The Xbox 360 is once again the highest selling console in the US, according to data released by the NPD Group, with the console sold 270,000 units in May - up 39 percent over last year.

The Xbox 360 has occupied the top-spot for 11 of the last 12 months, and enjoyed 17 consecutive months of year-on-year sales growth. Microsoft released an official response predicting that the seventh year of the Xbox 360's life-cycle would be its most successful, "a feat never achieved by any console in history."

Four of the top-ten console games in May were available on Xbox 360 – L.A. Noire, Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, and Brink – with software sales reaching $140 million for the system and total retail spend amounting to $265 million, the highest of any current generation console.

However, while Microsoft's game business is enjoying a period of growth, the NPD data painted a less optimistic picture for the wider industry. Sales of hardware and accessories were both down year-on-year, with physical software sales at their lowest point since October 2006.

Nevertheless, Microsoft is anticipating a "monumental" finish to 2011, "with the biggest blockbuster games, Kinect games and experiences, as well as movies, music and TV together all in one place. This will propel Xbox 360 to be number one worldwide by the end of the year, out-selling PlayStation 3 and Wii."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...one-spot-in-us ...

US boxed video game sales in May 2011 totalled $743.1 million, a 14 per cent decline on the same period in 2010 and the lowest since October 2006.

That's according to data released by the NPD Group, which reported that software sales were down 19 per cent to $375.8 million and hardware down 5 per cent to $228.9 million. Accessories was also down 6 per cent to $114 million.

"Keeping in mind that these sales figures represent just the new physical portion of the market for video game hardware, software, and accessories and not the growing portion of the industry that is comprised of digital format content distribution, May 2011 was the lowest month of sales for the industry since October 2006," said the company. "A light slate of new releases is at the heart of this month's performance."

Sales of the PlayStation 3, PSP and Xbox 360 were all up over May 2010, with 360 seeing the highest increase.

NPD noted that "sales of the 3DS were light, but with next Sunday's release of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, we will begin to see a slate of strong content come to market for the 3DS, which should help to significantly boost sales of hardware during the remainder of 2011."

"Combined sales of the PS3 and Xbox 360 (HD hardware) are up 28 per cent for the month and 21 per cent year to date. Although the declines in console hardware sales in 2011 are attributable to the Wii, the platform remains the best-selling of this generation at nearly 36 million installed in the US."

NPD suggested that at the current rate of growth and decline, the Wii will still maintain the lead in the console space, although the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will have closed the gap. "Of course, new details on hardware introduction could certainly change the picture," added the company.

During May there were 42 new software SKUs released compared to 58 last year and 72 for May 2009.

"Keep in mind that purchases of content are increasingly occurring in digital format, and May saw a notable digital release in the second map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops which was titled Escalation. Undoubtedly, this shifted some dollars that might have been spent on new physical content at retail," noted NPD.

The biggest release of the month was Team Bondi's L.A. Noire, followed by Brink, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat.

The top ten best sellers for May follow:

01 L.A. Noire (360, PS3)
02 Brink (360, PS3, PC)
03 LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (Wii, 360, DS, 3DS, PS3, PSP, PC)
04 Portal 2 (360, PS3, PC)
05 Mortal Kombat (PS3, 360)
06 Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC)
07 Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, 360, PS3)
08 NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC)
09 Just Dance 2 (Wii)
10 LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, DS, 360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...e-october-2006 ...

Duke Nukem Forever, the FPS which began development fifteen years ago and seemed to have stalled irrevocably several times during development, has debuted at number one in the UK charts despite a Metacritic rating of just 50 per cent on Xbox 360 - its leading platform by sales.

The game sold 56 per cent of its copies for the 360, six per cent of which were the £64.99 special edition version. It pushes L.A. Noire, also from publisher Take-Two down into second place for the first time since its release. Sales of L.A. Noire dropped by 54 per cent from last week.

505 Games' multi-platform workout game, Zumba Fitness, climbs a place to third, putting PS3 exclusive Infamous 2 in fourth place on its debut week. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean drops to fifth place from second, with DiRT 3 slipping to sixth from third.

THQ's Red Faction Armageddon debuts at eighth, with seventy per cent of sales on Microsoft's console.

This Week Last Week Title
1 New Entry Duke Nukem Forever
2 1 L.A. Noire
3 4 Zumba Fitness
4 New Entry Infamous 2
5 2 LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean
6 3 DiRT 3
7 5 Brink
8 New Entry Red Faction Armageddon
9 7 Call of Duty: Black Ops
10 9 Portal 2
11 8 FIFA 11
12 6 Wii Sports Resort
13 13 Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
14 12 Art Academy
15 10 The Sims 3: Generations
16 14 Hunted: The Demon's Forge
17 15 Just Dance 2
18 11 Mario Kart
19 17 Crysis 2
20 18 Wii Fit 2
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...from-l-a-noire ...

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said he doesn't believe the announcement of the Wii U will affect sales of the Wii, as that the two machines will attract different consumers.

He argued that the price and available games will maintain sales of the Wii, and that Nintendo intends to support the older machine until after the launch of the Wii U sometime in 2012.

"We don't think that's going to be an issue and here is why. Let me focus in on the US. About 36 million units later, the consumer who is buying a Wii for the first time now is very different from one buying the first one million Wii units," Fils-Aime told GamesBeat.

"The consumer today loves the $149 price point. There is a wide range of software. For the consumer today, having a library that includes Wii Sports Resort and Wii New Super Mario Bros, Wii Donkey Kong Trooper Challenge - it's a different consumer."

"I continue to believe that the Wii will have a strong summer, fall, holiday season and we are going to continue to drive the Wii part of our business. It will be strong even after the Wii U launches. They are just different consumers and we saw that just as an example when we launched the 3DS and continued to sell other units too."

While the console shown at E3 was a prototype, Fils-Aime said both the machine and controller won't undergo any drastic changes before release.

"In terms of the form factor of the console, it is quite near final. Similarly the form factor of the controller is quite near final."

He also pointed to the addition of HD, a first for Nintendo, as a significant step forward in securing new software. "HD is something that our partners told us was important to them and they were holding HD as a key reason why game A on a competitive platform couldn't be brought to the existing Wii. We have eliminated that issue now. "

The Wii U boasts 1080p graphics, a multi-core 45 nm microprocessor and a distinctive tablet style controller complete with a six-inch touchscreen for streaming content from the console.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...says-fils-aime ...

Gravitii 0.5 release by G_man

Gravitii is a puzzle game with a simple objective. All you have to do is shoot the ball at the target. The only problem is there are planets in the way. You must use the gravitii of the planets to curve your ball and hit the target, but be careful because every planet's gravity level is different.

Releases
v0.5
Much better graphics, the planets actually look good now!
Wall now bounce the ball, instead of destroying it
Ball graphic now an actual ball
Added in a trail behind the ball to make it look nicer
Got rid of some of the nearly impossible levels(If you find any current levels too difficult please post them on the discussion page)
v0.2

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ... ... ...

The Lavalit guys have released a new version of their Beatem Up for the Dreamcast, PSP, Wiz, Wii, GP2x and Dingoo:

penBOR is a continuation of the Beats Of Rage 2D game engine, which was originally
created by the wonderful folks over at http://www.senileteam.com.


History
----------------------
In 2004, Senile Team released Beats of Rage, a free beat-'em-up for DOS inspired
by SEGA's Streets of Rage series and using sprites from SNK Playmore's King of
Fighters series. The game spread only by word of mouth, but it nonetheless
amassed popularity very quickly. Senile Team soon released an edit pack allowing
anyone interested to create a mod for the BOR engine.

In 2005, Kirby2000 asked Senile Team to open the source code to BOR. They
agreed, and OpenBOR was born. Development on the engine was continued by the
community, and still is to this day.


Available Platforms
----------------------
OpenBOR has a very modular and portable design inherited from Beats of Rage. Ports
to the following platforms are currently supported:

* Windows
* Linux
* Mac OS X
* Wii
* PSP
* Dreamcast
* GP2X
* GP2X Wiz
* Dingoo a320

In addition to the above, the original Beats of Rage engine (downloadable from
the Senile Team website) is available for the following platforms:

* DOS
* Playstation 2
* Xbox
* GP32
* Palmtop

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

News via http://www.nintendomax.com/viewtopic...efaa1a11682a1c

ThatOtherPerson , yes it still offers a first draft of " Shooter Cubicle "FPS in a fully destructible 3D environment for the Nintendo Wii.


I had intended to get more done before posting it but I’ve been very lazy lately so anyways here is the first demo of Cubicle Shooter for Wii.

Cubicle Shooter is a first person shooter with a focus on highly destructible environments.

It is very incomplete and is really just a tech demo right now. My plans for it are essentially the same as what I was planning for the original PS3 version but it is more of a remake then a port. Everything is being completely re written. There is also now a PC version.

Use the nunchuck analog stick to move, the wiimote cursor to turn, the A button to jump and the B button to shoot.

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

...

News via http://www.nintendomax.com/viewtopic...efaa1a11682a1c

Version 1.3.0 also available for ScummVM on the GameCube ( S cript C reation U tility for M aniac M Ansion V irual M achine) adventure games interpreter point'n clicks.


changelog:
1.3.0 (2011-05-28)
New Games:
- Added support for Backyard Baseball.
- Added support for Backyard Baseball 2001.
- Added support for Urban Runner.
- Added support for Playtoons: Bambou le Sauveur de la Jungle.
- Added support for Toonstruck.
- Added support for Living Books v1 and v2 games.
- Added support for Hugo's House of Horrors, Hugo 2: Whodunit?
and Hugo 3: Jungle of Doom.
- Added support for Amiga SCI games (except Conquests of the Longbow).
- Added support for Macintosh SCI1 games.

New Ports:
- Added WebOS port.

General
- Added support for loadable modules on platforms without a dynamic
loader (GSoC Task).
- Added Danish translation.
- Added Norwegian Bokmaal translation.
- Added Norwegian Nynorsk translation.
- Added Swedish translation.
- Added Debug Console to Cine, Draci, Gob, MADE, Sword1, Touche and
Tucker Engines.
- Closed significant memory leaks. RTL should now be more usable.

AGOS:
- Closed memory leaks in Simon 2 and Feeble Files.

Movies:
- Corrected memory leaks and invalid memory accesses.
Future Wars should be more stable.
- Made Operation Stealth completable, though significant graphical
glitches remain so not official supported.

Drascula:
- Added German and French subtitles in the Von Braun cutscene (#3069981:
no subtitles in scene with "von Braun").
- Improved French translation of the game.
- Added support for "Return To Launcher".

Gob:
- Fixed "Goblin Stuck On Reload" bugs affecting Gobliiins.

Kyra:
- Closed memory leaks.

Parallaction:
- Corrected issue which could cause crash at engine exit.
- Closed memory leaks in Nippon Safes Amiga.

SCI:
- Added a CMS music driver for SCI1 - SCI1.1 games.
- Added an option to toggle undithering from the ScummVM GUI.
- Added several previously missing parts of the game state in saved games,
such as game played time, script created windows, the script string heap
and information related to the text parser in old EGA games.
- Added support for SCI1.1 magnifier cursors.
- Added support for the keypad +/- keys.
- Added support for the alternative General MIDI tracks in the Windows CD
versions of Eco Quest, Jones in the Fast Lane, King's Quest 5 and Space
Quest 4.
- Added support for the alternative Windows cursors in the Windows version
of King's Quest 6.
- Added support for simultaneous speech and subtitles in the CD versions of
Space Quest 4 and Freddy Pharkas.
- Corrected resource loading leaks.
- Corrected several problems and issues in the Skate-O-Rama rooms in Space
Quest 4.
- Corrected several issues in Hoyle Classic Card Games.
- Fixed several graphical glitches (like, for example, parts of the screen
that weren't erased correctly under some rare circumstances).
- Fixed several script bugs.
- Fixed several pathfinding related issues and lockups (like, for example,
a lockup in the shower scene of Laura bow 1 and pathfinding in some
screens during the chase sequence in Laura Bow 2).
- Fixed several music related glitches and possible lockups (like, for
example, a rare music lockup that occurred when loading a saved game
outside the palace in Quest for Glory 3).
- Fixed possible problems and lockups in the character import screens of
Quest for Glory 2 and 3.
- Fixed a bug that caused a lockup in the SCI1 CD version of Mixed Up Mother
Goose, after Tommy Tucker's song.
- Fixed a script bug in the CD version of King's Quest 5, which caused a
lockup under certain circumstances when going outside the witch's house
in the dark forest.
- Function keys now work correctly when the num lock key is on.
- Improved support for fanmade game scripts.
- Improved support for non-English versions of games.
- Made several enhancements and fixes related to MT-32 music (e.g. reverb).
- Music is no longer out of tune when loading saved games.

SCUMM:
- Improved support for FM-TOWNS versions of games.

Sky:
- Fixed crashes on sequences for several ports (Android, OpenGL, ...).

Teen Agent:
- Closed memory leaks.

Tinsel:
- Closed memory leaks in Coroutines.
- Added enhanced music support for the German CD "Neon Edition" re-release
of Discworld 1.

Key:
- Corrected memory leaks and minor issues.

Tucker:
- Added workarounds for several issues present in the original game.

SDL ports:
- Closed memory leaks in Mouse Surfaces.

Android port:
- Switched to the official NDK toolchain for building.
- Fixed GFX output for various devices.
- Fixed various crashes.
- Switched to the native screen resolution to improve text readability.
- Added support for pause/resume.
- Added support for games using 16bit graphics.
- Increased the performance significantly.
- Added support for the "Fullscreen mode" option. Unchecking this keeps the
game's aspect ratio.
- Added a ...

Prior to Nintendo's E3 conference, a number of names floated around for the home console which would be unveiled. Project Cafe, of course, was the development codename for the device. A few ideas were suggested for what the final title would be, including the peculiar but interesting concept that the system itself might just be called "Nintendo". Nobody guessed at "Wii U". Nintendo, unlike its gaming rivals, seems to retain the capability to play its cards close to its chest.

By christening the device using the Wii branding, Nintendo returns to a strategy abandoned long ago. This is the first Nintendo home console to be branded as a continuation of its successor since the venerable Super NES.

Actually, had the company decided to give its older fans a grin of recognition by unveiling a platform called the "Super Wii", it might have been a better move. At least then we'd have avoided the confusion that followed in the wake of the Wii U announcement, which left many observers confused about what was actually being unveiled - with the idea that this was a new controller for the Wii rather than a brand new console being a popular misconception.

At this stage, a few days after the conference and with tons of explanatory coverage appearing across the Web, anyone who frequents gaming sites and is still purporting to be confused over this issue is obviously simply being obtuse. Yet we can't dismiss the confusion that was evident across social networks and comment threads during the conference itself. Many perfectly earnest and intelligent people simply didn't get what Nintendo was trying to tell them - and these are people who are into gaming. What's going to happen when Nintendo tries to explain Wii U to its broader audience?

Part of the problem was that the announcement itself was poorly designed and executed. In their haste to show off the flexibility of the controller, the team writing the scripts failed to set out the basis of what they were presenting from the outset, and then proceeded to bounce around between features and concepts like a giddy child at a birthday party. Contrasted with the measured, explanatory tone of the original Wiimote unveiling at TGS many moons ago, this frenetic and unfocused presentation did its subject few favours.

That, however, is a temporary setback at best. It's just one presentation - an important one, of course, but there'll be plenty more public outings for the Wii U and plenty of chances for the company to get its story straight and its explanations rehearsed, focus tested and rehearsed again. The Wii U desperately needed an elevator pitch this week, and Nintendo didn't seem to have one - but I don't doubt that the company is busy thinking of one right now.

What's more worrying, though, is the second source of confusion - the name. Certainly, some of the audience weren't sure if this was an upgrade to the Wii or a whole new console because the presentation was a bit slapdash - but that idea was reinforced and expanded by the fact that the branding is essentially the same as the previous console.

It's easy to see why Nintendo decided to do that, of course. The Wii is the best-selling home console of the generation, and it doesn't want to abandon the value it's built up in the brand. Throwing away the GameCube branding was easy, but dumping "Wii" would be painful, perhaps even wasteful.

Yet there's a problem with this decision making process - and with the thinking behind it. It's perfectly illustrated by something I've experienced personally a couple of times in the past few weeks, buying new software for my 3DS. I'm not sure when it started, but of late, retailers in Japan have started asking "are you sure you have a 3DS?" when you buy a game for the system. I've heard similar reports from the UK and elsewhere.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...eft-blog-entry ...