In 2009 the poor economy spread to the once thought recession-proof game industry, but not everyone seems to be suffering. Capcom appears to have dodged the economic bullet, and just announced that over the past nine months profits are actually up.

Compared to the same period last year, net sales at the Japanese publisher were up 5.9%, operating income up 84.3%, ordinary income up 127.5% and net profit up an impressive 865.9% to $19.1 million. Surprisingly, these numbers were not due to Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, which saw slow sales, but instead because of sales of several DS and PSP titles, and (as you might expect) Resident Evil 5.

Source: Kotaku

Xbox Live developer NinjaBee has confirmed that A World of Keflings will release later this year. Unlike its forerunner, A Kingdom of Keflings, the title promises local multiplayer, and a host of features requested by players of the original. While many changes are in store, the ability to use your Xbox Live Avatar is still included in the city-building strategy game.

(click to play the video)Last week Capcom announced Excella as a new playable character in The Merceneries Reunion, this week they show her in action in a brand new video. Check out her stylish moves that include the heel stop, neck injection, and humiliating ear grab to face slap. The Majinis have no chance against her!

Capcom has put together a collection of the Legendary Mega Man Zero titles, bundled together for on-the-go action. The collection is comprised of all four Mega Man Zero titles bundled together on one DS cartridge for the first time. The portable fun begins when the title arrives this summer.

(click to play the video)Small Wonders has launched a quirky, linear strategy game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Battle of Puppets casts its players as silent puppeteers, who must strategically control their hordes of marionette minions and send them across the show stage. The goal is to perform your act on Broadway, but first, you must travel across the country, defeating opposing puppets along the way.

Players perform in a series of 22 American theatres, each with its own custom backdrop of famous landmarks. Each competition then lets the puppeteer strategically build units, upgrade their castle and outposts, and even cast spells using written gestures to destroy the opposing forces and win the affection of the crowd. Choosing the best route across the country based on weather patterns is just one of the strategic decisions players must make, and there are also 6 professions and an extra race to unlock as the campaigns progress.

(click to play the video)Atlus U.S.A. has released a video walkthrough of Shiren the Wanderer, their upcoming Wii entry into the Shiren series. The video, which runs nearly 5 minutes in length, introduces viewers to the game’s back-story and main characters, its controls and interface, combat and navigation basics, and also gives a sampling of the game’s Japanese flavor.

For a thousand years, a princess has slept inside the Karakorum Mansion. When Shire’s former master bestows upon him the Karakuri key, he quickly finds himself entangled in a millennium-old mystery, wandering through past and present to unravel the story of the girl and vanquish an ancient, lurking evil.

Shiren the Wanderer is currently scheduled for its Wii release on February 9.

In Sword of the Stars 2, gamers will be reacquainted with the original six races from as well as reveal the dark secret of the original series, the Suul´ka, an ancient race that is responsible for tampering with the Liir, Zuul, and other races in the SotS universe.

“Sword of the Stars 2 represents not only an evolution of the SotS gameplay and story, but also a union between a developer and a publisher who understand gameplay and strategy above all else. To us, Paradox is more than just another publisher; they are fellow gamers who love strategy and action as much as we do. When it comes to the game itself, Sword of the Stars 2 will be far more than just a sequel where the graphics have been tuned up and a new unit or two thrown in. Instead players can look forward to a whole new game that is based on the central SotS experience, but willing and able to grow beyond it to offer even more in terms of strategy, tactics and gameplay,” claims Martin Cirulis, CEO Kerberos Productions.

Sword of the Stars 2 is in early production and is scheduled for release sometime in 2011.

With several expansions still in the offing, it’s hard to imagine that we’d be ready for a sequel any time soon, but the creators of Dragon Age: Origins are already hard at work on it, and promising to give it a graphics makeover. As stated by many a reviewer, the original is proof that great games can overcome average graphics, but BioWare isn’t about to test that theory again.

“I think one of the key things we’re working on in Dragon Age 2 is the technology,” BioWare VP Greg Zeschuk recently told Joystiq. “I can confirm that we’re doing a lot of work on the Dragon Age engine, and doing a lot of stuff to pump it…to make it visually super hot. I think the overall visual style we’re going to continue to evolve in Dragon Age. People are going to see some cool … I can’t really say too much, but I think Dragon Age as a world is interesting. It’s a timeline, and you can go anywhere.”

Source: Joystiq

Patch 1.0 for Divinity II: Ego Draconis is available for download. The patch addresses a variety of issues including fixes for game save files and a quest bug in the “Charlie the Goblin”. Simply start the game on Xbox LIVE and accept the update.

The sequel to Divine Divinity, Divinity II: Ego Draconis transports players back to the war-torn world of Rivellon where they battle the forces of evil not just as a human warrior, but also as a powerful Dragon Knight. It offers both on-the-ground and aerial combat, and mysteries to unravel that could reveal hidden truths and revive forgotten evils, changing the face of Rivellon forever.

Just three days after its release, EA has reported that Mass Effect 2 has already sold over 2 million copies. As you might guess, the folks over at Bioware are quite pleased with themselves. According to Ray Muzyka, “Mass Effect 2 is poised to be one of the biggest games of 2010. We could not be more proud of the game’s universal acclaim and early commercial success.”