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Japanese React To Dragon Quest XI Announcement
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo DS, Role Playing Games, Square Enix,
The announcement that the latest entry in the Dragon Quest series would not take place on a traditional console but instead the Nintendo DS shook up Japanese fans. Famitsu magazine has polled both magazine readers and retailers to get their opinions of the shift, and Insert Credit has a detailed summary of the overall reaction. In the Famitsu poll, 40.3% of readers asked were excited by the idea of having Dragon Quest XI on the handheld, but 46% had a negative opinion. Even more reacted negatively to the action-based battle changes in the RPG. Retailers were more on the positive side; this might be a reflection of the mainstream opinion, and not the hard core. Insert Credit also details the specific comments from magazine readers, and the span of opinions is interesting. Despite the negative reaction from fans, though, Dragon Quest XI is still likely to be a huge seller in Japan.
Read More 
| Insert Credit
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Square Offers New Final Fantasy XII DS Trailer
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo DS, Role Playing Games, Square Enix, Trailers,
Square-Enix has placed a new trailer for Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings for the DS online. There is a small streaming version on the main page of their Revenant Wings site, but inside the trailers section is a larger streaming video. The trailer includes a fair amount of pre-rendered footage, but gamers can also get a glimpse at some of the in-game video, including combat sequences. The trailer was shown previously at the Jump Festa 2007 event in Japan.
Read More | Square Enix Japan
December 10 - 17 Media Create Numbers Online
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii,
The Media Create Japanese Software sales numbers for the week ending December 17th have been released and it looks like things have gone back to the status quo in Japan. The first seven spots in the top ten belong to Nintendo DS titles, with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl taking the top two spots. New Super Mario Brothers and the super-popular Love and Berry DS Collection appear on the list as well. The first non-DS title is Wild Arms 5 for the PS2 at the eighth spot. Two Wii titles round out the top ten: Wii Sports and Pokemon Battle Revolution. The week after the debut of Blue Dragon sees that title dropping completely off the top 30, which would appear to be a bad sign for Xbox 360 sales in Japan. Japanese hardware sales should be updated soon, so time will tell for Microsoft’s console.
Read More | eg Japan
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Pokemon Diamond & Pearl US Release Announced
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Role Playing Games,
The latest RPG releases in the Pokemon franchise will be hitting the US this April. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl will go on sale for the Nintendo DS on April 22, 2007. Nintendo will also be offering special Pokemon styluses as a pre-sell premium; details of the program have yet to be announced. The game has been a huge seller in Japan, and with the wireless networking features and integration with other DS and Gameboy Advance releases should have Pokemon fans lining up this Spring.
Nintendo’s full press release continues below, and further information about the game is available at Nintendo’s official Pokemon web site.
Click to continue reading Pokemon Diamond & Pearl US Release Announced
Read More | Official Pokemon Site
December 10 Media Create Hardware Sales Numbers Released
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360,
Media Create’s hardware sales numbers for the week ending December 10th have been released, and the Xbox 360 received a considerable bump due to the release of Blue Dragon for the console, moving 35,343 units during the week. This number is the highest the console has seen since launch, and the numbers are respectable but not spectacular. The top selling console this week was the DS Lite, selling 309,630 units. The Wii followed behind with 85,439, and the Playstation 3 came in third with 50,171. One assumes that the Wii and PS3 numbers are heavily constrained by supply. Coming up after the Xbox 360 are the Playstation 2 at 30,460 consoles and the PSP at 28,930 units.
The DS Lite just continues to absolutely dominate console sales in Japan. Microsoft has to be somewhat happy with the bump in sales in Japan. Considering that the Blue Dragon bundle is an insanely great deal on the hardware and software included, the company may be paying a heavy price for this improvement in sales. If Microsoft can ride the wave to further success the cost might be worth it for the company, but if this is a temporary blip, one has to wonder if anything can turn around the console in Japan.
Read More | Media Create
In Two Days, Wii Sells 350K In Europe
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii,
Nintendo of Europe has released their sales numbers for the launch weekend of the Wii in Europe, and to no surprise, the sales trends mirror the US numbers. Nintendo of Europe managed to move 350,000 consoles in the first two days of sale. Along with those consoles, Nintendo sold 240,000 copies of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; ¾ of the people buying the Wii also purchased Zelda. Again, like in other territories, the success of the Wii does not seem to be leeching sales from the DS; Nintendo sold 515,000 handhelds in the same week as the Wii launch.
Read More | Nintendo Europe
Dragon Quest XI To Be On Nintendo DS
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo DS, Role Playing Games, Square Enix,
Square Enix recently held a press conference to detail the next iteration in the Dragon Quest series. IGN reports that the company has announced that Dragon Quest XI will be the first in the franchise to appear on a handheld system, the Nintendo DS. According to IGN, the full title will be Dragon Quest 9: Hoshizora no Mamoribito or Dragon Quest 9: Protectors of the Sky. Gamers were assured that the title would not be a side-story, and the pedigree of the development staff would seem to bear that out. Level 5, developer of Dragon Quest VIII, is developing the new game, and series creator Yuji Horii is overseeing the title. Kouichi Sugiyama will once again provide the music for the game. Overall, this is a huge announcement for the DS; the Dragon Quest series is immensely popular in Japan, and the safe platform for the game would have been the Playstation 2, like its predecessor. Announcing the next release in the series for the Nintendo DS shows just how popular the handheld has gotten in Japan.
Read More | IGN
NPD: Year-Over-Year Sales Up 34%
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
NPD today released its official game sales numbers for November, and the numbers are showing amazing growth. Next Generation reports on the figures; year-over-year sales increased 34% to $1.7 billion. For this generation’s consoles, the Xbox 360 lead the pack with 551K sales. Nintendo’s Wii followed with 476K units, and the Playstation 3 trailed with 197K units. Supply issues hampered sales for the Playstation 3 and the Wii, and slightly under 200,000 consoles sold, Sony’s inability to provide consoles for their launch became apparent. Overall, though, last generation’s Playstation 2 continues to rack up huge sales, moving 664K consoles for November.
In the handheld arena, the Nintendo DS continues to absolutely dominate, selling 918,000 units in November. The Game Boy followed with 641,000 sold, and the PSP brought up the rear with 412,000 units sold.
On the software side of things, Gears of War took the number one spot, moving 1 million copies during the month. Final Fantasy XII sold 896,000 units, continuing that series’ success, and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess sold 412,000 copies, perhaps constrained a bit by Wii hardware supplies.
Overall, the industry is showing excellent year-over-year growth, and all three console manufacturers have something to smile about in November.
Read More | Next Generation
Xbox.com: Buy Your Girlfriend a DS Lite or a Wii
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Internet, Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360,
Xbox.com’s “Gamerchix” section has some suggestions on what and what not to get your girlfriend for christmas. The items at the top of their must-buy lists?
* Xbox 360 Wireless Headset
* Microsoft Points
* Subscription to Xbox Live
* Gift Certificates to EBGames or GameStop
* Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel
* DS Lite
* Nintendo Wii
* Candles
* Spa gift certificates
You read that right - Microsoft thinks your girlfriend would just LOVE one of Nintendo’s fine products this season. Either Microsoft is extending a hand to Nintendo, or this is some brilliant subversive marketing (“See kids, the Wii is for GIRLS!”). And is the “Candles” suggestion right below the Wii a sly reference to the Wii Sensor Bar hacks that we’ve been seeing around? Perhaps I’m just giving them too much credit…
Read More | Xbox.com
Iwata Believes Nintendo May Beat Earnings Estimates
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, Nintendo DS, Wii,
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata recently spoke with Reuters after the launch of the Wii in Japan. In this interview, Iwata indicated that stronger than expected sales for the DS may help take Nintendo past their previous earnings estimates. There was some worry from both Nintendo and market analysts that the launch of the Wii might leech away sales from the DS; so far, it looks like that hasn’t happened. Instead, the momentum Nintendo has accumulated with the DS may be driving the popularity of the Wii up through a halo effect, much like Apple experiences with the iPod. It is still too early to tell if that is the case; consoles usually will see strong numbers at launch. Until the market has time to shake down, it will be hard to see how the DS and the Wii affect each other’s sales.
Read More | Reuters
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