Ever since its November 13th release date, the Wrath of the Lich King expansion for popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, has pretty much reigned supreme in terms of PC software sales.
Well, it looks like the expansion has finally been toppled; recent software sales show that THQ’s Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II is the new leader, pushing WotLK to number 2.
Below is the top 10 in terms of PC software sales for February, showing both the title and the games developer:
1. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II / Relic
2. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis
4. The Sims 2 Deluxe / EA Maxis
5. Spore / EA Maxis
6. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard
7. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard
8. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin / Monolith
9. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack / EA Maxis
10. Crysis Warhead / Crytek
A modder by the name of Logicdustbin was evidently displeased with the current game offerings for Macand decided to take matters into his own hands.
Logicdustbin took an old, circa 1998 iMac, gutted it, stuck a Dreamcast in it, and rewired the computers power button to power the console. After installing a modern day LCD, along with relocating the controller ports, he was finished.
What you see above is a video showcasing his creation, a peice of hardware he calls iCast.
Seems like NFS developer Black Box is betting a lot on Need for Speed World Online, as they are still working on the project despite massive layoffs and the closure of its central office. They released a new screenshot from the upcoming free PC racing MMO, showing off the customizable user interface.
"Instead of a traditional console view of a game, we’re using a user-selectable gadget interface designed specifically for the PC," explained producer Scott Henshaw.
“A lot of gamers now have more than one monitor so you could keep the game window entirely clean and then have all the gadgets sit in the other monitor. We think it’s about time PC gamers had games that allowed them to arrange their information their way.”
The game will launch in Asia this summer. North America will get it later in winter.
Midway’s financial struggles aren’t exactly anything new, but what they are doing is quite interesting: the company has proposed an incentive plan that would see employees receive bonuses for meeting certain goals, but in a rather illogical twist, they won’t reimburse ex-employees for unused paid time off.
Their plan outlined three specific plans. The first – which was recently accomplished – was to find a co-publisher for Wheelman (Ubisoft stepped up to the plate) which will see a $497,500 bonus given out to employees.
The other two plans are to sell the Mortal Kombat property to another company and submit a new reorganization plan. Either is worth $1,292,500.
This move is surprising because the MK property has been a best-selling franchise for the publisher since the original’s release back in 1992.
While all this is fine and dandy, the company is backtracking on its promises that employees would be paid for unused paid time off. The promises were made three days before its recent bankruptcy filing.
Celebrating the six year anniversary of the release of Command & Conquer Generals, EA has released a “controversial” mission for the game.
Released for free, the mission was originally intended to be the third mission in the game’s Global Liberation Army campaign; it proved to be a bit too edgy to be included in the final release. Dubbed “Black Sheep”, the mission entails:
…Players were given command of the Toxin Tractor, a slow-going farm vehicle modified to spray a deadly corrosive agent, and ordered to eliminate a town that had been "corrupted beyond salvation" by the USA’s propaganda. While the mission was ultimately removed from Generals, the Toxin Tractor was available in other campaign missions, as well as in multiplayer and skirmish modes.
If you have the game, be sure to check this unethical (and also immoral) mission out.
To further spread the joys of Spore, developer EA Maxis has released the data and documentation that will allow users to create web applications that make use of user-created content from the game.
The API has already seen quite a few projects being created, including a fun aquarium using creatures from the game, embeddable Flash programs that display statistics and more.
To make the release of the API that much more awesome, Maxis is running a contest where it will award three application designers with various prizes.
Codemasters has been touting the upcoming Operation Flashpoint sequel as an “official” return to the series for some time now, and it appears Bohemia Interactive, developers of the original game and the ArmA series of spiritual sequels, is not taking kindly to this, as they are protesting against Codemasters.
Bohemia developed the original military shooter which Codemasters published back in 2001. However, the two companies parted ways over legal disputes, and Bohemia continued making military shooters under the ArmA name.
Recently Codemasters announced its own Operation Flashpoint sequel, placing it in direct competition with ArmA 2, which has upset Bohemia.
"In the license agreement, Bohemia Interactive expressly reserved the exclusive right to develop sequels to the original OFP game," said Bohemia attorney Leora Herrmann. "Codemasters also acknowledged that Bohemia owns all the intellectual property in the game–except the words ‘Operation Flashpoint’."
"Since Codemasters has no right to use the Bohemia Interactive game engine or any other component of the Bohemia-developed game, how can it rightfully claim to produce a ‘sequel’?" asked Bohemia CEO Marek Spanel.
Spanel admits that while they cannot stop Codemasters from publishing the game, he believes that the company should not promote it as the official sequel to the original.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this summer.
Midway’s financial struggles aren’t exactly anything new, but what they are doing is quite interesting: the company has proposed an incentive plan that would see employees receive bonuses for meeting certain goals, but in a rather illogical twist, they won’t reimburse ex-employees for unused paid time off.
Celebrating the six year anniversary of the release of Command & Conquer Generals, EA has released a “controversial” mission for the game.
To further spread the joys of Spore, developer EA Maxis has 
Codemasters has been touting the upcoming Operation Flashpoint sequel as an “official” return to the series for some time now, and it appears Bohemia Interactive, developers of the original game and the ArmA series of spiritual sequels, is not taking kindly to this, as they are protesting against Codemasters.