Tornadoes in Alaska - Episode 1

     Hey everybody!  I am excited to announce a new feature for the blog I am participating in.  Earlier this week on Thursday, Keith from RespawnAction and I recorded our very first podcast!  It was a joint podcast, and we hope it will continue to be a joint effort from both of us moving forward.

     The podcast is titled, Tornadoes in Alaska(yes it's random!), and we are tagging it as a gaming news podcast.  We are hoping to bring two new podcasts to you every week.  We plan on recording the shows every Tuesday and Thursday, and they should be uploaded soon after recording...which means the news we cover should be pretty current, and fresh(like my coffee!), for all of you listening to them.

     We hope everybody will enjoy what we are trying to do, and we would greatly appreciate any feedback on our show...whether it's bitter or sweet!  I have done two things with the show below:

1) The first thing I did, was edit together a YouTube introduction video version. I just took the first four minutes of the podcast and added pictures and slides to it for you to enjoy(hopefully) and give you an idea of the podcast.


2) I am including the podcast we recorded. A huge thanks to Keith for editing it together and making the intro/outro song! Again, his site is RespawnAction.com.  This is family friendly(and less than 20 minutes).  Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Monster Hunter Tri's Great Baggi: Frozen in Time (Data)

Quick Brew Info:
With this week's data, I am including a video of a Great Baggi hunt, that I went on with a blog reader many of you have probably seen comment on stories here on the site.
The reader in the video is Chuckpebble, and his hunter's name is Krystle.  We have only hunted one night together in Monster Hunter 3, but I was able to capture a few of the hunts from that night.
The hunt shows us trying to capture a Great Baggi.
Did we capture the Great Baggi, or was its harsh freezing home in the Tundra; too much for us to bare?

(click image to enlarge)

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data & Increased:
Monster Hunter Tri now has 31,941 players reporting their play-time data on the Nintendo Channel, and has increased by 1,647 more players reporting data since the report last week.

"Total" Game-Play Hours Reported/Increased:
Monster Hunter 3 has 2,113,104 Total Hours reported, an increase of 193,672 hours since last week's data.

Amazon.com Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
Monster Hunter Tri/3's Amazon.com sale rank is #268 and the current selling price is $39.99.

Review Score Average:
Monster Hunter Tri's review score average has not changed since I reported the data on June 22.
The game still has a review score average of 85.00%, based on 46 reviews.

Thoughts:
I have been slacking in my monster hunting these past 2-weeks, but I think the data shows that the other monster hunters have been picking up my slack.
Monster Hunter Tri increased by almost 3 whole hours averaged, "Per person", in game-play from last week to this week.
Last week it was at 63 Hrs 23 Min., and this week it has an average of 66 Hrs 9 Min.

Here is the video of the Great Baggi hunt with Chuckpebble, aka Krystle, as well as another monster hunter named Carlos:


If Chuckpebble is reading this, thanks for the fun hunts that night.  Hopefully we can hunt some more soon!


Questions:
If you are playing Monster Hunter Tri still, what is your Hunter Rank now?
Sadly :(, my HR is only 15.  Hopefully that will change in the coming days!

If you are interested in Monster Hunter Tri, Amazon.com currently has the game on sale for $39.99 new.  You can also see used prices on Amazon.com below as well!

Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising's Avenging Ace

Quick Brew Info
If you missed my first video "Quick Brew Preview" on Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising, you may want to watch it first, HERE!  In the first video, I covered the game's controls, number of levels, and the different modes/features in the game.
If you don't know anything about Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising, the game is a WiiWare title that was published by Legendo Entertainment and is available in North American, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand for just 700 Wii Points.



Quick Brew Video Info
Here are a few things about the video:
1) I was using the Wii Remote only controls in the game.
2) A few times in the video, you may notice my plane's propeller slow down and start to sputter.  You can control your plane's speed in the game, and I would purposely cut my plane's speed if an enemy fighter was behind me; to try and get it to pass me.  The first example of this is around :58 into the video.
3) You may notice me fire missiles several times in the video, I believe the first time happens around the 2:17 mark in the video.
4) The enemy fighter I shoot down at the 2:45 mark, can still be seen burning/falling through the air and into the water at the 2:50-2:52 mark.
5) At approximately the 3:07 mark, I get the "Damage Critical" warning, which means my plane can't take many more rounds before it explodes.

Thoughts/Question
If anybody has any questions about Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising, please leave a comment on this post, or send me an email to CoffeewithGames@gmail.com.

Also, if anybody purchased the game like myself, what is the highest level in Avenging Ace or Survival that you have completed?
So far, I have accomplished 10 out 10 on Avenging Ace, and I have survived for just 2 minutes so far in Survival.

If you are interested in purchasing Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising, you can purchase it directly off the Wii's Shop Channel; or, you can purchase a Wii Points card and use 700 Wii Points to download the game.

Red Steel 2 Price Drop & Data

Quick Brew Info:
Red Steel 2 was released on the Nintendo Wii on March 23, 2010.
It has been 126 days since Red Steel 2's release, and the play-time data below reflects the number of hours reported by Wii owners since the game released.

When Red Steel 2 was released, there were two versions of the game available for purchase: the Red Steel 2 software only version for $49.99, or Red Steel w/ Wii MotionPlus for $59.99.
Well, it now looks like there will be only one version of Red Steel 2 available for purchase, and it appears to now have a new MSRP/list price.
Let's take a look at play-time data and the new list price...

(click image to enlarge)

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data & Increase:
Red Steel 2 has 18,590 players reporting play-time, an increase of 2,766 more players reporting play-time data than from the July 5 data.

Game-Play Hours Reported/Increased:
Red Steel 2 now has 175,777 Total Hours reported, an increase of 29,012 hours since the July 5 data.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price(and price drop):
Red Steel 2's Amazon.com sale rank is #563 and the current selling price is $36.99.
Red Steel 2's new MSRP, or "List" price, is now $39.99 for the game only.
It appears the Red Steel 2 w/ Wii MotionPlus bundle will no longer be carried once the supply runs out, and it has been discounted to $49.99 now.
If you want to skip straight to them, the links for both the software only and WM+ are:
Red Steel 2
Red Steel 2 w/ MotionPlus

Review Score Averages:
Red Steel 2's current GameRankings.com review score average is 80.85%, based on 46 site reviews.
Red Steel 2's review score average has slightly decreased from the July 5 average of 81.09%, when it had 45 reviews.

On Amazon.com, Red Steel 2 has what appears to be a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating; that would put the game at about a 90%, based on 29 customer reviews.

Thoughts:
I still have not played Red Steel 2(due to monsters).
I think the game-play data for Red Steel 2 is pretty encouraging though, especially when considering it is a Wii FPS that does not have online play.

I do find the price drop to $39.99 interesting, as most Wii games seem to drop from a MSRP of $49.99, down to $29.99.

If you missed it under the "Sale Rank & Advertised Price" section, it appears that the Red Steel 2 w/ Wii MotionPlus bundle won't be carried by retailers anymore, once the supply is out, but you can find it for $49.99 now.

Questions:
If you played Red Steel 2, would you recommend the game at its new price of $39.99 to Wii owners that own a WM+ accessory already?
Also, the average play-time for Red Steel 2 has been right between the 9-10 hour mark; if you played the game, did you find yourself going back to play it again after you beat it?  Or, was one play-through enough for you?

If you are like myself and have not played Red Steel 2, but are interested; you can see new & used prices for it on Amazon.com below:
  

Save 25-50%, or More: Video Game Sales (7-25-10)

Quick Brew Info:
Each video game or video game accessory listed below was at least 25% off, or more; as of July 25, 2010.
If I notice the prices change during the week to a savings of less than 25%, I will take them off the list, or add others to it.
The prices listed below are for Amazon.com's prices and games that are "Filled by Amazon", not just 3rd Party Vendor prices.  If you click through, and do not see the same price listed:
1) It may have changed, and if you leave a comment I should get it updated
2) Or, you should see Amazon.com's price listed on the right side, as the image below shows...

Each game should be properly linked directly to its Amazon.com page.  The games are separated by each console/handheld; Nintendo DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360, and the games are listed alphabetically for easier viewing.

Microsoft Xbox 360 Games & Accessories:

2010 FIFA World Cup for $39.99, save 33%

Alien vs Predator for $24.99, save 38%

Bayonetta for $29.99, save 25%

Bioshock 2 for $29.99, save 25%

Bond 007: Quantum of Solace for $11.11, save 26%

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for $45.09, save 25%

Call of Duty: World at War for $19.99, save 50%

Crackdown for $14.45, save 51%

Dark Void for $22.92, save 42%

Devil May Cry 4 for $19.21, save 36%

Dirt 2 for $29.96, save 25%

Dragon Age: Origins Awakening for $28.91, save 28%

Final Fantasy XIII for $35.09, save 42%

Ghostbusters: The Video Game for $14.99, save 25%

Guitar Hero 5(Guitar Bundle) for $59.99, save 33%

Left 4 Dead 2 for $29.99, save 25%

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues for $14.99, save 25%

Lego Rock Band for $19.96, save 33%

Lost Planet 2 for $44.54, save 26%

Mass Effect 2 for $ 29.99, save $25%

MLB 2K10 for $29.99, save 25%

2009 Wii FPS Games Data (7-19-10)

Quick Brew Info:
The play-time data shown below was captured this past Monday, July 19, 2010.
The Amazon.com sale ranks and review score averages were captured July 24, 2010.

(click image to enlarge)

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
The Conduit has 72,685 players reporting their play-time data.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has 74,946 players reporting play-time data.

Player Increase:
The Conduit has increased by 1,567 more players reporting play-time data, since 2-weeks ago.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare Reflex has increased by 4,348 more players reporting their play-time data, since the last report.

Game-Play Hours Reported/Increased:
The Conduit has 1,639,939 Total Hours reported, an increase of 38,986 hours since the July 5 data.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has 3,876,863 Total Hours of game-play reported, an increase of 324,639 hours since the last report.

Amazon.com Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
The Conduit's Amazon.com sale rank is #2,930 and the current new copy price is $33.37.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's Amazon.com sale rank is #258 and the current selling price is $40.54.

Thoughts:
This is the first week that I have reported the play-time data on both of these games, that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has more players reporting play-time data on the Wii's Nintendo Channel, than The Conduit does.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex now has approximately 2,261 more players reporting data than The Conduit, and has 2,236,924 more game-play hours reported than The Conduit.

As for the Amazon.com sale rank of The Conduit being so low, the game is still currently only available from 3rd Party Vendors on Amazon.com, as I reported back on June 13.
When I contacted Amazon.com about it today, they said to just keep checking the product's page for any updates, but wouldn't specify if they are still carrying the game itself.

Questions:
If you own either Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex or The Conduit, are you looking forward to the "sequels" for both games releasing later this year?
I don't own Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex or The Conduit(anymore), but I am interested in both sequels.
I am really interested in Call of Duty: Black Ops, because Treyarch seems to have done the online really well in the two past Call of Duty games on the Wii; while Conduit 2 looks like it should be an improvement over the first in most areas, though I'm approaching it more cautiously.

If you are interested in either Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex or The Conduit, you can see prices for them on Amazon.com below:
  

How Much Have the Carnival Games Been Played?

Quick Brew Info:
Carnival Games was released on August 27, 2007 with a MSRP of $39.99.
Carnival Games MiniGolf was released on October 20, 2008, also with a MSRP of $39.99.
Both games featured multiplayer, for up to four players.

The play-time data shown below represents approximately 1,058 days of reporting for Carnival Games, and 638 days of reporting for Carnival Games MiniGolf; since the release dates of both games.
Carnival Games, not including Carnival Games MiniGolf, has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, but do those millions of sales translate into game-play hours?  Let's take a look...

(click image to enlarge)

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Carnival Games has 437,503 players reporting their play-time data, on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.
Carnival Games MiniGolf has 73,852 players reporting play-time data.

"Total" Game-Play Hours & Average Hours Played Reported:
Carnival Games has 4,546,371 Total Hours reported, with an average of 10 Hours 24 Minutes play-time per person.
According to the numbers, each play session lasts roughly 1 Hour 16 Minutes(if my math was right).

Carnival Games MiniGolf has 726,361 Total Hours reported, with an average of 9 Hours 50 Minutes play-time reporting per person.
Each play session for Carnival Games MiniGolf lasts approximately 1 Hour 33 Minutes.

Amazon.com Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
Carnival Games' Amazon.com sale rank is #139 and it's currently on sale for $19.73.
Carnival Games MiniGolf's Amazon.com sale rank is #1,186 and its current selling price is $19.27.

Review Score Averages:
Carnival Games' current GameRankings.com review score average is 59.23%, based on 22 reviews.
Carnival Games MiniGolf's GameRankings.com review score average is 44.89%, based on 9 reviews.

While the "professional" game reviewers did not seem to enjoy the game all that much, the Amazon.com user reviews show a different side, at least in one case I believe.

Carnival Games' Amazon.com "customer reviews" would put the game at about an 80%, based on 304 customer reviews.
Carnival Games MiniGolf's Amazon.com "customer reviews" would put the game at about a 70%, based on 50 customer reviews.
The customer reviews average puts both games review scores about 20% higher, than "professional" review scores.

Thoughts:
At Nintendo's E3 press conference this year, they showed a trailer for a sequel to the original Carnival Games.  The sequel is named New Carnival Games, and as of now has a release date for September 21, 2010 with a MSRP of $39.99.
New Carnival Games will also be compatible with the Wii MotionPlus controller accessory.

I think it is interesting seeing a sequel being released a full three years after the original game.  Perhaps it is because the original Carnival Games is still selling so well, because most of the "party" based games on the Wii seem to have sequels released yearly, back-to-back.

I have not played either Carnival Games or Carnival Games MiniGolf, but I am glad to see New Carnival Games using Wii MotionPlus, and releasing with a MSRP of just $39.99, instead of $49.99.

If you are not familiar with Carnival Games or Carnival Games MiniGolf, you can watch trailers for both the games here:


Questions:
If you have played either Carnival Games or Carnival Games MiniGolf, do you agree more with the "professional" reviews or the customer reviews?
Would you recommend(or not recommend) either Carnival Games or Carnival Games MiniGolf to other Wii owners?


If you are interested in any of the Carnival Games, you can prices for them on Amazon.com below: