WOW Dominates PC Games Chart

PC game sales for the week ending April 18 are in, showing that the WOW expansion World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King was the top selling item. But the big surprise for the week is Gas Power Games’ Demigod debuting at #3 - right behind The Sims 2 Double Deluxe. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor came in at number 4, while Empire: Total War rounded out the top five.

EA had 4 titles in this week’s top ten, followed by Blizzard Entertainment with 3 titles and the rest filled out by single titles from THQ, Sega, and Stardock. As always, these are retail numbers and do not include digital distribution sales. Full list below:

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Blizzard Entertainment, Activision)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe (EA, Maxis)
3. Demigod (Gas Powered Games, Stardock)
4. Company Of Heroes: Tales Of Valor (Relic Entertainment, THQ)
5. Empire: Total War (The Creative Assembly, Sega)
6. Left 4 Dead (Valve Software, EA)
7. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard Entertainment, Activision)
8. World Of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment, Activision)
9. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (EA, Maxis)
10. Spore (EA, Maxis)

Three Moves Ahead - Empire: Total War

I like Troy S. Goodfellow a lot - and not just because I respect him as a writer or because I think he’s a nice guy. He is one smart cookie when it comes to strategy games - and with the help of fellow Game Trust member Tom Chick and former Computer Games Magazine alum Bruce Geryk - his Three Moves Ahead podcast is the only game in town to dissect the genre to infinity. Beyond that, it is informative and interesting; you can actually learn things entertain yourself for an hour.

This week’s podcast almost exclusively deals with Empire: Total War and what the trio thinks about it as a game, what might work better from a design perspective and a bunch of posturing on other topics and games. You can check out the latest podcast at Flash of Steel. Even if strategy is not your favored genre, this podcast is entertaining.

Shipping Out - March 2 - 4, 2009

You’ve heard everyone talk about Halo Wars and maybe you’ve even played the demo but this week you’ll be able to go to GameStop or Best Buy or wherever the hell it is you buy games, and pick up a copy. No more second hand accounts for you, my friend. Another strategy game, Empire: Total War, hits the PC this week as well - along with a fancy collector’s edition for those that have extra money during these hard, hard times.

Also out this week of general importance three new baseball games for various platforms, Tom Clancy’s HAWX, Tomb Raider Underworld for the PS2 (which I suspect will sell better than other platforms) several SpongeBob games (you know, for the kids), Sonic and the Black Knight and the promising Phantasy Star Portable. The whole list of releases this week can be found below:

March 2:
Monster Band - DS

March 3:
Halo Wars - Xbox 360
Empire: Total War - PC
Phantasy Star Portable - PSP
Major League Baseball 2K9 - Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PS3
MLB 09: The Show - PSP, PS2, PS3
MLB 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars - DS
Tom Clancy’s HAWX - Xbox 360, PS3
Tomb Raider: Underworld - PS2
Sonic and the Black Knight - wii
We Ski & Snowboard - Wii
SpongeBob vs. The Big One: Beach Party Cook-Off - DS
Spongebob: Happy Squared Pack - PS2
Brain Challenge Deluxe - PS3
Littlest Pet Shop: Spring - DS
SBK: Superbike World Championship - PS3
Six Flags Fun Park - Wii
The King of Fighters ‘98 Ultimate Match - PS2, Xbox 360
Action Pack-Armed Forces/Terrorist - PC

March 4:
Grey’s Anatomy - DS, PS3, Wii

Sega Records YTD Losses of $119M

Just when you thought it was safe to read some financial news in video games, Sega Sammy Holdings took this morning to release its financial statement for the nine month period ending on December of ‘08. In the statement, the company revealed that it was hit with a net loss of 10.8 billion yen (approximately $119M USD). While the news looks bad, it’s actually an improvement of roughly 33 percent when compared to the 15.7 billion yen (about $173M USD) loss seen in the same period in the year before. Sega’s overall sales for the period were down 15.4 percent, with its Consumer Business division getting hit with an operating loss of 5.6 billion yen (USD $61.4 million) on net sales of 96.2 billion yen (USD $1.06 billion).

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Empire: Total War Gets Steam Powered

SEGA announced today that Empire: Total War, its upcoming RTS game, will incorporate the Steam into the game’s multiplayer backend, providing server browsing and match-making functionality, bolstering Total War’s commitment to multiplayer game modes and features. Further details on multiplayer will be announced soon.

”We are delighted to be working with an infrastructure as effective as Steam” said Mike Simpson, Studio Director at the Creative Assembly. “Having their matchmaking and support systems on board for Empire: Total War makes a huge difference both for players and for the development team. It not only helps make multiplayer slick and sizzling, it also frees up a huge chunk of the team’s time which helps make the whole game better.”

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