Source: videogamesblogger.com

MashON has released their Spore Comic Book creator. The online service allows users to create comic books using Spore imagery, sounds, music and videos from the game along with your very own Spore creatures and game play. You can then create your own story, comic book, graphic novel or what-have-you, directly in your browser (at this point it looks to just be online and NOT a retail product, yet there is this boxart).

After you have created your masterpiece, it can be e-mailed, uploaded to the MashON site, or embeded in the social network of your choice, such as myspace or facebook.

Give it a look at the official web-site on the link above. The Spore MashON Comic Book Creator does not require the Spore game to play.

Spore is Will Wright’s latest masterpiece and was released this past September on PC, Mac, DS (as Spore Creatures) and mobile platforms. The game allows you to take a created creature from microscopic organism all the way through the evolutionary chain to a galactic civilization capable of space flight and planet terraforming! The game was a success for EA, as Spore sold over a million copies in it’s first week, although that didn’t come without it’s own Spore DRM controversy.

Here is an interview from earlier in the year about the Spore Comic Book Creator.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Time has released a list of the top 50 inventions of 2008, and Will Wright’s Spore has made the list!

Spore was Will Wright’s follow-up to The Sims which has players creating a creature and taking it from a microscopic organism all the way into a space exploring civilization.

Spore was the only game to make the list, and came in at #20, which is quite the feat. The magazine called Spore “the everything game” and went on to say it’s “blasphemy, brilliance or both.”

Via Kotaku

Source: videogamesblogger.com

EA has announced that they are developed a Spore Space Stage Expansion Pack, with a release date set for Spring of 2009.

The expansion pack will allow players to beam creatures down from their spaceships to explore new planets and go on missions, adding an adventure-style mode to the game. In addition, an Adventure Creator mode will allow players to create their own custom missions, which they can then share with friends and enemies through the magic of the Internet.

In other Spore news, Electronic Arts confirmed that they are indeed releasing a Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack to stores worldwide on November 18th, as retail listings had previously revealed. The pack will include an additional 100 new components to create creatures with. The components will be themed in two styles: charming/cartoony and scary/monster-like.

Here’s the E3 2008 trailer for Spore, which is available for the PC, Mac, iPod and for the DS in form of Spore: Creatures.

Via Shacknews

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts), 4. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Bandai Namco), 5. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games).

Japan: 1. Wii Music (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (Bandai), 4. Daikaijuu Battle: Ultra Coliseum (Bandai), 5. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Wii Play (Nintendo), 2. Carnival: Fun Fair Games (2K Games), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 5. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Dead Space (Electronic Arts), 2. Saints Row 2 (THQ), 3. FIFA Soccer 09 (Electronic Arts), 4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 5. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts).

Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Gears of War - Platinum Collection (Microsoft), 3. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition (Bethesda), 4. The Idolm@ster - Platinum Collection (Namco), 5. Dead Rising - Platinum Collection (Capcom).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Dead Space (Electronic Arts), 2. FIFA Soccer 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts), 4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar).

Japan: 1. Aquanaut’s Holiday (Sony), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Special Edition (Konami), 3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (Bethesda), 4. Afrika (Sony), 5. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi - Limited Edition (Aqua Plus).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 5. Play TV (Sony).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games), 3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 4. FIFA Soccer 09 (Electronic Arts), 5. God of War II (Sony).

Japan: 1. Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Gundam Masters (Bandai), 2. Super Robot Taisen Z (Banpresto), 3. Hokuouki - Special Edition (Idea Factory), 4. Dynasty Warriors 6 Special (Koei), 5. Tales of the Abyss - Platinum Edition (Namco).

Europe: 1. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 2. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. The Golden Compass (Sega), 5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar).

PC
North America: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy (Her Interactive), 3. World of Warcraft Battlechest (Blizzard), 4. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts), 5. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games).

Japan: 1. Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Bandai Namco), 2. Chaos;Head (Nitro Plus), 3. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts), 4. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix), 5. Clannad Full Voice (Key).

1. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts), 2. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix), 3. Zwei II - Special Edition (Nihon Falcom), 4. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 5. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Artss).

Europe: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Arts), 3. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (Ubisoft), 4. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 5. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 3. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. My Japanese Coach (Ubisoft).

Japan: 1. Culdcept DS (Sega), 2. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo), 3. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 4. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 5. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision), 5. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Daxter (Sony).

Japan: 1. Don’t Be So Bold Just Because You Are Heroes Part 2 (Sony), 2. Macross Ace Frontier (Bandai), 3. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 4. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 5. Clannad (Prototype).

Europe: 1. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 2. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (Activision), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts).

Wii Fit returns to the healthiest spot on the Wii chart. Dead Space debuts on the #1 spot on the Xbox 360 & PS3 charts. Lego Batman stays on the PS2 chart. Spore continues to explore the first place on the PC top 5. Kirby Super Star Ultra returns on the DS chart. And lastly Star Wars: The Force Unleashed stays high on the PSP chart.

As a little extra this week, I’m listing the top 5 sales per region for all systems combined.

North America: 1. Wii Fit (Wii), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Wii), 3. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Wii), 4. Dead Space (Xbox 360), 5. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Wii).

Japan: 1. Wii Music (Wii), 2. Culdcept DS (DS), 3. Pokemon Platinum (DS), 4. Don’t Be So Bold Just Because You Are Heroes Part 2 (PSP), 5. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS).

Europe: 1. Wii Play (Wii), 2. Carnival: Fun Fair Games (Wii), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Wii), 4. Wii Fit (Wii), 5. FIFA 09 (PS3).

For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN (PC) & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

About a month after the release of the PC life sim Spore, the first Spore expansion has been revealed by Electronic Arts as the “Creepy & Cute Parts Pack”. The pack isn’t so much a gameplay expansion as it is an item add-on pack. It will set you back $19.95. You can pre-order it for digital download via the EA Store for its release date on November 18th, 2008. It’ll be available at retail stores as well.

I don’t know if you’ve seen Spore’s YouTube upload page or the Sporepedia, but editing together new creatures keeps proving to be really popular with nearly 37 million creations so far.

It’s expected the second Spore expansion pack will be for a Flora Editor.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo), 4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 5. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Bandai Namco).

Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 4. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Nintendo), 5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts).

Europe: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Family Trainer: Outdoor Challenge (Bandai Namco), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. NBA 2K9 (2K Sports), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Rock Band 2 (MTV Games), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Halo 3 (Microsoft).

Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Dead Rising - Platinum Collection (Capcom), 3. Infinite Undiscovery (Square Enix), 4. Warriors Orochi 2 (Koei), 5. Earth Defense Forces 3 (D3 Publisher).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. NBA 2K9 (2K Sports), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 5. Iron Man (Sega).

Japan: 1. Aquanaut’s Holiday (Sony), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Special Edition (Konami), 3. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi - Limited Edition (Aqua Plus), 4. Afrika (Sony), 5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (Bethesda).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (Sony).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 2. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. God of War II (SCEA), 4. Shadow of the Colossus (Sony), 5. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games).

Japan: 1. Super Robot Taisen Z (Banpresto), 2. Dynasty Warriors 6 Special (Koei), 3. Hokuouki (Idea Factory), 4. Persona 4 (Atlus), 5. Hokuouki - Special Edition (Idea Factory).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 4. SingStar Summer Party (Sony), 5. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts).

PC
North America: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy (Her Interactive), 3. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts), 4. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 5. The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft (Dreamcatcher).

Japan: 1. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts), 2. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix), 3. Zwei II - Special Edition (Nihon Falcom), 4. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 5. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Artss).

Europe: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (Ubisoft), 3. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Arts), 4. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 5. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts), 2. Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo), 3. Disney Friends (Disney), 4. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 5. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 2. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo), 3. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 4. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 5. DS Beautiful Letter Training (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Mahjongg DS (Deep Silver), 5. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix).

Japan: 1. Macross Ace Frontier (Bandai), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 3. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 4. To Love-Ru Trouble: Exciting Beach School Version - Special Edition (Marvelous), 5. Way of the Samurai Portable (Spike).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 4. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 5. Football Manager Handheld 2008 (Sega).

Mario Kart Wii races to the first place on the Wii chart. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed holds on to the #1 spot on the PS3 & PSP charts. NBA 2K9 debuts at the top of the Xbox 360 chart. Lego Batman stays on the PS2 chart. Spore continues to explore the first place on the PC top 5. And lastly, after a discount to $19.99, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga returns on the DS chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN (PC) & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Bandai Namco), 5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts).

Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Nintendo), 3. One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1 (Bandai), 4. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 5. Wii Sports (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Wii Play (Nintendo), 2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play (Electronic Arts), 3. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Rock Band 2 (MTV Games), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Halo 3 (Microsoft).

Japan: 1. Raiden IV (Moss), 2. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 3. Dead Rising - Platinum Collection (Capcom), 4. The Idolm@ster - Platinum Collection (Namco), 5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (Bethesda).

Europe: 1. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (Ubisoft), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Silent Hill: Homecoming (Konami), 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Game of the Year Edition (Activision).

Japan: 1. Aquanaut’s Holiday (Sony), 2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (Bethesda), 3. Cross Edge (Compile Heart), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Special Edition (Konami), 5. Afrika (Sony).

Europe: 1. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Play TV (Sony), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (Ubisoft).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games).

Japan: 1. Dynasty Warriors 6 Special (Koei), 2. Super Robot Taisen Z (Banpresto), 3. Hokuouki (Idea Factory), 4. Hokuouki - Special Edition (Idea Factory), 5. Major League Baseball Power Pros 3 (Konami).

Europe: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar), 3. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots (THQ).

PC
North America: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts), 3. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 4. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning — Collector’s Edition (Electronic Arts), 5. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Arts).

Japan: 1. Zwei II - Limited Edition (Nihon Falcom), 2. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts), 3. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix), 4. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 5. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Arts).

Europe: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts), 3. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 4. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Arts), 5. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo), 2. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision), 3. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 4. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (Nintendo), 5. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.).

Japan: 1. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo), 2. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 3. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 4. World Destruction: The Will that Leads (Sega), 5. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 3. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 4. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 5. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow (Sony), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 4. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 5. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar).

Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 2. To LoveRu Trouble: Doki Doki! Rinkaigakkou-Hen - Limited Edition (Marvelous), 3. Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist - Limited Edition (Marvelous), 4. Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist (Marvelous), 5. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega).

Europe: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts), 3. Ben 10: Protector of Earth (D3 Publisher), 4. Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (Activision), 5. Need for Speed: ProStreet (Electronic Arts).

Mario Kart Wii races to the first place on the Wii chart. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed holds on to the #1 spot on the PS3 chart. Rock Band 2 remains on top of the Xbox 360 hitlist. Lego Batman stays on the PS2 chart. Spore evolves to the first place in the PC top 5. Kirby Super Star Ultra debuts on the DS chart. And lastly, after a discount, Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow returns to the PSP chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN (PC) & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 4. Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection (Crave), 5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts).

Japan: 1. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. One Piece: Unlimited Cruise - Episode 1 (Bandai), 5. Wii Sports (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 5. Carnival Fun Fair Games (2K Games).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Rock Band 2 (MTV Games), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 4. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 5. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (Ubisoft).

Japan: 1. Janline (Recom), 2. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 3. Infinite Undiscovery - Limited Edition (Square Enix), 4. Dead Rising - Platinum Collection (Capcom), 5. Infinite Undiscovery (Square Enix).

Europe: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Game of the Year Edition (Activision), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony).

Japan: 1. Aquanaut’s Holiday (Sony), 2. Cross Edge (Compile Heart), 3. Afrika (Sony), 4. Eternal Sonata (Namco), 5. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Special Edition (Konami)

Europe: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Play TV (Sony), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 5. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Sony).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 2. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Rock Band Special Edition (Electronic Arts), 4. Yakuza 2 (Sega), 5. SingStar Pop Vol. 2 (Sony).

Japan: 1. Super Robot Taisen Z (Banpresto), 2. Kinnikuman Muscle Grand Prix Max 2 (Bandai), 3. Hokuouki - Special Edition (Idea Factory), 4. Hokuouki (Idea Factory), 5. Persona 4 (Atlus).

Europe: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts), 3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar), 4. Gran Turismo 4 (Sony), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

PC
North America: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts), 3. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 4. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning - Collector’s Edition (Electronic Arts), 5. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts).

Japan: 1. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts), 2. Zwei II - Special Edition (Nihon Falcom), 3. The Sims 2: Apartment Life! Data Set (Electronic Arts), 4. Ragnarok Online Beginner’s Package 2008 (E Frontier), 5. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier).

Europe: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts), 3. Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Deluxe Edition (Microsoft), 4. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 5. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision), 2. Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo), 3. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.).

Japan: 1. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 2. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo), 3. World Destruction: The Will that Leads (Sega), 4. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 5. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 3. Scrabble Interactive: 2007 Edition (Ubisoft), 4. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 5. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 3. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 4. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony), 5. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix).

Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 2. Teacher Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena (Marvelous), 3. Way of the Samurai Portable (Spike), 4. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 5. Neo Angelique - Special Edition (Koei).

Europe: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony).

Mario Kart Wii races to the first place on the Wii chart. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed holds on to the #1 spot on the PS3 and PSP charts. Rock Band 2 returns to the top of the Xbox 360 hitlist. Lego Batman debuts on the PS2 chart. Spore returns to the first place in the PC top 5. Lastly Guitar Hero: On Tour returns to the DS chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN (PC) & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

This week on Zero Punctuation: Yahtzee’s God complex doesn’t help him like Spore any more than most other games on this planet… or any planet in the galaxy for that matter. As always, coarse language and suggestive imagery ahead.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

It looks like EA has a pretty huge crisis on their hands. Spore was supposed to be one of their biggest games to date. Developed by Will Wright of Maxis who created The Sims and SimCity, it was his next opus and was one of the most anticipated game launches of 2008.

However that may all be mute thanks to EA’s use of DRM in Spore. What does this do? If you legitimately buy a copy of Spore, they limit how many instals you can do with the game to THREE. After that, you must call them and have a tech-person allow you more instals. In addition, only one Spore file can be created per copy. So if you live in a household and like to game with siblings or friends, then you can look forward to them all having to play YOUR file.

In short, EA has effectively punished those who are paying for the game with anti-theft measures. This makes many customers feel like they are being treated like potential thieves.

And this has created a significant backlash. Spore has one of the lowest ratings on Amazon, due to every person who knows about the DRM sending EA a statement by rating the game with 1 star! In addition and much more significantly, Spore is one of the most pirated games in history, with an estimated 500,000 downloads on BitTorrent alone! The reason? Well outside of sending a statement to EA, the pirated version is also DRM-free, although you can’t play it online for that reason. Ironically this piracy crack removes one of the main features in Spore: 100,000’s of player-created races being shared onto your planets as you further explore the game (while online).

We at VGB do not endorse pirating and I have been very vocal about giving my support in the form of cash to the people I think deserve it, whether it’s a band or a video game developer. However, after learning all this about Spore, I can effectively say that they will not be getting my money. And that is a crying shame. Especially since I’m a big fan of Will Wright and had been looking forward to Spore for quite a while.

IGN is also reporting that the massive Amazon.com and pirating protests have gotten the attention of EA execs and as a result, they will be loosing the DRM restrictions for the upcoming Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. As a result, the CD will not be required to be in the drive to play Red Alert 3, online authentication will only need to be done once and they will allow up to five installations (as opposed to three with Spore).