According to the monthly report released by the NPD, the Xbox 360 console is the best bet for profit for third party developers. The numbers behind the game and console sales make it clear that the Wii and Xbox 360 dominate in sales which means more platforms and more potential customers. With the Wii however, game development is often done in house by Nintendo. The xbox 360 however, is able to push out many more third party developed game hits. It is an interesting trend how games tend to sell more on the Xbox 360 and I’m sure this will fuel many fanboy wars.

The Christmas Season is here and 2008 promises to be an exciting year for gaming! As gamers, we spend our entire year waiting for this chance to finally try the big titles. The games that developers have hyped for over 2 years are finally being released weekly within the span of about 2 short months. It is totaly bliss for gamers and a total drain on our wallets. With each game costing about 60 dollars, and the average gamer between highschool and his mid 20′s, we’re not the most financially blessed people. For all those new to the gaming scene, I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 videogames to watch in 2008. The following games are Xbox games so don’t complain if you don’t see Resistance on it.

• 5- Mirror’s Edge
• 4- Dead Space
• 3- Prince of Persia
• 2- Fable II
• 1- Gears of War 2

Now this is just a list of anticipated games based on personal preference. But with over 10 years of gaming experience, I doubt anyone can have anything bad to say about the following titles. Go ahead, I dare you…

9) Mirror’s Edge – Expect to begin your virtual parkour November 11th 2008. Don’t try this at home…
Prince of Persia – A new epic chapter in the Prince of Persia series with a new prince and completely original storyline.

7) Rock Band 2 – All the best parts of being in a band and none of the worst! All your songs are good, you just gotta perform em well!

6) Tom Clancy’s EndWar – Voice commands and the inclusion of characters and elements from all previous Clancy Games is sure to make this a must-have for strategy enthusiasts!

5) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Use the force in all the ways you truly wanted to… none of that restraint crap.

4) Dead Space – Its like being a dead man walking, in space….

3) Fable 2 – Who wouldn’t want a chance to go into a buddy’s game world and wreak havoc?

2) Fallout 3 – From the makers of Oblivion. Welcome back to the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout where you set out in search of your lost father.

1) Gears of War 2 – I’m already revving up my chainsaws for an epic re-enactment of the events of GoW. On second thought, 60 dollars buying the game will probably be lower than the hospital bills.

Have you ever wondered why video games cost so much? Nowadays they normally cost around $60 dollars upon release. Well, the reality is that making a game is no cheap adventure. The production costs for games now rival some movies. So before you go off swearing at the abhorrent cost, let me lay some knowledge down on you.

In the December 2007 Issue of the Official XBOX Magazine, there was a breakdown of where your money goes when you buy a game. Believe it or not, it doesn’t all go to some bigwig whom is living the high life- that’s only $9 dollars or it. Check out the breakdown for the cost of XBOX 360 games:

Retailer Cut = $12

Microsoft Licensing and Manufacturing =$12

Marketing = $7

Development Costs = $20

Publisher Overhead= $9

Total Cost= $60

[Source: XBOX Magazine]