According to 2008 data from the Nielsen Company, the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii are not the most used console in terms of usage minutes. Sony’s PS2 actually leads the way and commands 31.7% of total minutes spent. Strangely, only about 38% sessions are spent on next-gen systems.

Two other relatively old systems – the Xbox and PS3 – are hanging in as well. The GameCube stands at the end of the pack with 4.6% of usage minutes, but the original Xbox stands at 9.7% which is a bit more than the PS3.

The complete standings are as follows: PlayStation 2 (31.7%), Xbox 360 (17.2%), Wii (13.4%), Xbox (9.7%), PlayStation 3 (7.3%), GameCube (4.6%), Other (16.2%).

Some of this data might be related to the number of consoles sold. The PS2 commands the majority yet isn’t really considered a next-gen system. One possible case could relate to the install base behind the console. The same goes for Wii – There’s a good chance that most casual gamers own the Wii, so they’re probably not going to sink their teeth into a huge adventure like Zelda or Super Mario Galaxy. Of course, none of these assumptions/guesses have been proven to be correct.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

Top WiiWare, VC titles of the week

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 0 comments

VC

1 (1) – Super Mario Bros. 3
2 (2) – Super Mario Bros.
3 (4) – Super Mario World
4 (3) – Sonic the Hedgehog 2
5 (6) – The Legend of Zelda
6 (10) – Pac-Man
7 (8) – Super Mario Bros. 2
8 (9) – Super Mario 64
9 (5) – Punch-Out!!
10 (11) – Mario Kart 64
11 (7) – Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
12 (12) – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
13 (13) – Donkey Kong Country
14 (14) – Donkey Kong
15 (15) – Tecmo Bowl
16 (18) – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
17 (16) – Sonic the Hedgehog
18 (19) – Excitebike
19 (N/A) – Paper Mario
20 (17) – Secret of Mana

WiiWare

1 (1) – World of Goo
2 (2) – Tetris Party
3 (3) – My Aquarium
4 (5) – Dr Mario Online Rx
5 (4) – Target Toss Pro: Bags
6 (N) – Fun! Fun! Minigolf
7 (20) – Tiki Towers
8 (7) – Defend your Castle
9 (14) – My Pokemon Ranch
10 (9) – Mega Man 9
11 (6) – Brain Challenge
12 (10) – Midnight Bowling
13 (12) – Bomberman Blast
14 (15) – Wild West Guns
15 (13) – TV Show King
16 (19) – Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
17 (17) – Pong Toss – Frat Party Games
18 (8) – Space Invaders Get Even
19 (16) – Sudoku Challenge
20 (11) – Strong Bad Episode 5: 8-Bit Is Enough

Updates to the Nintendo Channel

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 2 Comments

Videos

Fred Willard Holiday Cooking Special
2008 Most Viewed Video Ranking: Top 30 – 21
2008 Most Viewed Video Ranking: Top 20 – 19
2008 Most Viewed Video Ranking: Top 10
Wii Speak Channel Info Video
My Fitness Coach Info Video
Blue Dragon Plus Video 2
Developer’s Voice: Ninjatown
Clone Wars DS Saga TV Spot
Age of Empires: Mythologies Video 4
Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero Video
Soul Bubbles Bird Mask Video
Wario Land: Shake It! Tips 3
FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play Video 3
Maboshi’s Arcade Info Video
Pool Revolution Info Video
Digest Video

Demos

Personal Trainer: Cooking Mac & Cheese Demo (Expires 1/04)
Mystery P.I. – Portrait of a Theif (Expires 1/11)
Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero (Expires 1/11)
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals (Expires 1/4)
Dragonball: Origins Demo (Expires 1/4)
Ninjatown Demo (Expires 1/4)

Most wanted games in Japan (Famitsu)

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

1. Dragon Quest IX (NDS, Square Enix)
2. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Square Enix)
3. Biohazard 5 (PS3, Capcom)
4. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii, Capcom)
5. Dragon Quest VI (NDS, Square Enix)
6. Amagami (PS2, Enterbrain)
7. Star Ocean: The Last Hope (360, Square Enix)
8. Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3, Square Enix)
9. The Last Remnant (PS3, Square Enix)
10. Ryuga Gotoku 3 (PS3, Sega)
11. Street Fighter IV (PS3, Capcom)
12. Seventh Dragon (NDS, Sega)
13. Ninokuni: The Another World (NDS, Level 5)
14. Gyakuten Kenji (NDS, Capcom)
15. Final Fantasy Agito XIII (PSP, Square Enix)

Source

The best-selling games of 2008 in Japan

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 3 Comments

1. PSP Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom) – 2 507 400 / 2 507 400
2. DS Pokémon Platinum (Nintendo) – 2 125 348 / 2 125 348
3. Wii Wii Fit (Nintendo) – 2 024 113 / 2 889 790
4. Wii Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) – 1 973 089 / 1 973 089
5. Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo) – 1 808 709 / 1 808 709
6. DS Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo) – 1 320 047 / 1 320 047
7. DS Dragon Quest V (Square Enix) – 1 228 014 / 1 228 014
8. DS Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo) – 724 608 / 724 608
9. Wii Animal Crossing : Let’s Go to the City (Nintendo) – 709 640 / 709 640
10. Wii Wii Sports (Nintendo) – 694 765 / 3 180 278
11. PSP Phantasy Star Universe Portable (Sega) – 664 660 / 664 660
12. DS Pokémon Ranger : Nuit sur Almia (Nintendo) – 663 040 / 663 040
13. PS3 Metal Gear Solid 4 : Guns of the Patriots (Konami) – 654 648 / 654 648
14. DS Professor Layton 3 (Level 5) – 551 890 / 551 890
15. Wii Wii Play (Nintendo) – 539 825 / 2 638 954
16. PSP Dissidia : Final Fantasy (Square Enix) – 496 178 / 496 178
17. PS2 Super Robot Taisen Z (Banpresto) – 490 112 / 490 112
18. DS Mario Party DS (Nintendo) – 487 822 / 1 811 132
19. DS Calligraphy Training (Nintendo) – 467 490 / 467 490
20. DS Jam With The Band DX (Nintendo) – 450 711 / 450 711
21. DS Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) – 433 908 / 3 265 962
22. PS2 Warriors Orochi 2 (Koei) – 432 672 / 432 672
23. DS Wagamama Fashion (Nintendo) – 430 835 / 430 835
24. DS Chrono Trigger (Square Enix) – 425 625 / 425 625
25. DS Taiko no Tatsujin DS 2 (Bandai Namco) – 408 529 / 408 529
26. PSP Mobile Suit Gundam : Gundam Vs. Gundam (Bandai Namco) – 377 662 / 377 662
27. DS Mario & Sonic aux Jeux Olympiques (Nintendo) – 366 265 / 366 265
28. PSP Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (Konami) – 334 445 / 334 445
29. PS2 Persona 4 (Atlus) – 314 418 / 314 418
30. DS New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo) – 310 796 / 5 085 112

Source 1, Source 2

Rumor: Pilotwings heading to Wii

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii | 1 Comment

Pilotwings may be making a comeback on Wii based on the latest rumors. LiveWii states that a new Pilotwings game will release in the first half in 2009. Balance Board and Mii support are allegedly going to be included in the package. The last Pilotwings title released on the N64, so this would be the perfect time to revitalize the series.

Consider this a rumor for now since there is not anything conclusive that proves this is real. However, Pilotwings on Wii has been rumored to be in development for a long time and has popped up on a few retail listings.

Source

Tons of Fragile details

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 0 comments

Producer : Kentarou Kawashima (Seven, Venus and Braves)
Art Director : Keiko Harada (Seven, Venus and Braves)
Main Programmer : Munehito Yasui (Baten Kaitos – Tri Crescendo)

• After much investigations, they found out that the average Japanese and European home game user identifies primarily three things in the games he plays, in this order : 1) Story and Characters, 2) World presentation, 3) Game system.
For example, he (the producer) thought at the time (of “Seven”‘s development) that rendering the gameplay mechanics more and more complex could alone make for an enjoyable game, when he found out that in fact, stressing the game system too much only lead to a dead-end.
Another example he brought up was about…the ramen restaurants : why is it that some ramen shop are radically more popular than some other despite serving basically the same thing – noodles in a soup : it’s because customers are paying, not only for the good diner, but also for the “experience” provided by the restaurant.
Which is why, he concludes, as for the game system and mechanics, so the means used to entertain the user wouldn’t be overdone, the question asked must be : “Which experience do you customer feel like getting ?”, and the answer from the customer could be : “If I play this game, what kind of experience should I expect ?”

• Comparison brought up by Kawashima : “Resident Evil” = “frightening” ; “Fragile” = “oppressive”

• Kawashima thinks that it’s essential than the creator reflects in his games the feelings he experienced himself, which is why they personally went out to take shots of existing locations (such as the Kawaji Dam, or the Tokyo Metropolitan Underground Discharge Channel), while observing the atmosphere, and listening to the environmental sounds. All of this seemed to have given a fairly high quality atmosphere to the game.

• The game should last around 30 hours. And because Kawashiwa considers that these 30 hours are most precious to the user, he wanted to make them the most meaningful possible.

• Kawashima’s cherished theory is that, if the consumer demands to personally experience something interesting, then the game creator should create interesting games from these individual experiences “First is to provides varied experiences, the technology comes afterwards.”

• Here is another thought from Kawashima : do the typical game user has a better response to the story of the superhuman which literaly makes the world revolve around him, or to the story of the average person which is confronted to occurrences he cannot control ? Well Kawashima himself, in addition to preferring the latter type, thinks that games haven’t explored this type of plot enough. He calls this line of thought “From action games to reaction games”.

• Fragile has actually been in development for around 2 years and became a fairly big project over time. “RPGs need a lot of money”, he says. As expected, they intend to recoup these development costs with the game sales, and derived products. But the distribution and advertising won’t be cheap either.

• At the start of the Fragile project, the game was supposed to be set in Winter (as opposed to the current game, which is set in Summer), and the main character was supposed to be a Treasure Hunter that looked like this :

• A few elements survived the transition from the early project, such as the bonfires, the messages written on the walls, or the pointer/flashlight mechanics.

• The main programmer (Yasui) wasn’t too hot on the battles as they were in the first prototype. He even proposed that the game would only consist of ruins exploration.

• Yasui worked hard with one other programmer to get the prototype version (the playable version which must allow the company to decide the fate of the project) up and running from the specification documents. So much that it was completed in about 4 months (he explains that his work on Baten Kaitos helped, as the Wii hardware is pretty close to the Gamecube), and the project could finally be greenlit.

• Seems like they had to change their art director at some point early, so Keiko Harada had the difficult task of inheriting her predecessor’s work.

• A big work has been done on the sound flow, and the co-existence between the BGM and the environmental sounds.

• The project has been on schedule the whole time, so at the final development stage, they could actually afford to up the quality of the game significantly.

Source

Don King Boxing screenshots

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 5 Comments

Character art, renders of Free Radical titles leaked

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 1 Comment

Now that Free Radical has been closed down and most employees have been relieved of their positions, character art and renders of Star Wars Battlefront 3 and TimeSplitters 4 have been released. The shots come from a 3D artist who released the work on his blog (though they have been removed since then).