Are you ready for April's NPD guesstimates? Here's a quick rundown on the numbers delivered so far. April is a month of controversies so look for a detailed breakdown of the happenings when the full report is (hopefully) delivered on Monday. Enjoy this pretty picture in the meantime!
NPD's Top Reported Hardware Sales in April
Microsoft XBox 360 – 297,000
Nintendo DS – 257,000
Sony PlayStation 3 – about 204,300
Nintendo 3DS – 194,000
Nintendo Wii – 172,000
NPD's Top Ten Combined Software Sales in April
01. Mortal Kombat (PS3, X360)
02. Portal 2 (X360, PS3, PC)
03. LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, DS, X360, 3DS, PS3, PC)
04. Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360, PS3, DS, Wii, PC)
05. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (X360, PS3, Wii)
06. Crysis 2 (X360, PS3, PC)
07. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
08. Michael Jackson: The Experience (X360, Wii, PS3, DS, PSP)
09. Pokémon White Version (DS)
10. NBA 2K11 (PS3, X360)
Here's a quick preview of March's NPD guesstimates. March is one big month to cover so expect some deep insights when the full report is delivered on Monday on the main Popzara.com later next week. For now enjoy this sales figures snack.
NPD's Top Reported Hardware Sales in March
Nintendo DS – 460,000
Microsoft XBox 360 – 433,000
Nintendo 3DS – just under 400,000
Nintendo Wii – 290,000
Sony PlayStation 3 – currently unreported
NPD's Top Ten Combined Software Sales in March
01. Pokémon White Version (DS) – 1,300,000
02. Pokémon Black Version (DS) – 1,100,000
03. Homefront (X360, PS3, PC)
04. Dragon Age II (X360, PS3, PC)
05. Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360, PS3, DS, Wii, PC)
06. LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, X360, DS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)
07. Crysis 2 (X360, PS3, PC)
08. NBA 2K11 (X360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, PC)
09. MLB 11: The Show (PS3, PSP, PS2)
10. Fight Night Champion (X360, PS3)
Outside of the holidays, Wii tends to be a fairly neglected console for big time games. Nintendo so focused on preventing Apple's retail disruption puts all of its energy on the recently-released 3DS while its home console gets less time in the company spotlight. Well, no more, says Nintendo. Here they come to save...the day?
THIS is Nintendo's 2nd Quarter Lineup??? ALL the games for the rest of spring until June 30th??? And one of them is a sequel called Wii Play Motion??? Look at this list for yourself and see if you can find what you like from Nintendo's Wii, DS, and 3DS upcoming games. Remember, it's supposed to be a partial list with games and debuts subject to change. Read on...
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Since the introduction of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, there have been 7 generations of videogame consoles. And with the debut of Microsoft's XBox 360 in 2005, we have been in the 7th generation. Now with that understood, The NPD Group has compiled a list of the best-selling games in this current generation. But not by unit sales this time. This list talks about best-selling games in REVENUE, in money collected from sale. In honesty, this is not such an impressive statistic because of how varied games can be priced. Selling 10 million games at $30 a piece to get $300 million vs. selling 5 million games at $150 a piece to get $750 million. Not exactly a sign of what drives the customers the most. Good factoids for potential investors, though. Oh and true to NPD style no details with numbers. Just HOW much did they make?
NPD's Top Ten Software by Revenue in the 7th Generation
01. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2, X360, Wii, PS3, PC)
02. Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360, PS3, Wii, PC, DS)
03. Wii Fit (Wii)
04. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (X360, PS3, DS, PC)
05. Rock Band (X360, Wii, PS3, PS2)
06. Wii Play (Wii)
07. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Wii, X360, PS2, PS3)
08. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
09. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC)
For all the stories about videogames designed to incite moral panic, from time to time we get to see stories about videogames used for the most moral of purposes. A group of graduate students from Germany's Universität Konstanz rigged together a navigational aid for the blind using Microsoft's Kinect peripheral. Naturally, this navigational aid is called NAVI which stands for Navigational Aids for the Visually Impaired. Mounting the Kinect to helmet, the students designed it so that images picked up by Kinect's dual infrared cameras would then relay audio instructions through a wireless headset. Also, they developed a partial Augmented Reality function by placing a standard camera alongside Kinect's dual camera to allow for stereoscopic vision. There's even some kind of vibration mechanism built into an accompanying belt which may be used to warn against collisions. Check out the video. It's all in there!
Thanks to Universität Konstanz's Human-Computer Interaction Blog and Slashgear.
Here's another quick preview of the available sales guesstimates from the NPD Group. Remember this is just the appetizer before the main course. Full February report and analysis will be posted on Popzara.com for Monday.
NPD's Top Reported Hardware Sales in February
Microsoft XBox 360 - 535,000
Nintendo Wii - 454,000
Sony PlayStation 3 - 403,000
NPD's Top Ten Combined Software Sales in February
01. Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC)
02. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (X360, PS3)
03. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
04. NBA 2K11 (X360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, PC)
05. Dead Space 2 (X360, PS3, PC)
06. Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, X360, PS3)
07. Bulletstorm (X360, PS3, PC)
08. Killzone 3 (PS3)
09. Michael Jackson: The Experience (Wii, DS, PSP)
10. Mario Sports Mix (Wii)
Saturday, February 26th was the launch date for Nintendo's next-level handheld phenomenon called the 3DS. Promising the ability to see eye-popping 3D imagery with the naked eye, the new console has intrigued the gaming world since its unveiling at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo last June. This promise brought the Japanese public out of their homes and into long lines of the retailers. End result? The entire 400,000 3DS shipment sold out within the day. Virtually all sales came from pre-orders so hardly any walk-in purchases. Nintendo plans to have a total of 1.5 million 3DS's shipped for Japan by the end of March.
For comparison, Enterbrain's Famitsū (a prominent Japanese videogame news magazine) reports that the DSi sold 170,779 in the first 2 days of its November 2008 launch. The DSi XL (DSi LL in Japan), its upgrade, sold 103,524 in the first 2 days of its November 2009 launch. The original DS sold 441,485 in the first 4 days of its December 2004 launch. And the DS Lite, its upgrade, sold just 68,438 in the first 4 days of its March 2006 launch thanks to reported shortages. With this track record, it looks like the 3DS will continue the sales legacy set by the existing DS line. On March 27th, we will see if the story remains the same for North America.
Thanks to Andriasang, ArsTechnica, and Destructoid.
Just a new thing we're doing at Popzara lately with my first NPD preview. You probably have all gotten used to the in-depth analysis I give the videogame sales that come in every month from the National Purchase Diary (NPD), but before I put together my thought-out summary of the monthly sales action, here's an appetizer to hold you until I bring out the main course. Expect that for Monday (or abouts) over on Popzara.com!
NPD's Top Reported Hardware Sales in January
Microsoft XBox 360 - 381,000
Nintendo Wii - 319,000
Sony PlayStation 3 - 267,000
NPD'S Top Ten Combined Software in January
01. Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC)
02. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
03. Dead Space 2 (X360, PS3, PC)
04. LittleBigPlanet 2 (PS3)
05. Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, X360, PS3)
06. NBA 2K11 (X360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PS2, PC)
07. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (X360, PS3)
08. Dance Central (X360)
09. Michael Jackson: The Experience (Wii)
10. DC Universe Online: The Future Is You (PS3)
Ready for fascinating factoids? Try this one out. The Sony Corporation—through Sony Computer Entertainment, Incorporated—announces that (as of January 31, 2011) they have sold 150 million PlayStation 2 consoles worldwide in its nearly 11 year old lifetime! WOW!! Put an asterisk on the word "sold", though. That "sold" means sold to retail outlets not customers—which means shipped. But nevertheless this milestone further solidifies the PS2 as THE best-selling home console of all time. Quite an accomplishment coming on the eve of its 11th anniversary (debuted March 4, 2000 in Japan).
And there's more. Read on...
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Hmm. Last Wednesday, Nintendo announced the release date and price of their upcoming 3DS handheld for North America. March 27th and $250 (officially $249.99) were your long-awaited numbers. That's it. Just the 3DS by itself. No extra game packed in, downloadable or physical. One shiny 3DS in 2 colors for 250 bones. Start saving, customer.
Well if this GameStop list of upcoming 3DS games is correct, Nintendo may want your whole skeleton never mind the bones! Save even more and read on...
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Today at Nintendo's long-awaited press (and press only) conference in New York City, President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime finally revealed the info on the North American launch schedule and pricing for the 3DS. Are you ready to take your portable gaming into the third-dimension? Well get ready then.
March 27, 2011 is the release date for the United States. $249.99 is the release price.
Surprised? Well maybe not if you've been keeping your ear to the ground on gaming rumors. A $250 price was expected as well as a March 2011 debut. The colors come in 'Aqua Blue' and 'Cosmo Black'. Also, the 3DS will have a charge cradle to recharge the handheld, a Virtual Console-like eShop where old Game Boy games can be downloaded, and over 30 3DS games to be released between launch and E3 2011.
See more details about the 3DS HERE at the 3DS section of Nintendo.com
Just in case you might have missed it. Google did something cool to honor the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man making its revolutionary debut in Japan. To honor this May 22nd date, Google has done the logo on their homepage up in Pac-Man style. "Oh, we've seen them do that before on special holidays and such." No, you don't understand. This is a PLAYABLE logo of Pac-Man! It's Pac-Man dodging Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde in a special maze spelling out the word 'Google'!
Follow the dots for the fruitful information.........
Nintendo of America, that is. Yes, your favorite game maker is taking this Wii thing to the next level. In the quest to promote a more active lifestyle (and the purchase of Nintendo products), Nintendo and the American Health Association team up to tally the contributions of physically active play to that lifestyle. According to the Journal of the American Heart Association (published January 20, 2010), nearly 70% of Americans are not getting the recommended levels of physical actvity each week. So here comes the makers of Wii Sports and Wii Fit to help save the day!
Check out the extra details as you read on...
Don’t you hate it when you saw something coming but didn’t document it for posterity’s sake? I’m having one of these moments right now as I witness Nintendo’s decision to use the color black to signify a shift in their market strategy. “John, what in Donkey Kong’s name are you talking about?” Well, I’ll explain the details on that shortly. In the meantime, know that Nintendo will be coloring their Wii cases black for all games (clues in above pic) rated C and upwards on Japan’s CERO scale starting this year.
What’s CERO? And why black? Answers follow for the curious…
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I'm not done yet. There's more history to reveal. Get ready.
ALSO now virtually official: DS has outsold the Game Boy! Dual Screen/Developer's System is the best-selling handheld of all-time! With the recent release of The NPD Group's December estimates (to be personally analyzed for Monday) this fact has been accounted for by everyone except for Nintendo's official announcement. Read on to learn more about this OTHER historic milestone...
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