Price Drop - Shaun White Skateboarding

Coffee Beans
Shaun White Skateboarding was released on October 24, 2010.  The game was released on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360.  The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Shaun White Skateboarding had a MSRP of $59.99, and the Wii version of Shaun White Skateboarding had a MSRP of $49.99.

Well, after watching the game's price for the last week, it appears Shaun White Skateboarding has officially seen a price drop from one retailer, just 73 days after it released.

Click to enlarge

The new list price for Shaun White Skateboarding is now $29.99, on the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.  You can see the prices on Amazon.com linked below:

      

     

It seems that the Shaun White games, both snowboarding and now skateboarding, have issues at retail, and drop in price relatively quickly to when they release.

I was actually surprised to see Ubisoft develop Shaun White Skateboarding for the PS3 and Xbox 360, considering the original Shaun White Snowboarding game didn't sell very well on those consoles, resulting in a Wii only sequel.

I haven't heard any sales numbers for Shaun White Skateboarding, but I would guess with a price drop happening already, they're hoping this can help boost/maintain sales.

I'm actually interested in the Wii version of Shaun White Skateboarding, just because of the Wii Balance Board controls, which I really enjoyed in Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip.

Questions

Have any of you played Shaun White Skateboarding?  If so, which version did you play and did you enjoy it?  If you did play it, would you suggest the game to others now with its lower price?

Christmas Gifts & My New Year's Video Game Resolution!

     You may have read(or not) my December Brewed, January Roasting post, in which I talked about different events that happened in December, as well as what coffees I consumed, and what video games I played.
     I mentioned in that post, how my parents were up visiting us for Christmas, and I didn't play many video games during their visit.  Netflix was used a lot on the PS3, and my mom tried playing a few rounds of ping pong in Sports Champion, which I ended up playing one or two rounds also...but other than that, I played no games after Christmas until New Year's Eve.
     Even though I barely played any games after Christmas, I did receive two games for Christmas.
     I didn't open either game until Sunday, January 2; 8 days after I received them!
     I received one game from Keith, who writes for EpicBattleAxe.com, and you can find more of his articles at, HERE!  The game he gifted me was Borderlands for the PS3.  He picked the game up himself, and we started playing the co-operative mode together, just tonight!
     The other game I received for Christmas, I received from Mrs. CoffeewithGames.  I was suspicious she had gotten me a game, but I wasn't positive.  On Christmas morning I unwrapped a few gifts from her and there was a video game gift!  It was Donkey Kong Country Returns!
     After opening Donkey Kong Country Returns on Sunday afternoon, Mrs. CoffeewithGames and I started a game together.  So far, we have made it all the way through World 2, and we are ready to start World 3 when we start back up.
     I ended up starting my own DKCR's game file early yesterday morning, and played through World 1.

     So, what do my video game Christmas gifts have to do with my New Year's video game resolution?  Well, they have to do with something I think a lot of gamers have happen, and it's called a backlog!  For those of you that aren't familiar with the term backlog, it's when you own several video games, but haven't played or completed them yet.
     When I received both games, I knew that I still had other games I hadn't beaten, or even played in some cases.
     Based on that, I decided to make a New Year's video game resolution, and that resolution is that I won't purchase any NEW or USED video game in 2011, until I finish my backlog of video games on my current generation consoles.
     What does my current backlog of video games look like this generation, not including my Christmas gifts?  Here's the list!

• Dementium II (DS)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (PS3)
• Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
• Endless Ocean: Blue World (Wii)
• Greg Hastings Paintball 2 (Wii)
• Medal of Honor: Vanguard (Wii)
• Metroid Prime Trilogy (I'm not sure if I count this one, Wii)
• Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)
• Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip (Wii)
• Tenchu: Shadow Assasins (Wii)

     Now, if you're wondering what I mean when I say "finish", I mean finish each game's single-player campaign.  With Metroid Prime Trilogy, I already completed Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and I'm not sure how I count Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, being that they're GameCube games ported over with Wii controls...perhaps I'm just trying to get out of playing one!

     Including my Christmas video game gifts, I have twelve games to complete in 2011, before I purchase another one!  Will I be able to complete my backlog of games, before another "must have" game shows up on my radar?  We'll find out!

     I once again hope everybody had a great holiday season, and that 2011 goes well for you all!

Questions:

     Did any of you make a New Year's video game resolution of any sort?

Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition - Debut Game-Play Hours

Coffee Beans:
     Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition was released on December 12, 2010 in North America with a MSRP of $29.99.  Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition was published by Nintendo, and was a "reissue" of Super Mario All-Stars from 1993 for the SNES.
     The game contains four classic Mario Bros. games on one Wii disc:  Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3.
     The "Limited Edition" also includes a Super Mario History CD soundtrack with various Mario themes and sound effects from Mario games, and the "Limited Edition" contains a 32-page Super Mario History booklet, that features "interviews, behind-the-scenes details, and rare concept art."
     Super Mario All-Stars received an "E" rating from the ESRB, and there isn't any "Content" listed for parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have Wii owners reported playing Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition, in the 23 days since it released?  Let's take a look!

Hours shown are for the United States of America, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Super Mario All-Stars has 16,741 Wii owners reporting their game-play hours through the Wii's Nintendo Channel, for its "hours" debut.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition has 60,951 Total Hours of game-play reported for its debut, with an average of 3 Hours 38 Minutes "Per person" reporting data.
     Super Mario All-Stars' average reported play-time per session is just over 1 Hour 19 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition's Amazon.com sale rank is #86, and it is currently selling for $68.00.
     (Sale rank and advertised price recorded around 11:15PM on 1-3-11)

Review Score Averages:
     Super Mario All-Stars' review score average is 70.46%, based on 13 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

     Super Mario All-Stars has a 3 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, based on 84 customer reviews.
     You can see the customer review score breakdown for it pictured below:

     (Review score averages recorded around 11:15PM on 1-3-2011)

Filtered Thoughts:
     I didn't purchase Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition, but based on the prices it's now selling for on Amazon.com, perhaps I should have picked it up when it was only $29.99!  There are a few vendors currently on Amazon that have the game priced at more than $100!
     I was surprised that Super Mario All-Stars took more than 2-weeks for its game-play hours to show up on the Nintendo Channel, but considering the shorter length of the Mario games on the disc it makes sense.
     Also, the gamers that purchased or received it as a gift, may have had a crazy busy December like I did, and didn't find much time to play it until after the holidays.
     I'll continue to record the game's data, and I think it'll be interesting to see what the average hours "Per person" are for Super Mario All-Stars in a few months.

Questions:
     Did any of you purchase or receive Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition?  If so, what do you think of the package as a whole, with the soundtrack CD and 32-page booklet?  Was the collection and disc worth the $29.99, and could you justify purchasing it for a lot more, like the prices on Amazon.com?


If you are interested and want to see how much vendors are selling the game for on Amazon.com, you can see them linked below:
  

December Brewed, January Roasting - Happy New Year!

     The 31 days in December vanished!
     December started off with me preparing for finals, and college wrapping up for the semester.
     Mrs. CoffeewithGames' dad visited us for a week, and while he was visiting, I showed him how to operate Netflix on our PS3.  He was a professional at it by the time he left, and he was really impressed with the service.
     I ended up getting my first general doctor's appointment for the first time in probably 8 years in December, due to a pain in my abdomen, which still hasn't been "officially" diagnosed as anything.  After two office visits, and an ultrasound of my gallbladder, the only thing the doctor told me was I should cut back on my coffee intake...I may have to get another doctor!
     I finalized my registration in the middle of December, for my classes in the Spring Semester, which will be starting very soon.
     My parents flew in on Christmas Eve, and visited with us for a week, flying out on the 30th.  It snowed about 6 inches when they were here, and that was fun.  I didn't play many games at all during their visit, but my dad enjoyed using the Netflix service on the PS3, and he searched and found a lot of old detective and cop shows he used to watch.
     The month wrapped up with us having friends over for new year's eve, and we played a lot of games last night!
     So, here's a look at the different coffees I consumed and the different video games I played in December:

     Coffees Consumed in December:

• Maxwell House Coffee Master Blend - This was coffee from a 270 cup container Mrs. CoffeewithGames had purchased in November.  We finished it off early in December.
• Trader Joe's Organic Fair Trade Cafe Pajaro Blend Extra Dark Roast - What a lengthy title for some coffee!  If you missed my write-up on this coffee, you can read it HERE!  Reader Nicodemus_at_Nite, aka Charlie Chang, mailed this container of whole bean coffee, and I enjoyed throughout the months of November and December.
• One Cup of Starbucks' Christmas Blend Coffee - I ended up getting this cup of coffee early in December, I believe with my Starbucks gift card that still had a little money left on it.  The Starbucks Christmas blend is a blend of different coffee beans from around the world, and it had a nice flavor to it.
• Whole Bean Dunkin' Donuts Original Coffee - We have just about one pot left of this coffee, and then it will be gone.  I know Dunkin' Donuts has the slogan, "America Runs on Dunkin'", so I'm interested in seeing if I would enjoy their Dunkin' Dark roast more than this Original Blend.
• One Cup of McDonalds' Premium Roast Coffee - I forgot to add this to my "Coffees Consumed" list, but I purchased this the last day of school.  I had gotten up extra early to leave, and ran out of the house without making a pot of coffee.  I stopped by the closest McDonalds I knew of on my way home, and purchased their sausage burrito and this cup of coffee to go with it.
• Maxwell House Custom Roasted Dark Roast Ground Coffee - This is another 270 cup coffee container.  We still have some of it in our cabinet, and it should last a good ways through January.  It has a nice flavor for a darker roast coffee, that isn't one of the more "premium" brands.
• One Cup of Beyu Caffe's Heart & Soul Blend Coffee - Well, I discovered something new in December.  One of my neighbors told me of another neighbor that owns and runs his own coffee shop/restaurant in our downtown area.  It's called the Beyu Caffe, and Mrs. CoffeewithGames and I headed down there one weekend, to give the coffee a taste.  I tried the Heart & Soul Blend is Beyu Caffe's "signature blend", and it's roasted by a local coffee roasting company in our area.  It has a good solid flavor that was smooth, and it is a medium-dark roast.  I enjoyed it, and hope to try it again.
• Caribou's Reindeer Blend Coffee(Medium Dark Roast) - This coffee showed up underneath our Christmas tree!  Mrs. CoffeewithGames got me this as a Christmas gift, and it's described as, "Heavy, Spicy, and Caramely".  I believe Caribou's Reindeer Blend is like Starbucks' Christmas Blend, in that it only comes out around Christmas each year.
• One Cup of Beyu Caffe's Kenyan Sensation - My neighbor that told me about the coffee shop downtown, brewed a pot of this last night at his house...and he literally showed up on my front porch holding a pot of the Kenyan Sensation coffee!  He poured me a cup of the coffee, and I said out-loud at some point, "This has a nice sweet flavor."  Well, the description for it says that it has a "syrupy and sweet body" and I would agree.

     Games Played in December:

• GoldenEye 007 Wii - I have been working my way back through the game's single-player campaign, on the "Agent" difficulty setting.  I haven't been playing as much multi-player, just because we had a lot of family in visiting during December, but I'll be getting back to multi-player soon!  I'm enjoying my second play-through of the campaign, and I plan to try to complete the game on each difficulty setting...we'll see how that goes!
• Call of Duty: Black Ops - I played a little online multi-player in December, but not much.  I haven't even completed the game's single-player campaign yet!
• Rage of the Gladiator - When Nintendo finally started making WiiWare demos available again, I wondered if Rage of the Gladiator would get a demo.  Well, I contacted Ed Roman of Ghostfire Games, and he confirmed that Rage of the Gladiator is getting a WiiWare demo, but it may not be for a few months.  I posted the news of the Rage of the Gladiator WiiWare demo, along with a video from a match I recorded in December.  You can read the full news post and watch a battle against the ninja, Nagano, HERE!
• Greg Hastings Paintball 2 - I played some more of the single-player campaign, as well as a few online matches in December.  I'm having fun working my way through the single-player campaign still, and I'm finding some of the matches really challenging!
• Sports Champion - I was able to borrow the Sony Move set, with Sports Champion, from a friend for a few weeks.  So far though, the only games I have tried with the Move controllers are Ping Pong and the Gladiator Duel game.  Perhaps now that it's a new month, I can find some more time to play it, before I return it to him!
• The Beatles: Rock Band, Rock Band 3, Guitar Hero(III, IV, and/or another one?) - When we had our friends come over on new year's eve, our neighbors were some of them...and our neighbors love music video games.  I think they had six different "music" games between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series, and we started with The Beatles: Rock Band, but moved on to the other games quickly.  What started off slowly, ended up with four people playing the games.  One singer, the drummer, and the guitar and bass.  We rotated playing the games, and we had fun doing it.

Thoughts/Questions:

     While I played a good number of games, I didn't play the games for as many hours as I did in the past few months.  December was good though, because we were able to spend a lot of time with our families that we don't see very often.

     What games did you all play during December, and did you find yourself consuming more coffee over the Christmas and New Year's holidays?
     Also, I hope that all of you have an awesome and happy New Year!

Super Mario Galaxy 2's Reported Game-Play Hours

Coffee Beans:
     Super Mario Galaxy 2(SMG2) was developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo, and published by Nintendo.  It was released on May 23 this year, with an MSRP of $49.99.
     Super Mario Galaxy 2 was rated "E" for "Everyone" by the ESRB, with "Mild Cartoon Violence" being the only "Content" listed for parents to be aware of in the game.
     We last looked at Super Mario Galaxy 2's game-play hours from what they were reported as on October 4.  You can look at the report HERE.

     How many more hours have Wii owners spent playing Super Mario Galaxy 2, in the 85 days from October 4, 2010 to December 27, 2010?  Let's take a look!

Hours shown are for the United States of America, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Super Mario Galaxy 2 now has 272,413 Wii owners reporting their game-play hours through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Reporting Players Increase Since October 4:
     Super Mario Galaxy 2 has seen an increase of about 76,156 gamers reporting play-time data, since the data was recorded on October 4.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Super Mario Galaxy 2 now has 7,800,218 Total Hours of game-play reported, an increase of 2,654,327 Total Hours since the last report.
     SMG2's average play-time is 28 Hours 38 Minutes "Per person" reporting data, an increase of 2 Hours 24 Minutes on the average reported "Per person" since October 4.
     The average play-time per session for Super Mario Galaxy 2 is just over 2 Hours 13 Minutes.

Review Score Averages:
     Super Mario Galaxy 2's review score average is 97.07%, based on 53 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

     SMG2 has a 4.5 out of 5 Stars rating based on 242 customer reviews on Amazon.com.  You can see the customer review scores breakdown pictured below:

How many stars would you give it?

     Review score averages recorded on January 1, 2011 around 12:05PM.


Sale Rank & Advertised Price:

     Super Mario Galaxy 2's Amazon.com sale rank is #40, and it is currently selling for $39.99.

     Sale rank and advertised price recorded on January 1, 2011 around 12:05PM.

Filtered Thoughts:
     I still haven't played Super Mario Galaxy 2, but when I was uploading the trailer for this post, watching it really did make me want to play the game.
     Here's the trailer:


     Super Mario Galaxy 2 was the Wii's best title released in 2010, according to the "professional" review score average on GameRankings.com.  Super Mario Galaxy 2's "professional" review score average makes it the second best Wii game, only behind the original Super Mario Galaxy.
     I think it's interesting seeing that Super Mario Galaxy 2's sales rank on Amazon.com is #40; compared to New Super Mario Bros. Wii's sales rank on Amazon.com being #16.
     I think Super Mario Galaxy 2's reported game-play hours are solid, but the average hours "Per person" are lower than I was expecting for the game at this point.
     I'm not sure how many hours Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes to complete, but the average hours "Per person" are increasing slowly, and not increasing like I would expect them to if gamers were playing the game more than once.

Questions:
     If you have played and beaten Super Mario Galaxy 2, how many hours did it take you to complete just the game's main story?  If you went back to collect all the stars, how many extra hours did you play?

If you are interested in Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com linked below: