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Modern Warfare 2 Top Selling Console Game of 2009, Aliens vs. Predator Playable Demo, “Metroid: The Other M” Official Site, Microsoft Game Room Asks Fans to Re-Buy Games

From Gamasutra.com:

Modern Warfare 2 sold 8.82 million units in the U.S. -- the biggest market for the first person shooter prominently focused on U.S. Army Rangers. It sold 2.8 million units in the UK and just 238,000 in Japan.

The rest of the key markets' top five was dominated by Nintendo first-party titles, with Wii Sports Resort and New Super Mario Bros Wii taking the second and third spots. Notably, although Wii Fit Plus launched in 2009 and placed fourth, the original Wii Fit, which launched mid-2008, still makes the list in the fifth spot.

1. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision): 11.86 million

2. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) 7.57 million

3. NSMB Wii (Nintendo) 7.41 million

4. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo) 5.80 million

5. Wii Fit (Nintendo) 5.44 million

“I cannot be stopped.”

The number one game is no surprise.  There are arguments that is the video game of the year for 2009.  Accolades are deserved.

The rest of this list illustrates 2 points clearly.   If you can find a way to captivate a casual audience, then you can make tons of money.  Secondly, it must be recognized that Nintendo is a gaming juggernaut—outselling it’s competitors and going beyond the initial expectations of the system.

Sidenote:  I beg you Nintendo, stop the shovelware!  Even though the Wii has 4 out of the top 5 games of 2009, they also have a disproportionate number of garbage titles.

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Confirmed by Sega, the demo for Aliens vs. Predator will be available on STEAM, PS3, and XB360, on 02-04-10.  The demo will let gamers play multiplayer deathmatch as the Colonial Marine, the Alien and the Predator.

"It won't make any difference..."

Click Here for the Official HD Trailer

Click Here for Gameplay as a Predator

The videos released are amazing, and they did not shy away from the gore.  This is exactly what I wanted as an Aliens fan—if you have not been following it, definitely check out the demo.

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From IGN.com:

This new installment in the Metroid franchise first debuted at last year's E3 as one of Nintendo's biggest surprises. While we weren't too surprised to see a new Metroid game on the way, we were surprised to learn the developer: Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden development studio Team Ninja.

Team Ninja is still working away on the game, but it appears that they've gotten far enough in development that Nintendo has been able to pencil in a Summer 2010 release period. This time frame is just for Japan.

Nintendo also opened an official site for the game today. The site shows a character whom we presume to be Samus Aran standing against an evening skyline as a gentle piano theme plays in the background.

"Welcome back Samus."

Click Here for the Metroid Teaser Site

Samus Aran was every gamer's first girl, and for this reason Metroid games will always have a special place in my heart.  Team Ninja is close to completing the next Metroid title, with a release date possible as soon as this summer.  Although there is not much real information yet available, the combination of Samus + one of the most exciting action game developers—seems to be the perfect fit.  

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From GameInformer.com:

At this year's CES convention, Microsoft unveiled its plan to create an Xbox Live Game Room where you can go and play arcade classics. Through the years we've had ample opportunities to play cherished titles like Tempest – perhaps you've already bought some of those games via Xbox Live Arcade. Now, the 360's Game Room is going to make you pay for them again.

Any Game Room arcade titles that you may have already bought as Xbox Live Arcade games won't transfer over to the Game Room, which is due this spring. We talked to a Microsoft representative on the topic, who told us that the company considers the Game Room titles different from their XBLA counterparts because they are the original versions and not "revamped" like those on XBLA. Game Room games will cost between 240 and 400 MS points, so even though you may have to buy them a second time, they should at least be cheaper than those you've already bought.

If someone bought the “enhanced” version of the game, why couldn't they be allowed to get the original for free?  Because hard core arcade fans would be willing to pay for a game twice, and this is all about the money.  This is disappointing news—it feels like a cheap tactic to squeeze more money from their retro gaming fans.

Also, there will be no rated “Mature” titles in the game room (only “E” for everyone rated games).  No Mortal Kombat 3?  No Time Killers?  Sadness!

See you next week!