Author: Jeff Morgan (Page 212 of 260)

      DSi LL outsells PSPgo

      November 24, 2009 /

      DSi LL next to a normal DSi.The DSi LL launched in Japan two days ago and is already reporting strong sales. According to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, the plus-size version of the Nintendo DSi moved more than 103,000 units on the first day.

      Those aren’t incredible sales, but they’re good for a cosmetic update of the popular handheld. The DSi’s original launch sold 170,000 units in the same amount of time in Japan. The PSPgo, which like the DSi LL is more of a cosmetic update, sold just 28,000 units in that same amount of time in Japan.

      There’s still no word on the DSi XL launch date for the US (first quarter 2010 is all I’ve heard), but I’d imagine sales here will remain strong. The fact that the system comes with three games pre-installed is nice, and in the case of handhelds, most people prefer a larger screen.

      Mobile Gaming, Nintendo DS, PSP

      Today marks World of Warcraft’s fifth anniversary

      November 23, 2009 /

      First look at Orgrimmar.Today Blizzard’s World of Warcraft turned five. Though not the first game of its kind, it’s certainly the runaway hit of the MMO genre, only likely to be dethroned by Blizzard’s next massively multiplayer project.

      The game launched on this same date in 2004, marking the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise. Since then it has sold nearly 9 million copies in the US, added two expansions, and has a third on the way. The numbers are mind-blowing, especially when you consider the subscriber base that plunks down as much as $15/month for access to the ever-changing world.

      Let’s avoid the “pathetic waste of time/best game evar” debate to simply consider the impact WoW has had on the industry. Pretenders to the MMO throne are usually long dead by five years, and the ones that survive are top-heavy ghost towns where only the zealous continue to play. By contrast, WoW has continued to grow and expand around the globe, attracting attention even from people who could care less about the game. The sheer number of man-hours invested in the game is no doubt staggering, and something I’d really like to see when Blizzard finally shuts down the servers.

      So here’s to WoW and all the fun we’ve had in Azeroth. Now, who wants to buy my account?

      Activision, MMO, PC

      Bayonetta comes to the West next week

      November 23, 2009 /

      Bayonetta.Today Sega officially confirmed that we would see the stateside and European release of the Bayonetta demo. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Bayonetta is that crazy hair witch game that pulled a rare perfect score from review site Famitsu. The demo will release on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live next Wednesday.

      The game will finally be available for purchase on January 5th in the US and the 8th or 10th depending where you live in Europe. I’m interested to see just how good the game is. Positive reviews are always nice, but I rarely find action games as interesting as other genres. I’m also curious whether the PS3 version has been cleaned up at all. Early reviews claimed the graphics and framerate were noticeably behind the Xbox 360 version.

      Previews

      Gameloft cutting back on Android development

      November 22, 2009 /

      Gameloft scales back Android development.Android may finally be on the handset of your dreams, but it’s too late for mobile game developer Gameloft. The french developer said it has significantly cut its investment in the Android platform due to underwhelming revenues.

      “It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue,” said Gameloft’s finance director, Alexandre de Rochefort. There must be a bit of meaning lost in translation of the word “neatly” from french to english because I would hardly call the App Store neat. That’s not to say the decision doesn’t make sense.

      According to Rochefort, Gameloft is selling 400 times the number of apps on the App Store as on Android devices. Obviously there are a lot of factors to consider, market share being prime among them. But even if market share were closer I’d imagine Gameloft would struggle with the number of different devices Android runs. With so much different hardware it’s just easier to design apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch and support them.

      Source: Washington Post

      Mobile Gaming, News

      No date for Diablo III means no time soon

      November 22, 2009 /

      Diablo III concept logo.For a while there I was hoping Blizzard would spring a holiday surprise on us and drop Diablo III just before the end of the year. I realize it would have been crazy – this season is already packed with blockbuster titles for every platform and Blizzard likes to be everyone’s primary focus when it launches a new game. It makes sense, then, that we won’t see the game this year. Or next. But probably the one after that.

      Speaking with TechLand, Rob Pardo said Blizzard isn’t even approximating a release date yet. “We always announce all of our games too early,” he said. “We realize that and go, ‘You know what? Next time we’re not going to do that.’ And then we always fail at that. But I’d rather fail at that than fail at making the game great. I think it’s safe to say that, yeah, [Diablo III] is not going to be out next year.”

      On the one hand you have to respect his position. It’s pointless to claim a release date if you’re just going to push it back again and again. On the other, though, it’s tough to see the point in talking so much about the game when we could be two years from release. The game already feels overdue, and it’s not like the gameplay or the graphics are so earth-shattering as to be considered even excellent in two years or more.

      I’d call this the next Duke Nukem if it were anyone but Blizzard and anything but Diablo.

      Activision, PC, Previews

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