BlizzCon Moves to Las Vegas in 2010

BlizzCon logo

Attention Blizzard fans: BlizzCon is apparently heading to Las Vegas in 2010. Wow.com has reported:

According to the Las Vegas Convention Center website, Blizzard will be holding BlizzCon 2010 in Las Vegas July 30th and 31st. Upon inquiry, the Convention Center was able to verify the dates and that Blizzard is running the event. However, Blizzard has yet to announce this themselves. We have contacted Blizzard, and we’ll post anything they have to say on the matter.

I’m a huge fan of this move. Las Vegas is a brilliant place to hold a convention. The convention center is big, there are plenty of hotels at a variety of price ranges, the restaurants are fantastic, and it’s easy to get around. Plus, it will totally freak out the “normal” Vegas vacationer. I remember covering an EverQuest event at The Bellagio. The normals were totally shocked by the elves, warriors, and mages walking around the place. It was awesome.

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NPD Hardware Sales Figures for October 2009

Console Wars!!!
Console Wars!!!

NPD Group has issued its console hardware sales data for October 2009. Was Nintendo’s Wii price cut put it back on top? Could Sony continue it’s momentum after an excellent September? Let’s take a look at the numbers!

  • Wii: 506,900
  • Nintendo DS: 457,600
  • PlayStation 3: 320,600
  • Xbox 360: 249,700
  • PSP: 174,600
  • PlayStation 2: 117,800

So yeah, Nintendo’s “fad” of a console reclaimed its crown. It will be interesting to see if the Wii can keep the top spot in the crucial months of November and December. Sony has to be disappointed in its drop off, while Microsoft is surely snickering at its rival’s decline. That said, it’s not like MS didn’t slide as well.

What do you make off October’s numbers? Any predictions for November?

NPD Console Sales Figures Top 10 Games of October 2009

NPD Group has released its console software sales information for October 2009. The month pretty much went as expected with Sony’s Uncharted 2 and Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus leading the way. There was one very pleasant surprise in October. Check out the list and see for yourself.

Uncharted 2

  1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3): 537,000
  2. Wii Fit Plus (Wii): 441,000
  3. Borderlands (Xbox 360): 418,000
  4. Wii Sports Resort (Wii): 314,000
  5. NBA 2K10 (Xbox 360): 311,000
  6. Halo 3 ODST (Xbox 360): 271,000
  7. NBA 2K10 (PS3): 213,000
  8. Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360): 175,000
  9. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS): 169,000
  10. FIFA Soccer 10 (Xbox 360): 156,000

Borderlands did way better than most people were expecting. Sandwiched between ODST and Modern Warfare 2, most people — including renowned analyst Michael Pachter — thought that the game was going to take a pounding. Instead, it sold very well. This makes me happy on several levels. It’s completely immature, but I love it when Pachter is wrong. More importantly, I’m thrilled for Gearbox’s success. Well done guys!

Anything on October’s NPD software list surprise you?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I know this might come as a shock to you, but I’m going to be playing Dragon Age: Origins most of the weekend. I finally beat the game on Thursday morning. Now it’s time for my next run! My first character was a male Dalish elf rogue that was 99 percent good. This time I’m going with a female human warrior (and yes, it’s mostly so I can engage in a lesbian romance with Leliana). While I’m still going to lean on the good side, I’m going to be snarky whenever I can.

Dragon Age Origins 3

While the game certainly has its flaws, it’s also everything I love about BioWare. I love the combat, the music, and the storytelling. The dialogue is just frickin’ brilliant. The interaction between your different party members is so well done. There are times when it’s hard for me to choose my companions. Do I go with the most effective characters? Or do I go with a mix of people that will have hilarious conversations on the road?

While I should play Borderlands and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 with my friends, I know I’m going to flake out of the proposed online sessions because of DA. Sorry Christian. Sorry Ted. Ha!

Anyway, what are you guys and dolls going to play this weekend?

Coffee Talk #25: Entertainment vs. Principles

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the awesomeness of Oddworld’s Lorne Lanning, Cotto vs. Pacquiao 24/7, or the brilliance of Eddie Izzard, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A lot of gamers have been bad mouthing Activision for its penchant for churning out sequels and licensed games as fast as a nine-year old churns out Nike’s in China. People have said that Activision is a circle of hell and CEO Bobby Kotick rules it with a pitchfork. Yet a lot of the gamers that denounce the company happily snatched up Modern Warfare 2 on day one.

Dragon Age Shale

It’s an interesting predicament. Do you buy MW2, simply because it will provide you with excellent entertainment? Or do you boycott Activision because you believe the company is bad for the business? Taking a stand, one way or the other, is fine, but too many gamers say one thing and do another. I can picture Chris Jericho telling all the ATVI haters that bought MW2 that they’re “parasites and hypocrites”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be all holier than thou. I fully admit that I’m part of the problem. For example, I think that releasing paid downloadable content in conjunction with a game’s release is a bad practice. It’s a disturbing trend that’s surely going to become more prevalent in the next year. I don’t want to encourage it, yet I bought the Dragon Age: Origins DLC because I love the company’s games and I knew it would enrich my DA experience. I shouldn’t have bought it…but but but…it’s BioWare!

I wanted to see where you stand on the “entertainment vs. principles” matter. Do you just buy whatever games you want because you’ll enjoy them? Do you pass on titles you’d like to play because you want to take a stand? Or do you make exceptions (and wince on the inside when you do) for your favorite developers or series?

Dante’s Inferno Animated Feature Trailer

Check out this wicked trailer of the animated feature being made to flesh out the world of EA’s Dante’s Inferno. It’s pretty slick. Here’s the official description from EA:

Witness a different take on Dante’s descent into the underworld! From the creative teams behind some of the boldest animated films of all time, including Ghost in the Shell, Samurai Champloo, Blood the Last Vampire and others, experience Dante’s Inferno in an all-new form. In this new trailer, Dante descends into the depths of Hell and encounters many gruesome forms of evil while pursuing the soul of his beloved lost love, Beatrice. This animated feature will release in February 2010, the same month Visceral Games’ Dante’s Inferno is unleashed upon the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and the Sony PSP.

Let me know what you think of it when you get a chance.

How Weapons Level Up in Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII

The excellent Anoop Gantayat at Andriasang has translated a recent Shonen Jump article detailing Final Fantasy XIII’s weapon system. Apparently weapons can be leveled up by using the random crap you find while adventuring.

FFXIII lets you make modifications to your weapons. You do this by combining materials that enemies leave behind and that you find in treasure boxes. You’ll find over 100 such materials in the game. Depending on your combinations, your weapons will rise in experience and become stronger.

Normally, I would think that this method of improving weapons through leftovers is silly and nonsensical, but compared to the completely ridiculous gestalt mode it sounds totally reasonable. Still…this is the 2010 release I want the most. I’m not going to lie about that.

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GameStop to Install DLC Kiosks in Stores

GameStop logo

In an effort to maintain its important position as the premiere American specialty retailer of videogames, GameStop COO Paul Raines has said that the company will be introducing downloadable-content (DLC) kiosks in its stores. Variety’s Chris Morris reported:

GameStop COO Paul Raines, speaking at the BMO Capital Markets entertainment conference today, detailed plans for the company to install kiosks in its stores next year, letting people buy digital add-ons for titles as they buy the retail game.

While I understand that some customers, like younger gamers without credit card access, will have to trek to a brick-and-mortar store to buy a points card, a DLC kiosk sounds completely stupid to me. I should probably reserve judgement until a demo of the kiosk is shown, so for now I’ll just say the idea is mostly stupid.

Of course, I could be wrong. Do you like the idea of DLC kiosks at GameStop? Would you purchase content from one of these machines?

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Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime Calls Out Rivals’ Motion Controls

Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime dismissed the motion controllers coming from rivals Microsoft and Sony at BMO Capital Markets’ Digital Entertainment conference in New York. According to Gamasutra, the Reginator said:

All of this talk around new motion controllers does make me think about the people who initially said that the Wii Remote was just a fad. I wonder what happened to those people?

Yes, it could be that our current 100 percent marketshare in motion control could lose a couple of points, but…with a head-start of over 51 million controllers, I still like our chances.

Reggie Fils-Aime 2

I still find it amusing that people consider the Wii a fad. Merriam Webster defines a fad as “a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal”. Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Nintendo has been outselling the competition for years. The Wii has consistently outsold the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. People are still buying more of these consoles today than any of the others. Explain to Reggie and me (mostly to me, because Reggie will zap you with his eye beams) how this is a fad.

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