In announcing its Q1 2010 earnings last week, Sega also presented a sales figure of 150,000 units for The Conduit during its first week on sale (June 23 through June 30). Just a little more than a week earlier, figures released by NPD put sales of the game for June 23 through July 4 at just 72,000 copies -- not a small discrepancy by any means. We contacted Sega to find out which report was the most accurate. Turns out they both were.Sega's 150k figure, the publisher told us, was based on copies of the game shipped to retailers during that first week. Although a rep explained that this figure was "global," the only part of the globe the game was available in before July 10 (the UK launch) was North America. Those 72,000 units reported by NPD, then? Those were how many of the 150,000 copies shipped were sold-through to consumers (a.k.a. actually sold), according to Sega. While this certainly makes the game's first week less impressive, we'll need to see how The Conduit did for all of July before delivering a fair verdict. We'll have those numbers as soon as the next NPD report hits.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Guys, this DSi thing is a pretty big deal. As headlines to posts you're reading right now would have you believe, the handheld is teetering on seven million units sold globally, GI.biz points out. It's no wonder, considering some of the milestones it's reached so early in its life span:

• 435,000 units were sold during the first week of release in the US
• During DSi's first weekend on sale in the UK, 92,000 units were sold
• Japan recently sold its three millionth DSi

It's anyone's guess as to when Nintendo will crack the seven million figure (currently it's at 6.68 million), though we're sure the remainder of August is more than ample time to accomplish the feat.[Via Go Nintendo]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

It's been a long time since we've seen Phantasy Star Zero screenshots. In fact, it's been a long time since we've heard anything about the DS RPG, which is why these English screens (the first we've seen) are such a great comfort to us. Look, Sega's working on the game, probably!As demonstrated in the screen seen here, the chat macro system from Phantasy Star Online returns in this game, joined by the new Pictochat-style stylus chat. Technically, these two systems mean that you can chat with people who don't know your language. And now, thanks to this English release coming this fall (we hope), you'll actually be able to know what the game is saying as well.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Using the DS as an educational tool is nothing new in Japan. It's been a tour guide, an English teacher and even a boozing instructor. Lately the focus has been on DS Classroom, a program from Nintendo and Sharp System Products announced back in June that aims to let Japanese teachers dish out lessons and the like to students' DSes. Initially, it was planned to work with the original DS, the Lite and DSi, but, according to Andriasang, that's no longer the case.The new educational aid will only work with the DSi now, as Nintendo has announced it's doing away with support for the older Nintendo handhelds. We would be worried for the students over there that don't have a DSi, but, then again, we're pretty sure those kids are few and far between.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments