The Wii is for casual gamers? If you only play the Wii, you’re not a hard core gamer? Who knows? But those type of statements have crossed gaming sites, podcasts (including ours) and print all over the gaming world. But there is one thing for sure. The Wii makes money.

“Today, the Financial Times reported that the three-way race between the next-generation consoles has a new frontrunner. Citing cumulative sales data through the end of July, the British newspaper’s Japanese correspondent is claiming that the Nintendo Wii has now sold more units worldwide than the Xbox 360, despite the latter’s year-long head start.

According to the Times, approximately 9 million Wiis were purchased across the globe as of July 31, just barely overtaking the 360’s 8.9 million units sales during the same period. Both platforms were far ahead of the PlayStation 3, which sold only around an estimated 3.7 million units internationally.”

To read this story in full head over to game spot.

Rusty Ranchero and Steve519 host
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COD4 Betta Discussion.
Bio Shock, gamers roundtable style.
Game Reviews: What’s the standard?
EA’s Studio Showcase: From Rock Band to Wii.

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It is that time again, ladies and gentlemen, for yet another news update. I have alot to get through, so let us get started.

Now until recently, I have not been a fan of the Guitar Hero series, and I’ll briefly tell you why. It is not because I hate the price of the game, the songs, or the boss battles. It is simply for the fact that I was timid to step into this new genre of gaming. When I did eventually get a chance to play this rockin’ title, I found out how much fun I was missing out on.

After sitting around this weekend looking for a story to write about, something caught my eye that I could not let get away. I have found out from articles posted on filefront.com, and on gamerevolution.com, that the first Guitar Hero to be released for the Wii will include online play. It will not however, include Downloadable Content at this time. For what reason I am not sure of, but here is what a representative from Red Octane had to say about it.

“There will, in fact, be Online gameplay for the Wii when Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock launches in late October. However, there will not be Downloadable content available on the Wii at launch. That, we are still working with Nintendo on.”

DLC or no, I’m still excited to see how this game will do on the Wii.

After looking through some articles on gamespot.com the other day, I found out some more interesting info about this game. One of these articles talked about the bosses that we will face in Guitar Hero III. Here is a short list:

1. Bret Michaels, lead singer from Poison: You face him in the second boss battle in the game.

2. Tom Morello, lead guitarist from Rage Against The Machine: He is the third boss that you will face in the game.

3. Slash, lead guitarist from Guns n’ Roses: Not sure which boss fight he is, but it is said that he will be a part of the rhythm game for Guitar Hero III.

Redoctane.com has info about the prices for the bundles for each system, and also about what extra items are included in these bundles. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 bundles will be priced at $109.99, and the Wii Bundle will be priced at $99.99. And here is a list of what each bundle includes (other than the game and the guitar, which is wireless):

1. Custom faceplate
2. Dual Gig Bag: Not sure what this means
3. T-shirt
4. Custom 2″ wide strap
5. Keychain
6. Sticker Pack

For more info on these bundles, visit redoctane.com. I cannot wait for this game to come out so I can rock out with the best of them. Until next time, take care gamers, and ROCK ON!

B4

Links to articles:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6178075.html
http://news.filefront.com/guitar-hero-iii-online-play-confirmed-for-wii/#comments
http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/view.php?id=3179

I wanted the Summer to end with a BANG. It ended with a thud (or dud). Shoot ‘em up, starring Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti, opened at my local cineplex and I (like a gamer with an avid FPS habit) rushed out to see it. I anticipated 300 minus 299 men and the abs of steel. You know; action/blood/dis-membered limbs. All the forementioned with a great cast. I’m a huge fan of Owen (Sin City/The BMW commercials) and Giamatti (Priviate Parts/and meeting him on Broadway as he appeared in The Iceman Commeth) However even talent and the green-screen couldn’t save this bullet-ridden popcorn film. The plot had more holes in it than Pacino’s final Scarface scene.

Heres the rub: A man observes a bad situation and becomes involved in a “protect the baby” device. Not a-la Raising Arizona style (although there is a grab the baby from the street scene). No this baby is used as a shock attempt to movie-goers. Consequentially the baby has the best lines in the film. So while were along for the ride, or in most cases shoot-out set pieces, Giamatti sets out to kill the baby and the boy scout. All this allows us to have a shoot-out in an alleyway, a shoot-out in a brothel, a shoot-out in a warehouse, (can you see where this is going?) a shoot-out while making a baby, a shoot-out while jumping from a plane, and a shoot-out in a home. O.k. there are a lot of shoot-outs.

So most of you FPS fans like me may think, “Wow this sounds cool?” Well I’m here to tell you: if it were a game it would be. However this is a movie. So I expect plot, plausibility, and some form of respect for my movie going dollar. I would have felt more satisfied eating raw carrots. Which by the way is how our protagonist passes the time and passes away several bad-guys. I for one wish Elmer Fudd had shown up with that shotgun.

It would have fit into the script seamlessly.

-Carpal Out

An XBL Radio Arcade Alert. Visit www.xblradi.com for more info…

How do you sell a game you thought was an absolute terror?

A man comes into my store two days ago, and strikes up a conversation about what game he should buy for Xbox 360. Asks what I would recommend, Bioshock is the first thing that comes out of my mouth. He is curious about the game and wants some details, so I go into it, not realizing the fact he isn’t even listening to me… but instead is eyeing the shiny Collectors Edition of Two Worlds. He stops me half way through the conversation about Bioshock and asks me what I think of Two Worlds. Do I tell him the truth, or make it sound like a decent game?

When working in retail, you are taught to be the ultimate salesman, almost a used car dealer if you will. You should be able to sell even the WORST product like it’s your best product…

I don’t follow this method in my job, as customers respect and appreciate the person who can steer them to purchasing a good game, not what there is an excess of. There’s a better chance of a repeat customer if he or she gets what they want.

I am urged (by my conscience) to explain to the man all of the shortcomings that Two Worlds has… but, I also mention that if you can get past the first few hours, the game gets better. I also mention that for the money spent, Bioshock is one of the best 60 dollars purchases i’ve made in a long time (And if you know me, you know I buy A LOT of games). Despite my strong recommendations towards a possible ‘Game of The Year’, he ignores my advice, sees that the Two Worlds box has a quote “Like Oblivion On Steroids” and buys it on the spot telling me there’s no way Bioshock can be better than a game just like Oblivion, and that I’m probably getting paid to push Bioshock. I can’t help it if I liked Bioshock more…

Welcome to the life of a game store clerk.

My friends, we always do our best here at XBL radio to bring you all thing Gaming, as well as tech news and such. You come here because you trust in what we say, and you know we have your best interest in mind. Here we have something that I, (GUI J) am totally excited for, and think if you give it a chance, will love it also. Wizkids is a company who makes tabletop games featuring many different licenses from Marvel, to DC, to Star wars. Well my friends, to coincide with what will be the biggest gaming event of the year Wizkids is introducing their newest license, HALO Clix. Rusty and I spent a good amount of time playing it at PAX and we had a blast, it was easy to learn and simulated a multiplayer Halo experience. Here is the video interview I did with Wizkids at PAX. Take the time, check it out, and then go to www.wizkids.com. After all is said and done make sure to keep in touch with XBL for a follow up interview with the Wizkids group. It sure makes something really cool to play on a rainy day, or say while waiting in line for a certain game.

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The Special Edition version of Bungie’s EXTREMELY anticipated game Halo 3 comes with a variety of extra features, including a theme only available on the Special Edition disc. One of these features is a exclusive theme which I found while browsing Xbox.com’s marketplace section so click the link below and take a peek at this theme.

(more…)

When a service becomes so large, it’s only a matter of time before the spammers vulture around to cash-in on the unsuspecting citizen. And it’s official. Xbox Live is so large! Score anonther one for the spammers because users of the service are now targets.

Gamers beware. If you get email from “Xbox Support”, use your best judgement to determine if it’s legit. The image below is a real spam e-mail, posing as official Xbox communications…

Things to look for in spam email:
1. Hyperlinks that link to web domains that are unfamiliar to you.
2. The “reply-to” address may not match the “from” address.
3. The use of “check out the new features” four times in a three sentence paragraph.

So pass it on and tell a friend. Together, we can beat spams high score.

This was a impromptu interview that MrCarpalTunnel did with the folks from the upcoming hit Geometry Wars: Galaxies for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS