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Sears Black Friday ad reveals Green and Red DSi hardware, new PSP and PS3 holiday bundles
Okay, guys. It's time to get yourself into a mental place where you can accept the fact that Black Friday is just around the corner. You there? You ready? Okay -- the entire Sears catalog for the holiest of shopping days has apparently leaked onto the web, revealing a whole mess of gaming offers, including: Black Friday Deals Hub Best Buy GameStop Sears Target Walmart Limited edition Red and Green DSi bundles for $150, which include Mario Party DS 160GB PS3 bundle for $300, which includes Uncharted 2 and a Blu-ray of (the new) Karate Kid PSP 3000 bundle for $130, which includes LittleBigPlanet and a UMD of (the new) Karate Kid 4GB Xbox 360 bundle for $200, which includes Halo: Reach $10 off the standard black Wii bundle Discounts on games like Medal of Honor, Fable III and Halo: Reach, all of which will be available for $40 We've contacted Sears to get a comment on the catalog's authenticity. [Update: It's legit!] Check out the relevant gaming offers posted after the jump! (Side note: A full-on ping-pong table for $260? Don't mind if we do.)
PSA: Halo: Reach level cap raised, new armor available
We did it, Halo: Reach players! By working together and racking up 117 million daily and weekly challenges, the Reach level cap has been raised and new armor has been unlocked. Sure, none of it really means anything, but we'll be damned if the prospect of new shoulder pads isn't exciting. [Thanks, Sean]
Weta offers new Halo helmet replicas, earns even more ire from cats everywhere
Let's be honest, it's not like that replica Spartan helmet is going to sit on your desk, right? These things were made for cats, the inevitable conclusion of the unholy tryst between feline and fandom eventually available for all to see on flickr. It's just what people do and you can now expand the contents of your cat's chiffonier with three new quarter-scale helmets: CQB, EVA and the Mark VI. Each will set you back $60.
Microsoft also declares record revenue, but Apple still on top
Apple isn't the only technology company that's posting record revenue this year -- Microsoft has brought in $16.20 billion in the last quarter, which stands as a record with a 25 percent increase from the same time last year. The Seattle giant also increased net income to $5.41 billion, so it looks like Halo Reach (in September) and Office 2010 (in July) sent things in a good direction. Apple announced revenue of $20 billion last quarter, which puts the Cupertino company on top by $4 billion in terms of incoming money. But Microsoft still rules net income, with Apple pulling in $4.31 billion for the same quarter. That may change next reporting period, given Apple's steam in the industry so far, but no matter which way you slice it, both of these companies are rolling in the dough.
Things explode in Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack trailer
Just in case you were worried, the Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack isn't above good, old-fashioned 'splosions. If you need more than our word to convince you, we suggest you check out this new trailer. It's positively loaded with kablooeys, kablams and kapows. Also stabbing. And bludgeoning. %Gallery-105054%
PSA: Second batch of Halo: Reach's October playlist updates hit
Bungie's given word that the remainder of the online playlist updates for Halo: Reach that it had planned for this month have gone live this evening. You can find a full list of tweaks and changes the developer made after the break. If you're not already too busy playing Reach, that is.
Halo: Reach, New Super Mario Bros. top software sales for 2010 (so far)
Gamasutra recently pieced together NPD data for the first nine months of 2010 to give us a look at the top-selling software of the year so far. Though the data doesn't combine the sales of multiplatform titles -- which might affect the landscape of the chart -- the results are a little perplexing. (And not just because half of the games therein were released in 2009.) Halo: Reach is leading the pack so far, followed by New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which is so, so old. Also, the 360 version of Red Dead Redemption made the list, but not the PS3 version. Even more confusing than that: Pokémon SoulSilver made the list, while Pokémon HeartGold did not. What earthly reason could there possibly be for that? Did consumers think that gold would be more gaudy than silver?
Bungie discusses the Halo beyond Halo
Even if you've never touched a Halo game, you're likely familiar with the basic story. But as only the devout know, there's another, deeper fiction behind Bungie's baby that predates even the series itself. Today IGN encapsulates that daunting mythology in a new feature that's well worth a read.
Now you can own a giant Halo: Reach statue for some reason
Whether you need it for home security reasons, or whether you're just a collector of man-sized gaming memorabilia, a super limited edition Halo: Reach statue, modeled after Noble Team's Captain Carter, can be yours if you've got the wherewithal to win this pricey eBay auction.
Alan Wake, Epic Mickey among award-nominated video game scores
Set to be announced in advance of the Hollywood Music In Media Conference running November 18-20, 2010 in -- where else -- Hollywood, CA, the 2010 Hollywood Music In Media Awards nominees include nine video game scores under the category of Visual Media. The bombastic orchestral sounds of God of War 3 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood are joined by the more moody fare of Alan Wake and -- a bit out of left field -- the score to Disney Epic Mickey. The winning score will be revealed on November 11, 2010, and you can find the complete list of nominees after the break. Cue dramatic end-of-post theme.
Halo: Reach multiplayer rank cap lifts this November
Though we're dutifully saving our hard-earned Halo: Reach credits for the "Pestilence" armor effect, some of you may already be thirsting for new duds in the game's Armory. Bungie's latest weekly update reveals that not only will Reach players get new armor options in the near future, but also the ability to blow past the game's max rank of Lieutenant Colonel Grade C -- all players have to do is complete 117 million daily and weekly challenges first! Though that might sound somewhat lofty, Bungie predicts that its community's goal will be hit "sometime in November." We'll start doing our part for the cause right now, if you'll excuse us.
Video: The making of the Halo: Reach 'Deliver Hope' ad
You can learn a lot from this behind the scenes look at the Halo: Reach "Deliver Hope" ad. For example, did you know that the ad marks the first appearance of a fully suited, live-action Spartan? And did you know Spartans aren't actually real? Yeah, we're bummed too. Thanks a lot, Microsoft.
Greenberg: Xbox 360 was top-selling console for fourth month in a row
Now that the NPD has decreed our mere mortal minds are unfit to handle hardware sales figures, we're tasked with finding information from alternative sources -- wait, what's this? Aaron Greenberg just tweeted that the Xbox 360 bested the competition for the fourth month in a row? Search: complete. Consider it the Halo: Reach bump. Previously, the Xbox 360 enjoyed three months of strong sales thanks to a hardware refresh, but Bungie's 343 Industries' franchise has been known to move consoles, so it's no surprise Microsoft dominated September. Greenberg elaborated in his following tweet that Microsoft sold 483,989 hardware units in September, "a 37% increase over last year." He also claimed the console is the only system with higher sales year-over-year. So help us settle a bet: how many of you picked up the special edition Reach console?
Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack coming Nov. 30
True story: Just yesterday we were saying, "Huh, not as many people seem to be talking about Halo: Reach lately." Then, this morning we wake up to find that Bungie will be stoking the flames on November 30 with the downloadable Noble Map Pack. Get out of our heads, creeps! Ten bucks gets you access to three new environments. The first is Tempest (pictured), an abandoned shoreline facility featuring two symmetrical bases for 8 – 16 player fights. Anchor 9, an orbital dry-dock controlled by the UNSC, is a more intimate 2-8 player affair. Finally, there's Breakpoint, a series of frozen, modular archaeological labs for 8-16 players fracases. Oh, and there are 250 more Achievement points to be had, which we know is all you really care about. Monster. If that's still not enough new Halo, Bungie's challenging fans to make some of their own with the "Forgetacular Map Design Contest," the full details of which are right here. We'd love to participate, but we'll be too busy making foil hats to protect our precious thought waves. %Gallery-105054%
Halo RC Warthogs: Now in rocket flavor
As part of its line of RC Halo toys, NKOK will soon release a new RC Warthog. The hog sports a rocket turret -- though regrettably not night vision -- and includes figures of Noble 6 and Carter from Halo: Reach. The diminutive ride will retail for $25, but can you really put a price on childhood?
FIFA fights off Pro Evo on UK charts; Castlevania, Enslaved debut in top 10
FIFA 11 spent a second week atop the UK all formats chart this week, holding off Pro Evolution Soccer 2011's premiere in second, despite a 63 percent drop in sales. Chart-Track states that FIFA 11's launch last week was 10 times that of Konami's footie franchise and that this is the first time Pro Evo hasn't debuted in the top spot since the original game kicked off in 2001. Dead Rising 2 shambles along, rounding out the top three. With competition so brutal during this time, it's good to see that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Enslaved debuted at the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Hopefully both of these quality games can hang onto a spot in the top ten for more than a couple weeks. As much as we wish the best for those games, we're not expecting either title to be stamina-infused like Just Dance, which moved up three spots this week to ninth place, and has a sequel coming out next week. Place your bets now if Just Dance 2 will glide across the UK charts to best FIFA 11. Check out the UK's top ten after the break.
Halo: Cryptum novel by Greg Bear launching in Jan. 2011
Halo: Cryptum, the first Halo novel in a planned trilogy exploring the Forerunners, will be published in January 2011. Announced in April of 2009, the novel will be written by acclaimed, hard science fiction author Greg Bear, who is best known for his novels Eon, Darwin's Radio and The Forge of God. Bear's trilogy will be the first major work to take on the story of the Forerunners, the species responsible for the Halos and controlled galactic genocide. An unabridged audio book will also be available at the same time as the novel, so go ahead and play Reach while your ears read the book. The full cover of Halo: Cryptum can be found after the break.
Halo franchise roadmap includes new trilogies and film, transmedia campaign reveals
During a panel last night at the New York Comic Con, transmedia company Starlight Runner -- a business that helps plan cross-media campaigns for various properties, including Microsoft's Halo franchise -- gave a presentation on its work. Among the slides shown, company president and CEO Jeff Gomez previewed one that gave the audience a look at the future of Halo: two new trilogies starting in 2012/2013 with a major motion picture set for release by 2014. Update: Microsoft representative Ryan James contacted Joystiq to say, "We worked with Starlight in the past, but the info isn't an accurate representation of our plans for the Halo franchise." Starlight Runner have yet to issue any official comment on the news. [Thanks Steven!]
Awesome Reach ... well, wow
Awesome Reach, brought to you by the creator of the evergreen Metal Gear Awesome, may be the most disturbing piece of animation since Tetsuo's transformation in Akira. Definitely not safe for work or for those barely hanging on to sanity.
Apt. 117, a new animated series for Halo Waypoint, tries to alienate Halo fans
We're no Bussinessologists or whatever, but we're pretty sure the best way to keep your fans coming back for more is to portray them as hideous, ill-mannered freaks who bathe with their Xbox 360 headset on. It just makes sense, right? It's the only way we can explain Apt. 117, a real thing that's apparently coming to Halo Waypoint "soon." Developed by Powerhouse Animation Studios in collaboration with 343 Industries, the animated series follows "a boring average guy who lives with a Halo-obsessed idiot." Head past the break for the announcement trailer.
