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Wii U

It’s a double dose of Japanese sales data today. Tracker Media Create took last week off, but has now reported two weeks worth of sales. All data can be found below.

 

12/24 – 12/30

3DS LL – 150,581
3DS – 99,624
Wii U – 69,386
PS3 – 53,222
PSP – 41,914
Vita – 20,492
Wii – 6,741
PS2 – 2,071
Xbox 360 – 1,986
DSi – 389
DSi LL – 315

12/31 – 1/6

3DS LL – 156,184
3DS – 123,075
Wii U – 67,083
PS3 – 64,352
PSP – 54,873
Vita – 33,309
Wii – 5,632
Xbox 360 – 1,893

Note that the latest batch of sales do not include data for the DS or PlayStation 2. The PS2 has gone out of production, but you should still be able to find DS units in Japan.


Shin’en’s Manfred Linzner talked up the Wii U hardware in an interview with GamesTM this month.

First, Linzner noted that the console’s development environment allowed the studio to easily create a game – Nano Assault Neo – in a short amount of time:

“The Wii U development environment allowed us to go from zero to a great, polished game in only half a year. I think we never ever got so far so fast on a new hardware, and we’ve worked on a lot of platforms in the past decades.”

Linzner went on to compliment Wii U’s overall technology. Although the studio’s game is rendered on both the television and GamePad, “even then we were still able to maintain solid 60FPS without much effort on both displays.” Linzner also said that the Wii U’s large memory allowed for complete caching and practically eliminated load times:

“We decided to add a local two-player mode where one player uses the TV and the other one the Wii U GamePad. That meant the complete game world would need to be rendered twice for the Wii U GamePad display. That nearly doubled the burden on the GPU and CPU, but even then we were still able to maintain solid 60FPS without much effort on both displays. Then on top we even added camera streaming, so that the TV player can see the face of the Wii U GamePad player, which adds a lot of fun. We expected the additional camera encoding and streaming would add noticeable strain on the Wii U, but it was almost free. All this proved the system is very well balanced and allows developers without much effort, to use all the unique features. Another benefit of the Wii U is that the system memory is so large that we never have to load an asset again. Everything can be cached and load times are almost gone.”

Thanks to joclo for the tip.


It isn’t Thursday, but that hasn’t stopped Nintendo from updating the Wii U eShop in Europe. Users will find new content related to ZombiU on the digital store today. At last, the long-awaited demo is now up for download. The demo hasn’t launched on the North American eShop, but perhaps that’ll change on Thursday.

Thanks to joclo for the tip.


In an interview with Game Informer, Pokemon Company director of consumer marketing J.C. Smith commented on why there isn’t a Wii U version of Pokemon X/Y.

Admittedly, the response is predictable. Smith mentioned that Game Freak tends to prefer portables as a result of the communication and trading aspects, and because you can take them with you.

“I can’t speak to the specifics, but traditionally Game Freak has always loved the game to be on a portable device because of the communication, trading, and the experience of taking this adventure with you. That’s why they’ve always prioritized a portable version of the game first. They’ve always liked what you can do in the real world with that.”

Speaking more broadly, Smith discussed the lack of real Pokemon titles on console:

“It comes down to what the creators want to do. Every time I’ve heard them talk about it, it’s been about the portable experience, taking the adventure with you, being able to share it with friends, communicate, trade, battle – really encouraging that interaction.”

Source


Most Assassin’s Creed III players will find a new downloadable content pack waiting for them today. The DLC isn’t available for Wii U, but Ubisoft has confirmed a Wii U release. A representative told Nintendo Everything that it will “have more information regarding a date once we get closer to the launch of the content.”

Battle Hardened provides three new multiplayer maps – Charlestown, Fort St-Mathieu, and Saint Pierre. There’s also three new multiplayer characters – Governor, Highlander, and Coyote Man.

Source: Ubisoft PR


When previously asked about a Wii U version of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, producer David Cox has left the door open. But now Cox has changed his tune slightly – it’s just not going to happen.

Cox told one fan on Twitter that there’s “no chance” of Castlevaina: Lords of Shadow 2 arriving on Wii U:

Source


GameStop saw a decrease in hardware sales during the holiday period last year. However, the retailer was boosted by a “successful” Wii U launch.

Chief executive officer Paul Raines said:

“GameStop experienced mixed results during the holiday selling period. Our successful Wii U launch, strong digital growth and continued momentum in the mobile space were countered by a decline in store traffic. As a result, GameStop expects its fourth quarter 2012 earnings per share results to be at the low end of its current guidance range. Our strong market share positions us well for the future, and we look forward to new product launches in 2013.”

Through a six week period, GameStop moved 320,000 Wii U units worldwide. In early December, Nintendo confirmed that it had sold 425,000 systems in the US during its first week of availability. Wii U sold nearly 558,000 units in Japan over a three week period. Nintendo has not shared data for its European territories.

Source


Hot on the heels of the LEGO Chima video game announcements last week, Warner Bros. Interactive has announced yet another LEGO title.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is coming to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, 3DS, DS, and Vita this fall. TT Games is handling development duties. This marks the first installment in the LEGO series with Marvel characters.

The game features a unique storyline in which Nick Fury calls upon Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine and other Marvel Universe to save Earth from enemies including the vengeance of Loki and the hunger of Galactus, Devourer of the Worlds.

Players will be able to unlock over 100 characters from the Marvel Universe such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Deadpool, Loki and Galactus. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes also features character abilities, combat-like action sequences, epic battle scenes, and puzzle-solving.

The official announcement can be found after the break.


This video technically doesn’t show anything new, but it’s another reminder that Bayonetta 2 is on the way…



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