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June Game Sales Grow 25 Percent
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360,
Despite recent analyst gloom-and-doom statements that June would be a slow month for gaming, NPD reports that videogame sales increased 25 percent year over year. The game industry was predicted to be in a slump this year, as game and console manufacturers gear up for the holiday console launches. But to date this year, videogame sales are up around 4 percent, despite any earlier slowdown.
The biggest driver appears to be the Nintendo DS, which sold an amazing 593,000 units in June. This bested the sales figures for the PS2 and the Xbox 360 combined. The PS2 pulled in 312,000 consoles sold, and the Xbox 360 trailed slightly at 277,000 units. The DS also drove portable software sales, bringing an increase of 30 percent over last year. Right now, at least, it looks like the DS is becoming a phenomenon in the portable world. Any gamer who judged the DS by its mediocre launch two years ago would have to be surprised by its immense success today. While the DS dominates, every videogame category was up percentage-wise.
Gallery: June Game Sales Grow 25 Percent
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Sony Still Best Brand
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3,
A recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive shows Sony topping the list of “best brands” for the seventh year in a row. Participants in the poll were asked the following question: “We would like you to think about brands or names of products and services you know. Considering everything, which three brands do you consider the best?” The responses were totaled, and this year, Sony was again number one on the list. Other notable entries include Dell, at second place, and Apple at tenth on the list. Hewlett-Packard also made the list at seventh. Last year, Microsoft tied with Hewlett-Packard for tenth on the list, and this year they dropped off the top ten. The list doesn’t really correlate with success in a particular field or sales numbers. It does, however, indicate how well received a company is by customers buying its products. Since the question doesn’t qualify the word “best” in any way, it can be hard to draw conclusions, but it does indicate that in the world of the general consumer, the Sony brand does carry some weight.
Read More 
| Yahoo Finance
Gallery: Sony Still Best Brand
Good Taste Prevails, Sony Pulls Controversial Advertisement
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Culture, PSP, Release Dates,
Sony may think twice next time before it decides to post an edgy new PSP ad - after days of pressure, Sony has finally agreed to pull its controversial “White is Coming” PSP ad (as previously blogged about here). In a statement found on Reuters, Sony concedes:
“We recognise that the subject matter of one specific image may have caused concern in some countries not directly affected by the advertising. As a result, we have now withdrawn the campaign.”
Personally, the phrasing of “concern in some countries not directly affected by the advertising” seems a bit snarky to me - the Sony rep is obviously referring to the fact that while the ad was posted in the Dutch market, it seemed to raise the most ire here in the US. Still, I for one am glad that Sony can still admit its mistakes once in a while.
Read More | Reuters
Gallery: Good Taste Prevails, Sony Pulls Controversial Advertisement
Microsoft’s latest Gamerspeak gave Xbox.com forum users the opportunity to pitch their dream Xbox 360 Ad. The user generated ideas range from great to awful, and are great for wasting your time. Check out a sample pitch,
Two kids are playing a basketball game on Xbox 360.
Grandfather walks into the room.“Hey I didn’t know there was a game on today, who’s winning?”
Kid raises hand “I am.”
Xbox.
Centrocal
California
Even though Microsoft is not going to film the best fan submitted ad, you can still vote for your favorite ad pitch.
Read More | Gamerspeak
Gallery: User Created Xbox 360 Ads
Tech E Blog has put together a fun list of the Top 10 strangest NES mods. If you have any old NES hardware sitting around you can easily come away from this list with a good weekend project. My personal favorite is the NES alarm clock, which won an honorable mention.
Read More | Tech E Blog
Gallery: Top 10 Strangest NES Mods
CNET has published their “Worst Tech of Q2 2006” top ten list, and four game or game-related technologies make the list. Nyko’s Intelligent Remote 360 is the top game-related offender at number 2 on the chart. The remote control makes it for “Worst use of the word intelligent,” which, if you have tried to use this remote, makes a lot of sense. At number 4 is And 1 Streetball for “Worst electronic referees” and X-Men: The Official Game gets dinged for “Worst Game Based on a Movie.” Finally, the last game-related entry is the Nintendo Wii at number nine, garnering the title “Worst name change.” While the name change shocked a lot of gamers, Infinium’s announced name change to Phantom Entertainment had to be in the running for this narrow category. For a company that has been synonymous with vaporware to change its name to something as ephemeral as a phantom may have been too easy of a target. CNET’s weird quarterly restriction feels kind of like when a restaurant names itself “Best Barbeque On the Block”; the attribution may be true, but is ultimately meaningless.
Gallery: Wii Makes Worst Tech List
Ctrl-Alt-Del Designs Parody Of Sony’s Controversial Ad
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Culture, Portable/Mobile, PSP,
Sony’s latest European ad campaign has certainly caused a ruckus here in the US. Many readers have found racial overtones in the current ad campaign. Ctrl-Alt-Del has taken the initiative to provide Nintendo with a controversial ad to piggyback on Sony’s latest campaign. Judging from the ad Nintendo doesn’t like game consoles that “got back”.
Read More | Ctrl Alt Del
Gallery: Ctrl-Alt-Del Designs Parody Of Sony’s Controversial Ad
GamesIndustry.biz reveals a report from market analyst Enterbrain, which linked the success of the Nintendo DS to a 30 percent software growth in the first quarter. The DS has been frighteningly popular in Japan, and continually dominates the hardware and software sales charts. It is unclear whether this is going to be a sustained growth pattern, or more of a reflection of the boom and bust cycles that follow a console release history. It is also uncertain whether this change is benefiting anybody besides Nintendo and a few of their partners; the majority of successful DS titles have been first party. It is possible that this is due to Nintendo’s early dedication to the format; other developers that follow in their footsteps may see their own successes, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Read More | GamesIndustry.biz
Gallery: DS Driving Sales Growth In Japan
Sam and Max On Cover of This Month’s CGW
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Adventure, Culture, PC, Screenshots,
Ever since Telltale Games, producers of the episodic Bone games for the PC, announced that they’ll be overseeing Sam and Max’s transition to 3D, they’ve been the talk of the town. Sam and Max Hit The Road was possibly the best 2-D adventure game LucasArts ever made (although I’m sure many will make arguments for Loom, Monkey Island, or Maniac Mansion), and Sam and Max: Freelance Police is shaping up to be a hit as well.
This week, Telltale announced that you’ll be able to get your hands on a LITTLE bit more Sam and Max information. The new game is still set to release in the fall of ‘06, but until then you can gaze longingly at the cover of Computer Gaming World, to come out July 24th. The issue features an all new piece of Steve Purcell art done for the cover, as well as interviews with the developers and other assorted goodies. 1up.com will also be running a companion podcast on July 14th, for those of you that can’t wait for the mag to hit newsstands.
And remember, the good word is “creosote”.
Read More | Telltale Games Blog
Gallery: Sam and Max On Cover of This Month’s CGW
DS In A Half-Shell, Turtle Power!
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Culture, Mods/Hacks, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Portable/Mobile,
Now that you’ve been convinced to buy a DS twice (you HAD to have the original DS when it came out, and now you’ve GOT to get the DS Lite), what are you going to do with that DS Phat? Give it to your girlfriend? Sell it for a third of what you paid on eBay? Or how about putting your creative juices to work and coming up with the coolest DS mod ever!
4ColorRebellion is reporting on a DS owner who painted up their original DS to look like a Koopa Troopa shell, and the results are absolutely stunning and gorgeous. Just keep in mind 4Color’s words of wisdom:
Please do not confuse this mod with an actual Koopa Troopa shell. Jumping on it repeatedly while on a stairway will not help you rack up infinite lives. It will just piss off your parents.
Good advice, guys!
Read More | 4ColorRebellion.com
Gallery: DS In A Half-Shell, Turtle Power!
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