TigerPrince Radio Podcasts » Videogames

NBA 2K11 Jordan Cover Released!

BigBoss — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:18:55 +0000

Lebron who?

For those of you who want to see one of basketball’s biggest legends get a chance to be on the cover of a new basketball game, your wait is over! Air Jordan has been unleashed by 2K Sports.

Check out the image, then go put on your old worn out jersey and try to dunk on the neighborhood kids! Rejected!

Madden Sucks?

BigBoss — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:11:37 +0000

According to NPD’s August 2008 figures, Madden 09 on the Xbox 360 sold 1 million units, some 75,000 more than this year. PS3-edition sales slipped by about 22,000 units, falling from 665,000 to 643,000. Madden on the PS2 saw a substantial drop, going from 424,500 units in August 2008 to just 162,000 units last month.

Notably, neither the Wii nor the PSP editions of Madden 10 cracked NPD’s monthly chart. With the Wii edition of Madden 09 debuting with 115,800 units last year, the 2009 edition sold just 66,600 units on the month. The PSP installment fared worse, shifting just 44,600 units, according to the NPD Group.

Though nearly 2 million units sold in two weeks is hardly worth scoffing at, EA CEO John Riccitiello still expressed disappointment in Madden 2010.

Mickey Mouse Joins The X-Men?

BigBoss — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:34:48 +0000

The Walt Disney Company today announced an agreement with Marvel Entertainment to acquire the comic publisher and its stable of over 5,000 characters. The deal is valued at $4 billion in cash and Disney stock.

Marvel doesn’t publish games itself, but it frequently licenses out its characters to a wide variety of publishers. Currently, the comics company is providing characters for new and upcoming titles from Activision (Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2), Capcom (Marvel vs. Capcom 2), Sega (Iron Man 2), and THQ (Marvel Super Hero Squad).

In a conference call with analysts, Disney executives fielded questions about their plans for the acquisition. And while they mentioned the need to respect deals that were already in place, there were hints that Disney might look to replace Marvel’s licensing partners in the future, where appropriate.

I say this: “Mark my words, if Mickey Mouse joins the X-Men, I’m done.”

XBOX 360 Price Cut (Sunday Aug 30th)

BigBoss — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:50:13 +0000

We can confirm that this Sunday the XBOX 360 60 gig version will go from 299.99 to 249.99. Check your local ads but it is a lock!

Those of us who paid 399.99 when the 20 gig red ring of death box first came out are sure getting hosed!

One would have to think that if this move isn’t drastic enough for the holiday season, then a 199.99 price point will get moved up.

Videogame Sales Down Again

BigBoss — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:08:13 +0000

The console videogame market took a 31% nose dive for the month of June! Videogames are losing more ground than the person behind Oprah at an all you can eat buffet. Can July fair any better with NCAA 2010 and The Bigs 2? We will have to wait until next month to find out. Until then, here are the sales figures for June.

TOP-SELLING HARDWARE – JUNE 2009

System / Consoles Sold

1- Nintendo DS: 766,500
2- Wii: 361,700
3- Xbox 360: 240,600
4- PlayStation 3: 164,700
5- PSP: 163,500
6- PlayStation 2: 152,700

TOP-SELLING SOFTWARE SKUs – JUNE 2009

Title / Publisher / Games Sold

1- Prototype (X360) / Activision Blizzard / 419,900
2- UFC 2009 Undisputed (X360) / THQ / 338,300
3- EA Sports Active (Wii) / EA / 289,100
4- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii) / EA / 272,400
5- Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (Wii) / Nintendo / 271,600
6- Fight Night Round 4 (360) / EA / 260,800
7- Fight Night Round 4 (PS3) / EA / 210,300
8- Mario Kart Wii with Wheel (Wii) / Nintendo / 202,100
9- Red Faction: Guerrilla (X360) / THQ / 199,400
10- Infamous (PS3) / SCEA / 192,700

A Nation of Videogame Fans?

BigBoss — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:43:20 +0000

Sixty-eight percent of American households play computer or video games, according to new research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. The number of households playing games increased three percent over 2008, illustrating the expanding use of entertainment software across all demographics. The ESA released these findings as part of its Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry 2009 report during the E3 Expo, the computer and video game industry’s annual trade show.

“This is the new golden age of entertainment software. Our products are now being enjoyed by over two-thirds of Americans,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA. “As the findings of the 2009 Essential Facts illustrate, more and more Americans across all demographics are now embracing the interactive entertainment experience that computer and video games provide.”

Other findings of the survey include:

•Forty-two percent of American homes have a video game console;
•Adult gamers have been playing for 12 years on average, a decrease from 2008, an indication that more
•Americans are picking up video game controllers for the first time;
•The average game player is 35 years old;
•Seventy-seven percent of parents believe that the parental controls available in all recent video game consoles are useful;
•Almost half of all games sold (45 percent) are rated ‘E’ for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board; and,
•Forty-three percent of online game players are female.

In addition, the report includes statistics about the high level of parental involvement in video game play. Sixty-three percent of parents who have children under 18 with a gaming console in the home believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives. Those parents are present when games are purchased or rented 92 percent of the time and report always or sometimes monitoring the games their children play 91 percent of the time.

The research for Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry 2009 was conducted by Ipsos MediaCT and is the most in-depth and targeted survey of its kind, gathering data from almost 1,200 nationally representative households that have been identified as owning either or both a video game console or a personal computer used to run entertainment software.

Batman Delayed?

BigBoss — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:05:23 +0000

Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has confirmed that Batman: Arkham Asylum will be released at the end of summer 2009. Although the game never had a solid release date, it was expected to arrive in late spring or early summer.

The pressed on a reason for the delay, the developer had the following comment, “this additional time will allow us to ensure Batman: Arkham Asylum is of the highest quality for gamers.”

Based on the core Batman license, in Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Dark Knight takes on his greatest challenge yet when he becomes trapped with all of his most dangerous villains inside the insane asylum of Gotham City Arkham Asylum. Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum – Gotham City’s psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.

Double Your Madden?

BigBoss — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:24:58 +0000

For the first time in its storied some say cursed history, the cover of EA Sports’ “Madden NFL” video game will feature two cover athletes: Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

“Being on the cover of ‘Madden’ is a real honor,” Fitzgerald said Friday after Electronic Arts made the announcement. “And sharing it with a talent like Troy is really special.”

The shared cover of “Madden NFL 10,” which arrives in stores Aug. 14, has something for everyone: Polamalu is a defensive AFC player and Fitzgerald an offensive NFC player.

EA Sports senior product manager Anthony Stevenson called the two Pro Bowlers “exemplary examples of the epic battle between offense and defense in the NFL.”

Nintendo’s DSi Big Time Hit

BigBoss — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:04:00 +0000

Nintendo has announced that its newly released DSi handheld–the follow-up to the original DS and the DS Lite–has nearly doubled its predecessor’s debut sales. Citing internal tracking numbers, Nintendo said the DSi sold 435,000 units in the US in its first week of release, compared to the DS Lite’s first-week tally of just 226,300 systems sold.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata already announced that the company had sold 300,000 DSi systems in the US during its first two days on sale. When the DS Lite debuted in 2006, Nintendo said it sold 136,500 units in the system’s first two days on sale in the US, putting it roughly on pace to match the launch of the original DS in 2004.

Gaming Improves Vision?

BigBoss — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:06:05 +0000

Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York have announced findings claiming that playing games, specifically those ones oriented around action, improve contrast sensitivity function (CSF); that is the ability to detect subtle differences in shades of grey.

While the same researchers had previously found that games improved visual acuity and peripheral vision, the ability to improve contrast sensitivity is significant, given that it was previously held among the scientific community that it could not be improved. CSF ability is often affected by old age or amblyopia commonly known as lazy eye. Previously, it was only possible to ease the symptoms via glasses or surgery, rather than address the root cause by improving the performance of the eye itself.

The research focused on 13 individuals split into two groups, playing video games for a total of 50 hours over nine weeks. One group was given action games, including Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament, whilst the other played non-action games which do not require such precise gameplay actions, such as The Sims.

Those in the action group showed a 43 percent improvement in CSF compared to those in the non-action group, whose average was 11 percent. More startlingly, the effect was said to last for months, even after the games themselves had stopped being played.