Microsoft has just announced that they’re resurrecting their Xbox 360-event, which was last held in 2006 in Barcelona, Spain. This year’s expo will take place in San Francisco, CA and will happen on February 11th at the Terra Event Center.
When gamers think of videogame expos, they think of huge events like E3 or GDC, which lasts for days and days. X10, which is what this Microsoft-only event is called, will only lasts for four-hours. However, even with the short time-span, Microsoft is showing off a number of notable games including: Alan Wake, Fable III, Halo: Reach, Crackdown 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Final Fantasy XIII and more titles. Not only that, but we should be getting more information on the highly-anticipated — controllerless — motion peripheral, Project Natal.
Even though with the event lasting four hours, a lot of news should be coming out of it. The press in attendance will get a personal look at each of these games and interact at a more personal level, which means questions will be asked and answers will be answered. Some of which will be juicy tidbits.
Rumors have been suggesting that customers who buy Assassin’s Creed II, will receive an exclusive demo for Splinter Cell: Conviction, for the Xbox 360. The rumors started to appear thanks to a video from the HipHopGamer and a post from a NeoGAF user. The game comes with a card that includes a URL and a code which gives the customer the chance to download a freebie. Right away people started to think that the game is coming with the demo. If that is what you are hoping, then please by all means stop.
We received a picture of this so-called voucher, and from what we can tell — it’s not an exclusive demo for the next Sam Fisher title. It doesn’t say anything about a demo nor does it even suggest a tease for the game will be available if you purchase Assassin’s Creed II. If you read the card, it tells you to “go to the URL, then “enter your key code,” from there you’ll “receive [a] free instant download.” This sounds like nothing more than a free wallpaper or something similar.
Also, it says nowhere on the box that a demo is include with every copy of Assassin’s Creed II for the Xbox 360. Don’t you think that this is something Ubisoft would want to advertise on the case if it did include a demo? It’s not happening, sorry guys.
Ubisoft has announced the disappointing news that the Xbox 360 exclusive Splinter Cell: Conviction, and the WiiMotionPlus only game Red Steel 2, have both been delayed until 2010. From the sounds of it, both highly anticipated titles should be shipped into stores sometime between January and March of 2010.
When E3 was underway, the impression was that both Red Steel 2 and Conviction would be coming out later this year, and presumably during the holiday season. According to the CEO of Ubisoft Yves Guillemot, the company felt the need to delay both titles was because they wanted to make sure they were polished by the time gamers got their hands on them.
“The changes on Splinter Cell and Red Steel – it’s just a question of polish,” said Guillemot. “The team was asking that they couldn’t be with the level of quality on all the maps and all the game for the end of the year, so they had asked for more time to be able to come with a better product, for both of those games.”
Although some are speculating that Ubisoft is doing something similar that 2K did when they pushed back Bioshock 2. According to 2K, their reason to delay BioShock 2 was because of financial underestimation of how many would sell.
Either way, there isn’t a question; the more time developers have to creating a game — the better chance it has to become good.
Seeing Conviction being delayed is somewhat of a surprise. When the game was first revealed back at E3 in June, it definitely looked like it was ready to see a holiday release date.
Red Steel 2 is a different story, however. While I saw major potential in the sequel, I didn’t think it would have been ready in time for the Christmas season, or at least be met with great reviews. Seeing it get pushed back until next year is a good thing for Wii owners. The first Red Steel had buttloads of promise, but when it was released during the launch of the Wii — it was a huge disappointment. It seems like Ubisoft learned their lesson.
Ubisoft has released a Comic-Con trailer for their highly-anticipated Splinter Cell: Conviction game, which is set to hit the Xbox 360 and PC later this year. The trailer seems to be really focusing more on the gun battles and action sequences, rather than the stealth the series is known for. Which I’m guessing is something Ubisoft thinks Comic-Con gamers would rather see in a videogame.
While it shows a lot of the footage from this past E3, you’ll catch some new scenes not yet shown from the game. So, it’s definitely worth watching.
The age of third-party exclusives might be coming to an end, however, that doesn’t mean some game developed won’t be an confined to one system. One of the best games at E3 was Splinter Cell: Conviction, and it happens to be published by a third-party company which is Ubisoft. Since we first saw the posters in and around E3, we noticed it only had an Xbox 360 logo and was missing the PS3 watermark. Because of that reason alone, many people were speculating that the title was going to be an Xbox 360 exclusive. Guess what? They were right.
Ubisoft has confirmed that Splinter Cell: Conviction will only be coming to the 360 because “Splinter Cell games are historically linked with Microsoft platforms.”
“Splinter Cell conviction is a true Microsoft exclusive title and there are no plans to have Splinter Cell Conviction on other platforms. There are several reasons behind this choice. First of all, Splinter Cell games are historically linked with Microsoft platforms. The first Splinter Cell on the original Xbox was one of the first games to fully exploit the console’s technical possibilities. At that time, Microsoft really believed in the game potential and provided strong support to promote it. So, there is a “link of heart” between the franchise and the platform. Some games are like this (think of Final Fantasy for instance). The second reason behind this choice is purely linked to production. Having a single target platform means that we can optimize the game even further, because we only have one type of – console – hardware to support.”
Funny how they told us to think of Final Fantasy, but last time I checked the 14th installment of the famed RPG is now making its way to the Xbox 360. So saying “link of heart” is a little dumbfounding. I always thought it was about money in the end. Good job Ubisoft, you are really playing in the hands of the fanboys of each system.
The last few Splinter Cell games have included some of the most original and fun multiplayer modes out there. Coincidently, one the things that was noticeably absent during the debut, which was first shown during E3, was the multiplayer aspect nor was it even mentioned. Well I assumed we would see it in the final product, I just wanted to know for sure.
Thankfully Joystiq has got word straight from the producer Alexandre Parizeau, that multiplayer will be included.
“We’re going to have a multiplayer, but I can’t talk about it anymore than that. It’s part of the things we’re going to announce during the summer.”
This is great news for Splinter Cell fans because again, Ubisoft really did a magnificent job creating an online experience like no one else. Not only will SC include multiplayer, but also downloadable content.
“DLC, it’s always part of our strategies. We always want to keep the content fresh, so as soon as the team is done with the game we can move on and continue expanding the experience. It’s going to be part of our plans, for sure.”
Sounds great to me!
Expect to see Splinter Cell: Conviction this fall for the PC and Xbox 360.
With the start of this year’s E3 only hours away news and rumors are popping up everywhere. One of these rumors comes from one of the many giant banners hanging around Los Angeles. As Joystiq points out, the banner for Ubisoft’s upcoming game, Splinter Cell: Conviction, displays the Xbox Live logo along withe the Xbox 360 logo, but the PlayStation logo is nowhere to be found. This omission more then re-affirms the rumor that the game would be an Xbox exclusive.
This banner is just one of many that are around the downtown area of Los Angeles for E3. The banners are just a small big sign that this year’s E3 will be a large focus for publishers, compared to last year’s E3 which to many was considered a ghost town.
The last of the Splinter Cell: Conviction teaser trailers is now online, if you want to watch it click here. Sadly, this latest teaser doesn’t reveal to much, expect that Sam Fisher feels betrayed, and he’s going to seek the truth — while getting back to whomever wronged him.
Interesting enough, the trailer ends with an overhead satellite photo of the Los Angeles Convention Center. You know, where E3 takes place and where the game will finally be revealed to the world.
It has felt like forever since the last time Ubisoft released any kind of information to the public for their next Splinter Cell game. The title which is called Splinter Cell Convection, will once again follow the mysteriousSam Fisher, however this time there is a twist. The same government agency that he once worked for, is now trying to haunt him down. Meaning Fisher must hide to protect himself and without the gadgets we are used to see him work with.
The game will focus less on sneaking around and more on improvisation, while using the environment around him. The game is supposed to include a diverse hand-to-hand combat system, as well as a feature where Fisher is supposed to use his people skills to make friends. The more close relationships Fisher builds, the better supplies/gear he’ll receive in return. It almost seems like the same people Sam Fisher preyed upon, he now must work with in order to be free.
Anyway, the official teaser site is live and includes a trailer, which we have embedded up top. Although it shows nothing, it seems like maybe the game will take place on a remote island, which makes sense because the game is consider an ‘open world.’ However, the trailer ends abruptly and I’m betting the next one will start where this one left off.
If you head over to the website, it has a few tabs locked and reads “restricted access’ and includes dates. I’m assuming these dates are for when the next trailers appear online and that would be on May 20th and the 28th.
I almost forgot about Splinter Cell Conviction. Not because I’m not looking forward to it, that’s hardly the case. It has just felt like a 100 year’s since Ubisoft has even talked about the stealth game.
Thankfully, the game had a mention in the company’s quarterly report. According to the document, the publisher expects the next installment of Sam Fisher to happen “this Christmas.” Which would coincide with other major releases from Ubisoft including: Assassin’s Creed 2, Avatar, Rabbids Go Home and Red Steel 2.
We can only hope that this is true, because it has been awhile since the last time we all played a new Splinter Cell game. And this next one looks extraordinary ambitious. If it is coming out this year, expect to see a lot of news for the game at this year’s E3, which is only about a month away.
