Most of my weekend will be spent playing a little real-life Tetris, as I attempt to find open slots for all the boxes, furniture and knickknacks still in boxes from the relocation endeavor.
First thing I'll be playing in the virtual world this weekend is the iPhone version of Doom: Resurrection, in anticipation of an upcoming review. Probably should update the firmware on that thing so I'm up to speed on all my iPhone needs. I'll also be giving BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger another crack, once the TV, Xbox 360 and all necessary audio-visual equipment is hooked up.
This weekend, I'll also more than likely be picking some games to sell off and give away. There are a half-dozen Sega Saturn games—Shining Force III, Guardian Heroes, Burning Rangers—that will get more use at someone else's house.
What will you be playing this American holiday weekend?
* Moonwalking Into Heaven
* Movie's With A Byte: The Wizard
* Lunch With Tim McVey * RTM IShow Report: Funspot XI
* On Parallel Universe Theory And The Art Of Cornering
* RTM Idiocy: Blissful Ignorance And Dangerous Knowledge (Act 2)
* NES'cade - Gun.Smoke
* Apple II Incider - California Games
* Squaring Off: Demon Attack
* Atari Playfield - Michtron
* The Thrill Of Defeat: Hurting The Ones We Love & Making Up For It
* A Next-Gen Blast From The Past
* Old Wine In New Bottles: Capcom Classic Collection Volume 1
* Videological Dig - Moonwalker
* Video Game Confessions - Jungle Hunt (Comic)
You can find all these and past issues at Retrogaming Times Monthly.
On most TVs and projectors movies and games are too dark or missing detail in dark scenes. GammaX fixes this by adding a Gamma Boost without washing out the picture.
Simply plug the GammaX directly into the HDfury2, HDfury, HDfury Gamer Edition, or any device with RGB output and enjoy a more vibrant picture with perfect shadow details!
Using the original HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition? The GammaX also includes a cable driver which lets you use monitor cables or long RGB projector cables (any length) without having to plug the HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition directly into your TV!
The included power supply is not needed when the GammaX is used with the HDfury2, simplifying the cables and connections. (The power supply is needed for HDfury, HDfury Gamer Edition, or other RGB source users).
Many projectors and displays only work with either positive or negative sync RGB signals. The GammaX provides a user selectable positive or negative sync switch for displays that only accept negative sync such as the following projectors: Barco 800-801-808-1208, Dwin 500-700, and so on.
The GammaX is 100% Plug-and-play. No configuration or extra steps required. GammaX works at all resolutions, including 1080p and beyond.
Note: GammaX does not support component signals, only RGB. This includes the HDfury2 set to component (YUV) output mode. If you wish to add Gamma Boost to a component-only capable display, use the Box1020 instead.
- Input: RGBHV HD-15 D-Sub (VGA) Female Connector (direct connection to HDfury1 or HDfury2)
- Output: RGBHV HD-15 D-Sub (VGA) Male Connector (direct connection to TV)
- Cable driver built in allowing you to use an analog output cable of any length. Useful for using the original HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition with monitor cables or long RGB projector cables. No need to plug the HDfury or HDfury Gamer Edition directly into your TV!
- Power supply included for use with HDfury, HDfury Gamer Edition, or other RGB sources
- Power supply not needed if used with the HDfury2, the HDfury2 supplies the power
- Plug-and-play, no extra steps required
- Adjustable Gamma Boost for restoring lost shadow details
- Slide potentiometer for easy Gamma Boost adjustment
- Compatible with all RGB sources
- Supports all standard HD formats and SD formats: 1080p-1080i-720p-etc. in NTSC-PAL-SECAM
- Supports all PC resolutions including extremely high resolutions such as 1600x1200-100Hz and 1920x1440-60Hz
- 450Mhz large signal (-3dB) bandwidth for virtually lossless video processing
- Full dynamic range for maximum picture detail at all resolutions
- User selectable positive or negative sync output for displays that only accept negative sync (ex: Barco 800-801-808-1208, Dwin, etc.)
- Precise black levels - no black crush or missing details or washed-out whites
The number one game in the Japanese chart comes as no surprise following news earlier in the week that Wii Sports Resort shifted over 350,000 copies during its first four days on sale.
The Nintendo title, bundled with the new MotionPlus add-on, tops the all-format software chart for the week ended June 28 with a total sales of 359,690, outselling the second biggest selling title - Tomodachi Collection - more than five times over.
Its success may have impacted slightly on the Japanese hardware chart for the week too as sales of the Wii were up slightly from 19,386 last week to 21,790.
The console's DS stablemate delivered a near identical performance to the week prior with 45,480 units sold (39,995 DSi and the remaining for the DS Lite) compared to 45,995, and PSP sales remained solid at 26,789 units.
PS3 continued to take steps in the right direction with 11,310 sales, up from 10,359 the week previous. The software chart delivered similarly good news for the system, with three new PS3 releases - Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland, BlazBlue and Agarest Senki Zero - debuting in the top ten.
The Xbox 360 and PS2 systems sold 5,766 and 3,578 units respectively.
The full hardware charts from Media Create follow:
Nintendo DS - 45,480
PlayStation Portable - 26,789
Nintendo Wii - 21,790
PlayStation 3 - 11,310
Xbox 360 - 5,766
PlayStation 2 - 3,578
The top ten best-selling games in Japan follow:
01 Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) - 359,690
02 Tomodachi Collection (Friend Collection) (Nintendo) - 71,692
03 Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland (Gust) - 43,243
04 Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono. 2 (Sword & Magic & School 2) (Acquire) - 38,614
05 BlazBlue (Arc System Works) - 33,768
06 BlazBlue (Arc System Works) - 24,812
07 Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (Square Enix) - 22,114
08 Agarest Senki Zero (Compile Heart) - 14,466
09 Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (Capcom) - 12,985
10 Sloane and MacHale's Mysterious Story (Level 5) - 12,537
David Amor of Buzz developer Relentless believes that the unexplored casual genre will deliver radical new IP that will sell tens of millions.
Speaking to Develop in an interview published today, Amor drew on the phenomenal success of certain casual IPs, adding that the winning formula is not likely to go away.
“I think that casual games remain an untapped genre; I’ve worked in more traditional genres for years and years before saying “right, let’s make games for other people”, and I don’t think we’re anywhere near discovering how many games can be made to satisfy that audience,” he said.
“Guitar Hero did well, Buzz did well, SingStar did well, Wii Fit did well; this isn’t the end of that.”
“There are games, currently un-thought of in the casual genre, that will sell tens of millions. I’d rather have a business in that category rather than more established ones to be honest with you.”
It seems Universal Studios has won the highly sought-after movie rights to the 1979 Atari game Asteroids. Disney's Matthew Lopez will be writing the adaptation, having previously worked on the scripts for Bedtime Stories, The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Race to Witch Mountain. The NY Times is skeptical about Hollywood's ability to do right by the 30-year-old game, already imagining what a director like Michael Bay would do with it: "In this $300 million, three-and-a-half hour spectacle, loud and expensive computer simulations of large boulders crashing into one another are briefly interrupted by the hilarious antics of Chip and Gravel, two living rocks with gold teeth who speak in hip-hop slang, and the nonstop shouting of John Turturro."
Atari's slow collapse continues with the loss of the company's most lucrative franchise. No, not Ghostbusters -- it's Dragon Ball, which has produced approximately a billion video games so far. The franchise will now go back to Namco Bandai, the original Japanese publisher of the series. According to a statement by Namco Bandai, the agreement will run for five years beginning in January 2010 and will supersede any existing publishing rights. In addition, Namco Bandai will publish the upcoming Dragon Ball: Raging Blast game for Xbox 360 and PS3, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for DS all this year.
The loss of the Dragon Ball franchise is perhaps the greatest evidence of the financial challenges that face Atari. Earlier this year, the company pulled out of E3, sold its European publishing division, and even sold exclusivity rights for Ghostbusters, all presumably for a small cash influx. With Phil Harrison recently stepping down from his position at the company, it's clear that Atari will see even more troubled times ahead
Voice-activated exercise specialist VPT Technologies has been spotted trademarking the names Fitness Hero and Workout Hero.
Siliconera laid eyes on the patent, which mentions "a web-based videogame system to connect all users in a safe and secure global network".
Phrases like "align the various markets" and "synergistic" are thrown in almost for fun.
Activision has had immense success with Guitar Hero, which has lead to spin-offs of Hero-related rhythm titles. DJ Hero arrives on its wave of marketing-powered excitement this autumn.
Gearbox appears to want a piece of the Hero pie as well, having recently trademarked a quartet of familiar sounding names: War Hero, World War II Hero, Modern War Hero and Brothers In Arms War Hero.
Take-Two and Rockstar are expected to release two brand new downloadable episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV in fiscal 2010, and release GTA V the following financial year.
That's according to analyst Todd Mitchell, who told GamesIndustry.biz that following the release of Xbox 360 exclusives The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, two all-new episodes are due – possibly across both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.
"I would expect that there would be two more pieces of downloadable content for GTA IV, that's what has been indicated to me, although formats are unsure. It's been indicated to me to me that would be the case," said Mitchell, of Kaufman Bros. Equity Research.
Mitchell also stated that he's expecting Grand Theft Auto V to be released in the 2011 financial year, and there's also the possibility of a new GTA title for the PlayStation 2 next year.
"Coming out of E3 there was no commitment to a new Grand Theft Auto, and I think that's because of Rockstar's track record with delivering on time," said Mitchell.
"Of the three, I'm least confident in saying for sure there will be a new GTA for PlayStation 2, but the track record shows that PSP titles have been repositioned [on PS2]," he said, referring to the recent announcement of GTA: Chinatown Wars for the PSP.
Despite all the talk of Rockstar's biggest franchise, Kaufman Bros. has upgraded Take-Two to a 'buy' rating because the publisher is demonstrating that it no longer needs to rely on GTA to score blockbuster hits.
Newly announced Rockstar title Agent will be released in 2010, said the company, along with an as-yet unannounced title from 2K Games
"We believe Take-Two has a solid line-up for fiscal 2010 even without a GTA V release," noted Kaufman Bros.
"Our outlook includes expected strong sell-through of Bioshock 2, and the release of two 'AAA' titles, each from Rockstar (Red Dead Redemption and Agent) and 2K Games (Mafia II and TBD), reiterations of 2K Sports and 2K Play's annual line-ups, an expected GTA title for the PS2, expected strong sell-through of GTA: Chinatown Wars for the PSP, and new GTA DLC for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
"We now look for the release of GTA V in fiscal 2011, and believe IP introduced in fiscal 2010 can be turned into iterative franchises that will improve Take-Two's long-term earnings profile by lessening its dependence on GTA," said the firm.
Mitchell added: "What we're saying is Take-Two is now becoming a proper company rather than a one hit wonder. After GTA V in 2011, they can come back with more franchises and not be forced to rely on that every other year," he said.
Kaufman Bros. expects fiscal 2010 revenue for Take-Two to hit USD 1.3 billion, and USD 1.6 billion in 2011 with a GTA V release.
"Now that this shoe has dropped, and a case can be made for solid profitability in fiscal 2010 without GTA V, and the follow-on of higher earnings in fiscal 2011 with a GTA V release, we believe the investment case for Take-Two has improved and investors can begin to get more constructive with the name."
The current generation of games consoles could struggle to deliver the types of game experiences the majority of gamers want and end up as niche products within a couple of years, according to Playfish chief executive Kristian Segerstrale.
As the demand for social games distributed via Facebook and other social networking sites grows, he predicts that incompatible, prohibitively expensive games consoles could fail to compete with the more accessible and connected experiences online services can deliver.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Segerstrale said: "I think that games consoles - while they might be an important part of the industry now - might become niche in the next couple of years. It's not at all clear if it even makes sense to deliver this type of gaming on a home console."
While Microsoft's move to market the Xbox 360 as a social entertainment experience is a step in the right direction, ultimately the platform cannot compete with PC and other internet connected portable devices, he predicts.
"The challenge is, no matter how social you try to make a console not everybody has one. Not all your real world friends will have the same console as you do. No matter how social you make it you will only reach, if you like, vertically. You will only reach your friends who have an Xbox 360."
Going on to discuss EA's entry into the social gaming market, Segerstrale was positive about the publisher's involvement, saying a big presence in the market by them will lead to higher quality experiences for users.
"They clearly believe, much as we believe, that games are becoming services and that retail distribution for games will decline quite rapidly from here onwards. And I think that the most important thing for social games is to ensure the quality of the end user experience."
"The only threat that I see to the industry is that in the search for early profit and maximising early results for companies, companies will act overly aggressively in how they try to monetise users, which is not good for anybody," he added.
3D video games won’t be mass market for at least another five years, Data Design Interactive has told MCV.
The casual games specialist is to launch one of the first 3D video games, Battle Rage: The Robot Wars – which comes with 3D glasses – ahead of Ubisoft’s highly anticipated Avatar movie tie-in.
However, the firm’s CEO Stewart Green has said that although 3D is a key development for games, it won’t be a mainstream phenomenon until 3D TVs become better established.
“3D is a big enhancement to the player’s environment, and as now it is part of our development system we will support it in future titles,” commented Green.
“But it will not be common practice until the mass market has 3D TV, which is not going to happen until perhaps five years from now.
“With a huge output of casual games, we are probably not thought of as innovators, but casual games are what the public wanted, and we have continued to provide the public with what something they want to buy. 3D is a huge seller this year with 12 3D films being released.”
DDI has also been experimenting with other new technology, including Wii MotionPlus and Wii Speak.
“Our development system is rapid and reliable; we managed to publish 20 games in just ten months. No other developer or publisher could achieve this,” added Green. “With such a quick and easy development process, it is not a lot of work for us to implement new hardware and release innovative titles.”
The current-gen UK console install base has hit 24.2 million units, according to data released by Chart-Track.
Wii comfortably leads the way in the UK with 5.4 million units sold as of June 27, 2009. Xbox 360 sales are currently at 3.9 million while PS3 sales sit at 2.2 million, says Chart-Track.
On the handheld front DS sales are approaching ten million units and in comparison PSP has shipped 3.3 million units so far.
Nintendo's still winning then. Full data follows:
DS - 9.4 million (including 300,000 DSi sales)
Wii - 5.4 million
Xbox 360 - 3.9 million
PSP - 3.3 million
PS3 - 2.2 million
Universal Music has pledged its back catalogue to a new karaoke game set to challenge SingStar. CasualGaming.biz's sister site MCV has revealed that French label Mindscape will publish U-Sing in time for Christmas across the UK and Europe.
The firm has previously signed distribution deals with UK publishers for releases in the territory – such as its deal with Koch for Deal Or No Deal and Golden Balls games, plus the upcoming Coronation Street title.
However, MCV reveals that U-Sing will be independently published by Mindscape following the deal with Universal.
A Mindscape spokesperson told MCV: “U-Sing will offer the whole family the chance to sing the hits of Universal Music – from the biggest known classics through to the latest trendy tunes.
“Each country will have its own list of most popular local and international artists.”
The U-Sing brand will become a full series in future, with each game offering different game modes and Voxler voice recognition technology.
They will be marketed in France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux and Australia and will eventually become available on all platforms.
Artists such as Amy Winehouse, Black Eyed Peas, Girls Aloud, Paul Weller and Lady GaGa are on Universal’s books – but U-Sing’s song line-up is yet to be confirmed.
The title appears to fit with Universal’s ‘U’ re-branding. Its UK website was last year renamed to Umusic.co.uk.
A belated May 2009 issue of Commodore Free has been released.
Contents:
* News
* RGCD Cartridge reviews
* The Kidal Legacy
* DOS65
* Interview with DOS65 creator
* Introduction to CPM
* CPM Operating system
* Worlds greatest menu
* CCC UK Forum post cbm 128
* Introduction to C programming
In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was.
Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching.
Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts.
He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
See Harry and friends in action before the movie hits the cinema. The Half Blood Prince is available on multiple platforms:
Xbox360™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 64.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince ASIA US$ 49.90
PlayStation3™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 64.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince ASIA US$ 49.90
Nintendo™ Wii
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 54.90
PlayStation2™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 44.90
Nintendo DS™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince JPN US$ 48.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 34.90
Sony PSP™
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince US US$ 44.90
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince ASIA US$ 42.90
PC Game
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince (DVD-ROM) US US$ 34.90
Normally when Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter whips out his crystal ball and starts getting the vapors, he doesn't have time to turn on his minirecorder and take down the futurespeak channeled through his body. Luckily for us (and you!), he not only recorded it this time, but also wrote it down in the form of the 2009 Interactive Industry Report! We delved through the beast of a document this afternoon and found an interesting segment regarding the Nintendo Wii relying on "slower adoption rates of current generation technology" (read as: high-def displays) to help boost sales.
Pachter writes on page nine of the report, "The global recession served to benefit Nintendo at its competitors' expense," referencing Microsoft and Sony as having slower console sales this generation due to HDTV functionality built into the systems. He argues that consumers who might purchase the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 are more likely to buy the Wii not only because of the lower price point, but because of the subsequent HDTV purchase price. "Expect most consumers to defer purchasing a PS3 or an Xbox 360 until they have purchased an HD monitor," Pachter explains. Though we're not convinced that the same folks who would be purchasing an Xbox 360 or a PS3 would be running out to buy a Nintendo Wii in every case, we digress.
Among the many fascinating (and not so fascinating) takeaways from Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's recent and massive industry report are revelations about the current console adoption rate. As much as the Wii has seemingly penetrated previously untapped demographics (see grandma's now defunct bridge club) and ostensibly raised console adoption rates to new highs, the current generation is practically dead even with the last one when comparing the two generation's first four calendar years on the market. That is, from 2005 (when Xbox 360 launched in late November) through 2008, the current generation of consoles (Wii, PS3 and 360) combined for approximately 78 million unit sales, according to Wedbush Morgan estimates. Comparatively, from 2000 (the year PS2 launched) through 2003, the previous generation (GameCube, PS2 and Xbox) combined for 78–79 million unit sales. However, in this pivotal fifth year, Wedbush Morgan predicts the current adoption rate will begin to pull ahead of the previous rate.
Industry veteran Ian Livingstone has warned that 2009 will be an all or nothing year for publishers, as new releases either climb high in the charts or completely sink at retail.
Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz, the life president of Eidos said that publishers are pumping more money into developing and marketing bankable franchises, leaving smaller titles choked on store shelves.
"A lot of titles have already hit the shelves and there is a deluge planned for Christmas, but I think 2009 will be remembered as the year of 'roast duck or no dinner'," he said in an interview published today. "Big ticket titles continue to sell well but many of the smaller titles will probably disappoint their owners."
"There's a glut of product and in a discerning market there is no room for mediocrity. To make a suboptimal game with a suboptimal marketing spend is a recipe for disaster," he added.
"I think we'll continue to see more production resources going into fewer titles supported by even bigger marketing budgets. Publishers are continuing to raise the investment bar, ensuring the mega-franchises will rule."
This is the first gameplay footage of FIFA 10, EA's next footy effort packing all of that juicy new tech it talked about early last month.
It's only a short trailer, apparently all actual gameplay footage, and it looks really bloody nice. Slow motion slide tackles, furry grass and realistic ball physics are all present and correct.
According to EA it "features core gameplay refinements based on responsiveness and intelligence, plus a completely overhauled Manager Mode that includes more than 50 major improvements."
Industry observers expecting videogames to follow music and offer full console game downloads in the near future are wrong - it won't happen until at least 2019, according to a report by Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter - and even then downloads will represent less than 50 per cent of total game sales.
Full game downloads won't become a reality until console hard drives get bigger, the report reasons, since game files can exceed 10Gb in size and the average Xbox 360 only has a 20Gb hard drive, with only a small percentage of consumers owning the Elite version of the console with its 120Gb hard drive.
"In ten years, we envision a world where the typical console has a terabyte or more of storage, and where full game downloads are the norm," the report states.
Furthermore, there will always be consumers that place value on owning a physical copy of a game.
Currently, up to one-third of all games traded in the US are used, which logically indicates that one-third of consumers place some measurable value on the ability to resell a game.
Some consumers will also want the portability a physical disc allows - to take their games to different locations and loan them to friends - predicts the report.
"There will always be a sizeable number of consumers who value the trade-in option and portability, and we expect those consumers to favour physical goods over digital downloads. Thus, we expect that digital downloads will represent less that 50 per cent of total game sales in ten years' time."
While storage capacity remains limited, the download model Pachter expects to see more developers emulate is the 'creeping download' one - or selling games in instalments.
"We think that the poster child for this scenario is Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360, a game first sold in physical form, with additional levels sold periodically thereafter through downloads. After a tepid embrace of its first downloadable episode, Take-Two decided to offer the first and second episodes in a combined physical package, with the two episodes allowing full game play without the purchase of the original GTA IV game disc.
"This model reinforces our belief that packaged goods will capture the majority of game purchases for the next ten years."
The number of second hand games trading annually in the US has reached an estimated 100 million units, accounting for one-third of games sold every year and bringing in revenue of USD 2 billion, according to an industry report published by Wedbush Morgan.
However, the research finds that as few as five per cent of new games sales are affected by the pre-owned market, and the trade in of old product could result in more new games being bought.
"The vast majority of used games are not traded in until the original new game purchaser has finished playing - more than two months after a new game is released - typically well beyond the window for a full retail priced new game sale," said analyst Michael Pachter.
According to Pachter, the commonly held perception that retailers such as GameStop are 'pushing' used games on customers prepared to buy new ones is largely untrue and that, on the contrary, used game sales are benefiting new games sales by providing currency to gamers with less disposable income to purchase additional games.
"If trade-ins occur at GameStop, they should position the trade-in customer to buy more new games than he/she would otherwise normally purchase. Because the average used game value is around 20 per cent of the new game price, we think that used game trade-ins fuel incremental sales of over six per cent of total new game sales, suggesting that the cannibalisation from the used game 'push' is more than offset by the benefit from used game currency," the report concluded.
Sir Clive Sinclair versus Chris Curry to be broadcast on UK TV
The story of how the home computer gained prominence throughout the eighties is being retold - in a new BBC comedy drama.
The new show, called Syntax Era, is currently in production and will air on UK TV later in the year. It will focus on the growing rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair and his former colleague Chris Curry; masterminds behind rival systems Sinclair C5 and the BBC Micro.
“Those of us who lived through the 1980s will remember the sense of excitement when gadget and technology started to appear in our homes, but not many of us will know the fascinating stories behind their arrival,” said Richard Klein, controller of station BBC4.
Sinclair and Curry will be played by Alexander Armstrong and Martin Freeman. Klein said the two are “excellent choices to portray Sir Clive Sinclair and Chris Curry at a time when battling to have the UK's most-loved home computer was their number one priority."
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects Xbox 360's home console market share to fade to third by 2015, largely due to a lack of penetration in Japan.
"We expect the dominant console at the end of the this cycle to be the Wii, as we think that the console's low price point, innovative control mechanism, and compatibility with standard definition televisions will provide it with a competitive advantage over the next two years," he said, noting that he still expects the company to introduce a high definition Wii.
"We think that the PS3 will capture significant market share, primarily due to Sony's victory in the high definition DVD format war, and will end up in second place by 2015," he added. "Although Microsoft's Xbox 360 enjoyed a first mover advantage, we think that its market position will fade to third place due to lack of penetration in Japan."
By the end of 2009 he expects Wii to have captured a 49 per cent share of the US and European markets, followed by the Xbox 360 at 29 per cent and the PS3 at 22 per cent.
Two years he sees Wii market share having slipped marginally to 48 per cent, while PS3 and Xbox 360 each hold a 26 per cent share.
According to a report conducted by market research company NPD, 2009 has seen a sharp rise in the number of females making up part of the total audience for systems and games.
Titled Gamer Segmentation 2009, the research looked at ownership, usage and frequency across several categories, including console, secondary; online PC, avid PC, offline PC, heavy portable, and 'extreme' gamers. According to NPD's report, females have made the most ground in the console category, and now make up 28 per cent of the market, compared to 23 per cent in 2008. NPD suggests that this is because of the rise in usage figure of the Wii. Female gaming numbers also increased by four per cent in the portable and extreme gaming categories.
"Last year was one of the most transformative in history in terms of defining the audience for gaming," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group. "Even with the increased competition from mobile and social network gaming, the console gamer segment added the most new participants to its ranks in the last year."
The report also pointed to the fact that now 38 per cent of gamers' time spent playing game's is online, which shows no increase or decrease in relation to the previous year.
Kotaku has an opinion piece by Leigh Alexander singing the praises of classic, button-rich controllers for the level of precision and complexity they offer. While the Wii Remote and upcoming motion-control offerings from Microsoft and Sony are generating a lot of interest, there will always be games for which more traditional input devices are better suited. Quoting:
"With all this talk about new audiences — and the tech designed to serve them — it's easy to get excited. It's also easy to feel a little lost in the shuffle. For gamers who've been there since before anyone cared about making games 'for everyone,' having that object in our hands was more than a way to access the game world — it was half the appeal. Anyone who's ever pulled off a chain of combos in a console fighter can tell you about the joy of expertise and control. ... Gamers may suffer some kind of identity crisis as the familiar markers of their beloved niche evolve — or disappear entirely. The solution to that one's easy: Get over it. Like it or not, it's clear that gaming's not a 'niche' anymore, and its shape will change. The more pressing issue is whether or not controller-less gaming will truly make the medium richer. Making something 'more accessible' doesn't necessarily make it better."
Over at Bazzie Bizzle.com we've posted an interview with DCEmu's very own ZX-81. Here's a short quote:
About a week ago I did an interview with emulator author ZX-81 to kick off an all new "Interviews" section here on the site. The following is a quote from that interview, which I have now posted.
Recently, I caught up with one of the emulation and homebrew community's most dedicated coders. Ludovic Jacomme (aka ZX-81 or simply ZX for short) has ported dozens of emulators and other applications to the GP2X and PSP handhelds. If you own a PSP and you're into running homebrew applications and emulators, then you've likely heard of ZX or at least installed one of his programs.
A Sideways SEUCK C64 arcade shooter from The New Dimension team (Programming: Anthony Burns, SECUK Redux Code: Martin Piper, and Music: Richard Bayliss). Having been influenced by Golden Axe and Doubel Dragon for their earlier Legion of the Damned series, The New Dimension team have taken inspiration from MERCS this time. The year is 1917 on the Western Front, and you lead a squad of mean across No Man's Land with the mission of inflitrating enemy territory, taking out their bunkers, attacking enemy positions, and strategic posts. Just avoid the hazardous terrain and powerful weapons along the way...
A C64 racing game from The New Dimension, created using Sideways SEUCK by Thorsten Schreck, and features graphics done by Richard Bayliss and Michael Koslowski, and Telespielator. Get to those roads and beat the opposition, or you could jsut blast them away with your rocket launchers.
Looking for another set of plastic instruments to fill that remaining spot of unoccupied floor space in your living room? Amazon has an offer that will help speed the total domination of your life by comically undersized guitars and drums. As its Deal of the Day, the site is offering the full band set of Guitar Hero: World Tour for just $89.98, a hundred bucks off the MSRP.
The item is available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PS2, and we doubt it'll stay in stock all day. This is one of the cheapest offers of full band kits we've seen! It's so cheap, it almost makes these music games seem affordable.
EA is back at the top of the sales charts this week with its new release Fight Night Round 4 - a feat which marks the first time a boxing game has reached the all formats chart top position.
The latest GfK Chart-Track data puts the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 boxing game just ahead of Activision Blizzard's Prototype, which moves from its number one position last week to number two, and The Sims 3 and Nintendo's Wii Fit, both of which shuffle one chart place down from last week.
Activision Blizzard make appearances with two other new games - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which debuts in the number six position and Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits at number 18, while Call of Duty: World at War remains in a high position at number seven.
Other new releases into the top 40 this week are Codemasters' Overlord II at number 17, Capcom's Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite at number 25 (the highest placed PSP game in the all formats chart), Koei's Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires at number 31, Spore: Galactic Adventures at number 37 and Atari's Tales of Vesperia at number 38.
The UK top ten chart in full follows:
01 Fight Night Round 4
02 Prototype
03 The Sims 3
04 Wii Fit
05 UFC 2009: Undisputed
06 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
07 Call of Duty: World At War
08 Virtua Tennis 2009
09 EA Sports Active
10 Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ahhh! After 10,000 years I’m free. It’s time to conquer Earth!
Not really…
The translation for Kyoryu Sentai ZyuRanger (Kyouryuu Sentai Juuranger according to GoodNES) is finally released.
The characters may look familiar to you, as this is the Japanese/original version of what would eventually come to America as Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
An article at TechCrunch discusses a blog post from Richard Posner, a US Court of Appeals judge, about the struggling newspaper industry. Posner explains why he thinks the newspapers will continue to struggle, and then comes to a rather unusual conclusion: "Expanding copyright law to bar online access to copyrighted materials without the copyright holder's consent, or to bar linking to or paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder's consent, might be necessary to keep free riding on content financed by online newspapers from so impairing the incentive to create costly news-gathering operations that news services like Reuters and the Associated Press would become the only professional, nongovernmental sources of news and opinion."
Operatives brave enough to take on the infamous COBRA organization in this summer's G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra video game will be rewarded for their heroism with a lineup of exclusive unlockable features from EA! Advanced G.I. JOE operatives can get a peek behind the scenes at the game's production, including unlockable concept art and character renders, while those in the mood for a bit of nostalgia can uncover four of the classic G.I. JOE PSA's from the original 80's cartoon series. There are also 75 filecards scattered throughout the game, each containing profiles of various G.I. JOE team members, COBRA henchmen and the game's arsenal of explosive weapons, vehicles and play sets. Players can review these filecards to gather valuable intel that will give them a leg up in battling COBRA forces – now you know, and knowing is, after all, half the battle!
G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra hits stores this August, and will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable (PSP) as well as mobile phones.
