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May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third
Hoo-doggy! Look at them critters go! While video game hardware sales were down 20 percent month-over-month in May – yeah, we're looking at you, handheld sales – software sales were up! Sure, you're right, they're only up 4 percent month-over-month and the industry is down 5 percent in total, but can't you just relax and enjoy the vista? Red Dead Redemption sold 1.5 million units across both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms this month and Super Mario Galaxy 2 came in at 560 thousand units on the Wii. Even dear old Alan Wake made the grade, though his sales aren't listed. Find them all after the break. Of course, these numbers come courtesy of the monthly NPD report, which lists the top 10 selling games (stored after the break) and the hardware sales for North America. The DS continues its free-fall after dropping 37 percent last month, losing another 13 percent. Notably: It's still the best-selling console this month! The Wii is up 21 percent after a 50 percent dip last month, and the Xbox 360 is up 5 percent after last month's 45 percent drop. Unfortunately, Sony is bringing up the rear, with the PS3 down 15 percent and the PSP down 10 percent. However, NPD's Anita Frazier notes that "The PS3 platform has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth, with platform sales across hardware, software, and accessories up 32 percent for the month, and 28 percent year-to-date." A reminder that it's not always as simple as hardware sales. DS: 384K down 57K (-13%) Wii: 335K up 58K (+21%) 360: 195K up 10K (+5%) PS3: 155K down 27K (-15%) PSP: 59K down 7K (-10%)
Wii installed base growing more quickly than PS2's did
During E3, Nintendo gave a presentation to analysts about the company's new offerings and its current status. Reggie Fils-Aime presented the above slide, which shows the startling truth about the Wii's installed base in the United States: in its fourth year on the market, it's larger than the ubiquitous PlayStation 2's installed base at the same point in its life, by a margin of almost five million units. Of course, the PS2 has had a spectacularly long lifespan after that, with Sony announcing 7.2 million units sold just last year. Later in the presentation, Reggie revealed that around 300,000 units of the black Wii console have been sold since its May 9 introduction in North America, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 is "approaching 900,000 units here in the U.S."
Red Dead Redemption and Mario Galaxy 2 in UK sales chart standoff
Nobody was going anywhere at the top of Chart-Track's UK all-formats sales chart last week. Red Dead Redemption is still the sheriff in town, with Super Mario Galaxy 2 and 2010 FiFA World Cup maintaining their number two and three positions, respectively. Rockstar's Grand Theft Horsey retained the top spot despite a 24 percent drop in sales (Galaxy slipped 29 percent) and increased its sales gap with Mario from 1,000 to almost 5,000 units, according to Chart-Track. Rooms: The Main Building and perennial chart topper Just Dance are waltzing together, with Ubisoft's dance title stepping on Rooms' toes to take the fourth spot. (!) Elsewhere on the chart, PSP's Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker sneaked in at 18th. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
Red Dead Redemption holds Mario from top spot on UK charts
Red Dead Redemption sales may have dropped 34 percent in the UK last week, but the Western beat Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the charts and continues riding high for a fourth week in a row. Meanwhile, with focus turning to the real World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa slipped on the field to the third spot. Now for a little bit of weirdness: Rooms: The Main Building surged the charts from 12 to the fourth spot. Oh yeah, and Just Dance is still cha-cha-ing along at fifth. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 on sale for $35 through Dell
Dell has marked down Super Mario Galaxy 2 to $35. For a high-profile game just released weeks ago, that's a pittance -- less than a pittance. If you gave Dell a pittance, you'd get a trifle back as change. It's a good deal, is what we're saying, for a game that is "the best Mario game ever." In fact, at this point, the only valid excuse for not trying out Galaxy 2 is, well, motion sickness. If you're prone to that particular ailment, the game's less magical and more the worst experience of your life. [Via GoNintendo]
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Super Mario Galaxy 2 tips
Having trouble getting those stars from the Cosmic Cove Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2? Then you'll want to boot up your Wii and check out the latest episode of Nintendo Week on the Nintendo Channel. There are even a few tips on how to make Mario a more stylish skater, if you like to kick shell and look good while doing it. Head past the break for the full list of this week's content.
See the Super Mario Galaxy 2 orchestra live (on video)
For Super Mario Galaxy 2's soundtrack, Nintendo went all-out, recording the main theme with a 70-person orchestra. Footage of the assembled musicians playing the sweeping opening music has been released via the Japanese Nintendo Channel (watch it after the break), allowing us to see just how much more epic a piece of music is when you see it played by a room full of people. If you're wondering why Shigeru Miyamoto looks so bored, it's because there was no room in the orchestra for his banjo. Fans of Galaxy 2's music will be crushed to learn that Japan's Club Nintendo is offering a two-disc soundtrack for just 300 points with the registration of a copy of the game. It's possible for this bonus to make its way to other regions' Club Nintendos, as the first Galaxy soundtrack did in Europe, but we'd rather take such anomalies as delightful surprises, rather than disappoint ourselves by expecting them. [Via ONM]
Entire Super Mario Galaxy 2 soundtrack now on YouTube
Super Mario Galaxy had one of the most delightful, transportive soundtracks of any game in the current console generation, with themes both new and familiar set to a sweeping orchestral score. To show off the sequel's equally impressive accompaniment, a YouTube channel purportedly belonging to composer Mahito Yokota has uploaded every single track from Super Mario Galaxy 2 onto a single playlist. You can listen to it here, though the tracks' names might include a few minor, minor spoilers. If you can suffer those, you're in for a full afternoon of happiness-inducing music. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Metareview: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Everyone expects a Mario game to be good -- and it's even easier to expect quality when the new game is a direct follow-up to a game as universally adored as Super Mario Galaxy. However, even given the high expectations, the reception Super Mario Galaxy 2's getting is startling. There are, as of right now, eight scores equivalent to 100 percent on the game's Metacritic page, a range befitting the title our own Randy Nelson called "the best Mario game ever." We've only quoted one of the 100-percenters below, in the interest of variety. Edge (10): "This is a game that refuses to bore you, that can take you to the 60-star mark before asking you to do the same thing twice. It reuses assets, but almost never recycles ideas; you'll never see another title so thrifty, or so gratuitous." Game Informer (93/100): "Sure, it's not the total reinvention of the genre we've come to expect from a new Mario title, but as a platformer fan I'm happy to get more Mario to tide me over. This game is a testament to the enduring appeal of the genre, as well as Nintendo's ability to create fresh new gameplay out of a decades-old formula." Game|Life (9/10): "Super Mario Galaxy 2 is thus simultaneously more and less than its predecessor. It expands and elaborates on the gameplay in unpredictable ways, but the last one felt like a bigger, more complete adventure. That said, better core gameplay with less window dressing is infinitely preferable to the reverse." %Gallery-64834%
Review: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the best Mario game ever. There, I said it. What Nintendo's EAD Tokyo team has managed to pull off in this game is astounding, especially when you consider just how good the original Super Mario Galaxy was. Like expert craftsmen, they've improved upon an already excellent product and delivered a seemingly endless volley of fresh ideas -- be they in level design or game mechanics -- that are every bit as polished as those in the first game and, most importantly, just pure fun. Since the sequel was first announced and up until, well, now, there's been a lingering question: Is it just Super Mario Galaxy 1.5? Despite what the original plans for the sequel may have entailed, one thing is clear: SMG2 is its own game. It shares the basic mechanics of its predecessor yet brings so many new experiences to the playing field that it stands alone. Even more, it features enough challenges to keep the most hardcore Mario player engaged for weeks. %Gallery-64834%
Video: Mario Galaxy 2 travels to planet Mario 64
Upon watching the Super Mario Galaxy 2 video after the break, there's a very real chance you will be smitten, smacked or otherwise clobbered by an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. Nintendo, you see, decided to slip at least one Super Mario 64 level, Whomp's Fortress, into Super Mario Galaxy 2. The spirally mountain, the Whomp, the delightful music -- it's all there. Seriously, pour the Kool-Aid, heat up some pizza rolls and it'll be childhood all over again.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Super Mario Galaxy 2 TV spots
Look -- the above TV spots for Super Mario Galaxy 2 are really slick and all, but now we've got one thing on our mind: pancakes. Now that we know there's a stack of flapjacks out there with its own gravitational pull, we just can't wait to dig in. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long to satiate our need for edible planetary bodies. For the rest of this week's Nintendo Channel content, head past the break.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 trailer floats in
The latest video excursion into Super Mario Galaxy 2 (after the break) features some very fancy aerial maneuvers by a gas-filled Yoshi. The side-scrolling segment of the game shown here requires Yoshi to float from Blimp Fruit to Blimp Fruit to stay aloft, and even relies on Yoshi's flutter jump to navigate between platforms around the stage. We can't help but notice that the stage itself is shaped like a cylinder. In fact, you might describe the level as "tubular."
American Super Mario Galaxy 2 commercial debuts
Pfft, "debuts?" More like soars across a whimsical landscape directly into our hearts. We were pressed for space, okay? Maybe that's why we're so keen to stare at yet another snippet of Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- if we watch this commercial (embedded after the break) carefully, the perpetually cheerful plumber might impart some lessons on space usage. Where does he find all that breathing room?
Super Mario Galaxy 2 trailer features bird racing
Nintendo's viral-esque series of Super Mario Galaxy 2 promotional videos continues with a brief look at an odd flying minigame. In this racing segment, Mario woo-hoos through a course as he holds onto the legs of a "Fluzzard." The challenge, of course, is to win the race against a bunch of birds who aren't weighted down by husky plumbers. Perhaps this particular Fluzzard flies faster, though, boosted by the assurance that its talents are useful to Mario. There are really only two fates for animals in the Mario universe, after all. If you can't be used as a vehicle in some way (like Yoshi, who is born wearing a saddle), you are doomed to being stomped to death. See the trailer after the break.
Iwata explains Super Mario Galaxy 2 tutorial DVD
In his presentation to investors, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that Super Mario Galaxy 2 would include a bonus tutorial DVD, and that said DVD would be exclusive to Europe and Japan. Iwata called the "Super Mario Galaxy 2 For Beginners" video "a visual manual for first-timers for 3D Mario." It includes basic information about how to play Super Mario Galaxy 2, as well as "Super Play" footage showing advanced techniques for more seasoned Mario fans. He also addressed the obvious complaint about the DVD: "Some may feel this is unusual because Wii does not have a DVD playback capability, but given the wide penetration of DVD players at home, we have concluded that it is most useful for the players if they can confirm the contents even while they are playing with Wii and decided to provide the footage in DVD format." You can see a snippet of footage from the Japanese version of the DVD in the presentation. And you can see the latest trailer from Nintendo of America, featuring Bee Mario, after the break.
New Super Mario Galaxy 2 media is all about Luigi
In the run up to Super Mario Galaxy 2's big launch later this month, Nintendo has been releasing a steady stream of nostalgia-caked media on the game. And while we don't tell you about each and every one (there's a handful of trailers right here, for instance), we do try and point out the ones that are particularly enticing. For instance, today's trailer features the once-again-playable Luigi as he gets in on some Power Star collecting action himself. It's not clear whether the other Mr. Mario is playable from the get-go -- in the first Super Mario Galaxy, Luigi only became playable after collecting all 120 stars -- but he will clearly be a character that players can control. See Mario's partner in time don an adorable bee suit in the gallery below and check out the new trailer just above. %Gallery-92369%
Europeans get tutorial DVD with Super Mario Galaxy 2
Nintendo really wants to make sure you know how to play Super Mario Galaxy 2, so in addition to the Cosmic Guide feature of the game (which will play for you past the hard parts, if you so choose), it'll also be releasing a bonus DVD in Europe with video tutorials of how to pull off some of the game's toughest tricks. We'll skip right over the irony of Nintendo releasing a bonus disc that can't be played on the Wii (since it's just a standard DVD), and tell you that we've contacted Nintendo of America to see if those of us in the States will have this same option. In the meantime, you might want to grab a copy of the first Galaxy and start practicing, because with all of this extra help that Nintendo is offering, SMG2 must be really, really hard.
Side-scrolling Mario Galaxy 2 footage is delightful
Amongst all gamers of a certain age, there exists a very special, very sensitive part of the brain. The particular section is flooded with pleasure-inducing chemicals upon seeing Mario jump on (and subsequently flatten!) a Goomba. This effect is actually doubled when seen in a 2D context, so we have to append the latest Super Mario Galaxy 2 video with a warning: Prepare your pleasure centers, this one is a doozy. If you think you can handle it, watch the video after the break. [Via GoNintendo]
Hands-on: Super Mario Galaxy 2 co-op & cloud power-up
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/21/super-mario-galaxy-2-co-op-and-cloud-power-up-preview/'; Just over a month from today, Super Mario Galaxy 2 will somersault onto store shelves. We thought we'd seen just about everything the final game would have to offer but, as Nintendo showed me earlier this week at its Northern California offices, there are still plenty of surprises to be found in this sequel. While my last hands-on had me controlling the portly platforming plumber exclusively, this one started me out with a Luma in the game's revamped, expanded co-op mode. When I did play as Mario, I got a chance to try out the latest addition to his growing wardrobe of specialized suits, transforming into the extra-floaty (and fluffy) Cloud Mario. Then came the unexpected: A galaxy based on Super Mario Sunshine (sorry, folks -- no FLUDD). %Gallery-91299%
