NPD numbers are used to track the sale of games across retailers throughout North America. They’re supposed to gauge how well a game is doing and find any trends in the industry. Many people have criticized those numbers as not being the complete picture because they don’t include all retailers, including some of the biggest ones like Walmart. That’s all about to change.
An NPD staff member has said that beginning with the May sales numbers, Walmart will be included. That should give a much more complete idea of how well a game is selling. Walmart is a huge part of the game sales business and without their numbers people really have to make an educated guess as to how well different titles are performing.
The demo for Supervillain Studios’ game Order Up! was supposed to hit the eShop today. If you visited the eShop looking for the demo you might have noticed that it wasn’t available. It was pushed back to next week with no mention by Nintendo. The guys over at Supervillian have now officially said why it was delayed.
“We have just received word that the demo is being pushed back a week on the eShop, as Nintendo is apparently going to get behind it for a bit of a push, which would be awesome! No specifics, but either way, expect the demo next week, and the game is now approved, so it should be hitting the eShop in early June.”
It looks like Nintendo wants to get the word out about the game. That’s something I can get behind. I really like this renewed focus by Nintendo on their digital markets. The WiiWare and DSiWare stores lacked a lot of features and were really a mess more than anything else. The eShop shows Nintendo is really changing the way that they look at their digital markets and I like that they’re going to possibly be putting some marketing muscle behind some of these digital games.
Zen Studios is the mastermind behind the popular pinball franchise Pinball FX (or Zen Pinball). That’s pretty much what they’ve done over the last few years and they’ve gotten pretty good at it. Well, now they’ve decided they want to do something else. What’s the next logical step after conquering the pinball world? A rhythm-fighting game, of course.
Today they’ve announced their newest game called Kickbeat and it will be coming to the Playstation Vita later this year. It mixes beat matching mechanics (not the ones who work on cars), acrobatic martial arts and a lineup of some pretty famous bands into one interesting video game.
Zen Studios Managing Director, Zsolt Kigyossy said it was time for the studio to do something a little different.
“Kickbeat is a showcase example of passion, risk and creativity. Traditional publishers might shy away from this type of thinking, but we will embrace it. After all, what’s the point of working in video games if you just keep making the same one?”
The game’s soundtrack features songs from musicians like Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Shen Yi, Celldweller and Blue Stahli. If you’re wondering just how all of this is going to work, here’s a trailer to watch. The developers are also going to be at E3 next month to show off the title.
All you Mighty Switch Force fans rejoice as the new content will be available this Thursday, May 24th. It will include five new levels, enhancements to the 3D and a new, fast-restart button.
I’ve played all the levels currently available in the game and set par times on a handful of them. I’m really looking forward to seeing the new content and I’ll be downloading it as soon as it’s available.
E3 takes place June 5th through the 7th this year and there will be coverage all over the internet. Heck, even we’re going to have impressions and trailers posted all over the site for many of the games shown at the event. Nintendo’s press conference takes place at 9:00am PST and will be available for viewing at Nintendo’s E3 site. If you prefer TV then both Spike TV and MTV2 will be showing the event commercial free. There will also be a stream of the press conference on Facebook.
“We don’t want anyone to miss the energy and excitement of this year’s E3 Expo. By offering different ways to tune in and follow all the Nintendo news, we aim to make fans all over the world feel like they’re right there with us at the show.” – Cindy Gordon, Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs
Here is a list of all the ways that you’ll be able to view Nintendo’s Press Conference that day.
We’ll have plenty of coverage of many of the games shown off that day beginning in the early afternoon through the evening along with our thoughts of the games as we see them. Of course we’ll have plenty of pre-E3 coverage with a round table on Monday from the crew talking about what they hope to see at the event, followed by another round table on Friday with our thoughts as we wrap up coverage of E3 this year.
If a random post made in an iMDB forum is to be believed, there is a new game coming to the 3DS and Wii U based on the popular anime FLCL. It’s believed to be in development by Namco Bandai and that’s about all the information we have on the rumor. I’ve reached out to the developer to see if the rumor is true.
Of course, we’re gearing up for E3 and the rumors are going to be flying all over the place. I would imagine if this is true we’ll hear more about it at E3. Until then know that this is just a rumor.
Let me just start by saying, “I’m a huge Legend of Zelda fan.” Not to the point where I get into philosophical debates about where each game falls in the “timeline” or anything like that, but I love playing these games. I have fond memories of skipping another Super Bowl featuring the Buffalo Bills to play the first game in the series; and staying up way past when I should have. The sense of adventure from these games is unlike anything else I’ve ever played.
The worlds always seemed so huge and vast. You could spend hours and hours, or weeks of your life exploring every nook and cranny only to realize you’d barely scratched the surface. It’s always about finding that next hidden secret and using some newly acquired item in ways you didn’t think were possible to discover all the things Miyamoto and the development team had tucked away in some far corner of the world.
The internet has been all ablaze over the last few days because of the image above. It apparently was an image leaked by a TT Games employee through his Twitter account. It shows what is rumored to be the redesigned Wii U Controller that Nintendo will be showing off next month at E3.
The picture shows the new analog sticks replacing the Circle Pads that were present on the device last year. Some of the buttons, like the + and – buttons being moved over to the right side of the screen and two mysterious squares on the face now. What these are is only speculation, but it’s rumored (and in no way confirmed) that the one by the Home button is to sync the controller and the one under the d-pad is the Near Field Communication area. It also appears that the controller will charge using the same cable as the DSi and the 3DS. Convenient that.
System Development Consultant Erlend Wollan confirmed today that the employee who leaked the image has been fired and there could be court action taken against him for breaking the NDA with Nintendo. Does the serious action taken against this employee confirm that this is the final design of the Wii U controller? I think it does, but that’s just my opinion.
Club Nintendo coins are familiar to anyone that buys Nintendo games. The insert comes in every first-party game, and some third-party titles. You enter the code in Club Nintendo and you earn coins that can be used to purchase rewards from an online catalog. Well, a patent that was made back in 2010 reveals Nintendo is thinking of some interesting ways to track those coins.
The little inserts that are in the cases would be removed and instead the code would be on the package itself. When the cashier at a store scans your game, the information automatically goes to Club Nintendo and the coins are added to your account. Accounts that have several duplicate registrations would be flagged and potentially removed.
The most interesting part of the patent could potentially be a way for Nintendo to discourage trade-ins and help them combat used game sales. Should you decide that you don’t like the game and you return it to the store, those coins would be removed from your account. If you decided to actually spend the coins from that purchase through Club Nintendo, you would not be allowed to return the game to the store.
Is this a way for Nintendo to combat used games and piracy? Would any of this discourage you from returning games to the store in any way?
The Wii U is set to launch later this year. Nintendo has experienced some hiccups with the last couple of systems they launched. The Wii saw shortages for months after it was released. The 3DS saw a great release with an immediate plummet in sales figures. That was attributed to a lackluster library and just a general lack of knowledge about what the system was.
Nintendo is hoping to avoid those mistakes with the launch of the Wii U. Our question today takes a look at that. “You’re in charge of the Wii U launch. What would you do to avoid problems and ensure the most successful launch for a Nintendo system yet?”
Gaz Says: If there is one thing to take from the 3DS launch it is that Nintendo systems launch best with strong, first-party content. Perhaps it was fortunate that Nintendo learned this lesson with the 3DS, a system that was always going to sell well thanks to the positive associations of the DS brand. With Wii U however, Nintendo have a massive challenge; not only do they need to launch a brand new system and get it selling, but they also need to throw off the negative connotations of the Wii name and bring back the alienated fans that have been turned off by the influx of casual games. Read more…
The Question Block has returned! Click here to listen to the latest episode. Not only will you be able to win prizes but now you can be on the show live! You will be asked to answer three questions of the category of your choosing. Listen to the show to learn more.
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