New Nintendo Power is On Fire with NBA Jam Details

The new February issue of Nintendo Power is reaching subscribers, and with it, an overview of what the eight-page article reveals about the upcoming Wii title from EA Sports.

First of all, the screenshots of the game look like the image at right. The faces are actual photograph captures on 3D bodies, with each character having multiple “faces:” three while running down the court, two for dunking, one positive, and one negative.

NPD Analysis: December 2009 Software Sales — It’s Nintendo’s World

You don’t sell almost four million units of hardware without pushing an equally impressive amount of software and December 2009’s sales data from the NPD Group doesn’t contradict that a bit. Nintendo was the big winner in software sales last month, with the company that Mario built absolutely dominating five of the ten best-selling positions, including the highest three. Here are the numbers:

1. Wii — New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 2.82M
2. Wii — Wii Fit Plus, Nintendo, 2.41M
3. Wii — Wii Sports Resort w/ MotionPlus, Nintendo, 1.79M
4. 360 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision, 1.68M
5. PS3 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision, 1.12M
6. Wii — Wii Play w/ remote, Nintendo, 1.01M
7. Wii — Mario Kart w/ wheel, Nintendo, 936,100
8. 360 — Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft, 783,100
9. 360 — Left 4 Dead 2, Electronic Arts, 728,500
10. DS — Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Nintendo, 656,700

I wonder how many people bought Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story unaware that it’s an RPG, not a brand-new platformer starring the jumping duo. Just seems a little suspicious to me. But there’s no doubt about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, however; that’s just a game people wanted.

"The best-selling game of the month was New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which also captures the third spot on the annual top 10 list for 2009," said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier in comments sent alongside the release of the numbers. "6 of the top 10 games totaling 20.8 million units for the year were on the Wii platform as compared to 4 last year at 19 million units."

It’s good news for software as a whole, but there’s a notable absence of anything from a first-party that isn’t Nintendo. Both Sony and Microsoft have no presence on the holiday sales charts from their internal studios, albeit Uncharted 2: Among Thieves appears to continue selling at a steady pace. In Microsoft’s case, however, the company actively admitted their big bet for Xbox 360 in 2009 was the success of Modern Warfare 2. That bet appears to have paid off for them and Sony.

Have something to share? Sitting on a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

December NPD: Nintendo ends 2009 on a high note

It’s time to find out how the US games industry ended the last decade, and the answer is “Nintendo.” Wait, that’s not a proper answer — or is it? Consumers continued The Big N’s fortunes in December, even in spite of some disparaging comments from third party partners. DS also sold remarkably well, and post-Thanksgiving sales of PS3 managed to surpass those of Xbox 360 by about 50,000 units.

Wii software flew off the shelves, proving that Wii games sell … as long as they’re published by Nintendo. Six of the top 10 titles for December were published by the company. New Super Mario Bros. Wii continues to dominate at retail with nearly three million copies sold in December alone. It’s joined in the top three by Wii Fit Plus (2.14M) and Wii Sports Resort (1.79M). Not surprising, given the number of Nintendo consoles sold in the final weeks of the oughts.

-Wii: 3.81M2.11M (+202%)
-DS: 3.31M2.05M (+95%)
-PS3: 1.36M650K (+92%)
-360: 1.31M490K (+60%)
-PSP: 655K361K (+123%)
-PS2: 333K130K (+64%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading December NPD: Nintendo ends 2009 on a high note

December NPD: Nintendo ends 2009 on a high note originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Daily Wrap-Up 1.13.10

Here’s what went on today in the world of video games, popular culture and technology.

• VIDEO: New Final Fantasy XIII Trailer Will Make Your Head ‘Asplode!
• Nintendo Wii owners will be able to stream Netflix movies and television shows starting this spring.
• The cost of creating a major, cross-platform video game averages between $18 and $28 million.

• Activision announced today that worldwide sales for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have now passed $1 billion.
• Splinter Cell: Conviction has been delayed until April. R.U.S.E. has also been delayed.
• Ubisoft has revealed that it will be introducing a "new product" that will introduce multiplayer to the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
• Capcom claims we can’t guess their Project Natal game, supposedly based on an old Capcom franchise.
• VIDEO: Transformers: War for Cybertron Trailer Gives Us The Full Show
• Sony has announced that it has delayed the release of Gran Turismo 5 in Japan.
• SCREENS: Nier Screens Offer Libations, Power Moves, Daddy/Daughter Time And More
• James Cameron has expressed an interest in making more games with Ubisoft after Avatar.
• VIDEO: Mass Effect 2 Soldier Class Trailer: Trigger Happy RPGers Rejoice
• Adam discusses all the new 3-D technologies shown off at CES 2010 and wonders if they will represent the next step in game immersion.
• Got something on your mind that needs an answer from someone at G4 HQ? Send something to our weekly mailbag!
• At CES, we asked Microsoft if they’ve found their Wii Sports for Project Natal and when we’ll finally see real games.
• SCREENS: Alan Wake Release Creepy New Images
• The latest downloadable content for BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins, "Return to Ostagar," is now available.
• Tech Review: Find out what rating Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn gave the Sony X-Series mp3 player.

Has Project Natal Found Its Wii Sports? When Will We Finally See Actual Games?

Project Natal might have a release window of during the holidays, but that doesn’t answer the litany of questions that remain about Microsoft’s entry into motion gaming. Since its E3 reveal, we’ve seen tech demos and examples of how Project Natal can graft onto existing gaming experiences, but Microsoft and third-parties have remained quiet on games developed for the ground up for Project Natal.

I asked Xbox group product manager Aaron Greenberg about this problem at CES last week, proposing that users can only remain interested in the possibilities of Project Natal for so long.

"I would say that right now the team [at Microsoft] is working really hard on making, bringing those experiences — doing the development phase of that," said Greenberg.

Okay, so when will we see the games?

"I would expect at E3 we’ll share a lot more of those types of details," he confirmed.

That makes sense. E3 it is, then. But potential must be realized. It’s difficult to imagine a world where Nintendo didn’t launch Wii with Wii Sports, bundled with the hardware or not. Wii Sports translated the potential of Nintendo’s motion dreams into a simple, tangible, easily demonstrable product. As games start coming together for Project Natal, Microsoft must be in search of its Wii Sports equivalent.

I asked Greenberg whether Microsoft had found its Wii Sports for Project Natal.

"I think we’ve seen some stuff recently that has the team really excited," he said in an understandably vague tone, given Microsoft’s continued secrecy about actual games for the add-on. "There’s a — this is going to sound kind of cheesy — there is a magical feeling with some of the stuff. I think a lot of people always have that skepticism around when you see anything like this. You’re like ‘it sounds amazing, the video was incredible, the demos on stage were great, but does it really work?’"

Soon, the rest of us should know more about what’s making Greenberg understand Project Natal. He’s probably seen the game that Capcom’s excitedly working on and teased to us during CES.

"It’s becoming real very quickly," he concluded, "which is exciting."

Have something to share? Sitting on a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

UK’s Bestselling Games Of 2009

Activision’s Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 topped the UK all formats chart in 2009 as the year’s bestselling game, according to data released today by ELSPA and GfK Chart-Track.

EA’s FIFA 10 placed second, while Nintendo titles Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus rounded off the top five.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II came sixth, ahead of Nintendo’s Mario Kart Wii and Sega’s Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games.

read more

Big League Sports (Video Game) newly tagged "wii game"

EA Confirms NBA Jam Wii Revival

Following widespread speculation, Electronic Arts confirms today that EA Sports is indeed reviving NBA Jam on the Nintendo Wii. Widespread media reports indicated that the publisher had bought the rights to an “updated version” of the property from the NBA — and today’s announcement follows the hiring late last week of NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell as senior creative director at EA Tiburon. The new NBA Jam will feature gameplay “true to the original”, promising …

Boomshakalaka! NBA Jam Remake Confirmed

Electronic Arts confirmed today murmurs of a remake of NBA Jam – and yes it is in fact coming to the Wii.

Computer And Video Games reports that the release mostly affirmed EA Canada’s intention to take everything fans loved about the old arcade classic and bring it into the modern era.

“Featuring the sights and sounds that fans of the franchise will instantly recognize, EA Sports NBA Jam mixes the old school with the new,” the release said. By “sights and sounds,” many fans probably hope the release refers to quotes from the original game’s famous commentary like “BOOMSHAKALAKA.” The release apparently says nothing specific about whether or not it will retain the original game’s four-on-four play style or super-deformed character models.

The original reports of a new NBA Jam came from ESPN but were unconfirmed until this EA announcement. The second major indication came when EA Tiburon hired the original creator of NBA Jam.

It’s Official: NBA Jam Is Coming To The Wii

ESPN let the cat out of the bag last week, but now it’s official: Electronic Arts announced this morning that a new version of NBA Jam is headed to the Nintendo Wii.

EA promises to revive the franchise with "vintage NBA Jam gameplay, and all-new features that deliver a fresh new take on the game. Featuring the sights and sounds that fans of the franchise will instantly recognize, EA Sports NBA Jam mixes the old school with the new, to deliver a one-of-a-kind sports presentation on the Wii."

Along with the classic gameplay you probably remember, the new version of Jam will feature "true-to-life body types," updated physics, and "visible player emotion." It’s a Wii exclusive and it’s scheduled for release in 2010.

So, on a scale of one to 100, how excited are you for this game? I’m hovering around a 66. I have many fond memories of the original (Boom shaka-laka!), but on the other hand, it’s for the Wii only! Couldn’t we get a 360 version?

Next Page »