Hasta La Gadget!

NPD has released its report of video game sales data for June 2012, and like the months before, it isn’t all that pretty. Overall sales of both hardware and software were down 30% year-over-year, dropping from $989 million in June 2011 to $699 million last month. Hardware was the biggest loser, falling a whopping 45% to just $201 million in June.

Though software didn’t fare as bad as hardware did, it still did pretty terrible. In June 2011 software sales rang in at $461 million, but last month that figure took a 29% dive to $328 million. Accessories, on the other hand, actually grew year-over-year last month, climbing 4% to $169.8 million.

But wait! Before you start saying that we’re headed directly for another video game crash, keep in mind that NPD only tracks data for physical hardware, software, and accessories sales, meaning that everything else isn’t included in these figures. In fact, NPD analyst Anita Frazier says that when the company’s estimates for things like digital software purchases, DLC purchases (which includes money spent on microstransactions and subscriptions), rentals, used sales, and social game spending are all tallied up, consumers spent an estimated $1.36 billion on video games in June.

Looking at the top 10 software list for June, we see that Lego Batman 2 took the top spot, followed by Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in second place. Diablo III landed a third place ranking, while Max Payne 3 and NBA 2K12 rounded out the top five. Take a look at the full top ten list, but remember that this list only covers physical media sales:

1. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes – 360, Wii, PS3, PC, DS, 3DS, Vita
2. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – PC, PS3, 360
3. Diablo III – PC
4. Max Payne 3 – PC, 360, PS3
5. NBA 2K12 – PC, 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP
6. Batman: Arkham City – PC, 360, PS3
7. Pokemon Conquest – DS
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – 360, Wii, PS3, PC
9. Battlefield 3 – PC, 360, PS3
10. The Amazing Spider-Man – 360, PS3, Wii, DS, 3DS

Finally, the Xbox 360 finished off the month with 257,000 units sold, while Nintendo says that the 3DS sold 155,000 units, the DS 150,000, and the Wii rounded out the bottom with 95,000 sales. Sony has not yet commented on how many PS3s, PSPs, and Vitas were sold last month.

[via VG247]

June NPD: Lego Batman 2 on top, game sales down overall is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

BioWare is set to offer yet another multiplayer add on for March’s Mass Effect 3, confirming that Earth will be the next war zone players will have to defend. We already had an idea that Earth was going to be the focus of the game’s next multiplayer DLC thanks to a leaked product listing that popped up last month, but after getting a release date for the Xbox 360 version yesterday, BioWare has officially confirmed and detailed the DLC for all three platforms. Hit the jump for all the details.

Just like that leaked listing from last month told us, this Earth DLC pack will have players fighting off the Reapers, Geth, and Cerberus in London, Rio, and Vancouver. The pack also tosses three new weapons into the mix – the Piranha assault shotgun, Acolyte pistol, and Typhoon assault rifle – and adds six new human classes to the roster of playable characters: the Destroyer Soldier, Paladin Sentinel, Demolisher Engineer, Slayer Vanguard, Shadow Infiltrator, and Fury Adept.

The pack is getting a worldwide Xbox 360 and PC release on July 17, with the North American PS3 version arriving on that day as well. If you’re playing on PS3 and live in Europe, you’re going to have to wait until July 18 to download it. Like all Mass Effect 3 multiplayer DLCs before this, the Earth pack will cost the very reasonable amount of absolutely nothing.

For more information on Mass Effect 3′s various DLC packs (and the controversy that surrounds some of them), check out the story timeline below!

[via BioWare]

Mass Effect 3 Earth DLC officially confirmed by BioWare is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Rovio has announced that it will be bringing the Angry Birds Trilogy to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo 3DS. The company dropped some hints previously that it would be bringing the popular games from mobile devices to consoles, and now Rovio has said it will bring upgraded versions of the games to three consoles. There’s no word on when the Trilogy will be officially released, but the company is current working on enhancing the games.

Rovio’s Executive Vice President of Games, Petri Järvilehto, says the team reworked all the games for HDTVs and consoles: “There are new cinematics, extras and other entertaining content. In addition all of the existing material has been uprezzed and re-treated for the high-resolution and big screen.” Backgrounds have also been animated, and there are several lighting modes as well.

Angry Birds, Angry Birds Season, and Angry Birds Rio will be sold on one disc (or cartridge in the 3DS’ case), although there’s no mention of Angry Birds Space, or if the Trilogy will include the extra free levels found on iOS and Android. The company says that there are those with consoles perfectly content with a “casual” gaming experience, and that’s exactly who Rovio is targeting with this release.

The games will also support Kinect, PlayStation Move, and StreetPass. There’s no firm release date, but Rovio says it should be available to purchase in time for the all important holiday season.

[via IGN]

Angry Birds Trilogy coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and 3DS is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The gaming public at large has spoken. In less than 12 hours, Yves Behar’s Android-based Ouya gaming console has reached its lofty funding goal of $950,000 on Kickstarter. To refresh your memory, the $99 system (which was only $95 for 1,000 swift early adopters) packs a Tegra 3 CPU, 8GB of storage, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a USB 2.0 port and an SD card slot — that price also grants you a single controller with a touch sensor. Most notably, the system is aimed at being extremely developer-friendly, having open hardware and software with a push for free-to-play content. There are only about 5,000 units (out of 10,000) (update: that number has been bumped to 20,000, with just under 10k available) left at the $99 price, so feel free to check out our in-depth chat about Ouya with Behar himself here before you head over to Kickstarter. It appears that the traditional business model for gaming consoles just got rocked, and we can’t wait to see the final results.

Update: If you thought that was fast, you’d be right: Kickstarter has confirmed that Ouya achieved the biggest first day ever for one of its hosted projects, and it’s just the eighth project ever to crack the million-dollar mark, joining an esteemed company that includes Double Fine’s upcoming adventure game and the all-time champion, the Pebble smartwatch.

Ouya’s $99 Android-based gaming console meets Kickstarter goal: $950k in under 12 hours (update: it’s a record) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week the folks at Sony have let it be known that the game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, possible the biggest title for the console this year, will be popping up on October 23rd in the USA. This news also provides the dates for the majority of Europe, that being October 24th, and inside the UK, that being October 26th. This game is set to feature a litany of battle-ready characters from PlayStation-centric franchise games and will be Sony’s great answer to the classic bash-festival that is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros., also set for a new version later this year.

This game will be popping up for not only the PlayStation 3, but for PS Vita [see our full review of the PS Vita here] as well, and will be able to be played over the web and from the PS Vita as a controller for the PS3 too! Sony is going all-out to support this game for the future of what’s undoubtedly going to be a franchise – or so they hope, of course.

You’ll be able to play as such odd characters as UNCHARTED’s Nathan Drake, BioShock’s Big Daddy, or Twisted Metal’s own killer clown character Sweet Tooth! Have a peek at a trailer for the game here:

And be sure to stick around for more PlayStation news coming later today from EVO – don’t wanna miss it, right here on SlashGear!

[timleine]

[via PlayStation Blog]

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale release date dropped is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.