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Nintendo releases dominated by Bomberman

Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 9:00am by David

bombermanlandwii225.jpgShall no one challenge the mighty Bomberman?!  Quake in fear, ye horse petting simulators!  Cower in your beds, PS2 ports!  Bomberman alone shall rule this week’s new releases!!!

DS
Bomberman Land Touch! 2

Wii
Bomberman Land

Days of Ruin and Endless Ocean debut to strong sales

Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 9:47am by David

endlessoceanlogosmall.pngEndless Ocean and the newest edition of Advance Wars both debut with decent sales this week.

Wii
1. Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party Bundle (Konami)
2. Wii Play (Nintendo)
3. Endless Ocean (Nintendo)
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision)
5. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo)

DS
1. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo)
2. Wario: Master of Disguise (Nintendo)
3. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)
4. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo)
5. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)

Anyone help contribute to these rankings?

[Source]

2007 Video game growth outpaced music, video

Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 9:41am by Jack

Mario Nintendo wins

All signs are pointing to 2007 being the best year ever for video games, but how did the industry stack up against some of the Old Guard like movies and music?

If the Entertainment Software Association (via Ars Technica) is to be believed, it was a banner year that left tired old things like “CDs” and DVDs” in the dust. (more…)

Nintendo’s Wii software sales are No. 1 for December

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 10:46am by Jack

Grandmas buy silly Wii games?Is the tide turning? Was I actually right for once with one of my now infamous pro-Nintendo Infendo rants?

I only ask because this morning I read something that was borderline Bible end-of-the-world Revelations territory: Wii software sales for December were officially higher than the market leader, Xbox 360.

This spectacular feat actually occurred last month in the wake of the annual video game software sales Mecca, the “holidays,” and it’s been confirmed by the bastion of video game bloggers’ stats everywhere, NPD.

I wonder… how will the naysayers spin this one? (more…)

Nintendo releases this week are a rare January feast

Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at 9:00am by David

daysofruin495.jpg

After weeks of junk food, Nintendo systems get a feast this week.  We have the DS version of a popular Wii title, the latest version of a handheld classic with added online play, a mature title for Wii that has some gamers salivating, an anime adventure, and a new, budget first party title from Nintendo.  And a jet ski game.  New releases for the week ending January 26th:

DS
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Wii
Endless Ocean
Kawasaki Jet Ski
No More Heroes
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure

The Wii’s Success: It’s time for developers to put up or shut up

Saturday, January 19th, 2008 at 11:26am by Jack

Wii winsOPINION — It’s officially time for 3d party developers to put up or shut up.

The act of complaining about developing games for a Nintendo console and turning a profit against the big bad Ninty and its cadre of 1rst party behemoths has officially been exposed as the pathetic, cry baby act that it is. (more…)

Nintendo DS and Wii Finish as the No. 1 and No. 2 Best-Selling U.S. Systems

Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 9:10am by Press Release

Nintendo logoREDMOND, Wash., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Nintendo DS(TM) and Wii(TM) finished strong in 2007, commanding sales in the holiday shopping period and finishing the year as the two best-selling video game systems in the United States, according to new data just released by the independent NPD Group.Nintendo DS was the top-selling U.S. system of 2007, with nearly 8.5 million sold, including more than 4 million in November and December alone. Wii placed second, with nearly 6.3 million sold through the year, more than 2.3 million of which sold in the final two months. (more…)

Nintendo appoints two sales & marketing executives to Bay Area office

Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 9:43am by Press Release

newnintendoexecs.jpgREDMOND, Wash., Jan. 14, 2008 - Nintendo of America announces the appointment of two sales and marketing executives to work from the company’s new Bay Area office in Redwood City, Calif. Denise Kaigler joins as vice president of Marketing & Corporate Affairs, while Bill van Zyll becomes the new director and general manager of Latin America. Van Zyll’s appointment is effective immediately, while Kaigler starts Feb. 18. Both will report to Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing.
(more…)

Nintendo releases kill more time until Brawl

Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 8:30am by David

nitrobike495.png

Really not much to see here.  I know Blake was all excited about Nitrobike.  Nanostray 2 might deserve mention as well.  Anything else here of interest to you?

Releases for the week ending January 19th, 2008:

DS
Corvette Evolution GT
Miami Nights: Singles in the City
Nanostray 2

Wii
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence
Furu Furu Park
Luxor: Pharaoh’s Challenge
Nitrobike
Samurai Warriors: Katana

Nintendo releases for the week of January 6th

Sunday, January 6th, 2008 at 7:00am by David

harveybirdman225.jpgA big screen IMAX film comes to the DS in game form, while a small screen cartoon makes the jump to Wii. New releases for the week of January 6th:

DS
Jackass the Game
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure

Wii
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
Kidz Sports Ice Hockey
Luxor: Pharaoh’s Challenge
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

So when are we going to get a Venture Bros. game?

Nintendo year end releases rev their engines

Sunday, December 30th, 2007 at 10:53am by David

engine225.jpgNothing new for DS this week (unless the Jam Sessions Performance Bundle counts), but there are a handful of Wii titles looking to scoop up some post-holiday gift card spendings. Releases for the week ending 1/5/2008:

Wii
Classic British Motor Racing
Kawasaki 4X4 Quad Bikes
Kidz Sports Basketball
Monster Trux: Offroad
Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom
Rig Racer 2

Lots of motor sports to choose from this week.  Picking up any of this stuff?

Nintendo releases this week - *crickets*

Sunday, December 23rd, 2007 at 4:12pm by David

cricket225.jpgUsually you’d see a nice, tidy post proclaiming the Nintendo purchasing bounty available for the week.  Unfortunately, due to the timing of Christmas this year, it looks like no new games are coming out until next week.  (Hint: Not much coming next week either!)

Hope you’re playing everything you want to during the holidays!

Satoru Iwata is Next Generation’s 2007 Person of the Year

Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 10:39am by Jack

225_satoru-iwata.jpgThis past year was arguably a year of high’s and more high’s for Nintendo. Any of the firm’s blemishes were easily washed away by its monthly successes, and the core gamer — the everyman and woman who once again controls the fate of the video game industry — would tell you that Nintendo met their expectations and then some (with the exception, of course, that supply chain issues will cost the company an estimated $1 billion). That said, room for growth exists in spades, and I fully expect 2008 to be another banner year for the house that Mario built.

In that light, I suppose it is fitting that the head of Nintendo, President and CEO Satoru Iwata, would top the Top 25 People of 2007 list over at Next Generation. (more…)

Wii Fit motivates other Wii titles into Japan’s top ten

Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 9:21am by Jack

Mario back in JapanAre you one of the doubters? When you saw Wii Fit debut earlier this year, did you scoff and sneer like 95% of the “enthusiast press?”

News today from Japan goes a long way towards making people like you the left out in the cold variety, as Wii Fit has not only sold decently, it also boosted the sales of other Wii games that many people were ready to right off as disappointments in the land of the rising sun. Like Super Mario Galaxy, which had slipped out of the much ballyhooed top ten list picture until today. It was a shame, really, and this new trend, I hope, is indicative of a resurgence for the plucky plumber, whose latest effort is perhaps one of his best ever.

On a related note, Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime was peppered earlier this month about the “attach rate” of the Wii and how it was perceived to be poor, especially when compared to the Xbox 360 (here’s some free analysis: it is lower, but it’s not as bad as the press was reporting in 2007. Surprise). I bring that up because I’d like to know if there’s ever been reporting done on the attach rate of an accessory for any given console.

Anyway, here’s the list, which is very reminiscent of Nintendo-themed top ten lists from earlier this year… (more…)

Reggie Fils-Aime, the anti-Wii bundler

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 10:21am by Jack

Wii bundlesNintendo of America president Reggie FIls-Aime and I share a nuber of redeeming traits. We both are able to turn coal into diamonds using nothing but brute strength and our fists, for example (related note: Merry Xmas, babe!). We can also affect weather patterns worldwide using nothing but the white hot intensity of our personalities, which burn with the combined heat of a thousand suns. Oh, and we both hate console bundles.

We especially the ones that are ocasionally — OK, incessantly — forced upon us by retailers see consoles like the Wii as the incredibly popular moneymakers that they are. (more…)