As part of a promotional celebration for its one-billionth App Store download, Apple has revealed the twenty most downloaded iPhone and iPod Touch applications in both the free and paid categories.

Games represent 30 per cent of the free and 70 per cent of the paid apps listed, and the data appears to represent total install base numbers from the App Store's debut in July of last year to present.

The most downloaded paid app is Activision's Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, a racing game that was among the first applications available during the App Store's launch over nine months ago. At USD 5.99, this game - along with Sega's Super Monkey Ball - is also the most costly app on the list.

Other popular titles on the list are Pangea's Enigmo, PopCap's Bejeweled 2, Freeverse's Moto Chaser and Flick Fishing, and Electronic Arts' Tetris, among others.

The most downloaded game in the free category is Tapulous' Tap Tap Revenge which, like Crash Bandicoot, has been available since the App Store's launch. The title is the fourth most popular free app overall, behind Facebook, Google Earth and Pandora Radio.

Among the other games on the free list are Namco's Pac-Man Lite, FlipSide5's Touch Hockey: FS5, Codify AB's Labyrinth Lite Edition, and SGN's iBowl.

Apple's list differs in some ways from a similar list released by comScore last week, which claims that Tap Tap Revenge is the most popular overall app.

When contacted for comments, comScore vice president of corporate communications Jaimee Steele told GamesIndustry.biz two possible reasons for discrepancies - first that comScore looks at overall install base as opposed to download numbers, and second that comScore's data extends only through February of this year.

"We count people, not the number of applications," said Steele."[Apple] might count something twice if there's an update, for example. We might only see that once."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...p-on-app-store ...

As part of a promotional celebration for its one-billionth App Store download, Apple has revealed the twenty most downloaded iPhone and iPod Touch applications in both the free and paid categories.

Games represent 30 per cent of the free and 70 per cent of the paid apps listed, and the data appears to represent total install base numbers from the App Store's debut in July of last year to present.

The most downloaded paid app is Activision's Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, a racing game that was among the first applications available during the App Store's launch over nine months ago. At USD 5.99, this game - along with Sega's Super Monkey Ball - is also the most costly app on the list.

Other popular titles on the list are Pangea's Enigmo, PopCap's Bejeweled 2, Freeverse's Moto Chaser and Flick Fishing, and Electronic Arts' Tetris, among others.

The most downloaded game in the free category is Tapulous' Tap Tap Revenge which, like Crash Bandicoot, has been available since the App Store's launch. The title is the fourth most popular free app overall, behind Facebook, Google Earth and Pandora Radio.

Among the other games on the free list are Namco's Pac-Man Lite, FlipSide5's Touch Hockey: FS5, Codify AB's Labyrinth Lite Edition, and SGN's iBowl.

Apple's list differs in some ways from a similar list released by comScore last week, which claims that Tap Tap Revenge is the most popular overall app.

When contacted for comments, comScore vice president of corporate communications Jaimee Steele told GamesIndustry.biz two possible reasons for discrepancies - first that comScore looks at overall install base as opposed to download numbers, and second that comScore's data extends only through February of this year.

"We count people, not the number of applications," said Steele."[Apple] might count something twice if there's an update, for example. We might only see that once."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...p-on-app-store ...

Rockstar's downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned, may have sold more than one million units on Xbox Live, according to a report.

The sales amount to more than USD 20 million in revenue, says Variety, which cites a "good source". Rockstar would have been entitled to USD 14 million of the total, had it not already agreed to create two new chapters for GTAIV under a USD 50 million deal with Microsoft.

The Lost and Damned broke day one sales records on Xbox Live and is set to sell 2 million units by the end of the year, according to analyst Michael Pachter.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-hits-1m-sales ...

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has admitted that the company is unhappy with the present sales numbers for its Wii console in Japan, where it has been regularly charting just above the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2, but way behind the DS, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 consoles.

Speaking in a news conference in Tokyo, Iwata blamed the appetite of the company's home market for new technologies, of which the Wii isn't one.

"The Wii is in the most unhealthy condition since it hit the Japanese market," he said, according to AFP. "The current condition in the Japanese market is not the one we want.

"A price cut in a difficult economy cannot really excite the market and drive up sales. As of now I really don't think that a price cut is a good option for us... The speed with which people get tired of any new entertainment is faster in Japan than in overseas markets," he added.

While the console regularly dominated hardware sales charts in Japan in 2007 and 2008, this year has seen a marked decrease in demand with the latest numbers showing the DS platforms selling more than four times the Wii, and the PSP selling more than three times the number.

Most telling, however, is that the more expensive PS3 - in difficult economic conditions - sold over a third more units in the last week of available sales data, according to Media Create.

But while the console may be struggling in Japan, it still sells well in the US and Europe. Nintendo's share price rose slightly by close today to sit at JPY 26,910 (USD 270), up 0.63 per cent.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ition-in-japan ...

he Nintendo DS platform has lead the Japanese hardware sales chart for the week ended April 5, according to data provided by Media Create, which saw the PlayStation 3 overtake the Wii as the top selling home console.

DSi sales topped the list at 53,680 units, which combined with DS Lite sales of 8729 to hit a total of 62,409 units.

Sony's PlayStation Portable followed at 48,118 units, while the PlayStation 3 overtook the Wii to become the region's top-selling home console at 20,362 units, confirming earlier reports.

Nintendo's Wii came in at 15,525 units, ahead of the Xbox 360 at 7812 units and PlayStation 2 at 5394.

Nintendo DS: 62,409
PlayStation Portable: 48,118
PlayStation 3: 20,362
Nintendo Wii: 15,525
Xbox 360: 7812
PlayStation 2: 5394

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-console-sales ...

We've known that Cupcake has been floating around in dev circles for months now, but it's been clear as mud how the Open Handset Alliance plans to incorporate all of the lovely features it brings into Android's trunk, how Android will be versioned going forward, and in general, how the group plans to present a unified front to developers, manufacturers, and end users. That all gets a little clearer today with the official unveiling of Android 1.5 that fully incorporates the Cupcake branch, and -- perhaps much more importantly -- a home screen framework for developing widgets and populating live folders with whatever content you can dream up. There's no word on exactly how 1.5 will come to existing Android handsets in the field, but as far as we can tell, there's nothing listed in the changelog that would prevent current hardware from taking full advantage -- and the OHA is going to be releasing a series of articles about new-to-1.5 features in the coming weeks to help devs "prepare your applications for the release of Android 1.5 on phones." Sounds encouraging, doesn't it?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/a...ailable-today/ ...

In the latest column over at the official Oratan 5.66 site it's been reported that the game has passed submission at Microsoft. This is the final approval stage for the game before it can go to market, so a release should be imminent. That said, there are worrying reports over on 2ch and other Japanese blogs that some of the close combat functionality has changed from the arcade original. Specifically the way in which quick steps function and how they're initiated. Normally, once in close combat range you press one of the turbo buttons and pull a direction. Doing this will have your VR do a semi-circular hop around your target. Combining this with a weapon trigger will produce a circle slash. This is core to how close combat works in Oratan and reports are that the timing for pulling a quick step off are much much tighter now, making it more difficult to use. This could be just one, of many, problems the game now has due to the lack of sticks (as the leverage of the stick would have made the timing more manageable). Though SEGA have said they're at least "looking into" releasing a twinstick peripheral. My robot fingers are firmly crossed.
http://www.insertcredit.com/archives/002621.html ...

Motorola is building a generally unremarkable "au Box" portable set-top box for Japanese electronics company KDDI. But one part of their plan stands out: It'll run Android.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5211179/motorol...x-with-android ...

With the price of Wii Motion Plus bringing the cost of a full Wiimote to a whopping $80, we thought we'd reexamine the true cost of buying a console today. Which is truly the cheapest?

We're going to pretend we're either a family of four or an apartment that wants a system loaded up with four controllers. We'll assume you want to be able to recharge your controllers rather than wasting money on disposable batteries, and we'll pick the model of each console that we'd recommend to a family member asking us for advice. We'll also factor in the cost of 2 games, because nobody buys a console without a game.

So what's the true cost of going out and buying a system today? Let's find out.

Playstation 3
Cost of console: $400 (80GB)
Cost of 3 extra controllers: $43 x 3 = $129
Cost of charging station: $25
Cost of 2 games: $120
Cost of HDMI cable: $3

Total: $677

Wii
Cost of console: $250
Cost of 3 extra controllers: $36 x 3 = $108
Cost of 3 Nunchuks: $18 x 3 = $54
Cost of 4 Wii Motion Pluses: $20 x 4 = $80
Cost of charging station w/ 4 rechargeable batteries: $49
Cost of 2 games: $100
SD card: $12 (8GB)

Total: $653

Xbox 360
Cost of console: $300 (60GB)
Cost of 3 extra controllers: $37 x 3 = $111
Cost of 2 rechargeable batteries: $12 x 2 = $24
Cost of recharging station w/ 2 rechargeable batteries: $30
Cost of 2 games: $120
Cost of Xbox Live membership: $43 (13 months)

Total: $628

As you can see, the prices of all three consoles are incredibly close, and you can obviously fiddle with these configurations to change them. If you only want 2 controllers and are planning to only play Wii Sports, the Wii is still the cheapest, but a fully-loaded Xbox 360 with a year of Live is actually cheaper than the fully-loaded Wii (although it's the only console without WiFi, so add $80 if you really need that). And the PS3 is surprisingly close in price, thanks to its controllers having built-in batteries and its free online service. The Nintendo controller scheme really rockets it up in price, and it's pretty amazing that a Wii with 4 controllers is only $24 less than a PS3 with 4 controllers.

So really, it comes down to what you want in a console. But it's surprising to see that, in real-world prices, all three systems will set you back about the same amount, with the Xbox 360 being the cheapest of them all even when you factor in a monthly fee for online gaming.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5211540/the-tru...ership-in-2009 ...