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SouthPeak doubles game sales in 2009 amid dropping profits

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 15th 2009 at 12:30AM }

Though SouthPeak is keen to point out that its net revenues rose from last year by $7.2 million, the company's profits for the year remain firmly in the red, with a $12.1 million posted loss for the 2009 fiscal year ending June 30. SouthPeak's loss report comes confusingly paired with a 100% increase in units sold from fiscal year 2008 (from 1.2 to 2.4 million units) -- 2009's posted $12.1 net loss gets explained away by "approximately $12.5 million invested in game development and intellectual property for future title releases," among other things.

The report also allows "$1.6 million of expenses relating to the Gamecock acquisition," hopefully some of which went to paying Gamecock debt now owed by SouthPeak -- this on top of another $4.6 million or so for "charges relating to write-downs on software values and sequel right values to certain titles." Unsurprisingly, the publisher hopes that upcoming titles Two Worlds 2 and My Baby: First Steps, as well as a "highly-anticipated sequel to Dementium," will bolster its next fiscal year. We're just hoping the games the company does sell will actually garner some profit this time around.

Market Section 8, win an HDTV and a 360

by Richard Mitchell { Sep 10th 2009 at 4:45PM }

Unless your title begins with Halo or Gears -- or ends with Duty -- it's hard to get your shooter recognized on the Xbox 360. It seems that the cats at SouthPeak understand this, and have come up with a particularly sneaky contest. You see, the contest asks fans to design the official shirt for the game. Naturally, the winner will receive a fabulous prize, in this case a 32" HDTV, an Xbox 360 and a copy of Section 8.

The ingenious part is this: It's a contest, which is designed to generate interest in the game. But the goal of the contest is to design the official shirt, which will also be used to generate interest in the game. Pretty sneaky, SouthPeak. The contest opens September 11 and closes on September 30. For more details, head over to the official contest page.

Section 8 dated, clan and stat portal detailed

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 28th 2009 at 8:00PM }

First off, as the headline eloquently suggests, Section 8 has been blessed with a release date. The game will hit North American shelves on September 4, the UK and Asia / Pacific regions on September 11 and the rest of Europe on September 18. So there's that. In other mechanically enhanced soldier news, TimeGate has announced its plans to open a clan and stat portal for the game.

The clan portal will allow users to access lots of special features, including automatically updating clan tags, establishing clan hierarchies, and reviewing the stats of new applicants. Meanwhile, the stats page will (obviously) list comprehensive stats for the game, including career statistics, records achieved in a single "life," as well as the number of badges earned and feats accomplished. Leaderboards can also be organized by overall stats or restricted to just those within an individual clan. Finally, both Xbox 360 and PC players will enjoy "mutually exclusive" stats, which should hopefully avert any potential "mouse vs. keyboard" flame wars.

The stats page, located here, will launch next week alongside the North American release of the game.

SouthPeak bringing forensic game Crime Scene to DS

by Justin McElroy { Aug 27th 2009 at 11:15AM }

Gallery: Crime Scene (DS)

PC Trine to retail Sept. 8, PSN cries single tear

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 26th 2009 at 8:00PM }

While PS3 users are still waiting for the PSN release of thiefy-wizardy-knighty-platformer Trine, SouthPeak has announced that the PC version of the game will soon be headed to retail. The retail version of the game will land on shelves September 8 -- peep its box art above.

So, if you've been waiting for a chance to own a copy of Trine that actually comes with a box, you're wait is almost over. If, on the other hand, you've been waiting to download the game on a certain, special console, you'll have to continue settling for nothing but deep sighs and long, wistful looks out the window.

Section 8 demo slams onto Xbox Live

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 21st 2009 at 1:45PM }

We have to admit that we really dig the concept of Section 8. First, you've got power-armored super soldiers that drop into the battlefield from 15,000 feet -- kind of like ODSTs without those pansy drop pods. Players can run across the battlefield in seconds, jump 20 feet in the air, and even have a tank hot-dropped right into the action.

We liked what we saw of the game at GDC, and now everyone can get their hands on the game, thanks to a demo that just dropped (geddit?) onto Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo allows players to try out the game's multiplayer mode. It's similar to Battlefield, in which points are earned by performing team objectives, only with a twist. The objectives aren't determined by game type, but pop up dynamically during gameplay. One minute you might be disrupting an enemy caravan, and another you could be escorting a VIP to your base.

Check out the video above for a quick explanation, then download the demo and give it a try.

[Thanks, scott!]

Gamecock acquisition goes south - vendors accuse SouthPeak of not paying up

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Aug 14th 2009 at 4:00PM }

The story of Gamecock Media Group never had a very satisfying ending. Created by industry entrepreneurs Mike Wilson, Rick Stults and Harry Miller, the company set out to buck-buck-buck the trend -- a perceived sequence of retreads, rehashes and remakes that characterized a rapidly expanding games industry. The games were undoubtedly indie, the choices bizarre and the rooster costumes touted by Wilson and the gang were just plain weird. But not nearly as weird as the David vs. Goliath scenario that ended with the lowly rock slinger shaking hands with his imposing foe.

But in October of 2008, SouthPeak Interactive Corporation stepped out of the role of opposition, instead donning the chivalrous and sharply dressed persona of corporate savior. A shaky economy had compelled Gamecock's main investor to tighten the belt, an act which former Gamecock CEO (and subsequent co-founder of Devolver Digital) Mike Wilson notched up as a swift and unexpected crisis. "He and his board decided that with their main business bleeding so badly, they needed to cut off anything 'ancillary'," Wilson said, "such as his investment in outside businesses, one of which was our company." With the timing sitting uncomfortably close to the Christmas rush and promising titles like Legendary and Mushroom Men on the verge of completion, Gamecock needed help.

"And suddenly there was NO money. So, we literally had to find someone to acquire us immediately ... someone who knew the business, could see the imminent revenues versus liabilities, and move very fast." And wouldn't you know it: for a Goliath, SouthPeak was pretty fast. "A week later, we were bought, and all we could do was put on a happy face and hope for the best."

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Section 8 open beta is go

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 12th 2009 at 6:20PM }

TimeGate Studios has announced that the Section 8 open PC beta for North America, Europe and Australia is now ... open. The beta grants users with access to two of the game's multiplayer maps and offers up "a variety of some of the vehicles, weapons, deployables, missions, and equipment." The beta is free, and all that's needed to get fragging is a Fileplanet, IGN or GameSpy account. To sign up, simply visit this link and fill out a few forms. You'll then be given a CD-Key and access to download the beta. The beta is on a first come, first serve basis, so hop to it if you want in.

To find out if your rig can handle the game, check out the PC specs after the break.

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Video: The story behind Section 8

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 11th 2009 at 9:57PM }

We know what you've been thinking. You've been watching the videos and reading the articles about Section 8 and you've thought, "Sure, it's pretty cool that I can drop from space, charge across half a mile of terrain in 10 seconds and then have HQ drop a tank right on the battlefield for me, but what's my motivation?"

Thankfully, the fine folks at TimeGate have your answer in the form of a new developer diary. The video delves into he history of Section 8 (the good guys), the rise of its best soldier, Alex Corde, and the group's conflict with the Arm of Orion (not the good guys).

With that out of the way, hopefully we can all just focus on the whole drop-from-the-sky-and-kill-everything aspect of the game now.

Ousted Take-Two CEO Eibeler joins SouthPeak board

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 4th 2009 at 1:29PM }

Tuesday 4 August

170-something lbs. of face-palming rage.

Food consumed today:
A lot of really audible snacks and stuff that makes me sound bone-crunchy and vicious, like a Central Park West poodle.

Just past midnight. New York: my penthouse. Do people never learn? Found out today that SouthPeak Interactive has hired Paul Eibeler to be on its board of directors. This is the same guy I had ousted from Take-Two back in '07 -- not to mention, Diary, I'm still bitter about that golden parachute we gave him.

What really wrinkles my suit, though, is this statement by SouthPeak chair Terry Phillips: "As one of the most respected executives in the interactive games industry, we welcome Paul to the board of directors." LOL to the ROFLCOPTER! I laugh in their general direction, Diary. Eibeler was named "Worst CEO" by MarketWatch in 2005 for his handling of Take-Two and the way he dealt with the "Hot Coffee" scandal. I mean, I've taken my licks, but Eibeler getting hired? It's like nobody Googles anymore.

Steam weekend sale: Velvet Assassin, X3: Terran Conflict, Men of War

by David Hinkle { Jul 25th 2009 at 3:00AM }

If our inability to finish Velvet Assassin hasn't diminished your interest in the game, know that Steam is slashing 50% off its price this weekend. Joining the stealth title in this weekend's sale is Egosoft's X3: Terran Conflict, which has also been discounted by 50%, and Aspyr's Men of War, which has been discounted by a huge 75%. Of course, none of this probably matters to most Steam users, as they're most likely enjoying a romp through Monkey Island right about now.

SouthPeak releasing DS music training software

by JC Fletcher { Jul 21st 2009 at 5:15PM }

In a weird coincidence, a second DS music learning game has been announced, following the discovery of Jam Sessions 2. The DS is determined, as a platform, to teach you music if it kills you. SouthPeak will publish Nobilis's Music, a DS "musical activity game" based on Shiro Tsuji's "Anybody Can Read Music" teaching method, this fall.

Music features a series of music lessons, along with various quizzes, and 65 "notable compositions" to learn and play on the game's virtual instruments. There is also a selection of cute rhythm minigames. For adept amateur musicians, the game lets players create and record their own compositions.

Gallery: Music (DS)

Plenty of post-release content planned for Section 8

by Justin McElroy { Jul 7th 2009 at 12:00PM }

We've got high hopes for Section 8, a promising sci-fi FPS from TimeGate. But today we learned that the game has even more going for it than the ability to drop from space and kill a tank (which you can admit is already quite a lot). The devs are also pretty adept at forward thinking.

Producer Robert Siwiak told Gamasutra, "We're already planning on releasing additional map packs and other content, potentially new weapons and vehicles into the mix. After the game has launched, we fully intend to support the community and add in additional content and otherwise fill the gap between now and a potential Section 8 sequel."

Yikes, already thinking sequels, TimeGate? Live in the now!

New Section 8 trailer drops in

by Richard Mitchell { Jul 4th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Okay, so the latest trailer for TimeGate's Section 8 certainly looks cool. What with the robo-solders dropping into battle from the sky, calling in tanks and giant mechs, and FPS action, we'll give it that. Our only question is this: Where's the heart?

What's that? You don't care about heart? You're more interested in all the action and nifty multiplayer features? Oh, well you should watch the trailer then.

Three games to light up your 4th

by Randy Nelson { Jul 3rd 2009 at 8:00PM }

The founding of a nation is pretty significant and well worth getting excited about. The best way to display said excitement is, of course, with massive, colorful airborne explosions, a.k.a. fireworks. Tomorrow night, towns across the USA will be putting on fireworks displays, big and small -- but why should you have to wait for it to get dark? The games you'll find after the break will let you get all explode-y from the comfort of your living room, without the charred mess and frantic 911 call. So, put on your favorite patriotic tune (it's "The Stars & Stripes Forever" for us) and make with the clicking!

[Image]

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