Microsoft's Halo 3 (Xbox 360), +19.54 DKP (+5.66%), shares soared up to 364.54 DKP (forecasts 3.64 million copies sold worldwide over lifetime) as public anticipation returned to Microsoft's corner after a week of PS3 and Wii launch buzz. Microsoft unleashed a highly anticipated commercial spot for the upcoming game during Monday Night Football in conjunction with opening sign-ups for the beta (sign up at Halo3.com). Shares are up 34.23 DKP or 10.4% since the opening of Sunday trading.

Many users have inquired about listing more games and I am in the process of adding a feature for users to submit games they are interested in trading. The reason the number of games listed has been so limited in the past was to ensure that players found common ground in the games they were trading. As the user base has grown dramatically, the simExchange is ready for more diverse range of games and so game listings will become more frequent. Please check back soon to try the game submission feature.

You NEWB has written an article on the simExchange which you can read here. For those who don't know, You NEWB is a great independent gaming blog written by gamers. These guys are on top of their game so there's no shortage of new posts there. Thanks for checking out the simExchange!

I'd like to thank Destructoid for plugging the simExchange. For those who don't know, Destructoid is an independent blog written by hardcore gamers for hardcore gamers. Check out the plug here and check out their blog if you haven't already.

Based on user suggestions, additions have been made to the Profiles page. An additional "Video Games" choice has been added under Industry. You can now also share your website in your public profile. I will be adding additional occupations to reflect those in the Video Game industry. The public profile no longer shows fields that have been left blank. If a user has not filled out his or her profile yet, then an appropriate message will display in the place of a profile.

If you had traded Halo Wars (Xbox 360) yesterday, you will find that your position was rolled back. Market manipulation of coordinated buying and selling had resulted in the stock reaching very low prices and then very high prices. These violators have been fined--repeat violations will result in account suspension.

However, these rollbacks are still unfortunate for those players who were trading the stock legitimately. I am examining ways to ensure market manipulation will not ruin the investment experience for those who are honestly participating.

Superman Returns: The Videogame (Xbox 360), -2.98 DKP (-5.84%), shares declined to 48.02 DKP (forecasts 480,200 copies sold worldwide) today after critics tore up Electronic Arts Inc's interpretation of the Man of Steel. The decline was large relative to the inactive trading in the stock since the game became listed on the simExchange. Superman Returns: The Videogame (PS2), -3.26 DKP (-3.92%), also declined, falling to 79.97 DKP (forecasts 799,700 copies sold worldwide).

The game's launch in conjunction with the movie's DVD release did not generate much buzz for gamers as their attention has been focused on the PS3 and Wii launches along with other big titles this holiday season like Gears of War. The recent introduction of rival Marvel's Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Xbox 360), +1.56 DKP (+2.00%), which rose to 79.59 DKP (forecasts 795,900 copies sold worldwide) may have also overshadowed the DC hero's new game.

Ubisoft Entertainment's Red Steel (Wii), -7.42 DKP (-10.60%), shares plunged to 62.58 DKP (forecasts 625,800 copies sold) after disastrous reviews emerged. Red Steel had been touted as one of the most anticipated launch titles for Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii, following the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii), +13.94 DKP (+5.76%), which rose to 256 DKP (forecasts 2.56 million copies sold).

Red Steel is a first-person shooter title by Ubisoft that involves sword fighting. The game is one of the few Wii launch titles that target an older audience. Although Red Steel has been long anticipated, the game's stock had hovered in the upper 40s to low 50s for much of its life on the simExchange. This may have been attributed to the fact that the public was intrigued by the game's concept, but remained uncertain at how well the new motion sensing game play would be pulled off. The game's anticipation had risen to as high as 70 DKP (forecasts 700,000 copies sold) just before the Wii's launch. However, poor reviews emerging with the launch derailed the stock.

The poor reviews seem to center with the execution of this particular game and does not appear to be characteristic of the Wii console. Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) received great reviews. It is likely that Wii games in the future may be well improved as shares of Nintendo Wii remained unchanged.

Shares of games for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 (PS3) were down across the board following the launch of the PS3 console on November 17. This decline may be due to the general sentiment that the PlayStation 3 will be a great machine--but is not one yet due to the lack of great launch titles.

Sony Corp.'s Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3), -3.65 DKP (-3.92%), declined to 89.39 DKP (forecasts 893,900 copies sold) touted by many as the killer app for PS3 has also been referred as a good first-person shooter, but limited to that as it is simply a previous generation game with updated graphics.

Shares of other launch titles were down, including Activision's Call of Duty 3 (PS3), -3.52 DKP (-3.93%), down to 86.04 DKP (forecasting 860,400 copies sold), Tony Hawk's Project 8, -2.60 DKP (-3.92%), down to 63.70 DKP (637,000 copies sold), and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS3), -2.86 DKP (-3.93%), down to 69.97 DKP (699,700 copies sold). Longer term titles like Midway Games' Unreal Tournament 2007 (PS3), -3.13 DKP (-5.85%), also declined falling to 50.36 DKP (forecasts 503,600 copies sold). Long time PlayStation favorite Gran Turismo HD (PS3), -12.96 (-6.26%), fell to 194.04 DKP (forecasts 1.94 million copies sold). PlayStation 3, +28.36 DKP (+0.68%), actually finished the day up at 4225 DKP.

Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 (PS3) shares declined once again, down 83.36 DKP (-1.95%), to 4,196.64 DKP (forecasts 41.96 million units sold worldwide) after some interesting revelations. The usual news that supply will be short this holiday season filled the news pipeline but this was not much of a surprise. Hardcore gamers getting refunds from Gamestop likely will not affect their intention to buy when supply does meet demand.

However, one indicator of bearish news came from analyzing information we had learned from the Japanese launch where scalpers dominated the initial sales. In an article by IGN, the game sales to PS3 hardware sales ratio was less than 1:1, meaning many customers bought a PS3 without any games. A disheartening story covered by Kotaku revealed that many customers were actually poor Chinese immigrants who couldn't even speak Japanese. They were hired by Japanese businessmen to stand in the cold and purchase PS3s for them to flip over the Internet.

The bad news for them, PS3 shareholders, and more importantly Sony (SNE) shareholders, is that the demand for PS3s in Japan is actually weaker than expected. Today's AP article revealed that auctions for PS3s (and some including games) were going as low as US$510 for the $599 60GB model. Everyone expected the retailers to sell out, whether to hard core gamers or to scalpers. What we didn't expect was indigestion for launch supply when resold. This may be an indicator of soft demand and bearish news for the PS3 stock and the Sony (SNE) stock (down 0.34 or 0.84%).