My thoughts on the gaming world.

• 31Dec 09

  Xbox 360 Lite

  Alright folks, I've got abit of a rumor here I would love to throw out and an idea I've had in my head for awhile. I've done abit of research on this and if I'm correct we could be seeing a major Xbox 360 redesign in 2010.

  First of all Microsoft patented a new chipset back around February of 2008, which is supposed to be a single 45nm chipset allowing for a smaller Xbox 360.

  http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/15/rumor-next-xbox-360-chipsets-are-opus-valhalla/

  Now I have a few of my own beliefs as to what will happen here and I'll list them out here to see how right I am in the coming months.

  1.) The 360 will become much smaller, more so than what we saw with the PS3 Slim. I'm thinking somewhere between the size of the Wii and 360.

  2.) The new 360 will use an opitcal DVD drive like that found on the Wii or PS3. This should help to reduce the noise level of the drive and help make the unit smaller as well.

  3.) We should see this being announced during E3 I'm guessing.

  4.) The redesign will allow Microsoft to also include Natal inside the console.

  5.) This will help reduce any of the remaining hardware issues that the 360 has, which is why we haven't seen it yet. Microsoft has been testing the heck out of this thing and wants to make sure they get it absolutely right.

  6.) New SKUs will be on the way for this as well. The Arcade will now come with a hard drive and we'll see the Elite either stick with the 120 gig hard drive or jump to the 250 gig hard drive.

  7.) Wifi will be built in this time around and controllers will come with rechargeable batteries as well.

  2008 was almost 2 years ago and Microsoft has been working on this one for awhile. Now is the perfect time to strike with some great games coming out this year and it will be a great way to steal some of the Slim's thunder as well. I'm guessing pricing won't change much, though we could see the Arcade and Elite model drop $50 in price each to under cut Sony again and place the Arcade below the Wii in price.

  I'm unsure if all redesigns will have Natal in them, though I'm thinking they will and we'll no doubt see it come with 5 or so Natal specific games designed to really showcase what Natal is all about (basically Microsoft's own version of Wii Sports).

  This upcoming year seems to be the perfect time to do it and alot of things point to Microsoft heading this route. They've waited for production costs to come down, Natal is already being priced on the cheap side of things, and Microsoft looking to have a big year this upcoming year. I'll post more as I come across it, but just wanted to get my idea out there and see if yet another one of my predictions will come true.

  Happy New Year everyone.

  • Posted Dec 31, 2009 10:11 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 27Dec 09

  New followers and December NPD Predictions

  Well I've noticed I've had a few more people following me these days and just wanted to say thanks for being interested in what I do. I've had abit of drama in my real life that looks like it will be behind now meaning I'll have more time to put into this here. So stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled for more info coming your way from me.

  Now onto the main reason for this post, December's NPD. Fanboys alike are all claiming a win, Sony will outsell Microsoft, Microsoft will outsell Sony, this and that. Well I want to weigh and throw out my ideas in a public manner to see how close I am in my predictions. Here they are:

  1.) Microsoft will outsell Sony but they will be within 100,000 units of one another. Reason I say this is because I've seen numerous deals around for Xbox 360's. Ranging from the Gamestop deal where you got an Xbox 360 Elite with LEGO Batman and Pure plus your choice of a $60 game and I think an extra controller to the recent deal with Walmart where you get the Elite with an Xbox Live Sub (I think 1 year) 2 games of your choice and of course LEGO Batman and Pure. I haven't seen much in the way of deals for Sony beyond a few little ones here and there. Seems Sony isn't focusing on bundles this holiday season but rather that the PS3 is now $300.

  Overall people this holiday season are going for the most bang for their buck. They can buy a 360 and walk out with at least 2 good games, and often many extras. Or they can buy a PS3 and walk out with the console. Yes yes I know that the PS3 comes with the Bluray player, wifi, the PSN that is free, and all that stuff. I own one and I know all that it has to offer. But anyone at this point (at least the masses out there) buying a console isn't die hard like us. They won't be doing the research and they'll be going for what looks like they are getting the most. We've all got our consoles, knew what they offered before walking into the store, and bought based on that. Most out this holiday season aren't doing that.

  2.) New Super Mario Bros. Wii will top charts this holiday season. I've barely been able to find a copy since Thanksgiving Day and this search as ranged from Wyoming, Colorado (Fort Collins and Denver area), and California ranging from Sacramento to Fairfield/Vacaville area. Just can't seem to find a copy anywhere and everywhere I go I hear people asking for it. This will be one of the best selling games this holiday season and I think Reggie was right in saying that it will outsell at least one of the versions of Modern Warfare 2. PC it has already easily beaten and I think it can take the PS3 version at this point.

  3.) Nintendo will of course outsell everyone, from software to hardware, Nintendo will be top dog again. Both the Wii and DS will be miles ahead of Sony and Microsoft. Again Nintendo's products are selling like hotcakes, heck just yesterday I was in Best Buy getting my new netbook and saw 6 people walk by with Wii's in the course of 5 minutes I stood in line. Same story every where I go and this will be yet another year Nintendo claims a win in terms of sales.

  4.) The only platform of Sony's we'll truly see perform this holiday season will be the PS3. The PS2 is nearly a dead platform and Sony is sticking with it simply out of spite and to meet and break that 10 year life span. The PSP doesn't have much going for it and with the DSi being price cheaper than the Go, it is obvious where shoppers are going to be spending their money. This is nothing against Sony but they put all their eggs into the PS3 basket and it will pay off with big numbers. They've done a great job bringing the PS3 down to a price it can truly compete with and it will show once the numbers are released.

  5.) Nintendo will control at least half of the top 10 spots, Microsoft will control amount, and then Sony will take the least. Again this boils down to the bundles Microsoft has out there and they will be moving alot of software this holiday season thanks to that.

  So that's it from me on the December NPD, I know it seems like I spelled doom and gloom for Sony, but it really won't be. Their numbers will be impressive and by no means bad, but I just don't see them overcoming the deals out there on the Wii and 360. It'll be a great holiday season for all three companies and I'm looking forward to another year of great gaming kicking off early in 2010. So Merry Chirstmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Wintereenmas. Keep those controllers in your hands and keep on playing those great games.

  • Posted Dec 27, 2009 4:48 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 11Dec 09

  November NPD

  Hardware Sales, November 2009:
  
  Nintendo DS 1.70M
  Wii 1.26M
  Xbox 360 819.5K
  PlayStation 3 710.4K
  PSP 293.9K
  PlayStation 2 203.1K
  
  Software Sales, November 2009:
  
  Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, Activision Blizzard) 4,200,000
  Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3, Activision Blizzard) 1,870,000
  New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii, Nintendo Of America) 1,390,000
  Assassin's Creed II (360, Ubisoft) 794,700
  Left 4 Dead 2 (360, Electronic Arts) 744,000
  Wii Sports Resort (Wii, Nintendo Of America) 720,200
  Wii Fit Plus (Wii, Nintendo Of America) 679,000
  Assassin's Creed II (PS3, Ubisoft) 448,400
  Dragon Age: Origins (360, Electronic Arts) 362,100
  Mario Kart w/ Wheel (Wii, Nintendo Of America) 315,000
  
  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  
  Well folks November has now come and gone and we now find ourselves looking back on the past month's software and hardware sales. Just recently certain people have been making a fair bit of noise about the PS3's amazing Black Friday sales and even going as far as proclaiming a victory for the entire year. Also these same people were blowing up about how Microsoft hasn't said anything about their figures when in the past they were quick to tout their accomplishments.
  
  Well that has all been proven wrong ladies and gentlemen. Today November's NPD numbers were released and we can clearly see who the winner was of the month; Nintendo.
  
  Yes that is right Nintendo has once again brought the Nintendomination down upon everyone, breaking over 1 million units with BOTH the Wii and DS and then clutching 4 of the top 10 software sales positions. Even Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii broke the million number and snagged third place over the heavily acclaimed Assassin's Creed II.
  
  Coming in at a strong second place is Microsoft falling abit shy of the 1 million mark though putting a respectable 819,500 consoles sold. What is truly surprising here is Microsoft only did a price cut this year, and yet they sit above their rival Sony. Microsoft also went on to snag 4 of the top 10 spots as well. From the staggering 4.2 million copies of Modern Warfare 2 (apparently alot of people liek being treated like a $3 hooker) to the zombie sequel Left 4 Dead 2 clocking in at 744,000 units and even Dragon Age Origins making another apperance at the number 9 spot with 362,000 units sold. This was truly a great month for Microsoft.
  
  Coming in at third is Sony, with 710,400 PS3's sold, which is shockingly over 100,000 less than the 360 proving my prediction of it being within 50,000 units way off. Sony managed to grab the last 2 remaining top 10 spots with Modern Warfare 2 weighing in with 1,870,000 units at the number 2 spot and Assassin's Creed II with 448,400 snagging the number 8 spot. Another noticeable short comer here is Sony's PSP, barely clockign in with 293,900 units which pales in comparison to Nintendo's DS by nearly 1 million units. Another noticeable game absent from the top ten list is the near perfect scoring Uncharted 2 for the PS3. One this writer definitely expected to see on the list besides Mario Kart Wii.
  
  However not all is doom and gloom for Sony, who's console sales were up 87% from last year. Things seem to be moving in the right direction for Sony, with the redesing and price drop having a noteable positive effect on sales for the month.
  
  Still though, with Microsoft leading in world side sales by millions of units (can't get an exact number at work) these numbers definitely won't be closing that gap anytime soon.
  
  Beyond that though, sales were down across the board for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo (minus the DS of course). Overall the industry is down 7.6% from last year. Nintendo saw a near 40% drop in sales for the Wii (which Nintendominated with 2 million units). However Modern Warfare 2 accounted for 20% of the industry this month, which means alot of you out there are complete idiots.
  
  How will the rest of the year go? Well only time will tell. I for one may be helping to boost some so Sony's sales now being a PS3 owner and having my eye on a few games. Will Nintendo continue it's Nintendomination? Will Microsoft hold out above the PS3? Can Sony regain it's lost crown and rise above Microsoft? These are questions that will just have to wait until January folks.
  
  Until next time, I'm Keji Goto saying happy holidays and a happy Wintereenmas. Keeps those controllers in your hands and don't stop enjoying those games. Down with Activision and have a good night.

  • Posted Dec 11, 2009 8:02 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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