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Rise of the Witch-King box art revealed
Electronic Arts has released the box art for The Battle for Middle-earth 2: The Rise of the Witch-King, and it looks like the top game publisher hasn't yet bought into the whole Games for Windows promotional strategy. EA continues to use the standard bland, redundant bar label that has adorned their PC packaging since earlier this year -- which most likely means their games don't meet all the branding guidelines set forth by Microsoft (widescreen, parental controls, 360 controller support, etc.). Competing standards basically defeats the purpose of easier product recognition for consumers, and you have to wonder if Microsoft should have just called their marketing initiative what it really is, "Games for Vista".Witch-King is scheduled for a Nov. 28 release, but an Xbox 360 version hasn't been confirmed. Read GameSpot's recent interview with EA producer Amir Rahimi for more details.See also: Middle-earth expands to the Middle Kingdom Steve Gray discusses LOTR: The White Council
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 ...
Register for the BFME II Tourney quick!
Gamespot is holding a LOTR:BFME II tournament. The top three players will take home Best Buy gift cards worth $600, $300, and $100 for first, second, and third place respectively. If you think you're up to snuff (me, I'm still working on beating one Medium level opponent) you can register here starting today at 3PM Pacific.Good luck registering, and more good luck if you make it in!
Fear the power of The One Demo
If you haven't noticed, there is now a Battle for Middle Earth II demo available on Marketplace. It's available for every region, too -- and it's the perfect complement to the recently released walkthrough video. So, yeah, go get it.Cheers.[Thanks, Luis and KingOfGods]
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?
