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Wii Sells Nearly 400,000 Consoles On Day One
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Wii,
Reports from Japan’s Wii launch indicates that nearly all of the 400,000 console that Nintendo shipped were sold in the first day of sales. Forbes reports on news from Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun that by noon on Saturday, nearly all of the initial console allocation had snapped up by anxious gamers. Estimates suggest that Sony has shipped less than 200,000 Playstation 3 consoles to date, and while Microsoft saw a small uptick in Xbox 360 sales after the release of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, suggesting that Nintendo has grabbed the lead in the Japanese front of the console wars.
Read More 
| Forbes
Gallery: Wii Sells Nearly 400,000 Consoles On Day One
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Today many retailers, including Circuit City, Best Buy, Target, and Toys “R” Us listed the Wii in their Sunday fliers, and most sold out quickly. It hardly seems like it has been only two weeks since the launch of the Wii. Demand is still running high for the console, as gamers continue the hunt. Gear Live’s Bleeding Edge crew has video documenting their long wait for Nintendo’s new console on launch day. Check out the video from a Game Crazy in Nintendo of America’s hometown on November 19th, Wii day, to see some of the swag giveaways, witnessing from the cult of Nintendo, and some really bad Wii jokes.
Read More | The Bleeding Edge
Gallery: The Bleeding Edge: Waiting For Wii
Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta Sign Up Monday
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Bungie, Culture, First Person Shooters, Xbox 360,
Microsoft has just announced that gamers will be able to sign up to participate in the Halo 3 multiplayer beta on Monday, December 4. On that day, people will be able to sign up for the beta by going to www.halo3.com; those gamers selected will get exclusive access to the pre-release code some time around spring of 2007. The sign-up is tied to the debut of a new CGI-rendered trailer for the game set to air on ESPN’s Monday Night Football between 5:50 and 6:20 p.m. PST.
Read More | Gamerscoreblog
Gallery: Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta Sign Up Monday
Video Game Report Card: Games To Avoid
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox 360,
The National Institute on Media and the Family annually releases a Video Game Report Card that rates the industry on violence in video games as well as how well publishers and retailers are policing themselves. ABC News reports on the latest release from the organization. They don’t have the official industry report card listed, but do have a list of recommended games as well as a list of games that are deemed inappropriate for teens and children. It will come as no shock that every game on the “inappropriate” list is rated “M,” including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for the PSP, Saint’s Row for the Xbox 360, and Mortal Kombat: Unchained. It seems odd to single out those particular games from the list of “M” rated titles; if the industry is doing its job, an “M” designation should at least be a warning flag for parents purchasing game titles for teens and children.
On the flip side, four of the ten “recommended” games are Nintendo exclusive titles, including Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, and Brain Age for the Nintendo DS, and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz for the Wii. Other titles include LocoRoco for the PSP, and the latest Lego Star Wars for multiple platforms. While the list of software titles may help the average parent, more interesting should be the actual report card scores determining how the industry has done in the past year, particularly with the new education and enforcement efforts being made by the ESRB.
Update: The Institute has now published their full report. Overall, the NIMF seems to be stumping for the same issues they have targeted over the years: video game ratings, parental involvement, the impact of violent games on children, and increasing obesity.
Further analysis after the jump.
Click to continue reading Video Game Report Card: Games To Avoid
Read More | National Institute On Media And The Family
Gallery: Video Game Report Card: Games To Avoid
Sony Promises More PS3s By Black Friday
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, PlayStation 3,
Sony has promised more Playstation 3 consoles will be available by Black Friday in the United States, according to Gamasutra. Reporting from an official statement from the company, Sony claims that more systems are being airlifted in, and the company still believes that they will be able to ship 1 million units through December. If one believes that the launch had fewer consoles than Sony anticipated, then the company has some serious catching up to do. Of course, with the new consoles supposedly hitting on one of the craziest shopping days of the year and the attendant violence with past releases, gamers trying to get a Playstation 3 in all the madness may be experiencing “Black-and-Blue” Friday instead.
Read More | Gamasutra
Gallery: Sony Promises More PS3s By Black Friday
Playstation 3 Weekend Recap
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, PlayStation 3,
The Playstation 3 finally launched in the United States on Friday and gamers and scalpers were finally able to get their hands on the hardware. The limited supply of consoles meant that demand was driven to frenzied levels, surpassing the madness of last year’s Xbox 360 launch. One thing seems clear, though; it seems like very few retailers learned their lesson last year, and a confluence of events led this launch to be worse in many ways.
More after the jump.
Click to continue reading Playstation 3 Weekend Recap
Gallery: Playstation 3 Weekend Recap
Sony Dismisses PS3 Backward Compatibility Issues
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, PlayStation 3,
Sony VP Jack Tretton recently spoke with Game|Life about the upcoming Playstation 3 launch, and some of the issues that have surfaced. Tretton basically dismisses the backwords compatibility issues; he claims that despite issues with 200 games, with over 8000 games in the product compatibility database, this represents a high level of compatibility. Of course, since a number of these games are fairly high profile releases for the Playstation 3, including Gran Turismo 4, this probably does little to sooth the average gamer. Tretton also discusses the PS3 supply chain; gamers could see shortages last until Spring if demand holds up and the supply lines don’t improve. Also briefly touched on were the recent occurrences of violence among consumers waiting for the PS3 and the image scaling issues; Tretton essentially sidestepped the questions.
Read More | Game|Life
Gallery: Sony Dismisses PS3 Backward Compatibility Issues
WKYT in Kentucky is reporting that people camping for the Playstation 3 in Lexington were hit by a drive-by shooting involving BB guns. Fortunately, none were severely hurt. However, for campers whose biggest concern is usually the weather, this would be a shock. While the attack feels like a prank, there does seem to be some tension due to the extremely limited supply of consoles that Sony is making available on launch day.
Read More | WKYT
Gallery: Playstation 3 Campers Shot By BBs
Nintendo Wii Wins Popular Science Award
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Wii,
Popular Science picked Nintendo’s Wii console as one of the best innovations in 2006, giving it the Grand Award in the home entertainment category. Popular Science gave the console the award for its innovative motion sensitive controller and its simplification of gameplay, making a “console that gets you in the game.” Nintendo picks up yet another award from a source outside the mainstream video gaming press, perhaps illustrating its broad appeal.
Read More | Popular Science
Gallery: Nintendo Wii Wins Popular Science Award
Sony Highlights SIXAXIS Controller In New Ad
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, PlayStation 3,
Sony has dropped a new television ad, this time hyping up their tilt-sensitive SIXAXIS controller. Again, the advertisements use abstract imagery to promote the system, using rolling eggs to illustrate the control enhancements that motion-sensitivity will offer. While Sony’s campaign has done little to give consumers any specific game information, the commercials so far act almost entirely on an emotional level.
Gallery: Sony Highlights SIXAXIS Controller In New Ad
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