Tag: Xbox 360

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?

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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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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Are You Ready for Final Fantasy Friday the 13th?!?

FFXIII Lightning 2

Square Enix has some big plans for Final Fantasy XIII tomorrow. Its silly anagram teaser revealed that there will be a (hopefully) big announcement on Friday. Adding to the mix, Sony’s PlayStation Home will be showing a brand new FFXIII trailer in virtual theaters tomorrow. In a world full of mysterious teasers and ridiculous countdown clocks — mostly from Japanese publishers — I expect Square Enix to deliver something substantive tomorrow. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking….

What are you expecting from Final Fantasy Friday the 13th? North American release date info? Exclusive NA features revealed? An amazing act of kindness in which the company sends me one of those awesome white and pink limited edition FFXIII PS3s?!? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Project Natal Pricing and Release Date Leaked

Gathering information from Microsoft’s visits with European publishers and developers, MCV has discovered possible pricing and release date info on Project Natal. The site reported:

Our sources say the innovative controller-free 360 camera will be released worldwide in November 2010.

The device should cost under £50 when sold solo. One publishing source says Microsoft is “trying to get as close as possible to ‘impulse buy’”. Another even says the camera could even retail for just £30.

Project Natal 2

For those of you that aren’t up on current currency conversions, that’s around $75 and $45, respectively.

Any thoughts on the rumored pricing for Project Natal?

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BioWare’s Mike Laidlaw Talks Combat in Dragon Age: Origins

BioWare lead designer Mike Laidlaw discusses combat design in Dragon Age: Origins in this video clip. He talks about how the team attempted to modernize the feel of Baldur’s Gate II and create “sword porn” for the game. All sorts of details on combat mechanics (accompanied by slick video) are shared by Laidlaw. Executive producer Mark Darrah, lead writer David Gaider, art director Dean Andersen, and lead character designer Shane Hawco bring their perspective to the mix too.

While I’m absolutely loving the game, I don’t really get the BG2 feel — more of a progression of Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect really — but perhaps you disagree. Maybe it’ll be more like BG2 when I play it on PC. Anyway, check out this cool video that talks about the combat in this outstanding game.

On a side note, let me know if you find it funny every time Laidlaw says about in his Canadian accent. “A-boot” always cracks me up.

Xbox 360 Gets 802.11n Adapter for $99.99, Still a Rip Off

Xbox 360 Wireless N

Microsoft’s Major Nelson confirmed that the Xbox 360 now has an 802.11n wireless adapter, which is available for$99.99. Although he said that the item will be available “this holiday season”, several online retailers are listing it as in stock.

While it’s nice that 360 users will be able to take advantage of the superior range and throughput of 802.11n, the $100 price tag is ridiculous. There’s no way a wireless adapter should cost this much. Similar to how people buy Microsoft’s overpriced hard drives for Xbox 360, people will buy this overpriced product too. Oy.

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Play SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 with Adelitas Way

Adelitas Way

THQ has announced a promotion that brings together its videogame Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 (a finalist for the best writing in any videogame ever made by man) and recording artists Adelitas Way. The band will be playing the game on Xbox Live and you can play against them. THQ’s press release stated:

THQ Inc. today announced it will partner with EMI / Capitol Music Group recording artist Adelitas Way to offer consumers a unique opportunity to connect with the band using WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, the latest addition to the popular fighting videogame franchise. On Tuesday, November 10 at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT, Adelitas Way band members will log in to the Xbox Live online entertainment network for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft to compete against fans using the Gamertag “ADELITAS WAY.” The consumer gameplay session is expected to last for approximately two hours.

To be completely honest, I’ve never heard of the band, but maybe some of you are fans. If you’re not, I encourage you to get online, play them, beat them, and tell them to stick to music. You should get all Chris Jericho when you win and proclaim that you’re the best in the world at what you do.

Final Fantasy Web Site Reveals Mysterious Anagram

Final Fantasy XIII a

Confession: I was totally consumed with Dragon Age: Origins when I received an email from Square Enix’s PR agency on Friday. Apparently the official FFXIII site has a mysterious anagram that will reveal new information on the game. It reads:

“A Henchmen Inventor Tent Unto”

The answer will be revealed later today. Until then, any guesses as to what it might be? I suck at these word puzzles so I’m counting on you to solve it!