northamerica
Latest
North American Nokia N95 8GB now available
We just got a call from our friendly local Nokia flagship store, and lo, it seems the mythical N95 8GB with HSDPA 850 / 1900 is now in stock. The all-black monster of Nokia's current Nseries lineup will run you a stiff $799 -- so get your credit card out, get your 3G on, and find out exactly what 8GB of music you want to carry with you.
Vizio slips to second in North American LCD TV sales
Oh, how the times they are a-changin'. Merely months after Vizio ousted Samsung as the LCD TV king in Q2, Sammy is back on top of overall flat-panel TV sales here in North America. Thanks primarily to a staggering 37-percent quarter-to-quarter growth rate (compared to Vizio's 12-percent), Samsung now has an 11.8-percent unit share compared to Vizio's 10.2-percent. Strictly looking at LCD TVs, Vizio still isn't holding the gold; rather, Sharp rocketed ahead to the top spot in that category and left the previous leader clinging to second. It should be noted that Vizio's sales are far from stagnant -- the firm has experienced a 334-percent increase year-to-year in LCD TV growth compared to Sharp's 88-percent. Still, we wouldn't count on the current leaderboard staying this way for long, as Black Friday (and the holiday season in general) has a tendency to shake things up.
Nokia N95 for North America: get it September for $699
Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? The shock of a real, honest-to-goodness N95 with North American 3G bands becoming reality (sorry, T-Mobile, not you!) is still wearing off, and now the company's spouting off about a September release for the darned thing. As we found in our hands-on, this particular variant of the S60 superphone gets tweaked just a bit from the original -- though not as much as the bigger-screened N95 8GB -- offering a redesigned, recessed camera lens (sans protective cover), twice the RAM, dimpled music control keys, and re-upped battery capacity. Nokia claims this very special version of the N95 was made in part because it's been "extremely pleased" with response to the European N95 in these parts -- so to everyone with an N95 in your pocket right now, thanks! As we mentioned, grab it starting next month through a variety of online retailers plus Nokia's flagship stores in New York and Chicago for $699.
Sprint to offer WiMAX-enabled Nokia N800 in 2008?
While we were already looking forward to the N800 Internet Tablet's inevitable successor, it seems like Sprint may have something else in mind. According to LinuxDevices, the operator "will offer a mobile WiMAX-enabled version of Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet to North American customers next year," which reportedly falls in line with the carrier's grand scheme of making 4G services available "to over 100 million people during 2008." Furthermore, Nokia's director of open source, Dr. Ari Jaaksi, was quoted as saying that this here device would "most probably" include WiFi and Bluetooth as well, but as expected, no details regarding a specific launch timeframe were divulged.[Via JustAMP]
Game Developer Census details nearly 600 companies in North America
It's a groundbreaking achievement, and you probably can't afford it. The CMP Media Group has just published an exhaustive list of every significant game publisher and developer in North America. The publication details approximately 510 companies in the United States, and an additional 80 in Canada, and includes the full postal address, phone number, e-mail contact, URL, approximate number of employees, and examples of games produced for every included business, as well as details regarding the particular focuses of each company.In addition to the comprehensive directory, the census also reveals that over 39,700 individuals are currently employed by the games industry in the United States, and around 8,100 in Canada. Of those employees in the United States, over 46% are working in California, with Washington state a far second at 11%, and Texas third with 7.37%.Individuals interested in purchasing the report are probably out of luck. Priced at $1,995 (yes, that's a comma), the census is intended for contractors and service companies looking to invest or do business with the North American market. The census is the second publication from CMP's Game Developer Research group, which also published the industry salary report earlier this year.[Via Sys-Con]
Nokia's 6300 plays fetch with Fido
While the Canadians in the crowd may not have paid too much attention to the the Nokia 6300 review, you should probably take interest now that the handset is making its North American debut on Fido. The tri-band (850 / 1800 / 1900) candybar measures in at a sleek 13.1-millimeters thick, sports a sexy stainless steel motif, and packs modernized features into one of Nokia's most long-standing designs. Among the inclusions are a two-megapixel camera with video recording capability, a 512MB microSD card, Bluetooth, music player, FM tuner, voice dialing, a bundled headset, and a battery that purportedly lasts through 3.5-hours of continuous talking. Best of all, Fido users don't even have to wait for this thing to show up, as the 6300 is available right now for $300 sans a contract, $150 with a two-year deal, or $100 when signing a three-year contract.[Via Cellphones Etc., thanks Branden]
Nintendo dominates April's NPD
Remember the days when Nintendo's hardware was at a permanent and incredibly depressing third place in the sales charts, month after month? We sure can't; all this success has gone to our heads.The April NPD numbers, tracking hardware and software sales in North America, were released recently and Nintendo once again obliterated the competition. The Nintendo DS and the Wii took the top two spots for the fourth month running, with 471,000 and 360,000 units sold, respectively. Both of these figures more than double their nearest competitors (PSP and the Xbox 360), and the PS3 could only move a paltry 82,000 units.It's the same story in software. Nintendo took home the top four spots across all systems with the releases of Pokemon Diamond/Pearl and Super Paper Mario, along with the still oddly popular Wii Play. The Pokemon titles, of course, were only available for a single week in April, yet still captured the top spots with a combined 1.7 million units sold.It just makes you all tingly inside, doesn't it? For the full hardware and software figures, click after the break.
LG / Harris announce In-Band mobile DTV system
Ah, yet another technology that looks oh-so-promising from the onset, but quickly becomes dulled when wading through the technical jargon required to understand it. So is the case with digital television broadcasting, but Harris Corporation and LG Electronics don't seem to mind the complexities involved in establishing a new In-Band Mobile DTV service, as the duo has just announced the means to allow broadcasters to "create new markets and revenue streams" -- but besides all that -- give the end-user yet another option when it comes to TV on the go. Reportedly backwards compatible with A-VSB transmission and receiving equipment, the forthcoming Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld (MPH) applications should theoretically allow DTV broadcasters to beam signals to set-top-boxes in the home and mobile devices simultaneously via the same antenna. Additionally, this technology enables HD programming to hit the couch-dwelling customers, while bandwidth-starved cellphone users will still get vanilla SD content without relying on new (read: pricey) hardware on the broadcasting end. Unfortunately, we've no idea when mass deployment of this stuff is scheduled, but you can still look forward to "field testing results" as well as mysterious "extra details" to be divulged in a few short weeks.
Nintendo DS tops 10 million in the Americas [update 1]
Coinciding with its recent 10 million in Europe milestone, the Nintendo DS has also topped 10 million "in the Americas," according to the latest press release. Playing the numbers game yet again, Nintendo claims to have sold nearly nine DS or DS Lite units every minute.The DS launched earliest in the US, on November 21, 2004, close to 795 days ago. That number converts to approximately 1.145 million minutes, which would give Nintendo sales figures of 10.3 million portable systems -- certainly a lot more precise than previous ventures by Nintendo into the magical world of Arithmetic. Still, who are we to judge Nintendo's math skills when scientists are working to define a new number that explains the DS's sales numbers in Japan (sources tell us they'll likely go with "Nintend-illion").[Update 1: Title used to refer to Western Hemisphere, which was used to reference the Americas but not any portion of Europe or Africa that subsequently lie in the West. Headline has been changed.]
i-mate's JAQ3 heading stateside
Barely two weeks after i-mate's JAQ3 got previewed, and just a single day after some other firms caught the smartphone blues, the now-dull looking device is headed to American shores. Presumably hoping to grab the business of those who just can't wait for an iPhone, our textual begging was apparently heard, as now we US lads can get a little JAQ in us, too. As expected, this Window Mobile 5-powered device will sport a full QWERTY keyboard, massive D-pad for navigating those menus, 802.11b/g, two-megapixel camera, 2.4-inch touchscreen LCD, 128MB of onboard ROM, 64MB of RAM, a microSD slot, and four hours of reported talk time to boot. You'll also find quad-band GSM and Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP) connectivity, EDGE, and a side-mounted scroll wheel for one-handed navigatin'. So if the nicely-featured JAQ3 was everything (keyword: was) you wanted in a smartphone, you can rethink your decision to pick one up when they land here later this month.
Samsung builds on ATSC, develops A-VSB for mobile broadcasting
While Argentina tries to figure out if ISDB or DVB is the way to go, Samsung is giving us North American folk something (else) to cheer about, and it's dubbed A-VSB. Yes, that unfortunately means that you'll have to learn yet another acronym in the world of digital television broadcasting, but if the benefits turn out to be as sweet as they sound, it'll be worth it. Quite simply, Advanced-VSB technology "builds on the current ATSC transmission standard to enhance the ability of receivers to get television broadcasts in motion both indoors and out," and also "eases synchronization of broadcast signal timing of different towers in a Single Frequency Network (SFN)." SFNs are most certainly your friend, as they can improve the signal strength throughout an entire service area, allowing even remote and heavily walled locations to fetch their favorite shows. Possibly the best news about this newfangled development is its backwards compatibility with current digital TV receivers, meaning that potential implementers can't use that excuse when approached by Samsung. Currently, A-VSB is being "standardized in ATSC," and field tests are planned for "early 2007," but here's what you really want to know: implementation should happen shortly after "the first half of the year."
Wii Shopping: Japanese vs. North American
Which is better: Wario Woods and Sim City, or Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario World, Gradius, Street Fighter II, and the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past? Yeah, we thought you might choose the latter. We hope the Japanese and North American Virtual Console lineup will reach equilibrium in a few months and we can all enjoy the same rockin' old school games, but there will likely always be some differences in offerings between regions. Thanks to Spencer Yip of Siliconera, we can see the Japanese Wii shopping in action -- including the awesome greeting from Wario when his new game is in the disc channel.
Sony announces launch of North American PSP Spot download stations
No need to stop when you're on a roll, right? We've seen the 3.0 firmware hit the wild, heard rumblings about a future television streaming service, and still know that the not-so-universal UMD format was dead from day one. In a presumed attempt to hit Nintendo (or more specifically, the DS Lite), where it hurts most, Sony is intelligently pushing the non-gaming aspects of its portable system by announcing the forthcoming availability of PSP Spot download stations. While our pals in Japan and Europe have been enjoying these services for the past few months, Sony is getting ready to toss wireless streaming displays into Circuit City, GameStop, Target, and Toys 'R Us locations to deliver "game demos, movie trailers, music clips, mini-strategy guides, wallpapers, and more" onto needy PSP memory sticks. While we don't have any hard dates in which to expect such kiosks to land on showroom floors (or overcrowded electronics departments), we do know that they'll start trickling into North America "beginning this month," and should top out at around "6,000 units" by January.[Via PSP Fanboy]
NPD's October hardware sales numbers released
We're all fully aware of the PSP's situation in Japan, but I think many people don't know how well the PSP sells in North America. Well, NPD has just released the October hardware numbers, and I have some good news and some bad news for you PSP Fanboys.Bad news - in October, there were 130,000 PSPs sold compared to the DS' 360,000 units.Good news - the deficit between the DS and PSP is a lot smaller than it is in Japan.While it still seems like a large gap, the DS, at times, outsold the PSP by that margin in a week's time in Japan. Plus, the PSP is now selling better in America than it is in Japan by an average of 50,000 units.However, with Peter Dille's recent comments, do these numbers really matter anymore since Sony is targeting a different audience? Or do you think Sony's just telling us and themselves that to make them feel better?
IDG predicts Wii as big loser in 2010
Market research firm IDG recently published a huge report detailing their predictions for the next-gen console wars, as well as PC games and the handhelds, through 2010. But however long-reaching the data may be, it isn't far-reaching, as it only covers North America and Western Europe. Unsurprising -- they list the Wii as the big loser. Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before, but we fully expect to convert our North American brothers. What is more suprising is that the 360 is just barely coming out on top here, with the PS3 poised to take the lead soon after. Of course, after 2010, we'll all be driving rocket cars for our robot masters, so will the console wars really matter?[Via Joystiq]
It stops: GC Zelda DOESN'T go poof [update 1]
Nintendo of America's offical reply to all this nonsense: Online reports about the Nintendo GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are incorrect. The amazing game will be available at retail outlets nationwide on Dec. 13.Apparently, Gamestop and EB Games used a separate SKU for preordering. Since preorders had been maxed out, the SKU was removed. However, this confirmation is news in itself: it looks like America won't be receiving the EB Games-only Aussie treatment or online-only Japan treatment. Sweet! We'll try to refrain to excessive commentary in this post ... similar topics have been covered in regards to Japan and Australia ... but now North American major retail chains EB Games and Gamestop have reported that the Gamecube version of Twilight Princess has been mysteriously deleted from their computers. The SKU is simply gone. Though we might refrain from calling this an outright cancellation, the only other conceivable option is for the game to sell exclusively through Nintendo's online store, as they've decided to do in Japan.(sigh) Comment as you will, but try to keep it civil. What the eff, Nintendo. [via Joystiq]
September North American hardware sales
You wanted to see more sales numbers in North America and here they are, hot off the ... well, hot on your screen: hardware sales in North America for September. Guess who's in the lead?Yeah. It's the Nintendo DS. That's right. We're not going to crack any little jokes about these numbers. We're not going to make up a story. We're just going to let the figures speak for themselves.TOP SELLING HARDWARE (units sold) NDS - 403,435 PS2 - 306,517 360 - 259,458 GBA - 177,145 PSP - 153,353 NGC - 42,286 XBX - 6,495 For the month, sales blew up when compared to this time last year -- to the tune of a 38% increase in units sold for the month. That's a sizeable jump, and industry analysts predict that this may be gaming's biggest year ever. We Nintendo fans are proud to be a part of that powerhouse expansion program.Check after the jump for software sales numbers.
DS Lite packaging pr0n
Behold, the box art! You can score the real deal on June 11 when the DS Lite drops for $129.99 in the US -- Europe's gotta wait (and pay more).Compare to: DS Lite packaging (Japan)
Simultaneous November release for PS3 worldwide
As expected, Sony held its PlayStation Business Briefing 2006 in Japan today, where a simultaneous worldwide launch was announced for the PS3 in early November (which would purportedly be sometime during the first 10 days of the month).PS3 highlights of the briefing include that simultaneous launch in Japan, North America, and Europe; a 60GB hard drive preinstalled with every system (which will support Linux and be completely upgradeable); a 6 million unit production target through March 2007; 100% backwards compatibility with HD upscaling; a free "basic" online service for the "PlayStation Network Platform"; and a May/June ship date for final dev kits.PSP highlights can be found neatly summarized in this particular Joystiq post, while "PlayStation Network Platform" highlights (for the "Live"-like online service) can so far be found here. Hooray for new PlayStation info! Now we'll have to see how Sony executes on all these ideas. It should be an interesting few months until E3 (and then early November), especially if XBLA-like games are offered as downloads and bootable off the hard drive.
