The Stupid Gamer

Some people love them, others simply tolerate them…it’s the NPDs. This month things are looking pretty similar to what happened last month, except for the PSP has fallen back a bit. Microsoft needs to get rid of the Arcade pack (new ‘tard pack?) and just get the version of the system out there that everybody wants (the Pro). Until they do that, they’re going to continue to limp in sales, because nobody is eager to pick up the lesser version of the 360 at this point. Software looked great on the 360, as always. Call of Duty 4 is just an absolute beats, kicking out almost another 300,000. After this long, it’s great to see that game continue to steamroll the charts. Anyway, here are the numbers:

Hardware
Nintendo DS - 587,600
Nintendo Wii - 432,000
PlayStation 2 - 351,800
PlayStation 3 - 280,800
Xbox 360 - 254,600
Sony PSP - 243,100

Top 10 Software
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360) - 296,200
Devil May Cry 4 (360) - 295,200
Wii Play (Wii) - 289,700
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 233,500
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 222,900
Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games (DS) - 205,600
Lost Odyssey (360) - 203,600
Turok (360) - 197,700
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 183,800
Rock Band (360) - 161,800

Gamepro compared the battery life of each of the major three console maker’s first party controllers, and they published their results this past weekend. Here’s a chart showing how the results played out:

So the chart is showing the the 360 has by far the longest battery life, with the Wii in the middle, and the PS3 with a very disappointing showing. I kind of have to question this, because I’ve owned 5 (yeah, long story) 360 controllers and I’ve found that I can’t ever get more than 8-10 hours out of them before they need to be plugged in. With the PS3, however, I’m definitely getting at least 20. The Wii time shown there looks to be just about right. The big bonus with the 360 controller is that you can charge it with a reasonably long cable while you play. With the Wii you can’t charge and play at the same time. And with the PS3 the charge cable they give you is so short that the only way you could charge and play is if you’re willing to press your nose up against your TV set.

What does this all mean? Nothing really, but it’s interesting to see Gamepro’s results. Am I the only one that finds the 360 numbers extremely exaggerated? Have I just had a bad run of controllers?

Update: The pricing has been changed back to regular MSRP. No word yet on whether or not Wal-Mart will honor the orders already placed.
This might be a pricing error, but many preorders at Wal-Mart.com are worth checking out. The most notable games are:

Wii - Super Smash Bros.: Brawl - $20:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ…30411815755716

Xbox 360 - Devil May Cry 4 - $40:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ…14903098620702

PlayStation 3 - Haze - $30:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ…uct_id=6527031

Xbox 360 - Burnout Paradise - $40:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ…uct_id=7080024

Xbox 360 - Turok - $30
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5651618

Xbox 360 - Condemned 2: Bloodshot - $20
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8217142

There are more games that are priced way below normal retail price. If it’s a mistake, there’s a chance that Wal-Mart will honor all orders that are placed before it gets corrected, and you could always cancel your order if they don’t honor the price. Who knows how long the prices will be active if it is an error…so be quick!

These are pretty straightforward, so here they are:

PlayStation 3: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
PC: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Xbox 360: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Nintendo DS: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
GameBoy Advance: Final Fantasy VI Advance
PSP: Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
PlayStation 2: God of War II
Nintendo Wii: Super Mario Galaxy

Call of Duty 4 dominated GameSpy’s 2007 awards.

Well, Call of Duty 4 did quite well with the GameSpy staff, and I can’t say that it isn’t a deserving title. Personally I’ve been glued to the game on the 360 since I got my grubby mitts on it last month. The online play is downright excellent and varied enough to keep you interested well beyond what is typical for an FPS game with online features. Obviously Super Mario Galaxy was the best Wii game of the year, so it’s no surprise there. The rest of the picks were predictable as well, but seeing Final Fantasy Tactics take the top honors for the PSP might be a tad surprising. Congrats to Infinity Ward for Call of Duty 4’s continued success.

Edge, one of gaming’s most respected and trusted video game magazines has released their awards for 2007. As far as year-end awards go, so far Edge seems to be the most well-rounded in their selections and easily the most objective (take a note from this, Spike). Anyway, the awards are listed below:

Best Game

Super Mario Galaxy

Runners-Up
The Orange Box
Halo 3

Best Innovation

Halo 3

Runners-Up
Crysis
Portal

Best Visual Design

Bioshock

Runners-Up
Team Fortress 2
Super Mario Galaxy

Best Audio Design

Super Mario Galaxy

Runners-Up
Halo 3
Colin MCrae: Dirt

Best Online Experience

Halo 3

Runners-Up
Forza 2
Wii Channels

Best Hardware

Rock Band

Runners-Up
Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii

Best Developer

Valve

Runners-Up
Bungie
Nintendo

Best Publisher

Nintendo

Runners-Up
Microsoft
EA

The Maxim top ten of 2007 is out…and, well, it’s about what we expected it would be. Sure, some picks are right, but others can’t be objectively justified at all. Here’s the list:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
3. The Orange Box
4. BioShock
5.God of War II
6. Super Mario Galaxy
7. The Darkness
8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
9. John Woo’s Stranglehold
10. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

Yeah…I don’t think that The Darkness, Stranglehold, or Lost Planet should be anywhere on that list. It’s good to see Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box, Super Mario Galaxy, BioShock, and Prime 3 up there though. At least they got that right. Where’s Halo 3? Mass Effect? Rock Band? Odd. Anyway, here’s a bit more Mario love in “Maxim” style to commemorate his top ten selection.

Time did a top ten games of the year, and they ultimately gave Halo 3 the nod as the overall pick. The top 10 are as follows:

1.Halo 3
2.The Orange Box
3.Rock Band
4.Super Mario Galaxy
5.BioShock
6.Call of Duty 4
7.Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
8.Mass Effect
9.Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
10.God of War 2

I agree with the top 10 (for the most part), but I think there needs to be a shift in the ordering. I think I’d swap Super Mario Galaxy and Halo 3, and bump BioShock to 3 and drop Rock Band down a bit. Oh, and I guess Ace Combat 6 should be taken out entirely.

I’ve got my own list coming up soon which is guaranteed to be better. If you don’t think it’s better, well, then you’re wrong…not me. Anyway, Congrats to Halo 3!

As Guitar Hero continues to rack up big sales, the game has become pretty hard to come by. Apparently, those looking to snag Rock Band are going to face some difficulty tracking down the game unless they can manage to secure a preorder or luck into the game early on. Manufacturing limitations might keep the game in low supply throughout the holiday season and into early next year.

EA president, John Riccitello, while speaking to investors was recently quoted as saying, “We won’t be able to put up enough inventory to meet the demand of this fiscal or calendar year,” Riccitiello told the investors, adding that those who don’t buy at launch “won’t be getting one for Christmas, unless you know someone at one of our retailers.”

This kind of goes hand in hand with the announcement that there wouldn’t be any peripherals available for the game until early next year. It seems that the drums, guitars, and mic are proving to be a major manufacturing undertaking for EA, and production of the game is slower than expected. If you’re at all interested in owning Rock Band this year, you just might want to head down to *shudder* EB Games and throw down $20 on a preorder. I guess you could always camp out the night before release as well…just make sure to dress warm.

In a recently released PR, the Rock Band final track listing (not including bonus tracks or DLC tracks) has been unveiled. They fine PR folks did us a service by breaking them down by decade. Here’s the list:

1960s

• Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”

1970s

• Aerosmith “Train Kept a Rollin’”*
• The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
• Boston “Foreplay/Long Time”
• Mountain “Mississippi Queen” (cover)
• The Police “Next to You”
• David Bowie “Suffragette City”
• Black Sabbath “Paranoid” (cover)
• Blue Oyster Cult “Don’t Fear the Reaper”
• The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop”
• Deep Purple “Highway Star”
• KISS “Detroit Rock City”
• Molly Hatchet “Flirtin’ With Disaster”
• The Outlaws “Green Grass & High Tides” (cover)
• Sweet “Ballroom Blitz” (cover)

1980s

• Rush “Tom Sawyer”*
• Bon Jovi “Wanted Dead or Alive”
• The Clash “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
• Faith No More “Epic”
• Pixies “Wave of Mutilation”
• R.E.M. “Orange Crush”
• Iron Maiden “Run to the Hills” (cover)

1990s

• Foo Fighters “Learn to Fly”
• Metallica “Enter Sandman”
• Nirvana “In Bloom”
• Stone Temple Pilots “Vasoline”
• Weezer “Say It Ain’t So”
• Smashing Pumpkins “Cherub Rock”
• Radiohead “Creep”
• Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
• Hole “Celebrity Skin”
• Garbage “I Think I’m Paranoid”
• Soundgarden “Black Hole Sun”

2000s

• The Hives “Main Offender”
• Queens of the Stone Age “Go With the Flow”
• The Strokes “Reptilia”
• Jet “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”
• OK Go “Here It Goes Again”
• Nine Inch Nails “The Hand That Feeds”
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps”
• Red Hot Chili Peppers “Dani California”
• Coheed & Cambria “Welcome Home”
• Fallout Boy “Dead on Arrival”
• The Killers “When You Were Young”
• New Pornographers “Electric Version”

Unlockable Tracks

• Bang Camaro “Pleasure (Pleasure)”
• Twelve more yet to be revealed

Free Radical Design has officially announced the development of TimeSplitters 4. Back when Rare was starting to hemorrhage talent in the latter days of the N64, many of them formed up the Free Radical studio. Since then Free Radical has put out three great shooters in the TimeSplitters franchise. There are many, myself included, that feel that TS2 and TS3 were among the best FPS games released last generation, so the announcement of a fourth installment is great news.

Check out the company’s official web site for a humorous little teaser. You can find it here: Free Radical Design