Videogame News

Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day Deals

Black Friday is an excellent time to find deals on videogames. I've actually noticed that Thanksgiving Day is also an excellent day to find deals on videogames. In my opinion, there are two deals in particular that stood out as excellent:

* Target allows you to purchase a 4GB Xbox 360 for only $139 on Black Friday!

* K-Mart has a multitude of videogame deals where you can save up to $30 on all sorts of games for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. In particular, I noticed some AAA games such as Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 which are on sale for only $39.99 on Thanksgiving Day. K-Mart also allows you to purchase a Kinect for only $99 on Thanksgiving Day.

If anyone else out there knows of any other deals on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, please mention them here by writing a Comment for others to see.

I Know the Name of the Next Xbox!

Over the last six years, I have become friends with quite a few people in the videogame industry. The people I know have sometimes been right and they've sometimes been wrong. But, when these people stick their neck out, they usually are right. This is particularly true with the people who provide me with information regarding the Xbox 360 console.

I believe this annoys some of the editors and administrators of other websites. Heck, my sources of information are so good that I've had editors of other major websites write articles about me accusing me of working for Microsoft! One article written by a senior editor of a major videogame website several years ago even said that his entire staff would wait to see what I wrote about each day! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised, offended, and proud all at the same time.

Recently I heard several pieces of information from several different sources. Each person was discussing the third Xbox console, which will apparently be released in late 2012 in North America and possibly Europe. There were several pieces of information that partially lined up in each scenario. With that in mind, I can tell you I know what the next Xbox console will be called!

So the question is, "If you know what the next Xbox console is going to be called, why don't you just tell us now?"

The answer is simple: "Because I want you to feel some form of anticipation and excitement for when I make the announcement on Thanksgiving!" For those of you who do not live in America, Thanksgiving is an American holiday which will be celebrated on Thursday, November 24.

Here's one thing I will tell you in order to give you a hint and see if you can come up with the answer. According to developers, the development kits for the next Xbox are referred to as the "Xbox Loop." Believe it or not, this is actually a powerful clue to what the final name of the product is. Further proof of this has to do with the way Microsoft is working with Comcast to take advantage of Kinect.

Another thing I should mention is that Microsoft's new console stays in line with other Xbox products the way it seems to focus on one-upping the competition. The next Xbox will one-up the PS4, but on a larger scale. Remember how people used to say Sony was always going to have the advantage because the PS3 would compete against the Xbox 2 (always giving the Playstation brand an advantage of one). In the end, the PS3 ended up competing against the Xbox 360. Advantage: Xbox by 60 or 357 (depending on how you look at it).

Either way, I will let you know what the name of the next Xbox console is on Thanksgiving!

Happy 5th Anniversary to PS3!

The PS3 console recently celebrated its 5th anniversary. Although the PS3 is the least successful console ever in the history of the Playstation brand, sales are starting to improve now that the price has dropped and Sony has filled gaps in key genres. For example, the PS3 was on the market for three shopping seasons before the console saw a game released in the genre of Real-Time Strategy. But, as time has passed, gaps like this have been filled.

Regrettably, the PS3 will always be known as the Playstation console that caused the Playstation brand to lose its momentum. No matter what happens within the next few years, the financial results show that the PS3 has been a huge financial failure for Sony. While Nintendo and Microsoft were earning billions of dollars in net profit with the Wii and Xbox 360, Sony was seeing billions of dollars in net loss with the PS3. Nevertheless, best wishes to the PS3!

Xbox Celebrates 10th Anniversary!

November 15, 2001, Microsoft entered the videogame console market with a console known as the Xbox. Since that time, the Xbox platform has gone on to become a tremendous success. The same can be said for the Xbox Live online service. Videogame Daily News would like to send out a "Happy Anniversary" to the Xbox platform!

The original Xbox provided the momentum needed for the Xbox 360 to become the dominant console platform in the world of high-definition gaming. Xbox Live has gone on to become the most successful online service ever seen in the world of videogames -- one full generation ahead of anything else offered by any other manufacturer. And the Kinect accessory is even in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling electronic product in history -- selling over eight-million units within 60 days!

Xbox 360 is the True Home of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare!

Modern Warfare 3 is about to be released by Activision. This very popular Call of Duty game is being released for multiple hardware platforms, but many people have asked “Which version of Modern Warfare 3 should I buy?” The answer really is simple: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 has the best version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for several reasons while I will now outline:

* DLC: Activision and Microsoft have a contract signed where all downloadable content (DLC) is launched exclusively for the Xbox 360. In other words, whenever new maps, new expansions, or any other content is released for a Call of Duty or Modern Warfare game, it is going to be released first for Xbox 360.

* Online Gaming: There is no doubt that the best online service available today is Xbox Live. Experts agree that Xbox Live a premium service is one full generation ahead of any other online gaming service. There are literally millions more gamers playing on Xbox Live than there are the PSN. This is particularly true in English-speaking parts of the world. You will never need to be worried about having fellow gamers to play with at all times of the day if you own an Xbox 360.

* Online Communication: Microsoft made the decision to pack Xbox 360 units with microphone headsets for free when the Xbox 360 console was released. Sony made the decision not to pack any form of headset in with the Playstation 3 console when it was released. Ultimately, this ended up being a big difference in gaming. The simple fact is that millions of gamers now have the ability to talk online while playing with their Xbox 360, but only a much smaller percentage of PS3 owners can talk online while playing.

* Strategy and Teamwork: When you have an entire team of gamers playing a game like Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty, Gears of War 3, or Halo: Reach, it helps when everyone can talk online while playing. This is a very common scenario on Xbox 360 when playing over Xbox Live. But with the PS3 and the PSN this is not the case, since such a smaller number of PS3 console owners play with an online microphone. When you play with an online microphone, you have the ability to talk with your teammates and listen to each other; you can work together as a team! This element of strategy adds an amazing amount of depth to the game.

Do the PS3 and PC versions of Modern Warfare 3 allow the "potential" for features such as online chat and teamwork? Yes. But it is the Xbox 360 that truly takes full advantage of this feature in an environment where you can expect to work with gamers whenever you randomly start up a game with new people. The same can be said about online DLC. Yes, the PS3 and PC will eventually get those expansions, but if you are a true hardcore gamer, you will want to play the DLC on the console that receives it "first." And obviously you want to play on the hardware platform with the largest number of online gamers -- the Xbox 360.

Winner: Xbox 360

By the way, there is a cool new Xbox 360 console design with Modern Warfare 3 as the theme for the console and controllers. The size of the hard drive is extra large, too. If you are a fan of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare, you know that is the version you will want to get in the same way that Star Wars fans are influenced in similar ways!

FREE: Gears of War 3 DLC Pack!

Thanksgiving Day -- November 24, 2011 -- Xbox 360 gamers will be getting a special treat. Epic will be releasing a brand new downloadable content (DLC) package for FREE! This package is officially called the Versus Booster Map Pack. The map pack will including five free maps: Azura, Rust Lung, and Blood Drive -- the same three new maps that were released in the new Horde Command Pack that launched today. In addition to these three new maps, there will be two classic maps: Swamp is one of these all-time favorites and Clocktower is the other.

On behalf of all Xbox 360 gamers and all Gears of War 3 fans, I would like to salute Epic and say "Thank you."

Halloween Only: Pumpkin-Head Mode in Gears of War 3

Epic has done it again! Another amazing new mode for a holiday in the Gears of War game series. Millions of gamers loved the special mode Epic included in Gears of War 2 last Easter. Now Epic is repeating that same sort of special mode for one day only -- Halloween!

October 31st, gamers will see their characters with pumkin heads! This truly is a treat, not a trick! Take a look for yourself at the picture below, and enjoy playing Gears of War 3!


 
Thie picture above shows you and a member of Delta Squad with a Pumpkin for a head!



This picture shows a Locust enemy that is being targeted by a sniper. That pumpkin head of his won't be there for long!

Commando Dom in Gears of War 3 if you Preorder from Gamestop!

Gamestop is definitely the best place to preorder Gears of War 3 if you are interested in special characters! Gamestop is offering a deal where you can receive a special "Commando" version of Dom. But, like all things in life, nothing is for free. You need to place a preorder at Gamestop in order to get the code to make this possible.

Sony Drops PS3 Price - Will Xbox 360 Follow?

Gamescom is one of the biggest game shows of the year. Today, Sony officially announced that the PS3 will now retail for $249, 249.99 Euros, and 24,980 Yen. This new price is effective immediately, and is a relatively large improvement considering the PS3 previously sold for $299.

In addition, Sony officially announced that the 320GB PS3 will drop from $349 to $299. A limited edition package with InFamous 2 is now available at participating retailers across North America. This package sells for $299 and includes a 320GB PS3, a copy of InFamous 2, and a 30-day membership of Playstation Plus.

It remains to be seen if Microsoft will follow suit with a price drop for the Xbox 360. Usually when a videogame company sees a competitor drop the price of a console, it means a price drop will follow shortly afterwards. If we do not see Microsoft do this, it may be a mistake -- possibly caused by the large number of Xbox 360 bundles currently available on the market.

If I were at Microsoft, I would lower the price of the 4GB Xbox 360 from $199 to $149. I would lower the price of the 4GB Kinect bundle from $299 to $249. I would lower the price of the $299 250GB Elite unit from $299 to $249. I would also lower the price of the 250GB Kinect bundle from $399 to $299.

I know Microsoft has the ability to make these price adjustments based on the excellent deals currently being offered at stores such as K-Mart and Meijer. For example, deals where you buy an Xbox 360 and you get a $50 gift card. Personally, I don't think we will see Microsoft make any price adjustments until the "Buy a PC get an Xbox 360 free" deal expires. This allows the Xbox 360 to have a higher "value" in that deal. Afterwards, I would expect a price drop shortly afterwards.

Unlock Griffin - FREE in Gears of War 3!

Aaron Griffin is a cool new character you can unlock for free in Gears of War 3. But, as we all know, nothing is for “free.” There is a bit of a catch. You need to have a facebook account and click on “Like” in order to be given a code to redeem for your Xbox 360. This takes less than five minutes to do, and it is very easy.

I will now take you through the process of what you need to do. First, make sure you have an account on facebook. Second, visit www.facebook.com/gearsofwar. Third, click on “Like” at the top of the page. This will bring up a hyperlink in the box below, which is focused on “getgriffin.”

Fourth, you will be taken to a page asking for your permission to see your list of friends on Xbox Live. After you say yes, a code will appear on the screen. Copy this code, because you will need it in step six. Fifth, visit www.xboxlive.com and log in. Sixth, place your mouse over “My Xbox” and then click “Redeem.” Finally, paste the code that you copied and you will receive confirmation that you have unlocked Aaron Griffin as a playable character is Gears of War 3!

Gears of War 3 really is an awesome game! Take a look at this new trailer of the Horde 2.0 mode. This one is referred to as “Five against all.” This trailer confirms we will once again be playing against one of the most famous bosses in videogame history – The Berserker!

Worldwide PS3 Sales Down 25%, Xbox 360 Sales Increase

Reports of year-to-year hardware sales for the financial quarter were recently released. Sony saw a 25% decline in worldwide sales of the PS3 compared to this financial quarter last year. From April 2011 to June 2011, Sony sold 1.8 million PS3 units. During this time period last year, Sony sold 2.4 million PS3 units worldwide.

The PSP saw an increase of sales by 50%, up to 1.8 million. Previously the PSP sold 1.2 million units during this time period last year. The PS2 saw a decline in sales to only 1.4 million units.

The Nintendo Wii sold 1.56 million units worldwide; it had previously sold 3.04 million units during this time period last year, which means sales of the Wii are down about 50%. The Nintendo DS/DSi handhelds sold 1.44 million units, while the 3DS sold 710,000 units. The sales of the 3DS are expected to increase significantly in August when Nintendo decreases the price from $250 to only $170.

The Xbox 360 is the only console to see an annual increase in year-to-year sales. The Xbox 360 sold 1.7 million units worldwide. During this time period last year the Xbox 360 had sold 1.5 million units. The Xbox 360 console continues to dominate the English-speaking parts of the world, particularly North America -- the largest game market in the world. Xbox 360 has also seen a significant increase in sales in Europe.

The large decline in worldwide PS3 sales represents the worst sales performance the PS3 has seen over the last two years. This is probably why Sony is currently developing the PS4 and is shooting for a release of late 2012 in Japan, and spring of 2013 for other parts of the world.

PS4 Starts Production at End of 2011 & Scheduled for Release in 2012

According to Taiwan factory producers, production of the PS4 from Sony will begin at the end of 2011. The product is scheduled for release in 2012, with 20 million units being shipped worldwide. This information comes directly from the Taiwan makers speaking to digitimes.com.

Previously, I gathered information from reliable sources at third-party videogame developers, confirming that at least one next-generation console would be on the market by the spring of 2013. You can read about this here, but there is no doubt the developers appeared to be telling the truth since they were opening a new studio specifically to work on a game for that new hardware platform. In the world of business, this is referred to as "Putting your money where your mouth is."

I originally thought the factory producers in Taiwan probably were just confusing the PS Vida with the PS4. However, the makers of this product specifically described how the PS4 will use motion-control technology similar to Kinect. This seems like a logical step for Sony, since the Kinect motion-control device used with the Xbox 360 is now in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling electronics item in history.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this issue. There is no doubt the PS3 has experienced disappointing sales this generation and is the least successful Playstation console ever released. But is it a good idea for Sony to pull the plug on the PS3, even though it now has over 50 million units sold worldwide?

Although it's true that 50 million units sold places the PS3 behind the Wii from Nintendo and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, it doesn't necessarily represent a "bad" number. Only now is the PS3 finally capable of consistintly earning hundreds of millions of dollars in net profit for Sony each year. On the other hand, Sony may feel that hundreds of millions of dollars in net profit do not make up for the billions of dollars in net loss the PS3 has cost the corporation. Do you think Sony is doing the right thing by trying to get a head start on the competition? 

Crysis Exclusively Coming to Xbox 360? - UPDATE

Earlier today, Jamie Feltham of IGN reported:

"A member of the MyCrysis community has found a listing on the Korean Games Rating Board for a possible Xbox 360 port of the original Crysis. According to the listing, the game will be published by EA Korea. A PS3 version was not mentioned.  Crytek's PC powerhouse achieved notoriety for being a step ahead of what was possible on both PS3 and 360, although the sequel showed up on both systems earlier this year. It will be interesting to see if the original game has to make any sacrifices if it is indeed making the move to Microsoft's box."

Crysis 2 on the Xbox 360 is currently the most graphically impressive game available for consoles, as IGN specifically said in the review of the game. The PS3 version of Crysis 2 isn't quite as good looking as the Xbox 360 version, but it still looks great (although there are problems with frame rate, since the PS3 GPU and rasterizer are not as powerful as the Xbox 360). But the best looking game released this generation on any platform is the original Crysis on the PC.

The reason why Crysis is probably being ported to Xbox 360 but not to the PS3 is because of the frame rate issue. It's simply a matter of polygon-based math. Xbox 360 can display up to 500,000,000 polygons per second, while PS3 can display up to only 275,000,000 polygons per second. A difference that large is capable of influencing a difference in frame rate, as we often see in multiplatform games that are better on Xbox 360.

Similarly, the Xbox 360 doesn't face the 256MB bottleneck for RAM that the PS3 does. Developers will have more flexibility putting Crysis on the Xbox 360, particularly in jungle areas that would no doubt slow the PS3 to a crawl. The combination of intense graphics, lighting, shading, reflections, lens flare, and artificial intelligence would probably be far too intense for the PS3 to handle.

These are some of the technical reasons why the Xbox 360 version of Rage runs at 60 frames per second, just like the PC version, while the PS3 version is only capable of running no higher than 30 frames per second -- as this article explains.

I also believe the relationship Microsoft has formed with Crytek may have something to do with the original Crysis being released exclusively for Xbox 360. Codename: Kingdoms from Crytek is going to be one of the biggest games of 2012, which is why Microsoft purchased that game as an exclusive in the same way they did with Gears of War and Halo. History has proven Microsoft only does this with AAA games, and then works very closely with the game developers. It wouldn't surprise me if someone from Crytek told Microsoft they thought it would be possible to bring the game to Xbox 360, but could only afford to do so if a deal of exclusivity was reached.

There’s no doubt the Xbox 360 version of Crysis would not look as good as the graphics seen on a high-end PC with a top-of-the-line graphics card. However, there’s no doubt the Xbox 360 is capable of handling Crysis, as proven by the excellent translation of Crysis 2 which almost always remains at 30 frames per second or higher. With the experience Crytek gained programming Crysis 2, it may in fact allow a high-quality port of Crysis to be released relatively soon. The reason for this is because the PC and the Xbox 360 share so much in common in terms of development environments.

What are your thoughts on this subject? Now that Cyrsis 2 has been released on consoles, the game has become very popular and established a loyal following. If Microsoft were to get the Crysis series as an exclusive from this point on, it would really be a smart business move with no risk involved. There is no doubt Crysis is a successful franchise, and with the right marketing it could stand alongside games like Halo, Gears of War, Forza Motorsport, Fable, and Perfect Dark as one of the Xbox 360’s premier exclusive game series.

UPDATE: Although the Xbox 360 version of Crysis is still the only version that has been acknowledged by the Korean Games Rating Board, the American ratings agency known as the ESRB currently displays Crysis as a PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 game. Is this a mistake, since so many games are released for all three platforms -- including Crysis 2? Or does this mean Crysis is actually on its way to the PS3, too? If so, will the PS3 version be able to keep up with the Xbox 360 version graphically? Only time will tell; it would be nice if EA would announce something officially.

Sony Shifts Playstation Executives

It's been just about a month since Sony restarted its PlayStation Network following a devastating security breach, and now some executives are on the move.

Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment Akira Sato and honorary chairman of the group, Ken Kutaragi, will retire this year. Kutaragi, known as the "father of the PlayStation," will retire immediately, but will continue to be a senior technology adviser to the company. Sato will retire at the end of August.

President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Kazuo Hirai will be elevated to chairman of the group, and the PlayStation chief executive for Europe, Andrew House, will replace Hirai as president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment beginning September 1.

Hirai remains executive deputy president of Sony Corp. and president of the Consumer Products and Services Group. According to Sony's statement, Hirai's job will be to continue to integrate Sony's various hardware, content, and networked businesses. That's something that has proved difficult over the years at Sony.

"We are facing new challenges this year, such as the successful launch of PlayStation Vita and further growth of the PS3 platform as well as expansion of non-gaming business," Hirai said in a statement. "I'm confident that the skills and expertise Andy has gained over two decades working for Sony and SCE Group will contribute enormously in leading the PlayStation business and to bring new initiatives in managing the business in the networked era."

Sony's PlayStation business is navigating some difficult waters right now. The division suffered an embarrassing cyberattack on its PlayStation Network in April that exposed the personal information of more than 77 million customers. Sony was forced to shut down the gaming and video streaming network for more than three weeks, has been questioned by several governments, and has faced class-action lawsuits accusing the company of improper security practices.

The network did come back online in late May, and Sony has offered free ID theft monitoring, and free games and movie rentals to try to appease customers. The company claims 90 percent of PSN customers have returned since then. All that happened just weeks before the company unveiled the successor to its PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation Vita.

Vita was a pleasant surprise to many in the industry because despite having an OLED screen and multiple inputs like touch-screen and button controls, Sony is pricing the basic model at a competitive $250. It was fairly clear at E3 2011 this year that Sony is gunning for Nintendo's handheld gaming business.

The plan for the Vita, as well as the likelihood that a PlayStation 3 successor will arrive in the next two to three years, means today's move is likely more about entrusting House to take the reins in the PlayStation mobile and console businesses than it is about punishing Hirai for the PlayStation security lapse.

In March, Hirai was named the president of the entire consumer business, giving him much broader responsibilities than just the video game business. He's been essentially stamped by Sony President and CEO Howard Stringer to be his successor. Elevating him as chairman of the entire PlayStation division signals he's still on that track.

Written by Erica Ogg of CNET.

Gears of War 3 - Horde 2.0 Video Shows Amazing Features & Graphics!

Gears of War 3 is five months away from its release, but the expectations and overall demand are so high that there are already nearly two million preorders! Cliff Bleszinski of Epic has said Gears of War 3 will easily sell six million copies and can go higher than ten million! IGN and several other websites have specifically said that the best-looking game available for consoles right now is the Xbox 360 version of Crysis 2. But it looks like Gears of War 3 will indeed do as expected and once again bring the crown of “Graphics King” back to the Gears of War series once it is released.

The new Unreal Graphics Engine from Epic is absolutely phenomenal. But having a new graphics engine isn’t enough to automatically achieve success. You need a high-budget for development and you need a flagship game to show off all of those graphics features in order to market the graphics engine to other developers. Gears of War 3 is Epic’s flagship game in the fleet of graphics engines on the market!

Gears of War 3 clearly shows all sorts of amazing new graphics techniques. When you see the beautiful water flowing while all those players are on the screen and all those explosions are taking place, your jaw will drop! Any console can create nice-looking water or storms when only one character is on screen (practically a scene where you aren’t even playing), since there is no artificial intelligence involved. But Gears of War 3 has excellent water effects and other environmental factors involved during all of those intense combat scenes with multiple enemies and huge bosses!

Horde is my favorite mode of Gears of War 2, because it allows all five members to work online as a team against computer controlled enemies. Horde 2.0 is a mode in Gears of War 3 that Epic recently unveiled. The number of new features is absolutely amazing – far beyond what I can write about here. Let’s just say that the new Horde mode is incredible and you need to watch the video below in order to learn more about it and see just how awesome the graphics in Gears of War 3 are!

Horde 2.0 is shown below. I absolutely love how money is now included to buy features and equipment.

More Gears of War 3 Videos