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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
First, I’m fascinated to know that there exists, in the world, a game called My Baby. Apparently the baby in question is some sort of electric homunculus, requiring food, care, and water to survive and you must feed it and care for it like you would Nintendogs or My First Intestinal Parasite, two other exciting DS games in the same vein. → Read More
Childhood diabetes sucks, there’s no way around it. Testing is annoying and uncomfortable for adults, much lets kids, and the testing technology isn’t exactly what you’d call fun or interesting. Bayer is trying to make it better though, by creating a fun way to test blood glucose levels using a Nintendo DS. → Read More
So I got a random delivery today, and I was quite surprised to see it was from Nintendo. Even more surprising was when I opened the box and saw they had sent me the two latest Pokemon games, HeartGold and SoulSilver. What was even more interesting was when I started to read the enclosed literature that explained exactly what’s new about these two games. → Read More
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. → Read More
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! → Read More
A cartridge that supplies Bluetooth functionality to the DS? Why, you ask? Well, I asked the same question when I saw this, and there is no certain answer. But the fact is that the DS is a versatile, well-documented device that is used for more than just playing games. Putting Bluetooth functionality in there just makes it that much more useful. → Read More
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? → Read More
The Nintendo DS’s charge port looks a lot like a mini USB plug. In fact, it really is, just modified a bit. One enterprising hacker, tired of plugging his DS into the wall, no doubt, decided he’d make his DS USB-compatible. And although it seems to have been a relatively straightforward operation, I question the practicality of it when there are USB charge cables for the DS for $4. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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? → Read More
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? → Read More
Ranger China just announced their new product, the Ranger GPS for the Nintendo DS. An impressive product, but poorly timed given the fact that the GBA cartridge slot has gone away. Of course, maybe they are planning on selling to all those millions of people out there who still have the older DS Lite. → Read More
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