271w ago - Take-Two reported a relatively weak quarter, posting a loss in the holiday quarter for the third consecutive year.

While new management is not to blame for the poor results, we think the weak performance reflects the extent of the turnaround required to restore the company to profitability.
Take-Two's bottom line results were slightly better than we expected, with lower than expected R&D and marketing expenses accounting for most of the EPS upside.

On the top line, revenues were higher than expected due to significant contribution from the company's distribution business. The company's margins were slightly lower than we expected due to a higher mix of distribution revenues.

We think that it is important to point out that U.S. industry software sales have grown by over 58% from the November 2005 - January 2006 period through the November 2007 - January 2008 period, while Take-Two's publishing revenues have declined by almost 23%.

This is clearly a company that is losing market share, and as we review the lineup for the balance of 2008 and 2009, we see more of the same type of games we have seen over the last three years. The company's sports lineup continues to underperform, generating only $32 million of sales (26% of publishing revenues) for the key holiday...

271w ago - Capcom (may) have, via leaked mag scans, had the wraps taken off Lost Planet Colonies, the successor to snowy bug-killing simulator Lost Planet: Extreme Condition.

What's new? There's a new playable character (that girl in snow gear) and in online play you'll get the option of playing as the bugs against the humans. That online play will feature cross-platform play between PCs and 360s.

There's more weapons and more monsters to fight (including their eggs), and it'll be out in Japan on May 29. Oh, and no word of a PS3 release as of yet.

Bear in mind: all this info comes courtesy of a leaked magazine scan that's been...modified to include super-awesome Xbox Japan boss Takashi Sensui, so until we get some more concrete info, take it all with a grain of salt.

271w ago - Earlier today, Capcom opened their doors to Bay Area gamers interested in spending an afternoon playing one of their new games. A set of photos from the test are now online and one of them teases us with black boxes over the monitors.

While we can't see the title in question there are Xbox 360 development units adjacent to the flat screen TVs and a 360 pad in someone's lap. It seems likely the unknown title is going to be an Xbox 360 game.

Could this be a test for Lost Planet Colonies? While Capcom has yet to say anything official about a potential Lost Planet follow up many, many ratings boards have Lost Planet Colonies in their database.

The room happens to have Lost Planet artwork on the wall too, which may or may not be a coincidence.

271w ago - From space to eastern Europe, Dark Sector has come a long way. We chat with Digital Extremes about the game's present and possible future.

Congenital analgia is a genetic disorder the prevents sufferers from experiencing pain. For Hayden Tenno, lead character in new PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game Dark Sector, this curse is something of a blessing.

Hayden is the star of Dark Sector, a contemporary third-person game developed by Canadian studio Digital Extremes. Central to the project is the idea of change.

Hayden is a straight-talking anti-hero who, through his genetic abnormality, is able to withstand the effects of the Technocyte virus, a biological weapon that is running out of control in the eastern European country or Lasria.

The Technocyte virus, Digital Extremes' Dave Kudirka explains, turns everyone unwittingly exposed to the disease into horrible, blood-thirsty creatures. Everyone, that is, except Hayden. Thanks to his analgia, Hayden is able to withstand the devastating effects of the virus - a good thing, even if it bears the side-effect of making him persona non grata among the infected.

Don't expect this to feel like an episode of House starring Spawn, though. "We certainly didn't focus on that in the game, but it's still there," Kudirka says. "We didn't...

271w ago - Just as we thought the battle between Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PS3 couldn't get any more interesting, the fight has just gotten a lot more fierce. The general consensus was that 2008 would be the year of the PS3. The year it finally sinks its teeth into the market to wrestle market share away from Microsoft and Nintendo.

But before Sony could even make a move, Microsoft has pre-emptively spanked the PlayStation 3 in the face. It's unabashedly Wii'd on Sony's fire whilst giving it the proverbial finger. Effectively it's neutered the PS3 before it even had a chance to challenge. And how? By massively reducing the price of its Xbox 360 consoles.

It's staggering - £150 for an Xbox 360 Arcade? That's HALF THE PRICE of the PS3, and £20 cheaper than a Nintendo Wii - how can Sony even hope to compete with that?

PlayStation 3 vs Xbox 360

The good news (or at least, the not-so-bad news) for Sony is that no one who would consider buying a PS3 would ever buy the hard disc-less Xbox 360 Arcade. So those two models are not really competing with one another. The bad news is that the real competition comes from the Xbox 360 Premium - which will, from Friday, be priced £100 cheaper than the PlayStation 3.

Last week Sony was in good shape to go forth and...