Nintendo Fan Forum Blog

Hi, My oldest niece wanted to play this game so badly. I rented first because I didn’t know if be any good or not for her now. My take it on it wasn’t that good. I didn’t care about it and I didn’t play it that long but long enough to give a review about it but she like it (that what matters on that to me now). The reason why I didn’t like it at all is that you go into battles each time I was wondering where is the Wi-Fi interaction it suppose to have I never did find it on here maybe I over look it or not. I have to tell you going to battle each time with the same Pokémon was kind of boring where you get the new Pokémon’s at. You can earn points when you win some battle but all you can get is some new clothes for your handler and that is it. I didn’t see you can buy any new Pokémon characters on it. I didn’t play this game that long I got bored with it but my oldest niece play it a long time she even save it. My take if you got any kids in the house that like Pokémon get it for them but you don’t like Pokémon or don’t understand what is Pokémon just stay away from this game and don’t waste any your money on buying it too. Thumbs down on me on it but thumbs up for the kids.

Enterbrain, a company that specializes in the analysis of the Japanese hardware and software market, has released its findings related to the evolution of the videogames market over the fiscal year that has just ended on March 30. While not mind-blowing the figures suggest clear, sustained growth.

The combined sales of gaming hardware, including consoles and videogames, have reached more than 667 billion yen, which is about 6.6 billion dollars, sporting a healthy 3.8 percent rise since the previous fiscal year. The breakdown of the figures has revealed some surprises.

In a market where graphics power and blockbuster games seem to be the norm, the Japanese public prefers the Nintendo DS, with its touchscreen capabilities and innovation, over the more powerful PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. The Nintendo DS can brag about the 6,343,547 units it sold in a year the lifetime total of sales reaching an estimated 22,169,761. The number of units sold in 2007 is almost double the number sold by its nearest competitor.

The Nintendo Wii was on the second position with 3,741,946 units sold in the 2007 fiscal year and a lifetime total of 5,695,579, while the PlayStation Portable had sales of 3,427,971 for a lifetime total of 8,574,026.

Speaking of Sony, the PlayStation 3 sold 1,197,418 units over the year, while PlayStation 2 sales numbers were not made public. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 sold just 235,318, with just around 600,000 sold in Japan since the console launched.

Wii Fit from Nintendo topped the software sales chart, registering more than 1,700,000 units sold, even if it was released in December. Close on its heels were Nintendo titles Mario Party DS and Wii Sports. SuperSmash Bros. Brawl took fourth place with a little more than 1 million and a half in sales, followed by Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 on the Nintendo DS.

So it seems that Nintendo has been dominating Japan in the fiscal year of 2007, both on the hardware and on the software market. The question is if it can keep it up in 2008.

A market research firm that specializes in watching the console sales numbers has just offered an insight into the way sales performed for the week that ended on March 23. It was a week when Japan celebrated a national holiday for the vernal equinox, which means that sales went up because many people chose games related gifts.

The DS is on top in the hardware sales competition in Japan, managing to push more that 65,000 units that week, seeing a rise in sales of more than 12,000 units. Its closest rival was also a Nintendo product, the Wii, which managed to attract around 62,000 buyers with its innovative control scheme and family orientation. The PlayStation Portable took third spot with a little over 59,000 units sold during the period. Remarkably, the Xbox 360 numbers managed to fall even more, with just 1,400 consoles sold in one week.

On the software side, the best selling game in Japan was dominated by a Pokemon-based title, named Pokemon Raider, a game that was launched during the holiday week and managed to push out some half a million units. The second highest new entry of the week is Hudson’s Deca Sports for the Wii, whose similarity to Wii Sports has helped it gain more than 65,000 in unit sales. At number three, the next highest new entry is giant robot simulator Armored Core: For Answer on the PlayStation 3 with 54,000 unit sales. An Xbox 360 version is also in the charts at number thirteen.

Will the Nintendo DS manage to keep its dominant position in the North American market when the March NPD numbers will hit, somewhere in the next few days?

The Nintendo Wii has always put emphasis on different and sometimes quirky gameplay over the classic game recipes. The control scheme of the Wii rewards those developers who create games that do not follow already existing patterns. And who’s better prepared to take advantage of this than the Wii’s creators, Nintendo?

Wii Fit was released to the Japanese market last December and sold more than 1 million units to date. Which is pretty much, considering that the Japanese Wii population numbers around 5 million units. It seems that a game about loosing weight and exercising can be a hit with some of the most self conscious people in the world.

The Wii Fit uses a unique platform peripheral from Nintendo called the Wii Balance Board that can measure a user’s weight and then pinpoint their center of gravity thus calculating their body mass index when told the user’s height. The game offers about 40 different activities that a player can access, including yoga poses, push ups, and other exercises from sit ups to jumping. The Wii Fit allows its players to compare their fitness by using Wii Fit’s own channel on the Wii Menu. The social aspect of the game cannot be underestimated. Where’s the fun in exercising if you can’t really brag about it?

If one in five Wii consoles in Japan has the Wii Fit then the North American market could prove an even bigger opportunity for the game. There are more than 9 million consoles in North America and a lot more people that would like to exercise and loose weight. Analysts are predicting that more than 5 million copies of Wii Fit could be sold on the North American market in 2008, making the game a hit comparable to 2007’s best selling games, the likes of Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3.

The fact that Nintendo is preparing a 40 million dollars marketing campaign will also boost sales considerably. So look out for Wii Fit in May when it hits North America

Nintendo of America has announced that SSBB has been the fastest-selling game in the company’s history, with more than 1.4 million copy’s sold… Wow. “Super Smash Bros. Brawl has made the leap from video game to cultural phenomenon,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and arketing. “Game reviewers and the public alike praise its fun game play and extensive, inventive content.”

Ever wondered what it would be like to become a Pokémon? With the April 20 launch of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness for Nintendo DS, hand-held gamers will soon find out.

In this pair of action-packed adventures, players journey as actual Pokémon through a fantastic land untouched by humans. Before the game starts, players take a test to help them figure out which of 16 Pokémon best represents their personalities. Players then experience their adventure through the eyes of a Pokémon as they explore the land and embark on an epic journey through time and darkness. They talk and team up with other Pokémon to set out on an epic voyage while navigating an endless array of randomly generated dungeons.

More than 490 Pokémon populate these new games, guaranteeing strategic, intense battles and infinite possibilities, no matter which Pokémon players become. To widen their circle of Pokémon friends, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection lets users engage in wireless rescue operations and send alerts to their friends via e-mail or mobile text message.

“Only the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series lets players experience the thrill of actually becoming a Pokémon character,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “It’s a unique perspective that delights both longtime Pokémon fans and newcomers alike.”
Fans of the two previous Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, will marvel at the greatly enhanced graphics, new story and grand adventure in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness. For Game Boy® Advance owners, the fresh look and wireless aspects of these new Pokémon titles provide even more reasons to upgrade to Nintendo DS. And best of all for budget-conscious parents, Nintendo DS is also able to play the entire library of Game Boy Advance games.

The December 07 sales data for the United States video game industry collected by the NPD group have been released. The figures make great reading for Nintendo and its hordes of fans, but they’re less great for people expecting Sony’s PlayStation 3 to be making inroads into the Wii and Xbox 360’s lead.

On the hardware front the DS obliterated the rest of the pack, shifting 2.47 million consoles over the period. The Wii came in second with 1.35 million consoles sold, and the 360 took third place with 1.26 million sales. The PlayStation 3 only managed 797,600 consoles - some way short of the Wii and Xbox 360.

Sales for Sony’s other systems, the PS2 and PSP, did much better. The aging PS2 shifted 1.1 million systems and the PSP sold 1.06 million. So not bad overall for Sony, but it will surely be hoping sales of the PS3 pick up considerably this year.

On the software front Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360 continued to sell extremely well, selling 1.47 million units in December - taking the sales since release on the 360 to a staggering 3.04 million units. Mario Galaxy also sold well, with 1.4 million units sold in December and 2.52 million to date.

In 2007 Halo 3 managed to sell more than any other game, shifting 4.82 million units since its September release. The Top 10 selling titles include three for Xbox 360, three on Wii, three on PS2 and one on Nintendo DS. No PlayStation 3 game managed to break into the 2007 Top 10.

Looks like I’ll finally have another music simulator game to play, this time on my Wii. So Disney announced that they’ll make a new music simulator where players can “realize their dream of becoming a rock legend when they build their own band or jam alone” There will be no hardware accessories, just the Nunchuck and Wii remote. “Whether they choose guitar, drums, bass or front man, members don’t need to buy costly, single-function peripherals to play their way through Ultimate Band’s deep song list, dynamic venues, and customizable characters.”

“The game is in development at Fall Line Studio, which is also working on the upcoming Prince Caspian game for DS. Look for Ultimate Band this holiday season.”

Found this on IGN.

Short summary:

It will be the same game as Death Jr.: Root of Evil on the Psp. It will boast better graphics and new controls suited for the Wii remote, as well as spilt-screen co-op.

Guitar Hero Aerosmith is game where you play as band members Joe Perry (guitar), Brad Whitford (guitar) and Tom Hamilton (bass)

The game will follow the story of the band, all the way from their first gig.

There isn’t much information yet, but I’ll update once there is more.