Archived News:
The Washington Post has results from the NPD Group from June, with the market research group reporting sales of videogame hardware, software, and accessories totaled $995 million, a decline of 10% over the same period last year. It should be noted that this does not include digitally distributed games. It also sounds as if the small segment of this that represents sales of PC games did better than the rest of the market: Sales of software, the games themselves, dropped 12 percent to $469.5 million. When including PC games, total software sales fell 10 percent to $508.9 million.
Doug Creutz, an analyst with Cowen and Co., had expected June sales to disappoint, although he said several titles aimed at hardcore gamers did worse than expected. Those include “Duke Nukem Forever” from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., and “Red Faction: Armageddon” from THQ Inc. Both were hurt by poor reviews, he said.
The Bethesda Blog offers a new Behind the Scenes: "The Arsenal" trailer from RAGE, targeting the weapons in id's upcoming first-person shooter, showing off the various pieces of the game's arsenal and offering thoughts from the developers at id on what makes a good shooter weapon, and which are their personal favorites. Word is new weapons and ammo types will be added along with each new environment to keep the gameplay experience fresh.
Games
Patches
- Atom Zombie Smasher on Steam.
- Beat Hazard on Steam.
- Depths of Peril on Steam.
- Dungeons of Dredmor on Steam.
- Hamilton's Great Adventure on Steam.
- Celtic Kings: Rage of War on GOG.com. Save 60%.
- Driver San Francisco on Steam. Pre-purchase and get 1973 El Camino and 2010 Camaro.
- Earthrise on Direct2Drive. Save 60%.
- Heroes of Might and Magic Bundle on Direct2Drive. Save 50%.
- Revenge of the Titans on Steam. Save 67%.
- Sid Meier's Pirates! (Mac) on Direct2Drive. Save 33%.
- Star Trek Online Digital Deluxe Edition on Direct2Drive. Save 60%.
- Zeno Clash on Steam. Save 75%.
Still on sale (previously reported). Continue here to read the full story.
A video interview posted a couple of days back talks with Craig Lafferty at E3 about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the next installment in Bethesda's epic role-playing series. The discussion covers a few general topics, and along the way Craig admits there will be no playable demo: "No, we won't be doing a demo. With a game of this size and complexity, it's really hard to do a demo that represents the game, you know, truly. And we have to... and you know, it would be a giant demo as well, so we won't be doing a demo." Thanks Eurogamer.
Brain Candy announces that they will begin accepting preorders for Fray in the fourth quarter of this year, revealing the release of this futuristic squad-based multiplayer strategy game is being pushed back until Q1 2012, after being announced for release by the end of this year. They also outline the bonuses that will accompany this advance commitment, saying those who preorder will get early access to a beta version of the game and will receive a second copy of the game to give to a friend for free. The news is accompanied by a new batch of media from the game, including screenshots, concept art, models, and logos. Here's word on the beta: Fray will be available to pre-order and gain early beta access from Brain Candy’s website in Q4 2011. The pre-order early access beta will include the first environment, several playable maps, several game modes, and offers players the unique ability to influence the game design and provide feedback directly to the developers. The beta will offer unlimited play, with weekly updates and special community events. Players who pre-order will then receive the full game immediately upon release in Q1 2012 along with a 2nd copy of the game to give to a friend absolutely free.
The Call of Duty Website that tickets will go on sale next week for Call of Duty XP, the Call of Duty-themed convention that's being held this September in Los Angeles, California. Beginning at 10 am Pacific Time (1:00 pm EDT) on July 19, individuals will be able to purchase up to two tickets on the Call of Duty XP Website, with tickets providing entrance to both days of the gathering, and, other than food and beverage sales, access to all scheduled events (including the $1 million tournament). Tickets will be $150.00 USD each, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Call of Duty Endowment charity, and attendees must be at least 18 years of age.
One Of Swords, the blog of Activision's Dan Amrich, has word that closed beta testing will get underway for Call of Duty: Elite the upcoming premium multiplayer service to support the military shooter series. He explains that invites are basically being distributed on a first-come/first-served basis, though other factors apply. He also outlines when and how invitations will go out: "The first wave starts Thursday, July 14. There is no set hour during the day for that to happen, so there’s no need to camp out at your computer. Also, it’s been said several times before, but it bears repeating: the first wave will be very small. It will grow with time, so you might not get in immediately. Don’t let that worry you; slow and steady is part of the plan. It has to be, or this won’t work at all."
This trailer offers the first part of the E3 presentation for Metro: Last Light, the upcoming first-person shooter that's a sequel to Metro 2033. The clip uses pre-alpha gameplay footage to show some exploration in a dark environment followed by a couple of firefights, one of which is a bit one-sided following the discovery of a mini-gun.
Matrix Games announces the release of a new patch for Gary Grigsby's War in the East, calling this a "major update," which brings the World War II strategy game to version 1.04.36. Word is: "This important update includes dozens of improvements, fixes and tweaks, including major changes to the First Winter balance along with tweaks to Soviet Guard units, Partisans, and how Fortifications work. There are also changes to how damaged units are returned as replacements, how combat is resolved with multiple attacking units, many aspects of the air war, and much, much more."
Happy Bastille Day! Let them eat cake. Wait, what, the cake is a lie? Does that mean Marie Antoinette worked for Aperture Labs?
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