US Laptop game charts: May perhaps 28-June 3

US Laptop game charts: May perhaps 28-June 3
On June one, Valve Software's budget-priced stand-alone adventure Half-Life 2: Episode Just one was launched in boxed, retail form in addition as as a result of the developer's individual electronic distribution support, Steam. When the game's on the web revenue figures were not taken into account, the industry-tracking NPD Group's most up-to-date US Pc income chart indicates the boxed, retail version with the game was the second-best-selling title at retail for that week ending June 3.

Blizzard Entertainment's massively multiplayer Pc retail champ World of Warcraft reclaimed the best spot for the charts after spending the earlier week participating in second fiddle to 2K Games' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which dropped to fifth place. Electronic Arts' The Sims two proceeds to show its longevity, using the 3rd place while in the charts, with its Open for Business and Household Enjoyable Things expansions trailing in sixth and seventh position, respectively.

Even though the prior week's chart showcased a pair of Microsoft-published real-time strategy online games in Age of Empires III and Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, both equally the genre and also the publisher have been wiped off the charts this week. Which was partly attributable to Ubisoft's turn-based approach game Heroes of May & Magic V landing the fourth position around the charts, with its more expensive limited-edition package sliding in under the wire during the 10 place. Sealing the deal and shutting out Microsoft and its real-time tactic online games were NCsoft's massively multiplayer Guild Wars Factions in eighth place and EA's first-person shooter Battlefield two, securely entrenched in the same ninth spot it occupied last week.

NPD's US Laptop gross sales charts are based on the number of units sold at 23 with the monitoring firm's retail partners.

Chart us_pc_sales for date 2006-06-13 12:32:17

US Laptop game charts: June 11-17

US Laptop game charts: June 11-17
Two weeks following it had been unveiled, Half-Life two: Episode A person was dethroned from your top rated from the US Personal computer charts. That was the story instructed because of the most current Pc charts from industry-research team NPD Funworld, which had been for the week of June 11-17.

On the other hand, that wasn't the whole story. NPD's Pc charts are based upon the volume of boxed copies of video games sold at retail, and don't consist of video games that happen to be digitally dispersed. Considering the fact that Valve Application, developer of Episode One particular, sells many--possibly most--of its online games through its Steam obtain company, it is actually nearly selected that the very first Half-Life two enlargement pack marketed significantly a lot more models compared to charts indicate.

Having said that, at retail, there was the latest prime title--one that many may well find shocking. Autos: Radiator Springs Adventures, the E-rated collection of minigames determined by the hit Disney/Pixar film, raced forward from its third-place end the former week to take the checkered flag. Episode A person was pushed down a slot, finishing in second spot.

In third was the massively multiplayer role-playing game World of Warcraft, the moment yet again displaying the endurance that has held while in the major 10 almost every week because its November 2004 launch. A single spot powering was a game with even extended legs, the Sims 2, which has also been an everyday around the best-seller charts since it went on sale in September 2004. One of the most recent two Sims two add-ons manufactured appearances likewise: The Sims 2 Friends and family Fun Things landed in fifth as well as Sims 2 Open For Enterprise in sixth.

In seventh was the common role-playing game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, adopted by the fantasy system title Heroes of May & Magic V. Guild Wars Factions, the very first growth for NCsoft and ArenaNet's MMORPG Guild Wars, came in ninth. Last and least, by volume, anyway, was the real-time strategy game Age of Empires III.

The only title to get bumped off the Pc charts during the week of June 11-17 was Eidos' third-person assassination simulation Hitman: Blood Money.

Chart us_pc_sales for date 2006-06-28 20:04:07

US Laptop game charts: June 18-24

US Laptop game charts: June 18-24
Maybe riding the wave of publicity in the latest Pixar film, the game edition of Autobus parked into the No. 1 place every week ago. But this week was a return to acquainted terrority: Blizzard's World of Warcraft, a best-seller given that its release in November 2004, hurdled more than Cars to reclaim the best spot at the time again, in accordance to information from research team NPD Funworld.

World of Warcraft also vaulted more than Half-Life 2: Episode A single, which dropped just one place to No. 3 this week, during the quantity of game titles sold at retail. But the true selection of copies of Episode 1 sold is larger than what the NPD figures depict. Episode One is additionally readily available for buy on Valve Software's preferred electronic distribution consumer, Steam, nonetheless NPD profits charts only account for boxed, retail purchases--not electronic downloads.

Even now, the budget-priced Cars and trucks: Radiator Springs Adventures, rated E for everybody, showed resiliency, holding the No. two slot. It debuted two weeks ago in third location prior to taking final week's pole place.

Anchored in fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, ended up a trio of Sims games--The Sims 2, The Sims 2: Relatives Pleasurable Stuff, and the Sims two: Open for Organization. The bottom four noticed a coterie of role-playing and system games shift areas, but none ended up bumped off the list. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion jumped to No. seven from eighth put, even though Heroes of Could possibly & Magic V skipped back two spots to ninth.

Chart us_pc_sales for date 2006-07-05 16:03:49

US Pc game charts: July 2-8

US Pc game charts: July 2-8
The holiday-shortened 4th of July week resulted inside a lighter-than-usual release schedule, along with the US Laptop game revenue charts for that week mirrored that. Apart from some shuffling within the ranks, the sole "new" game to break the very best ten was Star Wars: Battlefront II, initially released in November of 2005. Battlefront II eked its way in the tenth spot, pushing out Digital Arts' sim-minded NFL Head Coach.

As is custom, Blizzard's massively multiplayer on the internet role-playing game World of Warcraft offered the most copies and claimed the highest slot yet again. THQ's Vehicles: Radiator Springs Adventures, the previous non-WOW title to hold the highest spot, continued to maintain pace using the leader and finished in second.

When EA's most recent sports game ended its transient keep from the best 10 this week, its Sims series represented in power the moment once more. The Sims 2 and its Relatives Exciting Stuff growth pack ended up 3rd and fourth, respectively, even though the Open up For Enterprise expansion came in seventh.

The EA-published retail version of Half-Life two: Episode One rebounded from final week's precipitous drop, leaping again up four places from 9 to 5. As for the remainder with the record, THQ's mythological role-playing game Titan Quest slipped a handful of destinations to 6, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion held continual at 8, and Guild Wars Factions slid a bit, from 7 to 9

Chart us_pc_sales for day 2006-07-18 thirteen:36:07

SOE's John Smedley on Galaxies' outer limits

Last week, Sony Online president John Smedley discusssed the motivations and goals behind the recent update to Star Wars Galaxies.

This week, we conclude our conversation with Smedley and ask him to think ahead, not only about the future prospects of Galaxies, but also about the future prospects of online gaming in general.

GameSpot: Because there are so many online gamers in Asia, do you create a product with that market in mind? And how do you deal with the fact that the subscription model in Asia is all but dead?

John Smedley: Well, first of all I would have to say that in Asia, the subscription model is definitely, by far, the number one model. Revenue wise, it's about 75 percent of the market. Look at World of Warcraft, Legend of Mir, Legend of MU...all are very high-priced subscriptions, by the way.

GS: It's a moving target, no?

JS: Yes. The 25 percent that was non-subscription based was 10 percent a year ago, so it's growing quick. And I think pretty quickly it's going to go to 50-50, maybe higher. But subscription is not dead.

GS: Why did the first EverQuest do so badly in Asia?

JS: With EverQuest 1, we learned an important lesson. We put it out in Korea and it didn't do very well. Why? Because it wasn't a Korean game. And we didn't make any effort whatsoever, beyond basic translation, to make it adaptable to that market.

Take something simple: for example, mouse control. When you're playing in a PC Bang, there are people that want to play with one hand--holding a cigarette in one hand and controlling the mouse in the other. They want to play the entire game that way; touching the keyboard rarely.

But we didn't consider that. We learned that that's important after the fact. Another great example: here in the States, when you put something out at beta, people expect bugs. But beta in Asia means the game is ready for release. Beta is really a marketing period where people are just checking the game out for free.

GS: What steps did you take to overcome those early mistakes?

JS: In EverQuest II, we went a step further. We formed a joint venture with a company called Gamania out there that runs Lineage 1 and 2 in Taiwan. We started to, what we call, culturalize, which means we're talking not just a translation, we're doing voice-over. But more importantly, we're putting in Asian quests, we're modifying interface, this is all done by the way, and actually, is live now. And we had literally five to six times the success that we had with EverQuest 1. We're seeing good numbers over there now.

We generated a completely new set of models in the Asian R-style--a much more anime style--for the character models. Gamania did such a good job that we actually imported the characters and are putting them [into the local version] of EverQuest II.

And now we're going to take it to the next level. We have a game in development right now at our Asian subsidiary, which is being completely done for the Asian market. We haven't announced what it is yet, but it's a really strong, licensed game that we're making from scratch.

Our Asian team is making it and it's going to be awesome.

GS: Tell me a little bit about your recent evangelizing of massively cross-platform gaming and how that strategy might apply to the Star Wars franchise at SOE. In what way is Star Wars Galaxies going to factor into that vision?

JS: We think that cross-platform massively multiplayer games are certainly a strong way to go. And for our company, it's a mission now. It's something that we want to do with as many of our games as we can.

We think that in the future, and in the near future, people are going to want to be able to play these kind of games from any device, anywhere in the world. The gameplay style will be different, maybe the specifics of the game will be different, but if they can have that persistent character and they can keep their character in the same basic form across different platforms.

We think that that could be a really compelling way to lead a digital life and get people excited about the kind of games that we make.

Console online gaming has just started. There's a hell of a lot more consoles--a hundred and something million PlayStation 2s--out there right now. That's a lot more penetration than PC gaming has ever seen.

GS: Are any platforms or any terminals excluded from the future world of cross-platform gaming?

JS: Well, I think you're probably trying to ask me about Xbox?

GS: I am and I'm not.

JS: From our perspective, we think that cross-platform means cross-platform and we see a bright future ahead for console online games, but I doubt you're going to see a world where the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox 360 player is going to be playing together. Not only do I doubt it, I'm positive that that won't happen.

But PCs hooked up with PlayStation 3s, or Xbox 360s, darn straight I think that's going to happen. I know we believe strongly in that vision and we, the same with PSP, want to be able to play an MMO on PSP. And log your character in while you're sitting in a Starbucks.

GS: I understand you just came back from a meeting with Sony CEO Howard Stringer. What does Stringer look for from Sony Online Entertainment?

JS: Sir Howard looks for us to be leaders in the online space, and innovators, and he wants us to work with other Sony groups--bringing other divisions of Sony into this. So a great example is, wouldn't it be great to be able to download music from Connect into our games? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to choose the songs you want to download and have it automatically integrate with our games? We see that as an awesome way to go.

So I think SOE being leaders in the online space is the biggest thing that he expressed. And most importantly to help other Sony groups with their online plans; to offer any help that we can.

In fact, we just had a marketing council meeting, where the focus within Sony is really starting to broadly encompass the digital, the online businesses. I think we're going to be a big part of that.

GS: You've gone from a game guy to much more...someone who's involved at much higher levels. How does that feel?

JS: It's interesting because I still spend time playing games. I've been playing Civ 4 and Battlefield 2. Those are my two passions right now, in a major way. So that part of my life hasn't really changed.

At work, the only thing that's changed is more focus on a greater number of products, as opposed to just any one single product. But I work with a great team of people here. They know their stuff in a big way. We've got a lot of very strong visionary people that are leading that charge and making sure that the games that we're making are going to be the best out there.

To tell you the truth, I have a lot of fun in my job. I like coming to work every day, which is a good thing I guess. I still spend probably three hours a day playing games at work, so we have a ton of stuff we're working on and it's just fun. I make a point every day to log in to all of our games.

GS: Last question, John. What's the one lesson from your two years of seeing Star Wars Galaxies being played, that you wish you knew sooner?

JS: That straight sandbox games don't work. And that we needed to focus much more on the Star Wars experience. I think in the past, what we probably made was the Uncle Owen experience as opposed to the Luke experience. We needed to deliver more of the Star Wars heroic and epic feeling to the game. I think we missed there. That's what I think we really brought to the game [with the update].

One thing that I love about our company is that there is no "quit" in this company. It's about making sure that we have pride in what we do. People within the company feel so much pride in this game that they want it to beat the crap out of World of Warcraft. That's something we feel very passionate about. We know we are capable of making the best stuff out there, and I'm proud to say that with the changes we're making in Galaxies, I think we're headed in the right direction.

GS: Thanks, John.

Blizzard Entertainment held a follow-up

SEOUL--After announcing that a Starcraft sequel is in the works, Blizzard Entertainment held a follow-up press conference for reporters from Asia Pacific, American, and European territories. The conference included a panel of the studio's heaviest hitters, including president Mike Morhaime, chief operating officer Paul Sams, vice president of creative development Chris Metzen, vice president of game design Rob Pardo, Blizzard Korea managing director Jungwon Han, lead game producer Chris Sigaty, and lead game designer Dustin Browder.

The panel answered questions on numerous topics, including Starcraft II's development history, which Pardo explained "started shortly after Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne" back in 2003. According to Pardo, the game is "very far along" and is already playable in multiplayer with all three factions. When asked about the release date, Pardo gave the answer you may have come to expect from Blizzard: "The game will be released when it's ready."

According to the panel, the game is being developed by a team of approximately 40, though on the matter of the budget and the schedule, Morhaime simply said, "We don't really have a budget; we'll spend as much time and resources as we need to make this game great."

When asked about how Blizzard was approaching the challenge of making a game that would appeal both to hardcore and to casual players, the panel replied that the game will appeal to hardcore fans by being geared toward "highly competitive, skill-based gameplay," as well as by efforts to "continue to drive new features onto Battle.net," Blizzard's in-house online game service. Also, Blizzard is trying to encourage players to watch match replays to get into the "drama" and emotion behind competition, similar to the way that close-in cameras helped popularize tournament poker.

To address concerns from hardcore fans, Blizzard commented on questions specific to gameplay and the competitive community, such as the play speed of the demonstration videos, which didn't run as quickly as the original Starcraft. This is because, according to Pardo, the game played during the demonstration was set on a slower speed; Pardo suggested that Starcraft II will have multiple speed settings, similar to Warcraft III.

The panel also confirmed that the sequel will have only the three factions of the Protoss, Terrans, and Zerg; there will be no fourth faction. To address another question, the panel suggested that the resource-management system in the sequel will feature "some enhancements, but it will still be very similar to the resource management in Starcraft, and just as important."

When asked about system requirements, the panel replied that the requirements haven't been fully finalized, but the game will support Pixel Shader 2.0 graphics and PCs with either Windows XP or Vista. Given that the trailers shown at this morning's presentation featured cameo appearances from key Starcraft characters like Zeratul, Jim Raynor, and Kerrigan, creative development VP Chris Metzen confirmed that those three characters will definitely appear in the game. He added the sequel will definitely expand on the story from Starcraft and Brood War, but the studio would otherwise have to stay "tight-lipped" on further details.

The panel also fielded broader questions pertaining to the sequel's future and Blizzard's future. When asked why Blizzard decided to develop Starcraft II rather than, for instance, another Diablo sequel or another massively multiplayer game, Morhaime replied that Starcraft II was a project that much of the company had wanted to work on for years, and the current level of technology made the game seem like the right choice. Morhaime also pointed out that the new development proved that Blizzard "wasn't just a massively multiplayer company" that would rest on the laurels of the highly successful World of Warcraft.

The panel also fielded a thorny question on the creation of new intellectual property (IP). Blizzard has become known for focusing on creating games only from a select few IPs it owns (Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo), and although several team members "would like to explore the creation of new IPs, [they] are still very much in love with the three." Also, with Blizzard's approach to developing games--that is, developing very few games at a time--the company often finds itself focusing only on these properties.

Morhaime also fielded a question on Blizzard's commitment to the PC as its primary game platform. He cited the "indefinite hold" status of the studio's console game Starcraft: Ghost as an impetus that eventually drove the company to focus on the PC as its primary platform. Morhaime said that decision "paid off in spades," given that Blizzard's new focus now lets it work on Starcraft II and World of Warcraft expansions.

The executive also suggested that Microsoft's new initiative to bring the Xbox Live experience to the PC in the form of Live Anywhere wouldn't change Blizzard's online strategy. The company remains committed to supporting and developing its Battle.net Web site for online play.

For more on Starcraft II, check out GameSpot's coverage of the official unveiling.

Upcoming two World of Warcraft expansions prepared

Upcoming two World of Warcraft expansions prepared
Entire world of Warcraft's fourth expansion, , only just entered beta screening this week and has no release date. Regardless of this, developer Blizzard has verified it should extend the game's everyday living having a fifth expansion and extra upcoming follow-ups.


Speaking to at an occasion for the developer's Irvine, California, headquarters a short while ago, Blizzard COO Paul Sams was asked if he noticed prospective for expansions outside of Mists of Pandaria. He replied, "Absolutely, due to the fact I do know what the next a single is. So, that getting mentioned, I feel there is certainly quite a bit of chance."

Gamers should not get enthusiastic about a Mists of Pandaria follow-up as well quickly. Sams explained the team at Blizzard has only an "idea, a basic framework" for the expansion.

On top of a fifth WOW enlargement, Sams claimed he has presently witnessed a glimpse of what's upcoming for that massively multiplayer on the net role-playing game.

"I bought the pitch from [Blizzard senior vice president of artistic progress Chris Metzen] of what they approach for six.0, and i'm rather geeked up about this. They by now know what they are intending to be undertaking for several expansions ahead."

Lastly, Sams tackled the wellbeing of WOW. He claimed he envisions the game remaining potent.

"I consider the long run of World of Warcraft carries on to be brilliant, and I believe Mists of Pandaria is going to breathe large everyday living into what I believe would be the ideal MMO out there," he claimed. "I consider the amount of folks we have playing and also the amount of enthusiasm they've for your game indicates that to become the case."

Mists of Pandaria is going to be WOW's fourth expansion. It follows The Burning Crusade (2007), Wrath in the Lich King (2008), and Cataclysm (2010).

Given that peaking at an all-time significant player base of twelve million in 2010, WOW has steadily drop subscribers, dropping to a present tally of 10.2 million. The developer said it's no intention to switch to a free-to-play business product, insisting it's pleased with its $15/per month subscription system.

For additional on WOW's most up-to-date enlargement, look at out GameSpot's Now Taking part in video attribute with Mists of Pandaria's beta, embedded down below.

Upcoming Starcraft II because of early 2012

Upcoming Starcraft II because of early 2012?
Supply: See under.

What we heard: Today at GDC On the web in Austin, Texas, Battle.net venture director Greg Canessa took the phase to talk about the future of the encompassing online provider Battle.net. Following his presentation----the previous PopCap games executive took concerns from your viewers.

Just one inquiry might have led Canessa to suggestion Blizzard's hand in regards to the release day from the 1st enlargement to Stacraft II: Wings of Liberty, Heart in the Swarm. When talking about these kinds of long term Fight.net functions as investing replays, broadcasting replays, and upgrading profiles, he reported they ended up "a main region of emphasis we're about to be viewing about the Starcraft [II] facet more than the following eighteen months between now and Heart of your Swarm." (Emphasis added.)

Such a timeframe would have the growth get there in possibly March or April, 2012. Heart in the Swarm could be the 2nd installment during the three-part Starcraft II saga, the very first of which, Wings of Liberty, centered on the human faction. Heart on the Swarm will give full attention to the Zerg faction of the real-time strategy, whilst the third installment within the real-time method trilogy, Legacy of your Void, will target about the sinister Protoss faction.

The official story: A Blizzard consultant stressed to GameSpot that there's no announced produced window for Heart of the Swarm. Having said that, he did say that the game would not be featured as part of Blizzcon 2010, which will happen in Anaheim, California from October 22-23.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus. Blizzard ordinarily normally requires its time involving expansions, as evidenced with the nearly two-year gaps involving the World of Warcraft add-ons The Burning Crusade (January 2007), Wrath from the Lich King (November 2008), and Cataclysm (December 2010).