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360 games rock the sales charts
Microsoft released some updated retail sales numbers yesterday, and the results are good. First, the big M reiterated its goal of shipping 10 million Xbox 360 consoles by the end of Holiday '06, and 13-15 million by the end of the fiscal year in June '07. As for the numbers, the 360 has maintained a very high accessory attach rate at 2.9 accessories per console (apparently a record). Of course, this is somewhat misleading as Microsoft has made accessory purchases somewhat essential (battery chargers, play n' charge, memory card, etc.). It would be interesting to see what the attach rate is for optional accessories like faceplates.Software attach rates are also becoming larger, with an average of 4.6 games sold per console. Most of our readers will know that 4.6 is a very high attach rate for games. Also mentioned in the announcement, the 360 has four of the top ten games sold in the US this month, including: Chromehounds, NCAA Football 2007, Prey, and LOTR: BFME II. Don't be shocked if Madden '07 and Dead Rising make that list as well.Very encouraging numbers for Microsoft, indeed. Now if they could just get some momentum going in Japan ...
New BFME II maps
EA has released some new maps for Battle for Middle Earth II on Marketplace. There are three in total: Argonath, Umbar, and Weathertop. Fans will recognize Argonath as the location of the giant statues from Fellowship, and of course Weathertop is where Frodo was stabbed by the Witch King's Morgul blade. Sniff, sniff. Man, does it smell like nerd in here?[Via Into the Mind of Gerlach (no, really)]
360 games top the rental charts
Gamasutra has posted the 10 most requested games from Gamefly this week, and the list leans heavily toward our favorite curvy, white box. A full five of the top spots are occupied by 360 exclusives (six if you count the 360 version of BFMEII). Xboxic has gone to the trouble of making a numbered list, which I will politely steal utilize: Chromehounds (360 exclusive) Prey (360/PC) Over G Fighters (360 exclusive) LotR: Battle for Middle Earth 2 (360 version) Dead Rising (360 exclusive) NCAA Football 2007 (multi) Hitman: Blood Money (multi) Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (PS2) Gears of War (360 exclusive) Call of Duty 3 (PC/next-gen) Look at that list for a second. Notice anything? That's right, four 360 exclusives that haven't even been released -- Chromehounds, Prey, Dead Rising, and Gears of War -- are in the top 10. That means these games are more requested than games people could actually be playing right now. Crazy, no?
Metareview: LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth II
Our overlords friends at Joystiq have posted a metareview of the RTS that would be king, LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth II. Most of you are probably sick of hearing how the controls are going to revolutionize the RTS experience on a console, but it looks like EA managed to pull it off -- you'll probably have to get cozy with the manual for a while, though. And make sure you check out the tutorial because somebody seems to have missed it.Overall, the game averages out to an 84/100. Not bad at all. Hit the read link to see excerpts from major reviews. I plan to pick this up just as soon as I've got the scratch. Anyone care to join me?
