WiiWare Wednesday: Has the Castle Been Defended?

Coffee Beans:
     Nintendo's WiiWare service started in North America on May 12, 2008.  There were six WiiWare titles available for download on the WiiWare service's launch, and now there are more than 300 WiiWare games to choose from.
     New WiiWare games are usually added to the Wii's Shop Channel each week, and games range in price from just $5, up to $15.  Some of the WiiWare launch titles were original titles not found on other platforms, but one game had been released half a decade earlier for the PC, and that WiiWare game was Defend Your Castle(DYC).

     Defend Your Castle was released on May 12, 2008 for the WiiWare service, and costs 500 Wii Points, which is $5.  The game was developed and published by XGen Studios, and received an "Everyone" rating from the ESRB with "Cartoon Violence" listed as the only content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have Wii owners spent defending their castles, with 1,114 days of game-play 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!

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - A Year's Worth of Data

Coffee Beans:
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (SMG2) released on May 23, 2010 with a MSRP of $49.99 for the Nintendo Wii.  The game was a sequel to Super Mario Galaxy which released for the Wii on November 12, 2007.

SMG2 was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development studio in Tokyo, Japan.  The game received an "Everyone" rating by the ESRB with "Mild Cartoon Violence" listed as content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

We last looked at SMG2's game-play hours as they were recorded on December 27, 2010, and you can read that report HERE.

How many hours have Wii owners spent in Super Mario Galaxy 2 during the last year, with 366 days reported?  Let's take a look!

May the 4th Be With You! Hours From A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

 Coffee Beans:
May the 4th be with you!  If you don't/didn't know, today(or yesterday technically) was May 4th, and it has basically become the "official" Star Wars day.

Last year I showed the reported game-play data for some Wii Star Wars games, and there were 23,484,173 Total Hours reported from the Star Wars video game galaxy, on May 4, 2010.  You can read last year's report, HERE!

How many hours have been spent in the galaxy far, far away...in the last 365 days reported?  Let's take a look!

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Hours Played in Dream Land

Coffee Beans:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn took just 16 days for its game-play hours to show up on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.  We last looked at Kirby's Epic Yarn's game-play data on November 2, after its play-time hours debuted on November 1.

     How many hours have gamers spent crafting in Kirby's Dream Land, in the 36 days from November 1 to December 6?  Let's take a look!

Game-play hours shown are for United States of American Wii owners, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn now has 22,621 Wii owners reporting their play-time data.

Player Increase Since Last Report:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn has seen an increase of about 16,030 gamers reporting game-play data, since the last report.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn has seen an increase of 227,733 Total Hours of game-play, since November 1.  K.E.Y. now has 283,338 Total Hours of game-play reported.
     The average play-time "Per person" for Kirby's Epic Yarn is now 12 Hours 32 Minutes, an increase of 4 Hours 6 Minutes "Per person" since the last report.
     K.E.Y.'s average play-time per session is now just over 2 Hours 14 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn's Amazon.com sale rank is #23, and it is selling for $39.99.
     (sale rank and price recorded around 11:55PM on 12-12-2010)

Review Score Averages:
     Kirby's Epic Yarn currently has a review score average of 89.45%, based on 31 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.  K.E.Y.'s review score average has slightly decreased since the last report, with an increase of 8 more "professional" review scores in its average.

     K.E.Y. still has a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating on Amazon.com, now based on 44 customer reviews.
     (review score averages recorded around 11:55PM on 12-12-2010)

Thoughts:
     In the comments on the last report for Kirby's Epic Yarn, reader SuperPhillip said he completed the game in 13 hours, and 100%.
     For those of you that don't know, reader SuperPhillip runs his own video game blog, SuperPhillipCentral.Blogspot.com.  He does a lot of different posts, such as favorite video game music, news, and reviews.  You can read SuperPhillip's thoughts on Kirby's Epic Yarn in his review.
     SuperPhillip's play-time hours to complete Kirby's Epic Yarn are very close to what are now being reported as the average play-time "Per person", so I wonder if the gamers reporting their data are completing Kirby's Epic Yarn 100%?
     I still haven't played Kirby's Epic Yarn, but I think the review scores continue to show the game was well made; and I hope to play it one day.

Questions:
     Have any of you played Kirby's Epic Yarn since my last report?  If so, have you completed the game and how long did it take you to complete it?

     If anybody is interested in buying Kirby's Epic Yarn, Amazon.com currently has the game on sale for $39.99, which is linked below:

James Bond Debut - GoldenEye 007 Game-Play Hours

Coffee Beans:
     GoldenEye 007 was released on November 2, 2010, in North America; with a software MSRP of $49.99, and a Golden Classic Controller Pro bundle MSRP of $69.99.  GoldenEye 007 for the Wii was developed by Eurocom, and published by Activision.

     The debut game-play hours below are for the United States of America Wii owners, not world-wide.  From November 2 through November 22, how many hours of espionage have Wii owners participated in James Bond's GoldenEye 007?  Let's take a look!

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     GoldenEye 007 has 6,579 Wii owners reporting their play-time data, for its debut on the Nintendo Channel 21 days after its release.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     GoldenEye 007 has 74,446 Total Hours of game-play reported for its debut, with an average of 11 Hours 19 Minutes "Per person" reporting data.

     The debut average play-time, per session, for GoldenEye 007 is just over 2 Hours 32 Minutes.


Sale Ranks & Advertised Prices:
     GoldenEye 007's, software only, Amazon.com sale rank is #90, and is selling for $47.45.
     GoldenEye 007's Golden Classic Controller Pro bundle Amazon.com sale rank is #250, and is selling for $67.99.
(Sale ranks and prices were captured November 22, 2010 around 4:35PM.)

Review Score Averages:
     GoldenEye 007's review score average is 83.58%, based on 40 reviews on GameRankings.com.

     Amazon.com shows two sets of customer review scores for GoldenEye 007.
     The first set is based on just the game only, the second set of customer reviews is for the GoldenEye 007 bundle with the Golden Classic Controller Pro.  Here are the Amazon.com customer review score averages for GoldenEye 007 so far:

Click to enlarge

(Review score averages were captured November 22, 2010 around 4:35PM.)

Randomness:
     I'm not sure if it was Nintendo or Activision, but somebody took longer than usual getting GoldenEye 007 listed on the Nintendo Channel.  I had been checking for the last few weeks, and the game wasn't even listed, until last night.  Though the game appeared last night, it didn't have any play-time data showing, until it was updated today.
     Also, now that GoldenEye 007 is listed on the Nintendo Channel, the "copyright" text below it is incorrect.  Again, that could be Nintendo putting up the wrong information, or Activision just sending the wrong information over.  Here's the "copyright" text that is showing beneath GoldenEye 007 right now:

     Apparently, Activision(or Nintendo) wants GoldenEye 007 to be associated with Cabela, and the Cabela hunting games?

Thoughts:
     GoldenEye 007 is off to a good start with the game-play data shown, and I think the game will continue to see steady increases each week throughout the Christmas/holiday season.
    I have been playing GoldenEye 007 on a regular basis since I purchased it.  I completed the single-player campaign back on Friday, November 5(early Saturday technically).  I plan on going back and completing the single-player campaign on all the difficulty settings, but I am enjoying the online multi-player in the meantime.
     If you haven't seen any footage from GoldenEye 007's online multi-player, here is a video of a Team Conflict match, played on the Facility level:


     If anybody has any questions about GoldenEye 007, feel free to ask in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer it.  If you own GoldenEye 007 and are playing it online, my friend code is 2043-7355-3797, and my in-game name is Coffee.


Questions:
     If you own GoldenEye 007 for the Wii, what are your thoughts on it?  What do you enjoy about it, and is there anything you don't enjoy about it?


If anybody is interested in either GoldenEye 007 sku, you can see prices for both on Amazon.com linked below:
 

DJ Hero - How Much Have the Turntables Been Spun

Coffee Beans
DJ Hero was released on the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the PlayStation 2, on October 27, 2009.  The game and turntable unit was developed/published by FreeStyleGames and Activision, and I believe the basic DJ Hero Turntable bundle released with a MSRP/List Price of $119.99.  The game has seen a price-drop from its originally MSRP, and now has a list price of $69.99 at most retailers.

While DJ Hero released with the main bundle around $119.99, Activision did offer a "Renegade Edition" for $199.99.

DJ Hero 2 was released yesterday, and the sequel was released on just the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 this year.  If you already own the turntable from the original game, you can purchase just the software for DJ Hero 2 for $59.99.  Or, if you purchase DJ Hero 2, you can purchase just the software for the original DJ Hero.

The play-time data shown below, is only for the Wii version of DJ Hero, and it reflects play-time reported in the United States of America, not all of North America.

So, with 357 days of game-play data reported since DJ Hero released, how much have Wii owners been spinning and scratching their DJ Hero turntables?  Let's take a look!

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data
DJ Hero has 35,156 Wii owners reporting play-time data, through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.


Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported
DJ Hero has 513,243 Total Hours of game-play reported. Its average play-time per session is just over 1 Hour 37 Minutes.


Sale Rank & Advertised Price
The original DJ Hero Turntable bundle's Amazon.com sale rank is #845, and is selling for $66.98.


Review Score Averages
The Wii version of DJ Hero has a review score average of 85.94%, based on 18 "professional" reviews.

DJ Hero has a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating on Amazon.com, based on 35 customer reviews.

Thoughts

I did not purchase the originally DJ Hero, but I did briefly play a demo Best Buy had setup.  Mrs. Coffee and I had gone to Best Buy, looking for a CD.  We saw the DJ Hero demo setup, and she actually gave it a spin(haha!).  It took her about one round to get used to the controls, and she did pretty well in her second round.

I played one or two rounds after she did, but that has been the extent of my DJ Hero play-time.

I think DJ Hero is a game that shows Activision was willing to gamble with something new.  While the original DJ Hero got off to a slow sales start, the game has since sold 1.2 million copies (I thought it was 1.6 million now, but couldn't find the article!).

I tried to see how much a DJ charges per hour, and the average amount seems to be right around $200/hour.  If Activision were making $200/hour off of Wii owners' DJ Hero game-play hours, they would have made $102,648,600 so far...I can see Bobby Kotick's eyes glazing over, if he reads that!

As for the game-play data in general though, it's definitely not as high some Wii games released around the same time last year, but I think it's encouraging for a new IP.  I think it will be interesting to see if DJ Hero 2 performs as well as the original.

Questions

Did any of you purchase the original DJ Hero?  If so, is it a game you would recommend to others?  If you didn't purchase the original, do any of you plan on picking up DJ Hero 2?

I have been tempted a few times to purchase the original when I have seen it go on sale, but I haven't done so yet.

If you are interested in the original DJ Hero, you can see the main bundle listed on Amazon.com below:

   

Metroid: Other M's Game-Play Hours

Coffee Beans:
     It's been about a month since we last looked at Metroid: Other M's game-play hours, and other data.  The last time we looked at the data was on September 24, but the game-play hours were captured on September 20 for that report.  Metroid: Other M's game-play debuted on the Wii's Nintendo Channel on September 13, if you missed the debut report, you can see it HERE.

     So, in the last 29 days, how much have Wii owners been playing Metroid: Other M, and has the game's average play-time per person seen an increase or decrease?  Let's take a look...

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Metroid: Other M now has 25,726 players reporting their play-time data through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Player Increase Since Last Report:
     Metroid: Other M has seen an increase of about 9,990 more players reporting play-time data, since the September 24 report.

Average Hours & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Metroid: Other M now has 367,598 Total Hours reported, an increase of 183,896 game-play hours since the last report.
     Metroid: Other M's average play-time, per person, is now 14 Hours 17 Minutes.  This means the game's average play-time per person has increased by 2 Hours 36 Minutes.
     The average Metroid: Other M play session is now just over 2 Hours 26 Minutes, which is a decrease of about 14 minutes per session compared to the September 20 data.

Sales Rank & Advertised Price:
     Metroid: Other M's Amazon.com sale rank is listed at #310, and is currently selling for $45.44.

Review Score Averages:
     Metroid: Other M's review score average is now 79.78%, based on 47 "professional" reviews, according to GameRankings.com.  This is only a marginal increase since the last report, which had 43 reviews reported for an average of 79.38%.

     Amazon.com's customer review score average has stayed at basically the same average, 3.5 out of 5 Stars; but Metroid: Other M has gained 44 more customer reviews, since the last report.

A lot of varying opinions on this game.

Thoughts:

     As of this report, Metroid: Other M has averaged about 61,000 game-play hours each week, since it released.  The continuing increase in the game's average hours "Per person" category is definitely encouraging, as it seems to show gamers are playing the game to completion.

     The NPD data was released for the month of September last week, and Metroid: Other M has been reported to have sold 173,000 units.

     While I don't consider 173,000 amazing for a Nintendo title, I think it was a decent month for Samus' new adventure, and I think it will be interesting to see how this one continues to perform going forward.

     I still have not played Metroid: Other M at any length, and I don't think playing 30 seconds at Best Buy really counts.  Last week, Redbox announced it will start renting video games through its kiosks, and I really hope that Metroid: Other M is one of the games they start renting.  I would like to play the game, but don't see it happening soon with my gaming budget.

Questions:

     Have any of you purchased/rented Metroid: Other M since the last report in September?  If so, have you had a chance to complete the game?

If you are interested in Metroid: Other M, you can see prices for it listed on Amazon.com linked below:

Mario's Super Galaxies

Quick Brew Info:
     The last we looked at data for both Super Mario Galaxy(SMG) and Super Mario Galaxy 2(SMG2) was back on July 13.
  
     SMG's play-time data represents approximately 1,058 days of data being reported, while SMG2's data is for about 135 reported days; since the release dates for both games.  The data below will be compared to the data from July 12, to the data captured on October 4.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Super Mario Galaxy has 1,470,689 players reporting play-time data, on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.
     Super Mario Galaxy 2 now has 196,257 players their play-time data, since the July 12 data.

Player Increase Since Last Report:
     Super Mario Galaxy has increased by 70,704 more players reporting data, over the 85 days since July 12.
     Super Mario Galaxy 2 has increased by 95,622 more players reporting play-time data, since July 12.

"Total" Game-Play Hours Reported & Increased:
     Super Mario Galaxy now has 45,923,590 Total Hours of game-play reported, an increase of 3,006,560 hours.
     SMG's average hours "per person" have increased by 34 minutes, with an average now of 31 Hrs 14 Minutes.
     The average game-play session for Super Mario Galaxy players is just over 1 Hour 53 Minutes.

     Super Mario Galaxy 2 has 5,145,891 Total Hours reported, an increase of 3,046,423 hours in the 85 days since the July 12 data.
     SMG2's average hours "per person" have increased by 5 Hours 21 Minutes, now with an average of 26 Hours 14 Minutes.
     The average game-play session for Super Mario Galaxy 2 is just over 2 Hours 19 Minutes.

Sale Ranks & Advertised Prices:
     Super Mario Galaxy's Amazon.com sale rank is #131, and its current selling price is $40.54.
     Super Mario Galaxy 2's Amazon.com sale rank is #43, and is currently selling for $49.95.

Review Score Averages:
     Super Mario Galaxy's review score average is the same as when I showed the data back in July.  SMG's review score average is 97.46%, based on 77 reviews, on GameRankings.com.
     Super Mario Galaxy 2's review score average is not the same, as it was in July.  SMG2's review score average is now 97.07%, based on 53 reviews on GameRankings.com.  SMG's new score is slightly lower than its 97.25% average from July, that was based on 51 reviews.

Here is how SMG and SMG2 have been reviewed on Amazon.com:

Click image to enlarge

Thoughts:
     I think it's interesting that Super Mario Galaxy is putting up game-play numbers relatively close to what Super Mario Galaxy 2 is.  I was thinking that SMG2 would be seeing significantly more game-play hours reported, over SMG, this close to its release still; but SMG2 only had 39,863 more "Total Hours", than SMG, gained/reported since the last report.

Questions:
     Did any of you pick up Super Mario Galaxy 2, or Super Mario Galaxy, over the summer and play through them?  If so, what did you think of either game?  I still only own Super Mario Galaxy, and it has been 2+ years since I have played through that one.

If anybody is interested in either Super Mario Galaxy or Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can see new and used prices for them on Amazon.com linked below:
 

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop - Data

Brewed Info:

     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop(DR:CTYD) was released on the Nintendo Wii on February 24, 2009.  It was a port of the Xbox 360 game, Dead Rising, that was released on August 8, 2006.  I believe the Wii version released with a MSRP of just $39.99, instead of the normal MSRP of $49.99 most "new" Wii games receive.

    How many hours have Wii owners spent in the mall with Frank West, slaying zombies?  The game-play data below is 581 reported days of game-play, since the game released.  Let's take a look...

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop has 39,836 players reporting play-time data through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.


Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop has 467,860 Total Hours of game-play reported, with an average play-time of 11 hours 45 minutes per person reporting data.
     Each play session for DR:CTYD lasts about 2 hours 12 minutes, per person reporting the data.


Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop's Amazon.com sale rank is #1,708, and its current listed selling price is $16.75, fulfilled by Amazon.com.


Review Score Averages:
     As the image above shows, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop wasn't received very well by the "professional" gaming press, having a review score average of 62.08%, based on 25 reviews on GameRankings.com.


     Out of 26 customer reviews on Amazon.com, DR:CTYD has a 3.5 out of 5 Star rating, which would be about a 70% review score average; so slightly higher than the GameRankings.com review score average.
     Here's the breakdown of the 26 customer reviews on Amazon.com:

Thoughts:

     The whole reason for this post is because Dead Rising 2 was released yesterday for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, but not for the Wii.  I thought it was interesting to see how much Wii owners had been playing Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop in the last year and a half, since it released.

     I have not played DR:CTYD, but I remember reading the comments and watching different videos showing how it seemed the game wasn't up to "par" with some PS2 games, as to how many characters were displayed on the screen at one time.

     After DR:CTYD released, I didn't really hear much about it after the initial reviews were written.  I have seen a few comments from readers on other sites, and they seemed to have enjoyed the game and thought it was good fun.

      I just wonder if it will take Capcom nearly 3 years to port Dead Rising 2 to the Wii, like they did with the original?  It seems like porting can be done to the Wii more easily now, but perhaps Capcom is another publisher that doesn't think the "Mature" rating would help it sell on the Wii?

Questions:

     Has anybody played Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop?  If so, what did you think about it?  If you're a multi-console owner, did you purchase Dead Rising 2 yesterday, and had a chance to play it?

   

Metroid: Other M - Hours Played

Quick Brew Info:
     Metroid: Other M's play-time data debuted last week, 14 days after it released.  Do the hours being reported/shown on the Nintendo Channel this week, look good for Samus' latest adventure?  Let's take a look...

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Metroid: Other M now has 15,736 players reporting their play-time data, on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Player Increase Since Last Week:
     Metroid: Other M has seen an increase of 4,308 players reporting play-time data, since last week.

Average & "Total" Game-Play Hours Increased/Reported:
     Metroid: Other M's average hours reported, per person, are now 11 Hours 41 Minutes; with Metroid: Other M's average game-play session, per player, being about 2 Hour 40 Minutes.
     Metroid Other M's hours reported played, per person, have increased by 1 Hour 50 Minutes since last week.
     Metroid: Other M now has 183,702 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 71,326 game-play hours since last week.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Metroid: Other M's Amazon.com sale rank is #93, and is currently selling for $48.56.

Review Score Average:
     Metroid: Other M's review score average, since last week, has increased to 79.38%, based on 43 reviews on GameRankings.com.  Last week its average was at 78.01%, based on 39 reviews.

     On Amazon.com, Metroid Other M has gained 24 customer reviews since the story last week, but is still showing what appears to be a 3.5 out of 5 Star rating, based on 95 customer reviews.

Still 3.5 out of 5 Stars...what would you give the game?

Thoughts/Questions:

     I think the game-play hours being reported are pretty solid for Metroid: Other M, considering the game is single-player focused.  I think it will be interesting to see if/when Metroid: Other M passes Metroid Prime Trilogy's "Total Hours" reported.
     I have spoken with two people that have been playing Metroid: Other M, but neither have completed it yet.  I know a few of you commented last week, that you have picked up Metroid: Other M, or received it as a gift; but many of you hadn't finished the game yet.

     If you have played Metroid: Other M, have you finished it yet; if so, about how long did it take you to finish it?


If you're interested in Metroid: Other M, you can see prices on Amazon.com linked below:

The Conduit, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex, Red Steel 2 - Data

Quick Brew Info:
     The last time I compared the game-play data for The Conduit(TCon), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex(CoD:MWR), and Red Steel 2(RS2) together, was on July 6.
     Let's take a look at the games and see how much they have increased since the July 5 data was captured.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     The Conduit has 78,549 players reporting their play-time data now.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has 91,451 players reporting play-time data.
     Red Steel 2 now has 24,932 players reporting their play-time data for the game.

Player Increase Since Last Story:
     The Conduit has increased by 7,431 players reporting data, since the data from July 5.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex now has 20,853 more players reporting play-time data.
     Red Steel 2 has 9,108 more players reporting their play-time data, than it did on July 5.

Average & "Total" Game-Play Hours Increased/Reported:
     The Conduit's average hours reported per person are now 22 Hours 57 Minutes.  TCon's current average game-play session, per player, is about 1 Hour 51 Minutes.
     The Conduit's average hours per person, 22 Hours 57 Minutes, have increased by 26 Minutes since the July 5 data.
     The Conduit now has 1,802,113 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 201,160 game-play hours since the July 5 Nintendo Channel data.

     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's average hours reported per person are now 57 Hours 22 Minutes; with the current average game-play session, per player, being about 2 Hours 21 Minutes.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's average hours per person, 57 Hours 22 Minutes, have increased by 7 Hours 3 Minutes since July 5.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex now has 5,245,775 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 1,693,551 game-play hours since July 5.

     Red Steel 2's average hours reported per person are now 9 Hours 41 Minutes.  Its average game-play session, per player, is about 1 Hour 53 Minutes.
     Red Steel 2's average hours per person, 9 Hours 41 Minutes, have increased by 24 Minutes since July 5.
     Red Steel 2 has 241,336 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 94,571 game-play hours since July 5.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     The Conduit's Amazon.com sale rank is #3,962, and the current sale price is $25.68.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's Amazon.com sale rank is #352, and its current sale price is $40.54.
     Red Steel 2's Amazon.com sale rank is #465, and the current selling price is $19.93.

     Both The Conduit and Red Steel 2 are currently being advertised/sold from third-party vendors on Amazon.com, at the prices listed above.

Thoughts:
     Amazon.com has been out-of-stock of The Conduit, basically every day I have checked, since July.  Red Steel 2 seems to be having issues with staying in-stock, directly from Amazon.com also.  I don't know if the issue is supply from Sega and Ubisoft for the games, or if demand has decreased enough for Amazon.com to request copies less frequently.
     Also, I think it is interesting this is the first time since I have compared these games directly, that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has more players reporting play-time data, than The Conduit does.

Questions:
     Has anybody picked up Red Steel 2 since it received a price drop back in July?  Also, if anybody owns any of these FPSes, have you found yourself playing any of them recently; or have you moved onto other Wii games right now?
     I still have not played either Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex or Red Steel 2, perhaps that will change in the next few months.

You can see new & used prices for some of the games linked on Amazon.com below:
  

Monster Hunter Tri Surpasses Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Now the Most Played, Per Player, Wii Game in America

Quick Brew Info:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been, for a while now, the #1 played Wii game in America, according to data tracked by Kotaku.com; but as of today, that is no longer the case.
     Monster Hunter Tri released 154 days ago(5 months, 1 day), Super Smash Bros. Brawl released 926 days ago(2 years, 6 months, 12 days).
     In the 154 days since Monster Hunter Tri released, its average play-time per person has now passed that of Super Smash Bros. Brawl's.  How much more have Monster Hunter Tri players played, than Super Smash Bros. Brawl players?  Let's take a look...


     The play-time data pictured below for Monster Hunter Tri and Super Smash Bros. Brawl is for I believe the United States of America only, not other countries of North America.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl has 1,744,608 players reporting play-time data.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl has increased by 53,851 players reporting data, since the data from August 2.
     Monster Hunter Tri has 41,012 players reporting play-time data.  Monster Hunter Tri has increased by 1,898 players reporting play-time data, since the September 6 data.

"Total" Game-Play & Average Hours Played:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl has 136,477,636 Total Hours reported, with an average play-time of 78 Hours 14 Minutes per person.  The average Super Smash Bros. Brawl play session for each person reporting data is just over 2 Hours 6 Minutes.
     Monster Hunter Tri has 3,225,272 Total Hours reported, with an average play-time of 78 Hours 38 Minutes per person.  The average Monster Hunter Tri play session, for each person reporting play-time data, is just over 3 Hours 39 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Amazon.com sale rank is #114, and the current selling price is $44.54.
     Monster Hunter Tri's Amazon.com sale rank is #795, and the current selling price is $47.91.

Review Score Averages:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl's review score average is 92.75%, based on 76 reviews on GameRankings.com.
     Monster Hunter Tri's review score average is 85.00%, based on 46 reviews on GameRankings.com.

Thoughts:
     Monster Hunter Tri currently has a 24 minute higher game-play average "per person", than Super Smash Bros. Brawl does.  I think it's interesting that Monster Hunter Tri, a third party Wii game, is the game that has passed Super Smash Bros. Brawl, currently becoming the "most played" Wii game in America, per person.
     I own Monster Hunter Tri and see how the game can have hundreds of hours of game-play.  I have played right around 60 hours of Monster Hunter Tri since April, and I haven't seen half of the monsters in the game yet.
     While Monster Hunter Tri doesn't have nearly the number of players reporting data as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and won't sell as many copies as Super Smash Bros. Brawl in America; I hope Monster Hunter Tri's play-time data is encouraging to other third party developers looking to develop on the Wii, and possibly Nintendo's next system(whenever that is).
     I don't think Monster Hunter Tri will ever pass Super Smash Bros. Brawl's "Total Hours" of game-play reported, but the fact that Monster Hunter Tri has the highest average play-time per person, I think says a lot for the game.
     I think this data should show developers that if they put time/effort into their Wii games, and give Wii owners quality games, with online and offline play, they will play them; and as Monster Hunter Tri's data shows, we will play them often and for long periods of time.
     I hope that the continued play-time of Monster Hunter Tri, helps translates into further sales success for the game in America.
     Congratulations to Capcom for having the "most played" Wii game in America, as of September 20, 2010,  per person.

Questions:
     Is anybody surprised that Monster Hunter Tri is the first game to pass Super Smash Bros. Brawl, or is Monster Hunter Tri the game you thought would become the "most played" Wii game in America?  Also, do you think Monster Hunter Tri will continue to be the "most played" Wii game in America, per person, or will its average play-time decrease and fall back beneath Super Smash Bros. Brawl?
     I really thought Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex was going to be in the running for "most played" overall, a few months after it released; but even its 5 month release head-start over Monster Hunter Tri, it wasn't enough.
     I think Monster Hunter Tri will continue to be the "most played" Wii game in America, even if its average does fall back beneath Super Smash Bros. Brawl's for a few weeks.

     My online name/code in Monster Hunter Tri is Coffee/KKJ9F2; if you monster hunt online, let me know and we can try to hunt together once my school schedule calms down.


If anybody is interested in either Monster Hunter Tri or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, you can see new and used prices on Amazon.com linked below:
  

Monster Hunter Tri's - A Stick in the Mud! (Data)

Quick Brew Info:
We last looked at Monster Hunter Tri's play-time data 3-weeks ago, from August 16.  With this week's data, I am including a monster hunt video I went on in the single-player campaign a few days ago.  In the video, I'm hunting a Barroth.  If anybody has hunted a Barroth, you probably immediately knew what I meant with "A Stick in the Mud!" in the title for this post.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Monster Hunter Tri has 39,114 players reporting play-time data, an increase of 3,265 players since 3-weeks ago.

Average & "Total" Game-Play Hours Reported:
Monster Hunter 3's average hours reported per person are now 76 Hours 26 Minutes, over 20.81 play-sessions.  The current average Monster Hunter Tri game-play session, per player reporting data, is now about 3 Hours 40 Minutes.

Monster Hunter Tri's average hours, the 76 Hours 26 Minutes "per person", have increased 4 Hours 58 Minutes, since 3-weeks ago. The game now has 2,989,625 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 427,475 game-play hours since the August 16 Nintendo Channel data.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
Monster Hunter Tri's Amazon.com sale rank is #981, and the current sale price is $47.91.
The sales rank #981 is the lowest recorded sales rank I have seen Monster Hunter Tri have since it released in April.


Review Score Averages:
Monster Hunter 3's review score average is still 85.00%, based on 46 "professional" reviews, on GameRanings.com.

It appears that Monster Hunter Tri has a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating from Amazon.com customer reviews.  You can see the breakdown of customer reviews in the picture below:

Thoughts:
I have been playing Monster Hunter Tri's single-player campaign little, by little, in the last 2-weeks.  As I mentioned in the "Quick Brew Info" section, I went my first Barroth hunt in the single-player campaign a few days ago.  I had hunted Barroth online with The Butcher and Den before, but I had never progressed far enough to hunt it in the single-player campaign by myself.

Here's Part 1 of my Monster Hunter Tri Barroth hunt:


As for the play-time data, I believe Monster Hunter Tri will become the "most-player" Wii game according to average play-time "per person", within the next 3-weeks; passing Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The low Amazon.com sales rank is interesting, though it could just be a very temporary rank and tomorrow it could be back up in the #400+ sales rank range it had been in previous weeks.

Questions:
Is anybody still playing Monster Hunter Tri on a regular basis?  If so, what nights/times of the week would work best to try to get online for some monster hunting as a group?


If you haven't purchased Monster Hunter Tri, and want to join in the monster hunting, you can see new and used prices on Amazon.com linked below:















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