Blizzard’s Diablo 3 breaking sales records to become the fastest selling PC game of all time should come as no surprise. The title, long awaited and massively hyped, sold over 3.5 million copies in its first day of release despite issues at launch, eventually breaking the 6 million mark before the week closed.

What is surprising is that Max Payne 3, Rockstar Games’ big release of the year, managed to outsell Blizzard’s much-anticipated gem in the UK. In physical copies, at least, Max Payne 3 was able to sell 8,000 more copies than Diablo 3 to the British gamers, locking on to the number one spot in UK sales charts.

While digital copies are not counted in the charts, Max Payne 3 achievement says a lot, and may be proof that new Max Payne games are a worthwhile endeavor.

The original Max Payne game was released in July 2001 for Windows and was later ported to the PS2, Xbox, Macintosh, and the Gameboy Advance. Its grit and hard-boiled atmosphere garnered much praise from prestigious gaming websites such as IGN and Gamespot, and a sequel soon followed. Subtitled “The Fall of Max Payne,” it followed in much the same vein as its predecessor. Despite positive reviews from the same major websites (although many criticized the short length), sales were unsatisfactory. According to the website VGChartz, the game eventually went on to sell 2 million across all consoles (the original sold 3.3 million) but the damage was already done. The only entry in the Max Payne series until now was a (predictably bad) movie tie-in released in 2008.

Leading up to Max Payne 3’s release, Rockstar began an aggressive advertisement campaign—a risky move, considering Max Payne is not one of the companies’ flagship series, titles that guaranteed to rake in a lot of money such as Grand Theft Auto. Also unlike Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne games (3 included) have been traditionally linear, resulting in little replay value, and relatively short game play. Max Payne 3 aims to fix this by including a multiplayer mode, lauded by critics.

Could this incentive to keep players busy after completing the story mode result in more sales?  The Diablo Battle Chest was the 18th bestselling PC game of 2008, mostly due to its online mode. Online multiplayer modes seem to be the path to success. Could it be the key to Max Payne reestablishing itself as a franchise? A strong online following certainly would help the series. There is not much Max Payne fans can do, other than cross their fingers and wait.  Oh, and play more Max Payne.

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The following is a list of games that will be released in June of 2012 with their respective dates and console releases. The games coming out in June of this year vary from several re-releases to a couple movie tie-in games to some unique original projects which have the potential of becoming some of the hottest games of the year! It will be interesting to see which of these games will last the span of time or fall into the abyss shortly after their release.

Action

6/5- Madagascar 3: The Video Game (Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

6/10- Pinkmin 2 Selects (Nintendo Wii)

6/12- 4 in 1 Action Pack (PS3)

6/12- Gravity Rush (PS Vita)

6/12- iCarly: Groovy Foodie (DS)

6/12- Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3, Xbox 360)

6/12- Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection (PS Vita)

6/12- Phantom Breaker (Xbox 360)

6/19- Disney Pixar Brave: The Video Game (PC, Nintendo Wii, DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

6/19- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360)

6/19- Steel Battalion Heavy Armor (Xbox 360 Kinect)

6/26- The Amazing Spider-Man (Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

‘Pinkmin 2 Selects’ is a re-re-release of the popular Nintendo classic and is a greatest hits release of the re-release of ‘Pinkmin 2′ for the Wii.

‘Lollipop Chainsaw’ is a new take on the zombie “beat ‘em up” genre, led by SUDA 51. The story, written by James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead), is about Juliet Starling fighting off hoards of zombies at her school, San Romero High, with the living head of her boyfriend. The GameStop pre-order exclusive includes the alternate costume Ashley Williams from the Evil Dead Series.

Just like the PS3 and Xbox 360 release, the ‘Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection’ is a high-definition remake of Metal Gears 2 and 3 for the PS Vita.

‘Lego Batman 2′ is a sequel to the popular Lego Batman game, but this time, players have the opportunity to play as other DC super heroes, as players fight off minions of the Joker and Lex Luthor and, like the other games in the Lego series, players have the option to drop in and out for co-op play.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ is a return to the Spider-Man movie tie-in games, and like the movie it is based on, this is going to be an attempt to revive the series after the abysmal failure that was Spider-Man 3 the movie/game as well as the lack luster standalone Spider-Man games.

RPG

6/1- End of Nations (PC)

6/12- Gungnir (PSP)

6/18- Pokemon Conquest (DS)

6/19- Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Gods and Kings Expansion (PC)

6/19- The Secret World (PC)

6/26- Guild Wars 2 (PC)

6/26- Record of Agarest War 2 (PS3)

‘Pokemon Conquest’ takes Pokemon battles and adds a new twist to it. Instead of the turn-based combat in a typical Pokemon game, it now has a tactical RPG combat system, where the player controls his team of Pokemons on a battlefield while defeating other warlords and having them join your party in conquest of the Pokemon Kingdom.

‘The Secret World’ is a very unique MMO that has done something almost no MMO has ever done. ‘The Secret World’ takes place in the modern world and is based on every myth, legend, and conspiracy that exists in this world. Players are thrown into the game with a clean slate. You play the game the way you want; there are no classes or leveling in the game. Players make their own decisions on what their characters will become, and they can choose the abilities that they want. This is definitely one of the more unique MMOs to come out this year.

‘Guild Wars 2′ is the long awaited sequel to the MMO ‘Guild Wars’. ‘Guild Wars 2′ features dynamic events that change as time progresses, and the events the players participate in affect other events in the game. The series also introduces a new, more action-based combat system to bring in more rapid-paced, intense action.

Shooter

6/1- Inversion (PS3, Xbox 360)

6/1- Max Payne 3 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

6/12- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier (PC)

6/26- Spec Ops: The Line (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

‘Max Payne 3′ is the very long awaited sequel to the Max Payne series. The game focuses on a new shooting mechanic for more precision gun play and also revamps the famous bullet time as seen in the original Max Payne series. ‘Max Payne 3′ also features a multiplayer mode that features the combat system and cinematic feel of the single player game and the traditional modes of the average multiplayer mode. ‘Max Payne 3′ is a new perspective on the original Rockstar series for the PS2 and Xbox.

‘Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier’ is a continuation of the Ghost Recon series. There are several different modes in the new Ghost Recon series, such as co-op with up to three other players, PvP mode, and Guerrilla mode (players and teammates fight waves of enemies). The game also introduces Gunsmith mode, in which the player customizes all their weapons for an increase in game customization.

‘Spec Ops: The Line’ is a third person shooter that will attempt to give players a truly brutal war experience. As the player leads their delta squad through the remains of a destroyed Dubai, the players will be thrown into a unique battle zone of sand, sand, and more sand. This detailed focus on the in-game sand mechanics offers a very unique experience in desert combat. Players will be fighting their way through gunfights that take place through intense sandstorms as well as sand avalanches. This is indeed true desert combat at its core.

Sports

6/12- DiRT Showdown (PS3, Xbox360)

6/26- Summer Stars 2012 (Nintendo Wii)

Simulation

6/5- Sims 3 Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats Pack (PC)

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