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jsf · #1 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 02:08 PM

Check this out. I thought it was interesting:

Quote:

Gaming Industry Explodes To New Heights
Video Games Sales Trump Hollywood's Box Office

Craig Clough, Staff Writer

Despite all the media attention Lindsey Lohan, Jennifer Aniston and Brangelina received this year, the masses seem more interested in the adventures of The Master Chief, Solid Snake and Mario, at least when it comes to shelling out the dollars.

Video games are big. In fact, they are bigger than ever, with 2007 projected to be the biggest yet for the gaming industry.

“We're forecasting a real record-breaker (for) 2007 sales of approximately $18 billion in the U.S.,” said David Riley of NDP, a market research company.

Propelled by the release of the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii in late 2006, and blockbuster games like Halo 3 in September, the gaming industry is way up from the $12.5 billion it generated in 2006, which itself was a record-breaking year.

This is also going to be a record year for the film industry, with the Hollywood Reporter projecting that box office sales will top $10 billion.

That number doesn't take into account DVD player sales and DVD rentals, but it is clear video games are giving Hollywood a run for its money. Halo 3 grossed more than $170 million in sales its first day of release on Sept. 25, far bigger than any Hollywood film ever has, making it the highest-grossing premiere in entertainment history.

Andy McNamara, editor-in-chief of Game Informer, the largest gamer magazine in the country, said there are more blockbuster games that fans can expect this fall.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Perhaps no game is more highly anticipated this fall than Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which is set for release on Nov. 5 for the Xbox 360. The series’ first three installments were set on the battlefields of World War II, but the new installment brings the battle to the 21st century.

“People have done modern warfare games before, but the secret here is the developer,” said McNamara. “Infinity Ward, they are basically the masters of the roller-coaster ride. They know how to put you in the first-person experience unlike any other company in the world.”

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Fans of a certain film series who can’t wait for the fourth installment can get their own Indiana-like adventure with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune on Nov. 20 for the PlayStation 3.

“It’s very much in the vein of Indiana Jones. It’s got a little of a historical twist to it,” said McNamara. “There’s a lost fortune that you’re looking for, and the story kind of unravels from there.”

Mass Effect

With Drake’s Fortune providing an Indiana Jones-like adventure, Harrison Ford fans can get an adventure similar to another of the actor’s famous characters with Mass Effect, which was developed by Bioware for the Xbox 360.

“It follows the tale of a Han Solo-like character,” said McNamara. “The thing about Bioware games is that you are given a lot of choices as to how you want to do things…The story unfolds depending on what your actions are. The choices really get fairly deep.”

Assassin’s Creed

With many games imagining future worlds, Assassin’s Creed sticks out as a game that takes players back in time to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade. The game will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and PC.

“You are in Jerusalem and various cities around that area of the Middle East, and you use the city to complete your goal,” said McNamara. “It’s like Grand Theft Auto, in that it’s an open-world game. There are Templars and all that kind of stuff. You are a part of an assassination group.”

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

The original Guitar Hero won many awards from video game publications in 2005 and was followed up in 2006 with Guitar Hero II. The latest installment, released Oct. 28 for the PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC and Macintosh, brings a new set list of songs to rock out to, like “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns-N-Roses and “Anarchy in the U.K.” by the Sex Pistols.

“What drove Guitar Hero’s success is that everybody probably played tennis guitar in front of the mirror at some point to their favorite song. This is a chance to kind of really do that,” said McNamara.

Rock Band

Set for release on Dec. 10 for the PlayStation 2 and November 20 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Rock Band is a rival to Guitar Hero, and in some ways takes it to another level, with the game providing players the ability not to just rock out on a guitar, but sing and play the bass or drums.

“You can buy the game and just play the guitar, you can buy the game and just sing, you can buy the game and just play the drums or you can have people over and all four of you can sit down and play as a band,” said McNamara. “It has a band tour that you can go on and you can play online with other people.”

Super Mario Galaxy

Set for release on Nov. 12 for the Nintendo Wii, Super Mario Galaxy will be the latest installment of the popular Mario series.

“Any time you have Super Mario, it’s something to be excited about, especially because it’s the first true Super Mario game on the Wii,” said McNamara. “It has a cool trick to it in that you use the remote and nunchucks to maneuver Mario around, and it kind of forces you to do things along the lines of rubbing your belly while tapping your head at the same time.”

Bioshock

Bioshock, a first-person shooter game, was released for the Xbox 360 and PC on Aug. 21 to extremely positive reviews. Set in 1960 in an Ayn Rand-inspired dystopian world, it brought an interesting twist of moral choices to the traditionally "shoot first and ask questions later" genre.

“The vibe of the game is phenomenal. It really takes you to another world,” said McNamara. “It has a great sense of suspension of disbelief. It’s just amazingly well executed. It’s gorgeous to look at, it’s fun to play, and it’s got a lot of different choices. It’s by far the best single player experience that I’ve played this year.”

The Orange Box

Fans of the Half Life series should look for The Orange Box, which was released on Oct. 10 for the PC and Xbox 360 and will be released for the PlayStation 3 on Dec. 11. For the retail price of $59.99, the Orange Box comes with four games from the Half Life series and a new game called Portal.

“The original Half Life was a groundbreaking title,” said McNamara. “You get five games in one. It’s 60 bucks on Xbox, 50 for PC, so it’s quite a bargain, especially for someone who hasn’t played Half Life 2.”

Halo 3

As previously stated, Halo 3 broke entertainment records the first day of its release. Available only on the Xbox 360, what gives the Halo franchise such a following is its perceived perfection of the first-person shooter format.

“Halo pretty much is a defining product in the first-person shooter category for video games, so everyone looks to them to see what kind of innovations they’ll bring,” said McNamara.

Source

Callapidae · #2 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 06:28 PM

Wow, thanks for that jsf. Thats either a really good thing or a really bad thing. Assasians creed looks cool.

jsf · #3 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 06:31 PM

You're welcome and yes it does look good. My friend down the street has it preordered so I'm going down to his place to play it when it comes out

iamstrange14 · #4 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 07:10 PM

nice jsf. i love how you always make the really long posts

and cool sig/avi Bono

dq9 · #5 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 08:29 PM

Nice jsf. This was a good article.

jsf · #6 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:06 PM

Yep no problem. you're all welcome. All I do 1qmstrange14 is find things on the internet that I think people would find interesting and post them on here.

iamstrange14 · #7 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:10 PM

yeah i know. i just remember all the things you do this with and some stuff is ridiculously long

jsf · #8 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:18 PM

I know some of the stuff I post is really long like my one thread about God of War Chains of Olympus but the longer the post the more points I get. Besides I try to give people as much information as I can when i post stuff that's why I always post the source and add pictures

iamstrange14 · #9 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:22 PM

you actually get more points for longer posts? and im definitely gonna get mario galaxy btw

dq9 · #10 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:49 PM

Is that really true? I thought it was the same amount for all posts?