Late Night Consoling
-
Nintendo hardware, Crackdown top February sales in US
[ps2] [ps3] [xbox] [xbox360] [gamecube] [wii] [ds] [psp] [gba]February sales figures for the United States video game industry were released today by tracking firm NPD, and the results saw Nintendo topping the hardware charts while Realtime Worlds' Crackdown (X360) headed up software. On the hardware side, Nintendo DS overcame its January supply problems to move an impressive 485,149 units. Nintendo also took the second slot, with last month's number one selling console, Wii, selling 335,000. PlayStation 2 again kept a strong position in the market, selling 295,000. Next was Xbox 360 with 228,000. Sony's PSP came in at number five with 176,000. Rather remarkably, Nintendo's Game Boy Advance managed to outsell Sony's PlayStation 3, which took the last position among the current major home and portable consoles. GBA moved 136,000 units, topping PS3's 127,000. Finally, GameCube managed to scrape up 24,000 sales, with Xbox taking 480.
Crackdown topped off the software charts, followed by Nintendo's Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii). Next up was Rare's Diddy Kong Racing (NDS), followed by Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii). Harmonix's Guitar Hero II for PlayStation 2 was number five, followed by Epic's Gears of War (X360). Kush Games' Xbox 360 version of MLB 2K7 came in at number seven. Capcom's Lost Planet (X360) was number eight, and Intelligent Systems' WarioWare: Smooth Moves number nine. Finally, EA Canada's Xbox 360 version of NBA Street Homecourt rounded out the top ten.
Nintendo sent along a press release pointing out that today's results saw Nintendo represent a chunky 54% of all February hardware sales in the United States. Overall, Nintendo was the top publisher this month in terms of financial market share, followed respectively by Electronic Arts, Activision, Microsoft, Take-Two, and Sony.
-
Halo 3 shipping in September?
[xbox360]Prevailing assumption has been that Bungie Studios' inevitable juggernaut Halo 3 would hit Xbox 360 this November; after all, both prior Halo games have shipped during the month of November. This week, however, various outlets have published tidbits suggesting the game might come a couple of months sooner. Speaking in a 1UP interview, Microsoft Game Studios' Shane Kim pointed out, "In September of 2004 we released Fable, Fable got big sales and then in November got big sales again. I just believe great titles can get the double bump and I think Halo 3 is going to be that."
The resulting speculation was bolstered today when IGN published a report that it had been contacted by a studio "close with Bungie" and leaked the September release period. Microsoft has not commented on the rumors, instead sticking to its official fall 2007 date.
Misc. Media/Previews
Xbox/X360
Screenshots: Culdcept Saga (X360).
Multi
Movies: Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (X360, unidentified handheld platform).
Console Game Of The Evening [Submit Yours!]
Track and Field for the NES. "We were "running" (pounding) that matt so hard, my friends mother's antique china feel off the wall, and almost cut our feet." (submitted by uh dead)
-
diddlyd
replyi wonder what nintendo is doing with all the insane money they're making worldwide. maybe they're saving up until they have enough to enter the consumer electronics and operating system markets.
-
teaming up with blizzred to make a town out of money.
-
In marketing I learned there are four kinds of markets, the Cow (low growth rate, high market share, will eventually lose ground to a Star), Dog (low growth rate, low market share), Star (High growth rate, large relative market share), and Question Marks (Low growth rate, low market share, yet uncertain in its future, could be a star or dog).
Nintendo is raking in on the Wii (Star) and DS (Star->Cow). Sony has its Cow of the PS2 and I guess PS3 is the "?" MS has it's Dog with Xbox and it's new Star, will probably be a Cow for them at some point, Xbox 360.
Isn't College dandy?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCG_growth-share_matrix -
My bet is they are gonna release a Nintendo-branded phone in the next few years. It may be completely out of character for them, but if you look at the advances in graphics and gameplay on some of the mobile games coming out now and in the next year or two it is obvious that that is where the handheld gaming market is going.
I think that in a half a decade, maybe a year or so more, there really isn't going to be much of a demand for gaming-only handheld devices, especially when games on cell phones will look and play as good as those on dedicated gaming handhelds. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Nintendo pull an Apple and enter in to the phone market.-
maybe a gaming/communication/im/internet device. but i doubt a phone. nintendo's priorities have always revolved around gaming as the core function.
-
