Hip-Hop Gaming League - Season 2
January 18, 2007
Hip-Hop Gaming League officials have announced the launch of the organization’s second season, which will include an online gaming tournament headlined by 32 hip-hop and professional sports personalities.
The Hip-Hop Gaming League competes primarily on the Xbox 360 and is headlined by celebrity players from the world of music, sports, and other entertainment media personally selected by Snoop Dogg, who also acts as sole referee and enforcer of the league’s rules. It will again be promoted by MTV.
New to this season, registered Global Gaming League (GGL) members will also be able to compete in a parallel league for a chance to go to the HHGL Finals on February 16 in Las Vegas. The players lined up for the second season include returning players such as Paul Wall, Just Blaze, Krayzie Bone (from Bone Thugs n Harmony), Major League Soccer star Cobi Jones, and the NBA’s Jalen Rose.
Joining them for this second season are Yung Joc, Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne, Birdman, DJ Maseo of De La Soul, Malice and Pusha T of The Clipse, DJ Revolution, Xololanxinxo, Lil Keke, Hi-Tek, Big Pooh, Warren G, Jibbs, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder, the NFL’s Brandon Marshall, Darnell Bing, and Michael Robinson, and the NBA’s Trevor Ariza.
Each HHGL celebrity player will be given an Xbox 360 and EA Sports’ NCAA 07 Football, and will compete against each other in order to earn points and advance up the tournament ladder. Organizers note that additional games like Saints Row, Madden NFL 07, NFL 2K7, NBA 2K7, or others may also be added by Snoop Dogg as the competition continues. HHGL celebrities also have the option to cross over and challenge the public to earn extra points.
The Supply and Demand for PS3 & Wii
January 17, 2007
A new report from PJ McNealy of American Technology Research has revealed that many retailers had PlayStation 3 consoles in stock, and none had Nintendo’s Wii console.
“Our channel checks yesterday of 52 retail stores, from boutiques to big-box retailers, showed that 28 of the 52 stores had PS3 consoles in stock, while none had Wii consoles in stock,” McNealy’s research note states.
Most stores only had a handful of PS3 units for sale, but with one major retailer having more than 60 machines available - suggesting that it may not be symptomatic of lower demand for the PS3. “It isn’t because demand has weakened (for PS3), it is because we have kept the supply pipeline moving,” explains Sony’s Dave Karraker
The current North American statistics are the NPD charts for December, which revealed that the “scarce” PS3 was found to have sold through 490,700 units for the period, with 687,300 units sold since its launch in November.
The Wii, however, had sold 604,200 units for the month, putting its total North American number sold at 1.1 million units. Thus far, it’s unclear whether the PS3 bottleneck has cleared, flooding more machines into the market than can be swiftly picked up by consumers, or whether the PS3 is simply less desired.
With Karraker indicating that 100,000 units per week are being flown in to North American stores and Nintendo keeping quiet on exact shipping amounts on a week-by-week basis, further channel checks, combined with NPD data, should provide a much clearer picture early next month.
THQ Announces New UFC Game
January 16, 2007
Looking to diversify beyond its existing, troubled WWE deal, publisher THQ has announced an exclusive, worldwide agreement to publish video games based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand through 2011.
The games will feature many of the past and present UFC superstars and UFC champions, and rights also include all other UFC event content including the Octagon, the eight-sided cage in which UFC fights are held.
The deal includes games for all current and next-generation consoles, PC and handheld platforms, and certain wireless rights, as well as online, downloadable, and multi-player capabilities in connection with the various gaming systems.
THQ previously published “Pride FC” for PS2, a game that is widely regarded as the best MMA game to date. The first UFC game (for Sega Dreamcast) was well-received, but the last several UFC games from publishers such as Crave Entertainment, TDK Mediactive, and Global Star Software were almost universally panned by critics.
Video games based on MMA are inherently difficult to create due to the complexity of the sport and the fact that fights can end in any number of different ways – knock out, submission, referee’s stoppage -which makes it hard for developers to create an entertaining, but still true-to-life game play experience.
THQ’s relationship with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has become a matter of speculation after this announcement, with WWE recently suing THQ claiming “improper sales” of video game titles in Asia, a continuation in part of a long-running lawsuit also involving toy maker Jakks Pacific.
“Ultimate Fighting Championship and THQ represent the perfect marriage of rich content and proven development capabilities,” said Kelly Flock, executive vice president of worldwide publishing, THQ. “The UFC brand has seen tremendous growth in recent years with wild popularity among the core gaming demographic. This relationship serves as an extraordinary addition to THQ’s world-class license portfolio as we continue to expand our competitive sports offering.”
Final Sales Data for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo
January 12, 2007
According to breaking December sales data released by The NPD Group, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony saw impressive U.S. sales this holiday of $12.5 billion. Sales of console and handheld hardware surged $4.6 billion, a 42.8 percent boost over 2006. Game sales also spiked 6.4 percent with $6.5 billion, and sales for hardware accessories ($1.5 billion) were up 18.9 percent.
Microsoft sold 1.1 million Xbox 360 units and Microsoft’s biggest games were Gears of War (815,700 sold) and Call of Duty 3 (410,800). The hot-selling accessories were the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (823,800) and the Xbox 360 Play and Charge Kit (224,600).
Both Nintendo DS units (1,600,00), the Game Boy Advance (850,700), and Wii: (604,200) sold well, as did The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii & GC - 1,052,100), New Super Mario Bros. (DS - 427,500), and Yoshi’s Island 2 (DS - 407,200). The Wii Remote (646,700) proved more popular that the Wii Nunchuck (497,100).
As expected, the Sony PS2 (1,400,000 ) sold much better than the PSP (953,200) and the PS3 (490,700). The top game titles were Guitar Hero II (PS2 - 805,200), Madden NFL 2007 (PS2 - 737,100), WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2007 (PS2 - 484,500), and Call of Duty 3 (PS2 - 365,300). Sony’s PS2 Memory Card (760, 800) lead sales in the accessory department, followed distantly by the PS3 Sixaxis Controller (336,000) and the PS2 Dual Shock 2 Controller (508, 600).
Entropia Banks Tie to Real Ones
January 11, 2007
Entropia Universe, an online role-playing game with a distinctly economic twist, is going to let players start up banks with the authority to lend money that’s convertible to real-world dollars.
Sweden-based MindArk PE AB, Entropia’s parent company, said it would auction five banking licenses, each valid for two years. The holders will be able to set up bank buildings on the science-fiction-themed planet of Calypso, charge interest on loans, and advertise on in-game billboards.
Previous auctions by MindArk for virtual “real estate” have yielded bids of up to $100,000.
The Project Entropia Dollar is convertible to U.S. dollars at a fixed rate of 10:1, making it unique among virtual currencies, as most game companies shun links to the real-world economics.
Last year, MindArk made ATM cards available to players so they could withdraw game funds. Its payment-processing company, however, has run into difficulties, and it’s no longer possible to transfer money to the card accounts from the game.
In 2005, players in EVE Online, a science-fiction game published by an Icelandic company, financed a virtual space station through an “initial public offering” of stock. The following November, Ailin Graef claimed to own virtual property worth more than $1 million in Second Life, a world whose currency is convertible to the dollar at a fluctuating rate.
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo Sued
January 10, 2007
Fenner Investments has filed suit against Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo for infringing on the company’s patent number 6,297,751 for a “low-voltage joystick port interface.”
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the suit seeks damages and an injunction against Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo for each company’s willful infringement of the patent.
The patent was filed in 1998 and awarded in 2001. It reads: “The joystick port interface according the present invention is a low power port which interfaces a typical 5 Volt joystick peripheral device with a lower power computer port. The low-voltage joystick port interface includes a bidirectional buffer circuit and a pulse generator, which, together, generate a digital pulse signal, representing a joystick coordinate position, based on an input analog measurement signal.”
Mario Named Top Franchise
A report on the 20 top-selling video game franchises of all time lists Nintendo’s Mario at the number one spot. The full top 20 list, with sales figures, is as follows:
1. Mario: 193 mil.
2. Pokémon: 155 mil.
3. Final Fantasy: 68 mil.
4. Madden NFL: 56 mil.
5. The Sims: 54 mil.
6. Grand Theft Auto: 50 mil.
7. Donkey Kong: 48 mil.
8. The Legend of Zelda: 47 mil.
9. Sonic the Hedgehog: 44 mil.
10. Gran Turismo: 44 mil.
11. Lineage: 43 mil.
12. Dragon Quest: 41 mil.
13. Crash Bandicoot: 34 mil.
14. Resident Evil: 31 mil.
15. James Bond: 30 mil.
16. Tomb Raider: 30 mil.
17. Mega Man: 26 mil.
18. Command & Conquer: 25 mil.
19. Street Fighter: 25 mil.
20. Mortal Kombat: 20 mil.
Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3 By The Numbers
January 9, 2007
At the 2007 CES, Microsoft announced that it has exceeded its 10-million Xbox 360s sales by the end of 2006 projection.
An announcement reads: “In little over a year on the market we sold over 10.4 million Xbox 360 consoles in more than 37 countries, exceeding our commitment to pass the 10 million mark by the end of 2006, and in a market environment that saw strong launches by our competitors, Xbox 360 was the top choice this holiday season.”
Microsoft also announced updated sales figures for its marquee action title Gears of War, which has now sold 2.7 million copies in just 2 months of release.
There are now 160 Xbox 360 games on the market, an achievement that took the company just over a year. Xbox Live Arcade has sold over 20 million games to date, including classics such as Street Fighter II and DOOM.
Microsoft also estimates that 70 percent of Xbox Live subscribers are downloading content from the service, such as movies, TV shows, and downloadable game content, another important milestone in the video game industry.
As for the PS3 console, Sony shipped one million PS3 consoles to the North American market by the end of 2006, meeting the company’s projections for 2006.
Sales numbers are still slow in coming from Sony. On its launch day, Sony sold of what it had predicted, thanks in large part to Blu-ray component shortages that have hampered the console’s supply worldwide.
Sony’s senior director of communications, Dave Karraker downplayed the surge of holiday sales for the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360. “Are we worried about strong sales of the Wii or Xbox 360? Not really. It was a great year for the industry overall. With the tide, all ships rise.” Keep telling yourself that, Dave.
According to stats released by Tokyo Research and publisher Enterbrain, Nintendo Wii has sold 989,118 consoles in Japan since it went on sale on December 2, compared to 466,716 PS3s sold since November 12.
In fairness, this could due to the aforementioned manufacturing issues for Sony that lead to a massive shortage of PS3s for the launch period. Either way, this is a big-time success for Nintendo.
Xbox 360 gets IPTV
January 8, 2007
Microsoft has announced that its IPTV service is coming to Xbox 360, allowing you to watch and record television on your console.
“Microsoft TV IPTV Edition is an integrated and comprehensive software platform developed specifically to deliver broadcast-quality video and new, integrated TV services over broadband networks. The platform combines market-leading features such as instant channel change and multiple picture-in-picture with traditional TV services such as broadcast programming, VOD, and DVR.,” claims Microsoft.
IPTV software is developed to integrate “seamlessly and economically” with other IP-based communications and media services for PCs, phones, and other consumer devices.
Microsoft TV IPTV Edition is set to feature instant channel zapping, a robust user interface, video on demand with branded video-on-demand storefronts, digital video recording and HDTV.
The solution was unveiled during Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates’ CES keynote yesterday, and is currently being trial by BT and Deutsche Telekom for the European market - suggesting that us poor blighty gamers won’t be left behind as we were with Video Marketplace.
According to MS, IPTV on 360 will give gamers “all the advantages of an advanced TV service along with the benefits of next- generation gaming,” with full Xbox Live integration allowing use of “voice chat, sending and receiving text and voice messages, and accessing Xbox Live Marketplace” all while watching TV.
The service is set for deployment by holiday season 2007.
Sony, Microsoft Deliver Downloadable Classics
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) officials have announced the licensed the rights from publisher Midway for six classic arcade titles to be made available for digital download through the PlayStation Network.
The six titles licensed for download are as follows:
Mortal Kombat II
Rampage World Tour
Gauntlet II
Rampart
Championship Sprint
Joust
The first of the six games will be made available in the U.S. in “early 2007;” no price has yet been indicated. The titles will join an existing line-up of PS one retro titles for the PSP, such as the recently released Jumping Flash!, and original/upgraded titles such as PSP update GripShift.
Retro titles have already been successful on the Xbox 360 and Wii, and Sony officials have long since indicated the company’s intention to continue the trend on the PS3.
So far, Wii’s virtual console has not included any arcade titles, but a few home conversions have been made available including R-Type for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 and Altered Beast for the Genesis/Mega Drive.
“This is a great opportunity for SOE and Midway to come together to bring these arcade treasures to the next-generation of gaming on the PlayStation 3,” said John Needham, senior vice president and chief financial officer at Sony Online Entertainment. “SOE will continue to explore additional opportunities to bring fun and unique digital content to the PlayStation Network.”
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