Crispy Gamer News

THQ and the Microsoft owned video game advertising firm, Massive Inc., announced yesterday that they have agreed to a global, multiyear deal naming Massive as the exclusive in-game advertising partner for THQ’s upcoming lineup of games on the PC and the Xbox 360. Massive’s collaboration with THQ will include advertising in several of THQ’s owned properties, including the recently released Saints Row 2.

“By aligning with THQ, Massive is now poised to represent new content and franchises that are realizing enormous market success globally,” said Eric Bassman, COO of Massive. “And with an open-world, mission-based game such as Saints Row 2 coming into the Massive network, we can work creatively with advertisers to place their brands in new, edgy environments.”

“We have entered into a strategic agreement with Massive because it is a leader in the emerging industry of in-game advertising,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of publishing at THQ. “The Massive team has a strong track record of collaborating with game developers, sports leagues and advertisers to find a unique way to place brands and products that enhance the gameplay experience.”

Man, it’s a hard road this week for gamers looking for something substansive and serious.

There’s very little to sink your tetth into this week but there are are afew bright spots including Gothic 3 Collector’s Edition, Syberia for the DS, and Chrono Trigger.

Maybe there’s some other gems in there but it’s looking pretty damn doubtful.  I honestly expected better releases for this week, given that the busiest shopping day of the year - Black Friday - is at the end of the week. Full list after the break.

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Here a little tidbit from the files of Captain Obvious. Blizzard Entertainment today announced that World of Warcraft’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, has sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. Who was the previous record holder? Why, none other than Blizzard’s last WoW expansion The Burning Crusdae, which sold nearly 2.4 million copies in 24 hours back in January 2007

Wrath of the Lich King was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and Russia on November 13th; in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on November 14th; and South Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18th. In celebration of the launch, more than 15,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players. Several of these locations were attended by Blizzard Entertainment representatives, who met players and signed copies of the game.

“We’re grateful for the incredible support that players around the world have continued to show for World of Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Wrath of the Lich King contains some of the best content we’ve created for the game so far, and we look forward to seeing even more players log in to experience it in the days ahead.”

Sega announced that Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 is now available via STEAM. The latest game in the popular soccer club management game features a brand new 3D Match Engine, which can now be viewed in full 3D - you’ll be able to view players from multiple camera angles on the pitch and rewind or fast-forward to key plays.

With this customizable view you can also choose the information you would like to see during the match, be it the latest scores or player performance stats for the match. The game has been updated for the new 2008/09 soccer season with all the latest league, club and player data, as well. Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 features over 5,000 playable clubs from over 50 countries, and around 350,000 players and staff from around the world, drawn from the Sports Interactive database.

Head on over to steampowered.com for more details.

Ubisoft has shipped CSI: NY – The Game for the PC this week. The game based on the hit TV crime drama carries an ESRB rating of “T” for Teen and retails for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $29.99. CSI: NY – The Game is an adventure game that allows you to play as characters from the show using a brand-new graphic novel art style, interactive mini-games and interrogations, and original cases crafted by writers from the “CSI: NY” television series.

The game also features the voices and likenesses of Golden Globe winner Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes and the rest of the show’s primary cast. In concurrence with the video game’s release, the show will air its milestone 100th episode on Wednesday, November 19th. “CSI: NY” averages 11.8 million total viewers each week on CBS. Ubisoft’s CSI video game franchise has sold more than 3.5 million units worldwide since the first CSI title was released in 2003.

Spore and Spore Creature Creator owners will probably want to pick up the freshly released Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack. The Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack is the first add-on pack for the creature building game for the PC. Available for $19.99 (MSRP) for PC and MAC, Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack gives players more tools to create unique life forms using more than 100 new components. Spore Creepy & Cute Parts includes 60 new creature parts, 48 new paint options and 24 new animations including the robot, hoe-down, moonwalk and more.

Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack requires Spore or the full version of Spore Creature Creator for Mac or PC.

Fallout 3 is doing pretty well on the Xbox 360 and PS3, but the game is doing particularly well on the PC charts where it has managed to land at the number one spot for the month of Oct., according to NPD Group. Fallout 3 managed to beat out Spore and a new Nancy Drew game, as well as Far Cry 2, Warhammer Online and the ever popular World of Warcraft Battle Chest. With the new world of Warcraft expansion hitting retail this month, Fallout 3 better enjoiy its time on the top of the hill..

Coming in at the number 2 spot for Oct. was Spore, followed by Nancy Drew The Haunting of Castle Malloy, Far Cry 2, and Warhammer Online. The Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition also managed to land at the number 8 spot, shoring up Bethesda’s number for the game even more. top ten after the break.

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