Crytek to Purchase Free Radical

While an official announcement is due today, early word from Free Radical scriptwriter Rob Yescombe is that Crytek will buy the troubled UK-based development studio behind the wonderful TimeSplitters series and the mediocre Haze game. Speaking to 1UP, Yescombe confirmed that the developers of Far Cry and Crysis had purchased the company for an undisclosed sum.

“After seven long weeks of uncertainty, I can confirm that Free Radical is now out of the woods.” he said “We’ve been bought by a really, really good company. I’m so excited I’m lost for words. It’s the smoothest deal we’ve ever done. It all went through quickly, efficiently, fantastically…”

While there is cause for celebration, hopefully today’s announcement will reveal what happens with the employees that were let go in December. Will they return to work or will Crytek simply say “what’s done is done” and move forward? We don’t know but we’ll be following this story closely throughout the day as it develops.

Spore Tops Retail Sales Charts

According to NPD’s retail sales data for the week ending Sept. 13, Spore and Spore related products have taken the top spots in the North America.

Will Wright’s popular game takes three spots this week: Spore landed in the top spot, followed by the Galactic Edition of the game and Spore Creature Creator in the number 4 spot. EA continues to dominate the top ten , with 6 titles in the top ten, while Activision takes up the rest of the spots with World of Warcraft, Warcraft III and the Burning Crusade expansion. The full list after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

Spore, The Sims Dominate PC Charts

Despite all the Internet drama about DRM, Spore managed to eke out a decent second place showing in North America, right behind the latest The Sims 2 expansion, The Sims 2 Apartment Life. I This is according to NPD Groups retails sales data for the week ending September 6, 2008.

It is interesting to note that the PC charts are being dominated by only two companies this week: Electronic Arts and Activision Publishing. For EA’s part three key franchises have managed to take up 6 slots in the top ten: Spore, The Sims 2 and Crysis. Activision Publishing’s World of Warcraft and Warcraft III Battle Chest filled out the remaining four slots. It’s tough to call Spore a disappointment, though many expected it to be at the top of the heap as soon at was released. I expect that it will have a number one showing in next week’s charts. Full top ten after the break:

Read the rest of this entry »

Crysis Warhead Ships Out

Crysis Warhead is now shipping to retail outlets in North America and Europe, and should be widely available on September 18. Ready to weave a brand new tale with lots of action, open-ended gameplay and high end visuals along with Crysis Wars, a new multiplayer component for the Crysis universe

Crysis Warhead takes place alongside the events of last year’s game, with players experiencing battles against waves of enemies on the other side of the island through the eyes the aggressive Sergeant “Psycho” Sykes.

Crysis Wars also features 21 maps and three multiplayer modes, including InstantAction, deathmatch enhanced by the power of the nanosuit, PowerStruggle, a team-based mode and TeamInstantAction, a mix of fast-paced action in a team-based environment.

Crysis Warhead has been rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB and ‘16+’ by PEGI.

Crytek Buys Black Sea Studios

WorldShift and Knights of Honor developers Black Sea Studios has been purchased by Crytek and will henceforth be called Crytek Black Sea. Crytek, the fine folks that brought the original Far Cry and Crysis to gamers worldwide, purchased the company as part of its long term plan to grow and expand. Black Sea will certainly open up new possibilities for the company known best for creating first-person shooters. Crytek is currently working on the follow-up to Crysis, Crysis Warhead.

Crysis Is Platinum

In a conference call to discuss its fiscal Q3 financial results, Electronic Arts said that its first-person shooter Crysis did pretty well. The game has apparently sold more than one million copies.

While EA’’s PC revenue was down 30% ($153 million) due to last year’s strength of The Sims and Battlefield franchises, co-publishing and distribution revenue was $372 million, up over 7x from last year thanks to a number of strong performers including Rock Band, Half Life 2, The Orange Box, Hellgate: Londonand Crysis.

Other titles that sold 1 million or more units in EA’’s fiscal third quarter included Need for Speed ProStreet, Rock Band, The Simpsons, Half Life 2, The Orange Box, The Sims 2: Castaway, NBA Live 08 and Crysis all went platinum in the quarter. Year to date, EA said 23 titles that have sold over one million copies, up five from a year ago.