Some interesting news hit the inter-web last week, no not another hacking scandal but that Modern Warfare 3 has raked in an astounding $1 billion.

Ok some of you may be reading this thinking “so what!”. Well this isn’t news because of the amount they made but just how quickly they did it. The latest Activision title, raked the money in an amazing 16 days. An ecstatic spokesman for Activision had the following to say as they rolled around in piles of cash;

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has shattered theatrical box office, book and videogame sales records for a five-day worldwide sell-through,”

The news was released alongside comparisons to Avatar and the latest Harry Potter films, which even though both were major summer blockbusters still took  17 days to gross the same amount of cash. Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision said:

“Call of Duty is now among that rarified group of franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Lord Of The Rings that attract or engage tens of millions of people every year”

At one point industry types talked about gaming as an industry to rival Hollywood and with this little computer game beating James Cameron’s sci-fi classic and the nerdy wizard film to the $1 billion  with 24 hours to spare, they should now be looking how they can exactly stay ahead…

With Christmas just days away this $40 billion-a-year industry has to learn that the industry cannot continue to survive on 70% of its annual revenue coming from the last 3 months of the year. So how can they do this? Well i believe a slight reduction in the costs of games could really help. We all die a little inside as we hand-over €50 for the latest offering from the likes of Activision, Microsoft, Sony and EA but could this be eased if the games industry agreed to an industry-wide reduction. What would this mean reduction mean… Well we can imagine that the reduction would bolster flagging new game sales, while eating into the 2nd-hand market but also give the new “recession” generation a chance to enjoy the thrill of opening a brand new game from it’s plastic wrapping.

All that being said, you have to admit that we all take the news of COD – MW3 beating the film industry with a little “i told you so” mentality, as we could stack-up the best of the gaming industry against the best of the film industry any day and there would only be 1 winner… the latest figures only prove this.

What do you guys think?

The 2011 VGAs had ten such worldwide premieres to show off such as…

The Last of Us

This amazing footage here is taken from Naughty Dog’s new IP called The Last of Us and while it doesn’t give us a lot of info, it definitely builds an appetite for more. Keep in mind that Naughty Dog are the talented folks behind the epicUncharted series, so you can guarantee that The Last of Us will be a PlayStation exclusive.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots

The latest in the Rainbow Six series, Patriots seems to be using the current economic climate as a catalyst for its’ action. Self-proclaimed freedom fighters are seeking vengeance on bankers for the state of the world markets and it’s up to Rainbow Team to stop them. Rainbow Six:Patriots is set for a 2013 release.

BioShock Infinite

Set in a floating city above 1912 America, BioShock Infinite will carry on the torch from the previous BioShock games with their jabs at Capitalism and oppression. Expect a fully-fleshed out and living world to explore when Infinitereleases in 2012.

Metal Gear: Rising Revengeance

The Metal Gear franchise is a well established and much-loved series of games that may take themselves just a bit tooseriously and try too much. The upcoming entry Rising Revengeance looks to bring the franchise to a more arcadey style, but we wouldn’t expect that to compromise a good story. Rising Revengeance is on track for a 2012 release.

Command & Conquer: Generals 2

Any PC gamer worth their salt should be familiar with Command & Conquer full stop but also with Generals. With the previous Generals released way back in 2003, the wait for Generals 2 in 2013 shouldn’t be too hard to suffer.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Perfectly timed to coincide with the upcoming Spiderman movie this coming summer, The Amazing Spider-Man sees Spiderman fighting giant, rampaging robots… not much else is gained from this short trailer.

Alan Wake:American Nightmare

This Xbox Live Arcade sequel to the horror/thriller Alan Wake sees Alan face off against his evil doppelganger.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD

The Tony Hawk franchise which was once a juggarnaut of the gaming industry, really fell by the wayside in the last couple of years with the last game, Tony Hawk Shred clocking disappointing sales. Nonetheless the series is back next year comprised entirely of levels and content from the first two games in the series (When it was good) and this trailer shows what you can expect.

Fortnite

From the studio behind Gears of War, their brand new IP is called Fortnite which seems to have a less serious style and tone to it than Gears of War, but judging by the trailer expands on the tower defense/fortification mechanics found in the Beast and Horde modes.

Hitman Absolution

We’ve touched on Absolution before, the newest game in the Hitman series shows off Agent 47 in action while taking a jab at Assassins Creed at the same time.
The Original Assassin eh…

Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 was officially announced at the 2010 VGAs so it’s not a surprise that a new trailer for the game was shown at this years awards. The trailer highlights the more action orientated feel of the upcoming title and shows the kind of huge set piece players can expect when the game launches March 9th, 2012.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Sequel to last years’ Transformers: War for Cybertron, the Fall of Cybertron picks up where the war left off, most likely showing how the Decepticons defeated the Autobots and took over Cybertron completely. We think it looks promising and although it’s easy to write this off as a Michael Bay-esque trailer, it has no ties to the movies so has potential to be great. The Fall of Cybertron is set for release Fall 2012.

So there’s a massive ten games to look forward to in the next two years, which one are you looking forward to the most?

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or follow him on Twitter.

The awards and some of the new games revealed at the event were all trending worldwide on Twitter last night.

Here’s the winners list in full and it should be noted that every award is chosen by a judging panel except for the Trailer of the Year, Character of the Year and Most Anticipated Game awards which were down to public vote.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or follow him on Twitter.

You have the chance to win a gift for any type of gamer; Madden NFL 12* and NHL 12* for the sports fan and a copy of Need for Speed The Run (3DS) for the car enthusiast.

For the pet lover in your family there’s  Sims 3 Pets (3DS)  and the fifth game you could win is perfect for the entire family,  Family Game Night 4 (Xbox360).

To win, either answer the following (easy) question in an email with the subject line TechTV and EA are better than Santa along with your name, contact telephone number and answer to info@techtv101.com.

Alternatively you can follow us on Twitter @TechTV101 and re-tweet our competition Tweet (We’ll give you some notice before we tweet it).
See, simple!

The Email question is as follows:

What is the name of the videogame Publisher behind all the amazing games in this competition?

A. ABC

B. EA

C. OMG

Terms and Conditions:

Only one entry permitted per person.

You must be at least 18 years of age in order to enter.

The Closing Date for this competition is 6PM on Friday the 16th of December.

Winners will be chosen at random.

All decisions are final.

This competition is not open to any members/staff of TechTV101, Electronic Arts and O’Leary PR or any of their respective subsidiaries.

No cash alternative or alternative prizes will be given.

This competiton is open to residents of The Rep. of Ireland only.

*Each winning pack will contain either the PS3 version of Madden NFL 12 or the Xbox360 version.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

Xbox Live suffered some hiccups earlier in the day when users reported problems signing in or purchasing content in the Zune Marketplace. All this after Microsoft delayed the update by a few hours last night frustrated many members but it all seems to be smooth sailing now.

If you haven’t received the new Dash yet try power cycling your console or if that still doesn’t give results, be patient – the update is going out to over 35 million users after all.

The Xbox Companion App for Windows Phone is also now available and is pretty slick and useful. The app allows you tocontrol your Xbox, browse movies and game info and Bing search DLC  from your phone.

Download the Windows Phone app here.

Not to leave Apple users in the dark, Microsoft have just released their official iOS Xbox App for iPhone and iPad.
The app is in a Metro-ish style (albeit not as Metro as the Windows Phone app, naturally) but is a lot more limited than the Windows Phone version. 

Download the iOS app here.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

Come on… we all knew this was coming.

Apparently the boys over at Kotaku have found out that the upcoming installment of the Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age 3,  will include playable dragons and online multiplayer. Oh and will be running on DICE’s absolutely amaze-balls Frostbite 2 engine.

According to the site ”Dragon Age 3 will reportedly include multiplayer arena-based combat”, unfortunately the guys are unsure of whether the DA3 game that will be running the Frostbite 2 engine will be a standalone entry or a spin-off of the role-playing series.

Plus side - Playable Dragons Baby!

Downside more multiplayer.

Ok well we don’t actually know if this is a bad thing or not. Most of us loyal Bioware fans are reserving judgement until the upcoming Mass Effect 3 and its online multiplayer elements hits our consoles.

Dragon Age 3 is rumored to release for PS3, 360 & PC in late 2012.

The boys over at Official PlayStation Magazine recently interviewed Ken Rosman, head of the studio that is developing Prototype 2 and it turns out that the protagonist of the upcoming game, Sgt. James Heller didn’t begin his life as the bad-ass black guy we have come to know.

“We started off with an amalgamation of Hugh Jackman and Clint Eastwood, and the resulting render looked remarkably similar to James Marsden—so we were like ‘Okay, scratch that one out,’”.

He went onto say;

“As we were going, there was something about a concept sketch of some ethnicity or other that wasn’t just the the generic Caucasian guy and we were all drawn to it. We started riffing on that character and ended up with Heller.”

As an after thought, isn’t strange how the studio iniatially went for the default action hero white guy as their protagonist.I’m just saying, that isn’t about time we saw more ethnic heroes in our games? BUT according to Rosman, it had nothing to do with race.

What do you guys think?

Oh and if want to know more about where you’ll be playing in Prototype 2, check out the latest dev trailer below. It features alpha gameplay, as the team explain the layout of the games 3 zones: the green, yellow and red zone.

Say goodbye to the old ways of the NXE or New Xbox Experience as it’s soon to be old news, the new dashboard will bring the Xbox 360 in line with Microsoft’s new ‘Metro’ design that users of Windows Phone will be very familiar with.
The design is Microsoft’s way of creating a ‘Unified Ecosystem’ across Windows Phone, Xbox and Windows 8 on tablets/pc’s next year.

The design is a lot cleaner and neater than the current version of the Dash and makes finding content easier. Bing is now integrate into the dash but can’t search for websites and the like, it’s limited to Xbox-only content such as games and movies.

Kinect integration is also much deeper in the new update, voice commands now work in Ireland and it’s quite easy to navigate around the dash using only your voice.

Also releasing tomorrow is the Xbox Live Companion App for Windows Phone. The app allows users to see details of movies or games and conduct Bing searches on their Xbox consoles using their Windows Phones.

UPDATE: Xbox Live’s Community Manager; Major Nelson has confirmed that the Dashboard Update is “slightly delayed” and will provide further details soon. No word if this will also delay the Xbox Companion App for Windows Phone.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

Keep an eye out around the 1:03 mark and prepare yourself for some epic forklift truck battles when ‘Back to Karkland’ launches in December, one week early for PlayStation 3 players but free to all who have the Limited Edition version of the game.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or follow him on Twitter.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has used his first official public engagement to attack video games.

He issued the warning when attending an event at The Ark in Dublin’s Temple Bar – his first presidential appointment since taking office on November 11^th.

The 70 year old told the audience that:

“We must encourage all citizens, particularly children, to, as Raymond Williams put it, ’Be the arrow, not the target’.

“It is possible to form the impression that many of today’s children no longer fully appreciate the joy of taking refuge in their own imaginations, preferring to spend their time on computer games, or watching digital television or playing with pre-programmed electronic toys.”

What takes the edge off President Higgins’ comments is the fact that he’s 70 years old. You really can’t be too surprised that he hasn’t heard of MineCraft, Scribblenauts or any of the other video games out there that actually encourage creativity and imagination.

OK so most Irish football lovers hate the French but us Mass Effect fans now owe them a pat on the back…

The lovely guys over at EA France have unveiled the box art for Mass Effect 3’s collector’s edition. The collector’s edition comes loaded with fun additions, click here for details. Ok so what if the cover is a little minimalistic with just the N7 logo, you know what i like it.

What do you guys think?

The contents of Mass Effect 3′s Collector’s Edition – which was first revealed earlier this year has been detailed by the lovely people over at EA. The pack, which can only be pre-ordered over here, gives gamer’s a plethora of goodies including new weapons, skins, artbook, digital soundtrack and just announced an exclusive character and mission.

The pricey Collector’s Edition will now ship with a “classified” bonus character and mission” and interestingly bonus squad appearances” for Ashley Williams, Liara T’Soni, James Vega and Kaidan Alenko.

Here’s the rest of the content:

• Premium metal case featuring male and female Commander Shepard
• 70-page hardbound art book
• Limited edition Mass Effect comic by Dark Horse Comics
• Fabric N7 patch.
• Exclusive 4×6 lithographic print of the SR-2 Alliance Normandy
• Additional in-game content including
• N7 Arsenal Pack – Bring the firepower with the N7 Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, SMG, and Pistol.
• Squad alternate appearance pack
• Robotic Dog for on board the Normandy
• Mass Effect 3 digital soundtrack.

Fancy making a game for the 3DS? Well now you can, budding developers will soon be able to create and sell DLC for 3DS games.

Earlier this week CEO for Nintendo America, Reggie Fils-Aime, confirmed that the November update for 3DS will add the framework for the sale of DLC.

In a recent interview with Games Blog, Reggie stated;

“In terms of what the next system update will allow, it will allow developers to sell add-on content, and whether that’s for a physical game or a digitally released game,”

“In terms of how it will work, it’s up to the developer whether they want to make it to buy new levels, new items–all of that is up to their imagination. Essentially, what we’re doing is creating the framework for those transactions to happen.”

Reggie went on to say that apparently the 3DS is Nintendo’s most connected console (above the Wii?):

“The digital business on the 3DS is very strong, and it’s not only the gaming content we’re making available through the eShop, but the video content we’re making available through Nintendo Video. So, it’s already a robust environment and the Nintendo 3DS is our most connected device ever, which is great.”

Now how this DLC system will work exactly is beyond me, but I’m willing to wait and see. Who knows maybe the first DLC for Zelda will convince me differently. What do you guys think?

The DLC adds two brand new maps, Bullet Marsh and Clocktower from the original Gears of War’s multiplayer alongside three new but possibly old maps as they were included in the previous ‘Horde Command Pack’ DLC.

If you’ve already purchased Horde Command Pack don’t fret, you’re not getting ripped off. Only players who’ve actually purchased Horde Command Pack will receive access to the included weapon skins, new characters, fortification upgrades and the extra 250 Gamerscore.

Hit the link to download the Versus Booster Map Pack here.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or follow him on Twitter.

The writers over at PSM3 have brought forward the first rumours of what the 2012 installment of the Assassin’s Creed franchise will entail. According to the rumour section of the upcoming  issue of PSM3 magazine the 2012 sequel could  the Valley of the Kings in Egypt as its’ setting for “at least part of the game.”

Now while this seems like a bit of a stretch, it could be true as the current game (Revelations) give a fair few nods to the African nation, however I list them here as that would require a massive SPOILER ALERT. If you do want to read about this other bits click here.

Ubisoft recently confirmed the existence of Assassin’s Creed 3, disclosing that the highly anticipated title will wrap up Desmond’s portion of the plot-line.

All this being said, this could be nothing more than a false trail, laid down by the game’s Montreal development team, but ancient Egypt’s certainly one of the most called for settings amongst AC fans.

Can you really say you wouldn’t be tempted by a  ”leap of faith” off the Sphinx?

With seven games in the franchise (including Anniversary) Halo has spawned Anime, comics, novels, conventions, charities and countless fan communities across the world, grossing over €2 Billion overall.

With that in mind, 343 Industries (The new owners of the franchise) and Saber Interactive decided to release a re-mastered HD version of the game that started it all.

Saber Interactive were chosen to help with Anniversary due to their own game engine that allows the player to switch between the ten-year-old original graphics and the new, re-mastered graphics with the touch of a button or voice commands through Kinect (more on that later).

This is perhaps the biggest talking point of Anniversary and is a really interesting feature, if at least just to compare the two and marvel at how far along game development and graphic prowess has come in the last ten years.

The process is handled with a fade in and out and for the most part it’s fairly instantaneous but you wouldn’t want to do it during combat as the game keeps on going while the switch is happening, leaving you vulnerable to attack during the transition.

It works at any time during play except during cinematic cut-scenes and although we do love the inclusion of such a unique feature, we can’t help shake the feeling that it’s something most will use a few times, show friends and then just keep with the re-mastered. That’s not to say it’s a useless feature, just that we suspect the majority of players won’t use it as much as 343 Industries maybe hope.

Although if you’re a die-hard Halo fan since the original, you might enjoy playing through the campaign in the original graphics for nostalgia, one thing that sticks in our mind is Halo was a lot darker ten years ago, so good thing Master Chief has a flashlight.

Overall though the environments and textures look stunning re-mastered and could easily fool someone that never played the original that this was a brand new game.

Perhaps the biggest surprise upon re-living Halo’s classic campaign is one of two things: Halo was a tough game ten years ago or modern-day shooters are a lot more forgiving.
We consider ourselves pretty adept with first and third person shooters these days but lord is Halo Anniversary tough. More times than we’d like we found ourselves cursing the game (Cough, mostly the Flood) and having to respawn at the last checkpoint multiple times, which by the way are quite far between – not like most modern-day shooters.

The biggest problem with Anniversary and indeed any re-make of an old game is while the graphics and detail can be improved greatly, the gameplay is still the same.
The feel of Halo hasn’t changed too drastically in the intervening years and games; there are certain aspects that have been improved throughout the series. Things such as being able to swap weapons with Marines, a more diverse range of enemies and even things like manning the gun of a Warthog and having your fellow Marines drive – no matter how hard we tried the Marines simply wouldn’t drive, forcing us to drive while they used the gun.

They’re just some of the design and gameplay changes that have been implemented over the years that are missing here, we understand that Anniversary’s content is ten years old and are not saying these are flaws but it would have been nice if 343 Industries and Saber Interactive went a bit deeper than graphics and re-worked more than just the game’s looks.

Included on the disc are seven multiplayer maps, six of them from Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, each with two modes – classic and remastered.
The seventh map is a Firefight map and is set on Installation 04, pulled from just after the Chief crash-lands on Halo and features friendly AI controlled Marines and ODST’s to help out.

The multiplayer maps are all rebuilt using the same engine as Halo: Reach and each map as a classic and remastered mode – classic having no armour abilities (Sprint, evade, etc.) and powerups such as overshields strewn about and remastered being the same Halo: Reach multiplayer you know and love.

The inclusion of Kinect support with Anniversary was one that had Halo fans worried when announced by Microsoft months ago, many hoping it wouldn’t be forced on them but the good news is that if you don’t like or have Kinect, you won’t miss out on the fun. If you do however, you’ll benefit from voice commands and a sort of gallery section called The Library (Not the infamously annoying level, The Library) where you scan the environment in-game and can then view detailed character models using motion controls or a standard controller.

The voice commands are an interesting touch, you can say things like reload, change weapon and classic or remastered to switch between the two but it’s nothing you can’t do faster with a controller. Many times when Cortona was talking during play, our Kinect bizarrely paused the game thinking that we had said Pause.

Halo: Anniversary is a great addition to the series and for long time Halo fans it’s really a must-have.
We still would have liked to see more attention payed to more than just the audio/video and if you’re not a Halo player already this definitely won’t change your mind.

The campaign that started it all looks and sounds amazing remastered and the added multiplayer maps are great and would even be well suited as standalone DLC for Halo: Reach.
Add in Kinect support, achievements and online campaign co-op and it really is worth the purchase.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or follow him on Twitter.

The lovely people over at EA have gone and released a swanky looking gameplay trailer for the up and coming  Syndicate. . The trailer entitled “New England” takes a deeper look into the games 4-player co-op campaign, as a 4-man team head into Eurocorp’s headquarters to acquire their “precious technology”.

The games co-op elements let you fight as a team through 9 different missions, some of which gamers will recognize from the original cult classic hit (trust us we’ve seen images).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Starbreeze are really out to prove that this re-imagining of the cult classic game is something special and from what I’ve seen of the game so far… It is!

With Assassin’s Creed: Revelations hitting our shelves yesterday, the official review embargo was lifted and there came a tirade of websites publishing their opinions on this long-awaited final chapters in the stories of Altair and Ezio. So far the reviews have been generally favorable and primary scores seem to float about the 7/8 out 10 mark. But why trust them, we’ll have our review in the coming days.

Until, we have lots of AC related news for you:

First up, the nice guys over at Ubisoft have sent us 2 new trailers for the game.

The 1st trailer is entitled “previously on” brings you up to speed on the history of the franchise, while at the same time showing-off some pretty impressive in-game graphics.

The next trailer is the game’s epic launch trailer and contains a plethora of explosions, mass stabbings and a healthy amount of deadly spear deaths.  This is one trailer you do not want to miss.

Finally, Ubisoft have announced the 1st DLC for game in the form of the “Ancestors” character pack. The pack will contain 4 new multiplayer character skins; the swashbuckling Privateer, the devious siren Corsair, the battle-tested Brigand and the bloodthirsty Gladiator. Each character will of course have their own unique weapons and assassination cut scenes.

And do you want to know the best bit… The DLC will be hitting your Xbox and PS3 consoles on the 13th of December.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is on a shelf near you now.

With the launch of the game just days away and Nintendo issuing news faster than we can type. We thought we’d do a quick pre-launch round-up to get you in the mood.

Ok so Tri-forces at the ready…

First up, most of you will remember the amazing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D TV spot that featured none other than funny man himself, Robin Williams, and his aptly named daughter, Zelda? No? Well, you can refresh you memory here (What a beard). Anyway, the main news is that the battling two-some are back! Well actually one and half are back, Mr. Williams is now sans beard. The TV spot see’s Robin showing off his masterful archer skills (who knew?) and Zelda swinging into action with some equally impressive sword skills. Check it out below.

Next up is Robin, explaining how “every legend has an origin…. and every hero has a history” and how Skyward Sword will answer questions 25 years in the making.

Nintendo have also released another TV spot , this time featuring swords and shields falling from the sky and even some in-game footage…

If you’re a fan of the amazingly scored music in Zelda, you’ll love this. The guys over at Nintendo has released a five-minute video showing how the Nintendo orchestra recorded the main theme of Zelda and the score for Skyward Sword. Unlike The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link’s final adventure on Nintendo Wii will have an entirely orchestrated soundtrack.

Finally with reviews of the game starting to pop up throughout the internet and 90% of them really positive, Nintendo have released its pre-launch trailer. The trailer shows some of the story, it’s beautifully scored too. My early opinion is that this could be one of the best Zelda games to-date

With all that news, the only question i can ask is not will you be getting the game but when?