What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Play (Nintendo), 3. We Ski (Namco Bandai), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Totsugeki!! Famicom Wars VS (Nintendo), 4. Link no Bowgun Training + Wii Zapper (Nintendo), 5. Dairantou Smash Brothers X (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts), 5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 3. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft).

Japan: 1. The Darkness (Spike), 2. The Idolm@ster: Live for You! (Namco), 3. The Idolm@ster — Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Namco), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. Turok (Touchstone).

Europe: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 3. The Orange Box (EA Games), 4. Viking: Battle for Asgard (Sega), 5. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA), 3. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft).

Japan: 1. Senjou no Valkyria (Sega), 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 3. Makai Senki Disgaea 3 — First Print Limited Edition (Nippon Ichi), 4. Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! (Sega), 5. Armored Core: For Answer (From Software).

Europe: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEE), 3. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. Burnout Paradise (EA Games).

PlayStation 2 Read more…

Share This

No Comments

Wii Music is a compilation of music titles from Nintendo that use the motion control aspects of the Wii controller to simulate instruments. Since in December 2007 Nintendo of Japan’s schedule (page 9) confirmed that the music-rhythm game had been delayed to 2008, we thought it would be fun to do a recap of all known features. Let’s start off with two examples of included games that were demonstrated at E3 2006: …

1. Bang on a drum set like air-drums (with both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk), for one or two players:

2. Conduct an orchestra with a wave of the wand as The Legend Of Zelda Overworld Theme plays:

… As well as acting out other music — like the Super Mario Bros. Theme or The Overture from the Opera Carmen — with your Wii.

It is unknown how many Wii Music games may be included in final package. But an October 10th Nintendo Fall Press Conference 2007 Presentation in Japan revealed that: “Players will be able to select from around 40 instruments, including folk guitar, bass guitar, trumpet, maracas and marimba. Six characters take part in a performance, although the game only supports up to four human players. You’re free to go at the game by yourself, with the CPU taking care of the remaining parts.

Gameplay is timing based. You have to time your button presses with notes. The controls vary depending on the instrument. With the trumpet, you use A and B on the Wiimote. For the drums, you shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Some instruments have extra playing options, though. With the trumpet, you can aim the Wiimote up and down to simulate an increase in blowing strength. With the guitar, you can hold down the C button to get single notes instead of chords,” translated IGN.

You can see part of this press event here:

Lastly back in April 2007 a Nintendo distributor mentioned that Wii Music will allow players to create and save their own compositions and send them to other Wii users via the online WiiConnect24 to get exchanges going.

That’s to say on top of the Nintendo and orchestral classic pieces that will be included. It should be interesting to find out what other songs will make it in the game or if there will be entirely new compositions thanks to Nintendo composer Koji Kondo (of Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros. series fame) being one of the people overseeing the project along with Shigeru Miyamoto.

When released, this should be great fun and do well for itself if the Video Games Live concerts’ success is any indication. After Wii Sports and Wii Fit, this could be the next big hit. Nintendo is expected to show off Wii Music at the E3 Summit 2008 on July 15-17th.

Share This

No Comments

Iron Man, one of Marvel’s most indestructible Super Heroes, blast onto videogame platforms with this adaptation of the big screen movie. This third-person action game immerses players in the world of Tony Stark — the brilliant industrialist and inventor who both created and became the world’s toughest hero - Iron Man. By customizing the advanced technology in Iron Man’s suits, gamers can take advantage of a wide array of high-impact weapons to strategically blow-up and destroy any enemy force and fight to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction.

Drawing from both the movie and comic book storylines, Iron Man features the voice talent of the stars from the major motion picture — Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, and Shawn Toub. Utilizing the power of next-gen gaming consoles, Iron Man offers photo-realistic graphics, non-linear gameplay and huge open worlds in which gamers can travel as far as the eye can see.

Is the billionaire hero’s game shiny and polished or covered in a thick layer of tarnish? Find out in this Iron Man game video review:

Read more…

Share This

No Comments

The Game Factory announced it has signed a licensing agreement with Seven Towns Limited to publish Rubik’s Puzzle World, a 3D puzzle game experience for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems, both inspired by the Rubik’s Cube.

For those who have always wondered what the inside of a Rubik’s Cube looks like, developer Two Tribes will have Rubik’s Puzzle World out due Autumn 2008. Designed for players aged eight and older, this otherworldly game will look and play like no other game on the market. A collection of extremely addictive, easy-to-play puzzle games will increase in difficulty as the player delves deeper into this 3D world.

Each version of Rubik’s Puzzle World will host its own unique and original series of games. Players will test their brainpower by constructing 3D shapes and objects, navigating through mazes and even creating their own soundtracks. The DS version will allow players to connect to a community of Rubik’s Puzzle World enthusiasts through the platform’s wireless connection. The Wii version accommodates up to four players and will feature an online message board.

Key features include: Read more…

Share This

No Comments

Today Nintendo of Europe (and Australia) added new classic games to the popular Wii Shop Channel. The games went live at midnight CET. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at stores like Amazon UK (Card).

The third week of the Hanabi Festival 2 brings more Japanese exclusives (this week no American imports) to the Wii Shop Channel.

We’ve included videos of the games so you can see if it’s for you. This week’s new games are:

Star Parodier (priced 900 Wii Points = €9 / £6.75 / AU$13.50): A Hudson Soft top-down shooter from 1992 on the Japanese PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16 CD-ROM) for 1 player.

Gley Lancer (priced 900 Wii Points = €9 / £6.75 / AU$13.50): A Sega side-scrolling shooter from 1992 on the Japanese Mega Drive (Genesis) for 1 player.

Digital Champ: Battle Boxing (priced 700 Wii Points = €7 / £5.25 / AU$10.50): A Naxat Soft sports game from 1989 on the Japanese PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16 HuCard, CD-ROM) for 1 player.

Share This

No Comments

Did you enjoy last month’s Wii Virtual Console classic NES release River City Ransom? No doubt nostalgia led you to punch some gang thugs and save Cyndi once again. If that’s you, you’ll love Mega64’s real-life take on the scenarios taking place in that game.

“You’ve defeated me before… “

Share This

2 Comments

April’s American video game sales data from the NPD is in, and like almost any month past year, it shows an unchanged result: The Nintendo Wii outsold all other systems, and this time it’s extra suprising that eventhough Grand Theft Auto IV was out for five days after launch on Xbox 360 and PS3, it didn’t move any extra consoles. Total hardware sales were up 27% to over $426.2 million compared to the same month last year.

Video game hardware overview:
1. Nintendo Wii — 714,200
2. Nintendo DS — 414,800
3. PlayStation Portable — 192,700
4. Xbox 360 — 188,000
5. PlayStation 3 — 187,100
6. PlayStation 2 — 124,400

Video game sales totals for the month were $654.7 million. That’s an increase of 68% over last years already historic number! Most notable were Grand Theft Auto IV’s launch in America with 1.85 million sales on Xbox 360 and 1 million sales on PS3! Mario Kart Wii also launched in America with 1.12 million sales.

Video game software overview top 10:
1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) — 1.85 million
2. Mario Kart Wii with wheel (Wii) — 1.12 million
3. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) — 1 milion
4. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) — 360,000
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) — 326,000
6. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3) — 224,000
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (DS) — 202,000
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (DS) — 202,000
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) — 152,000
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) — 141,000

Share This

1 Comment

Michel Ancel (father of Rayman) was interviewed in JeuxVideo Magazine issue #91 and declared that “Beyond Good and Evil 2” is actually in the pre-production phase. Considered one of the best games of 2003, “Beyond Good and Evil” (on PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC) unfortunately did not achieve the expected level of commercial success.

To quote: “I’m working on “Beyond Good and Evil 2. We’ve been in pre-production for a year, and we’re mainly doing R&D with a small group. But for now, we’re in the ‘outline’ step. Ubisoft has not greenlit this project,” Mr. Ancel admitted during the course of the interview. He also noted that from 10 to 12 people are working on the project. The Beyond Good and Evil sequel has been worked on and off on since the original action-adventure game’s release.

He continued: “We want to continue the style of the original: a great variety of gameplay types, lots of emotions in the gameplay, and engaging characters. This time we’re going to examine the future of the planet, how the animals get along.”

No systems were announced yet since the project hasn’t been approved, but it’s expected for the Xbox 360 and PS3, although I’d hope it’ll be released on the Wii and PC too. Will it be announced at the upcoming UbiDays event that runs from May 28th to 29th? Stay tuned. — From JeuxVideo, translation from French by Stumpokapow

Share This

No Comments

Game Informer’s June 2008 issue cover feature of Guitar Hero 4 revealed Neversoft’s plan for the future of the franchise: vocals, drums and the ultimate form of creative control with the ability to craft your own songs.

But that’s not all, as you can see from the magazine scan above, there’s a new drum kit which has the two cymbals on top of the drums (the main difference from the Rock Band kit). Plus it has a foot pedal! This is just a first-run prototype of the drum set at the Neversoft offices, but Game Informer were fairly impressed with the layout reports Engadget. — Via Gameinformer

Share This

No Comments

The development team including Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil creator), Atsushi Inaba (Okami producer) and Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry creator) from Capcom’s Clover Studios has gone through quite a few name changes, from Capcom to SEEDS to now PlatinumGames.

These are the 3 PlatinumGames they are working on:

1. Bayonetta for PS3 and Xbox 360, directed by Hideki Kamiya, and is described by the site’s correspondent as a “stylish action game” with “a witch battling angels”. Apparently she has guns on her feet.

2. A science-fiction RPG for the DS called Infinite Line, where you play as a starship captain, customizing your ship and crew.

3. A Wii game called MadWorld. …it’s, “Black and white Sin City graphics, with red blood. Ultra ultra violent. Fatality moves like shoving a post through someone’s head. Chainsaw on your right arm.”

1UP reports that Sega will be publishing.

Share This

No Comments