Mum on Pricing, Availability

Nintendo Bows 3DS Handheld System at E3

June 16, 2010 by Rebecca Day and Jeff Berman|Top News

LOS ANGELES -- As expected, Nintendo introduced the 3DS handheld gaming system Tuesday at its pre-show E3 press conference. The turquoise and black portable player will play back Hollywood 3D movies and packs built-in cameras that take 3D digital photos that users can view on the player. No pricing or availability was given for the much-anticipated device, which Nintendo said last spring would ship before the end of the fiscal year next March (CED March 24 p1).

Nintendo demoed the player for reporters and analysts at the event and at the booth, where it showed Hollywood trailers from Disney, Warner Bros and DreamWorks. The device comes with a 3.53-inch top screen and a 3.02-inch bottom touch screen. Three built-in cameras -- one on the inside cover and two outside -- deliver the 3D effect and take 3D pictures. The Wi-Fi-enabled device also packs motion and gyro sensors and a slide controller that allows users to control the level of 3D effects from maximum to none at all.

Reggie Fils-Aime, CEO of Nintendo of America, noted the hype surrounding 3D among TV makers and console game manufacturers whose solutions require glasses. Taking a jab at the glasses approach to 3D, Fils-Aime touted 3DS’s ability to deliver full HD without glasses, while background video showed the unappealing scenario of a family watching TV with 3D glasses on. “That fashion-forward statement doesn’t come cheap,” he quipped. “We think we have a better way by allowing you to take 3D with you wherever you go."

While the company didn’t disclose pricing, it emphasized the mass-market targeting that’s designed to appeal to all levels of consumer in price and skill levels. Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Ltd, said there would be no monthly fee for online access and that the Wi-Fi portion was designed so users won’t have to do anything proactively to get important updates and game information. Even when users are not near an access point they may discover that new rankings have already been done, he said.

Unlike previous Nintendo player announcements focusing on first-party software, the company was eager to promote the fact that it’s actively courting third-party publishers for 3D software support. “Nintendo’s 3D titles Kid Icarus, Mario Kart and nintendogs + cats, PilotWings Resort, Animal Crossing, StarFox 64 3D, Steel Driver and Paper Mario, will be joined by others from top publishers including Electronic Arts, Capcom, Activision, Konami, Ubisoft, and THQ. Before Nintendo DS and Wii were launched, Iwata said, “it was our job to build an installed base by developing and marketing our own first-party software. In this case we will enjoy our biggest launch support ever from third parties.”

Among the list of 3D titles on display at the Nintendo booth are Activision’s DJ Hero 3D, Capcom’s Resident Evil Revelations, Electronic Arts’ The Sims 3, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D from Konami, the tentatively titled Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracles from Level-5, Namco’s Ridge Racer, Kingdom Hearts from Square Enox, Dead or Alive 3D and Samurai Warriors 3D from Tecmo Koei Games and Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike and Hollywood 61 from Ubisoft. 3D titles in the works include Super Street Fighter IV 3D from Capcom, Madden NFL and FIFA Soccer from Electronics Arts and others from Square Enix, Sega, Warner Bros, Atlus, AQ Interactive, Disney Interactive Studios, Harmonix, Hudson Soft, Majesco, Marvelous Entertainment, Takara Tommy and Take-Two Interactive. Despite reports of an impending HD version of Wii in the works, Nintendo made no mention of such a device, nor did it announce any price cuts on existing hardware.

The company also disclosed shipping dates for new Wii and DS titles coming out in the next year. Disney Epic Mickey, from Disney Interactive, will be available exclusively on the Wii and will be in stores for the holiday season, along with Wii Party, which Fils-Aime described as one of the company’s “bridge” titles leading from starter games like Wii Fitness to other titles. “People have the mistaken belief that Wii owners only play sports or fitness games,” he said, saying bridge games like Mario Kart and Wii Party usher users to a new area of play. Attempting to refute the impression that the Wii universe is for casual gaming, he cited an NPD study saying Wii owners use their systems more than owners of PS3 and Xbox consoles. According to Nintendo, 22 million copies of Mario Kart have been sold and more games have sold for Wii since it was launched 43 months ago than any other platform over the same launch in the same period. Citing an Ipsos study, Nintendo said more people intend to buy a Wii in the next six months than the other two console systems combined.

E3 Notebook

Not all of the 15 Kinect launch games (CED June 15 p1) will be exclusives for the Xbox 360, a Microsoft spokeswoman said. Only six of them will be, she said -- Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Dance Central from Rock Band makers Harmonix and MTV Games, and four first-party Microsoft games: Kinect Animals, Kinect Joyride, Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures! Microsoft referred to its animal interaction game as Kinect Animals in a news release, but called it Kinectimals at the briefing.

Coming stereoscopic 3D games will include THQ’s de Blob 2: The Underground, the publisher said. A sequel to its popular 2008 game de Blob, it will bring the game franchise to the HD consoles and in 3D “for the first time” in spring 2011, THQ said. The game is being developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360, as well as the DS and Wii. Noticeably absent from the supported platforms was the PSP. THQ will also “extend the reach of” the property “with an upcoming Syfy partnership and de Blob-branded consumer products,” said Danny Bilson, THQ executive vice president, Core Games. Other coming stereoscopic 3D games will be published by Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, those publishers disclosed at their E3 news briefings on Monday. EA will release Crysis 2, developed by Crytek, for the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC in the fall -- and all three versions will be in 3D, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli said. The action game “will be the first major videogame on multiple platforms to take full advantage of true stereoscopic 3D,” EA and Crytek said. Ubisoft’s coming games Shaun White Skateboarding and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will also be available in stereoscopic 3D, that publisher said. But it didn’t provide specifics, including which platforms of the titles will support 3D. Other coming Ubisoft games that were demonstrated at its briefing hosted by actor and comedian Joel McHale included Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time, shipping for the Wii in November. CEO Yves Guillemot also disclosed three other projects: Project Dust, to be released in spring 2011, Rayman: Origins, and ManiaPlanet for its online Uplay service. Ubisoft expects to have 10 million Uplay users by the end of this year, he said. The company will release a Michael Jackson dance game, it also disclosed as the briefing came to a close, but it offered no specifics, nor did it show any video footage of the game, suggesting it was very early in development.

Much of Activision Blizzard’s E3 investor briefing Monday was focused on the continued strength of its Call of Duty and Guitar Hero franchises -- the latter despite a significant decline in music game sales in 2009. Activision and Microsoft signed a multi-year deal under which Call of Duty game add-ons and map packs will continue to be released first to the Xbox Live online service. The deal will be through 2012 and includes the next entry in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, shipping Nov. 9. The series has generated more than $3 billion in revenue, CEO Robert Kotick said. There are strong “growth opportunities” for the franchise, including a “great opportunity to expand the core” audience based on the growing PS3 and Xbox 360 installed bases, said Chief Operating Officer Thomas Tippl. More than 20 million copies of the last game in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, were sold in its first six months against the combined PS3 and 360 console installed base of about 55 million, he said. He predicted that by the time Black Ops is released, the combined PS3 and 360 installed base will have grown to more than 70 million. The Guitar Hero series, meanwhile, also have generated about $3 billion in sales, he said. The company added about 300 employees to its Blizzard development team and “nearly 1,000 heads” to handle customer service for its World of Warcraft and other online games, he said.

Mad Catz Interactive will ship several Kinect products for the November launch of Microsoft’s controller-free motion control system, the accessory maker said. The products will include a $14.99 base adapter that’s designed for consumers “who have no obvious free standing space available to mount the Kinect camera unit,” and will fit “securely onto the underside of the camera unit, allowing connection to any standard camera tripod,” Mad Catz said. Also on tap are a $29.99 floor stand and a $49.99 mounting bracket to place the Kinect system above or below a flat-panel TV, it said.

Sixty-seven percent of U.S. households now play video and computer games, according to new research from the Entertainment Software Association. Other findings included: The average game player is 34 years old and the average game buyer is 40 years old; 40 percent of game players are female; 48 percent of all games sold are rated ‘E’ for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board; 64 percent of parents believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives; 76 percent of parents believe the parental controls available in all new videogame consoles are useful; and 42 percent of Americans play games on wireless devices such as cellphones or PDAs. The report also said parents “continue to have a high level of involvement in their children’s videogame play,” ESA said. Parents with kids under 18 and a console in the home said they were present when games were purchased or rented 93 percent of the time, and children received their parents’ permission before buying or renting a game 86 percent of the time. The findings were based on a study conducted by Ipsos MediaCT, and included data from almost 1,200 “nationally representative households that have been identified as owning either or both a videogame console or a personal computer used to run entertainment software,” ESA said.

THQ will release videogames based on the coming DreamWorks animated film Megamind, the publisher said Tuesday. The games are in development for the DS, PSP, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 and will be released in November, “in conjunction with” the movie’s Nov. 5 release, it said. The games will feature the voice of actor Jonah Hill, who will reprise his role from the film, it said. Separately, THQ said The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout fitness game is being developed exclusively for Kinect on the Xbox 360. But it didn’t say when the game will be released. THQ also said it will publish the game Devil’s Third from developer Valhalla Game Studios for the PS3 and Xbox 360 but didn’t say when that game will be released either. Shares in the company fell Monday after THQ slashed its forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, and Q1 ending June 30, 2010, citing “lower-than-anticipated sales of UFC Undisputed 2010, and the strengthening U.S. dollar.” For Q1, the company now expects to report non-GAAP sales of $155 million to $165 million, down from its prior estimate of $190 million to $200 million. It now expects to post a non-GAAP loss per share of 20 to 30 cents versus its prior forecast of break-even results. The company now expects to report full year non-GAAP sales in of $845 million to $865 million and “roughly breakeven” non-GAAP earnings per share, it said. The company previously said it expected to report sales of $905 million to $920 million and non-GAAP earnings per share of 25 to 30 cents. THQ was “disappointed with this financial update,” but “we continue to execute on our plan of bringing quality games to market,” said CEO Brian Farrell. Word of weaker-than-expected UFC Undisputed sales weren’t a surprise because Chief Financial Officer Paul Pucino told a recent investor conference that initial sales disappointed (CED June 4 p4). There were strong reviews from game critics for the second UFC Undisputed mixed martial arts game and pre-orders were up 50 percent over last year’s first entry in the series, he said. “We saw strong retail and consumer demand for the title coming into launch, resulting in shipments of 2.6 million units to date,” he said. But he said, “Total sellthrough to date has been below our expectations and prior-year results.” The company “will continue to drive demand through a strong marketing campaign and by working with our partners at the UFC,” including the coming July 4 UFC 116 event featuring THQ’s cover athlete, Brock Lesnar, Farrell said.