All Things Twisted!

Hey- just a random catch all of some really cool TM stuff that hit this week. Wanted to share!


TWISTED METAL DISPLAYS ARE GOING UP!
First up...twitter buddy @sarshelyam sent me these great pics from a GameStop in Pleasant Hill (up in northern CA). I LOVE the fact that Twisted Metal is started to get this kind of love from the retail stores! Thanks for the pics sarshelyam and thanks for the love Gamestop! 

   

                      






TWISTED METAL PRE-ORDERS ARE PICKING UP!
Next up I wanted to say thanks to longtime twitter follower and super hard core Twisted Metal fan @Needles_Kane34 for showing his faith in the series and the team with a fully paid pre-order of the game! Check it out! 

I've gotten a handful of pics just like this on my twitter and I wanted to say thanks- on behalf of myself, the tireless beasts over at Eat Sleep Play, and the hardworking crew at Sony Santa Monica- to each and every one of ya'll who've preordered the game (not to mention those that have preordered and PAID FOR THE GAME IN FULL!)

That kind of faith and support has gotten us over 100K preorders on the America Pre Orders chart over at VGA! Check it out! 

                   

Now, I know, I know, it's not the 400K of Mass Effect 3 or the 200K of FF, but Twisted has always been profitable but it's never been one of those super main stream titles and I don't expect this time to be any different. So trust me when I say, 100K+ preorders 7 weeks before we hit is something we're damn excited by! Now we just gotta hope those preoders turn into purchases once the game drops (aka- trust me, we're not assuming that a single preorder means a copy sold...but it's a nice indication that we're picking up some good momentum as we head into our launch week!)...

NUMER ONE WITH A POWER MISSILE! 
Ok so moving on...check this out- updated TWISTED METAL game stats:

           

 
Top of GAMESPOT's COMING SOON MOST POPULAR! And ALMOST in the overall top 10 over on Gamestats.com! Granted, these things change like the weather- more so actually- as we've dropped from the top 5 overall games at IGN (but are still sitting at #3 on their PS3 list)- so it's not like we look at these and think it means we're going to outsell all those games under us (not even fucking close)...but at worst it's a fun little things to track that tells us people are becoming more aware of the title and at best it's one of a handful of helpful tea leaves we can read to get a sense of how excited the world is for the game!


WOULDJA FANCY A PEEK AT OUR WEBSITE?!?
So hey- have you been to our updated website as of late?!? Here's a pic!

The Sony marketing and web crew have been going nuts adding all kinds of stuff. So please check it out at twistedmetal.com! 

Now the website ain't done yet, not by a long shot. It's gonna be coming together over the next few months in piecemeal sort of fashion. Here's what's coming up on the site:

• Bug fixes :): yeah, we pulled the trigger a tad early and some mistakes made it in (TLMS supports 2 teams, not 4; Kamikaze is indeed the name of one of our sports cars, NOT Specter;  and 1-2 other factual errors that we'll be cleaning up very soon)

• Twisted Metal University! I'm real excited by this! Sony is putting together a series of deep drive videos to explain how all the weapons and levels and vehicles (and more!) work! These will hopefully hit a major gaming site first and then- after an exclusive window closes- migrate to the blog so by launch, you'll be able to click on every vehicle, weapon, level, and mode and get a pretty great sense of not just the basics but some cool strategies and tactics as well. 

• Twisted Metal Blog + Forum: very soon, I'll be a frequent contributor at the TM blog where we got lots of fun stuff planned. It's not quite ready for all my crazy videos and pics yet but it will be soon and lots of the TM posts that you usually see on this blog (like this one right here) will live either on both blogs or on the TM blog exclusively. TM Forums will also go up soon that you can access from the site. I'll be a frequent poster both before launch and post launch as we make it our defacto location where we'll connect with the community , hear what is working, what needs to be fixed, what weapons may need some balance love,etc. 

• COOL COMMUNITY FEATURES!- Can't speak to specifics AT ALL right now! But this stuff has me very, very excited because I know these features- which will be live by launch- will serve to bring the worldwide TM community together like never before! Stay tuned!!!!

TM + MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING/GAMEBATTLES.COM! 
Speaking of the TM COMMUNITY- check this shit OUT: 

We got a page over at Major League Gaming/GameBattles! 


As a lot of ya'll may know, from the very first design emails, we've always thought of this new Twisted Metal as an over the top, bloody, nasty, super violent E-SPORT! The fact that GB/MLG have given us a shot at proving that out? Well that's some damn exciting news, I can tell ya! Can't wait to watch and see if the game- like we've hoped from the start- inspires a strong, vocal, and passionate community of hardcore vehicle combatants! Hell, when I get some downtime from work, I may just start my very own TM clan! :)


TM MAKING THE BLOG/PODCAST ROUNDS:
Finally- been doing a number of the promised podcasts with the gaming sites out there. So far I've done this one with the always fun and entertaining crew over at PSNation:

Thanks to Glenn and the gang for the opportunity, hospitality, and horrific image of me in children's underwear :). CLICK HERE TO LISTEN! 


I also did a podcast with Doc (who I first met when he was on season 1 of PSN'S THE TESTER) and his crew. That's gonna hit soon and you'll be able to hear it in PSHOME as well as download it on itunes and- I think- 1 or 2 other places.


And then just 2 nights ago I had a really fun conversation with the team at Splitkick, they of the super fun Fall Damage podcast.


Will post links to both of those shows as soon as they go up. And going to try to lure my partner in crime Scott Campbell onto at least a few of these gab fests, so stay tuned! 


And then there's a lot more lined up in the coming 3-5 weeks as we lead up to Twisted Metal. Gonna be sitting down with Garnett Lee and his crew at Weekend Confirmed start of next month; gonna chat with Blair Herter over at X-PLAY/G4 for their great pcast; still hoping to do the Destructoid Podcast with Jim Sterling wherein we discuss/debate Online Passes! Plus, will be talking to other podcasts and blogs as well and will be linking to them here. Also, if you are one of the smaller (and small does not mean small on talent or passion, mind you!) blogs or podcasts I've chatted with over the last 6 months who was promised- or who wants to chat- please reach out to my amazing assistant Q on twitter at @QSincock and we'll get you set up (if I've already promised an interview) and try to get you set up if it's a new request.


'TM SPIRIT'/NEW YEAR'S EVEN CONTEST RESULTS:
Ok whew! That's a lot! I need to take a break then I got a bunch of fantastic, amazing, stunning Twisted Metal Spirit contest entries to judge! If you've entered the contest and are wondering if you've won (same with the New Year's Eve 'Shut Up And Bleed You Motherfucker!' contest) check back with the blog this weekend and I'll have a list of entries as well as the winners!


Talk soon- thanks for visiting the blog! Hope your weekend is going great!


David