Via Kotaku

If you're reading this, you're likely a heavy gamer. I'm not calling you fat. But according to the NPD Group, who just did a study amongst 16,670 participants, there's a 45% chance you are between the ages of six and seventeen. In other words, someone I really shouldn't be saying '****' around.

The study, whose sample is comprised of 16,670 participants between ages six and 44, found that 45 percent of the study's "heavy gamer" segment and nearly one-third of its "avid console gamer" segment (the largest group in the study) were between the youthful ages of six and 17. The findings contradict the wide belief that the most committed gamers fall in the coveted 18- to 34-year-old male demographic...
Other highlights of the NPD's segmentation study include the finding that 21 percent of the heavy gamer segment is made up of females. In addition, the entire heavy gamer segment makes up a mere 3 percent of the overall gaming population.


Overall, it looks like the dominance of the 18 to 34 year old gamer is just a myth. In fact, heavy gamers only account for 3% of gamers overall. Might want to consider that next time you fake sick from junior high to write another obscenity-laced thesis on why the Playstation 3 is going to totally RULE. ...

On October 13 Microsoft is to launch Xbox 360 Classics, a budget range for its next-generation console.

According to a report on MCV, the initial line-up of games in the range will include first-party titles Kameo: Elements of Power and Perfect Dark Zero and third-party games King Kong and Condemned. Each game in the range is to be slapped with a £24.99 price tag.

Microsoft will follow this initial release with a second batch of budget titles in spring next year. ...

New shots from the Xbox 360 version of Bioshock - the ground-breaking, awesome-looking FPS/RPG Irrational is developing for 2K Games - have surfaced and, naturally, we're giving you a chane to feast your eyes on them.

As you can see, Bioshock is set to be one of the best-looking games you will ever find, with its imaginative Art Deco-style look and gameplay which, we're assured, will hark back to the much-loved System Shock 2. Alas, we'll have to wait until 2007 before it appears (on PC as well as Xbox 360). Hopefully, we'll get more of a look at the game at the TGS and X06. But these shots should keep you honest for a while.

Screens Here ...

High Street specialist GAME has acquired Australian videogame retailer The Games Wizards for AUD $3.8 million (2.2 million euro).

Based in Sydney and with 14 company-owned stores and eight franchises across the continent, The Games Wizards has been operating for over ten years.

"The acquisition of The Games Wizards provides the group with an established business and a low cost entry to this important market," said Martin Long, chief executive of the Game Group.

"The specialist video games retail sector is already well established and in terms of software revenue Australasia is larger than Spain, Italy, Benelux and the Nordic region".

"Australia is an attractive games market with good growth dynamics and offers the potential to develop our international business further alongside our existing growth plans," he added.

The Games Wizards reported sales of AUD $19.7 million (11.7 million euro) in the financial year ending June 30th 2006, with losses of AUD $1.6 million (952,000 euro). ...

The Game Developers Conference is to take the torch once help by E3, and become the largest trade exhibition for the worldwide gaming community.

The size of the show floor is to be more than doubled for the event in order to incorporate the growth of attendees, due to take place at the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco next March.

"As GDC enters its 20th year, it emerges as the event with the largest gravitational pull of any other game industry-only event," said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC.

"While it remains our primary goal to serve the game development community and ensure that the session-based half of GDC remains unchanged, we also believe it is time to dramatically upgrade the range of expo opportunities."

"The result of our expansion is that GDC becomes the natural choice for all companies in the game industry ecosystem to exhibit and conduct business," added Moledina.

The new show floor will be built around a core of existing GDC expo suites and a networking lounge, surrounded by company's ranging from publishers and developers to mobile games firms, peripheral manufacturers, outsourcing specialists and international consortia.

Booth spaces, expo suites and meeting rooms will be available for vendors, while the new Game Demo Theatre will showcase upcoming games from developers and publishers.

Reassurance that the GDC will not forget its roots is evidenced by organisers offering dedicated networking and reception events for developers, publishers, serious game companies, mobile developers and East-West collaborations.

For 2007 the GDC will also add a casual/independent reception and a dedicated Independent Games Conference to compliment the Independent Games Festival taking place as a part of the Game Developers Conference. ...

TT Games and LucasArts have fought their way to the premier position in the UK all-formats charts, as Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy becomes the highest-selling title this week.

Xbox 360 titles Dead Rising and Saints Row both suffer from Lego's climb this week, being pushed back to positions two and three, respectively.

THQs movie tie-in Cars nudges up the charts one place to number four, proving a better ride than Atari's Test Drive Unlimited, which drops back to number five.

The Nintendo DS continues to perform well, with the BAFTA-nominated Dr Kawashima's Brain Training climbing four places to number six, and New Super Mario Bros. stepping up one place to number seven.

The only other exclusive handheld title in the top ten is Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, which drops a place to number eight.

The platinum release of the first Lego Star Wars also benefits from its sequels' marketing, breaking back into the top ten at nine, with The Sims 2 just behind at number ten.

While no new releases made the top ten this week, there is still a healthy number of new games elsewhere in the top forty.

Sony's handheld version of the popular Tekken titles, Dark Resurrection, takes the number 12 spot, with Sega's most recent IP, Yakuza, making its debut at number 20.

Namco's air combat title Ace Combat: The Belkan War swoops into the charts at number 31, and PC adventure game Broken Sword: The Angel of Death makes a modest entry at number 33.

Via Gamesindustry ...

News from Lik Sang

Whereas some game sequels just add in a few improvements and a new coat of paint, this new US release of Naruto Clash of the Ninja 2 is truly Naruto to the power of 2, and then some! Staying true to the anime episodes aired on the Cartoon Network so far, the original title had but 12 levels while this sequel packs in 30 different cell shaded stages! Also rather than just fighting one-on-one there’s all combinations of four player brawls here; one vs. three; two vs. two; two player co-op versus team and team battles. You can also forget about the mere 10 player selection in the original, now there's 23, adding to the mix Kiba Inuzuka, Neji Hyuga, Might Guy, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, Gaara, Kankuro, Orochimaru, Akamaru, Karasu and Mizuki. All characters have new attacks and beefed up fighting skills, many of which include character-specific moves that add to the feeling of authenticity that goes beyond the first GameCube title.



There's 14 different game choices to check out, from standard story mode to survival, time attack, training, shopping and more, like matching up characters and taking away the human element, letting the CPU battle it out to see who really comes out on top. To match the show the US ports have been spaced apart much like the Japanese originals were. If that continues to be the case there's about a year wait till the next release, then again till the fourth. You can however pick up the Japanese editions below right now, or go for the US title due in this week. Either way don't forget GameCube games also work with the upcoming Nintendo Wii. ...

Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, speaking at Nordic Game in Sweden, has confirmed that Lumines Live will release in October.

"Next month," said Mizuguchi when we asked him when it was going to be released. "The middle of next month. I think so."

The Xbox Live Arcade version of the rhythm action title will release before Lumies II in November. Mizuguchi premiered the PSP sequel publicly for the first time at the Nordic event today.

And from the sound of it, he's not done with the whole concept of music games quite yet, even though these two releases will bring the current tally of Lumines titles to four.

"I want to make a style, a new style, including Lumines," he said. "A new way to interact with the music. Maybe like a wallpaper or a screensaver. Screensavers are not interactive, but you do something, you get a reaction from it. Not a deep game, but playing with music."

Righto. So after Lumines II he's going to carry on with music?

"Yeah," he said. "I want to keep creating something with interactive music." ...

News from Eurogamer

Tetsuya Mizuguchi has been talking about Lumines II at the Nordic Game event in Malmö, Sweden.

Playing through levels featuring music from New Order and Beck, the Japanese developer bashfully grinned, "This is the first time I show Lumines II in public in the world."

And everyone clapped.

"For Lumines II, the concept is, 'How can we combine the music and music video in a game?' We have cooperation from ten famous artists from the western market and artists from Asia, and we put 100 tracks into it. We have music from Black Eyed Peas, Beck, Missy Elliot, Chemical Brothers, Stephanie, Junior Senior, Go! Team, Junkie XL and New Order. So, which artist do you want?" ...