The Top 10 Best Sellers of '08 - Did Your Favorite Make the List?

The stats for the best selling titles of 2008 have been released, and it was unquestionably Nintendo's year for sales. Wii Play (bundled with the Wii remote) is at the top of the pack with a staggering 5.28 million in sales for last year alone. Would it have sold as well without the remote pack in? Probably not, but I know that’s the reason I (and millions of others) purchased it. The mini-games on it are decently fun too, if only for a limited amount of time. Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl round out the next three spots, all featuring both mainstream and casual appeal. Grand Theft Auto IV on the 360 did extremely well at the number five spot with over three million copies sold, and Call of Duty: World at War (the 360 version) outsold Gears of War 2 on the same platform. Grand Theft Auto IV sold under two million units at the number eight spot on the PS3, and Madden 09 on the 360 sold about the same at number nine. Mario Kart DS, a title that was released way back in 2005, rounds out the list at number ten.

And, for those that just want to know the top 10 best sellers without any context...

1. Wii Play (Wii remote bundle - Wii
2. Mario Kart Wii (Racing wheel bundle) - Wii
3. Wii Fit (Balance board bundle) - Wii
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii
5. Grand Theft Auto IV - 360
6. Call of Duty: World at War - 360
7. Gears of War 2 - 360
8. Grand Theft Auto IV - PS3
9. Madden NFL 09 - 360
10. Mario Kart DS - DS

It was a tremendously good year for Nintendo, whose mix of accessible games and popular franchises dominated the sales chart. Amazingly enough, Mario Kart DS made the top 10 list despite being three years old! It was also interesting to see Call of Duty: World at War outsell Gears of War 2. Hopefully 2009 will be an even better year for gaming - I have my fingers crossed...

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Delivers Online Street Fighter Goodness in HD!

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (a rather unnecessary title, but oh well...) just hit Xbox Live Arcade on the 25th, and it's an essential download for any fan of 2D fighting. Not only does it contain gorgeous new high-definition visuals (still in glorious 2D form), it also features tweaked gameplay and addictive online play that will have you competing against strangers across Xbox Live for hours.

Some of the achievements are clever and tricky, such as one where you have to complete a seven-hit combo. Others include winning 100 ranked matches online and throwing your opponent ten times in one match.

The game costs a messily 1200 Microsoft Points, which amounts to $15. For the amount of replay value and fun HD Remix game provides it's well worth it - many recent full retail games haven't been this enjoyable.

To top it off, the beautiful remixed soundtrack adds to the experience and there's a standard edition of Street Fighter II thrown in for nostalgic value. Overall, if you're a 2D fighting game fan with Xbox Live then this should be an immediate purchase.

Super Street Fighter II: Turbo HD Remix is also available on the PSN Network (Playstation 3).

Resident Evil 5 - Part of Capcom's Fiscal 2008 Plan?

Capcom recently unveiled their 2008 fiscal plan, and aside from the usual suspects (Devil May Cry 4 on PC and Bionic Commando on the 360, PS3, and PC), their undisputed mammoth also made the list : Resident Evil 5. That means it should see release by March 2009 (which is when their 2008 fiscal plan runs out).

Will Capcom have their behemoth ready for the holiday rush towards the end of the year, or will the company wait for the notoriously crowded Christmas season to end and then put it on the market? Only time will tell, but if history is any indication, it may see a January release ala Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. After all, it could make sense for Capcom to put it out during a less cluttered time of year - Metal Gear Solid 3 failed to meet sales expectations back in 2004 due to going against juggernauts like Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Then again, I can't think of any titles that enormous making their way to consoles during the fourth quarter 2008 period, so who knows what Capcom will ultimately decide on?

I just hope that Resident Evil 5 meets my expectations and is not a disappointment like some "other" prominent series that made the jump to a new generation (Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV, I'm looking at you).

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Be Prepared to Pre-Order Your Metal Gear Solid 4 Bundle!

...that is, if you've got a disposable income.

Tomorrow you'll be able to pre-order the Gun Metal-colored Metal Gear Solid 4 Playstation 3 bundle. It is going to be sold exclusively through Konami's online store. Not only does it feature a special paint job, but it will contain a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4 (which is, hands down, the most eagerly anticipated game coming to the Playstation 3), the game's soundtrack and a non-interactive Blu-Ray disc jam-packed with extras.

Although Konami has not revealed how many of these will be produced, early reports from Japan (where they received a Metal Gear bundle of their own and it sold out almost immediately) indicate that these will be very severely limited.

The bad part, now, comes from the actual price of these units: $600. Yup, 600 big ones for a Playstation 3 that contains a mere 40 GB hard drive. Now, I'm no mathematician, but this bundle is more than wee-bit overpriced for what you're getting. Still, fans and collectors are undoubtedly going to eat this pack up when pre-orders start on Konami.com tomorrow. The actual unit will ship out on June 12th.

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Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Xbox 360 Bound?

One thing that has been greatly debated by video game fanboys across numerous gaming forums as of late is Metal Gear Solid 4. Will it remain a Playstation 3 exclusive or will it become another multiplatform title like the numerous other supposed Playstation 3 “exclusives” (Virtua Fighter 5, Assassin’s Creed, Devil May Cry 4, Ace Combat 5, etc.)? Only time will tell, but here’s some details that may prove that Solid Snake will be making an appearance on Microsoft’s shiny white box…

While Hideo Kojima himself said that Metal Gear Solid 3 will remain a Playstation 3 exclusive, it might be Konami that ultimately makes the decision on this matter. It’s no secret that the Playstation 3 sales have been highly disappointing up to this point, and a title with such high production values and development costs would not recoup a large amount of money with release on one lone console. Also, game news site Destructoid.com recently posted news that Metal Gear Solid 4 will indeed be making the jump to the Xbox 360. This supposedly “ground-breaking” news was followed by a cease and desist letter from Konami. Hmmm…. could the fact that Konami threatened this popular website with a lawsuit mean it’s, in fact, true? As already mentioned, only time will tell. It would make financial sense for the company to bring this blockbuster release to another platform though.

That is to say, I haven’t enjoyed a Metal Gear Solid game since the groundbreaking original classic on the Playstation. I doubt that Metal Gear Solid 4 will bring back the magic of that release back to the series, whether it’s available on more than one console or not.

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Grand Theft Auto: IV Part II: Thoughts From the Mind of Ross

So you’ve probably seen the trailer for Grand Theft Auto: IV by now (if not, don’t fret – I’ve included it in this post). I and millions of other gamers across the land of the internet have been eagerly awaiting this trailer for awhile now. In fact, for me, it was my most anticipated game trailer of all time. So did it live up to the hype?

Well, to be honest, I was a bit let down. Although New York City is a fantastic location and should make a very interesting playground for the next GTA, part of the fun of playing a new Grand Theft Auto game is to experience a new location (that is why the mediocre ‘Stories’ side games didn’t intrigue me at all). Also, the game play found in the 3D Grand Theft Auto games were fine for last generation, but they’re beyond outdated now (True Crime: New York City had a far superior combat system – let’s hope Rockstar “borrows” some key elements from that superb title…). And while the visuals certainly looked snazzy in the trailer, those were just mere cinematic – how will Grand Theft Auto IV look on my HD-TV when I’m actually playing it?

Still, not all was bad. Although I’ve mentioned that the game play was outdated in past titles, you’d have to be very foolish to assume Rockstar would just rest on their laurels and give us the same ol’ antiquated combat and aiming systems from years ago. Also, maybe this whole realistic New York City thing will work out (especially with the impressive power of the next-gen consoles). And, as a Russian-American, it’s nice to see that the main character found in the new Grand Theft Auto is of Russian-descent. I’m betting that Rockstar will prove us skeptics wrong and deliver a top-quality product when Grand Theft Auto: IV hits this fall. Despite my skepticism, I still can’t wait to get my hands on it.

The trailer

The Long Awaited GTA: IV Trailer Will Be Soon Upon Us...

Ah, the Grand Theft Auto series. Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, concerned parent, or irrational politician, , you know about it. Hell, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years you don’t have to fit in one of the three mentioned categories to be all knowing of this revolutionary series. Praised for it’s open-ended game play, entertaining story-lines and characters, and mature-themes (for which it’s also criticized in the news media for), Grand Theft Auto was last generation’s utmost force in gaming.

Now, in just a few short hours, we’ll finally catch a glimpse of Grand Theft Auto: IV, which will be hitting the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 this October. The setting, characters, look and everything else will be unveiled soon. Rockstar was very clever in setting this whole thing up… making us wait all this time for a mere trailer. Well, I’ll update this post later when the trailer is finally unveiled to the public, and until then, these next few hours are going to pass by slower than geometry class did back in high school.