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Pokemon HeartGold, SoulSilver soundtracks now on iTunes
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, the 2010 DS remakes of the Game Boy games that added the train-as-you-move Pokewalker device, can now be relived sonically. The 270-song Pokemon HeartGold & Pokemon SoulSilver: Super Music Collection soundtrack is available for $9.99 on iTunes. Good thing you don't have to capture those tracks individually! The new release follows the availability of soundtracks for Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen and Pokemon X/Y earlier this year. If you're still holding out for jams from other Pokeregions, remember that we can expect to see soundtracks for the following duos in 2014: Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, Pokemon Black/White and Pokemon Black 2/White 2. If you don't already own HeartGold/SoulSilver but still want to kick up those childhood memories, this is a decent alternative from paying the steadily-increasing entry price for new copies of either game.
NPD: 2010's bestselling game releases by platform
Gamasutra has obtained NPD data that puts a new filter on last year's US box-copy software sales, ranking the top ten bestselling 2010 releases for each console and handheld platform (PC excluded). Like the monthly NPD breakdowns, these rankings don't include actual sales numbers, but they do reveal some interesting trends. By omitting Nintendo's so-called "evergreen" titles (i.e., games released before 2010), Gamasutra found that -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- Just Dance 2 was last year's top-selling 2010 release for Wii, and among six additional third-party games that made the top ten in sales for the platform. On DS, however, Nintendo games filled out half of the top ten, and Pokemon SoulSilver and HeartGold were the only titles to surpass sales of one million units each. At first glance, PSP software sales look even bleaker, with Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep on top and, according to Gamastura, the only PSP title to break 300K units sold; with the other top ten games each falling below 200K. Of course, these rankings don't include digital sales or box-copy games bundled with hardware, so it's unlikely that Birth by Sleep (which isn't available on the PlayStation Store) was the true #1 bestseller among 2010's PSP releases -- let alone the most pirated. What is certain is that Call of Duty: Black Ops dominated torrents, as well as the games legitimately sold for PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. Still, both Sony and Microsoft saw two first-party releases make their console's respective top ten sales charts for the year; though each publisher's most critically-acclaimed release of 2010 -- at least, from Joystiq's perspective -- was not present. Perhaps telling of the two console's core player bases, Madden 11 beat out God of War 3 for the #2 spot on the PS3 chart, but fell to #3 beneath Halo: Reach in the Xbox 360 ranking. Finally, we have to wonder just what were they thinking? They, of course, being all those Xbox 360 owners that purchased Fable 3 and Fallout: New Vegas instead of Mass Effect 2. Three and a half stars plus four still doesn't add up to the Game of the Year, people. Check out Gamastutra for the complete breakdown of 2010's bestselling releases by platform.
Best of the Rest: Griffin's picks of 2010
Cave Story I am mad at everyone I've ever known for not telling me to play Cave Story before I grabbed it late last year. Within two months, I had beaten it four times across two different platforms. It's arguably the most charming game I've ever played, with deep layers of Metroidvania-esque exploration and a level of difficulty which expertly straddles the line between challenging and frustrating. It's one of the most polished games I played during the year, and if you find yourself with an overabundance of virtual Nintendo currency, you absolutely need to own it. Twice, if you have the means.
Catch Latias or Latios in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver's latest Wi-Fi event
The latest online-exclusive content for Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver will give you the opportunity to acquire the Legendary Pokémon Latias or Latios for your e-menagerie, and all you have to do is ... well, kind of a lot of stuff, actually. In order to take part in the event, you'll have to have beaten the Elite Four and received the National Pokédex. Then, you'll have to connect to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection between July 31 and August 27 and fight a Pokémon holding an Enigma Stone. This will indirectly lead to an encounter with Latios (in HeartGold) or Latias (in SoulSilver) -- all in a day's work in the endless pursuit of 'em all. [Press release is posted after the break.]
2010 halftime report on bestselling US console games
NPD has revealed the bestselling games for consoles from January through June of 2010. IGN notes that Nintendo dominates sales by individual platform, with six of the top ten titles created for its hardware; and five of them developed by the money-printing publisher itself. In combined platform sales, runaway hit Red Dead Redemption rides high. 2010 Top Five Combined Platform Sales from January–June: 1. Red Dead Redemption (PS3, Xbox 360) 2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) 3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3, Xbox 360) 4. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PS3, Xbox 360) 5. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) Check out the top ten individual platform sales leaders after the break.
New game sales up in GameStop's fiscal Q1
GameStop reported earnings for its fiscal first quarter (February–April). Sales are up five percent over the first quarter of 2009, to $2.08 billion. Some of that growth is no doubt due to strong sales of new games. The retailer announced that new software sales increased 13.3 percent in the quarter -- a trend that the GameStop should be happy to see, now that EA and THQ are taking aim at the used games business. The company identified five games in particular that drove revenue growth: Battlefield Bad Company 2, God of War 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, and BioShock 2. We all love buying sequels at GameStop, apparently.
Walk the Winner's Path in new Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver DLC
Nintendo continues to support Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver with new downloadable paths, through which you can pick up new Pokemon and items. From tomorrow, May 6, through June 25, Pokemon players in North America will be able to access the "Winner's Path Route" DLC. Pokemon available in the route, to those who pick up enough Watts with the Pokewalker accessory, include a Munchlax that knows "Selfdestruct," a Magikarp that can learn "Bounce" upon evolution into Gyarados and others, along with items like the Focus Sash, the Choice Scarf and the Choice Band. You can see the full details of the offerings here. Can you resist the allure of a special Magikarp? Of course not!
This Week on Nintendo Channel: Pokemon reminiscing
Man, has it really been that long since those Pokémon hit the scene? Right now, we feel incredibly old, but don't let our impending deaths bring you down! This week on the Nintendo Channel, a pair of suspiciously attractive PokéTrainers talk about their favorite moments in the franchise. After that, head past the break for the list of this week's content.
Snap Judgment: Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver
I can't remember a single game release I ever anticipated more in my life than Pokémon Gold and Silver. By the time the game hit U.S. store shelves in 2000, I'd been rendered a shivering addict to versions Blue and Red for nearly two years. The promise of new pocket-sized monsters and new areas to explore thrilled me to the central of my very being -- and thankfully, the franchise's massive second generation did not disappoint. I'm a decade older now, and while I've retained most of my love for the franchise since my middle school career, I worried that the recently released remakes, HeartGold and SoulSilver, wouldn't have the same intoxicating properties as their source materials. Now that I've spent about eight hours in the game, I feel confident in reporting that these remakes possess the same gripping magic as the originals -- partially due to the infusion of new elements introduced in later generations of the series, and, surprisingly, due to the bundled Pokéwalker peripheral. %Gallery-65398%
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Pokemon TV spots
This week's Nintendo Channel update is about as light as it gets. Sure, there's a new DS demo to check out and a pair of TV spots for Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver -- but that's about it. Oh, you don't believe us? Well, that hurts our feelings, but, by all means, check out the full list of this week's content past the break for yourselves. We'll just wait for you in the corner with our broken heart.
English Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver gets exclusive mini-game
We've always thought the regular inclusion of slot machines in the kid-friendly world of Pokémon to be bit strange, and apparently we weren't the only ones. According to Official Nintendo Magazine, the English-language versions of Heart Gold and Soul Silver have had their gambling devices replaced by a new mini-game which, according to the magazine, is surprisingly fun. In the new game, players must flip over panels in a five-by-five grid. Some panels hide multipliers for the player's coins. Some, however, hide Voltorbs, which end the round and cause the player to lose all coins accumulated to that point. You can guess where each Voltorb is hidden using numerical clues at the end of each row and column -- it other words, its Picross meets Minesweeper. Meets Pokémon. Yes, please.
Latest Nintendo software sales report features large numbers
Look, we get just as tired of seeing Nintendo's remarkably high software sales figures every few months as you do -- that's why, this time around, we're going to do things a little differently. We're just going to add up all the life-to-date totals for the company's biggest titles, and just drop them in one big chunk. Ready? Okay, here we go: 247,780,000. Well, that sure didn't work. Fine, we'll break down each of the games highlighted by Nintendo's recent financial report (warning: .pdf link) and post their FY2010 sales and life-to-date sales after the jump. (Fun fact: All of the Wii games actually have "Wii" in the title. It's like the Nintendo 64 days all over again!)
Hey Griffin, Pikachu-colored Pichu downloadable at GameStop
There are all kinds of different reasons for choosing to write one story over another. For instance, I'm telling you about a Pokémon-centric GameStop promotion solely to irritate Joystiq co-worker and co-brother Griffin McElroy with my ignorance. It's a pretty big sacrifice for a major gaming website with millions of readers, but Griffin loves Pokémon more than you love most members of your immediate family, so it's absolutely worth it. So, apparently, if you take Pokémon Platinum, Pokémon Diamond or Pokémon Pearl (are there really that many?) into GameStop between January 30 and February 14, you can get a Pikachu-colored Pichu. That Pichu will also give you access to the mythical, spiky-eared Pichu in Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soul Silver (There are more of them? And they're called that?!). So make sure to say "Hi" to Griffin and his girlfriend there. Oh, and by the way: That thing to the right is a Pichu. I don't know how to break it to you, Griffin, but he is Pikachu-colored and has spiky ears.
Amazon listing for Pokemon remakes includes March 14 release date, Pokewalker accessory
Though Japan has been enjoying the adorable bounties of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver for months now, us poor westerners still don't know when to expect the games on our store shelves, or whether they'll include the Pokéwalker accessory which allows you to take one of your encapsulated soldiers out for a discreet night on the town. Fortunately, if the games' Amazon listings are on the money, both these Unown pieces of info have been divulged: According to the listings, they're coming March 14, along with the Poke Ball-shaped peripheral. The latter information actually comes from the games' supposed box art, which we've posted above. We've contacted Nintendo to find out if the Amazon listing is authentic. If it's not, we're going to give them the most guilt-inspiring sad puppy face anyone's ever seen. It will be absolutely brutal.
Pokemon remakes break a million in two days
The top two games on the Media Create charts for the week ending September 13 are Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver. Despite coming out just one day before the end of that week, the games managed to outsell everything else in Japan, almost by a factor of ten. The distribution of the 1,442,990 copies sold was pretty evenly split between the two versions, with Soul Silver's 722,904 copies edging out Heart Gold's 720,086.The number three spot belongs to Tomodachi Collection, also on the DS, followed by Dragon Quest IX, PS3's Gundam Senki, and Wii Sports Resort. The only other new game in the top ten is MAPLUS Portable Navi 3, a PSP map/navigation program.
Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver hitting Japan Sept. 12
Yes, the once-vague "fall" launch window for the pedometer-infused pokéremakes, Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, has evolved into a much more specific Japanese release date of September 12. The game will be catchable if you've got 4,980 yen ($50) to spare, which seems an exorbitant price, but is actually the standard cost of Pokémon titles in Japan, thanks to that completely unwarranted Adorability Tax.North America hasn't gotten a release date or price for the remakes -- probably because Nintendo has yet to formally announce the games in the States -- but we'll let you know when it finally does. You'll know which post contains this announcement, because it'll be written in bold all-caps to reflect our uncontrollable excitement.
Pokemon Gold/Silver remakes let you train Pokemon by walking
Turns out that the same technology used in Personal Trainer: Walking to train you will also help you train Pokemans in Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. According to Andriasang, the Pokémon Sunday TV show revealed a new pedometer device used in the game, called the "Poké Walker," that resembles a cross between a Pokeball and the Pokémon Mini handheld. For some reason, Nintendo decided to make another wireless pedometer peripheral for the DS rather than allowing people to use the existing one. The device allows you to build one Pokémon's experience and personal affinity simply by walking. In addition, the Poké Walker generates "watts," which can be used to catch wild creatures and find tools inside the Poké Walker world to send back to the full game. Check out the first screens of the remakes in our gallery, as you come to the terrifying realization that Nintendo didn't mention this game at all at E3.%Gallery-65398%
First footage of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver revealed
As promised, today's episode of Pokémon Sunday brought the now not-so-surprising reveal of Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. While the actual revelation wasn't particularly mind-blowing, the episode did feature a few seconds of gameplay (posted after the break) that will likely whet the appetites of many a pocket-sized monster fanatic.The gameplay itself isn't that interesting -- the protagonist merely walks in circles a few times -- though we do get a good sense of the Pearl and Diamond-esque art style the remakes will adopt. Also, if this clip is any indication, it looks like your starter pokémon will follow your character around in a Pokémon Yellow-esque fashion. We feel so sorry for Pokémon detractors. If you guys had hearts, that news would make them feel pretty warm.
Nintendo chooses to announce Pokemon Gold and Silver remakes
So, that Pokémon announcement that everyone assumed would be remakes of Gold and Silver? Totally remakes of Gold and Silver. We'll get to play new versions of the Game Boy Color Pokemans and we get the satisfaction of being right! This time, it was Nintendo that jumped the gun with the announcement. The DS remakes, called Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soul Silver, are scheduled for release in Japan this fall. Going by the time it took Diamond and Pearl to reach North America, we could possibly see these by spring 2010.[Via Kotaku; thanks, Fernando Rocker!]