While 25 GB is enough for most movies and games on a single layer Blu-ray disc, which holds 25GB, and with dual-layer offering 50 GB, now it seems that those numbers will increase a bit, as Sony and Panasonic have found a way of increasing the layer capacity from 25 GB to 33 GB, without the need to upgrade Blu-ray players or hardware. The few GBs should come in handy, as it might be enough for content holders without having to go to two layer discs, which are more expensive to produce.

Yep, we were surprised as well to learn that Bayonetta took the top spot as the most downloaded demo on Xbox Live in 2009, beating such heavy weights as and Left 4 Dead 2, Lost Planet 2 and Forza 3. Bayonetta was released in Japan on October 29, while the international release happened only yesterday. For more about the game, check out our Bayonetta review.

Gaming is a serious industry in Japan, just like all electronics and gadgets, and when sales of such take a large hit, it’s bound to send ripple effects across associated industries and sectors. According to Enterbrain, game sales in Japan fell 6.9% in 2009, with the overall software and hardware revenues at $5.91 billion.

Console sales were also down compared to 2008 — the Wii led consoles sales in Japan with 1,975,178 units in 2009, the PS3 came in second with 1,727,041 units sold, and the Xbox 360 ended third with 331,706 units sold.

The Apple iPhone has established itself as a legitimate competitor to the DS and PSP, and its game sales have showed its capabilities quite well, with over 100,000 apps available, and over 20,000 being games. Apple has now announced that over 3 billion apps have been downloaded from the app store, on the over 50 million iPhone and iPod touch devices that are available.

While speaking to a Japanese newspaper, Satoru Iwata didn’t just confirm that Zelda for the Wii would be released this year, he also revealed that a successor to the DS was in development. He said:

“[It will have] highly detailed graphics, and it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing.”

Owata said that it wasn’t time yet for the DS 2, as the DS is doing quite well, with its third and fourth iterations — DSi and DSi XL — selling pretty good across all markets.

All the way back in July, we let you know that a Tatsunoko vs Capcom branded Fight Stick from Mad Catz was on its way at some point in the future. Well, only just know it has been announced tat the Fight Stick is officially for pre-order with a price tag of $79.99.

Compared the Mad Catz’ other Fight Stick offerings, the Tatsunoko vs Capcom’s price tag isn’t so stellar. However with a lower price tag most likely comes lowere quality parts but we won’t talk badly about the controller until we actually get our hands on it.

Of course, since Tatsunoko vs Capcom is only out for the Wii, there will only be a Wii version of the controller released.

via kotaku

While the video game industry has frequently been called recession proof, just like every other industry, it was hit pretty hard by the recession. Luckily, if analyst Michael Pachter is to be believed, the industry will be seeing a comeback this year.

Despite falling sales, the number of high tier titles set to drop in 2010 will, according to Pachter, give the industry a much needed boost. And who does Pachter say will reap the most benefits? GameStop, of course. Not only are they the premiere video game retailer in the country but new games sales added to used game sales are sure to give GameStop exec’s wallets a bit of padding.

But anyways, with titles such as Splinter Cell: Conviction, BioShock 2 and Gran Turismo 5 launching early this year, the games industry will definitely be seeing some rise regardless of what Mr. Pachter has to say.

via gi.biz

Sometime last year Microsoft launched their Games on Demand service for the Xbox 360. If you can’t tell by the name of the service you can digitally purchase full games, got it?

Anyways, it was recently announced that Rare’s Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is making its way onto the service for $19.99. Of course, you’re probably going to want to make sure you’ve upgraded your hard drive as the game clocks in at 6GB.

via xbox

Capcom has announced that the demo for the highly anticipated game Dark Void will be released on the Xbox 360 tomorrow, while the PS3 counterpart will be released on Thursday. Sadly, there was no mention of a PC demo.

Capcom has been in overdrive when it comes to Dark Void marketing the last few weeks, and the publisher is gearing up for a huge release. Whether the game will be worth it, is hard to tell, but as usual, we’ll have a review here at DigitalBattle as soon as we get a copy.

Hand Zimmer, the soundtrack master who’s done countless movies over the past few decades, ventured into game soundtracks with Modern Warfare 2, and he as now confirmed that a Modern Warfare 2 OST is in the works and will be released as an album.

Zimmer made the announcement on his Facebook page, saying:

“Modern Warfare 2 soundtrack album is in the works”

Yep, expect more details from Activision soon.