Episode 8: Seat Warmers and Pocket Pool

Down to 3 hosts this week, Andy, Mike and Darcy talk the latest news in the gaming world and also answer your questions! We’ve got the December NPDs, talk about Star Trek Online Annual Subscriptions and a couple of rumors making the rounds.

This week in Gaming

• December NPDs: http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103994

1. 1. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii, Nintendo) 2.82M
   2. Wii Fit Plus (Wii, Nintendo) 2.41M
   3. Wii Sports Resort (Wii, Nintendo) 1.79M
   4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, Activision) 1.63M
   5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3, Activision) 1.12M
   6. Wii Play (Wii, Nintendo) 1.01M
   7. Mario Kart Wii (Wii, Nintendo) 936.1K
   8. Assassin’s Creed II (360, Ubisoft) 783.1K
   9. Left 4 Dead 2 (360, Electronic Arts) 728.5K
   10. Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS, Nintendo) 656.7K

1. 1. Wii 3.81M
   2. Nintendo DS 3.31M
   3. PlayStation 3 1.36M
   4. Xbox 360 1.31M
   5. PSP 654.7K
   6. PlayStation 2 333.2K

• Popcap releases free community Levels for Peggle Nights: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177615
• DA:O Ostagar DLC .. It’s out.. But wait.. It’s not… http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177608
  Issues with the DLC caused them to pull it back off of XBLM
• Little has spilled out regarding BioWare’s DLC plans for Mass Effect 2 but yesterday, via Twitter, the studio indicated there will be launch-day DLC and it won’t cost anything.
• STO: Lifetime Subs…

Advantages to purchasing a lifetime sub other than monetary. You will get a playable Borg as a race, and two additional character slots – all for $239.99. If you pay annually, it will run you $119.99 which is $60 off a year, and it nets you two additional character slots. A normal monthly sub will run you around $14.99 a month.

• From Gamasutra: EA Confirms NBA Jam Wii Revival
• From Massively: Bioware Confirms 2011 SW:TOR Release (Spring 2011)

Rumor Mill

• From Gamasutra: DS Successor To Hit In Next 15 Months?

“We believe that due to the aging technology, the possibility of new competitors in 2011, [and] a decline in publisher support and piracy, Nintendo will launch a successor to the DS within the next 15 months, and likely announce such in the next eight months,” the analyst concludes.”

• The New York Times reports that Microsoft has “held in-depth discussions” with the Walt Disney Company to stream ESPN programming through Xbox Live. According to anonymous sources, ESPN would provide live streams (like it does with the titularly similar – though unrelated – ESPN360) to subscribers for a fee. There is also the possibility that Microsoft may “create some interactive games in association with ESPN” … as compared to non-interactive games? (joystiq)
• The online world of Hellgate: London experienced its apocalypse (or, judging by the game’s ruined, lifeless environments, its second apocalypse) almost one year ago, only remaining open in Korea as a free-to-play title. Today, HanbitSoft, the company responsible for keeping the game on life support in Korea, announced it had secured worldwide publishing rights for the title, and would revive the game in Europe and the U.S. later this year.
  The MMO, which has appropriately been remonikered Hellgate: Resurrection, has adopted a universal free-to-play model during its downtime. It’s also acquired a few new features, thanks to developer T3 Entertainment. Hopefully, the studio didn’t succumb to the crippling waves of depression which hampered the game’s original creators.

Email

Voicemail from Marty:

Google Translation

Hello How We Can. Burley’s listen naughty hi failed interesting statistic the other day and His they will be 12 and then moves released. The. If you need to resend. Ed and typically we VPs dive and then those in development, delivery seemed if they didn’t know if it will play a base to make so it’s a graves and the movie scheme. Could you seeing it move, so you just going to fail of this is if you think you know exactly at number at 9. Thank you.

Real Translation

Hello polygamerous, this is Marty. I found an interesting statistic the other day that says there will be 12 mmos released this year in 2010 and there are currently 35 mmos in development. do you think there is enough of a player base to make such a grand mmo scheme or do you think most of these are just going to fail and publishers are banking on the fact that MMOs make a lot of money

Polygamerous featured on This Week in Podcast : http://blahcreations.com/twip/?p=220

Polygamerous is a group of game enthusiast’s that talk about everything from games to gaming platform news to even scrabble and crosswords…check them out at http://www.polygamerous.com/ Mike, Andy Russle (on dail-up) and eddie bring you all the cool things going on with gaming.  The episode I am playing here for you today features Darcy and Jack, Eddie is out for the week due to the holidays.