Nintendo Owns Industry

News

Whether or not you like Nintendo, you can’t disprove these 10 facts for the first half of 2007 based upon NPD and NPD Canada figures:

–Through the first half of 2007, the total Wii hardware sell-through in the United States and Canada combined is more than 2.3 million units (2.1 million United States, 222,000 Canada).

–For the first half of 2007, Nintendo represents nearly 70 percent of the industry growth in the United States and Canada combined.

–In June alone, Wii was once again the top-selling home console with nearly 435,000 units sold in the United States and Canada combined (381,800
United States, 53,000 Canada).

–In June alone, Nintendo DS was the top-selling video game system overall with nearly 608,000 units sold in the United States and Canada combined (562,000 United States, 46,000 Canada).

–Nintendo remained the top video game publisher in the United States and Canada in June, as well as the top publisher for all of 2007.

–In June alone, Nintendo has six of the top 10 best-selling games in the United States, including the top four: Mario Party 8 and Wii Play for
Wii, and Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl for Nintendo DS.

–Of the top 30 best-selling games in the United States for all of 2007, half are for Nintendo systems.

–The three best-selling games in the United States for all of 2007 are for Nintendo systems: Pokémon Diamond, Wii Play and Pokémon Pearl.

–Wii already boasts more than 180 games, including 120 downloadable Virtual Console titles. By the end of the year, that total number will climb to about 330 games, including an additional 100 new games from every major third-party publisher, along with an additional 50 Virtual Console titles.

–Approximately 300 games are already available for Nintendo DS, with another 140 titles expected by the end of the year from every major third-party publisher.

Bioware to use Perpetual’s Online Platform in upcoming MMO

Perpetual Entertainment

Bioware has reportedly licensed Perpetual Entertainment’s Online Platform for use in their new MMO. The untitled MMO in question is currently unnamed and no information has been given out. It is under development at Bioware’s Austin Studio and its team includes veterans from Neverwinter Nights and Ultima Online, which is enough to hint that it has kickass potential.

According to Gordon Walton, Co-Studio Director of BioWare Austin:

“We evaluated numerous technology solutions to serve as the service backbone of our first MMO title and feel Perpetual’s online platform is the best fit. The Perpetual team has years of experience building infrastructure and tools for online games and we are thrilled to be working with them.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Keene, Co-Chairman and CEO of the Perpetual camp said:

“BioWare is one of the leading developers of AAA games in the world and we know they will find the Perpetual platform provides both the functionality and ease-of-use they are looking for to support their upcoming title.

With the Perpetual platform, BioWare’s Austin studio can focus on making great games while minimizing the time and effort required to deploy and support their titles.”

This Online Platform will include all the tools necessary to make a MMO game, like managing a game’s online operations, billing, customer support and so on. If you want one for yourself, head here.

[Via Game Informer]

Blizzard working on new, unannounced title

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard dropped a bomb when they announced StarCraft II. It looks like Blizzard is doing it again. During a discussion with Gamasutra, Blizzard’s senior vice president of product development, Frank Pearce said that a team of 40 people is working in “team 3”.

The diplomatically chosen revelation was found in the following context, straight from Pearce:

“Our global headcount is 2,700, and most of that is customer service for World of Warcraft! In terms of development staff it’s probably around 350. World of Warcraft is about 135 people, 40 for Starcraft II, 40 for team 3, our cinematics team is about 85 guys. Then there’s sound and Q/A and that sort of thing.”

Pearcesaid further that Team 3 is working on “something really awesome” (they always say that) and that he couldn’t give any hints. Gamasutra has confirmed that this is not the vaporware Starcraft Ghost, though.

Blizzcon starts 3rd August, which is not far away, as your friendly calendar will tell you. Is it possible that this new game, under construction by “Team 3” will be announced there? Most likely. What is this new game? Nobody knows for sure, though most fingers point towards Diablo 3. We’ll just have to wait for Blizzcon.

[Via Gamasutra]

First glimpses of wireless guitars for Guitar Hero 3 (all platforms!)

Guitar Hero Wii

Today, Activision announced their new partnership with Gibson Guitar Corp., the worlds leading musical instrument manufacturer and leader in musical technology. With this new agreement in hand, Activision will be featuring some of Gibson’s best guitars in the upcoming Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Fans can expect more than 20 classic and modern Gibson Guitars as well 80 finishes to use! And hell yeah – fans will be doing it all with their new wireless Gibson Guitar controllers.

The game will allow you unlock the following “battle axes” in-game:

Gibson:

  • ES-335
  • Explorer
  • Firebird
  • SG
  • Les Paul
  • V-Factor
  • Super CES400
  • Marauder
  • Corvus

Epiphone:

  • Casino
  • Coronet
  • Sheraton

Kramer:

  • 650
  • Vanguard

Bass Guitars:>

  • Marauder
  • Corvus
  • Les Paul
  • LP Double Cutaway
  • EDS 1275
  • ES335
  • Firebird
  • Flying V
  • Moderne
  • SG
  • X-Plorer

These wireless controllers will be available for all consoles. The Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii versions of the controllers will be using Gibson’s Les Paul model, while the PS2 version will see the classic Kramer.

The exclusive Gibson guitars will include innovative features such as removable faceplates that will allow fans to personalize their guitars, and a new button color design will be integrated for an even greater authentic feel and rock experience.

As you can see, Guitar Hero fans are going to have a field day.

Read on to find out what the guys Gibson Guitar and RedOctane said, as well as to find plenty of photos of the new wireless controllers (the one above is for the Wii, if you didn’t guess).

Continue reading “First glimpses of wireless guitars for Guitar Hero 3 (all platforms!)”

Super Mario Galaxy MIA

super-mario-galaxy.jpg

Ah, E3 and Internetz, spilling the beans for as long as I can remember. Seems like Nintendo may have some big announcements in store for Super Mario Galaxy.

Our very own David Rodriguez discovered today that Super Mario Galaxy has mysteriously vanished from Nintendo’s master list of games on their company website. You can go check it out yourself right here. I would have just posted a screen shot for you guys, but this worthless PC I’m borrowing doesn’t have MS Paint, let alone a photo editing app. Thanks for nothing, Danny!

This is suspicious news in and of itself, but considering that video game mega-con E3 is just around the corner, we here at SWL are willing to bet they’re planning to drop a bomb or two. Perhaps a street date, maybe even a new name? Wasn’t Super Mario Galaxy a working title?

[Update]

Now even Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is missing in action…

CryENGINE 2 Licenced by Indie Developer

Mobster

The guys from Paleo Entertainment, based in San Diego have announced that their new, shiny FPS, Merchants of Brooklyn will be using the CryENGINE 2. Never heard of it? Remember the upcoming game with awesome tropical graphics that made you cream your pants, called Crysis? Yep, it uses CryENGINE 2.

The game in question, Merchants of Brooklyn, is set in 3100 A.D. where you see the main character, Matteo Savio make his way from a young boy to “Dr. Savio, PHD – Director of Genetics on Planet Paleo”, through an adventure featuring “MOB life, Scientific Education and Galactic adventures.” Definitely original stuff there. Especially considering that most of the characters are going to be Neanderthals. In a mob. How cool is that?

To quote Troy Latimer, president of Paleo (heh, alliteration):

Before licensing the CryENGINE 2 for our new project we looked carefully at all our options, and concluded no other engine could produce the kind of AAA quality game we were aiming to develop, nor were any other toolsets as advanced or user friendly as the ones delivered with the CryENGINE 2.

Sounds as good a reason as any. A second worthy reason being that this makes the upstart developer very famous indeed.

Paleo Entertainment was born out of a modding group that created Paleolithic Revolution, a Half-Life 2 mod based on Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon domination of caves and stacked rocks. Personally, I like the originality of these buggers.

Right now, we know nothing more than what I have presented already, though there is a bunch of concept art (more like doodles) out there.

[Via Gamasutra, Kotaku]