Leaving a lot to be desired?

We filled you in on the background and details of the bosses (Robot Masters, if you prefer) of Mega Man 9 last month, with a few screenshots to boot. Now some artwork has arrived, depicting the three bosses currently being shown to the public (always leave a little mystique, I suppose) and the powers our robot hero can obtain from them.

So, first up is Concrete Man:

And here is the weapon in action (the Concrete Shot):

Second we have Magma Man:

And the weapon (Magma Bazooka):

Thirdly is Tornado Man:

And Tornado Blow:

As noted before, the characters all pretty strongly resemble bosses, characters and/or enemies from previous Mega Man titles. For instance, Concrete Man is reminiscent of Guts Man from the original Mega Man, Magma Man takes his powers blatantly from Heat Man, but also looks like Fire Man, as well as this enemy, and Tornado Man, while he looks very different, his power is 100% ripped from Air Man.

Now, self-plagarism isn't exactly new in the Mega Man series, but nevertheless, this got me thinking: after all these years, and especially with forums like WiiWare, PSN, and XBL available between gamers and developers, isn't it about time the fans help create the bosses in a Mega Man title? What I mean is, maybe they should make a Mega Man 10 (presumably if this one does well), and have fans submit ideas for bosses during a period of say, one month. Take all the ideas and have the team whittle them down into about 20 different choices, post them online, and have everyone vote. I'm willing to bet we could get some really cool looking characters this way, because no offense to the creators, but Tornado Man isn't the coolest looking dude; it seems like they've all but run out of cool, fresh characters.

Update: Evidently, and with the tip of one of our dear reader's below, this has been done before. It seems to be unclear for how many games this was done for however, so I'm still calling for a return to this approach.

What do you think, and what would be some of your ideas for bosses and weapons?

Yet analysts are already giving Microsoft a thumbs up for its latest price reductions

Microsoft's latest round of price cuts for its Xbox 360 lineup of consoles was clearly designed to increase demand in time for the holiday season rush, and analysts like Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter believe the company could stand to boost hardware sales by almost 20 percent over the previous year for the upcoming quarter, assuming all goes well. With regards to the competition, analysts feel the company who will likely feel the brunt of the new $200 USD sweet-spot pricing for the Xbox 360 (Arcade edition) is Sony, who still has the most expensive console on the market with the PlayStation 3.

However, Sony corporate communications contact Julie Han relates to Gamasutra that her company has yet to be quaking in it boots in light of the recent price cut announcement from Microsoft. Han also confirms that no further PS3 price cuts are planned for the rest for this year, a sentiment previously expressed by Sony Corp. CEO Howard Stringer himself.  According to Han:

"We're really confident that consumers are making choices driven by value, and we know PS3 offers that value across the board, with the built-in Blu-ray player the broadest and deepest software lineup in the industry, with LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Motorstorm [Pacific Rift]... we're quite confident our holiday sales will be good.

"We try to stick to our strategy... we feel the PS3 offers the value at that price point. More than anything, you'll see with the 80-gigabyte announcement at E3 as well as with the recent 160 gig, consumers are telling you they want more storage for photos, music... new games are also getting quite a bit of pickup through PlayStation Network. There's also our new video download service that consumers are going to want to do. It's showing that we're moving in the right direction."

Sony again stresses that the PS3 features make it more future-proof than its competition, thus translating into additional value. To be sure, Han concedes there is still more work to be done on Sony's part in conveying these strengths to the average consumer, in addition to advertising console-exclusive advantages like networking with the PlayStation Portable handheld.

Too popular to let go

No matter what your or my opinions regarding casual games are, the truth is that PopCap thrives on these cheap yet addictive distractions.  It makes plenty of sense, then, that Electronic Arts and PopCap Games would announce an extension on the Bejeweled licensing agreement.

As such, EA Mobile holds onto exclusive worldwide mobile publishing rights to Bejeweled and its sequel (if such games can be said to have sequels) Bejeweled 2 through the year 2010.

Barry Cottle, Senior VP and General Manager of EA Mobile, knows a sure thing when he sees one:

"PopCap's Bejeweled has remained a consistent top seller on mobile phones for the past seven years.

The game has millions of fans and a consistently successful track record, and EA Mobile remains committed to continuing to provide the best mobile experience for this favourite gem-swapping game."

PopCap announced in August that Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2 had collectively sold over 25 million units across various platforms, with over 350 million copies downloaded from the internet.

Fresh price cuts confirmed across all hardware models

Microsoft has already kicked off its latest price cuts for the Xbox 360 in Japan, after managing to clear out most its retail stock in the region thanks largely to the release of Tales of Vesperia.  Thanks to the reduced pricing, Microsoft manages to make the 20GB Xbox 360 Arcade model cheaper than the Nintendo Wii in Japan.  Now the company confirms this will be the case in North America as well.

Starting tomorrow, Microsoft is slashing the official retail pricing for most of its Xbox 360 consoles by $50 USD.  As a result, the 60GB Xbox 360 "Premium" consoles will retail for $299.99 USD, while the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite will be priced at $399.99 USD.  The big exception is the $279.99 USD Xbox 360 Arcade model which gets a beefier $80 USD price cut, making its price $199.99 USD as of September 5th.  This officially makes the Xbox 360 Arcade the cheapest home console in the North American market, beating Nintendo's $249 USD Wii.

The Xbox 360 "Premium" already received a price reduction earlier in July, though this only applied to the older 20GB models which Microsoft intended to "quietly" replace with its newer 60GB edition.  Most of the Xbox 360 Premium consoles you see in retail at this point should be these new 60GB models.  Unfortunately, the July price cut didn't quite help Microsoft as much as it wanted, as its hardware sales for the same month (as collated by the NPD Group) trailed those for the Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 consoles. It's no surprise that Microsoft is aiming to motivate demand for the 360 in time for the lucrative fourth quarter with this newest round of price reductions.

Prices now comparable to Nintendo Wii

Microsoft has announced a price drop on all Xbox 360 models in Japan in an effort to boost sales overseas.

The Arcade will be seeing the biggest change, dropping from 27,800 yen to 19,800 and putting the 360 Arcade at $182, which is less than the Nintendo Wii's price tag of 25,000 yen.  The PlayStation 3 currently goes for 39,800 yen, which converts to $369.

Two other Xbox 360 models will also be seeing price changes, said the Nikkei business daily news.

The recent price cuts might help Microsoft compete against Sony and Nintendo, whose firm footholds in Japan still present an obstacle for the American company.  However, Microsoft managed to outsell Sony in units last month with the release of Namco Bandai's Tales of Vesperia, putting the 360 ahead of the PlayStation 3 for the week ending on August 10.

The Nintendo Wii remains well ahead of both the Xbox 360 and PS3 in terms of sales.

Tiny can be bad ass too

Hype continues to build up around Epic's upcoming Gears of War 2.  Along with the recent announcement regarding the Limited Edition content, new images of the Gears of War 2 series action figures have been released by NECA, the National Entertainment Collectibles Association.

Meet the curiously multi-cultural cast again in miniature form, with Delta Squad leader Marcus Fenix, his ever informative friend Domingo Santiago, and the ever-sarcastic techy Damon Baird (he's still got great hair).  They'll be joining Augustus Cole, who was released as a part of Series 1.

Marcus Fenix is angry!  Grr!

The familiar face of 2nd player running at you every time you're down for the count.

He's the cute one, with anger management issues.

On their tails are the Theron Guard and Theron Sentinels, two trademark enemies of the Locust Horde hell-bent on obliterating humanity.  Add these to the Series 1 Locust Drone and Sniper, and you've got quite the little bloodthirsty army.

You'll hear a "dink" followed by a "BOOM"!

We're not sure how they can see, but somehow they always manage to hit their mark.

The new Fenix doll -- excuse me, I meant action figure -- also features added articulation, and the weapons each figure holds are game-accurate, making them the coolest accessories you will ever get with a toy.  These Series 2 action figures will be available this fall and are an excellent addition to the Series 1 figures already on shelves.

Gears of War 2 is schedule for release on November 7, meaning there's still a little over two months to wait through.

Gory sequel seeing worldwide success

An Xbox 360 exclusive, Team Ninja's latest project Ninja Gaiden II currently enjoys an average critics' rating of 81out of 100, according to Metacritic.com.  The site also lists an 8.0 out of 10 based on user reviews for the game.  It seems that the world still has a soft spot for Ryu Hayabusa -- or the insane amount of gore and underdressed women.

Now, Microsoft and TECMO are proud to announce that since its release in June 2008, Ninja Gaiden II has sold over one million copies worldwide.  

Remaining true to the franchrise, Ninja Gaiden II taunts gamers with mind-numbing challenges around every corner, sporting an arsenal of deadly weapons (the scythe is always a classy choice), new gameplay features, and an in-game environment spanning the globe.  As expected, it's an over-the-top experience that really pushes the player to the brink of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Currently, the game is still selling for $59.99 with an M-rating.

Lookin' fragtastic

"Going back to school is definitely a drag, but if iGames has anything to do with it, it won’t be so bad."

The "leading LAN center organization" has a full set of events in store come next month, all across the United States. Game launches, closed betas, exclusive showcases, and other gaming goodness will be available to "keep you fragging through September." Basically a PC gamer's wet dream. Schedule is below. Enjoy!

September 1-30

Shaiya Showcase (Free to play!)
70+ iGames centers

September 6

Warhammer: Battle March Launch Party
26+ LAN Centers

Halo 3 FFA Tournament
The Gamers pLANet
Howell, NJ 07731

Halo 3 Mid Atlantic Circuit: Hosted By C3
C3 Cyber Club Inc
Ashburn, VA 20147

Gigabits Smash – Back to the Brawling
Gigbits LAN Center
Orlando, FL 32817

September 8-21

Warhammer: Battle March Showcase
90+ LAN centers

September 12

DVD Dbl Feature Lock-In, Gaming & Movie
Army of Darkness/Big Trouble in Little China CyGamZ 4100 Carpenter Road Ypsilanti, MI 48197

September 17 – October 8

Blackshot Closed Beta
60+ LAN Centers

September 20

Grand Opening – The Core
MCAGCC MCCS Building 1531
Twenty-Nine Palms, CA 92278

Starcraft & Warcraft Tournament
CyGamZ
4100 Carpenter Road
Ypsilanti, MI 48197

September 27

Call of Duty 4 PC LAN Tournament
Gamestation
Cornwall, NY 12518

For registration and other event information, including additional iGames events, visit the iGames calendar at iGames.org or contact the iGames events team at events@igames.org.

Responding to clipping and texture issues, Diablo comparisons, DLC, and more

Another reason I like Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack: he can dish it out as well as he can take it. He says a lot of stuff; the guy is definitely one of the most vocal people in the game industry, and like with anyone like that, he pisses a lot of people off. I really like even after this, he doesn't shy away.

For instance, the studio's game Too Human was just released, and has gotten quite a bit of flak from gamers and critics (reviews seem to be very polarized). I have little doubt at least some of this is tied to how these folks perceive Dyack, one of the main fellows behind the title. In any case, he's responded to the criticism openly in an interview with X3F (beware, there are some spoilers), who discussed with him what they felt were the high points of the game, and what could use work. I think this (the nature of the interview, and his responding openly) is something to respect. Among the topics covered are the gaming community's early judgment of the game ("try the demo"), clipping and texture issues ("Oh noes"), the Valkryie death scene ("is that a change we can make in the future? Sure"), Diablo comparisons (tactics are important here, that's the difference), DLC (tons of ideas, there), and the trilogy.

Check out the full interview below.

Things looks bad for...everyone else

Oh, game industry, you keep jerking me around. One day it's doom for all, and everything is consolidated and GameStop owns the retail sector, another giant EA is smartening up about piracy and sharing the wealth, another, Midway is going down the crapper, another, PC gaming is getting a boost..you get the idea. If you're the masochistic type and feel like introducing more confusion into your gaming life, this bit is for you.

According to a Screen Digest (a media industry analyst) report, Activision Blizzard (that's one company, now) and Electronic Arts are due to put out 75 percent of all console releases (handhelds are not defined as consoles in this particular case) from July-September (Q3) in the Western world. 75 percent! That's awful. For the entire second half of the year, they're behind 40 percent of titles, which is nearly as astonishing.

During this period, EA is the bigger publisher, due to their "extensive range of annual sports games" (21 in total). Good grief.

Activision is just behind, with 19 releases. This starts to seem like a sport in itself.

Screen Digest's Ed Barton said, "While most publishers appear to ramp up release volume in the key Christmas quarter, EA and Activision Blizzard appear to be ramping up release volumes to similar levels in both calendar Q3 and Q4."

Notably, the Wii still has the largest library, and this will only continue in the second half. Just less shovelware, please.

More information on LE bonus disc

At this year's E3 Media & Business Summit, Microsoft confirmed that the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition will come in a SteelBook DVD case and include a 48-page hardbound book called "Beneath the Surface," a Bonus DVD, and an exclusive gold-plated Lancer available during online play -- vroom vroom meets bling bling.

Up until now, we only know the Bonus DVD would contain exclusive making-of-the-game video footage, design galleries with audio commentary by Epic Games, and promotional videos including the "Rendezvous" trailer from E3 2008.

Now, the British Board of Film Classification has finally announced the Bonus content in its entirety to the public; there is a total of 148 minutes 40 seconds in cut scenes.  Some minor implied spoilers may follow, so be warned:

• 00:34:29:00 BENEATH THE SURFACE (NO SOUND UNTIL 3M30S)(FREEZES AT 6M50)
• 00:01:05:00 RENDEZVOUS
• 00:01:28:00 BARE YOUR TEETH
• 00:07:30:00 E3 2008: GEARS 2 DEMO
• 00:03:38:00 GTTV SPOT
• 00:11:56:00 CHARACTERS - MARCUS FENIX
• 00:07:40:00 CHARACTERS - DOMINIC SANTIAGO
• 00:07:40:00 CREATURES - BOOMER
• 00:07:10:00 CREATURES - KANTUS
• 00:15:55:00 LOCATIONS - HOSPITAL
• 00:13:01:00 LOCATIONS - THE HOLLOW
• 00:07:08:00 VEHICLES - CENTAUR
• 00:06:10:00 VEHICLES - REAVER
• 00:13:00:00 WEAPONS - LANCER
• 00:10:50:00 WEAPONS - HEAVY WEAPONS
• n/a MAIN THEME
• n/a CINEMATIC OPENING
• n/a ASSAULT INTRO
• n/a MARIA
• n/a COG SQUAD PACK (5 IMAGES)
• n/a LOCUST SQUAD PACK (5 IMAGES)

Gears of War 2 is expected for release on November 7, 2008.

If it ain't broken, don't exchange it!

Best Buy is cracking down on console exchanges, according to reports. Up until now, gamers could be wise to the loopholes in the retail and manufacturing tandem, and would 'upgrade' their SKUs when a newer, better one was out simply by claiming their model was faulty. This even worked to upgrade from an Xbox 360 Pro to an Elite, and from a 40gb PS3 to an 80GB Metal Gear Solid PS3, apparently. Yikes!

Well, now Best Buy, it seems, is wise to these ways, having noticed losses due to the increasing amount of console exchanges. Therefore, they're putting their foot down: starting next week, if you try to exchange your console at the retailer, a 'Geek Squad' (a subsidary of Best Buy who offer 'various computer-related services') agent will test your console to verify it's busted like you say it is. Daunting! Will gamers just go to GameStop/EB Games instead, though..?

The top of the list gets juggled once more

Japanese sales tracker Media Create released their sales numbers for last week, with the sales rankings and hardware numbers for the Week of August 4th to August 10th.  WIth a meager list of new releases, the list is at most a repositioning of titles in the top fifty from last week, along with supply issues currently plaguing Microsoft's Xbox 360 that prevented it from at least trying to sustain last week's numbers.

The top seller this week is last week's #3, Nintendo's simple rhythm game for the Nintendo DS, Rhythm Tengoku Gold, selling 137k copies.  The first runner-up is Sega's Phantasy Star Portable for Sony's PlayStation Portable, clocking in with 74k copies sold.  Rounding out the top five are Square Enix's RPG, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (NDS - #3 - 74k), Nintendo's Wii Fit (WII - #4 - 47k) and Mario Kart Wii (WII - #5 - 36k).

On the hardware side of things, every console experienced more sales this week than last week, with the largest amount of change coming from the two Nintendo systems.  The Sony family of systems saw some moderate increased sales, while the Xbox 360 experienced a sharp tumbling from one of its more prolific weeks, with Namco Bandai's Tales of Vesperia having released last week.  Reports from Japan indicate that the console is still seeing shortages, and that has most likely hampered sales.

On the software side, with minimal new releases, the games already released get another chance to shine.  The top five continue to sell extremely well, with each game bringing in quality numbers since their respective debuts.  Rhythm Tengoku Gold is sellling on impressive word of mouth, and is approaching the half-million mark.  The GBA predecessor, while having sold decently, was released after the DS had released and had ultimately had its growth stunted.  Sega's Phantasy Star Portable meanwhile has surpassed that half-million mark, and is already one of the PSP's top selling games in Japan.  It is a good second week in Japan for Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Sword of Light, which puts it close to 200k in its two weeks out on the market.  The rest of the top ten is filled with some surprise reappearances in the top ten, with Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (NDS = #7 - 24k), Taiko Drum Master DS 2 (NDS - #8 - 20k), Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 (PS2 - #9 - 19k), and Wario Land Shake (NDS - #10 - 18k) still selling constantly well.

With only four new releases last week, only two managed to crack the top fifty, with both being low-tier releases.  Never the less, GN Software's adventure game Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Parareu for the PlayStation 2 and Sega's Crazy Taxi Double Punch for the PlayStation Portable managed to crack the top thirty this week.

What to look for next week:

• Outside of the budget rereleases, there are no top-tier AAA new releases, but the games to look out for are JLeague Winning Eleven 2008 Club Championship for the PS2, Fate/Tiger Colosseum Upper for the PSP, Sigma Harmonics for the DS, and Inazuma Eleven for the DS.
  
  • The Winning Eleven series is a popular soccer series in Japan, and the latest entry should have some decent numbers, especially on the PS2.  According to sinobi's blog, 40k was sold on the first day.
  • Fate/Tiger Colosseum Upper is the latest game to feature characters from visual novel studio TYPE-MOON's cult favorite Fate stay/night series, and should at the very least be in the top thirty.
  • Sigma Harmonics is the latest game from the minds of Square Enix.  According to sinobi's blog, however, the game only amassed 15k first day, so it should be interesting to see where it ends up.
  • Inazuma Eleven is the latest game from Level-5, who's most recent production was the widely-popular Professor Layton series of games, of which the third will be out soon in Japan.  It is a soccer-based RPG, with an upcoming anime and manga adaptation.  However, it will be out one day fewer on the market than the other releases, with it releasing on Friday instead of Thursday.
  • Other first day sales: Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Yumenoukihashi: 15k, Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Kenfuuchou 8k

Microsoft teams up with Rock the Vote to allow Xbox users to register to vote on Live

More and more Americans don't go out and register to vote. Microsoft and Rock the Vote have come together to hopefully change that. Using Xbox Live, you can not only register to vote on your 360, but also participate in political discussions and polls. Public Service Announcements from Rock the Vote will be available via download from Live too.

Heather Smith, the executive producer of Rock the Vote had this to say about the partnership:

"Xbox is a natural partner to help us reach out to youth voters. To realize our goal of registering 2 million young Americans by this fall, we need to go where young Americans are, and there’s no doubt in our minds that many are on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE."

Xbox Live has about 12 million users, so if it were as state, it would have about 20 electoral votes towards the elections. At the Democratic and Republican conventions, Microsoft plans to teach delegates about their plans for making a safer experience on the Xbox, by going in detail about the Family Settings. These Family Settings allow parents to restrict access to certain video games, movies, the Xbox Live activity, among other things.

It will begin on Monday, August 25th, which is also the first day of the Democratic National Convention. So if you have a 360 and live in the US, you now have no excuse not to vote!

Yes, Tales of Vesperia had something to do with it going out of stock

Wanna give a console falling behind in Japan a shot in the arm?  Get Namco Tales Studio to release a Tales franchise RPG for it.  That's what helped the Xbox 360 get a leg up on Sony's PlayStation 3 console in Japan last week.  More importantly, last week's release of "Tales of Vesperia" for the 360 has actually caused the console to sell out at most retailers across the country.

Even Microsoft may have been caught by surprise at the rate Tales of Vesperia would spur the purchase of its console, as the company responds to the situation by explaining it underestimated demand.  The company hopes to have the console restocked in Japan with the standard models by September, backed by the HDMI-equipped Elite and mass-market Arcade models.

Tales of Vesperia is not only helping move consoles, it's also the fastest selling 360 title yet in Japan, selling just over 108,000 copies in around three days.  Such sales as compiled by Media Create helped place the game into the Japanese software top five during August 4th to August 10th.  Only the DS remake of the first Fire Emblem game did better as a new release for last week.

Mild news storm brings forward confirmation of compatibility

These days it seems like unless it's in formal writing that there is some level of freedom to start jackhammering companies apart. Such was the case recently with an early statement by Sony noting that for the coming round of music titles that there will be cross compatibility (Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution) people of course were glad to hear this in general since it means that the need for 3 kits isn't there and people can just mix and match what they want and have a successful kit from there and just get the games they want to play as a result.

The news was good of course and then we got the media spin since it's always easier to just assume instead of ask apparently. Gamasutra was blasted for their comment of:

Similar music game peripheral enforcement has yet to be enacted (or at least officially announced) on the Xbox 360 platform.

Microsoft this afternoon though has noted that they also in fact do feature cross compatibility and that their brief reply on the matter should be taken as an official confirmation for those unsure of things. So I guess gamers really do get rewarded on both sides of the fence without having to pick up 3 sets of hardware pushing probably well into the $400+ mark just to game, plus anyone who has grown used to something like the Rock Band kit can continue on the path to glory without having to adapt for strange placement or odd pad sizes.

It's good to see companies trying to work around and grab a central standard for hardware since it really does benefit everyone in the end to be able to play whatever they want without a second thought, plus people with just one or two parts to a kit can share and build a full band for the game.

..by a lot

Those who follow system sales in the main gaming meccas of the world are aware the Xbox 360 has traditonally been unbeloved in Japan, while the opposite has held true for the PlayStation 3, and for North America. Well, it appears the tables have turned, as the PS3 has started to outsell the 360 in the US this year, while conversely, it has lagged behind Microsoft's system in Japan.

Figures show the 360 recently outsold Sony's console in the region 2.5 to 1; QJ.net anyway is blaming this on Namco Bandai's RPG Tales of Vesperia. The system sold a mere 4,941 units the previous week, but the week of August 10, sales went up to 24,962 (ToV was released August 7 in Japan), effectively meaning sales went up about 500%. Apparently Japanese gamers really like their Tales games. The devotion appears warranted though, as Famitsu gave the game three nine's and an eight, totalling 35/40 (and indeed, it looks pretty freakin' solid). Traditionally a publication tough on games, this speaks volumes.

As in the States, the DS is still kicking arse over there, though interestingly the PSP is beating out the Wii. Here are the remaining figures:

    * Nintendo DS - 60,434
    * PSP - 58,501
    * Wii - 38,506
    * Xbox 360 - 24,962
    * PlayStation 3 - 9,673
    * PlayStation 2 - 8,503

Top new releases: Fire Emblem DS and Tales of Vesperia

It's that time again, where Japanese sales tracker Media Create has released their hardware and software sales rankings for the week of August 4, 2008, ending on August 10, 2008.  Four new releases make their way into the top ten, amidst some familiar looking titles.  On the hardware side, two sales streams have crossed once again, with the Nintendo DS overtaking Sony's PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft's Xbox 360 outselling Sony's PlayStation 3 for only the second week in their lifetimes.

The top seller this week is last week's top seller, Sega's Phantasy Star Portable for the PlayStation Portable, leading the way with 148k copies sold.  The runner-up is Nintendo's new release, Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Sword of Light, for the Nintendo DS, clocking in at 145k copies sold.  Rounding out the top five are Nintendo's rhythm game Rhythm Tengoku Gold (NDS - #3 - 130k), the latest game from Namco Bandai, Tales of Vesperia (360 - #4 - 108k) and new million-seller Dragon Quest V (NDS - #5 - 73k).

Looking at the hardware, two of the streams have crossed: the DS and PSP, and the PS3 and 360.  The drop in PSP sales may be a result of a dropping off with no significant new games released this week.  The DS did see Fire Emblem DS enter the fray, but with the install base the DS has, its ability to push handhelds could not have been high, with the amount of hardware sold essentially the same as last week.  Thanks to NBGI's Tales of Vesperia and its bundle, the 360 has one of its best weeks in the nation, and outsells the PS3.  It was reported that the 360 Vesperia bundle saw some shortages, and that in all probability prevented Microsoft's console from overtaking the Wii this week.

Looking at the software, Sega's Phantasy Star Portable continues to sell, reaching roughly 490k in total sales for the two weeks it has been on the market, closing in on that 500k copies shipped figure earlier reported by the publisher.  Last week's #2, Nintendo's Rhythm Tengoku Gold, also continues impressive sales, with roughly 367k copies sold, and is still aiming to do better than its GBA predecessor.  The developer/publisher's Fire Emblem DS also sold well in its opening week, but is still unknown whether it will keep pace with others in the top ten.  As always, Nintendo's Wii Fit (WII - #8 - 27k) and Mario Kart Wii (WII - #9 - 23k) still continue to sell.  Square Enix's Dragon Quest V has finally passed the million mark, becoming the latest million seller for the DS.  Whether it will surpass Dragon Quest IV DS's sales will remain to be seen.  Namco Bandai's latest RPG in the longstanding Tales series, Tales of Vesperia, single-handedly pushed sales for the consoles, with an opening week of 108k, which includes sales of the 360 bundle.  With its opening of 108k, it is now the owner of the best opening week for the Xbox 360, besting Blue Dragon's 80k opening.  Next week should see the PS3 version of Soul Calibur IV (PS3 - #10 - 23k) break the 100k mark.

For the games/consoles breakdown, there are 25 Nintendo DS games in the top fifty, 12 Wii games, 5 PSP, 3 games each for both the PlayStation 2 and 3, and the 360 bringing up the rear with 2.

Nintendo's Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Sword of Light and Namco Bandai's Tales of Vesperia headlined the new releases this week with their respective strong sales.  The other new games to break into the top ten were Sega's Sangokushi Taisen Heaven (NDS - #6 - 33k), which also released with a limited edition, and NBGI's Summon Night 2 (NDS - #7 - 30k), both for the Nintendo DS.  Only three of the DS's new releases didn't chart, while both of the new Wii releases did to low numbers.  The PSP's new releases were mostly budget priced rereleases.
 

What to look for next week:

• With a weak list of new releases, the top ten should look to be mostly the same, with the only differences being sales numbers and positions
• Expect the 360 to already be coming down to Earth, and should match up with PS3 numbers

With EA's NCAA Football 09 leading the way for software

The NPD Group has released their hardware and software sales numbers for the month of July.  The sales period this time around is the four week period from July 6th to August 2nd.  This month, we are treated to a vastly different software landscape compared to June, although hardware rankings remain relatively the same.

July 2008 US Games Industry Summary

Total Sales - $1.19 billion USD
Hardware Sales - $446.9 million USD
Software Sales - $591.1 million USD
Accessory Sales - $152 million USD

The Xbox 360's price cut on July 20th to $299 USD for the 20GB Pro SKU only led to an increase in weekly sales for the console, selling an extra 5,000 units per week than in June, but coming in third for all current generation hardware.  Nintendo's home console and portable handheld continue to sell strong, with the former passing the 11 million mark in July with sales of 555,000 units, and the latter passing the 21 million with 608,000 units sold.  Sony's PlayStation 3 eclipses the 5 million mark with 225,000 units sold, and the company's handheld, the PlayStation Portable, passes the 12 million mark with 222,000 units sold.

The top software seller this month is the 360 version of Electronic Arts's college football sim NCAA Football 09, selling 397,600 copies on Microsoft's console, along side 242,500 on Sony's PlayStation 3, combining for a total of 640,100 copies across the two HD versions.  The game is also available on the Nintendo  Wii and Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, so it is conceivable that NCAA Football 09 could have reached 1 million in total sales for its opening month, but unlikely.

The other new releases debuting in the top ten in their opening month are Namco Bandai Games's 3D fighter Soul Calibur IV, and Take Two's strategy game Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution.  Soul Calibur IV has a decent, but not great opening of 374,700 copies sold across both versions of the game, with the Xbox 360 version being the lead SKU with 218,900 of that total.  Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is the surprise of the top ten, reaching the tenth spot with a decent 147,600 copies sold.

Nintendo's trio of evergreens, Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii continue to sell, after spending three months, almost a year and a half, and four months respectively on the market.  Wii Fit has now amassed 1.43 million lifetime sales in the US, while Wii Play has reached a whopping 6.40 million, and Mario Kart Wii reaching 2.40 million.  Activision's Guitar Hero DS spinoff Guitar Hero: On Tour returns to the top ten in its second month on the market, now having total sales of 732 thousand sold.  MTV Games' Wii version of Rock Band also makes its first appearance in the top ten, having been released during the last week of June's tracking period, with 165,800 sold this month.

Things to look for next month:

• Electronic Arts's Madden NFL 09 released earlier this week, so expect the game to occupy top spots in August's top ten.
• There should still continue to be a summer lull in sales across the board; hardware manufacturers and publishers are waiting for September and on before switching into holiday mode.

Multi-platform game in the works involving legendary developers

Video game publishing giant Electronic Arts has announced at its annual summer showcase that through its EA Partners arm that it has agreed to a publishing deal that will involve iconic Japanese developers Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) and Goichi Suda (Killer7, No More Heroes) in a brand-new horror action game that will hit the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Sony PlayStation 3 consoles, along with a version on the PC platform.

Shinji Mikami will be the producer the new title, with Goichi Suda acting as director. Suda's development studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, will be the primary developer. It is also noted in the press release that Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment (Lumines, Meteos) will also be working with Grasshopper on this project.

No title, release date, or media for the game is available at this time.

Now your 360 really can look like a PC; manufacturer claims aftermarket 360 case will improve cooling and reduce noise during operation

In the world of PC hardware, a PC case chosen with your desired hardware components in mind actually goes a long way thanks to improved convenience, cooling, and possibly noise reduction. Lian Li, one of the better known computer cases manufacturers, looks to bring these considerations to the world of console hardware with its first "chassis replacement" for Microsoft's Xbox 360. The newly launched PC-XB01 case supports the Xbox 360's internal hardware components, and is designed to address "heating issues from hot components", and dampens vibrations from the 360's optical drives (including the hard drive and DVD-ROM) for quieter performance.  Lian Li previously revealed the PC-XB01 at CeBIT 2008 in this past March.

At first glance, the PC-XB01 looks more like a PC case than a "chassis replacement" for the Xbox 360. Like many of its top-of-the-line PC cases, Lian Li's PC-XB01 is made from brushed, light-weight aluminum with rounded corners. The third-party 360 case measures 160 x 250 x 415 mm (W x D x H), and features a silent 120 mm exhaust fan for cooling. By comparison the current 360 console measures 309 x 83 x 258 mm depending on orientation and has two 60 mm cooling fans. Lian Li must have researched the 360 well, as the PC-XB01 will support the different hardware configurations of the console, including the "Elite" model featuring the HDMI output. It even supports water cooling installations if you really want to keep the components cool.  It doesn't feature a built-in proprietary power supply, so it will still rely on the 360's external power adapter.

Considering that early hardware iterations of the Xbox 360 were unfortunately notable for their overheating issues and failure rates leading to what is largely known as the "Red Ring of Death" (RROD), the PC-XB01 appears sound in execution. However, cracking open the existing hardware to move internal components to the aftermarket chassis voids the warranty on the console. With the chance of RROD still possible on various models of 360 hardware, the prospect of voiding your console's warranty for potentially better thermal performance is a rather risky one at this point in the game.  Remember that the manufacturer's warranty is your ticket to product service and replacement.

The Lian Li PC-XB01 is the perfect complement to the Xbox 360 to alleviate heating issues. The stylish exterior gives your product a sense of class and will fit in with almost any living room environment. Microsoft Inc is very strict on warranties, so it should be noted that you will not be able to return your product if you use the Lian Li PC-XB01 alternative. With that being said, you are less likely to have overheating.

The PC-XB01 is currently priced at $149 USD.  Make no mistake, the PC-XB01 appears to be geared to a select portion of the 360 userbase who have no fear in taking apart consoles for the sheer heck of it.  Unlike other forms of console... modding, you won't need a solder iron for installation, but you'll still need to have some Torx series screwdrivers which PC buffs will be more familiar with.  No tool-free installation?!?

Will Microsoft have something official to say in response to this aftermarket case?

Details on the "original twisted fantasy action adventure" sequel and "extensions"

Triumph Studios released Overlord for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 last year, and they haven't been wasting any time: a sequel is already planned for 2009. The PC edition fared especially well in reviews, with journalists citing its refreshing qualities and approach (i.e morbid sense of humour) as high points. Judging by the promo screenshots shown here, we'll have plenty more of that to look forward to.

Overlord II is planned for the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, and will also have "extensions" for the Wii (Overlord Dark Legend) and DS (Overlord Minions).

Publisher Codemasters says the original (well, sort of, there was another title for the NES) did well enough that they can put these games out, and excitedly:

“As a million-plus seller Overlord is now a significant brand in the ever-growing Codemasters portfolio,” says Barry Jafrato, Senior Vice President of Brand, Codemasters. “With specific titles published across major formats and download content available, Overlord has established a huge cult following and won widespread critical acclaim. We’re delighted to have the despot back for this three-game, five-format product line. With Triumph’s hugely impressive vision for Overlord II and bespoke titles for Wii and Nintendo DS, Overlord is set to dominate in 2009.”

Triumph, meanwhile, spoke about all the wonderful new features planned:

“Epic battles, all new Minion play mechanics, a stunningly detailed new visuals and a fresh theme – Overlord II’s really packing a punch,” says Lennart Sas, director and Overlord lead at Triumph Studios. “We’re really excited about shifting the world to a new era where a Roman-inspired Empire rises as the arch-enemy of the Overlord, which leads to an epic clash between the regimented forces of a sprawling state and the faster, harder, more manic minion horde. It’s also great to see the series reaching new formats. The creativity being packed into the design for Overlord Dark Legend on Wii and Overlord Minions on Nintendo DS make great use of the platforms’ unique features and are perfect extensions to the Overlord series.”

Read below for an overview of each of the titles, courtesy of the respective studios.

 OVERLORD™II
• PLAYSTATION®3 system, Xbox 360, Games For Windows.

Overlord™II is the sequel to the hit warped fantasy action adventure that had players being delightfully despotic. In Overlord II, a new Overlord and a more powerful army of Minions take on an entire empire in a truly epic adventure, inspired by the rise of the Roman Empire. As the Glorious Empire conquers kingdoms and destroys any sign of magic it finds, it’s time to go Minion Maximus and send in the horde.

The Minions return smarter, deadlier (and funnier) and are ready to fight in large scale battles that will see their wild pa