via Games Industry


New figures released by Sony Computer Entertainment Australia have revealed that more than 27,000 PlayStation 3 units were sold in the region during the first ten days after launch.

As reported by IT Wire, PS3 also dominated the all-formats software sales chart for the week commencing March 19. Nine out of the top ten titles were PS3 games, with Resistance: Fall of Man at number one followed by Motorstorm and F1.

Activision's Call of Duty was in fourth place, while PlayStation 2 exclusive Final Fantasy XII - the only non-PS3 title in the chart - was at number five. Need for Speed: Carbon and Ridge Racer 7 went in at six and seven followed by Fight Night Round 3 and Virtua Fighter 5, with Virtua Tennis rounding out the chart at number ten.

According to data trackers GfK, the launch of PS3 on March 23 resulted in a significant boost in videogame sales for the Australian market. "Our data revealed that in a matter of just ten days the PlayStation 3 created a spike in retail spending not previously witnessed at the launch of any other console in Australia," commented GfK's Daniel Morse.

"This spending continued into the second week of trading, resulting in sales of 27,083 PlayStation 3 consoles in just ten days."

SCE Australia managing director Michael Ephraim added, "Following a great launch for the PS3 across the country, it’s very satisfying for us to see that our close planning with retail and channel partners has ensured that all consumers wanting to get their hands on a PS3."

The PS3's predecessor is also continuing to sell well in Australia, with nearly 8000 PlayStation 2 consoles sold between March 19 and March 26. ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo has raised it's full year sales estimates from JPY 900 billion (EUR 5.6bn) to JPY 966 billion (EUR 6.08bn), following tremendous sales and profit success lead by the DS handheld.

This is the fourth time the company has upped it's estimates for the year ended March 31, with actual profits due to be reported on April 26.

The company also expects foreign exchange profits to reach JPY 20 billion (EUR 125m), rather than the JPY 10 billion (EUR 62m) loss previously forecast.

Following the announcement shares outperformed the Nikkei average, closing at JPY 34,350, up 2.1 per cent. ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo has raised it's full year sales estimates from JPY 900 billion (EUR 5.6bn) to JPY 966 billion (EUR 6.08bn), following tremendous sales and profit success lead by the DS handheld.

This is the fourth time the company has upped it's estimates for the year ended March 31, with actual profits due to be reported on April 26.

The company also expects foreign exchange profits to reach JPY 20 billion (EUR 125m), rather than the JPY 10 billion (EUR 62m) loss previously forecast.

Following the announcement shares outperformed the Nikkei average, closing at JPY 34,350, up 2.1 per cent. ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo has raised it's full year sales estimates from JPY 900 billion (EUR 5.6bn) to JPY 966 billion (EUR 6.08bn), following tremendous sales and profit success lead by the DS handheld.

This is the fourth time the company has upped it's estimates for the year ended March 31, with actual profits due to be reported on April 26.

The company also expects foreign exchange profits to reach JPY 20 billion (EUR 125m), rather than the JPY 10 billion (EUR 62m) loss previously forecast.

Following the announcement shares outperformed the Nikkei average, closing at JPY 34,350, up 2.1 per cent. ...

via Xbox 360 Fanboy


Over a dozen Burnout 5 screens hit the internet recently. The screens were evidently part of an exclusive preview. We looked around and found a Burnout 5 preview posted at GamePro.com. At least, the preview used to be there. It has since been pulled at the request of Electronic Arts. Still, the screens and the preview are floating around, as things tend to do on the 'net. Lord knows how long it will be up, so you'd best take it in now.

For the sake of our readers, we'll summarize what's new. First of all, Burnout 5 (working title) is an open world game. In other words, you no longer choose your events from a menu. Instead you activate them inside the world (known as Paradise City). As Criterion's Alex Ward describes it, a race could turn into a road rage, which could turn into a pursuit, eventually ending with the player being taken out by another driver. Since you crashed anyway, why not record it as a crash mode run? According to Ward, this is the experience Criterion is aiming for in Burnout 5. Speaking of crashes, the cars now contain 80 destructible parts, making for some much more detailed "accidents." Another new feature is the driver's license, which acts as a player's stat tracker. As a player increases his stats, his driving level will increase, allowing him to take better control of more advanced vehicles. The idea behind this is to keep players from simply unlocking the "best" car and leaving it at that. Without a high enough skill level, a good car becomes harder to drive.


The screenshots can currently be viewed here. Leave feedback via comments. ...

via Kotaku




I present to you the NPD numbers of sales in the U.S. for the first four months the consoles were in stores. Looks like the Wii isn't being held back, it's just selling like a mofo. And wow, Xbox, I had no idea.


Leave feedback via comments. ...

via Kotaku


The Gears of War website just updated with details on the new gameplay mode that will be hitting Live as an update on April 9.

Along with Annex, the download will also update the Assassination mode. Hit the jump for the details, and yes, Annex will feature respawning. Brian Crecente

Annex
Objective: Capture and hold key locations to collect enough points to win the round.
Description: In Annex, you win by keeping control over key map locations, or objectives, long enough to collect a winning number of points. Every map has two to five identified objectives available for capture, with one objective active at a time. Objectives are based on map weapon-spawn locations and have a potential value of 60 points toward either team's score. Teams collect those points by maintaining ownership of an objective until all its 60 points have been distributed. Every second that a team controls an objective, the team gets one point. When an objective falls to zero points, the next objective is selected at random.

On the HUD, the current objective appears below the team scores at top left. This indicator contains several pieces of relevant information. The weapon icon inside the circle indicates which weapon-spawn location is being used as the objective. The compass along the outer edge of the circle shows the relative direction to the objective. The number inside the circle indicates how many points remain at that objective and the background icon color indicates which team currently controls it. No color means the objective awaits capture, a red icon means the Locust Horde hold the objective and a blue icon means the COG hold it. When the icon in the indicator circle fills, the corresponding team's score also changes color, the team begins collecting points from the objective, and the point value of the objective drops.

On the map, a projected ring marks the physical location and boundaries of the objective in the world. The ring's color indicates the current captor: White means neutral, blue COG, and red Locust. To capture an objective, players must stand inside the glowing ring uncontested for a short period of time. How long depends on how many teammates stand in the ring at once. One player can capture an objective in eight seconds, two players in four seconds, three players in two seconds, and four players in one second. Once a team takes an objective, they are not required to remain inside the ring to maintain ownership. The captured objective's points drain until an opposing team member enters the ring, or until its points fall to zero.

Round scores can be set as low as 120 points or as high as 480 points. The first team to reach the target score wins the round.

Respawns: Infinite, wave-based every 15 seconds.

Options:
Selected Map: Which map or series of maps to use.
Number of Rounds: Number of rounds required to win the match.
Bleed-out Duration: Amount of time before a player dies while DBNO.
Round Score: Number of points required to win a round.
Friendly Fire: In a player match, whether teammates can damage each other.
Private Slots: In a player match, number of player slots reserved for friend invites.
Weapons Swapped: In a player match, whether the person who sets up the match can determine whether weapons that appear in the maps are replaced or removed.

Assassination Updates
Before the update, the Assassination leader had to unlock map-spawned weapons by picking them up and dropping them. Now, all weapons are available to all players from the beginning.

Before the update, you could kill a leader in Assassination using the same rules as in Warzone. Now, you kill leaders as in Execution. ...

via PS3 Fanboy


This interview with Vijay Pande, one of the gentlemen behind Folding@Home, is getting kind of old but there are a couple of points worth pointing out. Mainly concerning running Folding@Home on the PS3 -- some people have been running "stress tests" to see how Sony's console can handle the program over extended periods. Those people can stop, because they'll be doing that forever. In any case, the PS3-specific questions were answered by SCEA 's Richard Marks (who's doing a stress test himself). Let's list it up!

Is it safe to leave the PS3 folding for 24/7?

• Yes. There's no indication that the PS3 has problems over long periods of folding... but of course, you should ventilate the darn thing so it won't overheat.

Well... should people give the PS3 a break to cool off?

• No. It shouldn't need a cooling period. You know that whirring thing? It's a fan. It regulates the internal temperature. [note: PS3Fanboy added some "attitude" to this response, because we like attitude]

What's stressed the most and will it affect the stability of the PS3?

• The Cell processor. Luckily, it's a high-performance processor built for things just like this. Folding@Home shouldn't have any adverse affects on the PlayStation 3's stability.

That's all that we think pertains to running the program on your PS3. Don't worry, guys! Your system is completely safe and that's a good thing. Waiting for those warranty replacements or whatever aren't the best... plus you only get a refurbished system (read: previously broken) instead of a new one. ...

via PSP Fanboy


Final Fantasy fans are getting a lot of love on their PSPs. Square has a handful of new images from their upcoming Crisis Core and Final Fantasy Anniversary projects. This is just the beginning of Square's support on the system, with a surprise announcement supposedly coming on May 12th. Hopefully, all will be well, but according to The Magic Box, there is an unconfirmed rumor that most of Square's handheld lineup has been delayed, including Final Fantasy Tactics and Crisis Core.


Screenshots can be viewed here. Leave feedback via comments. ...