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Kinect launch doubles Xbox 360 sales

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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

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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’

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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

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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’

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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.

UK has ‘best week ever’ for video games sales

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Moneys

The launches of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Kinect for the Xbox 360 have helped the UK experience its biggest week of all time for game sales.

Call of Duty: Black Ops topped the UK chart with 1.4 million sales, breaking a number of UK records in the process. Meanwhile the release of Kinect and its 11 launch titles also contributed to the rise in sales.

Week 45 of 2010 has therefore become the biggest grossing week of all time for video games in the UK, with an estimated total of almost £114 million. The previous record holding week for games sales was the final week of 2008 which grossed £107.6 million.

Michael Rawlinson, Director General of video games trade body UKIE said:

“The video games and interactive entertainment industry has already seen a great start to quarter 4 2010 and the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Microsoft’s Kinect adds to this. The positive sales figures of titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops, new hardware launches like Kinect, the emergence of casual/mobile games like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope and social networking games such as Farmville show that video games and other forms of interactive entertainment continue to be played by more people than ever – with 1 in 3 people in the UK now being gamers.”

“Given the huge audiences for games on all formats, 2010 has been a year of unprecedented activity and focus. And with more video games than ever before being played, on an ever growing range of games consoles, PCs, mobile phones, mobile devices and internet enabled TVs, the industry has widened beyond all expectations and will continue to expand exponentially in 2011.”

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on this weeks’ boom in video games sales? Does it bode well for the game development industry as a whole? Does this news make you feel even more confident about your decision to pursue a job in the games industry?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum

Fight Night Champion gets first trailer and release date

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Fight Night Champion frasier lennox

EA has released the first trailer for Fight Night Champion, which not only shows that the latest game in the boxing series looks very impressive, but also reveals that it’ll be released in March next year.

Fight Night Champions will also be the first EA Sports game to get a ‘Mature’ rating according to the info box on the games’ website. The Fight Night Champion trailer also points to what looks like a more immersive career mode with dialogue and cut scenes.

You can see the first Fight Night Champion trailer below, courtesy of IGN.


So far, EA Sports website says that Fight Night Champion will include the following new features:

Full Spectrum Punch Control
Control your boxer’s punches with precision and accuracy like never before with a new synergy of gameplay controls. From overhand punches to strategic counter jabs and one-punch knockouts, overwhelm your opponents with your refined skill set.

Physics-Based Gameplay
Move around the ring and time your attacks with precision. Building off the best-in-class gameplay engine featured in Fight Night Round 4, you now have an even wider range of abilities when it comes to counterattacks, setting up combos, and attacking your opponent.

Legacy Mode
Create your alter ego and put him in the ring against past champions. Work your way up the ranks through training and scheduled bouts, and establish your name as the fighter to beat. Take your boxer online and see how you size up against the best in the world competing for local or worldwide belts in the all-new Fight Night Nation.

Online Gyms
Create an online gym with your friends and battle it out to see who’s the ultimate champion, or turn boxing into a team sport and challenge other gyms in Rival Matches to unlock items, win trophies, and more.

Authentic Content
As the first-ever ‘M’ rated EA SPORTS title, Fight Night Champion showcases the truest graphical representation of the sport, lifestyle, and culture of boxing with authentic and dynamic blood, realistic body damage and deformation, and mature content throughout. Experience the violence and brutality that is true to the trade.

Fight Night Champion is coming March 1st 2011, and EA Senior Vice President of Worldwide Development Andrew Wilson is confident it’ll break new grounds:

“The EA Sports Fight Night franchise has consistently delivered one of the best sports experiences with each iteration

“EA Sports Fight Night Round 4 was a genre defining game, and led the way as the industry transitioned to physics-based sports games. EA Sports Fight Night Champion will again forge new ground and deliver a sports experience unlike anything seen in the genre to date.”

So Train2Game, are any of you boxing fans? Did you enjoy Fight Night Round 4? And regardless of your interest in the sport, how impressive do you think the graphics of Fight Night Champion look?

You can leave your thoughts about Fight Night Champion here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

UK Charts – Call of Duty: Black Ops is Number 1

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Number 1

In perhaps the least surprising gaming news of the year, Call of Duty: Black Ops has stormed to the top of the UK games chart. In other news, The Pope is a Catholic, and bears do indeed do their business in the woods.

The latest edition of the Call of Duty franchise has predictably taken top spot, after smashing all previous day one sales records. A combined 5.6 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops were sold on day one in the USA and UK, with 1.4 million gamers here handing their hard earned cash over to Activision. Some special deals by retailers are also likely to have played a part in the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops. More copies of the game were sold on the Xbox 360 than the PlayStation 3, with 56% of Black Ops sales on the Microsoft console.

The launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops has been even bigger than that of its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops wasn’t the only huge launch this week, with Kinect for the Microsoft 360 also getting a star studded welcome to the UK market. Eight Kinect games entered the top 40 this week, with Kinect Sports the highest placed in fourth spot.

Kinect sports fourth place means it’s behind the rising Just Dance 2 in third place, and previous chart topper FIFA 11 which remains in second after continuing strong sales.  Meanwhile, Last week’s number one, Football Manager 2011, drops down to fifth spot.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Professor Layton and the Lost Future drops one place from fifth to sixth,  while Fallout: New Vegas – itself a previous number one – remains in seventh spot. New Super Mario Bros Wii from Nintendo slips down two places to eighth.  The Sims 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II round out the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively, having swapped positions with each other since last week.

Fable III was King of the charts only two weeks ago, but this week sees the Xbox 360 title drop out of the top ten all together. Sonic Colours has had a disappointing debut week, entering the charts in only 36th place.

The full UKIE ELSPA GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top Ten for the week ending November 13th is as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
2. FIFA 11 (EA)
3. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
4. Kinect Sports (Microsoft)
5. Football Manager 2011 (Sega)
6. Professor Layton and the Lost Future (Nintendo)
7. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda)
8. New Super Mario Bros (Wii)
9. The Sims 3 (EA)
10. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (LucasArts)

So Train2Game, it was always obvious that Call of Duty: Black Ops was going to be dominant number one this week, right? Do you think it’ll stay there for many weeks to come? Could it be the Christmas number one? Or do you think Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood or Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit could take the top spot next week?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts about Call of Duty: Black Ops, or any other game in the charts, here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops smashes day one records

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops has shattered n the record for day one sales in the UK, and by a long, long way too.  MCV report that day one sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops in the UK were 14% higher than that of its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

While 14% more units of the game were sold, Call of Duty: Black Ops made Activision an extra 22% in sales. Overall, 1.4 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops were sold in the UK on November 9th, making £58 million in revenue.

This of course means that Call of Duty: Black Ops is bound to be number one in next weeks UK Chart!

The news of Call of Duty: Black Ops record breaking achievements in the UK comes after Activision hailed the release as the biggest entertainment launch in history. The publishing giant say that  5.6 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops have been sold in the USA and UK, compared to Modern Warfare 2’s 4.7 million copies.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is of course pleased with the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops

“There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million,”

“The game’s success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops generally received very positive review scores, while retailers have been trying to out do each other in order to encourage strong sales.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops? Is the game well deserving of its massive sales, or has the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops just been down to a massive hype campaign by Activision? Or perhaps it’s a combination of the two?

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

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Launch trailer

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Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Ubisoft has released an Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood launch trailer ahead of its release next week, and boy does it look impressive.

The Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood launch trailer begins with a siege on what looks like Monteriggioni, the home of the Villa Auditore, and protagonist Ezio. Things look bad for Auditore, but he arises from the devastation determined to bring vengeance to those responsible – the Borgia Family.

This is of course the background behind the Brotherhood of Assassin’s, each one apparently ‘an enemy of the state ’ A red headed woman tells Ezio he is the leader of the assassin’s and it’s his responsibility to take back Rome, with Ezio saying that from the ashes of Vengence, a new Rome will rise.

The Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood trailer then launches into a mix of gameplay footage and moments of dialogue. We get to see the return of Leonardo Di Vinci, Ezio in a tank, using new weapons and…what looks like some ‘quality time’ with an attractive lady. Of course the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood launch trailer is backed by an impressive musical score.

You can watch the trailer for yourself below.

If the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood trailer hasn’t satisfied your stabbing quota for the day, you can also watch Assassins’ Creed: Brotherhood gameplay trailer. Brotherhood is also introducing a siginificant new feature to the Assassin’s Creed series, with the upcoming title featuring the inclusion of a multiplayer mode.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 19th. That’s next week!

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood trailer? Are you a fan of the series? Are you looking forward to its next instalment? And how do you feel about the introduction of a multiplayer mode?

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