viedogame: Big in Japan Dec. 26-Jan. 1: Mario Kart 7

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Big in Japan Dec. 26-Jan. 1: Mario Kart 7 Jan 6th 2012, 04:10 Nintendo's kart racer is riding high amidst the PS Vita's slump. The week of December 26 was not a good time for Sony in Japan, with the publisher's newly released portable system, the PlayStation Vita, sagging in sales on both the software and hardware fronts. Conversely, Nintendo's 3DS and the just-released Mario Kart 7 were the top earners for the week, according to the recent Media Creates sales update. Mario's new racer still leaves the competition in the dust. The PS Vita numbers continued to drop in its third week, from 72,479 to 42,648 units, with no Vita titles in the top 20 sales list. On the flip side, Sony's other consoles continued to do well in Japan--the PS3 held second place, with 67,199 units sold, while the PSP was just behind with 62,746 units sold. Meanwhile, Nintendo sold 197,952 units of the 3DS for the particular week. Mario Kart 7 was in first place, with 109,463 units sold; the racing title stood alongside the 3DS iteration of Monster Hunter, with 100,042 units sold. Super Mario 3D Land was in fourth place, with 68,483 units sold, while Inazuma Eleven Go was in sixth place, with 47,938 units sold. The only new title among the top 20 was Idolmaster Anime & G4U Pack Vol.3 for the PS3. The virtual idol simulator bundle sold 18,992 units in its debut week. Other noteworthy highlights include the recent Musou Orochi 2 for the PS3 (third place, with 73,526 units sold) and the PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIII-2 staying strong at fifth place (61,202 units sold). Japan game sales week of December 26-January 1 Software Rank/Title/Publisher/Platform/Unit sales 1. Mario Kart 7 / Nintendo / 3DS / 109,463 2. Monster Hunter 3G / Capcom / 3DS / 100,042 3. Musou Orochi 2 / Tecmo Koei / PS3 / 73,526 4. Super Mario 3D Land / Nintendo / 3DS / 68,483 5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 / Square Enix / PS3 / 61,202 6. Inazuma Eleven Go / Level-5 / 3DS / 47,938 7. Just Dance Wii / Nintendo / Wii / 33,347 8. Kirby's Return to Dream Land / Nintendo / Wii / 24,067 9. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 22,932 10. SD Gundam G Generation 3D / Namco Bandai / 3DS / 20,427 Hardware 3DS â€" 197,952 PS3 â€" 67,199 PSP â€" 62,746 PSV â€" 42,648 Wii â€" 33,208 DSi XL â€" 3356 Xbox 360 â€" 2453 DSi â€" 2418 PS2 â€" 1659 DS Lite -28

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viedogame: Miyamoto working on new, original game

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Miyamoto working on new, original game Jan 6th 2012, 16:27 In new interview with Zoomin Games, Mario-creator reveals he's at work on an "undisclosed original title." Legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was the center of much attention recently, as speculation about his retirement ran wild following an interview with Wired last month. Nintendo countered by stressing Miyamoto was not retiring, and now it's clear he's not only staying with the company, but also working on an original game. What might Miyamoto be working on now? Miyamoto recently gave an interview to Zoomin Games, where it was revealed that in addition to a new Pikmin game for the Wii U and Luigi's Mansion 2 for the 3DS, Miyamoto is at work on a new property. Zoomin refers to this project as an "undisclosed original title." Explaining his development mentality (but not revealing anything about the new game), Miyamoto said, "People have come to expect a lot from me. This certainly makes me feel some pressure. But if you ask me, 'Is it too much pressure to come out with something new?' I have to say no, I'm enjoying myself. But when I make something, I always try to do my best." For more on the projects Miyamoto is openly working on, check out GameSpot's coverage of Pikmin Wii U and Luigi's Mansion 2.

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viedogame: Xbox 360 successor, PS4 to be shown at E3 2012?

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Xbox 360 successor, PS4 to be shown at E3 2012? Jan 6th 2012, 16:03 MCV cites "third-party publishing sources" in reporting Microsoft, Sony rolling out new consoles at this summer's trade show; Wii U launch details to be confirmed at geek gathering. It's a certainty that Microsoft and Sony have successors to their current consoles planned. However, the timetable for each company to reveal its new console has long been in question. Today, a new report at UK-based industry site MCV indicates Microsoft and Sony will unveil new consoles at the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo, which runs June 5-7. Are Microsoft and Sony bringing new consoles to E3 2012? This report isn't the first mention of an Xbox 360 successor being unveiled at E3 2012. Over the past year, two separate reports indicated that Microsoft was readying the next Xbox for a reveal at the Los Angeles trade show. The latest rumor puts the Xbox 360 follow-up as hitting holiday 2012. As for the PlayStation 4 being unveiled at E3 2012, today's rumor is the first mention of such a reveal window. However, the system itself is no surprise, as since the PS3 first launched, Sony has stated it had plans for a PS4. And a November rumor suggested that software development for that system was ramping up, with one Sony-owned studio shifting entirely to work on the new, not-yet-announced system. In addition to next-generation news concerning Microsoft and Sony, MCV's sources also noted that launch details for Nintendo's still-mysterious Wii U will be provided at E3 2012. Nintendo has previously said it will have final Wii U hardware ready for E3 2012. A Sony representative told GameSpot, "We don't comment on rumors or speculation." And as of press time, Microsoft had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment.

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viedogame: EA Bright Light shuttered - Report

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EA Bright Light shuttered - Report Jan 6th 2012, 15:50 By Eddie Makuch, GameSpot Posted Jan 6, 2012 7:50 am PT Develop reports UK-based Harry Potter studio closes doors following consultation period. EA Bright Light is now in the dark. Game industry publication Develop reports that Electronic Arts' Guildford, UK-based outfit--recently responsible for three tepidly received Harry Potter titles--is no more. EA Bright Light has gone dark. According to the publication, EA Bright Light shut down late last year, following a consultation period. It is unknown how many staffers are out of work, but a 2009 BBC profile of the developer states the shop employed around 100 individuals. Develop reports that some former employees have moved on to other EA studios like Playfish and Criterion, as well as outside developers Supermassive Games and Jagex. EA opened its Guildford-based studio in 1995 under the name EA UK (in 2007, it was renamed EA Bright Light). In recent years, the studio has focused on creating games for younger audiences and family-oriented entertainment, specifically EA's adaptations for J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise. The closure of the Bright Light studio leaves Criterion as EA's only UK-based console development house.

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viedogame: Steam crosses 40 million users

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Steam crosses 40 million users Jan 6th 2012, 17:26 Valve's online service hits new user milestone; year-over-year unit sales up over 100% for seventh consecutive year; Big Picture UI mode on the way. Earlier this week, Valve's online juggernaut Steam gathered 5 million concurrent users, a new record for the popular online service. Today, Valve has announced additional milestone statistics concerning Steam, led by userbase growth to 40 million users, up from 35 million. Steam's userbase grew to 40 million in 2011. Valve parsed other Steam data, too, including mention that in 2011, Steam's library ballooned to over 1,800 games. In terms of sales, Valve said that for the seventh straight year, the service saw a year-over-year sales increase of over 100%. Additionally, Valve said 14.5 million copies of Steamworks-enabled games were registered in 2011, up 67% from 2010's figure. In terms of content delivered to gamers, Valve said it served in excess of 780 Petabytes of data to players across the globe, which is double what the company delivered in 2010. A new Steam service introduced this past year was Steam Trading, a system that allows users to exchange in-game items and gifted titles between themselves. And according to Valve's data, some 19 million items have been exchanged since the program rolled out in August. Looking ahead to 2012, Valve said it is currently preparing to release the Big Picture user interface mode, first spoken of at the 2011 Game Developers Conference last February. This new mode allows gamers to access Steam through their home televisions with controller support and "navigation support designed for television interaction." No release window was announced for Big Picture mode.

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Classic Video Games: What's Hot Now: Fusajiro Yamauchi - Nintendo

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Fusajiro Yamauchi - Nintendo Jan 6th 2012, 15:00 Who would have thought one of the most important figures in the world of gaming would have passed away 12 years before the first video game was even invented? Name: Fusajiro Yamauchi Birth: 1859 Death: 1940 Mark In Gaming History: Founder of Nintendo By the end of the 19th century the citizens of Japan had just about had it with card games. Since 1633 the Japanese government had put a ban on all foreign playing cards and games to try and deter illegal gambling, and continued to do so with just about every other card game for the next 250 years. Finally a game was developed in Japan that the government would accept, Hanafuda, a card game using illustrations instead of numbers for the gameplay. With the constant banning of card games having taken their toll on the public, Hanafuda released to lackluster results. When it looked as though the game would be all but forgotten a young entrepreneur, Fusajiro Yamauchi, came up with a new approach to increase the games popular. Instead of just making general illustrations for use with the game, he would develop unique hand crafted artwork that would drive the sales of the cards. In 1889 he opened the doors to his first Hanafuda card shop, Nintendo Koppai, a name that would change simply to Nintendo as the company grew and evolved. The Nintendo hand-painted Hanafuda cards were a hit and not only spun the newly formed company into success, but grew the card game in popularity as well. With their Hanafuda cards now in demand Nintendo quickly became the top game company in Japan, and over the next 40 years Fusajiro's small store expanded into a major corporation adding an expansive library of original card games developed specifically for Nintendo. In 1929, at the age of 70, Fusajiro finally retired, leaving his company in the charge of his adopted son-in-law Sekiryo Kaneda (who changed his name to Sekiryo Yamauchi). For the next 11 years Fusajiro remained out of the gaming business until his passing in 1940. Fusajiro would never know that the company he founded would expand to break new ground for a different kind of game four decades later with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Today Nintendo is one of the dominating forces to the worldwide video game market. Their latest home console the Nintendo Wii was the first home video game system to sell over 10 million consoles in a single year. Although he would never see or know of video games, without Fusajiro Yamauchi revolutionizing the gaming market in Japan, Nintendo would never have had the opportunity to do it again 120 years later.

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Classic Video Games: What's Hot Now: The Weirdest Classic Video Games for Christmas

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The Weirdest Classic Video Games for Christmas Jan 6th 2012, 15:00 Long before that tubby plumber Mario turned himself into a video game superstar, the original morbidly obese super hero was Santa Claus. It was only a matter of time before the obsessive compulsive gift giver took his place in the ranks of classic gaming weirdness. So sit down by the warmth of the old picture tube, fire up your Commodore 64, and I'll tell you about the most bizarre and outrageous Christmas-themed classic video games. Yes Virginia, there is a killer snowman out to destroy Santa Claus. 3. Daze Before Christmas 1. Special Delivery: Santa's Christmas Chaos 2. Santa's Xmas Caper aka Santa's Christmas Caper 4. Frosty the Snowman aka Frosty's Busy Night 5. Santa Claus Saves the Earth 6. Christmas Lemmings series aka Xmas Lemmings aka Holiday Lemmings 7. A Popples Christmas Adventure 8. The White Door: Crisis At Christmas 9. Home Alone 10. Snatcher

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