Gaming News 26/02/12 - 04/03/12
Nintendo
- Original design for Wii u controller had analogue sticks
A forum member over at Neogaf has discovered Nintendo’s original controller design for the Wii U. Whilst the original Wii U controller doesn’t look too different from the version Nintendo showed off at last years E3 event, you will notice that it features traditional analogue sticks rather than the Circle Pads that are on the Nintendo 3DS.
- Developer of borderlands 2 wants the Wii u to be as powerful as possible
Randy Pitchford, one of five founders of video game developer Gearbox Software, has told Nintendo Gamer magazine that his development studio hopes that Nintendo will make the Wii U as powerful as possible. Pitchford is aware that Nintendo needs to make the console as cost-effective as possible, but he would like Nintendo to manufacture something that is much more powerful than either the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3.
“Our hope at Gearbox is that the final specification for the hardware is much more powerful than the current competitive consoles so that studios like ours can bring a better standard of high definition image not only to television, but to the controller’s screen at the same time.”
“We’ve been intrigued by what we’ve seen so far and are encouraging Nintendo to go as aggressively as they can afford with the performance specifications. We imagine that performance specifications are within affordable reach that would provide undeniable performance advantages over competitive platforms. Nintendo have a lot more experience than we do in managing the balance between performance and cost with their hardware, of course, so I do not want to be presumptuous.”
- Atari Promises “Big announcement”
Atari has taken to Twitter to announce that it’s revealing a “big announcement” tomorrow. The developer and publisher wouldn’t specify what the announcement is for, but let’s hope it’s Nintendo 3DS or possibly Wii U related. What would you like to see from Atari?
-Tons of big name Nintendo games coming to eShop and Wii shop this march
Nintendo Europe has issued a press release which states that this March is set to be the biggest month ever for Virtual Console as Nintendo announces a bumper crop of classic games set to launch via the Nintendo eShop and Wii Shop Channel. Here’s the full details:
The month of March heralds a wide range of interesting games to download including a chance to replay where it all began for Samus Aran when the original Metroid from the NES becomes available to download on your Nintendo 3DS. Those of you who are looking forward to the upcoming release of Kid Icarus™: Uprising can download the Game Boy title, Kid Icarus™ Of Myths and Monsters allowing Nintendo 3DS owners to become better acquainted with the angelic angel Pit and his action-packed adventures!
Dust off your stethoscope and get ready for some pill arranging action with the classic Game Boy puzzler Dr Mario™, finally arriving to the Nintendo eShop. March will also see the long awaited arrival of the classic SEGA Game Gear line-up including Dragon Crystal™, Shinobi™ and Sonic the Hedgehog™: Triple Trouble.
Wii owners are in for a treat this month when Mega Man X and Mega Man 5 become available on Wii Virtual Console and Super Street Fighter 2 is the first Virtual Console title with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection functionality which allows fans of the legendary fighting franchise to challenge each other online. You will be treated to even more of history’s best 2D fighting and sidescrolling action in Strider and Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa’s Revenge respectively.
The month of Virtual Console will kick off this week with two NES classics in the form of the original Super Mario Bros.™ and Punch-Out!!™, both available via the Nintendo eShop. Mario and Luigi have been rescuing princesses and battling Bowser for over 25 years and you now have the chance to play the ultimate classic on your Nintendo 3DS
- 3DS continues to destroy the PS vita in Japan
This weeks Media Create software and hardware charts are in from Japan. The Nintendo 3DS continues to dominate the hardware charts, easily outselling Sony’s PlayStation Vita. The Nintendo 3DS sold 76, 322 units whilst the PlayStation Vita only managed to sell 15,928 units. This week also saw the release of Harvest Moon: Land of Origin for the Nintendo 3DS, which entered the Japanese software charts at number two.
- [PSP] Tales of the Heroes: Twin Brave
- [3DS] Harvest Moon: The Land of Origin
- [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Generation
- [PSP] I Don’t Have Many Friends Portable
- [PS3] Asura’s Wrath
- [PSP] Nendoroid Generation
- [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land
- [3DS] Mario Kart 7
- [3DS] Monster Hunter 3G
- [PS3] The Idolmaster: Gravure For You! Vol.5
- Nintendo 3DS: 76,322
- PlayStation 3: 27,111
- PSP: 15,928
- PlayStation Vita: 11,186
- Wii: 7,878
- Nintendo DS: 1,639
- Xbox 360: 1,508
- Wii U to Be Priced At $299 in North America and 20,000 Yen in Japan?
An unnamed source at Wii U Daily has told the publication that Wii U will retail for $299.99 when it arrives in North America sometime after E3 this year. Nintendo will apparently price the Wii U at $299 in the US, 299 Euro’s in Europe, and 20,000 Yen in Japan. Nintendo has previously stated that they will try to keep the pricing in-line with both the Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3.
- Valve working on “steam box” rival Wii u, PS4 and Xbox?
Technology publication The Verge is reporting that Valve is getting ready to show of its own console called ‘Steam Box’ to rival Nintendo’s Wii U, Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox. Valve apparently have a number of publishers and developers working alongside them, and the console could be announced at next weeks GDC conference.
We’re told that the basic specs of the Steam Box include a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GPU. The devices will be able to run any standard PC titles, and will also allow for rival gaming services (like EA’s Origin) to be loaded up
Sony
- Golden abyss hits Number one in the UK charts
PlayStation Vita adventure Uncharted: Golden Abyss has debuted in first place on the U.K. All Format Charts following its release on February 22. FIFA follows close behind in second place, with sales of the footie sim and Uncharted representing a whopping half of all videogame sales in the U.K. last week. Numbers for PS Vita hardware have yet to be revealed, though it has been confirmed that 79% of units shifted were for the Wi-Fi version of Sony’s new portable.
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- FIFA Football
- UFC Undisputed 3
- FIFA 12
- Rayman Origins
- Mario & Sonic at the London Olympics
- Syndicate
- Modern Warfare 3
- Battlefield 3
- Final Fantasy XIII-2
- Playstation vita has sold over 1.2 million worldwide
Global sales of PlayStation Vita have surpassed 1.2 million, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) has revealed.
The next-generation handheld arrived in Japan on December 17, 2011 and launched in North America and Europe on February 22, 2012.
Sony also confirmed that software sales have hit two million across both retail and PlayStation Network to date.
SCEI President and Group CEO, Andrew House, commented:
“PS Vita was designed to deliver the ultimate portable entertainment experience, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the reaction we’re seeing from consumers and the pace at which PS Vita is selling.”
- New Last of Us details revealed
Members of the Naughty Dog team spoke with Playstation Magazine UK about how very different The Last of Us is going to be compared to Uncharted.
It's been speculated that since The Last of Us is using the same game engine that Uncharted 3 used, The Last of Us will play like U3. Neil Druckman from Naughty Dog proves otherwise by saying,
"When you look at film, or comics... it’s all about the characters. It’s all about the pressures of the world forcing them to make really difficult decisions."
The Last of Us looks to hold a much more complicated scenario than what was depicted in Uncharted, simply because the game looks to force a decision instead of the story playing on a linear plane.
Druckmann speculated a bit on storytelling by saying,
"How much backstory can I get in there about the science? The conspiracy of the government! Who unleashed the virus – bleurgh! It has nothing to do with the characters."
- UK PSV sales “around a quarter” of PSP launch sales
Sony’s PlayStation Vita reportedly sold around one quarter of PSP’s launch figures in the U.K. following its release on February 22, it has been reported. The handheld has now sold 1.2 million units worldwide as of February 26, though Sony has been reluctant to divulge exact sales figures for either the U.S. or U.K. launches.
However, GI.biz puts U.K. sales of Sony’s new portable games device at around 45,000, while PocketGamer claims that the figure stands at “just over half” of 3DS' launch effort of 89,000 units back in 2011.
Either way, this puts the figure floating in the region of one quarter of PSP’s 185,000 U.K. launch sales back in September 2005.
- Assassins Creed III is confirmed and is to be set in American Revolution
Ubisoft has unveiled the official box art for Assassin’s Creed III, confirming the stabby sequel will indeed be set during the American Revolution. Assassins Creed 3 is due to launch later this year on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U.
Furthermore, Ubisoft also announced that full details on the game will be unveiled on Monday, March 5 at 5 p.m. GMT.
- Sony will reveal unannounced PSV titles via live stream
Sony has announced that they will be hosting a live streaming web broadcast on March 9 called "Welcome! PlayStation Vita Game Heaven." If you’d like to tune in, make sure to check back to the broadcast website on March 9, at 8 pm
- Bio Shock infinite dated for U.S and Europe
2K Games has revealed that BioShock: Infinite will be released in North America on October 16, with a European launch pencilled in for October 19.
Developed by Irrational Games, BioShock: Infinite takes place in the airborne city of Columbia in 1912, with players assuming the role of agent Booker DeWitt as he attempts to rescue a young woman named Elizabeth.
Xbox
- Game won’t stock Mass effect 3 and refunds pre-order deposits
Troubled retailer GAME Group (which encompasses both GAME and Gamestation) will not stock any EA games released in March besides SSX.
It was reported earlier that the retailer would only be able to supply Mass Effect 3 pre-order refunds in store credit. Thankfully, this isn't actually the case. GAME has released a statement to clarify:
"We currently have a supply issue with regards to Mass Effect 3, which means that GAME and gamestation will not be able to fulfil orders for Mass Effect 3 at this time. We want to give customers as much notice about this as possible and provide them with a range of options ahead of launch.”
"We appreciate that this is disappointing for our customers, and we apologise sincerely for the inconvenience that this will cause. We value the loyalty of our customers very highly and as a gesture of goodwill we are providing the following:
- Customers who have pre-ordered in store, will have the opportunity to add £5 worth of Reward points to their card if they visit us from today through to 16 March 2012.
- Customers who have placed a deposit for the title will receive refund as well as the £5 worth of Reward points between 1 and 16 March 2012.
- Customers who have pre-ordered online, will be provided with an online voucher to the value of £5 to be spent on any purchase on our sites."
- Next gen Xbox could save GAME from collapse
Peel Hunt's John Stevenson notes that the retailer remains crucial to the UK games business, and that plans are in motion to weather the credit crisis.
"We expect Mass Effect 3 will suffer as a consequence of not supplying Game, noting other titles that Game has not stocked recently, while lower profile, certainly failed to impress in terms of chart position," he told the Guardian.
It's not quite a Reaper invasion, but GAME's certainly seen better days."We understand Game is now selling the Ubisoft Vita titles, illustrating both the fluid nature of events and the importance of Game to suppliers in the UK video gaming market.”
"Given recent events, further speculation and the loss of key titles will clearly not help customer confidence, future pre-order levels or Game's overall negotiations with banks, suppliers and wider stakeholders. That aside, the group is continuing to develop a strategic plan, which we believe will likely result in the disposal of international operations and some UK store closures."
“If down-sizing is GAME's quick-fix RPG-style healing potion, next generation console hardware could be its overnight tavern stop-over. "The potential for new major console releases (Wii U confirmed for 2012, speculation regarding the next generation X-Box) will be a significant source of future revenue and cash generation for the group, which will be critical to underpinning any recovery plan."
Sources: http://www.psu.com/