Gamertell

When Midway filed bankruptcy, one of the potentially lucrative licenses it had was the right to make games based on TNA Wrestling. When Warner Bros. bought the company it picked up the rights to several Midway games but PWInsider said the TNA game wasn’t one of them.

PWInsider’s TNA sources said the rights may bounce back to TNA since Warner Bros. wasn’t interested in purchasing them. TNA officials won’t comment on what, if anything, is happening with the game. TNA Impact sold one million units with reviews being just so-so.

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EA’s Madden franchise often comes under fire for a perceived lack of innovation but here’s a feature that certainly promises some unique wrinkles.

Madden NFL 10 will soon contain a game mode that will combine elements of fantasy football and trading card gaming.

Madden Ultimate Team is a free downloadable addition on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network coming January 2010. In this game players will collect virtual packs of cards ranging from “platinum” to “bronze.”

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New Super Mario Bros. Wii has the potential to be the biggest title of the year on Nintendo’s console and Amazon is offering $10 off a future game purchase if purchase the game through them.

New Super Mario Bros Wii is not just a straight port of the classic platformer. New features include two Toads as playable characters in addition to Mario and Luigi and the ability to ride Yoshi characters. Multiplayer mode includes 2- to 4-player options and Mario can now transform into Penguin Mario.

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CBS is turning several of its well-known television properties into games through partnerships with developers including Ludia, Ubisoft, Merscom, Legacy Interactive and Mindscape.

Upcoming through these development deals are games based on CBS shows Criminal Minds, The Amazing Race, Survivor and Ghost Whisperer.

The company is also delving into older shows including…

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In an expletive-filled interview with Sounds Like Fire, rapper DMX lashed out against both the music and video game industries regarding how much of the proceeds they share with artists that make the products possible.

Specifically, DMX was upset with the offer Def Jam made to him to appear in the sequel to Def Jam Vendetta. “X” was an unlockable character in the 2003 fighting game that featured superstar rappers pummeling each other over contracts and disrespect.

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Fighting games aren’t as popular as they used to be, right? Don’t tell that to Namco Bandai, as the company has put extensive resources behind Tekken 6,  including ponying up enough money for Monday Night Football ads.

Namco Bandai has also confirmed the shipping of 2.5 million copies of the sequel available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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The man behind one of the most well-known game covers in history died October 22, 2009.

Don Ivan Punchatz created art for National Lampoon, Playboy and National Geographic during his decades-long career.  He suffered a heart attack October 11, 2009, and never regained consciousness.

When hired by then startup iD Software to do the cover art for Doom, Punchatz had the option of taking his fee or a percentage of the game’s profits. Not knowing how much profit there would be, he went for his straight fee.

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The Los Angeles Times reports that earlier this week (October 29, 2009) a Sacramento jury awarded $16 million to the family of Jennifer Strange, who died in a ill-fated 2007 radio contest that asked participants to “Hold Your Wee for a Wii.”

The mother of three died from water intoxication after chugging bottles of water without urinating for hours during the “Morning Rave” show on Sacramento’s KDND-FM in an attempt to win a Nintendo Wii console.

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It’s been a really good year for games about really bad guys, according to data from everyone’s favorite industry pundit Michael Pachter.

According to the Wedbush Morgan securities analyst, horror-based video games account for more than $147 million in sales this year through September 2009. Horror games sales for all of 2008 totaled only $131 million.

Leading the pack was Resident Evil 5, the newest installment in the Capcom franchise credited with starting the “survival horror” genre. RE5 moved 1.94 million units according to data from market research firm The NPD Group. Pachter said that accounts for more than half of the horror genre sales to this point. That genre number is certain to grow November 17, 2009, when zombie sequel Left 4 Dead 2 hits shelves, along with Wii exclusive Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.

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Roger Daltrey, frontman of legendary band The Who, may have let a secret slip about his band being the focus of an upcoming Rock Band game.

He told MassLive “they’re going to be doing a Who one next year,” in response to a question about The Beatles:Rock Band.

That news, of course, spread like wildfire getting picked up by gaming and music sites alike. Harmonix has a good relationship with the band already with numerous Who songs already available in Rock Band games. But, there’s the rub. Could it be a case of too much Who? (Why do I suddenly feel like Dr. Suess?)

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