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New Releases: WoW Mists of Pandaria, FIFA Soccer 13, Dead or Alive 5, More
The Fall is here! The Fall is here! Say it with me… the Fall is here! Your Fall gaming rush begins now and it begins with the release of the latest expansion to the biggest MMO on the planet, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.
This week also marks the beginning of the annual soccer riot between EA Sports and Konami as both companies plan to release the latest iteration of their flagship soccer titles. FIFA Soccer 13 will appear on the 3DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Vita, Wii, and Xbox 360 while Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 go for the goal on the PS2, PS3, PSP, and Xbox 360.
A very different kind of kicking takes place in Team Ninja’s Dead or Alive 5. The latest game in the fighting franchise will punch and kick its way to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week.
Finally this week, Rovio’s Angry Birds Trilogy flies onto the 3DS, PS3, and Xbox 360 and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is being re-released in a Game of the Year Edition.
Hit the jump for the complete list of this week’s new releases. (more…)
NCAA Football 13 is the bestselling game of July 2012
The NPD Group has released their list of the ten bestselling games of July 2012 and, surprising no one, NCAA Football 13 took the top spot.
The football sim was the only new release from the month of July to crack the top ten, but to be fair, there weren’t very many games released last month. Instead, the top ten is populated by holdovers like Lego Batman 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, and two Call of Duty games (Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3). According to Joystiq, this motley crew could only manage sales of $260.7 million, a 23% drop from July 2011’s take of $338.5 million.
The full top ten is available after the break. (more…)
Lego Batman 2 rises to the top of the June 2012 bestsellers list
With editions on seven different platforms, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes rose to the top of The NPD Group’s monthly list of bestselling games. The remainder of the list was split between new releases, May holdovers, and Fall 2011 games that are still popular.
There were only a handful of new games available in June with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (#2), Pokemon Conquest (#7), and The Amazing Spider-Man (#10) all earning spots in the top ten. Grasshopper’s Lollipop Chainsaw didn’t make the cut, continuing Suda 51’s lack of success at the register.
An astounding four games from Fall 2011 continue to sell strongly enough to make the top ten: NBA 2K12 (#5), Batman: Arkham City (#6, boosted by the newly released Game of the Year Edition), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (#8), and Battlefield 3 (#9). I’m sure it helps that all were among the best-reviewed games of last year.
As a whole, game and hardware sales are down 29% from June 2011, according to Joystiq.
A complete list of last month’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Shadow of the Colossus film gets Chronicle director
In April 2009 it was announced that Sony Pictures and Sony Computer Entertainment would be collaborating to make a movie adaptation of Team Ico’s classic game, Shadow of the Colossus. As expected, the news was met with a muted, lukewarm response from fans, disappointed with a plethora of past video game film failures. It was not helped by the fact that the “talent” included writer Justin Marks, who penned the misunderstood study of femininity that was Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.
Now this week, three years later, news broke that Josh Trank, director of the found-footage superhero flick Chronicle had been tasked with directing the film. He was not just handed the job, but actively fought for the role, citing his love of the game.
This motivation seems ill-placed though, as anyone who has ever played the game will know that it offers few characters and little to no dialogue, yet remains an amazing game through its highly original and stylised world, as well as an emotional investment in both Wander and his loyal horse Agro as they journey on their quest to slay sixteen colossi.
The only good news is that Trank’s involvement is a good sign, and seems to indicate that any script written by Marks will now be binned with Trank and a new writer starting from scratch. From a screenwriting prospective the game offers little dramatic structure that could be transferred to a film, compared to a game like Uncharted for example, which offers a very cinematic narrative within the actual game. How the as yet unannounced writer will tackle these issues remains to be seen.
While general opinion around the Internet regarding the new announcement has been as lukewarm as that made three years ago, some, including myself, remain optimistic that Sony will give Trank some creative freedom needed to translate the magic of the game to the cinema screen and craft an emotional journey to match that of the game.
[Source: Deadline]
Mass Effect 3 tops NPD bestseller report for March 2012
Whether you loved Mass Effect 3‘s ending or you hated it, one thing’s for certain, BioWare made a ton of money selling you the game. In what should be a surprise to no one, Mass Effect 3 took the top spot in The NPD Group’s report of the bestselling games in March 2012.
Even though March was a bit of a slow month for new releases, the remainder of the top ten is populated almost totally by games released in the last four weeks including Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (#2), MLB 12: The Show (#3), SSX (#5), Street Fighter X Tekken (#6), Mario Party 9 (#7), Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (#9), and Major League Baseball 2K12 (#10).
Whew!
Hit the break to see the full top ten, including the pair of holdovers from the February 2012 report. (more…)
New Releases: Mass Effect 3, Street Fighter X Tekken, MLB 2K12/MLB 12, More
It’s here. It’s finally here. The grand finale of the Mass Effect trilogy, Mass Effect 3, will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on March 6. It’s been a long wait (made longer by EA’s decision to delay the game from its original Fall 2011 release date), but it’s almost over.
However, other companies aren’t backing down from the juggernaut that is Commander Shepard…
- Capcom is bowing their 2D crossover fighter Street Fighter X Tekken (PS3, Xbox 360).
- A twin bill of baseball games will be available including Sony’s MLB 12: The Show (PS3, Vita) and 2K’s more inclusive Major League Baseball 2K12 (DS, PC, PS2 (!), PS3, PSP (!!), Wii, Xbox 360).
- Namco Bandai is bringing back the Ridge Racer series in Ridge Racer Unbounded (PS3, Xbox 360), a title that has really managed to stay under the radar.
- Zipper Interactive (creator of the SOCOM series) will make their Vita debut with Unit 13.
- And Nintendo wants everyone to do the Mario one more time on the Wii with Mario Party 9.
Even EA isn’t afraid to compete against itself, as the publisher plans to ship The Sims 3: Showtime for the PC this week in both a Limited Edition and a Katy Perry Special Edition (scandalized muppets not included).
Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are even more new releases after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: Black Ops voted “Best Ending” by Guinness World Records readers
Did you pass on the Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition when it was released back in January? Then you missed their list of the “Top 50 Video Game Endings of All Time” as voted by 13,519 Guinness readers. But apparently this information was just begging to get out as Guinness released the full list over the weekend. And the winner is… [drummmmmmmmmmrollllllllll]… Call of Duty: Black Ops.
OK… sure… why not. But I guess that’s what you get when you award “records” based on a popular vote.
Black Ops was followed by Halo: Reach at number two and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time at number three.
The Guinness people weren’t too clear on what they considered a game’s “ending,” citing the entire final level for Black Ops, the post credits sequence for Halo: Reach, and the boss fight against Ganon for Ocarina of Time. So when you read the entire list (which can be found after the break), be sure to remember that it was about the furthest thing possible from a scientific poll.
Of course, the inclusion of Super Mario Bros. at number 11 (and four Mario games in total) probably tipped you off to that. (more…)