Late Night Consoling

Along with an announcement that New Super Mario Bros. (NDS) has sold over 1 million units in the United States in its first three months on sale, Nintendo revealed today that it will be bringing two new DS Lite colors to the US and, presumably, the rest of North America. As of September 13, Onyx and Coral Pink models will be made available. This will bring the US up to speed with Europe, which saw a black DS Lite upon the updated system's initial release, and will be getting a pink model in October. - Product shots (Coral Pink, Onyx).

Nintendo has sent out invitations to various press outlets (not including this one) announcing a September 14 event that promises to answer a lot of questions regarding launch details for Wii. The invitation reads:

Please join us for a celebration of video games! Nintendo of America personally invites you to experience our upcoming line up with Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime.

An online report from Gaming Bits citing the most recent issue of Official Xbox Magazine claims that Q Entertainment's Lumines Live (X360) will be split up into segments acquired via microtransactions. Lumines Live is an Xbox Live Arcade version of the studio's acclaimed PSP puzzler Lumines. The main game will go for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), but apparently players will need to make additional payments to progress past specific points in the game. After working through a certain amount of the Mission mode, players will need to purchase an additional Puzzle/Mission Pack to continue; it will be available for 400 Microsoft Points ($5). Similarly, after getting to a certain point in the Vs. CPU mode, players will need to purchase the Vs. CPU Pack to continue; it will be available for 300 Microsoft Points ($3.75). So, assuming this information is correct, Lumines Live will cost anywhere from 1200 ($15) to 1900 Microsoft Points ($23.75). Take your pick.

Speaking to 1UP, Capcom producer Jun Takeuchi indicated during this week's Games Convention that the company's upcoming sci-fi action epic Lost Planet may not remain exclusive to Xbox 360. "We will try to keep it as a 360 exclusive," he explained. "But, from the company's point of view, when you think about the business, in the future it's something [port the game to PS3] we might have to do." Xbox 360 has faced a tough battle at Japanese retail, and Capcom may feel that the game will not reach its sales potential in that territory on Microsoft's console. A similar situation occurred with several Capcom titles that started out as GameCube exclusives but eventually ended up on PlayStation 2 as well, most notably Resident Evil 4 and Grasshopper Manufacture's Killer7.

According to 1UP, Ubisoft is planning to release a demo for its Crusades-themed action title Assassin's Creed before the game launches early next year for PlayStation 3. Ubisoft still claims that the game has only been announced for PS3, though many reputable sources have indicated that the game will also be heading to Xbox 360. As far as this apparently confirmed demo, it is unclear how it will be delivered to gamers, be it in a magazine demo disc or via Sony's upcoming online service.

We've got an interview with Kojima Productions' Ryan Payton, speaking on the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP) as well as various other topics such as what it's like working for designer Hideo Kojima.

Leipzig Games Convention coverage continues from sites such as GameSpot, IGN, 1UP.