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Eidos dissolved into 'Square Enix Europe,' layoffs likely

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jul 7th 2009 at 3:00PM }

It's a brand! Square Enix today welcomed (tentatively named) Square Enix Europe into the world; an "efficient and powerful" newborn division that looks just like Eidos' worldwide studios combined with various European sales and marketing personnel from existing Square Enix and Eidos lineages. Current Eidos CEO Phil Rogers has been selected to raise the baby branch, which replaces Eidos as a publishing label, though the Eidos brand will live on through its studios' credits. Additionally, Eidos' North American marketing, sales and distribution operations have been delegated to the territory's Square Enix office, which is led by John Yamamoto.

Of course, the icky part of Edios' arranged marriage to Square Enix and the subsequent birth of Square Enix Europe is the anticipation of an unknown number of layoffs. "Unfortunately we are expecting some jobs to be impacted directly by this in both Europe and North America," an Eidos spokesperson confirmed. "We are hoping to minimize this wherever possible and offer support and advice to any employees directly affected."

Demon's Souls wanders without European publisher

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 7th 2009 at 2:30PM }

It was surprising to see Demon's Souls announced for US release. The hardcore dungeon-crawling RPG is guaranteed not to sell much, thanks to its emphasis on old-school gameplay. Regardless, it has its niche, and we're certain there are many that want to play it.

Unfortunately, Demon's Souls is without a publisher in Europe. Sony Computer Entertainment publishes it as a first-party title in Japan and Asia, but opted to not pursue a worldwide release. The American rights were picked up by Atlus, a company that has no official presence in Europe. Sony told Eurogamer it had "no plans to publish [Demon's Souls] in Europe at present". Koei and Ubisoft, publishing partners of Atlus and From Software, also commented that there are "no plans," or are unaware of any plans, to bring the game to the European audience.

While a publisher may be announced in the future, it seems as though Europeans may have to rely on PS3's region free capabilities and import Demon's Souls when it releases in America later this year.

Gallery: Demon's Souls

[Thanks, Jake!]

Dissidia to release in Europe on September 4

by Jem Alexander { Jul 6th 2009 at 10:45AM }

Dissidia will be making its way to European shores -- that's the UK and across all PAL territories -- on September 4. That's only a week or so after the American launch, but in return, European Final Fantasy fans will get access to the limited edition version of the game. The western release will also feature new content that wasn't available in the Japanese version, including an Arcade Mode, more balanced gameplay and other fun stuff.

1 vs. 100 beta begins in UK this week, Germany and France on July 12

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 6th 2009 at 10:15AM }

Xbox European Community Manager Graeme Boyd tweeted word that 1 vs. 100 will begin its beta in the UK on July 10, with France and Germany joining on July 12. There is currently no information about 1 contra 100, 1 contro 100, 1 tegenover 100, 1 против 100 nor any other territories.

The US version is also currently still in beta, but begins offering "skill-based prizes" on July 10 (this Friday). Oh, and a word of advice for our European friends: Never trust "The Brain!"

Square Enix reveals European Dissidia collector's edition

by Jem Alexander { Jul 3rd 2009 at 6:30PM }

Sure, Europe still has some slight delay when getting Square Enix PSP titles, when compared to the US, but at least when they arrive, they come with extra goodies. Crisis Core had a bonus art book and now Dissidia will be getting the collector's edition treatment.

This special edition will include a regular boxed copy of the game inside clamshell packaging, as shown in the image to the right. Also in the box will be a "Best Selection Soundtrack Mini-CD," with specially chosen tracks from the game and liner notes by the composer.

There will also be a 48-page hardback artbook, similar to the Crisis Core one, and a Brady Games Official Miniguide and two lithograph prints. Not a bad package, overall, but we're still waiting for the announcement of the European release of the limited edition Dissidia PSP-3000. It is coming, right Square Enix?

European PSN releases for July 2

by Jem Alexander { Jul 2nd 2009 at 3:00PM }

Okay Sony, we forgive you for the last couple of weeks. Today's PSN update is chock full of content, with particular emphasis on downloadable games. Punisher and Topatoi are joined by James Pond 2 and Numblast, plus a demo for Red Baron. There's also the usual amount of DLC for those rhythm games you kids love so much, along with a new MotorStorm Pacific Rift expansion.

PSP owners can grab Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, a PSP version of Numblast and some other games, but if none take your fancy at least there's some new Rock Band Unplugged DLC.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Continued →

And you thought DJ Hero was expensive in America

by Jem Alexander { Jul 1st 2009 at 3:10PM }

Europeans will be paying through the nose -- but pay they will, if past Hero franchise figures are anything to go by -- for the next rhythm game from Activision. ShopTo has told Eurogamer that DJ Hero will retail for a ridiculous £108 in the UK. That's about $178 -- a $50 markup from the already silly US price.

Retailers are doing their best to bring the price down to something a little more reasonable, with ShopTo offering the game for £94.85 and HMV listing a £99.99 price point. Still a bit steep, but we suspect the game will still sell pretty decently. Although, that depends on how much Scratch will be selling for ...

Topatoi spinning to European PSN this week

by Jem Alexander { Jul 1st 2009 at 2:00PM }

We haven't heard much from Topatoi, the spinning 3D platformer developed by Ukrainian developer Boolat Games, since it was announced last November. Now, suddenly, the European PlayStation Blog has revealed that the game will be released this week -- but only in Europe. Boolat's PR manager calls Topatoi "the first part of the saga" and notes that the game will include split-screen multiplayer, with future updates providing more multiplayer modes.

No word on an American release yet -- but it definitely won't be this week. The official Boolat website says an announcement will be coming "soon."

Gallery: Topatoi

UK government requests evidence to support game developer tax break

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 30th 2009 at 1:15PM }

Two weeks ago, British politician Lord Stephen Carter published a document titled the "Digital Britain" report, which could ostensibly change the technological face of the UK should his fellow politicians adopt its bold demands. The nation's leaders were intrigued by at least one section of the report -- a section that suggests video game development studios should receive tax breaks in an effort to protect and strengthen the nation's gaming business.

The UK's Department of Media, Culture and Sport responded to the request by mailing TIGA and the ELSPA, asking for evidence to support why such a tax break is needed, and how it would culturally enrich the country. We're pretty sure that if such a tax break inspired the creation of a few more Media Molecules or Lionheads, we'd end up feeling pretty enriched.

MS partners with Canal+ for on-demand programs in France

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 29th 2009 at 2:00PM }

MCV reports that Microsoft has signed a deal with Canal+ to provide on-demand programming to France via the Xbox 360. Microsoft will utilize the Canal+ on-demand service Canalplay, which offers movies and television programs, and will also offer the football (soccer) channel Foot+. According to MCV, the deal will eventually expand to include other Canal+ services and other Microsoft platforms as well.

Welcome to the magical world of Xbox video on-demand, France. Or should we say bienvenue?

Fragile arrives on European shores early 2010

by David Hinkle { Jun 26th 2009 at 5:15PM }

The tri-Crescendo-developed Namco Bandai RPG, Fragile, will eventually make its way to Europe, GameSpot reports. Sometime in early 2010, Europeans will be able to get their own taste of this post-apocalyptic title following Seto, who is believed to be the last living human being. It's kind of like I Am Legend, but, like, bearable.

Made by the same team behind Eternal Sonata, Fragile is currently set to release in North America during the holidays courtesy of XSEED, and will arrive in Europe via Rising Star Games.

Gallery: Fragile

VC Friday: Let's Catch a Kindred Spirit

by JC Fletcher { Jun 19th 2009 at 11:40AM }

This week, the European Wii Shop is granted with a somewhat anticipated new title, and one we're glad is launching there before it does here. We're intensely curious about the platform action title Icarian: Kindred Spirits, and the fact that it's coming out in Europe first means we'll get to read reviews. We hope those 100 soundtrack downloads are claimed by now, by the way!

Also available for download this week: Let's Catch on WiiWare, and some more Brain Training on DSiWare.

WiiWare:

Icarian: Kindred Spirits
Let's Catch

DSiWare:

A Little Bit of ... Brain Training: Maths Edition

UK government plans tax breaks for 'culturally British' games

by Jem Alexander { Jun 17th 2009 at 1:45PM }

The long battle for UK tax breaks for games industry pros may finally be over, with the government stating in its recent Digital Britain report that it "has committed to work with the industry to collect and review the evidence for a tax relief." Here's the kicker, though. In order to be worthy of these potential tax breaks, the games must be "culturally British."

What this means is unclear, but games would need to be put through a test to determine whether they can be deemed "culturally British," in a way similar to the UK film industry. Certain British games, such as LittleBigPlanet -- whose narrator is a British national treasure -- and Fable 2 -- with its cockney characters and very English humor -- would be shoo-ins. Other games, such as Burnout Paradise, might need to make a few changes. Perhaps we'll see London landmarks like Big Ben or the London Eye introduced in a future DLC pack.

The Conduit delayed in Europe, Australia [update]

by JC Fletcher { Jun 17th 2009 at 11:00AM }

[Update: Sega has confirmed that the US release date remains June 23.]

Sega has announced that the European release of The Conduit has been delayed from its original June 26 date to July 10. According to CVG, unspecified issues with the game's multi-language European localization are responsible for the holdup.

VOOKS has also confirmed a delay for the Australian release of High Voltage's FPS. Once given a June 25 release date, the game has been pushed back to July 16. Neither Sega nor VOOKS offered any reason for this version's delay, and the Australian release shouldn't be affected by the same localization problems. At this point, your best shot at playing The Conduit next week remains the "living in North America" strategy, or the slightly less drastic "importing from North America" strategy.

Gallery: The Conduit

MCM London Expo expands for October 2009 show

by Jem Alexander { Jun 16th 2009 at 9:40PM }

London's becoming quite the hip gaming scene over the last couple of years. Between the Eurogamer expo, Play.com Live, HMV's GameOn, the London Games Festival and the MCM Expo, there's always somewhere to go and play unreleased games. The latter of which has announced that it will be expanding its floor space for its second show of the year, in October.

The organizers of the show are hoping to attract over 40,000 attendees to the event -- that's similar to the size of E3 -- with content ranging from anime, manga, comics, celebrities, sci fi paraphernalia and, perhaps most importantly, games. The extra 2,000 square meters will mean more space for the various publishers who will be showing off their wares, like Capcom, Koei and Ubisoft. Don't worry if you miss it though, there are plenty of other shows coming up which will no doubt be just as good.