Capcom has expanded its App Store catalog with a pair of sequels in its Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Cash Cab franchises.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Gold Knights 2 ($4.99) introduces a new playable character, Perceval, who boasts an arsenal of three weapons that can be charged for more powerful attacks. Gold Knights 2 also features an overhauled game engine, along with a tweaked control scheme offering customizable button placement.
Cash Cab: Las Vegas ($2.99) features 550 all-new trivia questions, many of which focus on Las Vegas culture. The game otherwise includes all of the features found in the original Cash Cab title, though downloadable question packs promise to keep the experience fresh. An enhanced iPad version is also available.
Tags: Action, capcom, cash cab, ghosts 'n goblins: gold knights, trivia
Poor console game sales and a strong yen continue to challenge Capcom. After closing 2009 with a 73 percent profit drop, its results for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 were also weak, with profits down 90 percent to 2.2 billion yen ($25.3 million). Sales fell 2.4 per cent to 19.03 billion yen ($217.7 million).
While in its game segment alone (Capcom has multiple businesses, including arcade operations) sales were slightly up, it had little impact on the profit declines. In particular, the company said Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii has been “sluggish”.
Further, “While U.S. and European markets are shrinking under the stagnating economy, performance of our flagship title Lost Planet 2 struggled to grow in these regions,” the company claimed — adding that Lost Planet 2 “underperformed its projection substantially.” Capcom said Monster Hunter Online and Super Street Fighter IV were growing, however.
The company pointed to the “rapid growth of network games and new devices” driven by smartphones and devices like iPad: “Under these circumstances, Capcom focused on the development of games targeted for overseas markets and online games,” it explained.
It exemplified this strategy through Resident Evil 4 iPad Edition, which it says has seen downoads “increasing gradually”, and iPhone/iPad releases of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Street Fighter IV, which “achieved their projected sales.”
Recently, Capcom discussed its console sales challenges and said it planned to square off against market declines by releasing editions of its most popular brands, like Resident Evil and Street Fighter, more frequently.
Tags: capcom, Industry News
Capcom and Telltale Games are holding App Store sales during the week of Comic-Con International, dropping the price of standout titles like Street Fighter IV, Phoenix Wright, Sam & Max, and Wallace & Gromit.
Gameloft and EA also contribute their own sales this weekend, bringing Modern Combat: Sandstorm, Skate It, and other big releases to their lowest prices yet.
You ready to save some crazy money? Here we go!
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Tags: capcom, ea games, Price Change, telltale games, weekend app sales
In a surprise development, a new Resident Evil game has been released exclusively for iOS devices. Wha…huh?!
Sorry, didn’t mean to get your hopes up. Resident Evil: Afterlife Movie Game is a free promotional title published by Sony Pictures to promote the upcoming Paul W.S. Anderson film Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D. The game is available as a universal app, optimized for both the iPhone and iPad.
Afterlife Movie Game ditches the franchise’s survival horror roots, instead offering up a fixed-position first-person shooter. As Milla Jovovich’s character Alice, players will battle the evil Umbrella Corporation on the way to a showdown with unkillable series antagonist Albert Wesker.
Oh, and there’s lots and lots of zombies. But you probably already knew that.
Be warned that Capcom had no involvement with this game’s creation, so it likely won’t live up to anyone’s expectations. At least it’s free, I guess!
Tags: capcom, Free Games, resident evil afterlife, shooter, sony pictures
After only recently being unveiled at E3, Capcom’s vertically scrolling shoot-’em-up 1942: First Strike ($2.99) has now arrived for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Following up on the company’s classic arcade 1942 series (and largely based on the recent Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network remake 1942: Joint Strike), 1942: First Strike offers up eight levels of shooting action and three selectable ships.
As in previous games in the series, 1942: First Strike is wrapped in a fairly standard military theme, to complement the wartime setting. The game also features online leaderboards, allowing players to compare their best scores with shooter fans from around the world.
No word yet on whether either of First Strike’s control schemes (both touch or tilt are available) measure up to the standards set by genre leaders Infinity Gene and Espgaluda II, but if you’ve got a soft spot for the simpler days of the shoot-’em-up, 1942: First Strike has nostalgia on its side.
Tags: 1942: first strike, capcom, shooter
Capcom has announced the upcoming release of two iPhone-exclusive titles based on its classic arcade franchises 1942 and Ghosts ‘n Goblins.
1942: First Strike, which features art and gameplay elements borrowed from the recent series sequel 1942: Joint Strike for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network, is a vertically-scrolling shooter featuring three playable aircraft.
First Strike offers three different control schemes — tilt, touch, and virtual d-pad — and includes eight levels, four boss fights, and online leaderboards.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Gold Knights II follows up on the original Gold Knights released in the App Store last year. Like its predecessor, Gold Knights II blends 3D characters and backgrounds with classic 2D platforming action.
Arthur and alternate playable character Perceval return for the sequel. Arthur boasts an arsenal of six weapons, while Perceval can charge up each of his three weapons for powerful attacks that can quickly take out the game’s difficult bosses.
1942: First Strike and Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Gold Knights II will be released in the App Store later this year.
Tags: Action, capcom, platformer, shooter, Upcoming
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When Phoenix Wright took his first case back in 2001, who could have known that this initially Japanese-only Game Boy Advance release would spark such a devoted fanbase and consequent barrage of sequels?
Set in the courtroom, Phoenix Wright is a defense lawyer fighting for justice, with you to guide his quick-draw finger of objection. A combination of clever storytelling and hilarious character interaction saw him hit the big time, with an eventual Nintendo DS release in 2005.
Five years later and the iPhone is finally getting in on the action, with the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney in full evidence-presenting glory. This is the full DS version, but with slightly altered touch-screen controls. The new buttons are a little awkward to begin with, but certainly not enough to bring the experience down.
The iPhone edition comes with all five Nintendo DS cases (and not the GBA cases, as the App Store description states – the GBA edition only had the first four). Play jumps between two different game types – the player first hunts around the crime scene, looking for clues and talking to witnesses.
Once every shred of evidence has been collected, it’s off to the courtroom to cross-examine everyone who steps up onto the stand, and find the truth. Witnesses say their piece, then it’s your job to find a contradiction between what they’ve stated and a collected piece of evidence.
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Tags: adventure, capcom, iPhone, phoenix wright, reviews
Capcom’s popular courtroom drama series gets an iPhone adaptation with today’s release of Phoenix Wright ($4.99).
Originally debuting for the Game Boy Advance in Japan and spanning multiple sequels on the Nintendo DS worldwide, the Phoenix Wright series puts players in the role of a rookie defense lawyer who must prove his clients’ innocence in a series of bizarre and convoluted trials.
Outside of the courtroom, players must investigate crime scenes and other locales for clues and evidence via a point-and-click-like interface. During courtroom sequences, players will present evidence, defend against the prosecution’s allegations, and interview witnesses to attempt to find testimony inconsistencies.
The iPhone version of Phoenix Wright appears to be a faithful translation, stacking the Nintendo DS’s two screens in a vertical format. The game includes all four cases from the original Game Boy Advance edition of the game, along with a fifth chapter originally seen on the Nintendo DS.
Tags: adventure, capcom, phoenix wright
Gameloft strikes again. Previously, we’ve seen the company publish iPhone titles that were suspiciously similar to popular franchises like Halo, SoulCalibur, and Cooking Mama. Today, Gameloft targets Resident Evil series publisher Capcom with Zombie Infection ($6.99), a survival horror title for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Specifically, Zombie Infection clones the gameplay mechanics introduced in Resident Evil 5. In this third-person action game, players control a team of two characters — one male and one female — throughout a series of levels filled with zombified humans and animals.
Yes, one innovation that Zombie Infection promotes is the inclusion of undead animals. In fact, one level takes place in a zoo filled entirely with zombie wildlife.
(At first, I misread the word “docks” in the app description and thought that the zoo level also included zombie ducks, but sadly, this is apparently not the case.)
Zombie Infection features 12 levels and a selection of unlockable Gameloft Live trophies.
Tags: Action, capcom, gameloft, zombie infection, zombies
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A little backstory, before we begin: Dark Void Zero was initially created as a joke — a little 8-bit promotion for the main event, if you will.
The main event, of course, being the multiplatform action game Dark Void. The two games share a storyline and general gameplay themes, but beyond that, the similarities are (purposely) few and far between.
While Dark Void strives to be a next-gen heavy-hitter — with glorious graphics to match all the latest gaming releases and a physics engine to die for — Dark Void Zero heads in quite the opposite direction. It heads all the way back to the ’80s, in fact.
Indeed, with Dark Void Zero, Capcom has attempted to bring us a title that feels very much like a blast from the past — a game from the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System era. They’ve succeeded, too.
From the gorgeously pixelated backdrops to the great 8-bit soundtrack (created by none other than Bear McCreary, the composer for Battlestar Galactica), the whole thing screams nostalgia. Even the loading and pause screens are spot-on.
The game itself has a very Metroid-esque feel to it. Armed with a blaster and a jetpack, your mission is to find three portal codes which can be used to shut down Portal X, saving the Earth from alien infestation.
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Tags: capcom, dark void, dark void zero, iPhone, metroid, platformer, reviews
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