According to an analyst report by Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter, the NPD has officially released its North American game sales figures for July 2006, showing the market up 22% to $386 million.
The analyst had originally predicted a market of $365 million, up 15% compared to last year, but North American sales outstripped even his positive outlook, as handheld and particularly Nintendo DS titles took off, following the launch of the DS Lite.
However, the chart itself was led by Electronic Arts' NCAA Football, which gained three of the four top spots if separating out by SKU, with Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros for DS also a major seller for the month, and some surprisingly high entries for Xbox 360 title including Chromehounds, Prey, and Battle For Middle-Earth II.
n the past, the PC versus console debate has boiled down to a few points that almost always end up favoring the PC, especially when it comes to first-person shooters. The mouse-and-keyboard standard simply offers more refined control than a gamepad. And typically, the graphics gap between the console and PC versions used to be awfully substantial. At this point in time, though, the Xbox 360 is doing a pretty good job at keeping up with the pack, and now, more than ever, the line between platforms is quite blurry.
Here, we'll take 2K Games' Prey and break down the differences between the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game in an effort to help you decide which version is for you. Since the gameplay is pretty much identical in the two versions, the little differences here and there (and the quality of your PC components or your desire to upgrade, if needed) are going to be the deciding factor. Let's start with a quick summary of the good and the bad about each version.
Prey for the Xbox 360
+ Solid performance
+ Utilizes the platform's addictive achievements system
+ Contains Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
- Retails for $10 more than the PC version
- Can't use any user-generated content
Prey for the PC
+ Cheaper retail price
+ Looks better than the Xbox 360 version on higher-end PCs
+ Has more potential for additional content via user mods and maps
- No native support for widescreen resolutions
- Multiplayer designed to only officially support eight players
The PC version is the better bet if you've got a high-end machine, but the Xbox 360 version offers a guaranteed level of performance that's a better choice for people unwilling to upgrade their PC, especially if you already have a home theater system and an HDTV.
GameFly U.S. Rental Chart Sees Xbox 360 Dominate This week's top rental charts from U.S. game rental company GameFly, representing the most requested games for the week ending June 30, highlights the popularity surrounding already released games, as well as giving an excellent hint as to what game titles might be popular in the future.
The week's requests from GameFly customers were dominated by titles for the Xbox 360 platform, with Sega and From Software's upcoming Xbox 360 mech combat title, Chromehounds on top for the week. Take-Two and Human Head's upcoming Xbox 360 first-person shooter Prey was the second most requested title on the chart, followed by Ubisoft's Taito-developed Xbox 360 aerial combat game, Over G Fighters.
Electronic Arts' upcoming release of Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II for the Xbox 360 was the fourth most requested title for the week, followed by Capcom's upcoming Xbox 360 release, Dead Rising, which has players fending off a zombie attack at a shopping mall. NCAA Football 07, which ships for the Xbox 360, as well as the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PSP on July 18, was the sixth most popular title for the week.
Eidos' multiplatform release, Hitman: Blood Money was the seventh most requested game for the week, followed by Namco Bandai's PlayStation 2 release, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja. Microsoft and Epic Games Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War was the ninth most requested game for the week. The top game requests for the week were rounded out by Activision's upcoming Xbox 360 World War II shooter, Call of Duty 3, which is expected to ship in Q4 2006.
So after all the rambling i (forahobby) thought its always best to display in chart form.... Here goes..
It’s been days since PC gamers have gotten to play 3d Realms First Person Shooter, Prey, and there are still no signs of it showing up on the Marketplace for download.
3d Realms was kind enough to release some information on the missing Demo, still not giving a Date and time the Demo will be available to Xbox gamers- but instead giving us the Size of the demo- weighing in at 650 MB- a bit more than the PC version. They better hurry up, as the July 14th launch is coming up fast.
Take-Two Interactive and 3D Realms publishing label, 2K, have also announced today that the game has officially gone GOLD! So if you don’t want to be left in the dust, i would recommend you reserve a copy today.
Get more info on Prey for the Xbox 360 right here in our Xbox 360 Games database..
360-HQ, Loki
Right from the official Saintsrow.com website they have announced the demo will be available August 1st on Marketplace and on Official Xbox Magazine.....
"Gamers will be able to get their hands on a single player demo from Saints Row at the beginning of August. The demo is slated to release through Xbox Live Marketplace on August 1st and it will also be available on the Official Xbox Magazine Cover DVD"
Note: Even tho its officially announced for August 1st this doesn't mean Microsoft will release it on this date. "Like the Prey Demo June 22nd official date" (Read sjohn's "Prey Demo Delayed for 360" News article for details)
As you may know today was supposed to be the release date for one of the most anticipated demos to hit the Live Marketplace. The testing has ran into a snag though and it will have to be delayed slightly, here is what the President of 3DRealms had to say on the issue.
Here's a quick message from our forums, posted by 3DR president George Broussard about availability of the Prey 360 Demo.
We do not want 360 people waiting up for the demo or having false expectations. The 360 demo will not appear on Marketplace tonight.
I'm still waiting for specifcs, but I'm being told that it's still in testing at Microsoft. From what I understand this isn't Microsoft's fault, and is more likely just an issue of timing.
I'm hesitant to give any estimates for a release, but I've been told it should be reasonably soon after the PC release, but could be as long as a few days.
We will post an update as soon as we have more solid information.
As you see it seems to be a testing issue, and should only take as long as a few days to release, from what the Live Team has said before, "No updates or demos will be released on Friday", we can expect that the demo will come out sometime next week. Those waiting for the PC demo can go to the official site to download it and check out this game.
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