Amazon.com has compiled a list which represents what sold best during the year of 2009 in their videogame category. The big winner would have to be Nintendo — nine of the top ten things sold last year, were a Nintendo product. We should note that it is not just a game title that Amazon considered, but they also took in account accessories as well, and we all know the Wii has a ton of those.
The top three were not even a game; the Wii system, a Wiimote controller and the Wii MotionPlus accessory are listed respectively. The first game to be on the list is Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii at number four, followed by the Wii Nunchuck controller, and the expansion pack Wii Fit Plus with the Balance Board chimed, in at number six. The heavily marketed Wii Sports Resort stands at number seven, with the original Wii Fit right behind it. The first non-Nintendo product to be included on the list is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the Xbox 360 at number nine, but than amazingly Mario Kart for the Wii is next to that.
The first time Sony even has something on the list, is at number 11, which is nothing more than the Dualshock 3 controller. The first game by Sony was Modern Warfare 2, but sadly is listed at number 13.
Obviously these numbers are only for the online retailer Amazon.com and does not actually speak for the industry as a whole in 2009. But this list does prove Nintendo has experienced another great year, while their competitors are still playing catchup and last year might have proven to be the final nail in the coffin.
Tonight is one of the biggest nights in the videogame industry because Spike TV is broadcasting the seventh annual Video Game Awards. While it pales in comparison to such conventions as the Electronic Entertainment Expo; it does give us a glimpse into what games we should expect in 2010 — thanks to the world premier trailers, announcements and surprises during the show. Not only that, it will honor the very best of what 2009 had to offer, by handing out select VMA awards to the outstanding titles of this past year.
After the jump, we will live blog the award ceremony. If all you want to see is the latest trailer, just refresh our homepage, and it will be below this live blog — as we are making this a sticky post until the show ends.(more…)
Ubisoft has just confirmed a new Prince of Persia game, subtitled “The Forgotten Sands,” is going to be available for next-generation consoles and handhelds. According to the small official press release, the next installment of the highly-praised series is expected to launch sometime in May of 2010. What is probably not a coincidence is the fact that Disney is set to release the film adaption of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time the same month and year.
Not only that, Ubisoft revealed this next PoP game is going to “feature many of the fan-favorite elements from the original series as well as new gameplay innovations.” Is it sounding like a sequel to the 2004 critically-acclaimed The Sands of Time to you? Well of course it does and the company confirmed it will be returning to the storyline of the Sands of Time. Although, I’m not convinced it’ll follow the game — but rather the film.
All and all, the publisher looks as though they’re trying to capitalize as much as they can when the film hits theaters, as they obviously should. Every time a new Prince of Persia hits stores the game does very well with the critics; however, they don’t seem to sell like they should — hopefully the film will help this next version become a blockbuster.
I should also note that the “Prince” has had a different look in every game he had starred in. It will be interesting to see if this time around he’ll look more like Jake Gyllenhaa from the Prince in the film, or be more like the videogame character of The Sands of Time.
With Midway Games going bankrupt earlier this year, the Chicago based-company has been looking for ways to sell the rest of their assets that Warner Bros. was unable to own after their takeover bid. The professional wrestling organization TNA, signed with Midway a few years for the company to develop a titles based of the semi-popular wrestling league, which when it came out had subpar reviews. TNA happens to be one of these ‘assets’ that Warner Bros. couldn’t own when they took-over Midway.
The publisher SouthPeak Games, has announced that they have acquired the TNA license for TNA and are underway developing two games for the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP, called TNA Impact: Cross the Line. No word if this was a title already being developed by Midway, or if SouthPeak has decided on their own on what ‘consoles’ the future game should be available for.
I learned something. I guess Dante’s Inferno has an achievement called “Bad Nanny,” where gamers earn it by killing unbaptized babies in hell. Apparently there is a nannies group called The International Nanny Association (INA), who frown upon an award system for players who re-kill infants, while they hangout with the “Prince of Darkness” in a pixelated world, who knew?
“The name of the trophy or achievement, ‘Bad Nanny,’ is offensive to our association in that we strive to promote and educate the public regarding the selfless work nannies do to support families by providing quality in-home child care,” said INA’s Nettie Weber. “We have urged our membership to take action concerning this issue through the appropriate channels, as well.”
Obviously, this is a great way for INA to make a name for themselves because seriously, who has ever heard of this group? What better way to get an association’s name out there in the press, than by spewing crap and say a company is all for baby killing?
“INA is opposed to video games that promote and encourage players to ‘kill’ babies, even in fantasy play. It is our opinion that this type of play may promote violence towards children,” said Weber.
Of course she had to use the word “may” because she really has no evidence whatsoever that proves the INA’s opinion is in anyway correct. In fact, numerous studies have proven otherwise; so again, this is a poor attempt for a no-name advocacy group of nannies to b*tch about something. I wish them all the luck in the world.
When Sony revealed to the world the PlayStation 3 Slim model, it was big news. Sure, the Internet already had an idea that the unit was going to eventually be released in 2009 because of leaked leaked photos that were previously online. When it was finally announced at the Tokyo Game Show, people were excited and for the first time, Sony had a fighting chance to outsell its competitors. And in September, they did just that.
Last month the Playstation 3 had sold 491,800 units, making it the highest selling home console. It beat out the Nintendo Wii; which moved 462,800 and the Xbox 360; which stood at 352,600. Like always, the Nintendo DS was the big winner once again, selling about 524,200. While the PSP lagged way behind in sales and moved about 190,400. I hope Sony isn’t betting the PSP GO will dramatically increase its sales for the four-year old portable system because I don’t see that happening at all.
Now, back to the PlayStation 3 really quickly. Don’t think for a minute the PS3 numbers skyrocketed due to the slimming down of the console. While it sure didn’t hurt a customer deciding to buy the Sony product, that wasn’t the reason. The price is what became the selling point. For the first time this generation, Sony is able to market the system to people who wouldn’t spend $400 on a console. With the $100 price cut and having the customer own a system that comes with a Blu-ray player, is became more attractive than the other options.
The question is, can Sony keep the momentum into the holidays? I think they can and will, especially with titles like Uncharted 2. After the jump, check out the NDP reports of both hardware and games for the month of September. (more…)
We already know that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS was met with fantastic reviews, but the majority of DS owners didn’t purchase the game. Later, the publisher, Rockstar Games, announced it was headed to the PSP. Although I don’t think the dismal sales initially forced Rockstar to port the title over to Sony’s handheld, but it certainly didn’t discourage them either.
If you thought the decision to port the game over to the PSP was big, then you’re gonna surprised by the company’s new revelation. Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is going to be ported over to
Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch. The game is expected to be available in the App Store starting this fall which is around the same time the PSP version ships, but an exact date has yet to be revealed.
This is huge for Apple because they have been trying to convince gamers that their platform can be a real gaming system. We already know how big of a franchise GTA is and having it available for a device that so far, isn’t perceived as a serious gaming machine — is a win situation for Apple. Not only that, considering Rockstar doesn’t have to box and ship actual software for the iPhone; they just have to throw up a digital copy in the App Store, which means its not very costly to port and definitely worth the risk.
To everyone that lives in or around the Massachusetts area, we just wanted to remind you that “the biggest video game convention in the history of New England” begins tomorrow. Game Unicon takes place at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlborough, MA and when doors open at 11:00 am on Friday, they won’t close until the last day of the convention which is on Sunday at 6:00 pm.
The convention will showcase some of the best gaming tournaments in the country and will have over $10,000 in cash prizes. Some of the games included in the playoffs are; Halo 3,Street Fighter IV, Super Smash Bros. (Brawl and Melee), Rock Band, Gears of War 2 and Madden 10. They are even going to have some classic titles for you to compete in, like a Tetris tournament and a Battletoads speedrun; where the faster player to beat the game wins.
Read more about what the convention has to offer after the jump. (more…)
It was already known that gameplay of LittleBigPlanet for the PSP looks and feels like the PlayStation 3 counterpart, but the biggest question we had was how well would the level editor be on a portable system. Sony has finally given us an answer. Up top is a trailer for LittleBigPlanet for the PSP, which shows how the level editor is similar to its PS3 cousin, which is a good thing. While creating the level is somewhat overwhelming when you first pick up the game, you realize that it’s rather simple considering how deep and intuitive it truly is.
The “Pop-it” icon returns in the portable version of LBP, which allows players to access various textures, objects and stickers to create a level. No question — it’s great to see Sony Cambridge to squeeze the world of LittleBigPlanet down into a PSP game, I just wonder how easy it will be to enter and play the user generated worlds online.
Proving that Sony isn’t going to rely solely on the PSP Go from here on out, the company has announced brand new colors of the PSP-3000. The Japan-based company is bringing two colors, which seem like they are geared towards girls. The two shades are “Blossom Pink” and “Turquoise Green.”
Both models are shipping in November — a month after Sony releases the more expensive PSP Go unit. Customers can purchase the pink and green units as a stand alone package, however, the company said the green system will also have an option to buy a bundle which includes the PSP version of LittleBigPlanet.
A few nights ago, Robin Williams made an appearance on the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to promote his new movie World’s Greatest Dad. During his interview, Williams talked about his love for online gaming — especially shooters. He then proceed to discuss the trash talking that is associated with playing a game over the Internet and obviously the man makes a joke or two. I guess that’s his job or something.
It’s been known that Williams has a passion for videogames and at one point, he bragged how he was obsessed with the Battlefield series. The man went as far to name his daughter Zelda. And yes, she was named after The Legend of Zelda series.
It’s always cool to see someone of Williams’ age and be successful as he is, but still finds the time to game.
Up top is an embedded video of that same interview.
EA has released a few commercials for their newest installment of their ultra-popular football series Madden 10. The advertisements proves being good at videogames does not only take years of dedication, but months of physical training.
Okay, maybe it doesn’t but its certainly fun to pretend.
Up top is one of these commercials, and after the jump is the second. Both have a few NFL superstars starring in them too. Check them out. (more…)
Last night during The Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien made a joke about how a new statistic which proves the elderly are underrepresented in videogames. Apparently Rockstar is going to try and change this perception. But, I don’t think I want to play this ‘new’ game.
If you enjoy the Madden series, chances you have read Sports Illustrated in the past. If you don’t have a subscription to the famed sporting magazine, you might want to check this out.
The publication time-from-time, offers free promotions if you sign up to receive S.I. for a certain amount of time. Right now, the magazine if giving away what I believe is their best deal yet.
Sign up for 28 weeks of Sports Illustrated for only $50, you’ll receive Madden 10 for free. Basically, you’re getting Madden for $10 cheaper than its retailed price and getting 28 free weeks of what could be the best print sports coverage. You can also specify which system you want Madden to run on.
Yeah, not a bad deal at all, eh? If you want to take advantage of the offer — click here.
I should mention, if you want take the mag’s deal, I should forewarn you. I doubt you’ll receive the game on launch. Most likely, it’ll take a few weeks after the game debuts in stores.
When the PlayStation 2 hit the market in 2000, the launch, in my opinion, was pretty poor. There really wasn’t an original title that captivated me. We were stuck with Tekken Tag, which I already played to death in the arcades (those were the days) and few sports titles. The first really fun title I had, was a little known game called Shadow of Destiny.
The game was heavily story driven, which at the time was more rare than compared to today. It followed a young man named Eike, who in the beginning of the game was murdered. He then wakes up in a room on a bed, presumably in the afterlife, where an unknown voice tells him that he can have a second chance at life. All Eike has to do is travel through time and try to stop the events through history that lead to his demise. The best part of the game was you controlled what era you wanted to move through. Depending on what you did before, the future could change. Although it had some questionable plot points, it was certainly fun and extremely original.
A couple of weeks ago, we learned that Shadow of Destiny was coming to the PSP in Japan. I, among a select few who played the cult PS2 title, were hoping for a US release date. Today, we get just that. Konami, who is the original publisher, has confirmed that America would be receiving Shadow of Destiny for the PSP but a date has to be revealed.
This is very exciting news for me at least, I’ve been itching to play this game again — but for some reason I can’t find my old copy.
