Japan’s video game industry is the world’s second biggest (after the US), but it’s on a downward streak for the fifth consecutive year. Based on sales, the country’s video game industry has contracted by as much as 8% year-on-year, Japan’s biggest gaming magazine Famitsu is reporting [JP].

Between December 27, 2010 and December 25, 2011, Japanese game companies generated US$5.9 billion in sales. The Famitsu says that sales from hardware makers actually went up 2.4% (thanks to the launch of the 3DS and PlayStation Vita) to reach US$2.3 billion. Software revenues in Japan dropped 13.7% to US$3.6 billion last year.

This is how often the different video game systems sold in 2011 (total sales numbers in parentheses):

1. Nintendo 3DS: 4,135,739 units
2. Sony PSP: 1,960,177 (18,237,108)
3. Sony PlayStation 3: 1,467,261 (7,417,148)
4. Nintendo Wii: 937,451 (12,167,743)
5. Nintendo DS (all models combined): 711,204 (32,835,502)
6. PlayStation Vita: 402,794
7. Xbox 360: 114,075 (1,520,738)

This overview shows the top selling games in Japan in 2011 (total sales numbers in parentheses):

1. Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo 3DS): 1,082,391 units
2. Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo 3DS): 1,042,511
3. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (Nintendo 3DS): 1,021,457 (4,502,446)
4. Monster Hunter 3G (Nintendo 3DS): 809,322
5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Sony PS3): 697,146
6. Final Fantasy Type-0 (Sony PSP): 696,428
7. Rhythm Heaven Forever (Nintendo Wii): 633,429
8. Tales of Xillia (Sony PS3): 632,151
9. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo Wii): 612,807 (2,732,655)
10. Wii Party (Nintendo Wii): 584,545 (2,123,773)

Nintendo this morning announced that its DS family of portable video game systems has sold more than 47 million in the United States since the original model launched in November 2004. The company also said that, according to its internal sales figures, the Wii system has gone over the counter more than 34 million times in the United States alone.

Of those 34 million, roughly 21 million Wii systems were sold in the last three years, Nintendo says. According to the company, the Wii home console marked its third consecutive calendar year with U.S. sales of more than 7 million.

Earlier, the company said it sold 2.7 million Wii and Nintendo DS systems in the United States in November alone.

Nintendo is set to release its new Nintendo 3DS hand-held system in the United States in March. The portable system lets players see 3D content without the need for special glasses.

Good news! Okamiden, the whimsical Nintendo DS game that I looked at a few weeks ago, now has a release date: March 15, 2011. Capcom has teamed up with GameStop, meaning that if you buy (well, pre-order) the game at your local GameStop you’ll get some exclusive stuff.

So what do you get? An honest question, yes.

The first 20,000 people who pre-order the game get a stylus in the shape of a paintbrush, a “custom screen cleaner” that has artwork of the main wolf pup, Chibiterasu, and Kumi, the swordmen.

Capcom also has a contest on its Facebook page where you can win, among other things, Chibiterasu plush dolls.

Oddly enough, someone is actually fighting Majesco over the game. A company called SouthPeak claims they have the lock on baby games and, as such, deserve a piece of the action.

Seriously: who thought of this? What’s going on here? Why babies? Why not a Mario Brothers that’s not needlessly frustrating? Who plays this? ANSWERS!

This game better include an attachment for girls to simulate the joys of weaning as well as an alarm clock that ways the kids up at 3am, 3:20am, and 5:00am on the dot for eight years straight or Majesco is doing these players a disservice.

In order to help involve kids in their testing, the device will come bundled with the new game Knock Em Downs: World Fair. The theme of the game is two characters are running their own fair, and trying to defeat the evil henchmen trying to stop them. There doesn’t appear to be anything in the game that relates specifically to diabetes, but there are unlock achievements that can only be accessed by testing regularly. One thing to note, the meter plugs into the GBA slot though, so it won’t be compatible with the DSi and DSi XL. The accessory, called a Didget, is currently available at Walgreens,CVS/pharmacy, and drugstore.com as well as the Bayer website. MSRP is $74.99, but the Didget also includes testing supplies and lancets.

[via TG Daily]

One of the criticisms leveled at video games is that they encourage children to sit on the couch instead of going outside. Nintendo has of course bucked this trend with the Wii Fit and other games that have been coming out recently that encourage getting up and moving around. Imagine my surprise when I saw that HeartGold and SoulSilver include something called a “Pokewalker”.

What is a Pokewalker? Well, apparently you can download your favorite Pokemon into a small pedometer that you clip to your clothing, and then you take your Pokemon for a walk. Walking your Pokemon will increase it’s happiness, help it to gain experience points, and even help you to catch other species of Pokemon. Kids (and let’s be honest, adults too) can connect two Pokewalkers to gain special gifts. I love it!

Gameplay is the same as the other Pokemon games, but feels closest to the most recent release, Pokemon Diamond. This is actually a great thing, since Pokemon Diamond is considered to be one of the best games of the franchise. I haven’t had a chance to try the Pokewalker yet, but I’ll update this story after I reach the level where I can use it.

Word on the street is that Nintendo is currently working on the DS2. You probably already assumed as much, yes. But did you assume this: it will have tilt controls, sorta like the iPhone? I bet not. Or yes, whatever, doesn’t really matter.

The point is, early development kits are starting to be sent to some of Nintendo’s favorite developers, chief among them The Pokemon Company. (I cannot believe Pokemon is still around. I tapped out at Pokemon Blue when I was 12.)

The only real news to trickle out from CVG’s source is that the DS2 will have some sort of tilt-based controls. You know, like the iPhone. Presumably Nintendo doesn’t want to cede any more portable entertainment ground to Apple.

As for timelines: you’re going to be waiting. The same source said not to expect any official information at next month’s GDC—we’re still a little while away before Nintendo says anything.

So, DS2. Count on it. You already were, right, gotcha.

Flickr

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Amazon Kindle the first device to launch with built-in wireless (that is, cellular data) access? You know, you pay for the device, and then you don’t have to pay monthly wireless access because it’s already included in the cost of the device? It’s pretty neat, I think I can say without too much grief, and is a model that’s been copied by other e-book readers. Now it looks like Nintendo is considering such a model for future versions of the Nintendo DS (and not necessarily the XL, mind you). Exciting!

So Nintendo’s president, Satoru Iwata, said at a recent briefing that he’s “interested” in the business model (wireless access that’s built into the cost of the device) because it’s new, and, well, it could help expand the popularity of DSi Ware. Right now, to access DSi Ware you need to be connected to Wi-Fi, which sorta limits its availability. What if you’re sitting on a park bench on a warm spring day and want to download Something? You can’t!

You can imagine other scenarios, I’m sure.

Iwata did express concern that Nintendo would have to be careful with such a model because Nintendo is, in his words, an “amusement company.” It’s not Apple in the sense that it can’t charge $LOTS for its products.

Such a move would also give this theoretical new DS an edge over the PSP Go, which you’ll recall only ships with 802.11b access. That’s a bad move on Sony’s part, yes.

Keep in mind that Iwata could have just been thinking out loud, and that none of this will ever see the light of day. So there’s that.

via Gamasutra

How about a wireless headset for your DS? Or maybe streaming homebrew ROMs from your computer? The implications of this device are staggering. Well, that’s a bit of an overstatement. It might be handy for some, let’s just leave it at that.

[via Hack a Day]

Well this is the dumbest story I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard a lot of them! Once upon a time, there was a fugitive in Lee County in Florida. His criminal background—his FourSquare achievements, if you will—included armed robbery and kidnapping. He’s thrown in jail in early September, but then breaks out using a fake ID. But then, only a little while later, he’s arrested again. Guess what did him in?

If you guessed, “went to Wal-Mart, and stole a bunch of Nintendo DS games to support his heroin habit,” then you’d be correct!

That’s right, the man, 32-year-old Daniel Larson, was caught trying to steal about $120 worth of Nintendo DS games.

Seems to me Larson would have been better off trying to steal Xbox 360 games, since those are, what, twice as expensive as the average DS game? Or maybe it was a size thing, like he didn’t have enough space in his bag (or whatever he used) to fit a bunch of 360 games.

The moral of the story, of course, is never to go to Wal-Mart. Unless, of course, Wal-Mart is the only store in town, or you really just love low prices. I, for the record, have no problem with Wal-Mart; that’s where I bought my Zune HD.

[via Hack A Day]

Here’s a tip: this isn’t 1998, and you shouldn’t go around making “Web pages” that are filled with Nintendo ROMs. If you do, you could end up like the Japanese guy who’s now facing two years in prison and a $96,000 fine.

The man, one Yoshiaki Asagiri, had set up a Web site that had more than 1,000 Nintendo DS ROMs available for download, à la a site you’d find in the early days of MAME. (You’re better off getting your ROMs from Usenet, or from a “trusted” BitTorrent source, in my professional opinion.) In any event, yeah, The Man found out, and now the Kyoto District Court has ordered the 38-year-old to prison, plus a nice fine to go along with his sentence.

And apparently the presiding judge said the guy’s piratical actions had “trample[d]” all over anti-piracy efforts, including, but not limited to, time and money.

Makes me wonder how much “people I know” would owe, when they have entire system sets (NES, SNES, Genesis, etc.) sitting on various hard drives.

Just how big is Dragon Quest in Japan? Not only did the game sell some 2.3 million copies already, but it helped double the sales of the Nintendo DS. In MMA terms, Dragon Quest is a huge, Brock Lesnar-like draw.

The week before the game went on sale, Nintendo sold 51,601 DSs. That number jumped to 126,785 after the game’s release.

There’s still no U.S. release date, but given that Square Enix takes its sweet time localizing games, it could be something of a wait.

Or, you could hop on eBay and buy a copy of Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2. If you’re not prepared to grind for more than hour just outside the starting village, then maybe it’s not the game for you.

Final Fantasy is child’s play compared to Dragon Quest.

Japan’s (and probably the world’s) most renowned gaming magazine, the Famitsu [JP], has given Square Enix’s RPG Dragon Quest IX a perfect score in the latest issue. All four editors who tested the game gave 10 points out of 10, resulting in a 40/40 score.

The magazine says the music and the multiplayer mode are outstanding, and said the game can trigger deep emotions in the player. Dragon Quest is a household name in Japan, with the ninth installment having shipped 3 million units since its release in Nippon just last Saturday.

Other games that received a perfect score from Famitsu include Metal Gear Solid 4 back in June last year, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the N64 and Vagrant Story for the PS. In total, there are only 10 games with a 40/40 score now.

Here is a video from the day Dragon Quest IX launched in Japan:

If swapping out the cartridges in your Nintendo DS Lite is enough to give you the fits, then you may be an ideal candidate for the NDS Lite Game Selector. It’s a simple $13.42 adapter that adheres to the back of your NDS Lite and holds three game cartridges at once.

When you’ve grown bored of whatever game you’re playing, a simple flick of the switch on the game selector will load up one of the remaining two cartridges. It’ll save precious time when you’re right in the middle of a game-playing brouhaha.

Even better, it makes travelling with your three favorite games less cumbersome and may keep you from losing them between the car seats. And at less than $15, it’s not a huge expense as far as portable video game accessories go.

NDS Lite Game Selector [SuperUFO via OhGizmo!]

I don’t get a bonerd for LEGOs like some people I know whose names start with a J and end with an S and work for a site that rhymes with shmimono, but I have fond memories of spending countless hours as a youth erecting LEGO fortresses and castles and whatever else my imagination could conjure up. It was always about smashing the other fortress and kicking some tiny LEGO ass, but that was at least 20 years ago. Now fast forward to 2009 and while I still like to kick ass, I enjoy doing it on a much smaller scale. Enter LEGO Battles for the Nintendo DS.

If you’re a hardcore RTS gamer then Battles isn’t really for you, but it’s still fun to see tiny LEGO pirates, knights and moon men duke it out on the small screen. However, the charm dissipates rather quickly into story mode one of six. Think of Battles as an introductory course to real time strategy games. I hate RTS, but found LEGO Battles to be amusing and worth the time to review.

The cut scenes are fairly amusing and I have to say that the tiny actors portraying LEGO characters are hilarious, which made me laugh out loud. Multiplayer is about as good as your chosen opponent allows. In other words, find someone who is good at RTS and multiplayer can be pretty sweet on Battles. Another highlight is the free play mode where you can mix and match troops from the Space, Pirates and Castle series to do your bidding.

LEGO Battles isn’t perfect, though. With such a small screen on the DS (and even DSi), trying to control your troops when there’s so much going on can be a challenge. The artificial intelligence is pretty dumb and I spent a few minutes cursing them out when they decided to get lost or stop doing their jobs. Can you imagine a grown man yelling at a video game on a packed plane? Yeah, that was me over the weekend.

I enjoyed Battles but it’s not for everyone. Seasoned RTS gamers will want to pass unless they plan on handing it down to junior RTS nerds in the making. If anything, LEGO titles like Battles are much better than the licensed titles that involve non-LEGO characters like Batman. Just saying.

LEGO Battles

[PSGallery=7mxkayisbp]

Here’s a cut scene in glorious HD.

In honor of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, PDP will begin shipping Autobot and Decepticon Nintendo DS cases this week. You can pick between a Bumblebee or a Megatron case with plus a matching stylus. The bundle costs $20, but you can purchase either for $13/each.

Product Page

There’s no word on price, but Nintendo is releasing a new lime green DS Lite bundle in the US with Personal Trainer: Cooking on May 3 with a chichi case to match. Yay! I wonder who this bundle is targeted at? Can we please get Virtual Console for the DSi instead of this crap?

via GeekSugar

Do mature-themed video games have any place on the Nintendo DS? Not to say whether or not they should be allowed, obviously, but whether or not it makes any sense for a publisher to release a game for the system, given its reputation as a “kiddie” platform. Case in point: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, which sold only 82,000 copies in March. (It was released on March 18, so it was only available for 12 days Then again, how many copies did GTA IV sell last April, even though it came out on the 29th?) Should DS publishers stick to shovelware kiddie nonsense?

Not according to Nintendo, which has come out in defense of Chinatown Wars specifically and the DS generally. Telling the MTV guys the other day, Nintendo said that the game was “in line with AAA titles” on the system, sales-wise. Call of Duty 4, after all, eventually sold more than 500,000 copies. So there absolutely is a market for more mature games.

But then, consider that there’s more than 30 million DS’s in the U.S.

What was it, then? It’s not like the critics (yes, I realize linking to Metacritic is hypocritical; I don’t care.) didn’t like it or anything. I honestly have no idea what happened.

Photo: Flickr

To be fair, the GPS is pretty impressive. It has the latest generation GPS chipset, uses the Google Maps software, and will work with a multitude of devices, not just the DS. Essentially it’s a full featured GPS (like your standard dash style) that will work with a DS, laptop, PDA or any other Windows CE or Linux device.

The bad news is, it’s a very VERY new product, and as such the availability is somewhat limited at this time. The company website currently doesn’t list any vendors, and there is no pricing information. In spite of this, we’ll keep our eye on this product, and we advise you to do the same.