Japan Last Week

Source: http://www.m-create.com/eng/e_ranking.html, text directly from source.



Sales of the top 100 titles totaled 1,203,066 units, 83.27% of last week's total and 155.35% of the weekly average. Though lacking last week's vigor, this week also saw a large number of new titles boost the market, and as with last week, total sales surpassed 1 million units.

Twenty-seven new releases took spots in the top 100, accounting for 47.87% of total sales. Top-ranked "Resident Evil 4" sold approximately 243,000 units. The title was released about 10 months after the GC version, which was launched in January of this year, and it appears to have gotten off to a strong start in its first week, surpassing results for the GC version. (At this point in time, the GC version has sold a total of approximately 220,000 units.) "Monster Hunter Portable" in third place sold approximately 114,000 units. The title had an absorption rate of more than 80% and sold out at a series of stores. There were a notably large number of purchases of the game together with the PSP hardware, and the title became a bigger hit than expected.

Meanwhile, sales of existing titles jumped from approximately 458,000 units to 627,000 units partially due to the effects of titles launched last week such as "Animal Crossing: Wild World." This week's strong performance was supported by rich lineups in both the new title and the existing title markets.

Nintendo Players Dot Com



A member of Digital Share forums, thegetupkid86, presents a brad new one stop online Nintendo resource. On completion, this site will include everything Nintendo, from the latest rumours, to game reviews and sales statistics. With a team of staff who are all Nintendo gamers, the site will receive fast and consistent updates with all sorts of Ninty news.

I would like to recommend each and every one of you to look to nintendoplayers.com in the future, for comprehensive Nintendo information. For now please feel free to join the NP forums, there is a link to them from the main page (or add /forum to the url).

I have been accepted as a staff for posting news, so (hopefully, if all goes well) I'll be able to assist in the latest presentations of Nintendo talk. I'll continue contributions to this blog, though, and again I'd just like to thank all of you who have visited this blog :).

Another Code: Another Review

For the American blog viewers, Another Code: Two Memories is the European equivilant of Trace memory, a recently released title in the States. This game has been available at retailers for many months in Australia, but it was not until a friend lended me the game that I first tried it out. I'll attempt another review, though remembering back to the Advance Wars DS review, you'll have to bear with any grammatic errors I make :P.

Unique, that is the best way to describe the gameplay of this game. Though it fits into the adventure slash puzzle genre, this title gives the gamer an experience that they won't find with any other game. The whole game can be played by nothing but the touch screen, and I find pointing with the stylus a very useful tool for game control, for both navigation, and solving puzzles.

You play as (almost) 14 year old Ashley Mitzuki Robbins, who's lost her parents as a baby and has been raised by her aunt Jessica. The game is set into motion straight from the beginning, when Ashley discovers his father is alive and wishes to meet him on a mysterious island. She later meets up with D, a ghost who his trying to recover memories of his death, and together the game's objective is to recover both Ashley and D's past.

Another Code utilises the functions avilable on the DS to the fullest extent. To complete the game, players are required to do everything from clicking random objects in search for clues, snap the console shut to stamp and drawing, to blowing dust off objects through the inbuilt mic. Dozens of interesting and possibly annoying puzzles (like discovering the true meaning of "Another" or "Trace") are able to maintain the gamer's interest throughout the whole game. Like a book, once you pick this game up, it's hard to put it down until you've completed the next chaptor. I said chaptor, because that is what divides the game up into multiple levels, with puzzles of increasing difficulty in each.

The game presents very beautiful graphics, smooth shadings and high details (like birds zooming above trees across the screen) which are hard to find in a DS game. The top screen is mainly used for game dialogues, as well as various screes which display as you navigate the characters. The bottom screen presents a bird's eye view, so to it easy to hunt forobject which contain clues.

As the story progresses, the gamer really becomes involved in the events which unfold as Ashley is finally led to her father, and as most of D's past is recovered. The emotional conclusion at the end when Ashley leaves with her reunited family makes the gamer want to see the game progress futher, and sad to see the game finally came to an end. The same feeling you would get from finishing a tv or anime series, where even if it's a "happy" ending, you regret to see the characters leave.



Overall IMO this game deserves an 8 out of 10. It's a great title if you're after a slow paced game with quality graphics, but not so much if you're after something fast and action packed (get Mario Kart!). I am looking forward to this game's sequel, if there is one. According to Cing, they will produce a sequel if this one sells, and looking at recent software statistics Another Code has sold pretty well, expecially in Japan.

So has anyone else played Another Code? If so, what are your thoughts?

Australian MKDS Competition!



The Nintendo DS connection tour 06 is coming to Australia. They will be held at multiple Westfield shopping centres across Australia during the summer holidays. Players will get a chance to try out new Nintendo DS games, including Nintendogs, Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sonic Rush, SpongeBob Squarepants: The Yellow Avenger, Burnout Legends and Tony Hawk American SK8land. Gamers can also sample what’s to come in early 2006, games like Nintendo Touch Golf: Birdie Challenge, Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble, Pokemon Torozei, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and the Japanese hit “Brain Training” will be available for demo play.

Here is the main attraction of the event: An Ultimate Mario Kart DS Tournament! The winner will be crowned the Mario Kart Champion and will receive a year’s worth of Nintendo DS products from Nintendo! Simply register, compete on the day and see if you have what it takes to be the Mario Kart Champion.

Here are the dates and location of the tour:

QLD
Westfield Carindale - Sat 7 Jan, 9:30am – 4pm
Westfield Garden City - Sun 8 Jan, 10:30am – 4pm
NSW
Westfield Miranda - Sat 14 Jan, 9:30am – 4pm
Westfield Eastgardens - Sun 15 Jan, 10:30am – 4pm
VIC
Westfield Southland - Sat 21 Jan, 9:30am – 4pm
Westfield Fountain Gate - Sun 22 Jan, 10:30am – 4pm
SA
Westfield Marion - Sat 28 Jan, 9:30am – 4pm
Westfield Marion – Sun 29 Jan, 9:30am – 4pm

I don't know about you guys, but for some reason I'm really excited about this tournament. I live in NSW, and although it's about an hours trip to Eastgardens, will try and participate in the event. Btw if anyone wants my MKDS Wi-Fi friend code, it's at the top right hand corner of this page (remember to comment with your own code so I can add you :D).

Nintendo's Official Stance

Source: http://revolution.ign.com/articles/674/674611p1.html

Online reports are shedding new light on the horsepower for Nintendo's next-generation console, codenamed Revolution, and gamers are reacting. Fans who write Nintendo of America about Revolution's power will receive the following official response:

Our competitors would have you believe that the next generation of gaming will be solely defined by high definition graphics. High definition graphics look fantastic, but come at a price. To shine, high definition games must be played on high definition televisions, which aren't cheap. Games with high definition graphics are expensive to develop because they must be developed in both standard and high definition formats. Those development costs are passed on to you in the form of more expensive software. Finally, playing games with high definition graphics requires a system with loads of RAM and costly high-end graphics chips, both of which make it prohibitively expensive for most consumers.

Sharper graphics are certainly part of the next generation. We know that games for the Revolution will look brilliant whether played on a standard television or on a high definition television. However, is that all there is to next-generation gaming? We feel that sharper graphics should be combined with a new way to interface with the game itself. Our controller is a sharp departure from the current standard, to be sure, but it will provide a level of interactivity you can't get currently.

We believe in providing a single system that can play not only the previous generation's titles, but also games from a massive library built over 20 years of creating innovative and exciting games. We also believe in providing a complete wireless online experience right out of the box.

Nintendo has created a gaming system that is sleek and compact in size, powers up quickly with minimal load times, makes game development easy and fast, is easy to use, and is affordable for everyone. We are confident that gamers and non-gamers alike will support the truly next-generation experience only Nintendo can provide. Once you have a chance to play games on the Revolution, we think you'll agree!

Nintendo of America

Nintendo has chosen not to release official technical specifications for its next-generation console and it may never, according to company executives. The Big N believes that comparing horsepower between consoles is a lost cause and that the software standouts in the next-generation will be determined by the quality and originality of the games, not merely how flashy their graphics become.

Revolution Channel Launched

IGN have recently launched their Nintendo Revolution channel section of their site, check it out at:

http://revolution.ign.com/

It seems the upgrade from cube.ign.com isn't quite complete, the link isn't shown in the topbar, and most of the articles are taken straight from the cube channel. There is one new Revolution article, found here:

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/673/673578p1.html

I'm a little suspicious of that article, as the information was sourced from "anonymous software developers", who should know little of Revolution's true hardware (working on games with Gamecube dev kits). Still, some comments are made on Revolution's horsepower, focusing around it's RAM. They also claim Revolution to be nothing more than a "souped up Xbox".

The Metroid Prime 3 image on the page does not match its caption, either. Matt should be well aware that the video footage shown at e3 ran on Gamecube hardware... these are Gamecube graphics.

Caveat Emptor

Recently there have been many scams for Xbox 360 consoles on eBay, but I've come across one that's quite hillarious. Here's a link to the auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/X-Box-360-Premium-Box_W0QQitemZ8239677647QQcategoryZ112848QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

In case it has ended by the time you read this post, here is the description for the item below. Words that should be noted are in bold:
-------------------------------------------

X-Box 360 Premium Box



Now lets's go over what you know about the Xbox 360:
1. It's the first next-gen system to hit the market and probably will remain so for quite some time
2. Every major retailer has long since sold out of its initial alottment and can't guarantee you'll have one by Christmas
3. You have to have the hard drive included in this bundle to be able to play your old favorite xbox games (cough, cough, HALO 2, cough, cough)

Included in this package are none of the following:
* Xbox 360 System
* Wireless Controller
* 20 GB Hard Drive
* Wireless Headset for use with Xbox Live!
* High Definition A/V cables (core system only comes with standard composite A/V cables)
* Ethernet Cable (machine is Wi-Fi capable right out of the box so you can use your home wireless network for online play)

Some people are mentioning the inclusion of different Xbox Live! (XBL) memberships. Here's the story on that. All Xbox 360s will be able to connect to XBL Silver membership, free of charge, so long as you have an internet connection. But since this isn't an actual Xbox 360, just an egg box with "X-Box 360 Premium" written on it in permanent marker, you won't be able to connect to Xbox live or any other network with it. Just so we're clear, this is not a console, its an egg box with some writing on it. You would be able to download content, chat, and interact with the XBL online community, id this were an actual Xbox 360. You will not be able to play other people online through this level of XBL. Also included with the bundle is a free one month trial of XBL Gold. XBL Gold is a subscription service that you will have to pay for subsequent to your trial offer if you want to continue to play online. I believe all Xbox 360 games are supposed to have some type of online component, some of which will be more robust than others (Halo 3).

£10.00 flat shipping rate by royal mail.

-------------------------------------------
By the time I viewed the item had 9 bids, and was currently selling for US $493.16 (with a $1 starting bid). Crazy how some people can be so blind, huh?

More To The Revolution
Source: IGN

http://cube.ign.com/articles/673/673299p1.html

Nintendo bigwigs including Shigeru Miyamoto spoke at Japan's Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference today and while no specifics on games or hardware were revealed, some intriguing Revolution gossip was spun all the same, according to the website kotaku.com.

The site reports that Miyamoto again talked about the possibilities of the Revolution controller, and referred to the peripheral's nunchuck-style analog add-on. Most interesting, though, was what Miyamoto didn't talk about. The Nintendo legend flat-out stated that there's more to be revealed about the Revolution controller.

"There's another secret [about the Revolution controller]," he stated. "But I'm not going to go into that here. That'll be for a later date."

The news is in line with Nintendo of Europe demi-god Jim Merrick's recent statements that not everything about the Revolution controller has been shown.

Readers can expect full disclosure on the peripheral, the console, and its games at the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2006, which kicks off in Los Angeles next May.

PSP Going Down...Sooner Than Expected?

Thanks to a post by Bluelight of Digital Share forums, the latest Japanese hardware and software game sales. In this post I shall focus on the handheld industry only, the seperate handheld console war between Sony and Nintendo.

Here are the latest Japanese handheld statistics:

Nintendo DS 132,012
PlayStation Portable 51,196
GB micro 7,594
GBA SP 5,709
Game Boy Advance 241

These numbers are presented in a pie chart below:



As you can see, the Nintendo and Sony handheld war are currently giving 37 to 13 ratio respectively. Nintendo are dominating with a huge 74% of the total handheld market (PSP 26%). This was thanks to the recent release of Animal Crossing, an inteactive simulator game which supports Nintendo's Wi-Fi play.

On top of this great news, Mario Kart DS, also Wi-Fi supported, will be launching next week to Japanese gamers. This release will surely boost DS sales even futher, just like it did in Australia and the U.S. Aussies were greeted by the highly anticipated DS title, along with a $199.95 bundle, saving a gamer $50 if bought seperatly (EB games are even selling the bundle for $188 now). In the U.S, 112,000 Mario Kart DS games were sold in the first week, and 45% of MKDS owners have played online.

The next major DS release will occur a month or two afterwards, the launching of Metroid Prime Hunters. also supporting wireless online play, the game will also sport the release of Nintendo's Wi-Fi adaptor to retailers.

So, the future looks bright for the Developer's System, though not so well for the sleek Micro. The GB Micro has been dropped slowely in sales since its release. In its first week, the Micro sold a whopping ~149,000 units, doubling DS sales for a week. now it has almost dropped as low as the GBA SP, tohugh still enough to stay in the market, and effective in its job as Nintendo's "side" or "topoff" console.

Btw, regarding the title of this post...
I deliberately chose the words in the title to provoke Sony fanboys :P, it is not entirely true. If it makes any PSP fans feel better, the DS has been beating it in sales for MONTHS, it taking about 26% of the handheld market is no news :).

Countdown To Revolution... Again

http://cube.ign.com/articles/671/671782p1.html

The Electronics Entertainment Expo is still more than 165 days off, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo from preparing for the big show. In an unprecedented move, the company today sent out a "save the date" press reminder for its pre-E3 2006 show -- the same event where full disclosure on its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution, will take place.

"You're probably just starting to plan your time for 2006. With a mere 165 days to go (give or take), it's time to start thinking about next year's E3. Nintendo is most certainly thinking about it. So pencil us in," the company wrote in an official mass-mailing to media. "You'll hear all the incredible details about Nintendo's upcoming games and hardware, including our next home console, codenamed Revolution. You won't want to miss it. See you there."

The event will take place on May 9, 2006 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, according to the publisher.

Historically, mailings like this arrive only a month or so prior to the actual E3 events, and thus we're positively puzzled and simultaneously excited to learn that the Big N is already gearing up for its Revolution blowout.

Nintendo of America has indicated on several occasions that more information on Revolution will be forthcoming on a regular basis beginning early next year.

It's still a little early, e3 is months away, but that hasn't stopped the building of hype and high anticipation of more Revolution news. It seems that finally, Nintendo ahve decided to reveal the Revolution. What I am hoping for most is some ingame videos, confirmation of more games, any other unknown functions of the controller, and a price and release date. Lol, yeah I guess that about all there is to know, except for the technical specs, which for some reason I am uninterested in.

As long as the games are unique, and provides graphics superior to the Gamecube's, that is sufficient to gain my support. Oh and, Wi-Fi, low price, and Nintendo's most popular lineup of games ready at launch, is nice too :D.