Ultra know-it-all head-hancho, Kathy Vrabek, of EA Games said that she is definitely not concerned with the poor ratings that EA games get from online game review sites such as Gamespot, IGN and Joystiq because she firmly believes gamers don’t actually read any of the reviews.

“I get less concerned about game reviews because the casual gamers don’t read any of those things,” EA Casual president Kathy Vrabek said.

Sales figures and game review scores obviously don’t seem to share a connection when it comes to the purchasing power of the average gamer. Advertising and word-of-mouth chatter have been keeping some of EA’s terrible titles very successful, regardless of the pounding they take from the major review sites.

“[casual gamers are] not swayed by a low score on IGN or a low score out of one of these gaming sites,” she went on to say. “It’s a little bit amusing, in that it’s people reviewing games against measures that are important to core gamers yet are not important to casual gamers.”

Are game review sites such as IGN and Joystiq even worth having around for anything other than screenshots? Probably not. Lose those high-paid game reviews and focus on more screenshots and video previews please! Let the hype machine roll on!

Some dudes from J.R. Antrim’s site put together a pretty interesting videogame look-a-like video. Some of the look-a-likes are shameless ripoffs and others just make me scratch my head. I think my favorite one was the Solid Snake / Kyle Reese comparison (even the same friggin’ hip gear) ;)

Yesterday’s rumors have been confirmed: a long-term game reviewer for Gamespot has been fired after posting a negative Kane and Lynch review. Suspected to be related, another Gamespot editor has also also announced he will be leaving the organization. We all know that every gaming review organization is paid big bucks by publishing companies to give their games positive reviews, so it only makes sense that this editor’s ass was canned.

Microsoft announced that as part of their 5 year anniversary of XBox Live they start offering full, original Xbox games for 1200 MS Points, which translates to roughly $15 USD.

Starting on Dec. 4, all Xbox LIVE members will receive a free system update with a host of new features and enhancements. Included in this update will be the launch of Xbox Originals, which, for the first time, will enable consumers to download and own full Xbox games, such as “Halo,” “Psychonauts,” “Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge” and “Fable,” among others, directly to their Xbox 360. This new service will launch with an array of blockbuster titles spanning the most popular genres from action-adventure to classic role-playing games.

With no disc necessary, and at just 1,200 Microsoft Points per game, Xbox LIVE members can easily rediscover these hit titles, or check out a game they missed the first time around. This launch lineup is only the beginning, as Xbox 360 owners can expect to see a growing catalog of Xbox games to download and own over the coming year.

I see more 120 gig HDD sales in Microsoft’s Future.

After news that DivX Inc’s video compression technology would be fully supported by the Playstation 3, shares rose 2.4 percent, rising 44 cents to $19.07 this morning.

Word has also been made that the Xbox 360 will also be licensing the DivX technology as well, but no official statements have been released. Analysts highly suspect 2008 will be the year of DivX on the Xbox 360.

The news has been an incredible breakthrough for DivX Inc. as they go head-to-head with DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray technology on the next-gen systems. The battle of the video compression wars are on!

eMarketer has put together a sales chart, detailing the total system sales from the start of 2007 until September. A little while back, we heard reports that the Wii was gaining inches on the 360 and then all of a sudden, there were reports that the Wii had taken the lead in the console market. This time, it looks like the 360 is still in the lead but awaiting a swift pummeling from the Wii as it gains numbers dramatically (typically over 100,000 units more than the 360 per month).

Now, if we can only get a Castlevania game for the Wii, we’d be all set.

Today marks the first day in the history of the Xbox console where Microsoft has produced a yearly profit that was positive. Earlier today, the big M’s Xbox Entertainment and Devices Devision posted an unaudited operating income for the quarter ending September 30 of $165 million. Compared to last year, we saw a loss of $142 million. Obviously, all fingers are pointing to the successful Halo 3 release.

In the first day of the game’s US release, Halo 3 generated a whopping $170 million, making it the most popular selling game in video game history. Over the course of the week, Halo 3 sales grew to $300 globally.

Microsoft predicts its total revenues in 2008 will exceed the $58 billion mark, with an operating income of approximately $23 billion.

Now that the Halo 3 honeymoon is over, most 360 gamers are already rallying up for Halo 4, and I can only imagine the crazy profits that game will turn out. The big question on the plate is how Bungie will twist their way out of the awful Halo 3 ending.

Futureshop, a Canadian eletronics store is offering Guitar Hero 2 with Guitar as a free bundle when you purchase any Xbox 360. This is in addition to the already bundled Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance.

At 399.99 this is an awesome value.

According to The Inquirer, there are more problems with the Halo 3 collectors edition. This time, the DVD holder hub had low-grade adhesive applied to it and subsequently causes a gummy, sticky mess when pulled off accidentally. Apparently one reader didn’t even know the hub had come off before he put the game into his Xbox 360 and ended up with gooey-sticky-tight DVD-drive that refused to open.

Source

The glue is most likely semen of ejaculating fanboys that participated in the Halo 3 beta.