Here we are melting faces in Rock Band.

Microsoft is setting its sites high for Halo 3, shooting to have a $155 million dollar debut of the game. To put some perspective on it, Halo 2 launched with over 2 million copies sold in 24 hours for around $125 million.
While one would think the 155 Million dollar number might be a little high, especially considering the 360 install base is about half of what the original Xbox was when Halo 2 launched, there’s a few things to consider.

1) The majority of Xbox 360 owners right now are the hardcore gamer, and are typically the gamer that will buy Halo 3.

2) The base price of Halo 3 is $10 higher than Halo 2 was.

3) There are a $69.99 version and a $129.99 version of the game. All signs right now point to some incredible sales numbers for the $129.99 version, known as the Legendary Edition.

When you add up some of these things, you can see Microsoft doesn’t even need to sell close to 2 million copies and easily achieve the $155 million dollar mark. Microsoft is already guaranteed AT LEAST 60 Million Dollars in sales from pre-orders alone. And that would be if and only if they preordered the original version.

So will Microsoft hit the $155 million dollar target? My guess is they break $160 million.
Variety.com - High ‘Halo 3′ hopes

technorati tags:halo3, microsoft, money, lots, of

It’s another week of WYSBP.  The fall rush is almost upon us, and with that there are quite a few demos out there which should keep you occupied.

Bioshock Demo (PC/360)  - While the demo is only available on 360 right now, this shouldnt’ stop you from downloading it immediately.  Initial impressions of the demo have been solid, with considerable praise to the graphics.   If you are looking for a FPS with lots of atmosphere and the freedom to accomplish things mulitple ways, this game is for you.

 Stranglehold Demo (PC/360/PS3)  - The Stranglehold demo hit last week on the 360, with a PC demo coming this week sometime.  Anyone who was a fun of Max Payne needs to play this ASAP.  Fully interactive enviornments, incredible damage modeling, and just an all around fun game.  The greatest thing about this demo is successive playthroughs will unlock new abilities and higher difficulty levels.  Sweet!

All Pro Football 2k8 (PS3/360) -  I know, I know.  Madden 2008 hits this week.  But you SHOULD be playing APF2k8 instead.  Stick it to the man by playing a solid football game that’s more than just a roster update.  The graphics are decent, but the animations are top notch.  Overall the gameplay is solid, and should satisfy any football fan.

According to ArsTechnia journalist, Ben Kuchera, there’s a strong indication that all Xbox 360’s will begin to have the HDMI port standard. The rumor goes back to E3 where Microsoft announced their special edition Halo Xbox 360 unit. The unit was a traditional premium model with a Halo paintjob and an HDMI port.

The rumor goes that once all existing inventory is cleared out, you’ll begin to see specially marked boxes of Xbox 360 units on the shelves showing that it comes with an HDMI port. On top of this, these new boxes will be using the cooler running 65NM processors as well as quieter DVD drives. Good news all around!

Update: This is now officially confirmed. All models will begin to have the HDMI port. The HDMI cable is not included in the package, but Microsoft will be offering an “official” HDMI Cable for $49.99 which will include the adapter to split the audio out via Optical. Systems that include the HDMI version will have the HDMI logo on the package. The HDMI models should hit Europe “in a few months.”

It’s Friday, that can only mean one thing. Evil Avatar Radio! But alas, during all the shuffle last week with the server outages and whatnot, you may or may not know that the last Friday show of EvAv Radio was broadcast last week.

That’s right, Evil Avatar Radio hosted by Philip “Kefkataran” Kollar is no more. No more late Friday nights in the chatroom listening to Phil and Amanda talk about Draygons and Horse Carcass. Phil is moving sidways and taking on more responsibilities at 1UP.

Fear not Evil Avatarians! Our newest Red and host of In-Game Chat, Scott “Psykoboy2” Benton has picked up the reins of said horse carcass and rode it, and the Evil Avatar Radio name, to Monday nights.

So what ever shall we do on Fridays? Us gamers SURELY can’t go OUT. We definitely can’t be social in public. So instead I bring to you, EvAv Arcade Fridays!

What is it? Every Friday night starting at 10PM Eastern we’ll be playing some specific games over Xbox Live and Playstation Network with the Evil Avatar Community.

So this week we’ll have 4 games lined up to play:
Bomberman Live (XBLA)
Carcassone(XBLA)
Spyglass Board Games (XBLA)
Calling All Cars (PSN)

I’ll be keeping the chatroom up, so if you need to try to get in a game, be sure to head over there and ask around. I encourage people to use it, or even just hang out on Friday organzing ANY kind of gaming activity.

I’ve just posted 14 new screenshots from Resident Evil 5 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. I absolutely LOVE the look of this game. It’s a setting we rarely see in any games, and the style of the art is just drop dead gorgeous.

You can also see the new trailer over at GameTrailers.

Step away from World of Warcraft. Put down Halo 2. This week these are the games you should be playing.

Project Sylpheed (Xbox 360) - So who knew Square-Enix could create a space shooter? I certainly didn’t. I’m only 5 or 6 missions in, but the game is incredibly beautiful and exciting. The game features the ability to purchase/research new weapons and customize your ship that help provide a deeper experience. Even though the story is somewhat cliche’d, the whole game just has this throwback feel to the days of Wing Commander. And at a budget price of $39.99 there’s no reason you shouldn’t be picking this up.

Wing Commander: Armada (Xbox Live Arcade) - Speaking of Wing Commander, EA is set to release an XBLA title this week titled Wing Commander: Armada. From what I’ve heard the game isn’t exactly tried and true to the Wing Commander series, but rather the game is more action oriented offering multiple views including a pseudo top down type perspective. I know, I know. Why should you play this game regardless? I’ve talked to a few people who have played it already, and so far the response has been pretty positive. I stand corrected, this game is pretty much crap. Avoid it.

Heavenly Sword Demo (Playstation 3 Network) - Word just came in that the Heavenly Sword Demo will be hitting the PSN this week. It’s the same demo that was fully playable at E3, a game I awarded #2 of the show. I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on this again, the game is just beautiful to watch and play.

27,200 Microsoft Points. That’s how many I’ve purchased since 11/29/2006.

So doing some math at 80 points per dollar that comes out to be… $340.

I do have 43 purchased Live Arcade games. So that’s not bad. $340 isn’t even 6 “regular” games. Plus I’ve purchased a few songs and albums through the Zune Store on PC which shares the MS Point system with Xbox Live. I think I’ve maybe purchased 2 themes and 2 picture packs total.

But wow. 27,200 MS Points. That was more than I expected.

The term gamer has become cool in the last couple of years. So much in fact that sites like MTV and NewsWeek have dedicated columns and writers used to bring gaming information to the general masses.

Stephen Totilo of MTV and N’Gai Croal of NewsWeek have decided to do an email exchange of sorts discussing the recent Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta. I’m not putting these guys down as gamers, they are both gamers in every sense of the word. But the entire transcription is somewhat of a bitch fest on how they aren’t exactly good at multiplayer games, and how they want Bungie, or whoever, to make them more easily accessible. A valid complaint I suppose. In fact, the tone of the articles really change with the final part of the series.

Of course the graphics issue comes up. N’Gai even references the Reuters Article I was quoted in. Yes…I’m gloating.

Anyway, before we go any further, do yourself a favor and read both articles. I’ll update this article when part 3 is finally released.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

OK…done? A bit long winded eh? That’s ok. There are a lot of good points there, and the articles themselves are a very fresh take on games journalism. So lets dissect shall we?

Read the rest of this entry »