Hasta La Gadget!

Well here’s a surprising bit of gaming news: it turns out that indie gem Terraria will be making its way to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network next year. Publisher 505 Games announced the console version of the much-loved PC title today. Sadly, there isn’t a solid release date for the console version of the game yet, with 505 Games and developer Engine Software merely saying it’ll be out “early next year.”

Terraria launched at a time last year when Minecraft fever was in full swing. For those who’ve never heard of Terraria before, here’s a quick breakdown: Terraria is a 2D side-scrolling adventure RPG in which the main goal is to explore, build, and craft. It sounds a lot like Minecraft on paper, but in practice the two are actually quite different. Terraria has some strengths over Minecraft (like combat), whereas Minecraft has some over Terraria (like building). Terraria was met with great critical reception upon release, and went on to be a big seller on Steam – the PC version has sold over 1.6 million copies since release.

In a statement today, Terraria creator Andrew Spinks expressed his excitement in the fact that the game is coming to consoles. “I can’t say how excited I am to finally have Terraria come to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3!” he said. “To see it come so far is a complete shock, especially after such humble beginnings. It’s always been my dream to have as many people as possible know and enjoy Terraria as much as I have, and this is another big step in that direction!”

Spinks also teased that 505 and Engine are planning some additional content for this console release. Naturally, we don’t know what that new content is yet, but that’s definitely something to get excited about. Re-Logic (developer of the original PC version) added quite a bit of content after Terraria first launched, but has now halted production on the game as it works on other projects. Perhaps PC players will get this bonus content that will be included in the console version? A Terraria addict can only hope. Stay tuned for more information.

Terraria coming to Xbox 360, PS3 next year is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The folks over at Hulu have been focused on cleaning up content discovery and playback for a while, and now they’ve turned their collective eye to the PlayStation 3 Hulu Plus app. An update rolling out this evening brings a number of tweaks we saw hit its redesigned website in August, including the “tray-style” layout of shows, larger artwork, improved search with results that appear in the dropdown and simplified player controls. Take a peek in the gallery for a few screenshots of the new UI or after the break for an intro trailer. Although other platforms weren’t mentioned specifically Hulu said the PS3 is the first living room device to show off its new experience, which leads us to believe other devices should get a similar look eventually. Subscribers can take a look on the PlayStation Network to see if they find any improvements, non-subscribers can, as usual, jump in on a free seven day trial.

Continue reading Hulu’s PlayStation 3 app upgraded, is the first for the living room to deliver the ‘new experience’

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

Hulu’s PlayStation 3 app upgraded, is the first for the living room to deliver the ‘new experience’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony‘s new Wonderbook project has left some scratching their heads, but if you’re a Harry Potter fan, you may be pleased to know that the first game in the Wonderbook series will launch on November 13. That first game is dubbed Wonderbook: Book of Spells, and in it, players will use the augmented reality capabilities of the PlayStation Move and Eye to learn about and cast spells from the Harry Potter series, including Incendio, Wingardium Leviosa, and Harry’s own signature spell, Expelliarmus. Dark wizards should probably look elsewhere, as we doubt the family-friendly nature of Wonderbook: Book of Spells will allow for incantations such as Crucio and Avada Kedavra.

To help celebrate this launch date announcement, the folks at Sony have pulled together a developer diary all about Wonderbook. In this first dev diary, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of the idea behind Wonderbook, and how the developers came up with the product some of us will be taking home on November 13. Regardless of your feelings about Wonderbook, the video is actually quite interesting, so it’s suggested that you give it a watch.

When Wonderbook: Book of Spells arrives on November 13, it’ll come in two different forms. If you already own a PS Move controller and a PS Eye camera, the game and the book will be available in a standard package that runs $39.99. For those who are new to the realm of motion gaming on PS3, Book of Spells also comes in a bundle pack that includes the game, the Wonderbook peripheral, a PS Move controller and a PS Eye camera for $79.99. Those are some pretty attractive prices, especially if you already have a Move controller and an Eye, so even though some may be wondering why Sony is even releasing Wonderbook at all, the company can probably count on some pretty healthy sales.

That’s the thing too – hardcore gamers won’t understand what Wonderbook is all about, but that’s okay because it isn’t aimed at them. One look at the developer diary above and you can tell that young children are going to be all over this, and the team-up with J.K. Rowling to make a Harry Potter-themed Wonderbook game certainly won’t hurt. Who’s picking up Wonderbook: Book of Spells when it launches on November 13?

[via US PlayStation Blog]

Wonderbook: Book of Spells lands on November 13 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NPD has released its sales statistics for the US video game market in August, and Darksiders II has taken the software crown. That’s in a month where every category tumbled year-over-year, with total software sales falling by a significant 20% to $515.6 million. The decline in software sales didn’t sting as much, with that number only dropping 11% year-over-year before resting at $252.8 million for the month.

Hardware sales took the biggest hit, tumbling a whopping 39% to come in at $150.6 million. Looking at the software side of things, Darksiders II managed to take the top spot on the chart for the month, but NPD later confirmed to GamesIndustry International that the game only sold 247,000 copies in its first week and a half – Darksiders II was released in the US on August 14, and NPD’s cutoff date for the month was August 25.

That has to be a bittersweet moment for struggling publisher THQ. On the one hand, it must be nice to see Darksiders II take the top spot, but it’s almost certain that THQ was counting on more sales than Darksiders II managed to pull in. It may not be all doom and gloom though, as it’s important to keep in mind that NPD’s numbers don’t figure in Steam or international sales. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter says that worldwide sales of Darksiders II may have climbed as high 1 million by now, but also pointed out that THQ needs to sell in the area of 2 million copies to break even on the game.

“I think that the sales are below what they had hoped for,” Pachter said. “I presume it sold around 500,000 globally in the first two weeks (the NPD cutoff was Aug 25), so it’s probably over 1 million now, but my understanding is that breakeven is greater than 2 million units, so it’s not likely to get much higher than that.” Pacher continued by saying that we should give Darksiders II another month to see if its sales improve. Have a look at the full NPD top 10 software list for the month of August:

1. Darksiders II (360, PS3, PC)
2. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
3. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)
4. NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
5. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (360, PS3, PC, Wii, DS, 3DS, Vita)
6. Sleeping Dogs (360, PS3)
7. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360, PS3)
8. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, PC, Wii, DS)
10. The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, Wii, DS, 3DS)

Sadly, if Darksiders II sales don’t pick up, we may not see another release in the franchise. THQ has been struggling in a big way lately, and new president Jason Rubin has made it clear that he has no problem whatsoever cutting projects and franchises that aren’t performing in line with company expectations. While it’s great to see Darksiders II rank as the top-selling game for August, that may not be enough for a publisher that has no choice but to cut initiatives that aren’t bringing in cold hard cash. Let’s just hope that Darksiders II is more successful than these NPD numbers (and Pachter’s analysis) lead us to believe.

[via GamesIndustry International]

NPD: Darksiders II sold 247k copies in August, takes top software spot is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Square Enix has pulled the veil off the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box, a massive collection spanning most of the main series. Sadly, spin-off titles such as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy Tactics seem to be missing from this compilation, but all of the main series games to Final Fantasy XIII are present. It sounds like the perfect collection for die-hard Final Fantasy fans, but it’s going to cost quite a bit of money if you want to take one home with you.

Andriasang says that the Final Fantasy Ultimate Box will cost ¥35,000 in Japan, which works out to right around $447. That’s assuming that it even makes it to the United States, as at the moment, the Final Fantasy Ultimate Box is only confirmed for Japan. There’s no word on if it will launch in other regions yet, but it wouldn’t surprise us to hear that Squeenix wants to keep this Japan-only.

The first nine Final Fantasy titles will be offered on PS1 discs (with Final Fantasy VII through IX spanning four discs each) except for Final Fantasy III, which is included as a PSP game. Final Fantasy X, XI (Vana’diel Collection 2 to be specific) and XII are on PS2, and finally, we’ve got Final Fantasy XIII on PS3. It wouldn’t be much of an “Ultimate Box” if it only included games though, so Square Enix has added a number of extras, including an anniversary video, an art collection dubbed “Crystal ArtWorks,” a two-disc anniversary soundtrack, and a “mini replica of Amano FF 25th Anniversary visual.”

It definitely isn’t a bad collection, and it’ll be hitting Japan on December 18. It will only be available on the Square Enix e-Shop, which reinforces the idea that this is a very limited release. If that’s the case, then it isn’t looking good for a US or European release, but Square Enix might just surprise us – it is Final Fantasy‘s 25th Anniversary, after all. Keep it tuned to SlashGear, as we’ll have more information for you once there are new details to share.

Final Fantasy Ultimate Box collection heading to Japan is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.