Sony is planning to set the price of PSPgo games at a similar level to iPhone titles - at one, two and five euros.

That's according to a report by Pocket Gamer, suggesting that the low pricing could provide consumers with an incentive to buy the new EUR 249 hardware, which has been derided by some industry watchers as too expensive.

It would also lower the entry barrier for developers, allowing smaller studios scope for releasing games onto the Sony console.

Indeed, the site also reports Sony has been actively encouraging iPhone developers to port their existing titles to PSN, although it will still be imposing formal requirements as well as a two week QA testing period on games submitted before they are allowed for release.

These stringent checks would fit with comments previously made by SCEA director of PSN operations, Eric Lempel who recently spoke out to say that PSN wouldn't be going down the same route as the App Store.

"I want to make sure we uphold the quality of games on PSN; that doesn't mean they can't be shorter or quirky but we don't want to see a bunch of little things that don't quite make sense or provide a good experience," he stated, saying that users would expect a higher quality experience on a games focused device like PSPgo than they do on something that is primarily a mobile phone.

Sony will actively control the release schedule for games too, said the report - an involvement that should prevent the network flooding with too many titles.

Over 50 developers have so far been signed up to produce content for digital distribution via PSN ahead of the new PSPgo's launch on October 1, said the site.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...er-than-iphone ...

The DSi is back at the top of the Japanese hardware chart following its demotion to second place in last week's chart, according to the latest Media Create sales figures

That fall to second place was caused by the release of Monster Hunter Tri, and also the release of the new black Wii console in the region, which accelerated the Wii's sales to 95,357. In the latest chart however, they fell to 47,140, allowing the DSi to once again claim the top spot.

The DSi sold 70,066, while the regular DS console managed 8699 - putting the combined total for the console at 78,765.

Which was a figure way above its rivals lower in the chart. PlayStation Portable sold 33,893 during the week, a number very close to its previous week sales of 33,049 and the PlayStation 3 managed 5826 - down from 8760 the week prior.

There was some good news for Microsoft though, as the Xbox 360 outsold Sony's ageing PlayStation 2 for the first time in some weeks. Sales of the 360 were up from 3552 the week previous to 5436, while the PlayStation 2 sold 4601.

The full Japanese hardware chart for the week ending August 9 is as follows:

01 Nintendo DS - 78,765
02 Nintendo Wii - 47,140
03 PlayStation Portable - 33,893
04 PlayStation 3 - 5826
05 Xbox 360 - 5436
06 PlayStation 2 - 4601

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...hardware-chart ...

A lack of PlayStation 3 stock in retail channels is more evidence that Sony intends to reveal a redesigned console and possible price cuts, according to analyst Michael Pachter.

Speaking to VG247, Pachter said that Japanese and UK channels are drying up, with orders on hold until the end of the month.

"The retail commentary I’ve seen has come out of the UK. We heard Japanese retail a few weeks ago say they weren’t going to be getting any more PS3s after August 8, and now we’re starting to hear UK retail say they cannot re-order PS3s until month-end," detailed Pachter.

"And that suggest there’ll be a model change."

Joining other industry watchers, Pachter points to next week's Gamecom event as the likely location for a big reveal from Sony, during its press conference to be held on Tuesday evening. As well as price cuts, a 'PS3 Slim' is also expected.

He added: "If Sony’s practice is the same as it was in the past, and the Slim is more of a redesign of the components to drive down cost, then I think we will get a price cut."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...n-uk-and-japan ...

Representatives from Microsoft's Xbox division have released an official reaction to the NPD Group's videogame sales data for July of 2009, calling the Xbox 360's hardware growth the "industry's sole bright spot" in 2009.

According to the statement, the Xbox 360 is the only console to show growth in 2009, with a 17 per cent increase in sales over the same seven-month period in 2008.

"Amid a tough economic climate, Xbox 360 is the only home console showing growth in the US this year, offering wallet-watching consumers the best value with a USD 199 starting price, the broadest selection of games for everyone, and innovative social and entertainment experiences they can’t get anywhere else," said Microsoft.

Microsoft also reported continued growth in online play amongst its Xbox Live subscribers, and that EA's Battlefield: 1943 "shattered the record for first-day and first-week downloads" in its July debut.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...says-microsoft ...

The NPD Group has announced its top ten software sales chart for the month of July, indicating that EA's cross-platform NCAA Football 10 was the best-selling game in the United States, in a month where only games published by Nintendo and Electronic Arts managed to make an appearance in the top ten.

The American college football simulator sold a combined 689,000 units between its July 14 debut and August 1. Approximately 376,500 Xbox 360 copies sold, followed by 237,400 for the PlayStation 3, with the remaining 75,100 sales spread between the game's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions of the game.

The single highest-selling SKU overall for the month was Nintendo's Wii Sports Resort for the Wii. The game, a sequel to the console's popular pack-in title Wii Sports, sold approximately 508,200 units in its first seven days on the market.

These were the only two July debut titles to crack the top ten. Popular Nintendo titles Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart DS, Pokemon Platinum Version, and New Super Mario Bros continue to chart well, with debuts going as far back as November 2005. EA's Fight Night Round 4 for the Xbox 360, which sold 260,800 units in its June debut, managed to sell another 116,400 units in July. And finally, rounding out the top ten, EA Sports Active for the Wii sold 96,800 copies.

In terms of revenue, overall software sales declined 26 per cent, from USD 592,190,000 in July 2008 to USD 436,990,000. The decline is slightly less than June's 32 per cent drop, but nearly double the overall year-to-date decline of 14 per cent.

The full top ten list follows.

01 Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo, Wii) - 508,200
02 NCAA Football 10 (EA, 360) - 376,500
03 NCAA Football 10 (EA, PS3) - 237,400
04 Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 164,300
05 Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 156,600
06 Mario Kart DS (Nintendo, DS) - 132,200
07 Pokémon Platinum Version (Nintendo, DS) - 116,400
08 Fight Night Round 4 (EA, 360) - 116,400
09 New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, DS) - 101,800
10 EA Sports Active (EA, Wii) - 96,800

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-10-top-charts ...

The NPD Group has released its game hardware sales data for the month of July, 2009, indicating slow sales on what has been the fifth consecutive month of overall industry decline.

Overall the Nintendo DS sold more units than any other console, at 538,900. This is a decline from the 766,500 unites sold last month and the 608,000 sold one year ago.

"Hardware sales have slowed considerably on nearly every platform," commented analyst Anita Frazer.

Frazer warned that growth for the industry in 2009 will be tough, but a batch of new titles in the later part of the year will help improve the market.

"In order for the industry to come in flat or slightly up for the total year, the back five months of the year have to come in 11 per cent (or more) higher than the last five months of last year."

"The worst comps should be behind us, and looking beyond August we have The Beatles: Rock Band, Halo 3: ODST, and of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to look forward to," she added.

The Xbox 360 continues to be the only console to show year-to-date growth. Though its 202,900 sales for July are down slightly from the 205,000 reported in July of 2008, combined unit sales for the year are up 17 per cent from the same seven-month period last year.

Hardware revenue dropped 37 per cent over the sales seen in July of 2008, from USD 447,710,000 to USD 289,940,000. Year-to-date hardware revenue is down 16 per cent, while overall games industry revenue has fallen 14 per cent.

The full hardware sales breakdown follows.

Nintendo DS - 538,900
Nintendo Wii - 252,200
Xbox 360 - 202,900
PlayStation Portable - 122,800
PlayStation 3 - 121,800
PlayStation 2 - 108,000

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...erably-in-july ...

What kinds of videos will you be able to play on that luscious OLED screen? And for how long? Your answers: not that many, and for a qualified "up to" four hours. UPDATE: The spec sheet was incorrect, in a good way.

To be fair to Microsoft, iPod video format support is pretty horribly limited, but wide codec compatibility would've been something of a coup for the the Zune HD. As it stands, here's what it can handle:

Windows Media Video (WMV) (.wmv) – Main and Simple Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 3.0 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD WMV files at device sync.
MPEG-4 (MP4/M4V) (.mp4) Part 2 video3– Simple Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD MPEG-4 files at device sync.
H.264 video – Baseline Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD H.264 files at device sync. DVR-MS4 – Zune software will transcode at time of sync.

720p playback will only come by means of an external dock connector—not that the 480 x 272 screen could display it anyway, or that it would matter on a device this size. In any case, this is fine—transcoding video is something we're used to for portable devices, and past Zune software has been serviceable. About that battery life, though:

24 hours is plenty for music playback, though it's well under the iPod Touch's (admittedly inflated) 36h claim, and we'll have to see how well the battery holds up during radio playback and, most importantly, web browsing. The video figure is concerning though, not just because it's kinda low, but because that asterisk points down to "320 x 240 WMV9 500 Kbps" video—well below that maximum possible playback quality. Is Tegra a little bit of a battery hog?

UPDATE: Microsoft has come out and said their spec page was incorrect—the real figures are 33 hours of music playback and 8.5 hours of video—better than the iPod Touch on both fronts. As you were!

http://gizmodo.com/5336903/zune-hd-s...y-life-updated ...

John Gruber at Daring Fireball seems to be sure about the size and prices of the new iPod touch. In a post commenting on the new Zune HD, he gives all the details, and confirms the camera.

The Zune HD prices look good compared to today's iPod Touches, but not so much compared to the new camera-equipped ones Apple is set to announce next month (16/32/64 GB for $199/299/399).

http://gizmodo.com/5336919/new-ipod-...aring-fireball ...

I have the feeling that DS Sys—a Nintendo DS emulator—is not going to last long at the iTunes App Store. Not because it can play DS games—it can't—but because it looks and acts exactly like a Nintendo DS.

As you can see in the video, the application emulates a Nintendo DS system screen. In fact, it features a real Nintendo DS in three dimensions. You can change the case color, you can change the "game card"—although there's no option to load Nintendo DS ROMs, so I guess it's just a simulation—and it plays a couple of games. They claim that future versions will support "more game cards" and the microphone.

It seems just like a cool gimmicky app, but I'm as surprised as you are. You can get it for $4.99 while it lasts.

http://gizmodo.com/5336931/nintendo-...e-itunes-store ...