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In The News
Video Games Bigger Than Film in the UK
Britain’s The Daily Telegraph says that in 2009, more Britons spent money on video games then on trips to the movie theatre and DVDs combined. According to the data company GFK Chart-Track, in the 12 months to the end of September 2009, £1.73 billion was spent on video games, while the UK Film Council says that exactly £1 billion was spent at the British box office during the same period, with a further £198 million spent on films released on DVD and Blu-ray. Only TV is bigger in Britain as the most popular form of electronic entertainment. Tom Watson, the former Cabinet Office minister and renowned gamer, said the statistics were proof that the video games industry needed to be taken seriously. "Like anything digital, Parliament has a very narrow view of video games,” he explained. “Too many politicians think video games are played by teenage boys staying up all night shooting things in their bedroom. And yes there are plenty of those, but there also a huge range of people of many different ages who love playing games. The industry has matured over the last decade, and so too have gamers."
Microsoft patents next generation controller?
That seems to be the opinion with the news that Microsoft has filed paperwork to patent an in-development technology that will allow users to control a computer device by merely flexing their muscles. The technology is based on the principal of EMG or Electromyography technology which translates electrical activities from muscles into instructions which are then processed by the computer. According to TechFlash, the patent file by the company read “As computing and digital information becomes integrated into everyday environments, situations arise where it may be inconvenient or difficult to use hands to directly manipulate an input device.” Many tech experts believe that this means that Microsoft is exploring motion sensing game capabilities for the next generation of X-Box, and perhaps even integrating it with the previously announced Project Natal, which will allow gamers to interact with the console with out using the controllers via a natural use interface using simple gestures and voice commands.
ELAN Nominations open, moving cities
The ELAN Awards, honouring the best in video game animation, production and multi-platform gaming, have officially opened the Award categories and nomination process. Previously held in Vancouver, this year the awards show has selected San Diego as the host city for the fourth instalment of the event. Events begin with a pool party on July 17th, continue with a street party on July 18th and the 2010 ELANS Dinner Award Ceremony itself on July 19th, the night before Comic-con, when all 30 awards will be presented. The official website won’t be launched until later this month, but all the information needed to submissions or to apply to be on the judging panel can be found at http://www.theelans.com/2010/
Charts
Christmas was very good to the video game industry as sales numbers shot way up in the wake of the holiday shopping season. Each of the Top Five games sold well over a million copies each, and in total nearly 10 million new systems was sold in the month of December. All platforms showed increases, but the Wii, the DS, the Playstation Portable and the Playstation 2 featured an over 95 per cent increase in sales over November’s numbers.
Top 20 Games – December
1. Wii Sports (Wii/Nintendo) - 3,094,214/30,106,439
2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii/Nintendo) - 2,085,480/3,636,161
3. Wii Sports Resort (Wii/Nintendo) - 1,676,217/4,712,125
4. Wii Fit Plus (Wii/Nintendo) - 1,601,239/2,971,109
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (X360/Activision) - 1,403,581/5,734,338
6. Left 4 Dead 2 (X360/Electronic Arts) - 874,154/1,748,503
7. Assassin's Creed II (X360/Ubisoft) - 800,894/1,645,034
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/Activision) - 738,221/2,928,144
9. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii/Sega) - 649,713/1,128,650
10. Lego Batman: The Videogame (X360/Warner Bros) - 641,126/1,319,757
11. Pure (X360/Disney Interactive Studios) - 616,762/1,169,450
12. Mario Kart Wii (Wii/Nintendo) - 609,504/8,765,081
13. Madden NFL 10 (X360/EA Sports) - 567,701/2,018,863
14. Assassin's Creed II (PS3/Ubisoft) - 559,266/1,067,631
15. Halo 3: ODST (X360/Microsoft) - 518,038/3,155,086
16. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS/Nintendo) - 517,920/517,920
17. Madden NFL 10 (PS3/EA Sports) - 454,302/1,512,497
18. Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010 (Wii/Activision) - 404,499/661,497
19. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS/Nintendo) - 403,464/992,103
20. New Super Mario Bros. (DS/Nintendo) - 398,820/7,832,661
Hardware
Nintendo DS: 3,257,125/43,716,916
Nintendo Wii: 3,094,214/30,106,439
Microsoft X-Box 360: 1,386,057/21,127,278
Sony Playstation 3: 1,202,967/12,133,100
Sony Playstation Portable: 603,146/18,620,753
Sony Playstation 2: 379,165/51,678,637
Total: 9,922,674
***Courtesy of VGChartz.com
Year End Charts
It wasn’t quite the record breaking year many had hoped for as the recession finally hit the gaming industry. The impact wasn’t that heinous though as hardware sales suffered a meagre fiver percent dip, while reversely game sales saw a six per cent increase. In both cases, it was the Playstation 3 that came out the winner in both categories as the price cut to $299.99 helped increase PS3 sales by 20 per cent. And since one needs games to play on those systems, PS3 game sales increased by 22 per cent. Unfortunately though, Sony was the only company to get good news about hardware sales, but Microsoft gets the consolation prize for smallest dip with a slight two per cent loss. Nintendo, at least, gets bragging rights for game sales with nearly 200 million units combined between the Wii and the DS.
Hardware
Nintendo DS: 12,096,031/43,716,916
Nintendo Wii: 10,084,464/30,106,439
Microsoft X-Box 360: 5,419,409/21,127,278
Sony Playstation 3: 4,700,467/12,133,100
Sony Playstation Portable: 2,772,420/18,620,753
Sony Playstation 2: 2,023,717/51,678,637
Total: 37,096,508
Software
Nintendo Wii: 104,372,822/245,972,479
Nintendo DS: 81,844,899/239,986,701
Microsoft X-Box 360: 76,292,546/226,577,087
Sony Playstation 3: 46,877,961/102,671,129
Sony Playstation Portable: 20,249,027/85,902,563
Sony Playstation 2: 16,968,211/na
Microsoft X-Box: 49,850/na
Total: 346,655,316
***Courtesy of VGChartz.com
Previews
Aliens vs. Predator (X-Box 360 and Playstation 3) – GameSpy.com
“In Rebellion's upcoming Aliens vs. Predator game, you have the choice of playing the role of the stealthy, deadly Alien species or the camouflaged, powerfully armed Predator. Or, if you're not really attached to the idea of survival, you can try being a Marine. As the various "Alien" and "Predator" (and "Alien vs. Predator") films have shown, the human race is vastly inferior to these extraterrestrial killers, fit only to die in many different gruesome ways. Years of evolution and advanced weapons technology, and we're still getting beat like the red-headed stepchildren of the universe. We humans get massacred indiscriminately, with no hope of survival unless our name happens to be Sigourney Weaver, Danny Glover, or Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“You don't even necessarily have to sneak up on a Marine to get a cheap kill in if you're an Alien or a Predator. Get a heavy melee attack in with a shoulder button and you can press another button to trigger another insta-kill move. This can supposedly be blocked but in practice I was never able to keep from getting slaughtered after these brief animated sequences.
“Humans are just not a fair match against a pure killer like the Predator. There's an entire game mode built around pushing this point home. In the Predator Hunt mode all players start out as Marines, with one player as the Predator. That player is then on the clock and must then eliminate the Marines by any means necessary. Kill a Marine and your hunt is extended. If a Marine manages to kill the Predator he then takes on that role. Picking off lone Marines is a breeze, and even when the Marines grouped together the Predators in our game were able to get at least one kill in with relative ease. Predator Hunt just hammered home the point that humanity is doomed.”
*** Aliens vs. Predator will be released on X-Box 360 and Playstation 3 sometime in 2010
Darksiders (X-Box and Playstation 3) – IGN.com
“Surprising. That's the best way to describe Darksiders halfway through (eight hours in). It's not such a shock that the first game of 2010 appears to be a pretty solid offering. The real surprises come from the game itself. Darksiders does a great job of tossing in new gameplay twists right before the current brand of hack and slash is about to grow stale. There's always something new around the corner. 
“You play as a Horseman of the Apocalypse, War, called to Earth to bring about End Times. Psyche! It's not really time for the Apocalypse. Yes, War got hosed, and is quickly stripped of all his wonderful powers. How come all-powerful beings are so easily conned? The only way to find out who set you up is to slash your way through a demonic horde of enemies.
“A lot of developers try and create a story that has twists that capture your attention. Darksiders' story doesn't have those kinds of twists. Instead, developer Vigil Studios put those types of unexpected moments in the gameplay itself. Every hour or so, you get a new piece or gear or a new ability that adds a different layer to the gameplay. Each new piece of gear or ability seems to be tied to one of the dungeons you need to explore.
“Darksiders is the kind of game that really appeals to me. I like collecting stuff. I like mashing buttons. I like riding a horse with flaming hooves. I wasn't expecting so many different little twists along the way, but they've all been very refreshing. It's easy to look at Darksiders' pieces and say, "Well this is from God of War and this is from Zelda." Fair enough. But how often have elements from a bunch of different games been brought together? That's what makes Darksiders special in my eyes.”
*** Darksiders will be released on X-Box 360 and Playstation 3 on January 5th
