The Call of Duty franchise has sold over 55 million copies of its games across platforms to date, and that number is only expected to rise with the holiday season upon us.

Even with the criticism leveled against Modern Warfare 2 because of the graphic nature of one of its levels, the game is being hailed by critics and will most definitely be in the running for game of the year.

The games are published and owned by Activision, and the two main developers have been Infinity Ward and Treyarch, but others have had a hand in some of the spin-off and hand-held versions of the games.

I’ve never hidden my disdain for Metacritic (and GameRankings, but mostly Metacritic), the Web site that aggregates review scores for video games (and movies and so forth). It’s an insane concept: let’s round up all of these ostensibly separate opinions, throw ‘em in a blender, and come up with a single, solitary number that conveys a game’s entire worth. Balderdash, I say. Review scores aren’t a standardized measurement—a 9.2 over at IGN doesn’t mean a 9.2 at Edge, or an A over at 1UP.

This latest news pleases me. The Cowen Group (one of those fancy research companies whose analysts are always quoted in news stories) has released the details of a study that shows, plainly, that a game’s review score is the least important barometer that people pay attention to when shopping for games. That is to say, whether a game gets an 8 or higher (or lower!) matters very, very little to a person when they’re at Wal-Mart or Best Buy, or cruising the latest releases on Amazon or Steam.

The study found that people pay attention to the following items, in order of most important to least important, when shopping for video games: genre; whether or not it’s a familiar game series; price; word-of-mouth; advertising; publisher reputation; and, lastly, Metacritic score.

Let’s look at this.

• Genre Obviously. If you don’t like FPSs, odds are you’re not going to like Modern Warfare 2 or BioShock or Left 4 Dead 2. If you are a fan of the genre, then it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll derive some entertainment out of said games.

• Familiarity This helps explain why all the big games for the past few years have all been sequels. If you liked Left 4 Dead 1, you can pretty safely assume you’ll enjoy Left 4 Dead 2. Well, unless you’re one of the boycotters. It’s merely more of the same. New Zelda? Sign me up. Final Fantasy XXXIV? I loved the other thirty-three!

• Price Well, yeah. How many people enjoyed all those Guitar Hero games, but then bailed out when it became a yearly $150+ affair? (Not that you have to re-buy the instruments every year, no, but you play one of these games and you’ve played them all.) Remember when PlayStation games were $40?

• Word-of-mouth You’re at the store with your friends, “Oh, don’t buy that, I heard it sucks.” Or, “Dude, did you buy Game yet? The multi-player is wicked awesome.”

• Advertising I readily admit to being susceptible to advertising. I had zero interest in buying Assassin’s Creed II until I saw that slick Justice trailer on TV. A few days later, and I’m jumping around the rooftops of Renaissance Italy.

• Publisher reputation Remember a few years ago when everyone hated EA? You know, ea_spouse and all that. (By the way, what publisher do we all hate now? My guess is Activision.) I’m going to assume that only the “hardcore” gamers give a turkey what company publishes (or develops) a video game. Why haven’t I bought Call of Duty: World at War? Because it was developed by “the other guys,” Treyarch, and not good ol’ Infinity Ward.

• Score Who honestly walks through a Best Buy and says, “You know, I was going to buy Game 2: The Sequel, but IGN (or whomever) only gave it a 7.3”? The number itself is meaningless, and if you’re even remotely interested in a game you’d do well read every single review you can stomach. And by read the review I really do mean sit there and absorb what the writer is trying to convey; don’t just skim it and say, “eh, looks neat.”

In conclusion, review scores are dumb; aggregating review scores is monumentally dumb.

GameStop will be opening at 6AM on Black Friday, a good 10 hours before most hardcore gamers normally wake up. The good news is that you can basically just stay up an extra couple hours, make your purchases, and then go home and go to bed.

Here’s a list of the goodies that’ll be on sale. Doorbusters are marked with an asterisk and will be available until 11AM.

Digital Media Cards

SanDisk Memory Stick Pro Duo 2GB (PSP) – $14.99

SanDisk Memory Stick Pro Duo 4GB (PSP) – $19.99

SanDisk Wii/DSi 2GB SD Card (Wii) – $7.49

SanDisk Wii/DSi 4GB SDHC Card (Wii) – $14.99

Video Games

AC/DC Track Pack w/Rock Band Purchase – Free

Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360) – $59.99

Bakugan Battle Brawlers (DS) – $29.99

Band Hero (Game Only) (Wii) – $59.99 

Batman Arkham Asylum (PS3) – $39.99 *

Batman Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360) – $39.99 *

Beatles Rockband (Xbox 360) – $49.99

Ben 10 Alien Force (DS) – $9.99

Ben 10 Alien Force (Wii) – $9.99

Borderlands (PS3) – $49.99

Borderlands (Xbox 360) – $49.99

Buy 2 Get 1 Free On All Pre-Owned Games and Accessories – B2G1 Free

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) – $59.99

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) – $59.99

Call of Duty World at War (PS3) – $39.99 *

Call of Duty World at War (Xbox 360) – $39.99 *

Call of Juarez Bound in Blood (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Chicken Blaster w/Wii Rifle (Wii) – $29.99

Crisis Core – Final Fantasty VII (PSP) – $9.99

Dead Space (Wii) – $19.99 *

Dirt 2 (Xbox 360) – $49.99

Drawn to Life (DS) – $19.99

Drawn to Life (Wii) – $39.99

DS Duo Game Case & Stylus – $4.99

DS Lite Traveler Case – $4.99

Dynasty Warriors 6 (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Fallout 3 (PS3) – $49.99

Fallout 3 (Xbox 360) – $49.99

Family Game Night (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Fossil Fighters (DS) – $34.99

Game Boy Advance SP Pre-owned System – $29.99

Gears of War (Used) (Xbox 360) – $9.99

God of War II (PS2) – $19.99

God of War II (PS3) – $39.99

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) – $19.99

Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Gran Turismo 3 (Used) (PS2) – $1.99

Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) – $29.99

Gran Turismo (PSP) – $39.99

Guild Wars Trilogy (PC) – $24.99

Guitar Hero 5 (PS3) – $39.99

Guitar Hero 5 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Used) (PS3) – $7.49

Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Used) (Xbox 360) – $7.49

Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock (Used) (PS3) – $4.99

Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock (Used) (Xbox 360) – $4.99

Guitar Hero World Tour (Used) (PS3) – $14.99

Guitar Hero World Tour (Used) (Xbox 360) – $14.99

Halo 3 ODST (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Jewelry Design (DS) – $19.99

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC) – $29.99

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

LEGO Rock Band (Xbox 360) w/Free Lego Keychain – $49.99

Little Big Planet (PSP) – $39.99

Littlest Pet Shop Starter Kit (DS) – $14.99

Madden NFL ‘08 (Used) (PS3) – $2.99

Mario and Sonic Olympic Winter Games (Wii) – $49.99

Mario Kart (DS) – $34.99

Mario Kart Super Circuit (Used) (GBA) – $19.99

Mario Kart (Wii) – $49.99

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS) – $34.99

Mario Party (DS) – $34.99

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (PSP) – $19.99

MySims Agents (Wii) – $19.99 *

My Sims Racing (DS) – $29.99

Naruto Shippuden Ninja Destiny 2 (DS) – $19.99

NCAA Football ‘10 (Xbox 360) – $49.99

Need for Speed: Nitro (Wii) – $19.99 *

Need for Speed Shift (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Nerf w/Controller (Wii) – $59.99

Nintendo DSi Limited Edition Brain Age Bundle – $169.99

Nintendo DSi Limited Edition Mario Bundle – $169.99

Nintendo DSi System – $169.99

Nintendo DS Lite Pre-owned System – $59.99

Nintendo DS Original Pre-owned System – $49.99

Nintendo Wii Console – $199.99

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers Sky (DS) – $34.99

Pokemon Platinum Version (DS) – $34.99

Pokemon Ranger (Used) (DS) – $12.99

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS) – $34.99

Prototype (PS3) – $29.99

Prototype (Xbox 360) – $29.99

PS2 Console – $99.99

PS2 Pre-owned Console – $39.99

PS2 Slim Pre-owned Console – $49.99

PS3 120GB Console – $299.99

PS3 120GB Holiday Bundle with 3 Games – $299.99 *

PS3 DualShock 3 Wireless Controller – $54.99

PS3 Energizer Controller Charger – $19.99

PSP 3000 Core Pack – $169.99

PSP Assassin’s Creed Bloodline Bundle – $199.99

PSP Go In-Ear Headset – $19.99

PSP Go System – $249.99

PSP Go Traveler Case – $19.99

PSP Original Pre-owned System – $79.99

PSP Road Gear Kit – $9.99

Rainbox Six Vegas (PSP) – $9.99

Rock Band Unplugged (PSP) – $29.99

Scribblenauts (DS) – $29.99

Sims 3 (PC) – $29.99

Sing It w/ Microphone (Wii) – $49.99

Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 (Xbox 360) – $49.99

SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals (Used) (PSP) – $9.99

Spider Man (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Spore Hero Arena (DS) – $29.99

Spore Hero (Wii) – $19.99 *

Style Lab Makeover (DS) – $19.99

Style Savvy (DS) – $34.99

Super Mario Bros. (DS) – $34.99

Super Mario Bros. (Wii) – $49.99

Super Mario Galaxy (Used) (Wii) – $39.99

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up (Wii) – $29.99

Tekken 6 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

The Price is Right (Wii) – $19.99

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) – $59.99

Various Charm Girls Club Games (Prom, Show, Mall) (DS) – $29.99

Various Littlest Pet Shop Games (DS) – $29.99

Wii Active – $29.99

Wii Energizer Power & Play Station – $19.99

Wii Fit Plus (Game Only) – $19.99

Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board – $99.99

Wii Motion Plus – $24.99

Wii Music (Used) (Wii) – $39.99

Wii Nunchuck – $19.99

Wii Play – $49.99

Wii Play (Used) (Wii) – $9.99

Wii Remote – $39.99

Wii Remote Controller Red – $29.99

Wii Sports Pack – $9.99

Wii Sports Resort – $49.99

Wii Sports Resort w/Free 2nd MotionPlus Controller – $49.99 *

Wii Zapper w/Link’s Crossbow Training – $24.99

Wireless Controller and Charger (Xbox 360) – $69.99

World of Warcraft Battlechest (PC) – $19.99

World of Warcraft (PC) – $4.99

World of Zoo (Wii) – $29.99

Xbox 360 Arcade Console – $199.99

Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle with 3 Games – $299.99 *

Xbox 360 Energizer Controller Charger – $19.99

Xbox Live 3 Month Gold Card – $19.99

Zelda (Used) (DS) – $19.99

GameStop Black Friday Ad [BlackFriday.info]

Read more Black Friday posts…

You know what day it is! Herein lies my usual review round-up (see yesterday’s preview), starring Modern Warfare 2. Right now I’ll highlight the good in the game, and later today I’ll highlight the bad. Very exciting, yes.

From 1UP (gave the game an “A”:

Mixing real-world locations with bombastic set-pieces MW2 continues the guided, thrill-ride experiences of its predecessor, and adds even more depth to its multiplayer offerings. It might not have fixed all the problems from the first game, but there’s just so much quality content packed into this game that it will almost certainly be one of the most-played games in your library for a long time to come.

From IGN (gave the game a “9.5,” but I wanted to see a “9.7”):

When you look at the total package, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is hands-down one of the best first-person shooters out there, and a truly amazing offering across any system. For those planning to check out everything Modern Warefare 2 has to offer – online competition, full co-op Spec Ops mode, as well as the campaign – you’re looking at a no-brainer purchase. For the strictly single player crowd, however, Modern Warfare 2 is surprisingly short, and doesn’t live up to the standard set by previous Call of Duty games. The campaign can be completed in as little as four and a half hours, and the missions make better scenarios and moment-to-moment adrenaline rushes than they do a cohesive, well-told story. If you’re going solo, you’ve officially been warned. Look at the complete Modern Warfare 2 experience though, and there’s no denying its rightful place at the top.

From Kotaku (no review number, thank God):

Modern Warfare 2 may not innovate or raise the bar as impressively as Call of Duty 4 did in order to grant it automatic game of the year consideration. The better praise it may deserve is that it’s likely the game that many will be playing well into next year.

From Joystiq (no review number, thank God)

Though we can’t comment on the plastic night vision goggles or the other bonuses you’ll get in the Hardened and Prestige editions, the actual disc containing the game is well worth every cent you’ll shell out for it. The single-player campaign might not engross you enough to want to play through the entire game again, but multiplayer and Spec Ops will both bring you back many, many times.

I’ll add more as I find ‘em throughout the day.

Additionally, later today I’ll do a round-up of negative things about the game—it seems the single-player is a bit short, which is a problem for me since I’m primarily a single-player guy—as well as some other Modern Warfare 2-related ideas I’ve got in my head.

Oh, I’m pretty sure none of us have the game yet, so it’ll be a while before you see one of us say “I think the game is such and such.”

The sheer amount of wonderfully insane unsolicited e-mail that we get in the CrunchGear tips box each week has left me no choice but to start The Back Burner up again. Enjoy! Or don’t!

A big thank you to everybody for filling our tips-at-crunchgear-dot-com inbox with wonderful, unique, and newsworthy items. Here are a few that we missed.

Dear a friend,

I can help you, yes, although I have a duty to all the human beings of the world to file a report any time a machine becomes self aware. And you’ll have to give me some time to track down who created you. There are, like, seven billion people here and most of them get all weird when a stranger asks them if they created some machine that may or may not have become self aware.

Actually, most people don’t even know what that means. So basically, picture someone who looks like Shrek running up to you on the sidewalk and bombarding you with robot questions and you’ll have an idea what I’m dealing with here.

Finally just as an FYI, it’s considered impolite to use gigantic fonts and triple exclamation points in an e-mail. I know you’re anxious to find your creator but getting all riled up like that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Baby steps, you’ll get there.

Dear John Larry,

Wait, were you hoping that we could proceed? I couldn’t tell by your e-mail.

In case YOU couldn’t tell, John Larry, I’m being sarcastic. And you’ve got some nerve asking me about Swivels. You know damn well that your father drove my father out of the Swivel business during the great California, CA Swivel Rush of 1929.

My father wasn’t able to show his face in California, CA for the rest of his life after your family ran ours out of town. And for what, John Larry? So your father could sell a couple extra Swivels? I hope it was worth it, John Larry. I hope it was worth it.

Anyway, good to hear from you. Hope all is well, hi to the wife and kids.

Dear Ken,

Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to agree to disagree over the definition of “brief and to the point.” Also, your assumption that I’m extremely busy is borderline offensive. I work from home, have no commute, and play with toys all day.

If I might suggest an alternate e-mail message for you to use in the future:

Hello!

I know some of us are extremely busy so I’ll try to keep this message brief and to the point. If you want to talk about boring stuff that has nothing to do with your job and you have no ability to make any ad-related decisions on your site, please reach out to me at your earliest convenience. Together we can accomplish nothing.

Kind regards,

Et cetera and whatnot

You are free to use the above text as you see fit PROVIDED you don’t add all the other crap from your original e-mail underneath it.

Click here to read previous Back Burner posts…

Thank the Lord! Microsoft just confirmed that Xbox 360 price drop we’ve been bleating about for entirely too many days now. Yes, the Xbox 360 Elite goes down by $100 to $299; the Pro goes from $299 to $249 while supplies last (which means it’s being phased out entirely); and the Arcade stays at $199.

What does this mean? For one, all those damn rumors were right on the money. The “craziest” rumor, that the Pro would be getting the axe, panned out 100 percent.

Nowhere does Microsoft mention the lack of HDMI cable in the Elite now, nor does it mention the actual hard drive size each system will now have.

But that last complaint is irrelevant right now: go forth and celebrate the price cut!

And, if you want, here’s the full press release:

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 27, 2009 — Xbox 360 today invites you to experience more fun, more entertainment and more ways to connect with friends and family at an even better value. Beginning Aug. 28, the price of an Xbox 360 Elite console will drop by $100, now priced at just $299.99 estimated retail price (ERP) in the United States. On top of that, the Xbox 360 Pro console will now be priced at $249.99 (ERP), reflecting a price reduction of $50, while supplies last. Starting at just $199.99 (ERP) for the Xbox 360 Arcade console, Xbox 360 puts all your entertainment in one place so you can play games, watch movies and TV shows, listen to music, and, coming this fall, keep up with your Twitter and Facebook social circles, all from your Xbox 360.1 And, as announced earlier this year, the Xbox 360 you buy today will work with code-named “Project Natal” and controller-free gaming in the future.

“With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s already time to start looking for entertainment and gifts that everyone will enjoy,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of strategy and business development for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. “If you’re looking for deep experiences that don’t require deep pockets, now is the time to purchase an Xbox 360. We’ve got the best games, a vast library of TV shows and movies, new music experiences, more ways to connect friends and family, and so much more on the horizon including ‘Project Natal’ — no controller required.”

Having an Xbox 360 at the center of your living room provides entertainment for any occasion. Whether you’re a casual or hardcore gamer playing single player or with friends, you can enjoy hundreds of titles that fit your gaming style. Watch thousands of movies and TV shows, listen to music, and view photos in the comfort of your home. And share the fun with friends and family around the world through Xbox LIVE:

•Games for everyone. Enjoy Xbox 360 game favorites such as recently released EA SPORTS “Madden NFL 10” in high definition and continue the fun through the holidays with a lineup that is sure to entertain every type of gamer. Families and friends can get together to build a famous foursome and relive the music of the Fab Four with “The Beatles: Rock Band.” For those who crave action, players can tear up the tracks of “Forza Motorsport 3”; jump back into the “Halo” universe as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper in “Halo 3: ODST”; or deploy for combat with this year’s highly anticipated title from Infinity Ward, “Modern Warfare® 2,” the sequel to the best-selling first-person action game in history, “Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare.”

•More ways to connect. Xbox LIVE, the industry-leading online gaming and entertainment network, will soon offer its 20 million community members even more blockbuster partners and features, introducing a whole new era of social entertainment in the living room. Starting this fall, you can interact with friends on Facebook and share photos and real-time status updates right from your television, or stay connected to Twitter by reading, posting and replying to Tweets.1

•Movies and music. For the first time, you’ll also have access to high-quality streaming songs from Last.fm using the best speakers in the house. Plus, Zune video on Xbox LIVE will offer the selection of a video megastore in 1080p clarity for many videos and the convenience of on-demand, coming this fall.2

•Your Xbox, your way. In the meantime, visit the Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace for the latest fashions, download full Xbox 360 titles to your hard drive through Games on Demand, and with a Netflix unlimited membership and an Xbox LIVE Gold Membership, browse and add movies and TV episodes to your instant Queue, and connect with friends for a Netflix Movie Party3 — all from your Xbox 360.

With all of these experiences available for the holidays and the future addition of “Project Natal,” which will work with every Xbox 360 sold today and tomorrow, the Xbox 360 system provides more fun for less.

MadCatz is making a whole bunch of, well, let’s just say “stuff” and leave it at that, for Modern Warfare 2. I’m one of the few people on Earth who doesn’t really like the whole modern warfare gimmick, so excuse my blasé attitude.

That aside, MadCatz has console skins, fancy controllers with extra buttons, Bluetooth headsets, mice, keyboards, etc. We don’t have any pictures (because that would be useful), so feel free to peruse the press release at your leisure. I don’t see why you’d need all these gaudy items to enjoy the game, but, again, I don’t have a horse in this race, as it were.

San Diego, August 24, 2009

Mad Catz® Interactive, Inc. (AMEX/TSX: MCZ), a leading worldwide third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, today announced a full range of licensed Modern Warfare® 2 accessories for Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION® 3 and PC, which are expected to ship across North America and key European territories with the release of one of the year’s most anticipated games in November 2009.

Developed by Infinity Ward and set for worldwide release by Activision Publishing, Inc. on November 10, 2009, Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the best-selling first-person action game in history, Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare®. The title is rated “M” (Mature) for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language.

The products expected to ship as part of the range include:

Modern Warfare™ 2 Combat Controller – Xbox 360

Complete with a host of features designed to customize the in-game experience, the Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller has Rubber Grips and a soft-touch finish for extended gaming sessions. Featuring two unique buttons located on the rear of the Controller, players can re-map Action Button or Thumbstick commands empowering players to shift melee or sprint to the rear buttons in order to maintain full motion control on the analog sticks. Immersive Analog ThumbStick Backlighting enhances the in-game atmosphere while Dual Vibration Feedback allows the user to experience every shot and explosion. Lastly, the fully braided connection cable provides a robust and latency free connection with the console.

MSRP: $49.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Throat Communicator – Xbox 360

Based on authentic military design, the Modern Warfare 2 Throat Communicator allows gamers to comfortably communicate with teammates and other Xbox LIVE® players. Fashioned in authentic graphics, the unique microphone design reduces background noise and allows gamers to clearly communicate with each other, bringing them closer to the field ops experience. The Throat Communicator is fully compatible with the official Microsoft® controller as well as the Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller.

MSRP: $29.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Faceplate and Console Skinz – Xbox 360

Featuring custom Modern Warfare 2 artwork, both the highly collectible Controller Faceplate and Console Skinz allow gamers to customize their Xbox 360 and official controller. Depicting official in-game art, the Console Faceplate attaches simply and safely, transforming your console in seconds and the removable Console Skinz wrap around the sides of the Xbox 360, providing a fully immersive themed landscape.

MSRP: $29.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Wireless Combat Controller – PS3™

Modern Warfare 2 Wireless Combat Controller for PLAYSTATION 3 utilizes a secure 2.4 GHz wireless link to connect with the console for accurate wire-free action. Featuring two unique buttons located on the rear of the Controller, players can re-map Action Button or Thumbstick commands empowering players to shift melee or sprint to the rear buttons in order to maintain full motion control on the analog sticks. The Controller features Immersive Analog ThumbStick Backlighting and an internal Rechargeable Battery that allows for charging directly from the console’s USB port and provides up to 60 hours of game play from a single charge.

MSRP: $49.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Wireless Headset with Bluetooth® Technology – PS3

Sophisticated, discrete and fashioned with Modern Warfare 2 graphics, the Headset for PLAYSTATION 3 allows for wire-free communication with teammates and PlayStation Network™ (PSN™) users. Featuring a high-quality, noise-reducing microphone, ideal for frantic game play, the Headset utilizes Bluetooth 2.0 wireless technology, and operates at a range of up to 30 feet from the console.

MSRP: $39.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Controller Faceplates – Xbox 360 & PLAYSTATION 3

Depicting official artwork from Modern Warfare 2, the highly collectible Controller Faceplate allows gamers to customize their official Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 controllers in style. Highly durable and featuring a high-gloss finish, the safe and removable Controller Faceplate attaches in seconds to the official controller and features authentic artwork to support the game (Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 Controller Faceplate sold separately).

MSRP: $14.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Combat GamePad – PC

For those who enjoy gaming on their PC but prefer the feel of a gamepad over a keyboard and mouse, the Modern Warfare 2 Combat GamePad provides a comfortable and highly ergonomic method of play. Featuring full analog control, the Combat GamePad is fashioned in authentic Modern Warfare 2 artwork and comes complete with a complement of four Action Buttons and four Trigger Buttons as well as a stable eight-way D-Pad delivering precision and accuracy where fast response is crucial to survival. Pre-programmed for Modern Warfare 2, the Combat GamePad ships with software that allows gamers to reprogram the four Action Buttons to suit their personal preferences or for use with other software titles. The Combat GamePad is compatible with Windows™ 7, Vista™ and XP™.

MSRP: $24.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Sniper Mouse – PC

Fine-tuned for razor-sharp assault, the Modern Warfare 2 Sniper Mouse allows for precision in-game control. Instantly adjustable DPI (‘Dot Per Inch’) allows gamers to adjust the speed of the mouse cursor at any time, ideal for a multitude of missions and varying styles of play. A built-in weight cartridge allows gamers to add or subtract weights from the Mouse tailoring the feel for personal preference. Fashioned in fully authentic graphics, the Sniper Mouse is certain to be the weapon of choice for PC enthusiasts. Pre-programmed for Modern Warfare 2, the Mouse ships with software that allows gamers to reprogram the Mouse Buttons to suit their personal preference or for use with other software titles. The Sniper Mouse is compatible with Windows 7, Vista and XP.

MSRP: $49.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Combat Keyboard – PC

The Modern Warfare 2 Combat Keyboard features ‘Anti-Ghosting’ in key action areas and a Windows Key Lock to prevent accidental disruption to game play. Easily accessible Media Keys provide instant access to volume control, play/pause and other essential media-related functions and a weighted base with strategically placed large rubber feet that prevent the keyboard from slipping off the desk. Pre-programmed for Modern Warfare 2, the Combat Keyboard ships with software that allows gamers to reprogram Function Buttons to suit their personal preference or for use with other software titles. The Combat Keyboard is compatible with Windows 7, Vista and XP.

MSRP: $49.99

Modern Warfare™ 2 Elite Keyboard – PC

Built on the successful ‘Cyborg™’ Keyboard platform, the Modern Warfare 2 Elite Keyboard is ideal for those who take their gaming seriously and will prove to be an essential ally in the field. Multi-Color backlighting, including adjustable brightness and ‘Tru-Vu™’ illumination, provides gamers with the ability to set ambient lighting, ranging from red through to amber and green. Touch-Sensitive Back-Lit Dashboard controls provide access to keyboard lighting and media functions. Further aiding in the custom nature of the keyboard, the WASD, cursor, ‘Cyborg™’ and NumPad keys can all be lit independently from the rest of the keyboard, allowing players to highlight keys commonly used in-game. One-touch ‘Cyborg’ mode instantly disables the Windows™ keys and adjusts the keyboard illumination to desired settings for simple set-up and no fewer than twelve Cyborg keys can be programmed to replicate any sequence of keyboard presses in a single button. Durable Metal-Plated key caps provide reinforced strength on the most commonly used gaming keys and gold-plated connectors for USB and microphone inputs allow other accessories to be passed through the keyboard without accessing the PC. Pre-programmed for Modern Warfare 2, the Elite Keyboard ships with software that allows gamers to reprogram Keyboard Buttons to suit their personal preference or for use with other software titles. The Elite Keyboard is compatible with Windows 7, Vista and XP.

MSRP: $99.99

Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz commented, “This new range marks our first full line of licensed PC products launching alongside the console accessories. The Saitek and Cyborg names are brands respected by PC gamers worldwide and we believe that consumers will respond enthusiastically to these high quality licensed products. Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most anticipated software titles this year and we are excited to support it with a comprehensive range which is certain to enhance the gaming experience.”
Modern Warfare 2 accessories Press Release

Posted August 24, 2009 by Mad Catz

Licensed gadgets from Mad Catz to include Combat Controller, Throat Communicator, Elite Keyboard and Sniper Mouse.

You need only one word to describe The Pirate Bay. It comes from the Ancient Greek, is six letters long, and entered the English language in 1884, some 120 years before the Web site’s founding. When The Pirate Bay starts to compare its struggles to those of Western Europe during World War II—you know, the struggle against Nazi Germany—only one word is needed. That word is hubris, and if it were possible to die from hubris, The Pirate Bay would have already expired. Hopefully there’s no such thing as copyright in Heaven (or Hell).

As you’re probably already aware, The Pirate Bay was briefly knocked offline yesterday as a result of a Swedish court order. The court order forced TPB’s ISP to disconnect the site from the Internet, or face heavy fines. The ISP, Black Internet, acting rationally, complied. (That someone may actually be sabotaging Black Internet is a separate issue, one that’s not necessarily germane to this here discussion.) What was TPB’s response, after activating a Plan B, as it were, thereby bringing the site back online? To sell a t-shirt, and send it to the MAFIAA.

A few hours later, TPB posted this:

We have, ourselves, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our Internets, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.

Even though large parts of Internets and many old and famous trackers have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Ifpi and all the odious apparatus of MPAA rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the ef-nets and darknets, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Internets, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the baywords.org, we shall fight on the /. and on the digg, we shall fight in the courts; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, the Internets or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the Anon Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in Cerf’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Signed;

The Pirate Bay Crew – Always when needed.

All of this, mind you, a mere two days before the sale of TPB is scheduled to go through.

The speech is a wry homage to Winston’s Churchill’s “We shall fight them on the beaches” speech, made before Parliament in June, 1940, during the height of the Battle of France. How you can compare the threat of German guns to, I don’t know, not being able to download the latest episode of “So You Think You Can Dance,” I’ll never know.

My position is this: TPB should go away. Its five-year run on the Internet will forever be remembered, much the same way that people of a certain age still remember Suprnova and TorrentSpy, but its time has come; it’s nothing but a distraction now, whose childish remarks about how those fancy American laws have no sway in Sweden now seem so long ago.

Let’s say the MAFIAA successfully shuts down TPB. It’s not as if “BitTorrent”—for some people, TPB=BitTorrent—will disappear. Rather, just like in the case of Suprnova (and the Napster to Kazaa/Gnutella/Pick-your-service before it), new sites and services will surely take its place. After all, it was just a few days ago that Gizmodo came up with a list of perfectly viable alternatives to TPB. (That assumes, of course, that no one will merely resurrect TPB with that one big torrent that was recently created.)

And who’s to say that the next big thing, so to speak, has to use BitTorrent? Go talk to someone in high school (or younger!) and you’ll find out that people there are using the likes of Rapidshare, Megaupload, etc. for their online needs. The proliferation of things like Spotify should help cut down the desire to download entire albums from nefarious sources. After all, if you’re 13 years old and have access, legally, to a ton of music in the form of things like Spotify, you won’t need to develop the skills it takes to figure out something like BitTorrent: configuring a router, tweaking uTorrent or Vuze, obtaining an invite to a private BitTorrent site like What.cd, etc. If there’s no need to develop these skills, that’s one less generation of pirates that you have to worry about.

I guess that last paragraph is meant for the MAFIAA. Not that those guys will ever learn.

So if and when TPB goes offline, don’t think of it as OMG WE’RE ALL DOOMED, think of it as an opportunity for something newer and better to develop. (How many torrents are terribly seeded at TPB? How many torrents are filled with viruses and other malware? TPB is not, I assure you, the end-all, be-all of BitTorrent. Frankly, it’s pretty woeful.)

And if I were talking to rights holders, I’d say this: Look, you’ve completely lost people college-aged up to around age 40, give or take. Any older, and those people didn’t grow up pirating things, and certainly aren’t inclined to figure out how to now. (These are the people, incidentally, that will be excited when The Beatles end up on iTunes, despite the fact that’s it’s been dead simple to rip a CD for at least 10 years now.) You still have the opportunity to get young kids, let’s say junior high on down, into your clutches, as it were. Start developing Web sites and services today with the idea that everyone will have broadband Internet access as fast as mine within three years. Put everything on there, from the biggest pop acts to the most obscure one-man bands, from the most lucrative summer blockbusters to the worst pieces of garbage ever produced (someone out there likes it, and will pay for it). Just figure out how to make this site work today, then put it in place as soon as possible. Otherwise you risk missing out on yet another generation of customers. Don’t treat people like common thieves, and stop suing single mothers. This generation, as far as you’re concerned, is dead, and no amount of lawsuits will change that. Work so that you don’t kill the next one before they head off to college in a few years.

That’s it.

If we slightly alter the definition of the word “whim” from “a sudden desire or change of mind, esp. one that is unusual or unexplained” to “the result of many hours of thought and planning,” then yes, you can say that I bought Wolfenstein on a whim this week. Seeing as though it’s a Saturday, and the rules and bylaws governing the Internet are different than they are during the workweek, I present, uncensored and unencumbered, my early reactions to the game—single player mode, that is. I can’t be bothered with multi-player modes these days.

I think I’ll preface all of this by saying that, yeah, the game is fun sometimes. It’s doesn’t do anything to reinvent the FPS genre, but you probably already assumed that when you first saw the ludicrous opening cinematic, released several months ago and summarily teased on various Web sites. (B.J. is able to single-handedly take on, and defeat, the crew of the German battleship Tirpitz, never-you-mind what actually happened to it.) If you enjoy seeing a gun bob up and down while you hold down Right Trigger, well, that’s exactly what you’ll find here. It’s like giving a child a paint-by-numbers coloring book, then being surprised when the resulting picture looks halfway decent; it’s exactly what you expected to happen.

My praise for the game ends there.

For one, can someone explain to me why, in the year 2009, we’re still playing World War II-ish video games where the German soldiers speak English? Holy Christ-on-a-pony is it annoying to be running-n-gunning, only to hear the Germans say, “Get him!” or “Vhere did zee American go?” Your comrades are equally tiresome. “So you must be zee American?” “Goot shot, American!” “Ve must locate zee artifact, ja!” (Note: I don’t remember if those are exact quotes from the game, but they capture the spirit, such as it is.) How much money does id, to say nothing of Activision, have in its coffers? Can’t it spring for one Germany-speaking voice actor? Nope! We’re treated to voice actors with inconsistent German-sounding accents—you know, pronouncing the word “weapons” like “veapons,” but then pronouncing other words as if they’d graduated from an American Perfect Diction Academy in the middle of Ohio—that hurt our ears, and souls.

Put another way, how stupid would Saving Private Ryan be if zee Germans spoke Englisch? It instantly takes me out of the setting—oh, right, I’m playing a video game.

In this “HD Era” of gaming, little things like this detract so, so much from the overall experience that’s it like, why bother sinking millions of dollars into game engines if you’re gonna throw any semblance of realism right out the window?

Am I wrong here? Is it too much to expect German soldiers to be speaking German?

That’s not my only problem with the sound, no. Take a coffee cup and lightly tap it on your knee. You hear the sound it makes? That’s the same sound the weapons make in the game. They just seem so tame. Call of Duty 4 isn’t my favorite game, but golly did it sound like I was right in the middle of Iraq an unnamed country, fighting for my life and the life of my squad members. People in Connecticut can hear when I play Call of Duty 4; I’m not sure I’d be able to hear Wolfenstein while standing in the kitchen.

And I’m no graphics whore, but I get the feeling that my Xbox 360 is capable of being pushed a little further. I see an explosion here, and I immediately think Medal of Honor—the original one, mind you.

So, yeah. Is the game fun? Yeah, OK, in parts it is. But either I have entirely unrealistic expectations of what a video game should be, or there are a few ways in which Wolfenstein could have been improved.

Help me parse the following sentence: “The record-setting and award-winning Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is coming to Nintendo. Activision Publishing, Inc. will release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on Wii on November 10 in conjunction with the launch of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2.” Does that mean Call of Duty 4 is coming to the Wii, or some other Call of Duty game?

Still, even if it’s “only” Call of Duty 4, I guess that’s something Wii owners could celebrate. All they have to choose from is Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty: World at War.

So yeah, let’s just assume it’s Call of Duty 4. Congrats, Wii owners! Welcome to 2007.

In any event, it’s coming out on November 10, the same day as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

So what do these things have to offer?

D3000

Let’s start with the D3000, which is the one may people will be going for. It comes as a kit for $600, including an AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR IS lens. I trust Nikon’s kit lens way more than Canon’s (also an 18-55), so I’d advise getting the kit if you’re just starting out. Remember, though: the D3000 can only use AF-S lenses, not AF. If you’re new to the SLR world, that shouldn’t be a problem, but if you have a couple lenses your dad used to use or something, don’t expect them to work on this. Here are the D3000’s vital statistics:

10.2-megapixel CCD sensor
3″ LCD screen (230,000 pixels, about 600×400)
ISO 100-1600 (boostable to 3200, but don’t do it)
11-point autofocus (diamond pattern I believe)
3FPS burst mode
Integrated Dust Reduction System
Heavy-duty shutter (100,000 shots, very nice)

And the less critical inclusions:

Active D-lighting system
3D Color Matrix Metering II (this and the above thing are replacements for post-processing, which is both fun and rewarding, so no need for ‘em)
Stop-motion movie mode (probably fun)

It also includes a “guide mode,” which I think is good. First time users of SLR cameras will find this helpful as it walks you through taking a good picture. I’m just afraid it’s going to make users rely on onboard editing of photos, which is always a bad idea. Do yourself a favor if you get this camera, shoot in RAW and play around with your own pictures, you’ll find it way better than Nikon’s (or any other camera-maker’s) built-in software.

D300s

This is the prosumer option. At $1800 it replaces the D300, adding a few really worthwhile features, chief among them being a usable video mode. Let’s see here:

12.3-megapixel CMOS sensor
3″ LCD (920,000 pixels, about 1280×720)
7FPS burst mode (8 with battery pack)
Video mode at 720p/24FPS (excellent)
ISO 200-3200 (expandable to 100-6400)
14-bit A/D conversion (good)
Dual card slots: SDHC and CF
51-point autofocus

All in all it sounds great. We knew these specs way back in May, but it’s good to know that none of them were made up. The dual card slots, video mode, and increased frames in burst mode are what really set it off. I know I trash DSLR movie modes because they use crappy interpolation, but at least they’re headed in the right direction. 720p is nice, and real 24p is also great to have. Note that I don’t think you can shoot at 30 frames per second even if you wanted to. It’s also got a line-in so you can have a separate sound collection device, or “microphone,” if you don’t trust the one that’s built in.

Looks like Nikon has a couple real winners here. The D3000 is a good competitor with Canon’s XSi — I don’t include the T1i because its movie mode is garbage and I don’t like the name.

The D300s is almost closing in on 5D territory at $1800, but really it’s competing with the 40D. It’s hard to make a comparison there, because it’s significantly more expensive, but I’d say if you’re going to spend over a grand on a camera, the D300s is probably more for your money. That’s just a snap judgment, though.

Because they’re fairly new, not much is known about how they will react to prolonged use. While SSD OEMs tout the speed and convenience, there is little proof that that speed will remain constant.

The good news is that after an initial dip in performance, SSDs tend to level off, according to Eden Kim, chairman of the Solid State Storage Initative’s Consumer SSD Market Development Task Force. Even if they do drop in performance over time — undercutting a manufacturer’s claims — consumer flash drives are still vastly faster than traditional hard drives, because they can perform two to five times the input/ouput operations (I/Os) per second of a hard drive, he said.

Is it a big deal? Probably not. A second or two here or there won’t kill your Quake session. However, for heavy duty servers SSDs might be a bit of a risk.

That Activision is looking to license music from the 1960s—plus Cuban, African and Soviet Union hits—can only mean one thing: the next Call of Duty will take place during the Vietnam War. (And what a fun war it was! Perhaps there will be an Escape from Saigon on a Helicopter, tail between your legs, quick time event?) Treyarch, of Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty 3, and all those Tony Hawk ports from the early 2000s fame, looks to be involved. You can almost hear the groans from the Internet.

This is all very exciting, and comes to us by way of one of That Videogame Blog’s reliable sources, not to be confused with CNN’s own Reliable Sources.

Keep in mind that Modern Warfare 2 is scheduled for release this fall, so don’t expect this Vietnam-themed Call of Duty for quite some time.

I leave you now with pretty much the theme song to the Vietnam War, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

In the interest of complete transparency, I originally had a photo of MASH up there, thinking that MASH was set during the Vietnam War. Steve Jabs, who is great, corrected me.

Quick Version: So you’re a gamer that splits his or her time between the PC and PlayStation 3, but you really want to make the switch to console full time. And at the same time, you can’t give up the mouse and keyboard combo you’ve grown accustomed to, right? Short of the PlayStation team announcing a mouse and keyboard as an official control scheme, SplitFish’s FragFX controller is probably the best option the hardcore FPS PC enthusiast.

Extended Version: The PC vs Console FPS argument will likely never go away with each camp arguing why one is better than the other until the end of time. I understand both sides, but I left PC gaming earlier in the decade and haven’t looked back since. Sure, I might not be as accurate with my headshots on an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 controller, but I’ve managed to get the job done for the last decade or so.

But then came a package from SplitFish containing the updated FragFX v2 controller for the PS3. And all I can say is, I’ve missed you, mouse, I really have.

Version 2 of the FragFX controller comes bundled as a mouse and grip controller combo that connects via USB to your PlayStation 3. At six 10-feet, the cable is long enough that you should be able to game from your couch comfortably. They even throw in a hard plastic mouse pad with a neoprene-like surface. For the money, it’s a very good setup.

Hardware

The optical mouse (right-hand only) has the four default PS buttons right where your thumb will rest and the “start” and “select” buttons under that middle finger of yours. You’ll have to tweak the controller settings in-game based on what game you’re playing to ensure you’re having a smooth experience. It’s straightforward and the build quality is acceptable despite its appearance. The mouse buttons, however, leave a bit to be desired. They require quite a bit of movement that cannot be achieved with a gentle tap.

Perhaps I’ve grown too accustomed to my Logitech Revolution MX, but the SplitFish’s doesn’t feel as comfortable. However, I arch my hand over my mice rather than laying them on like a normal human being.

The grip stick is essentially a Wiimote clone and it features a D-pad, analog joystick, Left and Right bumper buttons, sensitivity dial, and the ‘frag’ button. While using the ‘frag’ feature, the mouse slows down a tad for you to really get an accurate shot, but I’ve only been playing Killzone 2 and haven’t used it very much. SIXAXIS is supported by the grip stick in case you were wondering.

I won’t lie: it’s pretty awkward to hold. I found that using just one finger to tap the bumpers was more comfortable than trying to double tap with my index and middle finger. Honestly, all I wanted to do with the grip stick was flail around like a Wii jackass.

Performance

Now let’s get down to what’s really important. Because Killzone 2 was the latest game in my PS3 collection, I chose to review the FragFX with just this game. By tweaking the in-game settings for the controller and adjusting the sensitivity on the controller itself, I found myself navigating through K2 a bit faster than I was with the six-axis controller during certain stages.

SplitFish suggested the following settings to me for Killzone 2: 80 percent on the X- and Y-axis with sensitivity on the controller set between 3 and 4. I have to say, it worked a lot better than what I was doing.

Keep in mind that the FragFX controller requires a small learning curve and FPS enthusiasts all have varying styles of play, so my experience is obviously going to be much different than yours. The bottom line, though, is that it works.

The only issue I see arising from a PC gamers standpoint is sensitivity. Although I only played Killzone 2 for 99 percent of my review, I dabbled with a couple demos just to see what it was like. You’re going to have to constantly adjust sensitivity settings both in-game and on the FragFX to find that sweet spot. However, I’d imagine that’s something PC gamers are used to by now.

Overall: PC gamers who find themselves playing FPS games on the PS3 with the FragFX probably won’t be impressed compared to their standard PC rig, but they’ll likely find it much better than the SIXAXIS controller. At $80, the FragFX v2 controller from SplitFish is a good investment for any PS3 owner with a dedicated library of FPS titles like Resistance or Killzone.

But don’t take my word for it. Check out the #1 Call of Duty player in the world DD tell you what he likes about v2.

SplitFish

I’ve always said that the gaming industry has an endless amount of news to cover and today had nothing but bombs, but the good kind. So, let’s get down to bidness.

Monolith cleared the air about the upcoming Toy Soldier Map Pack for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and rest assured, the DLC will be free when it drops in mid-April. Cheers to that.

As expected, EA Montreal announced Army of Two: The 40th Day for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP. That’s right, Salem and Rios are back to kick some butt in Shanghai, China. And it drops this winter. EAM didn’t specify whether it was this winter or next.

ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY features a bigger playbook of new co-op moves that either player can use at any time, opening up new strategies and countless choices for both players. The result is a bigger, better, more organic and immersive co-op experience that lets gamers put their best two-man tactics to use whenever and wherever they want.

A new multi-player mode was announced today for Capcom’s upcoming Resident Evil 5, but we sort of already told you about it yesterday. The new mode, dubbed “Versus,” pits you and up to three other players in an online battle royale. Versus will be available for both Xbox 360 and PS3 a few weeks after RE5 launches. Live users will have to fork over 400 MS points while PSN folk will have to drop $4.99.

Slayer’s Rule is a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majinis. In Survivor’s Rule, players hunt the most dangerous game, each other! Players can begin the hunt as Chris, Sheva or other secret characters, and choose from either one-on-one or two-versus-two team matches for either of the two gameplay styles.

Capcom will also be bringing three Resident Evil titles to the Wii. A sequel to RE: The Umbrella Chronicles is slated for a winter launch in NA. The storyline for Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is based on RE2 and will include Leon S Kenney and Claire Redfield. Classic GameCube titles Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero will be available some time this year for $30 each.

Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, told Reuters that the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band will feature “stuff that has never been heard, never been released.”

And if you’re still playing Fable 2 then know that Lionhead is working on a DLC pack right now. Further details will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Rockstar will be holding a midnight launch party for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars at the Nintendo World Store in NYC on March 16th from 11:59PM to 2AM. The first 25 people to purchase the game will have a shot at some Rockstar swag that includes GTA Kubrick sets, GTA apparel, and a limited edition custom Chinatown Wars DS Lite system.

Treyarch announced today that Call of Duty: World at War will be getting its first DLC on March 19th for Xbox 360 and PS3. Details on the PC DLC pack will be coming later on. Nazi Zombies are making a comeback with Verrückt, a 4-player co-op. The rest of the details can be found over at CVG.

MTV has the scoop on the new trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum and it doesn’t fail to impress.

Whatever you do, don’t tell Doug that EA announced Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 today and that it’s shipping on June 16 for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP and Wii. OK, you can tell him that, but don’t tell him that it will support the new Wii MotionPlus accessory.

And wrapping it up for today is THQ’s latest trailer for Red Faction: Guerilla that features weapons, vehicles and the hammer.

Things are looking up today or down depending on where you live. GI has confirmed with Nintendo that the Wii will see an increase in price in the UK from 180 GBP to about 200 GBP. Why is this happening to our brethren across the pond you might ask? It’s simple, really. The state of the economy worldwide is pretty rank and the pound is depreciating at a rate, which Nintendo does not feel comfortable with.

“Due to the severe and continuing depreciation of the pound, we are, unfortunately, having to raise our trade price to UK retailers of Wii hardware,” said the company. “The price that they then offer to consumers is, of course, up to the retailers.”

“We are only – reluctantly – raising our trade price now to retailers due to unprecedented and sustained depreciation of the pound. This is a problem brought about by extreme currency fluctuations that are a symptom of the global economic situation,” said Nintendo.

So, it’s up to the retailers to pass on the price increase to consumers. No word on when the price increase to retailers will occur so, you might want to pick up a Wii now.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith announced today that the first round of DLC for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will drop sometime next month. Specifics on the DLC pack are limited, but there will be a new map pack called “Toy Soldiers” that throws a new spin on the multiplayer experience. Also included in the DLC will be a premium theme and picture pack.

Sometime last week Rockstar Games announced that the South Central DLC for Midnight Club: LA would be available on March 12, tomorrow, but it’s been pushed back a week and won’t be coming out till March 19th. Other than availability nothing else has changed.

Atari released the first in a series of developer diary videos yesterday for Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and I have to admit the game looks fairly enticing. I was a fan of the first movie, but not so much the sequel. I hear there’s another movie in the works, too. Anyway, Lead Designer Jerk Gustafsson and Art Director Jens Matthies are the talking heads for this video.

If you’re a fan of Activision and Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty series…oh, who am I kidding, everyone loves that damn series. Activision’s CFO Thomas Tippl proclaimed that COD: Modern Warfare 2 is “looking incredible” and that it will hit retailers just in time for the holiday rush. Tippl is so hyped on the game that he declares it the game of 2009 despite its launch date. Did the rest of you pubs hear that? Game. Of. The. Year. You better recognize, fool!

And like the redheaded stepchild that is the PS3, Capcom is showing it some love, unlike us, with leaked info on the upcoming DLC. Some new trophies showed up that reveal some nuggets about online modes that include Slayers, Survivors, Team Slayers, Team Survivors and Versus.

Here’s a sampling, but the rest can be found over at Joystiq.

Hot damn, you can trade your old crappy video games in to Amazon now and get Amazon gift cards dropped into your account. As someone who buys a lot of crap from Amazon.com, I can best describe my feelings about this as “excited” and “happy”, among others.

Trade-in values appear to be relatively fair, especially for newer games. The Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: World at War, for instance, sells new for $49.99 and carries a trade-in value of $26.50. To get everything kick started, if you trade in games between now and March 19th, you’ll get a 10% coupon code for any single video game or accessory as well.

Video Games Trade-In [Amazon.com via Joystiq]

The five best-selling games in the world for 2008 have been announced based on sales data from various reports by video game industry analysis firms NPD Group, Enterbrain, GfK, and ChartTrack. Topping the list is Mario Kart Wii at 8.94 million units. How do you like that?

Wii Fit comes in at second place at 8.31 million, followed by Grand Theft Auto IV at 7.29 million. Super Smash Bros. Brawl takes fourth with 6.32 million with Call of Duty: World at War coming in fifth place at 5.89 million.

So Nintendo continues to show big numbers despite still not having a ton of impressive third-party content for the Wii. It’ll be interesting to see if the gap between successful Nintendo titles and successful third-party titles continues to widen over the years.

[via Kotaku]

So in last night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Robinson apparently made a special salute before shooting free throws in order to prove to someone on Xbox Live that it was really him playing Call of Duty: World at War.

In a 2007 interview, Robinson told SportsGamer.com,

“When I tell people I’m Nate Robinson from the Knicks they’re like, ‘Yeah, right. Get out of here!’ They don’t believe me. And I’m like what do I have to do to make you believe me? And I end up naming my whole team, naming their kids, everything.”

So whoever Robinson was recently playing Call of Duty with told him to make some sort of secret salute before his first round of free throws during Saturday’s game, which he did.

So let this be a lesson to everyone. If someone on Xbox Live says that they’re famous, believe them wholeheartedly – even if they claim to be a woman but sound like a man or claim to be a girl but sound like a man or claim to be a young man but sound like an older man. That, or have them do something weird on live TV.

[via Kotaku]

We mentioned the Addonics USB NAS adapter in mid-December, and I’ve just finished playing with a review unit. As you can see from the photo, this thing is small! There’s a lot to say about this simple little device, so read on for the whole scoop!

It’s got a USB port, an RJ-45 port, and a small socket for the power cord. Along one side are two status LEDs, and a reset button. It would be great if this thing could be driven by Power-over-Ethernet, but I don’t suppose many home switches and routers include that feature yet. The power adapter itself isn’t too big, and is thankfully not a gigantic wall-wart.

Setup
In the box you get the NAS adapter, a power cable, a short Ethernet cable, a CD, and an instruction pamphlet. A complete user manual is on the CD, though chances are you’ll never need to read it. Using this device is extremely intuitive.

On the CD is also a little Java application, SDisk.jar that you use to locate your NAS adapter the first time. As a Linux user, I was glad to see a plain ol’ JAR file, rather than a Windows executable. I ran the application, and instantly it told me the IP address that had been assigned to my adapter.

If you don’t have a DHCP server on your network, the NAS adapter will automatically start a built-in DHCP server, and assign itself an address.

Once you have the IP address of the device, simply key that into your web browser. You’ll be prompted for a login — the initial credentials are admin/admin — and then you’ll see the status overview page.

Click the Identification link on the left, and you’ll be able to set some basic info for your configuration. You can give the device a friendly name, as well as define the Windows workgroup which will be used. Here, too, you can set a new admin password.

Visit the IP Config link to change the networking parameters. It’s probably best to assign this thing a static IP within your network.

Storage
The installation pamphlet says, somewhat cryptically

Any external USB storage device that you connect to the NAS adapter will initially be required to be formatted. This means, if you are connecting to an external USB drive with data on it, the hard drive will be formatted erasing all information.

That’s not entirely true. I was able to connect both a USB stick and a USB hard drive — both of which were already formatted and contained data. The catch is that none of the data on the media will be available to or through the NAS adapter. When you connect media to the adapter, it creates a PUBLIC directory, which is the default location for the data it presents to the world. If you create a PUBLIC directory first, and stick data in there, and then connect the media to the NAS adapter, it will detect and make available that data.

File Sharing
Click the SMB Server link to define what and how directories are shared to your local network. By default, the PUBLIC directory is made available for read and write operations to the whole world.

Click the Add button to define a new user. You can assign the user a password, and then specify whether that user should have read-only or read/write access. When you add new users, a new directory is created for that user. Initially, this user only has access to their own directory (using their credentials: the default PUBLIC share should still be accessible to them as a guest user). You can specifically assign access to other directories, if they exist.

SMB speeds on my network weren’t stunning, but they were acceptable. I have the NAS adapter plugged directly into my Linksys WRT54G router, to which my laptop is connected via 802.11g.

FTP
The NAS adapter also includes an FTP server, so you can easily share files outside of your local network. You’ll need to set up port-forwarding on your router, but that shouldn’t be too great a hurdle.

Out of the box, the device allows anonymous read-only FTP access to the PUBLIC folder. It’s important to keep this in mind: if you use the PUBLIC share for your local network and then setup port forwarding, anyone in the world can access all of the files in your PUBLIC folder.

Just like with the SMB server, you can create specific FTP accounts. It’s mildly annoying that SMB accounts don’t automatically become FTP accounts, and vice versa, but that’s not too big a deal. As with the SMB server, FTP accounts create a directory for that account, and by default the account only has access to that directory. If you want an FTP user to have access to the PUBLIC directory, for example, you’ll need to explicitly make that available to the new user.

FTP speeds were as fast as expected. The upload speed on my home DSL line is acceptable, but not wonderful. It took about 8 hours to transfer a 2.2 GB file from me to a friend who uses AT&T’s U-Verse.

Remember, though, that FTP is a plaintext protocol. So anyone who can watch your network packets will see your password as well as the files you’re downloading. If you’re planning to use the Addonics NAS adapter to engage in copyright violation, be aware that it’ll be trivially easy for a snoop at your ISP to identify what files you’re infringing.

Media Server
On the Media Server page you can define the location of directories to share with several external media applications. The page sub-title says “X-BOX360 Media Server”. I don’t have an X-BOX 360 so I couldn’t test this. Basically, you’d select a folder containing photos and make it available to your XBox for display on your television. The same for videos. Neat! The middle option, for a Music Folder, says underneath “Note: support iTunes”.

Unfortunately, I was never able to get iTunes or Rhythmbox to access my music. Both applications saw the Addonics NAS on my network, but neither ever allowed me to access music. iTunes just spun and spun and never connected. Rhythmbox spit out an error almost immediately.

BitTorrent
Perhaps one of the most interesting features packed into this little NAS adapter is a BitTorrent client. You can define which directory you want downloaded files to be stored — again, the default is PUBLIC — as well as the port to use. You can also specify an upload limit, if you want to throttle how much you share back with the world. The Mail Notification option allows you to receive an email when a torrent has finished downloading.

You can’t feed the NAS adapter a BitTorrent link, you need to upload an actual torrent file. You can upload more than one file in order to access multiple torrents at once. The lower portion of the screen will show the status of the torrent(s). This page will automatically refresh every couple of seconds to show you the current status of your downloads.

You can pause and resume, as well as stop and remove torrents. You can also get detailed info on the individual torrents you’re downloading by clicking the “Show” button.

In-progress torrents are stored in a BT directory which, by default, is not shared with any users. You can manually assign access to the BT directory to SMB and FTP users if you want, but there’s no real reason to do so. The torrent chunks are stored inside sub-directories of the BT directory, and when the full file has been downloaded it is moved to the target directory specified on the BitTorrent client page.

There’s one big caveat to know about the NAS adapter’s BitTorrent client: it terminates torrents as soon as it has finished downloading them. This is fine for leechers, but if you’re worried about maintaining a ratio, or just want to do your civic duty to share back the files you’ve snarfed, this is not the client for you. Hopefully a future firmware update might remedy this major shortcoming.

Other Stuff
You can elect to use the NAS adapter as a network print server by plugging in a USB printer. I didn’t try this, as I don’t think it’s the kind of feature for which most people will buy this gadget.

I also didn’t try plugging it into a USB hub. It might work, but I assumed that the NAS adapter wouldn’t know how to expose multiple USB drives connected to the hub. If you buy one of these and connect it to a USB hub, please share your experiences in the comments.

You can remove media from the NAS adapter without disconnecting power. If no media is present, the device will continue to function. This means you can juggle disks or memory sticks on the fly. For example, my Philips DVD player has a USB port and can play a variety of media files from USB media. I can put a USB stick into the Addonics NAS adapter, download some media, and then move the stick to my DVD player.

Bottom Line
For $55, this thing is a winner. It’s small, silent, draws little power and generates little heat. If you want some network storage but don’t want to fuss with a full desktop — or even something like a Linksys NSLU-2 — the Addonics NAS adapter is a great choice.

If you want to be able to access files remotely, or make files available to folks far away, the built in FTP server is super easy to use.

Hopefully future firmware updates will fix the problems I experienced with iTunes, as well as make the BitTorrent client a little more robust. But if those are the only complaints I can make against this $55 gadget, then Addonics is really on to something!