Small update: Nintendo sent out a slightly corrected release: “Reference to “January 2007” in second and third paragraphs of previous version has been corrected to read “January 2008” instead.”
Nintendo News
Nintendo Accounts for More Than Total Video Game Industry Growth in January Versus Last Year
Nintendo kicked off 2009 the same way it finished 2008: with a bang. While the video game industry grew by $150 million (12 percent) year-on-year, Nintendo’s total sales grew by $300 million in January, offsetting declines on other platforms.
Sales of the Wii™ console in January were up 148 percent over January 2008, with nearly 680,000 units sold, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Since Wii launched in November 2006, it has sold more than 18 million units in the United States.
Sales of the Nintendo DS™ system in January were also up 99 percent over January 2008, and it once again was the top-selling portable system with more than 510,000 units sold. Since Nintendo DS launched in November 2004, it has sold more than 28 million units in the United States.
“Nintendo’s significant contribution to January’s industry growth validates our internal research showing that Nintendo continues to expand the gaming audience,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We are excited to see that consumers, new and existing, are choosing to entertain themselves in new ways with the diversity of our software lineup.”
Similar momentum was witnessed in software sales, with 20 of the top 30 games of January made for Nintendo systems. Of those, five games made for Nintendo systems finished in the top 10 best-sellers of January. These games include Wii Fit™ at No. 1 with more than 777,000 sold, Wii Play™ at No. 2 with nearly 415,000 sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 3 with more than 292,000 sold, New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS at No. 7 with nearly 135,000 sold, and Mario Kart™ DS at No. 8 with more than 132,000 sold.
For more information about Nintendo, please visit www.Nintendo.com

Japanese hardware sales (2/2 – 2/8)

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 2 Comments

DSi 49,529
PSP 34,969
Wii 20,412
PS3 16,082
DS Lite 12,484
Xbox 360 8,311
PS2 5,089

Source

Small Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days screenshots

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News | 1 Comment

Renegade Kid’s Dracula project cancelled

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

Renegade Kid, the developers behind the recent DS FPS title Moon, announced on Thursday that their Dracula project is no longer in development. A few months ago, the company revealed that a Dracula game was being created, with no mention of the platform it would release for. Though nothing was stated explicitly, most assumed that the title would be for the Wii. Most recently, it was hinted on an episode of IGN’s Nintendo Voice Chat that the game had ceased development. There is a bright side to this recent news – Renegade Kid says that the title could be resurrected in the future and that the team is working on a new secret project.

“Some of you may have heard about a secret “Dracula” game that we signed with Gamecock in 2008. It brings us no pleasure to announce that it is no longer in development. The official title of the game is Son of the Dragon. The intellectual property is still owned by Renegade Kid. Should an opportunity to resurrect Son of the Dragon present itself in the future, you will be the first to know…The Renegade Kid team is hard at work on a new secret game, which will be announced in 2009. The entire team is extremely excited about our new title, and we look forward to sharing more information with you about it soon.” – Renegade Kid website

January 2009 NPD sales data

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

PS2 101.2K
PS3 203.2K
PSP 172.3K
Xbox 360 309K
Wii 679.2K
Nintendo DS 510.8K

WII FIT NINTENDO OF AMERICA WII 777K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA WII 415K
MARIO KART W/WHEEL NINTENDO OF AMERICA WII 292K
LEFT 4 DEAD ELECTRONIC ARTS 360 243K
CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD 360 235K
SKATE 2 ELECTRONIC ARTS 360 699K
GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD WII 155K
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NINTENDO OF AMERICA NDS 135K
MARIO KART DS NINTENDO OF AMERICA 132K
LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST ELECTRONIC ARTS PS3 113K

Pokemon Platinum announced for Europe

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News | 3 Comments

12 February 2009 – Pokémon Platinum Version is heading to Europe to satisfy the thirst of Nintendo DS owners hungry for a whole new epic Pokémon adventure! The game that has sold over 2.4 million copies to date in Japan since its launch last September, with more than one million of those copies being sold within the first three days of launch; is set to reach European shores on 22 May 2009.
A sweeping new adventure, set in the Sinnoh region of the Pokémon world, packed with new features – such as new ways to play online at the Wi-Fi Plaza over Nintendo Wi-Fi connection and the ability to save your greatest victories in the Vs. Recorder – will electrify fans of the Pokémon series. A brand new Distortion World, governed by neither time nor space, also emerges, which provides a whole new gameplay challenge!

Dragon Quest IX delayed until June

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News | 0 comments

Fans of the Dragon Quest series will have to wait a few months longer to get their hands on the latest installment in the series, Dragon Quest IX. Square Enix announced today that the game is now scheduled to release on July 11. Previously, the game was expected to release next month. Square Enix has stated that the game has been delayed in order to polish it up and increase the quality.

Source

Official Nintendo Magazine explains reason for delay

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

A few days ago, it was learned that the Official Nintendo Magazine would be delaying its latest issue slightly. Now the magazine has explained the exclusive content behind the delay. Hot on the heels of the latest Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games announcement, ONM will have the first preview and screenshots of the title.

Shigeru Miyamto will once again be guiding the development of the title. ONM 40 will be on sale tomorrow.

Source

Mystery Author Signs with Oxygen

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

The Vanishing Files mystery arrives in Europe, Australia and New Zealand in Q3 2009
Northampton, UK – February 12th, 2009 – Oxygen Games is pleased to announce the engrossing and addictive whodunit mystery, Cate West: The Vanishing Files, will be available in Europe, Australia and New Zealand in Q3 2009.
A series of unsolvable crimes, dubbed “The Vanishing Files”, have paralyzed the city. The police turn to crime novelist Cate West, whose psychic visions might just be the key to solving the mystery. Help Cate find clues, compile evidence and track down hideouts to discover the link between these crimes and an unsolved mystery from Cate’s past!