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    Analyst: Madden 10 Wii didn't sell because of ... Madden 09 Wii

    September 11, 2009 - 6:40pm


    Yesterday, Electronic Arts CEO John Ricitiello pointed to a downward turn in game sales this summer as a prime culprit in what he called a "discouraging" August kickoff for one of the "highest-rated and best-marketed Madden titles in years." Still, that didn't explain the 42 percent decline in sales for the franchise on Nintendo's console. So, we spoke with Jesse Divnich, games market analyst at EEDAR, to get his thoughts on the fairly "oh, wow"-worthy revelation.More than anything, Divnich believes that gamers' experience with last year's game on Wii influenced their decision to not give the franchise a second shot on the system. "I believe many diehard Madden fans, who transitioned from the PS2 to the Wii, made their yearly Madden purchase in 2008 and realized that the Wii could not offer the same experience they have grown accustom to (online play, realistic graphics, in-depth team management)," he told Joystiq.The game's motion control gameplay features -- versus the familiar DualShock 2 -- might also have been a turn-off, Divnich said, likening it to the slow acceptance of console controllers for use in first-person shooters. "Anyone introduced to the FPS category through the keyboard/mouse combination even still today refuses to accept the analog controllers as a legitimate FPS controller," he remarked.Ultimately, though, Divnich came back to the PS2-to-Wii user's experience with last year's Madden. "Avid Madden fans have the curse of knowledge ... and they know that Madden cannot offer the same experience on the Wii as it did for the PS2."Permalink | Email this | Comments

    The Legend of a giant papercraft Link

    September 11, 2009 - 6:10pm


    Remember how frustrated you were when you tried to build that tiny papercraft Link? Yeah, well this guy made a life-size statue of Link ... out of paper. Paper. Just look at it. It's insanity. Seriously, if someone handed you a pile of card stock and asked you to build insanity, it would turn out like this. Sure, it's awesome and everything but ... damn. If you can feel your grip on reality slipping a little every day, then feel free to download the detailed plans to craft your own right here. (Note: You'll need a special Windows-only viewer to view the plans.) Oh, and be sure to stock up on printer ink. [Via GoNintendo]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Okamiden screens are predictably cute

    September 11, 2009 - 4:45pm

    At this point, Capcom's Okamiden is succeeding with its two-pronged attack of nice graphics and adorable baby wolves. Looking at these screens, we feel only vestiges of the outrage we once felt about the idea of continuing Clover's work in the developer's absence. Instead, the feeling of wanting to play this game has overtaken us.These lovely screens show possibly the most sensible reason for putting Okami on the DS: reduced development costs the Celestial Brush. Chibiterasu can use the Brush (which, for you, is the stylus) to rebuild a bridge, restore life to a tree, and, of course, to cut stuff. But really cutely, because everything Chibiterasu does is adorable.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Spaceball on NA WiiWare this week, not what you think it is

    September 11, 2009 - 3:45pm

    No, Mel Brooks isn't trying his hand at game development. As much as we wish it were true, it just isn't so. Instead, according to NintendoRAW, North America will be laying its grubby mitts on Spaceball Revolution as part of next week's WiiWare releases (it's already out in Europe). The game rests somewhere between Pong and a puzzle game, requiring players to toss a ball down an alley and light up certain squares. Naturally, there are plenty of obstacles to prevent you from accomplishing this. If you've been waiting for some decent ball-chucking action -- and can stomach the heartbreak of a world without Spaceballs: The Video Game -- you might want to give it a try.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    European Nintendo downloads: Rygar, Spaceball Revolution

    September 11, 2009 - 1:00pm

    This week, two Tecmo arcade games arrive on the Virtual Console in Europe, thankfully free of the rather excessive 800 Wii Point pricing standard Virtual Console Arcade games "enjoy" in Japan. Also available on WiiWare today: Spaceball Revolution, a game about tossing balls down a chute to light up spaces at the end, while avoiding various obstacles.This week's DSiWare offering is 2-in-1 Solitaire, which made us feel really stupid when we looked up the number of players allowed.

    • Rygar (Arcade, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
    • Solomon's Key (Arcade, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
    • Spaceball Revolution (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
    • 2-in-1 Solitaire (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)

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    Daft Punk assembling 11 unique mixes for DJ Hero

    September 11, 2009 - 12:50pm


    Rolling Stone reveals that the upcoming DJ Hero won't just feature DJ Jazzy Jeff and Grandmaster Flash, as the robotic rockers themselves, Daft Punk, will also make a very shiny appearance. Along with their signature sets and outfits, the French beat blasters are also crafting 11 unique mixes for the game. Fans will be pleased to know that favorites "Around the World" and "Robot Rock" will indeed make the cut, among others.To check out eight of the Daft Punk tracks, you'll have to go around the break (around the break).

    Continue reading Daft Punk assembling 11 unique mixes for DJ Hero

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    NPD: Households with kids still the biggest game purchasers

    September 11, 2009 - 12:20pm


    Though the median age of video gamers has increased dramatically over the past decade, a recent report from the NPD Group shows that youngsters still possess a great deal of market dominance -- according to the study, households with children ages 12 and under constitute 45 percent of the gaming industry's total sales. Considering these tweens only make up 17 percent of the U.S. population, that's a fairly large chunk of selling power.Still, it's tough to completely trust these numbers -- as we all know, 13-year-olds are vile, fraudulent creatures who are quick to shave a few years off their age in the pursuit of pure vanity. Just be yourself, 13-year-olds. You've got plenty of good years ahead of you.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Rock Band Weekly: Tenacious D, Anvil, Dinosaur Jr., The Guess Who

    September 11, 2009 - 11:50am


    Rock Band Weekly heads up to Canadia next week for a three pack from heavy metal band Anvil. There are also tracks from Brütal Legend "star" Jack Black's band Tenacious D. It'll actually be pretty quiet week, as the Wii doesn't add its usual mega-list of back catalog tracks and is in sync with the Xbox and PS3 versions. Check it all out after the break.
    Select a platform below to view complete DLC listing:

    Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Tenacious D, Anvil, Dinosaur Jr., The Guess Who

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    Nirvana disapproves of GH5 Cobain avatar

    September 11, 2009 - 11:20am

    Two out of three Nirvana members agree: Kurt Cobain's Guitar Hero 5 avatar is not cool. As for the third: the fact that he can't offer an opinion is kind of the whole problem. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, former bassist and drummer for Nirvana, issued a joint statement to register their disdain with the free use of Cobain's likeness.The pair, who have no legal say in the matter but are probably worth listening to anyway, said that they were "dismayed and very disappointed" in the use of the avatar. "While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character."Novoselic and Grohl then entreat Activision to "re-lock" the avatar so that it can only be used to play Nirvana songs. Which is a surprisingly even-handed request.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Madden 10 for Wii sold only 67K copies in August, EA calls overall sales 'discouraging'

    September 10, 2009 - 10:45pm


    We first caught wind that an imperfect storm was brewing for this season's Madden offering shortly after kickoff in mid-August. Now we know that not only has Madden 10 for Wii been sacked at retail, but EA is less than happy with the performance of the franchise as a whole thus far in '09.IndustryGamers received word from NPD that Madden NFL 10 for Wii -- a game touted as being rebuilt from the ground up for Nintendo's console this year, in part to improve sales -- sold only 67,000 copies in the month of August. In comparison, the PS2 version sold 160K copies, with the Xbox 360 SKU selling the best at 928K. This time last year, the Wii installment of Madden 09 sold ... just about 116K copies.In the same afternoon, Bloomberg reported that EA CEO John Ricitiello emailed his employees a memo that stated, in part, "It is discouraging that one of our highest-rated and best-marketed Madden titles in years is facing strong headwinds." Ricitiello clearly wasn't faulting quality, but rather downward industry sales trends which he admitted "present a challenge." That may be the case, but it doesn't explain the Wii version's shockingly low sales, especially for a franchise that's about as mainstream as they come.Source -- Madden Wii Sells Just 67K Copies [IndustryGamers]Source -- Electronic Arts Says 'Madden,' Industry Sales Drop [Bloomberg]
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