Wii™ Totals 35 Million Consoles

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So according to the NPD group the Nintendo Wii™ sold more then 454,000 consoles in February.  Why does this matter whatsoever?  This caused Nintendo to cross the 35 million console mark here in the United States on these console sales.  This is kinda impressive since they no longer have the distinction of being the only system with a motion controller gimick and so few good games coming out every year for it.  Heck the press release stated that the two biggest selling games for them was Donkey Kong Country™ Returns and from November 2010 at 554,000 units and New Super Mario Bros™ Wii from November 2009 which just crossed the 8 million unit mark.

Maybe since they are about the launch the 3DS we will see more attention paid to the Wii as they don't have to split their focus as badly.  We can only hope, but most likely The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword will be enough to carry them into the next year.

10 Million Kinect, Crap Thats A Lot

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So Kinect came out on what, November 4th?  That was only 4 months ago, and in that time Microsoft has managed to go and sell not only 10 million Kinect units but 10 million stand alone games (assuming this does not count Kinect Adventures).  Now this is world wide but that is still an impressive number, and Guinness agrees.  Microsoft now holds the record for Kinect being the fastest-selling consumer electronics device.  To get this they sold 8 Million units in the first 2 months.  Gaz Deaves, Gaming Editor for Guinness World Records, had not seen any faster sales according to their independent researchers.

So 4 months down and sales look like they are going to stay strong, but now here is the question I have for Microsoft.  We have seen the rumors that a new console is in the works over at Redmond, will Kinect work with this new console.  Since I do plan to buy one soon I sure hope so.

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 64

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Welcome back loyal listners.  All three of of us are togehter this week and we have an actual show for you today. I am going to warn you now, we got really off topic towards the end.

Download Link

For the show notes check out the Podcast Page.

Pokémon Shatter Sales Record

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Pikachu in line to get his copySo March 6th heralded the release of two new Pokemon titles; Pokémon Black and Pokémon White for the Nintendo DS game systems.  With their release came a new Pokémon sales record. Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl games held the previous record with a one-day sale record 780,000 copies sold in April of 2007.  Pokémon Black and Pokémon White broke this record with 1.08 million copies sold in 1 day.  

Now why are so many people attracted to this? Lets check this convient quote from the press release shall we:

"Longtime Pokémon fans are attracted to the new Pokémon, new battle systems and a new region to explore, while newcomers enjoy the ability to jump in and have fun right away,” said Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America’s senior director of Corporate Communications. “These sales numbers illustrate the continued strength of the Nintendo DS family of systems. Already established as the nation’s best-selling video game platform of all time, the installed base of more than 47 million makes it the ideal hand-held for developers to reach a huge gaming-focused target audience."

So there you have it.  More areas to explore, more Pokémon to collect (how the hell are you supposed to collect them all now?) and a new battle system are luring 47 million fans to the game.   So grab your copies and try to collect all 649 Pokémon.

N64oid, N64 Emulator for Android

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So yongzh has created yet another video game emulation app for the Android.  This is a not big deal given the devloper's history doing Game Boy, NES, SNES, Gensis, etc apps for the Android.  This N64 version though has a nice addition to it.  You are not limited to your Android onscreen controls or using the keyboard.  You can link up a wii-mote and nunchuck should you have one to  your phone for game control. This means you are free to play your games without your thumbs in the way.  Check out the video for a preview of this:

You can get the app on the android market for $5.99, and while the emulator is not perfect (creators words) it does have a nice gimick that would be nice to see ported to other emulators (use a PS3 controller maybe).

Angry Bird IRL with IKEA

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Have you every wanted to destroy IKEA furniture while having the simbalance of playing a video game? Well you are not alone in this as it is exactly what Conan did on 03/03/2011.  And while he might have cheated by using the same bird twice, it is still looked like a a lot of fun.

Want to know where you can play Angry Birds? Grap your iPhone / Android and download it from their marketplaces.

Nintendo 3DS for $199 or less?

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So, are you wanting to buy a Nintendo 3DS when it hits store shelves but don't want to drop $249.99?  Will you also have an older DS system that will get no love once you buy a 3DS?  Well, you're in luck.  Now until April 3, 2011, GameStop is promoting a 3DS Trade Up Offer.  When you trade your old DS system you will receive a credit towards a new 3DS.  If you trade in your DSi XL you will receive a $100 credit towrds a 3DS.  If you have a DSi your trade in value will be worth $75.  Finally, if you're like the majority and have a DS Lite, you will receive a $50 credit.  So, instead of spending the full amount and keeping your old DS system, you might as well head down to your local GameStop and reserve a 3DS while saving some dough.  Check out the full details to GameStop's 3DS Trade Up Offer here.

Sequels Abound - Saints Row 3 Announced

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THQ recently announced that Saints Row: The Third is scheduled for release on the 360, PS3, and Windows PC (sorry Mac guys).  According to THQ Executive Vice President Danny Bilson this games starts off with you at the head of the Third Street Saints who are now an elite criminal orginazation.  This means that "There’s no delivering pizza, no shuttling family members about in a long series of taxi missions. Instead, you take all the power of the Third Street Saints and you take the world by storm."  So hopefully there will be less pointless missions as are pretty standard in free roaming games, at least from my experiance.

So what is the games point?  Well now the Thrid Street Saints are a household name complete with their own products such as sneakers, energy drinks and even bobble heads.  But all this comes at a price at they have garnered attention from The Syndicate (BUM BUM BUMMMMMMMMMM).  The Syndicate is a global criminal fraternity and now demands the that Saints pay them tribute.  Being who you are you bow to no man (that is what go you to where you are now afterall) and the battle begins.  Look forward to even more outlandish gameplay then we had in the previous games this holiday season.

Nintendo Shows of 3DS at GDC

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So Nintendo had their big thing at GDC today (which was mostly over shadowed by some blasted fruit companies announcement) and it focused mostly on the 3DS.  There was some mention of Zelda: Skyward Sword, but the main focus on this was the Nintendo 3DS which comes out the last week of this month.

Reggie Fils-Aime announces Netflix

The focus seemed to be what you are going to get out of your handheld besides your 3D cartridge based games.  One thing they mentioned is that at the end of May 3DS owners will be able to connect to more then 10,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots free of charge, which is very important to their ends goals.  This make the systems SpotPass™ more usefull in the geographically wide United States as it will all you to connect to both user via local connections and users around the country in restaurants, book stores, coffee shops and airports.

The hotspots will also allow users to stream 3D movie trailers to their devices via a short-form video service, so you can watch the Green Lantern trailer in 3D in your hands without pesky glasses.  Along with this comes Netflix integration.  Yes it seems like anything that can show video (except Android devices so far) are getting Netflix and the 3DS is no exception.  Although so far it looks like you are limited to movies in the boring old 2D, you won't have to waste your data plan to watch something while sitting at Starbucks.

The last thing they plan use all this network coverage for is the Nintendo eShop available at the end of May as well.  This is going to function like the Nintendo WiiWare store including classic games (whatever that defines) redone in 3D, DSiWare games, games from the Game Boy™, Game Boy™ Color, Game Gear and TurboGrafx-16, along with the afformentioned video service.  Say, why do we focus so much on games that are 15+ years old?  Must be that whole nostalgia thing kicking in.

Satoru Iwata, president and CEO of Nintendo Co. Ltd., announces Super Mario in 3D for the Nintendo 3DSThen the main thing people (or at least myself) wanted to know is what other first-party games are coming out.  TheyTo this they announced that a 3D (GASP) Super Mario Bros game will come to the DS. Including old style Mario mechanics it will be made by the Super Mario Galaxy team.  So the game looks like it will be in safe hands.  The downside is it will not be a launch title for the system.

And there we have it, the 3DS is coming and Nintendo is trying to give you as much as they can for $249.99 without making the thing a smart phone / tablet.  Now lets see if it pans out for them, shall we?