Category Archives: Train2Game

Train2Game

Get Gran Turismo 5 for £4.99 (And see the Kevin Butler commercial!)

Posted on by
Reply

Gran Turismo 5

With the release of the much anticipated Gran Turismo 5 fast approaching, it looks like that we’ll have another retailer price war on our hands.

HMV have once again played their cards first and will be selling Gran Turismo 5 for just £4.99, thought with conditions of course. This offer will be available to anyone who buys Gran Turismo 5 from HMV and is happy to trade in a copy of F1 2010 for the PlayStation 3.  The deal runs from when Gran Turismo 5 is released on Wednesday November 24th through to Friday November 26th.

The HMV F1 2010 for Gran Turismo 5 trade in deal is very similar to one the retailer ran earlier this month for Call of Duty: Black Ops. It was possible to pick up Call of Duty: Black Ops for only £7.99 if you traded in a copy of Medal of Honor. The different retailers were keen to encourage consumers to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops from them with various different deals.

With Gran Turismo 5 being so highly anticipated – it has been tipped to be the highest selling PlayStation 3 game of the year – it’s entirely possible that retailers will once again provide special offers to encourage sales.

In other Gran Turismo 5 news, Sony have released a brand new advert for Gran Turismo 5 starring the one and only Kevin Butler. It’ll only feature on televisions in America, but thanks to the wonders of the internet you can watch it online right here, courtesy of the Official PlayStation Youtube channel.

Remember, Mr Butler is a professional driver on a closed circuit. Don’t attempt to imitate what he does!

Gran Turismo 5 is released exclusively for the PlayStation 3 less than one week on November 24th.

So Train2Game, how excited are you about the imminent release of Gran Turismo 5. Do you think you’ll take advantage of the HMV F1 2010 trade in deal? And of course, what are your thoughts about Kevin Butler’s Gran Turismo 5 commercial?

You can tell us what you think about Gran Turismo 5, the F1 2010 trade in deal or the Kevin Butler commercial here on the Train2Game blog, or over on the Train2Game forum.

Cut the Rope sales reach 3 million

Posted on by
Reply

Cut the Rope

Indie iPhone game ‘Cut the Rope’ has sold more than three million units through the Apple App Store since being released at the beginning of October.

The relatively simple game costs just 59p and blends physics orientated gameplay as players’ feed dangling candy to a little green creature called Om Nom. The cute graphics, the simple but addictive gameplay and its low price have all helped Cut the Rope achieve the very impressive three million sales world wide in a short space of time.

Developers Zeptolab have used the landmark sales number to announce that Cut the Rope will soon be getting a free update:

“We thank all of the amazing fans who have shared the joyful fun Cut the Rope offers with friends and family to make it a phenomenal success,” said Efim Voinov, CTO of ZeptoLab.

“The 1.1 update is just the beginning; we hope to release an additional update just in time for the holidays and bring even more action-packed, Om Nom excitement to your fingertips!”

You can check out the Cut the Rope 1.1 update teaser trailer below.

Cut the Rope is a brilliant example of how a simple game developed for a smart phone, can go a long way and bring success to a small indie developer. iPhone games like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds are getting more and more popular, and have even recently been recognised as part of BAFTA.

The low price of games such as Cut the Rope also plays a part in the success, but you don’t need to be a mathematician to realise that 59p multiplied by three million means a lot of money!

Developing a game for an iPhone – or indeed any other smartphone – could provide a group of Train2Game students with a great start in the games industry. Indeed, during last months Train2Game webinar, veteran video games developer Jon Hare pointed out that a small team could build a simple game from scratch in as little as four months, and that simple games like Angry Birds sell very well. Dave Sharp added that successful iPhone games – such as Cut the Rope – can be quite basic, are very well produced, which adds to appeal.

If you’ve yet to try out Cut the Rope, you can buy it for just 59p at the iPhone App Store.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the success of Cut the Rope? Have you played it? If so why do you think it has been so successful? And do you think that developing a simple iPhone game could provide you with your first big break in the video games development industry?

You can leave your thoughts about Cut the Rope, iPhone games and breaking into the games industry here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops – The biggest entertainment launch ever

Posted on by
Reply

Its official, Call of Duty: Black Ops holds the title of the biggest entertainment launch ever.  As MCV notes, Call of Duty: Black Ops was launched in the same week as popular beat combo Take That reformed and launched a new album. Even a new Harry Potter film was premiered, but it was the video game that came out on top.

Here in the UK, Call of Duty: Black Ops broke all previous day one records for a video game, shifting 1.4 million copies and making £58 million in revenue. Call of Duty: Black Ops went on to sell over two million copies in its first week on the shelves, generating over £80 million in revenue.

These figures easily beat every other entertainment product around at the moment, and MCV point out “Even the ‘fastest selling album of the decade’, Take That’s Progress, only managed 235,000 units in its first day on Monday this week, around 2m in revenue.”

The success of Call of Duty: Black Ops, combined with the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Kinect motion controller, means that the UK has had its biggest week ever when it comes to game sales. An estimated £114 million was made last week, beating the previous record of £107.6 million set in the final week of 2008.

Sales were possibly also improved by the various deals retailers provided in attempts to encourage consumers to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops from them.

Naturally, the massive sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops mean that it easily took the top spot in the UK video game charts. All of the games success has come on good, if not outstanding reviews, but its unlikely Activision and Treyarch will be too bothered with review scores given the massive success of the game across the globe.

If you somehow managed to miss all of the Call of Duty: Black Ops pre-launch hype, you can check out the launch trailer, and details of the new zombie mode featuring some famous faces here.

So Train2Game, do you believe the massive success of Call of Duty: Black Ops is good for the games industry? Or do you believe that it’ll just encourage developers to churn out the same old games?

And given that video games cost a lot more than going to the cinema, or buying a CD, do you think that the industry is getting too excited about the amount of money made by Call of Duty: Black Ops?

You can leave your thoughts about the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

First Fallout: New Vegas DLC revealed

Posted on by
Reply

Bethesda has announced the first DLC pack for Fallout: New Vegas, and bad news PlayStation 3 and PC gamers, its Xbox 360 exclusive as the company announced previously.

The new content, titled Dead Money, has the following back-story:

“As the victim of a raw deal you must work alongside three other captured wastelanders to recover the legendary treasure of the Sierra Madre Casino. In Dead Money, your life hangs in the balance as you face new terrain, foes, and choices. It is up to you how you play your cards in the quest to survive.”

Given the open nature of Fallout: New Vegas ‘how you play your cards right’ could even mean ‘shoot those other wastelanders in the face.’

Of course, VP of PR and Marketing for Bethesda Softworks Peter Hines has spoken positively of the upcoming DLC for Fallout: New Vegas.

“We’re pleased to give fans a chance to expand their experience in Fallout: New Vegas this December with Dead Money.”

“The release of Dead Money illustrates our commitment to creating entertaining add-on content for players to enjoy in already massive games like Fallout: New Vegas.”

The Dead Money DLC will be available on Xbox Live from December 21st for 800 Microsoft points. It’s not yet know whether this Fallout: New Vegas DLC is purely exclusive to the Xbox 360, or will become available to other systems at a later date.

Fallout: New Vegas was released in October, received generally positive reviews and topped the UK games chart.  It’s still selling strongly, and remains inside the top ten this week. Fallout: New Vegas has also seen a large number of bugs and has been patched since release.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Dead Money DLC? If you played Fallout: New Vegas on an Xbox 360, will you buy it? Or are you content to explore the Mojave wastes without paying extra money? Maybe you’re already done with New Vegas? And  PlayStation 3 and PC owners, how do you feel about Bethesda’s decision to make Fallout: New Vegas DLC Xbox 360 exclusive?

You can leave your thoughts about the Dead Money DLC for Fallout: New Vegas here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Bioware tease next game

Posted on by
1

Bioware Teaser

Bioware has released a teaser about a previously announced game, set to be revealed at next months Spike TV Video Games Awards.

The game doesn’t look like it’ll be the much anticipated Mass Effect 3, because as you can see in the video, the new project looks to have a more modern setting than the sci-fi RPG. Could Bioware be bring an RPG twist to the stream of contemporary first person shooters we’re seeing at the moment? Will this game be a shooter?

What’s certain is that whatever Bioware are working on, it’s going to be quite different to Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

You can draw your own conclusions, that is until Bioware reveal more, by watching the teaser trailer below.

So yes, that definitely looks a lot different to Bioware’s previous games, especially Dragon Age: Origins. However, Dragon Age: Origins is one of the best RPG’s out there, and Dragon Age 2 is shaping up nicely, so it’s likely that Bioware know what they’re doing. (I haven’t got round to the Mass Effect series yet, but I hear it’s just as good, if not better than Dragon Age)

As Bioware’s teaser trailer says, we’ll find out more at Spike TV’s Video Games Awards on December 11th

So Train2Game, what do you make of the Bioware teaser trailer? What do you think the game could be? Are you disappointed that it doesn’t look like it’ll be Mass Effect 3?

You can leave your thoughts about the Bioware teaser trailer here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Kinect launch doubles Xbox 360 sales

Posted on by
Reply

Kinect for Xbox 360

The high profile launch of the Kinect motion controller has doubled Xbox 360 sales in the UK. That’s according to MCV who say Chart-Track figures show that the Xbox 360 has had a massive boost in sales since Kinect became available.

The launch of Microsoft’s motion controller was a huge event, with many retailers opening their doors at midnight last Thursday to allow gamers to be among the first in the UK to own Kinect. The combined sales of Microsoft’s Kinect, and Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops made last week the best ever for video game sales in the UK.

55% of Call of Duty: Black Ops sales were for the Xbox 360, and it’s likely that a few console bundle deals also helped push up sales of the Microsoft console.

Nevertheless, it seems that Kinect has been responsible for the majority of Xbox 360 sales in the last week, and over one million of the motion controllers have already been sold worldwide. Microsoft aim to have sold five million by Christmas, and the company has previously stated that Kinect will become as core to the Xbox 360 as Xbox Live.

Kinect is available on its own for £130, but its launch has definitely had an impact on the sale of Xbox 360 consoles.  Microsoft have been keen to push the new device as part of Xbox 360 bundle deals, with Kinect being available in a 250 GB Xbox 360 bundle for £299.99.

Of course, the massive marketing campaign by Microsoft has probably played a part in encouraging Kinect sales, and therefore the purchase of brand new Xbox 360 consoles.

So Train2Game, has the launch of Kinect made you invest in an Xbox 360? Could it in the future? Or do you think sales have gone up due to Microsoft’s ‘family friendly’ marketing campaign?

You can leave your thoughts on Kinect for the Xbox 360 here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer launch trailer

Posted on by
Reply

assassins-creed-brotherhood multiplayer characters

Ubisoft has revealed an Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer launch trailer to coincide with the games release in the USA today.

The new Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer launch trailer tells us that “People are rarely who they seem” and “This is a truth often released in one’s final breath” The trailer demonstrates the characters and locations that are available in the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer mode.

Oh, and of course it shows a wide variety of ways to do away with an enemy in the cat and mouse world that is Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer.

You can check out the trailer for yourself below.

You can check out more details about the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood online multiplayer, including game modes and character classes, in this previous post on the Train2Game blog.

The brand new multiplayer mode is just one aspect of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, with the game of course featuring a vast single player story starring Ezio from Assassin’s Creed II. You can check out the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood single player launch trailer in this post from a few days ago.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is released here in the UK on Friday for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer mode? Is it something you’re looking forward to? Or are you only interested in the single player story? And do you think that Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood could do the seemingly impossible, and knock Call of Duty: Black Ops from the top of the charts?

You can leave your thoughts about Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Sony: PlayStation Move ‘Has greatly exceeded expectations’

Posted on by
Reply

PlayStation 3 PlayStation Move

The PlayStation Move controller is selling strongly and exceeding expectations, say Sony.

In an interview with Industry Gamers, GM of Latin America for SCEA Mark Stanley said that the PlayStation Move has been a ‘tremendous success’

“We’re actually continuing to catch up on filling the pipeline with product, as we are in the U.S. and worldwide because demand has greatly exceeded our expectations,” he said

“So far, we still don’t have enough to supply the [Latin America] region and we’re hoping to catch up, so triple-A success for us in the region. It’s been able to translate easily into the region.”

“Something as simple as Move is easily communicated, easily captivated by the region. The difference is we’ve been able very much to define the difference between Move and Wii and Kinect, which has helped us quite a bit.”

In October, Sony said that 2.5 million PlayStation Moves had been sold worldwide, with 1.5 million in Europe and 1 million in the USA.

The success of PlayStation Move is good news for Sony, especially given that the last few weeks have been dominated by the launch of Kinect for the Xbox 360. Microsoft have their eye on selling five million of the devices by Christmas. Sony will also hope that the release of ‘hardcore’ PlayStation Move games including Killzone 3 and LittleBigPlanet 2 will help the motion controller continue to be successful.

Perhaps the PlayStation Move would be more successful in the UK if we got the Kevin Butler adverts?

So Train2Game, do you own a PlayStation Move controller? Is it still interesting, or do you need some more games for it? And ultimately, do you think it’ll be Kinect or Move that wins the battle of the motion controllers?

You can leave your thoughts on the PlayStation Move here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Microsoft say over 1 million Kinect units sold

Posted on by
Reply

Kinect for Xbox 360

One million Kinect motion controllers have been sold in its first ten days on sale, say Microsoft.

The hands free device for the Xbox 360 was launched here in the UK last week, and two weeks ago in the USA. And in an interview with MSNBC, Xbox boss Don Mattrick says the company are pleased with the progress Kinect is making:

“It’s a strong start. Consumers are loving it”

“We are appreciative of the response we have seen from consumers that has culminated in sales of more than 1m units in the first 10 days on the market for Kinect for Xbox 360,”

“This is a great start to the holiday season, and we will continue to work with our retailer partners to keep pace with high demand and deliver against our plan to sell more than 5 million Kinect sensors worldwide by the end of this year.”

Sales of Kinect for the Xbox 360 and its release titles, combined with the massive launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops, helped make last week the biggest ever for video game sales in the UK.

Microsoft are confident that five million Kinect units will be sold before Christmas. The company has previously said that they expect the Kinect hands free controller to become as core to the Xbox 360 as Xbox Live is.

Hardcore gamers may be somewhat put off by the very casual looking launch line up of Kinect right now, but Microsoft have repeatedly stated that there are hardcore titles in the works.  Reports suggest that this will include a Kinect compatible Gears of War game, though whether it’ll be a brand new title, or the Kinect features will be added to a previous game in the series remains to be seen.

Nonetheless, Microsoft can surely expect sales of both the Xbox 360 and the Kinect device to receive a boost during the Black Friday sales, which will also be hitting the UK for the first time this year.

The company also say that Kinect will be available in over 60,000 stores in 38 countries by the vital Christmas period.

So Train2Game, are you among those who own one of the million Kinect units that have been sold? How are you finding it after a week? Do you think it has the potential to reach that figure of five million by Christmas? And what are your thoughts on a Kinect compatible Gears of War game?

You can leave your thoughts about Kinect here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Gran Turismo 5 ‘will be the biggest selling PS3 game of the year’

Posted on by
Reply

Gran Turismo 5

Gran Turismo 5 will be the biggest selling PlayStation 3 game of the year. That’s according to online retailer ShopTo.net who say sales of Gran Turismo 5 have risen significantly since it was revealed the game will finally be released on November 24th.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said ShopTo Marketing Manager Philip Driver.

“As soon as the new release date was announced the sales just went through the roof. This is a game that most PS3 owners have been waiting a long time for.”

“Luckily we have prepared well and will be able to get GT5 to everyone that orders for release day.”

Gran Turismo 5 was supposed to be release on November 3rd, but was delayed once again in October in order to make it the ‘perfect’ experience. Some suggested that we’d fail to see Gran Turismo 5 this year, but earlier this month creator Kazunori Yamauchi said the discs were being stamped, while Sony assured the waiting public that the game would be out before Christmas.

Gran Turismo 5 will feature over 1000 cars, and 20 tracks – including the Top Gear test track.  Yamauchi is confident that fans will be satisified with Gran Turismo 5 despite the long, long wait:

“Our objective with GT5 was to create another great revolution which would not only satisfy our own high expectations, but would meet or even exceed the anticipation of the fans.”

Gran Turismo 5 is set for release in less than two weeks time on November 24th.

So Train2Game, do you think Gran Turismo 5 will really be the biggest selling PlayStation 3 game of the year? Can the racer out do the sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops on the PlayStation 3? Do you think it’ll be able to claim top spot in the video game chart?

You can leave your thoughts about Gran Turismo 5 here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.