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Tower Records offering 25% off games
Tower Records is offering a 25% online discount on all video games (including Xbox 360) until January 22nd, even new releases! We looked up games like Gears of War and Lost Planet and they're discounted to a reasonable $44.99. Thought, the free shipping offer does not apply in conjunction with the 25% discount, so you'll have to shell out an extra $3 for shipping. Go ahead, take a gander and see what deals you can find.[Thanks, Jayson]
IGN + Muze = search for skewed reviews
IGN and Muze Inc. have signed a partnership forming MuzeGames, a retailer service that will provide "the most comprehensive database of games information available." You've used Muze before if you've looked up an album or a song at Tower Records, or searched for a song on iTunes, now they want to try and be your central source for game searching as well."Marketed as MuzeGames, powered by IGN, it will offer expansive coverage of nearly 45,000 video game titles, including high-resolution cover images, screenshots, trailers, and samples of game play, augmented by rich editorial content such as game previews and extensive, independent reviews." Do they mean to say they will be using IGN's reviews as independent content? Are these the same IGN reviews that always skew to the upper part of the bell curve? Their average review for all games is an eight out of ten, and they have almost as many nines as they do sixes. This breaks down to a scale that skews higher, on average for every game, making the reviews more than a bit suspect.If you're going to be influenced by game reviews then your best bet is to check out what everyone else is saying (through our handy dandy metareviews, even) and then make an informed decision. Of course, you could always take a gamble and see what your own eyes and ears tell you. Hopefully you can trust those.
Tower Records debuts digital download service
Although there are already numerous options on the market for filling up your non-iPod DAP with digital content, Tower Records has managed to find what it thinks is an untapped niche of music aficionados who are looking for both better sound quality and more variety than current solutions are offering. Enter Tower.com/Digital, a Puretracks-powered service going live today that company executives say will leverage the experience and industry connections of the nationwide retail chain to give music fans access to a "broad and deep catalog" with tunes not available from other sites -- even if the other sites offer more total tracks than Tower's 1.2 million. Plus, the WMA-formatted downloads are said to be encoded at a higher bit rate than songs from competing services, and can be burned to disc for playing on "many existing CD players." Despite their supposedly higher sound quality, Tower.com/Digital (they've got to rethink that name) tracks will still sell for the usual 99 cents, with whole albums also adhering to generally-accepted pricing and going for $9.99.[Via Cnet]
Chicago signing for Uematsu, Aki, & Roth tonight
Are you in Chicago tonight for the big PLAY! concert tomorrow, but weren't willing to shell out $125 for the VIP meet-and-greet at the event? Well, you might be in luck (even if you're not attending), as a few famous folks from the concert will be on hand to sign autographs in Chicago proper for free tonight.From 7 to 9 PM (presumably Central time) at the Tower Records store on 2301 N. Clark St., Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, bilingual songstress Angela Aki (who wrote and sang the theme song for FFXII), and Principal Conductor and Music Director of PLAY! Arnie Roth will be signing autographs to promote the world-tour premiere of 'PLAY! A Video Game Symphony' and the CD for More Friends - Music from FINAL FANTASY.While this blogger is sadly occupied with prior engagements tonight, gamers in the area are more than welcome to mob that Tower Records and cause the store's employees much consternation and bewilderment. If you don't have any imported CDs to sign, however, don't fret: the store's web site claims to have "some awesome Japanese imports available for you to purchase and have autographed at the event." Not only that, Angela Aki will be performing live as well. Score! Anybody wanna tell us how this evening turns out when it's all sung and done?[Via The Daily Northwestern; image culled from Angela Aki's blog, Nobuo Uematsu's Squenix profile, and Arnie Roth's 2005 interview with IGN]See also: Official page for Tower Clark Street (with details on the signing) Ticketmaster site for the PLAY! concert debut tomorrow Sonic and Chrono composers to join PLAY! in Chicago
