Recently in Video Games Category

Gamespot is reporting that pre-sales figures for the upcoming GTA IV video game are upwards of 6 million units and that the game is poised to generate $400 million in sales for the first week.  With those types of numbers it may be able to surpass The Sims as the top selling video game of all time.  GTA IV is scheduled for release on April 29th for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Another Chinese gamer dies after a 3-day marathon Internet gaming session. As you may remember, another Chinese guy died during Chinese New Year earlier this year.

MC Frontalot just made a sweet video of his new Nerdcore song, "It's Pitch Dark." That's right it's funky fresh Zork universe humor for all of those old enough to remember the Infocom games. What is a grue? Well, if you have to ask you probably won't understand this video.

Some guy is selling a fully articulated Master Chief costume on eBay for $5,300. With costumes that look this good, I am surprised that people haven't made live action fan films about the Halo universe. The guy selling the costume didn't make it, but I am sure whoever made this costume spent a lot of time on it. Alas, you have to be really serious about Halo to drop this kind of money on a freaking costume. But think about how cool, and lonely, you'll be on Halloween!

Just a reminder, Halo 3 is being released on September 27th. Get ready.

Gamecock is a video game company founded earlier this year that promises to bring originality back to the video game industry. Well, if its sweet logo is any indication they are well on their way. However, looking at their pipeline all they have is a MMORPG for the PC called Fury, and a horror first-person shooter for the Nintendo DS called Dementium. Well, the logo is cool.

Microsoft announced that preorders for Halo 3 have surpassed 1 million copies. I preordered my copy several months ago and can't wait for the game to ship in late September. It's on like Donkey Kong, but with better graphics.

Forza Motorsport 2 is a racing game like a Ferrari is just transportation to the grocery store. To call this a racing game is to deny the fact that it is a car racing simulator disguised as a game. The first time you smack the side rail and hear the sound of metal crushing you realize that this isn't your dad's car racing game. This is real. I loved Championship Sprint as much as the next guy, but this is so much more than that. If you have an Xbox 360 you need to run out and get this game!

The Halo 3 beta is underway with three multiplayer maps available and even MSNBC has written a story about the beta, the fans, and the sales expectations for this game. I returned my copy of Crackdown that I rented through Gamefly before the beta was released, so I am not playing it. Which is probably a good thing because I always enjoy finishing the single player campaign before launching into the multiplayer mayhem.

With all the expectations surrounding this game, anything less than the $125 million that Halo 2 did on the first day would be considered a disappointment. For those keeping score, as of June, 2006 Halo 2 had sold 9.2 million copies worldwide so Halo 3 has a lot to live up to. I will be pre-ordering my copy later this week.

Bungie Studios announced today that Halo 3 will be released on September 25th, nearly two months ahead of the anticipated mid-November launch date.

Microsoft announces the release of an Xbox 360 Elite console which will retail for $479.99, is black in color, and boasts a 120GB hard drive and an HDMI connection.

An obese 26-year-old man Chinese guy died after a seven-day "marathon" online gaming session on the last day of the Chinese New Year holiday. The guy weighed 330 pounds and probably didn't move much for seven days. My guess is he developed a blod clot that traveled to one of his lungs.

Anyway, the article continues to say that about 2.6 million -- or 13 percent -- of China's 20 million Internet users under 18 are classed as addicts. Huh!? China has 1.3 billion people and there are only 20 million Internet users under 18!? They must mean 20 million online gamers under 18, not total Internet users under 18. It seems low to me. Can that stat be right!?

Microsoft confirms Halo 3 beta keys will be inside first shipments of Crackdown. Microsoft promises that the Halo 3 beta experience is more than a demo and will be a robust experience. I have just been notified by Gamefly that Crackdown shipped to my home. Hopefully I will be able to review the Halo 3 beta firsthand.

Study finds that surgeons who play video games are more skilled than those that don't. And here everyone thought that video games just gave you stronger hands for masturbation! While video games make for better surgeons, playing more than one hour of video games per day decreases a kid's chances of getting into medical school. Oh, the irony. Big ups to Masher for sending me this.

Whorecraft promises to be "the first fantasy adult website of its kind." Sorry, I like my porn sans elves.