Sonic and the Secret Rings, how much has it been played? Official Nintendo Channel data report

Coffee Beans
On May 17th, Nintendo announced they had made a deal with SEGA securing the release of the next Sonic the Hedgehog title, known as Sonic Lost World, as an exclusive title for the Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems. Sonic Lost World is said to be an "action platforming" game, which makes it the first Wii U Sonic game in that genre. Before looking forward at the Wii U's first Sonic action platforming game though, let's take a look at the Wii's first action platforming Sonic game that was released over 6 years ago now.

Sonic and the Secret Rings was Sonic's first retail outing on the Wii in the "action platforming" genre, the first of many though. The game was developed by SEGA of America, and released for the Wii on February 20, 2007. It received an ESRB rating of "EVERYONE" with "Cartoon Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

If you own a Wii, or even a Wii U, you can find Sonic and the Secret Rings for under $20 now if you're interested in the game. How many hours can you expect from Sonic's first action platforming Wii game though? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official U.S. Wii Nintendo Channel data to get an idea!

Movie Magic Monday! Iron Man's average hours, total hours, & review scores averages. Official Nintendo Channel data report.

Coffee Beans
Iron Man 3 released last Friday, and is doing a nice job of wracking up hundreds of millions of dollars. With Iron Man 3 having just released last week, for this Movie Magic Monday feature we're taking a look at the first Iron Man video game on the Nintendo Wii.

Iron Man was developed by Artificial Mind and Movement, and published by Sega. The game was released on May 2, 2008 and received an ESRB rating of "TEEN" with "Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of.

A description for the game on Amazon.com says, "Iron Man, one of Marvel's most indestructible Super Heroes, is blasting onto video game platforms and the big screen next year (2008). The epic, action-packed Marvel Studios production will be directed by John Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow. This third-person action game will immerse players in explosive militaristic combat from the film with loads of additional content created exclusively for the game."

The original Iron Man movie has a runtime of 2 Hours 6 Minutes, but how many hours can you expect from the Iron Man video game? Did the "additional content created exclusively for the game" as the game's description says, add more hours of "explosive militaristic combat" to the game than what the movie provided viewers? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look at the official Nintendo Channel data for Iron Man!

FPS Friday! Conduit 2 has been played how much? Official U.S. Nintendo Channel data report.

Coffee Beans
I never did play Conduit 2. If you missed my wall-of-text April Brewed post earlier today, you can see what games I played during April, HERE. If you already read the list, you may have noticed that I didn't play a FPS during the month. It was the first month this year that I had not played a FPS, but I did get a good bit of gaming done.

Conduit 2 released as an exclusive Wii FPS just over 2 years ago now, on April 19, 2011. The game received an ESRB rating of "TEEN" with "Animated Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence" listed as content for parents and gamers to be aware of. It was the sequel to the other exclusive Wii FPS The Conduit, which released in 2009.

While there really hasn't been a hint of the Wii U getting Conduit 3 yet, did U.S. Wii owners enjoy Conduit 2? How many hours have U.S. Wii owners reported playing Conduit 2, since it released just over 2 years ago, and how do its averaged hours "Per person" compare to some other Wii FPS games? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

Halloween? Check! Hordes of zombies? Check! The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return Data Report

Coffee Beans
The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return released for the Nintendo Wii on March 11, 2008. The game was published by Sega, and it received an ESRB rating of "MATURE" with "Blood and Gore, Violence" listed as content for gamers and parents to be aware of.

How many hours of gameplay can you expect battling the undead in The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return if you haven't played it? How many U.S. Wii owners have reported playing the game, and how many hours have they reported playing it since the game released over 4 years ago? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

Michael Phelps, or Mario? Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Hours Report

Coffee Beans
     The London 2012 Olympic Games are now officially underway and many exciting competitions have already taken place. Mrs. Coffee and I have been watching a few of the events since they started up last week. Watching Michael Phelps race for more Olympic medals tonight was pretty exciting and the swimming events are probably my favorite right now, though we have also enjoyed several other events as well.
     Being that I enjoy video games though, would I rather play with Mario in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, or would I rather watch Michael Phelps in the real London 2012 Olympic Games?

     Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games released in North America on November 15, 2011 at a MSRP of $49.99. It was developed by Sega Sports and published by Sega for its North American release.
     The game received an ESRB rating of "Everyone" with "Mild Cartoon Violence" listed as as content for gamers and parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have U.S. Wii owners reported playing Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games since it released? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

How Many Hours Played? Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I's One Year Report

Coffee Beans
     Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I was release on October 11, 2010 with a price point of 1,500 Wii Points, which is $15.  The game was co-developed by Dimps and Sonic Team, and it received an ESRB rating of "Everyone" with "Comic Mischief" listed as content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have Wii owners reported playing Sonic's WiiWare adventure with 371 days of data possibly reported?  Let's take a look!

Conduit Travel - Conduit 2's Hours Arrive

Coffee Beans
Conduit 2 was released on April 19, 2011 with a MSRP of $49.99.  The game was a follow-up sequel to The Conduit which originally released on June 23, 2009. Conduit 2 has not been published for any other console and is a FPS exclusive for the Wii, like the original game.

Conduit 2 was developed by High Voltage Software and published by Sega.  The game received a "Teen" rating from the ESRB with "Animated Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence" listed as content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

How many hours have Wii owners spent battling in Conduit 2, with 42 days of game-play reported?  Let's take a look!

Hours in The Conduit

Coffee Beans:
     The Conduit was released on June 23, 2009 as a Wii exclusive.  The game had a lot of coverage/hype leading up to its release, and its developer, HVS, was very active in promoting the game.
     I was excited about the game, especially with the idea of fully customizable FPS controls on the Wii.  I reserved the game, and picked it up day one.  I beat the single-player campaign four complete times, accomplished the "achievements" in the game, and I spent more than 100 hours with the game's online multi-player; but then I traded it off, and then got it back again!

     While the game wasn't perfect, it resulted with a game engine and foundation for HVS to build off of.  It was revealed in March 2010 that HVS was working on a sequel to The Conduit, Conduit 2, which just released yesterday.

     How many hours have Wii owners reported playing The Conduit, with 665 days of game-play reported before Conduit 2 released?  Let's take a look!

Sonic Colors' Game-Play Hours Debut

Coffee Beans:
     Sonic Colors was released on November 16, 2010, in North America; with a MSRP of $49.99.  Sonic Colors was developed by Sonic Team, and published by Sega.

     Sonic's latest Wii adventure took 21 days for its game-play data to appear on the Nintendo Channel.
     How many hours have Wii owners spent in Dr. Eggman's amusement park with Sonic, during the 21 days reported?  Let's take a look!

Would you like room for Wisps with your coffee?

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Sonic Colors has 5,910 Wii owners reporting their play-time data, on its Nintendo Channel debut.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Sonic Colors has 57,871 Total Hours of game-play reported for its debut.  Sonic Colors' average play-time "Per person" reporting data is 9 Hours 48 Minutes, with an average play-time per session of just over 2 Hours 21 Minutes.
     Wii owners have averaged about 2,755 game-play hours per day in Dr. Eggman's amusement park, in the 21 days reported.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Sonic Colors' Amazon.com sale rank is #34, and is currently selling for $39.96.
     (Sale rank and advertised price recorded around 1:40AM on 12-7-10)

Review Score Averages:
     Sonic Colors' review score average is 78.03%, based on 30 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.
     (Review score averages recorded around 1:40AM on 12-7-10)

     Based on 22 customer reviews on Amazon.com, Sonic Colors has a 4.5 out of 5 Stars rating, basically a 90% average.

Agree? Or, disagree?

Filtered Thoughts:
     11 years, 2 months, 28 days; that's how long it's been since I have purchased a Sonic game.  Sonic Colors' trailers have me very interested in the game, as some game-play from the trailers remind me of Sonic Adventure.  I don't know a lot about Sonic Colors, other than the trailers I have watched, and the few pieces of reviews I have read or heard about the game.
     Here is just one trailer for Sonic Colors that shows off a good bit of game-play:


     Considering that Sonic Colors released in the middle of November, with a bunch of high profile games; I think the reported game-play data is encouraging.  It may not be a first-person shooter, or even a Nintendo title; but I think Sonic Colors' debut game-play hours show that there is room for Sega's mascot on Nintendo's console.

Questions:
     I know some of you played Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, but did any of you purchase and play through Sonic Colors yet?  If so, what did you think about it?  Would you recommend one over the other, or both?


If anybody is interested in Sonic Colors for the Wii, you can see prices listed on Amazon.com linked below:
  

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I - Game-Play Data Debut

Coffee Beans:
     Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I was released through the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare service on October 11, 2010.  The game has a price point of 1,500 Wii Points, which is the equivalent of $15.  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I was co-developed by Dimps and Sonic Team.

     The debut game-play hours below are for the United States of America Wii owners, not world-wide.  So, from October 11 through November 22, how many hours have Wii owners spent in Sonic's new 2.5D universe?  Let's take a look!

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I has 7,983 Wii owners reporting their play-time data, on its debut on the Nintendo Channel 43 days after its release.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I has 52,305 Total Hours of game-play reported on its debut, with an average play-time of 6 Hours 33 Minutes "Per person" reporting data.

     The debut average play-time, per session, for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I is just over 1 Hour 11 Minutes.


Sales Info:
     Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I is currently in the #2 spot, out of 20; in the WiiWare's "Popular Titles" section.
     Based on the approximate number of gamers reporting data, and the $15 price of the game, Sega has made around $119,745 off the WiiWare version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I.
     This reported total Sega has made from the WiiWare version is only from Wii owners that report their game-play data through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Review Score Average:
     Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I's review score average is 75.62%, based on 13 reviews on GameRankings.com.

Thoughts:
     If the average play-time "Per person", 6 Hours 33 Minutes, is how long it takes to complete the game on a single play-through, I think the price tag of $15 is fair.
     I haven't purchased/played Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, so I don't know how long the game takes to complete the first time.
     I think it's interesting to note, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I took 43 days for game-play data to appear, while another popular 2D franchise game earlier this year, Mega Man 10, took 50 days for game-play data to appear.
     If you're a Sonic fan, and haven't seen any game-play footage from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, here is a brief game-play trailer:


Questions:
     If you purchased Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, which version did you purchase, and what do you think of the game?  Is Sonic the Hedgehog 4 a Sonic game you would recommend to fans of past 2D Sonic games?


If you are interested in downloading Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, you can use a credit/debit card directly on the Wii Shop Channel, or you can purchase a Wii Points card as shown below for the WiiWare version:
  

Gladiator A.D. vs. Tournament of Legends Screenshot Comparisons

On May 25, 2009, High-Voltage Software announced they were working on Gladiator A.D., a game exclusively for the Wii.

On February 3, 2010, it was announced that Gladiator A.D. wasn't the same anymore, it is now Tournament of Legends.  I wasn't initially sure if Tournament of Legends was the same as Gladiator A.D., because of the character models and there was more color in the screenshots.  It has been confirmed though, Gladiator A.D. has been changed to Tournament of Legends.

High Voltage Software and Sega still haven't released any video footage of Tournament of Legends, but I noticed a few things about Tournament of Legends from the few screenshots they have released.

It appears they are using some of the same levels from Gladiator A.D. in Tournament of Legends.  The level names below are how they appeared in Gladiator A.D.  I'm listing some differences I've noticed between each games' levels, and including the screenshots as well.
      1) Grand Colosseum:
           a) It now looks like the fighters will fight surrounded by a pit of some sort.  I can't tell if the pit opens and closes as an interactive part of the arena or not.  Previously, in Gladiator A.D. pictures and videos, the only "pits" were what looked like pits where lions would possibly come from.
           b) Also in Tournament of Legends' photos, it looks like there are arrows in the ground and what I think appears to be some sort of tentacles randomly around the level.
           c) The flags around the Colosseum in ToL are noticeably more colorful than they were in Gladiator A.D.  Tournament of Legends is a more colorful game in general now.
           d) The spiked columns around the Colosseum in Tournament of Legends appear to have some sort of a fire/flame coming off the top of them, whereas in Gladiator A.D., I didn't spot that effect.  The spiked columns in ToL also appear to have a lime-green neon glow on them in certain areas, this was not present on the spiked columns in Gladiator A.D.
           e) Tournament of Legends is lacking crowds in the Colosseum, whereas Gladiator A.D. had crowds of people scattered around the Colosseum cheering/booing depending on what was happening.
           f) The arena floor in ToL looks like it's had some astrological symbols added to it(I don't know anything about this stuff, it could just be random symbols!)
      2) Gardens:
           a) Tournament of Legends' level takes place at night, Gladiator A.D.'s level took place at dusk.
           b) Gladiator A.D.'s level had water in the middle arena area, and the fighters were standing in the water the entire fight.  In the Tournament of Legends picture, it doesn't look like the fighters will be fighting while standing in the water.  The middle arena in Tournament of Legends does appear as it's been raised slightly.  I'm wondering if the environments are more interactive in Tournament of Legends and perhaps there's a switch or something to cause the water to rise during the middle of the fight?
           c) The plants and vines around the Gardens' arena are noticeably greener in ToL, and the water is noticeably more blue in ToL.  ToL retained the cascading water streams on the outside of the arena that Gladiator A.D. had originally, which I like.
           d) Same as the Grand Colosseum, ToL's level for the Gardens doesn't have any audience/crowd standing around the arena watching the fight.


Here are some screenshots from both versions the game.  Click the images below to enlarge them for seeing the details better!  Descriptions of the images are beneath each them:

In these pictures above, the level shown was known as the Grand Colosseum in Gladiator A.D.  You can see the Gladiator A.D. image on the left, and Tournament of Legends on the right.  If you click the image to enlarge it, you can notice the fire(?) effect on the top of the spiked columns in the Tournament of Legends photo(photo on right).  If you look at the decorative banner, near the top right corner of Gladiator A.D.'s picture, then look at in the Tournament of Legends picture, you will notice more color and the symbol has changed on it from Gladiator A.D. to Tournament of Legends.

In this image, the level shown was known as the Gardens in Gladiator A.D., I'm not sure if the level name has changed for Tournament of Legends.  In the Gladiator A.D. image on the far left, you can see what appears to be the sun setting(rising?) in the level.  In the Tournament of Legends image on the right, you can notice the moon(?) in the background and also how the plants on the pedestals are greener than they appear in the older Gladiator A.D. images on the left.  Also, the crowd is lacking from the Tournament of Legends image, but present in the Gladiator A.D. images.

In these images, look at the spiked columns in Gladiator A.D., then look at the spiked columns in Tournament of Legends.  The spiked columns in Tournament of Legends appear as though they have sort of neon lime-green lighting on them?  Also, these images show how the HUD(head-up display) differs from the version then and now.  In Gladiator A.D., all the meters were at the top.  Now in Tournament of Legends, there is a meter at the bottom of the screen.  I wonder if the HUD will be customizable in the game, like it was in The Conduit.

Thoughts:

I was really impressed with what I saw coming from Gladiator A.D. and what it seemed that High Voltage was trying to achieve with it.  

I'm not as impressed with what I've seen from Tournament of Legends(although it's only been screenshots).

A few things I was impressed about in Gladiator A.D., that I wish Tournament of Legends kept:

1)  Crowds:

I liked how HVS was trying to allow the player to win favor with the crowds in Gladiator A.D., and after winning the crowds favor, the player could, "...challenge the champions for fame, wealth, and in some cases, freedom...".

2)  Wii MotionPlus(WM+):

Eric Nofsinger(HVS) told Matt Casamassina of IGN.com, "The Wii MotionPlus will be used to add variance to the attacks to break up what could possibly be seen as mechanical attacks.  For example, depending on the orientation of the player's wrist when a left slice is initiated, the gladiator will attack his opponents right side from one of three angles, making it slightly more difficult to perfect block...".  I thought this would make Gladiator A.D. a very strategic fighting game when WM+ was used, and I thought that would help set it apart.  It's been confirmed that Tournament of Legends will not use WM+.

Questions:

If you've known about Tournament of Legends, when it was known as Gladiator A.D., what do you think of the changes to the game?  Are you more excited about Tournament of Legends new style, or did you prefer the style of Gladiator A.D.?  Is there anything you wish Tournament of Legends had kept from the original version of Gladiator A.D.?
Tournament of Legends is releasing on the Wii on May 18, 2010, do you plan on buying the game from what you've seen of it, and what you know about it?

I'd love to know what you think, good or bad!

Also, I'm debating on using a "Jump Break" for some posts, this was one of them.  Do you prefer the posts to appear entirely on the main page, like they have been, or would you prefer a "Jump Break" for the longer posts?

An Open Letter to Adam Biessener of GameInformer

"Hey Adam,
In issue 196 you reviewed The Conduit, and I've been wondering about your review.
Did you actually finish playing the single player campaign?

You said at one point in the review, "...but drawing a bead on a human opponent is tough even with the game's ploddingly slow movement speed.", and "Aiming is mediocre without being heinous."
You didn't mention though, that you can adjust your turning speed, running speed, the bounding box, etc., in the control settings in the game.

The level of customization for controls in The Conduit hasn't been matched by any previous FPS game on the Wii or other consoles for that matter.
I honestly don't know how you failed to mention or if you even tried for yourself to adjust the turning speed and running speed in The Conduit.

I played The Conduit's single player and multiplayer for about a week and a half after I bought the game(still playing the multiplayer some), I went back to KillZone 2, and thought something was wrong with my PS3 controller because of how slow I moved in the game compared to The Conduit.

Also, why doesn't your review or Ben's "Second Opinion" mention anything about the achievements in the game?
I understand that achievements are standard on the Xbox360 and even PS3 now, but the fact that a 3rd party on the Wii actually took time of their own, with no obligation to Nintendo, to add achievements in the game, should have been mentioned, as it adds replay value to the single player campaign.

If you didn't finish the single player campaign, the readers should know that you didn't finish it.

The game definitely isn't perfect, the online has glitches and bugs, but that wasn't mentioned in the review either.
I'm really confused with the reviewing process these days...if you don't play a game at length and don't actually finish the single player campaign, why even review it?

Thanks,

Scott"

For my readers and for those of you that have played The Conduit and aren't sure if my points are valid, I encourage you first, read Adam's review of The Conduit, http://gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/0299E3BA-18FB-4EC8-B884-E3C7742585A8.htm?CS_pid=230518.

If you think that the review is fine, let me know.

If you've played The Conduit and think my points are legitimate, maybe you will let Adam know. You can email Adam Biessener at ADAM@GAMEINFORMER.COM.

If you email Adam, please be civil in your emails.

I think we as subscribers to magazines like Game Informer and readers of gaming websites, should expect full, honest reviews of games, especially if the person is getting paid to review the game and it's their job. I don't think The Conduit received very many FULL, HONEST reviews when it was released.

What do you think?