Big games routinely slip. It’s part of the business. And in the long run, shipping BioShock Infinite in February 2013 may ultimately boost sales of the much-anticipated title. The game industry floods the market with big releases each fall, making it very difficult even for Christmas shoppers to afford all of the top titles. So Ken Levine’s open letter to gamers, which can be seen below the exclusive video, isn’t such a bad thing. Gamers have Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III and plenty of other big games to play this fall.
Know what we don't see too much of anymore? 2-D platformers. Granted, we did just get Rayman Origins last year, which is absolutely fantastic (and $20 at Toys R' Us if you somehow missed out), but we mean like the classic platformer, the kind where you could go about your journey, collecting stuff and beating enemies with combos. Well, Square Enix and TikGames have brought that feeling back with ScaryGirl, and while it's got its problems, it's still a haunting good time.
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) in Las Vegas, more companies were entering the Android smartphone and tablet spaces. And for good reason, Google is winning its battle against Apple for consumers interested in upgrading to the latest smartphones and tablets. This past Christmas saw Google overtake Apple for the lead in smartphones. And there appears to be no end in site with lower-priced devices entering the market throughout this year, including new NVIDIA Tegra 3 devices from Asus for just $250.
As a dark harbinger of things to potentially come in other markets, Sony has not been able to attract Japanese gamers with its new PlayStation (PS) Vita portable gaming device. During it’s first week at retail in Japan, the game system sold 320,000 units (although that only covered two days). But in its second week (and first full week) on store shelves, Sony enticed a meager 72,000 gamers to buy its pricey new hardware. Even the old PSP outsold the new PS Vita by 40% over Christmas.
It's been a pretty weird past few hours following the holiday season for some people, and all the credit must go to Paul Christofolo, a rep for Ocean Marketing. See, Ocean Marketing handles the public relations for the Avenger controller modification, which makes your Xbox 360 peripheral look like some sort of twisted transformer...though serves a purpose for disabled gamers. Anyway, one customer was wondering where his pre-ordered products were. What followed afterward became a lesson in the truly ridiculous.
Electronic Arts-owned BioWare’s first MMO game, Star Wars: The Old Republic just before Christmas, and already fan engagement is setting new standards for an MMO game launch. The game is the fastest-growing subscription MMO in history, with more than one million registered players since launching on December 20, 2011. BioWare and EA are limiting sales of the reported $100 million game into 2012 in an attempt to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for all while further growing the community.
NBA 2K12 cover athlete and Legend Magic Johnson is now part of the ABC and ESPN pregame shows for the 2011-12 NBA season. With the lockout over and the shortened schedule in full swing with the Christmas Day tip-off, Johnson breaks down the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings and offers his teams to watch for the new season. Gamers can play as Magic in NBA 2K12 and the DLC, NBA Legends Showcase.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is experiencing record sales for Rockstar Studios’ critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham City this Christmas season. And the new trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises has smashed the record for most combined downloads through the iTunes Movie Trailers site and the iTunes Trailers iOS app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The trailer was viewed more than 12.5 million times in its first 24 hours on December 19, breaking the previous record by well over two million. The HD trailer can be viewed below.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but gamers can enjoy the festive holiday all year long on their smartphone or tablet. Heyzap, a social network for mobile and online games, has compiled a list of the Top 10 Christmas-themed mobile games for gamers to play throughout the holiday season. The Heyzap app, which allows users to check into games, chat with other players, win badges, and more is available for free on Android and iOS.
Happy holidays from Gamerlive.tv! Before we go off into our own little traditions of holiday spirit, we'd like to remind you that the NBA season, shortened but still sweet, kicks off this Sunday with FIVE games. Yep, five key match-ups. And with that, 2K Sports is kicking off the season in its own way, as it has emulated all five match-ups with its stellar basketball sim NBA 2K12. Hope you've saved some room for stuffing. (We include our own picks as well.)
Even the most powerful man in the world has to find some time for Christmas shopping. President Barack Obama checked out the videogame section of Best Buy in Virginia to pick up Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3 for the Wii. This is the latest game to be added to the Presidential Wii Collection at the White House. Obama’s daughters Malia and Sasha play Wii, making the White House a First Gaming Family.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson is excited to be on the cover of 2K Sports’ NBA 2K12 and for the start of the NBA season on Christmas Day. Johnson will be part of ABC and ESPN pregame shows for this abbreviated NBA season. The cover athlete took some time to break down some of the NBA’s blockbuster trades in this interview below.
If a Caped Crusader pounding the living crap isn't enough to get you in the holiday mood, honestly, nothing is. Batman: Arkham City is no doubt one of the best games of the year, and to celebrate its forthcoming domination over the holiday season, Rocksteady Studios has announced a few goodies and DLC deals for fans of the Dark Knight. Hey, beats having Christmas with the Joker, doesn't it?
With games like Mario Kart 7 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword hot Christmas gifts this year, Nintendo fans have plenty of new titles coming to Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS in 2012. The game publisher has unveiled its line-up for the first quarter, which comes packed with some pretty big franchises. As some people hunker down for a long winter’s nap, Nintendo is getting things fired up.
Rovio continues to cut deals for its Angry Birds games. On the heels of working with Wonderful Pistachios, the Finnish game maker has partnered with Elfster, a free online Secret Santa organizer and social networking platform. For this Christmas season, users of the Elfster App for Chrome can unlock codes to find three hidden levels in Angry Birds.
Publisher Running with Scissors is playing with itself this holiday season. The game maker is self-publishing Postal 3 and offering the boxed copy directly to gamers via its Web site www.postalgames.com. The game will also be available as a downloadable title and is expected to come to consoles in the future. The Tucson, AZ-based company has seen previous installments of its controversial shooter banned in countries around the world. You can see the game’s latest trailer below.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas on Facebook. Credit card company Discover has partnered with Zynga to launch the first-ever brand-sponsored FarmVille expansion, Winter Wonderland. The new, customizable holiday farm is the third expansion to be released by the popular social games developer following English Countryside and Lighthouse Cove.
Entering the seventh year of its lifecycle, Xbox 360 just closed the biggest sales week in the history of Xbox, selling more than 960,000 consoles in the U.S. during the week of Black Friday. The game maker also has seen continued interest in its controller-free games. More than 750,000 Kinect for Xbox 360 sensors were sold in the U.S. that week, both standalone and bundled, according to internal Microsoft data.
Bieber fever is on. Justin Beiber’s new music video for his Christmas single, “All I Want for Christmas”, features plenty of Nintendo 3DS portables being thrown into a cart during a shopping spree. With the Under the Mistletoe Christmas CD hitting store shelves, Bieber is promoting his music, as well as Nintendo’s 3D portable game player. Nintendo is sure to catch the attention of tween girls, a demographic that hasn't been the focal point of the 3DS to date, through this product placment deal. Check out a clip from the music video below and pictures featuring the Nintendo 3DS with Bieber.
Well, it took long enough -- around 150 days to be precise -- but it now looks like the NBA is kicking into high gear again for a Christmas debut. With that, some updates will be coming to NBA 2K12, 2K Sports' awesome basketball sim, that will reflect things happening within the season. Among these updates will be the addition of rookies to the roster.
Electronic Arts’ $100 million marketing budget seems to be paying off. After Medal of Honor was obliterated by Call of Duty: Black Ops last Christmas, Battlefield 3 is on its way to selling the 10 million copies worldwide that EA shipped to retailers. Gamers who play the new DICE game like it. Battlefield 3 videos have been viewed more than 132 million times, Twitter followers near a quarter of a million, and the Battlefield 3 Facebook community is on the verge of cresting 3 million “likes”. And now the game is on sale with Black Friday deals across the country and Cyber Monday deals coming soon.
One of the hottest gifts this Christmas season won’t be easy to wrap and will definitely have trouble fitting under any tree. Giant, 60’’-plus high-definition TVs are shaping up as one of the strongest retail sellers this holiday season. According to DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, consumers are either upgrading to big, 60”-plus HDTVs or accelerating their conversion from cathode-ray tube televisions. Enticed by the razor-like sharpness and crystal clear sound large HDTVs offer, technological advances, expanded content and lower prices consumers are deciding the time is right for a major upgrade in the way they enjoy films, TV shows, sports and videogames at home. Gamers are also making the jump to 3D TVs thanks to great Black Friday deals.
According to new data from Raptr that measures playtime across its 10 million member gamer network, the Call of Duty franchise still dominates the first-person shooter market, despite EA’s major effort to challenge that position with the Battlefield franchise. Based on automatically tracked gameplay data, Raptr users logged an average of 40% more playtime in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox 360 than Battlefield 3 on the respective games’ launch days, despite unprecedented gamer enthusiasm and a significant marketing push for the launch of Battlefield 3.
Xbox 360 turned in the most successful October on record maintaining its lead in the current-generation console market. Kicking off the Christmas shopping season, Xbox 360 hardware and game sales dominated in October in the U.S., according to the NPD Group. Epic Games Gears of War 3 was one of the big titles, and it was also a 3D game, which Mike Capps talks about in the exclusive video interview below.
With Thanksgiving and Black Friday just around the corner, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Whether your feet are aching from a long day of shopping or you just need some advice about what to buy that gamer on your holiday list, Nintendo is bringing its games to your local mall. Nintendo is visiting malls nationwide to give families hands-on time with great Nintendo games during the busy Christmas shopping season, plus a chance to meet some of Nintendo’s favorite characters.
