation Vita is coming out on October 28, Sony still maintains that the portable will come out in Japan later this year, and to the US and Europe in early 2012. But the company doesn’t plan on providing an official date until TGS.

Citing a Sony blog post, vg247 reports that the exact release dates for the console will occur at the massive public trade show.

Nothing more exciting than a countdown to a countdown. TGS 2011 runs from September 15-18.