This is your civic duty (or whatever the gamer equivalent would be called) – you must save the Community Choice Awards being held at Xbox.com. Voting in a number of categories is being held in the Xbox.com forums, and is open to anyone with a gamertag. You might be wondering why the awards need saving; well, I’ll tell you why.

Best weapon, Gravity Hammer (Halo 3) with 43.4% over the Portal gun with 28.2%? What in the gaming gods’ name is going on here? I don’t think you understand how horrified I am when browsing the current results. Halo 3’s Brute Chopper is right on the heels of the AC-130 from Call of Duty 4. I’m so close to having a complete breakdown and losing any and all hope in the gaming community, you wouldn’t even believe it.

Please, oh please, if you have a gamertag, go and vote for the things that deserve to be voted for. You can find the details here and the polls are located in the forums here.

You heard it right. EA has released Madden NFL 08 in Spanish. The Spanish version is being released for the Xbox 360 and PS2. For this cover, Vince Young is out and Charger’s defensive star Luis Castillo is in. The game plays identical to the English version, with the only changes being several new music tracks, a different cover and the entire game being in Spanish.

The interesting aspect of this release is that it marks the first time in history that a a major game publisher is directly marketing a game towards Spanish-speaking gamers only. I’m sure if things go well, we will see more things like this happen next year. I may even pick this up for myself to brush up on my Spanish. Playing Madden would definitely be a fun way to brush up on my foreign language skills.

Via Press Release

Those of you who are looking forward to the North American release of The Witcher tomorrow may be interested in a recent editorial on Rock, Paper, Shotgun that endeavors to answer the question “Which sort of RPG is the Witcher?” The key here is defining the prime elements of an RPG. For example, is a game considered an RPG if you can’t create your own character?

Weighing in personally, this was something that came up on last week’s podcast. Ron and I debated the impact of MMORPG’s and the question of what makes an RPG was high on our list of debates. With most games containing elements of traditional RPG mentality – like statistic leveling, skill advancement, etc. it’s becoming harder and harder to draw a straight line in any genre. Oblivion is in many ways a fantasy FPS, but we classify it as an RPG. Consider that the latest Tiger Woods could in many ways be considered an RPG in its career mode – you develop and train up your golfer by playing, choose appearance, etc. Aspects of games that traditionally would be considered an RPG. The question becomes more how the “story” is told and what the aim of the gameplay is that keeps anyone from calling that game or Madden an RPG.

The debate is one that is a hot topic in the video game industry. Check out many of the definitions of RPG on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. For another take on RPGs download the latest File-n-Forget podcast, “Multiple Roles, Singular Worlds”.

I’ve only spent a few hours with The Witcher at this point and I’d call it a great example of an RPG. It has a strong central plot, a character whose skills and abilities develop at my whim and through my actions, and character advancement that is integral to telling the story of the game and directly tied to gameplay.

What defines an RPG for you?

There was never any doubt Halo 3 would do well, and that it would top the list of games sold in September – September 25 release date or not. Despite having a short period of time to sell, you could look at these numbers and mistake them for annual numbers – Halo 3 sold an astonishing 3.3 million units. That’s a number Dr. Evil would be proud of.

Here are the software numbers for September:

1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) – 3.3 million
2. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) – 282,000
3. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS) – 224,000
4. Madden NFL 08 (PlayStation 2) – 205,000
5. Skate (Xbox 360) – 175,000
6. Madden NFL 08 (Xbox 360) – 173,000
7. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) – 167,000
8. BioShock (Xbox 360) – 150,000
9. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo DS) – 141,000
10. Heavenly Sword (PlayStation 3) – 139,000

As you can see, everything not named Halo 3 pretty much struggled during September, although half of the games on this list weren’t even released in September.

Wii Play unsurprisingly continues to be a hot seller, and considering more than 500k Wii systems were sold in September, it isn’t surprising to see those new owners wanted a second Wiimote to go along with the system. The three other Nintendo platform games that made the list are all Nintendo-published. Note to third parties: Step it up on Wii.

Madden on PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 swapped places from August, with the PlayStation 2 version now being the bigger seller. This is where you’ll see the huge install base of the PS2 kick in, as there are tens of millions of PlayStation 2 owners who still don’t own Madden 08. The Xbox 360 isn’t even owned by tens of millions in this country.

Skate will be hard to judge until we get the numbers back on the new Tony Hawk, which I suspect will murder the 175k sold by Skate. But for a new IP, that’s a fairly respectable number.

Heavenly Sword truly had a disappointing showing. With no Warhawk or Lair to be seen, it’s the lone PlayStation 3 title to make the list with its 139k units sold. While the game received a rather mixed reception by critics, it certainly seemed like a great time for the PlayStation 3 to have a showcase game release. But as I said with the hardware, it’s quite possible those potential buyers were swept up into the Halo 3 hysteria. That number doesn’t bode well for games like Stranglehold for PS3 which continue to get pushed back further and further – if a borderline triple-A title can’t sell well in a month with no other real significant PS3 releases, how could a multiplatform game do well on the system with the smallest install base?

Electronic Arts have announced 27 titles in their holiday line-up that are sure to please at least some of North American gamers young and old. The EA line-up brings titles to all major game systems, handhelds, and mobile. You will notice that some of these games are already out (The Orange Box), but since they were included in the press release, I have included them here as well – you will also notice ratings, pricing and format listed along with the title. This should make the decision making process much easier for you and EA has been kind enough to send along information about each game. Enjoy.

Army of TWO

Combat. Camaraderie. Cash. Master two-man combat with a live or AI partner to form the deadliest private military partnership a government can buy. Preorder Army of Two this holiday on the Xbox 360, and gamers will receive exclusive community created weapons. Pre-order Army of Two on the PLAYSTATION 3 and receive an exclusive dossier including hints and content from the graphic novel.

· Release date: November 13
· Platforms: Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3
· ESRB Rating: M for Mature
· MSRP: $59.99

Boogie

Shake it. Sing it. Create it. The ultimate party package for gamers of all ages, Boogie on the PlayStation 2 and Wii will have players dancing, singing and creating music videos to hit songs from over four decades. Players can even take their dancing act on the road with Boogie on the Nintendo DS. This version offers unique dancing modes including 3D gameplay using the 3D glasses packed in the retail box as well as mini-games not found on the consoles.

· Release date: November 15, 2007 (PlayStation 2/ Nintendo DS), August 2007 (Wii)
· Platforms: Wii, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo DS
· ESRB Rating: E10+
· MSRP: $59.99 (Wii) and $49.99 (PlayStation 2) – includes microphone; $29.99 (Nintendo DS) – includes 3D glasses

Command & Conquer Saga

Experience Command & Conquer like never before with The Command & Conquer Saga —thirteen Command & Conquer games spanning three generations of the series in a single package! This massive compilation spans over a dozen Command & Conquer games including the award-winning Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars and all the titles featured in Command & Conquer The First Decade. Available in North America this October for the PC, The Command & Conquer Saga marks the largest PC franchise compilation to date.

· Release date: October
· Platform: PC
· ESRB Rating: T for Teen
· MSRP: $49.99

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

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Whether you work in the gaming industry, are an avid gamer, or are involved in an anti-gaming crusade, there is one thing we can all agree upon – Halo 3 will be the best-selling game of 2007. After announcing an unprecedented $170 million in loot on opening day alone, Bungie and Microsoft made the launch of Halo 3 the highest-grossing single day launch in entertainment history. Even though this major event is nothing for the gaming industry to sneeze at, the Halo trilogy barely makes a dent in the Top 40 of video game franchises list even if it has currently sold 15 million units – this is even if you add 10 million more units thanks to Halo 3. It still cannot compete with the laudable franchises listed below, which by the way,  I have included my own research and opinions on – just in case anyone asks.

10. Gran Turismo – 47 million Units Sold – Defining game: Gran Turismo (PSOne)

Everyone who has ever played a racing game, knows that this franchise is the creme de la creme of everything that is racing simulation. Pole Position may have been the arcade champion when it was introduced, but Gran Turismo proved that the racing genre would be a hit a home with better graphics and just flat out crazy gameplay.

9. Donkey Kong – 48 million Units Sold – Defining game: Donkey Kong (Arcade)

How many quarters did you feed into this machine as a kid? Just think how many cool things you could buy today or think of the hellacious retirement plan you could help fund if you only had that money back. While the Donkey Kong franchise has spawned many installments (Diddy Kong Racing !!!!) and different platforms for the game, the granddaddy of them all is the original arcade version which not only introduced us to the “Damsel in Distress” plot-line, it also introduced us to the world famous plumber that we now know as Mario.

8. The Legend of Zelda – 52 million Units Sold -Defining game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

Most Legend of Zelda nerds like me cannot mention The Ocarina of Time without getting a little misty-eyed. Granted, A Link to the Past was the game that got most of us hooked, but with the introduction of the N64 – the bar was set higher. Windwaker, and Twilight Princess be damned in the graphics and gameplay mechanics department, The Ocarina of Time will be the one we all remember with the most fondness.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

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Madden fans have been complaining all around the Internet, and rightly so – apparently, the latest patch for Madden NFL 08 on PS3 completely borked the game so that it wouldn’t even so much as load. While the issue was being fixed, EA announced a temporary fix that would allow you to play offline – no online play until the issue was fixed.

A post on the official Madden forums has announced that the issue has been resolved, but if you were the victim of this patch, you’ll need to go out of your way to manually remove it.

From EA’s support page:

If you have encountered an ‘80010009′ error message after downloading a Madden NFL 08 update, please perform the following steps listed below:

1. Press the PS button on the controller and select QUIT.
2. In the main screen of the XMB (XrossMediaBar) user interface, select Game.
3. Highlight the Game Data Utility folder and press the X button.
4. Highlight the Madden NFL 08 file and press the Triangle button.
5. Delete the file.
6. Restart the game.

This will allow you to launch and play Madden NFL 08. The next time you attempt to play online, you will be prompted to download the most recent roster update. Download the roster update and from there, you will be able to play the game without receiving the ‘80010009′ error message.

It’s my favorite time of month – when the previous month’s NPD numbers are released, and fanboys can be put in their place. August was quite a month with the release of Madden (always a big story), BioShock (how well did it do?), and the release date of Halo 3 just a month away. First, let’s take a look at hardware numbers:

Hardware Unit Sales:

PlayStation 2 202K
PlayStation 3 130.6K
PlayStation Portable 151.2 K
Xbox 360 276.7K
Wii 403.6 K
Nintendo DS 383.3K
GBA 69.5K

The Wii and DS are still extremely high, although both saw a decrease from June. The two systems are just in another world as they continue to demolish the competition. Nintendo has got to be all smiles. (But Nintendo doesn’t plan to cut off the surprises.)

Sony, however, has really got to be nothing short of disappointed. All three of their systems are down, and while it wasn’t the largest drop of the three, 130k PlayStation 3 units is less than half of the Xbox 360’s number this month, and only 50k more than the Game Boy Advance. Yikes. PlayStation Portable’s drop can likely be attributed to the remodeled PSP (PSP Lite – you know you want to call it that, Sony) being on the verge of release.

Lastly, we have the Xbox 360 which saw a boost of 100k units sold – bring it to 270k on the month, which is a tremendous boost. It’s amazing what the release of Madden, combined with Halo 3 on the horizon, can do for a console’s sales, isn’t it?

Software numbers and breakdown can be seen after the break.

Read the full article »

A Virginia journalist has used yet another senseless tragedy to malign video gamers. Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett took a big hit on Sunday and has suffered paralysis. It is a very sad situation and a loss for his family, fans and colleagues alike.

Football is a dangerous game, even with all the padding. President Roosevelt almost had the game outlawed because of the number of college deaths resulting from matches. Even with all the modern rules, training and protection, players know every time they hit the field they are at risk for serious injury and unfortunately Kevin Everett isn’t alone in his suffering.

Leave it to the media to take a horrible accident and use it as a platform to attack violence in video games and the people who play them. see Virginia Pilot columnist Bob Molinaro wrote a shameful discussion of Everett’s injury under the headline Video-game generation may be desensitized to NFL injuries:

I IMAGINE THERE’S a large segment of NFL fans that envisions pro football to be the embodiment of the video games they love to play.

…I’ve got a feeling that a certain percentage of males, those whose senses have been bombarded by video violence all their lives, are attracted to pro football by the slickly edited TV images that are a variation of their virtual-reality experiences.

This makes me wonder if the catastrophic injury to Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will make any real impression on the desensitized adolescents and adults raised with the cartoon violence of “Madden ‘08″ or “NFL Blitz,” or the absurd blood-and-guts scenarios associated with other Xbox games.

I wonder if any of this hits home with the very large and growing demographic that comes to football through the make-believe violence of video games. In that world, jacked-up players always bounce back, returning as good as new when the game is switched on.

This week, more than many, we’re reminded that in real-time, real-life football, the violence and its consequences are all too real.

We all know the risks of playing football, professionally or at the playground. The players weigh them every time they line up on a field. However, I can’t begin to express my shock, dismay and disgust at this journalist’s dehumanizing portrayal of gamers. Even small children can differentiate between a game and reality. To imply that a whole generation of people have no compasion or sense of reality shows that he lacks some of those qualities himself.

Thankfully, Kevin Everts’ condition is improving. He may even walk again. Spare a moment to send the power of positive thinking his way.

via GamePolitics 

Peter Moore’s been on the job less than a week and already he’s making headlines. The EA Sports president claimed that he hadn’t come to the company to simply sell more copies of Madden; and from what he’s laid out, that sounds like the truth.

“There is a great opportunity to take EA Sports and turn it into a general sports brand that can compete not only with Take-Two and Konami and the other usual suspects in the videogame world…[but also] to look at ourselves in a different way and compete with the likes of Nike and ESPN to win the hearts and minds of a very desirable demographic group, which is the 14-to-34-year-old male worldwide” Moore told NY Times’ Seth Schiesel.

It’s interesting that he mentions ESPN, as EA and ESPN are still in the middle of an agreement that provides EA Sports’ games with ESPN features, like ESPN Radio SportsCenter updates, news, etc. Other aspirations for the company include a global EA Sports-branded sports news and social networking site. “…I think we have an opportunity to aggregate information and bring it to life with video technologies,” he said.

“It may sound like heresy, but I’m not here to just sell more Maddens and more FIFAs,” Moore said. “Protecting our base is very important, but I didn’t come here to just maintain the status quo and build the business 5 to 7 percent a year.”

With Moore’s personality and goals he seems intent on pursuing, EA Sports might be capable of becoming a brand gamers like, rather than despise.

via Next-Gen