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For those who didn't keep up with the collapse of Midway in real time, or aren't in the mood to check out every bit of minutia about the epic, Gamasutra has extracted the highlights. The piece showcases the publisher's financial issues -- like the fact Midway hasn't had any annual profits since 1999 -- the management's lack of vision, and finally the last couple years where even the most casual industry observer could watch things go horribly wrong.

The second half of the feature covers the anatomy of the disaster and stops short of getting into these past six months, which, in fairness, given the mysterious Mark Thomas, still makes very little sense. It's definitely worth the read for those who want to know how not to run a company, and for those who just like to point and cry at the stupid.

My dearest followers,

It's me, Ubisoft's forthcoming first-person survival game. You know, I Am Alive. We met at E3, remember? I briefly exposed myself in front of you and left you somewhat confused ... but curious. You've been wondering about me, haven't you? We'll get to know each other in due time, it's just that ... well, I lied. I know I said I'd meet up with you in March. And I know that neither of us believed it, you with your "skepticism" and me with my nebulous features and infrequent public appearances.

So, I'm going to be running late. Rest assured -- I Am Alive -- but I won't be leaving the office until Ubi's 2009-2010 fiscal year, which runs from April 2009 through March 2010. I know it's hard for you to understand, but it's for the best. I just ... I just can't let people see me covered in so many bugs. Despite my most fervent wishes, I can't make an exception for you -- it would be a fatal exception.

Yours truly,
I Am Alive

P.S. PDF – Ubisoft Q308 earnings report

After delays and uncertainty, Disaster: Day of Crisis finally came out in Europe and Japan -- and pretty much bombed. New information suggests that Disaster may be planned for a North American release (although we suspect it's more that said release was planned years ago when the game was first unveiled, and just has yet to be cancelled).

But should it? Do you think the game has a better chance here than in other regions? Would you have any expectation of sales, especially given Reggie's low confidence (and thus low likelihood of promotion)? Personally, we want to play it and we don't much care if Nintendo of America profits on it or not. They've got enough money, but we don't have enough copies of Disaster. Feel free to speak from the position of "armchair business analyst" or "person who wants to play a game"!

We've been pessimistic about Disaster: Day of Crisis getting localized for North America, and with (what we believe to be) good reason. Now, the will-it-won't-it saga has taken another twist, after Go Nintendo reader Silver Lunar received an email from Nintendo customer support saying the game would be released in the region.

Okay, we know. Some guy saying he got an email from Nintendo customer support is exactly the kind of anecdote we'd usually snort derisively at, and you're right: we should all treat this with a degree of suspicion. That said, Go Nintendo's RMC received screencaps of Silver Lunar's email exchange with the big N, and reckons it's the real thing. If you'll excuse us, we'll shamelessly grasp at any straws tossed our way. Pleeeeease be true, lovely Disaster rumor.

It is difficult to envisage a second Disaster: Day of Crisis game, for two reasons:

1. How any follow-up could top the unlikely mélange of disasters (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, terrorists, bears) that featured in the first game is beyond us. Perhaps an asteroid?
2. Sales of the first game. Or the lack thereof.
   

Nevertheless, developer Monolith Soft is at least open to the idea of a Disaster 2. In an interview with Cubed3, Director Keiichi Ono revealed that "...there were so many wonderful options [in the game]. We would like to see the possibility for them, if we have chance to develop the sequel..." The sequel? Or a sequel? The difference is pretty crucial! While we're not exactly taking that as rock-solid confirmation of Ray's return, it's an interesting remark.

To bring us back down to earth, Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami reminded us of why the first game might not even come to North America, describing how Disaster is "performing lower than expected" at the tills.

[Update: Thanks to some of our commenters, we now have a better idea what's going on here. This is the introduction to an unlockable shooting minigame, rather than an unused ending. So instead of a lead-in to a sequel that won't happen, it's just a video from a game whose sequel won't happen.]

WARNING: If you don't want to spoil the incredibly obvious storyIine of Disaster: Day of Crisis, do not watch this video. We've put it after the break in case you don't want the game's epic plot ruined by even one preview frame.

It seems that Nintendo and Monolith Soft may have seen sequels in Disaster: Day of Crisis's future. Unfortunately, they didn't foresee the biggest disaster of all -- the release of Disaster: Day of Crisis, which turned out to be a powerful bomb capable of creating a sales vacuum.

Even though this clip, found in the game's theatre, creates a clear opening for a sequel, we wouldn't hold our breath in anticipation of the continued adventures of Raymond Bryce and his ornate beard. For one thing, this is just an extra video and not the real ending. Also, obviously, game companies prefer to make money. However, it's pretty entertaining to see the jokey, ham-fisted manner in which they teased a sequel.

A promise made by Reggie Fils-Aime means that North American Disaster: Day of Crisis fans have an active interest in how the game fares in Europe. If it sells enough copies on the other side of the Atlantic, Reggie has suggested a U.S. release will be considered. Sounds fair to us. The only problem? It's selling really badly in Europe.

According to the latest European sales charts, the game failed to reach the UK top forty, the Irish or Norwegian top twenty, or the Dutch, German, or Spanish top ten. More worryingly still, Monolith's title wasn't even amongst the top fifty Wii releases in the UK last week. Oo-er. Such a meek performance in Disaster's opening week doesn't exactly convince us we'll be seeing a Stateside release. We'd love nothing more than to be proved wrong and see Nintendo of America take a gamble.

Source: Brits prefer their Wii Fits
Source: Ireland isn't biting
Source: Holland bought more copies of Mario Party 8 last week
Source: Norway says "nor way" to Disaster
Source: Monolith's game knows only pain in Germany and Spain

Nintendo has published a list of Wii releases for 2009, and while it's some way from being a complete list, the news for North America ranges from great to ominous. We want to start this post on a happy note, so we'll begin by saying: the Play on Wii remake of Pikmin -- just the first game -- is totally coming to the U.S. The schedule also confirms the Mario Power Tennis remake for the States, so it looks like those two will lead the brand off here.

But there's worrying news as well. For one, Disaster: Day of Crisis still isn't down for a North American release. Okay, so this isn't actually that surprising, as Reggie (who isn't the title's biggest fan, remember) has said all along that any U.S. release hinges on the performance of the game in Europe. As Disaster only came out in Europe last Friday, we still don't know how it fared, though will find out soon enough. Also missing are numerous Play on Wii remakes, including Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Chibi-Robo, and the two Metroid Primes.

We'll say this again, just in case: this is definitely a bare-bones list, with not every Wii release of next year featuring. We're not about to give up on getting Disaster just yet.

[Via Siliconera]

If you thought our 7/10 review for Disaster: Day of Crisis was harsh, you should hear what Reggie Fils-Aime -- yeah, that Reggie Fils-Aime -- thinks about it. Twenty-five minutes into IGN's latest Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, Matt Casamassina revealed how Reggie "doesn't think Disaster is a $50 game," and regards the audio as "laughable." Burrrrn.

We have to confess we're slightly dumbfounded to hear Reggie delivering such a hefty haymaker to one of his company's own games ... while speaking on the record, as well. We suppose it's, uh, refreshingly honest?


[Via Infendo]

If Disaster: Day of Crisis were a movie, it would be one of those big, dumb, summer blockbusters, the kind of feature where it's best to leave your brain at the door.

Although that might sound like a criticism, it's not intended that way, because just like over-the-top, thought-free action flicks, Disaster can serve as a guilty pleasure. It's got a Seagal-esque hero who must be one of the most resistant, hardened one-man armies of all time, tons of implausible "escaping death" scenarios, and a script that's cheesier than an explosion in a Roquefort factory. Yet despite all of this, I enjoyed it. Mostly.

Disaster: Day of Crisis hero with a heart Raymond Bryce is back with another pair of videos, this time featuring the game's opening cut-scene and first crisis sequence. Painfully wooden acting aside (though it's certainly no worse than Resident Evil 4), it's actually very nicely executed, and genuinely feels quite dramatic.

True to the corny TV dramas on which Disaster could easily be based, this first video ends with a bunch of cliffhangers and questions to be answered. What has become of Steve? Will our intrepid heroes keep their own lives on the mountain? How amusing is Ray's janky running style? Find out ... dun dun dunnn! ... after the break.

Because it's not a Nintendo event if it isn't followed by "where's (Game X)" questions, Kombo cornered Reggie Fils-Aime at yesterday's conference and asked him about the status of North American versions of Disaster: Day of Crisis and Fatal Frame IV. While nobody expected concrete dates or even confirmation from Reggie's answers, he still managed to impart a bit of information.

Regarding Disaster: Nintendo of America is waiting to see how the game performs in Europe before making a decision. That means that we at least have to wait for a while after October 24 to hear anything.

As for Fatal Frame, he offered the following frustrating response: "you're going to have to contact the publisher for questions on that." So it might be coming out here -- just not from Nintendo, despite Nintendo of Japan publishing it. Who wants to start cold-calling publishers?*

*Note: Wii Fanboy does not encourage the cold-calling of publishers.


[Via GoNintendo]

Your head is probably spinning from all of the wonderful Nintendo news you've been exposed to over the last 24 hours and it's okay, because our heads are, too. But, there's one thing that was missing from Nintendo's little spiel today: Disaster: Day of Crisis. Why was this game not dated for a North American release? With it releasing in Japan late last month and hitting Europe later on this month, we're wondering what the big hold-up is?

Of course, not like it matters, because, thanks to the Japanese game releasing, we've basically seen the whole game on YouTube. But, we're still contacting Nintendo for a comment, so sit tight.

We know what you're thinking: Disaster: Day of Crisis' protracted development can't have been that calamitous, right? The game released in Japan last week, and promptly earned itself a respectable score in Famitsu. And just getting released is probably more than we should expect for some games.

But not every part of the title's gestation was peachy. The Monolith Soft team who worked on the game have been recounting their experiences in an interview for Nintendo's Japanese website, revealing that they were first approached about developing an "epic" game in early 2006, to be delivered in time for the launch of Nintendo's new Wii console.

This gave Monolith around nine months to finish Disaster, but by the time the deadline had rolled around, the game still felt incomplete and had very few Wiimote-related functions -- instead, it used the Classic Controller. Nintendo temporarily halted the project in October or November of 2006, only for work to begin again in early 2007; at this point, the entire game was revamped to include more waggle.

Getting to peek behind the development curtain is always intriguing -- we're just glad everything worked out for the game in the end.


[Via Nintendo Everything]

We all know the man's stance on bears. He doesn't like them. In fact, he downright despises them. That's why we're sure that Nintendo's latest, Disaster: Day of Crisis, is among Colbert's most treasured games. Why? Well, it features a boss battle against a bear. Aside from teaching us the near indestructible nature of the beast, it also shows us what kind of weapons to use against a bear should it get you in its sights. Also, it teaches us that bears like to stupidly charge back and forth.

Check out the video past the break.