According to Impress, the iPhone has taken over 46.1 percent of the Japanese smartphone market. This is extremely surprising, because the Japanese are known for being impervious to alien cellphones, preferring their weird mobiles.

http://gizmodo.com/5429577/surprisin...rtphone-market ...

PlayStation Home now has more than 10 million users, Sony has revealed.

It announced the figure alongside three new Home spaces themed on Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time and MotorStorm. According to Sony, a Home game space should now be a paramount part of the marketing strategy for any new game.

"PlayStation Home is fast becoming the meeting place of choice between users and developers," said Dan Hill, European Home business manager at SCEE.

"Every new game space enhances the overall experience for consumers, offering more variety, more choice and more enjoyment from a PlayStation Home session. The more game spaces there are, the better it gets, and the number of spaces keeps on growing.

"For developers, there's no better way of driving interest in their titles than giving fans a hands-on, interactive experience based around the game itself. A game space in PlayStation Home ought to be a core element of every studio's marketing strategy for new titles."

This week Sony also launched Sodium One, Home's first microtransaction based MMO, which introduces mini-games, purchasable virtual items and socialising areas such as a bar to users.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-million-users ...

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a three pack of songs from Weezer, as well as singles from Limp Bizkit, Yellowcard and The Offspring will be added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

These artists are some of the more than 390 bands currently available through the Rock Band platform. With more than 1,000 songs available, Rock Band is, without question, the industry leader in providing the best selection of interactive musical content, songs and artists.

You want more Weezer? You got more Weezer. A three pack of songs from the quintessential California rock band will be added to the Rock Band Music Store next week. “Weezer Pack 03” features “Beverly Hills” the hit single from 2005’s Make Believe, as well as “Let It All Hang Out” and “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To,” both from their new album, Raditude, which was released Nov. 18 and debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. Weezer is currently touring North America.
Downloadable content featured for LEGO® Rock Band continues with “Guys Who Rock!” “Build a Bridge” from nu metal favorites Limp Bizkit, “A Lot Like Me” from American rockers The Offspring, and “Ocean Avenue” from eclectic rockers Yellowcard will all be available as singles in the Rock Band Music Store and the LEGO Rock Band Music Store next week.
Available on Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 system (Dec. 22)
• Limp Bizkit – “Build a Bridge” +
• The Offspring – “A Lot Like Me” +
• Yellowcard – “Ocean Avenue” +
• Weezer – “Beverly Hills”
• Weezer – “Let It All Hang Out”
• Weezer – “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” +

(All tracks are original master recordings)
These tracks will be available for purchase as “Weezer Pack 03” as well as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system, and as individual tracks on Wii. Tracks marked with a “+” are also available in the family-friendly LEGO Rock Band Music Store.

Price: $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track
$5.49, £2.49 UK, €3.99 EU (440 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Weezer Pack 03”
$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points™) per track ...

Today Flying Fish Works officially presents new screenshots to their upcoming product “Hellion: Mystery of the Inquisition”. Presenting impressions form the actual game code the team is demonstrating the way of fighting and the power of the holy sword. “Hellion: Mystery of the inquisition” is in development for XBOX360, PS3 and PC and is targeted to hit the shelves in Q3 2010.

“Hellion: Mystery of the inquisition” is an extraordinary First-Person-Shooter set in the 13th century. As an armed man of the newborn Inquisition, the player will battle heretics, execute exorcisms, face demons and unintentionally become part of a political and religious intrigue. It is an epic journey through different medieval cultures full of real-life characters, wild animals, rough warriors, powerful Templar knights, deadly assassins and, ultimately, horrifying demons.

Find out more about “Hellion: Mystery of the inquisition” on the official website: www.hellion-game.com ...

We've been informed and you heard it here FIRST, that there will be a XCM XFPS Light Gun, which works for all first person shooter (FPS) games. It will be released for the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) first and the Xbox 360 version 2 months later. However, if you cant wait an extra 2 months for the Xbox 360 version, you can combine the PS3 version with the Cross Fire Converter.

The XCM Cross Fire adapter lets you connect your PS3™ controller to your Xbox 360™ console. With built in rapid fire / turbo and tilt functions, this adapter is the ultimate in Xbox 360™ accessories. This adapter is also compatible with the Xbox 360™ and Original Xbox™ wired controllers for added Rapid Fire / Turbo functionality.

Function and features:

• Use your Playstation 3™ controller on your Xbox 360™ console.
• Enables Rapid Fire / Turbo on Wired Xbox 360™ and Original Xbox™ controllers when connected to your Xbox 360™ console.
• Supports 2 stick analog tilt functionality of the PS3™ controller on the Xbox 360™.
• User controller Rapid Fire / Turbo firing rates (High Speed, Medium Speed, Off)
  * Must be used in conjunction with a Wired Xbox 360™ controller.

Here is a video of the XCM Cross Fire Converter in action:

Pics and additional info about the XCM XFPS Light Gun will be available soon once we receive more info.

DIGG THIS ...

Square Enix’s hotly anticipated RPG enjoys bumper day one sales
Long-awaited RPG Final Fantasy XIII was finally released on PS3 in Japan yesterday and has, according to Kotaku, already sold over 1m copies in the territory.
The exact numbers aren’t available with Square Enix simply stating that sales of the game had “exceeded one million copies”. That number does not include any units sold as part of the Lightening Edition SKU, either.
Final Fantasy XIII will be released in the UK and Europe in March next year.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36963/JAPA...-XIII-sells-1m ...

Broadpoint AmTech's Ben Schachter has released research outlining the sales of core videogame titles in the past six months, pointing out that sales in that sector were up by 17 per cent year-on-year.

That seems at odds with the official NPD data, which cited the overall industry numbers were down 12 per cent in that time - but Schachter argues that without including the music game genre or Nintendo platforms, the picture is quite different.

"We believe that 'core' gamers will drive videogame packaged goods growth in 2010 and beyond," he explained, according to IndustryGamers. "2009 was a horrible year for the video game industry and its investors, but a closer analysis highlights that much of the weakness (since Q1) was attributable to the Music genre and Nintendo platforms.

"Core gamer software (which we define as Xbox 360 plus PlayStation 3, but excluding the music genre) has actually grown 17 per cent year-on-year over the past six months in the US according to the NPD Group - while music was down 52 per cent and Nintendo platforms were down 11 per cent.

"2010 should see a return to growth, with packaged software growth driven by a strong core gamer pipeline, easier comparables in music and Nintendo, a boost from motion sensing peripherals, and likely further hardware price cuts. We expect to see overall packaged goods growth in calendar year 2010, and we believe that publishers with strong 'core' game pipelines are best positioned to benefit."

One of the key sellers in that time was Modern Warfare 2, which set new entertainment industry launch records, and will certainly have been classified as a core game.

Meanwhile the number of traditional core titles released in the October-November period was down, with a host of key games now set for release in what could be the strongest Q1 ever.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s-says-analyst ...

Sega has won its appeal with Australia's Classification Board against the banning of Aliens Vs Predator meaning the game will be released in the country after all.

At the start of this month it emerged the game had become the latest to be refused classification in the country for not fitting the criteria for a 15+ age rating - the highest a game can be awarded there.

"The game contains first-person perspective, close-up depictions of human characters being subjected to various types of violence, including explicit decapitation and dismemberment as well as locational damage such as stabbing through the chest, mouth, throat or eyes," said the board's report.

And in a statement, Rebellion's Jason Kingsley said he agreed the game was unsuitable for non-adult players but was disappointed Australia's laws meant AvP could not be released there. A sanitised or cut down version would not be released, he added.

But Sega has won its appeal against the decision, meaning the original game will be released with a MA15+ rating. The game has received an 18 rating from the BBFC with advice that it contains "very strong bloody violence and gore and strong language".

"It is with great pleasure that we announce the success of our appeal," Sega Australia's general manager Darren MacBeth told Kotaku. "We are particularly proud that the game will be released in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed whatsoever. This is a big win for Australian gamers. We applaud the Classification Review Board on making a decision that clearly considers the context of the game, and is in line with the modern expectations of reasonable Australians".

Last week, Australia's Attorney General Michael Atkinson defended the decision to ban Aliens Vs Predator from release, saying: "You don't need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people."

"I accept that 98 per cent, 99 per cent of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the one per cent to two per cent could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence," he added.

Earlier this year, EA lost its appeal to release Left 4 Dead 2 in the country and a sanitised version of the game was released instead.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...n-in-australia ...

Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has entered the top ten all-formats chart in Japan, with the PlayStation 3 version debuting at number four.

Despite shifting respectable numbers of 93,000, the game was no match for New Super Mario Bros Wii however, which topped the chart for a second week with sales of 431,000. Nintendo's game became the fastest selling Wii game to date last week when it sold a massive 934,739 units.

Entering the chart at number two was Namco Bandai's Tales of Grace, and the eternally popular Tomodachi Collection rose three places from last week to number three.

The final new entry to the software chart was another Namco Bandai title, Naruto Shippuden Narutimate Accel 3, which entered at number five.

In the hardware chart sales increases were seen for nearly all formats on last week. Notably the best selling format, Wii, saw sales rise from 106,555 last week to 135,898, and PlayStation 3 went up from 57,782 to 75,086.

More PSPs than DSis were also sold - 71,885 compared to 68,184 - although the new DSi LL continued to do well with 58,006 sales.

The full Media Create software chart is as follows:

01 New Super Mario Bros Wii (Wii)
02 Tales of Grace (Wii)
03 Tomodachi Collection (DS)
04 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)
05 Naruto Shippuden Narutimate Accel 3 (PSP)
06 Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS)
07 Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP)
08 Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
09 PokePark Wii: Pikachi no Daibouken (Wii)
10 Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam Vs Gundam Next Plus (PSP)
The full hardware chart is as follows:

01 Nintendo Wii - 135,898
02 PlayStation 3 - 75,086
03 PlayStation Portable - 71,885
04 Nintendo DSi - 68,184
05 Nintendo DSi LL - 58,006
06 Nintendo DS Lite - 11,376
07 Xbox 360 - 10,646
08 PSPgo - 3,077
09 PlayStation 2 - 2,463

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...panese-top-ten ...