via Eurogamer


SouthPeak CEO Melanie Mroz says she isn't worried about slowing sales of Xbox 360 hardware in its second full year on sale.


Despite the launch of key games like Halo 3 and Mass Effect in 2007, the Microsoft console only rose from 10.4 million sold in January to just under 18m by year-end.

"We prefer to publish games for their own merits, rather than because of the platform that they're on - there's still plenty of titles coming up and plenty of money to be made!" Mroz added.

SouthPeak's chief executive also said that we can expect more Xbox Live Arcade games from the publisher in future, and that further titles for Nintendo WiiWare and PlayStation Network are possible too.


If things go well with Things On Wheels though - and Mroz argues that it's "an AAA title" - it could lead the way. "We'd certainly love to put it out on PC or PSN in the future," she says, "but we've got no concrete plans yet - the team is focused on the XBLA version at the moment." ...

via Games Industry


EB Games has crushed rumours that the retailer is "at war" with Microsoft over AUD 10 million worth of defective home consoles, calling reports "99 per cent bulls**t".

A report on gaming blog Kotaku supposedly from a source within EB Games Australia stated that the company had been left with AUD 10 million worth of Xbox 360's after taking them on behalf of customers looking to return faulty units to Microsoft.

It then suggested that Microsoft had refused to take the stock from EB Games, and also noted that a shortage of Premium Xbox 360's available from the retailer was also evidence that there were serious issues between the two companies.

But EB Games chief executive Steve Wilson has crushed the rumour by telling The Sydney Morning Herald, "It's 99 per cent bullshit really."

A lack of Premium units was simply due to strong demand over the Christmas period said Wilson, with consoles from other manufacturers also in short supply.


He suggested that AUD 10 million was an absurd figure, and even when there had been problems with a particular batch of Xbox 360 stock due to the well publicised 'red rings of death' issue, numbers were still relatively low.

...

via Eurogamer


Tom Clancy has released a new downloadable content package for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 on Xbox Live.

The Co-op Collection, as it's titled, features an all-new co-op campaign comprised of five missions, and nine maps. Seven of those have been "inspired by classic maps from Ghost Recon's illustrious history", while the other two have never been seen before. There are nine new Achievements to unlock, worth a total of 125 points.

The new campaign is set on the border of El Salvador and Honduras, where a rebel leader is attempting to destabilise the governments of both countries and overthrow their US-backed leaders. Because, of course, the US has an excellent record of picking tip-top blokes to run South American countries. Anyway, the Ghosts are being sent in to stop the uprising and, "If they fail, America's efforts in the region could be set back by decades." ...

via Computer and Video Games


In what we're taking as an effort to preserve our sanity, Eidos will be releasing Monster Lab on Wii and DS this year, a game that's not (a) a port, (b) a mini-game collection or (c) a self-improvement non-game. Huzzah!

Players take on the role of an apprentice scientist who must perform a vast array of intricate experiments to create their own monster.

They can then take their monster out into the world and explore the land, hunting other monsters, taking on quests and finding ingredients to make more monster parts.

Okay, so it's not Bioshock, but compared to the slim pickings presently coming to the Wii we're overjoyed just because there's actually gameplay in this Wii game.

The game also works online, where players can challenge and compete with their friends in multiplayer combat, or trade to collect monster parts necessary to build stronger monsters.

Whether or not the DS and Wii versions communicate, we're unsure. We're chasing some answers though.


Screenshots ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo Australia has announced that the DS has sold one million units in the region, according to data from research specialist GfK.

The Wii is also enjoying strong sales as it clocks up 300,000 units sold in the 58 weeks since launch, putting it on a par with the last reported sales figure for Microsoft's Xbox 360.

According to data reported on consumer site Vooks, the DS sold 509,869 units in 2007, 133,691 of which were sold during December.

The Wii sold 73,318 units during the December period. ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo Australia has announced that the DS has sold one million units in the region, according to data from research specialist GfK.

The Wii is also enjoying strong sales as it clocks up 300,000 units sold in the 58 weeks since launch, putting it on a par with the last reported sales figure for Microsoft's Xbox 360.

According to data reported on consumer site Vooks, the DS sold 509,869 units in 2007, 133,691 of which were sold during December.

The Wii sold 73,318 units during the December period. ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo's DS brain training games remain popular in Germany and Spain, with both the original and the follow-up title appearing on the top ten charts.

According to data released by Media-Control GfK International, the second DS title - known as Brain Age 2 in the US and UK - was the most popular game in Germany and Spain for the week ending January 20 .

The original game was number four in both countries, with the Wii's Big Brain Academy charting at number two in Spain.

Nintendo games took up half of the German top ten chart, with four PC games and a single PS2 game. In Spain, Nintendo games accounted for six of the top ten, with the PlayStation 3 managing to place three titles on the chart.

The complete charts for the week ending January 20 are:

Germany:

1. Dr. Kawashima: Mehr Gehirn-Jogging (DS)
2. Wii Play (Wii)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
4. Dr. Kawashima's Gehirn-Jogging (DS)
5. World of Warcraft (PC)
6. Super Mario Galaxy (DS)
7. Augen-Training (PC)
8. Mario Party DS (DS)
9. World of Warcraft - The Burning Crusade (PC)
10. Singstar: Apres Ski (PS2)

Spain:

1. Mas Brain Training (DS)
2. Big Brain Academy (Wii)
3. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
4. Brain Training Del Dr. Kawashima (DS)
5. Uncharted: El Tesoro de Drake (PS3)
6. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
7. Wii Play (Wii)
8. Practice English - Ingles Para El Dia a Dia (DS)
9. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
10. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Related Information ...

via Eurogamer


Activision has registered the trademark "Guitar Hero On Tour" in the US, but the publisher's British representatives had no comment to make on that this morning.

Inevitably there is speculation that this could be the name of the DS version of Guitar Hero mooted last year.

It's certainly not the name of anything on Activision's release schedule, and the publisher is another of those spoilsports that refuses to comment on rumours or speculation.

Developer Vicarious Visions has previously hinted at an actual peripheral to go with the DS game, although we somehow doubt it will be an enormous PS3/360-style guitar that you plug in to the cartridge port or anything.

We asked Activision for more details on the DS version of Guitar Hero and they told us to go away, which is fair enough because it was two in the morning and how did we get their home address. ...

via Eurogamer


Activision has registered the trademark "Guitar Hero On Tour" in the US, but the publisher's British representatives had no comment to make on that this morning.

Inevitably there is speculation that this could be the name of the DS version of Guitar Hero mooted last year.

It's certainly not the name of anything on Activision's release schedule, and the publisher is another of those spoilsports that refuses to comment on rumours or speculation.

Developer Vicarious Visions has previously hinted at an actual peripheral to go with the DS game, although we somehow doubt it will be an enormous PS3/360-style guitar that you plug in to the cartridge port or anything.

We asked Activision for more details on the DS version of Guitar Hero and they told us to go away, which is fair enough because it was two in the morning and how did we get their home address. ...