Business

Nintendo surprised by fast dropping 3DS sales. I’m not.

This is what happens when you release your most expensive handheld ever with no killer-app and stale technology (stereoscopic 3D): “Nintendo 3DS has not been selling as expected since the second week, and this is not just in the Japanese market but also in the United States and Europe, where no direct impact from the great earthquake has occurred,” Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admited Tue...

Zelda fans, get ready to Ocarina of Time….in 3D

The good folks over at Nintendo have today announced its Q2 lineup, and in it we learn when we will be enjoying Zelda on 3DS! Mark your calendars, because June 19th will be Ocarnina of Time day here in North America. Also announced is a new version of everyones favorite mini game collection Wii Play: Motion which includes….yeah you guessed it, a Wii Remote Plus to go along with 12 new motion...

Reggie speaks on slumping Wii sales and more

In an interview with IGN during last weeks GDC, Reggie Fils-Aime answered a number of questions about the condition of the Wii.  He dodged the tough questions by talking of how well the Wii has already sold, reminding us that the console sold over 35 million units in North America alone. He also let us know that Skyward Sword was still on its way, saying that the game will be innovative and help ...

No more Retro Donkey Kong?

If you enjoyed last year’s revival of the Donkey Kong Country franchise, this may be sad news to you. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Retro Studio’s CEO Michael Kelbaugh told the magazine “I wouldn’t say we won’t do a sequel [for Donkey Kong Country Returns], but we don’t have anything planned at this time.” This surely isn’t an outright confirmation ...

Will you pay the suggested $40 for 3DS games?

That’s what Nintendo is charging, despite shrinking prices elsewhere, most notably on Wii, Steam, PC, iOS, and free-to-play web games. What do you think of the suggested retail price?

Uh oh. Last Story sales are slumping abroad

So if you haven’t heard, Mistwalker’s newest game The Last Story is out in Japan. The sales numbers show that the game had a great first week, where it sold 118,953 units and was #1 on the Japanese sales charts. Week two for The Last Story wasn’t so great with sale dropping 99K and coming in at #7. What does this mean to us English speaking folks who really, really really want to...

Nintendo emerges with top-selling systems of 2010, looks ahead to Nintendo 3DS

Business Wire’Great games, great experiences and great value led Nintendo to finish 2010 with the two top-selling video game systems in the United States. The Nintendo DSâ„¢ family of systems finished in first place with more than 8.5 million sold in 2010, while the Wiiâ„¢ system topped all home consoles with more than 7 million sold, according to the NPD Group, which tracks video game industry sa...

Nintendo DS becomes nation’s best-selling video game system of all time

With 47 million sold in the U.S. alone, the Nintendo DS has become the best-selling video game system of all time in America, says Nintendo. Last year, the PS2 claimed the record for all of North America. Nintendo did not say how many additional units the DS has sold in Canada. In other news for you business types, the company today also announced that Wii has reached 34 million units sold in Amer...

Is the Wii phenomenon finally over?

Gaming Age Forum-goer Entrement started an interesting discussion yesterday, in regards to Nintendo Wii becoming cold product. “This is not a qualitative analysis, or whether you like the Wii or Nintendo games,” he writes. “But the future doesn’t look too bright,” he says, for the following reasons: The 3DS: Nintendo is not a big company. They have small, dedicated in...

Nintendo won’t discuss next console until they sell 15 million more Wiis

Or so says Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime, in an interview with Kotaku. “Wii has many, many more units to sell,” Fils-Aime said, after revealing that lifetime Wii sales in the U.S. stand at 30 million. “After we’ve reached an installed base of 45 million here in the U.S., we can have a conversation about the next generation.” When asked if Nintendo needs to relea...

Forget Apple getting into games; should Nintendo get into smart phones?

Game Informer editor Andy McNamara argues that a convergent portable device, both for games and phone crap, is inevitable. In a printed column titled The future is ringing, will someone please pick up, he writes, “I can’t wait to play the 3DS, but I get the sinking feeling that it will only pacify us until this inevitable [convergence of gaming and smart phones] happens. If Sony and Ni...

Wii sales fading. Is this the end everyone was predicting in 2007?

“The Wii realized its lowest month since launch in hardware unit sales,” market researcher NPD announced today, and the console was beat for the third consecutive time by Xbox 360. Total U.S. bragging rights were as follows: Xbox 360, 356.7k Nintendo DS, 342.7k Wii, 244.3k PlayStation 3, 226.0k PSP, 79.4k That said, think Wii sales will ever pick back up? More importantly, will three s...