via Games Industry


The recent round of price cuts for the Xbox 360 is not a reaction to slowing sales for the home console, according to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer.

Speaking to the Mercury News, the chief executive said the Xbox business is an unqualified success, with the console continuing to sell well.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard anybody say," offered Ballmer when asked whether price reductions were evidence that Microsoft had run out of ideas to boost hardware sales. "All consoles start at higher prices. They always come down through the long cycle."

Although Microsoft has now cut the price of the hardware twice in one year, raising questions about offering lower prices within six months of each other, Ballmer said pricing strategies are never discussed outside of the company.

"Price is not something you discuss externally. Nobody ever does. So, whether we were planning on cutting price the next day or in six months or a year, we're not going to discuss price changes. If you ask me, Xbox Live is going gangbusters. The console is selling well."

He added: "I certainly would say the work that we've done around Xbox is an unqualified success. No question about that. The product is selling very well. The Xbox is an absolute home run."

Following last month's price cuts, the Xbox 360 has sold over six million sales in Europe. ...

via Engadget


Not even a fortnight after HTC's Touch HD went official in Germany, out pops a review from Deutschland calling it the best thing since sliced bread. Okay, so maybe our translation skills are a bit off, but one thing's for sure -- it was hailed as the first "iPhone killer to deserve that name." Right off the bat, reviewers praised the TouchFLO 3D interface for masking Windows Mobile, and of course, the expansive display was drooled upon numerous times. Additionally, critics praised the Opera browser while scolding Internet Explorer, and while it's hard to say for certain whether the battery life was remarkable, it definitely seemed to get their vote of approval.

Of note, the 3.5-millimetre headphone jack was also loved, making us weep while thinking of what could have been with the T-Mobile G1. At any rate, it seems pretty clear that the Touch HD is going to rock some socks off, but we're trying to push it out of our minds until it becomes available on this side of the drink. Too bad that approach isn't working at all. ...

via Joystiq


Excitement quickly turned to disappointment when we realized that Sega and Platinum Games' super-stylized Wii action title, MadWorld, was up-and-running on two kiosks at Nintendo's Fall Media Summit ... but wasn't actually playable by the media. Instead, Sega reps informed us that the game is currently undergoing some fundamental changes to its control scheme and that, well, they basically didn't want us to play it in its current state.

It sure looked bloody fun (emphasis, of course, on the "bloody"). We watched those around us slowly back away as we giggled with child-like glee at the on-screen ultra-violence (hey, we'd had a very bad morning in traffic). Someone urged Sega's testers to show off the most over-the-top move they could think of, so we were treated to a gameplay sequence wherein an enemy was restrained with a tire, skewered through the head with a stopsign post, then cleaved in twain by the main character's chainsaw.

We also got a peek at the chainsaw in action while riding a motorcycle down the side of a building and along a highway at innapropriate speeds. A sequence which, again, made us even more steamed that we couldn't grab the controls and try it ourselves. Not mad enough to run anyone through with a signpost, mind you, but most definitely irked. ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo has confirmed that software specifically created for the DSi will be region-locked, with European, North American and Japanese software only working on consoles designed for their specific regions.

Previous DS and GameBoy hardware has been region-free, allowing users to purchase US or Japanese software and play it on a European handheld.

Nintendo told our sister site Eurogamer.net this afternoon that the DSi is region locked "because DSi embeds net communication functionality within itself and we are intending to provide net services specifically tailored for each region".

The company added: "Also because we are including parental control functionality for Nintendo DSi and each region has its unique age limit made by different independent bodies."

This only applies to software that is compatible exclusively with the DSi - existing DS software remains region-free. Internet browsing and photo sharing also works globally.

It's worth noting that Nintendo's statement refers to "software" rather than "games". GamesIndustry.biz is seeking further clarification from Nintendo.

A lucrative retail market currently exists catering to early adopters and consumers keen to import Japanese and US titles often released far earlier in those regions than in Europe. ...

via Joystiq


Bite-sized games developer Ninja Bee and Real Networks have announced Boingz! The WiiWare title was just announced at Nintendo's press conference, so all we've got at the moment is initial impressions, which give us a smaller LittleBigPlanet feel.

The 2D-3D puzzle platformer has players controlling elastic creatures -- we believe are called The Boingz -- that can be grabbed, stretched and flicked around the level. We've contacted Ninja Bee's PR team for more details and images. ...

via Kotaku


Are ten multiplayer maps in Gears of War 2 not good enough for you? How about fifteen? Epic Games is packing a special treat into every retail Copy of Gears 2 - a coupon redeemable via Xbox Live good that allows players to download five additional maps for the game, each one a slightly more polished version of a map from the first game. The Flashback Map Pack includes newer versions of Canals, Gridlock, Mansion, Subway, and Tyro Station, and will only be available to folks who purchase the game new, making buying a used copy a bit less attractive.

Epic has also revealed to the folks at GamePro that people who attend midnight launch events around the country will also be able to snag a code for a gold-plated Hammerburst assault rifle, the perfect companion to the gold-plated Lancer that comes with the special edition. ...

via Games Industry


Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has dominated the Spanish and German software sales charts for the week ended September 21 by taking up seven places across the two regions' top ten, according to data provided by Media-Control GfK International.

PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has assumed the top spot of the German chart, followed by Crysis: Warhead in second place and Civilisation IV: Colonization at third, also for the PC.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PlayStation 3 took fourth place, Mario Kart Wii secured fifth place, Wii Fit took sixth place and Spore for the PC came in seventh.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the Wii, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360 closed off the chart at eighth, ninth and tenth places respectively.

Nintendo's Wii Fit topped the Spanish software sales chart, preceding Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PS3 in second place and Warhammer Online in third.

Wii Play came in at number four, Mario Kart Wii at five, and Star Wars the Force Unleashed for the PS2 and Wii came in at six and seven respectively. Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction for the PS3 came in eighth, Play Chapas: Football Edition for the PlayStation Portable came in ninth, and Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? for the DS took tenth place.


German software sales chart follows:

1. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
2. Crysis: Warhead (PC)
3. Civilisation IV: Colonisation (PC)
4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)
5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
6. Wii Fit (Wii)
7. Spore (PC)
8. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2)
10. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360)

Spanish software sales chart follows:

1. Wii Fit (Wii)
2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)
3. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
4. Wii Play (Wii)
5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
6. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2)
7. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
8. Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
9. Play Chapas: Football Edition (PSP)
10. Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? (DS) ...

via Computer and Video Games


Here are the first four screenshots of the new Punch Out! for Wii, unveiled at Nintendo's press conference in Japan this morning.

It's cel-shaded and modern, but gameplay-wise it looks pretty damn similar to the SNES classic.

See for yourself in the Wii showreel video right here.

After you look at the screens, of course. ...

via Joystiq


We regret to inform you to that Mr. ESC has again ran, jumped, and slipped through the fingers of modern retail, keeping the escapologist's touchable adventures in Exit DS unrestrained, at least for a little while longer.

Not to fret, however, for while the game will miss its previous release date on October 7, publisher Square Enix seems confident that the escape artist's puzzle-adventure exploits will be on store shelves on November 4. No reason was given for the delay, though we like to think that when it comes to Mr. ESC, sometimes you just can't keep a good escapologist down. ...