Content Rankings have now been replaced by a new Community Rankings page. This page ranks players by their Net Bids, rather than the number of submissions they have made. Net Bids are the number of Up Bids subtracted by the number of Down Bids the player has received.

Following player feedback, the IPO for Square-Enix's Dragon Quest IX (DS) scheduled for tomorrow has been raised to 400 DKP from 275 DKP. This new price forecasts 4 million copies sold globally.

Electronic Arts Inc's (NASDAQ:ERTS) Army of Two for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 will debut on the simExchange on Friday, April 27, 2007. The game will be categorized under the Shooter genre. Shares will open for purchase at 90 DKP (forecasts 900,000 copies sold globally) for the Xbox 360 version and 70 DKP for the PS3 version.

Army of Two is a third-person shooter focused on cooperative play and coordinated strategy and tactics. You and a friend, or if you can’t find one, a “Partner Artificial Intelligence,” take the role of two contracted, ex-Rangers named Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem. You are part of a private military company contracted for security.

The game is designed for co-op play. If you are down, your partner must perform CPR by moving the analog stick. You and your partner can hand each other ammo in a fire fight. You can even stand back-to-back to take on opponents from all sides. The game also includes deep customization of your guns as nearly each part, from the stock to the barrel, are swappable.

Army of Two is expected for a late 2007 release. The game listings were submitted by sjohn and Gamble20.

Business simulation game IndustryPlayer has sponsored the simExchange. IndustryPlayer is "designed for the Entrepreneurs of tomorrow." "Compete against hundreds of players from around the globe for profits and market share." Please check them out!

Performance charts have been added to the Achievements page. The first chart displays your net worth since you started playing and compares you against a ranking in your class. The second chart displays the number of net bids, up bids, and down bids you have received and the number of content submissions you have made.

To speed up the trading action, more DKP will be pouring into your Time Trust. Instead of 50 DKP every 15 minutes, you will now receive 250 DKP. Your Time Trust will now cap at 25,000 DKP (about one day). Remember to spend your Time Trust each day or you will not accrue any more DKP until your Time Trust is below the 25,000 DKP cap. For more information, see the simExchange Game Rules.

Nibris’ Sadness for the Wii will debut on the simExchange on Thursday, April 26, 2007. The game will be categorized under the Adventure genre. Shares will open for purchase at 35 DKP (forecasts 350,000 copies sold worldwide over lifetime).

Sadness is a Wii exclusive designed for more mature audiences. The game puts the player in a scenario involving “narcolepsy, nyctophobia, and paranoid schizophrenia.” You take the role of Maria and her narcoleptic son in Pre-WWI Slavic Europe. The story begins with your train derailing in the countryside, unfolding a bizarre sequence of events.

The game will use atmosphere rather than violence to scare the player. The graphics are a stylized black and white horror feel. The view will lack an HUD to add to the story telling. You will be able to use the Wiimote to slit throats and climb ropes.

The listing was submitted by Shadar.

Square-Enix’s Dragon Quest IX for the DS will debut on the simExchange on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. The game will be categorized under the Role-playing genre. Shares will open for purchase at 275 DKP (forecasts 2.75 million copies sold worldwide over lifetime).

Dragon Quest IX is the next installment in the revered Dragon Quest serious of role-playing games and it is the first of the numbered games in the franchise to appear on a handheld. The game is designed and exclusive for the Nintendo DS. The game will feature an action-oriented battle system (as has become popular with the company’s Final Fantasy games) rather than turn-based combat. The game will feature cooperative multiplayer over Wi-Fi.

The game’s listing was submitted by Randomrage.

4/24 UPDATE: The IPO price has been revised up to 400 DKP.

I wrote an editorial on predicting trends in the videogame industry for GamesIndustry.biz. The article examines different forecasts from well-respected industry analysts and offers another perspective of the industry through the simExchange video game prediction market. Check it out!

The presence of the games companies themselves has stepped up on the simExchange with the introduction of company pages. These pages display the actual stock information of a publicly traded company in the video game industry, the games they published that are listed on the simExchange, user submitted articles on the company, and a forum. You can now quickly see how game stocks relate to a particular company on the simExchange. All stock information is based on the close of yesterday’s trading. The simExchange does not feature real-time or delayed quotes.

Part of the goal is organize information in a way relevant to folks interested in the companies themselves. Some users have expressed interest in a forum to discuss the actual stocks of the video game companies and these new discussion threads fit this need exactly. Please disclose your relation to the company when appropriate (shareholder or employee). Remember, any discussion about actual investments on the simExchange are for conversational purposes only and should not be interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell a real security. The forums are designed for intellectual discussion on the companies and their stock, not solicitations for investments.

Currently, company pages are available for Activision, Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI); Atari, Inc (NASDAQ: ATAR); Electronic Arts, Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS); Konami Corporation (ADR:KNM); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Midway Games, Inc (NYSE: MWY); Nintendo Co Ltd (ADR:NTDOY); Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE); Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO); THQ, Inc (NASDAQ: THQI); Ubisoft Entertainment (EPA: UBI.PA); and Vivendi (EPA: VIV.PA).

Comments on unlisted games now migrate to the stock pages when the game is listed. All comments on previously listed games have had their comments migrate over to the stock pages. This will allow the conversation to continue after the game is listed. You can also resubmit any articles and images you posted in the comments to the actual articles and images section once the game is listed.