Wednesday, October 7, 2009

EXP Podcast #46: Fall Sales, Speculation, and Sweets

The Fall release season is upon us, bringing with it its annual gaming bounty. While it may be humanly impossible for us to play all of the new releases, nothing is stopping us from trying to guess what other people will play. This week, Jorge and I channel our inner Michael Pachter and enter into a gentleman's agreement: We each came up with a list of what we believe will be the top ten best-selling games released between October and December. When February rolls around, we will take revisit our predictions and score them based on their accuracy. Ideally, we will be using NPD numbers, but our access may be limited since we aren't members of the press. When possible, we'll use NPD numbers first and then supplement them with other sources when necessary.

The winner will enjoy a (hopefully) tasty dessert of their choosing...made by the loser! Food, games, and gambling: What could be better? Below are our respective picks. As always, feel free to jump in with your choices in comments section. What are your predictions? While we can't promise dessert for anyone that beats us (or can we...?), the victory will undoubtedly be far sweeter than anything made by mere mortals.

Jorge's List:

1. Modern Warfare 2
2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
3. Wii Fit Plus
4. Band Hero
5. Uncharted 2
6. Left 4 Dead 2
7. Assassins Creed 2
8. Lego Indiana Jones 2
9. DJ Hero
10. Dragon Age

Scott's List:

1. Wii Fit Plus
2. Modern Warfare 2
3. New Super Mario Bros Wii
4. Lego Indiana Jones 2
5. Dragon Age
6. Lego Rock Band
7. Assassin's Creed 2
8. Left 4 Dead 2
9. The Legend of Zelda: The Spirit Tracks
10. Brutal Legend

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Show notes:

- Run time: 28 min 11 sec
- Music provided by Brad Sucks

3 comments:

  1. I think you guys did pretty good with those lists.

    I just wonder, how come I totally hope that Modern Warfare 2 won't sell(like in at all)?
    I mean personally I definitely won't buy it day one, maybe because I felt like putting 60 bucks in US war propaganda after having bought CoD4 or maybe because I think Activision is kind of the new EA(which in turn scored a million points with Mirror's Edge and Dead Space last year and now Brutal Legend...). Or maybe because of that Bobby Kotick dude...

    However I think it's probably wishful thinking that people will put their money in Brutal Legend instead of Modern Warfare 2.

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  2. Hey guys! Sorry for not commenting for so long. I got way behind on my podcasts. Cleaning up the backlog now.

    Great Idea on making those lists. I generally agree. My list would include the following adjustments, tho:

    - Uncharted 2 waaay higher! It received amazing reviews. Even I was quite the skeptic but got interested.

    - I would put Zelda higher. It has a huge Fanbase, especially in Japan. Or are we talking just America here?

    - Where is Forza 3? With the GT5 being delayed, many Auto aficionados might go for a switch.

    - I think you over-estimate the power of the LEGO franchise. Combining yet another LEGO game with yet another music game is massive fail in my eyes. The market is just too saturated on both types of games. Indiana Jones 2 is a case of "But Part 1 sucked before so what makes you think we wanted more". I doubt either of those will do exceptionally well.

    - I really hope you are wrong on Dragon Age. What I saw about it so far look just awful. Dull, uninspired and right out ugly. There has been some buzz but I heard only negative things. Besides, aren't fantasy fans already sorted for eternity with Warcraft and other MMOs?

    Finally, considering your attitude towards LEGO games, I challenge you to try LEGO Battles! I wonder what you think of it.

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  3. @ Christian

    I agree, Activision rubs me the wrong way. But there is some quiet person, or group of people, at Infinity Ward who add something ingenious to CoD. I want to see what they have up their sleeve this time. And yes, I hope Brutal Legend succeeds too. But how many people said the same thing about Psychonauts?

    @ Krystian

    Welcome back to the comments! Sounds like you sided with Scott on your picks. Don't go pick up Uncharted 2 and Zelda just to bump his numbers. ;)

    Forza 3 I was tempted to put on my list! But I just don't know how many racing aficionados are out there. Forza isn't the neighborhood kid's Mario Kart, that's some serious racing. I just don't see mom and pop picking that up for little Timmy.

    Also, Lego will always sell. Always. They have a theme park for crying out loud!

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