August Console Sales Numbers (post 179)

[stevew]

I'm waiting out a couple clearance players we have at work. Hopefully they do a major nosedive while there is still NIB quantity. I'll probably snag one at the 150ish range, but only cause I'm itching to collect movies again, and I don't see much point in buying DVD's at the moment.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by stevew

I'm waiting out a couple clearance players we have at work. Hopefully they do a major nosedive while there is still NIB quantity. I'll probably snag one at the 150ish range, but only cause I'm itching to collect movies again, and I don't see much point in buying DVD's at the moment.

BR movies do look great, don't get me wrong, but an upscaled regular DVD looks pretty good to me. I have a BR player and I'm with most of the other people in the camp, the movies aren't worth the cost.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Apparently Blu-Ray's share of the DVD market is DECLINING, not increasing. At one point, Sony's projections were that Blue-Ray would have 50% of the market by the end of this year.. that it would sell just as much as regular DVD's. Instead.. they only have 8% of the market. So they're trying freepack in movies with subscriptions to Wired Magazine and sub-$200 players to try to spur the market.

1. Sony did not project in any financial statements or forecasts that they would have 50% of the market by the end of this year. That was an off-the-cuff statement made by a Sony exec. It was immediately criticized because everyone knew that he was doing nothing more than being an over-excited fanboy of his own company. Company estimates by the end of the year were expected to be around 12-15%, which is still within reach depending on how big the boost is this holiday season.

2. The opinion by the writer of the first article that the price drops show desparation is pretty faulty at best. The home video industry has been predicting for over a year that this holiday season could easily see sub-$200 players due to decreasing manufacturing costs. This should come as a surprise to no one, except for the editorial writer you posted, who evidently was not aware of that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some more numbers that directly contradict the assertion that the Blu-ray format is in any type of a decline. Stand alone player sales for the year are expected to more thn triple to 2.38M units in 2008 and double to 5.31M units sold in 2009. These sales are occurring in a ridiculously poor economic market. Note that these numbers do not even include the Playstation 3 installed base.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/blusales091708.htm

Study: Blu-ray Player Sales to Triple In 2008
The report says they will double again next year.
September 17, 2008

Washington, D.C. (September 17, 2008) -- DisplaySearch, the research firm, says worldwide sales of standalone Blu-ray players will hit 2.38 million this year, compared to 700,000 in 2007.

That's according to an article by Video Business.

The DisplaySearch numbers do not include sales of PlayStation 3 consoles, which also include the high-def Blu-ray player inside. With PS3 included, Blu-ray player sales will reach several million in 2008.

The research firm also said standalone Blu-ray player sales worldwide will double next year to 5.31 million. DisplaySearch credits the increase in sales to falling prices, the release of more Blu-ray titles and more purchases of high-def sets.

According to Video Business, Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch's director of North America TV research, said standalone players will surpass the PS3 as the biggest selling Blu-ray player by 2010.

DisplaySearch released its forecast at yesterday's DisplaySearch "HDTV 2008" conference in Los Angeles.

Ross Rubin, the director of industry analysis for NPD, another research firm, agreed yesterday that high-def set sales will boost Blu-ray. But he added that the relatively high price of the player and customer satisfaction with current standard-def DVD players remain as major obstacles to Blu-ray's success, according to Video Business.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

NPD sales ranking YTD on the major consoles were released today. Not surprisingly, only one 3rd party games was on the Nintendo ranking. Conversely, all of the 360 ranking consisted of 3rd party software. The PS3 had 2 1st party titles on its list. The 360 should have a 1st party title in there later this year when Gears of War 2 is released. Sony should have two more 1st party titles in the list with Little Big Planet and Resistance 2 on the way.

PS3 YTD Sales Ranking

1. GTA IV
2. Metal Gear Solid 4
3. Call of Duty 4
4. Madden '09
5. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

360 YTD Sales Ranking

1. GTA IV
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Madden '09
4. Rainbow Six Vegas 2
5. Army of Two

Wii YTD Sales Ranking

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2. Mario Kart (with wheel)
3. Wii Play (with remote)
4. Wii Fit (with board)
5. GHIII: Legends of Rock (with guitar)

[MikeVic]

Yeah because Guitar Hero III is made by Nintendo.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Yeah because Guitar Hero III is made by Nintendo.

Whoops! Missed that one. Thanks for the catch.

[sterlingice]

Care to do top 10 for all consoles?

SI

[Fidatelo]

I don't know what is #6 on Nintendo's list, so it might not change things visa vis 1st Party/3rd Party content, but I don't think it's fair to include Wii Play in the list. Everyone buys that 'game' for the controller. Everyone. For all intents and purposes it's a hardware sale.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Care to do top 10 for all consoles?

SI

I only had found the top 5 over on Neogaf. Feel free if you have them.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I don't know what is #6 on Nintendo's list, so it might not change things visa vis 1st Party/3rd Party content, but I don't think it's fair to include Wii Play in the list. Everyone buys that 'game' for the controller. Everyone. For all intents and purposes it's a hardware sale.

Yeah, but then what do you do with Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, etc. which all are package deals. I understand your point, but from a reporting perspective, it is a software sale.

[Big Fo]

The thing that MBBF doesn't mention is that #5 on the Wii >>>> #5 on the PS3, and then when you factor in the lower development costs for Wii games there's a shitload of money to be made there.

It's a shame that only three of the twelve games listed there are good. (SSBB, Mario Kart, MGS4) I guess you could say COD4 is good if you play the PC version. It's heartbreaking to see how popular these jigglestick FPS games are and how well the worst GTA game ever sold.

gamasurta.com goes a little more in-depth with some comparisons:

While the data here is limited, it is at least interesting to compare the sales figures across the platforms.

Given that we estimate (the pictured below) Army of Two's YTD sales at 800,000 to 900,000 on the Xbox 360, we can surmise that the #5 title for the Xbox 360 may have sold better than than the #3 title on the PS3.

However, the PlayStation 3 also has a much smaller installed base and some games, like Madden NFL, have sold to a higher percentage of PS3 owners than Xbox 360 owners.

Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 top 5 software lists are dwarfed by the figures for the Wii's top sellers. Starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl above 3.2 million and ending with Guitar Hero III around 1.3 million, the Wii's top 5 games of the year account for somewhere between 11 and 12 million units of software.

Even more importantly, two of those games - Wii Fit and Guitar Hero III - retail for significantly more than the standard $50 or $60 fee for most modern games.

Equally interesting is that four of the top five games on the Wii this year - all except Super Smash Bros. Brawl - include a hardware component in the box.

Mario Kart has the wheel. Wii Play has the extra controller. Wii Fit has its balance board while Guitar Hero has its plastic guitar.

It's become clear that we've never seen quite a hardware success story like the Wii. Looking at the top five games on each platform this year, it seems we've never seen a software success story like this either.

full article

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Yeah, but then what do you do with Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, etc. which all are package deals. I understand your point, but from a reporting perspective, it is a software sale.

I know, I just think it basically makes the Wii list a Top 4, so it becomes less of an Apples to Apples comparison when people start throwing out statistics.

[Big Fo]

Yeah it sucks that each month we only see the Top 9 essentially, nobody cares how much Wii Play sells.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

It's a shame that only three of the twelve games listed there are good. (SSBB, Mario Kart, MGS4) I guess you could say COD4 is good if you play the PC version. It's heartbreaking to see how popular these jigglestick FPS games are and how well the worst GTA game ever sold.

Ya, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one, Bob. COD4 is a great game on the 360, and GTA IV is a lot better than any of the others I've played (although I still don't think it is the 10.0 that a lot of sites rated it).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I know, I just think it basically makes the Wii list a Top 4, so it becomes less of an Apples to Apples comparison when people start throwing out statistics.

A comparison can likely be shaped any way you want it to be, so I'm not sure it matters all that much. I was just providing the list and noting the successes of 1st vs. 3rd party software depending on which console you were looking at.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

Ya, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one, Bob. COD4 is a great game on the 360, and GTA IV is a lot better than any of the others I've played (although I still don't think it is the 10.0 that a lot of sites rated it).

Agreed. COD4 and GTA4 are both great games on the 360/PS3.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another article discussing the development power shift from Japan to Europe and the U.S......

videogaming247 » Blog Archive » Yoshida: Games tech power “has shifted from Japan to the US and Europe”

[Big Fo]

Spore sells over a million copies within two weeks of its release, whether the figures are USA or worldwide isn't mentioned.

"Spore is a Hit" - Edge Online

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Looks like the postponed E3 announcement for Halo may finally be released.........

videogaming247 » Blog Archive » New countdown timer revealed on Bungie.net

[TazFTW]

Saw this on Kotaku. Apparently, EA showed this full 4 minute ad for FIFA 09 during Chelsea - Man U this past weekend.



Pretty cool.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Apparently Blu-Ray's share of the DVD market is DECLINING, not increasing. At one point, Sony's projections were that Blue-Ray would have 50% of the market by the end of this year.. that it would sell just as much as regular DVD's. Instead.. they only have 8% of the market. So they're trying freepack in movies with subscriptions to Wired Magazine and sub-$200 players to try to spur the market.

Looks like some more fallout from this article that chose to use the one week sample where there was a decline in Blu-ray sales. Engadget went after ArsTechnica and Slashdot for their faulty reporting..........

Blu-ray's market share has almost doubled since HD DVD's demise - Engadget HD

For some reason, the 13 percent drop in Blu-ray sales last week got a lot of attention. What we can’t figure out is why the 30 percent increases during the two weeks before (combined) went unnoticed. It boggles the mind why so many so-called tech evangelists only pick up on the bad weeks.

Either way, when movies like the Forbidden Kingdom and TV shows like Terminator are stealing double digits away from DVD, sales are not down. But hey, predicting the end of Blu-ray is just so much more fun than actually analyzing all the data, isn’t it?

And another article detailing that more Blu-ray discs have been sold in the first 8 months of 2008 than in both 2006 and 2007 combined.

Blu-ray sales are impressive for 2008

According to Home Media Research compiled by the Redhill Group, it appears that Blu-ray sales are actually quite solid for the year, and up 300 percent year-on-year from 2007.

The research says that Blu-ray movies are selling at about 1.14 million per month on average for the year, for a total of about 8 million. The combined total for 2006 and 2007 was about 6 million discs sold.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Spore sells over a million copies within two weeks of its release, whether the figures are USA or worldwide isn't mentioned.

"Spore is a Hit" - Edge Online

Weren't the initial public predictions suppose to be over 2 million by the end of september?

I don't see this game having the kind of legs the Sims, or alot of other games have through the holiday season because of the DRM stuff, and the computer market is fickle (especially if you piss them off).

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I don't know what is #6 on Nintendo's list, so it might not change things visa vis 1st Party/3rd Party content, but I don't think it's fair to include Wii Play in the list. Everyone buys that 'game' for the controller. Everyone. For all intents and purposes it's a hardware sale.

The controller alone is $40. Wii Play with controller is $50.

A whole lot of people are awfully stupid if they are paying $50 and throwing the game disc away. Back in the first few months of the Wii, controllers were hard to find, so you had to buy Wii play to get one. Now, they are quite plentiful. People are buying Wii Play instead of the controller alone because the game is worth $10.

[Big Fo]

Another DS revision will be out in Japan this year:

wired.com link

- (digital) Camera included
- music playback function
- Wireless connection function power up
- larger screen
- to be released this year in Japan
- under 20000 yen
- new types of games by using the camera
- get/exchange data from Wii and SD card (SD card slot included?)

Maybe Nintendo will start a Virtual Console for handhelds where you can buy classic GameBoy, GameBoy Color, and maybe GameGear games off the Wii and transfer them to the new DS via SD cards?

Thursday's simultaneous Nintendo conferences in Tokyo and San Francisco could have more info on this and hopefully some sweet game announcements to boot.

[MJ4H]

Just a rumor at this point.

[stevew]

Wii play was such a horrible game. About as fun as the "hit this target and win" flash ad games.

[MJ4H]

Looks like that rumor is getting stronger and almost 100% confirmed according to lots of other places. Cool.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Price cut on the 40 GB PS3 this weekend. Wal-Mart is selling it for $349. If you get a Sony Style card and purchase that model, you'll end up paying $200 for a 40 GB PS3. That's just a ridiculously great price for a PS3.

[Big Fo]

Recap from last night's Nintendo conference in Japan:


Nintendo DSi
- 3.25 inch screens (DS = 3 inch)
- Has an inside and outside camera, 0.3 megapixels
- Has SD slot on right-hand side.
- Has onboard memory
- Comes with web browser
- Comes with app to detect some DS hotspots
- Has Apps store like iPod
- Apps are free/300/500/800 points
- Other apps include an app that allows you to make flipbooks using the cameras
- No GBA slot
- 18900 yen
- 1000 points for free if you buy before march 2010
- Possibly minorly upped resolution
- November in Japan, 2009 elsewhere.
- Black and white versions.

New Software:
- DS Pedometer, Miis on DS
- Mario and Luigi 3
- 3d Picross


Wii:
- storage solution involves making SD card easier, coming in spring 2009
- you get 500 points if you help a friend set up their wii online
- wii comes with video explaining wii online functions

Wii Software:
- Punch-Out Wii
- Trace Memory Wii
- Sin and Punishment 2
- Sengoku Musou (Samurai Warriors) coming to Wii.
- Animal Crossing Wii interacts with AC DS
- New mainline Tales of.
- Let's Tap by Prope.

- Wii getting re-releases of GCN titles. Not ports. Not ports. Not ports. Not ports. Do not appear to have waggle or any changes. Not ports. Re-releases. Should be budget. Starting with DK Jungle Beat and Pikmin.



Awesome, been waiting for a new Super Punch-Out. Sin and Punsihment 2 looks cool. The new DS model sounds pretty awesome as well.

Dynamic Slash - some kind of action game from the people that made Earth Defense Force 2017 for 360 in collaboration with Nintendo.

Endless Ocean 2 - I actually kind of liked the first one, this could be cool if they add in more things to do. No info yet.

Square-Enix also announced Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for DS/Wii, sounds like an ARPG that has online multiplayer where people playing the DS version and the Wii version can go online at once, and the DS version can be played on your TV through the Wii.

(all from neoGAF and wired.com)

Nintendo of America has a conference today in San Fran. Maybe they'll have more new stuff to announce or just talk about this. IGN says the Conduit and MadWorld will be shown there but we already know about those games.

[sterlingice]

On the new DS, undecided as to whether I'm going to get it. I'm sure I'll get it eventually, but I'm not sure about "on release day"- that sort of thing.
-no GBA = bad
-camera = don't care
-dual touch screens = good, but not sure how useful that will be in games
-memory card support = great!
-mii's on ds = makes sense
-music support = good
-only aac support and not mp3 support = stupid, why even bother with music support then
-built in internet browser = good
-size is about the same = eh
-battery life is less (9-14 vs 15-19 hrs) = ew, tho 9 hours is still long; it's not like it's a psp or anything


They finally made it possible to move stuff from the Wii memory to the SD card and back or at least it will be possible in early 2009. Must be a firmware upgrade. Still, would have liked a hard drive option.

Wii Punch Out - it's about damn time! Make sure it's done right!

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

From the 'what stupid sounds like' file, a Peter Molyneux interview at videogamer.com..........

Speaking with Videogamer.com, Lionhead Studios' Peter Molyneux discussed his views on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and what his thoughts were on ever wanting to create a game for the Sony platform.

"The 360 and the PS3 technically seem neck and neck," said Molyneux. "Sometimes I look at a title on the 360 it looks fantastic, sometimes I look at a title on PS3 and it looks fantastic. I can't see a difference."

He added that currently with Fable 2, certain features such as the co-op mode are only possible on Microsoft’s platform, due to Xbox Live possessing a more mature infrastructure. However, Molyneux said that just because the PS3 online service isn't up to par with Xbox Live doesn't mean that he wouldn't want to create a game for the platform.

"I'd love to get games on every platform,” he said.

However, the chances of Lionhead Studios ever bringing a game to the PS3 are extremely slim, as Microsoft currently owns the studio. Indeed, unless the developer pulls a Bungie, don’t expect to be playing Fable or Black & White on a Sony console anytime soon.

Huh? Someone might want to let the developers of the PS3 games that have co-op play know that now rather than later. We need a factcheck.org for the video game industry.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I didn't see anyone post this from a few days ago. Sony released a list of how many new games to expect and which games will be playable at the Tokyo Game Show next week. In summary, 11 new PS3 exclusive games and 3 new PSP games will be revealed. The PS3 exclusives consist of nine games by Sony, one by Konami, and one by Irem. All three of the PSP exclusives are by Sony.

Full list link: PlayStation.com(Japan) | ‚¨’m‚点 | �u“Œ‹žƒQ�[ƒ€ƒVƒ‡ƒE‚Q‚O‚O‚W�vƒ\ƒj�[�EƒRƒ“ƒsƒ…�[ƒ^ƒGƒ“ƒ^ƒeƒCƒ“ƒ�ƒ“ƒgƒWƒƒƒpƒ“ƒu�[ƒX�o“W‚Ì‚²ˆÄ“à

List of playable games:

PLAYSTATION 3

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (Activision, Inc.)
FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts)
Street Fighter IV (Capcom Co., Ltd.)
Resident Evil 5 (Capcom Co., Ltd.)
Lumines Supernova ★ (Q Entertainment, Inc.)
Metal Gear Online (Konami Digital Entertainment)
Way of the Samurai 3 (Spike)
Sonic Unleashed (SEGA CORPORATION)
SOCOM: Confrontation (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
PlayStation ® Home ★ (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Mainichi Issho ★ (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
MotorStorm 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
LittleBigPlanet (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Resistance 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009 (THQ Japan Ltd.)
Gundam Musou 2 (Namco Bandai Games, Inc.)
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (Namco Bandai Games, Inc.)

PlayStation Portable

Sengoku Basara: Battle Heroes (Capcom Co., Ltd.)
Dynasty Warriors: Multi Raid (Koei Co., Ltd.)
Warriors Orochi 2 (Koei Co., Ltd.)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (Square Enix Co., Ltd.)
Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Square Enix Co., Ltd.)
Secret Agent Clank (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Ape Escape (not sure which) (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Patapon 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Bleach: Soul Carnival (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Mainichi Issho Portable ★ (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Or2 (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
LocoRoco 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
The Idolm@ster (Bandai Namco Games, Inc.)

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

On the new DS, undecided as to whether I'm going to get it. I'm sure I'll get it eventually, but I'm not sure about "on release day"- that sort of thing.

I'll wind up getting it if the downloadable games look promising. A Virtual Console for old Nintendo handhelds would be nice seeing as the DS was the first portable I've ever owned. It will be around $180 compared to the ~$150 a DS Lite goes for there right now. So if the DSi is much more than the $130 a Lite goes for here I'll wait for a bit.

It does kind of suck for companies that have recently released games that require the GBA slot, like Guitar Hero: On Tour which was a huge seller a few months ago.

wired.com is liveblogging the NOA conference right now link

Wii release dates:

Punch-Ou:t 1H 09
MadWorld: March 09
The Conduit: 1Q 09
Animal Crossing: City Life: Nov 16
Sin and Punishment 2: 2009

DS release dates:

Rhythm Heaven: 1H 09
Fire Emblem DS: 1H 09

Age of Empires: Mythologies
Tecmo Bowl
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Pokemon Ranger
Chrono Trigger - all five of these in Oct or Nov. CT on Thanskgiving weekend.

Mario and Luigi 3: 2009

And speaking of the GameCube releases earlier, maybe something did get lost in translation, here's updated info.

Originally Posted by wired.com

Speaking of first person shooters on Wii, are you guys interested in the "Wii de Asobu" collection? Apparently they're actually upgrading these GameCube games with Wii controls, and it includes the Metroid Prime games, so if those reports are correct, we'll have Wiimote-enabled versions of those games... interesting.

Pretty decent sounding. No news about localizations for Disaster: Day of Crisis, Fatal Frame IV, or Professor Layton 2 is a bit disappointing but overall I'm pretty happy.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I'll wind up getting it if the downloadable games look promising. A Virtual Console for old Nintendo handhelds would be nice seeing as the DS was the first portable I've ever owned. It will be around $180 compared to the ~$150 a DS Lite goes for there right now. So if the DSi is much more than the $130 a Lite goes for here I'll wait for a bit.

If they did this, I'd love to see something like the GameBoy player for the SNES or Gamecube where you could see what you were playing on the big screen. Not as big of a deal for DS games as, well, it's not as if you could touch your tv with the stylus, but for older games, it would be nice.

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

FYI to PS3 owners.....

If you haven't gone out and purchased Wipeout HD, do it. It's a ridiculously good game, especially at a $20 price point. I loved the original on the PS1 and this new version is faithful to that style with a whole lot more bells and whistles.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Retailer info on trends over the last few weeks............

-The good thing is that 360's are selling well since the price cut. The bad thing is that most of the sales come from the Arcade SKU, which is going to likely put to rest any chance of developers making 360 games that require a HDD.

-Gamestop has refurb 360 units at $169 that are selling extremely well. Unfortunately for Microsoft, they don't get double credit for those sales.

-Fable 2 and GOW 2 both have excellent pre-sales numbers, mainly due to the fact that they are the only big exclusive releases this fall on the 360 and are both good franchises.

-PS3 sales have slowed since the price cut by around 25%. A price cut or incentive is probably needed.

-Little Big Planet is posting surprisingly good pre-sale numbers.

-Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery have basically stopped selling. Very disappointing sales numbers overall. Yet another case where 3rd party developers will likely look more towards a multi-platform release for future games as has been the trend.

-Wii sales have slowed as have the number of Wii's in each shipment. Most shipments are 50% less than what they have been in previous months of 2008. It appears that Nintendo has started diverting some units away from North America to other markets in the face of slowing North American sales.

-Wii Fit sales have slowed dramatically since the 360 price cut. Most stores have them fully in stock at this point.

[MJ4H]

Oh man Wii control-enabled Metroid Prime 1 would be a must-buy for me. Boom.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Oh man Wii control-enabled Metroid Prime 1 would be a must-buy for me. Boom.

The Pikmin series sound like great selections, too. I didn't see a price point for these, tho.

SI

[Big Fo]

GameCube "Wiimakes" from Famitsu:

Chibi Robo
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
Pikmin
Pikmin 2
Mario Tennis
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes

[MJ4H]

I have never played a Pikmin game. Are they similar to RTS games? That's sort of the impression I've gotten.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Retailer info on trends over the last few weeks............

-The good thing is that 360's are selling well since the price cut. The bad thing is that most of the sales come from the Arcade SKU, which is going to likely put to rest any chance of developers making 360 games that require a HDD.

Yeah, that's really damaged the 360 so far, not having that.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I have never played a Pikmin game. Are they similar to RTS games? That's sort of the impression I've gotten.

Lemmings + RTS would be a decent description. Yes, you grow an "army", of sorts but they are used to perform tasks and occasionally attack.

SI

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I have never played a Pikmin game. Are they similar to RTS games? That's sort of the impression I've gotten.

I haven't played them either but they do have RTS-type gameplay. I'm looking forward to some of these remakes, the Pikmin ones included. The GameCube versions are often hard to find or rather pricey for used games plus pointer controls should make some of them better, or motion controls in the case of Mario Tennis. It'd be ridiculous if GC Mario Tennis were the first good Wii tennis game since Wii Sports.

[sterlingice]

I'd like to see Mario Golf, too

SI

[stevew]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I have never played a Pikmin game. Are they similar to RTS games? That's sort of the impression I've gotten.

Its been some time but I really liked the first one. I think I got frustrated on a level and never finished. 2 fixed some issues that 1 had. Recommended if they are around 20 bucks

[stevew]

Oh. And if anyone has a wii that's collecting dust, a lot of the nursing homes are using them. Maybe call around and see if you can donate it? I sold minr, but now I wish if have given it somewhere that people would enjoy it

[terpkristin]

I may purchase my first-ever Madden game. I think this is a nice tie-in. Maybe too late for all those men who already bought the game, but might give those who aren't too into the series a new reason to buy it..of course, it might just be easier to donate directly to Deanna Favre's charity.

EA Launching Madden NFL09 Pink to Fight Breast Cancer.
/tk

[Big Fo]

Better late than never, here's the top 20 for August:

360 MADDEN NFL 09 Aug-08 ........................ .... 1.0m
PS3 MADDEN NFL 09 Aug-08 ............................. .. 643K
PS2 MADDEN NFL 09 Aug-08 .............................. 424.5K
WII WII FIT May-08 ..................... ..................... 394.9K
WII MARIO KART Apr-08 ............................ ....... 328.7K
WII WII PLAY W/ REMOTE Feb-07 ........................ 200.2K
360 SOUL CALIBUR IV Jul-08 ................................ 174K
360 TOO HUMAN Aug-08 ..................................... 168.2K
WII MADDEN NFL 09 Aug-08 ................................ 115.8K
NDS GUITAR HERO: ON TOUR Jun-08 10 .............. 111.2K
WII Mario Super Sluggers (Wii)
PS3 Soul Calibur IV (PS3) ..................... 110K
NDS New Super Mario Bros. (NDS)
NDS Mario Kart (NDS)
Wii Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games (Wii)
Wii Super Smash Bros: Brawl (Wii)
NDS Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games (NDS)
PSP Madden NFL 09 (PSP)
360 Call of Duty 4 (X360)
NDS Mario Party (NDS) .................. at least 63k

Wii - 7
NDS - 5
360 - 4
PS3 - 2
PSP - 1
PS2 - 1

7 games with Mario in the title and not one of them is Super Mario Galaxy

Top 10 PS3 software:

MADDEN NFL 09
SOUL CALIBUR IV
METAL GEAR SOLID 4
CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 09
NCAA FOOTBALL 09
GRAND THEFT AUTO IV
DISGAEA 3
RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN
GRAN TURISMO 5: PROLOGUE

Top 10 Wii software:

WII FIT
MARIO KART
WII PLAY WITH REMOTE
MADDEN NFL 09
MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS
MARIO AND SONIC: OLYMPIC GAMES
SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL
ROCK BAND
DECA SPORTS
GAME PARTY

For some reason videobusiness.com has those two consoles but not the 360...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Exciting news here for Knights of the Old Republic fans. Looks like BioWare and LucasArts will be doing a MMO set in that universe. Announcement expected on October 21st.

Gamasutra - LucasArts, BioWare Prepare To Announce Joint Project