Category Archives: Microsoft

Crowdfunding Campaign Launches Monday For Eternal Darkness’ Spiritual Successor

eternal_darkness_gamecubeIGN revealed a tantalising teaser trailer of the spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem earlier today, in order to kickstart a crowdfunding campaign. Details of the survival horror game, named ‘Shadow of the Eternals’ will be released next Monday, May 6, when the campaign begins.

Silcon Knights originally released Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem on the GameCube in 2002 and went onto considerable success – it even received one of the IGN Editor’s Choice Awards. Denis Dyack is reportedly involved within the game, but by all accounts, the project is in development by Precursor Games. So far, no platforms have been announced but, either way, we won’t have to wait long for the rest of the details to be spilled.

Tomodachi Collection And Nintendo 3DS Continue To Rule Japan

tomodachi collection new lifeThis week’s Media Create sales charts are in from Japan. Tomodachi Collection: New Life for the Nintendo 3DS remains the best-selling video game in Japan, selling 145,000 units. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon managed to sell 38,884 units, which has kept it sitting pretty at number three in the software charts. The Wii U is still struggling in the hardware charts as sales were slightly down this week. The console still sold 8,262 units which just placed it higher than Sony’s ageing PSP. Here’s the Japanese software and hardware charts.

  1. [3DS] Tomodachi Collection: New Life
  2. [PS3] Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
  3. [3DS] Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
  4. [PS3] Tomb Raider
  5. [PS3] Steins;Gate: Senkei Kousoku no Phenogram
  6. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf
  7. [PSV] Photo Kano Kiss
  8. [PSP] Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere Portable
  9. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
  10. [PS3] BioShock Infinite
  1. Nintendo 3DS LL – 37,536 (57,089)
  2. PlayStation Vita – 21,399 (15,011)
  3. Nintendo 3DS – 17,897 (18,833)
  4. PlayStation 3 – 14,682 (13,915)
  5. Wii U – 8,262 (8,798)
  6. PSP – 7,536 (7,816)
  7. Wii – 1,660 (1,379)
  8. Xbox 360 – 490 (515)

Tomodachi Collection And Nintendo 3DS Dominate Japan

nintendo_3ds_xl_animal_crossing

This week’s Media Create sales figures are in from Japan. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon has been knocked off the top spot by Tomodachi Collection: New Life which sold around 405,000 copies. Tomodachi Collection: New Life gave the Nintendo 3DS XL a significant sales boost this week as the handheld sold 57,000 units, which is more than double what it sold the previous week. Here’s the Japanese software and hardware charts.

  1. [3DS] Tomodachi Collection: New Life
  2. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
  3. [PSP] Seven Dragon 2020 II
  4. [3DS] Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
  5. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf
  6. [PSP] Amnesia Crowd
  7. [3DS] Card Fight!! Vanguard Ride to Victory!!
  8. [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2
  9. [3DS] Run For Money: Flee From the Strongest Hunters in History
  10. [360] Monster Hunter Frontier G1 Premium Package
  1. Nintendo 3DS XL – 57,089 (28,139)
  2. Nintendo 3DS – 18,833 (18,584)
  3. PlayStation Vita – 15,011 (14,112)
  4. PlayStation 3 – 13,915 (14,039)
  5. Wii U – 8,798 (9,984)
  6. PSP – 7,816 (7,566)
  7. Wii – 1,379 (1,383)
  8. Xbox 360 – 515 (492)

Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata To Announce Second Year Of Losses

Satoru Iwata NinNintendo Company President Satoru Iwata will announce a second year of annual losses tomorrow, accumulating almost 19 billion yen. Iwata, who became president of the Japanese company in 2002, has pledged a 100 billion yen – approximately $1 billion – profit for this financial year, but analysts say he’ll fail to reach the goal. However, Nintendo are never one to be backed into a corner, as can be seen with their determination to raise sales by their recent US advertisements and their expansion into the social markets.

Averages compiled by Bloomberg have recorded that Nintendo have lost 18.7 billion yen over the tax year, ending on March 31. But this year, Iwata wants to aim big, stating that it is his ‘personal commitment’ to see the 100 billion yen profit in sales achieved.

He said: “First of all, what I mean by committing to earning an operating profit of 100 billion yen is that this is going to be reflected in the financial forecast of the next fiscal year unless the expected foreign exchange rate situation changes. Otherwise, I would not have used a word such as ‘commitment.’

“I believe my job is to establish as promising a situation as possible to accomplish this aim. From this perspective, for Nintendo 3DS, it is vital to create similar momentum as we see in Japan in the overseas markets. So, the point is to launch several key titles seamlessly abroad to change the sales momentum of Nintendo 3DS itself, and then to create a cycle where hardware sales soar and its software sells well.

“As for Wii U, there will not be any key titles at the beginning of the year, so even though it will take some time, starting from this summer when the software lineup is enriched, we will promote our platform and aim to change the sales momentum dramatically.”

The Wii U has seen a dramatic decline in sales, partly due to a string of software delays that Iwata admitted were crucial to winning over consumers. And with tough competition on the horizon from Sony and Microsoft consoles, Nintendo’s president will have to stick to a firm resolve. What do you think about the second year of profit losses and should Iwata be pledging such a large profit for this year?

Luigi’s Mansion 2 And Nintendo 3DS Continue To Rule Japan

luigi's_mansion_dark_moon_ghost_chase

This weeks Japanese hardware and software sales are now in. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon continues to be the best-selling software and the Nintendo 3DS remains the best-selling hardware. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is number one for the fourth week running and it sold another 56,000 units. Wii U continues to struggle as it only managed to sell 9,984 units this week compared to 14,783 units the previous week. Here’s the Japanese software and hardware charts.

  1. [3DS] Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
  2. [3DS] Card Fight!! Vanguard Ride to Victory!!
  3. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf
  4. [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2
  5. [PS3] Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2013
  6. [Wii] Taiko Drum Master Wii Super Wonderful Edition
  7. [PSV] Muramasa Rebirth
  8. [PSP] Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2013
  9. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2
  10. [PSP] Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment
  1. Nintendo 3DS XL – 28,139 (34,180)
  2. 3DS – 18,584 (22,684)
  3. PlayStation Vita – 14,112 (19,328)
  4. PlayStation 3 – 14,039 (16,807)
  5. Wii U – 9,984 (14,783)
  6. PSP – 7,566 (8,876)
  7. Wii – 1,383 (1,718)
  8. Xbox 360 – 492 (536)

Could Climax Studios Be Working On A Prince Of Persia-esque Title?

climax studiosSilent Hill: Shattered Memories developers Climax Studios has been more than a little sneaky today as tech demo images cropped up of an ‘unannounced title’ with a similar art style to the Prince of Persia series. However, the said images of the character action platformer have now been removed from their official website but you can take a peek over at Gamespot, where they managed to nab them in time. Screenshots of another unannounced title have replaced the aforementioned, which is assumed to be a horror title.

Tekken Revolution Listing Spotted Online

jin_kazama_tekken_tag_tournament_2

A filing listed with the Australian classification board suggests that Namco Bandai is busy developing a new Tekken title called Tekken Revolution. The filing says that the title will be both “original” and “multi platform”, which suggests that the game could be a new project rather than a port. Could this be another handheld edition of the franchise along the lines of Tekken 3D: Prime Edition?

Thanks, Sam C

NPD: Analysts Expect Wii U Sales Decline During March In The US

wii-u-blue

Despite several high-profile games having been released, industry analyst Michael Pachter and research firm EEDAR believe that the Wii U under performed last month in the United States. The news comes ahead of the March NPD figures for hardware and software sold in the United States. Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter and fellow analyst firm EEDAR believe that the Wii U only managed to outsell the PlayStation Vita, PSP and the PlayStation 2 last month. Here’s their estimations.

  • 360 – 290,000 (-22%) / 330,000 (-11%)
  • PS3 – 260,000 (-22) / 270,000 (-19%)
  • 3DS – 190,000 (-16%) / 190,000 (-16%)
  • DS – 85,000 (-20%) / 100,000 (-5%)
  • Wii – 85,000 (-51%) / 80,000 (-54%)
  • Wii U – 55,000 (n/a) / 65,000 (n/a)
  • Vita – 42,500 (-80%) / 45,000 (n/a)
  • PSP – 10,000 (-67%) / n/a (n/a)
  • PS2 – 100 (-99%) / n/a (n/a)
  • Total – 1,017,600 (-30%) / 1,080,000 (-26%)

“We expect hardware sales of 55,000 Wii U units in its fifth month (down 17% month-over-month).

“Last month… the only key hardware device to underperform our expectations was the Wii U, and its fortunes appear unlikely to improve for several months, even if Nintendo decides to drop price, as there are an insufficient number of core titles that are generating interest in the console.”

“We think that core gamers are far more likely to turn their attention to the PS4 (due in the holiday season) and the next Xbox, which we believe will be unveiled before E3 and have a launch alongside that of the PS4, and believe that the long-term appeal of the Wii U will be severely limited by the perception that the PS4 and next Xbox will be much more powerful with greater online integration and multimedia functionality. Should the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft be price competitive, we think that Wii U sales may continue to stagnate.”

Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon And Nintendo 3DS Rule Japan

luigi's_mansion_dark_moon_ghost_chase

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon continues to be the best-selling game in Japan for the third time running. This week the game sold 68,423 units and has sold a total of 459,000 units since going on sale on March 20th. Animal Crossing: New Leaf is currently sitting in second place and has shifted over three million physical copies in total in Japan. Here’s the Japanese software and hardware charts.

  1. [3DS] Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
  2. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf
  3. [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2
  4. [PS3] Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2013
  5. [PSP] Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2013
  6. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission
  7. [Wii] Taiko Drum Master Wii Super Wonderful Edition
  8. [PSV] Muramasa Rebirth
  9. [PSP] Fate/Extra CCC
  10. [Wii U] Game & Wario
  1. Nintendo 3DS XL – 34,180 (38,442)
  2. Nintendo 3DS – 22,684 (28,538)
  3. PlayStation Vita – 19,328 (31,795)
  4. Wii U – 16,807 (22,829)
  5. PlayStation 3 – 14,783 (19,069)
  6. PSP – 8,876 (12,594)
  7. Wii – 1,718 (1,858)
  8. Xbox 360 – 536 (598)

Landslide Victory For EA Voted ‘Worst Company In America’

ealogoFor the second year running, EA has been named the ‘worst company in America’ after battling it out with rival Bank of America for the trophy. A whopping 78% of consumers voted EA to be crowned champions in a web-poll on The Consumerist, giving them a landslide victory. Unfortunately, this is not good news for EA’s chief operating officer Peter Moore, who announced in a recent blog post, that the company ‘could do better’. Do you think EA should have been given the crowning glory once again?

Thanks, Flanneryaug