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China's complicated history with video games: when a ban isn't really a ban
Earlier this week, China Daily quoted an anonymous government source -- allegedly straight from the Ministry of Culture -- saying China is considering lifting a 12-year-old "ban" on game consoles soon. While it was unclear how reliable the source was at the time, the Tokyo stock market sucked it up anyway, with Bloomberg observing a significant rise for Sony and Nintendo after the rumor was published. Then today we learned from Tech In Asia that Dongfang Daily followed up with two representatives from the Ministry of Culture, one of which said the department has never looked into lifting the ban, while the other person was more vague about the matter. But here's the thing: game consoles were never really banned in China. Allow us to set the record straight for you.
Nintendo Q3 earnings show 3 million Wii Us sold, sales forecasts lowered again
Nintendo's Q3 earnings report is out, and it's sold just over 3 million units of its new Wii U console (at a loss) along with 11.69 million pieces of software. The other big news is that it's adjusted sales forecasts downward -- again, after it announced they were being cut back in October. However, since the flagship console is sold at a loss, while Nintendo is predicting 17 percent lower revenue, its prediction for net income has actually moved up by eight billion yen ($87 million). It's not all bad news however, as it's showing about $160 million in net income for the year, compared with last year's losses. The 3DS has jumped up to 29.84 million sold, while the original Wii is within shouting distance of the 100 million number. Need more numbers? Hit the source links to check out all the sales data firsthand.
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two life-to-date sales 529K in US
Disney's multiplatform Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two sold 529,000 units over November and December of 2012 in the United States, according to new data provided by the NPD group. Joystiq was also informed that sales of Epic Mickey 2, plus Nintendo 3DS title Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion, across North America reached 695,000 units over the same period. An unconfirmed report previously pegged Epic Mickey 2's sales at 270,000 copies.Disney Epic Mickey developer Junction Point Studios was closed today, with the House of Mouse noting it was due to an ongoing effort to address fast-evolving gaming platforms and the marketplace.Junction Point was the last studio standing of Disney's previous attempt to break into the triple-A "core" market, with many studios lost along the way, including the critically acclaimed Pure and Split/Second developer Black Rock Studios. Disney has readjusted its sights and is now developing Disney Infinity.
Now Playing: January 28 - February 3, 2013
Relive Agent 47's blood soaked career from the beginning with the Hitman HD Trilogy... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
The top 30 games of 2012 in Japan
Japan's list of best-selling games in 2012 is full of national pride, including titles from Capcom, Nintendo, Namco Bandai, Square Enix and Sega, among a few other Japan-based publishers. The top game of 2012 in Japan is Pokemon Black and White 2 for Nintendo DS, which we found to feature a "world that feels larger and more interesting than ever."Black and White 2 is followed by Animal Crossing: New Leaf for 3DS, New Super Mario Bros. 2 for 3DS, Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D for 3DS and, breaking the pattern in more than one way, Resident Evil 6 for PS3. Check out the entire lineup below, as compiled by Siliconera from data on 4Gamer.
PSA: Emergency Nintendo Network maintenance Jan. 28 and 29
Various Nintendo services, as well as a small handful of specific games, may experience issues of varying frequency and severity from 3 p.m. Eastern on Monday, January 28 through 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, January 29, as Nintendo will be conducting emergency network maintenance.The full maintenance schedule, which can be found here, includes work on Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS eShops, as well as matchmaking for Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper and network services for Pokemon Black & White and Pokemon Black & White 2. We're not tremendously sure what kind of emergency can be caused by Pokemon networking issues, but we assume someone left a Voltorb in the server room and things went south.
Now Playing: January 21-27, 2013
Embark on a magical journey this week with Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Now Playing: January 14-20, 2013
Tear up the demonic menace this week with DmC: Devil May Cry... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Renegade Kid's lost Crash Bandicoot DS prototype revealed
Prolific DS/3DS developer Renegade Kid made a demo for a Crash Bandicoot DS game years ago. The test for Crash Landed was done in 2008 or 2009 for publisher Activision, according to Nintendo World Report's source, but the game was not picked up. Several Crash games were made for DS, but this was not one of them.Now, for the first time, video of the unfinished (barely started!) demo has surfaced on YouTube. Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham verified the existence of the demo, calling the video "a blast from the past" and revealing that the demo took two weeks to make.
December NPD: 2012 sales hit $13.26 billion, Black Ops 2 leads the pack
During a period that encompassed both post-Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping and the Christmas season (November 25 through December 29), the physical retail sector of the video games industry pulled in $3.2 billion, bringing the total dollar amount spent in 2012 up to $13.26 billion, which is just a little less than half of one Scrooge McDuck money vault. Both December and the year as a whole were down 22 percent from their respective 2011 counterparts, according to NPD data, with December 2011 earning $4.10 billion and all of 2011 pulling down a smooth $16.99 billion.Hardware sales specifically amount to 20 percent less in 2012 than in 2011, reporting $1.07 billion for the period and $4.04 billion for the year as a whole. Most of the decline this December, however, was seen in non-HD system sales, according to NPD analyst Liam Callahan. Hardware bundles that included software sold 37 percent more than they did last December, with sales of stand-alone hardware SKUs dropping 37 percent to balance the scales.The Xbox 360 once again held the top spot in overall hardware sales in December, with 1.4 million units sold according to Major Nelson. Meanwhile, the Wii U experienced its inaugural holiday shopping season this period. It sold fewer units that the original Wii did during its launch in December of 2006, but earned comparatively three percent more moolah than the Wii for the month. The Wii U's most expensive SKU costs $350, compared to the Wii's single $250 model.Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 topped off physical retail software sales in both December and 2012 as a whole, which totaled $1.54 billion for the month and $2.67 billion for the year, down 26 and 23 percent from 2011, respectively. Surprisingly, Far Cry 3 accomplished the second-most successful December launch NPD has recorded since it started monitoring sales in 1995, earning it the number six slot on the list of December's top 10 best-selling games. The list of 2012's 10 best-selling games can also be found after the break, in all of its "comprised entirely of sequels" glory.
NintendoWare Weekly: ZombiU demo, Hello Kitty
A demo on the Wii U eShop today will allow you to get your first taste of our #10 game of 2012, ZombiU. Perhaps that's not the best phrasing for a zombie game, but nonetheless. An NBA 2K13 demo will also be available.Meanwhile on 3DS, there's fishing, hunting, DinoPet...ting, and Hello Kitty Picnic with Sanrio Friends, a minigame collection with unlockable "supercute outfits for Hello Kitty."
Lego Marvel Super Heroes assemble in autumn 2013
Lego Marvel Super Heroes will fly, swing and smash into retail in the fall of 2013. This latest Lego collectathon from TT Games will "complement the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes construction toy collection," which already includes scenes from X-Men, Iron Man, Avengers and Spider-Man franchises. Expect to see it on just about everything, including the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, PC, Vita and 3DS.The game will have an original storyline in which Nick Fury needs the help of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine and "other heroes" to stop Loki and Galactus. Okay, Lego Galactus sounds pretty awesome."Players will brave the ultimate mission to save the world as they explore famous landmarks in LEGO New York and take the adventure beyond Earth to iconic locations in the Marvel Universe," said TT Games Publishing managing director Tom Stone.Players will unlock over 100 characters from across the Marvel Universe, which also includes Wolverine, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Deadpool. No word on whether Howard the Duck will be playable.
Now Playing: January 7-13, 2013
Fight to become the ultimate survivor this week with Anarchy Reigns... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Nintendo Direct bringing Pokemon news early tomorrow morning
A Nintendo Direct will be simultaneously broadcast worldwide tomorrow morning at 6am EST/8pm Japan time. In the roughly ten-minute broadcast, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata will deliver "a short message with Pokemon news."With no other details to go on, we remind you to please reserve your excitement for after the announcement. Sometimes there are new main-series Pokemon games, yes, but there are a lot of things like Pokemon Dash out there too.
Dragon Sword trailer focuses on action combat
Dragon Sword, a new title by the Chinese company NetEase, has put out a new trailer highlighting its action combat technology. Slated for release some time this year, the game is built around an in-house engine, Next-B, that's being touted as one of the most advanced 3-D engines yet. The game features non-target combat action, open PvP, castle sieges, and large-scale fights against huge boss monsters. Skip below the cut to check out the combat technology video.
NintendoWare Weekly: Unchained Blades, Code of Princess
The dungeon RPG Unchained Blades, long available on PSP, makes its way to 3DS eShop today. Originally released as a retail game in Japan, XSEED's localized version is exclusively downloadable. The brawler/RPG Code of Princess is also downloadable today, but not exclusively: it was released as a 3DS cart back in October.Mobile and PC platformer Gunman Clive is also on 3DS today, with its unusual sketches-on-yellowed paper look. And on Wii U: nothing! If you got one over the holidays, now's the time to catch up on Little Inferno and Mighty Switch Force, or something.
'Lego: Legends of Chima' builds a new world across three games
The next Lego game from Warner and TT Games is Lego: Legends of Chima. No, you didn't miss out on some hit cartoon or established franchise that's being adapted into a Lego game; this is a new original property, tying into a new collection of Lego toys about a "land inhabited by different magical animal tribes."Legends of Chima's video game branch actually comprises three games. Lego Legends of Chima: Speedorz is a "racing mini-game" that will be available today on Lego.com and tomorrow on iOS. Lego Legends of Chima: Laval's Journey, coming to 3DS and Vita in the summer and DS in the fall, is an "amazing adventure" starring the warrior Laval, who is basically Lion-O from the Thundercats.Lego Legends of Chima Online is the most ambitious of the three games, a free-to-play "online world" from WB Montreal that lets players build weapons and structures, and interact with the Chima characters in missions. It's due this fall.
Animated short looks back on 2012's big gaming moments
With 2012 coming to a close, now is the time to reflect on what a crazy year it's been for video games. Remember Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City?
NintendoWare Weekly: Fluidity - Spin Cycle, The Lost Levels, Mega Man
Curve Studios' Fludity: Spin Cycle washes up on the 3DS eShop today, whirling in at a price of $10.99. The follow-up to the 2010 WiiWare game is also joined by a couple of retro superstars in Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels and Mega Man. There aren't any new games on the Wii U eShop this week, but head there and you'll find Trine 2, Little Inferno, and Chasing Aurora on sale until January 3.
ExtraLives aims to hit $100K for charity with Pokémon marathon this weekend
The good folks at ExtraLives.org have raised $91,837.25 since 2009, and they're hoping Pokémon will help put them over the $100,000 mark this coming weekend. Starting up on Saturday, December 29, the team is going to start up three different Pokémon sessions at the same time, marathoning Nintendo's addictive little monster capture RPG all the way into 2013.They'll start with the old Game Boy titles, and then make their way up into the DS era, campaigning the whole time to try and raise money for charity.The marathon will begin at noon on Saturday, and each of the three streamed screens will be running a different version of Pokemon, so you'll get to see for sure just how different the game is if you go with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle for your first pet. The infamous Pokémon bootlegs will also be making an appearance. All the money will be going to Free the Children, so it's for a great cause.Our heartfelt holiday donations: Let us show you them.
