NPD Numbers Just Got Real
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.
Order Up! Demo Pushed Back
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 Announces Kickbeat for Playstation Vita
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.
Go Round – Gyromite
For this week’s Go Round we play the NES classic, Gyromite. Without a R.O.B., Will and I take turns operating the gates as Peter laughs at us. As you can imagine things don’t go as planned… or maybe they do… depends on how you look at it.
Mighty Switch Force DLC Hits Thursday
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.
Nintendo Will Make Sure You Can Watch Their E3 Presentation
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.
The Official Nintendo E3 Page (http://e3.nintendo.com)
Live on Television via Spike TV and MTV2
Nintendo’s Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/Nintendo)
YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/nintendo)
Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/NintendoAmerica) will be live-tweeting the event.
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.
FLCL Game in the Works?
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.
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