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Portly plumber’s 25th anniversary compilation dethrones Pokemon as Vanquish, Medal of Honor, more new releases storm Japanese sales charts.
After five straight weeks atop Media Create’s Japanese game sales charts, Pokemon Black and White were finally bested during the October 18-24 period. Fans of the pocket monster hunting franchise can take some solace in the knowledge that it took a budget-priced release celebrating the 25th anniversary of an even bigger Nintendo icon to push Pokemon down the podium.
The Wii release of Super Mario All-Stars sold 307,755 copies in its debut week to take the top spot on the charts. The anniversary package includes all four Super Mario games from the NES (including the entirely different American and Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2), as well as a retrospective booklet and soundtrack CD. The game sells for ¥2,500 ($31) in Japan and will launch in North America for $30 on December 12.
The Super Mario retrospective led a cavalry charge of new releases on the Japanese charts. The next-best-selling new game was Namco Bandai’s Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, which came in third with 63,675 copies sold, trailing Pokemon Black and White in second with 81,915 sold. A third new release also managed to make the top five, as Shinji Mikami’s sci-fi shooter Vanquish debuted in the fourth spot, selling 48,318 copies.
Another three new releases took up residence in the back half of the top 10, starting with Electronic Arts’ Medal of Honor. The modern-day Afghanistan-set shooter came in sixth place with 25,265 sold, and the publisher scored another new game on the charts with FIFA Soccer 11’s ninth-place finish (18,995 sold).
The PlayStation Move motion-sensing controller was also released during the week, though it managed to place only one game in the top 10. The audio-driven art game Beat Sketcher finished in eighth place with 22,165 copies sold. Time Crisis: Razing Storm, the Resident Evil 5 Move Edition bundle, and Sports Champions also managed to make it into the top 20.
On the hardware chart, sales were down across the board. The consoles and handhelds finished in the same order as they did the previous week, with the PSP and PlayStation 3 on top, followed by Nintendo’s DS family and Wii. After several weeks of relatively high sales, the PSP Go also saw its sales backslide for the week, as it dipped below 1,000 units sold after two weeks above that threshold.
JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF OCTOBER 18-24, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. Super Mario All-Stars / Nintendo / Wii / 307,755
2. Pokemon Black and White / The Pokemon Company / DS / 81,915
3. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 63,675
4. Vanquish / Sega / PS3 / 48,318
5. Kirby’s Epic Yarn / Nintendo / Wii / 35,633
6. Medal of Honor / Electronic Arts / PS3 / 25,365
7. Lord of Arcana / Square Enix / PSP / 24,939
8. Beat Sketcher / Sony Computer Entertainment / PS3 / 22,165
9. FIFA Soccer 11 / Electronic Arts / PS3 / 18,995
10. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 15,895Hardware:
PSP – 32,591
PS3 – 20,128
DSi LL – 15,819
DSi – 14,703
Wii – 11,971
DS Lite – 3,887
Xbox 360 – 2,162
PS2 – 1,222
PSP Go – 924Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Big in Japan Oct. 18-24: Super Mario All-Stars” was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:00:28 -0700 -
Mad Chihuahua vs T-Rex scrapper incoming.
Sony has announced that it will be bringing curious post-apocalyptic survival game, Tokyo Jungle, to Europe’s PlayStation Network.
First announced at Tokyo Game Show last month, the game sees you picking an animal and then doing your best to make sure it survives on the mean streets of a deserted, decimated Tokyo.
What this essentially amounts to is an opportunity to set various animals against each other in a series of ludicrous battles. Elephant vs porcupine, ostrich vs chicken, elephant vs monkey… take your pick.
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Ocarina of Time, Pilotwings are first up.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Pilotwings Resort, Nintendogs + Cats and Steel Diver will be the first party 3DS launch titles, judging by a release schedule included in Nintendo’s annual fiscal report.
The list, posted by GoNintendo, states that the four games are down for a Spring release in Japan.
Kid Icarus: Uprising is listed merely for 2011. Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing and Starfox 64 3D are all down as “TBA”.
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Billion hours a month spent on service.
There has been a 157 per cent year-on-year increase in the amount of time users spend watching movies and TV shows through Xbox Live, Microsoft has claimed.
According to a survey conducted for the platform holder by Knowledge Networks, 21 per cent of all American consumers now use game consoles to watch TV programmes and films through Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Zune, Last.fm, ESPN and Hulu Plus apps.
Those figures will likely see a further jump with the new Xbox 360 dashboard update due next month, which adds further support for Zune and Kinect. You can check out all the changes for yourself from 4th November.
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5th Cell announces Hybrid, a postapocalyptic title for Xbox Live Arcade, due out in 2011.
The developer behind the Drawn to Life and Scribblenauts franchises has unveiled its next project, and it’s not akin to anything the developer has been previously known for.
5th Cell’s new project appears to be an action title of sorts and is titled Hybrid. Set in a postapocalyptic world, the game is due out on the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in 2011. Hybrid will mark the developer’s first foray into console development. It was first hinted at in August, when it was revealed that the studio’s next project would use Valve’s Source Engine.
Firm details on the game’s narrative or gameplay mechanics are absent, but a website, WhatIsHybrid.com, is up and running. On the page are details on two factions: Paladin and Variant. Further, journal entries for both sides shed some light on where the plot may lead.
“Always weird to see actual humans…” reads a line from the Paladin entry. “They look at you, glassy eyed like they don’t know what you’re going to do to ’em. We just passed them by. Our captain is pretty sure we’ve recruited all the able-bodied survivors in this city. Now it’s just a matter of kicking the Variants out…”
“I have personally killed a thousand or more Paladin…Wounded twice that many, yet an insignificant dream is unable to shake me?” reads a part of the Variant entry. “Has the time arrived for me to confess this weakness to the grand marshal? If he deems me weak, I shall accept whatever the consequence.”
Also embedded on the website is a teaser trailer for Hybrid. It doesn…t show gameplay, but it provides a glimpse into the game’s ravaged world. Two power-armored figures confront each other, and the screen orders the viewer, “Choose this day whom you will serve.”
For more on 5th Cell’s most recent work, check out GameSpot’s review of Super Scribblenauts.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Scribblenauts developer announces next game” was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:08:49 -0700 -
5th Cell announces Hybrid, a postapocalyptic title for Xbox Live Arcade, due out in 2011.
The developer behind the Drawn to Life and Scribblenauts franchises has unveiled its next project, and it’s not akin to anything the developer has been previously known for.
5th Cell’s new project appears to be an action title of sorts and is titled Hybrid. Set in a postapocalyptic world, the game is due out on the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in 2011. Hybrid will mark the developer’s first foray into console development. It was first hinted at in August, when it was revealed that the studio’s next project would use Valve’s Source Engine.
Firm details on the game’s narrative or gameplay mechanics are absent, but a website, WhatIsHybrid.com, is up and running. On the page are details on two factions: Paladin and Variant. Further, journal entries for both sides shed some light on where the plot may lead.
“Always weird to see actual humans…” reads a line from the Paladin entry. “They look at you, glassy eyed like they don’t know what you’re going to do to ’em. We just passed them by. Our captain is pretty sure we’ve recruited all the able-bodied survivors in this city. Now it’s just a matter of kicking the Variants out…”
“I have personally killed a thousand or more Paladin…Wounded twice that many, yet an insignificant dream is unable to shake me?” reads a part of the Variant entry. “Has the time arrived for me to confess this weakness to the grand marshal? If he deems me weak, I shall accept whatever the consequence.”
Also embedded on the website is a teaser trailer for Hybrid. It doesn…t show gameplay, but it provides a glimpse into the game’s ravaged world. Two power-armored figures confront each other, and the screen orders the viewer, “Choose this day whom you will serve.”
For more on 5th Cell’s most recent work, check out GameSpot’s review of Super Scribblenauts.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Scribblenauts developer announces next game” was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:08:49 -0700 -
Plus, see Super Mario Land in action.
Game Boy classic Super Mario Land will be one of the first games to hit the 3DS’s online store, according to a video shown to Nintendo investors.
The clip was aired during an investor update hosted by CEO Satoru Iwata in which Nintendo’s boss showed off the new 3DS Store.
According to Andriasang, he promised that it would be much easier to use than the DSiWare shopfront and would also have a promotional function, hosting game trailers and release information.
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Edge contributors collaborate on new book which presents a collection of the best games released over the last 36 years.
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CEO to leave the US-based owner of Rockstar and 2K Games.It has been announced that Ben Feder, CEO of game publisher, developer and distributor Take-Two Interactive, will resign from the company as of January 1 2011.
In a statement issued today the company said Feder is leaving “in order to pursue plans to travel in Asia with his family for an extended period.”
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BioWare’s action RPG takes the RPG and Ultimate Game of the Year awards at London ceremony; Call of Duty series picks up Shooter and One to Watch gongs.
The 27th annual Golden Joystick awards took place in London today, with awards dished out according to the results of a public vote. Last year’s ceremony saw Fallout 3 claim the Game of the Year award, with the game also winning PC Game of the Year. Gears of War 2 did the same for the Xbox as well as Killzone 2 for the PlayStation.
This year’s ceremony abandoned the platform-specific awards and focussed instead on genres. It was perhaps this decision that led to only a couple of double-award winners: Mass Effect 2, which took home both RPG and Ultimate Game of the Year awards, and Plants vs. Zombies, which claimed Strategy and Download titles. There were no other repeated winners, leaving big hitters such as Assassin’s Creed II to take prizes alongside more indie fare such as World of Goo.
Call of Duty did well as a franchise, though, with the upcoming Black Ops taking the One to Watch award, marking the third year in a row that a Call of Duty game has claimed that prize. Modern Warfare 2 also took the Best Shooter award and managed second place behind Mass Effect 2 in the Ultimate Game category.
Ultimate Game of the Year
Mass Effect 2
Action/Adventure Game of the Year
Assassin’s Creed II
Download Game of the Year
Plants vs. Zombies
Fighting Game of the Year
Super Street Fighter IV
Music Game of the Year
Guitar Hero 5
The One to Watch
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Online Game of the Year
League of Legends
Portable Game of the Year
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
Puzzle Game of the Year
World of Goo
Racing Game of the Year
Forza Motorsport 3
RPG of the Year
Mass Effect 2
Shooter of the Year
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Soundtrack of the Year
Final Fantasy XIII
Sports Game of the Year
FIFA 10
Strategy Game of the Year
Plants vs. Zombies
UK Developer of the Year
Jagex
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Mass Effect 2 wins Golden Joystick double ” was posted by Guy Cocker on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 08:08:53 -0700
