Of all the different video game franchises on the market, it’s quite hard to find one as hard hitting as Pokemon. Not only has the franchise amassed many different video game titles but it’s found its way into everything from major motion pictures to a highly successful trading card game.
If you’re a fan of the series, you may know that the latest Nintendo DS titles, Pokemon Black and Pokemon White, just recently hit the market a few days ago. Well, to no one’s surprise, the games have done quite well for themselves with first game game sales totalling 1.08 million. This beats out the previous record held by Pokemon Pearl and Pokemon Diamond which managed to sell 780,000 units on the first day.
With the Nintendo 3DS just over the horizon, it will be interesting to see what heights Nintendo will take teh Pokemone franchise to next.
To anyone with Pokemon Black or White: how are you liking it? We’d love to know!
There are a few different basketball games on the market with EA’s NBA Live (now NBA Elite) and Take-Two’s NBA 2K leading the pack. However, over the years, neither games have managed to secure Michael Jordan who has become virtually synonymous with the game of basketball. Luckily, 2K Sports managed to pick up Jordan for their latest basketball title NBA 2K11.
This inclusion of Jordan along with NBA Elite 11 failing to ship has helped NBA 2K11 excel. In fact, the game has excelled so much that is has become the best selling title in the history of 2K Sports.
Below, are the words of Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick:
“NBA 2K11 has now sold in nearly 4 million units since launching in early October and has become the best-selling title in the history of both our basketball franchise and 2K Sports.”
It will be interesting to see if the franchise maintains this momentum going into NBA 2K12 now that the hype surrounding Jordan has died down and EA Sports is sure to have a basketball title on the market.
via joystiq
It’s no secret Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are the three big video game console manufacturers with the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, respectively, but one company is looking to give the three a run for their money. This company is none other than OnLive which is working to give consumers the ability to stream games over a high speed broadband connection for a cheap price.
However, in order to actually get the streaming games off your computer and onto your big screen youo’re going to need to pick up the OnLive game console pictured above. Complete with a built-in HDMI port, the OnLive game console is compatbile not only with the standard OnLive controller but any other controller that works through USB including the official Xbox 360 controller.
Normally this device sells for $99 but in lieu of CES 2011, OnLive will be dropping the price of the game console $33 down to just $66. If you’re looking to get down on this deal you better do so fast as it only runs through January 9th.
via joystiq
It’s becoming increasingly more often that you hear about independent game developers making it big but Minecraft really stands out above the rest. Time and time again this open-world title has made headlines not only for its innovative gameplay but also for its massive sales numbers. However, despite the fact that Minecraft has been immensely popular thus far, no one could have thought just how popular it would really be.
The game’s creator Notch has come forth to let us know that the game is nearing 1,000,000 units sold. As of this writing, it’s at about 950,000 units sold so it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the additional 50,000 units to make their way into the hands of consumers.
Better yet, Notch has said that Minecraft will be getting an update sometime this week that will add even more content to the already expansive game.
via cvg
Gamers who have amassed a huge library of games know that they are essentially sitting on a gold mine. Of course, if you wait too long, games will lose their value and when you go to trade them in, they will be close to worthless. Luckily, places available to actually trade games in are in no short supply with the latest of such to be Amazon.co.uk. While Amazon.com has long been accepting trade ins, this is the first we’ve heard of their European branch doing the same.
Unfortunately, instead of cold hard cash you’ll be given Amazon credit for your trade-ins but then again, who cares? Amazon has pretty much everything you can ever think of, right?
via amazon.co.uk
While the Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 3 are currently the most talked about home video game consoles, another is coming that is sure to stir things up a bit. OnLive is a home console that does things less traditionally than other game consoles in the sense that no physical media is used. Instead, you hook the MicroConsole up to an ethernet port and are then given the option to stream a whole slew of games.
However, while you’re currently forced to pay for each game you stream, a new option has come from OnLive in the form of an all-you-can-eat $9.99 monthly subscription. Unfortunately, this isn’t going to give you access to the entire line up of OnLive games but instead a pre picked “PlayPack”.
To make things even better, if you’ve already got an OnLive MicroConsole, the service is completely free until it officially launches on January 23rd.
Will services like this prove a threat to the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii? Let’s wait and see.
Press release after the break.
READ ON »
Great Britain’s largest game retailer, GAME, has announced plans to close 85 stores across the UK. However, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, as the stores will close over the next 3 years, and will still leave GAME with some 550 stores in the UK. The closures are a part of a cost cutting measure, which will eliminate under-performing stores.
Did you pick up a game this past easter weekend from UK retailer GAME? If so, you may want to check the game’s quality as reports are coming in that the retailer actually sold used games as brand new.
However, fret not as the retailer has admitted that they are wrong and are offering refunds and/or exchanges for anyone who got shafted out of a new game.
via joystiq
It was recently made known that certain UK retailers will offer a Limited Tin Edition of New Super Mario Bros. Wii when it hit store shelves. One such retailer is GAME who has already begun taking pre-orders for the Limited Tin Edition.
There aren’t many exciting features about this limited edition other than the fact that the case is tin which means you could use it as a piggy bank.
This Limited Tin Edition New Super Mario Bros. Wii will drop on November 20th in the UK for 49.99 alongside the regular version for 34.99.
via joystiq
Role Playing Games (RPG) are a big hit and while we have tons of them around in the market, expect one big splurge from this latest from tri-ace, Sega in Resonance of Fate. Resonance of Fate will be the next big RPG from tri-Ace, Sega announced today, as the title is currently in development for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 . A release date sometime during spring 2010 is all we could get out of Sega, though the company did share a few details about the game itself.
Resonance of Fate will include highly stylized graphics and focus on “realistic gunplay” for its core gameplay mechanic. And speaking of mechanic, players will find themselves role-playing their way through a gritty, mechanized world that is ripe for supporting Hollywood-style action sequences.
With its focus on gunplay, Resonance of Fate will let players completely customize their weapons, presumably giving unique weapons for each of the game’s characters.
(Source) Daily Game
