Crispy Gamer News

Nielson released some interesting numbers for consoles played in 2008 (Jan. to Oct.) that reveal the PlayStation 2 as the most popular. Based on the percentage of of all console-gaming minutes played, the PS2 scored 30.2 percent, beating out the Xbox 360 (18.3 percent) and Wii (13.5 percent). Meanwhile, the last generation Xbox (9.1 percent) beat out the PS3 (7.7 percent) and GameCube (4.4 percent). “Other” (we assume mobile phones, PSP, DS and other devices) managed 16.9 percent.

Another report from Nielson also showed that World of Wacraft was the most popular PC game, raking in an impressive 671 minutes per week. Other popular games included Warcraft III (328 minutes), Half-Life 2 (288 minutes), Spore (268 minutes), and PopCap Games’ (133 minutes).

It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since Blizzard first opened the gates of Azeroth and let players become a part of the World of Warcraft. And yet, here we are. It was November 23rd, 2004 when Blizzard’s immensely popular MMO first went live, and the company is honoring the occasion by giving out presents to everyone who logs into the game today to celebrate.

WoW players who log into the game today will be greeted with a new achievement, “WoW’s 4th Anniversary”, as well as a new letter waiting in their character’s mailbox, which reads:
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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.”

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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Blizzard Entertainment will have special midnight signing events at retail locations around the country to commemorate the launch of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King on November 13. Each location will open its doors at 12:00 a.m. local time, allowing addicts.. I mean WOW players to be among the first to get their copies of the World of Warcraft expansion. Blizzard Entertainment developers and executives will be in attendance to meet players and sign copies of the game, and increased quantities of the Collector’s Edition will be on hand for purchase. Official launch events will be held in the following locations - after the break:

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Oh this one’s a big shock.. Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft has hit yet another subscriber milestone today. The company announced that its popular massively multiplayer role-playing game for the PC and Mac, now enjoys 11 million players worldwide. This number was driven up by a roll out of the game in new regions including Russia and Latin Americas. In addition to North America and Europe, the game is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Argentina, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

This milestone was reached as the beta test for Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft’s second expansion, nears completion. Wrath of the Lich King will launch in several regions around the world starting on November 13.No doubt the new expansion will bring past subscribers back into the fold prior to its official launch.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King has gone gold, according to word over the weekend from our very own John Keefer - who has survived the annual BlizzCon event and is now safely at home licking his wounds. In preparation for the promising expansion pack, Blizzard will roll out the 3.0.2 patch to servers tomorrow. All players will have talent points reimbursed for reallocation, based on the new talent trees, among other changes.

Get ready for lines at any store that starts selling at midnight on the November 13th. For more info on the patch can be found at www.worldofwarcraft.com and for more info on the expansion, visit Blizzard’s official site.