I knew something was missing from World of Warcraft. If I am going to be nearly comatose from eating brown food, then my WoW character should be too. During the Pilgrim’s Bounty celebration, which runs November 22-28, Bountiful Tables will be popping up outside of major towns and cities in Azeroth, allowing players to sit, eat and share food until their armour no longer fits. Each table features five different chairs — The Sweet Potato Chair, The Turkey Chair, The Stuffing Chair, The Cranberry Chair and The Pie Chair — with the player sitting at each chair responsible for sharing his or her bounty with the rest of the class. Eating five helpings of anything grants you a buff. Eating five helpings of everything grants you an hour long 10% reputation gain buff, reflecting the spirit of the season.

I am just tickled that there’s something called The Pie Chair. I need one of these chairs.

As I said, the holiday is also about cooking, and Pilgrim’s Bounty features five recipes that can take a player from skill level 1 to skill level 340, along with daily cooking quests that result in the prize of a Turkey Caller, which sounds like a pet to me.

Check out the Pilgrim’s Bounty page on the World of Warcraft website for more on this gluttonous new holiday.

Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, explains in a press release that “consumers will be looking for the right gift, rather than the most extravagant or expensive one”. So while spending might be a little bit up from last year, it’s going to be on traditional stuff like books, sweaters, wallets and stuff.

Video games are still in the top 10 things people plan to buy as gifts, however — right above perfumes and food. The slight drop from last year’s level might even be because people would rather buy a video game for themselves and buy their buddy a video game-related accessory. Or book.

Check it out for yourself here.

Thanks, Jim!
Image Cred: ToyFare Issue No. 89 “Christmas on Infinite Earths”

GameStop stands proudly in the snow, one foot atop the neatly decapitated recession monster as it proudly proclaims its triumph over the failing economy, with holiday sales up 22% over last year.

Is the gaming industry recession proof? Maybe not as far as development studios are concerned, but from a retail perspective things are looking just peachy. Retail gaming giant GameStop, in a press release titled “GameStop Rises Above Recession”, have announced that the period between November 2nd and January 3rd saw an increase in sales of 22.3% over last year, with same store sales increasing 10.2%. Good for them.

Along with the good financial news, GameStop also informs us that new software sales were up an impressive 23.5%, with Call of Duty: World at War, Guitar Hero World Tour, Gears of War 2, Wrath of the Lich King, and Wii Fit making up the top five sellers of the season. Good for them.

GameStop Rises Above Recession
Holiday Sales Increase 22%

Same Store Sales Increase 10%

GRAPEVINE, Texas—(BUSINESS WIRE)—GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), the world’s largest video game and entertainment software retailer, today reported record sales results for the nine-week holiday period, November 2, 2008 thru January 3, 2009.

During the 2008 holiday period, total sales were $2,856.0 million, a 22.3% increase from the prior year of $2,334.6 million. Comparable store sales for the period increased 10.2%.

New video game software sales were outstanding, growing 23.5% with many titles selling in record numbers. The top five video games sold during the holiday period were Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War and Guitar Hero World Tour, Microsoft’s Gears of War 2, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, and Nintendo’s Wii Fit.

Hardware sales, led by Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, were also robust, dramatically increasing the installed base of new users that should drive software demand in 2009 and beyond.

Daniel DeMatteo, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “As expected, the consumer saw great entertainment value in video games in one of the most challenging holiday shopping seasons ever. In fact, in the midst of a serious recession, our average transaction was higher this year than last. In addition, our proprietary inventory management systems allowed us to maintain a great in-stock position during the busiest season we have ever experienced. A major highlight of the period was that GameStop’s sales grew in every worldwide territory in which we operate; a clear indication that the GameStop model works everywhere.”

J. Paul Raines, Chief Operating Officer, noted, “Our store associates did a tremendous job of making sure all of our holiday shoppers found the right systems, games, and accessories to fill their wish lists. Their hard work and knowledge of our wide assortment of game products was critical in serving a record number of GameStop customers. Of note this year, gift card sales during the nine-week period rose 15% over last year and the day after Christmas was the third highest sales volume day in GameStop’s history.”

Updated Guidance

In a very challenging retail environment, we successfully managed our business to achieve our forecasted earnings. While sales significantly exceeded forecast, gross margin rates were lower than anticipated as a result of a higher mix of hardware sales and the success of our value messaging and promotions during the holiday period. Therefore, we are increasing our fourth quarter 2008 comparable store sales guidance to +9.0% to +9.5%. We are also raising the low end of our previously announced fourth quarter 2008 diluted earnings per share guidance by $0.02, resulting in a range of $1.31 to $1.34, which represents a +15% to +18% increase over the prior year quarter.

Full year diluted earnings per share are now forecast to range from $2.37 to $2.40, an increase of +32% to +33% over the prior year. Comparable store sales are projected to increase between +12.0% and +12.5% for the full year, with total sales growing between +24% and +25%.

Note that guidance does not include debt retirement costs or merger related expenses.

Full year 2008 sales and earnings results and fiscal 2009 earnings guidance are expected to be released in mid-March 2009.

An article in the Wall Street Journal today considers the state of Sony’s PlayStation 3 in the video game market, highlighting the fact that the console’s holiday sales had dropped considerably over last year’s.

Citing NPD numbers as well as industry analysts, the article points out that November sales for the PS3 had dropped 19% from November 2007, with December sales expected to be either flat or lower that the year previous, indicating that Sony’s target of 10 million consoles sold during the fiscal year might well be unattainable. The article also notes that rival Nintendo doubled sales from the previous November, with Xbox 360 sales seeing an 8% rise.

The article offers a rather gloomy outlook for Sony as a whole. The recession has not only stopped folks from buying pricey electronics like televisions and digital cameras, it has made them more cost-conscious when it comes to which game consoles they are buying.

One of the PlayStation 3’s key non-gaming selling points – the inexpensive Blu-ray player – has been rendered moot, as the market sees stand-alone players that run for $200. Between that fact and the downturn in the economy, Sony’s strategy for the PS3 seems to be backfiring. It isn’t that it wasn’t a sound strategy – it’s just that the economy suddenly became hostile to high prices.

So the price is the main problem right now, but cutting prices would push the company even more into the red. It’s a catch 22 that must weigh heavily on the bosses over at Sony. Cut prices for greater losses in the hope that it will generate enough sales to compensate for the difference. Greater sales equals a larger install base which equals more PlayStation 3 exclusives to keep the fans happy.

Here’s hoping Sony can pull out of the dive it’s taking financially and reach the heights of success it’s lovely black console deserves.

Hope Fades for PS3 as a Comeback Player [Wall Street Journal]

I didn’t. No one gave me a single videogame today. Lucky I dropped by the discount table at EB Games yesterday – after I’d finished shopping for my loved ones, of course – and picked up a few cheap PS2 titles I’d never gotten around to playing. So I gave them to myself. The Thing, SOS: The Final Escape and Silent Hill 4 set me back $40 all up. How’d I do, guys?

Enough about me. What games did you get today?

Adventure – Atari 2600
In the beginning…
In the early days of Atari, programmers weren’t given credit for the games they designed for fear of other companies trying to steal them away, but Adventure designer Warren Robinett felt that credit was due. He included a hidden object in the game that lead to a secret room that displayed the words, “”Created by Warren Robinett,” which was the first known video game Easter egg. Not exactly the most exciting example, but the first deserves credit.

Final Fantasy VII – PlayStation
The Debug Room
While completing Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation was a joy, once the credits rolled I felt a certain sadness, knowing that the game was at an end. Then I discovered the debug room, a place generally open only to programmers to allow them to test certain areas of the game. While it required a Game Shark to access, what was found within the room was worth the shame of being seen in public purchasing a cheat device. You could access key scenes in the game, play through the mini-games, add the invincible Sephiroth to your party or even resurrect the poor little dead flower girl Aeris.

SiN – PC
Rub-A-Dub-Dub
Activision and Ritual Entertainment’s PC shooter SiN was chock full of Easter eggs, but none quite as intriguing as a surveillance camera that showed a slightly more human side of chilly SiNtek CEO Elexis Sinclaire. Before you click play be warned – definitely not safe for work!

Diablo II – PC
The Secret Cow Level
“There is no cow level.” Perhaps this was true in the first Diablo and in Starcraft, where the phrase was featured as a code, but persistent rumours and speculation led Blizzard to finally included a secret cow level in Diablo II.

The Secret Cow Level can be very easy or very hard depending on your class, and what skills you use. The first thing you will notice is there are a LOT of cows. Exploring is not a wise idea, as you will quickly have an unbelievable number of Cows on your trail. Try to avoid being surrounded by the Cows at all costs.

Incidentally, “avoid being surrounded by the Cows at all costs” is sound advice in any situation.

World of Warcraft – PC
Chicken Dancing In Westfall
Yeah yeah, two Blizzard games make the list. What can I say? The people know their eggs. Case in point, the Alliance-specific (boo!) quest in Westfall, which involved you spamming /chicken with an actual chicken targeted. Eventually the chicken will look at you, and clicking upon it gives you a quest for some special feed, which Farmer Saldean just happens to have for sale. Feed the chicken, /cheer it, and it’ll lay an egg containing your own pet chicken. It’s an actual egg Easter egg!

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes – GC
Panties, Panties, Panties
Metal Gear Solid and its remake on the Gamecube was chock full of Easter eggs, from posters for other games to funny character reactions, to Meryl in her underwear not once, but twice! After seeing Meryl working out in her cell while in the ventilation shafts you can exit the shafts, return, and she’ll be pantsless! If voyeurism isn’t your thing, if you follow Meryl into the restroom later in the game fast enough, you’ll get the entire Snake flirting cutscene with her in her skivvies, as seen below.

Of course for every half dozen great Easter eggs, there’s always a few rotten ones laying around. The worst?

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas – Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Oh My God There’s An Axe In My Game
Ridiculous product placement is one thing, but tie in a little in-game blooper reel to a conspicuously placed container of Axe deodorant and you’ve got by far the most rotten Easter egg around. It’s an adver-egg!

There’s a lovely set of six and one bad egg to get you folks in the Easter spirit. Now it’s your turn to share your favourite gaming Easter eggs. Is it the Mortal Kombat Reptile fight? Good old Hot Coffee? Is it a secret to everyone? Feel free to post your picks in the comments section. Happy Easter everyone!