Will XCOM Become The Bureau, or Do We Just Want to Believe?
2K Marin’s poor old XCOM game just can’t catch a break. First, fans of the original franchise made it quite clear they weren’t happy about the shift to first-person shooting, then the game was faced with delay after delay while Firaxis’ turn-based tactical game stole most of the brand’s thunder, and then there was talk about the game going from a full retail product to a downloadable game. Now, according to some new website domains registered by 2K, it seems the shooter could be losing the XCOM branding altogether.
The websites include thebureau-game.com, thebureau-game.net and whathappenedin62.com. Each seems to be reminiscent of the shooter’s setting, which features an X-Files-esque organization (a bureau, if you will) combating an alien threat in 1960s America. “The Bureau” sounds like a likely title for a game in such a setting, to be sure.
It’s worth baring in mind, however, that this could all just be setup for viral marketing. 2K Marin’s previous outing, Bioshock 2, was steeped in the stuff, much of which was distributed through mysterious, indirectly affiliated websites. It’s also possible that the first two URLs and the second are completely unrelated, with the former signifying something new entirely.
[Source: All Games Beta]
The Oculus Rift is Literally On its Way
Oculus Rift dev kits began shipping out this week, starting on March 27. Those who backed the Kickstarter can expect theirs in the middle of next month, while pre-order adopters will get them by the end of April. The fine folks behind the VR headset have also put up a development center with a whole mess of information for aspiring game creators to pore through.
Those of you frothing at the mouth for virtual reality hardware should lower your expectations just a tiny bit, though. These are just development kits, and we won’t actually have games that make full use of the device for some time, much less the final, retail release of the product itself.
[Source: Oculus Rift]
Tomb Raider Sold Really Well, No Matter What Square Enix Says
Despite Square Enix’s hilarious statement that selling around 3.4 million copies in just a few weeks was a bad thing, along with their rather predictable implication that it was Western civilization’s “fault” the game did so “poorly” (notice the quotations marks, as they are meant to denote disbelief and sarcasm) Tomb Raider has actually done quite well for itself. How well, you ask? As a matter of fact, the game had not only the best launch in the franchise’s history, but the best launch of any game this year so far.
“It’s been the biggest week one sales in franchise history, and we’re only a few weeks into that launch right now, and it’s been the biggest opening so far in 2013,” said Gallagher. “So, we’re happy with the outcome. It’s certainly in a place where we feel like we’re on the road to achieving everything we wanted to.”
Not to mention the game received high critical acclaim, including from both myself and the invaluable Eric Smith. So, from both a business and an artistic standpoint, that would make Tomb Raider the best possible thing for both Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. Still, the publisher cited the game’s “weak” launch as a major reason for the company’s restructuring, possibly because admitting it might be the company’s own fault for developing a lot of other games across the pond that nobody wants to play.
Final Fantasy. I’m talking about Final Fantasy in that last bit.
[Source: Joystiq]
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