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Four New Titles In US Virtual Console
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Retro, SEGA, Wii,
Nintendo today made four new Virtual Console titles available in the US. The titles include Ice Hockey for the NES at 500 points, Gunstar Heroes and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine for the Genesis at 800 points each, and Alien Crush for the TurboGrafx16 at 600 points. The titles are a decent mix; the most interesting is probably Alien Crush, a classic pinball release. Mean Bean Machine, based around the Puyo Puyo play mechanic may also interest puzzle game fans.
Read More 
| Nintendo
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Interlink Files Patent Dispute, Hopes to Profit off of Wii Success
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo, Politics, Wii,
It seems to be the new norm in consumer electronics manufacturing - if you start to make money off of a good idea, you’d better stockpile lawyers and money to defend it against patent lawsuits. First Creative vs. the iPod, then Immersion vs. PS3 Rumble, now this. Interlink electronics, creator of those pointers businessfolk use for corporate presentations, is suing Nintendo over the Wiimote and its use of a trigger button, claiming that that Nintendo is infringing on their patent #6,850,221 “Trigger Operated Electronic Device”.
Granted, I’m a bit biased, but it seems to me that there’s absolutely no merit in their claim. Here’s the timeline of events, just to keep things straight:
- September 29, 1996 - Nintendo releases the N-64, featuring a 3-pronged controller with the infamous Z-trigger underneath the anolog stick. Nintendo goes on to sell 32 million consoles worldwide
- 1997 - Interlink files patent for “Trigger Operated Electronic Device”
- February 2005 - Interlink is granted patent for a device that bears resemblance to the Wiimote (see figure at right), including a remote-style shape and a trigger on the underside of the device.
- September 2005 - Nintendo unveils the Wiimote at the Tokyo Games Show
Given that Interlink had no plans to get into the gaming world, and that Nintendo had been using trigger-style technology before Interlink even filed their patent, I find it hard to believe that this case has any leg to stand on.
Read More | GameDaily.biz
NPD: Year-Over-Year Sales Up 34%
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
NPD today released its official game sales numbers for November, and the numbers are showing amazing growth. Next Generation reports on the figures; year-over-year sales increased 34% to $1.7 billion. For this generation’s consoles, the Xbox 360 lead the pack with 551K sales. Nintendo’s Wii followed with 476K units, and the Playstation 3 trailed with 197K units. Supply issues hampered sales for the Playstation 3 and the Wii, and slightly under 200,000 consoles sold, Sony’s inability to provide consoles for their launch became apparent. Overall, though, last generation’s Playstation 2 continues to rack up huge sales, moving 664K consoles for November.
In the handheld arena, the Nintendo DS continues to absolutely dominate, selling 918,000 units in November. The Game Boy followed with 641,000 sold, and the PSP brought up the rear with 412,000 units sold.
On the software side of things, Gears of War took the number one spot, moving 1 million copies during the month. Final Fantasy XII sold 896,000 units, continuing that series’ success, and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess sold 412,000 copies, perhaps constrained a bit by Wii hardware supplies.
Overall, the industry is showing excellent year-over-year growth, and all three console manufacturers have something to smile about in November.
Read More | Next Generation
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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
What happens when you introduce a non-traditional system to an unfamiliar demographic? Crazy stuff like this. Wow, I’ve heard the controls are tricky for Wii Boxing, but if this is what I need to get a knockout, count me out.
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
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
Nintendo To Add New Virtual Console Titles Monday
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Retro, Wii,
On December 4, Nintendo will release four new titles for their Virtual Console game service. The releases include Donkey Kong Jr. for 500 Wii Points, Victory Run for the TurboGrafx16 for 600 Points, and Columns and Ristar from the Sega Genesis for 800 Wii Points each. The games will be available starting at 9 AM Pacific time, and Nintendo has promised that each Monday after this will also feature new Virtual Console titles. While the previous selection of Virtual Console titles has been a little uneven in terms of quality, having new releases every week may mean that gamers will get to see more of their past favorites or forgotten cult classics a little sooner.
Read More | Nintendo
Wii Sports Bowling Easter Egg: The 91 Pin Strike
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Nintendo, Sports, Wii,
It will take a bit of skill, but no doubt, this is one cool Easter Egg. In the training mode of Wii Sports Bowling, you are able to try your luck against an ever-growing number of pins, capping at a 91-pin setup. Rather than going for broke trying to legitimately knock down all 91 of those bad boys, you can apparently trigger an explosion of atomic levels if you just send the ball straight down the bumper. Check the video to see what we mean.
Nintendo seems to be all over the press lately, trumpeting their successes with the Wii and receiving generally favorable reviews for their new console. Reggie Fils-Aime recently talked to MTV about this, and their aims for the future as they try to keep moving forward with the Wii. In addition to their massive tie rate with The Legend of Zelda, Fils-Aime claims that third-party titles like Red Steel, Rayman, Madden 2007, and Trauma Center: Second Opinion have sold well with the Wii.
Reggie also talked upcoming first-party releases. January should bring a new Wario Ware title and Wii Play, with Mario Party 8 coming by March. The new Metroid and Super Mario titles will come some time after that, but before the end of next year. Third-party support was also praised, something which was somewhat problematic with the Gamecube.
Other topics covered include Reggie’s opinions of some of the reviews Wii titles have been receiving, online play (the first title will be Pokemon Battle Revolution in Japan), and Virtual Console Mondays, Nintendo’s weekly release of software titles for their Virtual Console, much like Microsoft’s Live Arcade Wednesdays. While the interview doesn’t give a whole lot away on Nintendo’s strategies, it is interesting to see Reggie’s viewpoint on the console launch.
Read More | MTV
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