This week Brian takes a moment to thank all the people who make Life Inside the Box possible. Especially you, the readers and listeners.

Life Inside the Box – 074 – Thank You [ 1:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week, Brian, Kyle, Kevin, and Stephen talk about the best way to spread the word about upcoming video games – and lucky you, it’s dirt cheap. They also talk about a recent comment on Modern Warfare 2 by the developers of the upcoming Army of War sequel. Also covered this week is a healthy dissertation on the latest TF2 update, including a fair amount of theory crafting on what the weapons actually do.

Life Inside the Box – 073 – PODCAST 2: PODCASTER [ 1:13:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week Brian and Stephen team up for a single segment bonanza discussion on Deadspace with spoilerific discussions until the 18:00 mark. Then they transition into the news to talk about state of DLC, and the RTS genre. Then they wrap up the show with Novembers NPD numbers.

Life Inside the Box - 072 - Podspace [ 59:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By Brian Perry

The weekend has come around and it’s time to play, so here’s your weekly guide to what’s on sale at your favorite downloadable services.

Impulse - This week’s Impulse buys:
Time of Shadows / Dawn of Magic 2 $14.99
Cities XL $19.99 Our review
Odd Combo Pack $4.99
Dawn of Discovery $34.99
Divinity II Ego Daraconis $44.99

Steam - Weekend Deals:
Counter-Strike: Source $5.00
Dreamkiller $22.49

Good Old Games –
Realms of Arkania 1+2 $4.49
Realms of Arkania 3 $4.49
Warlords Battlecry 3 $7.99

Direct2Drive
Empire Earth $4.95
Empire Earth II Platinum $4.95
Empire Earth III $4.95
Manhunt 2 $14.95
Rise of Flight $34.99 Use code 5OFFRISEOFFLIGHT

Gamers Gate
Hearts of Iron 3 $11.98
Elven Legacy $14.95
Multiwinia $4.95
Tropico Reloaded $4.95
East India Company $11.98
Majesty 2 $7.48

XBLA
Rockband No doubt the singles 1992-2003 1200 msp

Via NeoGaf the NPD Sales Results for this past November are in and indeed they are epic…if you’re into numbers:

Data care of NPD Group
Reporting Period: 11/1 – 11/28/09

PlayStation 2 203.1K
PlayStation 3 710.4K
PSP 293.9K
Xbox 360 819.5K
Wii 1.26M
Nintendo DS 1.70M

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2* 360 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Nov-09 4.20M (Ed. Note: Oh Infiinity Ward)
CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2* PS3 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Nov-09 1.87M
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Nov-09 1.39M
ASSASSIN’S CREED II 360 UBISOFT Nov-09 794.7K
LEFT 4 DEAD 2 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS Nov-09 744.0K
WII SPORTS RESORT* WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Jul-09 720.2K
WII FIT PLUS* WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Oct-09 679.0K
ASSASSIN’S CREED II PS3 UBISOFT Nov-09 448.4K
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS* 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS Nov-09 362.1K
MARIO KART W/ WHEEL WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA Apr-08 315.0K

There’s really no way around those Call of Duty numbers, it’s the biggest franchise this gen, Activision’s already announced another COD for next fall, the games don’t even have to be good at this point, the franchise is gonna be sticking around for a long, long while.

On the Hardware front the usual unit sales flow of DS > Wii > 360 > PS3 > PSP has proven itself again, even though some were expecting the PS3 to have overtaken the 360 in the past month. The PS3′s been almost entirely relaunched and it still couldn’t beat the 360. Hell if you count LFD2 due to it being exclusive for the consoles on the 360, the PS3 is the only console without an exclusive title in the Top Ten. Uncharted 2 may get a shit-ton of GOTY awards in the next few weeks but like I said last month, it’s almost a Metroid Prime Situation with the series. The hardcore love for the title is hard like a rock, but the sales just haven’t resonated with most of the audience for the console it’s on.

And the PSP.

Oh the PSP.

Y’know most Gamestops still have fresh unopened UMD movies they try and get people to buy every year. They’re an interesting relic from a media that seemed so promising six…has it been over six years now since UMD was first revealed along with the PSP? At least the PSP outsold the PS2 last month. That counts for something right? – The Ben

This week, Brian, Kyle, Kevin, and Stephen sit around the fire and talk about a slightly more philosophical topic; who should video games be made for? The discussion covers a range of ideas, from business strategies to the spirit of the industry itself. Once the smoke has cleared from the hot discussion, the guys also talk about some interesting sales numbers from the PSP Go, the reason nostalgia plays such a big part in our memories of classic games, and an interesting turn of events from the CEO of EA, who recently went on record speaking in favor of digital distribution.

Life Inside the Box – 071 – The Philosophy One [ 1:16:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By Brian Perry

The weekend has come around and it’s time to play, so here’s your weekly guide to what’s on sale at your favorite downloadable services.

Impulse - This week’s Impulse buys:
Tropico Reloaded $4.99
Starscape $9.95

Steam - Weekend Deals:
Tomb Raider: Underworld $7.49

Good Old Games –
Expendable $4.49
Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising $4.49
Incoming + Incoming Forces $4.49
Mobile Forces $4.49

Direct2Drive
Altitude $9.95
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition $45.95 Use code 5OFFFALL3GOTY

Gamers Gate
Dead Space $23.95
Crysis Warhead $23.95
Red Faction Guerrilla + Red Faction 1 & 2 $29.92

XBLA
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 240 msp

By Eric Keihl

As its rather cumbersome title might indicate, For the Glory: A Europa Universalis Game is quite proud of its ancestry, one which traces all the way back to the 1993 release of the Europa Universalis board game, and which hit its peak with 2001′s Europa Universalis II , a solid PC title which artfully combined the strategic nation management aspects of Civilization with the real-time energy of the Command and Conquer series. Unfortunately for the wider gaming public, For the Glory is so proud of its accomplished big brother that it’s determined to improve almost nothing from the latter game, and consequently ends up offering up an experience that has all the freshness (but little of the fun) of an MC Hammer joke.
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