December 4th, 2008 |
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The developer-publisher's World Soccer Winning Eleven 2009 sold over 168,000 copies in Japan last week, helping to double PS3 hardware sales to nearly 35,000 units. A pretty big improvement from its October lull. Wii sales were also way up, by more than 14,000 units. The full hardware sales tally from Nov. 24 to 30 was: • Nintendo DSi - 87,185 |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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Reeves tells MCV that, despite Microsoft's claims to the contrary, that Europe is still Sony country. Continent. Whatever. And even though the PlayStation folks are going to be "more aggressive" in 2009, reports of a price drop in Spring of next year are highly exaggerated. “No we are not going to go down in price; neither are we going to go down in price on PS3 in spring time either," Reeves told MCV. "Absolutely not, whatever you might have heard to the contrary." Reeves says not to expect its price drop history to repeat itself on the PlayStation 3, reiterating Sony's "value add" strategy and working harder to get to a break even point on its this-gen console. “We’re relying on the fact that the industry will keep growing and while we might have a comparatively smaller share of the market we will have higher sales," Reeves added, noting that the PS3 is "tracking where PS2 was at the same point in its life." Sony: We’re ahead of Xbox [MCV] |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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The sequel was infamously confirmed at E3 2005 with a pre-rendered teaser trailer, making the wait almost four years long for Guerrilla Games' futuristic first-person shooter. The game has not yet been dated for other territories, but has been privately beta testing over the past quarter. SCEA managing producer Kyle Shubel revealed the date along with two new weapons during a Killzone 2 preview on G4 earlier today. A clip from that episode can be seen after the break. 'Killzone 2' Release Date: February 27, 2009!! [G4] |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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Shelly got his big break working with Sid Meier at Microprose - culminating in the production of Civilization, which has eaten up so much of my time that I should probably go along to the ceremony at the 2009 D.I.C.E. Summit (February 18th in Las Vegas) and either thank him personally or serve him with a writ. Does anyone know if there is an actual Hall of Fame - as in an actual building? Do inductees get to hang out there and sip cocktails? All this and less is revealed in the full press release, after the jump.
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December 4th, 2008 |
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1UP says we're looking at Wolverine's in-game model, illustrating just how expertly someone at Raven can render a bulging vein. Do make sure to check out the Hugh-mungous hi-res version to see the little details. What scant details 1UP provides — Sentinel boss fights, ultra-violence, "a new approach to seamless cinematic in-game cut-scenes" — certainly have us interested. Hopefully our upcoming issue of EGM is already well on its way to Kotaku Towers West. Until then, we'll just ogle that single screen. First Screenshot and Info For X-Men Origins: Wolverine [1UP] |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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Now that you've come to terms with that distressing fact, what is NHL Arcade? It's "lightning-paced, no rules hockey" according to IGN Sports, with "game-changing power-ups" and giant-noggined professional hockey players. And it runs just ten bucks. True, it may not be NHL 94 HD, but it sounds enough like the under-appreciated NBA Jam-like hockey arcade game NHL Open Ice to have our attention. We'll see how we feel after the official announcement. Exclusive: EA Developing 3 on 3 NHL Arcade [IGN] |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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Unfortunately, they're both a tad of a letdown, something that won't stop us from downloading the new Soulcalibur IV holiday themed gear. There's also plenty of free stuff this week, from Qore to Sackboy costumes to Age of Booty maps to Naruto packs. For the extensive list, read on. Qore Episode 07: December, 2008 (free) Games and Demos Expansions and Add-ons Guitar Hero World Tour tracks Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 tracks Rock Band tracks Game Videos Wallpapers and Themes |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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A big batch of the fake handhelds (the UK is awash with them this Xmas, apparently) were seized in a freight depot raid and were found to have potentially dangerous power supplies. By 'potentially dangerous' they actually mean 'not electrically tested', so its not like they crawl across the room and strangle you in the night but there is a danger of fire or electrocution. The bigger question for me is - just how fake are they? Do they play DS games? Are they just rebadged Game & Watch? The article says the were bought on 'Asian websites' for around £40, so goodness only knows what you are buying. Are there even any electronics in them? Bogus Nintendo consoles 'could be killers' |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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To: Ash Man, it's been a dire day for media across the board today. Viacom is in the process of laying off 850 people, or about 7 percent of the company's global staff. CNBC is said to be laying off 80, NBC Universal is cutting people, The Arizona Republic, Gannett's second-biggest people, laid off people and the Rocky Mountain News, Colorado's oldest paper and Scripps Howard's biggest paper, is officially up for sale. Lots of my friends are losing their jobs, or very worried they're about to this week. I'm starting to feel like the entire country is about to start flicking the lights on and off and turn on the classical music. What you missed: |
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December 4th, 2008 |
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With more than double the sales of Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 2009 for the PS3, Professor Layton and The Final Time Journey begins its own journey to another DS best seller. Last week's software champ, Animal Crossing: City Folk, tumbles to third place as four new PSP debuts enter the top ten. We wave goodbye to Grand Theft Auto IV and see both Wii Music and Wii Sports teetering on the brink of slipping out of top thirty focus. For the best selling software in Japan, from Nov. 24 to 30, read on, you crazy diamond. 01. Professor Layton and The Final Time Journey (DS) - 347,000 / NEW 11. Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode (DS) Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara] |
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The Nintendo DSi is still the best-selling platform in Japan, with its camera-less predecessor similarly selling in the tens of thousands. But Sony's PlayStation 3 saw the biggest gains this week, thanks to Konami.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss David Reeves issued a strong "nuh-uh" to his Xbox competition, saying that the PlayStation 3 is still outpacing Microsoft's console in PAL land. By a good 300,000 too!
The next big PlayStation 3 exclusive will be hitting North America early next year, as 
Bruce Shelley - the nice man who helped bring you Civilization, Railway Tycoon, Age of Empires and other classics - is to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall Of Fame.
The January issue of EGM spills the beans on the video game adaptation of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Raven Software's actio-adventure starring Marvel's most popular mutant. And 1UP has the first shot of Logan in action.
EA will officially announce NHL Arcade tomorrow, a three-on-three hockey game for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, IGN reports. It is not, we repeat not, a re-release of EA's NHL 94 for the Genesis.
There's plenty to download for your PSP in this week's PlayStation Store update. The real draw, of course, should be the two Soulcalibur IV wallpapers featuring Ivy and Hilde in sexy Santa gear.
HM Customs (as in Her Majesty's - the Queen hates smuggling) has issued a warning against fake Nintendo DS Lites that can (possibly) cause you physical harm as well as financial.
Level 5's third puzzle-filled Professor Layton adventure for the Nintendo DS tops the Media Create charts this week, fending off a strong PlayStation 3 newcomer with almost 350,000 copies sold to Japanese gamers.