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February NPD: Street Fighter IV, Wii Fit battle as Nintendo dominates hardware sales
Zangief's always struck us as a perpetual sourpuss, but he -- and the rest of the Street Fighter IV crew -- must be cracking polygonal smiles right about now. So are Capcom's accountants, sans the polygons (we think). While Wii Fit was once again at the top of software sales for February, the combined total of SFIV copies moved for PS3 and 360 has the fighter closing in on 1 million units sold in its first two weeks (actually outselling Wii Fit by 205K copies). Reported sales of the PS3-exclusive Killzone 2 are at 323K after a mere 48 hours on shelves, landing it in 5th place. Finally, Wii Play has officially broken the 10 million sold mark in the US.On the hardware front, Nintendo seems to be doing pretty well with this "Wii" thing, selling almost 3/4 million of whatever they are. DS maintained its second-in-command spot for the month, followed by Xbox 360 and PS3 -- the latter of which only outsold its previous iteration by 79K consoles. Overall hardware sales were up considerably over January.Fun Fact: The analysts of EEDAR were a little off with their February software revenue and top 10 titles predictions, to the tune of $75 million in sales (NPD's final accounting was $733.5M, EEDAR had expected $659M).-Wii: 753K74K (+11%)-DS: 588K77K (+15%)-Xbox 360: 391K82K (+27%)-PS3: 276K73K (+36%)-PSP: 199K 27K (+16%)-PS2: 131K30K (+30%)Check out the software sales chart after the break.
'Wii Fit girl' resurfaces as EA Sports Active spokesmodel
In these two videos, EA's Jen Riley walks us (and a live audience) through EA Sports Active, the Wii exercise program that includes the crazy-looking resistance band gear. Helping her out is a familiar face, Lauren Bernat, better known to perverted Nintendo fans as "the Wii Fit girl." Yes, she has a face. Bernat seems to have made the best out of what could have been the most horrifyingly embarrassing situation ever, so good for her. She is also sensibly dressed for this EA Sports Active demo. Good for her. The videos are available after the break, for those of you interested in EA's cardio-centric take on Wii exercise. %Gallery-36788%
Weight Fat Checker makes no bones about what it's here to do
Sure, this device is borrowing not a little from the look, feel and color scheme of the Wii Fit, but the Weight Fat Checker is a little more direct in its naming schemes. A handheld body fat meter unearthed somewhere in Japan, we don't know anything about its pricing or availability, but we assume we'll never probably seen one in the flesh. Regardless, we're pretty sure it'd make a fine gift for anyone you want to cross of your faves list a.s.a.p.[Via Joystiq]
Who needs Wii Fit when you've got Weight Fat?
This item found inside a Japanese crane machine by CAG's CheapyD is about as no-nonsense as anyone could want. Clearly, the title is inspired by Wii Fit, but this thing has no time for "fitness" or "health"-related euphemisms, and no interest in softening the blow. Weight Fat Checker. It's a foregone conclusion that you are fat, and this device's function is to measure exactly how much all of your winter insulation weighs. We personally appreciate the honesty from this Wii Fit knockoff, whose actual mechanics we don't understand. Is there glass on top of the steering-wheel looking thing? Do you just balance on top of it? Update: as commenters pointed out, it's a body fat monitor. You hold it. That makes sense.The Weight Fat is completely inspiring us to change our lifest-- oh, it comes with strawberry Hi-Chews! Delicious!
Nintendo also wins at advertising
Nintendo has made a business of manufacturing money printing machines, but how has it done in marketing those machines to people? Well, as you can guess from the title of this post, the company hasn't done too badly. Phoenix Marketing International's Travel and Leisure Division conducted its Video Game Advertising Performance Index (AdPi) Audit and found Nintendo was the only gaming company in Q4 of 2008 to earn above average AdPi scores. The score, which determines effectiveness and impact in all three media categories (print, television and digital), shows that Nintendo has done a pretty good job of pushing its wares on the populace. The highest-rated ads were: TV: Nintendo's Wii Music; and Activision's Call of Duty: World at War Print: Nintendo's Wii Fit; Disney Interactive's Disney Think Fast; and MTV Games' Rock Band 2 Digital: Nintendo's Wii Music; Activision's Call of Duty: World at War; and Ubisoft's The Price is Right In order to gauge the effectiveness of an ad, consumers were asked if they would buy the game, if the ad was worth watching again, and if the ad was inspiring or worth talking about. Well, we know of at least one ad that definitely fits the bill.
Nielsen: Wii audience is youngest, PS3 audience is oldest
According to a recent console usage report compiled between October and December of last year by Nielsen Media Research, the Wii appeals to quite the broad spectrum of people, being especially popular among boys age 6 -11 and women age 25 - 34. Most interesting is the Wii's ability to captivate the older women audience, as the console's use by women over 35 is much higher than that of the Wii's competition. And they're apparently playing Wii Fit, Guitar Hero and Rock Band, games cited as favorites among that group.Of course, as much as the younger audience and older women flock to Wii, it still has trouble captivating that coveted 18 - 24 demographic, where the Xbox 360 and PS3 fare a lot better. For Microsoft's Xbox 360, the group getting their game on the most is males aged 12-17, and females aged 25-34. The PS3, it would seem, has the oldest male audience locked down, as the report notes that gamers who may have owned a PSOne or PS2 in the past "may have 'graduated' to the PS3 in their assumed adulthood." For both males and females, the highest usage came from the 18 - 24 group.As far as average playtime, the Wii trailed behind the others. On the Xbox 360 side, males used the console almost twice as much as females (10.2 vs. 5.4 in December), whereas usage between genders on the PS3 and Wii was much more balanced.
FEAR 2 debuts at #2 in UK charts
Call of Duty: World At War continues its slow descent down the UK Charts this week, ending up at number four, while Wii Fit clings onto the number one spot for the millionth week in a row. New contender FEAR 2 gives an admirable performance, making its way to the number two spot, though we suspect this may not last very long. House Of The Dead: Overkill sadly didn't make the top ten, instead coming in at number 15. Considering the number of Wii owners clamoring for hardcore games, they don't seem to be buying them when they actually appear.With Wii Fit, Wii Play, Mario Kart Wii and Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Games all in the top ten week after week, is it any wonder developers are more likely to produce waggle-thons and mini-game collections for the console?
Padres player leans on Wii Fit for weight loss
Heath Bell, pitcher for the San Diego Padres, needed to lose weight before the new season. To achieve his goal, he turned to an innovative home-based training program that makes virtual trainers available at all times -- otherwise known as Wii Fit. Bell credited time spent with his children, playing the Balance Board-equipped exergame, with the 25-pound weight loss he accomplished before returning to training camp."It said I was obese," said the professional athlete (seen here judging a cookie contest). "If you're obese, it makes [your character on the screen] obese. I was disappointed that I was that big."While we're happy to see Wii Fit getting some good press (it's a bit of an underdog, and could use the push!), we can't help but wonder if there might have been some kind of outdoor activity that Bell could have used to lose weight. There's bound to be some kind of sport he would like, right? Like cricket or kickball. Something like that.%Gallery-4745%[Thanks, Joaquin A!]
Nintendo boasts NPD success that 'offset' competitors
Nintendo issued a celebratory press release following the announcement of the NPD numbers last night, pointing out an impressive statistic: "While the video game industry grew by $150 million (12 percent) year-on-year, Nintendo's total sales grew by $300 million in January, offsetting declines on other platforms." Nintendo is basically compensating for the whole industry's decline at this point, at least in terms of financial growth. No doubt Nintendo is pleased to have a new angle to talk about in its monthly statement of how awesome it is. The company said that sales of the Wii grew 148 percent in January 2009 over January 2008, and DS sales grew 99 percent. It also pointed out that 20 of the top 30 games last month were produced for Nintendo systems, including five of the top ten -- six, we must point out, if you count Guitar Hero: World Tour.
Fitness guru prepares to launch Wii Fit class-action suit, radio show
Well, this was probably bound to happen. A fitness "expert" named Michael Torchia says he's now preparing a class-action suit against NIntendo which will apparently seek to remove its Wii Fit from the shelves unless they add warnings to the product. The offense? Torchia claims that the Wii Fit actually contributes to obesity, essentially because it claims to be something that it's really not -- namely, a fitness tool -- and discourages people from doing more traditional exercise. He also, however, seems to be concerned that the Wii Fit is dangerous -- mostly because it doesn't stress warming up enough, and users can do the exercises wrong, straining or injuring themselves. Now, we're not going to delve into the validity of his claims (though, how do you explain this dude? Just saying), but we should note that Torchia is apparently getting ready to launch his airwave-rocking AM radio show, "Shape Up, America," and we figure he's looking to drum up some buzz for himself, so we'll be watching to see if he ever actually brings his suit against old Mario and Sons. Step on.[Via Joystiq]
Fitness 'expert' prepares class-action lawsuit against Nintendo
Michael Torchia, "fitness expert" and host of the upcoming AM talk radio show "Shape Up, America," has announced plans for a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo, claiming that people are injuring themselves playing Wii games. Torchia says that many players injure themselves on the Wii because Nintendo has not properly warned consumers that warming up is necessary before exercise. Torchia's press release claims that the proliferation of Wii Fit has led to players sustaining "injuries in their knees, back and wrists because of overuse and improper warm- up."In addition, Torchia claims that Nintendo is misrepresenting the Wii's effectiveness as an exercise tool. " ... Nintendo is contributing to the epidemic of obesity. Young and old are putting away their gym clothes and shying away from going outdoors to play sports, because the addictive appeal to the Wii game products." In Torchia's estimation, then, Wii games are both poor exercise and excessively strenuous exercise. Like eating a pizza tied to the back of a moving car![Via What They Play]
EEDAR predicts January hardware sales up 58% over last year
Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has released its 'preview' of January game hardware and software sales -- basically, what it expects the January NPD results to be, based on market analysis. Overall, EEDAR expects hardware sales to be up 58% for January 2009 over January 2008. This jump in sales is mostly accounted for by their prediction of 740,000 Wiis sold in January, versus 274,000 in January 2008. EEDAR expects all of the current systems to reflect increased sales except the PS3, which they estimate will drop 21.93% versus last January. In terms of software, the big winner is predicted to be Wii Fit, whose predicted sales of 700,000 units would be a record for January sales of a single game.These numbers are basically the group's best guess, and analyst Jesse Divnich made note of the fact that it has exceptional difficulty accurately estimating Wii sales: "The Nintendo Wii simply doesn't comply with the EEDAR's sales projection systems. The total amount of Nintendo Wiis sold every month has a direct correlation to the supply available in the channel."
UK charts: Wii Fit, Call of Duty still on top, Professor Layton climbing
The week ending January 31st saw no movement at all in the top two spots on the UK sales charts. Wii Fit maintains its top spot on the UK sales charts for a third week, followed by previous champ Call of Duty: World at War. Skate 2, which debuted last week at #3, has dropped to #5 behind FIFA '09 and Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which, like Wii Fit, is experiencing increased sales due to long-awaited replenishment of stock. Mario Kart Wii rose two positions to #6, leading us to wonder if, over the course of 2009, the top half of the charts will steadily fill with Nintendo hits from 2008.[Via Edge]
Wii Fit dominates UK charts, Skate 2 makes strong debut
Wii Fit remains at the top of the UK charts for the week ending January 24th, closely followed by its buddy Call of Duty World At War at number 2. These two games are trying their best not to let anyone into their special "Top Two" club, despite EA's numerous attempts so far this year. Lord of the Rings: Conquest, which showed strong sales when it debuted at number 3 in the charts, has now dropped to number 4.This makes way for EA's newest contender, Skate 2, which has also managed to reach number 3 in the charts during its debuting week. Strong sales, but not strong enough to beat Call of Duty: World At War, which has been hovering up there for over two months now. The strangest story is Wii Fit's, however, as it has jumped up from 33rd to 1st in the last three weeks. We're not sure what sparked this Wii Fit resurgence ... perhaps being constantly told they're overweight by their government has finally had an impact on UK citizens.
Nintendo concerned about your body, launching Wii Fit Body Check Channel
Previously, they were content to let you use their games to monitor how much you weighed and how often you walked, but now Nintendo of Japan is showing an increased interest in what's going on with your body. In April, they will launch the "Wii Fit Body Check Channel", a Wii channel co-developed with NEC, Hitachi, and Panasonic Medical Solutions.The Channel will allow users to send BMI data from Wii Fit as well as the step data recorded from the Personal Trainer: Walking pedometer, and receive personalized guidance from health professionals about how to stay healthy. Our predictions: if you are only sending in data from one game, you will be told, "Maybe you should buy the other game too".It's possible that this Japanese channel relates to the "Nintendo Active Health" trademark registered in Europe earlier this month. If it does refer to the same initiative, then Nintendo may be planning to offer health advice worldwide! Good news for people who want a game company all up in their business.%Gallery-33410%[Via Engadget]Source -- HitachiSource -- Nintendo
Wii Check-up Channel will link you to health professionals, Dr. Mario
It was inevitable we guess what with everyone plus your grandma using the Wii. Now Nintendo Japan has announced a new Wii "Check-Up" channel that acts as a health guidance system between you and health professionals. Scheduled for an April launch, the system developed in partnership with Hitachi, NEC, Panasonic and a health insurance company is said to provide 2-way communication between users and health leaders who'll provide "healthy guidance" to otherwise Cheeto-stained gamer-types. The service appears to be compatible with both Wii Fit and its Balance Board as well as NEC's mobile phone health platform for checking progress or accessing advice remotely. It also appears to be usable anonymously. We'll update you just as soon as we get all these Japanese press releases translated. [Via Akihabara News and NeoGAF]Read -- NECRead -- Nintendo
Wooden labyrinth made cooler and more frustrating with Balance Board controls
Some geniuses from Kansas City's "Cowtown Computer Congress", with the help of an Arduino microcontroller and copious amounts of SCIENCE, have added Balance Board controls to a wooden labyrinth toy. Leaning on the board controls the servos attached to the game's two dials, causing the game to tilt in response to the board. It's like The Incredible Maze, but actually incredible! It can also be controlled with an Xbox 360 controller, though that lacks the representative motion element.The whole thing cost about $60 in parts, not including the Balance Board. Of course, that's if you don't already have a couple of servos and an Arduino lying about, which, if you're electronics-savvy enough to carry this out, you probably do. %Gallery-23928%[Via Engadget]
'Nintendo Active Health' trademark inspires idle speculation
Siliconera's Spencer noticed a trademark in the European trademark database, filed on January 8, for something called "Nintendo Active Health". He correctly eliminated Nintendo's DS walking game Personal Trainer: Walking, which is called Walk With Me: Do you know your walking routine? in Europe.Unfortunately, that leaves us with the problem of what Nintendo Active Health is. It could be an upcoming fitness-based game, perhaps a sequel to Wii Fit; or maybe something with more of an emphasis on other health-related topics besides exercise, like eating habits. Or it could just be an abandoned name for Wii Fit (like "Health Pack") that Nintendo didn't want anyone else using. Less likely, it could be some kind of hardware warranty program, for the health of your console!%Gallery-4745%[Via Joystiq]
Wii Fit and Arduino bring wooden Labyrinth game to robotic life
Ah, yes. Nothing like some robotics to shake all that pesky quaintness out of a well-loved, time-tested game. In this case, some folks from the Cowtown Computer Congress used a couple of servos and the ever so useful Arduino to connect a wooden Labyrinth game to a Wii Fit, which appears to up the difficulty of the game while still requiring as little exertion as possible. At just $60 total (not including the Wii Fit), the project is also relatively inexpensive, and it seems that it's a fairly simple process to swap out the Wii Fit for the controller of your choice. Head on past the break for a video of the setup in action, and hit up the link below for the necessary details.[Thanks, Steve]
Seen @ CES 2009: The Lady Fitness Workout Kit
Ladies, how often have you taken a look at your poor little Wii Fit, and thought "If only there were some sort of peripheral to let the world know that I'm both concerned about my fitness aesthetics, and was emblazoned with pink"? Probably so often that you've lost count. As you know, pink is completely 100% the only color women are allowed to love and/or get accessories in. So the Lady Fitness Workout Kit has your name on it. Sorry, boys.
