Blue Dragon is Microsoft's attempt to truly break into the Japanese console market. The Blue Dragon launch can be billed the REAL Xbox 360 launch day in Japan; at least, Microsoft hopes it is.

According to a confusing machine translation from GameSpot China, the Xbox 360 sold either 27,000 or 70,000 units to accommodate the release of Blue Dragon. If 70,000 is the correct number, an additional 43,000 units of Blue Dragon sold (which is the bulk of the Japanese owners who previously purchased an Xbox 360). In either case, this is certainly a nice boost for Microsoft.

If the 70,000 is the correct version of the translation, it would certainly be odd to see the Xbox 360 sitting at a solid #3 on Japan's weekly sales chart. Microsoft hopes to sell 200,000 copies of Blue Dragon in Japan, which means Microsoft hopes to have around 200,000 Xbox 360 units in Japanese households. While not impressive from the standpoint of, say, the DS -- Nintendo sells that many in two weeks -- Microsoft should enjoy the sales boost and the publicity that goes along with it.

Via Joystiq ...

Via GIBiz

UK developer Evolution Studios is already planning for opportunities on the PlayStation 4, according to chief executive Martin Kenwright.

With the racing specialist readying Motorstorm for launch on the PlayStation 3, Kenwright believes that it's important to think far ahead as the industry is set to change monumentally in the future.

Speaking in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, part one of which is published today, Kenwright said, "The market place will be changing beyond all recognition in the next five years. We've anticipated that.

"I know people are looking at PS3 now, and I'm not being glib, but we're actually looking at PS4. I'm thinking where will it be in five years, how will we get there? What will the marketplace be like, the games, and who'll be buying them?"

Kenwright believes companies that settle into a routine are more at risk than those who experiment with original IP - with sequels to popular games merely dividing the market.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but sticking to what you're best at can be more of a risk than reinventing yourself," said the studio boss.

"The DNA of all these games is around 80 per cent the same. It's the application, the value of the IP, the new killer brand, that is actually priceless.

"What we've learnt in the past is you can inclemently improve something by one per cent, and it takes two years and millions of pounds and all you get is more of the same. You polarise your market. You're offering more of the same instead of something new, memorable and exciting."

While sequels to popular games have traditionally been considered bankable, Kenwright believes the market is changing - with publishers encouraging developers to take bigger risks and create new products.

"People like to tick boxes and play it safe, but sequels are the bane of our industry. 'The last one was good so the board wants ten more the same.' That's actually harming the marketplace irreparably," he observed.

"The reality for many small developers is that publishers are risk averse. But things are going to change. It's not going to be like a parent/child relationship with publishers in the future; it's going to become much more of a creative partnership.

"People are waking up now to the fact that sequels are actually high risk rather than low risk," Kenwright concluded. ...

Via Gamesindustry

A new report by analysts TNS Worldpanel Entertainment has revealed that women and older people are playing more games than ever - while figures for the traditional audience remain stable.

Over the past four years, the number of people aged 45 and over who buy games for personal use has risen by more than 40 per cent, while the figure for women gamers is up by 67 per cent. Meanwhile, sales to men have increased by just 4 per cent.

The over 45s contributed an additional GBP 81 million to the market last year, while women purchased 15 per cent of all games bought for personal use.

Although 57 per cent of titles bought will be played by gamers aged under 20, only 22 per cent are purchased by people in that age bracket - with the remainder bought as gifts.

According to TNS, UK gamers spent a total of GBP 1.1 billion on games over the last 12 months, and 47 million units were sold in total. The figures represent an increase of 10 per cent over the previous year and 50 per cent over the past five years.

The research will be well received by the likes of Nintendo, which has repeatedly stated its intention to expand the market by making gaming more accessible. Titles such as Brain Training and Animal Crossing for the Nintendo DS have already proved to be a hit with gamers outside the traditional market, and the company is hoping to attract new consumers with the recently launched Wii console. ...

Article Via Eurogamer


What utter rubbish, everyone knows the right handers are best ...

Via cvg

Sega has scored the rights from 20th Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising to create a series of games based on the Alien movies.

Instead of the games being direct walkthroughs of the movies, Sega will draw more on the history of the franchise with first-person shooters and even RPGs. Don't expect the game game from the deal to se the light of day until 2008.

Alien actors Sigourney Weaver and Lance Henriksen are reportedly in talk with Sega about providing their voices and likenesses to the games. Rob Lightner, VP of Sega's business development, told the Hollywood Reporter, "We haven't finalized anything at this point, but everything is on the table. It's important for everyone to understand the difference here: We're taking licensing to the next level with this franchise."

Senior producer Mike Gallo added, "We'll go out of our way to tie the games into the films in unique ways. We're also looking at all 'Alien' source material for inspiration, in addition to the films. We may incorporate some characters that fans know and love, and we may let gamers find answers to questions that were left unanswered in the movies." ...

via cvg

Super Probotector, Castlevania IV and R-Type bound for December UK release. Oh yes!

If you're as big a retro Nintendo fan as we are, December 29 can't come soon enough because a December release schedule for the Virtual Console on the Wii has revealed that Super NES classics Super Probotector: Aliens Rebels (AKA Super Contra) and Super Castlevania IV will be made available for download on that day in UK.

That's not the only surprise - the Turbografx version of R-Type will also be out on that day too, which is awesome. On December 15 Alien Crush, an amazing pinball game on the Turbografx will also hit the virtual console.

These games come as a pleasant surprise after Nintendo's initial December release list made no mention of these titles - which is particularly sweet in a era where we're more used to great games being delayed, not released unexpectedly.

Meanwhile, the US Virtual Console servers will be graced with Ice Hockey (NES), Gunstar Heroes (Mega Drive), Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Mega Drive) and Alien Crush later today.

The full European Virtual Console release schedule for December 2006 is as follows:

Virtual Console games available from 8th December 2006:
Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
F-Zero (Super Nintendo)
Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo)
Mario Bros.
The Legend of Zelda (NES)
Donkey Kong (NES)
Wario's Woods (NES)
Sonic the Hedgehog (MEGA DRIVE)
Altered Beast (MEGA DRIVE)
Golden Axe (MEGA DRIVE)
Ecco the Dolphin (MEGA DRIVE)
Bonk's Adventure (Turbografx)
Super Star Soldier (Turbografx)
Victory Run (Turbografx)
Bomberman'93 (Turbografx)
Dungeon Explorer (Turbografx)

Virtual Console games available from 15th December 2006:
Urban Champion (NES)
Solomon's Key (NES)
Pinball (NES)
Columns (MEGA DRIVE)
Gunstar Heroes (MEGA DRIVE)
Ristar (MEGA DRIVE)
Dr. Robotonik's Mean Bean Machine (MEGA DRIVE)
Alien Crush (Turbografx)

Virtual Console games available from 22nd December 2006:
Donkey Kong Jr. (NES)
Soccer and Tennis (NES)
Space Harrier II (MEGA DRIVE)
Toe Jam & Earl (SEGA MEGA DRIVE)
Military Madness (Turbografx)

Virtual Console games available from 29th December 2006:
SimCity (Super Nintendo)
Super Probotector (Super Nintendo)
Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo)
Baseball NES)
Ice Hockey (NES)
R-TYPE (Turbografx) ...

More on the Stars into points news, this time from CVG

Finally, those pointless Star points awarded to members of Nintendo-Europe.com can be put to good use; Wii Points cards will soon be made available to purchase through the Stars Catalogue.

It's about time something cool appeared on it - apart from the occasional game, which tends to disappear in seconds, the Stars Catalogue is mostly filled with rubbish desktop pictures and midi sounds which no-one wants to exchange points for. So we're sure the Wii Points cards will be popular when they turn up on the system. Nintendo, however, were unable to disclose a date this would happen.

Even better, when you register your Wii with the Wii Shop Channel, you will be given the option to link your Wii Shop account with your account on the official site by entering your email address. Do it, because Nintendo has revealed that you will earn Stars for every Virtual Console game you download.

Wii Points, in case you don't already know, are used to purchase games from the Wii's Virtual Console, with 2000 Wii points costing around £15. NES games cost 500 points, Turbografx games are 600 points, Mega Drive and SNES games are 800 and N64 games cost 1000. ...

Via CVG

Industry legend Warren Spector has revealed to CVG his admiration of Nintendo's Zelda series.

In an interview to be published later in the month, we asked the brains behind the likes of Deus Ex what his dream videogame would be.

"The answer depends on my mood. Honestly, there are times when Zelda (pick one of 'em - ANY of 'em) is as close to perfection as I need to get. I swear my blood pressure drops when I hear the Zelda soundtrack. And I never feel as heroic, as much a part of something epic and important, as I do when I'm pretending to be Link," Spector replied as part of his answer.

And he's not alone. Nintendo has delivered what many regard as some of the greatest videogames of all time with its Zelda titles, and most recent release Twilight Princess has received heaps of plaudits - including a hefty round of applause from us.

Along with querying Warren Spector about his dream videogame in the interview, we asked him about his current top secret project underway at his new company Junction Point Studios and plenty of other stuff. ...

920,000 units sold in November in North America puts DS at the top of the sales chart for November, even beating sales of the newly launched Wii console, when people were camping outside shops to get their hands on the new console.

We wonder if everyone sat in Wii launch queues bought DSs just for something to do while they wait. 600,000 Wii's were snapped up by eager gamers last month, making for a hugely successful launch for Nintendo, but with the DS still owning the world as if no other games consoles exist, Nintendo already has plenty to celebrate.

Even the Game Boy Advance looks to be having a great Christmas, selling 642,000 units in November. There are surely more GBAs in the world than there are people by now, but somebody's still buying them, clearly.

According to Nintendo, it sold more than 2.1 million systems, including GameCube and Wii, of the 3.9 million consoles purchased in total in the month. Good times for Nintendo.

via cvg ...