Last month, THQ reported some not-so-awesome sales figures for its second annual entry into the UFC Undisputed franchise -- to the tune of an almost 50 percent decline from sales for last year's first stab at game-ifying the sport. In a recent discussion with the print version of MCV (via CVG), Jon Rooke, the company's UK marketing director, provided one possible explanation for the decrease: "That's largely down to Red Dead Redemption," Rooke explained.

Though Undisputed 2010 has managed to ship a sizable 2.6 million units, Rooke stated that the title hasn't "delivered the broader sales yet." He added, "Rockstar have probably taken a fair amount of our market share. They shipped 5m units, taking a lot of consumer dollars." We know exactly what he's talking about: We picked up Red Dead Redemption instead of UFC because we heard the former had really great wrasslin' -- but we were unfortunately greeted with hours of rustlin' instead.

THQ blames Red Dead Redemption for lower UFC 2010 sales originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Actually, you know what? The recently revealed Comic-Con trailer for DC Universe Online pulls two ol' switcheroos -- one you'll realize after watching the video posted below. The other? Well, the other switcheroo is that the trailer is inconceivably, expectation-shatteringly hot.

Continue reading DC Universe Online trailer pulls the ol' switcheroo

DC Universe Online trailer pulls the ol' switcheroo originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A long, stupid story short: British newspaper The Daily Star recently ran a since-pulled article claiming Rockstar Games was working on a game titled Grand Theft Auto: Rothbury, based on the shooting rampage allegedly perpetrated by Raoul Moat earlier this month. The report was based on a shockingly tasteless and obviously Photoshopped box art for the non-existent title -- though the Star ran the report as cold, hard fact, even going so far as to get quotes from the still-grieving family members of the shooting victims.

Rockstar (and, assumedly, its fleet of superhuman lawyers) must have sent some stern words to the outlet, which ran a lengthy retraction (via Rock, Paper, Shotgun) earlier today. In addition to apologizing for the irresponsible report, the paper claims, "we have also agreed to pay them a substantial amount in damages which they are donating to charity." Well, at least something good came out of this situation, we guess.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

British news outlet apologizes for 'Grand Theft Auto: Rothbury' report originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As hinted at yesterday by Harmonix's Twitter, a whole gang of tracks were confirmed to be included in Rock Band 3 during the developer's recent Comic-Con panel. These ditties include:

• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears
• "Rock Lobster" by The B-52s
• "Foolin'" by Def Leppard
• "Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson
• "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter
• "Cold as Ice" by Foreigner

Also, three new tracks were confirmed for Dance Central: "Drop it Like it's Hot" by Snoop Dogg, "Push It" by Salt N' Pepa, and "Bust a Move" by Young MC. Never before has a rhythm game played host to a trio of tracks giving such welcome instructions.

Six more Rock Band 3 songs (and three for Dance Central!) revealed originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know, we were just thinking about how tame ol' Kratos had become in the latter portions of the God of War trilogy. What happened to the days when he'd straight murder a Greek historical figure, unprovoked, just to solve a puzzle? Fear not -- those days will apparently return in Ghost of Sparta.

Continue reading New Ghost of Sparta footage teaches how to solve puzzles with murder

New Ghost of Sparta footage teaches how to solve puzzles with murder originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to Event Hubs, Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono recently dropped a fairly sizable bomb on attendees of the company's "Street Fighter Mania!: SSFIV and Beyond" panel at Comic-Con: Street Fighter X Tekken. The oft-rumored project will be developed by Capcom using the Street Fighter IV engine, and will feature a number of fighters from Namco's similarly successful fighting franchise.

But that's not all! Ono also revealed that Namco Bandai would be developing Tekken X Street Fighter, which will be developed in-house at Tekken, and spearheaded by long-time franchise producer Katsuhiro Harada. Both titles will be released for 360 and PS3, though according to a cheeky slide at the end of the presentation, the current release window is "not for a while!"

Street Fighter X Tekken (and vice versa) revealed at Comic-Con originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BioWare surprised fans at Comic-Con with a world premiere hands-on preview of Dragon Age 2, completely open to the public. A block down the street from the convention center, fans were treated to a short presentation by lead designer Mike Laidlaw, as well as a few very brief combat segments and a look at the story that kicks off the game.

I'll get impressions out of the way first: It's faster and more brutal, less cerebral and more exaggerated. You might think that's because BioWare wants to make the game a little flashier and more accessible, and you'd be right in part. But Dragon Age 2's dark secret is that even if the action is a little more over-the-top and a lot darker, there's a real, solid, story-based justification for it.

Continue reading Preview: Dragon Age 2

Preview: Dragon Age 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew the Sithdi (Jedith?) known as Starkiller had some serious Force-wielding prowess in the series' first installment, but if the dev diary for The Force Unleashed 2 posted below is any indication, we haven't really seen anything yet. Force Push is great -- but Force Disintegrate is better.

Continue reading The Force Unleashed 2 dev diary certainly does unleash the force

The Force Unleashed 2 dev diary certainly does unleash the force originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continuing the “Halo” tradition of offering players a groundbreaking level of customization, Microsoft and Bungie announced Forge 2.0, a robust set of new editing tools built into “Halo: Reach” that will empower aspiring game designers to easily create and share their unique “Halo: Reach” multiplayer map creations with the world. Set on one of the series’ iconic “Halo” rings, Forge World is a massive, beautifully-rendered landscape that serves as a giant canvas for players to build unique map creations alone or cooperatively with up to seven friends on Xbox LIVE or system link, or three friends via split-screen. Utilizing the upgraded Forge 2.0 toolset, Forge World holds unlimited creative potential for millions of armchair designers to sculpt, build and share the most intricate and visually stunning maps they can imagine. To showcase the new features in Forge 2.0, Bungie released a new ViDoc that will take viewers on a whirlwind tour of Forge World, which is available for viewing at the top of the post.

Additionally, Microsoft and Bungie are giving attendees at Comic-Con International the first public hands-on with the Firefight multiplayer mode at the Xbox booth, including the newly unveiled Versus Firefight mode, which pits a team of player-controlled Elites with Covenant AI support against a team of player-controlled Spartans. Everyone who plays a Firefight match will receive a free token to unlock an exclusive Noble 6 helmet for their Xbox LIVE Avatars.

The “Halo” excitement at Comic-Con continues throughout the week at the Xbox booth, and tomorrow (Sunday) there will be a special “Halo” panel hosted by 343 Industries at 11:00 a.m. in Room 32AB. “Halo” franchise development director Frank O’Connor hosts this panel of renowned “Halo” creators to discuss the future of the broader “Halo” universe, including appearances by authors and representatives from long-standing partners including Tor Books and Marvel Comics. Plus, a few lucky fans will receive Comic-Con exclusive commemorative posters celebrating the “Halo” universe by attending the panel event.

We didn't think there was anything slower in the whole, entire universe than one of Gears of War 3's lumbering, impossibly muscle-bound protagonists. We were wrong -- as evidenced by the two GameTrailers videos posted below, that honor goes to the new Beast Mode's "Berserker" character.

Continue reading See how the other half lives in Gears of War 3 'Beast Mode' footage

See how the other half lives in Gears of War 3 'Beast Mode' footage originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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