We imagine those six multicolored lines you see above are going to cause quite a stir among the various fanboy contingencies -- they represent the percentage of "active users" on different consoles in the first half of 2009, according to survey data compiled by Nielsen. As you can see, the Xbox 360 dominated the charts, while the ubiquitously successful Wii came in dead last by a huge margin, ranking below the PS2, original Xbox and GameCube.Our initial reaction to this data was that Nielsen is high on pot, but we can kinda understand what caused the Wii's disappointing placement on the list -- the chart is tracking the percent of console owners who use their gaming hardware on a regular basis. Everyone and their dog owns a Wii by this point, but very few actually play them consistently, according to Nielsen's findings. Meanwhile, there's only a handful of GameCubes out there that haven't been converted into lunchboxes, and their owners apparently use them a bit more frequently.If you're looking for a more straightforward breakdown of console usage, Nielsen also figured the overall usage totals for each console. That chart's posted after the jump. (You'll find it slightly above the deluge of inflammatory comments.)[Via IndustryGamers]

Continue reading Nielsen: 360 has most 'active users' in 2009, Wii has fewest

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This week, there are no updates on the Japanese Wii Shop, due to the Obon holiday. Now we know why last week's update was so massive -- it more than compensated for a week off! The Virtual Console, at least, will return next week with four new games. No announcement has been made for WiiWare yet, but we thought we'd share the VC releases.It's going to be a good week for arcade games! Knuckle Heads, a silly-looking post-Street Fighter II fighting game from Namco, will be available, along with the arcade versions of Bomb Jack and Solomon's Key, two (unfortunately priced) total classics from Tecmo.

• Ike Ike! Nekketsu Hockey-bu! Subette Koronde Dairantou (Famicom, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Solomon's Key (Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• Knuckle Heads (Arcade, 1-4 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Bomb Jack (Arcade, 1-4 players, 800 Wii Points)

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Game trade-ins are usually only a good deal when you factor in the convenience of not having to deal with eBay -- or when there's a special promotion. This deal from Amazon could boost the value of your trade-ins significantly, if you have a bunch of stuff to trade in.Through the end of August (it's been available since July 19), sending $60 worth of old junk in to Amazon will earn you an extra $30 to use toward your next game purchase. Hey, something to do with those 40 copies of Rock Revolution you picked up on impulse today!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Super Star Wars (LucasArts, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)We say: Find $8 and cram it into your Virtual ConsoleLook, guys, you could head down to Toshi Station and waste time with your friends buying power converters or you could enjoy one of the finest titles in the SNES library. Go back to a time when MidChlorians never existed and just have fun with Super Star Wars. You won't be disappointed!
Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks.Permalink | Email this | Comments