The latest firgure for console sales in Japan are in and all machines except one gets a raise from last weeks reading, shown below:


Playstation Portable: 92,411
Nintendo Wii: 48,796
Nintendo DS Lite: 42,435
Playstation 3: 9,107
Playstation 2: 7,108
Xbox 360: 1,283

PSP still tops the list, up by 6,990 while the Nintendo Wii trails behind it, up 4,245. The Nintendo DS Lite is in third place and takes a 1,806 drop. The ones in line are the PS3, up 1,669, PS2 up 563 and Xbox 360 increases by 207. ...

via Eurogamer


Activision has listed 15 of the 25 tracks that will feature in Guitar Hero: On Tour for DS.

Speaking to US magazine Nintendo Power, the publisher confirmed that relatively contemporary hits from both Maroon 5 and Blink 182 will be included alongside songs from Twisted Sister, KISS, and Jet from Gladiators.

Guitar Hero: On Tour works by clipping a "Guitar Grip" into the GBA slot on your DS so the four coloured fret buttons rest on the bottom of your handheld.

You then turn the DS sideways like a book and use a provided plastic pick to strum the touch-screen guitar and rock your socks off.

There will be the usual career mode with six characters to choose from, as well as wireless competitive and co-operative modes.

You can see two amazingly annoying people demonstrate how it works over on Eurogamer TV.

Guitar Hero: On Tour is due out on DS later this summer.

The track list so far:
"Do What You Want" - OK Go
"All The Small Things" - Blink 182
"Spiderwebs" - No Doubt
"Are You Gona Be My Girl" - Jet
"We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister
"All Star" - Smash Mouth
"Breed" - Nirvana
"Jessie's Girl" - Rick Springfield
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
"This Love" - Maroon 5
"Heaven" - Los Lonely Boys
"Helicopter" - Bloc Party
"China Grove" - The Doobie Brothers
"Rock and Roll All Nite" - KISS (cover by Line 6)
"What I Want" - Daughtry ...

via Games Industry


Owners of PlayStation 3 consoles in the US are using their consoles to play Blu-ray disc movies in increasing numbers according to research done by Warner Home Video.

During the final quarter of 2007, PS3 households spent 15 per cent of their PS3 time watching Blu-ray movies. In January and February, the proportion increased to 23 per cent.

The research, revealed at the PEVE Digital Entertainment conference in Paris as reported by Screen Digest, also indicated that the proportion of US PS3 household using the console as a Blu-ray movie player had risen from 53 per cent in September 2007 to 80 per cent in the first two months of 2008.

Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders said that, following a Sony TV ad campaign encouraging the use of PS3 consoles to watch movies, the proportion of PS3 households purchasing Blu-ray discs rose from less than 10 per cent in October 2007 to over 15 per cent in December - suggesting that Sony's advertising had an impact.

Screen Digest senior analyst Helen Davis Jayalath, however, notes that the timing of Warner's research makes it impossible to quantify how much of an effect the Christmas gift-giving season would have had on Blu-ray spending without Sony's promotions.

"Furthermore, the relative lack of strong games titles for the PS3 over this period is also likely to have contributed to the console's use as a BD player," she wrote.

Nonetheless, Jayalath noted that the size of the PS3 installed base means that even a minimal increase in average per household Blu-ray disc purchase rates could substantially impact total hi-def media sales. ...

via Games Industry


Mario Kart Wii sold another 150,000 units in Japan across the sales week ending April 27, according to the latest data from Media Create, and is on track to break the 1 million mark this week.

That was also enough to keep it top of the software chart, with Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G in second place as Capcom's PlayStation Portable game nears the 2 million boundary.

New entries accounted for the rest of the top five places, with Valkyria Chronicles for the PlayStation 3 in third, Taiko Drum Master DS: Seven Island Adventure in fourth and Summon Night in fifth.

Wii Fit sold another 37,000 copies to take sixth place, and is on track to pass the 2 million mark in the next few weeks, while We're Fossil Diggers took seventh place.

Pokemon Ranger: Batonnage, DS Beautiful Letter Training and Musou Orochi: The Evil King Returns completed the top ten list.

Two Xbox 360 title made their debut in the top 30, with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 taking 11th place and Frontlines: Fuel of War in 26th. Phoenix Wright 4 for the Nintendo DS debuted at a lowly 27th.


The full top ten is as follows:

1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PS)
3. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
4. Taiko Drum Master DS: Seven Island Adventure (DS)
5. Summon Night (DS)
6. Wii Fit (Wii)
7. We're Fossil Diggers (DS)
8. Pokemon Ranger: Batonnage (DS)
9. DS Beautiful Letter Training (DS)
10. Musou Orochi: The Evil King Returns (PS2) ...

via Computer and Video Games


Nintendo has started the first Mario Kart Wii competition, which you can start playing right this second.

To enter, simply go to the Mario Kart channel and scroll down to the Competitions option. Providing you've downloaded the latest data (the bottom option), you'll get the following message, "Get the best time you can in a VS on Mario Circuit."

That means computer characters are on the course and normal items are in use. The course has been changed slightly, with items placed differently and the chain chomp is prowling around, freely.

We're not entirely convinced about the challenge, given the randomness eleven computer characters bring to the course. Never-the-less, we'll be competing. The competition will run until May 10. Go! ...

via IGN


Konami Japan opened up a website today for Survival Kids Wii, confirming that the portable adventure series is on the way to the home console.

Known in the West as Lost in Blue, this particular franchise puts players through a survival test on a deserted island. The series has been a portable thing until now, having appeared on the DS and original Game Boy Color.

The Wii version, to be titled Survival Kids Wii in Japan, is listed at the Konami website as a "survival simulation" game for up to two players. That's all the information we have at this point, unfortunately.

The game is listed at the Konami page without a release date. A release outside of Japan has also not been announced officially, but with the three DS games already out here, an international release looks likely. ...

via IGN


Just before last year's Tokyo Game Show, Tecmo held an event showing off its current and future wares, and made the announcement that its classic Tecmo Bowl football series would be returning -- but didn't hint at which system or systems would be getting the revival. Today, Tecmo has announced that the game, titled Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff, will be coming to the Nintendo DS this fall.

Details are slim at this point, and all we have for media is a game logo. But what we do know is that Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff will feature arcade-style over-the-top football gameplay with a ton of features. Players will be able to customize teams with their own team colors, emblems, player names, host city and adjust their player abilities. The game will feature stylus control for the action as well as the customizable playbook.

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff will also support both local wireless and internet play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

We'll have more on Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff in the coming weeks. ...

via IGN


Nintendo's recent earnings report was full of great news for investors as the company's fortunes soared to record highs. But what does it all mean for gamers?

Company president Satoru Iwata provide some hints in a Q&A session following the company's press briefing last week. Today, Nintendo provided an English transcript of that session.

Iwata spoke at length on a number of issues, but one in particular caught our eye: the hot topic of the Wii's limited flash memory. Said Iwata, "Statistically speaking, it is true that there are a small number of customers who feel that the flash memory is too small, while many others find that they have plenty of memory. However, because this small number of people are none other than the most avid players, we know we have to review the best possible solution to eliminate their inconvenience."

So keep on complaining, Nintendo fanatics, and you may one day have full access to your virtual Wii games collection without having to delete stuff.

Iwata also gave some vague indication of the current performance of the WiiWare and Virtual Console download services. Total sales for the fiscal year for the two services combined came to 7.8 billion yen.

There's actually a fundamental difference between the WiiWare and Virtual Console businesses, Iwata explained. For the Virtual Console, Nintendo manages the full process of preparing software, even from 3rd parties. As it faces the business risks from distributing games on the service, it also takes a larger share of the profits. For WiiWare, 3rd parties face all the business risks themselves and handle marketing, and thus they get a larger portion of the profits.

For more of Iwata's comments, be sure and check out Nintendo's English transcript of the Iwata Q&A session for yourself. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Video game industry researcher DFC Intelligence has claimed that the Xbox 360 is "starting to look like a senior citizen" and is likely to be the biggest loser in Europe.

In a Next-Gen article, the research company has said the Microsoft's 2007 Christmas line-up has had little impact on the company's position in the marketplace and predicts that PS3 will secure second place this generation.

The research company also had some words to say about Nintendo. "The Wii product line and control system are an evolution of what made the PlayStation 2 so successful in Europe," it says, claiming that Sony's success last generation was due in part to the mass-market appeal of SingStar and EyeToy.

"A key driver behind these products was Phil Harrison, the U.K.-based president of SCE Worldwide Studios. However at the end of February 2008, Harrison left Sony. In many ways this departure is symbolic of how the torch in Europe seems to be passing to Nintendo." ...