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E3 Replacement Gets a New Name: E for All
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Culture, E3, Release Dates,
After holding a contest to rename the E3 replacement formerly known as the “Gamepro Expo”, they’ve finally decided on a new, decidedly inclusive name: “E for All”. There have been a fair share of comments online about this sounding like a drug-heavy rave, but personally I think it sounds like a great name for a show that’s designed to be all-inclusive. (Although who knows why they didn’t go with “E for Everyone”, is it patented by the ESRB or something??!)
The game show, much like E3, will give gamers the chance to test out the newest games and interact with industry insiders, and will be hosted at the L.A. Convention Center in sunny California. Prices for tickets and event attendees haven’t been announced yet, but we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
Read More 
| Gamepro.com
Gallery: E3 Replacement Gets a New Name: E for All
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Some Blu-Ray Movies Will ONLY Play on PS3
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Culture, PlayStation 3, Rumors,
We all knew that Sony hoped the PS3 would be the Trojan Horse to get Blu-Ray into homes across the world. But I don’t think anyone could’ve expected that we’d be forced to play some Blu-Ray discs on the PS3 only. the good folks over at PSXExtreme have noted that the Blu-Ray movie “The Descent”, currently plays only on the PS3 - those of you with your $1,000+ Sony or Pioneer Blu-Ray movie players are out of luck.
According to Sony, the problem is based on the fact that the production company for the disc, Lion’s Gate, decided to include some Java-based special features on the disc, which only works on the PS3 console. However, this is apparently preventing non-PS3 Blu-Ray player owners from viewing any part of the disc, which seems like a rather strange problem.
Sony is working on a fix for this issue, though at this time we’re not sure whether that would be a replacement Blu-Ray disc that, you know, actually plays on Blu-Ray players, or a firmware upgrade for their players. Either way, it’s not a good piece of news for the format.
Read More | PSX Extreme
Gallery: Some Blu-Ray Movies Will ONLY Play on PS3
Club Nintendo Japan Members Offered New Premiums
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii,
Club Nintendo members in Japan with enough points qualify for one of two limited time offer premiums that put the freebies in other territories to shame. Club members that have accumulated over 400 points can choose either a battery cover for their Wii remote customized with an image of their Mii or a limited edition DS game Tingle’s Balloon Fight. Either offering is much better than anything Nintendo of America has offered its site members; loud complaining or petitioning Nintendo might help, but such premiums are highly unlikely for the United States.
Read More | Club Nintendo Japan
Gallery: Club Nintendo Japan Members Offered New Premiums
Japanese React To Dragon Quest XI Announcement
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo DS, Role Playing Games, Square Enix,
The announcement that the latest entry in the Dragon Quest series would not take place on a traditional console but instead the Nintendo DS shook up Japanese fans. Famitsu magazine has polled both magazine readers and retailers to get their opinions of the shift, and Insert Credit has a detailed summary of the overall reaction. In the Famitsu poll, 40.3% of readers asked were excited by the idea of having Dragon Quest XI on the handheld, but 46% had a negative opinion. Even more reacted negatively to the action-based battle changes in the RPG. Retailers were more on the positive side; this might be a reflection of the mainstream opinion, and not the hard core. Insert Credit also details the specific comments from magazine readers, and the span of opinions is interesting. Despite the negative reaction from fans, though, Dragon Quest XI is still likely to be a huge seller in Japan.
Read More | Insert Credit
Gallery: Japanese React To Dragon Quest XI Announcement
December 10 - 17 Media Create Numbers Online
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii,
The Media Create Japanese Software sales numbers for the week ending December 17th have been released and it looks like things have gone back to the status quo in Japan. The first seven spots in the top ten belong to Nintendo DS titles, with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl taking the top two spots. New Super Mario Brothers and the super-popular Love and Berry DS Collection appear on the list as well. The first non-DS title is Wild Arms 5 for the PS2 at the eighth spot. Two Wii titles round out the top ten: Wii Sports and Pokemon Battle Revolution. The week after the debut of Blue Dragon sees that title dropping completely off the top 30, which would appear to be a bad sign for Xbox 360 sales in Japan. Japanese hardware sales should be updated soon, so time will tell for Microsoft’s console.
Read More | eg Japan
Gallery: December 10 - 17 Media Create Numbers Online
Forbes Breaks Down Next Gen Game Costs
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,
For gamers with an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3, game costs are rising; most games for these new consoles now cost $60, a 20% increase over the previous generation’s games. Many developers claim that the increased capabilities of the new consoles and the ever-increasing complexity of developing games have increased budgets to the point where a price increase is inevitable. With game companies needing to sell anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million units to start seeing a profit, the publishing community is becoming increasingly risk averse.
Forbes attempts to break down the $60 that a gamer will spend on a next generation experience like Gears of War. Some of the interesting costs broken out include roughly 45% for art design and programming, about $27 out of the $60 MSRP. Retailers grab another $12 off the top, with wholesale prices ranging at about $48. A little over 10% of the product’s cost goes towards console licensing fees; this averages about $7 going to the hardware manufacturer for each console sold. Other cuts go to the publisher, marketing, distribution, and packaging for the game.
Despite the additional cost to the consumer, it seems like game publishers and developers aren’t seeing their profitability increase. If game costs do break down like the estimates from Forbes, and game development costs are rising, one has to wonder how long a model like this is sustainable. Nintendo has made a conscious choice not to follow the escalating budget path, while other developers investigate other revenue streams like in-game advertising, downloadable content, and episodic releases.
Read More | Forbes
Gallery: Forbes Breaks Down Next Gen Game Costs
December 10 Media Create Hardware Sales Numbers Released
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360,
Media Create’s hardware sales numbers for the week ending December 10th have been released, and the Xbox 360 received a considerable bump due to the release of Blue Dragon for the console, moving 35,343 units during the week. This number is the highest the console has seen since launch, and the numbers are respectable but not spectacular. The top selling console this week was the DS Lite, selling 309,630 units. The Wii followed behind with 85,439, and the Playstation 3 came in third with 50,171. One assumes that the Wii and PS3 numbers are heavily constrained by supply. Coming up after the Xbox 360 are the Playstation 2 at 30,460 consoles and the PSP at 28,930 units.
The DS Lite just continues to absolutely dominate console sales in Japan. Microsoft has to be somewhat happy with the bump in sales in Japan. Considering that the Blue Dragon bundle is an insanely great deal on the hardware and software included, the company may be paying a heavy price for this improvement in sales. If Microsoft can ride the wave to further success the cost might be worth it for the company, but if this is a temporary blip, one has to wonder if anything can turn around the console in Japan.
Read More | Media Create
Gallery: December 10 Media Create Hardware Sales Numbers Released
Japanese Line Up For Blue Dragon Bundles
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Role Playing Games, Xbox 360,
A special launch event was held in Japan to commemorate the release of Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360. At the event, Japanese gamers would be able to purchase the limited edition Core System Blue Dragon bundle, and 180 showed up to take advantage of the offer. Hopefully, with the game’s strong reviews and people actually lining up for an Xbox 360 related item, this may signal that start of a turnaround for Microsoft’s fortunes in Japan.
Read More | Famitsu
Gallery: Japanese Line Up For Blue Dragon Bundles
Iwata Believes Nintendo May Beat Earnings Estimates
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, Nintendo DS, Wii,
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata recently spoke with Reuters after the launch of the Wii in Japan. In this interview, Iwata indicated that stronger than expected sales for the DS may help take Nintendo past their previous earnings estimates. There was some worry from both Nintendo and market analysts that the launch of the Wii might leech away sales from the DS; so far, it looks like that hasn’t happened. Instead, the momentum Nintendo has accumulated with the DS may be driving the popularity of the Wii up through a halo effect, much like Apple experiences with the iPod. It is still too early to tell if that is the case; consoles usually will see strong numbers at launch. Until the market has time to shake down, it will be hard to see how the DS and the Wii affect each other’s sales.
Read More | Reuters
Gallery: Iwata Believes Nintendo May Beat Earnings Estimates
Official Media Create Wii Japanese Sales
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Wii,
Japanese entertainment sales tracker Media Create has released their figures for the first two days of the Wii launch in Japan; according to their surveys, the Wii console has sold a little more than 350,000 units in the first two days. In addition, the top four software sales titles were Wii Sports at 176,167 units, Wii Play at 174,297 units, The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess at 139,000, and the latest WarioWare title sold 63,954 units. Overall, the software sales tie rate hit 1.8, much better than the sub-1.0 tie rate of the Playstation 3.
The Japanese audience did not pick up Zelda at the 75% ownership rate in the US, but since the Japanese Wii did not come with a pack-in game like the US console, gamers were probably more split between Zelda and the other titles. Wii Sports would be more compelling for the casual gamer and also costs 4800 Yen ($41) to Zelda’s 6800 Yen ($59). Wii Play sells for 4800 Yen, but comes bundled with an additional Wii Remote, so gamers looking to get an extra controller would find this an attractive option. Still, Nintendo’s first party titles all sold well with the launch of the Wii. Unfortunately for third-party publishers, sales figures drop off significantly after that. Overall, it is hard to see the Wii launch as anything but a massive success for Nintendo in Japan.
Read More | eg Japan
Gallery: Official Media Create Wii Japanese Sales
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