The November NPD numbers are in for PC titles for the month, and it should come as no surprise that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is on top–as a matter of fact it takes the top two spots out of the Top 20. If you look through the whole chart though, you will notice that World of Warcraft took five spots which is an indication that its popularity shows no wane in sight.

Call of Duty: World at War for the PC came in third, with Spore still pulling in the gamers and resting at number four, and Left 4 Dead took the number 8 spot which is a decent slot considering the PC powerhouses that are present on the chart.

1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collector’s Edition
3. Call of Duty: World At War
4. Spore
5. Fallout 3
6. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
7. The Sims 2 Deluxe
8. Left 4 Dead
9. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack
10. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
11. World of Warcraft
12. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Expansion
13. Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy
14. EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey
15. Far Cry 2
16. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
17. BioShock
18. Spore Creepty & Cute Parts Pack
19. IGT Slots: Little Green Men
20. Assassin’s Creed

(Thanks Shacknews)

The NPD numbers are in for November, and as far as console sales go, Gears of War 2 dominated the chart with 1.5 million units sold and Call of Duty: World at War coming in a very close second with 1.4 million in sales (for the Xbox 360 version).

Shockingly enough, Nintendo’s Wii Music came in last in the top 10, and while that in itself does not surprise me, the fact that it is even in the top 10 is what I am curious over. I suppose that the company’s stellar ad campaign was what did it, along with unsuspecting parents rushing out to buy the game on Black Friday because all the stores in their area were out of Rock Band 2 and World Tour. They probably thought that their kids would like it just as well, by they will unfortunately find out the hard way come Christmas morning.

Top Ten Games

1. Gears of War 2 (Epic, Xbox 360) – 1.56 million
2. Call of Duty: World at War (Treyarch, Xbox 360) – 1.41 million
3. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) – 796,000
4. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) – 697,000
5. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) – 637,000
6. Call of Duty: World at War (Treyarch, PS3) – 597,000
7. Guitar Hero World Tour (Vicarious Visions, Wii) – 475,000
8. Left 4 Dead (Valve, Xbox 360) – 410,000
9. Resistance 2 (Insomniac, PS3) – 385,000
10. Wii Music (Nintendo, Wii) – 297,000

(Thanks VG247)

Sony has announced that LittleBigPlanet owners out there can now get into the holiday spirit with a little Santa suit for their Sackboys. It’s going to be completely free, but it’s also going to be a two-parter. Today, you can grab the red Santa jacket and pants, but next week is when you can download the signature beard and hat. Then you can craft that level where your Sackboy is pulled on a sleigh by reindeer to dispense gifts to all the children in the neighborhood, before he’s crucified by the government, who is then visited by three spirits that convince them to change their evil ways. That’s why we celebrate Christmas after all, isn’t it?

The VGA awards are this coming Sunday (December 14) and on this grand night the official trailer for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will be debuting. In the meantime, extra details regarding the sequel to Naughty Dog’s swashbuckling hit have surfaced, and even a few scans from the latest issue of Game Informer, which I will not post because of copyright infringement reasons.

Anyway, according to the GameTrailers forum here are some of the details nipped from the piece:

• Melee combat is more dynamic
• Only 30% of the PS3’s power was used with Drake’s Fortune and but will be closer to 100% with Among Thieves
• A demo shown to GI depicted Drake going through a city (possibly Nepal), and he’s stealthily taking out guards and escaping the city
• Nolan North returns as Drake and Chloe Frazer (the new girl)is played by Claudia Black (Stargate SG-1, Farscape)). When asked about Elena and Sully’s return, they were met with “no comment”.
• There are no load screens
• The Sixaxis mechanics were ditched for such things as throwing grenades
• The story is based upon looking for the ships that Marco Polo “lost” while returning home to Italy
• One of the weapons revealed is a rocket launcher that Chloe uses (might only be for the cinematic)
• The score is being composed by Greg Edmonson (same guy from the first one)
• You can now move while aiming behind cover
• Weapons can be used in any stance (running, behind cover, hanging, climbing a wall, etc.)
• Every character fully interacts with the dynamic geometry moving around them, and environments in the background are real parts of the game world. If Drake’s on top of a train, he’s going to be shaking with the train as it moves around. As he gets inside, his move set is going to change, and he’s going to be a lot more secure because the wind’s not blowing.
• The graphics look better than Uncharted 1
• Button sequence cinematics such as the final boss have changed so now Drake is now fully controllable in these parts
• Climbing seems improved upon. You can climb lamp posts now among other new things
• If there is an enemy patrolling a rooftop you’re climbing a wall to, you can pull him off the roof while hanging on the wall.

Sounds great and like loads of fun especially with Claudia Black involved. Man she has a great voice (wink wink nudge nudge bob’s your uncle). If you want to check out what else was revealed, head on over to the forums linked above and the Game FAQS forum here.

The open beta for PlayStation Home starts today, and while not expected to launch completely until next year it has already drawn some raided eyebrows, especially from Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg– who as we all know is one to always speak his mind with no qualms about the reaction to it. His recent criticism of Sony’s PlayStation Home is no exception, and as a matter of fact he thinks it is outdated.

Speaking with Kotaku, Greenberg stated that Home looks like Second Life for hardcore gamers without broadening the players experience or inviting them in:

“What Home to me feels like is Second Life for hardcore gamers. It doesn’t feel like it broadens the experience and invites people in. When they unveiled it, it seemed innovative. I think what’s happened is now here we are a couple of years later and we feel beyond that. It feels like 2005 tech in 2008. I’m not sure that’s what people want.”

He also went on to say that he feels there is still a “huge gap” between what Xbox Live can offer gamers compared to Sony and while Sony’s service is free, Microsoft will not be cutting the subscription prices for member because they are “”willing to pay for the premium experience”.

Anyone else getting sick to death of Microsoft constantly trying to remind people that they are superior to Sony and berating everything they do? Between that and the back and forth between fanboys for each system, it sometimes makes me wish I did not own an Xbox 360.

Here is something for PS3 owners to get really excited about: Sony will be launching PlayStation Home tomorrow, December 11in all gaming territories. Will it be worth the wait? We will see, and while you are there you can check out Red Bull’s own little chunk of the virtual world by visiting their interactive island. Why does that sound a bit like Second Life to me?

Anyway, the press release (which you can view in full after the jump) states that the free download of Home will launch directly from the PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation Network column of XMB (XrossMediaBar) on PS3. For those who have not been keeping up with the progress of Home or who do not own a PS3, Home will allow open interaction among users, business partners and Sony, and will evolve with additional features including dedicated game spaces, special events and exclusive themed items to (and I quote) “further enrich the entertainment experience on the PS3 platform.” Horay!

It sure has been a long time coming hasn’t it? If the press release posted after the jump is a bit confusing for you, I seriously suggest you head on over to Game Politics where you can get a better breakdown of what to expect, and read a Beta tester’s thoughts on it.

Read the full article »

Gold farmers beware. Sony is undercutting your earnings by making Station Cash good on EverQuest and EverQuest II. Sony Online Entertainment’s new virtual currency can be used to buy premium in-game items on both EQ and EQ2 in North America and Europe as of today, December 10th.

You too can fork over your hard earned cash to buy virtual items like the Goblin Skull Fetish or a Handy Servant. Just fill your Virtual Wallet with Station Cash and head to the in-game Marketplace. Check out the Station Cash FAQ for specific questions and the Station Cash Overview for game specific details.

Thanks to EverQuest II – Station news for the heads up.

Codemasters sent us a friendly reminder today about their upcoming (and long time coming) adventure/fantasy game Rise of the Argonauts. While I am pretty excited over the game, due to the loveliness of the screens and trailers I have crushed over during the past year or so, usually when I get overly excited about a game it ends up being terrible. However, I am giving Codemasters and Liquid Entertainment the benefit of the doubt on this one because the majority of the time their games do not suck.

Therefore, come December 16– PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will be able to play as Jason in this interesting looking RPG and set sail on a tale of vengeance, mythical beasts, meddling gods and fight along side famous Greek heroes as you battle your way towards obtaining the Golden Fleece. Sounds like fun, and if you are interested in checking out the new screens Codemasters sent us today, you can do so by looking at the game page on FileFront. Plus, if you are feeling particularly inquisitive, you can also check out all of our previous posts on the game where you can scoff and roll your eyes at my gushing praise for a game I have never even played. You can almost imagine me doing the grade school girl pee-pee dance as I wrote them.

Yeah, I think it’s pretty. I am girl, what else would you expect?

With the economy continuing it’s long spiral down the toilet this past year, we’ve seen a lot of developers being forced to cancel projects, shuffle their investments, or even close their doors entirely. Now though, it seems that trend has caught up to the big boys in the gaming industry. Sony has now announced that they will be laying off 8,000 workers in their electronics sector between now and March 2010, as well as another 8,000 temporary or contract workers. They also plan to shut down several manufacturing plants across the globe. The company hopes these measures will allow them to reduce costs by $1.1 billion a year during the economic crisis.

Analysts have pointed out that Sony’s financial problems may partly stem from the rising value of the yen compared to the lower value of the US dollar and the Euro. Since 80% of the company’s profits come from overseas, their income has been hit pretty hard. Some analysts are saying cost-cutting measures may not be enough though, such as Katsuhiko Mori, a fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments (and I’m guessing a “glass half-empty kind of guy):

“The number sounds big, but this staff reduction won’t be enough. Sony doesn’t have any core businesses that generate stable profits. After the workforce reduction, the next thing we want to see is what is going to be the business that will drive the company.”

The one thing us gamers will probably be keeping an eye on though is how Sony decides to move forward with the PS3 and their whole gaming division. Drastic measures like this could indicate the company isn’t prepared to move forward as quickly with some of their plans. On the other hand, the PS3 is probably one of their most profitable products out right now, so they could just as easily throw most of their support behind it. We shall have to see.

There’s a new trailer for Lumines Supernova that shows off one of the new skins for the popular puzzle game. Q Entertainment is cashing in on the popularity of LittleBigPlanet and offering a themed skin for the Sony PS3 game.

If the LBP sackboys aren’t your thing, Lumines Supernova has 39 other skins to choose from. This third iteration of the original Lumines game will be coming out Winter 2008/2009 for the PS3 on PSN.