Bionic Commando Rearmed, GRIN's downloadable remake of Capcom's classic shooter, sold over 130,000 copies in its first week, claims producer Ben Judd.

In a blog post, Judd boasted high Metacritic ratings (ranging from 86.2% to 91.3%, depending on platform) and explained that in the digital distribution realm, "that is a friggin JUGGERNAUT!"

Judd, a first-time producer, is quick to recognize his own team's success: "And while it's great to have my first title be not only a critically acclaimed one but also a financial success, there is a bigger picture at play here that we need to look at. Consumers voted with their dollars."

He added, "Basically, we have set a standard in digital gaming. The bar has been raised and you have let developers around the world know that if they invest the time, money, and heart into making (and remaking) some great games, you will support that initiative."

The game launched in the week of August 10th on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network for $10 and on PC for $15, but sales figures were not broken down per platform. The PC version was set to debut on Steam but was pulled before launch, prompting community outcry.

This week's update to the PlayStation 3's digital storefront includes the long-awaited debut of GRIN's classic platformer overhaul Bionic Commando Rearmed, the downloadable release of an original PlayStation title, and the usual round-up of DLC.

Priced at $9.99, Bionic Commando Rearmed features a high-definition graphical overhaul to the classic NES platformer with new weapons and two player cooperative play. The game made arrived on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace and PCs earlier this week.

Also new to the store is Capcom's arcade fighter Street Fighter Alpha, now available as part of the storefront's PS1 classics line-up for $5.99.

Read on for this week's Rock Band downloadable content and assortment of playable demos arriving today on the PlayStation Store... Read more

Contrary to earlier reports, publisher Capcom has confirmed that the PC edition of GRIN's Bionic Commando Rearmed will not be sold via Valve's Steam platform.

"At the last minute, we've been unable to reach mutually agreeable terms with Valve on BCR, so they won't be carrying it," Capcom corporate officer Christian Svensson explained on the company's message boards.

"I won't get into the details but we do continue to have a good relationship with Valve and future Capcom titles we expect to be carried on Steam," he added.

Released yesterday on Xbox 360 and arriving today on PlayStation 3 and PC, the downloadable swinging platformer sells for $9.99 on consoles and $14.99 on PC, with the PC edition currently available via Direct2Drive and GamersGate.

While the PC version of GRIN's downloadable action game Bionic Commando Rearmed will sell for $5 more than the console editions, Capcom producer Ben Judd has revealed that the PC release will be receiving some exclusive challenge rooms.

"I can give you a song and dance about PC digital content being more expensive as a general rule," he told the Bionic Commando blog, "but nobody wants to hear that crap. I can say this: for the PC version we are planning on uploading some additional PC-only challenge rooms via a free patch so you will get more bang for your buck."

An enhanced remake of Capcom's old-school swinging platformer Bionic Commando, Rearmed is set to debut on Xbox 360 tomorrow, with a PlayStation 3 and a PC release (via Steam and Direct2Download) following on Thursday. The console editions will sell for $9.99, while the PC release is priced at $14.99.

When the price was detailed last week, Capcom business development and strategic planning VP Christian Svensson explained the higher PC price was a result of "different business terms/expectations in [the PC] sector" and higher distribution costs, with $14.99 representing "an appropriate price for the platform."

The $5 price hike for the PC edition of GRIN's downloadable platformer Bionic Commando "has nothing to do with Piracy concerns," Capcom business development and strategic planning VP Christian Svensson has informed Shacknews.

Though the title will sell for $9.99 when it hits consoles next week, Svensson explained that the $14.99 price for the PC version, also due next week, stems from "different business terms/expectations in that sector." He added that "the typical downloadable price for digital-only games on PC is actually $19.99."

The executive listed higher distribution costs on PC as another factor, concluding that "$14.99 represents an appropriate price for the platform" and that gamers "should probably expect our PC pricing to always be slightly higher than the console equivalent in this [digital distribution] space."

Capcom's upcoming slate of downloadable PC and console games include Certain Affinity's Age of Booty and Proper Games' Flock.

Last week, Svensson made headlines when he claimed that the retail PC version of Capcom's Devil May Cry 4 was not selling well in North America and had been "pirated to hell and back." Arriving five months after the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions, DMC4 PC carried a cheaper price than the console versions--a common retail pricing scheme.

Svensson's complete response follows below... Read more

Update: Speaking with Shacknews, Capcom has explained that the higher price point for the PC edition of Bionic Commando Rearmed is not due to piracy, but lies "with different business terms/expectations in [PC] sector" and higher distribution costs.

"$14.99 represents an appropriate price for the platform and you should probably expect our PC pricing to always be slightly higher than the console equivalent in this space," noted Capcom business development and strategic planning VP Christian Svensson.

Original Story: Bionic Commando Rearmed, GRIN's enhanced remake of Capcom's classic swinging platformer, will hit PC on August 14, community manager Gearoid Reidy has confirmed on the game's blog.

Available through digital distribution platforms Steam and Direct2Drive, the PC version will sell for $14.99--a $5 premium over the $9.99 PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases. No reason was provided for the price hike, though publisher Capcom has previously complained about the effects of piracy on its PC releases.

The downloadable PlayStation 3 edition of Bionic Commando Rearmed arrives in the PlayStation Store next Thursday, the same day as the PC version's debut, while the downloadable Xbox 360 version will be available next Wednesday, August 13.

GRIN's classy remake of Bionic Commando is almost upon us. To celebrate, the developers have come out from behind their monitors to elucidate on the sidescrolling shooter in the following video.

Bionic Commando Rearmed will sell for $10 when the downloadable title hits Xbox 360 on August 13, followed by a PlayStation 3 release the next day and the PC edition arriving in that general timeframe.

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Capcom has passed in a second video illustrating the making of GRIN's downloadable remake Bionic Commando Rearmed (PC, PS3, 360).

Much like the previous making-of footage, the video details the development variety of elements in the upcoming action platformer, which is slated to arrive on the Xbox Live Marketplace on August 13. A PlayStation Store release is expected a day later.

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Several anticipated Xbox Live Arcade titles will be hitting the Xbox 360's downloadable gaming service this coming August, Microsoft announced today. Left, The Behemoth's Castle Crashers. Right, GRIN's Bionic Commando: Rearmed.

Following the release of Bizarre Creations' multi-directional shooter Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 this Wednesday, the month of August will see the debut of:

• Braid (Jonathon Blow), August 6
• Bionic Commando: Rearmed (GRIN), August 13
• Galaga Legions (Namco Bandai), August 20
• Castle Crashers (The Behemoth), August 27

While Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 and Bionic Commando: Rearmed were both previously announced to carry the price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10), no price points for the other titles have been revealed.

Bizarre Creations' multi-directional shooter sequel Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 is now slated to hit Xbox 360 next Wednesday, July 30, the studio has announced.

Revealed last week, the downloadable Xbox Live Arcade exclusive was initially scheduled to debut on August 6, and will carry the price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10). For more on the game, check out our hands-on preview from the E3 show floor.

While Microsoft has yet to detail specific dates for upcoming Xbox Live Arcade releases, the company has informed Shacknews that Castle Crashers, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Galaga Legions and Jonathon Blow's time-shifting platformer Braid are all slated to arrive by September 21.

Capcom sends along the first installment in a series of videos about the making of Bionic Commando Rearmed, the PC/PS3/X360 update of the 8-bit platformer.

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Update: When reached for comment, a Capcom representative responded, "At this time, Capcom Entertainment Inc has not officially released a release date for the next-gen Bionic Commando or Bionic Commando Rearmed."

Original Story: GRIN's enhanced remake of Capcom's NES swinging platformer Bionic Commando has been delayed until later in the summer.

Capcom representative John Diamonon revealed the delay on the PlayStation.Blog, noting that Bionic Commando Rearmed would debut sometime after 1942: Joint Strike (PS3, X360) hits in July.

Previously slated to arrive in May, the downloadable title should sell for $10 when it eventually appears on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Representatives from Capcom have revealed that the swinging NES shooter Bionic Commando will not be released through the Wii's online Virtual Console service, owing the exclusion to unspecified problems with Nintendo.

"[The original Bionic Commando on Virtual Console] couldn't happen," Capcom producer Ben Judd recently told IGN.

"This is NOT, repeat NOT, a Capcom issue," Capcom business development VP Christian Svensson later clarified on that company's official forum. "Please remember, Nintendo calls the shots on what goes up on VC, not third parties."

An enhanced and digitally distributed remake of the first Bionic Commando, titled Bionic Commando Rearmed and developed by GRIN, is due to be released... Read more

Gamers won't have to dig deep into their pockets to play GRIN's upcoming Bionic Commando remake this May.

Bionic Commando Rearmed will cost 800 Microsoft Points ($10) on Xbox Live, and a flat ten bucks on the PlayStation Store, according to a post on GRIN's official blog.

It was also announced that the PC version will be sold through several digital distribution outlets, though no price was listed for that particular edition.

For a look at the PC system requirements, click on through. ... Read more

Today we have more tantalizing gameplay footage from GRIN's upcoming downloadable 2D shooter Bionic Commando Rearmed, set to arrive this May on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

First up is a brief look at a top-down level, followed below by a riveting conversation with a flower-wielding dwarf boss.

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Four minutes of extra footage hide behind the link. ... Read more

Capcom has released some new gameplay footage of Bionic Commando Rearmed, GRIN's upcoming 2D remake of the NES classic Bionic Commando.

The downloadable game is set to arrive on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in May.

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Continuing today's media explosion, Capcom has released a number of new assets for Bionic Commando Rearmed, GRIN's downloadable remake of the original Bionic Commando.

Slated to arrive as a downloadable title on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 this May, the game sports an easy mode for those not skilled in the the ways of swinging, along with a new Challenge Mode and new stages.

Expanding on previous reports that file size limitations would hamper the Xbox Live Arcade edition, Capcom revealed to Game|Life that Microsoft had granted the company special permission to exceed the 150MB limit with both Bionic Commando Rearmed and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

Update: Shacknews spoke with Xbox Live global marketing manager Jeremy Wacksman on the subject during a meeting at the Game Developers Conference.

Wacksman acknowledged that Microsoft is willing to make concessions from time to time, but did not stipulate whether the company would do so in the case of Bionic Commando Rearmed.

"Most developers don't run into problems," said Wacksman. "We're pretty happy with the system we've got. By and large the majority of our games fit under that limit."

Original story: The 150MB file limit imposed by Microsoft on all Xbox Live Arcade titles will result in the downgrading of textures on the XBLA version of Bionic Commando, according to 1UP.

Capcom producer Ben Judd says that the game will have higher-resolution textures on both the PlayStation Network and PC when it is released in May.

"That's surprising to hear," said Microsoft's VP of Xbox Live John Schappert. "Last I checked it was Capcom that had an exception to our file size with Street Fighter II [Hyper Fighting].. We raised our limit to 150 megs, which seems pretty darn great.

"I don't think it has limited our games in any way. Look at Rez HD. Look at Poker Smash. Look at Undertow. These are very, very, very good games."

Microsoft currently has no plans to raise the size limit.

Capcom isn't leaving PC gamers in the dust when it comes to the 2D remake of Bionic Commando.

The GRIN-developed Bionic Commando Rearmed will arrive on the PC either simultaneously or within a week of the console versions, Capcom producer Ben Judd told Shacknews.

The process of adding necessary copy protection was the provided explanation for the possible release lag. The studio is considering digital distribution methods, but has not yet decided on a platform.

Bionic Commando Rearmed is set for a May release on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and PC.

Capcom has released the first media of Bionic Commando Rearmed, the GRIN-developed remake of the original 2D Bionic Commando that was revealed yesterday.

Included in the barrage of assets were screenshots, character artwork by Toshiaki Mori, and a trailer.

Among other features, Rearmed sports 2 player co-op and online leaderboards along with the ability to unlock content in the GRIN-developed 3D Bionic Commando sequel, which hits PC, PS3, and X360 later this year.

A digitally-distributed title slated to be available exclusively from online marketplaces, Bionic Commando Rearmed will be downloadable on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 later this spring.

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