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quantum-theory posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Tecmo Koei lowers profit forecast after Q3 losses

by JC Fletcher { Feb 3rd 2010 at 6:00AM }

Tecmo Koei has announced that it's lowering its annual operating profit forecast (essentially its guess for how much profit it will bring in before taxes) by a painful 95%. In addition, stock fell 9.5% to 630 yen ($7).

This comes after the announcement of disappointing third-quarter losses (PDF link) totaling 1.842 billion yen ($20.4 million), and after the announcement that two high-profile games, Quantum Theory and Trinity: Zill O'll Zero, have been delayed, thus eliminating whatever they would have contributed to the current fiscal year. Now it's all up to Dead or Alive: Paradise and the Western releases of Monster Rancher DS and Again.

Source [PDF]

Quantum Theory, Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll delayed [update]

by JC Fletcher { Feb 2nd 2010 at 10:55AM }

Tecmo Koei announced delays of two of its titles in Japan today. The female-focused shooter, Quantum Theory, has been moved out of its March 25 date to a troubling "TBA" date in the interest of improving quality. Tecmo Koei Europe confirmed that the delay affects the European release date, and it's likely to bump the North American date as well -- after all, if the game is still being worked on in March, we don't expect it to be released. [Update: Tecmo has confirmed the North American delay to Joystiq.]

The Koei side also delayed a title: Omega Force's RPG Trinity: Zill O'll Zero, which is to be released outside of Japan as Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll. Its new release date is also "TBA."

[Via Andriasang]

Source: Quantum site
Source: Zill O'll site

Tecmo sees 'opportunity' in expanding audience, pursuing women

by Richard Mitchell { Jan 28th 2010 at 3:00PM }

Speaking to Edge, Tecmo's Quantum Theory development team had a few things to say about the Japanese game market, expanding its audience and, of course, Quantum Theory. According to producer Yasuo Egawa, the Japanese game market is shrinking, though the global gaming audience is expanding. "We've been trying to target customers who haven't bought Tecmo games before," says Egawa, "specifically women." Given Tecmo's offerings over the last few years, it's hard not to find that just a little hilarious.

Regarding Quantum Theory itself, the company sees the game as its "third pillar" alongside Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Character designer Hiroyuki Yazaki notes that Quantum Theory is a departure from other shooters thanks to its AI-controlled female sidekick, Filena. Yazaki states that most shooters are "full of men; big, sweaty men," which lead Tecmo to design a "softer character" for the game. Yazaki adds, "We're Tecmo – we're good at female characters!" Again, just a little hilarious.

UK Quantum Theory date no longer theoretical

by Richard Mitchell { Jan 19th 2010 at 1:15AM }

Good news for fans of openly derivative third-person shooters, as Koei Tecmo has confirmed a UK release date for Quantum Theory. The gory shooter, which features brown landscapes, beefy characters, bloody explosions and is not Gears of War 3, will hit UK shelves beginning March 26, according to CVG. Similarities to Gears of War aside, the game had its own set of problems when we got our hands on it at the Tokyo Game Show last year. Here's hoping the kinks are ironed out by release. After all, the most important thing is that it's fun, right?

New Quantum Theory trailer and screens remind us of something

by David Hinkle { Jan 15th 2010 at 10:45PM }

This new footage and screens from upcoming Quantum Theory really look like something else: Gears of War 3. We feel bad for Epic's Cliff Bleszinski, who must feel a bit miffed himself at the new Tecmo title. It's taken some wind out of his sails, showing us pretty much everything we expect to see in the third installment of the Gears of War franchise, save for the chainsaw guns.

You can check out the gameplay trailer above and find the new screens in our gallery below.

Gallery: Quantum Theory (1.15.09)

Quantum Theory leaps from PS3 exclusivity, comes to Xbox 360

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 7th 2009 at 11:30AM }


Click to browse all new screenshots.
Tecmo's Gears of War clone is no longer a PS3 exclusive. During a recent interview in Tokyo, Tecmo revealed that Quantum Theory will also be coming to Xbox 360 in Spring 2010. That's the same North American release window given to the PS3 version, which is currently 70% complete. While Tecmo has traditionally focused on making engines and games exclusively for one system at a time, Quantum Theory is being developed on an unnamed internal PC-based engine designed to make multiplatform development easier, much like Square Enix's Crystal Tools. However, we still have our doubts about the engine: the latest build we saw of Quantum still suffered from performance issues.

Quantum Theory has been largely panned, not just for its gameplay but its rather uninspired look. However, Tecmo responded to these claims, saying they can provide a unique look for the genre. "One of the ways we're looking at differentiating Quantum Theory and one of the things that we can bring to the genre is an emphasis on story, art and visuals," Tecmo's Producer Makoto Shibata told us. "Most third person shooters are military-based and kind of brown. We're trying to bring more color and beauty ... We think this kind of style is kind of unique to us, and says about what Tecmo can do differently," Shibata added, noting that over half the art staff is female.

There are some decidedly Japanese gameplay elements, including a mechanic that's been described as "R-Type-esque." The AI-controlled female partner is, in many ways, exactly like the arcade shooter's Force: players throw her to inflict massive damage via her melee attacks. Ridiculous? Certainly, but it's quite possibly the most original thing Quantum Theory has going for it.

Gallery: Quantum Theory


  • Editor's note: Interview conducted by Joystiq Japan correspondent Ittousai.

Hands-on: Quantum Theory (PS3)

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 5th 2009 at 12:45PM }

Aping a popular franchise's mechanics and style may be seen as a safe business proposition, but in terms of critical evaluation, the copy-cat game is likely to face stricter judgment. After all, if you're going to copy the good stuff, you've got to get it right.

Tecmo's PlayStation 3 exclusive, Quantum Theory (just Quantum outside of Japan), certainly succeeds in evoking memories of Gears of War -- at least, if you remember Epic's shooter being a technically unsound and completely unappealing disaster. If the Tokyo Game Show build is any indication, Quantum needs to undergo crucial work before its early 2010 release.

Gallery: Quantum Theory

Continued →

Tecmo assaulting E3 with ninjas, zombies ... basketball?

by Jason Dobson { Jun 2nd 2009 at 8:30AM }

Dear Koei,

Things are great, and so far infection-free here at E3. Sure, we miss your quirky style, who wouldn't? Still, we're keeping ourselves busy readying games for the show, including Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, which ships for the PlayStation 3 this fall.

Other games we've got at our booth this year include Family Fun Football on the Wii, action game Undead Knights for the PSP, and -- oh -- did you know we were making a basketball game? It's true! We've got several downloadable titles this year, including a "contemporary retro" arcade-style basketball game called NBA Unrivaled and an action puzzler named Puzzlegeddon, both we hope to hit XBLA and PSN later this year.

Team Ninja's PS3-exclusive "art nouveau" shooter, Quantum, and the musical 2D platformer Fret Nice will also be on hand, though neither are expected to ship until sometime next year. All in all, we've got a lot of games to show off -- plus without any Dynasty Warriors games blocking our view we've got a clear shot those Ninja Gaiden models. Oo la la!

Wishing you were here,

Tecmo

Quantum Theory delayed until 2010 in Japan

by Majed Athab { May 27th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Quantum Theory (or simply Quantum as it's known in these parts), won't make it in time for release this year; however, according to a Famitsu translation (via IGN), QT will be ready by 2010 in Japan.

Basically, that means English-speaking regions won't be seeing this Tecmo PS3 exclusive until late 2010 at the earliest -- 2011, at the latest. Disappointed? Don't be; there are still some other interesting action titles out this year.

Quantum Theory uses tech from Ninja Gaiden Sigma

by Andrew Yoon { Jan 9th 2009 at 4:00PM }


Tecmo's upcoming PS3-exclusive shooter, Quantum Theory, isn't made by the notorious Team Ninja studio. However, why should developers Team Tachyon relearn a system that their peers have already mastered? The technology is owned by Tecmo, so why not share resources? "Team Ninja has already put out a game, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, on the PS3, and internally we've already shared the knowledge, and the know-how, and we're very aware of the technological challenges that they had," Keisuke Kikuchi explained to Gamasutra. "So, in a way, we have already been exposed to that."

Starting from an already existing base of technology will help the team get more out of the PS3's immense potential. Ninja Gaiden looked good, but the Tecmo tech can certainly be stretched even further. "We think that we can push it to the next level with Quantum Theory. So it's not like we're completely starting from scratch, but the luxury of having a team, internally, that has already worked on a PS3 title, definitely has been a help."

Tecmo has yet to release real-time footage of the game in motion, but we're hoping to see more from this exciting PS3 game in the future.

[Thanks, David B.!]

Rumors: Rez sequel, Spielberg's LMNO on hold and more from EGM

by Ross Miller { Dec 10th 2008 at 3:50PM }

Beyond Gears of War 3 for 2010, the January 2009 issue of the future-uncertain EGM contains a handful of other rumors to pique your interest (via NeoGAF). Top of that list? A spiritual sequel to Rez is coming from creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who can't make an actual sequel beacuse the IP is owned by Sega. Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment recently announced a music-infused project codenamed "QJ" for Wii, though it may be unrelated.

Additionally, the issue also asserted that Spielberg's mysterious EA Project LMNO is on hold at the moment. At the end of October, EA denied speculation that there had been layoffs related to the title. The remaining rumor-mongering includes a new Rifts-licensed game in 2010 (the last one was on N-Gage) and a large co-publisher for Tecmo's PlayStation 3 exclusive Quantum Theory.

TGS 08: RE5, SFIV, White Knight, more to support PS3 Trophies

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 12th 2008 at 6:00AM }


We're still recovering from our trip to TGS (in fact, we're still here in Tokyo). However, we thought you'd appreciate this list of new games which will definitely be supporting Trophies when they release on the PS3. Big first-party and third-party titles can be found on this list:
  • Demon's Soul
  • Derby Time Online
  • Gomibako
  • Quantum Theory
  • Resident Evil 5
  • Street Fighter IV
  • White Knight Chronicles
  • Yakuza 3
Unfortunately, the status of other big PS3 games, like Final Fantasy XIII, is still TBD. To check out the full list of Trophy-supported games on PS3, don't forget to check out PS3 Fanboy's Trophy Portal.

TGS 08: Gears of wh--? Quantum Theory trailer

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 9th 2008 at 3:00PM }

PS3 may have lost an exclusive, but it gained another. Quantum Theory is a PS3-exclusive third-person shooter that's supposedly Japan's answer to Gears of War. It comes from Tecmo's Makoto Shibata and will undoubtedly feature all the things needed for a good American-style shooter: greys and browns, explosions, a cover system and ridiculously large arms.

TGS 08: Quantum Theory confirmed as PS3 exclusive

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 9th 2008 at 2:30PM }

Out of all the possible answers relating to platform exclusivity inquiries, a simple "yes" is easily the most difficult one to extract. This did not prove to be the case with Tecmo's Makoto Shibata, however, who calmly assured us that Tecmo's upcoming third-person shooter, the cryptically named Quantum Theory, is indeed exclusive to the PlayStation 3.

The Team Tachyon director, who candidly described the game as Japan's answer to titles like Gears of War, is sticking to the predominantly Western genre's "basics," while making sure that his country's "skills and talent are incorporated." You'll note that the game's art employs a more expanded color palette, though not at the expense of unfeasibly enormous biceps. The traditional, post-apocalyptic environment is augmented here by a striking "living tower," a labyrinthine structure that the game's protagonist and his occasional female foil must traverse and ultimately defeat.

Taking a page corner from Fracture, Shibata noted that the "shape-shifting" environments within the tower would constantly change in real time, either providing new cover or creating unexpected dangers. With the game not being due until late 2009, however, we were unable to see this feature in practice. But at least that leaves plenty of time to tweak the game's name. In response to our suggestion to incorporate the word "tower" to better highlight the game's oblong villain, Shibata joked that it would ultimately be inappropriate for the tower-less sequel.

... He was joking, right?

Gallery: Quantum Theory

Tecmo's Quantum Theory explained in Famitsu

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 8th 2008 at 11:30AM }


Tecmo's Quantum Theory leaped from the pages of this week's Famitsu as a new third-person shooter for the PS3. Fatal Frame developer Keisuke Kikuchi is in charge of the project, where players take control of a "dark hero" with a big gun. There's also a female protagonist, but it's unclear whether she's playable. All we know is she wields a weapon that switches between gun and sword -- just the way we like our ladies.

The first Quantum trailer will bring us some solace when it's shown at the Tokyo Game Show tomorrow today Thursday in the land of the rising sun. The game is currently expected to release sometime in 2009 and appears to be a PS3 exclusive.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

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