SAN FRANCISCO – October 22, 2009 – Ubisoft today announces that Jam Sessions 2 for the Nintendo DS(TM) and Nintendo DSi(TM) systems are now available at retailers across the U.S. Jam Sessions 2 is a guitar game developed by Plato that makes improving your guitar skills fun and rewarding.
Each song in the game play mode serves a different role in advancing players’ guitar skills and songwriting abilities. By progressing through the songbook, players learn techniques that will help them play the guitar and write songs. Armed with their new skills, players can play, create and share their own original music with others. Jam Sessions 2 is rated E10+ by the ESRB and has an MSRP of $29.99.
Company representatives have said in the past that the sales of hardcore Wii games would influence their decision to publish similar content for the platform. Today, we’re seeing a firsthand example of that. According to Jools Watsham, owner and game director for Renegade Kid, Son of the Dragon was canceled as a result of the poor sales some hardcore Wii titles have been receiving.
“The original project was slatted [sic] as a Wii / DS combo, but due to the sales of ‘hardcore’ games on the Wii it was cancelled by the publisher.”
Presumably, SouthPeak Interactive would have published the game. The company took a chance with now-acquired GameCock’s Mushroom Men in 2008, but apparently didn’t feel that Son of the Dragon would soak in similar commercial success. We also now know that there were two games in the works – One for Wii and one for DS.
Media Create has published the latest hardware sales figures from Japan. The results are below.
DSi 49,145
PSP 33,508
PS3 30,231
Wii 29,965
Xbox 360 3,662
DS Lite 2,590
PS2 2,109
For comparison’s sake, here are the numbers from September 28 (last week).
DSi – 50,144
PSP – 40,100
PS3 – 30,896
Wii – 30,741
DS Lite – 5,454
Xbox 360 – 3,326
PS2 – 2,133
01. [NDS] Pokemon Heart Gold / Soul Silver (Pokemon Co.) – 165.000 / 2.638.000
02. [WII] Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo) – 118.000 / 610.000
03. [NDS] Friend Collection (Nintendo) – 63.000 / 1.414.000
04. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 2: Threat of the Invaders – Fire / Blizzard (Level 5) – 60.000 / 437.000
05. [PS3] Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (SCE) – 54.000 / 54.000
06. [WII] Okami (Capcom) – 24.000 / 24.000
07. [WII] Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) – 23.000 / 1.299.000
08. [PSP] Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulation (SCE) – 22.000 / 196.000
09. [NDS] Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (Atlus Co.) – 20.000 /
10. [NDS] Love Plus (Konami) – 19.000 / 141.000
Someone over on the IGN boards claims to know about Nintendo’s secret game is. You know, the one that the IGN Nintendo Team was saying isn’t a B-title. Take these details will a huge grain of salt for now, but it does sound like this game could be interesting if the information is valid.
– Not Pikachu’s Great Adventure
– Not the Mario game Charles Martinet providing voices for
– From an established franchise
– Previews were supposedly going up last Friday but they haven’t yet
– The person says the game “shocked the hell,” out of him he “certainly didn’t expect it”
– Also says: “trust me at this point when I say there won’t be too many people out there who will be blown away when this one gets revealed.”
– Compared to Pikachu’s Great Adventure, he says: “I’d say less cool in concept, but most likely a better game when it’s all said and done. There is one interesting aspect to the title that hasn’t been fully revealed yet. The ultimate quality of this title may hinge on how well this aspect is executed.”
Thanks to Mario354 for the news tip!
Ignition Entertainment, the publisher behind Muramasa: The Demon Blade, is teasing a new game announcement for today. The following messages were left on the company’s Twitter and Facebook page:
“(Ignition) is gearing up for a very, very special game announcement tomorrow!…we won’t disappoint! RT @Dasfoldingfive: So excited! I expect nothing less than my next new favorite game from you guys…It’s gonna be good!”
Like most teases these days, Ignition did not say which platform the unannounced game is for. But we’ll know what it’s all about in a few hours.
Thanks to QQQ for the news tip!
Buy 2, get 1 free sales are all the rage these days. The same promotion from Toys R Us and Amazon ended a few days ago. However, gamers who missed out the first two times will receive one more chance to take advantage of the same deal starting this Sunday.
All titles that are $59.99 or less are included in Best Buy’s buy 2, get 1 free deal. The good news here is that unlike Toys R Us, Best Buy will surely offer a much large and varied game selection. You’ll be able to take part in the sale until October 31.
Note: The deal has been confirmed to be for $59.99 games and lower, not $59.98 as some had initially suspected. And although only Wii/PS3/360 games can be purchased, you’ll receive free shipping if you order online (wait until around 3 PM EDT).
“We are very pleased with Scribblenauts’ sales so far. We are hoping the positive word of mouth continues to translate into sales through the holiday season. People were ready for something that changes the way games are played, and developer 5th Cell delivered a game where players of all ages are challenged to experiment and use their imagination. Scribblenauts’ appeal is resonating with people on many levels. When core gamers, kids and parents all love a game, it is a good sign for success. (Scribblenauts is) easy enough for anyone to pick up and play. (The buss) grew into great consumer word of mouth [that] definitely contributed to the game’s overall success…We’d love for Scribblenauts to be the leading third-party title on DS.” – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s president, Martin Tremblay
“Scribblenauts is a strong brand with a lot of potential. You never know what the future holds.” – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s president, Martin Tremblay
“Drawn to Life sold 40,000 units its first month and went on to sell a million. Seeing the sales of Scribblenauts so early and so much better than Drawn to Life, it’s really encouraging to us that people are genuinely receptive to innovative games and it’s not just something people tout as a theoretical. WB took a chance and supported the title where others wouldn’t or didn’t, which I wish more publishers would do.” – Jeremiah Slaczka, co-founder and creative director at 5th Cell
Even though Scribblenauts possesses a few flaws, it is an excellent game nonetheless. And speaking of Scribblenauts, don’t forget to participate in our first contest challenge!
