CAGcast #216: The Mystery of Shaq's Toilet

[CheapyD]

15060[/IMG-L]This week's show features Wombat reporting on the games of NY Comic Con. We also talk about the PSP2, Gran Turismo 5 delay, Alan Wake DL, the latest game shopping and industry news, your CAGbag (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71382) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/cheapyd) questions and so much more!

125
Download (http://traffic.libsyn.com/cheapyd/cagcast216.mp3) - 91 minutes, 55MB
iTunes: Subscribe (https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/subscribePodcast?id=78311760) - Review (https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/addUserReview?type=Podcast&id=78311760)
http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png (http://feeds.feedburner.com/cagcast) http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/../podcast/google.gif (http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/cagcast) http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/../podcast/yahoo.gif (http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/cagcast) [IMG]http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/../podcast/facebook.gif (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2395729194) http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/../podcast/newemail.gif (http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=223592&loc=en_US)


Support the CAGcast with these GoDaddy (http://www.godaddy.com/) coupon codes:
10% off any order = CAG10
$5 off $30 = CAG5OFF30
$7.49 domain = CAGDOMAIN



Show Linkage/Notes (click the button below to expand):
Diamond Girl ( DJ Gina Turner Bootleg ) (http://www.maddecent.com/blog/gina-turner-s-diamond-girl-bootleg)


The Video Game Release List of 10/9 (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65948)

NPD changes monthly reporting, removes hardware and software unit sales (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/12/npd-changes-monthly-reporting-removes-hardware-and-software-uni/)
NBA Jam for Xbox 360 & PS3 shows up on GameFly with a release date of Nov. 18 (http://kotaku.com/5663141/signs-point-to-nba-jam-on-disc?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+kotaku/full+%28Kotaku%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher)
X-Men Arcade being developed by Backbone, supports widescreen (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/12/x-men-arcade-being-developed-by-backbone-supports-widescreen/)
Why Warhammer Failed (http://ealouse.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/hello-world/#comments)

Follow us on twitter (https://twitter.com/cheapassgamer/cagcast)
CheapyD's Youtube Videos (http://www.youtube.com/cheapyd) (Subscribe (http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=CheapyD))
CheapyD's Flickr Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheapyd/) (Subscribe (http://www.flickr.com/people/cheapyd/relationship/))


Outro: Midnight Madness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRudrm4j31Y)
(http://twitpic.com/1921lx)

[DarkZion]

Awesome, something to listen to during economics class tomorrow.

[xlaxparkax]

Listening.

[PacManster17]

1 minute left to dl. Going to start listening tonight. Thanks guys!

[aihuman]

You can buy Toto washlets on Amazon.

[Fuzi0n]

As always, w00t.

[Mahoney07]

It's hilarious how video game journalists all go on a tirade about how game length shouldn't matter in a game review when LIMBO came out. Now they all complain about game length in their Sonic 4 reviews.

[bebop]

I can't believe some people actually thought cheapy was serious about a new review system as ridiculous as they described. Awesome show as usual.

[AleetPanda]

Kudos on the Fat Man Toilet comment! Take Wombat down a notch.

[drew327]

If I recall, with Star Wars Galaxies, you couldn't even necessarily work really hard to become a Jedi. I think there was some random element to it, and it was never made clear to the audience how they could improve their chances. What a joke.

[Sgt Barone]

CAGcast wooooooo!!

[GTmaster39]

Downloading, thanks Cheapy and crew!

[Just-Joe]

I couldn't stop laughing at Cheapy's Lou Ferrigno impression.

[Go Skate]

Nice i'll listen to this at work today.

[CheapyD]

http://www.pong-story.com/coleco_ranger.htm
http://www.pong-story.com/pics/coleco/rangerb.jpg (http://www.pong-story.com/coleco_ranger.htm)

[jidaigeki]

If I recall, with Star Wars Galaxies, you couldn't even necessarily work really hard to become a Jedi. I think there was some random element to it, and it was never made clear to the audience how they could improve their chances. What a joke.

At the time I started playing you had to master I think 6 (?) professions to unlock Jedi, but you didn't know which ones your character needed, so you just grinded professions until you unlocked. They changed that to a questline method later on, and then with the NGE Jedi was a starting character type.

[eataburger]

Hey guys great show as usual. I'm pretty sure Oprah did a show from inside Shaqs house, but I'm not going to search for the video.

Quick question: NBA Jam was just announced as a disc release for 360 and PS3.

Is that the mystery EA game that you mentioned in last week's CAGcast?

[dante_calypso]

I want to thank wombat and shipwreck for not making any jamarcus russell jokes.
NFL and codiene were really close in topic.

[DarkZion]

I can't believe some people actually thought cheapy was serious about a new review system as ridiculous as they described. Awesome show as usual.
I took it seriously just because of the well known fact that Cheapy can be incredibly lazy.

[Amnesia Bot]

Damn it you guys, I just started eating and you're already on to pooping in the shower.
I can't stop listening though because it keeps sounding like you guys are moving on.
Ah damn it, balls in toilet water...

[turkeycat79]

Do you think you could get the toilet company to sponsor the show? It only makes me wonder what kind of sound effects Wombat would make as Cheapy does the promotion?!!!

[WankerJist]

http://www.pong-story.com/coleco_ranger.htm
http://www.pong-story.com/pics/coleco/rangerb.jpg (http://www.pong-story.com/coleco_ranger.htm)

Holy crap, I can't believe they marketed that towards kids. That is a very legitimate-looking gun.

I was just discussing this with another friend, but basically the only multiplayer game that's going to be played for a while is Black Ops after it comes out. Why even bother with Medal of Honor multiplayer (or Halo: Reach, for that matter), when the majority of that audience is going to play one game? I kinda wish they would improve the single-player campaigns or give me shooting challenges to extend the shelf life of these games beyond 6-8 hours - multiplayer gets old after a while, especially when someone keeps yelling obscenities in my headset.

[beard_of_zeus]

Just wanted to say I really enjoyed Wombat's impression of Luke from Professor Layton. I'm not sure if it was because it was particularly good or not, but I was laughing pretty hard regardless.

[youruglyclone]

re: Move Advertising

Macy's At Heralds Square in NYC currently has a Kinect Display. it's on the Broadway side of the building

[lokizz]

i like japanese porn. not all of it but ive seen sme thats kinda interesting. those sharking videos are interesting due to how the women react ( you could never pull that shit here) and i once ran across some milking videos ....lactating chicks lactating or chicks squeezing other chicks boobs for milk. ive also notcied they seem to like porn with guys ganganging/raping women on busses or public pools ect. on the flip side of that i saw one with an asian woman doing the same thing to a man lol.

[lonesteban]

Thanks for mentioning Call of Podcast, guys! I'd be glad to come on the show anytime you want. And you are always welcome on mine!

http://callofpodcast.squarespace.com

http://card.mygamercard.net/Lonesteban.png (http://profile.mygamercard.net/Lonesteban)

[ianoid]

I was wondering when the fecal obsession would return. Yay!

My 6 year old daughter drops dukes that are the size of squash. One log refused to be taken to poo heaven, my wife had to help it down. Un/fortunately she didn't take a picture, but she was tempted. That would have been one for the sweet 16 party.

Great show! Always a pleasure! Keep up the good work! And Wombat please don't write a Fallout New Vegas review- hell will freeze over!

The audio quality is fantastic. Can you guys release these on vinyl so that I can play the Cagcast on my audiophile equipment?

Have you guys done a most anticipated games of the holiday season piece yet? Let's hear 'em.

[mrangrypants]

I should know better than to turn on the CAGcast when I'm eating dinner.

[louiedog]

I'll just leave this here....

http://i.imgur.com/7On50.jpg

[repete]

great show guys

[LiK]

Doodie in the shower, this is a new low Cheapy.. LoL

Quick reminder: Force Unleashed 1 didn't allow decapitation or cutting off limbs. It was lame. Glad to hear the sequel does, woot.

[Tengaport]

$$$abeefy FTW!!! Gotta love Midnight Madness.

hmmm, apparently you can't write F A G A B E E F Y here.. sheesh...

As for the PSP2, does the system really need a second stick and FPS games to be successful? Shipwreck was the only sensible one in that conversation which makes sense as he is probably the only one out of the three of you who actually uses his PSP.

While I agree there are a couple of games that could have benefited from a second analog stick it's a short list compared to the stack of great PSP titles that do just find without it. The best PSP games in my opinion are the ones designed with it's controls in mind, not the ones shoe-horned into the system.

As for what the PSP2 can do to combat the 3DS? That's the million dollar question. Not sure the answer, but I'd much rather see functions like Netflix streaming in the PSP2 rather than a second analog stick.

ps - the finish line is somewhere..... in the Bonaventure Hotel!!!

[Protocol Snow]

Tour of Shaq's bathroom and toilet. Starts at 4:17

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W4knpLsqh0#t=4m17s

[JadedJedi]

You should give us notice on the cagcast when you start talking about feces, so we can skip it and just get on with the rest of the show, which is great.

[Ch33pSh33p]

lol yeah the beginning was a bit disgusting but aside from that, it was enjoyable.

Kind of did get me thinking about those toilets though...the closest thing I saw was the ones at some airport that automatically replaced the covers on the seats so that you didn't have to worry about putting toilet paper over them before you sat down.

[200STM]

Good episode too much talking shit but that is what the CAGcast is haha awesome discussion on the latest releases and such look forward to the next episode and to hear more clang noises on table too =]

[dante_calypso]

Shipwreck in japan, "Redzilla!"

[apathylad]

Anyone think it's a bit ironic that CheapyD is laughing at listeners who couldn't tell he was joking, when he fell for Esteban's jokes some weeks ago? :P

The reason I liked my DS more than my PSP is that the former has a unique library of games you don't see on other platforms. A lot of PSP games try to mimic console counterparts, but they are ultimately inferior to them. I don't think the PSP2 is going to be much of a success, unless Sony does something different.

Anyway, good show. I'd be interesting in hearing what sort of stuff Shipwreck tours in Japan.

[Manloi]

Hello! CAGcast:


Really Great Episode this week, guys.

Keep up the good work.


A quick question about rating score in the gaming industry.


This week Nintendo release Kirby's Epic Yarn. A lot of gaming site gave the game a very high score.

Do you guys think that "Nintendo's classic charaters games" always be that good? Even better than Uncharted 2, Gears, or Halo, etc.

'Cause I always see Mario, Metroid, Zelda, always have very high scores. I played those games before but I never really enjoy it.

I also want to give a shout out to the CAG members that Smallville was great this week. Hope the people who watched the show will enjoy it, specially Wombat.

Exscue my bad english and, I am not a native English Speaker

[MSUHitman]

Wombat do not be lured in by Upper Deck's promises on the new Marvel trading card game. It was originally supposed to release in JANUARY and the release has been delayed by a year because UD is on the verge of bankruptcy and they couldn't afford to release it until now. They are losing money hand-over-fist because in the last 18-24 months, they killed VS. System, which is still the most successful card game based on comics ever, and lost the license for DC Comics (which was 1/2 of VS. System,) Yugioh, World of Warcraft, MLB, NFL, and NBA.

See my blog post from this summer about the downfall of Upper Deck.
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=14072

Upper Deck can go fuck themselves with a fucking sword.

[MSUHitman]

Shipwreck,
Those Enslaved codes were the pre-order bonuses for the different retailers.

[RichMeisterMan]

I listened to the CAGcast on the way to Knoxville with some friends of mine this weekend. They got a kick out of how casual the show was. I believe it actually peaked with Cheapy's "So preorder that shit at gamestop." when referring to DJ Hero 2, really cracked them up. It was pretty funny for some reason though...:dunce:

[TheToiletDuck]

http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/Wombat%20II.jpg

[nateeasy29]

CheapyD and Shipwreck should do a live podcast from Tokyo this week.

[ZombieJeebus]

Great show guys.

One point of clarification regarding RB3 and the free Doors dlc:

- It is only free the first week of release
- You can only access the free content through RB3's in game music store.

So you have to own or borrow the game that week if you want The Doors for free.

[The Mike]

I feel Cagcast #216, has been one of the better podcast I have heard this week. Maybe Wombat should stop talking Codeine, more often. Usually I find wombat a tad bit annoying at times, (but it adds to the humor of the podcast) but he was the total opposite this week. He was knowledgable and I "almost" agreed with everything he said. I wanted to know didn't the Duke Nukem Forever demo code come with the Borderlands GOY edition? Does it say when the actual Demo will be available on the access code? It wasn't mentioned when Shipwreck was talking about new releases this week...or are we passed Duke Nukem now?

All in all great podcast this week guys.

P.S. Fuck the 3Ds

[padumavati]

Good show; I laughed a lot this week [er, last week... getting around to this late], even though I felt bad that some of it was at Wombat's expense. He takes it in stride, though.

I wish there was something worth playing on the PSP, then maybe I would buy one. I'll probably spring for a 3DS because I'm a sucker and I haven't bought a DS since the Lite.

Also, Shaq's toilet (http://lovelylisting.icanhascheezburger.com/2010/10/14/funny-real-estate-royal-flush-diamond-toilet-swarovski/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lovelylisting+(It's+Lovely!+I'l l+Take+It!))?

[trip1eX]

Gotta love Sony and MS. Both are copying Wii at the precise time everyone is tired of it if recent Wii sales are any indication. :)

[FriskyTanuki]

I'm sure Shipwreck will love the new Xbox 360 update that gets rid of the New Arrivals page and forces you to go to each section's new arrivals tab (XBLA, Demos, Indie Games, Add-ons, etc.) to find the newest stuff. The PS Store's New Releases page shows the newest PSN and PS1 games, demos, videos, themes and other things with the only separate sections being for games with a lot of DLC (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, LBP, MNR, etc.), deals, PSP Games, and other things that don't need to be shown on one unfiltered page.

There's no way that there will be four shoulder buttons on a handheld without messing with its form factor and size.

Good show.

[tjcravey]

This was definitely the most entertaining show I've listened to so far. I listened to it on a flight from Houston to Jacksonville, and literally laughed out loud (LOL'd, if you will), on multiple occassions.

I really enjoy the fact that you guys don't shy away from the tough subjects. The editorial portion of the show where you pondered about Shaquille O'Neil's bathroom was very entertaining. Please, we want more of this!

Shipwreck, we've heard about Wombat and CheapyD's bathrooms, care to lend us listeners any insights on the WC at the Shipwreck Mansion? Maybe since you're visiting Tokyo, you could offer your opinion on the Japanese toilets.

Keep up the great work!

[Davestation]

I think Sony just said Fuck the fall season, they have been releasing many exclusives in the first three months of the year. Killzone 2 came out in February, God of War III came out in March, and Infamous came out in March (not all the same year). The only titles that I can recall them releasing in the Fall would be Uncharted, Resistance, Ratchet and Little Big Planet. In fact the next game on my radar is actually Dead Space 2 that is releasing in January. I just think that Third-Party Publishers push way to many games out in the last four months of the year where it gets saturated. If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales? I think that releasing all games at once is bad and I know that getting Dead Space 2 in January and Killzone 2 a month later is not going to kill me as a game consumer. The only thing that is annoying as a consumer is the constant delays such as what Gran Turismo has been doing. One push back is okay, several is telling me that a game is in trouble. I mean honestly, does anyone really think that Duke Nukem Forever is actually going to be any good?

[ProtoEXE88]

I think Sony just said Fuck the fall season, they have been releasing many exclusives in the first three months of the year. Killzone 2 came out in February, God of War III came out in March, and Infamous came out in March (not all the same year). The only titles that I can recall them releasing in the Fall would be Uncharted, Resistance, Ratchet and Little Big Planet. In fact the next game on my radar is actually Dead Space 2 that is releasing in January. I just think that Third-Party Publishers push way to many games out in the last four months of the year where it gets saturated. If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales? I think that releasing all games at once is bad and I know that getting Dead Space 2 in January and Killzone 2 a month later is not going to kill me as a game consumer. The only thing that is annoying as a consumer is the constant delays such as what Gran Turismo has been doing. One push back is okay, several is telling me that a game is in trouble. I mean honestly, does anyone really think that Duke Nukem Forever is actually going to be any good?

Another good market people seem to forget about is the post-Christmas one, where people blow all their gift cards on shit, and if games are out in January people will save them for those games. Plus, you can't get every game at Christmas (There's so many big releases coming out between now and the end of November), so there's enough time to pay off the bills and then buy the new game.

[MSUHitman]

I think Sony just said Fuck the fall season, they have been releasing many exclusives in the first three months of the year. Killzone 2 came out in February, God of War III came out in March, and Infamous came out in March (not all the same year). The only titles that I can recall them releasing in the Fall would be Uncharted, Resistance, Ratchet and Little Big Planet. In fact the next game on my radar is actually Dead Space 2 that is releasing in January. I just think that Third-Party Publishers push way to many games out in the last four months of the year where it gets saturated. If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales? I think that releasing all games at once is bad and I know that getting Dead Space 2 in January and Killzone 2 a month later is not going to kill me as a game consumer. The only thing that is annoying as a consumer is the constant delays such as what Gran Turismo has been doing. One push back is okay, several is telling me that a game is in trouble. I mean honestly, does anyone really think that Duke Nukem Forever is actually going to be any good?

Killzone was Feb. 09, GoW III was March 2010, and Infamous was May 09.

Pushing a game back is understandable, but you have to plan your releases properly. If you're a shooter like Homefront and you go against Killzone 3, Bulletstorm, or even Duke Nukem, then you might as well kiss your sales goodbye. This year is was literally 1 AAA after another from the end of Feb. through mid-March, a bit of a slowdown in April with Splinter Cell and SSFIV, then some disappointing sales for A LOT of titles in a slammed May that got dominated by Red Dead Redemption. Those that didn't get Red Dead got Mario. Capcom is a MASTER at getting the most sales in the springtime (outside of Lost Planet 2) while EA is becoming a fast learner. Sony has done good business the last two spring seasons, then seem to drop the ball for Christmas.

If Sony thinks only PS Move and no other exclusive titles are going to be able to compete for Christmas sales against Halo, Fable, and Kinect, with the 360 already being the leader in third-party titles like Fallout and Call of Duty, then they have another think coming. I'm beginning to wonder if 2011 is going to be like 2010 for Sony, a BUNCH of games in the first few months then almost nothing for the rest of the year.

Between Feb. and March, I bought 5 PS3 titles new at retail. Since then, it's only been a Move bundle and a used copy of MAG.

[MSUHitman]

I wish there was something worth playing on the PSP, then maybe I would buy one. I'll probably spring for a 3DS because I'm a sucker and I haven't bought a DS since the Lite.

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, Lunar 1 remake, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Persona 3 Portable, Valkyria Chronicles 2, Ys Seven, Phantasy Star Portable 2, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (all released this year) not enough for you? New God of War and Ys remake coming in 2 weeks; plus The 3rd Birthday (ie Parasite Eve 3,) FF: Dissidia 2, more Ys ports/new titles, and Valkyria Chronicles 3 coming next year.

Plus there's a ton of older titles like Rock Band Unplugged (Checkmate Arcade's 2009 PSP GotY), Resistance Retribution, the two Syphon Filter games, the 2 previous SOCOM Fireteam Bravo's, Ratchet and Clank, GoW, 2 Jak and Daxter platformers (1 a sequel to the trilogy, the other a side story with just Daxter set between Jak 1 and 2,) FF Disidia, FF Tactics, FF7 Crisis Core, Phantasy Star portable 1, port of PS1 hard-to-find-classic Valkyrie Profile, a ton of other JRPG's, and a bunch of good old-school compilations.

Now if you don't like Japanese developed games then yeah things are looking grimmer, but you mentioned the DS specifically, so I figure at least SOME of these are in your wheelhouse.

[jkanownik]

If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales?

Borderlands and Dragon Age both did fine as new IP released in the holiday season last year. Brutal Legend's problem wasn't timing.

If anything this year has proved that it is riskier launching outside of the holiday window. If a Red Dead Redemption falls in your month there aren't enough dollars to go around outside of the holiday season. Keep in mind that last year 46% of the full year console sales occurred in Nov/Dec.

[Davestation]

Borderlands and Dragon Age both did fine as new IP released in the holiday season last year. Brutal Legend's problem wasn't timing.

If anything this year has proved that it is riskier launching outside of the holiday window. If a Red Dead Redemption falls in your month there aren't enough dollars to go around outside of the holiday season. Keep in mind that last year 46% of the full year console sales occurred in Nov/Dec.

Actually, they got their asses handed to them in the top ten sales. Each game only made it to the top ten once from release date to end of year. Dragon Age Origins made it to the number nine spot in November and Borderlands made it to the number three spot in October. These where not combine sales, just on the 360. Its much more logical to release your new IP against Red Dead instead of the most anticipated games of the year.

They are still good but if they where released in a time with less competition, than it could help the sales. I mean, if you look at the trend it seems like big games are being released in each month.

[lliven]

love the show guys.

[jkanownik]

Actually, they got their asses handed to them in the top ten sales. Each game only made it to the top ten once from release date to end of year. Dragon Age Origins made it to the number nine spot in November and Borderlands made it to the number three spot in October. These where not combine sales, just on the 360. Its much more logical to release your new IP against Red Dead instead of the most anticipated games of the year.

They are still good but if they where released in a time with less competition, than it could help the sales. I mean, if you look at the trend it seems like big games are being released in each month.

Your argument is not supported by facts. The absolute top ten rankings by month are meaningless when taken out of context.

Avg #10 in Apr/May TY - 144K
Avg #10 in Nov/Dec LY - 486K

[Davestation]

The argument is supported by facts. The fact that they got blown away by much better known franchises shows that it is a tuff market in the fourth quarter. Its good that they broke in to it, but I would imagine that they would sell more units if they where not up against Modern Warfare or Uncharted. Sure if they where released in January they still have to face Mass Effect 2 and God of War III in March.

If you here that there is an awesome first person shooter that came out, but you know for a fact that Modern Warfare is on the horizon the consumer is likely to go to what they know witch is Call of Duty.

I used the top ten to show that they had trouble breaking in the market, as to the possibility that they could have better sales in the following months.

[jkanownik]

The argument is supported by facts. The fact that they got blown away by much better known franchises shows that it is a tuff market in the fourth quarter. Its good that they broke in to it, but I would imagine that they would sell more units if they where not up against Modern Warfare or Uncharted. Sure if they where released in January they still have to face Mass Effect 2 and God of War III in March.

If you here that there is an awesome first person shooter that came out, but you know for a fact that Modern Warfare is on the horizon the consumer is likely to go to what they know witch is Call of Duty.

I used the top ten to show that they had trouble breaking in the market, as to the possibility that they could have better sales in the following months.

I'll put in simpler terms so that you can understand it better. People buy 3 games in Nov/Dec for every 1 they buy in Apr/May. After Call of Duty they still have two more games they will buy in Nov/Dec. If they buy Red Dead in Apr/May they aren't buying any other games. As a result it is much riskier to launch a game outside of the holiday season.

[Davestation]

I'll put in simpler terms so that you can understand it better. People buy 3 games in Nov/Dec for every 1 they buy in Apr/May. After Call of Duty they still have two more games they will buy in Nov/Dec. If they buy Red Dead in Apr/May they aren't buying any other games. As a result it is much riskier to launch a game outside of the holiday season.

That's flawed logic. Gamers and casual gamers do not have a I am only going to buy 3 games between November-December and one through April and May attitude. Lets take the NPD Numbers (http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/NPD_November_2009) for November 2009. Using the top ten selling. The total units sold for the top ten is 10.87 million units. Call of Duty takes the number 1 (360 sale) and the number two (PS3 sales) at selling a total of 6.1 million units or 56% of the total of top ten sales. The next selling highest one is Assasins Creed II selling a total of 1.24 million units or just 11%. So if only two titles make up 67% in the top ten, you are telling me that people are buying different games and that people are not just buying the triple A titles that have been anticipated all year?

Now back to Brutal Legend. EA should have realized that Tim Schaffer and his studio is a critically acclaimed studio and is not that great of a seller. So by EA releasing Brutal Legend in the fall, it was over-shadowed by Uncharted, Call of Duty, and Assasins Creed. If they released it in January or February all the hype would have died down from the Triple A titles giving it a better platform to stand out. Thats all I am saying. Its cool to see that Borderlands and Dragon Age did well.

Also, you have to ask yourself why Nintendo and Sony are releasing there triple A titles in the spring/fall. They have less competition during that time. If God of War III was released in the fall instead of March, I bet you Call of Duty would have hurt its sales and on top of that Uncharted would have been competing against it as well. I just think that Publishers are starting to realize that they can spread games out through out the year and still get great sales.

[Blackout]

If you can feel what I am feeling, then the truth is just believing. You're my, you're my Diiiiaaaammmond Giiirrrrllll.

[jkanownik]

That's flawed logic. Gamers and casual gamers do not have a I am only going to buy 3 games between November-December and one through April and May attitude. Lets take the NPD Numbers (http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/NPD_November_2009) for November 2009. Using the top ten selling. The total units sold for the top ten is 10.87 million units. Call of Duty takes the number 1 (360 sale) and the number two (PS3 sales) at selling a total of 6.1 million units or 56% of the total of top ten sales. The next selling highest one is Assasins Creed II selling a total of 1.24 million units or just 11%. So if only two titles make up 67% in the top ten, you are telling me that people are buying different games and that people are not just buying the triple A titles that have been anticipated all year?

Now back to Brutal Legend. EA should have realized that Tim Schaffer and his studio is a critically acclaimed studio and is not that great of a seller. So by EA releasing Brutal Legend in the fall, it was over-shadowed by Uncharted, Call of Duty, and Assasins Creed. If they released it in January or February all the hype would have died down from the Triple A titles giving it a better platform to stand out. Thats all I am saying. Its cool to see that Borderlands and Dragon Age did well.

Also, you have to ask yourself why Nintendo and Sony are releasing there triple A titles in the spring/fall. They have less competition during that time. If God of War III was released in the fall instead of March, I bet you Call of Duty would have hurt its sales and on top of that Uncharted would have been competing against it as well. I just think that Publishers are starting to realize that they can spread games out through out the year and still get great sales.

Again you're using numbers that are irrelevant (% of top ten), assuming that Brutal Legend ever would have sold well and making assumptions about how games would have sold in a different window. Bayonetta was highly rated and didn't even sell 171K units on a single platform in January. Same with MAG. Look at what happened in May. RDR, SMG2 and UFC pushed all other new releases to <146K units.

I'm not doubting that a game has a better chance of grabbing your personal attention outside of the holiday. You've already clearly stated that. And I'm not refuting that games can be successful outside of the holiday window. I have four basic points:

1) There is no release window where Brutal Legend would have sold well
2) There is significantly less overall volume outside of the holiday, so there are less sales to go around. The difference between the two is extremely large.
3) There are recent examples of new IP selling well in the holiday season. Add Demon's Souls to that list.
4) There are recent examples of new IP not selling well outside of the holiday season.

[Davestation]

Again you're using numbers that are irrelevant (% of top ten), assuming that Brutal Legend ever would have sold well and making assumptions about how games would have sold in a different window. Bayonetta was highly rated and didn't even sell 171K units on a single platform in January. Same with MAG. Look at what happened in May. RDR, SMG2 and UFC pushed all other new releases to <146K units.

I'm not doubting that a game has a better chance of grabbing your personal attention outside of the holiday. You've already clearly stated that. And I'm not refuting that games can be successful outside of the holiday window. I have four basic points:

1) There is no release window where Brutal Legend would have sold well
2) There is significantly less overall volume outside of the holiday, so there are less sales to go around. The difference between the two is extremely large.
3) There are recent examples of new IP selling well in the holiday season. Add Demon's Souls to that list.
4) There are recent examples of new IP not selling well outside of the holiday season.

1) I agree with this, I just think that it could have sold better. I am not trying to say that it should have sold more, I am just saying that it could have sold better. I think the game is total shit and it just came to me when I wrote the original post.

2) There is still a market outside the Holiday season. This is where we saw Mass Effect 2, Red Dead, Final Fantasy, Metroid, and Mario land this year.

3) I think we both agree with this.....

4) That is always the case with games. I am not arguing that point.

I am just saying that there is other windows for Publishers to release games on instead of the Fall. Using the top ten NPD numbers will tell you how games are doing against each other that where just released. If you know that Call of Duty is releasing do you really want to put up your brand new IP against a well established IP?

[dv8mad]

Decided to get off my fat ass and take a walk each night after my wife and son have gone to sleep and whenever it's not raining.
Went ahead and downloaded this CAGcast to kill time during the walk. My first podcast ever and, I have to say, it was more entertaining than I had imagined.

Thanks Cheapy for the terrible Lou Ferrigno impression. That and a few other high points had a very nice end result. For future reference, a foreigner walking around in the middle of the night on dimly lit sidewalks who suddenly starts laughing out loud really freaks out Japanese people.

[TooMuchCoolness]

Shipwreck why would you buy everything on PSN just because it's free? It's a waste of time and hard drive space...

[ch3zyp00fs]

Hey guys, I just finished listening to the show and I love the Midnight Madness clip at the end of it! What an awesome movie. M-E-A-T M-A-C-H-I-N-E, MEAT MACHINE, MEAT MACHINE! It also showed me that beer is cool and that you could telescopes for other purposes.

[strife18]

Regardless of that first 10 mins not being anything near the topic of video games. I whole-heartedly approved of it because it made me laugh out loud while walking in public.